The Cult of Nightmare Moon

The flight from Cloudsdale was long and uneventful.

It’s just as well, Nova prefers it this way. Once, while traveling to Vanhoover, she ran into a flock of wild geese, and that’s not something that she’d recommend. The poor mare still has a scar on her flank from the occasion.

Anyway, arriving in canterlot is always eventful. At least, it has been the last few times she’s visited, so she assumes it is always this way. A veritable labyrinth of stone roads and apartments. Townhomes, businesses, and of course mansions for the richest of ponies.

She scans the city below, looking for a clear enough space to land. Even this late in the afternoon, the city is alive and very busy. It would be rude to land in an area too populated right now, as most ponies aren’t fond of random pegasuai dive-bombing them from the clouds.

Lucky for Nova, most of the city’s parks are sparse as far as ponies go. She begins to circle, ignoring the feeling of vertigo in her stomach as I lose altitude rapidly. It’s something she could never get used to, landing on anything that isn’t a cloud. Something about it just makes a part of her brain scared, no matter how many times she’s done it.

A unicorn she used to know called it a warning from a past life.

Nova thinks it’s just self-preservation.

She only stumbles a little when she makes contact with the ground, horseshoes making an angry noise at skidding against the concrete. The sound is grating, but she brushes it off.

Upon landing, she moves to a nearby bench and begins to dig through her saddlebags and dig out the letter, rolled up in a soft blue parchment and closed with a wax seal of the two Princesses. Her household received four of them, all addressed to individual members of the family. Her mother and father, and she and her sister. The arrival of the letters, and subsequent conversation about them, caused a big fight in the Star home.

Shining Star, Nova’s sister, had previously attended the academy intended to fill Celestia’s royal guard: Hoof Pointe. She washed out several weeks in, and refused to talk about it when she came back to Cloudsdale.

It all seemed to have worked out for her, though, since she went to the Wonderbolt academy and is now a fairly high-ranking reservist.

Nova’s mother and father were too old to serve- they knew that. They worked in the weather factory, doing night shifts and helping the lightning team. Nova worked there part-time doing the same, but the work wasn't very fulfilling.

Being a young pony with no life goals and aspirations was difficult for Nova, she had no idea what she wanted to do with her life, but it certainly wasn’t working part-time at the weather factory forever. It’s not her calling.

She knows in her heart she needs to do this, but her family hadn’t understood.

Shining Star was furious. She insisted Nova was trying to show her up, trying to make a fool of her by doing something that she couldn’t, but Nova had insisted that wasn't the case. It didn’t help any.

Nova’s parent’s tried to forbid her from going, but she was a grown pony. At least legally.

Nova wonders, Idly, what will happen when they find her bedroom empty. Will they come after her? Will they never speak to her again? She frowns. Maybe she will write them once she’s settled.

She finds the letter in her bag, right where she put it.

It’s a little intimidating, arriving to the capital city to appear before one of the Princesses. And ask to be in her guard, no less? Nova might be laughed out of the throne room. At least, that’s her worry.

She puffs unhappily. What should she even say? ‘Hello, Princess Luna. I know I’m a scrawny little weather mare, but I’d love to be in your royal guard!’

‘Ridiculous’, she thinks, ‘I’m hardly as big as the smallest regular guards pony, and forget about the biggest. Those bat-creature ponies are huge!’

Noctrals, Luna had called them.

Most used to think batponies were just an old pony’s tale. Large, fearsome ponies with bat wings and snake eyes. Monsters made up to keep foals in their beds at night. Nova thought so too, that they were just another scary creature lost to time, just the way we thought hippogriffs had been.

It turns out she had been wrong about them. And nothing is really WRONG with that, other than the mere thought of the presence of such large pony-creatures being there for this audience with the Princess making her shake in her horseshoes a little.

After repacking her saddlebags, she exits the park. Unicorns from the city works team are just beginning to appear, illuminating the street lanterns to keep them bright for the evening time.

There’s still some time before the Princess opens the night court, so Nova heads pretty indirectly in the direction of the castle.

The city is starting to slow as it grows later and the sun begins to set. The castle seems to loom over Nova as she gets closer. Canterlot is usually so bright and sparkly, bright whites and soft grey. Purple and gold. But the darkness seeps in and it looks eerie. Rich purple giving way to deep blue, bright white marble illuminating yellow-orange in the firelight of the lanterns meant to light the city.

It’s an eerie feeling that settles over her, something that makes the hair down her spine stand on end. As if the shadows warn her it isn’t safe.

Nova’s drawn from her thoughts by a smell down a side street. She follows her nose, slowly making my way closer to the source. A bakery, brightly lit and a sort of sterile white with stainless steel that you would expect from a modern patisserie.

The door chime tinkles happily when she opens it, moving into the space. It’s pretty big, an aisle down to the register in the store, the space between littered with colorful tables. At the end of the aisle, with the register, is more than one glass display, full of pastries, cookies, and cupcakes of all varieties.

Nova makes her way in to look. “Hello! Welcome in!” comes a cheery voice from behind one of the cases. It slides shut and she appears over the top of it.

The earth pony is pretty, her mane swirly and colored with shades of blue-purples and custard yellows.It’s all wrapped up into a neat ponytail behind her head except her forelock, that falls a bit into one of her eyes. She sweeps it out of her face.

“Thanks for choosing Lemonpie Bakery, my name is Blueberry Tart, but you can call me Blue. All of my doughnuts are half off right now, since they’re from this morning, and come with a free bag of bitty bites.”

After some conversation, Nova leaves with two vanilla custard mini-pies, and a new friend. That was probably a record for her, getting so chummy with a new pony this soon after arriving in a city. They had talked for almost two hours, Blue sharing about her family and their bakery, asking Nova if she’s local.

Nova didn’t know how to talk about her situation without sounding like a crazy pony, so she went with, “Not yet, but I plan on moving here soon,” Which isn't entirely untrue.

By the time they’re done chatting, and the pies are eaten, Nova is hoofing it to the castle.

Does she have all night? Sure, but she would absolutely wither away in her anxiety if she didn’t just get it out of the way. What’s the worst that could happen?

She ascends the stairs up to the castle. It looks different than normal, now, the red-burgandy carpeting now a deep indigo-blue. The front gates are open, both the Batpony and regular night guard out at posts and patrolling with firm posture, but a leisurely pace.

Her ears fold back as she approaches the throne room, a single Noctral guard standing in front of it. The door stretches far above their heads, intimidatingly so.

Nova approaches, the Noctral looking down his Muzzle at her as she stops a few hoofsteps in front of him and offers the scroll from under her wing. “I have this letter, with a summons.” She supplies, the Guard taking it from her to read it.

“What is your name?” His voice is gruff, nearly more of a growl.

She inhales sharply, ignoring every ounce of her instincts telling her to bolt. “Nova Star. I wish to inquire about Joining the Princess’ royal guard.”

He looks at the scroll, opening it briefly. “Stay here.” The command is firm, leaving no room for argument as he turns around and pushes the door open enough for his large frame to slide through, closing with a heavy thunk behind him.

It must be a great door, because Nova can’t hear any of the conversation behind it. It’s dead silence in the entry hall, too, and she can hear her heart pounding in her ears, now, as her anxiety spikes.

She’s certain it was only a few moments, but it stretched into forever as she watched the door.

It opens, making her jump from the sudden noise. The guard pushing it open looks her up and down, snake eyes seeming to judge her, before he looks away.

“Princess Luna will see you now.”