The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon

Chapters

Be Mine, Bandaid!
A Play, Bandaid!
Figs, Bandaid!
Bitch Sticker, Bandaid!
A Carnival, Bandaid! (I of II)
A Carnival, Bandaid! (II of II)
Faust Almighty, Bandaid!
Breakfast of the Gods, Bandaid!
A Prisoner of War, Bandaid!
Dam It, Bandaid!
A Care Package, Bandaid!
INTERMISSION
Fury Unbound, Bandaid!
The Exchange, Bandaid!
The New Night Sky, Bandaid! (Part I of III)
The New Night Sky, Bandaid! (Part II of III)
The New Night Sky, Bandaid! (Part III of III)
Big Brother, Bandaid!
Meeting Your Parents, Bandaid!
The Foretold Half-Breed, Bandaid!
Into the Hedge Maze, Bandaid!
Prophecy Fulfilled, Bandaid!
My Beloved, Bandaid
90 Days, Bandaid!
Hearts and Hooves Day, Bandaid!
Rest and Recovery, Bandaid!

Be Mine, Bandaid!

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 2: Be Mine, Bandaid!

Princess Nightmare galloped like mad down a wide hallway, squeeeeeaking around a corner and almost knocking a trio of guards over as she tore around a corner. She’d quite forgotten her regal poise when the clock had struck 9:30 in the evening that Monday. Her wings snapped open and she pumped them twice, launching herself over a startled group of palace maids. Her shadow passed over them, seemingly in slow motion, until she landed and thundered away.

By the time she arrived at the Royal Canterlot Library, Royal Vizier Twilight Sparkle was already there and waiting for her. The golden circlet on her head bore the symbol of the sun and moon, dangling on her forehead like a bead. “Good evening Princess.” Twilight said politely. “You’re late. Again.” She said, frowning a bit. Nightmare winced. Twilight Sparkle was very much a scheduling sort of pony, and whenever Nightmare was late her teacher was insufferable for most of the evening. Either way, though, she needed her to teach her of the modern Equestria.

“We have arrived now.” Nightmare said, turning her nose up regally. “Lead us to study time, Twilight Sparkle.” She gestured a bit, magicking the door open for her.

Twilight nodded a bit and, saddlebags full of scrolls and charts, moved past her. They settled at a long table in the Starswirl the Bearded wing. Twilight took out her reading glasses, poor far-sighted thing, flipping through her notes and reminders. “Alright, we finished out with griffon relations and ettiquite last time, touched on the current affairs of Apploosia and relations with the buffalo… why don’t we move over to Cloudsdale for a bit?”

“I understand they no longer use deformed animals and the like for their rainbow-making.” Nightmare flipped open her own notebook, taking quill out as the lesson began. “What are they using now? Surely not ocean water or something of the kind?”

“Prismatics have improved tenfold in the past thousand years,” Twilight brought up a chalkboard with a complicated chart on it. It had cartoon ponies on it, cloudsdale, lines and arrows describing the process, and diagrams of crystals with light passing through. “So they use a lot less water than they used to.”

“Hrm…” Nightmare leaned and squinted at the equations. The brilliant mathematician leaned for a moment, placing a seven in the proper blank, solved the problem mentally, then wrote a complex string of numbers. “Why, this is revolutionary!” she gasped at it, minding the angles and refraction of the sun that had to be taken into account.

“Let’s try a few more of these.” Twilight nodded as Nightmare Moon returned to the long table to sit. The two of them leaned over Fancy Mathematics for a while, delving deep into rainbow theory and prismatics. They did this for well over two hours, working hard at the tricky math of it all. “I know there are no rainbows at night, Princess, but it’s very important to understand… the…” the purple mare trailed off, staring at the black alicorn. Princess Nightmare reached for the quill and ink to take notes. Princess Nightmare reached for the quill and ink to take notes. Princess Nightmare reached for the quill and ink to take notes. Princess Nightmare reached for the quill and ink to take notes. Her hoof kept darting back to be under the table. Twilight’s mouth slowly went agape. Lighting her horn angrily, she blasted the image. That wasn’t Princess Nightmare at all, it was a fake! A short-lived, intelligent recording! “Princ-eeeesss!” Twilight’s teeth were grinding back and forth. She hated it when the night goddess skipped her modern equestrian lessons. Where could she have possibly gone that was more important?!

=-----=-----=-----=-----=

Nightmare Moon checked her calendar for perhaps the hundredth time. The dawning of the 90th day was paramount. She had to make sure she was not miscounting. Standing at her vanity, she donned her shiniest regalia, brushed her mane, flossed her fangs, fussed over her eyelashes, and many other things. The Princess’ two nondescript guards looked at each-other, cocking an eyebrow. They knew better than to speak when she was so focused, but she looked like she was getting ready for a hot date or something. They watched her polish her hooves before donning her horseshoes, inspect her fetlocks with a magnifying glass, touch her lips with a thin line of crimson, then fight her mane some more with a hair brush. “Hrm.” She said, tilting her head back and forth. She turned one way, then the other. She put on her most winning smile, then bore her fangs at the mirror, then smiled again. Then she leaned and made absolutely sure she had nothing in her teeth. “Hrm.” She said again. Turning about, she inspected herself this way and that. “Guard.” She said. Both stallions snapped to attention. “See thou anything out of place? Doth my appearance be pristine?” She let both of them eye her up and down, before both nodded. She turned a half-circle, flicking her tail about in such a way that both of them blushed and looked at the ceiling instead. “Why dost thou look away?” she said aloud, frowning at them self-consciously. “Is there something wrong with the royal flank?” Her eyes suddenly widened and she rushed over to the mirror, sticking her butt up almost to the glass. She squinted at her tooshie very, very menacingly. If her backside was to be her weakness, she would have to eradicate it right away. Both guards wanted to melt into the floor and not be in the room anymore. Th-this was too much. “What is it?!” Nightmare demanded, jowls rising. “Something must be wrong…” she squinted into the vanity. Turning with a whip of her horn she SEIZED one of the two guards by his breastplate with magic. He squeaked like a mare as he was telekinetically hauled a good thirty feet across the room and to her side. “Your opinion on the royal flank! NOW!” she demanded, showing him her butt.

The poor stallion’s pupils shrank into fearful dots. He looked back and forth, shaking a bit at her bombastic demands. “Uh-buh-buh-uhhhhhhhh… shapely!” he finally decided was a safe word to use. “Shapely, your majesty!” Nightmare set him down, looking thoughtfully at her royal hiney. Shapely, hmm? “Very appealing!” he added when he could breathe properly.

“Of course! Excellent!” right away the Princess’ prideful shields were back up, and she gave her tail a good brushing to make it lay correctly. Nodding to make it official, she tossed her brush down. “Now then, we must away! Get my day-walking garments, I have a stallion to win!” she thrust a hoof forward like a conquering general.

=-----=-----=-----=-----=

Nurse Bandaid had lived in the palace for about three months now. It was a big step up from that tiny economy apartment. Having saved a Princess from a changeling Queen, conquered not one but two of her soldiers, and nursed a Goddess back to health he’d been promoted nicely. All of his medical school debts had been paid for, his things had been moved to a royal apartment where he lived rent free, and now he was the head nurse in his wing of the royal sick bay. All the other new nurses really looked up to him and though he was a shy stallion at heart, he did his best to be a good example.

Buuuut even the most noble of ponies have weaknesses. Bandaid’s was Ponies and Castles. It was a nerdy, pen and paper tabletop game with dozens of books, little plastic figurines, and other doodads that pleased his nerdy little heart to no end. At the moment, he was sitting at his dining room table (he had a dining room now!), with books and paper spread out everywhere. A hoof full of oddly-shaped dice dotted the landscape as he scratched quill to paper in a studious way. A passerby might’ve thought he was studying a complex subject for university, but no, it was all for fun. “Mkay…” he mumbled. “And then place the brain-in-a-jar thirty feet away from the pit trap… here.” He made a little x on the page. “So it might grab somepony’s mind, but they’d have time to resist before it made them leap to their doom.” He was good at setting up devious traps, but he was always very fair about it. It was a guilty pleasure to build complex dungeons on grids for ponies to play on.

Now, Nurse Bandaid had retired from caring for Princess Nightmare Moon some time ago. About three months, if he remembered right. They’d not seen a lot of each other. He didn’t blame her for that. She was a Princess after all, she had a nation to run during the night. He was just a nurse that worked in the palace. Every noble with a sore throat, laceration, or other medical need came to him and his coworkers. Even the upper class got booboo’s sometimes, after all. So, he stayed busy. He still considered her a close friend, and he missed her someti—!

BOOM BOOM BAMPH.

Bandaid flinched, startled when a commanding voice issued from his front door. “Bandaid! Come hence!” Speak of the devil, and she shall appear. Brow rising in surprise, Bandaid set his quill down and closed a couple of his gaming books. Stacking them neatly to one side, he rose from his chair. He was already grinning by the time he came to the door. It was because of her that he lived such a cushy life, and he was always glad when she came by for a visit. He opened his door, and his brow went up even higher. A tall, black figure in a cloak stood in his doorway. Hooded, wearing sunglasses and smiling with all her fangs was Princess Nightmare Moon. Something about her seemed different, though. He couldn’t quite put his hoof on it.

“Stay here, I am in no danger in these chambers.” Nightmare bade her guards, who nodded and took up posts on either side of the door. “Hullo, Bandaid!” he motioned her in and she magicked the door shut behind her. He hurriedly went to the windows, closing them and pulling the thick curtains. Going to the angled skylight, he pulled the shades for that too and closed them. The room dimmed nicely. The Princess pulled back her hood when the wretched sun had been shoved out of the room enough. It wasn’t that she was a vampire, but pure sunlight did put her in a weakened state so she had to be careful.

“Princess, it’s good to see you!” Bandaid said enthusiastically, smiling. “I’ve not seen you in a while, what brings you to my place?”

“You of course!” Nightmare whipped off her cloak, tossing it onto his couch and throwing her arms around him. The stallion blushed while she wuzzled the top of his head with her muzzle. “Mhhh, yes you…” she purred like a loud cat. “The ninety days hath passed and now I come for thy heart!” she said, all smiles and joy.

“Wh-what?” Bandaid said when she’d let him go. “Ninety days?”

Princess Nightmare looked a little miffed, but let it pass. She sat on her haunches. “Equestrian law states that one may not romantically pursue their doctor, teacher, or other pony in power over themselves within ninety days of use of said power.”

“Uh huh?” Bandaid said, frowning a little. “It keeps doctors from dating their patients. It’s in the code of ethics.” He gave her a puzzled expression.

“It has been ninety days exactly since thou were my hoof servant and private nurse. I may have you now!” Turning with a flourish of black magic she came down to his eye-level, to her knees. Black sparkles decorated the air around them and she fluttered her eyelashes at him romantically. His eyes widened a bit when she conjured a damp, black rose from the ether and offered it to him. “Thou knows I do not like song and dance and subtlety.” She whispered to him, leaning until they were almost nose to nose. “Be mine, dear Bandaid.” She said sweetly, her great black wings opening for him. “Become my royal consort!” she said, offering him the black rose.

“I am NOT becoming your sex toy!” he snapped angrily, red-faced.

“Wh-what?! No!” Nightmare said, aghast to him. “Is that the modern use for the word consort?!” She turned her head, not wanting to ruin the moment. Spotting his bookshelf, she seized a dictionary off of it.

“Princess I am not going t—!” WHOOMPH, he was knocked down by his own massive book of words. Nightmare hunched over it, flicking it open with magic and paging through it. Frowning darkly, she mumbled through the entries. Stars danced around his head and the world spun. He sat up, rubbing his head. “Prin—!” WAP! The book went sailing back towards the shelf, knocking him the other way down.

“Hah! I am correct. Consort still means companion. Not sex toy.” Nightmare said, setting him upright with magic again. Coughing a little, she tried to calm herself. Ruffling her feathers a bit, she tried lowering her voice. “I meant not for thee to merely jump into my bed, Bandaid.” She said sweetly. She coughed a little, looking to one side, “Though I would not object.” She grinned lewdly and he blushed, scratching the back of his head. “I meant… I meant…” she fished for the more ‘modern’ phrase. “What does Vizier Sparkle call that imbecile Blueblood…?” she frowned, stroking her chin a few times. Her eyes searched back and forth as though she were reading an invisible book. “Stallion… friend?” she tried, making it into a question.

“Coltfriend?” Bandaid offered, rubbing his sore head.

“Coltfriend!” Nightmare seized the phrase, nodding enthusiastically. “Become my royal coltfriend!” she offered him the black rose again. He stared at it. She stared at him, grinning wide with all her rows and rows of razor sharp teeth.

Bandaid seized up like a statue, going a little pale. His heart thundered. S-surely there was supposed to be a date first, or some sort of lead up to this? Princess Nightmare had all the subtlety of a baton to the face, though. She was not one to dance around an idea or want something for very long. She went after what she wanted like a shark. Was he supposed to just say yes and take her flower and that would be that? What would happen to him? How did one date a goddess?! Did royal coltfriends get guards, or have to do a ceremony? Wouldn’t he be flooded by paparazzi? Did Celestia have a secret royal coltfriend? Questions spun around in his fretful little mind, faster and faster. Being a medical student and having no time for that sort of thing, he wasn’t exactly super-experienced in the mare department. “I… I…” He was starting to feel a little ill and overwhelmed.

“Mine heart beats for thee, please say yes?” Nightmare said, pinkening a little in the cheeks. “Though I may have any stallion or start a harem of any size, mine desire for thy companionship dwarfs such things!” she said, confessing herself to him. By her black magic the rose bloomed out into its full, dark span. The alicorn watched him start to hyperventilate a little. Was he having a panic attack? “Bandaid—?” she started to ask when a bead of sweat went down the side of his face.

He fainted.

She winced a little when his full weight bumped, hitting the floor hard. Princess Nightmare stared at him, and her rose wilted before popping out of existence. “Huhm. Not the reaction I’d expected.” She frowned thoughtfully, tilting her head a bit. Looking about as though there might be witnesses, she picked him up and levitated him to the couch. Laying him on it, she settled next to him. Spotting the massive disarray of gaming books on his kitchen table, she retrieved one by magic. “Perhaps the direct approach is not what he needed.” She flipped the book open thoughtfully, sighing. “Ah well. When he wakes up I shall ask him again. If he faints twice, I shalt need a backup plan.” She nodded to make it official, and set to reading quietly. After a time, she extended one of her massive black wings over him like a blanket. “Surely my mother has not allowed males to become so complicated over the ages.” Nightmare chuckled softly.

End of Part 2

A Play, Bandaid!

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 3: A Play, Bandaid!

Dearest Bandaid,

I apologize I was not able to be here when you awoke. Royal duties called me away, and I had to leave. However! Think not I shall abandon my original intent upon thee. My guards tell me it is modern tradition to meet at places of entertainment or eateries to make romantic intentions known. You will have to forgive my archaic assumptions for thy heart. I shall therefore send a summons to bring you to the Canterlot Royal Theatre tomorrow evening. I think a play would be very nice to sit and relax to. Perhaps I shalt rest my wing upon thy shoulder during.

Princess Nightmare Cosmos Equiness Moon

The brown stallion stared at the note that had been left by his bed side. He recalled, after a few minutes of rubbing his eyes, what had happened the night before. Cocking his head and rolling out of bed, he considered himself in the mirror. He did like her… perhaps not so forwardly as she liked him, but something was certainly there. He’d caught glimpses of the mare beneath the bombastic personality. Maybe she was right. A calm, sitting down sort of activity might be something good to start with. If the Princess of the night could sit down and be calm for a few hours, maybe they might… what? He blushed when he found her black rose on the chest of drawers. It was overwhelming, really, the affection of a goddess. Bandaid wondered if Celestia had ever… well, certainly so. Prince Blueblood was a distant relation of hers, so the sun Princess had certainly had a husband or lover or something in the past.

Nightmare Moon seemed more… eh… open in her own affairs. But, she’d said it aloud as well. She’d forgone a harem and other sorts of affection just for him. It was flattering, in a way. While he wasn’t a particularly impressive stallion, at least he didn’t think so, it did make him smile coyly at the thought. If she’d calm down a bit, she might be… well… dateable?

The thought was alien to Bandaid. He went to the bathroom to shower and groom for a while before donning his nursing vest and getting his bag. He’d forsaken the thought of feminine attention long ago, since he’d devoted to the medical fields. Nightmare Moon had once called him a ‘fine specimen’, and the thought colored his cheeks. He was bad with mares, but then again the night time Princess wasn’t like any other mare. “Fine.” He murmured to himself, turning and locking his front door. “One date. If she’s as crazy as usual, I’ll just turn her down. She can find another stallion to seduce.” He nodded firmly. “At least you have to be quiet in a theatre. That should curb her. At least a little.” He chuckled, shaking his head.

=-----=-----=-----=-----=

One twisted ankle, three lacerations and a freak black eye later Nurse Bandaid was done with his shift. Checking the last few things off his clipboard, he set his medical bag on his side and strode from work in the medical wing of the palace. Awaiting him outside was a young colt, a little mailmare’s hat on his head. “Mister Bandaid!” he squeaked, saluting and coming up to him.

“Uh?” Bandaid looked down, then smiled. “Yes?”

“I’m here to pick you up for her Majesty! Are you ready to go?” He said, dancing about like he was about to bolt. The messenger colts of the palace were known to be coiled balls of energy. It made them very light and speedy, if a little startling at their twitchiness. Some ponies told rumors of sugar pills given to help them…

“As ready as I’ll be, I guess.” Bandaid smiled politely, following after the colt as he turned to canter along. He glanced out a window as they passed it. It was dusk, almost dark. The messenger led him out of the palace, past his apartment so he could drop his bag and vest, then to the outside past the portcullis. A chariot waited with two stallions for him. “Thank you.” He tipped the colt with a bit before he took off like a shot. Energetic thing. The ride was slow, bumpy, but otherwise uneventful. Bandaid wasn’t used to riding in an enclosed chariot, but it wasn’t too bad. He leaned out when the vehicle stopped in downtown Canterlot. Peering around, he found himself in front of a large, ornate building.

The filigree on the whole thing was of Pegasus design, swirls and air symbols and greek-era columns. The Royal Theatre was a very high-scale sort of place. Monocle-wearing nobles wandered by as Bandaid watched, their top hats and haughty expressions telling him all he needed to know about the place’s patronage. As the nurse slowly stepped out of the chariot, one of the two stallions unhitched himself quickly, coming over with a bag. “Stand still, now.” said the middle-aged pony. Bandaid blink-blinked while the stallion ran a quick brush over his mane, fussed with his tail a moment, flicked his barrel to get rid of a tangle, and checked his fetlocks. “Can’t go in there without lookin’ your best.” He started to shine one of his hooves.

“Hey!” Bandaid recoiled a little. “Th-that’s enough, thanks, I look great!” he said, chuckling nervously. The stallion nodded, bowed, and re-hitched himself to the chariot before pulling away. “Hm, self-parking chariot.” Bandaid mused. “I guess there’s no valet here.” He giggled a little at his own joke. He strode down the red carpet, past statues of gorgeous mares and studly-looking stallions. Memorable actors and characters from shows long-past. He stopped to admire a mare with a staff in her teeth, holding a book in one hoof. Next to her was the statue of a stallion with a Spartan helmet and spear. They leaned together like partners, maybe lovers. Bandaid grinned. He loved that sort of thing. His nerdy little heart loved all the architecture and statuary and such. It was like something he’d made up for one of his Ponies and Castles games.

“I say there, chap, what brings you to the Royal Theatre?” a monocle'd stallion with an impressive handlebar mustache paused next to him. “You seem a mite lost!” The two stallions looked at each other for a time, silent. The noblepony glanced around a bit, “Don’t let anypony catch you staring, chap, they might gossip about your pedigree!” he smiled in a warm way, turning and leaning into his saddlebag for a moment. Lighting his horn, he turned and attached a handsome blue bow tie to Bandaid’s neck. “There, good show!” he said, smirking.

“Hey thanks!” Bandaid said, touching it where it fit snugly on him. “I always thought you noble types were mostly stuck up and mightier-than-thou sorts!” he regretted his words as soon as he said them. “S-sorry, I just uhm…”

“Think nothing of it, son, you can’t trust a stereotype!” he reached to smooth his mustache a bit, winking at him. “You’d be surprised what royal sorts can do when they really put their minds to it.” His eyes flicked over as he spoke, and then he quickly stepped behind Bandaid with a harrumph. “Pardon, I do loathe unwanted attention.” He said with a chuckle.

Nurse Bandaid turned his head, just in time to see Vizier Twilight Sparkle and Prince Blueblood walk down the red carpet and into the theatre. His mouth made a little o-shape. The Prince was sporting a black bow tie and cufflinks, looking rather proud of himself as he tossed his mane. Vizier Sparkle looked positively ravishing in her circlet and earrings. Both talked animatedly, leaning on each other a bit and giggling. They’d been unofficially courting for a few months now and had become the constant source of palace gossip. They made a cute couple in Bandaid’s opinion, but he wasn’t about to wander over and interrupt their night. The last time he’d been in the same room with them, well, Blueblood had been eaten alive. Awkward thing to bring up, really.

“Th-thanks again, Mr—?” Bandaid turned to thank the mustached stallion, but he’d vanished. “Where did he…?” he trailed off, peering around. He’d vanished like a ghost, almost as soon as Twilight Sparkle and Prince Blueblood had gone into the theatre. “Huh. Odd.” He shrugged a little, but pawed at the bowtie none the less. “Cool…” he murmured. It felt super-fancy, wearing something so shiny and silken. He was a nurse, not a noble gentlepony, so it was pretty empowering. “Mmmm-yes my lady,” he put on a posh accent, talking to the statue in front of him. “I thought the resturaunt was rah-ther droll, let’s hope the thea-tuh is up to standards, muh-huh-huh-huh!” he laughed in a nasal-y way, shaking his head.

A shadow cast itself upon Bandaid very suddenly, “Ah, there you are! Good night, Bandaid!” the black alicorn tried not to chuckle when the stallion jumped as though slapped on the butt.

“Princess! Good evening!” he smiled and bowed, drawing a few eyes from the ponies milling about outside the theatre. Who was that stallion with the Princess? They didn’t recognize him. Foreign dignitary, maybe? Hmm.

Princess Nightmare Moon loomed over him, before snapping her wings closed and smiling. “We’re just in time, the play shall begin shortly. We must make for our box.” She gestured to her two guards, who nodded seriously before falling in line behind him.

“So, what play are we going to see?” Bandaid wanted to know, smiling up at her.

“Oh. Erm...” Nightmare’s eyes flicked around. She’d not bothered to see what was playing. Bandaid was the goal, not the play itself. “Er, it’s a surprise.” She feigned, coughing a bit. “After all, is culture to be narrowed into genre, picking and choosing?” her silver tongue danced for him.

Bandaid nodded thoughtfully as they went inside, under the high and mighty archway. The Princess had a point. If they were going to do something cultural, what sort of play it was shouldn’t be something they were picky about. The lobby of the theatre awaited them, where non-crunchy snacks and fancy drinks were being sold. They even had some of those fancy little binoculars that you could use to see the stage much better. The stallion made to buy some, but Nightmare stopped him. She had invited him, after all. Leaning, she paid for two pairs and passed one to him. Bandaid smiled bashfully, thanking her as they made for the box stairs.

“The royal box is in the center of the lowest balcony. The best seats in the theatre.” Nightmare Moon said proudly. She walked with her regal muzzle up and her eyes partially closed. Moving with quiet, liquid grace when the noble ponies of Canterlot looked upon her, she paused only now and then for the crowd to part. Ushers fell all over themselves to move everypony out of the way for her Majesty. Bandaid felt lots of eyes on himself, and squirmed a bit. He was glad the Princess was moving at a brisk pace.

The pair of them emerged into the theatre great-room, then the auditorium proper. Bandaid paused at the crest of the stairs, and the Princess did too. Dark red velvet curtains hung from all the walls, and the seats were sewn with golden thread, plush and inviting. Dim lights made it hard to see, but all the focused lights on the stage made it easy to navigate the room. The darkness kept the place cool, very cool for the early spring season. “Wow…” said the stallion in a hushed way, shivering and looking around in awe. “I’ve never seen something so fancy… and I work in the palace!” he chuckled bashfully, peering up at her.

Nightmare nodded a bit. “The arts have always been my sister’s domain. But, it never fails to impress me.” She murmured, studying the angles in the ceiling and the arrangement of the orchestra pit. She could see musicians already tuning up and getting their song books ready. “Never fails…” she said softly, her gaze wandering the rows and rows of seats. “Ahem! Come, we’ve seats here.” She gestured, leading Bandaid past a little gate. “Thankfully this theatre has not changed much in my absence. They’re very strong in the old ways and tradition, in such things.” She allowed him through the chest-high gate, then one of her guards shut it behind them.

The royal box had two large, plush pillows for laying on. No chairs. Bandaid cocked his head. It reminded him of Nightmare’s resting area in front of the hearth. Just a massive, pillow sort of thing that an alicorn could stretch out on for relaxation. It made sense. A pony that size wouldn’t fit in a normal chair. As he came close, the stallion noticed that one looked well-used, flecked with the occasional white hair, and the other looked prestine. He frowned over for a moment, wondering… what was that? He leaned down when he saw a neatly folded scrap of paper tucked under one corner of the hair-flecked pillow. He took it and unfolded it. “To the staff of the Royal Theatre. Please do not touch my seating pillow, I’ve arranged the lumps in it just how I like them. Signed Princess Celestia. Smilie-face.” Bandaid read, smirking a little.

Nightmare Moon cackled a bit, nodding. “That sounds like her. Then again, if one is to sit in one place for a couple of hours, it needs to be a very comfy seat.” She leaned conspiratorially. “The throne in the palace is marshmallow-plush, we assure thee.” She whispered. Bandaid chuckled a little, careful to walk around the massive alicorn pillow to get to the other one. “My sister must’ve had this one brought in when I returned…” the dark goddess murmured, stepping up onto the fresh pillow. She turned in a circle a few times, stamping down a good laying spot near the middle. “How nice.” She said, flapping her wings a bit to stretch them. Finally looking over at Bandaid, she patted the laying pillow a bit.

The brown stallion coughed a little, making triple-sure there were no chairs nearby. When he found none in the royal box, he smiled in a shy way. “Uhm… uhm, scoot over a bit.” He said, sidling onto the cushion like it might bite him. Nightmare lifted a wing invitingly, but he sat a short distance away instead. Shy thing.

Nightmare suddenly remembered her promise for subtlety. If Bandaid was to be won, she could not be aggressive and bombastic as normal. What would a stallion do to court his mare in this situation… hmm… “Ah, we have programs.” She turned, lighting her horn when she saw them in the little drop box. “Let’s see what the play shall be…” she lifted it to her nose, studying the front. The front was a beautiful painting of a white mare and a black one doing battle was crossed horns. They had wings on their backs as well. Alicorns?! The Princess furrowed her brow at the background, which was a mass of fighting ponies. Her eyes bulged, flicking down to the bottom to read the title: The Fall of Nightmare Moon, a Shakespony Tale. “Fuck…!” She blurted softly before she could stop herself. The modern swear word rolled off her tongue, and both her guards flinched in shock. Had she just said—?!

“What?!” Bandaid looked over from his admiring of the theatre.

“I said, eh,” Nightmare fumbled for a moment. “WHAT a lovely bowtie. I’ve not seen you dressed up before.” She coughed, shooting a warning glance at her guards. One armored stallion looked at the other out of the corner of his eye. They shared a veiled smirk. Smoooooth, this Princess was. Very smooth.

“Oh, thank you.” Bandaid said, finally settling down a bit before opening his program. “Oh wow, the Canterlot Orchestra is hosting Octavia, master cello player…” he murmured. “I’ve heard her stuff before, great mood music for some of my games…” his words trailed off as he scanned down the list of names. “Wait.” He flipped to the front again, to see the title. “The Fall of Nightmare Moon?” he cocked his head. “They made that into a Shakespony play?” he blinked.

“Er, I hadn’t noticed. I’ve been gone, if you remember.” Nightmare shifted uncomfortably. She waited for Bandaid to be cross with her. She’d taken him to a play about herself! She wanted to facehoof. Badly. Did her mother Faust have no mercy when she was actually trying to be romantic?!

“This should be interesting.” Bandaid smirked at her a little. “Just no commentary throughout, eh?” he teased her, closing his program and setting it aside. “I actually wanna watch this.” He shivered a little, for the theatre was cold and slowly sapping his body heat. Nightmare nodded dumbly, disbelieving her dumb luck.

They watched the theatre fill with ponies in relative silence, and before long it was time for the show to begin. Nightmare was thankful when the lights went down. Bandaid perked his ears, leaning a bit. He’d never been to a big fancy play like this, it was sure to be interesting.

=-----=-----=-----=-----=
3 Hours Later…
=-----=-----=-----=-----=

The actress playing Nightmare Moon lay on the ground, touched with fake blood, her wings sticking out at odd angles. A stallion in dark armor leaned over her, thrusting off his helmet and pulling her to himself mournfully. The audience cooed softly, leaning forward and held in the play’s grip. “My queen!” the soldier said gutterally, suffering from many pink-blooded wounds. He hacked throatily, spitting to one side as he cradled her head up. “My queen!” he said again, shaking her. “Get up! The sun wench cometh upon us! Thine dark glory is the only--!?” he suddenly arched his back, eyes wide as a spiraling white horn sprouted from under his arm. The Pegasus mare playing Celestia stood behind him, having ‘run him through.’ He fell with a splat, clutching at the wound. “As such I die, for my dark queen!” he announced, flopping down and going still. The audience gasped, holding each other. Such drama!

‘Celestia’ loomed over her darker half, stained with blood and battle while she gasped wildly. The battlefield behind them was a mat-painting, covered with plenty of bodies and broken flags to show what had happened. The white mare knelt down, ceremonially lifting her helm and setting it next to her. She coddled the darker mare into her front legs, tears coming to her eyes as she stroked her mane over and over. She wept aloud, though angrily (very hard to pull off on stage, if she did say so herself).

“This war is at its end, sister Nightmare Moon! We won’t allow thee to spread thy evil any further!” She snapped her hoof out towards their surroundings. She forced the darker mare to turn her head, and both characters saw the battlefield that wasn’t there in the audience. ‘Nightmare’ looked startled, but gritted her teeth. “Look! Look where thy path of hatred and evil has brought us!” The milky mare gestured harshly. Nightmare turned her head away like a stubborn child.”The massacre between our armies shalt make stallions more scarce for generations! Our little ponies shalt suffer for thine selfishness! Have thee no remorse?!” she demanded, tears going down her cheeks.

The actress playing Nightmare struggled to her hooves, backing away and panting like a savage beast.Roaring in a fury, she stomped her hooves and pulled a spear out of a nearby dead stallion’s breast. (the actor hoofed it over, having been holding it steadily to himself for an impressive forty-five minutes) “Then thou leaveth me no choice!” The white mare lifted a wing-sword from its sheath on her hip. They charged at each other, and stage hooves suddenly ignited a long roll of flash paper. The audience cried out in horror when the entire stage went up in wild white flames. Just as quickly the flames died and the white mare stood alone on stage. Even the dead stallions had moved during the flash of light. She turned towards the audience, tears slipping down her cheeks. Behind her, the mat painting had changed to show the full moon, with the mare in the moon printed on its pale face. “Return to us one day, sister! I mourn for thee!” she cast down her sword, burying her face in her hooves. “I weep for thee!” she cried. Mares in the audience sniffled, and a few stallions too. Wives leaned into their husbands. “Nightmare, Oh Nightmare!” the actress Celestia wept as the curtain slowly closed and a sun rose up in the background. “Equestria weeps for thee!” She lowered her face into her hooves just as the curtain hid her from sight, concluding the play.

The applause started low and then worked its way up into a roar. Bandaid stood so he could stomp-clap as well. What a play! What a show! He turned to see the Princess’ reaction, and startled a little. She was crying. “Princess?” he asked over the roar of the audience.

Nightmare shuddered a little. She was hunched, her head hung low. “They know not what they say, Bandaid…” she murmured, silvery tears down either of her cheeks. “It was not near dawn! It was in the middle of the night! The skies were not clear! It was pouring with miserable rain!” She scrubbed at her cheek, humiliated that she wept in front of him. “Th-they have it all wrong! The details are all wrong!”

“Princess...” Bandaid said softly, coming back to sit beside her. The play really had upset her. He fished for something good to say to her, but could only watch her try to stop her tears. He looked over his shoulder at the guards, who stood there awkwardly and not much help.

“My sister never called me evil…” Nightmare whimpered a little. “Not once. Not even when we fought.” She sank from her haunches to her belly, hiding her head under her wing like an ashamed swan. Bandaid settled next to her, not knowing what to do. Thankfully the royal box was hidden in an alcove, so nopony could see them. Celestia had had it made that way so no one could see when she attended plays (She didn’t want to make the actors nervous). The brown stallion ached to see her so miserable, though. He was a nurse, he wanted to stop her hurting but he just couldn’t see how.

“Th-there there.” He said awkwardly, lifting a hoof to stroke her long back. She sniffled where she’d hidden her head. “It’s been a thousand years or so, I imagine a few things would get twisted around after that long.” He knew it wasn’t the play itself that upset her, just the content. The bad memories. Poor thing. Her sobs quieted after a time, and she gave a noisy sniffle. He kept stroking her back, until her nose poked out from under her feathers. “Therrrre you are.” He said brightly, trying to be comforting. “I thought you’d gone away.”

Nightmare snorted a little, trying and failing to regain her dignity. “P-Please, tell nopony we wept over this.” She asked, hanging her head a little. “I already harbor the f-fear of ponies, I don’t want their p-pity as well.” The black alicorn said, rubbing the snot from her muzzle.

Bandaid wasn’t sure what to make of her. Her shields were always up around him, but this was something else entirely. He could almost see a real mare in there, instead of a haughty goddess. “I promise.” he said. Suddenly smiling, he lifted her wing with a hoof and sidled up next to her. Leaning, he lowered it over himself like the hatchback of a closed carriage. Nightmare chuckled coyly, MOOSHING him against her side with her powerful wing muscles. “Oof!” he yelped, eyes bulging out of his head. She’d gotten to hold him after all. That seemed to make her feel better, and she perked up a bit. He was glad, even if it hurt his ribs a little.

End of Part 3

Figs, Bandaid!

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 4: Figs, Bandaid!

Celestia had made a rare visit to her sister’s room, only to find the black alicorn sulking. The sun Princess could tell her sister was sulking, because she was staring listlessly into her fireplace and didn’t turn her head when she came in. Nightmare was nothing if not busy, busy, busy with one thing or another at all times. She couldn’t stand to sit idle. Frowning with concern, Celestia closed the door behind her and approached. “Nightie…?” she asked softly.

“My attempts to a stallion’s heart were not as fluid as I’d hoped.” Nightmare blurted before her sister even asked, hanging her head. Celestia clambered onto the giant sitting pillow with her. When they were side by side it was easier to see how deeply troubled Nightmare was. Celestia opened a white wing, putting it over her shoulder. Turning her head, the white alicorn summoned a brush from the nearby vanity to soothe her sister. Leaning and lighting it with solar magic, she ran it through Nightmare’s whispy locks.

“Want to talk about it?” Celestia said gently.

“No.” she said poutily. There was a long silence of brushing and staring at the fire. “Yes.” She finally admitted. “But only with thee. Promise not to divulge?” she said, turning her head.

“Of course.” Celestia said, smiling in amusement. They sidled closer together so that nopony could hear them.

“I sought to court my former nurse, Bandaid.” Nightmare told her, lowering her voice a bit. “I offered him my heart and a black flower, and he fainted. Then, we attended the theatre, and I wept over the play. I am cursed.” At Celestia’s blank look, she went into greater detail and told her all about what had been happening lately.

“I never thought I would see you wanting a relationship, Nightie.” Celestia murmured, sounding impressed. Nightmare gave her a look, and the white mare chuckled. “You used to only take lovers, not companions.” She ran the brush over and over through Nightmare’s mane as she spoke. “This is a big change for you.”

“I’d offer him all the stars in the sky if I thought it would please him, but somehow I think he would merely faint again.” Nightmare said crossly. Celestia fought a smirk. “Stallions should not be so complex, sister! The male mind is not a complicated thing. As long as they are being petted, kissed and provided for, should they not be happy?” she looked at her sister over her shoulder.

Celestia chuckled a little. “W-well, it’s a bit more complex than that, Nightie.” It was going to be an ordeal to describe love to a goddess of lust, fertility, and wine. She understood the physical bits, sure, but the companionship and other parts escaped her. It was all new territory. “There’s a bit more to it than a flick of the tail and a charming giggle now.”

“Oh yes, you once had a companion! While I was away!” Nightmare said, smiling with all her fangs. “Thy descendant Blueblood is proof of this.” She stroked her chin a bit, thoughtful. Then her face lit up. “You must tell me how that all came about, perhaps I will learn to better make myself appealing to Bandaid.”

There was a long silence while Celestia considered. It was an old memory, though carefully recorded in history books to those that went looking. The white alicorn hadn’t had a romantic interest in quite some time, but then again she’d not met a stallion like her last since then. Celestia smiled, her eyes seeing the past. “It was quite a long time ago, I had a husband. He was a mortal pony, so of course his lifespan was over in mere decades… ohh, but I loved him.” She slowed her brushing, cheeks pinkening.

“And the two of you had a daughter, if I read the histories correctly? A Pegasus mare?” Nightmare asked, smiling. “I cannot imagine a pregnant Tia cantering about the palace!” she giggled scandalously, raising a hoof to her mouth. Celestia opened her mouth to scold her embarrassedly, but Nightmare quickly went on. “But yes, tell us of his courtship.” She settled to be quiet for a time, eager to learn from the sun Princess.

Celestia was quiet, trying to sort her thoughts before speaking. Nightmare looked at her eagerly. “Well, we met at the Grand Galloping Gala one year. He spilled an entire foodtray down my front on accident. It got all over my fur and in my mane.” She smirked a little. “The guards thought it was an assassination attempt, and tackled him to the ground. I had to go fetch him from prison after I’d cleaned up, hahaha!” her cheeks colored at the memory.

“You did not imprison him for such an embarrassment?” Nightmare Moon asked in earnest.

“Oh no! No, it was an honest mistake.” Celestia chuckled, shaking her head. “I went and released him from the dungeons under the palace, clearing his name. He was so grateful, and so very nervous too. He’d of course been fired from his position as a servant at the palace.”

“You bedded a SERVANT?!” Nightmare gaped in awe. “The scandal must’ve been extraordinary!” She frowned a moment, suddenly remembering. “Then again, Bandaid was my private nurse, so my hypocrisy doth runneth over…” she frowned herself into silence so Celestia could go on.

The sun Princess’ eyes were still seeing the past as she spoke. “Anyway. He asked if there was anything he could ever do to make it all up to me, so I told him I never got to dance at the gala. You should have seen his face, ahah!” she snickered a bit, shaking her head. “Nopony ever asks us Princesses to dance, as you well remember, so it was always so boring. So, we went to the royal gardens that night in the middle of the night—”

“And he mounted you like a vicious, virile beast?” Nightmare said, grinning like a hyena.

“No!” Celestia swatted her sister’s head with the brush, blushing dark. “Hush! My story, Nightie!” she giggle-snorted a little, holding her face with a hoof. “We danced together by a water fountain, under the stars…” she trailed off dreamily, the brush pausing for a time. Nightmare’s face softened at the wispy expression her sister had. Was that the look she had when she fawned over Bandaid? Surely not. Maybe she would practice it later, though. “He was so much shorter than I, haha, it was all we could do but to lean into one another and shift our weights back and forth. But it was the thought that counted.” She smiled, seeing her stallion’s face in her mind’s eye. “He said we should dance again sometime.”

“A bold one!” Nightmare whispered, smiling a bit.

“Yes. So, when the next large social event came that I attended, I made sure he was there and… well, we danced together.” Celestia said.

“The political scandal must’ve been a firestorm! A princess and a servant!”

“You said Bandaid was your nurse?” Celestia said, looking at her sideways.

“Yes, but I care not what anypony thinks of me. Thou does.” Nightmare said with concern. “What happened to him?” she flicked her ear so it wouldn’t catch in the bristles of the brush while Celestia worked on it.

“W-well, after that first dance we did in public, many assumed he was my royal consort.” Celestia said. “We were just friends at the time, but we thought it was funny, so we played along. Then, as the months went by, it became true.” The white mare blushed a little. “We made love one afternoon in a corner of the royal garden’s hedge maze… and… well…” Celestia went silent after a time, suddenly losing all her courage to speak of such things.

Nightmare lowered her voice. “Thou became pregnant?” she whispered with interest. She leaned until they were almost nose to nose.

“Oh no no, that didn’t come until much later. I can control my fertility as much as you can, sister.” Celestia smiled a little. They were gods, they could certainly do that. “We were married before our foal came along.”

Nightmare sat in quiet contemplation for a time. “It sounds like the pair of thee were fast friends, and then later lovers.” She said evenly. She stared into the hearth. “Perhaps I have been going about this all wrong…” she stroked her chin, looking at the ceiling thoughtfully.

Celestia smiled gingerly when Nightmare turned and took the brush from her. Setting it aside, she gestured for one of her sister’s wings. When the white span was laid out in front of her, she leaned and nibbled around for broken feathers. She found one, pulling sharply and spitting it into the fire. Celestia flinched, but soon felt better when the sting turned into a nice warmth. “You know Nightie, I know you like to be in charge and such,” the white mare said, “But did you think perhaps of letting your stallion choose an activity or two for you? If you’d like to court him, maybe find out what he likes and participate in that?”

“Hrm.” Nightmare Moon nodded a little, ruffling her sister’s feather’s back and forth. Finding a trio of feathers out of alignment, she gave them a mild lick and made them lay flat like they were supposed to. “Well, he likes Ponies and Castles. I know that much. Tis a game full of numbers and statistics. Some sort of play-pretend with ink and paper.” The black goddess murmured.

“Isn’t he a bit old for that?” Celestia said, concerned.

“Aren’t thou a bit old for mortal stallions?” Nightmare snapped defensively.

Celestia chuckled a little, shaking her head. “I didn’t mean it like that, haha. I suppose everypony has a hobby.” She extended her wing to help the wet feathers lay down while Nightmare spat a third into the fire.

Nightmare shrugged a bit. “He has books of it, perhaps we will play together sometime. We played once, while I was hiding from Chrysalis in his apartment.”

Celestia suddenly winced, her eyes widening a bit. She’d forgotten why she was visiting her sister in the first place. “Speaking of,” the white alicorn said with a rather guilty smile. “I wanted to talk to you about our estranged sister.”

“Will you finally allow me to lead an army into the badlands and smite her head from her shoulders?” Nightmare said playfully. She snorted at the look her sun sister gave her. “Pfft, do not giveth me that glare. I spent a thousand years on the moon because of her treachery, I have every right to pull her head off if opportunity provides.”

“Mother wouldn’t allow it, and you know that.” Celestia was suddenly stern.

“Mother has not spoken to us for millennia, and she allowed me to be sealed unjustly in the moon!” Nightmare squawked angrily, biting one of Celestia’s wing joints sharply. The sun Princess yelped, then wapped her with the offended wing. “I do not care what she thinks anymore.” Nightmare turned her head away with a grump, frowning angrily.

Celestia sighed. Nightmare and their mother had never gotten along especially well. Even amongst her own family and siblings, the sun goddess sometimes had to play diplomat. The five children of Faust rarely saw their mother, she was running all of existence after all. “I still think she would disapprove of killing your own sister.” Celestia soothed, stroking Nightmare’s long back. When the ebony alicorn relaxed a bit, she spoke again. “But, getting back to what I was about to tell you,” she lifted her other wing and got a scroll from the dainty bag hidden underneath. “Chrysalis wrote to me a few days ago.” She gestured to the letter. “It seems she’s finally strong enough to travel again, and she wants to visit.”

Nightmare’s mouth went happily agape. “The perfect chance to tear her in two!” she said joyously.

“Nightmare!” Celestia scolded.

“She sucked the love from me, allowed me to be sealed in the moon, returned to take my nurse’s place, and then tried to murder me!” Nightmare Moon cried in disbelief. “And you would allow her to visit us in our own home?! You invite nothing but chaos into our country!” she gestured harshly.

“Nightie if you would just—!”

“No! No no no a thousand times no!” Nightmare stood, stamping a hoof angrily. “She may not come here! If she does, I will mount her head on my wall for all the damage she’s caused me!” She lifted a leg, stamping it harder. The marble floor cracked, making Celestia flinch.

“I’ll keep her out of your sight.” Celestia soothed. “She said she wants to visit me, anyway, not you. She’s not stupid.” The white mare smirked just a little. “She wants to make reparations, rather than let the fresh wound fester. It’s been a long time since all five of us have been on earth at the same time.”

“I’ll fester her FACE! With my hoof! And a battle axe!” Nightmare swore.

Celestia grabbed her sister by her cheekbones and kissed her to shut her up. Nightmare swooned openly, falling onto her belly. She’d not been expecting that. Celestia NEVER engaged like that, it was always Nightmare who went first. The black mare quieted, panting, more than a little placated. “You’re going to be busy figuring out how to court your stallion, yes?” she waited for Nightmare to nod. “Then I’ll keep Chrysalis by my side and watch her closely.” Celestia said comfortingly. “If she sticks a hoof, or a fang, where it should not be— I’ll skin her alive a second time.” The sun princess offered a dainty smile that made her sister giggle. It only happened once every eon or so, but Nightmare’s sister could say some truly vicious things when she wanted to. Brr! But she was right, it was time to do some research.

=-----=-----=-----=-----=

Nightmare poked her head into the ‘Dice and Dragons’, a game store on a corner in Canterlot. Her two guards entered with her, eyeing the jingling bell above the glass door. Being almost time and a half the height of a normal pony, she stuck out like a sore thumb. The teenaged colt behind the counter’s mouth went agape and he bowed. “P-Princess Nightmare Moon!” he stuttered. “D-d-do you have the right store? This is Dice and Dragons, we sell trading cards and board games!”

“Verily, shopkeeper. But tell nopony of my attendance here.” Nightmare gazed around slowly with a frown. All the brightly-colored boxes and action figures and memorabilia assaulted her eyes. The two guards stationed themselves at the door, as not to impede their Princess. “Where to begin?” she murmured, moving from display to display. The black alicorn leaned, frowning over the rows and rows of things.

There were Yugimon: The Gathering cards, Journey to the Center of Equestria, Hi Ho Cherry-O, Liar’s Dice, and countless other board games and spectacles. There was a magic bucket that spat plastic balls that would only stop if you got all five of one color into it. Murder mystery games that expected you to dress up using the props that came in its big box. She paused at ‘Battle of the Sexes’, but that was just a boring card game of questions and answers. A tall shelf had a wide variety of paintable little pewter figurines (out of reach of foals, of course). Posters lined the walls on every inch of available space. There were even a few model planes hanging from the ceiling. Games with interesting names like Sorry!, Trouble, and Crossfire were stacked neatly next to each other. A hoofball that hadn’t moved in decades sat, lonely and deflated, in a corner of a low shelf. Each demanded her attention as she scanned her eyes over them.

“What a strange subculture you are a part of, dearest Bandaid…” Nightmare muttered, arching her eyebrow. “But if this is where one goes to find Ponies and Castles…” She reared up a bit, a rare thing for her, to peer at the top shelf in one aisle. There was a little train set there that moved when you pushed the button. She delighted over it for a few moments, but then remembered her mission. Then, finally, she saw it. There was a cardboard display in one of the aisles with the Ponies and Castles logo on it. Cantering forward, she read the advertisement. ‘Maw of Madness, Journey to the Bottom of Castle Crowtower’s Dungeons! New Campaign Book!’ The artwork was of a short-tailed unicorn mare, levitating a sword and torch as she peered down a series of crumbling stairs. She was oddly shaped, and Nightmare Moon stared at her trying to figure out why. “This was not very well made.” She tsked with disapproval. “No mare’s haunches are shaped that way.” She eyed the artwork. Perhaps it was meant to be a sexualized fantasy of some sort? Pffft. Showing stallions something they couldn’t have to sell a game, how sad. Her eyes flicked down. ‘On Store Shelves February 12th, 20XX!’ The Princess frowned, that was almost two weeks away. Drat.

Tink-a-link. The door to the shop came open. “Hey Deck Cut, how’s it going?” Nightmare froze, eyes widening. She knew that voice. Peering between some shelves, she gave an audible little squeak. Bandaid! Bandaid had come into the store! If he caught her here he would chastise her for spying on his interests! Looking around in a panic, she suddenly remembered her guards. Where had they gone? She spotted them a few aisles over, pretending to be customers. Good. Smart. Very smart of them, to blend in however they could… even if they were wearing their armor. Seizing two large board game boxes, the Princess slammed them together on the shelf so she could see but not be seen. “Have you got any of the new fig sets yet? I really want one of those new Silver Streak the Slayers.” Figs? Was he shopping for food here? Nightmare had not seen any.

“I do, but you ain’t gonna like it.” The shopkeeper said, wincing. Nightmare sidled by in the background, using a cardboard display as cover. Her massive black wings stuck out, but she thought she was hidden enough since Bandaid had not turned to see her. She moved carefully, trying to get a bit closer to listen. “Silver Streak got moved from uncommon up to the mythic rare list at the last second.”

“Really?!” Bandaid groaned, sagging. He leaned, pressing his nose to the glass of the display case. “Why?! That’s stupid!” he complained.

“I know, but I just sell ‘em, I don’t make ‘em.” Deck Cut smiled sympathetically. “Here, I’ll even let you hold her. Might be worth the fifty bits?” he leaned and opened the display case. Nightmare Moon’s ears perked. Was he buying a little toy for his Ponies and Castles games? He’d had some plastic figurines (ah! FIG! Figurine!) when they’d played with the twins at his apartment… oh wait, that was Chrysalis in disguise, using his knowledge of the game to throw them off. That bitch. She couldn’t believe her sister was letting her visit...

“Fifty bits, ugghhhh…” Bandaid moaned, holding something so small Nightmare couldn’t see it from across the room. “Why are my hobbies so expensive?” she could see him considering for a time, then sigh and put whatever it was back on the counter. “I can’t do it, Cut, sorry.”

“Ahhh, well. She’ll be here if you decide you want her that bad.” Deck Cut said, putting something back in the display case. “Not every game shop’s got one of her, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah I know.” Bandaid smirked, staring longingly into the glass display case. “But hey, gotta be the grown-up now and then, right? I can’t blow all my money on this like I did when I was in school.” Nightmare craned her neck, trying to see exactly what he’d been pining to buy. She quickly hid behind a stack of board games when he cast his gaze about the room. Bandaid conversed with the shopkeeper for a time while Nightmare spied, then he bought a pack of Yugimon: The Gathering cards and left.

As soon as the brown stallion was out of sight, the black alicorn EXPLODED from the aisle, sending a shower of games flying in all directions. “Whatever that was that he almost bought, we demand it!” she squawked dramatically, eyes bright and starry. “What was it?! Show us!”

“Yeep!?” Deck Cut sank behind the counter, nearly having a heart attack. Having seen his friend he’d almost forgotten the alicorn skulking about his store like she had been for the past half an hour. “Y-you mean this?” he opened the glass case and gingerly reached for something.

Nightmare leaned eagerly until he placed a plastic figurine on the case between them. It was a zebra, with a silver stripe over her nose and a curved sword in her teeth. She was covered in ceremonial garb, and spattered with blood from battle. She was poised on her back hooves, and looked pretty darn vicious for being just two inches tall. The alicorn lifted it to her face with magic, turning it over and over. There was lettering on the bottom of its base. Silver Streak the Slayer. There was a little star next to it, denoting its rarity. “Hrm. Bandaid wants thee…?” the Princess murmured. She didn’t understand the object of her affection’s obsession with tiny plastic mares, but if that was what he liked… “We’ll take it.” She said, nodding firmly. Reaching for her purse, she paid him the full fifty bits. Deck Cut looked positively blown away. A Princess, buying things in his store?! The guys would never believe him. “Guards, come!” she said over her shoulder as she turned to leave, little treasure in tow. Who needed giant theatres, magical black roses and divine sex appeal? She'd been trying wayyyy too hard at this. She had Ponies and Castles to woo dear Bandaid’s heart with!

End of Part 4

Bitch Sticker, Bandaid!

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 6: Bitchsticker, Bandaid!

Princess Nightmare Moon sat at her massive mahogany work desk. To either side of her chamber door was a guard, and at her back was the slowly rising moon. She’d gotten up a few hours ago to do research. Research on what? Courting the modern stallion, of course. She’d seen to her princess duties, and there was no Midnight Court that evening. After a quick breakfast(dinner?) with Celestia, it was back to work on her main goal.

Spread out in front of Nightmare moon was a smattering of romance novels, each depicting a nicely-shaped stallion coddling a wistful-looking mare. Bandaid did not resemble any of them. She had a stack of magazines, hoping to divine some knowledge out of their articles on attracting the nurse to herself in a more direct way. The nap they’d shared on Hearts and Hooves Day still set her heart aflutter, and she wanted to be with him more. Not just in the sensual sense, but more of a… companion, sort of thing. She didn’t know the proper words to describe it. Leaning, the black alicorn sipped wine from a fat goblet, swirling it about in a thoughtful way.

Bandaid did not fit any of these descriptions. He was unique, apparently. He was not powerful, or headstrong, or arrogant. He did not need to change for the better, or be taught how to treat a mare right. He wasn’t a pirate or a jungle king or a rich business pony like in those books. He was meek, easily rattled, and adorable. He needed to be held, coddled, and spoken softly to. He liked to play pretend with little plastic figurines and enjoyed warm naps in the evening moonlight. He was special.

Nightmare Moon sighed, not sure what to do. She stared at all of her relationship books and stacked articles from local Cosmarepolitan magazines. She did see the irony. Not six months ago she’d eaten Blueblood for being caught with such things. She felt bad for it. The dark alicorn tried to imagine what he’d been feeling at the time. Twilight Sparkle had been an unattainable friend at the time for him. She and Bandaid were already friends so… what was the next step? Romancing of course, but how to go about it… hmm… the night goddess scowled in concentration. This was more complicated than she initially thought. Maybe if she did some more work on her night sky’s paperwork she could get her mind off things. Maybe inspiration would strike her there.

