1056 AD, January 16th

“They’ve actually published this?”

Haze nodded. “Their first paper since the attack. It’s caused quite a stir, so I’ve heard.”

Nightmare Moon was barely listening to him. She shifted through the newspaper, speed-reading, her disbelief growing with every article. She didn’t expect this. When Haze cantered into the throne room and told her that she needed to see this paper, she rolled her eyes and expected to read a hundred articles bemoaning about how she was ruining the city and how she allowed the attack to happen.

She didn’t expect to be appraised.

“Scripture was a journalist..." Nightmare Moon echoed those words, remembering the bandaged mare. "I thought she was a little more direct and curious than your average pony. They’ve printed almost everything I’ve said at the hospital.”

“Is that legal to do without your permission?” Ebony asked, standing beside her throne like a statue. She leaned over for a better look at the paper. “Empress, do you…?”

“Do I wish to do something? No. I don’t see why I should,” Nightmare Moon shrugged. “It isn’t worth my time to try and manage every news outlet in Canterlot. Besides, this speaks highly of me.”

“Hey, are any of us mentioned in that?” Fade asked, taking to the air so he could hover above her throne. His flapping disturbed the pages, and Nightmare Moon huffed in annoyance before standing up. “Be nice to get an actual commendation, yeah?”

Nightmare Moon flicked the paper into his face and walked off. “There’s a photo of you on page 9. I think it captures your good side very well.”

“Well, it’s nice to have some measure of positive recognition for once,” Haze said, falling into step alongside Nightmare Moon. “Ah, another matter: Twilight has requested your presence on a matter concerning the Orxoni. She believes it’s a breakthrough.”

“Requested, hm?”

“I will not repeat her exact words for propriety’s sake.”

“Mm. Very well – let’s go see what this ‘breakthrough’ entails,” Nightmare Moon stopped and turned back to make a beckoning gesture. Ebony noticed, nodded, and trotted towards her. “I was on my way to see Vinyl anyway; her lab is on the same path.”

Fade suddenly cried out, and Ebony flinched and shot an annoyed look over her shoulder. “They got all these badass photos of everypony else, but I get the one where I got knocked into a trash can with my ass sticking out?”

Nightmare Moon smirked as she started walking towards the doors. “I said it captured your good side, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, real nice, boss. Shit, Lightning Dust’s gonna bust my balls over this…”

“That aside, how is the city’s current condition, Haze?”

“Coming along well. Most of the debris has been cleared and construction has been completed on several key structures. The populace is wary, but calm. I believe they have newfound confidence and a sense of safety in you, Empress.”

“They’ve finally realized that I am the lesser of two evils.”

He cocked one eyebrow. “You sound disappointed.”

“Do I? Oddly enough, I feel like I’ve lost some sort of competition.”

Nightmare Moon looked out the arched windows as they walked down the hallway. She could see almost the entire city from there. A few days ago, columns of smoke dominated the sky, but the weather ponies had cleared most of it and brought in some rain clouds to wash away any lingering embers on damaged buildings.

“How goes the clean-up of the behemoth bug?”

Haze turned a few pages he was carrying. “Forty percent of the carcass has been safely disposed of. We’re getting requests from Minos for the meat, and the shell has been proven effective in making up a portion of airboat hulls.”

“I’m sure Fancypants would appreciate those remains, and the minotaurs are welcome to however much of the bug they wish,” Nightmare Moon snorted and looked to the cloudy skies again. “The last thing we need is the corpse attracting a dragon.”

Ebony was content to be quiet on the walk, and Haze parroted whatever was on the sheets of paper in his magical grasp. Nightmare Moon half-listened to him and answered when prompted, but she was more preoccupied with her personal thoughts.

‘Caed retreated to his home, but we dealt a major blow by destroying those resurrecting pods and denying him a source of energy for the Spectrum Shifter. He must be getting desperate. But how much power did that machine have? Could he still use it?’

It pained Nightmare Moon to admit it, but she was hoping that he wouldn’t come back to Equestria and that was the last they would ever hear from him. It was an anticlimactic end, and her pride would be forever bruised that she would not get a rematch, but perhaps that was a worthy sacrifice if it meant she no longer had to worry about the humans.

