"I'll catch up in a bit." Sunset Shimmer said to Rainbow Dash. The Friendship Games would have to wait until after she figured this whole magic problem out.
With the games right around the corner, Sunset and her friends were experiencing random spurts of magic. Usually it happened when they played their instruments together but now it seemed to be happening for no reason at all. On top of that, the Twilight Sparkle from the human world had appeared and turned out to be going to Crystal Prep Academy, meaning they'd be seeing a lot of her over the course of the games.
Despite writing to Princess Twilight in Equestria, Sunset had gotten no reply. The rest of the girls thought it was because Twilight was super busy, being a princess and all, but it never took her this long to answer. Sunset found herself standing alone in the hallway. She tried to think of how best to proceed since she couldn't get any help from Twilight. Then, she had an idea.
Sunset walked out of the front entrance of Canterlot High. She opened her journal to check one last time.
"Still no reply." Sunset sighed, staring at the blank pages of her journal. She closed the book and set her eyes on the statue in front of her. The portal back to Equestria.
Meanwhile, the Crystal Prep students were getting off their bus and signing in with Dean Cadance. Twilight stood on her own, waiting for her turn to sign in when all of a sudden, her pendant started to glow. As she walked away from the line to investigate the statue her pendant was pointing to, a voice called out to her.
"Twilight!" Cadance called out. "You have to check in with the others."
Her investigation interrupted, Twilight walked away from the statue and over to the Dean.
"Maybe there's another way I could reach her." Sunset said to herself as she approached the portal. She reached out and stuck her arm in. Sunset's heart sank as she realised what she was about to do. This would be her first time returning to Equestria since stealing Twilight's crown. What if she ran into Princess Celestia? What if Twilight didn't want her to come to Equestria?
Sunset supressed those thoughts as she stepped further into the portal. She'd just have to wait and see what would happen.
Something wasn't right. Sunset was indeed back in Equestria, but she wasn't in the place she expected to be. Twilight had told her that she put the mirror in the library of her castle. But this was definitely not a library. It looked more like a storage room. It felt oddly familiar to the unicorn.
Remembering she had a horn again, Sunset lit it up to get a better view of the dark room. Now she realised where she was. This was the room the mirror was kept in at Canterlot Castle before it was moved to the Crystal Empire, but why was the mirror here?
Sunset took a few steps and opened the door out of the room. Taking in the hallway she walked out to, she concluded that this was definitely Canterlot Castle. The hallway was dark. Sunset guessed that it must be late and everypony had gone to bed, which was weird considering when she left the human world it was midday.
"Sneaking around a castle at night." Sunset thought to herself. It was starting to become a habit of hers whenever she came to Equestria. The thought of this brought her worries back to her. What if she was caught sneaking around and was brought to Celestia? Would she be able to explain herself properly?
Sunset began to quietly sneak up the hallway, hoping her memory served her well and she was moving toward the way out. The hallways of the castle seemed very bare compared to the last time Sunset had been there. Tapestries on the walls had vanished, the carpet on the floor seemed quite dusty and she even came across a smashed window as she turned a corner.
It was also strange that Sunset hadn't seen and guards yet. This part of the castle was quite close to Celestia and Luna's bedrooms and was usually heavilly guarded at night.
Arriving at the castle's entrance hall, Sunset let out a gasp at what she saw. Windows were broken, statues lay broken on the floor and the carpet had noticeable rips and tears. The front doors were also wide open and a strong wind blew through the unicorn's mane. What had happened here? Was the castle attacked? Is that why there's nopony around? Was Twilight captured, or worse?
As Sunset stepped outside, she noticed that the castle wasn't the only place in tatters. The streets of Canterlot looked to be abandoned. Houses had their windows boarded up, there was trash on the streets and there wasn't any sign of anypony around. Looking up at the night sky, Sunset couldn't help but notice how different it looked from before she'd run away. There appeared to be much more stars in all kinds of constellations. She remembered Celestia telling her before that even she could never truly recreate the beauty of her sister's nights, so it was obvious to Sunset that this was Luna's work.
However, something quickly caught her attention. Something she knew she definitely shouldn't be seeing.
The Mare in the Moon.
