Nightmare: An Equestrian Tragedy

Chapters

The Question
A Single Mistake
Watchers in the Dark
Sanctity of the Mind
Foolish Mercy
Rebuked for Grieving
Constant Disagreement
Loathed Guardian
The Moon
Nightmare Moon

The Question

Night Court, Canterlot - 8th of Solardusk 17 EoH

Present Day

The city of Canterlot has two faces. By day, it’s a shining beacon of civilization, marble and gold towers gleaming gloriously while thick crowds of sinners and saints flow through its streets like the blood in the heart of a dragon. By night, it is a colder place, the gleaming gold a mere yellow tinted earthen brown without the sun’s rays. The marble a simple pale whitish gray, with small motes of light casting shadows over the nearly barren streets.

Such is simply the nature of things. Even in an age of abundance and high magic, the old ways die hard and so ponies follow the sun’s schedule. Not all of course. There are many who prefer the starry cloak of the night for working beneath, some of them criminals, but most honest citizens in search of the chance to earn a bit extra for themselves.

It wasn’t that the night was worse than the day. For the day had its criminal elements as well. Rather simply, the night was smaller. Less impactful, less important, but otherwise just the same. The same goes for the Night Court.

The Night Court, the second stage for the voice of the Equestrian people to be heard. A place for any to come and speak their minds to the Crown during the hours between dusk and dawn. A lesser place for a pony widely considered the lesser princess. A place and a person which Equestria functioned just fine for an entire millennium without.

A place which frequently saw nights go by without a single voice to be heard.

Not that Princess Luna minded being underutilized too much. She had once, but now? Now not only was it normal, but she had come to understand it was something she had to live with. At least for the moment.

And of course, there were those moments where she was needed. Where a voice asked for her attention. Those moments made it all worth it.

This was not one of those moments. The small court chamber sat in shadow, most of its lanterns extinguished to save on fuel, and its magelights likewise inactive to save their energy. The blue and black banners hung in front of each of the chamber’s six pillars cast shadows along the floor, making the dark hardwood appear even darker. With the lights dimmed, the chambers appeared much like the common room of a tavern after closing time.

Luna preferred it this way, the light from the few lanterns left burning mixed with the pale moon’s light which streamed in through the stained glass window behind her throne, giving the court chamber a homey feeling in her mind.

Were she allowed a comfortable seat, on these late nights, with the moon at its zenith and the court as silent as a library, Luna would have found a small measure of peace on her own. She had once never thought she could ever enjoy being alone, but that was before the last millennium had passed. Now there were many times when she found her own company more than adequate.

But even the side effects of her banishment could not prevent Princess Luna from enjoying the company of a close friend. And what better people to befriend than your body guards? After all, who would you rather have come to your aid, a person who simply finds new employment should you die, or someone who genuinely cares about you? And what better motive to live than to genuinely care about seeing your friends again?

Luna shared this long and lonely night with Sir Lyra Heartstrings, a decorated knight in her service for many years. Certainly not a typical knight, but that’s why Luna liked her. The cold and stuffy attitudes found in the standard Equestrian nobility repulsed her. But this fun-loving and entertainingly chaotic, yet still duty-bound young mare did the opposite. She delighted Luna, and that’s all the reason the Princess had needed to knight her.

The two mares looked up as the long silent knight was briefly disturbed by the muted ringing of the palace’s bells signaling midnight.

As the bells finished signaling the time, Lyra turned to Luna and asked, “So… Want to wrap this up, go home. Maybe invite everypony else over for a few hours of Oh and Oh?”

Luna paused, genuinely considering the offer. She could easily continue watching the Dream Realm regardless of what she did in the waking world, and felt that was the one true duty she had. She could easily play a few games with her other personal knights for the rest of the evening without any true problems. And yet…

Luna shook her head. “No. Not yet. We will wait until one.”

Lyra nodded. “Alright. Can we do something until then, though? I’m getting a little bored.”

“Of course,” Luna replied immediately. “Why didn’t you tell me before? I’d have gotten some playing cards or something.”

“Eh, I know you like it when you get to do ruler stuff,” Lyra replied with a friendly smile. “It would look bad if someone came in here on business and we were playing blackjack or something.”

Luna laughed. “Quite true. But I doubt I would lose face over such a thing.”

Lyra paused for a moment, nodding to herself before looking back at the princess. “Would it be alright if I asked a question? I think the answer will be kind of long, so it would help pass the time. And I’ve been meaning to ask it for a long time now,” she said, her tone more serious than usual.

“Of course,” Luna immediately replied.

Lyra paused again, biting her lip nervously. Unable to follow through after asking if she could ask.

Luna rolled her eyes at her friend’s nervous expression. “Lyra,” she said firmly. “If you could handle me admitting I would enjoy dating Vinyl if she were free, then I doubt you can’t handle however awkward this question will be.”

Lyra sputtered. “Wait, you like Vi!?”

Luna blushed, ears drooping in embarrassment. Clearing her throat, the princess admitted, “Well, yes. I would. I like her energy, and she’s a very dedicated lover to Octavia. It makes me a little jealous. I um- I must have had that conversation with Colgate instead of you. Ahem! Still, I’m certain you can ask your question now. It’s not how I make my mane like this, is it?”

Lyra shook her head. “Nah, I already know that,” she admitted coyly before returning to her nervous state. “I um- You know I’m your friend. And that I know the basics of your past. I won't judge you or anything, but… I’ve been wanting to know the details. Why did Nightmare Moon happen?”

Luna remained silent for a few long moments, understanding why her friend had been so nervous about asking what could easily be a dangerous question. There were few ponies Luna would be willing to tell the entire story to. Not only because it was painful to remember, but because it would cast a shadow over her sister, and while Luna did not always agree with Celestia politicly she did still love her sister.

At last, Luna sighed, shifted in her throne to better face Lyra’s spot at her side, and gave her a nod. “I know you won't judge me for it,” she answered. “But I ask that you judge my sister fairly after I have told you my side of the story. None know her as I do, and while she has cultivated her public image very well over the years, and it is close to the true version of herself, she does have her flaws.”

Lyra nodded immediately. “I’m not asking so I can have a reason to hate her or anything. It’s just well, I used to be an archeologist. You know I like history. This is one story that’s not recorded. I’d like to hear it.”

“Good,” Luna said happily. “Then I’ll tell you the story. It’s a bit of a long one. I’ll have to start from just after Celestia and I ascended, the first day we ruled over Equestria in fact. Uh, you do know how we-”

Lyra shook her head, cutting off Luna’s question. “No. I know you became Alicorns like Twilight did, but I don’t know how.”

“Then I’ll quickly summarize that for you,” Luna said decisively. “That could be a full story on its own. In short, Alicorns were never intended to be rare. The magic which creates us was devised by Clover the Clever, whom Celestia and I were friends with growing up. Celestia was Clover’s last apprentice before she died, and as the blind filly, I had to go where Celestia went so I lived with her as well.”

“You were blind?” Lyra asked in surprise.

The princess nodded twice. “Yes. A birth defect. My eyes never finished developing. This was long long ago. Neither magic nor technology was advanced enough to help me at the time. Frankly, I’m lucky our parents didn’t simply kill me. But to get back on topic, Alicorns are Clover’s creation.

“Originally, there were to be thousands of us. Ponykind was under siege by the Changeling Empire in those days, and we had nopony who could match a changeling Queen in open combat. They were far more powerful when their Hive Mind still lived. Alicorns were created by working out the arcane process which transformed an ordinary changeling into a Queen, and then altering that magic to work on a pony.

“Celestia and I were the prototypes. I volunteered first, I figured if I were lost, I would not be too great a loss, and at least I would die in service to our kingdom. But it worked, it worked better than we had thought. My eyes worked and even untrained the magic I had gained was immense, matching Clover’s own. But most of all, the talent I had to interact with the Dream World was amplified greatly. Celestia went through with the change second, knowing it would not kill her and that with her knowledge of sorcery, she could actually use the power immediately.

“And she put it to good use. High Queen Phyla, the Changeling Leader at the time, was no match for Celestia in open combat. Well, okay, she put up a great fight, but it became a battle of attrition and her overall mana supply was much less than Celestia's. I did little to help in that battle as I was unable to perform more than telekinesis at the time. But Celestia did insist on making sure I got equal credit to her for the victory.

“The fact is, we had ended nearly thirteen hundred years of crusades, and that the old tribal kingdoms had refused to allow for more alicorns to be created due to their seeing us as abominations, as we merge the looks and abilities of all three pony kinds. This caused the peasantry to revolt. The old monarchs were slain, and we were given the nation to rule over. With everypony believing we were the only ones who could keep them safe.

“That is where the story begins.”

Author's Note

This story would not have been possible without the generious contributions from my Patrons.

Thank you very much for the meals and bits of rent. This story is literally here because of you. Your contributions are more appreciated than you can imagine.

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A Single Mistake

Throne Room, Everfree Citidel - 1st of Solarus 1331 RH

3,864 Years Ago - The First Day

I had never believed that my sister and I would achieve our silly little dream. As the illegitimate children of the king and his champion, we had no claim to the throne. But we had always imagined various, elaborately unlikely, ways we might be allowed to assume the throne.

Yet here we were. Standing in the throne room of the somewhat soot-stained, mostly-intact, Everfree Citadel. It was ours now, given to us by the people as a gift to their saviors. A hefty responsibility beyond any I had ever truly thought would fall upon my shoulders.

I trotted forwards, marveling at the detail set into every last inch of the walls, floor, and ceiling. Truly the greatest gift of my ascension was my sight. The detail which ponies lovingly worked into everything around them was astonishing and beautiful.

“It’s amazing,” I said softly, looking up at the charred yellow and red banner which fluttered in tatters on the pillar next to me.

“Yes,” Celestia agreed. “I would never expect a hoard of angry peasants to be capable of so much… I can’t even see a hint of our half-brother’s body.”

I frowned, turning to face Celestia to speak to her, a habit I had picked up very quickly. It just made sense to see a person as you spoke.

“I did not mean that, dear sister,” I said, doing my best to ignore the pile of bodies at the base of the throne dais. “I mean this building is beyond beautiful. Look at the banners! See how they twitch in the breeze? You never told me that the world was so… Alive!”

Celestia smiled slightly. I could tell the deaths were weighing heavily on her. Celestia had never been very good with violence. While she would use it if she had to, it had always been clear she had a bit of an upset stomach with every fight.

“I did my best to tell you what sight is like. I am certain somepony else could have done better. But as the Library Mages say, ‘Seeing is Believing’,” she replied.

“I understand that phrase now,” I admitted, turning to cast my eyes over the hall once more, drinking in the little patterns the shadows from objects made on the walls.

“Well, no…” Celestia said hesitantly as if brewing a lecture. “There’s more to it than the surface level- Oh forget it, it’s not important.”

This had to be worse than I thought. Celestia never stopped talking before explaining whatever intellectual curio was on her mind. The fact that our father lay dead had to be eating away at her. Not that it really should, mind you.

I turned once more, walking over to my sister to give her a tight hug, taking care to not cut her neck with the jagged parts of my ruined armor. She returned the hug, letting go with a sudden hiss as she pulled me into her neck, knicking herself on one of the many cracked sections of my peytral.

“Ow!” She exclaimed mostly as a reflex.

“I’m sorry,” I exclaimed urgently. “I should have removed-”

“It’s fine, Luna. There hasn’t been enough time. And besides, it was brave of you to take that ice bolt for that peasant mare,” Celestia said proudly.

I felt a blush creep across my cheeks. “Yes, well… I could hardly let the fairest flower of any field be trampled, now could I?” I said, revealing a bit too much with my tone.

Ponyfeathers!

Celestia frowned, eyes scrunching in genuine confusion. “Fairest flower?” She asked.

Nope! Not having this conversation now! Or in fact, ever! Nope nope nope. We do not want to lose our one friend!

