1056 AD, January 13th

“… and that’s when we got back on the airship and came back, Empress.”

“And what of the remains of the crystal urchin? I don’t suppose you managed to procure a sample of it?”

“We did,” Ebony nodded. “It’s a good thing that Tremor suggested it; we were all worn out, and I wouldn’t have thought of it otherwise. I put some in this bag.”

Her horn turned a scarlet hue as she levitated a tiny, burlap sack – one usually used for holding bits – from her belt and over to Nightmare Moon.

Her curiosity piqued, Nightmare Moon cleared any clutter from her desk to make a small space, and waited until the bag was carefully placed down before using her own magic to loosen the string keeping it shut.

“Uh, be careful!” Ebony said, twitching like she wanted to move forwards and stop her.

Nightmare Moon simply nodded, and slowly opened the bag to peer inside. Glittering shards peered up at her; there were nine in total, and the biggest shard wasn’t even the size of her hoof.

“And these were infecting ponies?” She asked, upending the bag and spilling the crystals onto her desk.

Ebony watched her nervously. “Y-yes.”

“Intriguing.”

The shards were violet in the light, and she couldn’t sense any sort of magic surrounding them. Cautiously, she ignited her horn to prod and lift some of them, finding it effortless to do so.

“They don’t resist me in any way.”

“I picked them up with my hooves,” Ebony said. “I was too drained to use magic.”

Nightmare Moon nodded again before using her magic to remove the armor covering her right forehoof.

“Empress?”

“If the mare within the crystal construction is dead, then I don’t think the crystals will continue to infect.”

“But…”

“I’ll be fine.”

Nightmare Moon was positive of this, and was not surprised when her bare hoof prodded one of the shards and nothing happened. Assured of its inertness, she picked up the biggest shard and rolled it between her forehooves, watching how it caught the light peeking in from the windows.

“I doubt we’ll get anything from studying it,” She said, only a little disappointed. “I’ll have it done anyway, but the real goldmine is that mare’s body. It’s a pity you didn’t bring that back.”

Ebony hung her head in shame. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Nightmare Moon let the shard fall back onto the desk and raised her head to look at her Right Hoof. “Your mission was a success. Be proud of that.”

She meant it, too. Placing her faith in other ponies was a necessity she wasn’t comfortable with, but her Praetorian Guard continued to prove themselves loyal and competent. She was genuinely proud of Ebony, and tried to show it by curling her lips into a smile – one that spoke of her gratitude instead of just conveying ‘look how many teeth can puncture your face’.

Ebony looked surprised, relieved, happy… and minimally uncomfortable.

Damn – still needs work.

“However, now I’m curious about the crystal mines within the Empire. If such a mare was unearthed, then how many more could there be? This needs to be addressed immediately: the Empire and their mines are the most efficient way to gather the crystals the Resonator needs, and we can’t have any more corrupted ponies halting productivity and shipments.”

Nightmare Moon picked up the shard again with her telekinesis. She turned and trotted over to the balcony’s open doors, holding the shard up so the light went through it.

“Tell me, Ebony… did this mare look similar to Twilight Sparkle? Were there crystals perforating her body?”

Ebony nodded. “Yes.”

“Exactly?”

“N-no… Twilight’s crystals are clear and sort of blue while the crystals in that mare were like the one you’re holding – purple.”

Nightmare Moon rotated the shard. “I see.”

A few empty moments passed before she heard Ebony shuffled over to stand next to her. She entered Nightmare Moon’s field of vision, squinting a little as sunlight beamed into her sensitive eyes.

“Empress, do you think… what happened to Twilight was because of the crystals? Maybe they were corrupted, but not as obviously.”

“Do you even know what I was trying to do with Twilight in the first place?”

“No, I…” Ebony quickly averted her red eyes. “Sorry.”

“Hm?” Nightmare Moon blinked, breaking her stare away from the shard. “I’m not being hostile – do you actually know what I was attempting with her?”

Ebony shook her head.

“I was attempting to make her biologically immortal through a very… very old method. A rather sketchy method – illegally so. More than a few would say ‘inequine’. Using this method, grafting crystals into the recipient's body will allow them to absorb ambient magic in the environ to provide a consistent source of energy that keeps the body's cells rejuvenated and prevents damage to the DNA. The process is traumatic and agonizing, but not fatal if you know what you're doing, so I was confident in having Twilight undergo it.”

Ebony blinked and looked at her, surprise and a fair amount of unease written all over her face. “Oh… But, uh, why were you trying to make her immortal?"

“First, let me ask if you are aware what happens when an Element bearer dies? What happens to their Element?”

“You told me this before, I think…” Ebony said, scrunching her brow together as she searched her memory. “If a bearer dies, then their Element chooses another pony, right?”

Nightmare Moon nodded. “I plan to rule Equestria for a long time. Before all this business with the humans, when the bearers and the princesses were under lock and key, I wanted to make the bearers immune to the ravages of time, so that they would not rot in prison from age, thus circumventing the Elements finding a new host, one that I would need to search the lands for.”

A memory resurfaced, unbidden, and Nightmare Moon scoffed in annoyance at it.

“Fate has a way of bringing the bearers together like we’re in some fairy tale, and I had no wish to deal with all that again.”

“So you were going to keep them imprisoned forever?” Ebony shuddered. “That’s… I mean, I understand why, but…”

“If they behaved themselves, then I might have granted some small freedoms,” She snorted humourlessly and gave a little shake of her head. “They never would have behaved,” She sighed. “… I severely underestimated them. Ridiculous, isn’t it? I’m better than that; I should have had several plans already laid out in case of a break, but I didn’t. I was so sure that I had them all beneath my hoof.”

“They took all of us by surprise,” Ebony said with a sympathetic smile. “It wasn’t just you.”