=-=-=-=

Nurse Bandaid awoke, went about his normal routine, and stopped to get his mail on the way out to enjoy his evening off. Being a night-shift pony, he did get to enjoy quiet and pleasant evenings in Canterlot now and then… when he wasn’t being pursued by the local night goddess, or brawling with changelings, or other things like that. It would be nice to have a night all to himself for once. Princess Nightmare Moon had been rather quiet lately, and he’d not seen her in a few days.

Bandaid jolted to a stop when he found familiar hoof writing on one piece of mail. “Uh oh,” he murmured, brow knitting into a hieroglyph with worry. He checked the postage date. “Uh oh.” Then he checked the date on the letter itself. “Uh oh!” Then he started to shake rather fretfully. Dropping the letter he darted back into his home.

Rushing around, the brown stallion grabbed all of his Ponies and Castles things. He ripped his map of Maredor off the wall. He put away his collector’s edition 1:6 scale model of a Hyooman (some strange beast of legend). Dashing back and forth, he tried to find hiding places and secure drawers.

Suddenly he whirled around. “The kitchen!” he said in horror. Galloping into his little kitchen he seized his silverware drawer and yanked it open. Getting all the sharp utensils he stuck them on top of his highest cabinets and out of sight. He got his frying pan and did the same. Panting, sweating, he looked wildly around for anything else. Anything else at all. Rushing out into his sitting room, he grabbed his potted plant (Norbert, by name) and hid the poor thing in the closet.

Knock-knock-knock-knock.

Bandaid turned on his hooves, pupils having turned into pinpricks. He swallowed. “Who is it?” he called as loudly as he could without his voice breaking. The knocking got louder and angrier, but there was no response. “I-I’m coming, one second!” he looked around for something he might use as a shield. Nothing jumped out at him save a cushion off of the couch. Well, it was better than nothing. It would have to do… *gulp*… he went to the door, checking the peephole. Yep, it was them alright. Scrubbing at his mane with a nervous itch, he eased the bolt to one side and pulled the door open.

Six mares suddenly piled into the room atop him, tackling him to the carpet. He cried out in pain as they crushed him to the ground in a tangle of legs and shrill laughter. “HEYYYYYY, BITCH-STICKER!” they chorused as one, bursting into wild laughter before carrying him bodily inside.

“No! NO! Help! HALP!” Nurse Bandaid shrieked before the door slammed and locked behind them. “Ahhhhhhieeeee!” His cries were high and mare-like.

=-=-=-=

Nightmare Moon looked up from her copyright paperwork. Her brow furrowed in a disturbed sort of frown, and her ears perked forward. Her two dozing guards jerked back to consciousness, peering at her intently. They straightened up just in time to hear her speak. “I sense a great disturbance in Canterlot,” the black alicorn said, slowly setting her quill down. She turned her head left, then right, as though listening to a high-pitched noise. “As though an innocent voice cried out and then… silenced.” She rose slowly from her seat, capping her ink-well. “My new night sky’s finalization will have to wait. Guards! With me! I sense somepony is preying on my beloved Bandaid!” she kicked the door of her office open with magic, striding from the Obsidian Hall. The two guards looked at each other, wondering exactly how their Princess could know something like that. Then they galloped after her. If her Majesty’s beau was under attack, they had to do something about it!

Galloping to the other side of the palace, Nightmare Moon knew she was right when she could hear faint sounds coming from the royal apartments. She passed Twilight Sparkle’s apartment, moving to the ‘lower-tier’ dwellings and zooming towards Bandaid’s. If Chrysalis had paid him another visit there would be no mercy, no Celestia to save her this time. She swore it! Rushing forth, she tried the door with her hoof.

“One side, Princess!” One of her guards turned and broke the door down with all his might. Wood splintered wildly into the room, and the three of them stampeded into Bandaid’s living room. What they found there was nowhere near what Nightmare Moon was expecting.

Bandaid lay sprawled out on the carpet, all his furniture pushed to one side, while a group of six mares laughed and drank and argued with each other over him. They were so rowdy they’d not even noticed the door being kicked in. The poor brown stallion was basically being used as a table, for he had two coasters and an open beer balanced on his belly while they bent his front legs back and forth with curious expressions. His eyes had been replaced with swirl-marks, and now and then one of his legs would give a little twitch.

Nightmare Moon blanched, not entirely sure what to make of this. “Uhhh… halt?” it came out like a question from one of her two guards. The six of them turned to stare, and not one of them looked impressed. “Er, this is the Royal Night Guard speaking, cease and desist your current activities, and move to the nearest convenient location to pursue them there.” It was like reading off a cue card. Nightmare rolled her eyes.

“Sorry, siblings only!” One of them chucked a beer bottle and it blasted apart on the lip of the guard’s helm, blinding him with the fizzy liquid. There was uproarious laughter.

“Kill them!" Nightmare snapped, stamping a hoof.

“Er,” said the other guard, looking up at his Princess in shock.

“Er, I mean,” Nightmare amended huffily. "I shall stop them."

Finally the group seemed to notice the massive pony standing in the room. “Oh wow, there she is! Its Princess Nightmare Moon!” said the one in the back. “To Princess Nightmare Moon!” they raised their bottles, clank-clacking them noisily together with a shout of agreement. Then they drank a bit. Nightmare cocked her head when all six of them set their drinks on the up-turned stallion’s belly. They were using poor Bandaid like a table, those ruffians!

Nightmare and the second guard exchanged a look, unsure. “Very well then, we shall deal with them personally.” Her jowls rose up to reveal her long and elegant fangs. Her horn lit with black magicks, shrouding all six mares in her dark aura. She lifted them and, with some satisfaction, tossed them across the room like so many horseshoes. They landed in a squealing heap of confused legs and junk food and beer bottles.

“Get your ass outta my face, Bone Break!”

“Sorry Stitches I thought it was your flank!”

“Rug Burn your hoof is going up my nose, knock it off!”

“Get your arm outta my face!”

“You’re crushing me! You’re too fat like mom said!”

“I am not, you take that back!”

“Rawrrrgh!”

Very suddenly a six-mare wrestling match broke out, much to Nightmare Moon’s confusion. They grappled with each other violently, flinging each other over sofas and through whatever they could. A decorative vase Bandaid had taken a liking to exploded against a wall when one of them was tackled over an endtable. The Princess noticed things were missing from the apartment. Models and books and other delicate things were nowhere to be found. “We are coming, Bandaid!” The alicorn waded into the fray while one of her guards helped the other recover from the glass in his face. Nightmare scooped up Bandaid, putting him on her back and started for the door with slow, careful steps.

“Hey! Hey she’s getting away with Bitch Sticker!” One of the wrestling mares suddenly stopped to point. The yowling, twisting mares turned to look and Nightmare Moon suddenly knew what it was like to be a deer in headlights. “Princess comes back!” They untangled themselves and stampeded forth.

Panicking, Nightmare looked around quickly. She could not fight them with Bandaid limp on her back. The first thing that sprang to her mind—whoosh! All six mares suddenly disobeyed gravity and were flung into the ceiling. They stuck there like magnets, twisted in a big heap of candy-colored bodies. The Princess heaved a sigh of relief while they struggled fruitlessly. “Bandaid…?” she eased him down to see if he was okay. “Art thou okay?” she leaned and nuzzled him tenderly. The poor stallion took a long time to respond, for his eyes were glassy and out of focus.

“Uh-whuh…?” Bandaid mumbled, shaking his head a few times. “Where did the herd go?” he asked, looking around. Then he looked up when he heard them cursing and flailing. “Oh jeez, hahaha!” he said, a grin flashing across his face. Nightmare was surprised by the pleased expression. He usually scolded her for such things, but this was amusing? “How’d they get up there?” he leaned on her a little. “Did you do that?”

“We did, yes,” Nightmare said carefully.

“My hero,” He chuckled, then leaned and pecked her on the cheek.

Nightmare blushed while the six of them started trying to climb down the chandelier to reach the floor. It did them no good. It was as though gravity were reversed for them.“Bandaid, thou has always said thou has no luck with mares. Who are these, then? Friends of yours?”

“Just the opposite,” Bandaid made a face. “They’re my sisters.”

“Sisters?” Nightmare blanched a little, looking up at them. She looked from them, to him, then back them. “Sisters?” she asked again.

“Yep. Rug Burn, Stitches, Bone Break, Triage, Candy Crush and Fireball.” He gestured to each one in turn as he named them. The Princess stared at him, then up at the gaggle of mares. Then back down at him again. She looked ready to ask a question, but couldn’t seem to get it out. “Yes, six sisters,” he put in for her, sighing. “And I’m the youngest.”

“Suddenly thy frailty with the opposite gender makes ten different kinds of sense.” Nightmare mumbled.

“Huh?” he looked up at her.

“Nothing. Allow me to… aid them,” Nightmare reduced her spell slowly, easing the mares back down again. “Greetings, sibling gaggle!” she trumpeted, lifting a formal hoof. “We are Princess Nightmare Moon, diarch of Equestria, very special somepony of yon stallion!” she stamped the hoof authoritatively.

Now, finally, they seemed entranced with her stature and status. They blinked up at her in awe, and finally things felt like they were well in hoof. “Very special somepony?” Bandaid asked softly, blushing.

“We are not very special somepony’s, then?” Nightmare asked, looking hurt.

“Uh-buh-well, uhm…”

“Bitch-sticker is dating a goddess?! Whoa!” blurted Fireball.

“I can’t even imagine what that’s like!” agreed Rug Burn.

“He must’ve grown a pair since we saw him last!” wondered Triage.

The six mares looked at each other, blinked a few times, then, “Nahhhh!” they laughed. Nightmare giggle-snorted before she could stop herself, and Bandaid gave her an angry look.

“Eh-heh-heh, well, regardless,” Nightmare lifted a hoof. “Thou may not use my beau as furniture while thou stays. We forbid it.” She nodded to make it official.

“What are you all doing here? Where’s Mom and Dad?” Bandaid asked, sitting next to Nightmare Moon. She stealthily put a massive wing around his shoulders, which he didn’t seem to mind.

“Mom’s still in the fighting circuit until the end of summer,” said Candy Crush. “Dad’s still coaching for her, so they’ll be all along the griffin borders of Equestria till that’s over.”

“I wish she wouldn’t do that. She’s past her prime,” Bandaid mumbled worriedly.

“Thy mother brawls for a living, Bandaid?” Nightmare Moon gaped at him. Well no wonder the poor stallion didn’t dare approach a mare. He’d grown up in a house of loud, violent, powerful females and didn’t dare approach one on his own. (The black alicorn counted herself lucky that he was not homosexual because of this!)

“My mother fights in the octagon, yes,” Bandaid said dully, looking annoyed. “My sisters follow in her hoofsteps, and I follow in my Dad’s,” he shook his head like he was disappointed in his mother. “He’s a doctor and coach for the league she’s in .”
Nightmare Moon couldn’t quite process it. Bandaid’s mother was a cage fighter of some kind? She tried to imagine a female Bandaid beating the stuffing out of another mare in front of a cheering audience. When it came down to it, it wasn’t that hard, to be honest. She’d seen Bandaid’s little rage episodes a few times, perhaps that was his mother’s blood talking. “…Interesting,” was the safe word the alicorn decided on.

“So what’re you guys doing here?” Bandaid wanted to know.

“We got left to look after the house, and they left us tickets to the upcoming Spring Festival.” Fireball said, digging into her saddlebags. “And there’s one for you too of course. Its invite-only, some kind’a hoity-toity thing. Mom’s in the big leagues, so she gets tickets for this sort of thing all the time.”

“We wanted to visit you too, it’s been too long!” Triage said helpfully, smiling in a rather predatory way. “We missed your birthday spanking. And your Hearths Warming spanking. And your new year’s spanking!” Bandaid grumbled at them angrily, but said nothing. “What? It’s a good family tradition!” she cackled. (Nightmare tried very hard NOT to imagine Bandaid being held down and beaten on the rump by a group of mares. She would file that delicious thought away for later.)

“It’s stupid is what it is,” Bandaid grumbled, leaning into the Princess a little. The alicorn smiled with all her fangs, and was delighted at the frightened expressions all his sisters got. The next few hours went by at maple syrup pace for Bandaid while all his siblings asked about every little detail of what he’d been up to lately. Nightmare learned quite a bit about how strange the stallion’s home life had been . His father had sent him to medical school as soon as he started excelling in mathematics and triage. He’d gotten his cutie mark by patching up his sisters during their many school yard fights, and the family had lived in close quarters because of several law suits taking money from them. Violent upbringings were not the best, it seemed, to have so many rowdy sisters and a meek little colt at the end of the line. It was easy to surmise his father did not want that life for him, and had sent him to Canterlot for elite schooling. Nightmare felt a swell of pity for him, and told herself to remember to be more gentle with Bandaid from now on.

It was past midnight by the time they’d gone, leaving Bandaid with his festival ticket. When he finally closed the door, the stallion leaned against it with an exhausted moan. Nightmare smiled gently, sitting on the couch and patting the spot next to her. Dragging a bit and almost tripping over an empty beer bottle they’d left behind, he flopped onto the couch with his head between her hooves. He looked beat. Hunching a bit, the Princess nuzzled him. He turned inward, curling up. She pressed her nose into his scalp, slowly nodding up and down. He purred quietly.

A long silence passed between them, and Bandaid slowly relaxed. Nightmare nibbled on his ear and he chuckled, flicking it a few times. Stroking his withers she chewed on him for a long while, playful and a quiet. He seemed to like that. Suddenly all of the Princess’ books made sense… in reverse. Bandaid was the mare in this relationship. “Oh dear one,” Nightmare purred softly to soothe him. “Dear, dear one…” the rumble in her throat was like that of a giant mountain cat.

Bandaid lay with his head in her hooves, eyes closed. “Maybe we can go to that festival together,” he mumbled after a time, slitting an eye open to look at her. Her face lit up, and she nodded. “Just don’t expect us to be going alone. Knowing my sisters, they’ll be going just to spy on us.”

“We shall stick them to a higher ceiling then, beloved,” Nightmare crooned possessively, stroking his chest with a massive hoof. Bandaid smiled despite himself. That would be funny to see. Another long silence passed between them and he let out a long, relaxed sigh of contentment. “Why do they call you ‘Bitch Sticker’?” Nightmare asked suddenly, leaning over him. Bandaid groaned, hiding his head under his arms.

End of Part 6

A Carnival, Bandaid! (I of II)

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 7: The Carnival, Bandaid! (I of II)

Royal Vizier Twilight Sparkle looked uncomfortably across the table at Queen Chrysalis. With Prince Blueblood next to her and Princess Celestia to her right, she certainly felt safe, but it didn’t keep her from being uneasy. The overpowering magical scent of armor oil and desert winds clouded her senses just a little, and she could tell it was making Blueblood shifty as well.

The Changeling Queen sat, polite and upright, in front of an empty plate and teacup. Occasionally she would lift the dry cup to her lips as though she were drinking, but it was all just pretend—like a filly playing tea party. Changelings couldn’t have normal food like ponies did.

The conversation thus far had been nothing but polite how-are-you’s and such. Twilight and Blueblood weren’t sure what to talk about, and Celestia wore her usual mask of pleasant neutrality. Only the purple mare was sure of the white one’s anxiety. Only those really close to the alicorn could truly read her face. There was more conversation about the food and how wonderful it was. The weather. The up-coming Young Flyer’s Competition. You could cut the tension with a rusty spoon.

“Well, if Celestia won’t mention it, may I?” Chysalis finally broke down to smile. “I’ve heard of Twilight and Blueblood’s recent pairing, how are the two of you faring?” she turned to look Blueblood in the eye, her feelers extending. Why, the young stallion was positively glowing with love energy! She sipped at it before she could stop herself.

Blueblood shuddered but contained it, not really knowing why. “Wuh-well, very well I think.” The stallion gave a nervous smile.

“Do you intend to wed?”Chysalis asked with interest. Twilight Sparkle's full set of formal dining silverware launched itself into the stratosphere, straight out through the window. Celestia turned her head, brow rising sharply. Twilight hadn’t had a power-slip like that in over five years. (The last one had made an entire tea set explode like a bomb) The purple mare blushed like she’d farted at the dinner table. The alicorn opened her mouth to defend her adoptive daughter, but it was Blueblood the beat her to the punch.

“Well if I said yes that would be presumptuous, and if I said no it would be cruel. Like I was leading Twilight along for no reason.” Blueblood said smoothly, wiping the velvet of his muzzle with a napkin. He set it next to him with the same calm and poise. “We’re certainly happy the way things are right now, and whatever the future brings,” he paused to give Twilight one of his extra forks, “Well, we’ll cross that bridge when it comes.” He gave his golden mane a toss. Twilight beamed and Celestia smiled. Smooth. Very smooth.

Well then! He was not such easy prey. “Fair enough,” Chrysalis smiled politely, still sipping at him on the ethereal level. His love tasted of concentrated berries, like a pie filling or a jar of jam. Unusually sweet. He must’ve let it simmer for quite some time before giving it to Twilight Sparkle. The Queen admired a stallion that could let his love fester—it tasted better that way. Twilight touched Blueblood’s shoulder and he smiled quietly. Celestia feigned stretching her wings, whapping Chrysalis in the back. Her sister’s feelers folded back up sheepishly.

“What about you, Chrysalis?” Celestia parried the conversation away from the love birds. “Any potential interests?”

“Not with the hive to care for, I’m afraid,” Chrysalis sighed dramatically, lifting her empty teacup to her lips. “Several million children is quite an undertaking, after all.”

“I can’t imagine having a million Twilight’s,” Celestia chuckled. The purple mare smiled bashfully. “But I imagine they’d be a handful.”

“What about you, Celestia. No beau to speak of?” Chrysalis’ silver tongue pressed while they ate. “You had one long ago, you can’t stay out of the game forever, surely?”

Celestia gave a slight start. Nopony ever brought up Mountain Blood, and with good reason. She’d loved him deeply, and she’d been crushed when he’d died. It took immortal beings like her more time to recover, and her subjects knew better than to speak of it. “Not forever, just not right now.” The white alicorn shot a rather blatant barbed expression to her sister. It was more than clear, Chrysalis was wearing on the white alicorn’s nerves. Being around her all the time for the past week or two atop all her other royal duties was fraying her titanium nerves. “I’ve more important things to tend to.”

“More important things than she who brings the dawn, I can’t imagine.” Chrysalis mumbled into her cup. Celestia’s eyes turned to a pained expression before sealing themselves up behind her queen’s mask again.

Even the only stallion at the table could see Chrysalis had struck a very serious nerve. Blueblood’s expression turned angry and he set his utensil down with a clack. He made to rise, but an invisible hoof touched his back. It pressed him back down so he didn’t jump out of his chair and yell at her. He glanced over at Twilight, who shook her head. It wasn’t worth it, her eyes said. He slowly relaxed with a frown.

Suddenly the doors came open, “Hail and well-met, sibling and friends!” Nightmare Moon exploded into the room, all smiles and happy fangs. With a bounce in her step she found her place at the table. “Good evening to you all!” she was pretty energetic for having just risen from bed. “Forgive my tardiness, I arose late.” She took her place at the table, sitting upright on her sitting pillow. Chrysalis opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off, “Speak, and thy cut lip shall be the least of thy worries,” the black alicorn said sharply. “My mood is grand, and I’ve no taste to have it ruined. You’re here on Celestia’s bit, not mine.” Chrysalis stuck out her forked tongue. Nightmare seized it with her magic, pulled, and let it snap back into her head. The Changeling squawked, holding her muzzle. Celestia cleared her throat just a little to calm the mood of the table.

Twilight and Blueblood held hooves under the tablecloth. It was not often that two gods and a pseudo-god bickered over a meal. They glanced at each other, pondering how would be best to excuse themselves. “Er, what’s got you in such a good mood, Princess Nightmare?” Twilight tried to be diplomatic.

“I have been to the private royal theatre many times this week,” Nightmare explained, nodding her thanks when a servant set a line of broiled shrimp in front of her with garlic butter. Muzzles wrinkled at the sight of her eating meat, but nopony said anything. “There has been invented a type of film that mixes both romance and comedy! Did you know this?!” she said excitedly. “I only discovered film a month ago, quite by accident, but I saw nothing worth seeing until now.”
“What have you been watching?” Celestia asked, eager to steer the conversation in a much safer direction. Chrysalis scowled, but said nothing.

“Fifty First Trots, Sleepless in SeaSaddle, The Ugly Truth, Shall We Dance,” Nightmare went down a long list of romantic comedies that had been released in the past ten years or so. They nodded along with her list until she fell silence. “I’ve been trying to see what sorts of things the modern stallion finds appealing, you see,” she turned to look at Blueblood, “I must say sorry for eating you over your literature all that time ago, my distant descendant,” she smiled slyly. “I find myself doing research to woo a companion as well.” Blueblood smiled awkwardly, and Twilight cleared her throat while she looked to one side. Celestia fought down a groan, carefully maintaining her mask. Eating with ghusto, Nightmare addressed the stallion again, “By the by, Blueblood, have you any advice for me? I am trying to modernize my ways, but not all rules are written.”

Blueblood froze. Nightmare Moon wanted dating advice from him?! “Uhm! Uh-hh…” he looked back and forth, pleading for help from any of the mares present. But no, they were all looking at him with interest. Even Chrysalis had paused and turned to see what he had to say. “W-well,” he wracked his brain extra hard. “J-just uhm… treat him with respect. Respect and love.” It was vague and broad and didn’t help much at all, but at least it was a safe thing to say. Twilight and Celestia’s expressions seemed to approve.

“Respect,” Nightmare tasted the word with her fork in her mouth. She looked at the ceiling as though considering. “Hmm!” she hmm’d like she’d never thought of such a thing. Sure, dear Bandaid had her affection, sensual desire and a few other things. But her respect, that was new. She would have to try that. “Very well then, thank thee!” she offered him a smile full of curved swords that never ceased to make anypony shudder.

The rest of the meal went on without too much incident.

=-=-=-=

Celestia and Chrysalis walked side-by-side to a private sitting room. “Will you feed me, then, sister?” Chrysalis asked in a mewling little voice. “I’ve been here over a week, and you won’t let me have a taste of anypony not right in front of you.”

“I saw you sipping at Blueblood,” Celestia wasn’t having her act. She was smarter than that.

“He was radiating love energy,” Chrysalis defended, lifting a hoof. “I didn’t touch him.”

“No, but you wanted to,” Celestia said, lifting a wing to invite her into the room. She gave the six guards posted there a pointed look. They nodded solemnly, lighting their horns to close the door behind them.

“Of course I wanted to, I’m hungry!” Chrysalis complained as they came into the nicely-dressed sitting room. “Please, Cellie? Pleeeease?” she offered up great big shiny doe eyes. Celestia paused to consider. It had been over a week since she’d fed properly. She couldn’t imagine the political explosion that would happen of the Changeling Empire found out their hive mother had been starved out of Equestria.

There was a long silence as both of them settled on the sitting cushions. Celestia considered for a few moments. There was room to rebuild, somewhere in this mess. She was the oldest, she had to try. “Chrysalis,” she whispered, leaning confidentially. She lifted her grew white wings up, around, then back down around her sister. It was much like a wing meeting with Twilight Sparkle: warm, feathery and confidential. “Come here,” she crooned softly.

“Yes?” Chrysalis whispered softly, sidling forward until Celestia had her in a proper wing-hug. Their muzzles touched at the nose, and she blinked at her swan-like sister.

“I want to rebuild what you and Nightmare destroyed. I do,” Celestia said quietly, her face softening. “But I can’t shake the feeling you simply want to feed off of one or both of us again. Can I truly trust you to behave and not betray us again? Discord is still sitting in time-out for reversing gravity on this planet. You remember how Mother had a fit about that--!”

“Don’t speak of her.” Chrysalis said sharply, turning her head away with an angry face. “Never speak of her.” There was a long, awkward silence between them. Celestia was the favorite. She’d always been mother’s favorite. If Faust ever decided she was done creating the cosmos, Celestia would no doubt be first in line to take her place as High God. Bitch.

“I’m sorry,” Celestia said softly, leaning to nuzzle Chrysalis’ cheek. “I know it’s a tender topic, forgive me,” the alicorn worked to knit calming, soothing magic between them. Gingerly, the day princess weaved a powerful sleeping spell in the fabric of reality around them. Chrysalis swooned a little, but didn’t smell the magic. Being pressed into Celestia’s wings already meant the smell of soaps and quiet vanilla. Her magic smelled exactly the same.

“Cellie, I’m hungry,” the magic-drunk Changeling said, her voice small like a foal’s. Her eyelids were already drooping. She leaned into Celestia’s great chest. “So hungry, all the time,” she whispered vulnerably. “All the time…”

“I know,” Celestia whispered, still holding her sister in her winged embrace. “I know.” Tighter and tighter the sleep spell wove around her sibling, like a cocoon. The invisible threads spun and spun until they were so thick nothing could unravel them. Not even a powerhouse like Nightmare. “Therrrre.” She whispered softly. “It’s alright now,” The Princess extended her neck to rest her long face on her sister’s shoulder. “Shhh-sh-sh… it’s alright now. Go ahead.”

Chrysalis turned her head eagerly, her fangs unfurling. Her gripping strength was gone, but she still sank her fangs into Celestia’s neck. The white alicorn flinched a little, and she lost a feather from her wings. The changeling Queen moaned in pure extacy. The honey-touched magic of royalty and godhood slide across her tongue and down her throat like a golden waterfall of glittering energy. She drank it in.

One. Two. Three seconds.

Celestia unfurled her great wingspan as the sleep spell collapsed on Chrysalis. The Changeling Queen moaned, her fangs retracting as her legs suddenly refused to carry her. She was head down, butt up and in a deep sleep. The white span of wings slowly folded to the Princess’ sides. Three seconds was enough. Alicorn love was potent to her race. She would be fine for a week or so. Twin droplets of golden blood escaped Celestia’s neck and she quickly wiped them away.

The Princess looked around the room, at the six guards that had quietly filed in when the ‘wing meeting’ had begun. Celestia had planned for all of this, just in case Chrysalis got love-greedy. All of the armored stallions had loaded cross-bows with cold steel tips dipped in something poisonous. “As you were, gentlecolts. Thank you for helping me, I’ll take her from here.” They nodded, filing back out and holstering their weapons on their backs. The day Princess took Chrysalis to her guest quarters. She would sleep heavily until morning.

Afterward, Celestia retired to her bedchambers. Across a massive hearth lay a massive painting. Easily five feet by twelve, it covered a huge swath of the wall and was the main reason why her ceiling was so high. Going and sitting in front of her fireplace, she lit it with a flick of alicorn magic. She studied the painting, as she had for many centuries in the past. The message was as plain now as it was the day it was made. Faust was a shy goddess at heart, and had only ever posed for one painting. God-magic had preserved it for all time, though. Celestia guarded it well.

The painting was of a mother mare and five foals. It was meant to be Faust and her five children: Celestia, Nightmare Moon, Cadence, Discord and Chrysalis. The Mother of creation had been very specific on the details of how things were to be arranged in it. Faust herself lay on her belly under a shady tree.

Sitting between Faust’s front hooves was a foal-sized Celestia, listening intently. She was the eldest, the wisest, and the most learned of the five children. Her coat was a pure and shining white, symbolizing purity and royalty. The tiny tiara on her head was a cute detail. The white alicorn couldn’t recall the last time her mane had been that pink. Celestia liked to think that Faust in the painting was looking at her, but with the whited out eyes she could never be sure. The artist had refused to paint the eyes of the High God, so they were a bright and shining white.

On Faust’s back, straddled and yowling, was a tiny Nightmare Moon. With stubby little legs and a wide-open mouth, she shouted for attention from her mother’s back. Ever needy, ever competing with Celestia for the spot of favorite. She was as black as a blot of obsidian, shining with all colors even there in the shade of the tree. She was all the want, all the desire anypony ever felt. The (sometimes ugly) truth in everypony’s heart of hearts. Lust. Desire. Fear. All the most basic instincts that every living thing shared. She was the want to breed, the fire to fight, and the world-driving desire to survive.

Sitting in Faust’s mane with his head between her ears was Discord. Even back then, the little foal had learned to twist his body into a puzzle of everything that was great about everything. He was chaos and madness, yes, but he was also the unbound spirit of life. He was the thrilling joy of experiencing new things, inventing new plants and animals and formations of land. He’d had the biggest hoof in crafting the planet, after all. He was a big fan of uncontrollable areas like Everfree, sure, but he’d done very well on all the rest. Tons of variety so that no one mortal could ever experience it all. Life would always been interesting and full of surprises for every single mortal walking on the planet. That was his gift to them.

Cadance was splayed out on her back, listening to Faust’s heart. Her bright pink little wings were all the way open, and her tail was the wildest. She relied on Mother for all matters of the heart, and constantly prayed to her to help In her decision-making. For, if not for her kindness and generosity, the Crystal Empire would not flourish out on the tundra. Love kept them warm, and she symbolized it as much as spread it.

Lastly was Chrysalis. Celestia often stared at her more than even her Mother in the painting. The little foal that was Chrysalis stood to one side, a few inches away from the pile of mare and foals. She was fixing the group with a coy smile, like she was about to tell a delightful joke. Her eyes were large and expressive, and her hooves were positively huge compared to the rest of her. Mother had been very specific that Chrysalis stand on her own in this painting, and her daughter had never forgiven her for it. But, Celestia could read between the lines.

Though she could not tell it for certain, Celestia would swear that their mother was looking at Chrysalis in the painting, not Celestia. It was Chrysalis and no other that stood on her own hooves in the painting, and the symbolism was great. Terrible-- but great. The poor changeling was meant to be mortal. She hungered like the rest of her people because, if she became a goddess, she would not. She would lose that primal connection. Of the five children of Faust only one was powerful enough to stand on her own powers, and it was not mighty Celestia. The white alicorn feared, not for the first time, what would happen if Chrysalis ever became a God like her siblings. She didn’t need coddling. She didn’t need reassurance from Mother. She was strong all by herself and Faust herself preserve Equestria if somepony like her ever became immortal. She could easily overtake the rest of them and rule the planet. Nevermind the endless hordes of drones at her command and her incredible ability to lay thousands of eggs after one night with a (lucky?) stallion. She would suck them dry and start a dark age. Mother knew it. Celestia knew it. The others did not and, thank goodness, Chrysalis did not either.

Celestia brushed her mane, sighing quietly. At least now, Chrysalis would sleep and think less of food. For now.

=-=-=-=
That Evening…
=-=-=-=

The Spring Festival was a semi-fancy sort of thing. It wasn’t like a normal carnival with candy apples, clowns and a midway. It was more of a trader’s show of interesting new rides, expensive foods, and culture studies. They even had a booth where you could learn to make hats with hay and a series of drinking straws.

Banners fluttered on the evening breeze as it carried with it cool air and the wonderful aroma of food. Laughter rang back and forth as city foals pranced down the sidewalks, gasping and ooo-ing at everything they saw. They ran in packs, laughing and giggling and declaring what games they would play. There was dart-throwing, strength-test-with-bell-and-mallet, a house of mirrors—all sorts of wonderful things.

“I just don’t wanna lose you in the crowd,” Bandaid smiled playfully up at Nightmare Moon.

“We art two feet taller than anypony here, I shalt not be lost,” the Princess chuckled. “But! Now then! What shall we do?” she leaned down to see what her date preferred.

“What? You want me to decide?” The plain brown stallion was a little startled. Usually the Princess just plowed ahead to whatever interested her. “Uhm, let’s see…” he trailed off, looking in all directions. “How about the dunking booth?” he grinned. “Those are always fun!” Turning in a random direction, he took the Princess with him. Ponies stopped to stare, bow, and call out to them as they went. Nightmare offered them small smiles but little attention. Bandaid was the goal this night, the rest of them could mind their own. The sign read:

CHARITY! Dunk the Stallion For Canterlot School’s New Health Program!
Feed Our Foals Healthy Food and Help Your Community Thrive! Win Prizes!

There was a large pool with a window to see in, and there was a stallion sitting on the end of a diving board. He waved to the crowd, then grinned at the Princess when he saw her. The object was to throw balls at a target, and if you hit the middle the plank would give out, dunking the pony and making a big splash. “A worthy cause!” Nightmare nodded at the sign, lifting a wing and depositing a few bits into the box. The stallion behind the counter gave her a series of heavy rubber balls. Bandaid chuckled as she was shown to the little yellow line. It was the distance that did it, really. You had to throw really hard, dead center, to make the plank give. The stallion was only damp at the moment, so it had been some time since he’d been dunked. “Prepare thyself for dunking!” Nightmare lifted a ball with her hoof.

POW! The stallion careened backward when the ball struck him between the eyes, not even close to the target. He tumbled into the water with a cry of pain. “Oh jeez!” Bandaid blurted. “You were supposed to aim for the target, not him!”

Nightmare’s mouth made an o-shape, and she quickly dropped the rest of her balls. Rushing to the pool-side, she lifted the stallion out with her magic. “Forgive me, stallion, we did not understand the game! We thought thee the target, not the… erm… target!” she gestured to one side, fanning him with a wing.

The stallion had big swirls where his eyes were supposed to be, and he looked completely out of it. “Oh no, what am I gonna do?!” The pony running the attraction cried, hooves on his head. “With him knocked out there’s nopony to sit on the plank, we won’t gather enough bits tonight!”

Bandaid leaned over the unconscious pony, examining the bruise. It was dark purple—Nightmare had really beaned him hard. “How are we gonna fix this?” he asked the Princess worriedly. “You really hurt him!”

“I--- I—“ Nightmare chewed on her hoof for a moment. Not five minutes in, and she’d already ruined the night! Bandaid was going to be furious with her.

“I’ll have to take him to the medical tent,” The brown stallion shook his head at the Princess. “Stay here, and don’t cause any more trouble!” he scolded her. With that, he galloped off down the aisle with his patient.

Nightmare felt terrible. She’d thought it was a strange game, pelting a stallion with rubber balls to make him fall, but she didn’t want to seem out of the ‘now’. She’d not questioned it… and had hurt somepony with her backward thinking. Bandaid was angry, and this other pony’s worthy cause was going to suffer for it. She did notice more than a few ponies staring as well. Some of them wore accusing looks.

Bandaid returned some twenty minutes later, “I think he’s going to be okay,” he told to the pony running the attraction. But, the stallion was paying him no attention, instead he was busily taking money from an array of ponies that were eagerly buying throwing balls from him. “What the--?!”

Princess Nightmare Moon sat perched on the end of the plank, above the water. She spotted Bandaid and gave a sheepish, floppy-hoof’d wave. She’d put herself up in the stallion’s place. “Come one, come all!” she trumpeted. Ponies that were walking by stopped to stare, but a Princess was never crowd shy. She was used to having many eyes on her. “When in thy lifetimes have you ever had the chance to drop royalty into a pool?!” she demanded, hopping up and down on the plank. It bent and groaned under her alicorn-sized weight. The crowd murmured back and forth with interest, growing by the minute. “Then buy your chances, and see if you may dunk thy Princess!” she did a little, in-place dance. A stallion or two threw balls at the targets, nearly hitting the button. “Bah! Thou throws like a three-legged filly!” the black alicorn laughed, which made the crowd laugh too. “Come now, put thy muscles into it!” More balls battered the target, but at the range they had to stand it was hard to hit the dead-center. Bits piled higher and higher as the pony running the attraction looked on. Soon he was limiting it to three balls per pony so everypony could have a chance. “Muh-hahahaha!” The alicorn taunted them, bouncing a bit more. Then a stallion with a ball and bat on his flank stepped up. “None of thee hath the fortitude to dunk an alicorn, what poppyco—awwwgh?!” SPLASH! Down she went, shooting a wave out over the gathered ponies. The crowd laughed and cheered, stomping their applause on the ground. The black goddess hung suspended in the water, kicking like she was running. Foals ran to press their faces to the window in the side of the pool. Nightmare came up puffing like a walrus, pushing her mane out of her eyes.

Bandaid laughed along with the rest, helping her out of the pool. The piled mound of bits spilling out of the massive charity jar said she was done. The alicorn shook like a dog, flapping her wings a bit as the crowd slowly dispersed. What a carnival! Still nickering in amusement, Bandaid kissed her cheek with affection. Her face lit up happily and she leaned down to nuzzle with him for a few moments. Most glorious of nights, and it was only just beginning!

End of Part 7

A Carnival, Bandaid! (II of II)

Author's Note

This chapter was re-written, sorry for any confusion. Please reread, the story is heading in a completely different direction now. Hope you enjoy! Sorry also for the long pause-- this story is the center of my writing attention now. :)

A Carnival, Bandaid! (II of II)

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 8: A Carnival, Bandaid! (Part II of II)

Nightmare Moon stared in fascination. She wasn’t quite sure she understood it, especially after the mishap at the dunking booth. Another water feature was being run in the outskirts of the carnival, and it was an odd one. A fake river had been set up with nicely-painted sides, using real flowers and fauna to cover the edges. On the water was a series of slow moving boats shaped like swans, and inside each boat as it went by was a pair of ponies.

Every single pair that went by were already holding hooves when they went around the bend and into a black tunnel. Nightmare didn’t know what was in the tunnel, but it must’ve been amazing. By the time each couple emerged, they were either leaning lovingly into each other, or looking into each other’s eyes… some were even kissing! Nightmare wanted that! But what was in the magic tunnel that made them do that?

Circling the place at a quick clip, she found the entrance. The Tunnel of Love, couples only, no foals allowed. “Interesting,” she murmured to nopony in particular. Perhaps she could coax Bandaid onto that ride. Perhaps the darkness of the tunnel itself made romance flow a bit easier. And what could be more romantic than a slow and relaxing boat ride? Nightmare couldn’t think of anything. She smiled and stamped one hoof to make it final.

“Nightmare?” Bandaid returned from the bathroom, startling her. He leaned to see what she’d been so absorbed in, and gave a shy smile. “Ah, I see. Are we riding that, then?” he asked.

“If you would join me?” Nightmare didn’t want to press it on him. He was such a tender thing. She could haul his flank over to the ride and put him in a boat, sure, but that wouldn’t mean as much. She couldn’t act like such a foal anymore. She carefully folded her wings and cleared her throat, looking to one side. Was that heat in her cheeks? She dared not reach up to touch her face while he was deciding.

“Alright. Sure, why not?” Bandaid finally said. “It’s just a carnival ride, after all. Could be fun.” Nightmare grinned her terrifying grin of fangs, her wings lifting happily. The brown stallion chuckled as she led the way. They got into line, drawing a few strange looks from the other couples. Nightmare saw a few wedding bands here and there, and plenty of young couples that no doubt wished for a bit of privacy. The Tunnel of Love was the best idea they’d seen all evening.

When finally it was their turn, Princess Nightmare Moon gave bits to a rather curvaceous mare and they were helped into a boat. It sagged a little because of her alicorn weight, so she was forced to sit in the middle so that the whole thing would not tip over. This left only a little room on either side of her for Bandaid. After being told not to stand or throw anything in the river, they were off.

Bandaid sat awkwardly between Nightmare Moon’s front hooves. Their size difference let him practically sit in her lap. It was cute, but a little awkward. As they were away from the starting platform, the black alicorn slowly set her chin atop his head. Bandaid nickered a little, smiling in a bashful way. “This is… nice,” he mumbled, already red in the cheeks. They floated easily along, their boat never touching the sides of the fake river. They rode by the weak current, nice and slow. They watched the bountiful flowers go by, admired the little foal statues that were fountaining water from their mouths.

“Very nice,” Nightmare mumbled softly. She really wasn’t sure what to do with her wings, or her front hooves, or her anything really. Bandaid leaned back into her a bit, and she received him without really embracing him. She didn’t want to ruin it by hugging him too hard or wrapping his tender body in her wingspan. She worried hard, turning her head and resting her cheek atop the crown of his head. “Bandaid,” she purred softly. The mouth of the tunnel approached, dark and rather ominous all of a sudden. Nightmare suddenly wasn’t so sure it was a good idea. Why was she so nervous.

“Nightie…” he whispered, half-turning to rest his cheek on her chest. Her regalia felt cool to his blushing cheeks. He nuzzled her, just once, rather shyly. The threshold of the tunnel slowly swallowed their little swan-boat up, and they were plunged into darkness. “This carnival was a great idea, I’m glad we came,” the stallion whispered softly.

“Mhm,” Nightmare caught his scent, nuzzling his mane quietly. Her face had stained red at her pet name being used at last. She was thankful it was dark. A few moments later, little pricks of light began to sparkle back and forth on the ceiling and walls of the tunnel. They looked almost like fireflies. The quiet slosh of the water carried them back and forth, rocking the two ponies together.

Bandaid turned slowly around, still in her lap. His arms rose up and hooked about her neck. One of her massive, pillar-like legs rose. She bowed her long neck down to lay her chin on his shoulder. The huge leg embraced him, pulling him to her chest. They held one another for a long time, not saying a word. The pull and push of the moving waters was the only force around. It rocked his plush fur against her own, and she fantasized about taking him home to bed right then. One quick flick of magic and they would teleport away to her chambers.

But no, she wanted this. This moment. She didn’t know what to call it. She was a goddess of lust—of wine and dark and fertility. Was this… love? Nightmare Moon struggled with her inner thoughts, and almost didn’t feel it when the plush of his muzzle stroked her cheek a few times. Her massive wings snapped to attention, rocking the boat. Bandaid clung to her, chuckling in his carefree way. She smiled bashfully, but hunched a bit to deepen the embrace.

“K… kiss me?” he whispered to her in the dark. It was a soft, vulnerable request.

Their hearts thundered, and it was easy to feel them as pressed together as they were. Careful of her fangs, she leaned to nuzzle the nape of his neck. She wanted it to be perfect, this moment had to be perfect. All the other almost-first-kisses had been a fake Bandaid. This was real. This counted. Her muzzle mashed against his nose while she was still thinking about it, and she quickly reared a little. “Sorry! We are sorry!” she shrieked a little.

“I-It’s alright,” Bandaid mumbled, rubbing his face. “It was the boat rocking.” He leaned into her for security, and her sheer size made her seem like a rock.

“Yes, yes of course,” Nightmare quickly added. “The boat,” One of her giant hooves came up to cup the side of his face. The twinkling lights along the tunnel walls barely showed his outline to her. The soft-eyed, drunken look of a stallion’s desire. Steadying him she slowly leaned down. His scent touched her sensitive nose— the quiet salt of sweat and the spice of male pony. It was enticing.

With a quiet purr, she at last brought her lips to his while her eyes slid closed. Bandaid let out a happy little whimper, his heart quivering. Nightmare’s great black wingspan slowly closed around him until only his withers and head stuck out. His embrace grew a little stronger, and his head tilted to one side as the kiss broke. Smek. The awkward, wet little line of spittle hung between them. He turned his head to break it, blushing darkly. She could feel his little heart thundering, and went in for another kiss. His quiet moans touched the walls of the tunnel, and she purred back to him. The warmth in her wings grew hot as the kisses continued. A long-held tension between them cracked and broke. The needy pawing of his hooves on her chest said she had not been the only one thinking of such things.

An unknown amount of time went by and one thing really led to another in the Tunnel of Love. Nightmare and Bandaid had to quickly untangle themselves when they came to the exit. Somehow it didn’t seem like a good idea for them to emerge from the tunnel with the Princess loving on him as she had been. She’d found and noted a few of his most sensitive spots along his neck and ears, though.
The two of them decide to cool off at a little watering hole in the midway, sharing a pair of tall sodas in awkward silence. The black alicorn sipped at hers, troubled. “Hey Nightmare?” Bandaid said softly. She flicked her gaze up at him, perking her ears. “Would you mind if I stayed over in your room tonight?” he asked. Nightmare Moon gaped at him in shock. What a forward move for a meek thing like him! She opened her mouth to praise him for it, delighted. He spoke first, though. “My sisters gave us those tickets to come here, and I don’t trust them not to jump me as soon as I get home tonight.” He hung his head a little, ashamed.

Nightmare’s delight faded, but she coughed and quickly nodded, “Yes, yes of course. Thou art always welcome with me, dear Bandaid.” She nodded, putting a hoof over his. “Thy siblings will not torment you in my chambers.”

“Thanks,” he said shyly. “I’m sure we can find some extra blankets or something for me to camp out on your couch… or something,” Bandaid smiled in his usual coy way.

When they were done with their sodas, they spent another three or four hours roaming the carnival. Nightmare pondered over the Ferris wheel. Bandaid squealed at the tilt-o-whirl while the Princess laughed like a hyena. Eventually it was time to head for home.

Bandaid and Nightmare emerged into the Obsidian Hall, side by side. Laughing and leaning tiredly on each other, neither questioned it when they both flopped onto the massive bed. Their aching legs coaxed them to its plush sheets, and they barely had time to get their saddlebags off before curling up together. They could shower and clean up later. Nightmare dozed off while chewing on one of Bandaid’s ears with her fangs, purring quietly. The brown stallion felt safe, curling up between her massive fore-hooves. Her wild scent was like spice and strong flowers. It comforted him. He lay his head under hers, careful with his ear as not to wake her. The alicorn moaned in her sleep, scooping him into her embrace. He smiled happily, quietly laying his head down to rest. He was so… *yawn*… just so tired… They fell asleep in each other’s arms.

=-=-=-=

Chrysalis lay on a small hill just beyond the carnival. She’d not dared enter, but she’d decided which border to hang around pretty easily. There was a Tunnel of Love on one of the borders, and it was a constant flow of lovey-dovey ponies leaning happily on each other. With her feelers extended she could taste all of them on the breeze. The air was thick with pony hormones and happy giggling.

The Changeling Queen used her magic to peer inside the ride. It seemed to be little more than a dark tunnel with a river going through it, with little firefly lights here and there. But something about it made ponies want to nuzzle, kiss, and express a bit more passion. She didn’t understand it, but who was she to question a buffet? Celestia, the clever bitch, had put her to sleep in the middle of a feeding. She wasn’t suffering hunger pangs anymore, but she was far from full. Grumbling to herself, she watched the next couple enter the tunnel. Then the next, then the next after that.

Brushing the silken-seaweed that was her mane out of her eyes, she settled onto her belly again. With such an attraction as the Tunnel of Love she’d been there for several hours, watching and sipping at the ponies that went through it. It was like watching food come to her, ripen, then flop down in front of her. The picnic area at the end of the tunnel certainly helped too. Some couples found a shady spot or two under a tree for more intimate conversation and kisses. Chrysalis felt a mild pang of jealousy, but did not allow it to cloud her thoughts. She never did.

“Having fun?” Celestia murmured, startling her.

“I didn’t do anything!” Chrysalis blurted before she could stop herself. This earned a light snicker from her elder white sibling. “What? What is it?” she asked suspiciously. “I didn’t go in, I’m sitting right here doing nothing.”

“You’re sour with me?” Celestia said, turning her head to notice the Tunnel of Love at the base of the hill below them. “Ah,” she said delicately. “Finding other means, I see.”

“I didn’t put anypony to sleep in the middle of anything,” Chrysalis said sourly, turning her nose up and away from her. There was a short silence, and she felt the grass shifting as the alicorn settled on the ground next to her.

“Not recently, anyway,” Celestia murmured, flicking her eyes to meet her sister’s for a moment. A hot, icy burst of fear streaked across Chrysalis’ back. It licked its necrotic tongue down her spine, stopping to niggle in the back of her head. “Nightie told me what you did, right before I banished her to the moon,” she said slowly.

“You made no mention of it before,” Chrysalis said, not looking at her. It was all too apparent that her elder sibling could tear her in two if she pleased. Lack of godhood made one certainly worry about one’s internal organs. “Why bring it up now?”

“I punished you for attacking Nightmare some months ago,” Celestia whispered, “I honestly don’t know what to do about what happened a thousand years ago.” Chrysalis paused to let her fangs free, in case Celestia tried to pounce on her or something.

“Just because you’re the oldest doesn’t mean you get to punish us like we’re your children,” the Changeling Queen said snippily. “Mother was ready to put you in time out for Discord, if you hadn’t pled your case so well.” She said.

“Reversing gravity on an entire planet will do that,” Celestia said carefully, cocking her head. Chrysalis never held their mother up like a shield. “But don’t change the subject. Nightie is distracted by her new beau at the moment, but don’t think she won’t come to that conclusion herself someday—that you really should’ve been punished.”

“Skinning me alive wasn’t enough for you?” Chrysalis scowled. Their horns aggressively crossed, their eyes mere inches apart. “Huh?!” she shouted defensively.

“I’m just seeking a balance. You know Nightmare will want revenge someday,” said the white mare delicately, pressing back against her.

“Can’t you just let me sit here and eat?” sulked Chrysalis, pulling away and watching the next couple go through the tunnel of love. “Not like its safe to chew on you anymore.”

“It’s my nature to be cautious. We gods play the long game.” Celestia said softly. “If I fell like Nightie did all of Equestria would be thrown into chaos.”

“’We gods’, feh.” Chrysalis said with a scowl. “Our sister is like some child on holiday,” she gave a nod towards the ride. "I saw them go by some time ago, like a mating pair." She watched another couple set off down the gentle waters, and Chrysalis sighed with loud anger in her breath.

“Don’t compare us, please.” Celestia said, trying to soothe her. “We all play our unique roles to run this world.”

“Yes, dear sister,” Chrysalis stood over her. “It’s just my job to suffer!” she dove at Celestia suddenly, fangs outstretched. The Princess shrieked, ducking her head to present her horn instead of her neck. A glowing green aura washed over her, then sizzled as golden magic rushed up and over her magic. They twisted and spun about on the ground, shouting and crushing plant-life as they went.

“Chrysalis, stop!” Celestia’s warning shot almost took the Changeling’s wing off. Both of her golden-shoe’d hooves held her back, only barely. One was on her nose, the other on her lower jaw. “Stop this! We’re trying to make reperations, not start a war!”

“I’m always at war!” Chrysalis’ hooves flailed, pulling at the ethereal mane and trying to drag Celestia into her. “Always hungry! Never stopping! Never!” her wings started to buzz as she lifted into the air to get better leverage. “My hive grows impatient, a million hungry souls! HSSSSS!” her jowls flared open like a nightmarish flower, displaying all her teeth. Celestia’s hooves shifted in exactly the wrong way and her sister lunged for her throat. "What's the matter, Celestia? No guards or psychotic nurses to save you?!"

Yelping, Celestia dug her back hooves into the ground, her muscles trembling. “Chrysalis, please! Don’t—make—me—!” Teeth were starting to scrap up against her neck, the little droplets of saliva going down her in streams. A numbness worked its way along Celestia’s muscles. Her saliva would take over soon, that was how a changeling incapacitated its victims. If Chrysalis fed on her--! No! No the world would fall into shadow! Quivering and then giving a great shout, the Princess turned and bowed her hoof back like a powerful backward slap.

Crk~!

Chrysalis’ head snapped to one side and she gave a little yelp. Her blue-green hair bannered wildly. Tiny shards of carapace went flying. Flecks of orange muscle were peeking out under her jawline. She felt blood going down the back of her neck and gumming up her wings. But… but how? That didn’t make any sense. She let go of Celestia, staggering back a little. The two mares stared at each other. Chrysalis held herself about the neck, eyes wide. A great hacking cough sent orange across the grass, a spot of it appearing on Celestia's cheek. Chrysalis didn’t even have time to feel the pain or look horrified. She collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Celestia launched herself to her hooves, rushing to check her. Chrysalis’ eyes rolled into her head. She rattled a little, trembled, then went still. Celestia jumped back, a bloodied hoof on her mouth. “Wh-What have I done?!”

On the other side of the cosmos, deep in the eternal mists of creation and beauty, Almighty Faust turned her head.

End of Part 8

Faust Almighty, Bandaid!

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 9: Faust Almighty, Bandaid!

When Almighty Faust arrived on the planet, there was a warm breeze—nothing survived. With her five young and innocent children in tow, she molded the world. Discord, with his strong arms and wild imagination, crafted the mountains and all the oceans. Their secrets would provide an eternity of exploration. Cadance, with her boundless love, found the energy to help the mortal races love and prosper among each other as one. Celestia, with her wisdom and leadership, brought unto them sentience, government and law. Nightmare Moon, with her powerful desire to outdo Celestia, gave the mortal races all of their own needs, desires and unexplainable habits-- rage, physical passion and unsolvable mathematics. Chrysalis stood away from them as they worked to build a new home together, nurturing the needy and hungry-- when they were done they called it ‘Equis’.

The second time Almighty Faust arrived on the planet, she stifled the breeze. Why, the whole thing was teeming with life! She smiled as she borrowed a form that would be deemed ‘local’ to the native population. Boundless, unlimited power folded and folded and folded again, into infinity, until it took a physical shape. She stood upon the barren earth and it blushed with moss and flowers to cushion her divine hooves. Giving her long mane a toss, she surveyed herself in a nearby fountain. A white alicorn with fiery red hair and beautiful blue eyes. Leaning a little, she flicked herself with adornments. A crown of golden laurels and a dainty little necklace appeared upon her. Her hooves shone as little hoof-gauntlets materialized from nothing. Satisfied with the simplicity of the shape she’d chosen, she smiled at her image.

“That was totally wicked!” A colt said from behind her, startling the goddess. She gave a start, turning about. She’d forgotten what it was like to see in only one direction at any given time. “You’re amazing! Are you a princess from another country!? What’s your name? Don’t you have any guards? Princesses shouldn’t wander around at night alone, y’know!” he was a scrappy little thing with a bandanna around his neck. The royal signet of a messenger was painted delicately on his shoulder, and the cutie mark on his rump had a winged horseshoe. He scampered around Faust’s pillar-like legs, admiring her ivory fur and serene glow. She watched him go with an ever-growing smile, her eyes shining at his energy. “I know! I can guard you and take you to the palace! What’dya say?!” his eyes were big and shiny and full of young energy.

Faust grinned, blessing him on the spot and nodding. With that, the colt wheeled around and started forward with authority. She followed him, leaving a spot in the courtyard where she’d touched down covered with massive flowers and mosses. They’d split the street open to receive her divine form. Had the colt been the only one to see her land? How lucky indeed!

The few ponies that were out and about at night stopped to stare. A white alicorn with hair as red as the autumn leaves was strolling down the street, led by a foal. Some pointed, others gasped, and all gave her a wide berth. Stallions looked upon her beauty and sank to their haunches in reverence and desire. Mares stared, their eyes glazing over a bit as they took in every inch of her. Who was she? Where did she come from?

The colt led Faust through several streets, beyond several courtyards, and beyond a private vineyard. The stallion working it exploded into confused cursing when all his grapes suddenly swelled up like pregnant watermelons. A pet shop they happened by instantly went silent, for all the animals were craning to see her as she passed the window. She lifted her wings to stretch them, and the trees around them rustled happily to enjoy the warm gust.