I cleared my throat, immediately launching into the speech I had prepared to comfort her. “What I meant to say earlier, sister, is I understand you are in pain over the King’s death,” I said perhaps a bit over quickly in my haste to move away from my slip of the tongue. “But he was our father in blood only. Our sire and nothing more. Name one thing he had done for you or I, other than not have us burned at the stake for simply being born. I’ll wager you can not.”

“W-well, he did allow mother to take us on as her apprentices,” Celestia pointed out. “Had this not occurred, with Clover and Mother’s training we could have reached a fairly high position-”

I waved a hoof dismissively. “We both know he agreed to that so he could continue to plow her field while the Queen wasn’t looking,” I said rolling my eyes. “He was our progenitor, but I would say Starswirl is our father by deed. Every cold winter's night since our sixth winter it was his magic which warmed us, his room which kept the snow and windigo at bay. Likewise, Clover is more of a mother to us than our mother is. They have earned our parentage. This…meat before us is of no consequence. It did not want us, save for as a tool to advance himself in status, and to retain a plaything.”

Celestia winced, sighing loudly. “Luna, you’re right. I- I do not like the barbarism shown here. Yes, he was a poor leader. Yes, many ponies were harmed by his decisions… But you were not inside when he fell. I was.”

Ah, yes. Torn and quartered by a mob would be a horrific end to witness.

“I understand,” I admitted. “But he brought it upon himself. I can not remember the last time I heard of a patrol ensuring the safety of a road or village. Now, a noble’s estate, why, I am certain there are soldiers manning many of them right now, who have not yet heard of the Crown changing hooves.”

“He did,” Celestia agreed. “But we could have talked-”

“No, you could not have,” I said, almost laughing. “He would have had your head if you demanded he surrender.”

“Maybe… I am still at about a tenth of my power,” Celestia mused.

It had been a long and draining week. Both of us were depleted and exhausted. And yet, there was still so much to do.

“I think that Equestria has had enough of Kings and Queens,” Celestia mused aloud, a thoughtful look on her face.

“I- Sister! Surely you are not thinking of attempting to-”

Celestia shook her head rapidly. “Of course not! Trottlund’s Parliament is a mad house. Too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the broth. It is the titles of King and Queen I wish to retire. Clover is certain we will not age. It seems unfair for a nation to have an immortal Queen.

“But if we rule under the title of Princess, symbolically we leave room for a higher authority. We could perhaps encourage worship of the old gods by proclaiming Faust the Queen.”

I shook my head rapidly. “That would not go over well. Trust me, I have spent far more time with the peasantry than you. Most of them despise the clergy more than the nobility. I was considering disbanding it.”

Especially since they would stop hanging my potential mates if they no longer existed… Though there was more to that idea than personal gain.

“Then what would you suggest? Assuming you feel the same way about those titles,” Celestia asked.

She sounded and looked quite serious. This was for whatever reasons something she was fixated on… Perhaps she needed a way to make herself feel like she was not participating in the royal slaughter? Yes, that had to have been it.

I thought for a few minutes, nodded in satisfaction, and then said, “We rule under the titles of Princess of the Sun, and Princess of the Moon. Yes, I know I don't actually control the moon, but the poetry in that statement is nice, and dreams are a thing of the night, are they not? This way, should Clover produce more Alicorns, we could add more to the Crown. Assuming we trusted them and needed the help, of course.

“As for the title of King, we abandon it. When we announce this decision we officially proclaim Equestria itself to be Equestria's Queen. Then we clearly send the message that we are here to serve the people and the kingdom.”

Celestia’s smile almost seemed to make the room brighter. “That is a poetic idea, I like it. Yes, that is what we will do,” she decided. “We shall rule over this land for the sake of the land and its inhabitants as equals-”

“No!” I said firmly, eyes widening in horror.

Celestia frowned, looking at me uncertainly. “No?”

“Sister, I have been able to see for less than three weeks,” I explained. “You have fifty-three years of reading and study to your name. You are the one who knows of the ideals behind laws and of alternatives to nearly everything under the sun. Which you yourself command!

“But me? I am rather good at spinning a halberd and splitting the skulls of my enemies. I will gladly rule at your side, but I will need a lot of schooling before I feel confident that I can make a sound decision on the scale of a royal decree. You have never liked battle, allow me to command our armies and serve as a second in command. That way you can catch the flaws in my ideas as I shall have to run them by you.”

Celestia’s frown deepened. “Luna, are you absolutely certain you do not want equal power? The longer it takes for you to catch up, the harder it will be to change the norms of the court to grant you equal power to myself if I am made the… High Princess, I suppose.”

I nodded firmly. “I am very certain. I do not wish to live with the knowledge I brought harm onto thousands of innocents due to my ineptitude. We should each do what we are good at. Let the sun nourish the land and the people, and let the moon keep the darkness at bay.”

Celestia nodded slowly. “Alright. If that’s what you want, that’s how we will do it.”

Night Court, Canterlot - 8th of Solardusk 17 EoH

Present Day

Lyra winced as Luna finished speaking. “Okay, yeah. I see what the problem was there,” she admitted slowly.

Luna laughed. “It’s quite obvious in hindsight, isn’t it? I think that Celestia knew it would wear on me… But unfortunately, I also convinced her in that same moment that I simply didn’t want the responsibilities of setting policy. I did naturally, just not until I knew what I was doing.

“But she was right. It established what ‘normal’ was for our young nation. And set the ball rolling.”

Lyra shuffled her forehooves on the floor for a few moments, clearly holding in a question which Luna politely waited for.

“So um, before you move on… Did you get with that mare you took a spell for?” She asked sounding a bit hopeful.

Luna shook her head in an especially emotionless way. Her face had been pretty, but it had also been thousands of years ago. The fires had long since died.

“No, my first lover wasn’t for another thousand years. I had a second one two thousand years after that… But it would not have worked out well,” Luna admitted. “While Starswirl and Clover would have wished me well with a marefriend back then, I would have been seen as an abomination. Such was the way things were at the time.

“It took Celestia two thousand years after assuming the Crown to get over the bigotry she was taught by the nobles of our birth era. And once she did she changed laws to ensure everypony could find love and live happily. I did not pressure her, or even mention my own desires. She truly changed her mind. It was a wonderful thing,” she explained.

Lyra raised an eyebrow. “Wait, but you said you had a marefriend a thousand years after-”

Luna giggled. “Yes, and she sparked my love of pranks. Amber Dust was an excellent illusionist and actor. Celestia never knew.”

Lyra blinked in surprise, then broke into a grin as she came to understand Luna’s words. “She sounds like she was fun.”

Luna nodded, a sad look flashing across her face. “She was, we will get to her in time… She was one of the...points leading up to my second ascension, as one could call the Nightmare. Shall I continue?”

Lyra nodded eagerly. “Yes please.”

Luna nodded and continued. “The first event on my path came when I wanted to found a small Knight Order bound to loyal service by voluntarily undertaken magically binding oath…”

Watchers in the Dark

Lunar Wing, Everfree Citidel - 15th of Chillfrost 1331 RH

3,864 Years Ago - The First Year

I never had much to do during the nights. It used to be that I slept, or played my dream magic to amuse myself or keep an eye on the surrounding countryside. But after our ascension, my sister and I learned that Alicorns only need sleep if they wish too. Our magic can more than replenish our bodies after a full day, though it does take some energy to do so.

We were young, and sleeping felt like wasting time. So we didn’t, ever. Not once for our first three centuries.

And as for my dream magic, well… It had been amplified to the same degree of Celestia’s talent. I could sense every dream in the world. I couldn’t make sense of it all back then. So I would rarely try. I went from knowing everything about the Dream Realm to realizing all I had known was my own bedroom. It was a greater change than gaining my sight.

With all the time available to me, I would read, catching up on education I could never have gotten before. I learned the art of commanding troops to perfection, at least with the tactics of the day and age. I taught myself sorcery and alchemy, and I also read books and scrolls on political theory.

Which is where the first real argument began. I had read a well-written scroll discussing the behavior of the Prench Aristocracy, and I wished to avoid Equestria turning into a puppet state ruled in truth by a corrupt nobility through a marionette of a king. In my mind, there were too many houses and nobles to keep track of between my sister and I, if we were to also manage the kingdom-wide issues.

So one day, before she opened the Day court, I brought her aside and proposed we found a Knight Order to help us police the nobility and ensure our laws were enforced as we had intended them to be.

Unfortunately, Celestia didn’t see the merits of the idea.

I sighed in frustration. Why could she not understand? The concept is absurdly simple to grasp!

“Sister, please,” I begged. “Listen once more. I shall try and use a parable to explain my point.”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “I understand your point. But there’s no reason to change anything. Lands are already parceled out individually. The land is not shared.”

You infantile lackwit! I grit my teeth, holding in a barbed remark about her lack of wisdom in spite of reading overmuch.

“Let us imagine a great field, rich in nutrients, perfect for growing all manner of plants,” I began. “This field is shared by three farmers who know their craft well. They all grow different crops, and in this case, all of them can share the same space without issue. Their crops may overlap-”

Celestia frowned. “So then… One is producing a fruit, another some sort of vine that can grow on the trees without harming them, and then say… Wheat between the trees?”

“It doesn't matter what they are growing. Only that they can share space,” I explained

Celestia nodded, seemingly understanding.

“Now, as I have said, the farmers are skilled. They know they have the most to gain by sharing the space evenly, then all may plant the most crops. Yet, they recognize that if any of them plant too many crops over all, there will not be enough nutrients in the soil, and not enough water delivered to the plants for them to all grow well,” I continued.

Celestia nodded again. “Yes, Luna. Land must be sectioned off so it can be managed properly. I understood all of this before. There’s no need for a parable.”

“That is not what I am trying to say!” I exclaimed. “Let us say that each farmer does equally well for themselves in this arrangement. They each make five thousand bits every year from their produce. Over time, the apple farmer decides to selfishly plant more apple trees in the field, despite the agreements made and his knowledge of the field’s limits. By doing this, he makes an additional five hundred bits that year.

“But now the field has too many plants within it, and the soil’s quality begins to suffer. Each plant is not quite as hearty and fit as they were the previous year, and so the farmers all loose money. Each farmer loses two hundred bits worth of produce. The Apple farmer, however, still has more money than the others. They have made four thousand eight hundred bits, he has still made the full five thousand he had before, and gained three hundred additional bits.”

Celestia frowned again. “Okay? But what is your point? That ponies get greedy? Of course they do.”

“I have not yet finished,” I explained. “The next year, the apple farmer, knowing he will make more despite his neighbors suffering, plants even more apple trees. The worth of the field’s produce drops yet again, but the apple farmer’s profits grow again. He makes five thousand and five hundred bits. His neighbors lose two hundred more bits and only make four thousand six hundred bits for that year.

“At this point, the other two farmers realize what is going on. They can not afford to continue losing money, for they must pay for their own expenses after all. Fearing losing their livelihoods, they also plant additional crops. Now the field is of so poor quality and nutrient starved that all the farmers are only able to produce enough crops to earn four thousand eight hundred bits each. Because of greed and fear, the value of that field has dropped by six hundred bits, despite holding more crops.”

“Okay, and the point of this whole thing is, what?” Celestia asked me.

Unbelievable! How can you not see the fault in our nation!?

“Greed is inevitable, and fear drives even the most sane and kind to acts they would never normally do. For these reasons, those who are in charge of land must be monitored by others who have the authority to prevent them from acting and to reverse actions they have made, lest those actions cause the value of a nation to drop,” I explained.

Celestia laughed, the sound of her hooves scraping on the stone as she stood up. “Luna, the two of us already exist. We are more than enough to keep the nobles in line. I have to attend Day court. To take care of this very problem. It’s already been solved, my silly sister.”

I stood there fuming at her as she left my chambers. Celestia, you damned fool! The two of us can not be everywhere at once. With but a word of agreement from you I could form a proper order of knights tasked with enforcing the Crown’s will upon the nobility, ensuring they acted for the good of all.