But, of course, she was a realist; if Caed still had the means to use the Spectrum Shifter, then he would undoubtedly do so. Nightmare Moon recognized ambition when she saw it, and Caed was bursting with it; he was driven to save his people and would do anything to accomplish that.

‘Assuming those pods were the only ones and they are damaged beyond repair, then he and his knights can no longer come back from the dead. They can no longer throw themselves at us so recklessly. It may make them more cautious.’

Would Caed be willing to throw away the lives of his knights for his goals? If Nightmare Moon were in his position, then she would do it, but they were of two separate minds. In a way, Caed was more like Celestia and Twilight in that they would always choose the lives of their loved ones over the opportunity to destroy their enemy – a classic trope of choosing the lives of the few over the many.

‘And yet, isn’t that what I would do if Vinyl were in peril?’

… Regardless, Caed valued the lives of his knights, enough that he was driven into a rage that almost ended in her defeat. That sort of devotion might make him pause and debate on sending his knights out to fight again when they have no way returning from death.

‘The way I see it, he has two choices: send his knights out to try and get more unicorns, or find some other means to power his machine. The second scenario is highly unlikely, but the first has a lot of risks. Not only that, but we have the advantage of knowing just how dire his situation is. We can outlast them if we plan accordingly.’

Again, that was if the machine still had enough power for another assault.

She could only hope that was the case.

Nightmare Moon caught movement out of the corner of her eye and realized that Ebony was frowning in concern. “What is it?”

“S-sorry, I was asking if you’re okay. You… didn’t answer.”

“I’m fine. I was lost in my thoughts is all. What about you?”

“Me? Oh, I’m… I think I’m starting to smell a little better.”

Nightmare Moon sniffed the air. “Yes. Less like lemons and necrosis and more like sulphur and aged Griffonic cheese.”

Ebony’s smile wavered and she laughed weakly before staring down at the floor. “Great. Now, I have to find a freshener that masks sulphur and cheese.”

Nightmare Moon went back to her thoughts while keeping one ear attuned to Haze’s monotonous voice. She could see two Eclipse guarding the reinforced door that led to Twilight’s laboratory/room farther down the hallway.

“Empress Nightmare Moon! Empress Nightmare Moon!”

She turned in time to witness a mare in a maid’s uniform trip over her own feet and send a plate of muffins bouncing across the floor. The mare herself managed a spectacular flip before landing on her face with her rump in the air.

“Very nicely done,” Nightmare Moon narrowed her eyes as the mare stood with a blush. “Ah, I remember you. You’re the one that has trouble putting things down to open doors.”

“And other things, heh heh…” The mare scrambled to pick her muffins off the floor and back onto the plate. “I’m good at cooking, though. Or, or at least that’s what the chef told me. Anyway, I made these muffins and I would be honoured if you would be the first to try some. My Empress.”

“They were just on the floor.” Haze turned his nose up in disgust.

The mare flicked her hoof against the top of the muffins. “Is… that better?”

Nightmare Moon picked one up with magic. “Marginally," She could use something sweet to chew on, if only for the taste. Besides, she had tasted things worse than this. Blood was not a flavour one just forgot. "Thank you. Now, leave us and try not to put any more imprints in my floor.”

The mare bowed reverently and trotted away as Nightmare Moon opened the door and entered. Cinnamon filled her nostrils as she passed by tables and science apparatuses. She grimaced and took a bite of the muffin to dull the fragrance.

‘Yuck.’

She spotted the Orxoni up against the farthest corner of the room with Twilight standing in front of it, lost in thought judging by her lack of reaction. She probably didn’t even know Nightmare Moon was there.

“Ahem.”

No response.

“Twilight, your friends are here to rescue you.”

A jolt. “… Rot in Tartarus.”

Nightmare Moon snickered. “Later. Now, what was so important that you needed to request my presence of your own volition? Normally, I must pluck at your brain to get you to tell me anything,” Nightmare Moon moved up beside her and nudged her with the muffin. “Would you like a bite? It’s refreshingly bitter.”