She clip-clopped along, pausing only to admire a bakery for a time. Cooking was something she’d always really enjoyed the thought of. Taking a bunch of somethings and making something else entirely was like divine magic in its own way—and making others happy with this craft was something to be commended. She stopped and gestured at the bakery, but her little charge was very insistent. “No no, it’s further down the street, silly!” he chided, turning around and putting his forehead against her butt. “This way, this way!” he chirruped, laughing as she stumbled forward. “I’m just a royal messenger, but I can’t let a princess get mugged or something on my watch. Canterlot can get dangerous at night, you know,” he confided behind a hoof. Faust made a little shocked face, putting a hoof over her mouth. “Yeah, that’s right,” he said in confirmation. “We’re almost there, c’mon.” he coaxed. Faust followed him, sighing a little. Perhaps a cake or something later. She’d grown very fond of strawberries after Discord had invented them. Mmm, strawberries… shaking her head a little and ignoring the mortal stomach, she cocked her head as they approached what could only be the palace of Canterlot.

The seat of power, the city itself, was grand, but the palace was breathtaking by any standard. Faust glanced up and down it. Her vision pierced earth, water, stone, flesh, and all the metals within. One, two, three, four of her children were here. Heh! Give the poor things a whole planet to enjoy and they all stick together like so many flecks of pollen! She stifled a little laugh, but then quickly looked up at a mean voice. “What’s your business, messenger? I don’t see your white flag up,” a stern, grey-coated guard said to the colt.
“I’m escorting her majesty--” he gestured behind himself, for Faust had stopped a good twenty stretches behind him. “Uhm… uhm… I’m not sure what country she’s from, but she’s definitely a Princess! I mean, lookit her!” he waved both hooves at the horn and wings on the goddess’ body.

Both guards standing at the archway stared at her. As with any armored pony, they knew the visages of all five of the children of Faust. She fit none of their descriptions. Yet there she stood, an alicorn! They gaped at her, having no idea what to do. Faust finally looked up from a flower that had shot up between the cobblestones to see her. She saw them staring and made a startled little flinch, then smiled bashfully. All that knew her knew Faust was a rather shy goddess. She didn’t like to be stared at like that. Flaring her wings open, she offered a more confident smile. “Uhh, uh-yeah, let her by,” said one guard. The other mutely agreed. The messenger colt went back to fetch her, then let the red-headed alicorn into the palace.

“I work here too, like I said!” The colt told Faust. “I can run super-fast, so I was made a royal messenger to carry mail back and forth between nobles and such. Since you’re visiting from a foreign nation, I guess I can take you to the royal apartments, if you like? I can squire for anypony that needs a light-hoof’d servant!” he offered himself, bowing deeply and hitting his chin on the marble floor of the palace steps. Faust smiled gaily, then patted his head. Snapping a little stick from a little tree nearby, she knighted him with all seriousness. He jumped up and saluted, quick as a flash. She smiled only wider. She loved children, always so eager and happy to please. “So uhm… in we go I suppose!” he turned about, rushing up the stairs to press on the double doors. Faust walked gracefully up the white stone stairs, tilting her head back and admiring the architecture. For one that crafted galaxies and kissed the swirling cosmos to life, it was always fascinating to see the works of others. Especially others that had to very seriously work and labor for their creations. (Faust loved art and music, because of this) This castle was certainly amazing, she thought. She arrived at the top of the stairs to find her little servant heaving at the huge double doors. They just wouldn’t open and his tiny little body couldn’t budge them. Faust glanced through them to the other side, and found the bar. They must have closed it for the night to visitors. Lifting the bar and setting it aside with magic, she let her little knight push the way open with one door, then quickly rush back and heave the other one out of the way as well. “Here we go!” he panted, wiping sweat and puffing a little.

Faust smiled, nodding a few times. She stepped into the white and gold hallowed halls. The palace was many stretches wide, and even more stretches tall. It was made to invoke the feeling of being small and insignificant, part of something greater. She looked upward, admiring all the stained glass windows and pictures that needed light to be seen. Such craftsmanship! She really needed to visit more often and see what creations others were coming up with.

“Your Majesty!” the colt called from way up ahead. Faust caught herself standing still, then quickly shook her head. Walking forward at a quicker clip, she made a gesture or two at the fantastic artwork. “Oh yeah!” he said enthusiastically. “Princess Celestia has them all changed every couple of years, or when a big event happens that needs to be remembered.”

Faust touched her chin thoughtfully. She wasn’t in any of these, thank goodness. She hated seeing herself in artwork. She’d only ever commissioned one painting of her face (well, the one she took to allow mortals to see her), and that was still in Celestia’s safe keeping. That had mostly been to see how all her children looked when they were little. She gestured to one that was covered in brilliant flowers and designs. That was where she needed to go. That was where Chrysalis was.

“What? The garden?” the colt asked when she showed him the image. “It’s down that way, in the rear of the palace. But I’m not allowed to go there, I’m not royalty or a guard.” He wilted some, holding a hoof out to direct her. Leaning down, she kissed him on the forehead. He blushed a joyous sort of scarlet. “I-I-I’m around if you need me tomorrow or something!” he called after her as she went. She waved and smiled, then went on.

Faust watched the events of the recent past. Yes, the past. Faust was not omniscient, despite being the creator of all. One did not know the future, no matter how powerful or divine, once free will was breathed into something. The slightest tip one way or another kept things going in a general direction, but so long as creatures like ponies could make their own decisions about themselves, there was no such thing as “fate” or “destiny”—despite their silly cutie marks. That had been Discord’s idea. That was more to nudge them along the ‘general’ plan, the plan that would help the world out the most.

Faust watched Celestia kill Chrysalis in a moment of desperation. Celestia was the wisest, yes, but that didn’t mean she could handle everything so fluidly as she often did. The poor thing had the weight of the world on her shoulders, but a simple rule like ‘don’t kill your mortal sister’ was certainly one that needed to be followed. She watched Chrysalis dive at her, try to feed on her, and then get struck dead. Faust sighed quietly. She felt so, so bad for her youngest daughter’s lot in life. Suffering so much that others did not have to, or even think about. She would need to make it up to her. The timing seemed about right, for thousands of years her misery had extended—and while Faust did not like to interfere in the workings of Equis (it was a gift to her children, after all), this would have to be the exception. It was clearly an accident, she could forgive that.

Faust emerged into the royal gardens, then out onto the hill by the carnival. Celestia lay hunched over the changeling queen’s broken form, sobbing loudly. She was stained with blood, misery, and self-loathing. When she sensed her mother, though, she whipped around in a panic.

“Mother!” Celestia’s eyes were huge and her pupil’s tiny. “I didn’t mean to! I didn’t want her to prey on me and destroy Equis! I didn’t mean to kill her! I-!” Faust swept her daughter, suddenly much smaller, into her forehooves. The red-haired goddess was no giant, but Celestia was most certainly upon her knees before her. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Celestia chanted into her breast, weeping. Faust quietly shushed her, stroking her mane over and over. Celestia fell to miserable mewling. Easing her eldest daughter down onto her belly, she went instead to Chrysalis. Leaning over the body, the mother of the gods leaned down and kissed her on the mouth. Time stopped.

=-=-=-=

Chrysalis stood upon a beach. It was a sunny, carefree day with fluffy clouds and not a care in the world. “Pupa! Pupa sweetie wait for me! You’re pregnant you don’t need to be running that fast!” Chrysalis stared in shock as her two former bodyguards ran right past her, swollen in the belly and chitter-laughing between themselves. They weren’t changeling queens like she, they could only bear one young in their lifetimes, but it was still bizarre. A pair of pony stallions rushed after them, twin brothers. They left shoe-prints as they went across the soaked sand, and the waves quickly washed them away. She stared at them, wondering why she didn’t chase. Those two were deserters! They should’ve stood by their queen’s side and as they’d been trained!

“Geode! Geode honey wait up! We’re supposed to go swimming later when the sun’s going down! Ack!” he was splashed for his trouble. The twin brothers looked at each other, then quickly took wing to catch up with their mates. Chrysalis watched them go until they shrank out of sight. How long was this beach? It seemed to go on forever. She watched the group go, then turned to survey the beach the other way.

Faust Almighty stood not ten paces away, her hooves awash in the warm water. Chrysalis flinched, “Mother!” she said, mouth agape. She leaned back with a mix of fear and shock. Faust tilted her head, lifting one hoof and pawing idly at the sand. “Mother?” Chrysalis said again, tilting her head and squinting her eyes. She wasn’t sure she believed it. “Oh wait, I must be dreaming…” she looked around to find something wrong with the world that would confirm it was a dream. But no, it looked like any of her mother’s pocket dimensions. She usually made them, frought with symbolism, whenever she wanted to talk with one of her children. The red-haired alicorn turned slowly, sloshing along the warm waves toward her. A blue crab scuttled by to be out of the divine’s way. “Not a dream…” Chrysalis whispered, tilting her head up and up until her mother stood before her a head taller. “Why am I here?” she asked. There was a long silence between them. Faust seemed to be surveying her—admiring her. “Yes, I’ve grown big and strong, no thanks to you.” Chrysalis grumbled. The deity turned her head to look behind herself, and her daughter leaned. There was a set of large hoof-prints leading off into the distance, but they were pointed towards them. Chrysalis followed the prints until the was looking at herself. They were her own, and there was only one set. “Yes, I’ve walked alone for a long time! I’ve had no choice! I’m only mortal and you refuse to make me otherwise.” Faust turned back to face her, then leaned and crushed her into a hug. “Augh! Hug! Too much hug!” Chrysalis squirmed wildly.

“Take a closer walk with me,” Faust whispered, turning and putting a hoof on Chrysalis’ shoulder. Suddenly and without warning, a hundred-million images rushed by through Chrysalis’ mind. Was this the future? Neigh, a prophecy. A veiled and uncertain future.

Atom. It was an unfamiliar word, floating around it her mind. Chrysalis didn’t know what an ‘atom’ was, but the images she was being shown didn’t make any sense. Imagine, buildings tall enough to touch the sky made of glass and iron! Rushing trains moving at the speed of sound across entire nations! Millions of tiny, techni-colored ants rushed through the vein-like streets and across the land. They bred and eat and shat and built until there was no space left… a dot fell from the sky. A tiny dot covered and orbited by a hundred other little dots. When it struck the ground, all was white light and nothingness. The buildings. The trains. The mortals upon the ground. All were ash.

The Changeling Queen stared in icy-veined horror as the ash and dust blew away like so many leaves in the fall. No trees stood, no flowers bloomed, and not even an insect crawled on the ground. Gone. All of it gone.

As she watched the images fly by in a stomach-churning blur, she saw nations argue-- she watched all the finger pointing and raised voices and violence coming to a head in a great series of mushroom shaped clouds of world-consuming fire. Silence. Then, coming from the deepest of tunnels, she watched her changeling hive meet and interbreed with ponies—survivors of the terrible firestorm—A strange and funny-looking half-breed was born. A pony that could change colors? Or was it a changeling that could produce love in and of itself, to give to other changelings for sustenance? She wasn’t sure what to make of the new half-breed. She’d laid with quite a few stallions over the years and she’d never given birth to such a creature…

=-=-=-=

Chrysalis sat up with a shriek, startling Celestia back a few steps. The changeling queen coughed heavily a few times as her wounds healed themselves over. Faust sat with her, stroking her hair. “Am I a…?” she whispered, touching her wounds as she remembered she had them. They were gone. Faust nodded a little. “And was that my…?” Faust shrugged a little, smiling coyly. The future was not set in stone, but it was certainly heading in a general direction. Chrysalis stared at her destiny, laid out before her. Equestria and all her holdings, only temporary! A few handfuls of thousands of years! Equis herself would come to ruin someday. However far into the future, it didn’t matter. Her resources would run out, and only creatures that could produce and feed on love would survive while it germinated and rejuvenated herself.

Equis was a cylinder of light and dark ages. All the children of Faust would have their chances to rule and be loved by all, taking turns with each other. But only her youngest, strongest daughter would have what it took to rule once it had all come to ruin in the far, far future. Then, when time reset itself and civilization began anew it would be the other four’s turn again. Chrysalis fell to her belly and wept happily. Faust held her close, tucking her daughter's head under her chin. She was not the weakest or the most cast out. She was the most important of all. And now, she was immortal like the others. Faust smiled, leaning and kissing the top of her head.

End of Part 9

Breakfast of the Gods, Bandaid!

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 10: Breakfast of the Gods, Bandaid!

Nightmare awoke with a precious male musk under her nose. She lifted her head to see Bandaid’s muzzle buried in her breast and along the nape of her neck. His breathing was long and easy. She fought down a happy jitter, but settled to kiss the top of his head. Such a handsome thing. Studying the length of his body, splayed out with hers, she lifted a black wing and draped it slowly over him for warmth. He shifted, turning towards the darkness and flopping his arm around her mid-section. Delighted, she settled her chin atop his head. She could rest a bit longer if he was going to be this heart-meltingly adorable. She heaved a long, quiet sigh as only a mare in love could. She liked Bandaid, liked him a lot. Perhaps he would be more than just her royal consort, given the proper coaxing? She pondered for a time, looking at the walls and ceiling. He was a simple thing, and she knew grand gifts would only draw his ire. Perhaps another hoof-full of dates or something. They’d had a wonderful time at the festival, and Hearts and Hooves Day had… well, been a disaster… but she could certainly keep trying to better her average.

The words ‘husband’ and ‘lover’ ran back and forth along her mind. Bandaid was not really king material, but his warm and caring heart would let him see the plights of others when she could not. And what was a companion, if not a partner that could stand strong in one’s own weakest areas? Nightmare tilted her head in thought. It had just been a couple of dates, she really should not have been thinking such things. She needed to play the long game, like Tia did. Sighing impatiently, she rested her head on the pillow again. Pure seduction would not aid her this time. The brown earth pony lying next to her was a delicate creature, and needed her care and affection. He would have it then, if only to be hers. She snickered at the thought. The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon. It sounded like a good name for a wine. Hmm! She would need to write that down somewhere. A nice dark wine, mmm...

There was a light knock at the door, which made Nightmare’s head cock. Who would dare disturb her at such an hour? It was almost dawn, and the two of them had been out rather late last night. Rising and careful not to disturb her beloved, the black alicorn went to the door and leaned out grumpily. “Who calls?” she asked the dark corridor. She looked back and forth, but only saw the pair of guards some distance away, standing silent at their posts. She furrowed her brow, blinking the sleep from her eyes.

“D-down here, your Majesty,” said a colt’s voice. She snapped her eyes down at him like a bird of prey. “Royal Messenger Snap Step,” he introduced himself by hitting his chin on the floor in a bow. “I was told by,” he paused to make sure he got everypony, “Two of your sisters and your mother that you should come to breakfast-- and bring your coltfriend, too.” He added coyly with a grin. “Is she really your mom? The red-maned alicorn?” Nightmare Moon frowned a bit, and it took a few moments for the message to really sink in.

Two sisters and her mother.

Her Mother.

Mother.

Nightmare’s eyes went wide, “Mother?!” she squawked, slamming the door in his face. Snap Step flinched, looking rather hurt. She flung the door open, “Tell them I will come with haste, now toddle!” she jabbed a hoof in the appropriate direction. The messenger saluted with all seriousness and galloped away. Nightmare slammed the door again, pressing her back to it. “Mother’s here!” she said, rushing over to her vanity. “Wait, no I must shower!” she ran into the bathroom. “Wait, no I must trim my hooves!” she came stampeding out and went to her chest of drawers, “No no no! I must find the appropriate dress!” she flung her closet open and rushed inside. Dresses started flying out this way and that.

Bandaid sat up with a moan, just in time for a rumpled dress to land on his head and rather easily slide down his shoulders. “Nightie…?” he rasped, yawning and stretching. He rose to all four hooves and the skirts settled around his flank. He blinked sleepily, trying to make his eyes focused, and wandered towards all the noise.

Nightmare tumbled out of the closet, brush in her mouth and all sorts of implements hovering around her. She spat the brush out, eyeing Bandaid-in-a-dress up and down. “Bandaid! Now is not the time for bedroom games! Go and groom! My Mother Faust is here!”

“Wh-what?” Bandaid shook his head a few times. “Your mother? But you’re a goddess, isn’t your mother--?” Nightmare leaned out of the bathroom to give him a meaningful look. The stallion went pale. “Oh my goddess…” he said softly, eyes wide. “I-I-I better shower! And brush my mane!” he ran for Nightmare’s door, the train of the dress flapping behind him. He flung the door open, grabbed his bag, and started galloping down the hall as fast as his hooves could carry him. The first set of guards in the hall stopped him with explosive laughter and pointing. “What?” he asked, still only just awake on adrenaline. “What?!” he demanded angrily. Then he finally looked down at himself. “Oh j-j-j-jeez…” his face went blood red.

=-=-=-=-=

The confused kitchen staff was something to behold, for over three dozen ponies had been side-lined that morning. Everypony had arrived for work at their usual time, only to find their tools rushing about and their food stocks cooking themselves. A rather charming alicorn mare was sitting on a stool next to one of the ovens, pawing through a cookbook.

When Faust saw them coming, she smiled grandly and gestured to a long table. Nopony knew where it had come from, how it had fit through the servant’s doorways, or where on earth the strange foreign princess had come from. Word spread like wildfire and more and more palace staff came to gawk at the red-headed alicorn mare. Who was she? Where did she come from? And most importantly, what was she doing taking over the kitchen?!

After some smiling, mute gestures dozens of ponies found seats around the long-table. Fruit exploded into perfect slices, toast flung itself across the room like a poker-dealer’s cards. Butter poof’d from precisely nowhere, slathering itself into grits along with the salt. Seven sorts of juices ran back and forth until everypony was served before the main course came out. The unicorns that normally worked in the kitchen watched the marvel with special awe. Seeing so many countless things move and levitate and work in tandem with each other must’ve taken god-like concentration! Hash browns landed in pairs and trios while condiments huddled together in groups. Eggs and porridge! Cereal and fruit tarts! Ponies started to get dizzy after a while, but then the feast was suddenly done.

The oven that the strange alicorn was sitting next to dinged. She threw her book over her shoulder and it vanished from existence. Eagerly pulling it open she pulled out, marked and decorated, a strawberry cheesecake. But… but strawberries weren’t added until after the… some of the chef’s started giving up there, reaching for utensils. “Cake isn’t for breakfast,” one of the teenage assistance mumbled to his master to his right.

“P-bb-b-b-ht!” Faust blew a raspberry at him, startling everypony. Then, she took a food cart with her on the way out.

Everypony looked at each other in stunned silence. “W-well, we shouldn’t let it go to waste.” Somepony mumbled. “And it’s not like we have to work on lunch for another few hours…” that was logic enough for everypony present, and the feasting began. “Why do I feel ten again for some reason…?” mumbled one of the older chefs, feeling very much like his own mother had just made him breakfast before school.

=-=-=-=

Celestia, Chrysalis and Faust were already seated when Nightmare Moon and Bandaid arrived in the royal dining hall. The Changeling Queen positively bubbled with love energy, all of Faust’s giving, and she was all smiles. Celestia looked winded and a little exhausted, but otherwise okay. Faust, with her golden laurels and tiny necklace, looked divine as they came. The slight glow of her skin was all it took to tell Bandaid exactly who she was. The mother and creator of all… creation, and the mother of the physical gods of Equis, Faust Almighty!

Bandaid looked ready to faint, looking around with a rather pale expression. When he spotted Faust he froze like a deer in headlights. She offered a kind smile, studying him for a moment. Then she saw Nightmare and rose, grinning from ear to ear.

“Mother!” Nightmare shouted gaily, rattling the windowsills with her Royal Canterlot Voice. An elegant midnight-purple dress flowed around her, and the touch of scarlet lipstick glittered. Faust rounded the table and rushed to hug her daughter. Bandaid sidled to one side, intimidated. Faust stroked Nightmare’s mane, then held her at arm’s length to look her over. “Yes, I’ve grown, thank you!” Nightmare giggled, red in her cheeks. The mute alicorn gestured here and there, then hugged her once more, rubbing back and forth. Then she turned to the plain brown stallion next to her. “Er, this is Bandaid, Mother, my…. Erm…” Faust started to make a gesture even Bandaid recognized. “Mother!” Nightmare balked, swatting her hooves. “He is more than that!”

“Bandaid is Nightmare’s beau,” Chrysalis said rather serenely from the table where she sat. Bandaid turned his head to look at her. All the mischief and pent-up hunger was gone from her voice. She looked… healthier, somehow. His nurse’s training scanned her over. Her skin seemed darker, and her carapace shinier. Flicking his gaze back and forth, he put two and two together. Faust must have had infinite love in her. “And a rather fierce warrior, if I recall.”

“I’mma nurse! I work here at the palace,” the stallion said, scratching the back of his head and mussing his slicked down mane. Faust smiled appreciatively. It took a special sort to look after the well-being of others. She leaned down to his eye-level, kissing the end of his muzzle.

“Mother!” Nightmare squawked again, territorial. The goddess tittered, retreating back to her seat. When a slight level of calm finally came back, Nightmare and Bandaid finally sat down at the breakfast table. The spread looked as beautiful as it looked tasty. The scent was tantalizing, but Nightmare just had to know, “It’s been a…” she didn’t name a number of years (mostly for Bandaid’s sake), “A very long time, what prompted the abrupt visit?” Faust’s smile faded a little and Celestia looked rather guiltily to one side.

“Celestia snapped my neck like a twig,” said Chrysalis helpfully, steepling her hooves. A sly smile spread across her face as a lock of her hair fell part-way over her face. It gave her a sinister, smug look.

“You didn’t!” Nightmare gaped, grinning wide. Celestia sank a little lower, ears turning back. “You did! You murdered our sister and mother came to revive her! HAH!” she slapped the table with a massive hoof. Bandaid smiled like it might be a joke, but the expressions around the table wouldn’t let him have that one. He looked at the Changeling Queen, who was eyeing him with a calculating expression. “That is simply-!” she saw her mother’s expression. “Er… erhm…” she toned it down a bit at Faust’s frown.

“It was an accident,” Celestia said embarrassedly. “She tried to feed on me and I just… reacted,” she stared at her plate like a scolded foal.

Faust made a never-mind-it gesture, levitating a few plates this way and that to mound food in front of her children. She was a mother, she knew an accident when she saw one. “Ah I see,” Nightmare said just a little bit acidly, “When I am imprisoned on the moon under false pretenses, nopony comes to my aid, but when baby sister gets herself killed Mother comes to her rescue.” She grinned wryly at Chrysalis, who glared. “That’s ju-OWCH!” She yelped when Faust beat her with a wooden spoon. “What?!” she balked under the stern expression.

Bandaid giggle-snorted before he could stop himself. “They’re like children!” he’d passed the point of madness at seeing the High Goddess in the flesh, and had passed around the bend again. Faust nodded with one of her mothering smiles, pushing extra hash-browns onto his plate. “Th-thanks,” he said, leaning to get ketchup. “So what will you do while you’re here, uhm…” he fished for a good honorific, “Your Holiness?” he tried. Faust shrugged a bit, in a carefree way. She gestured vaguely to the windows and the city beyond, then helped herself to some grits when everypony had been served. (Other than Chrysalis, who was quite full of love, thank you very much) “She’s a little… quiet, isn’t she?” he whispered to Nightmare.

“Mother doesn’t talk in mortal company,” Nightmare said gently, stirring pepper into her scrambled eggs. “She’s quite shy.” Bandaid frowned, cocking his head at her.

“How would you feel if anything you ever said to anypony anywhere was written into holy scripture and kept documented for all time?” Chrysalis said. Faust looked embarrassed, hiding her pink cheeks behind a glass of orange juice. She made a waving-it-off motion to her daughters.

Bandaid stared at her. Wow, he’d never thought of it that way. “Sh-should I leave? So you guys can have a proper visit? I don’t mind!” he started to get up, but colorless magic held the seat in place. Faust shook her head with a tittering little expression that said ‘no.’ “I mean, if you haven’t been with your mother in so many centuries don’t you have a lot to talk about?”

“When your mother sees all, knows all, and so on its hard to find anything to talk about,” Chrysalis said. “You should’ve seen the last time she used the True Voice.”

“Chrysalis, that’s not polite table conversation,” Celestia said sharply, suddenly getting her courage back. “You shouldn’t speak of it.”

“It’s a part of his religious dogma, he should know it!” Chrysalis smirked, leaning on an elbow.

“I forbid it! This is our home and you shan’t sully him with such tales!” Nightmare snapped.

“The only one sullying him lately has been you, Nightie-Poo.” Chrysalis shot back.

The three mares argued back and forth like six-year olds while Bandaid watched. He leaned back in his chair, quietly sipping his coffee. So this was what breakfast was like with Gods. Huh. It wasn’t quite what he was imagining. He caught Faust looking at him with an expression of pity, but her smile was still just as enchanting. As if to say ‘sorry for my bickering foals’. He offered a grin, going back to his food. She seemed nice, for such a high and mighty entity.

“—And after that, we went through five Artax Fantasia’s before we figured out it was mother’s voice making his head explode!” Chrysalis belly-laughed, leaning back in her chair. Nightmare squawked angrily, red-faced at her heartless sister.

Bandaid hadn’t heard a word that the first stallion in recorded history had been killed five times by the True Voice of Faust. Man these were good hashbrowns! Faust’s eyes passed over him, and his hearing suddenly returned to normal without his realizing. “Maybe you guys should go see a play, or something? Get out and do something fun!”

“We could visit the hive,” Chrysalis suggested. “My children have no inkling of Mother’s physical face,” she gestured at Faust. “And she visited Equestria last time she was here as well.” Now they were fighting over what to do with her. Bandaid felt kinda sorry for the poor High Goddess, who was eating and shaking her head at the same time. “No?”

“Perhaps a tour of the countryside? A carriage ride?” Celestia said. “I know you like seeing farms and quiet places where things grow.” Faust thought about this for a time, then nodded. “There’s an apple orchard in the nearby town of Ponyville, if you like, we could visit there,” more nodding. “Very well! It’ll make a good day off for all of us!”

“I don’t like apples,” Nightmare said sourly, sticking her tongue out.

“Me either,” Chrysalis agreed. “What about--?” And on and on the argument went.

Faust sighed, smiling patiently. She loved her children, she did, but they could be such handfuls when she made her appearances. Discord was still in time-out, what was Cadance up to these days? Her eyes flickered white while her children argued, her vision extending beyond the horizon.

“Shining! Oh Gods! OH GODS! SHINING, YES! YES! HARDER!”

Faust’s cheeks went hot and she quickly squeezed her eyes shut to bring herself back to the breakfast table. Arguing children was a better thing to see at the moment. Pushing her red mane out of her eyes, she shook her head quickly to banish the image. They really were growing up around her. Most of them anyway. She found her eyes settling on Bandaid again, who was smiling broadly while he watched Nightmare and Chrysalis argue. The High Goddess peered briefly into his mind to see what he was like. If he was Nightmare’s companion there must’ve been something about him.

Faust saw the fang marks on his soul. Chrysalis must’ve gotten her hooves on him at some point. She watched the events of the past to see how it had happened. Well, at least he’d recovered nicely. Nightmare was certainly growing if she was looking at a stallion as more than a piece of meat to be savored.

And of course the taming of the Night Mare and the ascension of Chrysalis could only mean one thing. Nightmare was no longer strictly adhering to her nature, and the fifth child of Faust had achieved godhood, albeit by accident… Equis was turning, and the apocalypse was about to start. How strange, it was so early compared to her estimations… Faust smiled pleasantly at the stallion, heaping more hash browns onto his plate with her magic. What a charming fellow he was. She could see why her daughter was so giddy and happy with him. Hopefully the end of the world would happen after he’d died of old age, so Nightie could have some happy times before the Equis turned to ash. Ah well. All things happened in cycles. This cycle was just about over, was all.

End of Part 10

A Prisoner of War, Bandaid!

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 11: Prisoner of War, Bandaid!

It was without a word or ceremony that Faust Almighty left Equis. She nuzzled Celestia, Chrysalis, and Nightmare Moon in turn before melting into a molten ball of light and departing for the cosmos. Bandaid, who stood far and away with a few guards, watched her go. He really should write about this or something, he thought. Seeing the High Creator in the flesh was a once-in-many-lifetimes sort of thing.

“What will you do now, Chrysalis?” Celestia asked, turning toward her sister. “No doubt mother’s love has filled you to the brim, and with your new immortality…” she trailed off, looking uncertain.

“Afraid I’ll march an army over your borders, dear murdering sister?” Chrysalis said, looking at her sideways. “You wound me.”

“I shalt wound you more, if you like.” Nightmare volunteered as the three of them turned back toward Canterlot. “You have what you’ve always wanted, so tis a fair question I think.” Flapping her black wings twice, she offered a fang-filled smile.

“I’ll leave your august presence then,” Chrysalis said. “Out of sight, out of mind, right Celestia?” she offered a dagger of a comment. The white alicorn winced guiltily, for one of their number was still a stone statue in the royal gardens of Canterlot. “I thought so. Ta-ta! …for now.” She turned, gesturing to her two nameless guards. Their wings opened and they buzzed forth to flank her as she turned from the gathering.

Nurse Bandaid watched them go, and met Chrysalis’ gaze for but a moment. He offered a strained smile, but she did not return it. His ears splayed sideways awkwardly as she walked past him and to the apex of the hill they’d gathered on. Spreading her wings, she lifted off.

“Bandaid,” Nightmare smiled genuinely at last. “Do me the honor of a dinner together?” she offered rather kindly. “We can relax under the moon and stars.”

“That would be… nice.” he said, looking relieved now that Chrysalis was gone. “Lead on.”

They left Celestia standing alone on the hilltop. Sighing, she sat to worry. Chrysalis, immortal. Mother gone for now, who knew how long this time. Nightmare thoroughly distracted. She wasn’t stupid. The immortal chess-player knew that as soon as she was able Chrysalis would march on Equestria. Though her nation had a standing army it was nowhere near as desperate, nowhere near as motivated and cunning as a changling army could be. Creatures that could identify by smell alone could simply mimic their enemies and plunge a battle into confusion until a singular army milled about killing its own members. Crushingly distressed, she hung her head. Times were about to turn to turmoil indeed. She needed to rest. Wings dragging in a very unprincess-like way, she finally set hoof to the brick road path and returned to the palace.

=-=-=-=-=-=

When Chrysalis landed, the whole hive shuddered. The buzzing grew deafening, and they began to emerge by the hundreds. Every crater and dug-out hole, every cave and dwelling and tunnel was abuzz at her mere presence. Standing at a Pride-Rock-like protrusion, she let them gather. With her two guards flanking her, she turned and gave them a nod. They turned to give her space. A colossal changeling, hundreds of legs up and down his centipede body, emerged and reared up so he could see as well. Drones flooded out on all sides, some hovering in the air. The queen gave them only a light gesture and they obediently landed to dull the noise of wings. They clung to rocks and outcroppings. Others emerged carrying egg-sacs on their sides, eager to show Chrysalis the young were still doing well. More still stampeded out into view. The main crater of the hive, a sort of colosseum-shape, filled within minutes. Changelings of every breed, shape and size emptied out of the vast hive to see the queen’s triumphant return.

The hissing, buzzing cacophony was deafening before she called for quiet. Gradually, it all died down. “My hive! I have returned!” she paused for the roar of joy and buzzing wings. “Not only successful,” she paused, gesturing to one of her guards. They produced a wing-sword for her. With all the ghusto of a cult leader, Chrysalis stabbed herself in front of everyling! Instant panic thrust itself over the crowd, but the queen stood there to let them panic as blood gushed from the wound. Hunching forward slightly she gritted her teeth in pain, but something far more powerful pulled at her inner being. The silvery primordial power she’d only just tasted. “IMMORTAL!” she threw her head back to shout in the Royal voice. Thunder concussed the sky, rolling with the fury of her voice. The blade suddenly dashed itself on the ground, exploding into a thousand metal shards. The stab-wound sealed itself, gumming over and then vanishing in moments. Every-ling gaped in shock, then burst into uproarious cheering. “I HAVE FINALLY BECOME A GODDESS!” Chrysalis’ Royal voice imploded across the sky like a fork of lightning. “A FOUNTAIN-HEAD OF ENDLESS MAGIC AND LIFE!” More cheering nearly drown her out while the drones crawled all over each other just to be nearer to her. “AND JUST AS I SAID I WOULD, I BRING BACK THIS PRIZE TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL!” Her wings opened, then buzzed her into the air. Bringing herself upright on her back hooves, she kicked her front ones like a war horse. Everyling began to notice her sheen, her missing leg-holes, and the flow of her extra-long hair. Why, she did! She did look like a goddess divine!

A low hum began in the air, making everyling look around in confusion. Chrysalis began to glow a shining bronze color. Her carapace glittered back and forth as the golden light began to wash over the gathered crowd. Rivulets of light pierced the tunnels of the hive, filling every crack and crevice. Radiating like the sun she rose up over the crowd like an angel, wings wide and fluttering. Lifting her arms and mane bannering, she released all she could! The wave of love energy and magic flooded down over the crowd. The result was instantaneous.

The diggers dug deeper. Eggs exploded into life. Drone armor hardened. Happiness and wealth crashed over the hive with such a fury that, rather suddenly, it was post-feast naptime. Everyling collapsed under the weight of the feast of love and magic. Curling into balls, piling together like a million black puppies, there was a vast silence.

Chrysalis landed, looking about with a big smile. When they woke, they would be full, healthy, happy. Just like she’d always wanted for them. Just like she’d been destined to. The bronze glow slowly faded as she folded her powers and her wings back into herself. Crawling to the apex of the jutting rock, she set her chin down. Immortal though she was, she still needed rest after such a powerful strain. Smiling happily, she turned and lay her head sideways to rest her cheek on the cool rock.

“Mmm! Mmmrph! M-mrm-mrrph!” Chrysalis heard over her shoulder. She looked back and him and smiled. Tied up in the corner, at the edge of the path, lay a pony bound in sticky webbing and rope. He’d been snatched while she and her sisters had been visiting with Mother. Stealth drones still managed to easily pierce Celestia’s defenses. Especially for simple things like snatch-and-grabs.

=-=-=-=-=

Nightmare Moon watched Bandaid out of the corner of her eye. He’d not touched his food. In fact, he’d done little more than stir it about a bit. At one point he’d even lifted an empty fork to his mouth and mimed chewing when he thought she wasn’t looking. “Is she really so foolish…?” Nightmare wondered softly. “So soon, and so blatantly?”

Reaching across the table with her magic, she lifted a broad salad fork. Bandaid looked up at her. “Is everything okay?” he asked as the fork turned his way.

“My dearest and most beloved,” Nightmare whispered, sending the fork through his eye and out the back of his head. The explosion of gore painted the walls. “How many times must I slay your shade?” Sparks and crackles of magic ran down Bandaid’s body, revealing a simple drone changeling under the disguise. Nightmare stood, wiping her mouth. “Clean up this mess,” she bade a guard as she passed him. He stood frozen, staring at the gory display in horror. “I must seek council with my sister.”

=-=-=-=-=

Celestia could sense a rising fury approaching her chamber doors, so she opened them before her sister even arrived. “Nightmare?” she asked softly, tired in the eyes and heart.

“Bandaid has been taken from me by Chrysalis. Again,” Nightmare Moon said testily. “I would request your signature to attack her with hooves on the ground.”

“You want to start a war over one stallion?” Celestia said, standing slowly from her desk. “Do you remember what happened the last time we gods openly fought among ourselves?” she lifted a hoof to gesture.

Nightmare looked to one side, to a portrait painting that sat propped against the wall. She startled a little, for she’d not seen it when she’d arrived. A fiery earth-pony stallion and Celestia stood within the frame, garbed in ancient wedding attire. The black alicorn had not seen the image in an age. Mountain Blood was as handsome and virile as any she could remember. “I remember,” Nightmare said softly. “When Discord reversed gravity on Equis, Mountain Blood was in a field with a picnic, waiting for thou and…” she trailed off. Nopony had been around to see the poor soul drift slowly into the sky and out into space. The only reason they knew what became of him was because his family had been in their house (clinging to the ceiling), before Celestia had arrived to stop her chaotic brother.

“We really do hurt you, don’t we?” Nightmare said softly, looking at her. Celestia suddenly seemed much older, much more tired. “Each of us in turn. Chrysalis. Myself. Discord.”

“Only Cadance remains, and I still await the day and the deed.” Celestia murmured. Quickly shaking her head to clear the abysmal thoughts, she coughed once and lifted her wings. “As romantic as it is, sister, I cannot allow you to march Equestria’s armies into the badlands in open assault on the changeling hive.”

“Why not?!” Nightmare demanded. “This nation is half-mine, and I may do as I please with its armed forces!”

“We would lose,” Celestia said. “Think about how they work, militarily. The confusion and paranoia alone would be the undoing of any army. Much less that all of them have both wings and horns. And a freshly-charged goddess at their head.”

Nightmare snarled stubbornly. “Then I will go alone,” she turned from her. “I shan’t leave Bandaid to suffer.”

“That’s what she wants, don’t you see?” Celestia said. “Chrysalis wants to goad you into attacking to justify the war she’s always wanted! Any excuse to mobilize the hive against us, charged and ready as they now are, would be catastrophic!”

“A thousand years of peace, have you grown so soft?” Nightmare said. “We carved the very foundations of society, shaped the oceans with our horns, and molded math and philosophy into a race that would have taken millions of years to evolve thus! And I’ll be damned back to the moon if I shall leave even one pony to such a fate!”

“I can stop you,” Celestia said mildly, lifting her wings. “To prevent such a conflict, I would.” Nightmare stopped, turning to look at her coldly. They shared a long, icy silence, measuring one another.

“Not during the night, you can’t. Tis my realm right now.” Nightmare scowled, eyes narrowing. “You may like to think you are eldest and wisest, but you do not have the right to police your siblings, sister.” She opened her wings into their black expanse. “But until the sun rises I am more powerful than thee. Remember thy place in our diarchy.”

Celestia took a threatening step forward.

“Perhaps you’ve forgotten the fury an immortal mare feels when her beloved is taken from her.” Nightmare said. Celestia hesitated, looking hurt. “When did you visit our brother Discord last, huhm?” With that she was gone. Celestia stood there, then slowly hung her head and looked towards the propped portrait. Mountain Blood smiled back at her, as he always did.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Bandaid looked at his captors, and they looked back at him. Neither side really knew what to make of each other. He was a brown stallion with a dark-brown mane. He didn’t even have a horn or wings. He was quite possibly the plainest-looking thing they’d ever seen. Why, dabbing him with mud would make him nearly invisible in the hive tunnels!

Chrysalis had insisted that he be kept comfortable, but that hadn’t mean that they knew much of what to do with him. They’d fetched plenty of bioluminescent mushrooms to light the place since the poor thing couldn’t see in the dark. They’d also found blankets, several bricks, a wrench, two balls of string, a foal’s picture book, and no less than seventeen gumballs. Ponies liked gumballs, right? They weren’t sure. Drones sometimes brought back pony artifacts to study their culture, but not everyling was privy to what it all meant.

“Er… hi,” said the stallion rather miserably.

They skree’d at him a little. One fwooshed with green fire, turning into him. “Hi. Hi. Hi.” It parroted, smiling in a friendly way.

Real Bandaid sighed, turning over the picture book. That seemed to excite them. The inside was a basic foal’s story about a wizard on a mountain that granted wishes. If only he could wish himself out of here. Putting it down, he studied them a little more. “May I?” he asked, gesturing. He took one of their hooves, turning it over. “Your legs… no holes,” he said slowly, falling into his nurse’s training. He’d always assumed changelings naturally had holes in their bodies. But Chrysalis’ had filled in since she’d become a goddess. He ran a hoof down the smooth carapace of one of his keepers. He or she jittered back, skree-ing at him a bit. “What? I’m bored!” he said, sticking his tongue out a little.

The drone stuck its tongue out at him in return. They wondered at each other in silence.

There were four drones, and just one Bandaid. They’d asked the Queen why such a simple pony needed so many guards. The Queen had simply said it was for their own good to keep him secured and safe. He was a prisoner of war now, and needed to be cared for as such.

But, apparently he was not for feeding on. The Queen had made no mention of sucking the love out of him, nor sticking him in a pod for later. The four of them conversed for a bit, wondering if perhaps they were simply saving him for a victory feast? If the Queen had brought him in particular home for war, maybe he was a tasty thing! They looked at him hungrily, but thought better of it. No love-sucking right now, it would be wasteful. Especially after the Queen had super-charged the entire hive.

Tunnels were being smoothed and redone, schools rebuilt, hive-buildings remodeled, and everything in between. The savage energy that filled them all made everyling a little twitchy, but a lot was getting done. Eggs were coming out of hibernation and the population was swelling impressively. The gathering coliseum had already been torn down in the last day or so and was being rebuilt to twice its normal size.

=-=-=-=

Nightmare Moon was in her storage room, rummaging about with a scowl. At last finding the chest she’d been looking for, she threw it open. She frowned at the contents. Her old battle armor had grown grainy and frail with the ages. “Pity,” she mumbled. She’d forgotten to enchant it, so it had rusted away with the blood of her foes caked into its cracks. “Ah!” she reached into the bottom, pulling on a little ribbon. The false-bottom came away, revealing the real prize.

It was a long-shafted weapon that took two hooves to wield properly. At the tip was a sphere of glowing metal, tipped with dull spikes in all directions. Perfect for smashing through armored enemies and the hard hides of changelings. In a fit of rather brilliant naming, Nightmare Moon had called it ‘The Morning Star’ when it was created. Deep within slept all the fury of an ancient star going supernova. It had taken a fair number of years to find the properly-aged star, pluck it from the sky, shrink it to the proper size, and contain it within the confines of the metal and enchantments. Taking it in her fangs for a moment, the black alicorn turned it over and over again. It was heavier than she remembered.

It would take Nightmare several hours of asking around the palace to realize that a ‘blacksmith’ was not something easily found in the modern era, despite all the guards in their golden armor milling about the place during the day. Grumbling, she went instead to the royal armory. Everything was too small for her, and it earned her some odd looks from any passerby. At least she still had her war helm. Sighing to herself, she returned to the Ebony Hall and brooded on a balcony.

“Your Majesty?” a voice came from inside, and she turned to see one of her nondescript guards staring at her from the hearth.

“Come,” she said dully, turning to stare at the horizon a bit more.

“Begging your pardon, your Highness, but it doesn’t take a genius to see what’s going on.” She said, shuffling a hoof just a little. “They took him again, didn’t they? Nurse Bandaid?” she slowly took off her helm, spilling her pumpkin-orange mane our around her shoulders. Despite the helmet hair, she was really quite beautiful. “When the Changelings left? I saw the blood spatter and the dead drone.”

“…Tis true,” Nightmare said after a time. “I am going to wage war on the entire hive by my lonesome, it seems. My sister forbids I use our standing forces to attack their nation. Even Luna thinks I am being foolish.” She gestured to the moon, which sighed at her from behind a few clouds. Stubborn bitch.

“They took Nurse Bandaid, I don’t blame you for being angry,” she said, setting her helmet on the railing next to her.

“Quite bold, for a simple guard,” Nightmare said testily. The mare flinched back a little, but swallowed and hung her head.

“I know if someone took my husband, I would move heaven and Equis to get him back,” she offered softly, looking up at her dark goddess. “In your case, that could certainly happen in the more literal sense.”

“Most certainly!” Nightmare said, rearing up and putting her massive front hooves on the railing. “I do not understand why Tia does not think I should attack for such a grave insult! Coming to mine own home and taking that which is most precious to me!”

“Queen Chrysalis did it to hurt you, I don’t doubt it,” she said.

“…what is your name, in service to the crown?”

“I’m Captain Noble Cause, your majesty, assigned to guard royalty until the Lunar Guard is properly mustered in a few years’ time.” she said, smiling politely. Nightmare nodded it was true. The only problem with training your own forces was that it took a serious amount of time to do so. The twins were gone, so she'd decided to train a proper corp. But it would take a hoof full of years, so she'd borrowed some of Celestia's guards in the meantime.

“What would you have me do, Noble Cause?” Nightmare said, looking skyward as the sun began to tip over the horizon. “War? Or leave my beloved to his fate?” she looked miserable, for her heart ached. The fire of raising her proverbial fist had cooled, and seeing the ponies mill about in the city below had made Celestia’s words weigh heavy on her heart.

“I would say… leave the changelings to theirs.” Noble Cause smiled rather sheepishly. “I’ve read all about Mister Bandaid in a few field reports. If there was anypony I was going to kidnap to goad somepony into a war, well, it wouldn’t be him, lemme tell you. Er, Your Highness.” She said, grinning a bit.

Nightmare looked over at her with a frown. Noble Cause let the gears in her goddess' head turn for a bit. The wave of realization crashed over her like a devilish orgasm in a nighttime tryst. “Oh. Oh my…” her jowls slowly lifted into a nightmarish smirk. “You’re right. I’ve no need to go to war just now… they’ve brought war into their own home!”

=-=-=-=-=-=

Bandaid looked up when he heard a slight slurping sound. Was… was one of his guards licking his lips at him? He shuddered a little, trying to figure out if he could play marbles with gumballs on the flat of the dirt floor. The drone in question watched Bandaid’s plush, yummy-looking backside. Maybe just a quick taste…? The Queen surely wouldn’t notice…

End of Part 11

Dam It, Bandaid!

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 12: Dam It, Bandaid!

Nightmare Moon paced one way, then the other in the throne room. It had been well over a week since Bandaid’s capture, and her fury grew by the night. No ransom note, no taunting messages, no nothing from the Badlands where Chrysalis lay in wait. As much as she absolutely refused to admit it, Celestia was right. She could not risk war for one stallion. All her little ponies lives weighed hard against the single grain of rice that Bandaid might represent. One was not worth the whole, no matter her aching heart. So all she could do was wait, and see what the Changeling Queen’s next move was. Would she use dear Bandaid as a shield? To keep Equestria’s forces away? Or torture him, until he taught them the ways of advanced pony medicine? He was certainly a walking well of medical knowledge. “… I miss his hooves on my legs,” Nightmare said aloud, drooping for a moment. One of her guards cocked his head, looking over at her curiously. “As you were!” she snapped at him, coughing twice. He quickly regained his composure, staring straight ahead. “Pull!” she shouted to a nearby mare.

A cement block sailed through the air, launched from a short-range catapult. Turning with a snarl, she blasted it into oblivion with her horn. She shouted again, and another went sailing. Boom! Boom! BOOM! She’d passed well into the range of forty or so. They would have enough rubble to build a gravel road in Ponyville at this rate! It seemed to make the Princess feel better, though, so nopony dared stop her.

“Your Majesty?”

“WHAT?!” Nightmare rounded on whoever dared interrupt her target practice. Noble Cause stood in the massive double doorways, helm under one arm. She nodded towards the one standing next to her, a short changeling with feminine features and a scroll in its mouth. On its back was a white banner-cape, the universal sign of a messenger. “At last,” Nightmare cantered eagerly, and the drone spat its charge into her hoof. She pulled at the rather sticky seal and curls. The spider-web that was Chrysalis’ seal melted away, and the messenger planted his butt to patiently wait. Nightmare quickly unfurled the scroll, noting the loopy hoof-writing and golden signature at the bottom.

To My Sister Princess Nightmare Moon,

As you have no doubt noticed by now, I have taken the stallion called Bandaid from you, and across the southern border into my empire. I assure you he has not been harmed or mistreated any more than necessary. Yet. He will not be fed on, starved or otherwise harassed within the best means of my powers. Unless I feel threatened. He is my prisoner. I am extending the following conditions if you wish to see him again.

Send an envoy or ambassador to deliver word of your compliance with my demands.

Withdraw any and all ponies you may have in the badlands. This includes cartographers, explorers, and any mad treasure seekers that have at one time or another harassed the changeling hive.

Release the river from the Neigh-Hoover dam, and allow it to flow unimpeded into the Badlands from this day hence.

If all these conditions are met, you will see your stallion Bandaid post-haste.

In My Own Hoof,

Queen Chrysalis Cosmos Equiness of the Changeling Empire

“A ransom note, as expected,” Nightmare Moon said thoughtfully, frowning. The changeling drone tilted his head at her, for he did not understand her pony-speak.

“What does she want?” Noble Cause asked, setting her helmet down. “What should we do?”

“Twilight Sparkle taught me of the Neigh Hoover Dam while I lay in a hospital bed not long ago,” the black alicorn said thoughtfully. “I will seek her council, and my sister’s.”

“A wise decision, your Majesty,” Noble Cause smiled, nodding in agreement.

Nightmare swept from the throne room to fetch the proper maps and waterway charts. The remaining guards looked around at all the cement block rubble that lay strewn about. Finally the one of lowest rank sighed and went to fetch a broom.

The messenger sat there, looking dumbly about. Was he supposed to stay there? A maid offered him tea, but he hissed at her and she quickly tottled off. He sat there with a glazed over expression, frowning at nothing at all. Perhaps he would be here for a time, then, if the big-pony-princess needed to compose an answer. The Queen would be pleased with him!

=-=-=-=-=

Bandaid glared and rose when Chrysalis entered. “Comfortable, I hope?” she chuckled, looking about the cave.

“There’s no bathroom,” he told her sourly.

“Fair enough, I’ll have one built by the time we return. Come!” she turned on her heel to be away. He stubbornly stood there. “I said come!” she snapped. One of the guards poked him in the butt with its horn, startling him forward. “I’d like to show you something, Bandaid.”

“Joy,” the stallion said miserably.

“Or if you prefer I could put you in a dress and stick you in my tallest tower?” The Queen chuckled. He looked horrified at her. “I thought not, come along then.” She trotted forward. The dark tunnels had all been lit with bioluminescent mushrooms, smoothed into a consistent shape, and even bricked in certain areas. “You’ll have to forgive all the construction, stallion, a lot of good has happened since I returned from Equestria.”

Bandaid looked at all the working crews as they passed. Carts of supplies were being pulled back and forth: massive crystals, hay, bricks, cement bags… none of it looked local though. “Did you steal all this?” he asked flatly.

“Over a number of centuries, yes,” Chrysalis smiled. “A few bricks here, a bag of cement there, and so on.” She stopped to encourage a few of them in the changeling tongue, which Bandaid had no inkling of. “Now that the hive is working at full capacity again, we can begin building.”

“Building?” Bandaid asked as they turned a corner and emerged into a super-cavern. There were layers and layers of walkways, tunnels, lit windows and all the like. It looked like a… well, reverse beehive. The open space served as a place to fly from one side or the other. It was abuzz with activity. Everyling was travelling upward, taking supplies out to the surface. “What are they building?”

“Why, my country of course,” Chrysalis said. “I’ve been keeping Everyling alive and as healthy as I can for a long, long time. And now that I am a goddess, I am an endless food source for them.”

“Everyling…” Bandaid wondered, watching a crowd of larva run by. They shouted and chased an odd-looking, painted mud-ball. Some of them sported scrappy capes, little bandannas or even painted designs on their carapaces, skree-ing and hissing and tumbling over each other in their bizarre little game.

The Queen and the nurse found their way to the surface, where they stood on a balcony-outcropping of stone. Bandaid rushed to the railing, throwing his head over the edge at the spectacle below. They were like ants. Tens of thousands of shining little black ants. Crawling over each other with supplies, tools and whatnot to begin construction. Hundreds of them were going mad with pickaxes and shovels, flattening the land as they went. Carts were racing back and forth to move the raw stone, sand and earth out of the way. Carved brick, stone and mortar was being brought in. Dirt roads were already being paved with solid stone slabs. A massive changeling with dozens and dozens of legs was pulling a sledge. When the stone slab slid into place, he did a little happy dance as a dozen sweepers came by to clean it off and secure it into the earth.

“You’re building a city!” Bandaid gaped at all the activity.

“The first changeling city. Can you imagine?” Chrysalis said fondly, watching her subjects mill about in various jobs. The outlines of certain buildings were starting to appear. “And over there,” she gestured. “The prize we will attain to cap it off, if my sister meets my demands.” Bandaid turned to look at what appeared to be a smooth, stone-bottomed canyon. Craggy and rimmed with sheer walls on both sides, it took him a few moments to puzzle it out. Bandaid turned and looked up at Chrysalis with a mix of awe and fear. “We’ve had a lot of time to plan this, stallion. Now that everything has fallen into place, all she has to do is release the river to us, and we will truly prosper as we were intended to.”

“Nightmare might just decide to kick your door in and steal me back, you know,” Bandaid smirked. “You know how she is when somepony takes something she thinks is hers.” She turned, back-hoofing him so hard he crashed to the ground. Yelping like a mare he lay there, tears sprouting from his eyes. Touching his now bruised face, he whimpered as he looked up at her.

“Things change, Bandaid. I am in charge here, if you haven’t noticed,” Chrysalis said, a sickly green fire in her eyes. “Any assault my sister mounts will be met with the full fury of the hive. Not even Nightmare Moon can fight an entire changeling empire all at once.”

“She’ll stop you, whatever you’re really up to, she’ll stop it,” Bandaid said, still holding his face.

“You all seem to have this notion that I mean to attack Equestria, now that the game is in my favor. Does no one think I might just sit here and rebuild my broken country for a few hundred years?” Chrysalis turned to watch her drones build and dig and hew the land below her.

“You’re too clever for that. You always have some other motif. Even full of your mother’s love you’ll just get greedy and lose everything you’ve ever--!”

Chrysalis suddenly turned and kicked him in the ribs. Then in the stomach. Then in the head. He yelped. Cried out. Yelped again. She kicked him, and kicked him, and kicked him some more until he was quieter. He curled into a ball under her fury, weeping at the pain. She stared down at him coldly. “Don’t speak of my Mother. You’ve no right, worm!” she shouted at him. “I have everything I ever wanted, and I’ll be rid of you when Nightmare gives me the river. Keep your blasphemous mouth shut until then so you don’t make a liar out me!” He looked up at her, blood dribbling from his nose. She stopped, taking a deep breath and replacing her fury with a devilish smile. “I told Nightie I would take good care of you until the river is filled. Now be a good boy and don’t give me a reason to tear you in a half!”

Bandaid husked a whining breath, lying against the railing for a long time while she watched the construction below with interest. Changelings came bearing an easel, concept art, and a little saucer of royal jelly. He watched her eat, converse over the arrangement of the skyline that was to occur, and even make adjustments to the final shape of a tower on the east side of the city. Salutes were given, and the drones buzzed away after a time. The stallion touched his nose. The bleeding had stopped. He looked over at a changeling guard. It was looking down at him. His mind wandered, spun for a bit. Faust the sun was hot… he moaned, sweating and laying in the shade of the short railing.