And yet, you seem foolishly content to allow everyone to feel happy despite such potential disasters…

“Feeling safe is not the same as being safe!” I called down the hall after her. “There will be matters we can not personally find!”

“You worry too much, Luna. Equestria will be fine,” Celestia called back before turning around with a sigh. “If worst comes to worst we have the Royal Guard. It’s strong, well trained, and well equipped. Your order would need to be elite warriors to be able to handle nobles who can afford the best training and the best guards.”

I nodded firmly. “Yes, it would. But-”

“We would need to reduce the size of the Royal Guard to make this order. It would get less gold. It would get the second best recruits. It would get less of our attention. This would greatly weaken our army. Luna, you are in charge of our army. You know how tight our budget for them is, you made it.”

“Yes, I do,” I admitted.

“How much would we need to reduce our forces by to fund a Knight Order?” She asked me.

“About one-fifth,” I answered.

“Not worth it,” Celestia said adamantly. “Not while the Changeling Empire still exists. Yes, they are not attacking us now. Yes, they seem to have calmed down after Clover’s victory over them. But they easily could rally and come at us again. We need a strong military.”

I saw the iron look in her eyes, and knew I would not win this debate of ours. Giving Celestia a nod I asked, “Very well, but in the event of our budget increasing, or the Empire dissolving, may I form this order?”

“Perhaps,” Celestia said with a sigh as she turned back around. “I must go to court now. You should attend for a while. There might be someone there who reports some of the very misdeeds you fear. I’m sure that would reassure you.”

Night Court, Canterlot - 8th of Solardusk 17 EoH

Present Day

Lyra shook her head slowly, the last few parts of Luna’s story refusing to settle in her mind. “Are you saying that Celestia believed that ponies with power and no oversight would just sort of, be good?” She asked, every word dripping with incredulity.

Luna sighed. “No,” she replied. “She believed the two of us was more than enough to oversee the aristocracy. The original intention of the Day and Night courts was to allow everyone, peasant or aristocrat to come and plead their cases to us no matter what time it was. Equestria was smaller then, much smaller. It would have been possible for a peasant to walk for a week at most and arrive in the Everfree to inform us of mistreatment. Oh, that’s where the capital was then. It wasn’t cursed yet.”

Lyra nodded, understanding Luna’s point fairly easily. “But you were looking ahead, and realized that once Equestria got bigger, that would be very hard to do,” she confirmed to herself.

“Yes,” Luna replied, shifting slightly in her throne as she attempted to get comfortable. “But more than that, I knew for a fact that not everypony would even know if their provincial leader was breaking a law. We are not all legal scholars. I also feared situations where ponies would be too afraid to act and come to us.

“I have alway seen it as better to root out evil and destroy it before it can do any more harm than to wait for it to grow large enough to announce its presence. Celestia is different. She would rather concentrate efforts and ensure her ponies feel safe and being ready to stop the problems as they come. Neither approach is wrong, I prefer offense, she prefers defense. While I do feel that true safety and vigilance is the key to prosperity, her way has done quite well. Better than I thought it would.”

“But you still don’t think you’re wrong,” Lyra finished for her.

“Quite. Only Celestia could achieve this with her reactionary methods. She is very skilled at what she does, Lyra. She used to always think the best of ponies and was confident that we would have fewer problems than we did. But, I admit her reasoning was sound. If we had created a proper Knighthood to police the nobility, it would have diminished our military strength rather significantly.

“We had much less resources at our disposal back then. Though I believe the remaining funds and recruits would have been enough to defend our nation. On the other hoof, we might not have been able to expand as much as we did. Certainly not as fast. Growth would have slowed, as when we vanquished Discord the land returned to the way it had been before he arrived. As if we finished a game and reset all the pieces to play again,” Luna mused.

“But you think that would be worth better behaved nobility?” Lyra asked, her voice implying she agreed with the notion.

Luna nodded. “Yes. Most of our current problems stem from a deep history of corrupt nobles working for their own gains.”

“Well, I know that a few of them are corrupt, but-”

“Did you know that of the three military academies in Equestria, only one is owned by the Crown?” Luna asked.

Lyra nodded in response.

“Due to pressure from the Nobility, the Royal Academy of Military Sciences and Tactics may only be attended by ponies who have received leadership awards in the guard, and have served for two decades,” Luna said, voice dripping with venom. “At which point, if they became an officer, they would take a seventy-five percent pay cut, as junior officers are paid less than sergeants. This is because it is intended to be a rank to be held by the young who have just begun their careers. A sergeant meanwhile is a mid-career rank for the enlisted.

“This ensures that few ponies use the Royal Academy. Which effectively eliminates it as competition for the other two. They are owned by two noble families and charge a steep sum for their services. This bars ponies with poor families from becoming officers, unless they are willing to make very little money, or take out massive and often crippling loans.

“Celestia allowed this after being persuaded it would be a good idea by an extremely charismatic pegasus. And she can not reverse it because bureaucracy increases as the years go on. Our legal powers were once unlimited, but now they have been bound. We no longer have the authority to stop many wrongdoings due to being bound by the laws we ourselves created. But we could have made an agency that answered only to us, and who would have all legal rights to prevent injustices in the first place.”

“T-there’s lots of things like that. Aren't there?” Lyra asked slowly.

Luna nodded. “Far too many. But, all nations have their problems. True perfection is unobtainable. Though you can get very close. I can not blame Celestia for having a nation with problems… But I can blame her for having a nation with problems that could have been prevented. If only she-”

Luna took a deep breath and held it for some time before letting it out slowly. “Let’s avoid getting me angry over things I cannot change… You understand my point. Would you like me to continue?”

“Yes please,” Lyra answered. “I think I’m starting to understand, but I’d like to hear the whole story. Just, you know. Try not to get pissed off. Please.”

“I’ll be fine as long as I don’t dwell on the issues as long as I did with that one. It’s okay,” Luna promised.

Lyra nodded slowly. “Well, alright. If you say so. Before we move on… What would your Knights have been like? Are my friends and I like, you know… Your second shot?”

Luna snickered. “No. You’re knights under me, yes, but not remotely anything like what I wanted to establish. Still want to establish infact. Have you ever been to Prance?”

Lyra shook her head no.

“Mmm… Too bad. Take Les Chevaliers de L'éternité, remove the necromancy, and that would be close,” Luna said casually.

“Uh, necromancy?” Lyra said fearfully, one eye widening in surprise.

“Yes. It’s not a forbidden art there. The Chevaliers de L'éternité pledge their service eternally. And they mean it. They are buried on the border, so that if someone passes over them with hostile intent, they reanimate, then kill them, and then return to their graves,” Luna explained.

“Okay, so uh, could you not send me to Prance?” Lyra asked nervously. “Like, ever?”

Luna shook her head slowly and smiled before reaching over to put a reassuring hoof onto Lyra’s shoulder. “Nopony messes with Prance. There’s no point, they are happy to remain neutral. We won't ever be going there on any non-peaceful business,” Luna promised.

Lyra nodded gratefully, letting out a sigh of relief. “Good! But um, since I have no idea what those guys are…”

“Oh!” Luna exclaimed with a laugh. “Let’s see, take a willing pony. Then, using magic, remove their ability to feel fear and enforce their loyalty. A thing which would be a moral crime if not for their agreement to such a sacrifice. I would take these ponies who gave themselves to Equestria and clad them in the greatest armor the age could supply. Arm them with the most useful weapons and spells, trained tactics, and strategies, so as to give them no equals on the field of battle. Then these ponies would defend the ideals and spirit of the law and uphold justice in even the darkest corners of the kingdom.”

Lyra nodded. “I could get behind that… But let’s not get too far off topic, though this is pretty interesting.”

“Yes. Back to the story,” Luna agreed, reclining in her throne. “Our next major conflict came a thousand years later. We had countless smaller spats in those thousand years, but nothing which really drove us apart. Largely because the Kingdom of Equestria was on a forced hiatus. For that was when Discord first arrived.”

Sanctity of the Mind

Throne Room, The Castle of the Two Sisters - 13st of Megan 2550 RH

2,645 Years Ago - The True Beginning

To say that this particular day was a joyous occasion is to severely understate the actuality of the event. The last millennia had seen our entire kingdom engulfed within literal chaos. The laws of nature and magic had meant little if anything to anypony for the entire time. The mad god Discord had used and abused our land and our people for whatever ends he desired, exactly like a foal in a sandbox.

Had.

We defeated him in the end. The means was convoluted, complicated, and would require at least three texts to properly explain. The long and short of the matter is we gained a super weapon with the assistance of a friend, at the cost of another.

While Clover’s death had been tragic, she had died a thousand years ago, just after the beginning. We had long since had our time to mourn her. Though one small detail did bother me.

As our combined wills petrified the malevolent trickster god, everything he had done was reverted. The entirety of our nation reset to exactly the state it had been in before he arrived. With the lone exception of the Elements of Harmony existing, Clover remaining dead, and my sister and I’s knowledge of the events.

Those who had been alive when the chaos began lived once more. Those born during the chaos were nowhere to be found. It was as if time had undone itself, yet a look at the outside world showed it remained the same. Our kingdom had been reset.

Which made it odd to me that our weapon remained, the petrified ‘statue’ of Discord remained where it had been ‘made’, and Clover stayed dead. I had my suspicions we would find other things which had not been reset after enough time spent looking. To me, this smelled of an entity we could never fully comprehend playing a game with us and then being a twisted sort of gentlecolt about losing.

But in the meantime, we had cause to celebrate. We renamed the month in which our kingdom had been liberated after our now departed friend, and spent the last five days organizing a celebration. Not that anypony else knew why. Though plenty believed us, we were one of the most trustworthy sources of information at the time.

“Luna,” Celestia said as she looked over towards me, having been in long thought.

She probably wanted my opinion on whatever new change to tomorrows’ feast’s menu she had concocted.

“Yes, sister?” I replied, waiting for her thoughts.

“When we used the Elements, did you feel any link to them? Any means by which you could guide their actions?” She asked cryptically.

I shook my head. “Not at all. I only felt them drawing upon my magic and will as Megan said they would. I served as one of the keys for their lock. That is all.”

Celestia nodded. “I see… Then my suspicions must be correct. Whoever is chosen to wield the Element of Magic dictates what the Elements’ spell itself will do.”

“Y-you mean you intentionally chose to turn him to stone?” I asked, ears and tail raising in surprise. “Did you also restore our-”

“No, I didn’t restore it. I’m not sure if the Elements are that powerful,” Celestia mused. “But I did think about turning him to stone as I was unsure how one might kill a god. But I figured he could be contained, or stopped.”

I nodded slowly. “Well, if we are fortunate, we will never have to use them again. But it is good you are learning how they function. One can not tell what the future holds.”

“That is true,” Celestia agreed. “Which leads me to a thought… Would it not have been better to have Discord as a friend, or loyal servant?”

“Well, yes. Of course,” I began stopping mid-thought as what Celestia was implying hit me full in the face. “I- Bu- NO!”

Celestia took a step back at my sudden outburst, ears flattening. “Sister, what’s wrong? You look as if-”

I felt my wings flare as my shock and rage at the extreme injustice Celestia had just considered burned in my core. “The mind is a sacred place, Celestia! I- The- There are not even proper words to convey how wrong forcing- You yourself outlawed mind-controlling magics!

She nodded. She actually nodded!

“I did,” Celestia agreed. “Because they are likely to be abused and to harm those they are used upon. If you read the law in full rather than its summery you would know I only outlawed it for those not working with the Crown’s express permission to use it, and established an application system for a case by case approval so that our constables and licensed therapists may still use such magics if they need to.”

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself enough to think rationally and refute her argument.

“And you think that will keep such things from being abused?” I demanded. “One’s decisions must be one’s own. The mind is the one thing you have that can truly be called your own. No force in the world should have the power or authority to forcibly change what you believe or think. It’s not right!”

“Perhaps,” Celestia said in a dismissive way, “but it is certainly better than killing.”