Twilight glared at her and the offending muffin. “… Do you remember when I asked for the Orxoni to study the area where Caed and his knights escaped through that Fracture?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve finished going over my results and I believe I might have found something that could help Equestria.”

Nightmare Moon looked over her shoulder and gestured for Haze and Ebony to close the door. “Do tell.”

Ebony used her magic to shut the door, and Twilight walked over to a nearby blackboard. Nightmare Moon could hear the tap-tap of the crystal in Twilight’s left hindleg as it scraped against the floor with each step. Twilight appeared to have grown used to the crystals in her body, or at least learned to ignore the worst of it. Nightmare Moon wished she had time to examine Twilight’s body and see just how the crystals interacted with her physiology.

Twilight picked up a piece of worn chalk, and Nightmare Moon pushed those thoughts aside for the time being and stepped closer, taking another bitter bite of her snack.

Twilight wrote ‘Entropic Fractures’ in large, block letters, and then turned to face her. “What do we know about them?”

“Pockets of space that have been weakened to a point that the barriers that separate our world from others are torn apart, allowing those worlds to interact. This is common knowledge by now, Twilight.”

“Yes, but what else do they do?” Twilight questioned, swiftly writing down Nightmare Moon’s answer. “Entropic Fractures aren’t invisible, so they must emit…?”

“Light.”

“And they make a very distinctive noise, so…”

“They also emit sound.”

Twilight wrote down the two answers and drew a line between them. “And what do ‘light’ and ‘sound’ have in common?”

“They are both forms of energy.”

“Specifically, ‘radiant energy’ and ‘sound energy’.”

Both Haze and Ebony joined Nightmare Moon, though their expressions told her they weren’t feeling very confident in answering themselves.

Twilight was on a role, briefly forgetting their shared animosity as she fell into the role of ‘lecturer’. “And what do all forms of energy have in common?”

“… They power… th-things?” Ebony murmured unsurely.

“Energy can be transformed?” Haze tried.

“You’re almost there…” Twilight said.

Nightmare Moon mulled it over for a while. “Energy cannot be destroyed.”

Twilight nodded. “Energy is transformed into one type or the other, most of the time into ‘heat’. It’s where the theory of the heat death of the universe comes from. How this ties into the existence of other universes is open to speculation, but-”

“Twilight, how does this help us with the war?”

Irate at being interrupted, Twilight gave her a scathing glare before returning to the blackboard and drawing a zig-zagging line. “Pretend that this is a Fracture,” Next to the line, she drew an oval. “And this is the Resonator. As you know, the Resonator is our only means of forcibly closing Fractures; it does this by emitting magical energy to force the energy that’s creating the Fracture to transform into kinetic and heat. This abundance of heat and kinetic energy would result in a massive explosion if it wasn’t for the Elements of Harmony safely absorbing the energy.

“Additionally, the mirror portion of the Resonator – the Orxoni – is capable of using magical energy to create a ‘Fracture’ of its own into other worlds – such was the case with Sunset Shimmer. However, the Fracture is locked to that world and we can’t control it any other way. So, it’s better to use the Orxoni to close the Fractures the humans create.”

Levitating the wiper, Twilight brushed the oval until all that was left was a white smudge.

“But like you said, energy can’t be destroyed, so what happens to the Fractures that the humans close themselves? Well, I examined the spot the last Fracture had been in and found very high levels of ambient energy, mostly heat but also magical.”

“How did you find that out?” Haze questioned.

“I saw you waving this device around back then,” Ebony said, scratching her chin. “It was like a… metal detector.”

“That was a Arcanometer – it detects and gives a visual reading of the current level of ambient magic in the area. I only used it because the air felt unusually heavy. Like the change in air pressure before a storm. Once I got solid evidence that there was magical energy in the area, it was simple to find a causality between the two: when Fractures are closed by the humans, the energy in our world is converted into magic and heat.”

Nightmare Moon nodded in understanding. “And you’re planning to use this energy in some way?”

