1056 AD, January 13th

The hospital’s lobby was full when Nightmare Moon arrived.

Ponies - some injured, some inquiring about loved ones - made a path once they were aware of her presence; their eyes were wide with shock, fear, and confusion as she stomped up to reception.

“You!” She barked at the quivering nurse. “I have somepony who is injured and needs medical attention!”

“W-we’re already busy…” The nurse stuttered, shrinking behind her desk. “Th-there are other ponies waiting for-”

“I don’t care!” Nightmare Moon stomped her hoof and pulled the nurse up to eye-level with a surge of telekinetic power. “Find us a room and tell the closest doctor that if they’re not there within the next minute, I will find them. Do you understand?!”

“Y-yes, Empress. Please just-”

“Pull them out of surgery if you have to!”

“-put me down, p-please…”

Seeing the nurse’s eyes turn watery cut through the haze that clouded Nightmare Moon’s mind; she placed the mare back on the floor and took several breaths. The nurse quickly shuffled along, leading Nightmare Moon through multiple corridors. As they walked, she looked over her shoulder.

Vitae hovered over Vinyl, still casting her healing magic – as large as Nightmare Moon was, it was clear that Vitae had to manage clinging on as well as her flow of magic.

As for Vinyl… she was still unconscious; the blood stuck to her stubbornly, but at least the gash in her head had sealed.

“H-here…” The nurse said, stopping next to a door. “Th-there was a patient in here earlier, but we haven’t-” Nightmare Moon ignored her and barged in. “-c-cleaned the… blood yet…”

It was a typical hospital room with two beds, one of which was dirty with red-splotched sheets. Nightmare Moon paid no heed and zoomed in on the clean bed.

“Vitae, can I move her?”

“Yes, Divine Daughter – she should be stable for that.”

Nightmare Moon used her magic to lift both mares off her back, place Vitae on the floor, and gently lay her friend on the bed.

Her wounds had sealed and her horn was no longer a stub; it was almost fully-grown again.

Nightmare Moon wasn’t sure if it was a trick of the light, but the horn seemed… off-centre.

“I think she might have some damage done to her brain,” Vitae said, moving to the bed’s side. Nightmare Moon felt compelled to shove her away, but squashed that compulsion by reminding herself that Vitae was helping. “It’s… more complicated, if that’s what happened.”

She turned with obvious fatigue in her expression; it mustn’t have been easy to maintain such a potent healing spell on two parties for prolonged periods. Even so, there was nothing but determination in her eyes.

“We need somepony else to help in case my magic runs out.”

Nightmare Moon nodded and turned back to the nurse. “Well?! Where is the doctor?”

She whimpered and scampered off.

With nopony else to yell at and no experience with healing magic of her own, Nightmare Moon planted herself next to Vinyl and stared at her solemnly.

‘Idiot. I told her to stay away, but she throws herself at him to… to…’ She growled and rubbed at her face, uncaring to how much blood and dust she was smearing her face with; it couldn’t get any filthier with the amount of fighting she’d done. ‘To help me. All because I was unable to best Caed in a one-on-one fight. Pathetic.’

Her ego bristled at the thoughts, but her self-loathing was stronger; she stewed in self-pity and helpless rage as Vitae wordlessly tended to Vinyl. Right now, she couldn’t be bothered by appearances.

She looked up when two stallions, both unicorns, and the nurse raced in. Without a word, she stood, nodded to Vinyl, and walked to sit in the opposite corner of the room. There were chairs, but they were too small for her. The stallions frowned and looked at each other before the sight of an injured mare called to their better nature and they rushed to Vinyl’s side.

They spoke amongst themselves and with Vitae and the nurse, who hurried to set up everything they needed. There was a quiet urgency to their movements that was unsettling to Nightmare Moon.

She had seen ponies rushing to save a life with barely a care on her own part, but this was different: this time, it was Vinyl that they were rushing to save; somepony who mattered enough that Nightmare Moon felt a stab somewhere deep within when she imagined the DJ not getting up from that bed, whether she was alive or not.

She didn’t know what she’d do if that happened; she was just recently coming to terms with the fact that she had a friend that she dearly wanted to keep and to just suddenly lose them?

Part of her cursed Vinyl.

Part of her cursed that part of her.

The conflicting sides rolled around in her belly until she forced it all down with an audible gulp and watched as the ponies worked, catching snippets of conversation.

“... hit the ground at an angle…” Vitae said.

“Could be internal…” One of the stallions suggested, lifting Vinyl’s eyelids and shining a light into the pupils. “See how her horn is cracked around the base?”

“… the bone could have been driven back…” The other murmured, motioning for the nurse to bring an IV stand. “… prepare an operation to reset it.”

One of the stallions came over – he wore the attire of a doctor over a black coat and his short, grey mane was cropped up in a modest bob. “Nightm- Empress?”

She nodded in acknowledgement. “Speak.”

“Your, uh…” He hesitated, too afraid to assume what this mare was to the alicorn in front of him. “Miss Scratch has-”

“‘Mrs.’”

“Right, Mrs. Scratch has suffered a severe concussion. Miss Vitae healed most of the superficial damage, but I’m afraid Mrs. Scratch has a misaligned horn.”

Nightmare Moon said nothing.

“A tremendous amount of force at the right angle can, in addition to breaking the horn, cause the bone around the base to weaken. This can cause the horn to ‘sink’ into the skull and damage the nerves around it as well as place pressure on the frontal lobe. This often leads to a catatonic state. It’s a condition we call ‘root horn deficiency.’

“Due to the complexity of the thaumthynx... Erm, those are the nerves below the horn that allow the conduction and manipulation of magic, Your Grace. Yes, well, due to the complexity of those nerves and the unpredictability of an unconscious unicorn’s magic, injuries like this require more than just a session of healing spells. We’ll have to prep her for surgery to correctly align the horn. We’ll be putting her under and using tools to, uh…” He swallowed, looking at her nervously. “‘Dig’ the horn out and apply an alchemic mixture that will hopefully repair the damaged nerves and tissues. Once that’s done, we can wrap up the hole, and the new horn should grow back in due time.”

“You said ‘hopefully.’”