Part of Nightmare Moon automatically labelled the sympathy as pity; she had to supress a sneer. Sympathy also didn’t sit well with her either, but it was tolerable and a step-up from pity at least.

“True, but that doesn’t excuse my lack of hindsight,” Nightmare Moon said, and then shook her head. “Ugh, but enough ruminating on what could have been; it won’t help us in any way, and it just eats up time. Now, you asked me a question, right? About Twilight and the crystals and why the procedure failed?”

Ebony nodded.

“Hard to say – I checked those crystals thoroughly before I implemented them, and detected no abnormalities. Same goes for the Resonator; I wouldn’t use crystals if I thought they held some sort of magic that may do the device some harm. Twilight hasn’t detected any either in the time we’ve worked together.”

“So what do you think made her… like that?”

“… I don’t know,” Nightmare Moon admitted with another sigh. “Perhaps I made a mistake. Perhaps Twilight’s link with her Element caused interference. Perhaps it was just some random fluke. I don’t know.”

Faust, it pained her to say that.

She hated not knowing things; it put her at a disadvantage; it made her feel weak and ignorant.

And with this war raging, there were so many things she didn’t know, and that lack of knowledge could mean the difference between successfully repelling an attack by the Rouge Knights, or failing.

She didn’t like to fail.

“I thought I worked out all the kinks, but nearing the end of the procedure, Twilight went into shock," Nightmare Moon clucked her tongue and frowned at the memory. "Successfully and correctly grafting a crystal into the body will cause physical damage, but not enough to warrant a fatality, and the safeguard spells prevent the recipient from going into shock from pain and stress; everything was accounted for, but something had gone wrong, and whatever it was had placed Twilight's life at stake. I was losing her fast - there is no healing spell around that can reliably pull a victim of shock back from that state and I am not very proficient in them either. There was only one option left for me."

Ebony gave a slow nod, her brow furrowing as she thought back. "You said... when you were 'her'... that you implanted a core crystal?"

"Laced with my magic, yes," Nightmare Moon tapped one hoof against the bone protruding through the hole in her helmet. "It's... I suppose you can call it a more non-consenting form of what I did to grant power to you and the others - the idea was that Twilight would be in no shape to fight my magic off, which would allow it to give her that bit of extra strength to survive until I properly stabilized her."

"I... didn't know you could do that."

"You never show all your cards. Not to anypony. At any rate, it worked far better than I had expected. It stabilized her, but I didn't expect it to also bring her beneath my control like this."

Unable to help a small smile of delight, Nightmare Moon searched her mind for that invisible tether and strummed it with phantom hooves; she felt a strong response from the other end, one of hate and anger that failed to cover up the underlying fear that she would send out an order the pony on the other end would have no choice but to obey.

"Not only does Twilight act as another vessel for me to occupy should my body perish, but she is presently at my beck and call, utterly and completely," Nightmare Moon's smile widened into a smirk. "It seems as though the crystals already in her act as a foci to channel my essence that burns inside her, amplifying it. Incredible, isn't it?"

Ebony's eyes briefly flicked to the floor. "Y-yes."

"It was the very thing which stopped Celestia, Luna, and the others dead in their tracks when they escaped - a stroke of luck," Nightmare Moon gave a little shrug, her smirk waning slightly. "Winning by 'luck' isn't necessarily spectacular, but I won't look a gift mule in the mouth. And now that I am aware that I can control the bearers so completely, I look forwards to recapturing them more than ever."

"Glad I'm not in their horseshoes..." Ebony grimaced.

"Indeed. However, that is something that will have to be addressed later on. Right now, a more urgent matter requires our attention: the humans."

Ebony blinked, and tensed up, apprehension etched into her face. “Has something happened while we were away?”

“If that were the case, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. No – there haven’t been any signs of the humans in a while. Naturally, I’m more suspicious of them now than I am whenever they attack.”

Nightmare Moon moved back over to her desk and sat down while putting down the shard in her hoof. She ushered it and the other pieces back into the sack while Ebony trotted back in front, waiting for her to continue.

“For an enemy that has the capability to attack anywhere in Equestria at any time, we’ve fended them off better than I expected, especially given that so far they’ve attacked everywhere but Canterlot.”

Nightmare Moon couldn’t be in two places at once – at least, not in a way that would allow her to remain in a capable and powerful state – so she had to spread her Eclipse force across Equestria, placing outposts in the largest settlements such as Manehatten and Fillydelphia.

The attacks from the humans resulted in loss of life and property damage, but it was far less than what she had feared, and the cost of the property damage was easily rectified.

As a plus, Blueblood’s fortune was almost squandered; the thought of that petty vengeance gave her quite the high whenever she had to quell the rage-driven urge to bite somepony’s head off.

“November 20th… November 29th… December 10th… December 22nd… The amount of times they’ve attacked us is too small to glean any real pattern, but since December 22nd the humans haven’t shown their faces – that’s twenty-two days, a little over three weeks. Needless to say, this lapse in activity has me on edge. Caed has to be planning something.”

“What do you want to do?”

“There’s nothing we can really do, is there? The Rouge Knights exist in a different universe: we cannot attack their base when we have no means of getting to it, and we have little to no information about them – their plans, their supplies, their numbers, nothing,” Nightmare Moon telekinetically placed two sheets of paper in front of her and, with an irritated scowl, she started writing on them with a pencil. “The most we can do is just make sure we’re prepared as best we can be. Until they show their cards, we just have to concentrate on what we can deal with for the time being.”

Nightmare Moon filled out the two sheets and hoofed them over to Ebony.

“That form is to be delivered to Haze while that one should go to Veil. Once that’s completed, you’re free to go about your usual duties.”

“Okay. Is that all, Empress?”

“Yes. Farewell.”

“Goodbye.”

Ebony bowed, but Nightmare Moon was already sliding the next form that demanded her attention in front of her to review.

