Knightly Duty

It was yet another quiet night. Of course, eternal night always made it hard to distinguish what would be night or day. There may have still been the hours, but that was all. Not that it mattered; everything else fell into place just fine after all. Any sort of concern over the matter would be quickly dealt with.

Nothing of note had occurred today; neither did it seem that anything would follow. Did it make things boring? Perhaps yes. But that was indeed the price to pay when you were on top of keeping an entire empire quiet and safe.

Within the Castle of the Two Sisters, Nightmare Moon sat quietly upon her throne as she eyed her knights all standing by. All except one. This was to be expected by now, but still quite an oddity that she hadn’t seen coming for a long time. Of course, she wasn’t breaking any rules. It was her lunch break, after all. Lunch may have been a loose term, but Nightmare Moon allowed it. It was innocuous and it meant her knights would be well rested and fed for whatever was to come.

Nightmare Moon idly examined her nails before she rose from her throne, deciding to take a little walk in the garden. She nodded swiftly to a couple of knights, who nodded in return and fixed their gazes straight ahead once again. She smirked in satisfaction, and then slowly exited the throne room.

As she headed outside, her gaze cast upward toward the moon for a few moments. What a wondrous sight it was. Not only for its luminous beauty but for the fact it stood as a symbol; a symbol of achieving her greatest dream. But most of all, it was a prison for the very being she once called her sister. The very shape of her took place on the moon’s surface, of which Nightmare Moon took great pleasure upon seeing.

A light laugh escaped her as she gazed upon it for a few moments before she resumed walking.

The weather was absolutely perfect. A light breeze blew, but it wasn’t the least bit too cold; exactly as she liked it. Nightmare Moon took a deep breath, let it out, and allowed the cool air to wash over her. She took a look around, seeing a few fireflies dancing around near some shrubs. This was another nice feature of the night; being able to clearly see the magical lightning bugs.

As she walked, something caught her attention some ways off at the corner of her eye. Nightmare Moon paused in her stroll and took a glance in that particular direction. Within the garden a fair distance away, she spotted one of her best knights, Rainbow Dash. The woman in question was sitting upon a stone wall, holding a box in her lap and slowly eating at its contents.

However, she wasn’t alone. Next to her was a beautiful, timid-looking woman with long, flowing pink hair and dressed in the dark maid’s garb. It was then that Nightmare Moon recognized her as Fluttershy, whom she had recently brought upon as a maid and animal caretaker for the castle.

Interesting. While she had known that the two of them had been in contact for some time, this was her first time truly witnessing it for herself. Of course it was innocuous, she didn’t mind if the help interacted with one another, so long as it didn’t interfere with their work.

Nightmare Moon observed for a little bit, keeping her eye on the two women closely. Although she couldn’t make out what they were saying, it was clear that they were sharing a conversation. Neither of them seemed to notice her at the moment. Or if they did, they chose not to show it. Understandable.

However, the interesting thing about this moment was the fact that Nightmare Moon spied something about Rainbow Dash’s demeanour. She seemed calm and even relaxed. This was certainly a first. Even moreso, there was a small smile curling at her lips. Never had she seen Rainbow Dash smile. Not like this.

Fluttershy said something else, to which Rainbow Dash nodded to in response, and placed a hand on the former’s cheek. It was a tender gesture she saw many a time, but hadn’t expected to see from one of her own knights.

A display of what she could only guess was blooming love.

Love.

Nightmare Moon turned from the two and continued on her walk. Love wasn’t a feeling she was a stranger to, but it was one she wished to bury deep within herself. Try as she may, there were times it resurfaced in strange ways. Not that anyone knew this. Never would she let any of her subjects see this side of her.

Taking a breath, she glanced up at the moon one again. Every time she did, she was not only relishing in her victory, but also memories of her sister. In moments like this, the Luna side of her would slowly, though not exponentially, peek through. A side of her she couldn’t run from, but kept dormant at all times.

Nightmare Moon heaved a breath, not tearing her gaze away from the moon. She could feel her heart slowing, her emotions muddle together, and even her body grow cold. Clenching her fists, she turned away from the moon and took another breath. No. She wouldn’t lose control. She couldn’t.

All of Equestria was counting upon her to be the strong, mighty ruler of the Night. Never could she succumb to such weakness as her former self. No. Celestia was gone. She deserved every bit of this banishment. After what she had done a thousand years ago, payback was only scratching the surface.