“We’re not alicorns, Empress. Sometimes we get hurt in a way that we just can’t recover from, even with the most powerful healing spells. Sometimes… the nerves just don’t heal properly.”

“Are you saying that Vinyl might not be able to perform magic again?”

The stallion sighed. “That’s a possibility, but it’s not the worst outcome. If… the horn was pushed in deep enough and the brain was damaged enough… it might be a while before she wakes up.”

“Will she live?”

“Yes.”

“… Do it.”

“Uh… we should get the permission of family or the patient’s spouse rather than-”

“You have the permission of your Empress. You’d be wise to accept it.”

He swallowed and nodded. “Right. We should be able to use the operating theatre on the second floor near D-wing. Bright, could you go inform them of what’s transpired?”

Bright, the nurse, nodded, clearly grateful for the opportunity to be out of the room. Once she was out, the stallion went back to Vinyl’s side, and Vitae trotted over to Nightmare Moon after he said a few words to her. Vitae was unashamedly exuberant at being so close to Nightmare Moon despite the tense situation.

“She’s going to live,” She said with a nervous swallow. “Divine Daughter, I just want to say that the way you fought that awful human was so incredible and-”

“‘Fought…’” Nightmare Moon scoffed, her lip curling in disgust. “I was barely a threat. All this time, Caed was holding back, and when he revealed himself, I was outmatched. Without your help and that of the others, I would have failed more than just Vinyl.”

Vitae almost shuddered, as if the mere hint that the part she played was a worthwhile contribution was enough to please her. Nightmare Moon was repulsed by the craving for praise, but didn’t show it.

“How could I have known?” Nightmare Moon continued with a growl. “With all the emphasis that fool places on ‘saving his people,’ I would assume he’d be motivated to constantly fight at full strength. Yet I had to permanently kill several of his followers before he was motivated enough to attack with all that he had.”

She didn’t know why she was telling this to one obsessed mare she barely knew. It seemed like something she’d tell Vinyl in private, but… well, she couldn’t. Anyway, what did it matter if speaking of this made her seem vulnerable in front of these ponies?

Plenty had already seen her moment of weakness in front of Caed, when she had suffered a brief crisis upon realizing just how outmatched and helpless she truly was against him. Could anything really do more damage to her ‘terrifying and unknowable’ image than that?

She didn’t think so.

Besides… it felt sort of pleasant to talk. At least she was doing something.

“… Did you see how he coughed?”

Vitae blinked. “Caed? Yes, I did. There was blood in it.”

“It only occurred late into the battle after Vinyl stabbed him with a shard of glass. Yet I don’t believe that was what caused him to cough blood; it seemed to be internal and it debilitated him greatly when I struck him with a cold spell. Towards the end of the battle, he was running out of breath. Perhaps he inhaled the air and it…”

She shrugged.

“Clearly, he is not invulnerable, but he is a powerful foe, stronger than Celestia and Luna. Even if he has some sort of weakness that causes him to be short of breath, he is still a force to be reckoned with – I cannot take him alone unless I have some major advantage.”

“You have ponies to help you, Divine Daughter.”

“Yes… I suppose you’re right,” Nightmare Moon jerked as if she had been shocked when Vitae took a step closer. “Yes, I am grateful for your help, but kindly keep your distance. And stop staring at me like that.”

“I’m sorry, Divine Daughter.”

Vitae continued to stare with the minimum amount of distance she could get between them.

Nightmare Moon sighed. “Were you like this with Celestia and Luna, too?”

“Oh, I could never be granted an audience with them – they were too busy. I mean… at least until you took over, and then I couldn’t see them because they were locked up. And now they’re in Ponyville, and I don’t really like to travel, so…” Vitae blinked and looked clueless for a moment before brightening up again. “I-I just have to thank you again for rescuing me and the others!”

‘Here we go…’ Nightmare Moon rubbed at her brow.

“It was horrible to watch as we were taken out of our cells, one by one, never to be seen again. There was such darkness in my thoughts; only praying helped ease my despair.”

Nightmare Moon couldn’t be happier when the nurse came back.

She spoke to the two stallions a little before trotting back out, leaving the doctors to make sure Vinyl was safe and secured on the bed before being wheeled out. Nightmare Moon stood and walked over, as much to escape Vitae as to see her friend. The doctors stopped at her approach.

Vinyl looked… relatively unharmed. If it wasn’t for the blood on her fur, anypony would guess that she was asleep.

‘Ridiculous…’ She thought. ‘Vinyl snores. And she hates hospitals. She wouldn’t be happy going into surgery.’

“Empress, you…” The doctor from earlier cleared his throat nervously. “I’m afraid you can’t accompany us in the operating theatre. Only medical personnel. I-it’s to prevent-”

“I am aware,” She snapped. The doctor clamped his mouth shut, and Nightmare Moon took a deep breath after a second. “I am just bidding her farewell and good luck,” She paused. “Good luck, Vinyl. It would be in your best interest to pull through. I would not be happy if you didn’t wake up.”

Vinyl remained unresponsive.

“You have a wife to get back to, you know. And I would even go as far to say that her wrath may be equal to mine.”

Vinyl remained unresponsive.

“Addition…” Nightmare Moon swallowed. “Additionally, I still have to address how you foolishly interfered with the fight even when I told you to run.”

Vinyl remained unresponsive.

“… I commend your bravery, even so. And I am…” With a moment’s hesitation, Nightmare Moon lifted her hoof and very lightly touched Vinyl’s shoulder. “I am hoping for the best outcome,” She retracted her hoof and nodded once, looking off to the side. “You may go.”

She found it difficult to watch as they wheeled her away and didn’t look forwards again until the squeaking of the beds and the clip-clop of their steps had gone beyond her hearing range.

The door leading to the empty corridor was before her.

She knew there were things that needed her attention, but she suddenly felt exhausted. She was not a creature that needed rest, physical or mental, but that didn’t stop her from picturing a warm, fluffy bed and a soft pillow. The thought of going back outside, to where her soldiers and the Fracture were, made her miserable.

‘Yet it must be done,’ She told herself and began to trudge down the corridor. ‘The threat isn’t over until I see Caed’s dead body with my own eyes.’

The lobby had gone deathly quiet since her arrival and that same silence greeted her when she came back in, aware that everypony was watching her but doing their best to appear otherwise.