Twilight nodded, smiled a little, and lifted the chalk again. “It all comes back to the idea that energy cannot be destroyed, only transformed. I believe that with some adjustments to the Resonator, we can use magic to transform the ambient energy that results from a Fracture closing back to its original state.”

She drew the oval again within the smudge.

“Effectively re-opening the same Fracture the humans closed.”

Nightmare Moon narrowed her eyes and placed the muffin on the top of a nearby table before stepping closer. “That’s… brilliant.”

“Um, sorry, but… could you explain that again?” Ebony asked, blushing. “I want to be sure I understood what you just said.”

“Put simply, we could rig the Resonator to re-open any Fractures that the humans create.”

“Theoretically,” Twilight interjected. “As for practicality…”

“Yes, it’s the same problem we encountered when we first began work on the Resonator…” Nightmare Moon picked up another piece of chalk, her mind racing as it did calculations that her hoof replicated onto the board. “The heat and potential energy that would result from the transformative process would be tremendous. However, that should be easily rectified by using the Elements of Harmony to absorb it all.”

Twilight grimaced and shook her head. "It's unnerving how much you know about this."

Nightmare Moon flashed a smug grin. "Uncomfortable with the idea that your nemesis might possess a similar intellect to yours? You had the most interesting expressions when I worked on the Resonator with you and Sunset Shimmer."

"Can you blame me?" Twilight grumbled. "I don't know anything about you."

"And I intend to keep it that way. When you've, ah... 'chatted' to as many individuals as I have, you absorb a very diverse field of knowledge, like how it is generally a bad idea to talk too much about oneself."

"'Absorb'..." Twilight shuddered. "I don't even want to know. Anyway, we still need to calculate how much energy would be created by this new process,” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “That should be simple enough by applying the Law of Transformative Magic to the same calculations we used during the testing phase of the Resonator.”

“This is leagues beyond my education, Empress, but I assume you will need materials,” Haze pulled a pencil from seemingly nowhere as well as a clean sheet of paper. “That, at least I know I can assist with.”

Nightmare Moon nodded and turned to him. “We-”

“Crystals, first and foremost,” From a nearby table, Twilight levitated a clear blue quartz and glared at it like it had defecated on her paperwork. “Preferably crystals that I can work with; not these dime a dozen minerals that Starswirl wouldn’t even use to season his salad.”

Nightmare Moon curled her lip in irritation. “If I can work with them without issue, then you can.”

Twilight turned on her with a huff. “I can crunch these numbers by myself; I don't need you here."

“Watch your tone.”

“Don’t you have somepony to check on, anyway?”

In that instant, Nightmare Moon could see the regret in Twilight’s eyes, half-hidden behind cynical rebelliousness that had yet to be quashed; the smaller mare took a step back and tensed up, expecting a blow. Nightmare Moon might have done so, but she stopped herself in time. Her veins burned with acid as she swallowed her rage and gave a cold smile.

“Yes. Thank you for reminding me. I’m often so busy that I don’t have time to enjoy the simple things like enjoying the company of a friend. Of course, you know all about friendship, don’t you? You have so many friends,” Her grin widened, grew colder. “Out there, somewhere.”

Twilight snarled at her and magic sparked from her horn. “You…!”

“As much as I love exchanging insults with you, I think your time and energy is better devoted to ‘crunching these numbers’, isn’t it?” Nightmare Moon slapped the chalk down on the blackboard’s groove, reducing it to dust, and stepped away. “Since you’re so confident, then by all means, do it yourself. I’ll be back later during the day.”

Twilight snorted and turned her attention to the blackboard. “Fine. Go.”

“Haze, stay and take her requests for whatever she needs. Run them by me before you submit them, though.”

Haze dipped his head respectfully. “Of course.”

Nightmare Moon picked her muffin back up and headed back to the door, opened it and waited for Ebony to trot through, then plucked at the link she shared with Twilight as she went out.

‘Fall.’

The sound of a body hitting the floor and an indignant yelp brought a smile to her face and alleviated some of the anger that had built up. Petty as it may be, she was satisfied with what she did as she closed the heavy door.

