Canterlot Castle
Four Weeks Later
Nightmare Moon
Breath in...breathe out...
Calm, she was calm. She was not, in fact, agitated or annoyed. She was the perfect picture of absolute serenity – and not in any way sitting on the edge of her seat. If her daughter were to walk through the doors now, she would find her mother to be calmly awaiting her arrival beside a very carefully and painstakingly planned meal for just the two of them.
Of course, it had helped that Nightmare had ...persuaded, not tortured...the dragon Spike into revealing her daughter's favorite food selections.
Nightmare glanced impatiently at the clock, which to her was ticking rather loudly. It was only a few minutes until midnight, the appointed time at which she had ordered...no, suggested...that Nova meet her for a shared meal.
She tapped the table in front of her impatiently, rattling the assembled dinnerware.
"There's no need to worry." Nightmare told herself soothingly. "She is always on time. Always. Tonight is no different."
The tapping continued.
The clock kept ticking.
She stared at the door...willing it to open and reveal her daughter.
Tick-Tock...thirty seconds...
Fifteen...
Ten...
Five...
Three...
Two...
"Your Majesty?"
Nightmare jumped and spun around, startled by the unexpected voice behind her.
Nova, as stoic as always, didn't react to Nightmare's flinch. Instead, she bowed low in submission and waited.
"Yes, rise." Nightmare said quickly, annoyed. She was tired of her daughter bowing to her as if Nightmare was her liege-lord, and not her own mother. "You teleported again."
"Yes, your majesty." Nova said mechanically, rising. "You commanded that I be here promptly at midnight. Teleportation is the fastest possible method of travel."
"Yes...but you did so silently." Nightmare surmised. "You have been practicing."
"Of course." Said Nova, taking her seat. "With the permission you gave me, I was able to learn from the Canterlot Archives of a way to improve my spell to teleport without producing sound. This way, the element of surprise remains."
"I know this. What concerns me is what that level of skill requires. When is the last time you slept?"
"Two days, fifteen hours, thirty-three minutes, and fifteen seconds ago."
Nightmare slammed her hooves on the table, bending her fork in the process. "You've been in the Archives the entire time I was in Manehatten?"
"No." Refuted Nova. "I was only in the Archives for half of that time. The other half I spent with some of the legionnaires; practicing simultaneously my teleport spell and sharpening my combat ability.
Nightmare snarled. "I told you that learning to fight was unnecessary. You are safe, and you will remain that way. I am here now to protect you."
"I understand that." Nova said crisply. "But the fact remains that I need to be able to successfully carry out your will among the populace. Though a majority of the populace has submitted, Commander Noctis has shown me reports that a small minority still resists your rule. This is, of course, unacceptable."
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Heir of the Nightmare
FanfictionA thousand years ago, Princess Celestia banished her sister to the moon, that much we know. What wasn't known, and what Celestia kept secret was that before her banishment, Luna had given birth to a foal. Now a thousand years later, as Nightmare ret...