‘I might as well inform them all of what’s happened.’

She stood near the receptionist’s desk and, on a whim, tapped the small, silver bell on it.

“The behemoth bug and the bulk of human forces have been dealt with for the moment,” She announced, unable to keep the tiredness out of her tone. “However, I advise you all to remain wary and be prepared in case of another attack.”

She made for the doors, but stopped upon seeing Lightning Dust lightly dropping Ebony onto the road just outside. They exchanged some words before Lightning Dust flew off, and Ebony jogged through the doors, snapping off a quick salute.

“Empress.”

Nightmare Moon nodded. “Report.”

“The Fracture closed shortly after you left; we couldn’t get the Orxoni there in time.”

“Where is the machine now?”

“It’s still there. Twilight asked if she could study it.”

“Why? The Elements are not near her, are they?”

“I told Fade to take them back and… I’m not entirely sure why she wants to study it, but it seemed like she was onto something. She had that… ‘look’ in her eyes.”

Ah, yes, that look – Nightmare Moon had seen it when she was helping Sunset and Twilight with the production of the Orxoni. She had issued a command in Twilight’s psyche that prevented her from tampering with the Orxoni, so that wasn’t a worry.

“Leave her be,” Nightmare Moon said. “If she’s onto something, then I will not stop her. And what of the others?”

“I’m fine. Lightning Dust is a little roughed up, but nothing serious. Fade’s fine, too, and so is Haze and Miasma. Veil’s getting treated for burns and a concussion, but she should be okay. Shadow Strike’s reformed and he’s guarding the Orxoni.”

“Casualties?” When Ebony paused, Nightmare Moon shook her head. “Not in total; the ponies that were killed during the fight with Caed.”

“Oh. Um… nine.”

Nightmare Moon sighed in frustration. “Curses…”

“The unicorns you rescued from the human’s world are fine, too. A little shaken, but…” Ebony swallowed, glanced to the side, and then looked back up, nervous and uncertain. “How is…?”

“She’ll live, but she needs surgery. Her horn was pushed inwards when Caed threw her,” Nightmare Moon numbly shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. It was. “Hardly anything to worry about if it were me or you, but it’s not.”

Ebony nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t hurt her.”

“I-I know, but I…”

“Yes, yes, I understand what you mean,” Nightmare Moon closed her eyes and rubbed her muzzle. “Forget it.”

“Divine Daughter?”

‘Ugh…’

Vitae trotted up next to her like a lost puppy. “If you have a headache, then maybe I can-”

“Vitae, do you truly wish to help me?”

“Y-yes, of course!”

“Then go help Ebony. As of now, you have earned your place among the ranks of the Eclipse Guard.”

If there was a unicorn in Canterlot with a more ecstatic expression…

“Her healing spells are noteworthy; she will be a welcome addition to the Eclipse,” She told Ebony. It wasn’t a lie – Vitae had potential, even if Nightmare Moon’s action to draft her was more so that the mare would get out of her mane for a few seconds. She just wanted to be alone and not talk to anypony for now. “I’m sure you will make a fine guard out of her.”

Ebony nodded slowly as Vitae prowled closer to her. “O… kay…”

“Otherwise, tell Haze that he is in charge for the time being. I will remain here for a while.”

“You’re… just going to wait here? For Vinyl?”

“I want to see if she is okay when she comes out of surgery. Even if she’s not awake, I must know. Once I make sure, I’ll take over from Haze. Do you have anything else to report?”

“No, I think that’s it. I’ll make sure to let Haze know. And, um… Vinyl… she’s going to be alright, Empress.”

Nightmare Moon grunted ambiguously; she didn’t want to accept the concern in case it was pity, but she didn’t want to reject it either. It was strangely reassuring to hear somepony say that it was going to be alright. How sad.

She watched as Ebony led Vitae – the mare looked disappointed at having to part with her ‘Divine Daughter’ – back to the doors where Lightning Dust was waiting outside. She focused on Vitae as something else niggled at the back of her head.

“… Wait.”

Vitae stopped and turned. “Yes, Div-”

“I retrieved a folder from the human world. I believe I dropped it when Caed attacked me.”

“Oh, that! I picked it up, but didn’t have anywhere to put it, so I teleported it back to my apartment. I hope that’s okay.”

“Go get it,” Nightmare Moon ordered. “Ebony, that is full of relevant information, so make sure it is safe and secure. I want to discuss it with you and the others once things settle.”

Ebony nodded. “Understood, Empress.”

“That’s it; nothing more.”

This was the waiting room, so there was no better place to wait.

Nightmare Moon trotted over to the water cooler, filled a cup, and splashed the contents over her face before conjuring a towel to wipe the dust and blood away. She dispelled the towel with a puff of smoke and decided to just lie down there; the chairs were too small for her anyway, and nopony else was near the water cooler.

The other occupants of the waiting room were attempting to be discreet as they watched her from their peripherals or from over the tops of magazines they pretended to read. She didn’t care enough to growl at them to look elsewhere lest they lose the privilege of sight, so she ignored them and watched the clock that hung on the wall behind the receptionist’s desk.

It was ten past three in the afternoon and she was certain that it had been nearing noon when she had spotted the behemoth bug. Had this ordeal only lasted for three hours? She knew from experience that battles seemed to make time crawl, but even so, it felt longer than just three hours.

‘More daylight to work with at least.’

Nightmare Moon suddenly felt her flesh prickle and turned to see a big pair of eyes watching her.

What differentiated these eyes from the rest was the fact that they belonged to a filly that was standing in front of her.

“… What?”

The filly was wearing one of those garish smocks with too much embellishment, but it had a thin layer of brownish dust and was torn in several places. The satin bow on her back, which should have been tied, was undone and trailed on the floor listlessly. She had a small stub of a horn.

The filly was also staring at her, seemingly unafraid.

“Shoo,” Nightmare Moon flicked her hoof lazily. “Go to your parents.”

“My mom and dad got lost,” The filly replied, startlingly calm. “I couldn’t find them, so I came here to wait.”

“I see…” Nightmare Moon felt a small twinge of guilt before waving her hoof again. “Then wait someplace else – I am not in the mood for dealing with children.”