‘... Is this just a copy of that construction form from last week? Rubbish. So is this form. Have I actually gone through everything of importance for today? Unlikely.’

When she pushed all the papers aside to actually go through the stack at the edge of her desk, Ebony’s journey to the door came to a halt as it swung inwards, clocking her across the muzzle.

“Empress, there’s somepony-” The stallion in Eclipse armor froze in the middle of the doorway; Nightmare Moon found amusement in his expression when he realized he had just bopped his captain. “C-Captain Ebony, I…!” He swiftly saluted. “M-ma’am, I didn’t mean to… I didn’t think…”

“It’s fine, it’s… okay, really,” Ebony rubbed at her muzzle and wrinkled her nostrils with a sniff. “Just surprised is all.”

The stallion awkwardly nodded, clearly avoiding her glowing gaze. “R-right, ma’am. I, er, have a message for the Empress.”

“What is it?” Nightmare Moon asked with a sigh. She was already preparing herself for something bad – maybe a sudden invasion by the dragons, or a Fracture swallowing Las Pegasus whole.

Faust forbid it be something good.

“Somepony wishes to see you. Personally.”

“Who is it?”

The guard made to answer, but suddenly turned his head to the left, his eyes widening in surprise. “What are…? Y-you’re not supposed to be…!”

Whoever was out in the hallway seemed to have a poor grasp on volume control because Nightmare Moon could clearly hear them whisper, “Tell her it’s her bestie – she hates that crap.”

‘Of course…’

Nightmare Moon sighed again – chasing away the spike of elation that inexplicably welled up within her – and face-hooved while closing her eyes. “Vinyl, get in here before you bring all of my guards running.”

The stallion awkwardly stepped to the side so that Vinyl could come around the corner and go through the door, her ever-present shades bobbing as she gave a single nod to Ebony.

“Yo.”

“Uh, hello.”

“Your eyes are metal as hell.”

“Thank you?”

“Hope Wolf isn’t working you too hard to the bone. I think she still has some lingering frustration from the times I made her drag out the ponies that kept blowing chunks in my bathroom.”

“Vinyl…”

“Alright, take it easy – I just dropped by to see what’s up anyway.”

Nightmare Moon lowered her hoof from her face and opened her eyes to give a meaningful look at Ebony. Her Right Hoof quickly got the point, and went on her way to deliver the papers; she gave a short order to the stallion in the doorway, and closed the door behind her with magic once they were both out in the hallway.

“I’m fairly certain we spoke not too long ago,” Nightmare Moon continued sorting through her papers, watching out of the corner of her eye as Vinyl trotted around to look at the room. It suddenly occurred to her that Vinyl had never actually been in here before. “Also, I would appreciate it if you refrained from touching and subsequently breaking anything important.”

“Can I see what’s under that blanket?”

“No.”

“Fiiine…” Vinyl moved away from Philomena’s cage and trotted up to the desk. Nightmare Moon picked up the sack of shards and placed it one of her drawers. “Sketchy. So… what were you saying? Oh right, us just speaking and stuff. Well, yeah, we did, but I actually wanted to show you something that just happened, like… yesterday.”

“Show me something?”

“Yeah.”

“Vinyl, I cannot just leave my duties whenever the mood suits me; I have already indulged you in ‘hanging out’ not too long ago.”

“It’ll be quick,” She insisted with a charming grin. “I promise. It’s just in downtown Canterlot – you can fly us there, can’t you?”

“I have more important things to do,” There was a bad taste in her mouth as she watched Vinyl frown in disappointment, but she ignored it and kept shuffling through her papers. “You’re welcome to stay and talk, I suppose, but I can’t just…”

Nightmare Moon paused and re-shuffled through her papers.

Nothing.

She re-shuffled a third time.

Still nothing.

‘… Do I really have nothing that requires my immediate attention?’

There were a dozen or so forms and documents that she could spend time going over and signing, but she had nothing that was absolutely essential; she could put these papers off for a few days.

But did she really want to do that?

Did she really want to delay her duties to go see what Vinyl had planned for her? Nightmare Moon was no fan of procrastination.

“Vinyl, is this thing you wish for me to see truly important?” Nightmare Moon asked, placing the papers down and staring straight into the other mare’s glasses. “I have a kingdom to run, in case you’ve somehow overlooked that.”

Vinyl hummed and tilted her head, her lips pursing. “Mmm… it’s important to me. Sort of. I suppose I could just tell you, but… I really want to show you.”

“… Vinyl, you know that sort of expression doesn’t work on me.”

She kept making it.

“… You’re beginning to encroach on my limits, you know.”

“Just like old times, eh?”

Nightmare Moon pushed her papers aside and stood with a put-upon sigh, reluctantly admitting to herself that she wanted to spend time with Vinyl more than she wanted to go through those papers.

How annoying.

Before doing anything else, she sent out her thoughts. “Haze, Ebony – I’m going downtown; I’ll be back shortly.”

“Understood, Empress.”

“Okay, Empress.”

With that taken care of, Nightmare Moon gestured Vinyl over as she walked over to the balcony and stretched out her wings.

“Let’s make this quick.”

Vinyl cocked her head in surprise. “Seriously? You’re gonna let me ride you?”

“Make one joke or sexual remark and I will literally drop you from this balcony.”

“You like it rough, huh?”

Nightmare Moon stared at her, astonished at the complete lack of hesitation at saying such a thing. Part of her wanted to cross the room and wipe that smug grin from Vinyl’s face, but another part of her firmly held that desire back.

“Sorry, Wolf – couldn’t help myself,” Vinyl chuckled as she trotted over, a slight amount of apprehension in her stance as she looked over the balcony’s edge. “You’re… not upset, are you?”

Nightmare Moon sighed and decided to let it go; it wasn’t worth the hassle. “No. I was just surprised by what could have been a grand amount of boldness, or stupidity,” Lighting up her horn, she lifted Vinyl and set the smaller mare onto her back. “Have you ever flown before?”