That can't be right. Luna wasn't imprisoned on the moon anymore, so why was the Mare in the Moon still clearly there? As Sunset continued on her way towards Canterlot's entrance, more and more questions began to spin around in her head, until suddenly...
"Halt!" a voice cried out, causing Sunset to jump. She turned around to see a group of guard ponies running toward her.
"Oh, thank goodness." Sunset breathed a sigh of relief. "What's going on? Where are the princesses?"
"Princesses?" The guard captain said as he approached Sunset. "There is only one princess, and we'll be taking you to her."
"What?" Sunset gasped. "Why? I thou-"
"Canterlot is a restricted area." The captain interruped. "What business do you have sneaking around here?"
"Restricted?"
"Don't play dumb with me, everypony knows that. Now tell me, what are you doing here?"
Sunset noticed the guards' armour for the first time. It was different from the usual night guards armour. It was purple, with a strange design and a material that covered the wings to make them appear as bat wings. Were these Luna's guards?
"I came through the portal..." Sunset explained. "But I wasn't meant to come out here."
"What portal? Where did you come here from?"
"What do you mean 'what portal'?" Sunset was growing frustrated. Surely the guards had to know about the portal.
"I've had enough of this. We're taking you to the princess." The captain turned to a unicorn guard. "Moondancer, take us to the palace."
Before Sunset could say anything, the unicorn had teleported her and the guards away.
Wherever this palace was, Sunset had certainly never been here before. The hallways were coloured with purple and blue tones and seemed a lot older than the ones in Canterlot Castle. As the guards let her into a huge throne room, this theme continued.
The throne, however, was empty. A familiar looking unicorn was tending to the tapestries on the wall.
"Rarity?" Sunset gasped.
"Why are so many ponies coming here today acting as if they know me?" Rarity scoffed. She turned her attention to the guards. "The princess isn't here at the moment. A visitor came here and caught her interest, they've gone out to the forest together for whatever reason."
"I see." The captain said. "This pony was caught intruding in Canterlot. We can keep her in the dungeon until the princess returns."
Sunset was dragged by the guards back down the corridor leading to the throne room and down a winding, narrow staircase which led to the castle dungeon. Before Sunset could protest, the guard captain threw her into a cell, before locking her in.
"Wait here. Nightmare Moon will see you when she returns."
Author's Note
So I decided to continue on with this story, even though it's been a while since I started it. I rewrote a bit of the first chapter so it would better lead into this one.
Nightmare Moon
"Wait here. Nightmare Moon will see you when she returns."
What!?
That wasn't possible. Nightmare Moon had been defeated and restored to Princess Luna by Twilight and her friends almost two years ago. Did something happen to Luna to cause her to turn back into Nightmare Moon? Not only that, if Nightmare Moon was ruling over Equestria, who was the Mare in the Moon that Sunset saw? Unless...
"What's going on here?" Sunset demanded. "When did Nightmare Moon become ruler of Equestria? Where's Celesti-"
"Don't you dare speak that name within the palace walls!" The guard snarled at her. "Where have you been the last two years that you do not know the story of Nightmare Moon's triumphant return from her unjust banishment? How she exacted revenge upon her sister by banishing her to the moon just as she had done to her?"
"But that's not right," Sunset argued. "She was defeated by Princess Twilight and the other Elements of Harmony."
"Who?" The guard asked. "Enough of this! You're clearly making this up as you go along. There is no Princess Twilight, there are no Elements of Harmony, and Nightmare Moon rules all of Equestria with an iron hoof! You will remain silent until the princess is ready to see you!"
Sunset bowed her head in defeat. This guard was clearly not going to listen to her. Rather than continue, she lay down in her prison cell, trying to find something to occupy herself for the time being. Sunset noticed a window looking out into the night sky. She gazed out at the full moon directly above her. On closer inspection, Sunset noticed something about the moon she hadn't before. It had an odd pastel pink and green hue to it. These colours together reminded Sunset of her old mentor.
Could what the guard had said about Celestia be true? That Nightmare Moon had banished her to the moon, as Celestia once did to her a thousand years ago? But why? Why did nothing that was going on here line up with what Twilight had told her about Equestria? These royal guards had never even heard of Princess Twilight or the Elements of Harmony.
The guard captain Sunset had spoken with had left. In his place, two other guards walked down the hall towards her cell. Sunset could hear their conversation as they got closer.