The filly stayed. She was a slight thing and her black mane was styled in twin pigtails that just screamed ‘I am small and innocent.’ Nightmare Moon had to look down to meet her gaze even though she was prone and the filly was stood. Quite admirable that she had ventured her on her own, really.

“Are you waiting for somepony?” The child suddenly asked.

“Did you not hear?” Nightmare Moon growled, flashing her teeth. “Get away from me. Do you not know who I am?”

The filly nodded. “Empress Nightmare Moon.”

“… And?”

“Hm? Oh… I don’t know. You have pretty eyes?”

“What?”

“Mom told me that I have to be nice to grown-ups and say nice things.”

“Apparently, she didn’t teach you about ‘stranger danger.’”

“She did. But you’re not a stranger – you’re Empress Nightmare Moon. You have a beautiful mane.”

Was this a joke? Had she fallen so far that she could no longer intimidate a child?

“Are you okay?” The child asked. “You’re making a weird face like you ate something yucky.”

“Merely contemplating my life and the ramifications that have befallen me,” Nightmare Moon lowered her head onto her hooves and, after a second’s hesitation, removed the greaves covering them and placed them to the side. “You’ll experience it sooner or later, so best prepare now.”

The filly blinked and lowered herself to the floor, too. “My name’s Fluorspar.”

“Mm…”

“So, are you waiting for somepony?”

“… Yes.”

“Are they your friend?”

“She is. Unbelievable, isn’t it?”

“How did she get hurt?”

“By helping me. I was facing Knight Enforcer Caed, the leader of the humans, and I wasn’t strong enough to best him, so she tried to help. It didn’t go well.”

Fluorspar nodded. “Oh. Do you know if she’s going to be okay?”

“She’ll live, but… she may be asleep for a long time,” Nightmare Moon scowled. “If she just stayed away like I told her, then maybe she wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

“Sounds like she was worried.”

“She was. In fact, I feel that she was more concerned about my safety than she was about her own. Or maybe she just didn’t plan ahead. She’s that kind of mare. Tends to think she’s invincible.”

“Like you?”

Nightmare Moon chuckled bitterly. “I’m not invincible. I’ve never thought that. Although, today was a particularly sore reminder.”

Truth be told, Nightmare Moon wasn’t even certain if Caed could have truly killed her. He would have destroyed her body, no doubt, but could he harm her essence, her true form? Only magic could touch her, and he sorely lacked that trait.

But it wouldn’t have mattered. Whether he could or couldn’t end her existence, she wouldn’t be able to affect him, to stop him from destroying everything she achieved. Caed could have killed her guards, her pet, ravaged her city for unicorns… kill Vinyl or worse… and she’d be known as the alicorn that failed to protect what she held close. Just like Celestia and Luna. She didn’t want to go down like that and the thought almost caused her to flee.

Yet she would have been damned if she had fled, too; Caed would have demolished her forces anyway, and she’d be known as the alicorn that ran away from the fight. She was not above tactical retreat if the situation called for it, but, again, everything that she held close was here in Canterlot and running would have meant giving the humans the chance to destroy or take it.

In the end, she chose to be defiant to her last breath, so at the very least, no one could call her a coward.

“Mom and dad say that you’re really strong,” Fluorspar said with a slow blink. “Dad saw it when you beat up Princess Celestia.”

“He saw that? By chance, was he part of the Royal Guard?”

Fluorspar cocked her head.

“Did he wear gold armour at any point?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmph,” Nightmare Moon smirked morbidly. “And despite that, his offspring is speaking with me. Ironic, isn’t it?” Fluorspar just stared. “You’re a strange one. Even children should know that I’m dangerous.”

“But you’re not going to hurt me.”

Nightmare Moon considered the filly’s wide eyes, but found no trace of a challenge; the filly was stating a fact, nothing more. “Even so, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be cautious. Life is full of dangers and what you trust or love one minute may be your downfall the next.”

“That’s sad.”

“That’s reality.”

A comfortable silence settled between them, during which Nightmare Moon felt yet another pair of eyes on her. Lazily, she turned her head, past Fluorspar, to see a young mare watching her from a nearby chair.

Correction: she felt another eye on her.

The left side of the mare’s face was wrapped in gauze with a few strands of purple hair peeking out. When she realized she had been caught, her face went pale and she reached to her side for a magazine that had already been swiped by the pony next to her.

“Hello,” Fluorspar greeted, her expression the same bland look. “You have a lovely coat.”

Nightmare Moon exhaled sharply and her lips twitched, the result of a chuckle that had bubbled up in her throat and gave up. “Would you believe that she’s giving a pep talk without even knowing it?”

“Um…” The mare murmured, pupil darting around. She swallowed nervously before saying, “I… I wish your friend luck, E-Empress.”

That was surprising.

Children were innocent and ignorant, so she didn’t find it odd to be wished good fortune by one, but for an adult to say the same thing? One that was just an ordinary citizen and not part of her Eclipse?

“Yes, thank you...” She replied off-hoofedly. "And I would appreciate if you didn't stare at me like I'm some caged animal."

“S-sorry!" The mare whimpered in distress before clumsily getting off her chair. Nightmare Moon stared, trying to process what she was doing, until she recognized the submissive posture of a bow. "I didn't mean to insult you, Y-Your Grace! Please don't hurt me!"

"Oh, stand up, would you?" Nightmare Moon grumbled. "I'm not in the mood to hear your grovelling. Perhaps another day. No, I’m serious; get up.”

The mare did so, but not without a wince. Nightmare Moon saw one of her legs twitch in obvious discomfort. “S-sorry... I didn’t mean to stare, but... I was...” She blinked - winked? - and swallowed nervously. “It’s just... Do you remember me?”

“No.” Nightmare Moon shook her head, beginning to get annoyed. She was certain she would have remembered this mare if she was important.

“My name’s Scripture. You saved me. I was running from that terrifying bug, and you flew in and saved me before it stepped on me.”

Now Nightmare Moon recalled that event; she could still feel the rush of air as the behemoth bug’s leg struck the ground inches from her body. “Ah, yes, I do remember. You struggled when I grabbed you.”

“Yes! Oh, I mean...”