Chrysalis supervised a few other design choices, choosing between several different blue dyes for trim. The changelings were fond of round, squat buildings that resembled onions. The curved surfaces were pleasing to the eye, and resembled fat eggs or fat tummies. Very relaxing!

One of the architects stopped and gestured to Bandaid, rattling off something in their insectoid tongue. Chrysalis shook her head, sending him on his way. The stallion looked up at her when she spoke. “I told them you’re not for feeding on. I know what happens to you when you lose your little temper.”

“I beat your sorry butt into the ground?” he offered mildly, lowering his head to rest his chin on the warm, unforgiving stone. She kicked him in the face, and he saw white spots. Then nothing at all.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Celestia sat frowning, across from Nightmare Moon. Also at the table was Royal Vizier Twilight Sparkle. The ransom note sat to one side, having been passed around for everypony to read. The mood was solemn. “The Neigh Hoover Dam took several years to build. Simply opening the flood-gates could drown Ponyville. The park-river and adjoining Golden Thread river just wouldn’t be able to take the sudden deluge,” the white alicorn traced her hoof down the many, many miles it would take for the sudden flood to reach the border, much less the Badlands.

“We would lose Sweet Apple Acres as well,” Twilight Sparkle said, using a quill and blue ink to trace the water’s approximate path given the sudden flood. “One of this region’s primary export services.”

“What about re-routing the river?” Nightmare said, gesturing with a hoof. “A large waterway, like so.” She met her sisters eyes and stifled a groan. Here it came.

“I don’t think we should do this, Sister,” Celestia said. “Given Chrysalis’ sudden ascension, providing her with resources, even basic ones like water, will only bolster her power in the south and make us more vulnerable.”

“What will she do, conjure a lightning storm upon us?” Nightmare grumbled at her. “Changelings cannot control the weather as pegasi can. And even if they could, we would simply push it back over the border again. The Badlands has no reliable rainfall schedule. The desert would wash away into the far southern sea.”

Celestia frowned, steepling her hooves. “What are your thoughts, Vizier Sparkle?” she asked softly.

Addressed by title rather than as a surrogate daughter, Twilight coughed twice and drew herself up. “I think the changelings have an infinite food source in Chrysalis, and have no need for additional resources outside their normal commodities. However,” she paused for a time. “They live in a harsh, unforgiving desert where it barely rains, underground hidden from the sun. The introduction of a river would radically change their environment into something more lush and green.”

“I do not care for them, sister, I care for Bandaid.” Nightmare said sourly. “If Chrysalis wants something as silly as a river, let her have it. Let it wash over the dry, cracked earth of the badlands and flush down into the hive! Wash away the filth and grime they call living.”

There was a short silence, followed by Twilight mumbling at her papers, “…I had no idea the two of you were this racist.” Both alicorns blanched, turning to stare at her in shock.

“Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia stood, rather miffed at her.

“Think about it. What will Chrysalis do with a river in the Badlands?” Twilight thought aloud. “Not much, I don’t think. But the changeling race might prosper for it. Food and water shouldn’t be something you spend the majority of your time looking for, right?” She looked at both of them with softened eyes. "Right?"

“Right…?” Celestia hesitantly said.

“Well, what was behind all of Chrysalis’ attacks? Her cloak and dagger? Even Bandaid’s kidnapping?” Twilight’s cheeks were flushed with boldness now that she’d crossed the line. “Hunger! Thirst! Basic needs that everypony should be able to fulfill!” she clopped a hoof into the center of the (admittedly blank and unmapped) Badlands. “I-If that’s all they ever wanted, sh-shouldn’t we help them for it? Chrysalis is their new goddess now, there’s all their food. Shouldn’t they have simple things like water if we can help them? They’ll never be so desperate as to attack us ever again!”

The alicorn sisters looked at each other. Celestia knew she was right, paranoid of conflict as she had already driven herself to be. Chrysalis was hungry, always hungry-- but now as an endless wellspring of love energy and magic… perhaps not? If it would drive peace home and bring prosperity to others, maybe finally… finally they could begin building bridges again? The troubled princess of the day held the bridge of her muzzle for a time, deep in troubled thought. “I… you are right, Twilight.” She finally admitted, looking over at the beaming purple mare. “You are wiser than we sometimes. I am glad you have my ear.”

“And your teachings!” Twilight said, turning the map over. On the back was a copy with a different sort of waterway design. “I was up late last night thinking about how we could seriously release the river if it came to that, I think I’ve got a few ideas that will make every pony happy in the end.” She showed them the designs. From the Neigh Hoover dam was a straight, surgical line, as wide as many ponies standing shoulder to shoulder. “Suppose,” Court Vizier Twilight said. “That we could just dig a straight line. Forget the curve of the river, forget depth and distance travelled. Just a straight line. And at the same time,” she looked up to appease her Goddess Celestia, “A gentle warning in case Queen Chrysalis decides to double-cross us.”

Nightmare cocked her head with interest, leaning over the facts and figures. Oh. Oh this was delicious. She really did like Twilight Sparkle sometimes, she decided.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
3 Days and Much Careful Planning Later…
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

“My Queen! My Queen!” A pegasus soldier landed, flashing back into his changeling form. He hissed, spat and wing-flapped his way through a quick and terrifying report.

“What?!” Chrysalis stood with authority, her nectar cup falling and shattering on the floor. Bandaid, who was chained to a nearby column with an embarrassing red collar, looked up. “I must see this for myself!” she rushed away, wings opening and buzzing. Launching herself skyward and out of the makeshift hive palace, she erupted from the top skylight and out of sight.

“What’s happening?” he asked, slowly standing. Noling answered him.

Chrysalis rushed out to an outcropping, then launched into the sky for a birds-eye view. A gouge had appeared in the land. A furious, coal-black gouge. It glowed with heat, sending noxious fumes into the air. The edges were red-hot, and there were little fires sprouting alongside it. It stopped just short of the stone canyon where the river was supposed to be flowing. The Changeling Queen flew over it, dashing back and forth like a distressed dragonfly. The magic residue was- “Celestia,” Chrysalis’ eyes narrowed. The sand had been turned to glass, the rocks to sludge, the trees to ash. Only potent solar magic could carve such a thing in one go. “EVERYLING!” she concussed the sky. “CONNECT THE RIVERBEDS! THE WATER IS COMING!”

Everyling instantly stopped what they were doing, looking skyward at the Queen. Turning and dropping their tools, the great black mass rushed to the rock canyon and the scorched earth bed. Digging furiously, they threw rocks, tossed earth and spread sand. Workers ran with bags of dirt and carts of rocks. Rush rush rush! The water was coming! The water was coming!

The crashing sound of water began in the distance. Chrysalis’ eyes widened. So suddenly?! She veered around, watching the workers rush back and forth. If the water struck the edge before it was all connected the hive could be flooded! Turning with a growl, Chrysalis rushed down to be among the workers. “Start tunneling!” She shouted. “Poke through to the canyon beyond!” she watched drones furiously start spitting acid and tunneling in like moles. They black, shiny bodies disappeared into the dark earth and stone The water was coming closer, rushing along at break-neck speeds. They dug, dug as quickly as they could. “Harder! Faster!” Chrysalis shouted. “Make the breach! Even one tunnel will be enough!” Like rolling thunder the water did come. The changeling queen whirled about. It came around the bend, a white crashing wave of tidal fury. “Get out! Get out its too late!” Everyling panicked, throwing down their tools. Tunnelers sweated, trapped under the earth and rock. Spreading her wings, Chrysalis lit her horn. A green, scalie-looking shield of magic raised itself out of the ground. “Get everyling out! Get out!” she shouted over the crash of water. The foaming tidal wave mashed itself against her shield, raising high in all directions like a god’s massive fingered hand. Gritting her teeth and pulling from deep insider herself, Chrysalis dug her hooves in. She held it there, the water shooting out and around the sides. The water began to dash into the hive itself, down into the tunnels. A drone suddenly landed at her side, skree-ing something. “Good!” she shouted over the storm. Turning, she seized the brave soul around the middle, cancelled the shield and launched herself skyward in all desperation.

The water lanced forward—pierced the barrier and filled the tunnels to the breach. The two riverbeds connected with an earth-shaking explosion of earth and rock. Water stopped flowing into the hive. The rock canyon flooded with water, drinking it all in and filling, filling, filling as it went! Everyling danced and cheered as the Changeling Empire received its very first river unto the Badlands!

End of Part 12

A Care Package, Bandaid!

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 13: A Care Package, Bandaid!

“Now what?” mumbled Bandaid weakly as he was led outside by his chain like somepony’s pet. The three guards and his handler took him to the usual outcropping balcony above the construction of the city. It had been perhaps a week since the river had been released, and just now he was getting to see it. “Oh wow,” he admitted, looking down with interest. The blue, clear, flowing water was rushing through like it had always been there. Changelings were playing on the shores, dashing about and dive-bombing the waters to splash each other. “Huh. Beach party. Sort of,” Bandaid said, watching them.

The same group of larva ran about with their mud-ball. When it splashed into the river it was washed off, revealing some sort of strange, stitched together white ball with ‘Neighson’ written on the side. They retrieved it, staring at it in horror. Thoroughly upset, they dashed away to find their caretaker so they could rub it in mud and paint it again the way it was supposed to be.

More onion-shaped buildings were popping up every which way. Many of them cool colors like dark blue, dark green and such. Most of them were still mud-brown, but those were the larger ones. The ones clearly meant to be dwellings had cute, tiny little chimneys sticking out of the holes at their tops, and the drones that had claimed them were crawling all over them to make designs. Bandaid saw celtish knots, stitching, barb-wire, landscapes… it looked like everyling had their own idea about what made a dwelling beautiful, now that they had ones of their own. Bandaid wondered if maybe they were all emulating things they’d seen when out and about in the world. He spotted one changeling trying to sand his onion-shaped house into a more angular shape. Perhaps he’d been to the Crystal Empire at one point?

The same massive, many legged changeling was still pulling the sledge, helping to make what was undoubtedly the main road. When the latest titanic slab of stone slid into place, he did the same happy dance he always did when he’d done something good, drum-drum-drumming his countless appendages.

Scaffolding was going up around what would undoubtedly be the hive-palace. Bandaid had been kept in a similar structure underground, but somehow this one seemed bigger. More bulbous and official. Changelings buzzed about it, adding bricks and mud and thick mortar. Hardening powders were being mixed in, along with reflective things like iron dust and glitters. It gave the whole thing a subtle and otherworldly glow. The brown stallion watched them work with fervor, looking back and forth. “Never knew they were like this…” he mumbled.

“Like what? Like a real civilization?” Chrysalis had appeared to check on her prisoner. He flinched to one side so she could stand at the railing, falling silent. He’d quickly learned not to question, not to quip, and not to rise to her insults. It only ever ended in pain. He had enough bruises already. “Are you surprised that the changeling hive isn’t full of mindless monsters that just want to eat, consume and destroy?”

“Mm…” said Bandaid carefully.

“You lose a lot of assumptions about right and wrong and stealing and survival when you’re starving, stallion,” Chrysalis said. He looked at her more closely. She seemed a bit bigger. More filled in than before. Not fat, just… she was proportioned a bit closer to what Celestia was shaped like, and less like the skeletal monster she usually came across as. “Now that my hive is set for life, we may prosper and be happy. No thanks to my siblings in the north.” She gestured towards Equestria and the Crystal Empire. Bandaid noted the direction, wildly wondering if he might just run across the wastes to get away when chance gave him. “Don’t bother,” she seemed to read his mind. “It’s a bit too far, even as the crow flies, to the northern border.” His ears splayed and he hung his head. “Good boy.” She tutted, watching the activity below. A few Changelings stopped to wave at her, which she regally returned with a fang-filled smile and open wings.

“What… will you do now?” Bandaid chose his words carefully, as not to be beaten again.

She turned to look at him, pushing her mane out of her eyes. “Now that Equestria has rerouted the river from the Neigh Hoover dam and opened its gates, the reservoir will no doubt drain in a number of months. Water will not strain as a resource, given that the icy mountains border Equestria’s north and they can physically control the weather,” she paused for breath. “However, I will wait to see what shift in priorities will make themselves apparent.”

“L-like what?” Bandaid braved.

“Celestia will no doubt expect a full-frontal assault,” Chrysalis said, tapping her hoof and then leaning on an elbow with her hoof. “What would you think of that, huhm nurse? A nice bloody war, after I just turned immortal and started my city building?” she smiled at him nastily.

Bandaid opened his mouth to shout at her, but all his bruises and her glittering green eyes made him think better of it. She smiled wider when he checked himself. He sighed, taking a deep breath, then looked down at the teeming masses below. “That sounds… counter-productive,” He decided softly.

“Very good,” she nodded. “The last thing I intend to build back up is my own reputation. But damn them all, I don’t care what they think of me. I have all my children to think of first.” Chrysalis drew herself up again. “Equestria gave me the river I asked for, they’ve only one task to fulfill before I send you home again.”

“Home?” Bandaid blurted, surprised. “I’m being traded?”

“Yes. I didn’t take you just to twist my mustache at my two immortal sisters. Idiot,” Chrysalis turned and left him on the balcony. “Take our pet for a walk, show him the river and the palace construction site.” She told one of the four guards. (Bandaid noted one of them could speak in the pony tongue, for he repeated the orders in the changeling language) With that the queen was away… then she paused. “Ah, I almost forgot.” She turned back to him, then to one of her waiting servants. “Fetch my picto-box.” She told him. He scree-chirruped at her. She looked annoyed at him. “Yes, the flashy box thing,” she said flatly. Bandaid smirked but quickly squashed the expression when she turned to look at him. The drone came back with a positively archaic-looking camera after a time. “I’d like to assure Nightie that you’re still alive and well. Smile.” She said, standing next to him. The drone fiddled with the camera like it was a puzzle box. “It’s the top one.” She told him, gesturing. The drone turned the box over, then remembered to take the lens-cap off. Bandaid’s lips tugged upward a little. “Top button,” the Queen said again, getting annoyed. One would’ve thought the poor drone was defusing a bomb, the way he was pushing the sliders back and forth, hunting for the proper button. He lifted the viewer to his eyes. Bandaid lowered his head a little, submissive when Chrysalis glared at him. The drone chirruped again, tilting its head. “I don’t care if it looks like a prison photo! Take the picture!” Chrysalis shouted. Bandaid giggle-snorted despite all risks, a genuine smile crossing his lips.

KWACK-FWOOSH!

The magnesium went off and it slowly spat out a pictograph. Chrysalis snatched it, grumbling and sending the drone on his way. Bandaid managed a painful giggle that hurt his ribs.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

“’Wish you were here?’ That pompus bitch!” Nightmare Moon shouted, turning the photograph over. In it, Chrysalis looked like she was shouting angrily at somepony, and Bandaid looked like he was laughing. Though the picture was in black and white, it didn’t hide the crusted blood on his nose, nor the bruises on his barrel. Nightmare seethed. Looking in the background, she saw the out-of-focus scene of what must’ve been a massive above-ground project. Was she building something? What? She turned the picture over to re-read the line. It was written by Bandaid’s hoof, but she wasn’t about to trust the words if Chrysalis had sent it. The attached letter was a bit better:

To My Sisters Princess Nightmare Moon and Princess Celestia,

Thank you for being so quick to fulfill my demands about the river. The Changeling Empire will benefit vastly from the influx of water and mud for our building purposes. Concrete and such has to be mixed, after all! I eagerly await your envoy bearing written agreement that all of your little ponies will stay away from the Badlands, under pain of death by my hoof. (Your envoy will, of course, be allowed in and out. I promise not to kill that particular pony for trespassing.)
In the meanwhile, as you can see by the photograph I’ve enclosed your stallion Bandaid is still my prisoner. His health is not perfect, as the Badlands are quite harsh on the average pony. I would move as quickly as you can if you plan on receiving him back in a healthy manner.
I have no doubt you suspect on oncoming assault of some description, so let me be perfectly clear: Leave us be. You shan’t visit me, and I shan’t visit you, and we shall all get along better than before. (Except on holidays, of course, mother might be displeased if we didn’t at least see each other for Hearths Warming Day or some such.)

In My Own Hoof,

Queen Chrysalis Cosmos Equiness of the Changeling Empire

“’Except on holidays or some such,’ she says!” Nightmare snarled, crumpling the letter and throwing it.

Noble Cause turned to pick it up, pushing her mane out of her eyes. “Jeez, her mood is all over the map,” she commented as she scanned the letter down. “She’s not stable, is she?”

“Under such an influx of power, being insane enough to steal my beloved twice, and now building her nation the way she’s always wanted it. No, no she is not stable.” Nightmare grumped, returning to sit on the throne once more. She glanced over, for the changeling messenger was still sitting in the same spot he’d been in six days ago. He merely stared listlessly about, occasionally pawing at the ground with a hoof. He didn’t seem hungry or bored, merely at attention. The second messenger went and sat next to him. They looked each other, exchanged greeting, then went back to doing exactly nothing.

“Erm, perhaps you could send something back with them, for Bandaid?” Noble Cause offered.

Nightmare touched her chin, “That’s actually not a bad idea.” She smiled slowly, then stood. Feeling a little less helpless now that she had a mission, she went to the massive double doors and gestured to the two waiting messengers. “Come!” she said. They cocked their heads. She tap-tapped her foreleg with a hoof. They started forward, and she led them away. “It seems they were not so foolish as to feed on him, I shall have to make sure we receive him back by normal means.” Noble cause winced at the idea, but nodded and followed her. “Come, I know just the shop to visit first!” Nightmare trotted out to find her chariot and pulling team.

=-=-=-=-=

“What do you mean they sent him a care package?!” Chrysalis said, for a three foot cube of wood had arrived with Bandaid’s name on it, carried by two positively exhausted drones. “Paw through it and see if there’s anything suspicious inside.” She commanded. Crowbars were fetched and the lid was pried open. The drones peered inside, turning things over and inspecting every little item they found. After a long time, they’d found nothing that seemed threatening and shrugged to their queen. “Well, put it in his chamber I suppose,” Chrysalis finally decided, rolling her eyes. “Probably full of muffins and joy,” she grumbled. “I would burn it, but I still need that missive from the Equestrian envoy.”

Bandaid was shocked when the massive wooden thing was wheeled in and given to him. He was in the middle of eating. The changelings had soon decided that ponies needed pony food so they’d been bringing him rather exotic flavors of hay, water, and other things they’d managed to steal from farmsteads near the border. “Wassat?” he said, favoring one leg as he went and stuck his head in.

Inside was a collection of books, several blankets, a few boxes of sweets, a first aid kit, a tied bunch of celery, five loose muffins, a fruit basket, and a few reading scrolls. Pulling the first scroll, he opened it and blanched. Nightmare Moon shaking her ass at the camera. ‘Wish you were here’, it said, with a little heart next to it. Bandaid grinned and laughed despite how much it hurt to do so. The scroll said the envoy would be arriving soon, and that he would be able to come home. The rest of the letter got racier and far more explicit. Bandaid’s brow rose at words he knew she hadn’t learned from him or Twilight Sparkle’s modernizing training. Red touched his cheeks. “Oh jeez…” he mumbled. He then very carefully put the photo among the blankets of his little nest in the corner. Unfolding all the blankets, he made a grander, softer structure for himself. Overjoyed at the food, he dug into that instead of the hay he’d been given. Sighing when his belly was full, he turned to the first aid kit. Patching himself up and taking a couple of the pills for head injury headaches, he sat among all his prizes for a time. Unable to help it, he reached for the first stack of little books he’d been sent.

Sandstorm, Surviving Ponies and Castles Games in the Desert

“Gee thanks Nightie,” Bandaid rolled his eyes a little.

The Pony Sutra: A Lover’s Guide

One of the pages was dog-eared. When he checked it, his face went scarlet and he quickly put it to one side. “I’mma hafta talk to her about all this,” he snickered a little nervously.

How to Build and Care for Your Ant Farm

“Ha ha ha,” Bandaid said flatly, throwing that one back in the crate.

In the corner, the same guard licked his chops a little. Bandaid’s plush rump wiggled back and forth in the air as he dug through the massive box. It was decided, right then. That drone was dig his teeth into that rump. That rump right there. He could practically hang a picture of that delicious backside on a wall. The Queen had said no, buuuuut… w-well, he was right there! And they’d been guarding him all this time. Pulling rank here and there might leave the two of them alone at some point. Perhaps if he told the other three to take a break in a few days… it would just be himself and the prisoner. His mouth watered, and his fangs dripped at the idea. The drone betted he was extra, extra tasty if the Queen had brought him home with a stealth snatch-and-grab unit. Those were the elite of the hive! Second only to the two personal guards that accompanied the Queen when she went to other nations. He wondered what Bandaid’s love energy would taste like. His tummy rumbled. He just had to wait, wait until the proper moment. Then he could feast.

“Oooh!” Bandaid said, emerging from the crate with a yo-yo. “Neat! Oh hey this is from the Dice and Dragons shop! Nightie went to my game store!” he smiled wide, his spirits lifting. “I bet Deck Cut is wondering where I am by now, I’ve been gone like three weeks…” He looped it on his foreleg, then let it fly—then it yoyo’d back into his nose. “AUGH! Faust-damn-it!” he fell into the crate with a yelp. All four drones tilted their heads, watching him with bald curiosity. Ponies were silly creatures.

=-=-=-=-=-=

It was Noble Casue herself that arrived less than a week later bearing a very, very carefully worded missive from her Majesties of Equestria. Chrysalis scanned it over. Closing one’s borders was very important business, after all. The Badlands were not for tourists, treasure-seekers or spies. The mare stood there nervously, looking back and forth at all the glittering changeling eyes that watched her. Suddenly, she felt like a bug in a jar. Touching her neck to make sure her messenger’s cape was still tied there, she looked up when the Queen cleared her throat.
“Very well,” she said, turning to a waiting drone. “Make note of the day and time, drone. We’ve closed our borders to Equestria and the City-State of the Crystal Empire to the north.” The drone obeyed, scribbling on parchment. “Anypony caught in our lands henceforth will meet a swift and bloody end!” she stomped a hoof on the dais. Noble Cause looked side to side as cheering went up all around her. Chrysalis coughed twice, leaning and signing the rather threatening treaty. Flipping the page, she signed her copy as well. She levitated them both down for the messenger to see. “One for me, and one for Equestria.” She told her. Noble Cause nodded when she saw everything had been signed properly. One rolled itself up and flew to Chrysalis, and she took the other. She watched her put her own in a scroll tube, then stuffed hers away in a waiting saddlebag.

“What of the prisoner? Nurse Bandaid?” Noble Cause asked, leaning forward. “Princess Nightmare Moon will want to know how you plan to deliver him to her.”

“Oh?” Queen Chrysalis, putting down her nectar goblet.

“Yes, that was the deal.” Noble slowly reached and put her helmet on, for some of the changelings present were eyeing her hungrily.

Queen Chrysalis leaned forward, grinning with all her fangs. The pumpkin-maned mare leaned back a little, lifting her hoof. Then the queen laughed. “Oh yes, of course. Take him! Take him home with you, just get out.” She gestured with a floppy hoof. Noble Cause sighed in relief. Chrysalis assigned a drone to take the Pegasus mare to the holding chambers where Bandaid was kept.

=-=-=-=-=-=

The room was still when Noble Cause arrived, the door sitting open. Half of the glowing mushrooms that lit the place were on the floor among glass shards. “Bandaid? Nurse Bandaid, are you here?!” she called. Nopony answered. “I’m Noble Cause! I’m here to take you home to Canterlot!” she told the half-lit room. She saw the crate she’d helped send against the wall. Leaning, she peered into it. A good portion of the food had been eaten, the books ruffled through. Looking around warily, she saw the musty pile of blankets where he must’ve been sleeping. “Bandaid?” she said softly, touching the lumpy form. It didn’t stir. She looked at the drone who’d escorted her there. They both reached and pulled the blanket back.

A dead drone lay beneath, sending them both back with a cry of shock. His blood was pooling in the make-shift nest. His neck was broken, for his head lay oddly. His fangs and feelers were extended, though. He’d been… feeding, when he died? “Oh no…” the drone said in the pony tongue, touching his fellow to shut his eyes.

Noble Cause pulled her helmet tight over herself, closing the clasps to protect her neck. She swallowed, slowly turning the body over. The damage was catastrophic. The carapace was covered with crushing blows, hoof-shaped marks and other deadly sins. The wings had been ripped out, hidden in the folds of the many blankets, and two of the four legs had been twisted until the armored hide had broken. “Oh no… he’s loose,” She mare had read the field reports about what happened last time Bandaid had been fed on by a changeling. Noble Cause heard hoof-steps behind her, and she froze. Her changeling company whirled about, then started backing away, terrified. Swallowing, she turned and looked.

A dark shape had closed the door, shutting out even more light. A shadow moved among shadows, followed by heavy breathing. The drip-drip-drip of blood followed it around, along with a husk of exertion. Noble Cause felt herself backing away too as it came closer. Emerging near one of the glowing mushrooms, she could make out a little.

He was covered in gore, his mane blasted to one side over his face. The wicked, teeth-clenching glare was vibrating his cheeks. The twin holes in his flank didn’t bleed, but they dribbled with changeling saliva. His coat was disheveled, matted with blood and sweat and grime. His nostrils snorted steam as he came close. His lips moved slowly, whispering three words.

“Want…

To…

Die…?”

“N-no!” Noble Cause said, backing up until her flank touched the wall beyond the nest of bloody blankets.

“TOO BAD!”

Noble struck the wall so hard, so fast her wings broke. She limpened against the stony surface, helmet sliding down over her face, unmoving. The changeling tried to run, but he wasn’t fast enough to make the door before Bandaid caught him.

END OF PART 13

INTERMISSION

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 14: INTERMISSION

“Have you got everything, Spike?” Twilight Sparkle asked as they approached the cave entrance. “Everything you need?” The wildlife had long-since cleared out, the moss and waters burned and boiled away. The whole place was warm like summer.

“Of course!” Spike said, patting his mistress as they walked. “You made the list and filled my pack yourself!” They came to the huge double doors. “Welp, I’ll see you in a few hours!”

“Hey, erm…” Twilight shuffled one hoof, looking at the ground a little. “Hug her for me? Everypony needs hugs.”

“Of course,” Spike said, smiling as his brow knitted. “Everything’s fine. We planned for this, remember? That’s what this cave is for!”

“R-right, she’s just never used it in either of our lifetimes,” Twilight murmured, looking longingly at the doors. “I wish I could go in with you.”

“I know, but we’re doing our best. I’m the only one that can withstand that much heat, so it’s gotta be me. Heat resistant magic doesn’t reach that high on the scale. Doesn’t paper burst into flames at four hundred and fifty degrees (332*C)?”

“Four Hundred and Fifty-One, officially,” Twilight said automatically.

Spike smiled at her, and sent her on her way. When he was alone, and very sure nopony else was around, he knocked. “Princess Celestia! It’s me, Spike!” There was a slight shuffling, he could barely hear inside. “It’s okay, it’s just me! I’m okay to let in!” he offered.

The doors unlocked from the inside, a heavy stone mechanism with magic weights on it to match. Oven-like heat blasted forth when it cracked open, then slide wide to allow him entry. Spike’s dragon heritage protected him, and he toddled inside. The doors slid shut behind him, relocking. “Heya Princess! I brought the dominos! Steel, like you wanted!”

“Hullo, Spike,” Celestia sat on a little island surrounded by boiling water. Leaning a bit, she dipped her still-glowing horn. The water HSSSSSSS’d in protest, but she held herself there for a moment before sitting upright gain. “Forgive me, I’ve not strained my body this hard in a long time.”

“Everypony thinks you’re taking a few days sabbatical,” Spike said, setting his things down and hopping the watery gap to hug her. She was hot to the touch, but his dragon scales allowed the happy embrace. Then he sat across from her and open his thick pack. He set a pan to one side, globs of dough dotted across it. “Cookies! If we wait a bit!” he grinned. Celestia smiled despite herself. He took out a canteen, which was already hot, and downed most of it before putting it aside. The rest of it would probably boil away soon. Finally he got to the hot metal box that contained the steel dominos.

Dominos were simple, fun, and never changed all through the ages. Celestia liked them almost as much as chess. But asking for a steel chess set seemed like a bit much to her, and poor Spike would not have stood a chance against her. At least with dominos they would have an element of chance and giggly fun. “You’re very kind, spending time with me, Spike. I was content to sit in here for a few days and cool off alone.”

“S’okay!” Spike waved a clawed hand. “By the way, why didn’t you just jump in a lake, or find an empty field outside? Wouldn’t that be easier to cool off than holing up in here?”

Celestia turned and checked a little oven gauge that Nightmare Moon had given her on the way into the cave (“You will know when you are done, you great turkey!” she’d said, kissing her sister’s cheek and burning her lips. The explosion of swearing alone had made it all worth it.) “My body temperature is slowly falling from around a thousand degrees (537*C). Plant-life and other such things might’ve burst into flames around me. I didn’t want to hurt anypony or the wild-life. How is Twilight?”

“Worried about you, mostly,” Spike poured out the dominos and separated them, then put one on the floor between them. Celestia straightened hers so he could not see them, and he did the same with his so she couldn’t see his. “She’s been holding short Noon-Day courts, and only staying on the throne when she has to.”

“As she was groomed to do, wonderful.” Celestia smiled with approval. She lost a feather and blushed, levitating it under her barrel and out of sight. As soon as it separated from her body, it curled and browned with the heat. She clacked down the first domino, a 9-7 face. An aggressive move to start with.

Spike put down a 1-3, spanning off the other way. “You sure you’re okay?” he asked with all seriousness. “I saw the big ditch you burned into the land from the Neigh Hoover Dam…”

Celestia smiled a little, then nodded, “I’m just not used to straining myself so hard as I once was, is all. These are peaceful times, and for that I am thankful.” She folded her wings for comfort. “The waters are all flowing correctly? The weather teams redirected the fumes out over the sea so that the foams would absorb them and disappate any posions?”

“Yes. Twilight said to tell you…” Spike thought for a time, sorting through Spike’s fancy language. “That all fume damage was minimal, the fire teams had everything under control, and that the saturation rate of any fumes were holding under 80% at the edge of the sea.”

“I do hate polluting things on purpose,” Celestia sighed a little guiltily, putting down a 7-3 at the end of her other domino. “But if it will help my sister get her stallion back, and ease the tensions between us and the Badlands… I suppose I had to make the exception.”

“Maybe,” Spike said, putting down another 3-1 domino at the end of Celestia’s chain. “What’s he like? Nightmare’s coltfriend, I mean. I think I’ve only seen him a couple of times, but he lives in the palace like Twilight and I do.”

“Oh you’d like him, Spike. He’s very kind, caring, and keeps my sister reeled in from her… enthusiasm, sometimes.” Celestia smiled at him sideways, which made the dragon grin at her. “He even likes Ponies and Castles, just like you!”

“Sounds like a nice guy,” Spike said, watching her place another domino.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

When Princess Celestia emerged several days later, she was of normal temperature and no longer over-heated from her magical strain. Twilight Sparkle awaited, standing with Nightmare Moon and Spike. “H’ohh, it’s good to be outside again!” she said with a toss of her ever-flowing mane. The breeze kissed her skin and she tilted her head back to feel the sun on her face.

Spike came forward with a little pillow, holding it up. Taking the crown, he tossed the pillow to one side and held it up to her. Smiling with mischief, Celestia knelt before him like she was being knighted. Spike went scarlet in the face and Twilight tittered with laughter. “And so it was that Spike, mighty dragon of the main-lands, passed down his powers and vestments to one white mare, Celestia Equiness, so that she might rule with a gentler touch than he and--!”

“Nightmare!” Twilight squawked.

Celestia chuckled, letting Spike quickly put the crown back on her head. She rose, her vestments and golden horseshoes melting back into exhistence. “Shall we go see how the river is doing?” she asked.

“I’ve been monitoring it very closely since you carved the new bed to divert it,” Twilight said, shuffling into her saddlebags for the right map and charts. Celestia rolled her eyes good-naturedly as the four of them got onto a carriage to be taken there. When they arrived, Celestia stood on its shores. The water flowed clear, blue and true. With three routes to go (The Park River, the Golden Thread River, and now the… Badlands, river? It hadn’t been named yet.), the waters were a bit lower than before, but holding nicely in their natural order. “Given its current rate and three paths, the dam won’t even be necessary in a few years…” Twilight said softly, watching the waters rush by. “Dams don’t absorb water anyway, just delay it, but with three ways to go instead of two it would keep anyplace from flooding, even during our serious storm seasons.”

“That’s good to hear,” Celestia said, dipping a dainty hoof into the cool waters. “Perhaps in a few decades we will dismantle the dam itself and use the materials for something else.”

“Isn’t it a historical landmark?!” Twilight said, aghast.

“For a time, but nothing lasts forever, Twilight,” Celestia said gently. “A hollow shell of stone, counter-weights and mortar will do nopony any good. I would rather the stone were used to build roads, raise a dozen homes, or shore up the defenses of a fort.”

Nightmare Moon’s eyes flicked over at her sister at the last suggestion. There had been no sign of Bandaid, nor the Equestrian Envoy Noble Cause in some time. Noble Cause would need time to reach the hive, yes, but with the addition of the river and X-amount of time having gone by… they should’ve heard something by now. Nightmare’s lack of stallion told Celestia the envoy had not returned yet. It made her all the more nervous. She didn’t want to believe it, but trouble was no doubt brewing in the south.

END OF INTERMISSION

Fury Unbound, Bandaid!

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 15: Fury Unbound, Bandaid!

Hate. Bandaid could certainly tell you how much he’d come to hate changelings since the drone had pounced on him mere minutes ago. There were hundreds of feet of veins, arteries, and muscles pulsing with it throughout his body. Even his half-thrilled stallionhood, if the word hate was engraved all over it like a slimy, spidering tattoo, could not begin to express the hate in his heart. The love was gone, sucked out by that parasite. He’d paid for it with his life. For all of them, hate! Hatred and bloodlust and coiled Earth Pony muscle ready to destroy whatever he came across. He quivered at the thought, wound taught like gauze over a swelling limb, ready to burst and gush with violence.

He staggered along the half-lit hallways, salivating and snorting steam. He could smell them, smell their stink. Honey and oil and earth and stone, he could politely ignore it no more. Marked with earth and grime from sidling along the walls he peered about with slitted eyes, jowls lifted like a dog ready to attack.

Most of the changelings must’ve been outside building their stupid mud city. Let them, the bucking monsters. See what happened to them the first time it poured with rain. Stopping, he scratched at what felt like a door. There was a shuffling beyond. Smiling with an inner madness he waited to see who would answer.

“Hullo,” he husked. It blinked at him stupidly, for he was just a shape in the dark. Bandaid dove on him like a releasing spring. It shrieked in fear before he pounced on its head and struck it over the head. It limpened in only a few quick, brutal blows. Looking up, he found himself in an organized supply room. Nothing useful. He needed supplies. He needed weapons. He needed something to cover his head before he tried to cross the wasteland. Pulling the body along, he stuffed it in a crate and closed the lid. Pausing a moment, he clicked the padlock shut.

A pair of drones armed with spears appeared in the doorway. Turning with a furious shout, Bandaid leapt upon the first one, placing a hoof right where its knee should’ve been. The leg snapped and it went down with a scream. Rolling before he was speared in the back he connected with the second guard’s chin. Grabbing the loose spear, he raised it high and beat it like the sharp weapon was a club. It shrieked and thrashed about as the brown fury laid into him. The spear finally snapped over the poor creature’s hide, so he switched to kicking instead. It tried to crawl away. “Where are you going?!” Bandaid roared, following it among crates and into a corner. There he kicked and stomped on it. It whimpered aloud, pitiful and cracking under his fury. It curled into a ball like an infant, yelping with every blow. Finally until it stopped moving. “Useless bucking bug,” Bandaid said, watching the dribble of orange blood travel across the floor and touch his hooves.

He turned when he heard shuffling, for the first guard drone was trying to crawl away with one broken leg. He caught up, and crushed it beneath a heavy supply crate. Only its poor swollen hoof stuck out, which wriggled a little, then went still.

High on the fresh exchange of blood, Bandaid heaved a deep breath. He’d forgotten the feeling. Forgotten the thrill and the fury and the power. It felt good! He cursed himself for not signing up to be a soldier these past few months. Hurting things was more fun than healing! Gibbering nonsense to himself and making sure all three changelings were down for the moment, he exited to the tunnel again.

He needed water. Needed a covering. Needed to get back to Equestria where he belonged. Finally, he found the main chamber, the reverse beehive shape Chrysalis had shown him before. Grinning at the massive skylight, he peered about for stairs, ramps, anyth— there was the small group of larva, paused on one of the ramps, staring at him. Staring at the dripping blood and gore all over his body. Their eyes were fearful, and they’d frozen like deer in bright lights. Their painted mudball rolled forward, bouncing idly until it stopped in front of Bandaid’s hooves. He grinned at it, reeled back and LAUNCHED the ball as hard as he could!

The projectile dashed across the face of the front larva, making in squeal and launching it over the edge into the chasm below. The others skree’d in horror and scattered. Bandaid made to chase them, but a loud buzzing drew his eye. Holding the larva that had fallen, a caretaker changeling emerged from the black abyss. He stared at her, cocking his head to size her up. The gore dripping over one of his eyes made it hard.

She was a fat thing, with bulging egg sacs on either side of her. They quivered with new life, held in soft netting like water balloons in thin trash bags. She chirruped at him. Clenching his teeth Bandaid charged her with all his fury! She froze in place, horrified.

“SKREEE-OOOOOOOOOOO-HHHHHH!” The many-legged, sledge-puller changeling burst from a side tunnel, startling everyone present. It’s massive, centipede-like body motored down the stone walls, coiling about the caretaker and spiriting her out of Bandaid’s sight. The Earth Pony crashed into his armored side and the dozens and dozens of legs flexed at him. The nurse shouted at him in a wordless rage, bucking his back hooves against the beast. It reared up, cocking its head backward to make sure the egg caretaker and larva got away through the side tunnels. “SKREEE-OOOOOOO-HHHHHHHH!” It trumpeted, deafening and shaking the entire hive great-cave with its voice. Bandaid stubbornly stood his ground, and the great beast heaved itself upright like an angry cobra. Bobbing about for a moment, it bashed its head against the stone wall, avalanching a stream of rocks and debris over the earth pony until it buried him.

The impossible weight of earth and sand and stone pressed in all around him.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Nightmare Moon’s fork paused part-way to her mouth. A strange shiver worked its way down her throat. She stared at her plate for a time, trying to examine the prickly feeling going up her spine. Reaching, she regally wiped her mouth. “Something is happening,” she said softly.

Celestia looked up from her fruit-cabobs (it was ‘tropical night’ according to the kitchens). “Huhm?” she said. “What is it?”

“I’ve a sixth sense when it comes to dear Bandaid,” Nightmare said. “I think a changeling has fed on him.”

“We don’t share mother’s omniscience, sister,” Celestia said gently.

“When I grew attached, I could sense his distress when his gaggle of siblings were tormenting him,” Nightmare countered, looking out the window and towards the southern horizon.

“Oh? How?” Celestia asked.

“Luna tells me, sometimes shows me,” Nightmare gestured at the silvery moon. “It sometimes comes as just a feeling, though.”

Celestia looked up at the moon, wondering if Nightmare used it like a focus for her magic, or merely a reflective mirror to spy on others. Clouds covered half of it that evening, could she really sense her stallion half a world away? She took a small cube of hot pineapple into her mouth, chewing with a frown. She watched her sister fret a bit, then saw the expression morph into a rather wicked smile. “What?” Celestia asked.

“If they fed on him, then his fury is unbound,” Nightmare’s fangs glittered a bit. “And they’ll most certainly regret it!”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Chrysalis arrived on the scene, having heard the hive’s Colossus drone trumpeting wildly. “What’s the matter with you, huhm?” she said. He bowed deeply and she rubbed the top of his head. He nuzzled into her with his massive craggy face. “Yes, yes I am here now. What’s happened? A cave-in?” she glanced over at the damage. The spiraling path that lead to the surface was cut off because of the debris. “Hrm, we’ll have to have this cleaned up before tomorrow. The sledges of deep-stone come through here, and we have a city to build!” she patted his massive head, but he nudged her again, all the harder.

“Skree-ooo-hhhh!” he trumpeted, making a big circle around the avalanche of loose rock. He did his little happy dance with all his drum-drum-drumming legs, but his face was not a happy one. Chrysalis tilted her head, coming near.

Bandaid burst from the rock with a gasp for air, startling them both back. The Colossus quickly curled tight around him, its endless legs interlocking like the bars of a cage. “Let me out!” he shouted, bucking against the beasts hide. Its armor was too thick to break, even in his frenzied state. “Let me out let me out I’ll bucking kill you all!” he roared angrily, frothing at the mouth.

“I thought you were gone already,” Chrysalis said, instantly spotting the puncture marks on his neck. “Ohh, I see…” she trailed off, frowning angrily. “I told them not to feed on you… I’d wager whoever did is already dead…”

Analyzing his captor’s body with a critical, medical eye, Bandaid switched gears. With a roar of fury he seized one of the many legs in his teeth and tore it from its socket! The spray of blood and trumpet of agony blasted across the cavern. Turning as the creature uncoiled about him he launched the still twitching limb like a spear.

Chrysalis took it in the chest with a shriek. It went in through her neck and pierced all the way through to the back of her left shoulder. She coughed a little, spattering the ground with orange. Her legs went weak under the pain. Like a puppet with its strings cut, she fell limply over the edge and into the darkness below. It was several long seconds before the sound of impact. Bandaid stood there, panting loudly. “Hah!” he reared, flailing his hooves. “Got you! Finally, finally got you!” The injured Collosus was squirming away, gecko-ing up the wall and then motoring into a side-tunnel and out of sight. It left a thick, gooey trail of blood, squealing in agony as it went. Bandaid stood there, panting, looking around.

“That,” a voice said from the chasm, turning Bandaid’s head. “Was a mistake.” Chrysalis buzzed up, landing daintily before him. Pulling angrily on the severed limb, she tossed it aside. Her organs hung out, blood and gore gacking across the landscape as she did so. The Earth Pony, frenzied though he was, stared in disgust. The open hole began to slurp the organs back in. The blood ran backward like watching a film in reverse, and the splinters of her carapace closed around each other. “Have you forgotten that I’m immor-!”

Bandaid leapt upon her, tackling her onto her back. Straddling her shoulders he rained blows upon her with all his fury! Bash bash bash bash BASH BASH BASH BASH BASH BASH-BASH-BASH-BASH-BASH! “Ahh-h-h-h-h-h-h!” he roared with all his boiling, unbound might! The ground under the Queen began to crack and be pounded away beneath them. An actual, rather comical crater began to form around them, several inches deep. Earth Pony might could shape the earth, but now he was simply pounding it away! He rained blows like so many hailstones: erratic, furious and punishing. Froth and saliva flew from the screaming stallion’s muzzle as he did his damnest to brain her on the spot.

When his front hooves finally started screaming with heat and exhaustion he leapt from her, out of the hole, to pant. A long line of spittle stretched from his mouth. Heaving for breath, thrilled and spent for the moment, he stared at the bloodied body.

One of Chrysalis’ wings flick-a-flicked, then buzzed, then stopped. With her long legs and massive wings, she looked a bit like a squashed mosquito. Her wing flick-a-flicked again. Slowly, she sat up. Her beautiful face destroyed, she let out a long groan as her muzzle righted itself. The crackling, popping sound of rapid regeneration was like milk over popping cereal. He stared as she made her way at last to her hooves. One of her primary fangs simply grew back, jutting from her gums like a sprouting dagger. It dribbled blood down her front, then healed as well. After a time, she was as good as new. She sighed at the fresh pain, touching her cheek and smiling a little. “So what now, Bandaid? Are we two titans to clash until kingdom come? One of us immortal, the other just a fury unbound?” she asked. “I’m topped off with Mother’s love, I could do this for days!” He clenched his teeth, cheeks vibrating. With a horsey scream, he charged at her once more. Chrysalis' horn lit and she rushed forth to meet him.

End of Part 15

The Exchange, Bandaid!

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 16: The Exchange, Bandaid!

Nightmare Moon, Princess Celestia, and an entourage of guards and other ponies waited at the southern border of Equestria. The envoy had not returned, no word of Bandaid, and the south had been quiet. Until, that is, a third messenger had appeared, bearing the white cape with Chrysalis’ seal on the scroll he bore. A quick read was all it took to send not one but both Royal Sisters to Fort South Sky, a forward military outpost that was meant to watch for changelings emerging from the Badlands. Not that they’d ever seen any, since they were changelings and all, but it was the effort that counted.

Nightmare stared with unblinking eyes, southward. A dust storm had kicked up hours ago, obscuring the horizon, the jutting rocks and craggy landscape. “I know you’re worried,” Celestia sat next to her, stroking her back with a long angelic wing. “We must trust to diplomacy. If Chrysalis were to hurt or kill Bandaid, she would’ve sent us a missive to gloat or something.”

The black alicorn looked at her sister incredulously. “You are horrible at making me feel better!” she said. Celestia looked awkwardly to one side. “Let us just receive my beau and be gone from this miserable dust bowl before-!” her ears perked and her head turned.

“-And another thing! If you’re such a badass goddess, how come your hair doesn’t flow like the alicorns?!” A mean-sounding voice was on the wind. “I bet you can’t grow one, you armor-hided beetle-bitch! Rawrgh!” There was a sound like somepony throwing themselves against plastic-glass, “Oomph! What’re YOU lookin’ at you sorry excuse for a pill-bug?! I’ll tear your bucking face off and wipe my own flank with your bucking intrails while your MOTHER watches me fuck your sister you-agh-agh-agh-agh! Stop shakin’ this stupid thing you stupid, overgrown maggot!”

Both royal sisters tilted their heads a little as Chrysalis emerged from the dust storm like an apparition. Her hair bannered wildly, the crystals of sand flecking her armored hide. Her second eyelids had clicked down so she could see and not be blinded. Next to her, floating in a bubble of pure green magic, was Bandaid. He was frazzled, covered with bruises, and swearing and flailing constantly. Now and then the changeling Queen would shake the ball when he began upsetting one of her fellow changelings, to draw his attention back to herself. Nightmare stared in horror. He looked terrible! Even frenzied, he looked as though he’d received the beating of all beatings! The black alicorn started forward to shout, but Celestia put a hoof on her chest to stop her. They were already standing on the border, and there was something else coming.

Pulling miserably through the dust storm and emerging out into the fresh air at last, a quartet of Changeling drones appeared. They were pulling a sand-sled, which was carefully covered and layered like a travelling four-poster bed. Chrysalis was walking, who was in there? They came to a stop at her silent command.

“Glad you could make it,” Chrysalis said. “He’s more trouble than he’s worth. Even if he is the only one you’d make such negotiations for.”

“You twisted our arms rather hard. Give him over. Now!” Nightmare demanded, her wings flashing open to their midnight span. Celestia’s hoof stayed at her sister’s breast to hold her back.

“Do you have our envoy there?” the white alicorn asked, nodding towards the covered travelling litter. “And the missive to close our borders?”

“Yes, of course,” Chrysalis lifted a wing and held out the scroll. Celestia’s magic grasped it, but Chrysalis gripped it. “Remember what you signed, I have your word in writing,” she said with a snarl.

“The river, the envoy, and the missive,” Celestia nodded twice, reaching with her hoof instead. Chrysalis came forward. The stark reality of her new size hit everypony and everyling present. She was as tall and as filled-out as Celestia. “And now, the stallion and my envoy?” she gestured.

Bandaid had fallen briefly silent to peer about, but he was levitated forward and dropped like a foal in front of Nightmare Moon. She threw her arms around him with a squeal of joy. “AUGH! Hug! Don’t hug me, you bitch! I'm covered with bruises!” he shouted, squirming.

“He’s had a few days to cool down,” Chrysalis said, gesturing to her drones to bring the litter forward. “One of my soldiers foolishly fed on him after I told them all not to. Old habits die hard, it seems.”

“It seems,” Celestia echoed, still watching the litter and not willing to exchange barbs until every pony was safe and with the right parties. When the litter reached the border, everyling looked at Celestia. She nodded once. They crossed, and went to a nearby waiting party of ponies. The heavy curtains were pulled back.

Noble Cause, armored mare that she used to be, lay comfortably in a nest of plush and velvet blankets. Her armor was in a wooden box on one corner of it all. Laying on her back was a changeling drone. His head was between her broken and wrapped wings, purring loudly. The vibration was soothing her muscles. She lifted her head tiredly, and gave a weak smile. “Hey, we made it,” she said so softly they almost couldn’t hear her over the wind. “I’m glad,” she lowered her head again, back to sleep. Her pumpkin orange mane fell over her eyes. Her purring nurse chirruped and left her, stroking her back twice before crossing back to his fellow changelings.

“Care to tell us what happened?” Celestia said. “Both of them look terrible. Your message said nopony would be harmed.”

“I said nopony would be harmed any more than necessary,” Chrysalis said savagely, her jowls lifting into fangs. “Or do you intend to skin me alive again? Or perhaps kill me?” She turned profile, showing her rapidly growing wingspan and nicely armored body. “Everytime you put your hoof into things, I tend to get seriously hurt. Why don’t you butt out for a bit?”

Celestia took a measured breath, then tried again. “One of your drones fed on him, was he punished?”

“He paid for it with his life,” Chrysalis said, not looking at her and instead southward, back towards the hive. “Don’t worry, there’s noling left for you to punish. Bandaid made sure of that.” She turned to meet her sister’s startled expression. “He hurt a lot of my people, sister, a LOT. Even the larva were in danger. It was very tempting to tear him in half. I certainly have the power to do so.” Chrysalis gestured to the still swearing, flailing Bandaid in the background and the black alicorn that was squeezing him like a teddy bear. “Like I said, he’s had time to cool down from his murderous rage. Now he’s just really, really surly. I wouldn’t turn my back on him if I were you.”

“I see,” Celestia said softly. “How did you-- contain him like that?”

“He wore himself out trying to kill me,” Chrysalis said matter-of-factly. “Unlike you and Nightie over there, I have a very high threshold for pain. His poor mortal body can only take so much. When he collapsed, I simply put him in a prison bubble, like you saw. Easy enough.”

“That’s very… merciful of you. I do not know if I would have been so kind, if a strange creature had run about killing, maiming and even threatening younglings,” Celestia said softly. The veiled threat made Chrysalis narrow her eyes.

“Mercy was no part of it,” Chrysalis said, nodding towards the border-missive. “Just negotiations. You have your prizes,” she turned from her sister and back towards the group of waiting drones. “Now go. I’ve a nation to build.”

Celestia watched her sister for a time, the swirling dust storm howling and whistling about. “Chrysalis,” she said softly. The changeling Queen stopped, turning her head only slightly. She didn’t look at her, merely cocked an ear. “Is separation our only peace?” the day princess asked.

Chrysalis frowned at her. “The last time you put your hooves on me I died.” She said simply. “And before that, I was thrown under a powerful sleeping spell. And before that, I was skinned alive,” she listed off all of her encounters with Celestia in recent memory. None of them good. “We slight each other, back and forth, and back and forth. There’s no peace.” Celestia hung her head a little. It was true. Each encounter was one slight, which had happened because of a previous slight, which had happened because of a previous slight. Perhaps only separation would end the chain, and let some wounds heal. Or let some tempers cool. “Let me give you a simple warning, Celestia, giant river-carving death beams or no,” she turned about, raising her voice for everyling and everypony to hear. “I had better not see you or anypony else in the Badlands. Ever. And if I find you or Nightie here, there will be war!” She stamped a hoof, crushing a stone beneath her. “I have an infinite food supply, a reliable water supply, and a few centuries worth of building materials to work with. Leave. Us. Alone.” A flicker of glitter ran through Chrysalis’ mane. Celestia said nothing, but it was a little frightening to see her ethereal mane already starting to emerge. Newborn goddess, indeed.

“Good… goodbye,” Celestia said softly, slowly turning from her sister back to her little ponies. She went to see Noble Cause, sticking her head into the litter with a tired smile. “Glad to be home, I hope?” she said, but her eyes were soft and she couldn’t say much after that. The poor mare was laying strewn out among all the blankets and finery. The aloe-laced incense nearby wafted under Celestia’s nose, and she reached to pour out the ashes. The wind blew them away, and she looked up just in time to see the changeling Queen and all her followers disappear into the howling, swirling dust storm beyond the southern border.

“How dare she insult us like that?” Nightmare had appeared nearby, Bandaid lying unconscious on her back. A quick sleeping spell had seen to him.

“Let her. She wishes to be alone, we should not provoke conflict,” Celestia sighed quietly, turning back towards their waiting entourage. “If our two nations fought, you and I would certainly emerge afterward, but Equestria itself would lose. I’ve no doubt of this.”

“What makes you say that?” Nightmare said suspiciously. “We’ve a standing army like any other nation!”

“A nation that’s enjoyed centuries of utopia versus a nation that has only just now learned of life without desperation and starvation? We would lose. Badly,” Celestia said. “We should respect our sister’s wishes. Come. Let’s get our little ponies home.” She extended her wings, snapping them closed for comfort. That often meant, to Nightmare, that there was no more to be said. The black mare turned, looking suspiciously into the dust storm. She saw noling there, not even a single drone to watch the border. After a few uncertain moments, she shook her head and decided she did not care. If Chrysalis wished for solitude, she could have it. Now that Bandaid (and Noble Cause) had been returned to her there was mending to be done. She knew well enough of magic kisses thanks to Cadance, so that wouldn’t be an issue. But, there was coddling to be done and there would be no escape for her dear stallion. The thought made her smile giddily, and she trotted to catch up with Celestia.

A few hours later, while everypony was walking back (pulling the sand-sled that bore poor Noble Cause), Celestia stopped to open the missive. Just in case. Sure enough, it was the same border-closing document that she had carefully drafted with Twilight Sparkle’s help. There was a smaller scroll inside though. It was mint-green and tied with a scarlet bow. Brow knitting, Celestia opened it with her magic and levitated it to her nose.

Keeping a river is hard work. Erosion and such. I want bags of grass-seed and a few long rolls of sod for Hearth’s Warming. Let me know what you want. See you in December.

~Chryssi

Celestia smiled despite herself. “Brat,” she whispered affectionately.