“He-llo again, Empress!”

Nightmare Moon looked down the hallway and saw the same maid walking towards her. Her plate was empty, however, aside from a few crumbs. “You again.”

“Yup!” The maid giggled. “I finally found enough ponies to eat my muffins! Now I’m going back to make more. Oh, you’re still eating that?”

“I wish to savour the taste.”

“Oh, okay! What a compliment,” Sarcasm was clearly too esoteric a concept for this mare. “Well, thank you for trying it again, Empress. See you later!”

Nightmare Moon grunted ambiguously and watched the maid walk off for a second before moving in the opposite direction.

As much as she detested Twilight’s backtalk, she couldn't deny what she said was true. Ever since Vinyl got to the castle, Nightmare Moon had been struck with a strong temptation to check on her every couple of hours. It was ridiculous paranoia, of course; the castle was the safest place in Equestria – especially since Nightmare Moon made it her abode – but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Ebony suddenly made a little noise, and Nightmare Moon turned to watch her expectantly. “Um…” She stared with a vacant expression before blinking and clearing her throat. “Sorry, but about what Twilight said… that’s good, isn’t it? If it works, I mean.”

“Being able to manipulate the Fractures beyond merely closing them opens up more options; that’s always a good thing. The main advantage is that we could pursue the knights should they attempt to kidnap more unicorn. Furthermore, it allows us to finally go on the offensive instead of waiting for them to make their move.”

“We’re going to launch an assault on their world, then?”

Nightmare Moon took another bite of her muffin and thought on it. “… Perhaps. If you would remember the information I took from their headquarters, they are living on borrowed time. While we could launch an assault, perhaps it’s better to wait and let them bleed out. If we are lucky, the humans will perish with a whimper, having accomplished nothing. A sad but fitting end, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I can’t imagine going out like that. But I agree with you.”

“As would many others.”

“Empress, there’s another thing I wanted to know more about…”

“What is it?”

“I’m not sure if it’s my place to ask, but…” Ebony looked around to make sure they were alone. Two guards were on patrol, and she waited until they passed before continuing in a hushed whisper. “Are you really planning on making Vinyl one of us?”

“Should she accept, then yes.”

“So, she’ll be part of the Praetorian Guard?”

“She… No. I didn’t clarify. She’d be like you, but she won’t be a part of the Praetorian Guard.”

“Oh…”

Ebony was quiet, but Nightmare Moon felt this crawling sensation against her skin. She looked over to see a faint smile on Ebony’s face. Immediately, she was suspicious.

“What is that for?”

“Hm?”

“That smile… Why are you doing that?”

The grin faded and Ebony blushed. “Um, well…” She avoided eye contact and her ears flattened. “I just… thought…” Nightmare Moon continued to stare until Ebony looked back and panicked. “It’s just… It’s a little funny to see how much you care for her.”

“Don’t say that out loud.”

“And it’s kind of cute that you’d give her your power without expecting anything in return, so that’s why I-”

“Silence.”

Nightmare Moon shoved the remaining bit of her muffin into Ebony’s mouth to emphasize her rather lacklustre command. Truthfully, she wasn’t annoyed enough to be intimidating, but she wanted her Right Hoof to shut up.

This seemed like a good compromise.

“I discuss many things with you, Ebony, but my relationship with Vinyl is not one of those things. You’re welcome to think whatever you want, but kindly keep it to yourself.”

Ebony pulled a face and extracted the muffin with a disgusted gag before her expression changed into one of shame. “Sorry, Empress. I didn’t mean to offend.”

“Hm. Anyway, how have the Eclipse forces been faring?”

“Oh… good. I mean, ‘good’ like… I can’t complain, really,” Ebony seemed at a loss to what to do with the muffin, so she held it off to the side with magic. “The training is going well, the recruits are being fitted, and everything’s just… going really well. I think Lightning Dust is really helping the pegasi improve.”

“And how are things between the two of you?”