“I suppose I can understand your reaction considering the circumstances,” Nightmare Moon shrugged. “Although, I don’t remember you having an eye injury.”

“I got it a little while after you put me down,” Scripture touched her gauze with a slight grimace. “Random debris from a building. It should be fine,” She started and put her hoof back down, as if remembering something, and went into another bow. “I-I just wanted to say thank you, Empress. For saving me.”

“... Very well. You’re welcome,” She hadn’t expected that. When was the last time a normal pony who wasn’t Vinyl thanked her? To be fair, she hardly made a habit of saving random civilians.

“If... I may, Empress... C-can you tell me about... the human world?” Scripture swallowed, nervous yet hopeful. “I heard that you got something from the human world. You went there?”

“Yes, I have,” Nightmare Moon hadn’t expected that; it was still somewhat incredible she was still talking despite being so obviously frightened. Was her curiosity that great? “But there is not much to tell: I entered the human world, rescued the captured unicorns, and landed a decisive blow against the humans while I was there,” She glanced up at the clock, then back. “If you wish for me to go into further detail, I suppose I can do so while I wait, but be warned that there are things you may find disturbing.”

Fluorspar blinked and tilted her head, drawing Nightmare Moon’s attention. “But if you saved the unicorns, that means it has a happy ending, right?”

“For them, but… not for everypony.”

Scripture carefully settled down on her belly. “I would love to hear it, Your Grace.”

Nightmare Moon paused. “Fine. If you’re so set on hearing it… I would have to start earlier today when the behemoth bug first arrived…”

Nightmare Moon didn’t tell them everything; she downplayed the importance of her and Vinyl’s relationship – writing her off as a casual acquaintance that just so happened to be the unicorn being taken through the portal that Nightmare Moon found – because she didn’t feel comfortable talking about it with them and she glazed over the landscape of the human world and their city because it was a desolate wasteland anyway.

She also might have inflated the number of knights she faced, but nopony was going to argue with her about that.

Her audience was enraptured: while it had started off with just Scripture and Fluorspar listening, now it seemed half the waiting room was hooked. The stallion who had swiped the magazine from earlier had given up pretending to read it and was now listening intently from his chair, much like several others. They, too, had fallen over themselves with ‘Your Grace’ and all the bowing when she gave them a puzzled look. It was good for a few seconds of amusement before she calmed down with a vague gesture; if they wanted to listen, then there was no law against it.

Besides, it was rather interesting to have ponies look at her and listen for reasons other than fear of injury. A kind of ‘interesting’ she liked.

The nurse, Bright, came back an hour ago, but the situation with Vinyl was still unclear: she was still in surgery, and Bright had come to relieve the other nurse that came in as Nightmare Moon was getting into her recount of the events in the human world. Bright, too, got over her fear of Nightmare Moon so she could listen in after she was brought up to speed by one of the others.

As Nightmare Moon was getting to the part about fighting an army of knights to get back to Vinyl and Eiswhel, a stallion and a mare burst through the doors, dishevelled and dirty with a frantic look in their eyes. Nightmare Moon paused and looked over with a raised eyebrow.

“Please, has anypony seen a filly?” The stallion pleaded, lifting his hoof and placing it near chest-level. “She’s about this high and wears a...” When his gaze went past the crowd and settled on her, a flare of shock, fear, and anger filled them. “You...”

Fluorspar squeezed between Scripture and another stallion before running over. “Mom! Dad!”

The mare gave a relieved and frightened cry and held Fluorspar against her chest. “Oh, thank, Faust you’re okay! My little jewel! I’m so sorry it took us this long…”

“It’s okay,” Fluorspar said in her unusual monotone. She wriggled back to face the crowd and pointed, a task made more difficult as her father joined the hug. “The Empress looked after me.”

Nightmare Moon was… happy?

Well, more like glad – she was glad to see that Fluorspar’s parents weren’t dead. It was the same feeling she got whenever she saw a puppy and it wasn’t being kicked or something, or when she saw Vinyl smiling and it wasn’t because she was planning to annoy her.

Well, maybe not as strong as that.

“Y-you looked after her?“ The father repeated, looking as if Celestia had just revealed herself to be several foals in a suit.

Nightmare Moon examined him closely before replying. ’Solid build, excellent posture, familiarity with me on a more personal level... Definitely somepony who was in the Royal Guard. I wonder if he was in the hall when he saw his ruler cast down?

“I didn’t look after her - she came beside me and wouldn’t leave, and I had no compulsion to shoo her off. She’s remarkably tenacious.”

“She wasn’t so bad, daddy,” Fluorspar added. Her father jerked at her words like she was suddenly hot to touch. “Maybe you were wrong about her?”

The poor stallion looked so conflicted that Nightmare Moon almost laughed. She wondered what must have been going through his mind. Was he going to chastise her and say that she was definitely bad - which she was, honestly - or was he going to just nod along, like most parents did?

As it turned out, he did the latter.

“Y-yeah, maybe...” He then looked directly at Nightmare Moon, grimacing like he wanted to spit at her, but another part was stopping him. “I-I don’t know what to say...” He paused. “Th-thank you, Nightmare Moon...”

He didn’t call her ‘Empress,’ she noted, but there was a small victory in getting somepony like him to convey his gratitude, wasn’t there?

She shrugged. “Think nothing of it. It was hardly a monumental task to keep her entertained. Speaking of which, where was I?” She turned back to the crowd. “Around the part about getting back to the human scientist? Well, I was travelling with the unicorns when...”

But just as she was about to continue, she noticed the sudden arrival of one of the doctors from earlier in her peripheral. Immediately, she excused herself from the crowd, stood, and walked over, only doubling back to grab her armor.

Her captive audience moaned in disappointment. They were unhappy to see her go.

An unfamiliar notion…

The doctor waited for her to approach before speaking, his voice low and subdued. “Empress, I’m happy to inform you that the operation was a success. We surgically removed her horn to alleviate the pressure on her brain and applied the alchemical mixture to repair the damage; there were no complications.”

Nightmare Moon exhaled slowly, but kept her expression still; the relief and joy was like a splash of warm water that soothed the tension between her shoulders. She was swift to get a reign on it, however, knowing that with every bit of good news, there was always…

“And the bad news?”