End of Part 16

The New Night Sky, Bandaid! (Part I of III)

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 18: The New Night Sky, Bandaid! (Part I of III)

The next few months were blissful ones for Princess Nightmare Moon and her beloved Nurse Bandaid. The stallion’s recovery was a blessedly quick and uneventful, after which he slowly returned to his duties. He did get strange looks from his coworkers, being the beau of the Princess of the Night, but he tried to ignore them. He was more worried they might be afraid of him for the rage-episode he’d had when he got back. But, thanks to some good common sense and a few comparisons to mind-effecting drugs, Bandaid went un-harassed by anypony.

Nightmare Moon, on the other hoof, was quite busy with paperwork, ruling the nation, and a few other things that she was not ready to share just yet. Even he who she adored was not privy to the stacks of scrolls from all sorts of other nations around Equis. Whatever she was doing, it was big. She did not, however, neglect her stallion in the meantime. A passionate night or two, many meals together and plenty of poetry and Ponies and Castles games made them quite close. She offered him a ‘royal claim’ tattoo, so other mares might know he was spoken for, but he’d politely declined. She’d settled on a mirror-shiny little pendant, which he wore around his neck. It was deepest obsidian, and sticking it near a fire made it shine and sparkle brilliantly.

Even well into August and early September (Bandaid had been delivered home in mid-March) there was no word from the southern Badlands, Chrysalis or anyling else. Not even a messenger had stuck his hoof over the border. All was quiet. Celestia worried, but made no qualms over the uneasy peace they’d attained. She did not trust her sister to be dormant or content forever, but she was not so foolish as not to enjoy the peace and quiet. The summer was a hot, humid one.

Noble Cause recovered slowly, but nicely. Being a more muscled mare than the average pony, she could endure the pain of broken wings with the best of them. Grounded, she was placed on administrative leave, given desk work and only light physical training with her other soldiers. Every single stallion in her platoon happily coddled her, until one sheepishly asked her to dinner and that was the end of that. Non-magic healing took time, but the limbs and muscles didn’t suffer any repression from it. All was right with the world.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

“Ah, Bandaid there you are!” Nightmare Moon stuck her head into a dinner hall. (Being the Princess’ coltfriend had its perks, after all) He smiled, standing and embracing her. “I’ve finally finished my night sky projects!”

Bandaid cocked his head a little. Nightmare had been working on a ‘new night sky’ since she’d arrived home from the moon and had been strong enough to hold a pencil in her mouth. He’d seen many, many iterations of the ‘design’, but it all looked like madness and lines and numbers to him. “It’s done-done, now?” he asked as she beamed at him and nodded.

“I make for the Crystal Empire to rearrange the sky!” Nightmare did a little happy dance in place. “Months of laboring has paid off, will you come with me?”

“How come the Crystal Empire?” Bandaid wondered.

“Polaris sits atop the highest spire of the Crystal palace,” Nightmare explained, showing him one of her stack of papers and pointing to a specific dot labeled with the name. “He is the first star. All the others listen to him. If he tells them to move, they shall. And he answers to me, as I created him.” She puffed up like a peacock for a few moments. “Attend with me for this occasion?” she smiled her biggest smile.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Bandaid smiled and nodded as he spoke. “I’ve never been to the Crystal Empire!”

“Tiz my sister Cadance’s domain,” she sat with him. He pushed the plate her way but she got a couple of grapes from the center-bowl instead. “A city-state, yes, but still legitimate in power being that its ruler is a goddess. She visited briefly, when Chrysalis fed on you long ago?" Bandaid didn’t remember seeing her, but shrugged instead. He’d no doubt meet her.

“Well, I’ll pack warm. I hear its snowy,” Bandaid said, chewing a celery stick touched with honey.

“Be sure to wear your amulet. The Crystal Empire is… affectionate.” Nightmare said delicately.

“Huhm?”

“It has become the home to many odd couples, half-breeds, and illegitimate love-children over the centuries,” Nightmare said, making a slow circular motion with a hoof as she tried to explain. “You may see a few odd characters there.”

“Well we’re pretty odd ourselves, don’t you think? A God-Princess and an male, earth pony nurse?” The stallion snickered a little. Nightmare smiled, nodding a bit. “Is Princess Celestia coming? It seems like a big event, rearranging the entire night sky all at once.”

“She has set up a respectable telescope on her room’s balcony, but she will not attend, no,” Nightmare said with a grump. “She does not like for both of us to be out of the country at the same time. She does not wish to provoke any sudden unpleasantries between any other world-powers.”

“Celestia is… kind of an odd one, isn’t she?” Bandaid said, scratching his head. “I mean, I know so little about her but…”

“She is the eldest of we five children,” Nightmare admitted. “She weighs worry and troubles on herself to keep peace, balance, and so on and so forth I do not care at the moment.” She leaned and kissed him with affection, then held up a series of letters to show him. “I’ve been writing to other nations, behold!”

Bandaid took a letter marked with a Yakyakistan seal. Then another from Griffonia. Then Prance. Then Saddle Arabia. All of them were confirmation messages. “Ohh, you’ve been telling everyone so they won’t freak out.”

“Verily,” Nightmare Moon nodded. “For what sailor would not lose his mind and become lost in the dead of night, if he were on the ocean and all the stars appeared to wink out?”

Bandaid nodded this was probably a good idea. “But uhm, isn’t… isn’t outer space and such your Mother’s territory?” He scratched his head, wondering if Nightmare were about to step on Faust’s hoofie-tips.

“You cannot see all the stars in the universe from any single point, beloved. We’re moving a rather small section of them, for asthetic purposes. Any bodies near and around them will be safe.” Nightmare soothed. “Now go pack, Bandaid, we leave at next moonrise!”

=-=-=-=-=-=

The train started to slow as the grand city-state of the Crystal Empire crawled into view. The angles, shining buildings and breath-taking walls were a sight to behold. Other ponies, not just Bandaid, oooh’d appreciatively at the sight. The aurora spun with slow, liquid grace high in the sky, reflecting here and there from the pristine towers.

Pegasi dotted the sky, ever watchful for sudden tundra blizzards. All of them bore storm goggles, thick insulation spells (worked into belts, thank you very much), and vigilant looks. They knew royalty was arriving this day. Guards with throwing-spears stood on the walls, tending quietly to ballista’s and sprinkling the paths with salt. Winter was coming, after all. October would mark the first blizzards in the north, they had to prepare.

As the train slowly hissed to a halt Nightmare stood, preening a feather and then drawing herself up. She’d not brought any guards with her, so she was being received by a few. Bandaid stood as close as possible, hoping he wouldn’t get mistaken for a commoner or an assassin and get separated from Nightie. The doors slid open.

“Presenting her Divine Majesty, Coruler of Equestria and child of Faust, Princess Nightmare Moon!” A royal with black stars carpet unrolled before the couple. There was a gathered, curious crowd. Nightmare strode forward with authority, muzzle tilted slightly up.

Bandaid stared at the locals. Why… why they really were! Crystal Ponies! Sure, he’d seen pictures and such but he’d never met any. Trying very hard not to accidentally be racist or something, he tried not to think about how ponies made of crystal ate, pooped, sweated, or made love. Were they like rock monsters? He itched to touch one, for medical reasons. But no doubt he’d be shaking hooves or… “Bandaid?” Nightmare called, for she’d outpaced him. He’d stopped midway, looking around. The crowd stared back at him. “Come, beloved. We have places to be.” She gaily waved him forward. Bandaid looked behind himself. A squad of guards was politely waiting behind him. One was checking a picture. Yep. That was him.

“Er-herm!” The announcer at the podium quickly amended himself. “Also announcing Prince-Consort, Bandaid!” the crowd stompity-stomped their hooves for him too.

“Prince Consort?!” Bandaid blurted. “W-we’re just dating!” he shouted over the crowd. There was scattered giggling in the crowd.

“We are not wed, kind forepony,” Nightmare entertained the idea with a chuckle. “But relish the thought of seeing the future, for all things are possible.” Her high court-speak was ticklish to the ears, for many a mare in the crowd giggled harder at Bandaid’s blush. “But do not think to snatch him from me!” she teased as he quickly took his place beside her. The crowd chuckled politely.

“Erm, thank you for receiving us,” Bandaid said as a guard-captain approached and bowed to them both.

“The honor is mine,” the captain said with a charming smile. Pulling off his helmet, he spilled an electric-blue mane about his shoulders. “I’m Shining Armor, Guard Captain and-!”

“Cadance’s husband!” Nightmare exploded, pointing at him. Bandaid startled, looking over at her. “She speaks highly of you in her letters!” her great black span opened in greeting, displaying all her feathers for him (a few cameras in the crowd flashed). “Delightful!”

“Erm!” Shining Armor smiled bashfully. “Yes. Cadance asked me to meet you and bring you to the Crystal Palace.” He shook hooves with Bandaid. “You must be Bandaid, Cadance mentions you now and then.”

“Hullo,” Bandaid felt a little overwhelmed. Princesses and Prince Consorts and Guard Captains and crowds and flashing cameras… it made him feel rather small. He shivered in the late-autumn breeze. His cream-colored scarf didn’t help much.

“Let’s get you guys inside,” Shining Armor offered. “Rooms have been prepared, there’s a great dinner being set out-!”

“Have you impregnated my sister yet?” Nightmare wanted to know, leaning over him with her great height. “You are not her first husband, ageless as she is, but she loves foals. You’re giving her foals, yes?”

“Erm!?” The captain stutter-stepped, scarlet in the face. Somepony in the crowd hoot-hollered, making him cough twice. “Er, well we both love foals!” he side-stepped the question as gracefully as he could. Bandaid shoved Nightmare’s shoulder, scowling at her. What a thing to ask! Shining Armor tried to fight his burning face as he led the Princess and nurse down the main street and to the palace.

Pairs of guards knelt as they passed. Bandaid chanced a glance over his shoulder. The entourage bearing their things, the guards and a few others followed. When they were safely inside the hallowed halls, the massive doors were pressed closed to keep out the cold. The palace was an interesting, angular sort of place. Crystal, crystal everywhere. Carpets, tapestries and the like covered most surfaces. It felt like walking in a plush hall of carpets. Fireplaces were everywhere, no two more than fifty feet apart. A squire dashed from one to the next, stirring the flames, sweeping the ash and tossing on new logs. Not one would go out on his watch!

They halted at an intersection when Shining Armor almost bumped into a strange black stallion. “Lord Sombra,” Shining Armor’s mouth was a neutral, relatively respectful line. “Forgive me,” he made to move past him.

Bandaid beheld the strangest stallion he’d ever seen. Red-eyed, curve-horned, and draped with a thick lord’s cape. His plush, perfectly groomed black fur was something to behold, and the silvered trinkets that dotted him all over told of wealth and station. Was he…? “It’s no issue, Prince Consort.” Sombra said with an equally neutral-mouthed look. There was a short, awkward silence and Bandaid was reminded of two cocks sizing each other up before fighting over the hen house. There was a history there, but he didn’t dare ask it.

Nightmare regarded Lord Sombra with a cool expression, eyeing the bulging saddlebags and tripod he was bearing. The stallion that stood next to him was a lanky thing, lime-green and crystalline. “Greetings,” the Princess said, coughing and making sure they remembered just who was being escorted and where.

“Princess Nightmare, the honor is mine. I’ve read all of your work on early mathematics and astronomy. Very brilliant work.” Lord Sombra bowed deep and genuinely. His helper-stallion did the same, his eyes never leaving the floor. The tools in his bags rattled. “Don’t let me keep you, I know you’re eager to see Princess Cadance.” He shuffled to one side, gesturing for his fellow, gesturing for mare’s first.

“Commendable,” Nightmare favored him with a slight smile, going forward as she pleased. Sombra watched her go, and then eyed Bandaid for a moment. The nurse very suddenly felt like a hayburger, and glimpsed curved teeth in the front of Lord Sombra’s mouth. Fangs?

When they were out of earshot, Bandaid blurted what almost everypony was thinking, “Did you ever have foals, Nightie?”

“What?” she glanced over at him in surprise. “Oh you mean…?" She glanced down the hall where Lord Sombra had melted away into shadow. "No, no of course not. That half-breed is no descendant of mine, I assure you. Tia and Cadance are the only ones to have foals. And Chrysalis, if you count her as well.” Bandaid relaxed a little. He didn’t know why.

“Lord Sombra is a brilliant stallion,” Shining Armor put in slowly, turning to continue. They walked for a time. “Perhaps too brilliant,” He said under his breath. Only Nightmare’s ear flicked, having heard him. “He’s skilled in mathematics, magic, and many other fields.”

“What does his Lordship do?” Bandaid asked politely.

“He drifts from project to project, mostly invention,” Shining Armor said, gesturing the two of them into another set of doors. “His latest project is—ah, here we are. Finally,” the white stallion smiled, coughing. “Enough about him, he’s not who you’re here to see!”

The doors of the throne room burst open as Nightmare and Bandaid entered. “Sister!” Nightmare said aloud. “I come at last, thank you for hosting us.” Much to Bandaid’s awe, she took to a knee for respect of power and territory.

“The Crystal Empire is happy to have you, Nightmare,” Cadance descended from the throne, elegant and… and… very pink. Bandaid almost giggled. She was so… so pink! He was used to the binary Celestia and Nightmare Moon, this Princess was bright pink! His hoof leapt to his mouth to stop a giggle, but he bowed as deeply as ever. When the two alicorns met they embraced, “I can’t wait to see your new designs for the night sky. Everypony is eager to see what you’ll be putting into it this time. It’s not changed in… what, almost three thousand years?”

“Close to it,” Nightmare agreed. “Come! Let us sup and make merry as sisters should!” she put a long arm around Cadance. “We’ve mare-talk to have, and wine to swill! I’ve brought some of a brand I favor.”

“I think I’m going to go rest for a bit,” Bandaid said with a softened smile. Nightmare nodded, kissing his cheek. “Prince Consort, do you have a library maybe I could hang out in?” He winced at saying ‘hang out’ to a Prince, but he couldn’t take it back.

“Oh yes, of course!” Shining Armor smiled. “I’ll be back when he’s settled,” he promised Cadance.

“Take your time!” Cadance said with a giggle. She was already being whisked away with frivolities of southern living, Equestria’s new river stories, and more.

=-=-=-=-=

“You should be comfortable here,” Shining Armor said, gesturing about. The royal library of the crystal palace was a staggering thing, but well-lit and covered with tapestries, comfy sitting and fireplaces. “Don’t hesitate if you need anything.”

“Thank you, your Majesty,” Bandaid said with a tired smile. “I think the train took it out of me.”

“Just Shining is fine,” the Prince was certainly a charming guy. Bandaid found himself liking him a lot. Maybe he could teach him a thing or two about how to deal with uppity Princesses. Then again, Cadance didn’t seem as loud or as rude as Nightie. He may have been on his own there. Shining Armor left him there, donning his helmet as he went. Perhaps a quick lap around the palace to make sure his soldiers were all doing their jobs and such… Nightmare Moon and his wife certainly had some catching up to do.

Bandaid watched him go, then sagged into a plush couch with a sigh. Groaning in relief, he flopped over a little and watched the fire for a bit. He eyed the protective runes around the hearth, in case of a fire spreading. How intricate! Well it probably had to be, being a library and all. He felt his eyes get heavy. It was warm and very comfy there.

A heavy tap-tap-a-tappity woke him before sleep embraced him completely. A pause, then more tapping. He sat up, looking around. That wasn’t the fire. The sleepy-looking old librarian mare had come and gone a few times, but that wasn’t her. Frowning in irritation that couldn’t rest even in a library, he peered around. Another long string of tap-tap-tappity-tap-taps. The brown stallion blinked a few times, rising. He found a series of doors, all of them standing open, into library side rooms. Some of them were study cells, tiny little rooms with a desk and lamp. A couple of them were classroom-sized rooms, though. When he arrived at the last one, he found himself at a high-ceiling’d, lecture-hall sort of room. There were auditorium style seats, and a chalkboard several ponies high, and a scattering of scientific apparatus.

“Quit your scowling and growling,” it was the lime green crystal stallion from before! And atop the ladder, scribbling furiously with chalk (ahhh, that was the tapping!) was Lord Sombra himself. “It’ll all be fine!” the stallion assured him.

“It’ll be perfect or it’ll not be at all,” Sombra snarled, exposing what were indeed fangs in the front of his mouth. Was he really one of the half-breed ponies Nightmare had mentioned? Bandaid wondered what his parentage was, curiously leaning around the doorframe to spy on them. “The Princess already hates this project. Thinks I’m building a weapon when I’m trying to help ponies!” his voice was deep, like a growling bronze bell.

“You’re blasting a hole in the sky, Sombra,” the lime-green stallion said flatly. "Of course she hates it."

“I’m blasting a hole in the clouds, I’ve told you a thousand times!” Sombra snapped, looking down at him and pausing in his endless calculations. “Suppose the Crystal Empire were buried in a catastrophic blizzard like it was a few decades ago?! The fatalities could’ve easily have been prevented--!”

“If somepony aimed a great big charged crystal at the sky and parted the clouds like a god?” The stallion interrupted. “You’re playing with some pretty big magic there,” he gestured vaguely to the charts and wavy lines that were going back and forth in graphs. Bandaid’s eyes narrowed. What were they doing? Sombra grumbled grouchily, going back to his mathematics. He checked a long print of paper, then kept writing. “Y’know, I can see up your cloak from here,” said the crystal stallion wryly, craning his neck.

Sombra’s chalk screeched from making a seven over into making a lightning bolt shape. “Don’t start,” the black stallion said, red-faced. His ears splayed to the sides and he coughed twice, focusing on his papers instead.

“Yep, it’s a nice view,” the stallion chided.

“Not now, Lemon Lime!” Sombra snapped angrily.

“Come down here and say that to my face!” the crystal stallion chuckled.

Sombra angrily rattled down the ladder, his face red, throwing his chalk and papers to one side. “I am in the middle of an important breakthrough right now and you are just-!” Lemon Lime smooched his lips. “GAH!” Lord Sombra flinched like he’d been slapped. “Don’t do tha-!” Lemon Lime smooched him again. “You can’t just-!” A third time. “Gr-r-r-r-rgh!!!” A forth.

“You work too hard, hun,” Lemon Lime said softly, cupping his cheek.

“S-stop it, I’m not in the mood,” Sombra turned from him, brow knitted somewhere between guilt and stress. The stallion wilted, but Sombra’s eyes flicked past him to the doorway. “Who’s there?!” he shouted, horn alight with red magic. Bandaid squealed as he was hauled into view and dropped in the doorway just as suddenly. “Oh it’s you, Nurse Bandaid.”

“S-sorry!” Bandaid said. “I-I didn’t mean to evesdrop!”

“This classroom has been rented, sir, you’ll have to be gone,” Sombra said politely as he could. “And keep good manners about things you see that you weren’t meant to.” He had a slight edge in his tone, gesturing to the chalkboard. Bandaid’s eyes settled on the other stallion instead. “That either!” The black stallion snapped, horn lighting. The door was outlined in red and SLAMMED in Bandaid’s face. He yelped, holding his nose.

End of Part 18

The New Night Sky, Bandaid! (Part II of III)

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 19: The New Night Sky, Bandaid (Part II of III)

Despite the howling September cold of the tundra, nights in the palace of the Crystal Empire were warm ones. After being shut out by Lord Sombra, Bandaid returned to the main library, plucked a few books and then retired to the chambers prepared for Nightmare Moon and himself. He smiled bashfully when servants made way for him, one maid even stopping to bow to him. A little flustered, he scuttled away and made for the privacy of the royal apartments. The guard’s only briefly checked his face before stepping aside.

It was many hours later by the time Nightmare Moon arrived. A little flushed with wine, she grinned tiredly at him, “Hail, handsome creature,” she said, flicking her tail at him as she came in. He smiled at her as she swept across the room to kiss his face. “My sister sends her regards. Tomorrow night, I shall arraaaaaaange the cosmos!” she gestured grandly. Bandaid shook his head as she merrily made her way to bed. More than a little wine-touched, it seemed. She slunk into bed and laid her head on a lumpy mountain of pillows with a happy sigh.

He shook his head a bit, returning to his book, Crystal Pony Physiology. Apparently, crystal ponies weren’t crystal all the time, but just most of the time. In ancient eras they were a herd that learned to turn themselves to living crystal to avoid being prey to yetis, ice dragons and other massive creatures. After civilization had modernized the use of magic, it was more akin to dressing up, looking one’s best, and showing one’s good health. Whether earth pony, Pegasus, or unicorn, anypony with the proper bloodlines could harness a crystalline form. Topics like sex and eating were explained as well, which fascinated Bandaid. He flipped the pages eagerly. Crystal ponies took on their normal, flesh and fur forms when a proper mate was found, or sometimes in the privacy of their own homes. What had begun as a defense mechanism, switched off, could often be seen as ‘putting yourself out there’ or being romantically forward. Why, during certain decades walking around in the flesh announced that you were single and looking! “Neat…” Bandaid said, grinning wide as he studied the medical charts. “How do their pregnancies work, I wonder…? Do they stay flesh for eleven months?” he flipped back and forth, trying to find the proper section. Until today, he’d never seen a crystal pony in real life, much less had one as a patient.

=-=-=-=-=-=

Sombra’s eyes snapped open when somepony knocked timidly on his chamber doors. “Who dares?” he grumbled, slowly sitting up. Lemon-Lime lay curled up in a ball on the other side of the bed, and did not stir. Rising slowly as not to wake him, the black stallion donned his circlet to tame his mane and went to the door. Huffing at the obscene hour the clock told him, he cracked the door open and peered out with red eyes. “Who dares?” he repeated, growling.

A frightened looking maid stood in the hallway, ears splayed to either side. “F-fogive my intrusion, Lord Sombra. You left instructions to be sought when this arrived, no matter the day nor hour!” she was a young, trembly thing, bearing a small package. It was stamped with a dozen different customs, shipping marks, and country seals.

“So I did,” the black stallion widened the door, eyes ablaze with interest. She flinched when he snatched it from her. “At last…” he whispered, turning it over and over carefully. He seemed to forget she was there, then slowly turned from the doorway and closed it quietly in her face. She stood there, wilting. After a short silence the door opened again. “Forgive me,” he growled, licking one of his fangs as he spoke. He gave her ten bits, an outrageous tip for a mere package delivery.

She brightened, “Oh, thank you Lord Som-!” He shut the door again and didn’t return. She scratched the back of her head and was away.
Sombra went to his desk, checking that Lemon-Lime still slept. When the green stallion did not move, he got his letter opener to carefully open it. He didn’t even rip the brown paper, for that would have made noise. Setting aside the iron-twine, he had a wooden box. Sliding the top off, he found packing material. And inside that, a rolled ball of cotton. And inside that, bubble-wrap. And inside that… there it was, at long last. “Across darkest Zafrica, the frozen north, to me.” He whispered in awe, for it glowed in his hoof. “Monies, science and magic well spent.” He held it up, a crystalline blue bottle no bigger than a shot-glass, stoppered with cork and tied with copper wire. “Anti-Weather,” he husked, flushed with excitement. Donning his cloak and little else, he left the apartment for his lab. “I must conduct a field test…” he walked quickly and quietly through the dead, firelit hallways. Warm like home, but empty as the grave. He still wasn’t sure he liked the palace itself, but rank certainly gave him the right to live there—and why not?

Stuffing the little bottle away and out of sight so its glow wouldn’t attract attention, he walked quickly as he could without galloping. He rented a tower, a rather expensive one, with an impressive view of both the city and the sky. Emerging amongst his tools and charts, he went out onto the balcony. Assembling an unassuming apparatus with a plain-looking series of gears and tiny lights, he pushed it to the edge until it rested on the railing. He really did need to build a sleeker, better design than this once he was sure it worked. A great engineer and scientist knew his work was done not when there was nothing left to add to a device, but when there was nothing left to take away. Simpler was better. Grunting at the devices weight and cursing himself for not oiling the wheels, he locked it in place so it wouldn’t roll away. Checking the read-outs and pressure gauges for a bit, he poured the heated water into the waiting kettle and sealed the valve. Tinkering here and there, flicking a loose gear off of a heat gauge, he opened the panel on the machine’s side. Taking out the Anti-Weather, he stopped a moment. He looked down at the city below, then the rolling clouds above. The past came rushing up the meet him.

Sombra! Run! Run before it caves!

Daddy! Daddy help me I’m stuck!

The roof is going to cave, the ice is too thick!

Use the escape tunnels, I can only hold it for a few more moments!

Then whiteness. The sounds of screams and shattering crystal bodies.

A small black foal watching his family get swallowed up by pure winter’s fury.

“Coward, just standing there beside the escape hatch. Coward,” Sombra’s hoof trembled. Coughing loudly to steady himself, he shook his head. “No more shall suffer like I,” he looked forlornly down at the angled, sparkling city. “I’ll save you. All of you,” he whispered.

“Sombra…?” A soft voice made his head turn. Lemon-Lime, flesh and fur, was standing in the doorway of the balcony. He looked sleepy-eyed and wilted, having followed him from bed to there. “Sommy it’s like 3am, what’re you doing…?” he trailed off sleepily, shivering in the cold September wind.

“You’re just in time,” Sombra said, unstoppering the Anti-Weather and dripping one drop onto the lens. One would be enough to push away anything in the sky right then. Clouds, vapor, smog, fog… it was perfect for a small field test. Surely the city would rather have a starry night? It would be better to practice on a calm night anyway. No need to waste his first test on a full-on blizzard. there would need to be adjustments for more severe weather. He needed a benchmark first. Shoving the cork back in and vanishing the rest of the vail into his cloak, he shoved the lens into place and closed the panel. “Tonight, Lemon-Lime, I make history! Watch as I banish the clouds!” Reaching with both hooves, he threw the lever with all his might. The machine whirred to life.

The ponies that happened to see the event when it happened would recall it for the rest of their lives. A strange, scarlet spotlight sprouted from a tower in the palace, lancing out into the curling grey clouds of September winter. As soon as it struck the sky everything seemed to boil, then all the clouds rushed away like animals whose tails had been set on fire! Black, abyssal space and twinkling stars were visible all across the city. Luna stared down at the city, unsure, casting her moonlight upon it to peer around and see what had happened.

Then something went wrong. The red spotlight flickered, flickered, then shut down. Like a powerful vacuum, suddenly all the clouds and thick haze rushed back over the Crystal Empire like a clap of thunder. Clouds smashed into each other, dropping snow and ice in a sudden frosty cataclysm.

Sombra stared down in horror as houses started rapidly vanishing under white powder. “No,” he said, wide-eyed. Fountains froze over, exploding from cold expansion. “No no no…” Bonfires along the outer walls began to explode to life. The emergency beacons were being lit! The Crystal Guard was scrambling! “No!” Sombra rushed to the machine, pulling wildly at wires and peering in. Crystaline residue was crawling over the intricate alignment arrays! “NO!” he roared, bashing his hooves to the sides of the machine.

“Sombra, what have you done…?” Lemon-Lime whispered fearfully, watching the sky as his crystalline form rushed over his fur to protect him from the cold. Hundreds of miles away in Equestria, Discord's statue cracked badly.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Shining Armor was awakened, and both he and his wife rushed to the aid of the people. He threw his Captain’s helm and regalia on. The purple accents would help other ponies know who to look to for orders. “Scramble the crystal guard! Stoke the furnaces under the palace! Send out the salt squads!” he shouted as ponies stampeded back and forth.

Cadance, mane bannering, rushed to the throne room. They had protocol for sudden violent weather. The frozen tundra could throw catastrophic storms, so they had to be quick. A small group of ponies waited. “Muster the squires! I want an ever-burning log in EVERY home within the hour! Use the emergency tunnels!” A mini-map of the city rushed up out of the floor, sharp and crystalline. “Evacuate the elderly to the safe houses and send the weather patrol to try break up the clouds!” She pointed to specific places and little dots that represented guards-ponies rushed back and forth in the streets.

As though on cue a trio of pegasi exploded through a stained-glass window, crashing across the floor in a pile of bodies. Snow screamed in after them, pellets of ice rushing in. One of their fellows had completely iced over wings. “Category FIVE, Princess!” one of them shouted, throwing her goggles off. Her face was touched with a spot of black from frostbite. “We can’t touch it!” Her companion screamed when they tried to move him, for his icy wings threatened to shatter into fleshy pieces.

Cadance cursed aloud, turning. “Get Shining Armor!” she shouted. Three guards took off to fetch her husband.

It was pandemonium outside as ponies panicked in the streets. Pegasi flew in flying-V’s, streaming salt everywhere they went. Storm drains were super-heated by unicorns, orange like cooking coils. The ice around them would melt and stream away into the earth if it worked correctly. Earth Ponies pushed massive plows while groups of mares and children followed fearfully in their wake. Whimpering and shouting could be heard in the streets. The royal guard went from corner to corner, throwing ever-burning logs onto massive woks. There was a bonfire on every street intersection.

“DO NOT LET MY CITY FREEZE OVER!” Cadance concussed the sky with her voice like a bolt of thunder. Stirred into a frenzy by their goddess, the crystal ponies redoubled their efforts. For anything that froze on the tundra would be slow to thaw, if ever. The city itself was no exception.

After a few heart-pounding minutes Shining Armor appeared in the throne room. “I’m here! I’m here!” he gasped. Cadance ran with him, rushing to the balcony. Snow and howling wind screamed around them on all sides as he threw off his helmet. “Hang on!” he shouted to her. Cadance threw her arms around him, rushing her body heat and love into him. Super-charged with her aid, his horn lit like a beacon. Ponies turned, all across the city, as a supernova of magical light dashed into the sky. A sphere began to take shape, gridded with threads of magic. Snow began to accumulate on its top and sides, then slid off with its own weight. “Almost… got it…!” The stallion clenched his teeth so hard his cheeks were vibrating. “There!” The shield closed around the entire city-state, shutting out the fury of the storm. He collapsed into Cadance’s arms, panting with exhaustion. “Guh…. Got it…” he husked, then fainted. She embraced him, rocking him back and forth.

=-=-=-=-=-=

“DO NOT LET MY CITY FREEZE OVER!”

Bandaid awoke with a yelp, and Nightmare Moon jerked upright. He went to the window to see the most horrific winter storm he’d ever seen. “Oh my gosh!” he shouted, for the glass was bending inward. It whined and crackled, and he stepped back. “N-nightie! The window!” he said.

Nightmare lifted her head with authority, and the glass glowed black. Reinforced, it would not shatter and skewer them. “We must find my sister, come!” The black alicorn threw on her regalia and crown, mane bannering behind her. They galloped down the halls of the palace, side by side. Servants and rescue ponies pushed and shoved this way and that.

They arrived in the throne room just in time to see Prince-Consort Shining Armor collapse into his wife’s arms. There was intense quiet. The wind had stopped. The plain brown stallion looked out into the city beyond, seeing the protective bubble-shield that had been cast over the entire empire City-State. Incredible! Finally snapping out of it, Bandaid rushed forward, “Let me take him,” the brown stallion said. “I’mma nurse, I can take him.” Cadance slowly put Shining Armor once Bandaid’s back, and he quickly waddled away towards the throne. Depositing the unconscious stallion there, he began to slowly check him over. The top of his horn was burnt from over-use. Probably far higher magijules than he was used to.

“Sister, what’s happened?” Nightmare asked. “How may I aid such catastrophe?” she gestured to the flailing city below.

“Sudden blizzard. I’ve never seen anything like it. We usually have a few hours’ notice from our weather ponies if something this big comes rushing towards the city,” Cadance said, going and standing on the balcony again. She peered out to the streets below. Ponies were still rushing back and forth, stoking fires and aiding each other so nopony froze to death. Steaming food carts were slowly rolling out as the elderly were herded along by groups of young stallions carrying fire sticks to keep them warm.

“What can I do?” Nightmare asked again.

“This is my home, Nightie. The best you can do for now is stay out of the way and let ponies do their jobs,” Cadance said, sweeping past her. “I have to check on the crystal heart at the base of the palace and a few other things. Please stay here until I get back.”

Nightmare stood there, looking rather hurt. There was nothing, nothing at all she could do? She grumbled a little, frustrated. She watched the citizens below, rushing about like little colored ants. Going back inside and shutting the balcony doors, she decided she sort of understood. There was protocol for disasters in Equestria too. She could hardly imagine Cadence aiding after a tornado or a flash flood with the power of love. She glanced over to watch Bandaid instead.

“Oh jeez,” Bandaid said as he finished unbuckling and throwing off Shining Armor’s regalia. There was a fine coat of little crystals forming in his fur. “Is Shining Armor a crystal pony?!” he demanded of the nearest servant. She quickly shook her head no. “Oh jeez, oh jeez,” He quickly stopped, closing his eyes and furrowing his brow. He had to think straight. He was a professional. There was no time to rush across the palace. Teleporting him could make it worse. “Nightmare!” He turned, jabbing his hoof at her. She startled at his sudden authority. “Teleport to the medical wing! I need supplies!”

“Can we not just-!”

“Go! Now!”

The black alicorn obeyed, popping out of existence in a spray of black sparks. She peered around when she’d arrived in the offices of the palace medical staff. There were ponies, all with various cold injuries and frozen limbs, being rushed back and forth on rolling bed and stretchers. Looking about in a panic, she found the supply room and magicked the door open. Crystal Empire medi-bags looked no different than Bandaid’s standard Equestrian one, thank Faust. She grabbed three and threw them around her neck. Then she cracked the parted air as she returned to the throne room.

“Good!” Bandaid had already laid the Prince out on his back. There were strange, shimmering little red dots in his fur. Nightmare squinted and saw they shone like crystal. Bandaid seized a Petri dish, unscrewing the top. “Nightie you’re gonna be my nurse, stand here,” he said quickly. “We don’t have time to move him, I hafta operate!”

“Operate?!” Nightmare said, leaning back and lifting a hoof in worry. “He is the Prince-Consort of the Crystal Empire! I don’t think you’re qualified t-!”

“SHUT UP, NURSE!” Bandaid shouted at her face, a fleck of spittle flying. “I KNOW WHAT I’M DOING!” Nightmare yelped a little, leaning back. “Brush!” He said, leaning over the Prince’s prone body and reaching at her. Nightmare flailed for a minute, getting the medical bags open and pawing around in them.

“Brush!” she said, passing it to him. Bandaid furiously scrubbed at Shining Armor’s fur. Red crystals fell out of the white stallion’s fur like pine-needles from a Hearth’s Warming tree.

“Scissors!” he reached at her again. There were some bigger pieces around his neck. Not bothering to play the barber, Bandaid cut swaths of fur from his body. Nightmare glanced at the pieces on the floor. Some of them were… growing? She watched a piece half-an-inch long slowly grow to three inches. And it was as sharp as a spearhead. Her eyes slowly drifted back up to the Prince, pupils shrinking. “Whatever caused the storm must’ve come down the beam he used to make the shield around the city. He absorbed a lot of something bad, and its crystallizing on his body. Sweat!” He turned slightly and Nightmare touched his face a few times with a cloth.

So this was Nurse Bandaid. Serious-face Nurse Bandaid. Nightmare felt her heart flutter a little every time he barked an order at her. The pile of crystal shards he harvested from the Shining Armor’s body grew and grew. “What next?” Nightmare heard herself ask.

“Hold him here,” he patted down his inner thighs, checked his privates and armpits. Combing through his tail and mane he found more on his horn. Bandaid hissed a swear word, hooves rushing back and forth. Shards rained about the throne, tinkling like so much glass. “He’s bleeding a little. Tweezers!” he deposited three or four pieces into the petri dish. “Bandages! Tape!” Nightmare did her best to keep up. Was he battle-trained? Had he been drilled at the palace for situations like this? The black alicorn felt her respect for her beloved rising and rising. “Brush! Again!”

After almost half an hour, Cadance returned and Bandaid was finished. “What’s all this…?” She whispered, picking up a few pieces with her magic for a closer look.

Bandaid, sweaty all over and looking frazzled, lifted a hoof for a attention. “They were growing all over the Prince’s body after he shielded the city. Something in the clouds rushed down the beam of his spell and into him. Overclocking his magic pulled all his bodily defenses down, like running a marathon in a snowstorm with no protection.”

Cadance turned the shards over at over. They were crimson, dripping with Shining Armor’s blood. “What could’ve caused this?” she whispered worriedly.

“I only know an out-magick’d unicorn when I see one. Crystalization of a defenseless magic user’s horn is common, but not on a full-body scale like this,” Bandaid said, wiping his brow and leaning on the throne. Nightmare put a concerned wing around him. “But what did that, I dunno, your Highness.” He said to her. “Unless you have a pony that likes to put spells on clouds, it’s a mystery. That storm could’ve come from anywhere.”

The pink alicorn lay her head over her husband’s limp, fragile body. There was silence as she coddled him and listened to him breathe. “Thank you, for saving him,” she said softly, looking over into Bandaid’s eyes. “I don’t know of anypony who would be so foolish as to disrupt the entire sky so sudden-!” she stopped for a moment. Her eyes flicked towards a tower, seen out the throne room window that had been shattered. Her mouth slowly opened into an awed expression… then slowly morphed into one of anger. “Wait… I do,” she said, rising with authority. “Summon my honor guards,” she bade her nearest servant. The scrappy stallion scuttled away, then broke into a gallop. “All of them!” she shouted to his back.

End of Part 19

The New Night Sky, Bandaid! (Part III of III)

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 20: A New Night Sky, Bandaid! (Part III of III)

It was a crisp, icy morning when the sun rose over the Crystal Empire. The spherical shield over the city state was holding strong, and the snow had mounded up about it like a bowl shape. It would take weeks to dig the city out properly, much less without causing avalanches. Squires still scampered back and forth, stoking fires on every street corner and double-checking every home to make sure everypony had an ever-burning log in their hearth. Ragged looking guards were leaning on each other tiredly, checking every alleyway and dark corner to make sure no pony had been left out in the cold during the panick.

Meanwhile in the palace, after a few scant hours of sleep, Princess Cadence paced back and forth before the prisoner. Three different guards were holding tight chains about his body, like a damning black cocoon. Only his head stuck out so that he could speak. “The only reason, Lord Sombra, the only one, that you are not on the gallows right now is because nopony died last night. I want you to know that,” Cadance said slowly, pacing one way and then the other. He wisely said nothing. Nightmare Moon, Prince Consort Shining Armor and Bandaid stood somberly nearby. “I do not share my sister’s ban of the death penalty, for no fury is greater than a scorned mare. And let me tell you, I certainly feel scorned after you nearly buried my city state under several thousand tons of ice and snow.” She stopped, flaring her wings aggressively. “What say you?! Explain yourself to me! Even after I voiced my disapproval for your weather machine you disobeyed!”

Sombra dared not look her in the face, for that would have come across as defiant. He instead spoke to the floor. “I was only trying to push the clouds back. Imagine what it would have been like if our city were never touched by another blizzard, ever again.”

“Suppose you had punched a hole in the atmosphere?!” Cadence demanded, slapping him across the face. He gave a grunt, but still did not look at her. “The icy cold of space…” she looked up at the ceiling. “Do you have any idea what that would have done to the Crystal Empire?! To all of Equis?! You tampered with powers far beyond your control or anypony else’s!” A long silence followed and Cadence slowly returned to the throne. Not even Nightmare Moon dared to speak at this point.

“Do what you will with me, I understand what I’ve done…” the black stallion’s horn spark-crackled, straining against the inhibitor ring they’d put on his strange red protrusion. “But please, what has happened to Lemon-Lime? What have you done with him?”

Cadence’s gaze flicked over to Shining Armor, who spoke right away, “The green crystal pony we found in Sombra’s lab appeared to be a simple civilian. We gave him a truth serum but he didn’t know much of anything, so he’s being held in minimum security right now.”

“There you have it,” Cadence said. She saw him sag in relief. “Who is he to you, then? Friend?”

“Lover,” the stallion murmured to the tile, cheeks coloring.

“Unchain him. I’ll not have a bound prisoner stand for sentencing,” Cadence stamped a hoof. After some fumbling with the third and fourth pad-lock, the ruffled black stallion stood on his four legs. The pink alicorn’s magic ripped his cape from his back. Then his silver vestments, his leg-plates, and the circlet about his head. His midnight mane sprang free, and a pair of changeling antennae rushed up out of his hair like two long bangs. Bandaid gasped aloud. So that was his heritage, then! “Lord Sombra no more, I strip you of all your titles and privilages,” Cadence said. “I strip you of your citizenship to the Crystal Empire! I strip you of all your worldly belongings, monies, and home! All will be sold and the monies made given to the recovery effort for this unexpected category FIVE blizzard,” she said. He said nothing, merely hung his head. The taste of the room yielded zero love, only the garlic-like scent of concentrated hatred and anger.

He closed his eyes slowly, giving a quiet sigh. “I was only trying to help…”

“You are nothing! Nopony!” Cadence said angrily, throwing his silvery vestments aside. He stood naked before her, ashamed. Nightmare Moon watched with a calculating expression. “Thousands could’ve died because of your negligence! Everything I and my little ponies ever worked for, snuffed out under the ice!”

“I-!”

“SILENCE~!” Cadence roared, standing from the throne. “You are exiled from the Crystal Empire! Never to return!”

“Where will I go?” Sombra asked, slowly looking at her. “I’ve no money, no belongings…”

“I. don’t. care.” Cadence said icily. She turned to her husband and the three gathered guards. “Escort him to the city walls. The one where the snow diggers have broken through to the tundra. Set him loose there with three day’s food. If he returns, kill him.” She stamped a hoof to make it final.

Bandaid, feeling rather small, shrank against Nightmare Moon for safety. Sombra received a collar and chain about his neck, and was led away. “I feel sorry for him,” the stallion whispered. Nightmare said nothing, merely touched her chin with a hoof. She leaned to a waiting servant, whispering something and pushing a few bits from her saddlebags into his hoof. The squire scampered out of the room at her secret command.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Sombra got a thin windbreaker, a pack with three days food, and a compass before he was shoved beyond the city walls. The diggers glared at him. Word had spread like wildfire. He didn’t dare linger among so many ponies with such sharp icepicks and implements. The wind howled and bannered his mane. He tucked his ears with a sigh and began trudging out onto the lifeless tundra. A standing crystal waited here and there, but otherwise there was nothing to look at. He only hoped his food would last him to the border where grass grew. Perhaps he could graze like a feral stallion and think on where to go next. He wasn’t exactly hard to miss. A black-furred half-breed. His name would spread quickly, no doubt. Where on Equis could he go now? Who would take him in? He had nothing.

“Sombra’hhhh!” Somepony shouted against the wind. “Sombra’hhhh!” he stopped, cocking his head. He’d left the city hours ago, who could possibly-?! Lemon Lime emerged from the swirling snows, sporting a full winter pack, goggles, and a rather sporting winter coat. “Wait for me!”

“Lemon Lime?” Sombra whispered. They embraced in the shadow of a snow dune, where the wind could not whip at their faces. “What are you doing?”

“I’m coming with you!”

“You can’t come with me, I’ve been exiled!” Sombra said, aghast.

“I’m your coltfriend, I’ll follow you even into exile. I did some quick shopping, here,” he put some goggles over his lover’s forehead. “And I got a thicker coat, they cheaped out on you there,” he shuffled through his bag for a moment, fluffing out a huge winter coat for him. Sombra took it despite himself, for it was thrice thicker than his old one.

“You cannot come with me,” Sombra insisted. “I’ve no money, no nothing. I’ve been banished from the empire! I’m nopony!” he said, scuffing his hoof angrily. “I almost killed everypony!”

“You made a pretty big mistake, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna let you wander out into the snow and die, or wander south and be a hobo for the rest of your life,” Lemon Lime chuckled, his brow knitting with worry. “I love you,” he cupped his cheek with a hoof. “No matter what.”

Sombra’s heart ached, and he tilted his head into the hoof. “Y-you cannot…” the beginnings of tears were starting to form as his changeling antennae flexed up and into view. “You cannot love me anymore. I won’t damn you into such a life.”

“I’m coming with you whether you like it or not,” Lemon Lime stuck out his tongue huffily, catching a few snow-flakes as he did so. “…kiss me?” he said softly. “I know we’ll make it work. Just you and me, Sombra, just you and me…” he leaned to press his lips to Sombra’s.

Sombra let out an audible, heart-broken sound. “Stop loving me.” He LASHED forward, sinking his fangs into Lemon Lime’s neck. His spit numbed the stallion and made him yelp, then whimper weakly. Love flowed from him into Sombra’s belly, like a thick lemon martini. He panted, releasing him. Lemon Lime opened his mouth to protest. “Stop loving me!” the black stallion roared. He lanced forth again before his lover could react, sinking his teeth into the other side of his neck. Lemon Lime let out a long, heart-wrenching yowl. Twin drips of blood went down his side, spattering the ground. Sombra drained as much as he dared. Lemon Lime whimpered, laying on his side, weakened.

“S-Sombra…” he whimpered, reaching for him with a trembling hoof.

“STOP LOVING ME! STAY HERE!” Sombra shouted in anguish, biting into him again. A long pull of love, and Lemon-Lime’s color seemed to fade a bit. “STAY HERE WHERE IT’S SAFE!” Tears went down his cheeks as his beloved limpened, and he lowered him to the snow.

Glassy-eyed, Lemon Lime slowly sat up after a time. Sombra held his face with a hoof, trying not to weep so loudly. The black stallion took his pack and his money while he was recovering, pulling it over his own back. “I…” Lemon Lime’s listless expression tilted one way, then the other. “I feel like tacos…” he said blandly, moving forward on his own. He didn’t even look at Sombra as he passed him. Sombra watched him go, disappearing into the swirling winds, back towards the safety of the Crystal Empire. Only then did he let out his anguished cry, stamping on the ice with his powerful hooves.

Pulling the goggles down over his eyes when he had screamed himself hoarse, he checked his supplies. Food. A small purse of bits. Flint and tinder. Several changes of clothes. A silver necklace. He paused at the necklace, tilting his head and turning it over. The medallion was of the eight-pointed star. He smiled despite himself. He recalled taking Lemon Lime’s virginity with this necklace on, and then placing it about his neck in a selfish, happy sort of “mine” gesture. The stallion had been delighted. He slowly pulled it over himself, unable to leave it in the snow.

There was something else too. Something that wasn’t his, or Lemon Lime’s. A sextant and scroll. He looked skyward, then grumbled. No stars to look at, least of all during this weather. He unfurled the scroll. The long string of numbers made little sense to him. Licking the tip of his hoof, he put commas here and there… coordinates. Steeling himself and knowing he had only three days to cross the tundra before he ran out of food, he started southward. The necklace about his neck jingled, so he tucked the eight-pointed star into the folds of his thick coat. Pulling up the hood and setting his goggles, he was off.

Hundreds of miles away, Discord’s statue cracked once more, along his limbs and tail.

=-=-=-=-=-=

“I’m sorry your night sky celebration was thrown off, Nightie,” Bandaid said softly, snuggling into her on the couch. Nightmare sighed, nodding that it was true. Nopony would know or care about a new night sky or arrangement of the stars if they were digging themselves out of a natural disaster. But, she’d told nations around the world she would be doing it on a certain night. And it would take ages to tell them all she’d postponed, set a new date, re-tell them all and do it. She’d decided to visit Polaris and be done with it, just herself and Bandaid.

“I’m ready to go,” Nightmare said. “Come, we make for the north-most tower of the palace.” Rising and slipping out of the blankets she’d been wrapped in, she flexed her wings a bit. Grabbing her papers in a thick folder, she straightened a bit. “I’ve not spoken with Polaris in a long time. I hope his mood is light,” she said as they left the apartments and started up one of the grand stair-cases.

“You’ve said the stars talk, but I’ve never heard them say anything,” Bandaid mumbled.

“You’ve not the ears for it, my love,” Nightmare said, smiling sweetly. “And most stars are hundreds of millions of miles away. Their voices can be quite soft.” They turned a few corners, servants and guards stopping to bow to them along the way. Bandaid smiled, just a little bit flattered now that he was getting used to such a thing.

“And the moon talks too?” Bandaid double-checked.

“Yes,” Nightmare said. “Luna…” she looked out a window as they passed. The clouds were too thick to see through. “Luna and I have grown close again since I returned. I think of her like another sister. She says it is because of you.”

“Because of me?” Bandaid said, looking up at her as they walked.

“She says you have helped tame me. And that you have a nice backside.” Nightmare clucked with delight at his blush.

“The moon does NOT say I have a nice butt.”

“The moon says you have a nice butt,” Nightmare confirmed, nodding. “Who do you think watches us make love when we do so by moonlight?” Bandaid’s face went SCARLET. “As long as there are no clouds, Luna can see most anything.”

“Oh J-j-jeez…” Bandaid mumbled, flushed and embarrassed. Nightmare giggled at him.

“I see the moon and the moon sees me,” the black alicorn sang gaily, trotting up the stairs as they went. “Shining through the branches of the old oak tree! And if that moon should shine on me~!” she paused at the top of the stair to wait for him.

“Let it shine on the one I love,” he hummed softly, and she kissed his cheek.

“This is it here. We’ll take a dumbwaiter to the top,” she stepped into what he’d thought was a closet at first. It was quite cramped. She rang the little bell. Servants in the core of the palace rushed from their other little jobs to turn the crank. The dumbwaiter lurched a little, but then began its ascent. After a time, it stopped and Nightmare rang the bell again. It locked in place.

A small set of double doors awaited them. “Erm, Nightie?” Bandaid asked. “You said we’re going to talk to a star… and that he lives here in the tower?”

“Just above it.” Nightmare confirmed. “He’s very old, dearest, just like me,” she gave a happy little titter as they emerged into a glass-ceiling’d room. The floor had been repurposed into a black marble display, with golden flecks placed just so to represent stars and planets.

Bandaid looked up, and for a moment he thought he’d gone blind. Something on the edges of his vision wouldn’t let him look directly at it. It was like looking into deepest shadow, or trying to see while swimming in the deepest sea. “I, I can’t see!” he said, putting a hoof up to shade his eyes.

“Try this,” Nightmare went to the corner to pull open a chest. In it, she pulled what looked like a slab of darkly-tinted glass. He held it up. Vaguely, he could see a sort of not-shape, a perfect circle. As though the world ended in one place, and then began perhaps five feet to one side of nothing again. A black hole? No… no then everything would be sucked in. There was just… just nothing there. Nothing at all.

“I don’t… I don’t see anything,” Bandaid tried to describe, ears turning back with worry.

“Polaris is an elder entity, Bandaid,” Nightmare said gently, going about the floor and laying her papers in a pattern. “Don’t move, stand just there, good,” she told him. “Erm, as I was saying, he is an elder entity, but the closest description that our language fits is the ‘first star’. Your eyes can’t comprehend what he actually looks like, so your mind leaves the space blank.”

“Sounds like an eldritch horror from one of my Ponies and Castles books,” the stallion heard himself grumble a little.

“Not everything is for mortal eyes, m’love,” Nightmare kissed his cheek, then stood next to him. “Now be still, this will only take a few minutes.”

The nothing-space moved down through the glass, shrinking as it did so. Bandaid couldn’t help but feel unnerved. It didn’t even look like a black sphere, for light would’ve shifted and it would have left a shadow. It was as though the coloring book that was the world had simply not printed anything there.

“What do you think? Do you like it?” Nightmare asked softly as the shape moved from one paper to another. There was no audible response that Bandaid could hear. “He says yes,” she put in for him after a time. “Do the others still listen to you?” the black alicorn said. “Ah, good,” she nodded a while. “If any of them get stubborn, tell me and I shall move them about by force. Hopefully that won’t be necessary.”

“So this is it?” Bandaid whispered, looking at the thick clouds. “The stars are all moving now?”

“Yes, they are,” Nightmare said a little poutily. “And nopony here can see it.”

There was a long silence. “I… I bet it would give everypony serious vertigo. Y’know?” he said comfortingly. “They’ll enjoy it when the storm clears.” He patted her back a few times. She said nothing, merely watched Polaris move back and forth, collecting her papers into himself until they were all gone. Her math had been perfect. The new design was simply elegant. A few stars that had been drifting off course were given new, exciting purpose. It was all sliding into place, at long last… and Sombra’s blizzard was covering the whole blasted thing. “Besides, it’s a little romantic, y’know?”

“What is?” Nightmare perked a little.

“A big blizzard, snowed in and can’t get out, nothing but the fire and the two of us…?” Bandaid smiled lopsidedly at her. Nightmare chuckled. “I bet they won’t dig out the train station for days, all that icing over and such.”

“And such…” she watched him out of the corner of her eye, her cheeks coloring a little. “Thank you, Polaris.” She gave a sort of half-bow. “I am sure the stars will be pleased with their new places.” She turned to Bandaid. “It does get dull, standing in one place for three thousand years or so, wouldn’t you agree?” He nodded dumbly, still trying to get used to talking stars and voyeur moons.

Polaris returned to his place above the room, outside and beyond the glass. He said nothing that Bandaid could hear, but made Nightmare Moon chuckle and nod a few times. Then it was time to go.

The two of them returned to their rooms for a hot bath, food and rest. Bandaid pored over his Crystal Pony anatomy book, making the most adorable concentrate-y face Nightmare had ever seen. She brushed her mane contentedly, watching the fire crackle. Though no snow swept by the windows, it was piling up outside the barrier. Its otherworldly glow thankfully didn’t color the whole world magenta (the color of Shining Armor’s magic), but it was noticeable at the window-sill. The super-storm was slowing, so ponies were already hard at work moving snow and ice as best they could.

Nightmare looked out the window. Such diligent things, holding their little city on the edge of the world together. The power (and warmth, hee hee!) of love held them all together so admirably! “Come, Bandaid. I’ll brush your mane too,” she offered. He smiled, nodding and coming to lay over her front legs. The brush hovered about.

“I’d like that.”

=-=-=-=-=-=

Princess Celestia stood in the bare center of the Canterlot palace hedge-maze. It was twenty feet high, held with wards and anti-flying winds. Ponies could wander through it all they liked, but would always emerge out the other side without having seen the center. It was no rumor, for Celestia had confirmed it many times: This was the home of the imprisoned Discord. One, sometimes two guards were always given special amulets to guide them to the center to guard the statue. Often they were given books and other such things to do, since the prisoner never moved.

But, when the statue of the fallen god Discord had suddenly sprouted not one, but two massive cracks the first guard had taken off in a gallop to tell the princess. She’d dropped everything and had rushed to the center of the hedge maze, throwing aside wards, breaking barriers and undoing seals as she went. None stood before her. She dismissed both guards when she arrived.