“Nah, but no worries – I ain’t afraid of heights,” Vinyl wrapped her forelegs around Nightmare Moon’s neck, and Nightmare Moon made an effort to not just brush off the contact. “Jeez, your coat’s really friggin’ soft.”

“Thank you.”

Nightmare Moon walked up to the balcony’s edge and looked out into the city.

The ground was far below them, and Vinyl’s grip wasn’t all that secure.

“You like it rough, huh?”

A powerful urge built up within her, and Nightmare Moon smiled evilly.

Before the cold and logical side of her could protest, she suddenly bucked, and Vinyl soared over her head and the edge; Nightmare Moon saw the other mare’s upside-down expression of utter shock even through her glasses before she was hurtling towards the ground.

“What the fuuuuuuuu-?!”

Nightmare Moon let her plummet for a few seconds before leaping off the balcony and teleporting a short distance down so that Vinyl landed on her back as she hovered in place.

Vinyl yelped and scrambled to hold her neck in a death-grip, her glasses askew and her eyes wide and terrified. “Wh-wh-what the flying crap in a shit-basket was that?!”

“I told you that would happen!” Nightmare Moon laughed, ignoring the logical part of her that shook its head in admonishment and pondered how she must have looked to anypony who had seen it.

To Tartarus with what random strangers others thought of her; she didn’t strive for their acceptance.

“You suck, Wolf!” Vinyl pressed her face into Nightmare Moon’s neck, shivering and gasping for breath that was slowly giving way to giggles. “I… Faust, you’re an ass…”

“Now, are you holding on tight?”

“After that crap, you’ll need a crowbar to pry my hooves off of you.”

Wisely, Vinyl did not follow that up with another crass remark, and Nightmare Moon gave a sly smirk of victory as she flapped her wings to ascend higher and fly across Canterlot’s buildings and streets.

It was around three in the afternoon, and the sun was shining brightly on a cloudless day; there was no shortage of pegasi milling about the skies, mostly civilians but they were all quick to make themselves scarce once they noticed her in the air as well. The few pegasi in Eclipse armor gave her a wide berth and saluted respectfully.

“Where exactly are we going?” Nightmare Moon asked.

“You remember the club? Where we worked together?” Vinyl was close enough to her ear that she needn’t shout over the rush of wind. “We’re going there.”

“Why?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”

“I sincerely hope this isn’t a trap of some sort.”

“Ha! Hell no – not with your friggin’ track record of surprise parties.”

Nightmare Moon chuckled briefly, and for a few moments after that, there was only the beat of her wings and the whoosh of wind to fill the silence.

‘Huh… it’s been a while since I’ve gone for a glide. I forgot how much I enjoy them…’

The sight of Equestria stretching everywhere towards the horizon was nothing unfamiliar, but it was still a calming sight; if she just turned off thinking altogether, she could probably even imagine that there was no war going on.

Wouldn’t that be pleasant?

Nightmare Moon felt Vinyl shift on her back, adjusting her grip, and heard the twinkle of magic as she corrected her shades.

“So, Wolf?”

“Hm?”

“What’s up with that mare back there? The one with the cool-looking eyes?”

“She’s my Right Hoof, and the Captain of the Eclipse Guard – she turned to lichdom so that she could become stronger, which would allow her to serve me better.”

“You taught her about it?”

“She discovered it on her own – I just helped build the path she already chose.”

“Wicked,” She felt Vinyl nod. “So she must be pretty loyal, eh?”

“Along with five others who are in my Praetorian Guard.”

“Yeah, I think I’ve seen a few of those guys. Are you close with them? Like, are they your friends?”

Nightmare Moon paused. “… What makes you ask such a thing?”

“Dunno,” Vinyl shrugged. “Just curious to see if you’re making any new friends.”

“… I… They are my most loyal and strongest guards… but we’re not that close.”

“Oh.”

“Friendship, ultimately, is something that can be used against you, and the more friends you have, the more your enemies may use against you. It is the same for lovers and family.”

“Damn… that’s cold.”

“It’s the truth,” Nightmare Moon looked down at the city below, watching the specks of its citizens going about their business. “It’s how I conquered Equestria in the first place; I used the Element bearers’ and the princesses relationships against them. The Elements of Harmony, powerful as they are, were rendered useless because of their bearers’ weaknesses.”

Silence.

Nightmare Moon looked over her shoulder, her face impassive. “However I appear when we are together and whatever you thought of ‘Star Secret’, remember that I will do anything to achieve my goals.”

Vinyl just nodded, and the shades were doing an adequate job at veiling her thoughts.

Nightmare Moon looked forwards again, watching as downtown Canterlot gradually came closer.

Her words may have disturbed Vinyl, but it wasn’t as if she was completely ignorant of Nightmare Moon’s nature, not anymore. After all, Nightmare Moon’s violent overthrowing of the princesses had sent the entire country reeling, and it was still recovering from that, even after all these months alongside the news that they were at war with a race from another universe.

It would be truly miraculous if somepony didn’t know about the coup.

Because of that, everypony knew that Nightmare Moon was not one to be messed with lightly.

Which suited her just fine – ‘fear’ was a good way to keep everypony in line.

Vinyl shifted again.

“So why are we friends if you think that friendship’s a weakness?”

…

... Ah.

“It’s… complicated.” Nightmare Moon found herself floundering for an answer that wouldn’t leave a bad taste in her mouth to say, a reason that didn’t make part of her recoil in revulsion.

She struggled.

“I told you that you pretty much had nothin’ to gain from being friends with me, right?” Vinyl said, her tone uncharacteristically reflective. “My music’s great, but can’t actually help you. If you have nothin’ to gain, then why be friends since it just gives you a weakness?”

‘I am not weak!’

Nightmare Moon said nothing.

