After all the proceedings were finished, Nightmare Moon had a giant banquet with those who stuck around after the renaming process. For the nobles, she had a separate meeting.

“I have called this meeting because I want unity among us and my subjects. If we are against each other, there will be no peace. Therefore, I want all the royalty and nobles to swear allegiance to me. If you cannot swear allegiance, then you will be stripped of your nobility or royalty, but you may keep your wealth. Money is not something that I squander about. And it is not something that should divide us.” Said Nightmare Moon. “Now then, is there any who would like to relinquish their power?”

“I will, I do not think I will be able to have a clear conscious if I am ruled by you. Princess Celestia was and will always be a better ruler than you. I will never bow to you.” Said princess Moon Melody, previously known as princess Cadence. “What do you plan on doing now, now that you have renamed everypony?”

“Excellent question, Moon Melody. I plan on advancing our kind. However that might be, but in order for me to do that, I must have no resistance. You are dismissed from here, as you are no longer princess Moon Melody.” Said Nightmare Moon.

After Moon Melody left the room in tears, Nightmare Moon said, “Now then, any others?”

“Me too.” Said Blue Moon, previously known as Blue Blood. “Me and Celestia may not have been the best of buddies, but I still supported her. Because of your brutal murder of her, I cannot stand behind you.”

“Then go, get out of here. Your attitude here will not help our cause anyway. I do not need the royal family. In fact, I might be better off without it.” Said Nightmare Moon, dismissing Blue Moon as well. “Now then, any others? Speak now, or forever hold your peace” Nightmare Moon was obviously angry, none of the others said anything.

After leaving the room, Blue Moon ran to catch up with Moon Melody. “Hey,” he said. “Wait up. That was brave of you, to defy Queen Nightmare Moon. I did it too, but I think you are a more popular candidate.”

“Thank you, though I do not think it will amount to much. What are we going to do about her? What are we going to do now?” Said Moon Melody.

“Probably live our lives normally, just without being royalty.” Said Blue Moon.

“I do not know Blue Moon, without Celestia’s guidance, I feel broken inside. She was always available for me, and now that she is gone…” Said Moon Melody as tears started to form again.

Meanwhile, a few hallways away, Shining Moon, previously known as Shining Armor, was looking for and bumped into Dawn Lighter. “Hey, what happened? I haven’t seen you since you were with your friends. Then I see you with Queen Nightmare Moon and then the renaming process, and then I haven’t seen you after that. What happened to you? Why do you look so different?” Asked Shining Moon.

“Oh, you must be Shining Moon. My host’s brother. Well, I have no use of you as Captain of the royal guard, or any guard for that matter. Queen Nightmare Moon will be imposing a new guard, of her own creation. She does not yet trust ponies to guard her.” Said Dawn Lighter.

“But, what will I do? What job will I have? I met up with Moon Melody after the renaming, is it true that Celestia is dead?” Said Shining Moon.

“You may do whatever you like, but we do not need your services anymore.” Said Dawn Lighter curtly.

“What happened to you?” Asked Shining Moon again. “You seem cold and unhappy, what happened to my sister?”

“Your sister is dead. I now possess her body and her powers. Now, begone from my presence, I do not want you pestering me all day. I have a kingdom to help run.” Said Dawn Lighter, brushing past him, and leaving the hall.

“Dead? How could that be? No, she cannot be gone, she has to be in there, fighting for control.” Said Shining Moon, slumping down against a wall.

Shining Moon’s ears perked up when he heard some sniffling coming down from another hallway, and Moon Melody and Blue Moon were walking down a hallway right across from him.

“Moon Melody, what is wrong?!” Said Shining Moon, catching up to them.

“It is Nightmare Moon; she has relinquished me and Blue Moon’s royalty.” Said Moon Melody.

“We get to keep our money, but not our power.” Said Blue Moon.

“Yeah well I just lost my job as Royal guard. I spoke with Dawn Lighter, and she told me that I am not needed anymore.” Said Shining Moon. “What happened to her? She told me that my sister is dead, and that she now ‘possesses’ my sister’s body, but how could that be?”

“Well I was told that, when Nightmare Moon was victorious in defeating your sister and her friends, she transferred some of her power into your sister, corrupting her, and making her one of her own.” Said Blue Moon.

“That’s terrible!” Said Moon Melody.

“I know,” Said Blue Moon. “I almost did not believe it until I saw her in her transformed body. She seems much more powerful, and much more threatening. I would not want to pick a fight with her now.”

“Maybe we should.” Said Shining Moon. “Maybe the only way to save my sister is to fight back against Nightmare Moon’s tyranny.”

“Like start a revolution, or a rebellion?” Said Moon Melody.

“Yeah, who else? I am sure there are many who liked the old days with Celestia in charge.” Said Shining Moon. “In fact, if the old royal guard is disbanded, I think I could gather them up and start a revolt. I haven’t seen any of Nightmare Moon’s new ‘guards’ and now is probably the best time to strike.”

“Whoa whoa, slow down. Let us be logical here. Nightmare Moon is already on guard, and your sister is always near her as well. You are talking about treason. Starting a rebellion is a dangerous game. We should step back a little and collect our forces. If we just outright oppose Nightmare Moon, we will be squashed like a bug. We need to be smart about what we are doing.” Said Blue Moon.

“You a right, I was getting a little ahead of myself. We need to be able to maximize our potential, and not waste the act of surprise. In fact, I am sure we could get the remaining five back together and talk with them about this.” Said Shining Moon.

“Good idea, though I doubt they will be thrilled about this plan.” Said Moon Melody.

Author's Note

Edit: Added

so that it flows better, without massive gaps between the paragraphs of changing scenes.