Standing still as a deer listening for predators, she perked her ears. Eyes wide and searching, she lifted a hoof with worry. None were powerful enough to break such a curse. The magic was so powerful, so terrible, Celestia had literally killed herself casting the magic. Several thousand years of solar-powered magic leaving her body had left her used up. The spirit of the sun had thrown an absolute fit. When she’d respawned (being a god and all) where she’d died she went into mourning, also to recover her strength.

Discord had reversed gravity on the planet Equis, killing billions. Including her most beloved husband, Mountain Blood. So a statue she’d turned him into, cold and lifeless as the deaths he’d caused. But to crack like this…? “What’s happening?” Celestia whispered. “Even Mother agreed you should be punished for what you did. You can’t just… just… this doesn’t make any sense!” A single chip of grey stone fell from the statue.

“D’awww-haw-haw… making sense…?” Something slithered by on the edges of her peripheral vision. Celestia whirled about. “My dear, sweet, solar sister, what fun is there in… making sense?” The voice was all around her, as though it were stretching and waking from a long sleep. Whatever had moved had become a hedge. Or had it been there before and her mind was playing tricks on her? She turned in a slow circle, eyes wide with fear.

“Show yourself!” Celestia shouted as the sky grew dark. Her horn lit and she became a glorious beacon of light. “Show yourself!” she cried again. Another hedge slithered by, this time right in front of her like a snake. The maze was rearranging itself. The wards sprouted thorns. The barriers, locks and spells cracked and shattered before reforming into a complex mechanism of chaos and nothingness. Flowers grew faces and teeth, snapping at Celestia’s dainty ankles until she was forced to the center of the clearing. Black clouds gathered about, swirling in a perpetual ant-circle of static and hidden lightning. “Coward!”

“Oh please…” the phrase echoed all about the white alicorn. “What are we if not both cowards, hiding behind our own lies. Even the gods have darkness in their hearts. Even the bright and shining ones… Celestia'hhh…”

Her eyes darted back and forth, from shadow to shadow. Expanding her sphere of magic and light about herself, she pushed the darkness back until she had shrouded the entire courtyard of the hedge maze in her molten glory.

At last he was revealed, melting up and out of the hedges and thorns. Ever writhing, ever shaping, until everything at last rolled into place. His lopsided puzzle of a shape finally solidified. History books had named him a ‘dragonequus’. An amalgamation of everything he found interesting or powerful. Beads of sweat went down Celestia’s temples and cheek as the chaos twisted and tore at her glorious aura. Their magicks met, mingled, but his twisted and pulled at the cracks of hers.

“Tell yourself. Tell the world. I’m back,” Discord said, leaving two different melting footprints in the cobblestone as he walked. “Your dirty little secret is about to go public too, I might add.” He seized her by the chin as the swirling purple tendrils enveloped her on all sides. He forcefully kissed her and she let out a doggish whimper when he shoved her onto her side. The darkness consumed her into a sphere of roiling madness and unsurmountable magicks. Lightning blasted across the sky, blinding her for a moment. He vanished before the thunder was done rolling. Only her face and muzzle still stuck out, but she was rapidly sinking into bottomless blackness.

“ I didn’t kill Mountain Blood, Celestia. You did.”

End of part 20

Big Brother, Bandaid!

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 21: Big Brother, Bandaid!

“An excellent new design, Princess! Very elegant and thoughtful!” One stallion praised.

“Even more beautiful than the one before!” A mare gushed. “What are your plans now?”

Nightmare Moon was surrounded by praise and interested ponies at what could only be described as a cocktail party. As nopony had really seen the night-sky rearrange itself because of the super-storm from the crystal empire, a few days later they were all seeing it now. She tittered in delight, already a bit wine-touched in her merriment. “Well I of course will humbly await the applications for new constellations!” she told them all. “Twas I who arranged the sky, but tiz ponies like thee that will make it friendly with pictures and shapes that you see in it!” This earned scattered applause and more merriment all about her.

Bandaid appeared at her side with his medallion and cufflinks. The black tophat didn’t look bad either. “Doing okay, Nightmare?” he asked, offering her a tray of Cloudsdale wind-fish wafers.

She took one and nodded, throwing an arm about him. “Ah yes! And many thanks to my beloved, putting up with me while I toiled away at the endless calculations and angles. No two stars too close together, and no two wisps of cosmic vapor too far apart! This stallion certainly kept me sane throughout! Huzzah!” There was more applause and she drank it in like all the rest. Bandaid snickered just a bit. Party Princess indeed, the papers had said more than once before.

“Any special stars in the sky named after your beau, Princess?” somepony in the gathereing shouted, gesturing.

“Why no!” Nightmare said, lifting a hoof in shock. “We should though! We should! Come, Bandaid!” she steered him to the nearby balcony. “Come friends, let us find a perfect star to call ‘Bandaid!’”

“Y-you don’t hafta!” Bandaid tried, but ponies were already peering at him, then peering skyward. He blushed but smiled nonetheless.

“Hrm, too bright… too narrow… too much orbital wobble…” Nightmare closed one of her massive black wings about him. “What do you think?” she looked down at him.

“How about that one?” Bandaid said innocently, gesturing vaguely at the sky. He grinned at her blank look until she got his joke and she elbowed him with a snort.

Nightmare stroked her chin a few times. “Ah, there! That one!” she gestured. Everypony craned their necks to see. “See that belt of stars there? The tiny white ones? Look to their four o’clock. Then over three stars, now down two! See that lovely blue one? It twinkles now! It knows we speak of it! We shall call thee Bandaid!”

Even Luna looked at the star that was being named, for it twinkled in delight and shone all the brighter. Ponies ohhhh’d appreciatively, and Bandaid smiled despite himself. Wasn’t everyday you got a star named after you. How flattering! “Thank you, Nightie,” he whispered, leaning against her. They shared a chaste kiss, which made everypony d’awwwww in delight. Bandaid quickly broke it when he heard them, and there were loudly giggling mares in the crowd.

“Hey hey! Look at it now! Something’s changing! It’s changing color!” Somepony shouted, pointing.

“What?” Nightmare looked up sharply. The blue-ish star turned pink, then orange, then white, then over to purple. “What’s happening?!” Nightmare demanded angrily. “Who dares meddle with the heavens as I?!” The star fwicked back over to blue, as it belonged, and a curling black mist began to roll across the floor. Nightmare looked down, frowning. She turned about. The ice-carved swan on the feasting table was smoking… neigh, the wok that it sat in was boiling over with black smoke. “What is that…?” she whispered.

Ponies began to back away, like the smoke might be poisonous. Bandaid looked over at Nightmare, uncertain. “What’s happening…?” He whispered, wandering forward as though hypnotized.

A great, billowing form began to emerge, and the lights around the room sputtered and faded. A spotlight formed as the shape reared up, grew horns and appendages, and a voice. “I’m happening, I like to say, I’m happening finally!” Nightmare’s eyes widened and her pupils turned to pinpricks. Suddenly all the smoke poof’d away, revealing the most mismatched, puzzle-created creature anypony had ever seen! He spun about, then landed on the white tablecloth. “Discord! Faust-born child of Chaos! At your service!” He sat on the table, crossing his legs and seized a glass of wine. “To the new night sky! And my sweetest baby sister!” Drinking the glass and throwing the wine itself to one side, he let out a guffaw and at last slid to his feet.

Bandaid leaned back a little fearfully, for the carpet curled and blackened everywhere he stepped. A flower bloomed here. A crystal jutted from the ground there. A passing beetle-bug flipped onto its back and skree’d in agony, brains scrambled. “Big Brother?!” he looked up at Nightmare. He knew that body language, though he’d only seen it a few times. Nightmare was screwing up her courage for something. “Big Brother!” she dashed forward and threw her arms about his shoulders. The strangely shaped creature bent forward, hugging her with the arms of a lion and a griffon. “Such a delight to see you out and about again!” she kissed either of his cheeks, wings fluttering about in a joyous display.

“It’s been too long, Nightie, far too long,” he held her front hooves in his massive paws (claws?). “Celestia’s imprisonment finally wore off, so here I am to clear my good name at last.”

“Oh?” Nightmare tilted her head. Bandaid carefully said nothing. Was she… shaking?

“You remember, she imprisoned me for the death of her husband, Mountain Blood, and the deaths of all those others?” he turned, and the punch bowl emptied itself. The crimson liquid turned red as blood, floating along like a globule of death. It hardened, morphing itself into a little model. Anypony with a basic knowledge of geography saw it was Equis.

“Y-yes,” Nightmare acknowledged. “She said you were the one who reversed gravity on the planet, resulting in millions upon millions of deaths.”

Discord’s lip curled, and the model reformed itself to show only a landscape of fair Equestria. Little flailing dots that must’ve been ponies were drifting off of it, screaming in tiny voices as they drifted higher and higher to their doom. The ponies gathered in the room slowly pressed themselves back and back until they were against the walls. What horror! Only Bandaid stood among the gods. “True enough, true enough, baby sister,” Discord said, watching the little flecks of life go out, one after the other. “Celestia was all too eager to be rid of me, full of righteous anger and the fury of justice and blah blah blah,” he said, looking rather bored. “I don’t suppose anypony saw exactly who died, did they?”

“Many, from many different nations,” Nightmare took a cautious step forward. Bandaid could still see her undercarriage shaking. “Y-you’re not… you’re not going to do it again, are you, brother?” she touched his shoulder with a massive hoof, looking worriedly up at him.

Discord leaned over her with a scowl. “I love how even now, nopony bothers to wonder why I did it. Was ‘well he’s Discord’ good enough for you too?” he frowned at her. Nightmare coughed, looking guiltily to one side. “Such as a shame,” he grumbled. He snapped his fingers, and the floating red model of Equestria condensed into nothing. When it reformed, it looked like a series of hairy blobs. They nipped and fought each other, and whenever a smooth blob wandered by they would viciously tear it apart. “Do you know what this is?” Discord said flatly, staring at Nightmare. Her face said she did not, and he sighed at her.

“It’s a virus,” Bandaid said before he could stop himself.

Discord looked over at him, smiling at last, “Why look, medicine has advanced in the passing of the centuries! Very good!” he brought the model floating along. “Go on?” he offered.

Bandaid, swallowing now that he was the center of attention, walked around it a couple of times. “It’s a… simple virus, probably doesn’t exist today. I’ve not seen such big cells before. If those are supposed to be red blood cells and tissue…” he stopped, putting a hoof over his mouth in horror.

“Flesh-eating,” Discord nodded. “Very fast. Very deadly. Very messy. And let’s not forget,” he snapped his fingers, sending it all back into the punch bowl. “Very, very contagious.”

“Such a thing would’ve wiped out the planet back in your time, I don’t understand!” Bandaid said. “If a virus like that struck Equestria, with our lack of medical knowledge back in that era…!”

Nightmare looked over, for it was slowly dawning on her. “An extinction event,” she said aloud.

Discord patted Nightmare on the head like a good dog, and she growled at him with all her fangs showing. “Very good, baby sister, very good. This plague was unearthed someplace, having evolved well below the surface…” he gestured to a hanging tapestry that had a map of the world on it. Darkest Zafrica began to blacken and curl as though it were on fire. “And it spread… and it spread… and it spread further. None were immune save a very strange and lucky few.” Discord flew up and encircled the map with his long, serpentine body. “I reversed gravity on the planet for five hours. Enough time to send most of the carriers, victims, and animals that bore such a plague out into space to be freeze-dried and die. Then they fell back to Equis and burned up in the atmosphere.”

“You purged millions!” Nightmare said in horror. “Over a plague?!”

“A world-wide plague that would’ve consumed them all,” Discord said, gesturing to the ponies cowering against the walls. “Funny how I ended up portrayed as the selfish, murdering older brother. Celestia does have a way of doing that to her siblings, no?” he offered a paw to stroke Nightmare’s withers. “I saw you get banished, and I watched Chrysalis die. Cadence hides in the frozen north. Is there no low she won’t stoop to? Even accusing her brother of murder?”

“You killed Mountain Blood, though, didn’t you?” Nightmare stared, starting to feel rather ill.

Discord slowly walked up the wall, stroking his chin. “Yes, I suppose so, but not as directly as you might think. We gods are in a constant state of regeneration, you know that, that’s why we live forever and can’t be killed.” Bandaid blinked, trying to follow along. “Mountain Blood contracted the plague from Celestia, though, not I.”

“What?!” Nightmare gaped. “Impossible! We gods do not get sick!”

“Oh no?” Discord said. “You’ve gotten colds and cutie pox in your own time, baby sister.”

Nightmare blushed when Bandaid looked over at her, trying to imagine her covered with cutie marks that weren’t hers. “Well, not as often as mortals do!” she amended.

“Well imagine this plague, then,” Discord says. “It’s not powerful enough to overtake a goddess like our sweet Celestia, but she could certainly carry it in her body and spread it among others,” he sneered over his shoulder, for now he was walking on the ceiling. Selecting a crystal from the chandelier, he plucked it and ate it like a grape. “Mmh!” he commented before floating back to the ground, upright. “Celestia went to visit the sick, thinking herself immune, to raise the morale. Then came home to hubby dearest and passed the virus right along to him. Showers don’t exactly wash such things off.” He grumbled. “I killed a third of the world, yes. To save the other two-thirds.” He spread his arms wide. “You’re welcome.” He said, hunching forward to frown at Nightmare and fold his arms.

“Thank you…?” it came out like a question from Nightmare Moon. Bandaid came and stood next to her, putting his head under her wing and then walking forward a step so it would lay over his back. She looked over at him and he smiled a bit.

“P-p-princess what do we do?!” Somepony squeaked from a dark corner.

“The god of chaos is back!” somepony else whimpered, pressing into her husband’s barrel.

“He’s scary!” a foal whimpered, dashing under his mother to hide among her legs.

“Everypony pan-i-i-i-i-i-i-c!” shouted a pink mare, throwing her serving tray and losing her head entirely. Screams and shouts started going up and ponies started stampeding and shouting in all directions.

Discord’s ears splayed and he scowled angrily. “You craft a planet for them and what do they do? They panic when you purge a plague or two. Pfft,” he grumbled. Leaning and kissing his sister’s on the head, he started towards the balcony. “I’ve other, more receptive siblings to visit, thank you,” he huffed. Ponies that he passed turned into lamps, ferns, statues, box-fans, and other random objects. Nightmare watched him go, thoroughly cowed. Snapping herself out of it, she rushed to the balcony with him. The railing warped, groaned and shifted until it became a bizarre sort of ballista. Fitting a bolt the size of a tree with one paw, Discord seated himself and fastened his seatbelt. “What?” he asked innocently.

“Did you do something to Celestia?” Nightmare demanded.

“No worse than she did to me. As soon all five of us know the truth, I’ll let her go. Shouldn’t take more than a few days,” Discord conjured tea and biscuits on a tray for himself. Slathering jelly as he pleased he took a bite. “Until then, I’d stay out of the palace hedge maze if I were you.” He turned and frowned at her rather seriously. “And I’ll know if you go in, Nightie.”

“Y-yes,” Nightmare said, looking to one side. “I know you have Mother’s eyes.”

“I’ll visit again soon, I need to stretch these old limbs of mine!” Discord said, conjuring a seat and pillow onto the ballista’s bolt. “If you’d be so kind?” he gestured.

“Oh, erm…” the black alicorn fumbled, then released the catch. The ballista fired, launching Discord skyward and towards the south horizon. He must’ve been heading for Chrysalis first. When he was gone and well out of sight, Nightmare gave a shuddering sigh of relief and sank to her haunches.

Bandaid rushed to her side from inside , putting his arms around her. “Are you okay?” he asked worriedly. “You’re trembling, Nightie,” she whispered.

“Ever wonder why only one of the children of Faust is male, my love? He is not the oldest, but he is the strongest, by design.” she whispered, watching the horizon. "Those that know him, even I, know well enough to fear and respect such a power..." He looked up at her in awe of the revelation. He'd always thought Celestia, or perhaps Nightmare... she embraced him slowly. He nuzzled her, and she seemed to gather strength from this. “C-come, we must right what he’s done.” She turned quickly and strode back into the room. “Silence!” she cried. “Silence all of you!” she stilled the room with a stomp of her hoof. Lighting her horn, she turned everypony that had been transformed back to normal. “My brother Discord walks among us again, and you shall respect him as you do myself!” she shouted over the frightened crowd. “He was painted as a murderer and is trying to clear his name. Death count withstanding, he is now the main reason there is any life on this planet at all!”

“But Princess! He’s-!”

“—been encased in stone for hundreds of years, just as I was sealed on the moon for a thousand,” Nightmare interrupted. “He has served his dues. Do not speak ill of him, for he shares my Mother’s eyes.”

“What’s that mean?” Bandaid asked, looking up at her.

“He can… he can…” Nightmare made a circular motion with her hoof, as though puzzling out how to put it so everypony could understand. “He can see all things. Past. Present. Here. There. And everywhere. Whenever he wants. Be wary, for speaking his name may draw his eye upon you, and to speak ill of a god may bring torment upon you!” she gave shrill and dire warning. “My brother Discord shaped the very planet you stand upon with his strong arms! Show him respect, as is due! And perhaps he shall be merciful when you are in his presence!”

Everypony gulped, even Bandaid.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Sombra found fresh grass for the first time in several days and dove upon it ravenously. He’d long since lost his winter coat to a thorny bush, passed over the Equestrian border and even ditched his goggles and windbreaker. He’d always lived in the north, so seeing the warm sun and the deep flowing rivers was new and exotic to him.

He mooshed his nose against the dirt, not caring if anypony saw. He was not a good traveler. His food had run out a day before he’d gotten to anyplace temperate. He was lucky he hadn’t starved or frozen to death. He was panting by the time he was done stuffing himself, and he flopped onto his back in the moonlight. Brushing some of the grass from his muzzle with a sigh, he stared at the new night sky. Even as the travelling vagabond, he’d heard ponies talking about the new night sky. He’d not been outside when it had happened. Then again, the mega-storm he’d conjured… he winced, the wave of guilt hitting his stomach again. Groaning, he merely lay prone staring at the sky. His iron, eight-pointed star medallion jingled lightly on its chain.

Something was moving across the sky. He stared at it, frowning. That was no bird. He slowly sat up, pushing his black mane out of his eyes. A ballista bolt suddenly crashed from the sky before him, mounted by a creature unlike he’d ever seen. The monster turned, his eyes shrouded in black, endless images flashing across his vision like a video reel going at super-sonic speeds. “One moment, just a second!” he held up a lion’s finger. “And… there!” he bopped himself over the head to reveal yellow eyes with red irises. “All of Equestria looked over and you are the ONLY one wearing my symbol! A shame!” he gestured to the eight-pointed star around Sombra’s neck. “Well met, my little pony,” he said, drawing himself up.

“Who… what are you?” Sombra said before he could stop himself.

“Don’t judge me by race,” Discord said, floating by on a cloud. “You of all creatures on this Equis can respect such an idea.” Sombra felt his cheeks color. Even now he was hiding his changeling feelers. He let them flex forward and into view, his fangs melting out of his lips and below his jawline. “Good boy,” Discord said, turning upright. “I am Discord, son of Faust, god of Chaos, crafter of the planet.”

There was a long silence.

“You are not!” Sombra snorted. “Away to me, strange creature, I’ve enough misery without a trickster hanging onto my tail!”

“Not a bad idea, but perhaps you didn’t hear me,” Discord pulled Sombra’s tail from his backside, as though it were attached with velcro. The stallion squawked, flailing after him, but he levitated out of the way. Sombra’s red horn lit and he lanced the sky with red magic. The hole that appeared in Discord’s chest vanished like smoke, bloodless.

“Give that back!” Sombra demanded.

“You know how hard it is to be shot from a ballista going south and end up in the northern part of Equestria? It’s quite difficult, let me assure you,” the odd creature said cryptically. Sombra didn’t follow, merely snarled and lowered his head as though to gore the intruder. “That necklace, where did you get it?”

“This?” Sombra looked down for a moment. “I… I don’t know, a fair perhaps? A festival? Back when I’d met… someone important.” He tried not to think of Lemon-Lime, and crushed the wave of guilt before it reached him.

“The eight-pointed star is the ancient symbol of chaos. There were certain periods in history where wearing it could get you hung in the gallows, you must be powerful indeed to wear it so openly,” Discord chuckled, hovering about him to see the stallion from all sides. “Then again you are a strange-looking half-breed so perhaps others pay you no mind…” he trailed off, resting his chin on thumb and forefinger. “Let’s have a look at you…” Discord’s tail suddenly burst from the earth under Sombra and grabbed him up like an anaconda!

Sombra burst into smoke, reappearing nearby, horn lit. “You want to fight me?! Fine! I’ve plenty of frustration brought to bear!” Hunching in concentration, the black stallion’s outline flickered red, then bright crimson. Flecks of flame began to rise from his shoulders. Pebbles began to roll away from him. Drawing on a rather deep well of magic and love-energy, he let the two intermingle, mix and toss over one another. His mane drifted upward, and his red eyes began to glow. The very earth beneath his hooves began to groan and grumble with tremors.

“Ooooh,” said Discord, donning sunglasses to watch.

Phantom armor, intricate and outlines only, appeared all over him. A mace and shield burst into existence, forged of pure willpower. He raised the weapon high and with a righteous roar of fury, brained Discord into the earth. The puzzling creature pancake’d into the ground, feathers and fur flying in all directions. Sombra reel’d a bit in the recoil, for he’d received no resistance. He stood there, panting. “Some god you are,” he spat, armor and weapons melting away. “Though that did make me feel better…”

“Good, perhaps you’ll be more open to talk now.” Discord unsplatted before Sombra’s very eyes, standing and starting forward with authority. Sombra startled but Discord grabbed him about the neck and lifted him high. Growing and growing in stature, soon they were above the treetops of the forest clearing. “Now then,” his voice matched his new height. “Let’s have a good, long, look at you.” Discord’s pupil’s expanded horrifically wide until they took up all of his eyes in their blackness. Sombra stood paralyzed in his palm.

Hey Sombrero we need one more for hoofball, c’mon! Someday I’m gonna be the bestest science pony there ever was! Sombra! Run! Run before it caves! Daddy! Daddy help me I’m stuck! The roof is going to cave, the ice is too thick! Use the escape tunnels, I can only hold it for a few more moments! May I present the new Lord of the Dark Pelt herd, by right of birth and merit, Sombra! Erm, I am Lord Sombra. What is your name, friend? I-I’m Lemon Lime. Would you like to dance with a Lord of the Crystal Empire, Lemon-Lime? I-I would, yes, yes of course. Yonder tree branch be my gallows, be the one to end my sorrows. Must you sing something so depressing? That’s Neighzart, he was a genius I’ll have you know. Will you be mine, then, Lemon-Lime? Oh, Sombra! Ohh, Sombra’hhh! Do not let my city freeze over! The only reason, Lord Sombra, the only one, that you are not on the gallows right now is because nopony died last night. I feel like tacos…

Discord’s eyes snapped back to the present. “You have led an interesting life, very interesting!”

Sombra moaned, slowly leaning to one side and holding his temple. Reliving his whole life in a few moments had been draining. “What do you want with me?” he burbled, trying not to be sick now.

Discord put him down to lay in the grass, “Do you believe I’m a god yet?”

“If you won’t do that anymore, I’ll believe whatever you say,” Sombra groaned, holding the grass like a drunkard might to keep from falling off of the earth.

“If you’re going to wear my symbol, you’d best,” Discord said, folding his arms. “Now then!” he snapped his fingers. Sombra’s fur slicked down and cleaned itself. The grass around them cut itself, warped, then hardened into a very familiar silvery regalia. The black stallion looked over in shock as the pieces levitated about him, orbited, then fastened themselves to his body. Soon, he looked every bit Lord Sombra has he had before he’d been exiled. Discord snapped his fingers again. Sombra was shaven and brushed. Snapped fingers again. His belly felt heavy with food and his thirst vanished. “There now, all better.” He interlocked his fingers and grinned devilishly.

“Wh…why do you help me?” Sombra asked, staggered at the weight of the no doubt solid-silver regalia. He looked himself over, then up at his benefactor.

“Like I said, you’re the only one wearing my symbol in all of Equestria. Whether by fate or by my Mother’s machinations,” he glanced skyward, “Maybe you deserve a boon, huhm? That storm was really something. Hard not to call something like THAT chaos!” he laughed, drifting about.

“I-I meant well, not to bring about all that madness!’ Sombra shouted, miffed at him despite all the gifts.

“The weather can be controlled, Sombra, but not in the way you wanted to,” Discord said. “It’s like a tide, there’s no stopping it. Not even in a small area like a single city.” Sombra opened his mouth to argue about the countless calculations, so Discord stole his mouth and zipped it closed. Panicked, Sombra pawed furiously at his face. Were his teeth even still there?! “You would have killed everypony, trust me. I know. I made this planet and put out the rough drafts for the weather.” He chuckled at the panicked, frightened look the black stallion gave him. “You are just going to have to accept my cold, hard charity, and be on your way southward as you were.” He slapped Sombra’s mouth onto his face, and gave his butt a good smack to put his tail back. Sombra yelped, rubbing his flank.

“Y-you’ll be wanting something from me in the future, won’t you?” said the stallion warily, slowly backing away from Discord. “For all these gifts and food. Nothing is free. Nothing!”

“Maybe, maybe not. I’ve not decided yet,” Discord lazily floated about, smiling. “But I have some siblings to visit and no time for you at this precise moment… unless you’d like to come with me, of course?”

“I think not,” Sombra grumped, turning from him. “I’ve a heading, anyway.”

“Ah yes, the coordinates in your backpack. My sister Nightmare Moon had them put there. Do you know where they lead?”

Sombra tried not to let his face show his shock. “Where?” he barked.

“To the very same place I’m going. I’ve been watching it for some time recently, so it should be very interesting,” Discord unraveled himself into a snaggle-toothed map. “Have a look!”

Sombra leaned over the world map, pulling the scroll of his coordinances. Taking the sextant and running a few calculations in his head, he traced his hoof south… south… south… past Canterlot, past Ponyville, past Appleoosia… past the southern border. “The Badlands? Why would the Princess of the Night send me there?”

“Perhaps out of pity?” Discord rolled himself up and poof’d back to normal. “If Lord Sombra could not find his place among ponies, perhaps it is to be among the other half of his heritage?”

Sombra touched one of his fangs, his feelers flexing a bit. He tucked them back into his mane, slicking them back as best he could. “I am no love-sucking monster,” he mumbled at the ground.

“I thought we agreed not to be speciest?” Discord frowned down at him.

“I’ve no place among them, or anypony else,” Sombra grumped. “Perhaps I could find a quiet place…”

“To do what, pray tell?” Discord morphed into an elderly stallion on a rocking chair. “Fritter away your life, pine after your lost love and status, and waste what precious years you have? Please!” he snapped his fingers, returning to his normal glory. “Between you and me, I’m willing to bet my sister Queen Chrysalis would be delighted to meet you.”

“What? Why?”

“Our Mother told her you were coming,” Discord grinned cryptically.

End of Part 21

Meeting Your Parents, Bandaid!

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 22: Meeting Your Parents, Bandaid!

“Nightmare!” Bandaid came on, holding a newspaper. The black alicorn looked up from her work at her mahogany desk. “Er, listen, I know you’ve been sort of stressed the past few days with your brother being back and all,” he began, stopping to pat her back. He put the paper in front of her. “So I thought maybe we could go out tonight.”

“Oh?” Nightmare said with interest. It was the sports section, and the headline read ‘Prize Fighter Makes Retirement Match In Hometown of Canterlot.’ “Huh,” the Princess said, lifting the article to her nose. In it was a photo of a ruddy-looking middle-aged mare with a short mane and rather muscled legs. “Ah, I see. We wish to gander at other powerful mares in the sight of our companion, do we?” she prodded him, smirking.

“Th-that’s not what a meant,” Bandaid shook his head with a chuckle, pointing to the photo. The stout-looking mare was reared up, holding a title belt and, frankly, didn’t have a mark to show for the fight that she’d won. Her opponent, another earth pony mare with a ponytail and a boxing-glove cutie mark, lay splayed out on the mat. Mountains of cheering fans were in the background.

“I know that some officials have already declared thee Prince Consort,” Nightmare put her foreleg hammishly over her forehead. “Surely you would not sully our loving relationship, Bandaid?” she said airily.

Bandaid threw his head back and laughed. “No no, not at all.” He pointed to the photo again. “Look closer.” He tapped the very corner of the ring where two stallions stood beaming for their prize-winning fighter. One was the fighter’s age, but the other…

Nightmare choked on her own spit. “Is that you?!” she said. “Indeed!” she lifted the paper again to her muzzle. “Thou are as meek as tigerlily blossoms most times, what brought you to this violent setting?!” she looked at the photo’s date. “Why, you would have been a teenager when this was taken!”

“This,” he pointed to the champion fighter, “Is my mother.”

“What?!”

“Remember I told you she fights in the octagon?”

“I--- I’ve… of course I do!” Nightmare said, looking everywhere but him.

“You forgot,” he said flatly.

“I did not,” Nightmare pouted.

“You did,” be prodded. “And as punishment, you’re gonna get us tickets to my Mom’s last fighting match. It’s in three days.” He bopped her with the newspaper, and dropped it in front of her. Turning and flicking her with his tail and a rather naughty-looking smile, he marched away.

“But… but…” Nightmare said, looking up at him.

“You’ll like it, it’s super violent and my mother’s always interesting to watch. Ever wonder where I get my temper tantrums from?” Bandaid smiled innocently, then shut the door behind him and was off.

Nightmare stared at the door. Had… had he just strong-armed her into a date? Bold thing! She found herself giggling. Perhaps he was getting used to ‘handling’ her by now. Well she’d handle him later tonight when he came to bed! Hah! Turning, the Princess of the Night lifted and rang a servant’s bell. She lifted the paper again to actually read the article, “Dazzle Kick, huhm…? Interesting name…”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

“L------adies and gentlecolts, welcome to this evening’s main event!” An announcer strode about the ring, garbed in black and white stripes. Nightmare and Bandaid could’ve had ringside seats, but they didn’t want to distract Bandaid’s mother with their presence. “The final fight of the continental champion of the octagon, let’s hear it for Da-a-a-a-a-a-a-azzle Kick!” the stadium imploded with roaring applause.

Stomping hooves and blaring music made Nightmare Moon look around in wonder. Even from the royal box she could see the flailing ponies, waving signs and flashy lights. Did ponies really crave such carnage? Or was it okay because there was a referee? The blood stains on the ring certainly didn’t help her opinion. Were they going to kill each other in gladiatorial combat?! “Bandaid! Bandaid!” she shouted to be heard. “Should we conjure sword and shield for your mother? A bullwhip?”

“No no, she’s fine!” Bandaid shouted back over the crowd, laughing. “No weapons are allowed anyway. She can do it bare-hoove’d!”

“Your mother has bore seven foals and has led a life of such violence still?!” Nightmare gaped down as a hooded pony entered the ring. “What chance does she have?!”

“She’s the best, Nightie, just watch,” Bandaid promised, putting a hoof around her.

Dazzle Kick reared up and whinnied, stomping the mat and making it shake. Her hood and cloak bannered off. She was every bit as muscled and wild-looking as the photo from years ago. Only her eyes and her mane betrayed her age, for there were a couple of grey streaks here, and a few age lines there. The crowd roared again, chanting her name. She lifted a hoof high, smiling for the flashing cameras and cheering fans. Leaning, she took off her championship belt and gave it to the referee. It was put on a special hook and lifted high for all to see.

“Oh see over there?!” Bandaid pointed to one of the octagon corners, where a stallion was busy working with ice backs, bandages and other things. “That’s my dad! Hey dad! Daaaaad!” Bandaid shouted. Of course the stallion couldn’t hear him over the crowd. He was a plain brown thing, and Bandaid was his spitting image. Brown with dark brown and striking eyes. He smiled, nodding encouragingly to Dazzle. His wife came and pecked his cheek. They exchanged words, nodded some, and the stallion stepped out of the ring to be out of the way. Dazzle Kick bounced on her hooves a couple of times, rearing to go.

“And her-r-r-r-r-r-e comes the challenger, the rising star of pegasus league! Star athlete of Cloudsdale, the super speedy Ra-a-a-a-a-ainbow Dash!” From on-high came a rainbow colored blur, slamming hooves first into the mat with an impressive crack of thunder. She flared her wings, tossing rain droplets in all directions. Stallions swooned over her as she tossed her multi-colored mane. “Wonderbolts Special Forces Hopeful, Rainbow Dash is here to retire Dazzle Kick and fight her way to the top! With a championship fighter belt on her, her journey to being in our nation’s most elite flying squadron would be all but guarunteed! But will the blue blur be enough to take on the titanic takedowner that is our champion?!” the announcer paused for the roar of the crowd. “Or will Dazzle Kick retire on top?!” Another roar from the crowd.

Bandaid leaned back in his seat with a soft smile. Nightmare looked over at him. Why was he so at ease? She was an aging mother of seven, about to retire, and this virile rainbow-maned creature was young and looked ready to trounce her by the very definition of trouncing! Something in Bandaid’s cool expression said there was a secret to be learned here. She didn’t dare ask. In her time a thousand years ago, a warrior's techniques and secrets were what kept them alive. Perhaps she could learn by watching, if ‘age of retirement’ meant nothing to anypony present?

Rainbow Dash pulled the light cape from her back. Why, she was positively scrawny! A physical fight between the muscled earth pony and this slender thing would be no contest. Then she turned in the light, and Nightmare saw the muscle in the glint of her sweat. Unlike an earth pony, she was built for speed, not power. The Princess touched her chin with a frown, and Bandaid passed her the popcorn. “With a cat’s waistline like that, your mother may break her in half, beloved,” Nightmare said a little worriedly.

“Maybe!” Bandaid said, smiling. She stared at him in horror, but he didn’t seem to notice. “We’ll have to watch.”

“Alright ladies!” the announcer gestured for both of them to come forward. “Rules as usual! No biting, mane-pulling, tail-pulling, or punching your opponent in the anus!” (Nightmare wildly wondered which of the two mares had warranted such a specific rule as ‘don’t punch anypony in the butthole’…) The official checked them over for a few moments to look for grease, powders, weapons, or anything else. They never took their eyes off each other. “You have wings, Rainbow Dash, so you know well enough not to fly above the line,” the official gestured to the octagon’s netting, which could not have been more than fifteen feet high. “And you’ve tetra-strength, Dazzle Kick, you know well enough not to destroy the ring.”

“I understand,” Dazzle Kick said automatically.

“You got it! I won’t need to fly too much to take on this Gramma!” Rainbow voice was amplified with a little rune that had been drawn on her neck, so the crowd could hear her.

“No grand-foals yet,” Dazzle Kick said, her own rune lighting up. “Though with my son’s luck I’m hoping. Did you know he’s dating a Princess?” she smirked from under her eyebrows. High, high in the stands Bandaid thrust his face into his hooves, SCARLET. Nightmare threw her head back in a cacophony of shrill, scandalous laughter. As though on cue, lightning split the sky outside.

“Meh, let’s focus on the here and now!” Rainbow tied her mane back with a little band, flaring her wings aggressively. “I’ll have you on the mat in ten seconds flat!” she bounced about to loosen her ankles.

“You’ll try, sweetie,” Dazzle Kick turned and walked towards her corner. “You’ll try.” She gave a toss of her hips for her watching husband, who laughed and gave an approving gesture.

BING BING!

“Watch closely, Nightmare,” Bandaid said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “Watch my mother’s back legs.” Nightmare turned, then looked curiously down.

Rainbow wasted no time and dashed forward with a shout. Powerful wings came open, flared, then pumped her to the height limit. Dive-bombing with a feral whinny and a hoof raised she charged into Dazzle. All Rainbow’s opponent did was shift her weight.

WFF-POW-CRASH!

If Nightmare had not seen it she would not have believed it! Rainbow collided with Dazzle, hoof’d her across the face and bounced in the recoil. She bounced so hard she flew bodily across the ring and rag-doll’d into the opposite post. The impact sound was devastating. Stunned and falling on her face, Rainbow ran sideways and then fell a bit.

Dazzle Kick coughed, nursing the little bruise she’d received on her cheek. “That wouldn’t have left a mark years ago. Getting old sucks,” she sighed. Rainbow steadied herself and redoubled her charge, stampeding forward with all her feathery fury. Whipping her legs about she landed a spectacular buck right on her chin. Dazzle’s weight shifted, a muscle or two coiled, and Rainbow Dash spun ass-over-tea-kettle to the mat before her. “Stop hitting yourself,” Dazzle said with a light smirk.

Nightmare looked over at Bandaid. This was impossible. Had they not checked both combatants for repulsion spells? Shielding? Surely she was cheating! Rainbow flew into a wild fury, always aiming for the face and chest. Each time, Dazzle Kick would shift herself and repel her like she was made of rubber. “Watch her legs!” Bandaid shouted over the crowd again. Nightmare looked down and tried to stay focused. Each impact made Bandaid’s mother shift one leg and stomp in time with the blow. There were visible cracks in the mat.

“What is she doing…?” Nightmare whispered.

Rainbow’s wings locked and she dive-bombed to one side, then directly into Dazzle’s exposed ribs. A dozen lightning fast blows rained on the middle-aged mare’s side, cutie-mark, and withers. The elder mare finally turned, seized one of Rainbow’s hooves, used her momentum against her and flung her to the furthest post. The clang of metal-on-skull was audible. “OHHHH!” went the audience.

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you to respect your elders? Pity. Most approach a champion like myself with at least a hoof-shake and a degree of respect.” Dazzler coughed twice, scuffing one of her hooves on the mat a few times.

Rainbow rose, shaking her head quickly. She could feel the bruise forming already. But no, her head was much harder. Snorting steam, she dashed in to keep fighting.

“This is not a fight,” Nightmare said after a time, for Rainbow had not landed a single defining blow. “Thy mother toys with an infant.”

“This is my Mom’s last match, they weren’t going to put her up against a competing champion,” Bandaid smiled sympathetically. “I told you she was a super-star, remember? Or did you forget that too?”

“Thy siblings told me she was a big face in the octagon, yes, I remember,” Nightmare admitted. “I just did not think the difference between them would be so vast. Is a fair bout not more appealing to watch? Or is this just an exhibition of your mother’s abilities?”

“Don’t be a sourpuss, it’s her last night. If they want to throw a rising rookie at her, let ‘em!” Bandaid said. Nightmare wondered what had gotten into him, but remembered it was his mother. Anypony would be protective of their own blood’s reputation like this. “Did you figure out what she’s doing yet, or no?” he smiled mysteriously.

Rainbow Dash streaked about the octagon in a blur of Pegasus speed. Dazzle Kick stood in the center, looking back and forth with narrowed eyes. The wind conjured was making her eyes tear up a bit. She rubbed them. Rainbow saw the window and streaked forth with all her might. The hoof connected and the muzzle rumpled. Time stopped for an instant as both ponies flew through the air. Dazzle struck the mat with a surprised, “Oof?!” she sat up quickly, and a drop of blood trickled down her nose.

“First Blood! Round One is over!” The announcer cried. The crowd roared in excitement, stamping their hooves and whistling shrilly.
The mares turned from each other, going back to their corners. Dazzle’s husband, First Aid, touched her nose with a warm rag and began to fuss over her. The mare grinned a bit, nodding her approval. A lucky hit, surely! Rainbow went back to her corner as well, where several ponies looked her over and checked her wings, ankles, and face. A few minutes went by between the rounds, until the bell finally rang again. “That was a good hit kid! I guess when I can’t see you I can’t repel you like I do most folks,” Dazzle Kick admitted, nodding her approval. “I’m glad I’m hangin’ up the cape with such interesting characters to take my spot!”

They clashed once more. Finally Nightmare Moon was able to spot it, “She’s channeling!” the alicorn exploded. Bandaid nodded with approval. “That’s ancient magic! I thought it would have been bred out of earth ponies by now! Spectacular!” the black alicorn was on her hooves with grand interest.

“That’s right,” Bandaid gestured. “Whenever my mom gets hit, she channels the force of the blow through her body, then into the earth with her back leg. Then, the earth pushes back in the recoil and it goes back the way it came. Thusly all the ping-pong-balling that Rainbow Dash is doing.” He smiled. “Most opponent’s don’t see it until it’s too late. Mom literally… oop, here goes!” Bandaid stood, and cameras started flashing wildly. Nightmare whirled about.

Rainbow’s tornado trick had not worked twice, for Dazzle had seized her. Carrying the momentum with a dizzying spin, she pulled back like an massive oil pump jack. The kenetic energy, earth pony strength, and tectonic recoil focused for but a moment as the blue mare was seized by her neck and thigh. Dazzle shifted her attention to the mat, and Rainbow’s wings flapped wildly.

“Your strength be turned against you.”

With a roar and a glowing rune to amplify her cry for all to hear, she threw Rainbow face first. The explosion of wood, earth, rock, plaster, and stone blasted the octagon to pieces. Rainbow smashed so far into the ground she vanished into the earth. Splinters flew in all directions, smoke billowed and the audience was on its hooves with screams of horror and jubilation.

Nightmare slowly stood. So this was the mother figure of such a stallion? Surely she was an elemental! An elder fury! No mare was so powerful! Eyes glowing white for a moment, the black mare studied Dazzle’s body, soul, spirit, mind… neigh. Neigh…. She was a pony. A mere pony! Such strength! She found herself slowly stomping her applause, for Bandaid was cheering and hooting for her.

Dazzle made a slow loop around the ring as the octagon began to buckle around her. She lifted a hoof, and her spine crackle-popped, “My back!” she complained. There was scattered laughter and flowers being thrown. She tried again and it rather comically crackle-popped a few more times. “My back!” she sidled forward until her husband came into the ring with a hot towel to comfort her.

“H-hang on th… thuhhh…. There now now nilly…” a weak voice and a glowing rune said from within the hole. A shaky blue hoof rose from the smoke and earth, grabbing the jagged edges of the crater Rainbow had been thrown into. The crowd went quiet. “I… I ain’t done yet…” the star athlete wobbled out of the hole, then fell on her side. Her wings were rumpled, and one of them was folded oddly. Broken?

“Unbelievable!” the announcer cried into his microphone. “Rainbow Dash has crawled out of Dazzle Kick’s Tectonic Plate Crusher! Nopony has ever gotten up after the move, and we’ve never seen it break the mat like that!”

Rainbow, through sheer willpower, shuddered to her ankles. She leaned on one of the broken posts. Five or six Dazzles were walking towards her, smiling with approval. “I gotcha, I’ll take… wuh-hah?!” she fell over, clutched the mat, then rose again. “I’ll still take you on.”

“I’ve never seen anypony get up from that move,” Dazzle Kick said in admiration. “You got spunk, kid, serious spunk.” The crowd roared and stomped and cheered. Rainbow sagged against the ropes for safety, trying to make her vision stop spinning. “It takes all your strength and turns it exactly back against you. It’s like hitting yourself as hard as you possibly can. Just enough to take somepony out, without hurting them too seriously.” The middle-aged mare watched the exhausted Pegasus slowly slide to the floor. “Now stay awake, kid, you’ll wanna hear this,” she smiled. She looked over at First Aid, who’d scurried out of the ring when Rainbow had re-emerged.

“Lay down!” Nightmare cried, horrified at what might happen next. “You are beaten! Lay down!”

Dazzle gave a quick stomp of her hooves. The title belt fell from its hook high above them. Leaning and touching the rune so her voice would be loud for everypony to hear. “Congratulations Rainbow Dash, you’re the new champion!”

“Uh-whuh?” Rainbow said blearily, looking at the golden ornament as it was laid across her midriff. “I… I what?”

“You weren’t supposed to fly too high, but I wasn’t supposed to break the ring,” Dazzle gestured to the absolute ruin the ring had become. “Guess even in my retiring match, I just didn’t know my own strength.” She smiled, leaning and kissing Rainbow’s sweaty forehead. “Good luck kid.” She smeared the rune on her neck to turn it off.

“Er, er…” the announcer was taken aback but quickly regained himself. “TH-THAT’S IT EVERYPONY! DAZZLE KICK LOSES BY DISQUALIFICATION! RAINBOW DASH IS THE NEW CHAMPION OF THE EQUESTRIAN OCTOGON!” The audience blew the roof off with its shouting, cheering, stomping, flailing excitement. “THE RISING WONDERBOLT WANNABE HAS TOPPLED THE TITANIC TAKEDOWNER!”

“Ye-e-e-a-arghh---yay me…” Rainbow said, flopping down at last to stare at the ceiling. “Yay me... unf...” Medics were already rushing over her, putting her on a soft stretcher.

Bandaid looked positively shocked. “She… she threw the fight!” he gaped. Nightmare looked over at him. “She broke the ring on purpose to pass the torch!”

“Your family frightens me, beloved,” Nightmare said, never taking her eyes off Dazzle Kick as she reported to her husband for medical attention. She turned and watched Rainbow be carted away, and saw the blue hoof of victory rise as she was going. Dazzle lifted an encouraging hoof. Anypony that could survive all of their own strength and still have the willpower to rise like that… they deserved to be champion. Nightmare saw the exchange, and the look in her eyes as it happened. Beat her opponent into the earth and retire a superstar… or let a rising star shine all the brighter as she came into her own. “Poetic,” mused the Princess of the Night. “I cannot wait to meet her at tonight’s dinner.”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Dazzle Kick sat at a huge long-table of a cheap Chineigh’s restaurant, surrounded by her children, her husband, and one black alicorn. (“If I wanna celebrate my retirement at a Neigh-Donald’s I could! I get to pick! It’s my retirement!”) She was wrapped about the middle with a nice icepack, and all her plates were mounded with food. “Thanks for coming, all of you,” she said. “I’m glad you made it to my last match too, Bandaid, you used to hate them when you were a colt.”

“I hated seeing you get beat up,” Bandaid stuck his tongue out a little.

“And I married you, imagine how I felt for all those years, huhm?” First Aid said.

“You know you loved my toned, athletic body. Our seven children are proof of that!” Dazzle shot back.

“Mom!” Bandaid blurted as his sisters ewww’d and grumbled obscinities. “Erm, I know this is your night but I’m glad you got to meet Nightmare Moon too.”

“Pleasure,” said Nightmare a little warily. She found herself wondering if, when struck by an alicorn, if her little body would hold out and she’d be able to bury a goddess at the center of the earth with her ‘tectonic recoil’.

“Glad to see my son landed such a big fish,” Dazzle nodded her approval with a mischevious smirk.

“Was that a fat joke?!” Nightmare demanded, looking up sharply.

“Are you a fat alicorn?” Dazzle said with a smile and a tilt of her head. “There’s only three so I can’t tell.”

“Not as fat as your swollen head!” Nightmare began to rise angrily.

“Honey!”

“Nightie!”

The two stallions were automatic in their defusing. This was a night for celebration, neither of them had any right to start anything at the dinner table. “Erm, what I meant was, somepony of good quality like yourself,” Dazzle amended. “A good catch.”

“Oh,” Nightmare said, placated. Both mares sat and the meal resumed in contemplative silence. Bandaid and First Aid rolled their eyes in precise unison.

“So Mom,” Bandaid said down the table to her. “What’re you gonna do now that you’re retired? Gonna live the easy life on all your prizes and winnings?”

“Well, I’ve got about a dozen different doctors to see, according to your father. Decades in the octagon and seven foals doesn’t really make merry with your body,” she gestured to herself. Bruises from the fight were starting to show on her ribcage. “But what can you do. Hubby knows best.”

“Especially when he has a medical license and knows where you sleep,” First Aid pushed his little glasses up his nose. Dazzle snorted. “She’s gonna be in physical therapy for a while.”

“And then?” Bandaid asked.

“I dunno, write a book or something. I retired for my health, I’m sure I’ll find a hobby or mentor somepony,” Dazzle said thoughtfully. “I’ve got monies to last the rest of my life. Maybe that Rainbow Dash filly needs a coach.” She touched her chin with a hoof.

“When she gets outta the hospital,” Fireball slurped her noodles with a laugh.

“To Mom!” Bone Break lifted her drink.

“And all her fights!” Stitches amended.

“And all her happiness!” Rug Burn elbowed Stitches.

“And to her good health in the future!” Triage said to make her father happy.

“Cheers!” Candy Crush almost destroyed her glass, smiling embarrassedly when it cracked in her grip. Everypony lifted their drinks to the retired champion. Bandaid and First Aid leaned on either side of the mare of honor, kissing her cheeks. Stitches lifted a camera and started taking pictures.

The party lasted well into the night, plate after plate, story after joke, and merriment all around. Bandaid’s sisters left one at a time when the clock was passing one and two in the morning. When they were all gone, Bandaid went to the restroom.

“So you and Bandaid, huhm?” Dazzle looked over at Nightmare. “Getting along okay? Does he seem happy? He writes me letters, but how has he been?”

Memories of his kidnapping, torture, and recovery flashed across Nightmare’s mind. “Erm,” she said nervously. “As well as one might imagine, when courting a goddess such as I! We are very happy together, I think. He is tender and most precious to me,” she smiled wide as she spoke.

“I heard about his month in the Badlands,” Dazzle set her glass down with such authority that, on the other end of the table, Nightmare’s spoon hopped from her egg-drop soup to her napkin. First Aid remained silent and neutral-faced. “…Want to share?”

“I moved heaven and earth to get him back. My sister and I both,” Nightmare defended.

“Not the first time he’s been kidnapped since he’s gotten involved with you,” Dazzle’s pupils expanded just a bit. Nightmare felt a bit smaller all of a sudden. “Take better care of him, would you?”

“Y-yes, of course.”

“Nightmare, ready to go?” Bandaid said, coming back from the bathroom and giving his parents hugs and kisses goodbye. “Bye Mom! Bye Dad!” He cantered out to the waiting royal carriage.

“Take good care of my son, Princess,” Dazzle said as Nightmare turned to go. “I’d hate to break your pretty face,” she said to the back of her head. Nightmare turned, but the stone-cold octogon champion's stare allowed for no words... not even from she. Her husband offered no respite either, for he nodded in agreement. Their daughters were violent, but their son was precious. The dark alicorn didn’t allow herself the shiver until she’d gotten outside into the cool September air.

“So?” Bandaid said when they were on their way back. “What’d you think of my folks?” he smiled broadly, quite proud the evening had gone so well.

“Delightful!” Nightmare gave him a crooked, fanged smile even he could tell was fake. "Erm... on a side note, Bandaid. Can you do that? What your mother did in the ring? Earth pony magic like that is quite old, I thought it was lost to the ages."

Bandaid touched his chin thoughtfully, "Y'know, I've never tried," he admitted. "It takes pretty heavy precision. Then again I'm not an octogon fighter, so I prolly couldn't do it, no." he laughed a bit. Nightmare let out a sigh of relief.

End of Part 22

The Foretold Half-Breed, Bandaid!

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 23: The Foretold Half-Breed, Bandaid!

“We’re approaching the south border of Equestria,” Discord said, his eyes flicking from deepest black back over to their normal yellow and red.

Sombra looked up from the rather pleasant tea set on the magic carpet they were riding, studying the horizon. After the black stallion had refused to climb onto the ballista bolt and be relaunched, Discord had opted for something a bit more stable and flat. As Sombra watched, the craggy rocks and sand dunes were slowly crawling towards them. “You still haven’t told me much about this Queen Chrysalis of yours,” he said slowly. “I’ve only ever read about her,”

“All bad things, I’m sure,” Discord rolled his eyes. “Until recently, she’s flirted with the dark side of things. But the line blurs a bit when you’re starved and desperate.”

“I imagine so,” Sombra said carefully.

“You of all ponies know what it’s like to be a bit different, so I like to think your manners will be better than most,” Discord snorted, snapping his fingers for a pair of binoculars.

“Huhm?” Sombra set his teacup down.

“You’re a midnight black half-breed who prefers stallions, lived in the frozen north and suffers from guilt and abandonment issues,” Discord said without turning to look at him. Sombra scowled angrily, but said nothing. “You know, I could grab up your lover for you, if you wanted. Maybe that would make you feel better and less mopey.” He turned, palm upright. A flickering image of Lemon Lime stood there, one leg folded over the other.

“I live in exile,” Sombra said bitterly, looking to one side. “Please don’t make me think of him. He is better off at home where he belongs.”

“Suit yourself. It doesn’t hurt to be selfish now and again,” Discord vanished the image, then went back to his binoculars. “Oooh, yes, looks like the city is coming right along!” he said with interest.

Sombra craned his neck to see.

Discord’s magic carpet made a slow circle about the city so they could observe all the buildings and changelings teeming below them. Sure enough, a massive gathering of onion-shaped buildings was rising up out of the badlands. The blue river that ran alongside the structures was a bit dirty, but it looked like they were making concrete and such to one side of it. Though the city was only a few months old, excellent progress was being made by its motivated population. Roads had been conjured. Squat little bell-towers complete with mechanical clocks were being fitted. Neighborhoods with nice sod front yards were being unrolled. In the center of all the building, teeming masses was a titanic palace. Surrounded by scaffolding, painters, sanders and the like, it stretched towards the sky no smaller than the white Canterlot castle. It’s towers, buttresses and squat guard houses were certainly made in their own style, though.

“It’s very… brown,” said Sombra, looking about.

“What do you expect with the materials they’ve got?” Discord snorted, curling the edge of the carpet to steer it about. Soon, a squadron of changelings spotted them, buzzing into the sky. Sombra automatically let his changeling appendages flex up and out of his mane, as though to shield himself from assault. The group of five came close and Discord slowed his carpet, smirking in amusement.

“Skreeee!” one of them demanded, leveling a spear at them. Discord snapped his fingers and it turned into red rope candy, sagging in his hooves. The others brandished their weapons, but only ended up with a sucker mace, a gummy bear shield, and other sweets.

“Take us to your leader,” Discord said officially, chuckling at their squawking confusion. They seemed to understand him, and formed up to escort them to the ground. Something told them this strange puzzled-together creature was more than they could handle. The half-breed smelled funny, but he would have to be tolerated too.

Queen Chrysalis, at the moment, lived in a rather quaint two-bedroom home with a half-dozen loyal servants. The palace would be the absolute last thing that was to be finished in the city. Everyling had been told to finish the roads, the defensive walls, and the civilian homes first. They had lived in tunnels and squalor for too long, she’s said, they deserved their reward first and she could wait.

At the moment, she sat leaned over a conference table covered with her city designs. She’d had decades to calculate and come up with a rather elegant city design. Carefully placed fire brigades, schools, and military recruitment centers had to pay mind to civilian homes, cultural buildings, and the palace itself. She longed to finally live in the palace she so well deserved, but her children came first. Grumbling, she settled herself on a long-pillow to think. Numbers and charts lay out before her, so she started scribbling distances between certain building types.