I felt a vein in my left eye throbb. “Sister, tell me you are joking!”

“I’m serious, Luna. If we kill our enemies, what does that teach them? What can they then go on to do to benefit society? Nothing, they are dead. We ended their life, their potential. By killing them we are removing potential good. With the Elements, we have a safe way to invert their hearts desires and bring them to serve the common good,” Celestia said firmly.

The rage rolled and boiled, breaking free of my attempts to hold it back. “Every word you have said here are those of a fool! There is a line Celestia, and you just crossed it!”

“What line?” Celestia snapped back.

“A moral line!” I retorted,.“Killing ends life, but is just a tool. It is not right or wrong in and of itself. By killing those who use their power to harm others for their own gain, you bring more good into the world than you take from it via the sword. But if you reach out and break the mind of another to force your will upon them, regardless of your reasoning or intent, you have committed a truly monstrous act. A truly good person brings others to their side by example, not by removing free choice!”

Celestia’s ears parked, lips forming a small ‘o’ shape as she came to a realization. Thank Faust, perhaps she could finally see the truly reprehensible-

“I’m not saying we should use the Elements on any and every lawbreaker, Luna. Only those of a power and threat similar to Discord. We are throwing an opportunity away if we don't bring them to our side,” she said in a simple explanatory voice.

By all that is bucking good! What in Tartarus had gotten into my sister?!

I stood and stared at her, my mouth agape for several long moments.

“If you intend to dominate the minds of anyone directly, then I shall never help you activate those things again! Regardless of circumstance,” I informed in the most ironclad way I could manage.

Celestia sighed. “I am certain you will change your mind should we experience another disaster of Discord’s scale.”

“I will not!” I said firmly, wheeling around, hooves scraping the stone as I marched to my chambers. “Speak to me again when this evil is no longer in your mind!”

Night Court, Canterlot - 8th of Solardusk 17 EoH

Present Day

Lyra winced, rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof. “So uh… Yeah… I know you two reformed like four people with the Elements back in the day… That had to be a mess,” she said slowly.

Luna nodded, her face barely holding back a wrathful sneer. “Yes. She tricked me four times into thinking she was going to simply imprison them. Four times. That is how much I trust my sister, Lyra. She was able to fool me four times into doing something reprehensible before I found a means to renounce my connection to my Elements. I could not take part in that monstrous evil anymore.”

Lyra nodded slowly. “Then um… When it comes to Twi-”

Luna’s eyes shut tight for a moment, her body trembling as her dark blue fur rippled, turning as black as the night sky for a heartbeat. Lyra’s frightened yelp echoing off the walls bringing an end to the budding change.

“It’s alright! It’s alright… I’ve got it under control. That has been building up for some time. But it's fine now,” Luna called urgently.

“A-are you sure? We can stop. Like, I want to know but it’s totally not worth making you go ballistic!” The knight insisted.

Luna shook her head. “We can continue. Nothing else is as enraging as this single issue for me. I… I’m sure you have noticed Twilight’s oddities. She is a very nice young mare, and truly a genius with magic but, well, I’m sure you know.”

Lyra nodded. “Yeah, she’s a bit dumb at everything else. But that’s okay, we all have our talents and drawbacks. Besides, she’s very nice. Did you know she paid for a second honeymoon for Bonbon and I? She felt bad after hearing our first one was reading books on the couch. We went to Mareland for a week, it was a blast!”

“Right,” Luna agreed. “There is nothing wrong with how she is. But when she truly can't understand many of the common elements of normal social behavior… The simplistic way she views the world… Everything is black and white to Twilight. There is not a single shade of gray in her world. And the way even a single thing being out of her normal experience can break her mind entirely.”

Luna shook her head bitterly. “Did you know she once put the entire town of Ponyville under a compulsion hex just because-”

“She thought her homework was late,” Lyra muttered. “Yeah, I know. She got me with that one. Tartarus she got Bonbon too… Everypony in fact.”

“Precisely!” Luna exclaimed in exasperation. “I’m not saying she can’t be a hero, she is, and she is also remarkably good at governing Ponyville. Her oddities make her far better at some things than a normal pony could ever hope to be. However, her mind is easily steered by those she respects due to her simple view of the world’s nuances. She sees my sister as a Goddess who can do no wrong.

“Which means Princess Celestia is content using a mare incapable of seeing her flaws as a weapon… Every time Twilight has broken the sanctity of another’s mind she has been but the arrow. Celestia has always been the archer. To her, Twilight is the means to use the Elements as she always wanted to… It sickens me.”

Lyra nodded, clearly understanding, but her expression showing nothing about her own thoughts regarding the matter.

“If you are that opposed to Celestia’s methods and morals… Why are you still here? Why not leave?” Lyra asked, each word ringing with genuine confusion.

Luna looked up at the ceiling with a sigh. “Because despite this deep, dark, and clear flaw, she is still my sister. She is the one friend I have had since fillyhood. The one friend I have had before I was a person of power. When your fond memories of somepony go back as long as you can remember, and you can remember millennia… It’s very hard for me to hate her. Though I do hate things about her, I still love my sister.

“You see… I hope that she can change further. She has changed her mind on many issues over the long years. Perhaps one day she will see that this is wrong and seek to make amends for her actions. I deeply regret attacking my sister as the Nightmare. I do not regret attacking the Princess as the Nightmare, and were she not my sister, I would do so again. This is the only reason I have not killed Celestia for her evil deeds. And the only reason I did not attack her on the spot that very day."

“Because you know she can change?” Lyra asked.

“No. Because she is my sister, and I have a strong emotional attachment to her,” Luna corrected. “In theory, anyone can change. But it’s extremely unlikely, especially for those with extreme views or extreme age. Which is why destroying evil is the best option as it is almost certainly the way to save the most lives… Actually, that’s the next issue we need to go over. A few hundred years later Tirek attacked Equestria for the first time. If I had my way it would have been the only time.”

Foolish Mercy

Battlefield, Eastern Equestria - 21st of Snowfall 2559 RH

2,636 Years Ago - The Renneighsaunce

I panted in breathless agony, each small movement bringing the searing pain with it. But the pain was worth every agonizing moment because the monster lay defeated before us. The fresh burns across my right side would fade away within weeks. The cities slain by this demon would not be so fortunate. But at least he would devourer no more souls on this or any other day.

Tirek, once monstrously large and powerful, lay before me, diminished in both size and power so as to be a dry husk. The likes of which would barely be taller than me if he could stand. Celestia’s strategy had been brilliant, commendable even. Forcing him to burn through his absorbed magic with hit and run tactics, won this day.

All that remained was to ensure that this monster would never again raze a city and consume the very essence of its people.

Not trusting a direct blast from my magic to slay the centaur, I reached out with my magic, pulling my halberd to me from where it had been flung mid-battle. The ancient weapon had served me well, and as I raised it to behead my defeated foe I felt a sense of satisfaction. Equestria would soon be markedly safer.

“Do it,” Tirek wheezed. “Show me you have the guts to kill, pony!”

“As you wish,” I replied.

I reared up, grabbing my weapon with my forehooves. It would be foolish to even let the magic enabling my telekinesis to come into contact with-

A blazing line of orange-red, magma-like energy, surged upwards from the ground, peeling open into a rectangular doorway into the heart of a black abyss filled with obsidian spires. I nearly dropped my halberd in horror, dreading the thought of a dozen more beasts such as Tirek surging from the gaping portal. Instead, a great wind blew, picking up Tirek and dragging him along towards the open gate, claws scratching lines in the dirt as he feebly resisted the wind which seemed to ignore me.

While I sought to understand what my eyes were telling me, Tirek plunged through the portal.

“Fools! I will find a way back!” He screamed, the portal oozing closed as he disappeared into the abyss which lay beyond it.

“Heh, I think not,” Celestia laughed from a place behind me as the portal closed.

“I… but…” I stammered, halberd falling from my hooves as I finally comprehended what had just occurred.

“Do you like it? I’ve been working on banishment spells for some time,” Celestia said in relief. “I wasn’t sure if the spell was complete. But our friend’s trip to Tartarus would indicate it’s more than ready for use.”

“He’s going to get out!” I exclaimed, still in shock. “Sister, he can come back! There are natural portals to Tartarus!”

“Yes, but that reality is infinitely large. I made sure the prison I built in it is millennia away from any natural portal to our lands,” Celestia said in a tone I believed was meant to be soothing.

“Why would you- You saw what he did to Reigns!” I protested, turning around slowly.

Celestia nodded, slipping her helmet off her head with a pulse of her golden magic in order to stretch her neck. “Of course I did. I was with you, wasn’t I?”

“But, but you imprisoned him!” I protested.

“Everyone deserves a second chance, Luna. Perhaps after a few thousand years of Tartarus’ natural torments, he will be ready to leave. If not, we can keep him there until he is willing to change. Without any of that mind alteration you hate so much,” Celestia explained. “Do you need healing? I can do it if you can’t.”

“Sister!” I exclaimed, the shock wearing off. “I understand your aversion to killing. I do, I really really do. But it’s a necessary part of ensuring the safety of any civilization! That’s why I kill monsters like him. How many thousands died in the last three days? How many thousands more will die if he escapes? This is beyond foolish!”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “Hardly,” she disagreed. “I’ve constructed a rather secure arcane and physical prison to keep creatures banished via this spell contained. We can keep twenty creatures as strong as Tirek contained easily, and that’s before the improvements I plan on making. Think about it, we can remove our enemies from the world, but allow them the chance to earn a new life. It’s a moral win for everyone involved, even them.

Sometimes I felt I just had to love my sister’s naive and foolhardy nature. This was not one of those times.

“You seriously intend to take all of our greatest threats and throw them all into a single pit?” I asked, pleading with my eyes for her to see the idiocy in that without me needing to point it out.

“It’s not a pit!” Celestia objected, scowling at me as she spoke. “It’s an extra-dimensional heavily warded prison complex with isolation cells. Designed to break those monsters down so they can be remade into friends. That’s a superior system both morally and logistically! You can’t just kill everyone who opposes you. Prisons are good.”

I nodded. I agreed with her there, I really honestly did. “Yes, sister, prisons are good,” I agreed. “But there is a point where they are too much of a threat to innocents to imprison or let go free! When they can disintegrate entire towns with a thought they must be destroyed for the sake of the commoner. How many lay dead or stripped of their magic from just the last HOUR of his rampage? Thousands! Thousands, Celestia!”

Celestia let out an exasperated growl. “Luna, I have had it up to here with your bloodlust!” She exclaimed holding her hoof up to her throat. “Prisons are morally superior to killing. I understand you are worried about escapes. But I assure you it’s not possible. Tell you what, if I take the effort to train appropriate guard beasts to supplement my wards, will you stop insisting we kill every last living thing that crosses us? People make mistakes! Death is such a final thing! It’s one thing to kill in the heat of battle when your own life is at stake, or as a preemptive strike against a massed army ready to attack, but to do it elsewhere… That’s wrong. If you kill like that, you are as bad as they are!”

“If you kill like that you are as bad as they are!?” I asked in stunned disbelief, taking a step backward in my shock.

“Yes!” Celestia insisted firmly, looking at me like I was a total idiot.

“H-how?” I demanded. “How does killing someone who murders casually and randomly, make the world a worse place? It removes evil from it and ensures it can never come back. It is good, right, and proper to destroy evil and ensure it can never return!”

“I do not feel as you do!” Celestia exclaimed throwing her hooves up in exasperation. “You will not change my mind about this. I will not kill a helpless opponent.”

“Then at least let me do what is just and right so you don’t have to!” I pleaded.

“No!” Celestia shouted. “We are a nation of law and order. If you kill someone in front of me who is not our enemy and can not fight back, so help me Luna, I will charge you with murder and bring you to justice. End of discussion!”

Celestia vanished in a flash of gold magic, teleporting away. I hated it when she ended debates like that.