"...and the princess just left with her to go into the Everfree Forest." The first guard explained to his partner. "Whoever that pony was, Nightmare Moon seemed convinced she'd show her some kind of time travel magic."
"And you said she was an alicorn?" The other guard said, slightly hushed. "I thought Nightmare Moon was the only one left."
This got Sunset's attention. An alicorn? Could it be...
"So did I. She banished Celestia and Cadance a long time ago. But this one didn't seem like either of them at all. She was shorter, about the same size as a regular pony, and get this... she had a baby dragon with her."
'Twilight!' Sunset thought to herself. So she is okay, but why doesn't anypony know who she is? What's this time travel magic Nightmare Moon wanted to see? Sunset felt like no matter what she was just overloaded with more and more questions.
Sunset was suddenly pulled away from her thoughts by a bright flashing light through her window. She turned to look out and saw the light coming from the nearby forest. This must be the Everfree Forest, like the guard said. Eventually the light fizzled out, but what was it?
Some time later, a guard opened Sunset's cell door.
"The princess will see you now. Come with me to the throne room."
The guard led Sunset down the halls of the palace. On their way she noticed a lot more bat-pony guards. Nightmare Moon must be quite fond of them. A few servant ponies also dotted the castle, attending to tapestries, dusting sculptures, or sweeping the floor.
Eventually, Sunset was escorted into the throne room. It was a huge, dark room. Guards stood on either side of the room, and right at the back was a throne, on which sat Nightmare Moon herself, peering from the shadows at Sunset with a look of both disdain and curiosity.
"What is your name?" The alicorn asked. Sunset Shimmer had never met Equestria's Princess Luna, she had run away years before her return, but knew the Vice Principal of her own world well. Nightmare Moon's voice was similar, though it was colder. Sunset felt a chill as she looked into the mare's eyes.
"S-Sunset Shimmer, Your Highness." Sunset didn't know what else to do but bow. She had heard terrifying tales about Nightmare Moon as a filly. One misstep while speaking with her could end badly.
"And why, Sunset Shimmer," Nightmare Moon went on, icily. "Did my guards find you sneaking around Canterlot a short while ago? That area is restricted."
"I... I don't know, Your Highness." Sunset answered truthfully. "I don't know how I got there. I was supposed to be somewhere else."
"I've heard interesting things about you from Captain Caelum, Sunset Shimmer." The alicorn continued. "You claim that I should not be ruler of Equestria. That, as memory serves you, I was defeated by a 'Princess Twilight'. Is this true?"
Sunset swallowed. She needed to choose her words carefully here. "That is what I had been told, yes."
"Very interesting indeed." Nightmare Moon gave a slight chuckle. "This Princess Twilight. I presume she is an alicorn, if she carries such a title."
"Yes, Your Highness." Sunset responded. She wanted to protect Twilight. She wanted to lie, but Nightmare Moon's eyes felt like they were gazing into her very soul, and she could sniff out even the slightest stretch of the truth.
"Describe her to me. What is her cutie mark?"
Sunset hesitated. Nightmare Moon was trying to find out if Twilight was the alicorn she had just encountered. If she knew the truth, Twilight could be in danger...
"Why don't I help you? Was it... a purple star?" Nightmare Moon asked. It only took Sunset's eyes lighting up in horror for the alicorn to understand. Her stony gaze turned into a scowl. "So that's who she was, and she managed to escape too."
Sunset sighed in relief. Wherever Twilight escaped to, hopefully she was safe.
"How peculiar," Nightmare Moon spoke. "That both you and Princess Twilight arrive here mysteriously, claiming that my rule over Equestria should not be. Twilight said that she had access to time magic, and you said that you arrived here through a portal."
Sunset froze. She had mentioned the portal to the guards earlier, in her confusion. She couldn't let Nightmare Moon find it. Who knows what kind of destruction she could bring through to the human world.
"My only conclusion is that you both came here from another timeline. One where I was defeated upon my return before I could seize power over Equestria." Nightmare Moon explained. Things finally started to make sense to Sunset. An alternate timeline, but how did she end up here just by going through the portal? Why was Twilight also here?
"You will take me to your portal." Nightmare Moon commanded. "I would like to see this alternate timeline for myself, and correct whatever error led to my defeat."