One of her servants, ever the worrier for her health, clambered onto her back. Laying his chin between her wing roots he purred loudly. Her muscles relaxed and she let out a little sigh of delight. This seemed to please him, so he stayed there to soothe her poor stressed body.

There was a knock at the door. “Who dares? I am working!” she demanded. Who would the guards stand aside for in the middle of her work day? She slowly stood and her purring servant grumbled, upset. She stroked his head twice, wandering forth and magicking the door open.
A black stallion stood in the doorway, changeling feelers sticking up out of his mane, and a pair of long fangs sticking down past his jawline. Chrysalis gaped in awe for a few long seconds. Mother’s prophecy came rushing back to her head. A… a half-breed! Just as foretold!

“Er,” the stallion said awkwardly, not daring to cross the threshold. He eyed her stature, very alicorn-like, and her crown. “Your Majesty,” he said. “I am Sombra, from the Crystal Empire. I’ve been brought along to seek a new home among your people since, erm, I am what I am.” He flick-a-flicked his antenna about. Throwing out his chest a bit, he continued, “I am highly educated, a powerful magician and inventor. If you would have me, I would obey to make my new home here… half-breed though I may be.” He lowered himself into a humble, formal bow.

Chrysalis’ mouth was dry. Her door! Mother had foretold the turning of the age in her favor upon the appearance of a half-breed pony-changeling and he’d just shown up at her door! Fighting down the ear-splitting squee of delight, the changeling queen composed herself at last. “Precious child,” she said, coming forward and taking his chin in her hoof. “Half-breed or no, you shall be welcome here.” She lifted him up, then rather intimately put an arm around him and pulled him to herself. She felt him tense, but he did not resist her. “Changelings do not turn away their own.”

“I erm,” even for a noble like Sombra, it was a little overwhelming to stand before a Queen so different than Princess Cadence. “I also come bearing good news for you.”

“Oh?” Chrysalis was still trying to contain her jitters. The prophecy! It was early! The city of metal and glass had not happened, for the future was not set in stone, but this half-breed had emerged nonetheless. His coming foretold the beginning of a new age! The age of the changeling! Of Queen Chrysalis ruling from the top! Eeee! “Pray tell?” she managed somewhat calmly. The flick of her wings managed to dismiss some of the boiling energy inside herself.

“Your brother is here as well. He’s waiting to see you outside,” Sombra gestured.

“My brother?” Chrysalis cocked her head at him with a frown. “My brother lays in confinement in Canterlot, cursed by Celestia no less.”

“Not anymore-r-r-r-re!” A melodic voice called from the courtyard outside. Chrysalis almost knocked Sombra down as she shouldered past him. The door slammed against the wall as she galloped past the guards and out into the sunlight. She gaped at him.

“Discord…?” she whispered, eyes wide. “Is… is it really…?”

“It is, baby sister,” he snapped his fingers. Grass rushed up about the courtyard out of the hot, dry dirt. Flowers exploded into bloom. Vines rushed up the walls, pregnant with wine grapes. Sunflowers blasted open and rushed to their mightiest heights. Birds made of wood tweeted, flapping about and pecking at her guards. “Ta’dahhh.” He said, posing for her.

“Big brother!” Chrysalis rushed forward and embraced him with all her might. “Ah! You’ve come home! You’ve come home at last!”

“That’s right.” He said, digging his claws into her shoulders. Hunching down at last to hug her properly, he cupped the back of her head. The earnest, charging hug left everyling within three hundred yards or so tingling and prickly without knowing why. Someling was certainly happy! A few of them scratched, jittering as though in pent-up joy.

Sombra stood in the doorway, watching the spectacle. When at last brother and sister parted, they turned to him. So it was true. He was the god of chaos, child of Faust, and so on and so forth. If Chrysalis recognized him, then it was very true. He touched the amulet around his neck, wondering what he’d gotten himself into.

“Wine!” Chrysalis called. “Wine and pillows for my brother and his friend here!” No changling present needed solid food, but certain stocks were kept just in case a different species visited.

“You’re too kind!” Discord chuckled as his sister clung to his arm and escorted him inside. “I’m sure you’ll want to hear all about my escape, haha. Well it’s partially thanks to Sombra here! Let me tell you,“ his voice faded as they went inside.

Sombra stood in the courtyard, eyeing all the rather alien-looking flowers, strange wooden birds and the like. One of the changelings was beating back the weeds with his spear, skree-ing obscenities for all the stickers that were clinging to his person. The amulet tink-a-link’d around his neck. It may have been Discord’s symbol, but it’s value was towards Lemon Lime. He did not trust these strange new gods. Something wasn’t right. Frowning a but sulkily, he tried not to think of his lost love and turned to go inside and join them.

=-=-=-=-=-=

“Paint is actually of pretty high value right now,” Chrysalis said conversationally, gesturing to all the workers milling about in the street. They stopped to let a gaggle of larva run by with their painted mud ball. A matriarch with her egg sacs wandered by too, waving merrily to the royalty as she went. Chrysalis watched her go, then gestured that they keep going.

“It is very impressive. It’s nice to see your lot finally come into their own,” Discord said. He stopped to admire jagged design that was being painted onto a nearby house. The Changeling that was hovering there with brush and pail flew back, studied his work, then flew up close to dab at it some more. He only seemed satisfied if it was just so. “They seem to be working hard.”

“They always have been hard workers,” sniffed Chrysalis. “This is their just reward.”

“Indeed,” Sombra said, looking around. “I’ve not seen such a frenzy of construction in a long time.”

“Everyling was given a templet for a home or building. The city is built, for the most part. About two thirds of them are decorating how they please now. Thusly all the painting and colors and designs. Everyling has an idea for what makes their own home beautiful,” Chrysalis smiled proudly. They passed another changeling who had a wheel barrel full of geodes. He puzzled over one, then broke it with a zap of his horn. Delighted at the dark purple crystals inside, he placed it at random in his little front yard to reflect the light of the sun.

The group passed a few streets, flanked by royal guards as they talked. When they reached the water’s edge Chrysalis sat to watch it burble by, then settled onto her chest to fold her hooves over each other. “I’m proud of you,” Discord said, touching her back. “You’ve done very well for yourself, I think.” He made a light gesture. A rock thrust itself from the earth and molded into a cup like clay. He dipped it into the waters so it could be cleaned. “And you still put them first, just like you always have. It’s admirable. I can’t say I would if I were in charge.” He smiled over at her as Sombra sat nearby, within earshot. He filled his stone cup with water, taking a few swallows before passing it to her.

Chrysalis took it, turning the cup so her lips would touch where his had, and took a swallow as well. Afterward, the cup morphed into a dove and flew away. She chuckled in delight. “Sombra!” she was finally settled and content enough to address him again. “Tell me, what brought you into such exile, all the way from the Crystal Empire? Did you kill somepony for touching your mare or something?”

Sombra pushed a pebble about with a hoof, mumbling to himself. He looked over at her with a rather sad expression. “I almost punched a hole in the atmosphere with a weather machine, killing everypony on the planet.”

There was a short silence, “You don’t say,” Chrysalis said. “Well I can see why Cadence would banish you then.”

“The Princess was right to be rid of me,” the black stallion said miserably. “So here I am at the end of the world, relying on others for charity.” Even in all his silver finery that Discord had given him, he looked rather pathetic as he said it.

“World’s end indeed…” Sombra had meant geographically, but Chrysalis did not. She found herself smirking, ever so slightly. “Well I won’t press the issue. You were cast out of house and home, that is punishment enough for whatever you did.” She stood and went to touch his shoulder. Discord watched, a perfectly impish smile on one side of his snaggle-toothed face. Chrysalis had caught on just as he knew she would. She wasn’t short-sighted like Nightmare.

“Please, do not think my a leper or an invalid,” Sombra said seriously, turning to face her. “Anything, everything you would ask of me, ask it. Taking me in like this after what I’ve done is beyond charity. A new home is a gift.” He leaned and kissed her hoof in thanks.

Sombra’s gaze flicked over at Discord, smile widening. This was going so well! If not for Discord he would’ve still been a wandering vagabond. “Do you promise to obey me as everyling else does?”

He nodded, “I swear.”

“Do you promise to learn the changeling ways, and integrate into our society?”

He nodded again, “I will.”

“Learn our language? Our culture and history?”

He smiled, “For this new chance at a prosperous life, I will.”

“Good,” Queen Chrysalis drew herself up to her full height, taking him by the temples. She kissed his forehead, blessing him. “Guard,” Chrysalis smiled, turning with all her teeth exposed. “Find our archive chambers in the old hive tunnels and have some citizenship papers drawn up for our new friend.” Sombra beamed despite himself, straightening. “In the meantime, I already know what I want from you, Lord Sombra.”

“Oh?” he said.

“The changeling race has lived underground for a very, very long time,” she turned and gestured to a very tall building on the edge of the city. It was a spiraling, imposing looking tower encrusted with badlands crystals and reflective mirrors. “I want you to build an astronomy dome on that tower there, and study the sky as you did with your weather machine in the Crystal Empire.”

“You do?” he said.

“My sister Nightmare just rearranged the stars. The sky is strange to changelings as is. I leave it to you to make it… friendlier.” Chrysalis tasked him.

“I’ll do my very best… my Queen,” he added, bowing to her with a smile. His red eyes glittered at the possibility of a new lab, new machinery, new tools to work with.

“Now toddle. My brother and I have much to discuss. Take a few of my guards with you so everyling will know you’re in charge and obey you,” Chrysalis told him. She watched him go, smiling and filled with purpose. She smiled after him, then resettled at the water’s edge to soak her tired hooves.

“How long before you ask him to rebuild his weather machine?” Discord said, leaning on an elbow to smirk at her. “I saw that little sparkle in your eye.”

“Oh a few months at least. Let his loyalty and drive for his new Queen build for a bit. Perhaps fill his bedroom with foreign mares to have a few more half-breeds like himself.”

“He’s gay.”

“He’s gay?” Chrysalis choked a little. “Really?”

“Yep.”

“Pity.”

“Don’t suffer a stallion his own tastes.” Discord chided.

“It’s a waste of good genes, you see how gorgeous he is.” Chrysalis grumbled, stirring the cool waters with a hoof. “Even by changeling standards.” She added. Discord rolled his eyes. “Has he some long lost beau, then?”

“Of course he does,” Discord extended a palm, showing her a ghostly image of Lemon Lime. The green crystal pony was a slender, handsome thing, but otherwise looked uninteresting.

“I don’t see the appeal,” Chrysalis said, leaning to see him from different angles.

“Looks and prowess aren’t everything to look for in a companion. Perhaps if you’d ever married you would know that.” Discord said, sticking his forked tongue out at her.

“I seem to recall you proposing to me, some eons ago, brother,” Chrysalis quipped.

“I was only two hundred years old, and you hadn’t grown a tail yet,” he grumbled, remembering the era in the far, far past. “So sorry if my hormones started earlier than yours.” She threw her head back and laughed, kissing his cheek affectionately.

“By the way,” Chrysalis said when she was sure Sombra was long gone. “What did you do with Celestia? You escaped your prison, I don’t imagine you left Canterlot unscathed.”

“Oh I just left her where she put me,” he said innocently. “When I’m done telling Cadence and yourself about Mountain Blood, her prison will break.”

“Mountain Blood…? Oh, Celestia’s late husband,” Chrysalis touched her chin to remember. “What about him?”

“Well, you see…”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Mountain Blood’s sweet embrace.

Being hit in the face with a two by four.

Laughing among friends and wine.

A shadowy stallion trying to force himself upon her.

A gorgeous sunrise.

A foal dying of illness in her arms.

A hundred-year peace treaty.

Watching a stallion being beheaded before a crowd.

Celestia stood paralyzed in her own memories in the center of the hedge maze. The black ball of chaos magic had long since spat her out. Now it was a massive, encapsulating dome over the maze itself. Nopony dared enter. Celestia stood among soft grasses of the maze’s center, an expression of pure horror frozen on her face. Now and then she would gasp, or twitch a little, but otherwise stood as still as a statue.

A griffon king gloating over a slain diplomat.

Enjoying the serenity of an apple orchard in spring bloom.

Hanging the moon-worshipping ‘Luna-tics’ that had tried to burn down Canterlot after Nightie’s exile.

Losing her virginity to a giggly friend at a harvest festival.

Exploding a pedophile from the inside out once he’d finally been caught.

An eight hour bubble bath complete with harp-player and bite-size cheesecake squares.

All of them were real. All of them had happened at one point or another in the past. Celestia was seeing the world as Discord could. More aware of time and space than anypony else could ever fathom. All time, all space, was constant and flowing and shifting all around her. She twitched, let out a little whimper, then coughed twice. Everything was simultaneous, and yet in motion. One thing after another. Wobbling about in a constant cocktail birth and death, joy and sorrow, sunrises and night times eternal. Was this how Discord saw the world? With Mother’s eyes? Quivering where she stood Celestia could only pray somepony would save her soon. It had been several days already.

The agony of childbirth.

The thrill of orgasm.

The mystery of exploration.

The disappointment of failure.

The high rise of the palace.

The depths of her darkest dungeons.

Sh-she could only take so much more this. She tried to steel herself. But there was little to be done when one’s mind was gripped in chaos magic.

=-=-=-=-=--=

“And… there,” Nightmare said, frowning up at the sun. “Is that right? Is that where it goes?” she asked the guard next to her, who cocked his head. “It looks okay to me.” Sol, the spirit residing in the sun, fussed. Nightmare ignored him. They’d been squabbling for the past five days about his rising and setting schedules. Only Celestia was in tune with him, and she was on ‘sabbatical’ in the hedge maze of the palace to ‘rework the flow of her kharma and Faust-given divine magics.’ That was the official word, anyway. Anypony that whispered of Discord was silenced and jailed for the moment. Nightmare did not want a panic in the very seat of power of Equestria.

Discord had promised only a very brief imprisonment. Hopefully he would be a bit quicker running from the Southern Badlands to the Crystal Empire. Then Celestia’s prison would be undone. Discord was nothing if not honest among his siblings… most of the time.

Bandaid touched Nightmare’s shoulder and smiled encouragingly. “It looks good to me!” he said. “Let’s go inside, it’s bed time for us night ponies anyway, right?”

“Right,” Nightmare said wearily. She looked over at the tinted, black-glass sort of dome that had settled over the majority of the Royal gardens. She yearned to go rescue Celestia, but she did not dare cross her brother and his chaotic magicks. “We should rest.”

End of Part 23

Into the Hedge Maze, Bandaid!

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 24: Into the Hedge Maze, Bandaid!

Nightmare Moon and Bandaid stood in the royal gardens of the palace, staring at the tinted black dome that had formed over the hedge maze. Discord’s magic was odd. It tingled the hooves of anypony that got near it, and numbness greeted even the slightest caress. Now and then a few forks of lightning ran back and forth across it. “I dare not enter, Bandaid, my brother will know,” Nightmare said. “But he said nothing of others going in,” she offered a cautious smile.

“And I’m going in because…?” Bandaid said frownily.

“My brother seemed to like you,” Nightmare said, fitting her beloved with a saddlebag.

“And the palace guards aren’t going in because…?” he let that one hang as well.

“My brother is many things, slayer of a pure innocent is not one of them,” Nightmare told him. Bandaid stared at her. That didn’t make any sense at all. He’d killed a third of the planet some ages ago. The stallion opened his mouth, lifting a hoof, “It’s nothing to do with your virginity, dearheart, or I would not send you in.” Bandaid blushed angrily, that wasn’t what he was going to say! “Soldiers are weapons in his eyes. If he were to see us approaching Celestia’s prison with an armload of weapons, he may torment her or make things worse,” she gestured to the black, crackling dome.

“And what am I, in his eyes?”

Nightmare hesitated a moment, “Well, erm…” she coughed a bit.

“Your boy toy?” he said, splaying his ears and frowning at her flatly.

“Something of the sort. But you know you are more and that is what matters,” Nightmare said embarrassedly. “We are not sending you to spring my sister from captivity, merely check on her.”

“Make sure she isn’t being tortured or flayed alive?” he offered with a smirk. Nightmare stared at him in horror. “Er! Well I don’t think he would do that, he didn’t seem the type!” he quickly amended. “I’m sure she’s fine! Just… contained! Like you were on the moon!” he instantly winced and looked at the ground.

“Shall I fetch you a shovel, to continue your hole-digging?” Nightmare said acidly. He hung his head. When he looked sufficiently sorry enough, she led him to the edge of the hedge maze. “Remember, you are there to observe and deliver the saddlebag I’ve given you. Nothing more. Do not try to free my sister. My brother will know and I don’t dare his wrath within the first week of his freedom.”

“You’re sure it’s safe?” Bandaid said timidly.

Nightmare slowly settled onto her knees before him so that they were eye to eye. “I would trust no other with this task, my love. Discord can be a cruel god, there is no doubt, but he does not harm without reason. Just… do not give him reason.”

“I… understand,” the stallion said slowly, scrubbing a hoof through his mane to bolster his strength. “Go in, deliver, check on her, come out,” he nodded a few times, repeating the instructions over and over until he felt better. “I’m ready,” he nodded.

The guards parted when the Princess and the Nurse approached. “I am sending in Nurse Bandaid to check on my sister,” she told them officially. “Remain at your posts, and be vigilant for civilians.”

“Yes Princess,” the six of them saluted as one.

Nightmare and Bandaid approached the black barrier slowly, looking up at the dome. “I will open the way. Don’t dawdle,” she kissed his cheek, then lit her horn.

Bandaid steeled himself. Nightmare’s magic touched Discord’s. They swirled about, frolicked, twisted and whined together. Steams of molten, primal power flowed back and forth over each other like so many different blobs of paint. Black and blacker than black. The forks of lightning that worked back and forth across the dome faded for a few moments. A slit worked its way from the ground to eye-level, flapping about like the seam of a mare’s dress. The air-exchange was a bit musty, as though no breeze had gone under the dome in some time. Bandaid darted forward with a little burst of courage. Nightmare watched him go, then slowly let the barrier stitch itself back up again.

Huffing a bit at the effort, Nightmare went to a nearby stone bench to wait. Fixing her eyes on the threshold where Bandaid stood, she gave her nod of approval. He heaved a great breath, then stepped out of her sight. Discord had shown him approval at the cocktail party. That would be enough to protect him. Discord, while he was of chaos, was not without reason. As long as Bandaid respected the… ‘situation’, he would be safe.

Inside, Bandaid stood alone. The perpetual dusk of the hedge maze’s dome and lack of wildlife made it feel very eerie. Sounds echoed without reason to, and every crunch of every leaf gave him pause and fear. Coughing aloud and remembering that he was alone, he took a deep breath. Touching the black amulet around his neck and remembering Nightie’s instructions, he ventured forth.

A maze, no matter it’s complexity, was always bound by a single rule. Since he was a seasoned Ponies and Castles player, Bandaid was privy to this rule. No matter how big, how scary, or how winding the maze might have been it had a weakness. Opening his saddlebag, he pulled on a thick hoody and pulled the hood over his muzzle. He looked about to get his bearings and find the maze’s center, then hunched. Using his earth pony strength, he walked through the first wall. The leaves and sticks scratched at him, but mere shrubbery was no match for his thick clothing. Snickering a little, he went straight as the crow flies through the maze.

Any idiot would have spent hours wandering about. Or maybe used the ‘touch the right wall and just follow it’ trick. But he knew better, and he didn’t have hours to wander around. If the walls weren’t solid, why respect them? He had a Princess to save! Er, check on. Check on, yes. It sounded less epic that way, really. Grumbling to himself, but not turning his nose up at his given quest, he continued on. A dozen walls. Two dozen. Three dozen. Every now and then he would check the dome to get his bearings. Since it was blessedly circular, he could just use the highest point as his compass. He pressed on, getting a little cut on his nose as he pressed through a few more hedge walls. Basically cheating as he was, Bandaid took less than an hour to reach the center and find the clearing. Stepping out into the courtyard, he peered about as he peeled off his hoody and tossed it aside.

Princess Celestia stood in the center, on a stone dais raised barely an inch over the grass. The shattered remains of Discord’s stone prison lay strewn about. She stared vacantly ahead, legs planted as though she were expecting to be assaulted. “Princess Celestia!” Bandaid galloped forward to meet her. She gave no reaction. She didn’t even look down at him. “…Princess?” he said, tilting his head. He waved a hoof energetically in front of her face, fake-punched, then gave a sudden shout. Celestia didn’t bat an eye.

Bandaid slowly set his saddlebag down. In all honesty he’d been expecting chains, or a cage. Perhaps a big vine monster, made of the hedge maze plants themselves. But no, she stood there unmolested, just… unmoving. It was eerie to look at. Was she turned to painted stone?! Mumbling an apology Bandaid ran a hoof across Celestia’s face, then her belly, then along her ribs. Flesh, organs, and bones all felt about right. Medical mindset coming to the forefront, he frowned at her. Was she sleep-walking? He lifted the front of her muzzle to see her gums. No blackness. She’d not eaten a poison. He pulled at one of her massive wings, but it stayed curled tightly against her side. “Wait…” he said aloud. He came back about to study her face. Now and then, one of Celestia’s features would twitch. Her eyes would flick to one side. Her nose would flare. “Are you having a seizure?!” Bandaid demanded, mouth agape in horror. Quickly running behind her, he rushed his hooves over her major muscles. Spasms. “Oh jeez, alright… ah…” he flicked through all of his medical knowledge. “Seizure patient, muscle spasms… still on her feet. Vomiting danger…” he turned quickly and used the top of his head to push her over.

Legs locked as they were, Celestia fell with all her limbs outstretched. Rolling her onto her side and apologizing over and over, he took her head in his hooves. With a good deal of effort, he forced her powerful neck muscles to turn to one side. Touching her haunch and her shoulder with a hoof, he waited. Haunch twitch. Shoulder twitch. Haunch, shoulder. Haunch, shoulder. “Where are you running?” he whispered worriedly, wondering what her wide eyes were actually seeing. He touched her forehead. Warm. Fishing into his saddlebags he covered her with the quilt that had been taken from Nightmare’s bedroom. He covered her, save her neck and head. “At least this’ll rest your legs. If you’re stuck like this…” he whispered. He stroked her forehead a few times to move her mane out of her eyes. “I bet it’s some kinda spell.” He leaned over her eyes, peering into the first one and cursing the poor light. Dialated pupils. The nurse sighed worriedly. Full-body muscle lock, open eyes, muscle twitching, fever, phantom sensory reactions… “What did Discord do to you?” he whispered. Bandaid flinched, his hooves jumping to his mouth. Thousands of miles away, Discord’s ear turned.

=-=-=-=-=-=

Discord turned his head in the middle of conversation. “Hmm?” His all-seeing eyes expanded at the pupil until they were coated black. His gaze pierced stone, earth, metal, flesh, and distance until he saw the poor mortal invoking his name. “What’s this?” he said.

Chrysalis looked up with interest. “Someone invoke your name, brother?”

“Yes. I must cut our visit short, I’m afraid,” he turned and gave her a genuine smile. They embraced and he patted her back. “I’ll visit again soon, promise!” he clucked. “But I’ve matters to attend to. Keep an eye on Sombra for me. Tah!” he waved, then snapped his fingers and vanished.

=-=-=-=-=-=

Bandaid had backed himself into a corner of the courtyard, looking around with beads of sweat on his brow. Both of his front hooves were cupped over his mouth. His eyes flicked back and forth. Nightmare had warned him. To speak her brother’s name-! “Is to turn his gaze upon you!” A mind-reading spell crashed across the nurse’s vision and the god of chaos himself BURST into existence. The stallion eep’d in horror, flung back by the displacement of air. Righting himself, he put his hooves over his head in case lightning should come slamming down upon him.

“D-Discord!” Bandaid said, aquiver at his presence.

“We meet again, my little pony,” Discord said. “The healer with half a brain. Must’ve lost it if you’re in here snooping.” The child of Faust snapped his fingers. Bandaid’s skull flipped open as though on a lid, exposing the tender organ beneath. He screamed, not in agony, but in terror. “Oh no, it’s still there.” Discord smirked, turning his back on him to inspect Celestia. “She’s still here, I see. Not planning on rescuing the Princess, are we? That’s a little cliché, even from a Pony’s and Castle’s player like you…” he trailed off, his black eyes scanning the past hour or so. No such rescuing plans, not even from Nightmare. “Hmm, fair enough,” he mused.

“D-Discord, please…!” Bandaid mewled, trembling and trying not to let anything precious spill out of himself. “M-my head!” he didn’t dare lift a hoof, didn’t dare move. The open air stung a bit.

“Of course,” he snapped his fingers again, poofing out of the air and re-appearing right next to him. The stallion tried not to flinch away. “Just making sure you’re not getting any bad ideas in that little head of yours,” he smiled, leaning to look at the exposed brain. “Heh!” he reached and snapped the hinged skull-top closed. The seam vanished. Bandaid collapsed to his belly in relief. He touched his head, feeling about. Everything seemed normal again. Reaching, he levitated the saddle bag that lay on the ground to himself to inspect the contents. Nothing suspicious. “You’ll pardon me if I’m a little cautious. I’m no fool as some might portray me. Celestia will no doubt be a bit… miffed, when she gets out. I don’t plan on being around when she’s released.”

“Y-you’ll let her go, though, right?” Bandaid braved, not daring to rise to talk to him.

“I’ve no reason not to. It’s not as though she’s committed some heinous crime,” Discord smiled at him sideways. “Once all my siblings have heard my side of things, she’s as free as a bird. I’ve already given my word.” He put a forearm over his forehead. “Does no one trust my word?!” he sighed dramatically.

“Did you have to do… all this?” Bandaid whispered worriedly, coming and kneeling next to the ailing Celestia. She’d not moved nor made a sound in all the commotion. “You’re hurting her.”

Discord dropped his silliness for a moment, “Yes. I am.” He said frownily. Then the silliness came back and he chuckled, floating along through the air and leaning on his elbow. “And if I’m seeing the past correctly, Mother’s Eyes and such,” he stopped to turn his black eyes back to yellow and red. “Nightmare sent you in here?”

“Yes,” Bandaid nodded. “You said she couldn’t come in here, but you didn’t say anything about me.”

“Ah yes. I should’ve been more specific,” Discord said, rolling his eyes. “I understand dear baby sister worrying about big sister,” he smiled. “It’s only natural.” He slowly snaked an arm around Bandaid’s shoulder. Bandaid eyed the curved griffon claws drumming on his fur. “You know what that’s like, right? Worrying about your sisters?”

“Oh. Er. Yes, I do. I have six of them,” Bandaid tried to smile.

“I know you do. I’ve seen them.” Discord said conversationally, touching the side of his face with a lion’s finger.

“O-oh,” Bandaid said, an icy chill going down his back. He tried again to smile but he was failing. He was trembling too hard. Discord’s elongated body was slowly settling in a broad circle around him. All the red flags in his head were rising and fast. He pulled out of Discord’s one-armed hug. “A-And I can tell you probably don’t want me here so I’ll just, eh heh heh, head out. Yeah?” he started walking backward, leaving the saddlebag, leaving Celestia. His eyes stopped for a moment on her, and a wave of guilt started to wash over him. He hadn’t been able to do anything at all.

“Of course, be on your way,” Discord appeared out of the hedges behind him, grasping his shoulder with a sly grin. “Deliver a message to my sister for me?” Bandaid gulped, then nodded slowly. “When I tell her to stay out, I mean stay out.” His griffon arm grasped the stallion’s shoulder, and lightning fast his lion paw came out to break his leg with a terrifying crack of bone.

Bandaid let out a shrieking scream, falling onto his side. Discord stood over him as he writhed, frowning. “My leg!” Bandaid cried. “MY LEG!” Very little blood flowed, but the pain was like a super-heated fire-poker. His radius (bone) had been messily snapped, grinding against itself and the muscle. “Ohh! Oh!” He turned over himself, then fell the other way. He choked on his own spit, then turned and vomited violently.

“Now go,” Discord said. “I’ve more important things to do than watch you crawl about.” He snapped his fingers and a cloud formed up around Bandaid’s midriff. It rose up, ghostly, out of the ground and lifted Bandaid bodily like he was a Pegasus. With a puff of his cheeks like he was blowing on soup, he sent the stallion on the cloud towards the edge of the hedge maze. When Bandaid’s crying and yowling was out of earshot, he turned to inspect Celestia. “Food, blankets, a book and quill and ink. They must’ve thought you were camping, Cellie,” he said with a devilish smile. “They should know better.”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Nightmare sat bolt upright when she heard the first cries. “Guards!” she shouted, jolting from the stone bench to her feet. It was almost dusk, and the end of the day brought dark news. Bandaid floated through the dome as though it wasn’t there, astride a grey cloud. As soon as they could reach it, the armored ponies brought it before her.

“My leg!” Bandaid cried, for it was bent in all the wrong places. “Discord was here! My leg!” he shouted. They crowded about him with field medical supplies, splinting him as best they could. Shoving a bamboo stalk across his mouth so he wouldn’t bite his own tongue, they set the bone. His scream of pain sent shivers down Nightmare’s spine.

“Oh Bandaid,” Nightmare held him from behind while they worked on him. “Forgive me! I was a fool! I sent you to such torment! Oh Faust! Oh Mother!” she wept and clung to him. Each tightened bandage made him curl in agony and they had to hold him down.

When they’d dosed him with a fast-acting pain medication, the groggy stallion groaned and lay against her. The cloud dissipated. “H-he says everypony stay out,” Bandaid whispered. “D-discord says nopony can go in there to Celestia…” he tucked his head under her chin.

“I was a fool…” Nightmare whispered miserably. “Using you to reach my sister…”

“Sh-she’s comatose… I think… he’s got her under a spell. She’s not moving,” Bandaid managed. A stretcher was brought in to bear him away. Mending a bone was well within the powers of the unicorn doctors in the palace, but the agony certainly sent its own message.

“My brother is angrier than I thought,” Nightmare whispered her apologies over and over, “If he’s taking his frustration out on innocents.” She coddled him, walking alongside the stretcher as he was bore into the palace by a small team. “I am so sorry.”

“H-hey, I’m back here now,” Bandaid said to soothe her. “A mended radius is a… what, five-hour spell?” he asked the guards around him. They gave him no answer, focused on keeping him safe and getting him to help. Nightmare nodded, still very upset. Bone-mending took serious magic, not every medical practice had access to such powerful doctors. But they did live in the palace so such unicorns were certainly present in the medical wing. He gave a mare-ish yelp when they went up the stairs and he got jostled a little on the stretcher.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Bandaid was resting in the medical wing, blessedly happy on a few choice pills while the bone-mending spell took its time. Nightmare Moon was in her private chambers, angrily brooding over the thought of her brother.

She sympathized, but her sympathy only went so far. Celestia was not being visibly harmed, according to Bandaid. Merely comatose and contained while he told their siblings what had really happened when he’d reversed gravity on Equis. No doubt Chrysalis knew by now, so his only other stop was Cadence in the Crystal Empire.

Her temper told her to meet him there in the frozen north and teach him a painful lesson. But, instinct told her to stay her hoof. Something was off. Something was different. Perhaps being imprisoned in a statue for a thousand years had finally snapped his fragile sanity. Mother’s Eyes or no. Discord never went out of his way to hurt those that didn’t deserve it. A new wave of guilt hit her. She’d banked on Discord’s mercy and bet the love of her life. What if he’d decided to tear him in twine and send her the halves in the mail? She hunched, squeezing her eyes shut and gritting her teeth at the thought.

The goddess of wine and lust stared at her glistening horseshoes in troubled thought. She had Bandaid to think of. And Celestia. Could she topple Discord? Neigh. He was too powerful, and would certainly see her coming. The best she could do was stay out of his way and do as he said. Protect her own. Celestia would know what to do once she was free. If she was freed, that is.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Cadence stared when she arrived at her royal luncheon. She’d been looking forward to the crystal melon harvest this year. She had a bit of a weakness for them, and had been going through fruit salads like crazy lately. But when she arrived at this lunch, she had no such melons.

The long table had been turned from crystal to wood. The columns had been replaced with candy canes. The healthy food had been replaced with a fudge fountain, Hearth’s Warming candies and gingerbread. “A wonderful city you have here, Cadence! I’m proud of you!” Discord sat in her chair at the head of the table, waving a hot chocolate mug enthusiastically.

Cadence stared, slack-jawed for a few mind-blown moments.

“Uh… friend of yours?” Shining Armor asked from her side.

“Oh I didn’t send word ahead!” Discord rose, setting his mug down. “I am Discord! Cadence’s big brother! God of Chaos, Child of Faust, and am I glad to see you!” he threw his arms around Cadence. She hugged him numbly, trying to take it in.

“Er…” Cadence said, not really registering it all very well.

“Nice to meet you?” Shining Armor said, for it came out like a question. He looked at his wife for confirmation. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

“Most don’t,” Discord said huffily. “When one god or another ends up imprisoned we tend to fall into myth for a while. You remember how things were with Nightmare Moon.” He folded his arms. “Celestia is certainly fond of her extensive incarcerations, isn’t she Cadie?”

“I-I… wouldn’t know.” Cadence said carefully. “Welcome back. Glad you… made yourself at home.” She leaned with a frown to see her dinner table had been replaced with sweets. As a mare that was trying very, very hard to get pregnant the past few months, she’d been abstaining. Partially to stay desirable to her husband, partially to keep her body nice for creating new life.

“I do have a habit of inviting myself over, don’t I?” Discord amended, touching his chin with thumb and forefinger. “Nice to meet my new brother-in-law as well!” he went to shake Shining Armor’s hoof. Shining, taking a cue from Cadence, smiled cautiously. He watched the strange, puzzled-together creature help himself to a ginger-bread pony. A gingerbread train choo-choo’d by in the background, dropping off several small packages to a gingerbread train-station before it moved on around the table.

“You look… good! Celestia let you out?” Cadence said, giving him a more genuine hug this time.

“Not exactly,” Discord snickered, scratching the back of his head. “But, what’s done is done, and I have much to tell you.”

“Oh?” Cadence said. She looked at the dinner table again. “Perhaps over dinner? Ah… normal dinner?” she added. Discord sighed as though she were no fun, snapping his fingers. All the sweets and magic finery vanished, leaving a boring old fruit-salad spread in its place. They seated themselves.

Shining Armor politely toasted to Discord’s return, keeping conversation while his wife reeled. “So, ah, what brings you to the Crystal Empire?” the Prince-Consort asked with his most charming smile.

“Clearing my good name, sir, just wait! It makes for a great story!” Discord turned his water to white grape juice, conjuring three ice cubes and a flobber worm into the glass as well. He drank the glass and set the juice down again, ice and all. It held its shape, much to Shining’s shock.

“Do tell?” Shining asked with interest.

“Well, you see…”

End of Part 24

Prophecy Fulfilled, Bandaid!

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 25: Prophecy Fulfilled, Bandaid!

Princess Celestia gasped as though breaking from water into the blessed air. She sagged forward for a moment. As she looked up, a bit sweaty, she watched the dome of black glassy magic slowly shard itself away into nothingness. Flapping her wings experimentally, she looked about. No sign of Discord. But no doubt he was near. Wiping her mouth, for she felt she’d been drooling in her coma, she looked around rather angrily.

“Princess Celestia!” Grand Vizier Twilight Sparkle suddenly burst into existence in a shower of sparks. As soon as the black dome had come down, she’d vacated the throne to come to her aid. “I’ve been on the throne for a week now! Are you okay?! Are all your kharma flows okay?!” Twilight had bought the ‘sabbatical’ story, and had dutifully stood in Celestia’s place to run the noon day court. It had, of course, made her into a nervous wreck. And while the brilliant scholar had no idea what ‘magical kharma flows’ were, if Celestia’s were misaligned then surely it was cause for alarm.

“Where is Discord?” Celestia turned quickly. “Have you seen him?”

“Discord? Who’s Discord?” Twilight stopped, blinking.

Celestia’s mind raced. She touched Twilight’s shoulder with authority, “Twilight, I want you to sit on my throne until I return. Maintain Equestria as I would. I’ve urgent business to attend to.”

“Wh… what?” Twilight said, a few hair pricking up and curling.

“I know it is a heavy burden, but you have been groomed your whole life for this. For emergencies when I cannot sit in the seat of power,” Celestia’s pinions were straightening themselves, outlining in a hazy white light. “Do as I say,” she turned to take off, but something caught her ethereal mane.

“Mom…?” Twilight mewled, soft in the eyes. She was holding the alicorn with a small hoof. “You’ll… you’ll be okay right? Y-you don’t have to tell me what it is, but… but you’ll be okay, right?”

Celestia paused, deeply touched. She could count the number of times her adoptive daughter had called her ‘Mom’ on the hooves of less than half a dozen solar guards. “I will be soon.” She turned, enclosing Twilight in her wings. They were warm, glowing and alive. The little mare shuddered. “Stay safe, sit in my place. I will return.” She kissed her forehead with love. Then, with a mighty force of wind she shot skyward. A bright, blinding light followed Celestia like a comet. She did not flap her wings, but by pure force of will and magic, shot across the sky like a fiery bird.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

“This really is a good piece of work, I’m very impressed,” Chrysalis said. “You’ve your Queen’s approval on this, Sombra.”

Sombra smiled, chest inflating. He’d really made excellent progress in the mere week he’d been in the Changeling City. The tower he’d been given had quickly been converted into an astronomy tower. With about twelve hours of calculations and a few pots of coffee, he’d also conjured up a grand telescope. “There’s one more feature I think you’ll like, your maj… my Queen,” he amended with a good-natured smile. She nodded her approval to have him explain. Reaching with both hooves, the genius black stallion turned a great crank. Looking over at his chalkboard, he mumbled down the series of numbers and coordinances. He turned the telescope just so until the numbers lined up. The huge telescope labored from the sky, down the mountains, to the horizon itself like a sailor might point it. He checked the eyepiece, then smiled. “Please, have a look.” He gestured.

Stepping and leaning down a bit because of her alicorn-height, she closed and eye and peered in. Canterlot. She could see Equestria’s capital! “What?!” she blurted. She looked again. That was certainly the white city, with all it’s (rather phallic) towers, curling vegetation and tiny little dots that must’ve been ponies. “How is this accomplished?” she looked over at him. “Your telescope can see—!”

“Beyond the curvature of the planet, yes,” Sombra grinned with all his fangs, a warm and inviting smile. “Normal telescopes can only see a certain distance because of the curve of the planet and, well, air is not as clear as you might think over great distances.” He gestured to all his facts and figures. “With a few choice spells and the proper refraction, we look through the planet instead of across it, and we get a proper view based on estimations of three-dimensional space.”

“In lay-ling’s terms?” Chrysalis said, watching the little ant-ponies mill about.

“It sees really far because we look down, not up,” Sombra smiled a bit, gesturing. When the queen pulled away, he moved and checked another long line of numbers. “In fact, why don’t we check on the Crystal Empire?” He turned the same massive crank, making adjustments and tightening the proper valves as he went. Double-checking the crystal matrixes, he looked into the eye piece. “Ah! There it is!” Sure enough, the angular and crystalline structures of the mighty city-state rose up to meet him. His smile slowly slipped from his muzzle. “Just as I remember it,” he mumbled slowly.

Seeing his fading enthusiasm, Chrysalis leaned and nosed him to one side to have a look. “You’re to be commended, Lord Sombra!” she said. “Why, we could even spy on other nations if we wanted to! See how their crops were doing, see what wars were going on, all without crossing the border and violating any treaties we’ve signed!” she grinned a big, fang-filled smile.

Sombra tilted his head, smiling cautiously at those words. “Well, you know what they say. A telescope pointed at the sky is an astronomer, and a telescope pointed at the horizon is an explorer. You can see most of the world from right here, given the proper co-ordinances.”

Chrysalis paused. There was a small, twinkling light heading for the Crystal Empire. Behind it was a trail of fire that was melting a path in the snow below it. She squinted, falling silent. “Ah…?” she mumbled. Mother’s prophecy flashed across her memory. The age of ponies ending in a flash of fire brought about by a tiny dot of white light. The foretold half-breed bringing prosperity to the changelings. “And a city of glass shattering into countless pieces…” she whispered, barely above a whisper. Not exactly as mother had shown it, for the future was not set in stone. But all the major signs were there. The half-breed. The dot of light. The city glass… neigh… crystal… was about to be leveled. Her pupils shrank in excitement.

“Pardon?” Sombra asked.

“Lord Sombra, I’d like you to cap the lens for now,” Chrysalis coughed. “Perhaps I am too hasty to spy on my neighbors. It’s not good manners.” She offered a rather fake smile. The black stallion blinked at her. “I want this telescope pointed at the sky and not one degree lower, unless I am present here for its use. Understand?”

“Of course,” Sombra nodded. “I meant it to watch over our own lands, but it can see much further based on the math, is all. It’s misuse would be a gross invasion of privacy to others.”

“Agreed,” Chrysalis said quickly, taking the little cap that was hanging on the chain and putting it over the viewer. “Well go on, chop chop.” She gestured. He scurried and began turning the big crank again, using all his body-weight. The telescope labored to the sky until it was pointed at the sun. “Good stallion. Now take a few days off. You built this monstrous bit of genius in a mere week, I don’t want you burning out on me.” She patted his head like a foal’s.

“Very well. Perhaps a nice swim in the river,” he wondered.

Chrysalis left him to his own devices, almost unable to keep herself from giggling like mad. She walked quickly and quietly down the spiraling stairs until she was outside. Not a cloud in the sky. So un-assuming. It was happening! It was happening right now! The end of the world!

=-=-=-=-=-=

Celestia landed with the sound of breaking glass. Her mouth was a neutral line, and her eyes aglow like white sunlight. The mild crater she’d made in the street made ponies flee in terror. Fearful citizens looked out their windows at the burning, swirling sight. Southern Princess Celestia? What was she doing here?

The white, smoldering alicorn left hissing trails of hoof-prints as she went. The ice would not bear her, the glass and crystal walkways could not withstand her. It was only the base stone beneath that would stand up to her liquid fury. The sun incarnate walked the streets. The storm drains gulped and burbled and moaned as snow, ice and crystal alike melted in her presence. Ponies cleared the streets quickly, slamming doors and shuttering windows. The intense heat! It was like an instant sunburn! One unlucky mare got a face full, coming out of a shop. Her grocery sack burst into flames and she shrieked, holding her face and staggering back inside. Her fur was stained red from the heat and she held her eyes, blinded.

The crystal guards ponies saw her coming, recognized her, and gave her a wide opening. A slight twitch of Celestia’s neck and a flick of her horn sent the draw-bridge of the palace screaming down on its chains. The portcullis lifted and then slammed itself almost out of its grooves. The spikes curled and squirmed away from the day princess as she passed beneath them.

A slight clench of her teeth flung the massive palace doors open. She could sense him inside. Sense him hiding someplace. How dare he make her relive every high and low of her life like that?! How dare he place her into such a state?! The eldest and wisest child of Faust was, for the first time in a long time, legitimately angry. Bumbling nobles? Pfft. The fight between Chrysalis and Nightie? A knot to be untied and laid neatly down. This? This was personal.

She’d buried the memory of that poor dying foal. Carefully forgotten the lusty breath of Mountain Blood’s desire on her neck when he’d mounted her. Turned her mind’s eye from the mass execution of the Luna-Tics rebellion, moon-worshipping mad-ponies that they were. Her stomach churned, tied, then churned again. Fresh wounds, old memories, fiery battles and more rushed over her like a tide of war and water. Times of famine, of prosperity and love and loss and joy and pain and sorrow. She wasn’t like him. She moved on with each generation, treasuring what she could and moving on from the pains that time brought with it. It was the only way to stay sane when one was immortal. Now he’d brought everything rushing back to her and all the old wounds had opened again.

She could sense him, her aura encompassed the castle to home in on the proper floor and room. The gardens? Neigh. Beneath. Above? Was he teleporting about? She stopped in a grand hall. The servants, nobles, guards, and everypony else ran for their lives.

Cadence suddenly emerged from a staircase. “Celestia?!” the Princess of Love gaped at her sister’s state. Wild, glowing and very, very angry. “What are you doing?!”

“Where is he?” Celestia whispered. A crack rushed away from her hoof, up a column, and blasted a pebble from the ceiling. Being crystal, it shattered when it struck the floor.

“Discord? He said you’d be angry when you were released, so he’s hiding,” Cadence said, lifting a hoof worriedly. “Please, not in my home. When we gods fight only the mortals get hurt! Please, think of my husband! My city state! Don’t start a fight here!” she begged.

“Come out, brother,” Celestia whispered under her breathe, peering about. Every shiny surface reflected her, and every dull one feared her. “I don’t want to drag anypony else into this. Your fight is with me, let it be only with me.” Her mane danced about, wriggling like flame.

“Not before you hear the truth,” A nearby houseplant said. Celestia turned and it imploded into a thousand pieces. Cadence gave a shout, shielding her eyes from the flying debris. “You blame me for the deaths of countless innocents, but I think you recall the era better than most…” said the closest chandileer. A toss of Celestia’s head sent it crashing to the ground were it exploded into glass and metal shards. Cadence took cover behind a column.

“Cadence!” Shining Armor stood at the top of the bannister.

“Shining! Stay back! It’s not safe!” Cadence shouted from where she slumped against a column.

Celestia’s eyes flicked over Shining Armor. Her glowing white eyes saw his soul. Mortal pony soul. Not Discord in disguise. She allowed him to gallop down the stairs and throw his arms around his beloved.

“Besides, big sister, you’re the only one of us that can travel at the speed of sunlight. Why step out in the open?” A column chuckled, snaggle-toothed and grinning. Celestia turned, lightning-fast, shattering it with her back hoof. Her golden horse-shoes whined and bent, so she kicked them off.

“Show yourself,” Celestia said acidly, eyes narrowing.

Discord’s lazy guffaw echoed about the palace, through the halls and hidey-holes that ponies were squeezed into. “No,” he sighed from a window-sill. Celestia stopped to breathe. She could bring down the palace and destroy everypony inside if she wasn’t careful. “Not before you listen.”

“Honeyed words and lies are your strength, brother,” the white alicorn turned in a slow circle. Cadence and Shining Armor slipped from column to column. “Don’t think I will give them any credit.”

“I killed a third of the planet’s population, in an era long past,” A snake-like figure slipped from the reflection of a window to the inside of a mirror. “But it wasn’t that that angered you, it was only Mountain Blood’s death that had you put me away.” Celestia stared about. She could not see him clearly. She was too upset. Too angry. Too frustrated and sad from reliving all her most painful memories so suddenly. “Your silence speaks volumes,” a tapestry showing the five children of Faust grumbled. Celestia turned and approached it. “But your lack of caution was what killed him, not I,” he hissed.

And so, he told her. Told her of the plague. How he’d purged it and suffered the consequences. How she’d carried it home to her dearest husband (and her other little ponies!). How Mountain Blood had mere days before he would have started bleeding from every orifice and become bed-ridden, never to rise again. Had he emptied the world of plague-carrier and innocent alike? Yes. With his Mother’s Eyes he’d seen them levitating out of their beds and out of windows, others flailing from their jobs or their love-making or their feasting or fighting. Just suddenly… fell, into the sky.

Celestia slowly sank to her haunches, her wings limpening out. Her fiery aura began to fade. “I memorized every face,” Discord stood, unhidden, behind her. “Every cutie mark. I remember all of them.” He touched her shoulders with his mis-matched hands. “It was not my fault your husband died. It was your ignorance of something medicine had not yet grasped. Our ignorance.” He squeezed the tender muscles. She hunched. A lump was rising in her throat. “I took a broad brush to eliminate the plague and ninety-nine percent of its carriers… and that was the price.” A great stream of tears was welling up.

“I wanted to hate you…” Celestia mewled softly, tears pitter-patting amongst her massive hooves. “I did hate you. Deep in my heart. I hated you, so much!” she turned and threw her arms about Discord, burying her face in his chest. She started sobbing.

Slowly, Discord’s elongated body slipped around her as a cushion of fur and feathers. The white alicorn wept, an era of tears and anger welling up out of centuries of repression. Ponies throughout the palace slowly poked their heads out of their hiding places. Servants slipped from their hidden passages. Guards, civilians behind them, slowly filtered into the room to see from the upper balconies and higher platforms of the grand room. Discord looked up and all around them, cupping the back of his sister’s head and resting his cheek atop it. “I missed you,” he whispered. “Just a little. I’m so sorry.” Painted as a genocidal villain for the rest of time, he did not care, but he did mean it.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Chrysalis drummed a hoof a few times on her throne. None of her drones had any idea what she was talking about. Catastrophic damage to the Crystal Empire? No-ling had heard any such thing, not from the border patrols anyway. And with the borders to Equestria closed, it wasn’t like they could go see.

She ventured to Sombra’s tower to check the telescope. Turning the crank as she’d seen Sombra do, she lined up all the numbers and took a look. The city state still stood. “The future is not set in stone,” she grumbled. “Mother must be teasing me,” she grumbled. “All the signs were there.” She paused by the river to think. The foretold half-breed had emerged. The white dot of light had fallen from the sky over the city of glass… and it had not been obliterated.

What had seemed like a shifting prophecy had taken another route entirely. She frowned, touching her chin and stirring the water with a hoof. Was it up to her, then, to destroy the Crystal Empire to make the prophecy come true? To turn the era of the world to one of changeling supremacy? It tantalized her. She would ask Sombra to rebuild his weather machine like Discord had said, and point it straight at Canterlot! She rose with a smile, turning to spot Sombra soaking himself in the shallows of the river.

Sombra sat up when her shadow cast itself over him. “My Queen!” he said, splashing upright and bowing. His nose went into the water and he snuffle-snorted. She laughed a bit, but let him gather his dignity. Though, the scarlet swimming trunks really didn’t help. “What is it? You need me again so soon?”

“Lord Sombra,” Chrysalis smiled with all her fangs. “Sorry to bother you again, but I’ve a new project for you.”

“Oh? Yes, of course. Name it.” he said, eager to please. The black stallion dribbled water in the hot, Badlands sun. Her eyes travelled him for a moment, and he shifted uncomfortably. Gorgeous black-furred thing. “Erm…”

The black goddess caught herself and coughed twice. “Ahem! I need…” A ball rolled up to her and stopped at her hooves. It was muddy, painted with happy designs and symbols. A group of larva rushed up to her, skitter-skreeing and dancing about. Kick the ball, Queen! Kick it! She smiled in her own bizarre, toothy way and gave it a little kick. It went sailing and they stampeded after it. She watched them go. She turned back to Sombra, opening her mouth to speak. A plain-looking brown stallion flashed across her mind’s eye.

“You’re too clever for that. You always have some other motif. Even full of your mother’s love you’ll just get greedy and lose everything you’ve ever--!”

She blinked twice and shook her head. She watched the larva play and run along the river, laughing and tackling each other in their merriment. Then she glanced about at the city that was rising up around her. Immortality. Well-Earned Prosperity. New young. A magical, mathematical genius at her right hoof.

“You’ll just get greedy and lose everything you’ve ever--!”

“Loved.” Chrysalis mumbled, staring at nothing. She felt very sober, all of a sudden. Like a great and endless greed had just been lifted from her heart. Why cling to it? There was no reason. Not anymore.

“Pardon?” Sombra asked a little awkwardly.

“Nevermind it. As you were, Lord Sombra.” She lit her horn and, rather comically, placed him on his back in the water. He didn’t fight her, only blinked a few times when a coconut with an umbrella popped into existence in his right hoof. Chrysalis left him there. The massive joke suddenly laid itself out before her. If Mother herself couldn’t see the future (free will of mortals being the deterring factor), how could she express a prophecy? There was no prophecy. There never had been. Merely… hints, at what sort of future there could have been. Enough to push the right ponies in the right directions. Well, herself anyway. She was glad she'd not shared it with anyling. “Elegant,” Chrysalis admitted, shaking her head with a wry smile.

End of Part 25

My Beloved, Bandaid

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 26: My Beloved, Bandaid

Bandaid looked at his royal apartment, the little stack of boxes and suite cases that had finally been assembled. He’d put his two weeks in after getting out of the hospital wing. He hadn’t told Nightie, either. And that was hard information to keep from the Princess, when the head nurse of the palace staff suddenly decided to step out.

It wasn’t anything personal. Well yes, yes it was. It was freaking dangerous around here. Sighing to himself and wondering where the movers were, he noted the time and took a few bits off the tip he’d intended them. Sitting in the kitchen, he opened the cooler where he’d packed all his food and fetched a glass-bottle soda. Spiffing it open with a flick of his hoof, he sat on the cooler with a sigh. Nightie was not going to be pleased and—!

There was a knock at the door. “Ah, finally,” he rose, going to the door to let the movers in. Instead, he found the Princess of the Night at his door. “Oops,” he said without thinking.

Nightmare looked past him because of her height. She looked startled. “Bandaid…?” she asked, wilting in the ears and posture. “Are you going someplace, my heart?”

“Er… you’d better come in,” the nurse finally admitted. He gestured and closed the door behind her. “Nightie I kind’a realized that I can’t stay here. Here at the palace, I mean,”

“Why not?!” she gasped, alarmed. “Are you not happy here,” she paused, then added. “With me?” she said more softly. “Have I done something to displease you?” the walked side by side to the couch.

“It’s not you, it’s everypony else,” Bandaid said, taking a long drink from his soda before setting it on the coffee table. “L-look, your brother broke my leg on a whim. You sister kidnapped me, three times no less, and has the ability to turn me into a berserker with no regard for life. You’re still acclimating to the modern era. And your mother,” he paused for effect and gestured, “Is god.” He sighed, rubbing his shoulder a bit. The healing spell had done fine, but the phantom pain was there in his mind. Discord so casually hurting him had been the final straw. “It’s really dangerous around here for me, y’know? I don’t like being the victim or the bargaining chip or the damsel in distress in all of your family’s power games.”

“Are... are you leaving me…?” Nightmare said very softly, her eyes getting big and wet.

He looked at her incredulously. “Oh no, no Nightie I’m not,” he smiled a little bitterly, upset that she was upset. He cupped the side of her face and she leaned into it a little. “I just think being here at the palace just isn’t for me right now.”

“Where will you go?” Nightmare said, a hoof already stroking his side in a needy way.

“Not far. Just… away from Canterlot,” he said guiltily. “There’s always need for nurses out there, it’s just a matter of where. And with credentials from the palace, and your recovery after coming back from the moon, well, I can go wherever I like!”

“I see,” she said, looking at the floor miserably. “What of… what of… us?” she said, putting a hoof on his chest. “I love you,” she said softly.