“Good. We’re not clashing over anything, if that’s what you mean. I think we’ve gotten better since the Crystal Empire; she doesn’t treat me so casually in front of the guards anymore, and I… I’m starting to really respect her flying skills.”

“I saw potential; that’s why I recruited her at Fade’s behest,” Nightmare Moon waved her hoof dismissively. “If it weren’t for that, then I don’t think I’d have bothered. Her desires are quite potent.”

“Desires?”

“She’s consumed with a need for vengeance against Rainbow Dash. She believes that it’s her fault that she was expelled from the Wonderbolts. Considering her natural talent even before I gave her some of my power, I don’t doubt that she would have been an exemplary Wonderbolt,” Nightmare Moon snorted and gave a little grin. “It’s all so piteous, isn’t it?”

“Consumed?” Ebony frowned, looking concerned. “I… didn’t know. She’s sort of egotistical, but I never imagined it ran so deep.”

“Oh, it does. But then again, I have an eye for these sorts of things. Believe me – Lightning Dust’s grudge against Rainbow Dash runs deep as an abyss.” Nightmare Moon smirked as she recalled the festering desire that lurked within Lightning Dust’s psyche; trouncing through it during the augmentation process was rather refreshing.

“Is that safe?” Ebony fretted.

“She’s anxious to humiliate Rainbow Dash; Lightning Dust may not be the most intelligent amongst our inner circle, but she’s smart enough to get that so long as she stays on my good side and remains loyal, she’ll get her chance soon enough…”

They came upon a door in the guest wing, utterly unremarkable and no different in appearance than any other door. However, it was a door Nightmare Moon had become familiar with over the past few days.

“We share a common enemy with Lightning Dust. Besides, should I feel she’s becoming a burden, I can always take back what I gave,” Nightmare Moon lifted her forehoof and knocked several times. “All I need is one touch.”

Ebony blinked. She might have said something else, but there were hoofsteps coming towards the door and she decided instead to press her lips together and remain quiet. Nightmare Moon didn’t press; if it was important, she could have used telepathy.

The door swung inwards and Nightmare Moon’s greeting smile faltered. “Oh, hello, Octavia,” The grey-coated mare nodded uneasily and took her forehoof off the doorknob. “How are you?”

Octavia moved her hooves. “I’m fine. Vinyl’s in the shower.”

Octavia had been spending every minute of her free time with Vinyl since the near-death experience. Nightmare Moon understood that and granted Octavia free access to Vinyl’s quarters, knowing that as much as Vinyl enjoyed Nightmare Moon’s company, a romantic partner fulfilled desires that a platonic partner couldn’t, both physically and emotionally.

“I see,” Nightmare Moon nodded. “I’m just going to wait for her, then; there are things I wish to discuss.”

Octavia nodded and trotted back into the room, leaving the door open.

“This is where we part, Ebony,” Nightmare Moon said. “I’m sure you’ll be able to find something to occupy yourself.”

“Yeah,” Ebony agreed and offered a little wave. “Goodbye, Empress. I’ll see you later?”

“Of course. Farewell.” Nightmare Moon walked in the room and closed the door without looking back. She felt a little bad leaving her with that muffin, but oh well.

Octavia took up a loveseat in the middle of the room and pretended to be interested in the steaming teacup on the coffee table. Nightmare Moon decided to remain standing near the door. She could hear the shower running in the bathroom and Vinyl humming to herself inside.

“Good tea?” Nightmare Moon asked. Octavia took a sip and shrugged. “Yes, it doesn’t smell all too good from here,” She rubbed her chin. “How has Vinyl been today?” Octavia put her tea down and signed her answer. “Still no progress? Unfortunate.”

A forced conversation. They weren’t enemies, and Octavia had already expressed her gratitude for saving Vinyl’s life, but their relationship was still cold and distant. Small talk was painful unless they were discussing music, but Nightmare Moon didn’t feel like talking about that. Although, Vinyl was also an awkward topic considering she had spoken to Octavia about Nightmare Moon’s offer. She secretly hoped Octavia would convince her to do it, but she wasn’t going to count on it.