Night Court, Canterlot - 8th of Solardusk 17 EoH

Present Day

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Lyra exclaimed. “I’ve never read about you two disagreeing on the banishment policy in any history book.”

“Of course you haven’t. We didn’t write that sort of thing down,” Luna explained with an irritated sigh. “If we did allow people to know we venomously disagreed on that matter, it would have weakened the Crown’s overall position. And we were already beginning to face the effects of not keeping a proper frog on the nobility.”

“So… What else was lost to history?” Lyra asked suspiciously.

“Nothing important, merely our personal grievances against one another. I know this story makes it sound like we always despised each other, but we did still care. We made up after a few days,” Luna admitted. “But by this point, I had the seed that became the Nightmare planted. It was clear to me that Celestia would never implement any of my ideas, save for the most trivial of matters.

“I was her general, her dog of war. It was the norm for me to not dictate policy, save for the rare circumstance, but instead to inspect the troops and look to the outside world to secure our nation. While I was largely fine with that, I felt our people were suffering needlessly… And if I might make a point, they really were and still are.

“Literally every villain Twilight has ever faced has been one Celestia has faced before. She is even now confronted with the evidence that her policy does not work, yet she sticks to her ideals. And of course, her protege follows in her exact hoof steps.”

Lyra held one hoof up in a calming gesture, frowning slightly at her close friend. “Easy, Luna… It’s alright.”

Luna smiled. “I’m fine Lyra. And for the record, as the Nightmare, I would never harm you. I’m still myself, with all my memories and thoughts. I am just… Impossibly angry. But that rage and hatred is focused. I’d only hurt you if you got in the way of me attempting to destroy the target of my anger.”

Lyra nodded slowly. “Right… But as a knight of Equestria I’d have to stop you. I may be your bodyguard but the oath says to protect her too.”

Luna smiled widely. “Good girl! That’s why I like you as a friend Lyra. You’re not afraid to stand up to anyone.”

“You’re not mad?” Lyra asked in surprise.

“Of course not,” Luna laughed. “I wrote that oath you know. I’d be mad if you would blindly side with me against your sworn duty. Now if you came to me with a valid list of grievances and asked to be released from your oath in whole or in part, then it would be a different story. And speaking of story… Shall I continue?”

Lyra thought about it for a few moments, then nodded deciding that Luna wasn’t being unduly angered by the subject at hoof. “Alright. But don’t keep going if it’s going to piss you off past the point of no return, okay?”

“You have my word I will not,” Luna soothed. “The next thing that happened is related to King Sombra. It doesn't involve our defeat of him, that went smoothly. But it gave me a taste of the kinds of ponies that Celestia’s rule had placed into power…”

Rebuked for Grieving

I sat in my armchair, feeling alone for the first time in a century. While I did have my relationship with my sister, bumpy as it could be at times, her running the kingdom meant we rarely if ever had time to be a family these days. That had all been amended by my first love. Amber Dust, the most charming performer I had ever met, and easily the best chess player.

Assuming she wasn’t cheating with her skillful illusions, that is.

She easily could be. I still remembered the first time she had shown me what she could really do. It had been after I’d come to her sobbing about how my sister would never accept our relationship. She’d simply transformed into a stallion in the blink of an eye and said ‘Well that would be a problem if she thought I was a mare. We had breakfast this morning when I asked to court you. She said yes.’

If I hadn’t had her in my bed before, I would have been fooled myself. She definitely could teach the two of us a thing or two on illusions. I was quite certain even Starswirl could learn at least three things from her.

I would have loved a lesson right now. Because it would mean she was here. With me. In my chambers. And therefore not traveling to Trottingham on business. She’d been gone for only three hours and I already felt like it had been a century. An impressive feat of emotional distress, even for someone who thought of centuries as decades at this point in her life.

A sudden knock on my chamber door caught my attention, forcing me out of my melancholy for a brief moment as I hoped Amber decided not to go after all.

“Come in!” I said happily.

“My Princess,” a page announced as my chamber doors creaked open. “A message has arrived for you from King Sombra of the Crystal Empire.”

Two ponies walked in, placing a dark wooden chest the size of my barrel and shoulders down on the floor near my seat before bowing politely.

“Are you sure it is meant for me?” I asked suspiciously. “I understood that my sister and I were handling the negotiations together.”

“His herald clearly stated this was for you, as head of the Equestrian Army, m’lady,” the page informed, bowing again as he and the two porters left the room, closing the door behind them.

To most that might seem suspicious. But I had long ago insisted that I be the only one present when I read any mail addressed to me. Exception to Celestia, Amber, and whoever my second in command was at the time. There was no need for prying eyes to learn of things before I had a chance to prepare a proper response.

I turned my attention to the box. It was rather off of him to send a chest. Celestia and I knew little about the Crystal King. His nation was fairly isolationist, and what little I did hear was about lots of grand architecture and arcane accomplishments. He seemed normal enough, just a tad aggressive.

For the last four months he had been massing his troops on our northern border. Not in a way as to indicate an immediate attack, more to present a show of force. Much like the griffons would do on occasion before sending a representative to negotiate for something. He seemed to have the same sort of territorial nature and aggression as they did.

And that’s all right. I could hardly fault somepony for being a touch aggressive.

Several weeks ago, Celestia and I had sent him a letter asking him to please remove his troops, explaining we understood his nation was strong and we did not need to be reminded of such things. Along with an invitation to a private meeting to discuss anything he might require.

It would be a reasonable diplomatic move to make a display of wealth after a show of force. This could be a chest of gold or a few spellbooks. While that would be reasonable, why deliver it to me? Celestia would be the one to receive such a thing.

Perhaps he assumed the Supreme Commander was the highest power of Equestria? It’s not like he had much diplomatic contact with us before. Yes, that would be reasonable. I’d simply examine the chest and contents then bring it to Celestia.

I worked the chest’s latch with my magic and opened the lid. I immediately gasped at the foul smell, immediately becoming horrified at what might lay under the parchment nestled atop the boxes contents.

I tentatively went to move the parchment, noticing it bore the words ‘With love, Sombra’ along with a wax seal to mark it as an official document for whatever reason.

Please be some regional food… Please be some regional food… I repeated to myself as I moved the parchment aside.

Inside the box was Amber’s head.

Night Court, Canterlot - 8th of Solardusk 17 EoH

Present Day

“THE BUCK!?” Lyra screamed in complete and utter disbelief.

“Sombra killed her, and sent me her head in a box as a declaration of war,” Luna repeated.

Lyra’s jaw seemed to refuse to close for a full minute before she angrily and disgustedly sputtered. “What kind of Tournament of Crowns bullshit- WHY!?”

Luna looked down at the floor for a few long moments. “When dealing with monsters such as Sombra, the why is always the same. To break your mind for their amusement. I can remember little of the rest of the week. I remember gathering the army and leading a strike force into the heart of the Crystal Empire, but not the details.

“I remember driving my halberd through Sombra’s skull after the hardest battle of my life, despite Celestia’s protests, only for him to turn to smoke and vanish along with his entire capital city… The rest of the Empire literally turning to ash the moment he left. That’s all. The rest is an all-consuming rage beyond even the Nightmare's comprehension.”

Lyra shook her head in disbelief, staring off into the distance. “I-I can’t even… I don’t know how to tell you… I sympathize. If someone did that to Bonbon, I’d… I don’t even know what I might do,” she rambled.

“That’s not even the part which pushed me towards the Nightmare,” Luna said casually.

“What!?” Lyra snapped disbelievingly.

“You had to know who Amber was and that she died violently for that part to make sense,” Luna informed. “You see…”

Lunar chambers, The Castle of the Two Sisters - 24th of Midwinter 2828 RH

2,376 Years Ago - The Renneighsaunce

It had been just over a week since I had sort of avenged Amber. It was impossible to know for sure. Celestia seemed to think he had invoked some form of necromancy to revive himself later and was investigating the situation.

To my surprise, she apologized for insisting I spare him. She understood, and for once she had said that in her mind, my actions were justified.

A nice change of pace. If only I had been even one notch above the absolute bottom of depression. I might have appreciated her sentiments.

At least my sister was actively searching for necromancy tomes to try and identify what the smoke form might have meant. That might amount to something. It would be nice to preserve his body and use it for a chamber pot holder.

A flash of green and accompanying whiff of sulfur alerted me as several letters arrived via Dragonfire candles. I hadn’t attended the Night Court in days. Maybe a week. I didn’t know. It had to be scribes or clerks asking me to work on something. The letters had been coming for three days, now there were a full fifteen stacked up atop my writing desk.

Deciding I needed to at least try and find a distraction I stood up and walked slowly to the desk. Picking up the first letter with my magic I opened it, doing a double take at the contents.

It was short, angry, and bitter. A noblemare whose proposal was unable to be heard in the Day court had come to the Night Court and I had not been there. So she was livid, insisting that justice had not been served to her as she was entitled to be served properly.

I flame of rage welled up in my heart. How dare she! Did she not know what I was going through?

I tossed the letter aside and opened the next. Aside from the name and wording, it was identical. Another noble angered by me not being in court. The same was true of every last one of the fifteen letters.

By the fourth letter I had concluded that something had gone wrong in communication with the nobility. I was taking a leave of absence. My mate had just died. They couldn’t have known. If they had they would not have been so rude. Surely that would be impossible.

Picking up my quill and ink, I quickly composed a letter explaining the entirety of the month's events. It hurt to write it all down, but at the same time I felt a little sense of closure from the situation. The beginnings of the first step in beginning to think about starting to go through with being happy again.

Or maybe it was just a hunger pain.

Once the letter had been written I performed a simple copying charm to duplicate it and sent a copy to each noble who had written me using my own Dragonfire candle. As the letters vanished I felt a sense of ease. Surely they would spread the word and I could have another month or two to return to a properly functional state.

Fifteen minutes later, I received my first reply.

Luna Solaris,

The details of your personal life are of no interest to me, nor of any importance to anypony of importance. It is your duty to hear the cases Princess Celestia will not and can not. You will perform this duty without fail or I shall use all means available to me in order enforce the law as it is written.

Sincerely,[\right]

Lord Scarlet Cloud Jr. Esquire

For the first time, I felt part of the love for my nation wither. The other replies came in one by one over the course of the evening. The other fourteen nobles shared Lord Cloud’s sentiments. The love for Equestria began to die.

Night Court, Canterlot - 8th of Solardusk 17 EoH

Present Day

“I have no words,” Lyra said as Luna paused, knowing she would react to that part of her story.

“Nor did I,” Luna replied bitterly. “You see now what happens when nobles are largely unopposed, right? Had I been allowed to make my order, the knowledge that they would likely get caught if they tried to get away with taking the law into their own hooves or perverting the law for their own gain would have prevented such disrespect and lack of common decency.

“The nobility’s opinions of me have hardly changed since then. Naturally, with having been gone for a thousand years I have nothing to really work from for their respect… But that should mean I’m not looked down on either.”

“There has to be some noble family that appreciates you,” Lyra said desperately.

“Oh sure, most younger ponies noble or not at least see me naturally or a bit positively. And three of the sixty-eight houses do like me just fine,” Luna said with a smile. “Clan Bassalt is one of them. They have been loyal and supportive to me since… Since I was a young filly, actually. I used to hang out all the time at a tavern they ran. Well, turned out it was a brothel… But at the time I thought it was a tavern. Blind and what not.”

Luna smiled and shook her head slightly at the memories from her distant past. “Would you like a happy memory as a brief aside?”

Lyra nodded. “Please… this got real dark.”

“Had I been able to see, or even found out that my beloved fillyhood hang out was in actuality an underground lesbian club, I would have been able to easily find a lover the moment I came of age,” Luna chuckled. “Instead, for years and years I was the owner’s ‘spiritual niece’ as she put it. When Celestia and I were given the throne, other heads rolled too, and my ‘spiritual aunt’, a full blooded Thestral, wound up in charge of her clan. That clan being Bassalt. Yes, it sounds like the name of the stone, but the slightly drawn out ess sound, that makes it the Nocturn word for ‘ironclad’.