“… The thaumthynx are severely stunted.”

Nightmare Moon grimaced. “She won’t be able to cast magic?”

“The nerves may heal given time, but at this point in time, she will be incapable of casting magic,” The doctor sighed and rubbed at the dark circles framing his sockets. “She hasn’t woken up yet. I told you this before, didn’t I?”

“About how she may remain in a coma for some time?” She nodded. “Yes.”

“… Do you…” The doctor looked around and avoided eye contact. “We have pamphlets and staff members if you wish to talk about it…”

“Unnecessary – you will take me to see her.”

“Normally, we would wait until permitting visitors… but I suppose we can make an exception considering your circumstances.”

There might have been a subtle insult somewhere in there, but she didn’t care enough to call attention to it.

The doctor turned to walk back the way he came, and Nightmare Moon followed him.

As they traversed the corridors to a room different than the one from earlier, Nightmare Moon scowled at the floor tiles as she thought of how Vinyl’s state would interfere with her life. While she couldn’t see herself leaving Vinyl in hospital to recover where she could possibly come to more harm from another invasion, she couldn’t just keep going back and forth between the castle and the hospital, not when there was a city to rebuild.

Perhaps it would be better to have Vinyl recover at the castle and move some medical equipment and staff there?

‘That would negatively impact the hospital.’

She didn’t care, not if it would ease her fear- worry, if it would ease her worries.

“Six out of ten cases of root horn deficiency often involve the patient regaining consciousness within the next ten days. Additionally, it’s rare for a patient to remain in a coma longer than four months.” The doctor said; it sounded rehearsed, as did most of what they said, she supposed.

“Rare, but not unheard of.” Nightmare Moon interjected.

“... Th-there’s a theory that comatose patients are still somewhat aware of their surroundings and that family and, uh…” He briefly glanced at her uncertainly. “Well, speaking to them may help improve their condition through auditory stimulation and familiar voices would, naturally, provide the best results.”

“Hmph…”

“It’s just a suggestion,” The doctor paused as he stopped before a plain wooden door and lit his horn to grab the handle. “She’s the only one in here, so you’ll have full privacy.”

Nightmare Moon nodded, holding back another melancholic sigh; she just remembered that she would have to break the news to Octavia. It was somewhat surprising that the mare hadn’t shown up yet, but Nightmare Moon was thankful for that because at least now she could figure out the right way to say it.

Her usual blunt manner always served her well, but maybe, for Vinyl’s sake, she could find a gentler approach.

“I’ll just check her vitals before I go,” He said, pushing the door open and entering. “There are plenty more patients that I… should…”

He had stopped.

“What? What is it?” Nightmare Moon’s heartrate quickened a little as she strode forwards and used her large stature to look over his head.

She saw two beds in the room, one occupied by a unicorn who had shifted her head to give a drowsy and crooked smile.

“H-hey, Wolf… did you get him?”

“Mrs. Scratch, you’re-”

Nightmare Moon pushed him aside and briskly trotted over to Vinyl, first staring in disbelief, then half-smiling in joy, and then scowling with a baleful glare.

“You are an insignificant fool with more bravado than common sense! If you weren’t in that bed, I’d smear honey against your coat and toss you into the Everfree Forest! I’d turn your blood to acid and banish you to the sun! I’d hoof you over to Octavia and fabricate a lie that you cheated on her!”

Vinyl’s eyes widened. “W-Wolf, I’m already woozy and shit – you don’t need to make me friggin’ pass out again…”

“You deserve it and more, you reckless, short-sighted foal!”

It would have been easy to continue – she had a lot more – but Nightmare Moon’s anger was cooling fast and what was the point of hurling insults if there was no venom behind them?

She took a deep breath to compose herself. “Vinyl?”

“Y-yeah?”

“… Thank you for trying to help. And I’m happy you’re alive and awake.”

Vinyl beamed as her initial trepidation was washed away. “Heh… no worries, Wolf. You got that asshole?”

“He escaped. But make no mistake: we landed a decisive blow against the humans. Caed will almost certainly try another attack in the future, but he will do so without the advantages he used to have,” Nightmare Moon heard the doctor approach from behind and stepped to the side; it was a good idea to let him examine Vinyl, especially if she just woke up. “Enough about that. How are you feeling?”

“Like I got kicked in the head,” Vinyl chuckled, wincing as the doctor lit his horn. “Ah, jeez…”

“Follow the light, Mrs. Scratch,” The doctor moved back and forth slowly, watching Vinyl’s pupils follow. “You received a very serious head injury that caused considerable damage to your horn, the nerves below it, and the frontal lobe of your brain.”

“It occurred when Caed threw you.” Nightmare Moon added.

Vinyl grimaced. “Asshole.”

“Mrs. Scratch, it is imperative that you understand the severity of your injury. Due to the damage, you required surgery-”

“Whoa, seriously? Shit.”

“-to remove your horn, which had become misaligned because of blunt force trauma and was placing stress on your brain, resulting in a coma.”

“A… coma? I was…?” Vinyl reached up to her bandaged head and felt around until she touched the empty space where her horn should have been. “Holy fuck.”

“It’s… astonishing that you woke so fast,” The doctor turned to Nightmare Moon. “I was in here not ten minutes ago, and she was out like a light.”

“An unexpected but not unwelcome turn of events.”

“I could sense her ‘I’m gonna kill you, Vinyl’ attitude approaching and got scared awake,” The DJ snickered, and Nightmare Moon was happy to hear her remarks again. “Oh, what’s that? Do I see a tear?”

“Clearly, she is hallucinating, doctor. I assume shots are in order?”

“Hey, whoa, I don’t do shots, okay?”

“Please try to avoid moving around so much, Mrs. Scratch. There’s something that you need to know, and I’m afraid that it isn’t good news.”

A small amount of Nightmare Moon’s elation evaporated. ‘Right, I forgot about her magic…’

“Oh shit, please don’t tell me I’m never gonna walk again.”

“Uh, no, nothing to do with that – your limbs are perfectly functional aside from a minor dislocation in your left foreleg that can easily be healed. No, I’m talking about your… magic.”

“… Oh, yeah?”