"That's not exactly how the portal works, Your Highness," Sunset explained. "I guess I did come here from some alternate timeline, but the portal doesn't lead to Equestria. It leads to...." She trailed off.
Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow. "To where?"
"A different world. One with no magic, no ponies...." Sunset said. She hoped that maybe Nightmare Moon would not be interested in the human world if she couldn't use her magic there.
"I see," The alicorn responded. Her tone, however, seemed curious, rather than disappointed. "And what were you doing in this world? Clearly you are Equestrian, so what reason do you have to in such a place?"
Sunset thought back to that fateful night many years ago. How she fled into the portal after being caught using dark magic. How angry she felt at Celestia for not teaching her what she wanted to learn. She had long since gotten over these feelings, but perhaps...
"I ran away." Sunset frowned. "But not because I wanted to. I had nowhere else to go after Celestia banished me."
This caught the alicorn's attention. "You were banished by my sister?" Her icy tone began to thaw. For just a moment, Sunset could've sworn she sensed sympathy from Nightmare Moon.
"I was her student. Her prized pupil. Surely, one day, I could have even succeeded her as ruler of Equestria. But she saw the potential I had to overthrow her. She was afraid of me." Sunset feigned anger. It was true, however, that she once thought like this.
"Then I see my sister is the same in any universe." Nightmare Moon scowled. "Fearful of those who might take her power from her. I know that all too well."
"I like to come back to Equestria every so often." Sunset continued. "To see how things changed. A part of me wanted to see Celestia miserable. Full of sorrow and regret for what she did to me. But she wasn't. Instead, she replaced me. And this new student of hers got everything that I should have gotten."
Sunset saw Nightmare Moon's eyes light up. She hoped she had connected the dots.
"Princess Twilight." The alicorn said. "She serves Celestia?"
"Yes. Maybe Celestia sent Twilight here because she knew this was a universe where she was defeated." Sunset suggested.
"Then if she has escaped, they will most likely send an army to destroy me." Nightmare Moon muttered.
"This is all very interesting, Sunset Shimmer. Thank you for telling me all of this." Nightmare Moon said as she rose from her throne and walked down towards the unicorn. Her tone had changed completely. Instead of a ruthless monster, the princess sounded almost motherly. Like the Vice Principal Luna that Sunset knew in the human world.
"Of course, Your Highness." Sunset bowed. "I wish I could tell you more, how you might be able to travel to my Equestria, but like I said, I'm not quite sure how I ended up here myself."
"That's quite alright." Nightmare Moon said. "However, I believe you have more than earned your freedom. For the time being, at least, this is a world where the pony who inflicted so much trauma on you is no more." She gestured to the nearby window, where the Mare in the Moon gazed down from the sky at both of them. "You may stay in this world, if that is what you wish."
Sunset was silently relieved. At the very least, she wouldn't be trapped in the castle's dungeon and might be able to do her own investigating and find a way home. Stroking Nightmare Moon's paranoia, though risky, was unlikely to cause any harm to the real Equestria. If Twilight had left, surely the secret to whatever spell she used to come here left with her.
Nightmare Moon walked Sunset through the halls of the castle. The unicorn couldn't help but be impressed by the beauty of the place. She had read about the Castle of the Two Sisters during her studies, but Celestia was never keen on taking her to see it. Sunset imagined that the secluded location of the castle in the heart of the Everfree Forest suited Nightmare Moon better than Canterlot ever could.
"Follow the trail through the forest. It will lead you to a small town called Ponyville. From there, I wish you luck, Sunset Shimmer." The alicorn explained as they reached the castle's entrance. A bridge stretched across a deep chasm, leading to a path into the forest. Sunset was well aware of the dangers of the Everfree Forest but dared not protest at Nightmare Moon setting her free.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Sunset bowed. She turned and left the castle, venturing into the dark forest. She wondered to herself if she was truly safer in here than she would be with Nightmare Moon.
"She won't last 10 minutes in that forest." Captain Caelum said as he approached Nightmare Moon, the pair looked out into the forest as Sunset disappeared into the trees.
"She claims to have once been a student of Celestia. If she was lying, then she will meet her demise. If not, then I know what I'm dealing with...." Nightmare Moon stated ominously as she walked back inside the castle.