“Like… even Fleur and Fancypants have something to offer you, but not me. As awesome as I am… I’m just… You know what I’m sayin’?”

Nightmare Moon did.

“… Wolf?”

“Because you’ve gotten under my skin.”

“Huh?”

“I never wanted to be your friend. You were just a means to an end. I only came to your club when I was Star Secret because I needed a job, money – if you hadn’t hired me, I would have gone somewhere else. Maybe I would have stolen if I had no luck. As it was, you did hire, but you were supposed to be nothing more than my employer. And when you were being assaulted by those stallions that night? I didn’t help out of the goodness of my heart; I helped because I was more concerned about my paycheck. And I certainly didn’t want to ‘room’ with you, and I only did so because you had lemon meringue pie. Everything else? The reason I stayed? Because it was convenient for my plans.

“I had no intention of befriending you. Zero.”

Nightmare Moon watched the cityscape below.

“But something changed. You began to grow on me. I don’t know or why, but you did. As much as I tried to distance myself, you just wormed your way back in. Eventually, it got to a point where I tired of trying, and relented to calling you an ‘associate’ – somepony I could reliably ‘hang out’ with and not just strangle out of frustration. I told myself that was it, that was as close as I was willing to let somepony come. You were a pony I would do more for than anypony else in terms of favours, but you were not somepony I would let stand in the way of my goals. It’s why I left the apartment. My desire was more important than your silly fear that we’d grow apart.

“And we remained in contact, didn’t we? For the most part, we still managed to see one another, at least until the time came to put my plan into action and recruit my followers, those who would become my Praetorian Guard. You asked if I am close to them? No. I trust them to carry out my orders and not betray me – not that they can do so easily – but no, I am not close to them. If one of them should die, I would be genuinely upset, and not just because they are useful to me, but I will not mourn them for long. Even Ebony and Haze, my Right and Left Hooves, hold no special place in my heart.”

Nightmare Moon turned, searching Vinyl’s face for… something – she didn’t know what – but only found stoicism behind dark shades, and just continued speaking, suddenly angry.

“Do you see, Vinyl? I will do anything to get what I want because you have only one life on this planet, and you make the most of that. Your goal was to be a DJ? You have succeeded. My goal was to rise into a position of great power, by force or election, it doesn’t matter, and to earn my place in history. I have succeeded in both regards, but does that mean I should stop? No – now I will endeavour to rule my kingdom for a long time and drive these accursed Rouge Knights into the ground. I will do it because I am strong, and strength, whether it be physical or otherwise, is what determines one’s fate.

“Preach the value of ‘friendship’ and its ‘magic’ all you want, but the bottom line is that the Elements of Harmony accumulate the combined magic of Equestria’s denizens into a powerful blast that overpowers a foe – that is strength, albeit one shared amongst many instead of an individual. I sought to overcome that strength, and succeeded. I did it by threatening the lives of my enemies’ friends and families, and for all their strength, they are rendered weak because of their relationships. One who has no close ties on an emotional level is completely and utterly free.”

Nightmare Moon felt her cheeks split as she snarled, and didn’t stop it.

“I could have been like that, but instead, I chose to keep you as my friend, my weakness, and it’s because I want to have you in my life! As my friend! The very thing I once mocked my enemies for, I now have! And part of me hates it so very much – it wants to tear your head off and grind your bones to dust. And then there’s another part of me that hates that other part of me – it fills me with a sense of ‘wrong’ whenever it sees you unhappy. When I told you I was moving out and you were upset, that sensation plagued me; you are the only pony to make me feel that way and I have no idea why! What is so special about you?! We share very few interests, hobbies – we even clashed about my lying to you about being Star Secret and my overthrowing of the princesses! You are a weed… but it pains me to think about getting rid of you…”

Vinyl said nothing.

Nightmare Moon turned away, panting, cheeks healing, still angry but at herself and not as intensely. Mostly, she just felt like a fool; irritated that she had let her emotions get the best of her like that.

‘It must be the stress of dealing with these cowardly humans and the lack of activity from those damned princesses. That has to be it…’

Her chest became less constricted reinforcing that thought.

She wondered what was going through Vinyl’s mind, and as if in answer…

“Wolf… we kinda sorta… passed downtown.”

Nightmare Moon silently turned around to fly back.

She had almost completely flown out of Canterlot because of her outburst – how annoying.

Now that she was actually looking where she was going, she was able to spot Vinyl’s club below and descend to street level; ponies walking about either turned the other way abruptly or just cautiously trotted on by.

Nightmare Moon paid no mind to them; she was focused on the building in front of her.

“Vinyl, what happened to your sign? It’s gone.”

Vinyl climbed off her back and walked to the entrance. “Just come inside.”

Nightmare Moon trotted after her, her frown deepening as she entered the club and noticed it was unusually empty and clean. The tables were wiped clean, the floors dusted, the light fixtures above missing – even Vinyl’s station where she mixed the music was gone.

“Vinyl?”

“Crazy, huh?” Vinyl turned to face her with a small grin. “I’m giving away ownership of the place.”

Nightmare Moon blinked, shocked. “What?”

“It’ll still be here, but it’ll be under Neon Lights’ name. As for me? Well, you know how me and Octy have been mixing and matching our music together? All that work’s finally paid off; we’re going to open up a new music club in Canterlot. It’s gonna be revoltinary, she says.”

“‘Revolutionary’.”

“Yeah, that word,” Vinyl was beaming happily now as she turned in the same spot, just looking at everything. “You remember how this place was packed with all those glowstick waving, spiky-haired stallions and mares? Imagine that, but with the classical-lovin’ ponies as well.”

“I do not think they would mix well.”

“You could say the same about me and Octy’s brands of music, but we managed that, right? Music is… It’s got this energy, ya know? It can bring ponies together and make things not crappy even when things are crappy.”