“Her clan has supported me loyally ever since. They even kept up the Night Patrol illegally when the Night Court and other projects of mine were disbanded after my banishment. There were even the beginnings of a plan to build a ladder to get me down, before mages worked out the distance to the moon, and well, physics said no.

“I do have my supporters and loyal hearted ponies. But when they are less than one percent of a nation, and the majority despises you… You tend to lose sight of what blessings you do have.

“And that feeling, along with the reality that created it, only got worse with time. This next part is- Well, it’s a typical event of the next thousand years which went by.”

Constant Disagreement

Dining Hall, Castle of the Two Sisters - 13st of Solar Dawn 4101 RH

1,057 Years Ago - The Late Renneighsaunce

Soup. It’s simple. It’s good. Everypony likes some form of it or another. A good bowl of soup can completely change your outlook on a day.

Or at least, it could for me. And at least it could today.

I’d just had to spend several hours explaining to some prissy noble mare that no, I do not spy on her dreams to steal her family fortune. Apparently being half of the Crown, half of the force that legally owns everything within this nation, means I desire to rob my tenants of what is technically my own property which they rent. From me.

I don’t consider the nation my property. But legally, it is. I own half of everything.

How in the deepest pits of Tartarus can you present a legal case as she did and not know that your wealth is the Crowns, and you exist as its servant to assist the Crown in serving the nation and her people?

I was getting too old for this nonsense. Ponyfeathers, a nine second old foal was too old for this nonsense. This sort of arrogant self serving idiocy would never have happened if Celestia had allowed me to found various institutions to keep the nobility in line!

“Oh, that’s right,” Celestia said from across the table. “The Base Needs Decree went into effect today. There will likely be nobles complaining about it. Just brace yourself, it will be fine.”

Base needs Decree? I searched my mind for several long moments, trying to recall anything about that.

Nope. Nothing. Not one thing. This was happening all too often…

“I don’t remember being told about this Decree,” I informed.

Celestia frowned. “I know you didn’t help draft it, but I told you. I must have. I’ve been working on it for forty years now.”

Forty years might seem like a long time to the average pony. But to us… Not so much. Forty years is an amount of time that can slip past you because you've devoted yourself to a single hobby or goal.

“I’ve been developing better weaponry for our battlemages for the last thirty or so years,” I said calmly trying not to be upset at her and assume the best. “If you did tell me, it had to be before then. I can’t remember any details.”

Celestia frowned, her expression betraying the fact that she realized she hadn’t told me. Again. Hopefully it wasn’t a major change to policy. It usually wasn’t.

“Er, well how about I tell you about it now?” She asked.

“Please do,” I said, pushing my soup away from myself slowly.

Lunch was over with.

“Well, you were right,” Celestia began.

I felt my eyes nearly pop out of my head.

Me?

Right?

Her admit me being?

I steepled my hooves in front of myself on the table. “About what, dear sister?” I asked in a tone that was perhaps a bit more aroused sounding than it should have been.

But then again, it was VERY nice to hear her say I was right about something.

“The two of us can’t keep an eye on every problem caused by the nobility,” she explained, thankfully ignoring me accidental display of joy. “Unfortunately at this stage of Equestria, your knights idea will not work. Implementing such a thing would likely cause a civil war. And additionally, it’s not all nobles just a few.

“Some of my assistants found out that a few provinces have been underpaying their workers. Forcing them to buy their goods exclusively from the noble houses who employ them. It’s effectively slavery, and it needs to not only stop, but not be possible.”

“I fully agree!” I said firmly. “Let me have the houses names and their heads shall be put on display as an example while your Decree prevents such evil in the future!”

“Unfortunately,” Celestia admitted sadly. “We can’t do that. This was and still is a perfectly legal thing to do. Each of the Houses applied for an adjustment of the laborer’s standard wage for their province and got the lower amounts approved. There are valid reasons why a province can’t afford to pay the national average wage. I can not abolish that system. However I have fixed the problem. It no longer matters if anypony is underpaid for their work thanks to the Basic Needs Decree.”

“How so?” I asked tentatively.

“From this day onwards,” she began, “the Crown, through several financial institutions and trade networks, will use a Royal Trade Company not only as an employment program for those who can not find work, but also as a means of income to pay each citizen a-”

I jumped up from the table in shock, knocking my chair over in the process. “Pay each citizen? What is this nonsense?” I demanded.

“It’s not nonsense!” Celestia shouted defensively. “I’ve worked it out. The last twenty years have been setting up the various banks and trade agreements. Every citizen gets payed a small sum every month. It’s not very much, but it is enough to provide one pony with survival rations and a small sum for shelter.

“This means nopony will be working for subsistence anymore. Everypony can eat and have shelter. Now they work not to live, but to gain the funds to have a better life. Nopony will starve. I thought you would like that!”

“Oh! Oh, thank goodness,” I sighed in relief. “I thought you meant every citizen was being given currency. But if it’s a food rations and shelter voucher-”

“No. It’s bits,” Celestia corrected. “It allows for-”

I closed my eyes tightly as I tried to contain my outburst to the minimum levels.

“It allows for addicts to forgo food and purchase drugs!” I exploded. “It allows for a stallion to not work and drink themselves to death. It allows for mares to never work because they simply have more and more foals to receive the payments! You’ve just destroyed our entire economy and labor force!”

“I have not!” Celestia shouted back, ears laying flat. “I have put YEARS of study and thought into this plan. Nopony will make enough to be happy, ONLY enough to live on. What’s more, our little ponies ENJOY working. They enjoy being useful. All this will do is take those who are already being lazy out of the workforce, increasing production by removing delays and keeping foals from starving to death.”

“Bandits are going to have a field day collecting the wagons of bits heading to every village!” I retorted.

“Not at all! We changed to a Neighponese style banking system four years ago? Remember?” Celestia exclaimed rolling her eyes.

Now that she mentioned it, I did remember that. That had been another argument… And I was still getting used to the new banking system.

I even still had my reservations about allowing ‘money’ to be transferred by simply sending numbers between banks and then sorting out the actual coin on paper. That seemed like an invitation for fraud…

“Fair enough, we have. But you still just singlehoofidly brought our nation to ruin!” I protested.

“I have not,” Celestia said again, pushing herself back from the table as she got up and began to leave the dining hall. “I try and do something for the peasantry for your sake and you just scream at me! I’ve ran this kingdom for over two thousand and seven hundred years! I think I know plenty about how the world work’s, Luna. This decree will help more than it hurts, and that is a good thing.”

“You’re wrong!” I called after her. “And when we have to pick up the pieces of this mess I will expect a groveling apology!”

Night Court, Canterlot - 8th of Solardusk 17 EoH

Present Day

Luna paused, noticing Lyra shaking her head slowly.

“Yes,” Luna chuckled. “I was wrong about that one.”

“I’ll say,” Lyra agreed. “Sure some ponies never get a job, but most of us want more than you know… Fortified oats and like, a tiny room that barely fits a bed with no possessions. You probably don't like the other civil welfare laws though, do you?”

Luna shook her head quickly. “My point is not that all of her ideas and policies were bad,” Luna explained, hoping to clarify her message. “My point is that we disagreed venomously and frequently on many things. I fully admit I was wrong about a Basic Income policy. I also like most of the welfare systems we have today. The entire point of a nation is to best serve the people who live in it.

“Honestly, if I had not been banished and gotten to see how that Decree improved the lives of subsequent generations I would have apologized to Celestia for that outburst. But again, the point is that right or wrong, we… We conflicted over lots of things. Our ideas for governance don't really align well. They never have.”

Lyra nodded sadly, ears drooping. “And since you fought a lot in a place that has servants... And Celestia had all of the real political power to do things. Then that means-”

“Oh yes,” Luna interrupted with a nod. “I was just about to get to how the peasantry thought of me in those days…”

Loathed Guardian

Market District, Everfree City - 13st of Megan 4122 RH

1,037 Years Ago - The End of Renneighsaunce

Perhaps it would sound depressing to most, but I rarely went outside during the day. How early? Once a decade or so, at the most. When I did, it was normal to inspect a military fortification or to assist in a frontier clearing operation. I was simply busy at night, trusted my Captains to do their jobs properly, and well... The day was my time to relax. I can think of few ponies who would want to go out and about after forcing a dragon out of a mine the previous evening.

Of course, there were those rare occasions where I did want to venture out during the day for my own reasons. Today was one such day, and I had decided to venture out into the market of Everfree. The options had been sending a servant to pick up a snack for me, bother the kitchen for such a trivial desire on the day before a diplomatic meeting and accompanying feast, or simply go out and purchase my own treat.

I had never been the kind of pony who would make someone do something for me when I was unoccupied. It is one thing to have a servant fetch coffee while going over invoices for the last month. It’s another to ask them to get you a snack when you're unoccupied.

It was always fun to see how the city had changed between my last day based visit. The sprawling sea of winding roads and gracefully designed buildings rarely changed. The city simply grew. But the people, they would change. I enjoyed seeing the ebb and flow of time in their actions.

I couldn’t have chosen a better day for a walk either. Celestia had recently tweaked the sun’s path across the sky, which led to a much softer light for the city. The soaring greens of the trees we had built into the tower-like pyramids of buildings were highlighted by the softer light, casting lovely dappled shadows onto the marble and granite fresco-laden walls. The clay cobblestones shimmered and shone, the bronze dust they were infused with making the streets shine like gold without the insane expense and horrible bright glare true gold streets would have.

I loved this city. I may have had no say in its design or it’s runnings, but it stayed here because I kept it safe. The trolls which once lived in the forest, long dead. The dragon who roosted in the nearby mountain, driven off. The small lizards which had been come to be known as ‘Gelders’, probably exterminated. Could be a few left someplace. Tenacious little things.

I might not have built this place in terms of bricks and laws, but I certainly helped put it here as much as anypony else. They had to appreciate that at least. The peace, safety, tranquility of Everfree… All my doing.

There was a small marketplace near the castle, a little one, but a popular one. There used to be a fountain in a small plaza, but over the years it had been converted into a wooden stall market, surrounded by more permanent shops. It was the place to go for exotic goods, particularly spices, thanks to being near the castle. It meant that diplomats’ guards would sell those exotic items common to their homelands, knowing they would fetch a good price.

I was hoping there might be some licorice.

While yes, it was supposed to be a medicinal concoction and not a snack, I still liked the flavor greatly. I’d also worked out how much I could eat before it functioned as a laxative. An important thing to know if one wished to keep up good relations with their chambermaid.

As I entered the market, a silvery glint from one of the towers above caught my eye. Fearing a sniper’s bolt was being aimed at me, I quickly stepped to my left while focusing my eyes onto the spot, searching for the-

Oh! That was just a polished-

I felt my left flank smack into someone and managed to turn my head in time to see I had accidently knocked a pale blue earth pony mare over, scattering her bagged goods across the cobbles.

“My apologies,” I began, picking up her bags for her with my magic’s grip.

The mare looked up, noticing me for what I assumed was the first time. To my shock, her eyes instantly narrowed with anger.

“Of course it would be you! A barbaric oaf, that’s what you are, isn't it!?” She spat.

I frowned, wanting to object to her insult, but I had just knocked her over. I understood her being upset.

“I am sorry for knocking you over,” I apologized. “I did not see you. I can set your bags on your back for you if you would li-”

“No pony needs your help! Go back to plotting murder, canker!” The mare spat, snatching her bags from my magic’s grip with a hoof and trotting off in a rage.

I shook my head slowly. It would seem I had just encountered the city’s least likable mare.

Turning to one of the stallions whose attention had been drawn by her outburst I asked. “Can you believe her? She should be careful, someone less forgiving would challenge her to a duel over that tongue of hers.”

To my astonishment, the stallion rolled his eyes and turned around. “Of course the General would have violence on the mind. What a savage,” he muttered while walking away. “You lot aren't going to associate with her, are you?”