Once more, Nightmare Moon took a breath and felt calmer. Yes. Everything would be fine.

‘I may not know why I end up feeling like this, but it  will pass. Just as it always does. After all, what is there to worry about?’ Nightmare Moon thought to herself with a dark chuckle. ‘Equestria has no threats whatsoever, many allies, and all who opposed me are either banished or DEAD.’

Casting her gaze over into the garden, she looked at the stone statue that was Discord. He stood high and tall, making a ridiculous gesture of pride while laughing.

Nightmare Moon chuckled as she observed the stoned spirit of chaos. “Ah, yes… I remember that day. We set out to stop Discord’s reign of chaos once and for all, as he had gone too far. There he sat upon his silly throne, taunting us and throwing seeds… Heh. He truly thought we couldn’t stop him, that we were merely bluffing. Oh, but I dare say the joke was on him, yes it was. We turned him to stone and he shall know never to underestimate us again!” She gave a slight cackle, her grin spreading more across her face.

As she reminisced in this memory, Nightmare Moon blinked and felt a slight throb in her head. Wincing, she held her forehead for a moment, trying to ease her mind and her body. It took a few moments, but it was gone as quick as it came.

‘Why am I thinking such things? Our victory may have been well-earned, but it is still a memory with my cursed sister! I cannot think that way. No, we simply overtook Discord and that’s it. Nothing else about it. Although… I can remember how brokenhearted Celestia had been. Oh yes, most certainly. Ah, seeing the sadness in her eyes after we turned him to stone!’ Nightmare Moon grinned once more as she resumed her walking. ‘He certainly meant a lot to her, no wonder she felt regretful. Oh, what a beautiful sight to see! I shall never forget!’

A wicked idea came to her then. She chuckled darkly, then teleported herself to another room in the castle. This being a very secret, well-hidden room. She had opted to leave its contents at the new (albeit now destroyed) castle in Canterlot, where it had originally been, but had found a use for it all. Starswirl the Bearded did, after all, have very useful research and spells at hand. Why not make use of it?

It was quite a large and expansive library, with all kinds of books and scrolls sitting upon the many shelves along the walls. But within the centre of it all stood a large mirror. The very mirror, according to Starswirl’s notes, that allowed users to travel not only through time, but to other worlds. A very powerful and useful ability, indeed. As well as that, she had managed to place a special spell upon it. She herself could go through it anytime she wished, but nothing could ever come through from another side.

“That foolish Twilight Sparkle…” Nightmare Moon chuckled, approaching the mirror and placing a hand upon its glassy surface. “To think she had the power of time travel, but could not have known of this mirror.”

Waving her hand slightly, an image began to form in the mirror. The image formed into that of another Princess Luna, wearing Anugyptian headgear and sitting regally upon her throne and surrounded by dark magic. The one next to her was empty, obviously meant for that world’s Princess Celestia, which stood empty. Just as it should have.

Standing near the throne was a gray unicorn, looking grim and downtrodden, but keeping his head high. Nightmare Moon smirked widely upon seeing him, recognizing him as that world’s King Sombra. When she had found Celestia’s notes and other such interesting entries about her journeys to this world, it made for an interesting observation.

“Oh, that poor thing. Forever taken from the woman he loves…” Nightmare Moon chortled, watching with amusement as King Sombra spoke something to Luna, who in turn nodded slowly.

Moments after, the mirror Celestia entered the throne room and spoke to King Sombra. He nodded and gave a kind smile in return. Celestia then went to her throne and sat, speaking to her sister.

Nightmare Moon waved her hand and returned the mirror to normal. Her reflection stared back at her, which offered a soothing comfort. She turned from the mirror and exited the hidden library. At least for now, she knew that world was intact.

As she emerged and was back within the main corridors of the castle, she was stopped by one of her knights.

“Your Majesty,” the Knight said, bowing respectfully. “Timberwolves were spotted lurking around the bridge. What should we do?”

Nightmare Moon shook off her conflicting emotions before she addressed her Knight, “Send three of your comrades out to make sure they are destroyed. We cannot have them making a mess of my castle garden. Now, get to it!”

“Understood, Princess!” The Knight bowed once more, then went to gather a few of her comrades.

Satisfied, Nightmare Moon headed toward the throne room once more. There was going to be a tourism visit in about twenty minutes, so of course had to be prepared for that. Aside from her moment of weakness that was soon resolved, it was looking to be a very normal day.

For now, that was enough.