Nightmare Moon nodded. She wasn’t entirely convinced that two different crowds could really be brought together, but it was hardly the unlikeliest of things.

For crying out loud, there were hairless monkeys in armor coming through tears in reality.

“I just… wanted to show you, that’s all,” Vinyl said with a sheepish laugh. “We’ve had some great times in this place and I thought bringing you here would be…”

“Nostalgic?”

“Yeah, that.”

Nightmare Moon looked around again and gave a slow nod. “I suppose.”

“… Okay, that’s… not just it. I…” Vinyl scratched her head as she lit up her horn to slide her shades onto her forehead. “I wanted to say… thanks.”

“For what?”

“Seeing this place get renovated… giving ownership to Neon Lights… it got me thinking back to how we met, how we used to hang back in my apartment. Those were some of the best times in my life, and, well… Ugh, I’m not good at this sappy stuff.”

“That makes two of us,” Nightmare Moon grumbled. “Vinyl, about what I said…”

“I don’t think you’re as much of a ruthless bitch as you think you are.”

“Oh?”

“Well, I mean… you are pretty friggin’ ruthless. Like… wow, you took down the princesses and the Elements of Harmony, and kept them locked up. Jeez, that’s hardcore – in the good and bad way. But you’re not totally bad – you let me in close enough to be your friend, you’re on good terms with Fleur and Fancypants, and you even have a soft spot for that giant-ass timber wolf,” Vinyl shrugged, smiling a little uncertainly. “I know you don’t like that crap, but… it can’t be completely bad, can it? We have fun hanging out, don’t we?”

“We do.”

“Yeah! So why-”

“But I shouldn’t be like this.”

Nightmare Moon shook her head in disgust and went over to one of the alcoves with the tables. The chairs stacked on top of it were too small, so she just sat on the floor.

She had a headache thinking about all of this – it was often the reason why she didn’t do it in the first place.

She waited until Vinyl trotted over as well and took down one of the chairs before speaking.

“Vinyl, you must know that I am not a pony. I look like one, yes, but I am not one. I am not equine, nor am I like anything else you might imagine.”

The other mare nodded as she sat on her seat. “Sooo… what are you then?”

“… I am… something that should have no business with any form of genuine relationships.”

It was difficult to come out and say what she was.

Never had Nightmare Moon told the truth about what she was, that would just give others information that could possibly be used against her; she’d rather everyone think of her as a god, a demon, or just an incredibly powerful pony; her kind wasn’t widely known, and she intended to keep that information obscured.

Even now, part of her urged her to cease this conversation, lest someone get a hold of it by going through Vinyl.

But she had to make Vinyl understand…

“I was born from a dozen desires and dreams lurking within the minds and hearts of living, thinking creatures like you. Desires and dreams that would go unfulfilled because those that have them lack the ambition, the strength, and the courage to do whatever is necessary to achieve them, never mind who gets hurt or how many. A child wishing for a toy… a princess wishing for her night to be appreciated… a young mare wishing to prove that she is worth something… I am all of that, coalesced into a single, thinking being.

“By my very nature, I am selfish, and the only reason I would help others was if it would further my own goals. To me, it only makes sense to do anything you can to get what you want; you only live once, and nobody knows what comes after death, but we know what life holds, so you should make the most of it. There are some that wish to have a family, make friends, have children – none of those appeal to me. My goal is to continue to rule this land – friendships should not hold any value to me, for they are just tools that can be used against you, things that weigh you down and detract you from your desires.

“… I should not want you to be my friend. I should not show mercy to my enemies. I should not feel sympathy or empathy. I should not worry about my pet. I should not… worry about you. They would detract me from my goals, and achieving my goals is the entire reason for my existence; it is what allowed me to think, to act, to desire. So why would something like me experience these emotions in the first place?

“I should be incapable of it. I should not be able to experience them. They have no place within me… yet they are there.”

Nightmare Moon looked down at the armor covering her chest. She looked down at her hooves. She turned her head and looked down at her unmarked flank.

"... This... Could this be because of the Elements?"

It was a thought she paid no heed to, a thought that just lurked in the back of her mind, useless and unimportant because it contributed nothing to her goals.

But now, it was repeating itself in her mind endlessly.

"Luna was purified of me, and I wound up with this physical form. I didn't know why and I saw no reason to question it: I was still alive and aware of what I wanted; the Elements had done nothing to change me, so why complain? But maybe it did change me. Perhaps that is why I have these... emotions. Perhaps that is why I was able to become your friend. They are the embodiment of friendship, after all."

The more she thought of it, the more sense it made.

Her whole life, she had not experienced any yearning for intimacy or understanding or companionship from another creature.

When she first formed in a flash of consciousness and self-awareness and potential, she did not yearn for it.

When she gazed out to the plains of what she would later come to learn as 'Zebrica' and just knew, somehow knew that she wanted to be remembered, to be strong, to be better than what she was, she did not yearn for it.

When she met more spirits that were like her and sneered with formless lips at their lack of ambition beyond 'possess and kill' and knew that, for whatever reason, she was the only one amongst them that was truly intelligent, she did not yearn for it.

When she traversed the continent and watched and plotted from the shadows as her 'brethren' stalked and possessed the zebras by force, something she could not do, and turned them into slavering, instinct-driven beasts, she did not yearn for it.

When she searched elsewhere in other lands, and learned and observed how she could use trickery and manipulation and honeyed words to allow zebras and griffons and ponies to let her in their heads to make up for her inability to possess them by force, she did not yearn for it.

When she wandered the surface of the moon for a thousand years with nothing to observe and no one to talk to, surrounded by the void of space and beaten down by the unshielded rays of the sun, she did not yearn for it.