“You see, Mrs. Scratch, there are complications that arise from your type of injury…”

“Uh oh, here comes the bad news, huh?” Vinyl kept grinning, but there was anxiety in her tone that she couldn’t mask. “As much as I want you to, don’t sugarcoat it. Just... tell it like it is, I guess. Heh heh...”

Nightmare Moon’s chest felt as if there was a weight on it. She had a compulsion to tell Vinyl about her injury herself, but for once, she wasn’t very willing to be the bringer of bad news. Besides, the doctor could explain it better than she could.

Speaking of which...

“Mrs. Scratch...” The doctor started, sombre and sympathetic. “Because of your injury, the nerves beneath the horn which conduct and allow the manipulation of magic are stunted,” He paused as Vinyl blinked and drew her brow together, confused. “You are unable to cast magic.”

“… Oh.”

That was it; a quiet, neutral acknowledgement, which was sufficient cause for concern.

“Bear in mind that you’ve just gotten out of surgery, so it’s not as if there’s no chance that they’ll heal, or that you will never be able to cast magic,” The doctor added. “There are several treatments that can help with that.”

Vinyl didn’t have her shades, so it was easy to see how she felt; her eyes were lowered, her jaw tense, and her eyes flicking back and forth over the bed, pointedly ignoring any contact. She was shocked.

“… Can’t I…?” Vinyl turned to look at a glass pitcher of clear water resting on the bedside table.

Her eyelids twitched in concentration.

Nothing happened.

Nightmare Moon levitated the pitcher and filled the empty glass beside it. “Save your strength for recovery. I didn’t go through all that trouble to save you only to have you perish from an aneurysm.”

“Yeah… yeah, you’re right,” Vinyl forced a grin as she sat up with a slight wince, and then took the glass with her hoof. She drained it all in one go. “Aw, stallion, that’s good. Shout me another?”

Nightmare Moon filled the glass again as the doctor finished checking the heart monitor. He seemed half-distracted by her and Vinyl’s interaction and stared openly as Nightmare Moon levitated the glass over while making sure Vinyl had a grip on it before letting go.

She glared at him coldly. “Unless you have something to say or do, then leave us. I’m sure you have other patients to attend to.”

“I…” He trailed off and instead gestured to a small, white box with a button it, hanging next to Vinyl’s bed by a plastic-covered wire. “Her vital signs are stable, but if there’s any complications, or if you need assistance, then press that button to transmit a magical signal to the desk. Somepony will come.”

“Yes, I’m aware of hospital protocols and processes.”

The doctor nodded and gave an awkward bow. “Yes, y-your Grace...” He bowed again before slipping out of the room, clearly thankful to be away from there.

“Maybe it’s best not to give the whole ‘grr, I’m gonna chew your face off’ shtick to the doctors and nurses, eh?” Vinyl chuckled as she swallowed the last of her water and handed it back. “Thanks. So… are you okay? Not hurt?”

Nightmare Moon grinned wryly. “I believe that’s my line. You’re not the one that can shrug off a hole in her stomach, remember?”

“Totally jealous of that, by the way. Seriously, though?”

“Seriously? I am…” Nightmare Moon mumbled, placing the glass off to the side. “I am relieved that you are awake, Vinyl. I was happy knowing that you would live, regardless, but for you to have recovered so swiftly… It is fortuitous.”

“Heh – still can’t be more open with your emotions?”

“That was still only a few hours ago. I believe I am being more open, at any rate. More than I am with most.”

“Yeah, true. You’re wrong about me recovering, though.”

“Hm?”

Vinyl waved her hoof where her horn should be and gave a sad little smile. “Don’t suppose there’s some super-secret, forbidden spell like something out of a Lovecraft book?”

“Unfortunately, even a mind as imaginative as the late Sir Hoof Prance could not create such a spell. The horn is simple, but not the nerves beneath it,” Nightmare Moon felt a surge of sympathy and guilt as she looked at Vinyl’s bandaged head. She concentrated on her eyes instead. “I have only basic understanding of pony physiology from books and knowledge that I obtained from others throughout my life, but I can explain the magical complications of your injury. Put simply, I think you would understand better if you thought of it as an organ transplant.”

“Why?”

“You’re aware that sometimes organs may be rejected if they’re transplanted?” A nod. “Imagine that except in this case, each unicorn’s magical signature is unique and always rejects anything different. Basically, somepony using a spell to try and repair the damaged nerves wouldn’t work because they would reject the other magical signature. Which is not a good outcome.”

Vinyl nodded, her grin waning. “Oh. Yeah, I… I don’t mean to be a sad sack, but… I need my magic for my music, ya know?”

“I understand.”

“I’m glad to be alive, but…” She swallowed heavily and slowly began to look ill and, somehow, paler than usual. “Fuck. I can’t use magic. I-I can’t use magic, Wolf!”

“You don’t know that for certain. There is a chance that you will recover fully.”

“Oh, really? What are the chances of that? 1 in a 100?”

Nightmare Moon hesitated because she was almost about to reply that, statistically, the odds were lower than that. Although, her silence was equally damning.

“Yeah, that’s really comforting, Wolf…” Vinyl grumbled with an unusual amount of spite.

The words carried an astonishing amount of weight; they hit Nightmare Moon in her belly, cold and sticky.

‘She’s upset, lashing out; she doesn’t mean it,’ She thought to herself, dimming the embers of anger that tried to spark to life. ‘Music is her life and magic is what fuels her music.’

Theoretically, Vinyl could still DJ and create music with her hooves, just like her wife, but Nightmare Moon understood that artists were infuriatingly complex individuals when it came to their creations; any little change in their lives could throw them off. Although, in Vinyl’s defense, losing the ability to manipulate magic was hardly a ‘little’ change.

But what could she do to help?

…

Unless…

Unless she took over and changed Vinyl, just as she did with her Praetorian Guard.

“H-hey, um… I’m sorry…” Vinyl said with a frustrated sigh. “Didn’t mean to snap like that. I was just…”

“Vinyl…”

“Tch, I don’t even know…”

“Listen to me – I believe I can help you with this.”

She looked at her in surprise, but nodded to show she was listening.