I felt my jaw drop at his insult. Now THAT was truly words to draw steal over. But before I could even get a word out to begin to defend my honor…

“You’re not welcome here, barbarian. Piss off!” Somepony shouted.

“Yeah! Nopony needs your kind around here, murderer!”

“There’s no place for roguish villains like you here!”

“Take your band of villains with you into the desert and die!”

The rest of their insults blended together into a sea of hatred, dotted with islands of hatred their faces became.

In that moment I knew exactly what Celestia’s rule had done. It had created a culture that so abhorred violence it despised the very force which protected it from harm. A thousand barbed words conveyed the message all too clearly. In that moment, the last shred of fulfillment I had left in my heart snapped.

They hated me. They hated the peace and security I bled to give them. And they hated all of those who would stand at my side to protect them from the monsters and evils that roamed the world in places they would never tread. All because of the Princess’s foolish ideas and idiotic moral stances.

That was the very last straw. Within a generation these fools would believe simply asking a hostile force nicely to go away would work. They would believe that ‘no arms’ signs posted above city gates would stop people from bringing weapons into cities. They would assume that the monsters in the darkness would leave them alone if they didn’t bother them.

They no longer knew that the price of peace is the willingness and ability to use violence. The fools would throw those who would shield them away, and pat themselves on the back for it. Never realizing they were simply marinating themselves in their idiocy as the future main dish at a feast held by evil.

All because of her.

All because of the princess.

She had done this to them. She made them into these fools who could not see the error of their ways through the rose tinted moralizing.

She had to go. There was no other option. Before they fell any further, Princess Celestia needed to be dethroned. I lacked the strength and the means to do it today. But I would find what I needed in time.

I would restore sanity to this land before it was devoured.

Night Court, Canterlot - 8th of Solardusk 17 EoH

Present Day

“That’s how I felt at the time. That it was all her doing,” Luna sighed. “Of course, I did not realize that it was truly my own fault for insisting on being… Secondary. I was the fool in this scenario.”

“W-well yes,” Lyra agreed, her voice hinting at something more she wished to say, but her lips shutting themselves tightly.

“But?” Luna asked curiously.

“But even so… Blames sort of on Celestia too,” Lyra admitted. “She never thought to go ‘Hey, my sister caught up to where I was. Let’s elevate her responsibilities now.' Did she?”

Luna paused for a few long moments, eyes narrowing as she thought back over the millennia.

“That is a very good point, Lyra,” Luna admitted grimly.

“I mean, I don't think she intentionally marginalized you!” Lyra added quickly. “But even the best ponies sometimes don't realize they are doing something wrong. Also… Ponies really said THAT to you? I can’t even imagine being insulted like that.”

Luna nodded. “I agree with you Lyra. But regardless of what Celestia intended, what happened happened. Nopony can change that. But at least now you know what happened. At least, from my own perspective.

“As for their barbed words, this was before the social reforms Celestia did during the Solar Era. I’m still reading up on everything, but the majority of ponies being so polite is frankly bizarre from my perspective. Quite alien to my own experience and life. I remember most not really saying much of anything, a lot being rude, and a few kind souls.

“Anyways, that’s it. The kingdom came to hate me, I blamed it on Celestia's influence and ideals. So for the sake of Equestria, I sought to kill her and repair the damage.”

Lyra shook her head as Luna finished. “No, there’s more to the story. What did you do to become Nightmare Moon? What was your banishment like? I mean… If you don’t mind talking about that,” Lyra asked, ears drooping as she realized it might be too stressful for Luna to discuss.

Luna frowned, turning her head to look off into a shadowy corner of her throne room for a few long minutes. Sitting. Thinking.

“If I tell you, do you promise never to do it yourself?” Luna asked at long last.

“Woah, woah, woah!” Lyra exclaimed, holding up a hoof to stop Luna. “One, you actually trust me that much? Two, what you did is something just anypony can do? Three, you really seriously trust me that much!?”

Luna smiled, looking honestly happy for a brief moment before her usual calm demeanor reasserted itself. “Not just anypony could do as I did, but of the few I think could, you are the one who would succeed. After all, you have the time, the talent, and well… You are nothing if not tenacious, miss human relic hunter,” Luna teased in a friendly voice.

Lyra smiled. “Heh… Fair enough. But do you really honestly trust me not to do it? Ever? In like, the entirety of the rest of my life?”

Luna paused again, then nodded.

“Touché, who knows what the future holds. I’ll tell you the what, but not the how,” she decided. “First, you will need to know a few things about the Dream Realm…”

The Moon

The Moon - Countless days

The last thousand years - The Solar Era

I sat on a field of gray dust beneath a black sky, with only the palest motes of light to hint at a mere handful of stars. As if somepony had pulled a cloth over a lantern to extinguish it. The sun burned harshly overhead, showing me a strange and alien view of a dark and unpopulated world.

Over the horizon hung a blue jewel, forever out of my reach. It’s beauty kept from me by the bars of an invisible prison. A reminder of what had been taken away. A reminder of a terrible wrong where all held equal parts victim and villain.

The endless field’s size did not matter. It may as well have been a single square foot. It was more empty than a wasteland, for there was nothing here to have gone to waste.

Nothing existed here by my own anger, loneliness, and isolation. With only the rare cry for help from those I could never reach to remind me other people existed.

Though I cried out for help and in distress, none could hear me for I made no noise. Not even my connection to the Dream Realm could bring me any form of contact, though I tried to send my own waking nightmare to the few I had known and could call friend. I never knew if they heard me.

Night Court, Canterlot - 8th of Solardusk 17 EoH

Present Day

“Woah, woah, woah! WAIT! You were alive, like living, on the moon the whole time!?” Lyra asked jaw dropping in shock and horror at Luna’s words.

“Yes. The banishment spell prevented me from leaving magically or flying back. But I was not in stasis or sent forward in time. Celestia is… Misinformed about that. And refuses to accept the truth of what she did to me,” Luna said in a matter of fact tone. “I lived each and every last day on the moon’s surface. Walking around in the burning sun. Starving but unable to die.”

“But, I… That’s horrible! How could anypony do that to anyone!? Especially their sister!” Lyra exclaimed, her face distorting in distress and alarm.

“We are thousand of years old, Lyra,” Luna sighed. “All of the tensions of three millennia were released in that single fight. Besides, after the first two centuries it wasn’t so bad.”

“Well, sure. Eventually, actual torture would just fade into background sensations,” Lyra muttered to herself.

“Actually, I was able to find some shelter after several centuries of wandering,” Luna informed casually.

“What, like, a crater or something?” Lyra asked.

Luna shook her head, “No. There are ruins…”

The Moon - Countless days

The last thousand years - The Solar Era

The ocean of gray sand stretched out forever, shining brightly but painfully, reflecting the harsh white light directly into my eyes. There was no escape from the light. It burned with a rage and hatred that was directed at me.

I wandered the blinding and burning days for an uncountable time matched only by the freezing and lightless nights. The sun was the enemy no matter where it was. Above the horizon, it burned, below the horizon and it froze. The moon held no warmth through the night, nor provided any shade.

I roamed the wastes aimlessly, only wishing to find a place away from the endless torment of the sun. Suddenly, shelter! Impossibly, something existed in this lifeless land. A metal skeleton of a four-legged beast, it’s bones covered in scraps of golden hide.

I crawled into a hole in its underbelly, it’s belly little more than an empty bowl. A space scarcely big enough to curl up in. But it was dark, and the light didn’t shine like death. It was a mercy.

With that shelter came opportunity. The Nightmare still burned within my mind. The rage and desire to kill Celestia sitting foremost in my thoughts as it always did. But sometimes, the rage would calm enough for me to think. Enough for me to plan.

If there was something constructed here, there must logically be other things too. Nature can create itself, but metal objects that seem designed to shelter ponies certainly do not. There must have been someone here who created this thing. And I would find them.

I was able to voyage out at night. I had the use of very little magic, and it would take entire days to focus enough to cast even a simple spell. But eventually, I was able to conjure a light ball. I used it to search the endless ashen wastes while the sun was away. The freezing cold was worth being able to see.

My search was futile. It never turned up a single thing. The mysterious golden skeletal ruin seemed to be the only thing there was on this world aside from myself.

Eventually, I got bored of the pattern. Hiding in a small metal bowl from the sun only to venture out into the cold, then return with nothing but the pain from the cold’s bite to show for my efforts. There was nothing but torment for me, even the bowl only shielded my eyes from the sun’s wrath. It did nothing for the searing pain.

So I left. I chose a direction at random and just walked. I didn't stop for days. I just walked in that line. Going over any obstacle in my way. Not caring how badly it slowed me down. The point wasn't to go anywhere. The point was to expend time. To try and maintain my sanity by feeling like I was doing something. Anything.

One day, in the blinding wrath of the sun, I hit something. I had hit many things before, but this was different. It was cool to the touch. Not blistering hot, not flush dropping off cold. It was cool. Pleasantly so.

I think I had a heart attack from the surprise. Because suddenly it was dark and freezing, and my chest hurt badly. Night had come, and all I had to show for it was chest pain.

Remembering the cool touch I had felt before, I timidly stretched a hoof outwards, and felt something metallic in the darkness. Running my hoof over the surface I could tell it was rectangular and set inside a cutout section of a hill.

A door. It had to be a door! That meant people! That meant companionship! That meant shelter!

I drew back my hoof and pounded on the door, I could feel myself strike it, but no sound came from the blows. In that moment I realized I had not heard a single thing for the entire time I had been on the moon. It was a terrifying experience.

Nopony came to the door.

But that made sense. Because my knocking made no sound. So how could anypony hear anything?

There was only one thing to do. Finding the edge of the door I pushed, and pulled,and heaved, eventually sliding the door open, revealing another door. Because there was light inside.

Dim, barely there, orange light. Like a dying flame.

I stepped inside, and the door slid shut behind me as I opened the second one, pleading with every bit of my heart that there would be someone on the other side.

There was not. I had not found a home. I had found a ruin. A tomb.

The space inside was large. Once sprawling, perhaps as big as the castle I had shared with my sister. But most of it was buried behind collapsed hallways. There was dust everywhere, a hoof deep in fact. I never found any bodies. This place had been abandoned for more time than I could comprehend.

But it was away from the evil sun. It was pleasantly cool. And though the lights died completely a short time after I found it, it stayed cool. I believed most ponies would consider it to be a prison cell, the one habitable place made into an isolation room by the deadly heat and cold outside.

But not me. It was such a relief to not be burning or freezing that it felt like home. I couldn’t see anything in the inky blackness after the lights died, so the confines of that tomb of an unknown people became oddly nostalgic and comforting. I felt safe there.

It’s a pity that without the sun, I had no idea how long I remained in the dark, starving but unable to die...

Night Court, Canterlot - 8th of Solardusk 17 EoH

Present Day

“And that’s basically how I spent the last two hundred years until the spell ended and I felt myself ripped back to Equestria,” Luna finished. “Shelter found, but still suffering permanent hunger pains. But I did manage to fix a few things up for comfort’s sake. Though I was still very much enraged to the point of white hot fury the entire time… And soul-crushingly alone… And in despair about that… Ever been enraged and despair at the same time? It really hurts your brain.”

Lyra bit her lip, clearly holding back a million questions. The torrent of curiosity only held back out of respect for her friend and leader, not wanting to turn the mare opening up about her banishment into a data mine for her own hobbies.

“I… Um…” Lyra stammered. “I think you really, really need a special somepony. I mean shit, you deserve some motherbucking comfort and love after that!”

Luna nodded slowly, a sigh accompanying the gesture. “I would like one. But we can’t always have what we want. Perhaps I will have somepony someday. But in the meantime, I do have some good friends.”

Lyra nodded firmly. “Damn right you do!” she exclaimed as she gently pulled Luna onto her hooves. “Which is why we're not going to sit in an empty courtroom and mope anymore. We're going out and having some fun.”