"Vinyl..." Nightmare Moon began, tingling with a sensation like cold water washing over her. "My entire life I have been alone with nothing but my goals and desires. Up until I was forcibly removed from Luna's body, concepts such as friendship and empathy were alien to me; I understood what they were and how I could mimic it, but I never truly experienced it. Could the Elements have changed me in some way? Changed me so that I would find such concepts more relatable? It seems so unlikely that I would be spared with seemingly no consequences for my actions."

Vinyl blinked, mouth agape. "I... I dunno. I barely scraped by in school; there's no way in Tartarus I could understand something like the friggin' Elements of Harmony. All I know is that you point it at something bad, shoot a rainbow, and the bad thing goes away."

"But I didn't 'go away'!" Nightmare Moon growled in frustration and slapped her hooves down on the table. "I was not destroyed, I was not banished, and I was not turned to stone; it removed me from Luna, I lost consciousness, and when I next woke I just had this body! It..." She stopped and took a breath. "... I have been struck with the Elements' magic two times now and I still maintain my freedom and free will, as opposed to Discord, who was turned to stone each and every time. And I don't know why."

“Jeez, Wolf…” Vinyl said, quiet and subdued. She had a face like Octavia had unzipped her skin to reveal a bunch of rabbits riding on top of each other. “That’s heavy shit. Like, I woke up today thinkin’, ‘oh, I’ll see if Wolf wants to come to the bar and remember good ol’ times’, and I get… I mean, I’m not complaining or anything, but I just… got more than I expected.”

“I did not intend it, but it seems you asked the correct questions,” Nightmare Moon grumbled, leaning her elbow on the table and resting her chin on her forehoof. “So congratulations – you’ve managed to ‘break through my walls’ as they say. I don’t whether to be impressed or enraged.”

“You can probably manage both.”

“I certainly can, thank you for pointing that out.”

“Heh heh… Serious talk, though? I’m pretty stoked you shared all of that with me. And it sucks that I don’t really have anything to say that’ll make you feel better,” Vinyl frowned, annoyed at herself. “I have no friggin' clue if the Elements did do something to change you, but if they did, then it's a pretty lousy job in my opinion. No offense.”

"None taken."

"Like... it makes you able to form bonds and crap with ponies, but not get rid of your whole 'I'll eat your face if you get in my way' shtick? That's seriously half-assed and lame for a supposedly powerful magical artefact. Jeez, it turned friggin' Discord, the god of chaos or whatever, to stone, but it can't do the same to you? Either something went wrong, or you're way stronger than I think you are."

Vinyl had a point: if the Elements truly did attempt to purify her, then they should have wrought greater results and completely removed Nightmare Moon's unfettered desires. As much as she hated to admit it, she was quite helpless before the power of the Elements.

But she didn't know if that's what happened - the Elements might not have implanted these new and unfamiliar emotions in her.

Which was actually worse because at least she'd have something to blame if it was the Elements; she wouldn't just be guessing and wondering and contemplating how the hell she had managed to obtain something that so went against her nature.

"I-I don't know," Vinyl tossed her hooves and shoulders up in a shrug and shook her head. "It's way over my head, ya know? The only other reason I have is that you're not as much as a sociopathic bitch as you think you are and that you've always had those emotions; it just took spending time with me to bring them out. Which is crazy because I'm... not really anypony. Just a regular DJ that makes awesome music."

"Yes..." Nightmare Moon rubbed at her temples and exhaled through her nostrils. "You are."

"Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence. Whatever - I have no idea why you're this way when you think you should be another way, but it all turned out well enough, right? We're friends, and it's not the end of the world, huh?"

Nightmare Moon stared at her blankly. “That doesn’t answer why I'm like this.”

“Figured. But what can you do? You might not want to feel all that crap, but you do. You remember when I was still dating Octy? I was scared shitless when I realized I was falling in love, but it was happening, so I just had to suck it up and make the best of it. And I’m friggin’ glad I did because now I’m married to the coolest mare in Equestria.”

“Hrm…”

“The coolest mare that I’m not having sex with.”

“Mm…”

Vinyl smirked and rolled her eyes. “What I’m trying to say is that there’s not much point in complaining about how you should be, not when the present is here and now. Didn’t you always say how you hated ponies that moaned and whined about their lives instead of doing something to make themselves feel better?”

“… Yes, I did.” Nightmare Moon growled as a surge of self-loathing filled her.

"Besides, who the hell made it a law that you have to be a certain way just because of where you're born or what you were born as? Octy was born into a hoity-toity family that wanted her to marry a stallion, but she told them to 'fuck off' and married me instead," Vinyl snorted contemptuously. "Pfft - I hate ponies that are like that..."

Nightmare Moon looked off to the side in thought.

Again, she had a point, but the difference was that Nightmare Moon had no intention of straying or defying her nature; she was a spirit that was born to achieve what it wanted at any cost, and she embraced that. She wasn't supposed to have empathy for others, and she made no attempt to feel it.

The development of these feelings, her friendship with Vinyl, occurred in spite of her efforts to maintain a distance.

And she had no idea why.

"You can gripe about it all you want, I suppose..." Vinyl said with another shrug. "But I think that 'this' is how you are now, so you should just deal with it."

Hardly something one would say at a self-help seminar, but Nightmare Moon was not one who lacked self-esteem, and had a very firm grip on her self-worth.

There was still so much Nightmare Moon didn't know and so much that she was just confused about, but… Vinyl was right; nothing would come of bemoaning it, and if Nightmare Moon couldn’t find the resolve to cast Vinyl aside, to purge herself of these feelings, then she’d just have to live alongside them and deal with the drawbacks.

She knew that the questions would come back to haunt her now that she had said them aloud.

Later on, she would still be pondering how she had managed to develop a friendship when such a thing was such a possible risk to her goals and she would still be pondering why she was still around despite being struck by the Elements, but for now, she had a headache and just wanted to stop thinking about it for even a few minutes.

Part of her bristled, told her to deal with it all now, but the other part of her told it to shut up, and won.