“Normally, your nerves would reject foreign magic, but I know of a way in which I can… well, ‘force’ them to accept. My magic, that is. Personally, I’m not adept with healing spells, but there is someone in my Praetorian Guard who is, and his magic contains traces of mine, so your body wouldn’t recognize it as foreign. He could heal you.”

Vinyl furrowed her brow thoughtfully. “O-kay, but… what is this… ‘change’ exactly?” Her lips twitched and mirth lit her eyes. “This isn’t gonna be some ritual where you stick your hoof in my chest while I’m dangling over a pit of fire, right?”

“Just listen: remember what I told you in the club? About how I am something more than equine? My power is not limited to my own will; I can share it amongst a few select ponies – my Praetorian Guard is the result of me sharing my power. I suppose you could call it... an ‘Induction.’”

Nightmare Moon paused, then grinned because she felt good that she could help Vinyl.

“I can fix you. I can make you better.”

“Wolf, you’re kinda freaking me out.”

“Apologies,” Nightmare Moon reeled her expression into a contented smirk. “But I speak the truth, Vinyl – I can do this. You just need to trust me enough to allow me to Induct you.”

“Wolf, I… I do, but…” Vinyl laughed nervously. “You realize this is kinda huge, right? I get you’re trying to help, but… I just woke up from a coma. Or… what could have been a coma, I guess. And I’ve just learned I’ve lost my magic, maybe permanently…”

“It doesn’t have to be. Just allow me to-”

“Wait, let me finish: what I’m trying to say is… we’ve all had a long day, and I just want to take some to… take things in, ya know?”

Nightmare Moon’s smirk wilted.

Vinyl made sense; it was only natural to take time to recuperate, especially after what she had been through. Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to spring this on her so suddenly.

But at the same time, she wanted to see Vinyl better and she was confident that she could help by infusing the mare with her power; it would not only fix the damage to her nerves, but make her stronger, faster, more resilient.

She could defend herself better, survive more easily.

“Yes, you are right,” Nightmare Moon nodded, deciding to acquiesce. “With everything that’s happened, perhaps we all need time to recover. Even so, I urge that you allow me to make you stronger – you will not regret it. The process is… uncomfortable, but it will be brief. After that…”

Vinyl smiled and nodded back, seemingly relieved. “Yeah, thanks. I’ll… have to think on it, though.”

“‘Think on…?’ If you’re concerned about the danger, then rest assured that there is none. I have been doing this since I first came into existence; it is as natural to me as walking or breathing is to you.”

“Um…”

“Don’t you want your magic back as soon as possible?”

“Of course, I do! But I… ugh, look…” Vinyl grimaced and shook her head. “Can we just… not talk about this now? I mean… we won, right? We should be celebrating that!”

“… Perhaps. However, it was not a victory without cost and effort.”

“Well, yeah, but… Wolf? You okay?”

Nightmare Moon furrowed her brow and growled lowly in her throat. “Caed was stronger than I could ever imagine. If you and everyone hadn’t helped, I would have lost.”

“Seriously? I mean, I saw he was holding his own, but, shit, I didn’t think he was that tough.”

“Astoundingly so. It was that strength which allowed him to overcome me. That strength that left me unable to retaliate when he…” Nightmare Moon trailed off with an irritated growl and glared at the floor. “It was because I wasn’t strong enough that you were hurt in the first place.”

“… Wolf, do you feel bad over what happened to me?”

“I… wish I had been able to protect you. To see you harmed, to try but fail in avenging you… it’s infuriating.”

Vinyl was frowning deeply. “Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you hard on yourself. Normally, you’re blaming everypony else for being a shit, and I can’t think of a single time when that wasn’t true.”

“Hmph…”

“Anyway, what the hell are you moping for? We won, didn’t we? Yeah, a lot of ponies got hurt and that… well, it really sucks, but it could have been a lot worse, eh? Come on…”

There was a sound of shuffling and Nightmare Moon looked up in time to receive a light punch to her foreleg. She blinked at the spot before looking at Vinyl’s cheerful grin.

“Lighten up?”

She was trying to comfort her.

Even though she had been kidnapped and suffered a traumatic injury that may have left her completely unable to use magic.

“Truly, I must seem pathetic standing here next to you.” Nightmare Moon sighed.

“Hey, we all get a moment of weakness: nothing to cry about. Remember that time when I hid in the closet at my own wedding? Heh… never thought you could come out of the closet twice.”

The remark managed a wry chuckle out of Nightmare Moon. “You are right, however. We did win. We landed a blow against the knights’ morale and survivability.”

“Hm?”

“I’ll tell you about it later. For now, focus on recovering. And… consider my offer.”

“Yeah, I will, Wolf. Thanks.”

Nightmare Moon managed a grim smile.

‘You’ve become an important part of my life, Vinyl. Just like my rule over Equestria and this city, I will keep you until my last breath.’

Author's Notes:

Note 1: Sir Hoof Prance Lovecraft is famous for his book series detailing the possibility of powerful, otherwordly deities observing and interacting with equine-kind. His best-selling book, The Deep that Calls, has sold almost 2 million copies. Sir Hoof Prance Lovecraft was born in 970 AD and, unfortunately, met an untimely end in 1035 AD when his stage coach lost a wheel and went off the side of a ravine.

Sir Hoof Prance Lovecraft was a well-known introvert, but became close friends with Harmonics, another author who originally wrote romance novels, but then switched to writing the horror genre to honour the memory of his friend.

Note 2: "Thaumthynx (thaw-m-th-inx) - a network of conductive nerves found beneath the horn of unicorns. The nerves consist of unique cells which draw in ambient magical energy through a process similar to ATP and, through the transmission of electrical currents via the brain, allow the manipulation of magic, commonly in the form of 'spells.'

"These nerves constantly emit magical energy, even when a unicorn is not actively casting, and through the process that allows the manipulation of magic, this energy gains a 'signal' or 'tone' that is unique to that unicorn; no other unicorn has the same magical signature, not even kin. This differentation means that two unicorns cannot mingle magic unless they are somehow channeling the same signature.

"The signature is stronger around the nerves, so while spells that affect the body will not be rejected if the affected unicorn isn't resisting, the horn and the thaumthynx must be avoided to prevent damage to either party.

"Damage to the thaumthynx can result in temporary or even permanent loss of magic manipulation."