Lyra quickly shifted position, setting her shoulder against Luna’s left Flank and pushing her along the floor towards the door. “Come on! Enough depression for one day,” she said adamantly.

Luna laughed, a genuine heartfelt sound of happiness. “Lyra, talking about this is enough to make me sad, but you will never begin to fathom how high my bar for ‘depressing’ has been set. Let’s go, I’ll buy the snacks.”

The two mares walked out of the courtroom, heading for one of the brighter pockets in the dark of the night.

Author's Note

This story would not have been possible without the generious contributions from my Patrons.

Thank you very much for the meals and bits of rent. This story is literally here because of you. Your contributions are more appreciated than you can imagine.

If you would like to become a donor you can find my patreon page here.

Nightmare Moon

The Castle of the Two sisters, Everfree - 4th of Harvestide (Nightmear night) 4142 RH

1,017 Years Ago - The End of Renneighsaunce

I agreed on very few of Celestia’s bans when it came to fields of study. Knowledge is power, and no power is in-and-of-itself evil. Only those who apply power can be evil. One does not blame a toolbox for the mistakes the carpenter made.

But the magic of dreams is different. I had always been told my Talent merely enabling me to see the Dream Realm was terrifying for what I could truly do with it had I been taught. I had also been told by several mages, each great minds of their time, that had I been a unicorn and able to actively use the Dream Realm’s magics, I would be too dangerous to remain amongst the living.

That caution had faded from everypony else over the millennia. But I remembered, and I had ensured that the field remained unlearned by any mind. Which made it difficult to find the knowledge for myself, now that I wished to know it. Difficult, but not impossible.

When a pony learned I could use Dream Magic, they would correctly assume this allowed me to peer into the dreams of others. But they would never understand that was a parlor trick, much less what the word dream meant in the context of the Dream Realm.

Almost all ponies must sleep, even those of extreme arcane power. To cast a spell, a mage focuses and meditates, shaping the magic with their mind. Whether or not the mage is awake while focusing and meditating is not something that magic cares about. Awake or asleep, if a mage’s mind forms the spell, the magic happens.

And yet, despite the fact that mages dream about their work quite frequently, the nights remain quiet. No fireballs erupt inside of sanctums. No apprentice having a nightmare about their upcoming exam animates their bed and flings themselves out the window. Nopony alive has ever seen a mage cast a spell while asleep, and few ever wonder why.

Long ago, in what even my sister and I considered to be ancient history, the mages of the First Kingdom solved this dire problem. They forged an entire plane of existence, and linked it to the minds of all living things, but only when they sleep. As sleep overtakes you, your mind is attuned in such a way so as for any spell it casts to occur in this strange realm, the Dream Realm.

The Dream Realm is not like the normal world or any place you could be familiar with. It is not a place of sight and sound, but rather of the mind. Every last dream leaves its mark upon it, shaping some small chunk of the infinite expanse of dream logic and raw lingering power from spells which have decayed back into energy over eons.

Creatures live within it. Foul beasts formed of magic and nightmares, but also wondrous creatures also of magic, but of fantasy rather than terror. These creatures are the first of many things the Dream Realm’s builders did not intend. There are many, but the one I had discovered after twenty years study was the one which would bring me victory.

Those mages who forged the realm left a flaw in its design. A critical flaw, a flaw which if corrected would prevent the Realm from working as intended. Magic could enter the Dream Realm, which meant Magic could also exit it.

With that knowledge, I had constructed a spell. I had spent years laboring over it. I would have one chance to cast it, and it needed to bring more power to bear than the sun could provide. There had been no room for flaws in its design. But it was at last complete.

With this spell, I would alter my very self in such a way as to amplify my connection to the Dream Realm, allowing me to link with it while wide awake, cast my magic within it, and then drag that magic back into the waking world, with all of the alterations and effects that would provide.

As soon as I cast the spell which lay upon the final pages of the journal I had developed it in, I could make dreams come true. Literally. But not completely.

There were limits, power, range, scale… And there were potential drawbacks. Such as I did not know how long the altered spells durations would be, nor if I might accidently pull creatures from the Dream Realm into the waking world. But at the moment, none of that mattered.

I was ready. The moon was full tonight. It was time.

I reached for the white messenger gem on my desk. A handy little charm I was delighted to provide my warriors with. They would be receiving more such tools and gifts shortly. As soon as I had the power to properly arm them.

Tapping the gem I requested, “Captain Flint Bassalt,” then waited a moment for the magic to link our gems together.

The gem flashed once, signaling it had connected us.

“Captain Bassalt,” I ordered in my best command voice. “A pack of werewolves has been sighted in the merchant’s quarter. You and your men are to evacuate the city as quickly and quietly as possible.”

“Aye, ma’am,” the Captain replied.

I ended the spell with a tap of my hoof, and waited.

Captain Flint Bassalt was the only pony who knew my plans. The only one I had trusted. The only pony I had ever known who loved Equestria as much as I did.

He knew that Celestia’s path was damning the Kingdom to Tartarus. When he learned I also felt that way, we had decided to collaborate. Which was fortunate, because with the unknowns behind my spell I had wanted to evacuate the city to minimize potential collateral damage, but before Flint came onboard, I had no means of trusting an officer to not simply warn Celestia. Much less any plausible reason for the evacuation.

Four hours later, as the moon centered itself in my chamber’s skylight, the gem on my desk flashed again.

“Princess Luna, the evacuation is complete and the outer wall gates are shut. I have the special task force sweeping the quarters and locking them down as we speak,” the Captain reported.

“Excellent. I will continue attempting to locate them myself. Be sure to keep me updated, I will engage the enemy myself once it is found,” I replied.

Of course, there was no special task force. But if there had been werewolves, there would be. You need specialized armor to fight them. One small bite and the full moon’s light adds another wolf to the pack. Assuming they don't eat you first.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, focused my magic and teleported, arriving in the castle’s throne room. I took a position on the throne’s dais, overlooking the large hall in its entirety. It was empty. Everything was silent.

Good.

I readied a second spell, one which Celestia and I had made together. A distress call. A means of letting the other know we needed them immediately.

She appeared immediately, the blinding flash of golden light whiting my vision out as Celestia appeared before me, her eyes wide with panic. For the last time, I had called her this way was when Tirek appeared.

She looked around herself frantically, then sighed in relief as she realized the hall was empty, save for me.

“What is it? How much time do we have?” Celestia asked.

I felt nervous tension bubble up in my guts. I had never directly stood up to Celestia before. Disagreed, yes. Argued with, yes. But moved to obstruct her? Never.

“Our kingdom is on a path that ends with it in ruins, and her people feeding maggots,” I said in as even a voice as I could manage.

Celestia frowned, eyes looking at me oddly.

“Don’t be dramatic, Luna. Why did you signal?” She asked.

“Our people are soft, weak, and do not understand the simple truth behind peace. So much so that they despise me, and all of those few brave enough to venture out into the night to protect them from the darkness!” I shouted, rage pushing aside my feelings of nervousness. “And your rule is to blame. For they follow your morals and example to their own ruin!”

Celestia groaned, rubbing a hoof along her face in exacerbation. “Luna… Did you summon me just to shout? Have you been drinking?” She asked in irritation.

I grit my teeth angrily, readying the spell I had been working on, but not casting it.

“I offer you one chance,” I warned. “Abdicate immediately, or die for the good of the kingdom.”

Celestia's eyes opened wide with a look of betrayal that I knew then I would never forget.

“Sun’s light… You’re serious!” She gasped in horror.

“I am,” I warned, the range wavering slightly.

How could I hurt her? She’s my sister. I couldn’t-

“I knew your bloodlust would turn you to evil one day…” Celestia whispered to herself sadly.

How dare she! How dare she call me evil when her actions had our people seeing the very thing keeping evil at bay as an evil unfit for the likes of them?

No. No, I could forgive that.

“I will not step down! Not when you would bring war to my kingdom. How could you even come to this!? You monster!” Celestia shouted, wings flaring as her horn began to glow as she readied a spell of her own.

The rage came rolling back in full force.

"Then battle shall be had this day!" I exclaimed, then, I released my spell.

I felt the magic sink into me immediately, Celestia’s readied spell fizzling out as she lept backward from the rippling waves of darkness which roared into existence around my body, unsure as to what I had just cast.

Then I felt it. The power. The impossible power. I could do this! I could prevent the land from dying under the care of an inept fool.

But then came the rage. The hot, burning, focused rage. I had made a mistake. A horrible mistake. It came to me in the last flash of clear thought I had. The magic responded to emotional extremes.

The magic was a two-way street. Things could come, and things could go. I had asked for power, and supplied the Dream Realm with rage. It sent me power, but the power was appropriate for that hatred. I had become a nightmare.

Night Court, Canterlot - 8th of Solardusk 17 EoH

Present Day

“So… It’s a berserk button?” Lyra asked. “You attuned yourself to the dream Realm and now when you are enraged, you receive power tainted by rage. Right?”

Luna nodded grimly. “Yes… Though in theory, other emotional extremes will also give me power, each colored by that emotion. But I’ve never had the chance to see if that’s true.”

Lyra frowned, ears falling back as she realized what her friend had just admitted. “Y-you mean you haven't been happy since you came back? At all? Like, not even hanging out with me and the girls?” She asked.

“Oh, no. I’ve been happy. But not elated. I haven’t felt true joy. Or love,” Luna elaborated, slumping in her throne. “It’s only extreme emotions. Not regular emotions. Also not depression. I assumed that would bring the Nightmare on again… But it doesn't. It’s empty. It’s not sadness it’s a lack of… Everything.”

Lyra nodded then walked over to Luna’s thrown, wrapping her arms around the alicorn in a tight hug. “I’m sorry.”

“As am I,” Luna agreed, hugging the unicorn back.

Lyra broke the hug after a moment, returning to her place at Luna’s side, a question suddenly striking her. “Hey, so um… I know you lost because Princess Celestia got to the Elements of Harmony, but, like, did you really become more powerful than she is?”

Luna nodded, then sighed regretfully. “Oh yes. I did. Had she not gotten the Elements from their pedestals, I would have won.”

“Could I get an example? I mean, not that I don’t believe you but, well… She can bench press the sun!” Lyra exclaimed.

“I created the Everfree forest,” Luna said darkly.

Lyra blinked, taking a step back. “What?”

“When I realized I was being banished, as a last desperate action, I ripped a chunk of the Dream Realm’s raw magics from it and attempted to animate the trees within the city and the surrounding forest to crush her into paste and thus stop the Element’s spell,” Luna said bitterly.

“Like… But… It’s still alive!” Lyra sputtered.

Luna nodded. “Yes. It is. I’ve already tried to put it back. Maybe as the Nightmare I could, but it does not respond to my commands now. It is a living nightmare. Make no mistake, that forest is one creature. It has a mind which, while not always hostile to everything, can decide to destroy you at any moment. Thankfully it seems limited to its original borders… The forest hasn’t expanded even a centimeter since that day a thousand years ago.”

Lyra blinked twice, then shook her head to clear it. “Buck… Makes me wonder what you could do with other emotions,” she said to herself.

“I’d love to know that myself. It would be nice to unbuck that slice of the kingdom. Before I… Before I brought ruin to it, it was a paradise of fruit trees and lovely glades,” Luna lamented, staring off into the darkness of her courtroom.

Lyra looked over at her friend, shaking her head quickly. “No, this isn’t okay. Come on, we’re going to go get the girls and have a nice evening. Play some O&O, maybe prank somepony. You need that.”

Luna gently pushed Lyra aside with her left hoof. “Not yet,” she insisted. “It… It feels good to talk about this to someone not connected to it. Do you understand?”

Lyra nodded. “Yeah, I think I do… But I really don’t want to make you talk about your banishment itself.”

“You’re not making me do anything, Lyra,” Luna said firmly. “I’m choosing to tell you about the moon… Well frankly, I kinda like the moon. It grew on me towards the end there. But… Despite that, it was still hell.