“… Thank you, Vinyl,” She said, her lips turning up in a smile. “This brief outing was more enlightening than I anticipated," It wasn't a total lie; she had more questions than answers, but at least they had been addressed to some degree instead of just being left to stew and curdle in her head. "I… What’s with that expression?”

Vinyl round eyes blinked, and she closed her mouth, previously in an ‘O’ shape. “Oh, nothing, I was just… I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile so un-creepily before.”

“I assume that was a compliment in a technical sense,” Nightmare Moon chuckled with a shake of her head. “But how do you feel now that I’ve told you about myself? About my nature?”

“Shit, Wolf, you were always scary, even as Star Secret. Honestly? Knowing for sure that you’re not a pony actually makes you less freaky. Weird, huh?”

“And being friends with something inequine that was born from the deepest and most shrouded desires of dozens of minds?”

“Could probably get a few songs out of something like that.”

Nightmare Moon laughed.

“Seriously, though?” Vinyl said through her own chuckling. “Doesn’t bother me as much as you’d think. Like, think about what Canterlot’s already faced: a bug invasion, a god of chaos or whatever, and one hell of a Galloping Gala with those Element mares. You’re up there on the list-”

Nightmare Moon’s mirth vanished as she felt a tremor beneath her rump.

“-but you’re really not the weirdest-”

“Quiet.”

Vinyl frowned at her, but kept still.

Nightmare Moon felt another tremor, and judging by Vinyl’s twitching ears and furrowed brow, she felt it as well.

She didn’t waste time with talking: Nightmare Moon immediately got to her hooves and ran over to the door that easily gave under her bulk. She saw ponies out on the streets looking in the direction of the castle.

Nightmare Moon looked as well, but the buildings were in the way; she flapped her wings and ascended as Vinyl came out of the club and called out to her.

She saw, in the distance, plumes of smoke and dust, and a bunch of pegasi darting about over a grey building.

The grey building shifted, turned, and black spires jutted out, pulling it forwards.

Nightmare Moon’s eyes widened. ‘A behemoth bug…’

One of the otherworldly creatures that had once laid siege to Blueblood’s room; Celestia had described it to her, told her how it went from a barely knee-high ball of spindly legs to a fanged giant as large as an alicorn.

This one was as large as a building – the pegasi flying around it looked to be mere dots in comparison.

Nightmare Moon scanned the skies for a Fracture, but saw nothing. ‘How could there be nothing? With the size of that creature, there must be an equally large…’

She heard Vinyl call her again, and snarled in frustration as she darted back down to hover just above the road.

“Wolf, what the hell’s happening?” Vinyl asked, her eyes hidden behind shades once more.

“I have to go – there’s a massive creature attacking the city!” Nightmare Moon growled. “Of course it chooses now to attack when I’m not there!”

“W-wait, it’s in that direction?” Vinyl gestured towards the pillars of smoke, and panic came off of her in waves. “That’s…! Octy lives over there! I-I have to…! Take me with you!”

“It’s too dangerous,” Nightmare Moon shook her head, shoving aside the distracting thoughts of Vinyl being crushed. “Remain here, and I’ll see that Octavia is secured and safe.”

“Wolf!”

“I can’t fight that thing if I’m worrying that you’ll get stepped on! Stay here!” Nightmare Moon couldn’t wait for an answer, her city needed her; she turned away from Vinyl and took off in the direction of the chaos, ignoring the cry of her name.

She narrowed her eyes at the enormous mass of segmented armor and chitin that lumbered several blocks away – even at her distance she caught brief glimpses of its clustered eyes and twitching fangs; the crescent shape of its body didn’t do well in its environment, and as she rapidly gained ground, she could hear its piercing wails of frustration as it bumped against buildings.

It was a dumb beast that had no idea of the harm it was causing, but she would show it no mercy.

“Faust damn it, Wolf!!”

Vinyl stomped her hooves in helpless rage as her friend disappeared over the roofs of the highest buildings. She couldn’t see what was attacking Canterlot, but the smoke going up in the air indicated that it must have been pretty fucking huge.

She was angry at Wolf for leaving her there while Octy, her one true melody, was still in the upper districts, completely at risk of being harmed or worse.

‘I-I can’t stay here! No way – I have to go find her!’

Ponies around her gawked or ran in the other direction, looking completely baffled as to why she was running towards the smoke and source of the tremors. If they had any loved ones in the upper districts, they would understand, perhaps even join her in her frantic gallop.

She knew the streets like the back of her hoof: she knew which alleyways to take, which corners to turn, what street would get her to the other districts of the city the fastest.

‘Hang on, Octy – I’m comin’ for ya!’

The thought of her love was clear in her mind; it kept her running at full sprint even when her sides began to ache and her lungs started to burn.

But when she turned a corner, she slammed into something metal and unyielding, and bounced onto her side, feeling her nose sting horribly and hot blood leak over her lips.

She looked up, dazed and confused, into the faceless helm of a large creature carrying an enormous shield.

“Command – I’ve found one. Transporting it to the Fracture ASAP.”

Author's Notes:

Note 1: "I don't have much information about the aptly named 'behemoth bugs' because of their rarity and difficulty in capturing, but as with most of the other fauna from the human universe, they possess a fear of flames. Much like insects, behemoth bugs have small openings on the side of their bodies called spiracles, and they appear to perform the same gas exchange function as our universe's insects.

"I don't know how they are able to grow; they may possess an unknown form of magic which is only found in the human universe it defies all of our natural laws as to how they grow; they are literally producing mass from nothing. I can't properly apply science to something which spits in the face of logic. You want a weakness? Hit it with electricity - that's all that I can really say.

"Come study it yourself. I'm tired." - Letter from Twilight Sparkle to Nightmare Moon concerning the physiologies of the fauna from beyond the Entropic Fractures.