“I love you too,” his chest ached. “I just think this is for the better, for now. You can come see me whenever you like. We can still date, and see each other, and you can come stay at my new place whenever you like.”

“Whenever you settle in some foreign place,” Nightmare wilted, looking to one side. “What of our midnight trysts? I can never just come have you to myself anymore?”

“I know there’s no place on earth I could hide from you or any of the gods,” Bandaid said. “But the distance might put me out of sight, out of mind, y’know?” He pawed at his midnight necklace a few times. The black stone within glittered. “There’d be less opportunity for me to get used or abused if I just wasn’t around the palace here, right?”

Nightmare didn’t like it. Didn’t like it one bit. But she could not argue with his facts. She hung her head, trying not to let the tears slip out. “You would… still be mine?” she asked softly. “Just… further away?”

“Hey,” he whispered, leaning and kissing her softly. “As long as you want me, I’ll still be yours.” He stroked her mane a few times. “I love you, Nightie.” Rearing up a bit, he pressed her back and down over the couch. There he showed her just how much he loved her.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Bandaid got off the train in Ponyville, just one town over. Canterlot was a vague shape on the mountain horizon, but at least within sight. He rolled his eyes a bit, wondering if this would be enough. Discord could see him no matter where he went, but perhaps the others would leave him be. He hadn’t waited for the only male child of Faust to offer an apology, but from what Nightmare had told him over a few days there was now a peace between all five of the gods now. That was good to hear.

Gesturing for the movers, he led them through the streets. All he carried was his own medical bag and vest. Coming to a quaint, cream-colored little cottage he fumbled and unlocked the door. It was nice inside, clean and well-kept. His furniture had already arrived, and now there were merely boxes of possessions. While the movers went back and forth he explored for a bit. A nice little two bedroom, one bath sort of place. A kitchen, sitting room, and two closets. So large for a single pony to live in, but, it wasn’t his old economy apartment either. The royal palace apartments had spoiled him, he knew. Chuckling a little, he tipped the movers when they were done and stepped outside. A tiny little backyard with an ancient-looking tire swing, a wild and over-grown garden, and a mailbox. Though he was a stallion of barely thirty, he almost felt like he was retiring or something. Snorting and shaking his head, he decided to go exploring.

Leaving his new home, he turned down the street. Watching his hooves, he nearly ran into a massive red stallion carting barrels of apples. “Oh sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going,” he said, shrinking back at his size.

“Eyuup,” said the stranger mildly, politely stopping so Bandaid could go by first.

“I’m Bandaid, I just moved in, over there,” he gestured to the little cottage nestled among other cottages. The scarlet stallion swiveled his great head to have a look, then nodded some. Not much of a talker, was he. “Do you live around here?”

“Nope,” he nodded towards the end of the row. Beyond it among the hills was an apple orchard.

“Ah, I see,” Bandaid said, coughing a little awkwardly. “Well I won’t keep you,”

“Welcome t’town,” the stranger offered before lumbering along on his merry way.

“Yeah,” Bandaid said, looking around. It was so quiet. No rhythmic chank of armor. No constant quibble of nobles. No sweeping, echoing grand halls. He could hear birds. He could hear the waters of a river nearby. He smiled despite himself. “It’s so quiet…” he mumbled, looking around fondly.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Two Weeks Later…
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

“So basically what you’re saying is that you’re cashing in a bunch of favors, forgiving a few past transgressions,” Discord said in mild amusement. “And now asking another favor of big brother?” he smirked, leaning on the wall.

“Yes,” Nightmare was holding a scroll of pure spun gold. On it were the written signatures of the five children of Faust. Even Chrysalis had agreed, with almost no prodding at all. On it? A contract for the safety and non-molestation of a single mortal stallion. “Think of it as a thousand missed birthday presents, yes?” she said eagerly. She gave him her best pleading eyes.

Discord grumbled a bit, tilting his head at the drawings and designs she’d made. “It’s so simple though,” he complained.

“It has to be simple so it blends in with the environment,” Nightmare insisted.

Discord sighed, “Very well. I did break his leg, I suppose. And I do love my little sister,” he stuck his tongue out, then snapped his fingers. The two full-length mirrors leaning on the wall shimmered. “It’s done,” he confirmed. Sticking a hand in one, they saw his hand emerge out of the other.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Princess Nightmare Moon arrived to a gathering crowd of onlookers in Ponyville. She had to have her guards and chariot-pullers push them back here and there to make room. Grumbling and fishing about for her packages, she approached the new house of Bandaid. It was a plain, slumpy looking house with a straw roof and a cheery-looking painted picket fence. She chuckled at the clumsily painted cutie mark on the door and mailbox.

Taking a deep breath, the alicorn ducked her head so she wouldn’t ding the gutters and knocked. There was a pause, and she knocked again. Bandaid came to the door, and his face lit up as soon as he saw her. “Nightie!” he threw his arms around her, then they quickly stepped inside.

“Disperse the crowd,” she told her guards over her shoulder.

Bandaid saw all her packages and smiled a little lopsidedly. “You don’t hafta bribe me with gifts, Nightmare, I said I’m still yours didn’t I?”

Nightmare gave a big grin, putting down the gift-wrapped bathroom mirror and boxed golden contract. “I think you will like this, beloved. You’ll have to make exception.”

“I was just chopping fruit, wanna come help?” he offered, heading into the kitchen.

Nightmare stood in the living room, looking curiously about. So this was a modern, mortal pony dwelling? It didn’t seem so bad. She ducked a bit in the doorway, smiling and nodding as she did so.

Bandaid was making fruit salads and had a neat array of little tupperwares to make portions. “I’ve been having serious fruit-cravings lately, so I went to market. The market here is huge, and most of it is locally grown!” he went on and on about how Ponyville was quiet, peaceful and self-sufficient in its crops. Nightmare looked around the kitchen before slowly picking up a knife. She started carefully slicing apples. This was nice, she decided, smiling softly. Who could want for more than to spend such times with their companion?

“Hey, I… I wanted to thank you, by the way,” Bandaid said, without looking up at her. She looked across the counter at him. “The old you, I mean… the you that got back from the moon, would not have let me leave the palace so willingly.” He told her. “It means a lot that you would trust me to live out here and… y’know, still be yours. Not stray or anything.”

“I would suggest no such thing!” Nightmare put the knife down.

“You’re a goddess, Nightie,” Bandaid said, looking up at her seriously. “If you wanted, you could keep me all to yourself in that big castle of yours forever.” She made to speak, but he interrupted. “But you’ve gotten better, more mature even since the first day I met you. It means a lot that you understand my needs and put me before yourself.” He walked around the counter to kiss her.

“O-of course,” she said a little headily.

“I love you,” he said softly. “And if it works out between us, I mean…” he’d suddenly said too much. “I… I think I could see us together. More so than just dating like before.”

“Are you suggesting we wed?!” Nightmare gasped, serpentine pupils shrinking into lines.

“No, no! I-I, I mean-!” Bandaid blushed and tucked his head under hers. “I just mean… if it ever came to that, it seems like a… possibility, y’know?” he nuzzled her chest. Nightmare felt her eyes moisten, standing there in silence. She embraced him, tucking her stallion under her head. She sat on her haunches, pulling him harder to herself.

“Oh, my beloved,” she whispered slowly. He hugged her, stroking her back over and over. They made their way from the kitchen to the sitting room. A large dark purple pillow sat in front of the unlit hearth. Nightmare flicked it with magic and there was a roaring fire.

“I-I won’t pretend I’m good enough for a goddess, much less somepony that’ll live forever,” he said. “But, for what years I’ve got, I don’t mind being all yours.” He confessed, burying his face in her breast. Her great black wings settled around him in a wing hug. The darkness was soothing to him. They rested in front of the fire.

“My Bandaid,” she whispered softly, rather emotional now. “You will always be worthy of the affection, neigh, the love, of Princess Nightmare Moon.” They shared a tender kiss.

THE END

Author's Note

Have a matching Blog entry, if you like, with notes from the author:

http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/550432/affection-of-princess-nightmare-moon-completed-spoilers

90 Days, Bandaid!

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 1: 90 Days, Bandaid!

Nightmare Moon sat frowning on her throne. The time was precisely one in the morning, the start of the new day. Her sister Celestia was not due to take over royal duties until dawn, which was usually around five or six. Pondering over a book that was much older than it had the right to be, she looked up. “Scribe.” She said with a pensive look. A mare with a quill and paper on her flank snapped from her doze. “Make note, I am nullifying another outdated law.”

“Another one?” said Quick Quill, cocking her head. At her majesty’s angry look, she quickly whipped out quill and paper and stopped asking questions. She pushed her curtain-like mane out of her eyes with a sheepish smile. “I-I-I mean, of course your majesty! Which one are we getting rid of toda… er, tonight?” she paused, quill poised to do the night goddess’ bidding.

“According to this text, it is recommended that a pony who refuses tribute during the harvest season may, under the right circumstances, be sentenced to death by catapult.” Nightmare Moon said mildly. She snickered a little after saying that, though. She couldn’t help it. She quickly regained her composure, however, and went on. “While I find it hilarious to bind and launch such a simpering fool to his death, the death penalty has not been in effect in Equestria for the past three hundred and seventeen years.” The black alicorn turned the book over and showed it to her scribe. “Make note of this law’s binding number, and send a message to parliament to assure it is nullified.”

“Yes your majesty.” Quick Quill scribbled the long, complex number down and rolled the parchment up. She used magic to levitate it down the dais to a squire, and the young colt took off at a gallop, ever the eager messenger. “That makes thirty-three laws this week, you’re on a roll!”

“I am sure any budding law student will sing my praises.” Nightmare nodded in a dull way, reaching for another tome on the stack next to her. The poor night goddess was bored out of her skull. Appointments and audiences were rare for the Midnight Court, so she’d taken to slimming out the law books. In a nation as old as Equestria, there was some tidying to be done when it came to laws and regulations. Some simply didn’t apply anymore, some were obsolete, and others were simply too specific to mean anything after so long. Often times the black alicorn would flip through a random tome, read until she found something that no longer applied, and had it nullified. It was, paperwork-wise, about ten times harder to get rid of a law than it was to create one—but Nightmare had yet to see a pony with the stones firm enough to tell her no, she could not get rid of this or that if it displeased her.

“How about this one, your Majesty? It says that a stallion may beat his wife on the steps of the town hall— as long as he has her permission?” Quick Quill said it like a question, furrowing her brow over a book in her hooves. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

The bait was too perfect. The regal frown melted and the black mare hunched a bit on her throne. Luna, way up in the sky, rolled her proverbial eyes. Herrrrre we go. Nightmare’s jowls lifted, showing off the rows of fierce-looking teeth. Her honest smiles were, frankly, terrifying. “Some mares enjoy being spanked.” Nightmare said with a laugh. Quick Quill looked up, face turning scarlet. “In public as well, I would not deny such forward foreplay, my scribe.” She chuckled behind her hoof, and the sound rolled about the room. Then she finally gave in. “Muh-HAHAHAHAA!” she roared with scandalous laughter, throwing her head back.

A couple of the guards shivered, but more than one of him had a smirk on his face. Their new night time Princess was a strange one, very much Celestia’s opposite. She was not above lewd jokes, fine wines, participating in festivals, and eyeballing stallions that pleased her. A newspaper had called her the ‘Party Princess’ for a time, and she’d been interviewed by Play Stallion on the ‘Official Royal Word on What a Stallion Should be Doing for His Mare in the Bedroom.’ ((“If she doth not get hers, thou shalt not be getting any—and shame upon thy male bits for seven generations!” Stallions the country-over had scrambled for self-help books and conversed fiercely over improving their love lives after that.))

But, it was not all fun and games either. She was a brilliant mathematician. As such, she’d streamlined Equestria’s tax laws and regulations by 17% in only a few months, and then balanced the royal budget to such an extent that Celestia had handed royal money matters to her entirely. Nightmare Moon took her royal duties very seriously. She may have been out of touch with the modern culture, but there were things that didn’t change no matter the era. Things like money, wine, sex, starry skies and certain sorts of etiquette. While she’d only been back from the moon for perhaps nine months, she’d not sat idle and done nothing. She was busy-busy-busy as soon as she could get her hooves on a project. Partially to ease the burden from Celestia, partially to endear herself to the modern ponies around her, and partially— well, to get into Nurse Bandaid’s bed.

Nurse Bandaid had nursed her back to health, saved her from being changeling food, and had really shown her what was expected of her on a personal level. They’d been through much together, and the few months of calm had allowed them to become something like friends. By law she could not publically pursue him in the romantic sense because he was her medical hoofservant, but that didn’t keep her from counting the seconds until he wasn’t. That would not have stopped her centuries ago, but as a goddess of lust and a learning pony, she knew she would have to wait. Absence made the heart grow fonder, after all. The moment the three-month mark had been reached, he was all hers. She’d been released from medical attention 89 days ago, and she need merely wait one more day. She had contained her excitement by diving into tax laws and other boring things, but it didn’t keep the back of her head from tingling with excitement.

By the time the clock struck 2:30am, Nightmare was quite finished sorting out expired tax laws and eyeballing contracts on ancient parchment. “We declare this Midnight Court adjourned!” she stamped a hoof twice. “Rise tomorrow evening groomed and ready to serve thy nation again!” the black alicorn bade them, rising from her throne. “Quick Quill, with me.” She said in a softer voice. The mare followed eagerly, pen and parchment hovering in front of her as they went. “Send flowers to Lt. Steel Wing’s wife, her foal is due soon. Also, make certain that parliament strikes their tax meeting from tomorrow’s schedule, I have already done all the math for them.” They rounded the corner, heading towards the solar side of the palace and out of the lunar one. Though the throne room was in the middle of the castle, Nightmare considered most of it her sister’s territory still. “The griffon ambassador will be arriving in a few months, make sure the highest room in the tallest tower is set up for him to nest in properly.” She was going down a grocery list of things as they walked, and Quick Quill scratched down each one as they went. Nightmare liked her because she could write as fast as anypony could speak, and she never had to pause to wait for her to catch up.

“Anything else, Princess Nightmare?” Quick Quill asked eagerly. Her intelligent eyes flicked up at her goddess, quill pausing.

“That is all. You may leave us. Good morrow, my scribe.” Nightmare nodded regally. The mare bowed and dismissed herself, leaving Nightmare Moon alone with the pair of guards that usually followed her around these days. “Come, I make for my sister’s chambers.” She told them. They nodded silently, ever-frowning and quiet. Nightmare found them boring, compared to the twins. They’d eloped with their beloveds, though, so she bore them no grudges. It didn’t make their replacements any more interesting, though. Sigh.

=-----=-----=-----=-----=

Celestia awoke with soft, affectionate lips on her own. She purred quietly, turning on her side with a deep breath of waking. Nightmare lay in the bed next to her, smiling lovingly. “Mhh, Nightie.” The milky goddess whispered, slowly lifting her head. “What time—?”

“Still time to sleep. I could not resist thy lips, forgive me.” Nightmare Moon raised a great black wing, silently asking Luna to hide behind some clouds. She pressed her sister’s head gently back to her pillows. The moon bashfully obeyed, not wanting to wake the sun goddess with bright moonlight. The black alicorn tucked her sister’s head under her wing, enveloping her in warm darkness. “Oh Tia…” she tucked her head like a swan’s under her wing, resting her chin atop Celestia’s head.

Celestia murred quietly, her hooves extending until the pair of them were entangled to share body heat. The dawn was not for a few more hours. She could slip into quiet dreams of cake and handsome stallions for a short time longer. Her lashes fluttered shut after a moment, and she curled into the warmth instinctively. Nightmare didn’t often visit her bed, but it was always a warm and loving experience. A goddess of the night knew precisely how to spur on the deepest and most restful sleep.

Humming a lullaby older than written history, Nightmare Moon removed her helm, regalia and horse shoes to lay naked with her sibling. Creatures as ancient as they did not know the embarrassment of nudity, sibling affection, or even sharing a bed with one’s sister. It was a purer, un-bashful love that let them share each other like two perfectly intertwined swans. Princess Nightmare said no more, heaving a deep sigh and settling to nap with Celestia until she had to raise the sun in a few more hours. Their private time was precious, warm, and quiet. They pressed together. Though mere months had passed since Nightmare Moon’s return, it was a drop in the bucket compared to the centuries they’d spent apart. They would make it up to each other, one night at a time.

=-----=-----=-----=-----=

The Changeling hive in the southern badlands was a frenzy of activity as usual. Being bug-like in nature, they didn’t often require sleep. They could sleep, but no-ling would sleep at a time like this. The hive mother was in pain, and they could all feel it. They shared the link with her, and the despairing, itching agony had been shared with them for over three months now. The more changelings that shared it, the less burden it was on the hive mother though, so they all bore a small bit of it to aid her.

Queen Chrysalis had gone to Equestria as soon as she’d heard that Nightmare Moon had returned, and had returned a broken mess with no carapace! A naked changeling was the most fleshy, vulnerable thing imaginable. So, of course, she’d been rushed to healing pods, tenderly cleaned day in and day out, left to rest, given all the best food they could scavange. But no, the poor hive queen was not healing properly. The single buck of mighty Celestia’s hooves had made her an invalid.
Chrysalis could not even walk or feed herself with nothing holding the shape of her body firmly. It was misery and hell, rasping out orders and demands as she went. Her hive did her bidding, but she could not stand the pity in her eyes. They would not bring the larva to see her as she was, and her servants would barely meet her eyes. Her pale, spaghetti-like muscle structure quivered whenever she tried to stand— which she barely could. This would not do.

One day, while laying miserably in her mossy bed, she felt it. One of the many hive-watchers felt the quiver of oncoming rain. A rare thunderstorm was about to pass over the hive. Her face lit up. “S-servant!” she rasped. The drone came close and bowed. “Ah, good there you are.” She said blearily. “Chitin-oh, isn’t it?” he nodded, beaming that she knew his name. In a family of four or five million, that was a rare honor. “Get five or six strong changelings, and take my litter outside.”

“O-outside?” he buzzed in surprise, wings lifting him into the air for a moment. Her cocked his head with worry for her. “But hive-mother! The rain will get in your wings and make them sticky!”

“I don’t need the rain, I need the lightning. Do as I say.” She said a little less gently, giving him a mother’s angry look. He wilted a little, but then obeyed. She loved her children, all five million of them, very much—but she did wish they’d stop questioning her every five seconds. Perhaps they’d lost a bit of faith in her, after she’d come home empty-hooved of love? She’d gotten some from a normal, mortal stallion, but she’d promised them alicorn love upon her return from Equestria. The hive had been disappointed, diluting what she’d brought home into normal eating loam and such— but it was like being given tofu after somepony had promised steak. It just wasn’t the same. Chrysalis felt their disappointment, and felt very guilty for it. She sighed, reclining upward a bit when the six changelings appeared to take her outside.

When they emerged from an exit tunnel, she directed them to a nice high hill. The rocky terrain of the badlands was jagged and desert-like, but changelings could fly so it hardly mattered. They set her litter down and helped her wobble to her hooves. “Your majesty?” one of them asked worriedly as she neared the crest of the hill. She wasn’t going to jump off was she?! No… no she’d stopped. She watched the thunderhead approach, listened to its threatening growls and roars. “What should we do? It will rain soon!” the drone begged her to come back inside where it was safe and not wet.

“Retreat to the tunnel entrance. Seal the others from the rain, as per normal.” Chrysalis rasped, coughing a bit. She almost stumbled in her weakness. They rushed forward to steady her, but she snarled when they got too close. “Keep the hive safe until I get done here. Obey me.” She gave a slight push with her mind, and they scrambled to do as she said.

When Chrysalis was at last alone, she turned her attention to the sky. The big black cloud was huge, scary and pregnant with rain and lightning. Beautiful. With no carapace to steady her body, she shivered in the rush of cold air it brought with it. The southern badlands didn’t often get rain, but when it did rain it REALLY rained. This violent storm had yet to break, but the purring rumble of thunder was promising.

Her carapace had not grown back properly, even months after Celestia’s assault. So thoroughly had she been stripped of her exoskeleton, that it had no starting point to grow back from! Her body wasn’t sure what to do or where to begin. At least, that’s what she surmised. She was open to infection, stabbing wounds, and all sorts of other parasites. Only the love and devotion of the hive itself had kept her from dying outright, and that was after three days of them trying to figure out how to chew through the body cast she’d arrived home in.

The storm rumbled again, and Chrysalis could feel the static electricity rising in the air. Her cheeks, eyes, and hair tingled. She looked to either side of her. The spiny, jutting rocks would have to do. Propping herself on both spike-like rocks, she passed their tips through the holes in her hooves to hold her body weight. It was painful. She felt crucified for a moment, then she remembered why she was there. Her horn sputtered, crackled, and then went out. Huffing in frustration she hunched, clenching her teeth until her cheeks vibrated. The iron in the hill of rock under her would have to do. Making sure she was at the absolutely apex, she reached into the heavens with all her might. Her body refused to repair itself on its own? She would need a jolt to get started, then. Heaving herself upright, she threw her head back as it began to pour down rain suddenly. She tucked her instantly ruined wings with a growl, glaring up into the wind and rain.

She shuddered at the cold. Sheet rain began to hammer down on her. It was crisp, like a white winter’s day. It made her more awake, more acute in the senses and more alive. Arching her long back like a bow, she roared her challenge into the heavens! Crackle-bo-o-o-o-om! CRK-booooooom! Lightning arched down from on high, blasting a nearby cactus into oblivion. Another, on the nearby hill, exploding a sharp boulder. Chrysalis pulled at it with all her might, trying to draw it to herself. There was concussive thunder and dust rushed away from her in a ring. She vanished in the violent explosion of dirt and dust.

A bolt of white light arced down from on high. Sand blasted itself into glass. The drones in the tunnel entrance gaped in horror until suddenly a figure emerged, pushing aside the haze of dust with her will alone. She pulled at it harder, tried to will it to herself. She could absorb it, if she could just get it to HIT her! She would force her body to take it, and regrow itself!
For almost an hour, Chrysalis suicidally tried to strike herself with lightning. She roared as her wet mane flapped like a sagging banner in the high winds. Her wings would be useless for days. Her fleshy, soft body dripped with cold and she shivered. She just… she just couldn’t do it! Before long, the storm’s fury was spent and it had wandered further south towards the jagged sea of rock and sand. She sighed, hanging her head. She rolled her neck back and forth while her hivelings rushed back and forth with little towels. Throwing her head back with a frustrated groan, she walked down the tunnel and into one of the domed rooms. Drones leapt from their resting places, seizing her front hooves and gliding her to the base of the massive, column-shaped room.

Queen Chrysalis seized a mushroom and crushed it in her magical aura, casting the spores aside. They glittered like fireflies, swirling about. It tornado’d around her, lighting the room. The hive pulsed happily at the mere sight of her, and they poured into the cavernous room like so many zerglings in a rush. The floor was soon covered, then the walls, then the ceiling too. Carpets of happy changelings rushed back and forth over each other as their queen made her public appearance. She looked… well, to be honest she looked terrible, but she was still standing so that was what counted to them. All hail the Queen!

Coiling up a little reserve of strength, she thrust herself into the air like Celestia at the summer sun celebration. Larva rushed back and forth, squealing happily. Quiet pulses of neon green magic exploded from the hive mother. Crystals perched around the room caught it and lit up like Las Pegasus. Brilliant lights danced back and forth as thousands of butts planted themselves and feelers extended. The queen loved her hive very much, despite all the violence and drama in their lives. She could not feed herself or feed on the love of a lesser changeling, but she could surely share her own love with her subjects. Now, she was sharing it with everyling! She fed them, ohhhhh Faust she fed them. They squealed happily, and the love she gave reciprocated back and forth and ‘round and ‘round. It was a feast!

There was wild laughter and dancing about her as she rotated in midair. The rapid pulse of magic and love from her body was like a heartbeat, and they ate up every bit of it. Eggs in the far reaches of the hive began to hatch. Working drones began to tunnel like crazy. Behemoths roared and flailed wildly, stretching their great muscles and dozens of legs.

Chrysalis landed at last with vulnerable expression, wilting down and winded. She gave the hive her best half-smile. Drones rushed around her to help her away from the feeding frenzy. That was the best she could do for now. If not from lightning, if not from magic, what could she do to restore herself? She wasn’t sure anymore. Waiting for the lightning storm had taken months.

“My Queen, here, rest yourself.” Said a nameless drone sympathetically, easing her onto a giant, cushy mushroom in one of the side caverns. Turning, he lit a series of jutting crystals with his horn and fluffed her pillow. She watched him with disinterest, until he looked up at her again. “I ah… I had one of the workers look way back in our warehouses for anything that might help.” He turned, producing a tiny capsule from under a wing.

Chrysalis stared at it. It was dark purple, almost black. It looked like a pill. It was hard, but felt sticky like amber. “Is this…?!” she stared with widened eyes. She was holding a chunk of alicorn love. Well, love she’d received and then let her body convert into an edible substance. If a changeling queen gorged herself, she could make royal ‘jelly’, to store some of the love for later. But alicorn love, ohh! Such a delicacy! Such a prize! Such a feast! Even the tiniest little droplet could keep a drone going for decades! “Have you been holding out on me?!” she demanded angrily. She grabbed him by the neck with her magic, wringing him about like a ragdoll.

“N-no! No of course not, my Queen! We just found it!” he pleaded and gagged until she dropped him. His wings fluttered back and forth until they could fold themselves correctly. “I think maybe it was hidden for emergencies or something. Royal jelly doesn’t just go missing, after all.” He lay himself on his belly, stretching out his neck in case she decided to squish him in her anger. He was only a drone after all, and the Hive Queen could do that if she wanted.

Chrysalis popped the sticky rock in her mouth, gulping it animatedly. Grunting a bit when it struck her belly, she shuddered. The hunger pangs subsided. Her joints stopped aching. She felt feast-exhaustion hitting her, like she’d eaten too much. Just that little pebble, ugh! Her belly felt swollen. She sagged a bit. She purred audibly, and stroked the drone’s head. “That’s niiiiice…” she sighed out. “Princess Nightmare Moon’s love, ooo…” she closed her eyes and licked her lips a few times in case she missed any. “What I wouldn’t give for more immortal love, Mother forgive me…” she murred, tilting her head back. “Nightmare was always the easiest to trick, but no longer I’d imagine. Cadance is married and has a more-than-watchful husband…” she mused trailing off for a time. “Discord is a statue… which is for the best.” She snickered a little. “That just leaves Cellie.” Reached into a hidden flap in her mushroom-bed, she pulled parchment and quill. “Dear Princess Celestia…” she smirked, her fangs out as she wrote to her sister. She was only halfway through composing her letter when she began to itch like mad. Stopping, she scratched herself wildly, gritting her teeth. Re-growing her carapace was going to itch for ages, she was going to miss quite a bit of sleep in the next few days.

End of Part 1

Hearts and Hooves Day, Bandaid!

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 5: Hearts and Hooves Day, Bandaid!

Princess Celestia sighed aloud, stretched out on her giant fluff pillow. She peered outside at Canterlot, beyond her balcony. There were streamers of white, pink, and red between every open space in the city. Hearts had been pasted up in windows. Flower shops had quadrupled their prices. Love confessions and consumations were abound. It was Hearts and Hooves Day. The Day Princess knew she had to stay in her room, though. It was the law.

Each of the five children of Faust had a holiday. Princess Celestia had the Summer Sun Celebration. Princess Nightmare Moon had Nightmare Night. Discord had April Fool’s Day. Chrysalis had the Day of the Dead. Princess Cadance, of course, had Hearts and Hooves Day. But, there was a rule to all this celebration. If it was not your holiday, you were to stay out of sight. Celestia did not celebrate Nightmare Night, Chrysalis did not swoon for Hearts and Hooves Day, Nightmare Moon most certainly did not bask in the light of the summer sun celebration, and so on. Each of those respective holidays were to be about one of the gods (or pseudo-gods, in Chrsyalis’ case), and the others had to hide themselves out of respect. So, just for that day, Princess Cadance was the only Princess in all of Equestria.

Celestia decided that the best thing to do was just to spend the day in her room, out of sight. She would no doubt find a small mountain of Hearts and Hooves Day mail the next day, outside her room, but for now she wasn’t allowed to even stick her head out. It was Cadance’s day, after all, and she would respect it as such. She sighed once more, tilting her head when she heard approaching hoofsteps.

“We’re here by her majesty’s summons.” said a smooth-as-silk male voice. Celestia’s smile grew as she heard papers being given to her guards. “I assume everything is in order?” The voice positively oozed smooth-jazz background music, so much so that Celestia shifted her back legs a bit. You know, to be more comfortable back there. The white alicorn heard the guards grunt their admission, and the double doors swung gently inward.

Three stallions entered the room. A milky-white Pegasus with the eyes of a doe, a studly-looking earth pony with stubble on his chin, and last but not least a unicorn with shorn fetlocks and a flushed expression of shyness on his face. Together, they made up Celestia’s private harem. She only summoned them on the four holidays that were not her own, but they always knew to come and keep her company.

“Ah, I’m glad you could all come.” Celestia smiled when all three bowed and shut the door behind him. “You brought something new this time, I hope?” the white alicorn leaned to see their saddlebags.

“Of course, Princess.” said the doe-eyed Pegasus. Turning and flipping open his bag, he pulled a thin chapter book from it. “I found The Boxcar Fillies this time around, I thought you might like something adventurous.” He smiled. Celestia smiled in delight, going to lay in front of her hearth and relax. The earth pony and unicorn settled on either side of her, and she lowered her head to a resting pillow. While the Pegasus read to her in a quiet, silky voice, the other two stallions massaged her and brushed her mane. It was kind of cute, the three stallions thought, that one of Celestia’s secret little desires was to be groomed and read aloud to.

=-----=-----=-----=-----=

Nightmare Moon grumbled, pacing impatiently back and forth in her high-ceiling’d room. She’d forgot all about Hearts and Hooves Day. She’d made plans to present Bandaid with her gift, but she couldn’t go out today at all. And of course she would be one of the four ponies in all of creation that could not go out and give a gift on the day devoted to love and affection.

Seizing a waiting wine glass, she downed it easily before returning to her massive mahogany desk. Her new night sky was almost done, after months of careful work and revising. The huge strings of numbers and angles and equations would paint a sky so beautiful mortal ponies would weep! Sighing and setting the empty glass down next to herself, she rested her chin in her hoof. She counted the ceiling beams for the tenth time (still thirteen), then tapped her hoof for a while. She couldn’t help it, she was fidgety being confined like this. She couldn’t concentrate on her work.

Reaching into a drawer, she pulled out what looked like a wedding ring box. Flipping it open, she stared at the little plastic figurine inside. Silverstreak the Slayer would surely please Bandaid very much, if Nightmare could ever get her hooves on him again! Giving a gift the day after Hearts and Hooves Day seemed sort of rude, and having it delivered wasn’t good enough for the night time princess. She wanted to give it to him herself. Leaning, she set the little box on her desk and stared at it. Sulking a little over the disasterous ‘first date’ they’d had, she tried to think of something better. Clearly extravagant dinners, royal theatre boxes and the like were a bit much for the poor thing. Starting smaller would have to be key. The little plastic mare was a good start, but what else? Hmm…

There was a knock at her door. Nightmare stood, frowning. Who would come to bother her on such a day? “Enter!” she said, grouchily reaching for the throwing knife she kept strapped on the underside of her desk. She wouldn’t aim for the head, just to the left of it to scare whoever it was off.

Bandaid stuck his head meekly in, smiling in his coy and coltish way. Nightmare’s heart lifted, soaring high into the black heavens of the night! He’d come to visit her! “Heya.” He said lamely, tucking his ears when a guard snapped the door shut behind him. “I remembered a little while ago that only Princess Cadance gets to run things today, s-so I thought I would drop in.”

“Joyous day!” Nightmare said, stepping around the desk with the knife in her hoof. He jolted to a halt, looking frightened. “Uh? Oops.” She mumbled, looking down at it. With an off-hoofed toss, she launched the eight-inch blade into the ceiling. The stone split and it stayed there. “Forgive me, I was just… fidgeting most of the day.” She swept forward to embrace him. He smiled a little shakily, but hugged her back.

“Er, these are for you.” Bandaid said, fishing into his saddlebag. He gave her a wrapped plant, encased in a little plastic dome. Nightshade! It was a nightshade plant. The blossoms were quite poisonous, but black and purple as the mare herself. Nightmare chuckled, delighted. Turning, she set it on her desk to admire them. Though she could never touch them, they were certainly lovely. “I thought you might like that.” He brightened when he saw her expression.

A powerful urge to kiss him boiled up inside Nightmare, and she leaned aggressively as her wings opened in a powerful display. He eeped a little shyly, and she ended up pecking his cheek instead. Catching herself quickly, she backed up and turned aroun. “I acquired something for thee as well, I am glad thou came!” she turned and plucked the little box from her desk. Turning around, she knelt down to give it to him.

Bandaid’s eyes got big and soft. “Ohhhh Nightmare…” he whispered, staring at the little plastic figurine. “Th-that’s… that’s so nice!” he said in an awed voice. His eyes lidded like he might cry, and he stared at it like a pony of the cloth might stare at a holy relic. He reached out as though to touch it, but couldn’t even bring himself to do that. “She’s so pretty!” he whispered, his muzzle pressing up against the little box. “How did you know?”

“Oh-well-I…” Nightmare Moon fished for an answer. “I saw it and uh… picked the right one, I suppose!” she liiiiiiied. She lied like a snake. While embracing him, she made a mild gesture with her magic. Her draconic eyes betrayed mischief as the stealthiest guards the palace had to offer slipped into the room behind the brown stallion.

“That’s really nice of you.” Bandaid leaned, pressing the gift between them and nuzzling her. Tucking his head under her chin because she was so much taller, Bandaid gave a pleasant little murr of happiness. “I was sure you might buy a monster cake, or have me kidnapped and brought to your bed, or something silly like that…” he chuckled merrily.
Nightmare’s eyes widened. The guards that had snuck into the room with ribbon-rope froze. They three of them exchanged looks. “W-well that would be very silly, would it not?” she said, holding him in place while they retreated.

“I know, I know, you’re better than that. You’ve matured a little, I think.” Bandaid clucked, nodding. “I know things were a little rocky at first, but I thought maybe… maybe we could give things another try.” The brown stallion said in a coltish sort of way. Panicking and clinging to Bandaid, Nightmare made a harsh gesture with her head. The trio of night guards carefully wheeled away the heart-shaped bed that had been hidden around the corner from her majesty’s room. The hug the goddess and the stallion shared grew to awkward length as a cello player was snuck past, along with a rack of mare’s lingerie and a bottle of expensive wine. “It means a lot to me that you didn’t try to overdo it.” Bandaid said, smiling affectionately.

“Right, eheheh…” Nightmare breathed a sigh of relief when all the evidence had been vanished away. Plucking the little figurine from its box, she gave it to him. He balanced it on his muzzle, smiling grandly. Putting it on the desk next to them, Bandaid turned and leaned up a bit. She was too tall! He looked vulnerable, so she quickly bent her knees to make herself look shorter. Leaning, the awkward stallion kissed her cheek.

“Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, sister.” Bandaid said, eyes flickering green for a split-second.

“…wat.”

=-----=-----=-----=-----=

Nurse Bandaid punched out from his afternoon shift, wondering if he should visit Princess Nightmare Moon. Their first date had been, well, a bit rocky. Maybe that didn’t count and he should give her another chance? He knew there was a loveable mare in there somewhere. Yes. Yes, sure why not? She could be a very good pony when she tried. One more date, that would help him decide if he could maybe be her ‘royal coltfriend.’ He chuckled a little, shaking his head. Royal coltfriend! It sounded silly, hahaha!

Turning, he bent to get his saddlebag and medical pack. Sliding it onto himself and popping open his personal bag, he eyed the tiny box of chocolates. Well, it wasn’t much, but it wasn’t like there was anything he could get for Princess Nightmare she couldn’t get for herself. A box of nine chocolates was more about the gesture than anything, right? He didn’t know. He’d never had a marefriend before. Mares liked chocolates and flowers, right? Ah well, he’d see how it went over.

Walking down the massive corridor, Bandaid bowed to Court Vizier Twilight Sparkle as she cantered past. My, wasn’t she in a merry mood? She nodded in acknowledgement to him as she went by, a pink rose tied in her tail. My my. She had a date, then. White roses on a mare’s tail meant a she was single, pink meant dating, and red meant wedded on Hearts and Hooves Day. Good for her. When Celestia’s adopted daughter had turned the corner, he straightened and turned to look out an extravagant window. The day was certainly a perfect one for the festival of love. The sky was blue. The birds were singing—

The tallest tower of the palace exploded on one side, sending an avalanche of stone and glass down the mountainside! “Ah, Nightmare…” he face-hoofed. Suddenly a giant black pony fell out of the sky, skidding upon the ground and bumping into him. Queen Chrysalis! Bandaid froze like a deer in headlights for several long seconds. She turned her head to look at him, then grinned in recognition. Her horn ignited as her black carapace began to blush brown. “No you don’t!” Bandaid tackled her with all his foalish might. They tumbled ass-over-tea-kettle until he landed, straddled, over her. “Not this time!” The meek stallion’s inner, hidden temper snapped. His earth pony strength coiled and he brought his hooves down on her.
Chrysalis yelped when her head bounced off the marble floor while he laid into her. Wiggling back and forth furiously, she found her wings pinned. He was heavy for such a weak, mortal thing! Snarling, she bit his ankle. He yapped like a mare, then head-butted her fiercely. Chryalis shrieked, her eyes in swirls while they struggled back and forth. She tried to telekinesis him away, but with all his blows she couldn’t get the concentration to use magic.

Nightmare Moon exploded into the hallowed hall, crashing through a window. Landing with all her god-like authority, she bared her fangs with fiery eyes as glass rained around her. Her two royal guards were hot on her hooves, landing on either side of her and ready for battle. “HOW DAREST THOU SHOW THY FACE IN THE VISAGE OF--- my… love?” She’d stumbled onto the scene of the real Bandaid beating the hell out of Chrysalis.

“And this! And this! And this!” There was something about the meek stallion’s rage that made him shake and quiver with fear. It was as though the terror of his nightmares had driven him to madness, and now all he could do was try to beat her down. Nightmare stared open-mouthed, as did her two guards. She slowly sat down on her haunches. While Bandaid swore and flailed and did his very best to bludgeon Chrysalis to death with his bare hooves, the night time goddess could only gape at him. This was the same fury she’d seen on Nightmare Night. That weird, hidden little temper of his. “And-this-and-this-and-this-and-this!” he was flailing wildly, foaming at the mouth and red in the face. His muscles were already overclocked and he wasn’t breathing properly. “Huwhhh! Hwahh! Huhhfff! Huff! Hff! HFF!” like an over-weighted beast of burden Bandaid began to slow down.

A desperate ache rose in Nightmare’s wings. *POMPH*! One of her guards was not fast enough, and was literally knocked down by the royal wingboner. This was so hot. She couldn’t help it. To see Bandaid unhinged like that, beating Chrsyalis no less, it was arousing.

A couple of white feathers floated by Nightmare’s vision, and she turned her head. In a shower of golden sparks, fresh from teleporting, stood Princess Celestia. She was frowning severely. Lighting her horn, she lifted the fierce nurse from atop the Changeling Queen. Floating him through the air as he began to burn out from his rage mode, she set him down in front of Nightmare Moon. “Take him.” Celestia said gently. Nightmare slung a long, slender leg about Bandaid’s shoulder as he flopped back onto his haunches. He was sweaty, hot, and exhausted. The poor thing looked woozy from his onslaught. The white alicorn cleared her throat a little. “From your letter, Chrysalis, I was hoping you would come after Hearts and Hooves Day. You do know that Cadance could have all three of us arrested for showing our faces in public, yes?” The sun Princess said with disapproval. “I didn’t think you would go to torment Nightmare some more, either.”
“It was just a bit of fun.” Chrysalis sat up, grinning widely. She was nursing a mild cut on her lip and nothing else. Strong though Bandaid was as an earth pony, he could not harm the Changeling Queen in her true form. “I’m sorry.” She tittered, not at all sorry. Celestia lifted her powerful wings in a rather aggressive gesture. Nightmare flinched, lowering both her wings to shield Bandaid. If a solar wind suddenly rushed through the hallway, it was turn every living thing out in the open to cinders.

“Your prank is not appreciated.” Celestia said. “If you want to visit us, you will follow the rules of our home. That means not playing such tricks on my sister.” The white alicorn came close as Chrysalis found her hooves again. Though they were the same height, the sun princess more than towered over the changeling. “You’re my guest, I’ve already told Nightmare that you’ll stay away from her. You’ll stay with me, or not stay at all.” She laid down the law. Their long horns cross briefly, an audible crackle of magic passing between them. Celestia was by far the superior, but it didn’t keep Chrysalis from poking the tiger to see how fierce it could be.

“I appreciate you receiving me.” Chrysalis said, standing regal at last. “You know it is not my kind’s way to walk through the front gate. I couldn’t resist!” she chuckled a little. “But very well, I won’t leave your sight the whole time I am here.” she promised.

=-----=-----=-----=-----=

Bandaid felt a velvety warmth pressed around him. His eyes fluttered and he turned, his body aching and muscles screaming at him. How could he bear to have done that? He was an introverted healer, not a fighter. He’d just… just freaked out suddenly, and his body couldn’t keep up. Blushing miserably, he sat up on his belly a little to study his surroundings.

He was in Nightmare’s bed, he’d recognize those purple velvet sheets anywhere. Bandaid opened his mouth to complain at a big lump next to him, but found it to be pillows and not the alicorn herself. Leaning, he pushed the curtain of the bed aside, fearing what he might see. The tower had been blown open on one side, right? But no. No, he peered out and found the room perfectly intact. “Nuhh?” he called loudly as his voice would allow. Apparently screaming had destroyed his voice as well, he was usually so soft-spoken. He tried again, a bit louder that time. “Nuhhh?” He couldn’t call out to the Princess. Rubbing his throat sorely, he sagged.

The sound of hoof-steps turned his head. Princess Nightmare had heard him stirring from the couch. She looked exhausted. She must’ve fixed the tower by magic. Even for an alicorn, that must’ve been very taxing. It didn’t take Bandaid long to surmise that she’d given him the bed and curled up on the couch herself. “Bandaid.” She whispered, smiling a little. He looked panicked, and she lifted a hoof. “Relax, my sister has Chrysalis.” Coming to the bedside, she touched his chest and bobbed her head. He gurgled a little, but couldn’t speak. He’d really overdone it. There was a long, rather tender silence as she knelt next to the bed. “That was very stupid. And very brave. I saw thou fight Chrysalis by thy lonesome.” She said, cocking her head in a scolding way. He looked to one side silently, red in the cheeks. Leaning to the bedside table, she got him a glass of water from the waiting pitcher. He drank eagerly, gasping a little while he gulped. She set the glass aside when he was done.

“My saddlebag?” he asked. She leaned to one side and gave it to him. Inside was a smooshed little box of seven chocolates (it used to be nine, but two were missing now). He smiled a little miserably, giving it to her. “H-happy Hearts and Hooves Day.” He mumbled, turning his ears back.

Nightmare opened it and peered inside. Chuckling a little, she turned her head and pointed her horn. It lit up with gentle magicks. Smiling in a rather sideway fashion, she deposited a little pile of plastic pieces onto his bed. She’d wanted to repair it like she had the tower, but it was so small, the paints had melted over themselves and she couldn’t quite remember exactly what it had looked like when it was new. “Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, dear Bandaid.” She whispered, hanging her head a little and smiling at him.

The stallion puzzled over what his gift was supposed to be, but soon gave up and put the plastic bits on the bedside table. He reached for her, smiling warmly. The alicorn grinned with all her terrifying fangs and leaned into him. They embraced quietly. Nightmare purred.

End of Part 5

Rest and Recovery, Bandaid!

The Affection of Princess Nightmare Moon
Part 17: Rest and Recovery, Bandaid!

“Hold him down!”
“AUGH! He bit me!”
“Keep your hooves and ankles away from his face!”
“Wheel him in! Over here, over here!”
“The room is ready, we’ve got it ready!”
“Tie the straps tighter! His strength is in his fury!”
“I’m bleeding!”
“I want those sedatives in here NOW!”
“I’LL BUCKING KILL EVERY SINGLE FAUST DAMN ONE OF YOU!”
“He’s bending the entire bedframe! Hold him, Faust damn it!”
“Don’t talk about my mother that way!”
“BUCK YOUR MOTHER IN HER TIGHT LITTLE WHITE FLANK-HOLE YOU POSSESSIVE INK BLOT!”
“Send for my male nurses! I want muscle in this room!”
“Make a path!”
“We’re moving him to the operating bed! One! Two! THREE!”
“Get the heavy straps! The leather ones! No the other leather ones!”
“Two nurses there! And two nurses there!”
“Ready?!”
“Ready!”
“CLEAR!”
“Mmmmrphhh! DON’T KISS ME YOU WHORE!”
“It didn’t work! Again!”
“Ready?”
“Ready!”
"CLEAR!”
“YOU PUT YOUR FILTHY COCK-SUCKING LIPS ON ME AGAIN AND I’LL TEAR OFF YOUR TEAT NIPPLES ONE AT A BUCKING TI---MRRMMPH-RRRRHM!!!” Bandaid flailed against his bonds, the four nurses, and Nightmare Moon’s lips. After two, three, four love-filled kisses he seemed to have worn himself out. His eyes softened, and he went slack. There was silence and heavy breathing all around. His eyes slid from nurse to nurse, from the doctor to Nightmare Moon. With her wings aloft she dominated his vision, leaning over him with concern. The male nurses braced in case they had to hold him for another round or two. “N…. Nightie?” he mewled softly, looking around in a haze. Everypony in the room let out a sigh of relief. Fury unbound, indeed! It had taken a whole team to get him in there for the procedure!

“Sedatives set,” A nurse appeared with a syringe.

“Go ahead,” Doctor Heart Starter nodded.

“Owch!” Bandaid flinched a little. He saw her pull the needle from his fur. “Nightie I’m scared, what happee…uhhhrm-m-m-m….” his eyes slowly rolled into his head and he flumped back into the pillows. Everypony leaned at him, sweat dripping from their brows. Love-drained ponies were certainly not something they’d been trained for… but they’d done it! They leaned on each other, smiling wearily at a job well done. Two male nurses exchanged a hoof-bump.

Nightmare leaned forth for a softer kiss to Bandaid’s forehead. She stroked his brow a few times, then sighed in relief as well. “Tell no pony of this,” she said softly. “And have him moved to my chambers in the Obsidian Hall. I will send for any further supplies.” the black alicorn said.

“Yes your Majesty,” the head doctor and all the staff present bowed.

=-=-=-=-=

Bandaid awoke to black silken sheets, a cover of dark feathers, and a soft muzzle resting over his side. Great arms encircled him, and a hypnotic tail of stars soothed his aching eyes. “N-Nightie…?” he husked softly. Her head lifted and she nuzzled him a few times. “Th-thirsty…” he husked. Water levitated from the darkness to him. He drank from a shallow bowl, greedy for the cooling liquid. Then he lay his head down again.

=-=-=-=-=

Bandaid awoke to find one of the curtains of the bed pushed back. Nightmare sat at her desk, quietly writing and sending scrolls. He husked softly, a sort of whining sound, trying to lift his head. She looked over at him, concern etching her features. She hadn’t been sleeping. She brought his shallow bowl, this time with vitamin juice. He’d given this to her when she had been bedridden. The changeling that had drained him had taken so much… he felt so weak… she gingerly took the bowl away before he fell asleep into it. He’d only taken half the liquid.

=-=-=-=-=

Bandaid felt a wafer-thin slice of strawberry being pressed against his muzzle. He nummel-nummeled at it with his lips, and sucked it down eagerly. He felt himself being nuzzled, a great black wing flowing down over his back and shoulders. “Dear one… dear, dear one…” he heard her soft voice in the darkness. He nuzzled into her barrel, frightened of the open space and cool air on his back. One of her arms lifted to enclose him in her quiet blackness. He sighed in relief.

=-=-=-=-=

Bandaid’s splayed ears flicked, flicked, then lifted when he heard a quiet voice in the darkness. To the tune of "Hush Little Baby", there was a lullaby floating in the night:

“I see the moon, and the moon sees me,
Shining through the branches of the old oak tree.
Oh, let the light that shines on me,
Shine on the one I love.”

His dry throat made him cough a few times. She soothed him with rag and blanket, letting him drink what he could. Luna peeked in at them, between clouds. Nightmare looked up at her, brow knitted with fretful worry. Unfinished papers and scrolls lay strewn about her desk and room. The fire roared but the stallion shivered. Pulling more blankets from her closet, she piled them on him. When he went slack with sleep, she kissed him deeply. The fang-shaped holes in his shining little soul grew just a little bit smaller. Luna watched, ever diligent, ever quiet, ever thoughtful. Nightmare looked up at her again, ears perking and then rotating. Her cheeks colored and she lay her head over his. She sighed a worried, pregnant sigh. “Yes. Yes, very deeply,” she said to Luna, a certain softness in her eyes.

=-=-=-=-=-=

Bandaid sucked eagerly at the vitamin-soaked rag, squirming a little. He poked his muzzle and head out from under the covers to get fresher air. Nightmare leaned over him eagerly. His fever seemed to have broken. She coddled his head with her forelegs. He turned his head to hide from the moonlight, for it hurt his sensitive eyes. The black alicorn still hunched over him like a worried, love-sick mare. She hush-hushed his vulnerable whimpers, fed him more juice when she could, and let him sleep all the more.

A near month in the Badlands, no doubt being fed sub-standard food… then being love-drained… then fighting like a madpony… all this mess and stress had left the poor thing rattled and frayed like so much worn silken lace. Nightmare only hoped he would mend. She snuck tiny berries into his nutrient juice when she thought she could. Little bits of bread, and the occasional speck of cheese. His strength seemed to waver back and forth.

=-=-=-=-=-=

Bandaid awoke sweaty, moaning, and sore all over. He lifted his head, then his neck. Everything crackle-popped like he hadn’t moved in ages. “Ohhh…” he sighed out.

Nightmare lay next to him. Her ears flicked to life at his moan, and she sat up right away. “Bandaid?” she called automatically, eyes bleary for a few moments. They looked at each other for a time. “You’re awake,” she said softly.

“I’m hungry,” he mewled softly, leaning weakly on her. She nodded, reaching for whatever she could with her magic. He ate a small block of cheese, three bread slices, two cups of juice, a bit of unflavored hay, two strawberries, and a small hoof-full of orange slices. He was panting from the effort by the time he was done. Nightmare’s spirits lifted at his bigger appetite. She helped him to the bathroom, quickly changing the sheets of the bed with her magic, then helped him back into it with the fresh linens attached. He lay on his side, curled into a little ball, then went back to sleep.

=-=-=-=-=

“N-nightie!” a small voice cried out in the darkness, tear-streaked from nightmares.

“Shhhh, I’m here, I am here dear one…” Nightmare uncurled from the blackness, her mane and tail ever flowing in his vision. “Ohhh dear one…. dear, dear one…” the black alicorn whispered, pulling him to her breast. Belly to belly they entwined together. She pulled heavy blankets over them both, nuzzling his mane and withers with her great head.

“You’re so warm…” he mumbled softly, the moisture of tears spilling across her breast. She nodded a little, careful of her horn as she pressed in about him for comfort.

“…I love you, my dear one,” she whispered in the blackness.

“I love you, Nightie…” he whispered, deeply touched. She stroked him over and over until he slept again. Luna smiled from where she hung in the sky, a certain softness in her glow that night.

=-=-=-=-=

Bandaid stood in the shower, his head dipped down in a half-sleepy soft of haze. Instinct kept his legs locked without cutting off blood-flow, and he sort of hovered there. Nightmare lingered with him in the shower, scrubbing him. Being bedridden for over a week, well, he smelled. Nopony else would know. She’d stealthily acquired a few stallion soaps and a coarse shower brush, then had set to work. While she would’ve certainly been giddy and giggly before, this had a certain sacredness to it. His tender body, plain brown and unknowing, was hers to care for. She averted her eyes when the warm water made him pee into the drain. Coughing twice, she lathered him and set to work on his mane. He snuffle-snorted, then sneezed himself awake. “Uh-whuh?” he looked around for amoment. Nightmare froze. The warm water lulled him back, and his head sunk again.

When he was clean, she took him before the fireplace and gently toweled him dry. Brushing his mane while a soft record played on a player, she read aloud from a novel while her levitating brush went through his mane. On the twelve-hundredth brush, she decided he looked quite handsome. Getting a thinner blanket since he was a little damp, she took him back to bed.

=-=-=-=-=-=

The brown stallion sat up in bed. Aware. He looked around. “Nightmare?” he called, his voice returning to him. Nightmare moon looked up from a canvas of numbers and angles she’d been seeing to in a corner.

She came slowly, peering at him. “How do you feel?” she saw there was awareness in his eyes at last. She touched his forehead, then kissed it. No fever.

“Sore, like I’ve been sleeping for ages….” He trailed off. “How did I get back from the hive?” he asked.

Nightmare looked to one side worriedly. Should she spring this on him just now? She turned for a moment, then rang a servant’s bell. “Eat, and I will tell you everything.” She promised. He nodded slowly, seeing her hesitance. After a time, when a proper meal was brought before them, Nightmare began to explain. From what details she could get from Celestia, a recovering Noble Cause and a few others, she related everything that had happened from when Bandaid had been love-drained to the present. She stopped, skipping details of her personal care, though. It almost seemed too personal to say aloud.

“You took care of me?” he said softly, trying to catch her eyes. She nodded mutely. “Thank you,” he said. “Not every mare would split the earth, close national borders and sign treaties for somepony.”

“Thou art my beloved stallion,” Nightmare said, shifting in her seat a bit and staring at her food. “I would move much more than a bit of earth to see to your safety.”

Bandaid stood, working his way around the table, to embrace her. He touched her cheek so she would look him in the face. “My hero,” he said softly, nuzzling her. “I love you,” he whispered in her ear. Nightmare shivered a little. Gently, he took her ear in his teeth and began to pull. Nightmare allowed herself to be pulled along. “C’mere,” he whispered softly, red-cheeked.

Bandaid took her to bed as the lights fell to dim glows. The curtains pulled themselves shut by magic and their two shadows became one. In the quiet of the night, under Luna’s watchful glow, they made love. Gentle, quiet and tender. When it was over, they lay entwined together, sighing and a little sweaty. “Oh’hhhh Bandaid…” Nightmare whispered quietly, feeling flushed and alive.

End of Part 17