The cascade of water ended not a moment too soon. Nightmare Moon stood straight and waited, her ears twitching as she heard Vinyl step out. There was the scritch-scritch of a towel against fur and the bathroom door creaked open, letting steam roll out and creep up the wall to the ceiling.

Vinyl stepped out, vigorously rubbing her mane with a blue towel, and her gaze went to Octavia, lighting up as it did, and then over to Nightmare Moon. She felt warm to see it light up, too.

“Oh hey, Wolf!” She tossed the towel away. Octavia gave a disgruntled ‘hmph’ that went unheeded. “How’s it goin’?”

“Fairly well, all things considered. The city is recovering,” She tilted her head, gesturing to Vinyl’s horn. “You are still having issues, I understand?”

Vinyl’s grin wavered a little. “Y-yeah. Sucks, but…” She shrugged and the grin returned full force. “What can you do? Hey, want something to drink?” She headed towards a mini-fridge in the corner. “I asked for a bunch of drinks and somepony came in and stocked it all the way up. Soda, beer – you still like beer, right?”

“I’m fine,” Nightmare Moon paused and rubbed her foreleg with the other as Vinyl rooted through the fridge. Octavia was sitting there, quiet but far from unnoticeable. “Vinyl, may I speak with you in private?”

Octavia looked at her, then to Vinyl.

“Uh, now?” Vinyl closed the fridge with a can of grape-flavoured pop in hoof. She met Octavia’s gaze and frowned. “Sure, I guess. I mean, you can just say it here if…”

“I’d rather it be in private. Octavia…” She met the cellist’s gaze when she turned. “If you will excuse us.”

She didn’t look entirely pleased, but she gave a nod and returned to her tea. They had her ‘blessing’, so to speak.

Vinyl shrugged. “Okay, sure. Let’s go out on the balcony. I think this is around the time that gardener comes out; he has a vendetta against this mole that digs everything up.”

Nightmare Moon crossed the room over to where Vinyl opened another door that led to the bedroom, and then over to the open balcony doors. Golden sunlight reflected off the pristine white railing and two wicker chairs faced the horizon, unoccupied and absorbing heat. Nightmare Moon stepped up to the railing and inhaled deeply; she could enjoy the spring breeze, if not the sun.

Vinyl joined her. “So, I think I know what this is about…” She sat down in one of the chairs and fumbled with the tab of her drink. She scowled in frustration. “Friggin’… Look, Wolf, I totally get where you’re coming from. Like, I see all the good shit. But I still need to- agh! Fucking can!”

Nightmare Moon lit her horn and snatched the can away before popping the tab. Vinyl grumbled and glared at the ground, but took it back when it was returned anyway. Tabs weren’t hard to pull even without magic, but Vinyl struggled nonetheless, and that concerned Nightmare Moon.

“Vinyl, you have difficulty with mundane tasks without your magic. You rarely ask for help and even when you succeed, I can tell you’re still miserable,” Nightmare Moon sat down, facing her friend. She couldn’t stand the way Vinyl pouted, but she wouldn’t look away when saying this. “Accept my offer to fix you, Vinyl.”

“I still need time to think.”

Nightmare Moon couldn’t help but growl in aggravation. “Why? Don’t you want your magic back? Your music?”

“Of course I do,” Vinyl murmured, swirling her hoof against the can’s mouth. “But if you do that, then it’s not really my magic, is it?”

“You’ve said that before…” Nightmare Moon rubbed the bridge of her nose and tried to reign in her temper. When it came to Vinyl, it was easy to let her guard down and be more emotional. Anger wouldn’t help Vinyl see reason, though. “And personally, I find it ridiculous. I may be the one that restored your magic, but it’s still you that wields it.”

Vinyl pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Yeah…”

“Look…” Nightmare Moon spread her forelegs. “This body was based on Luna’s form, but it’s still mine.”

“But you’re badass; you don’t care what ponies think of you.”

“And you do?” She snorted. “Since when have you been so hung up on what everypony thinks of you?”

“When it comes to my fans and my wife, I do.”

Nightmare Moon went to respond, then paused when she begrudgingly had to concede Vinyl had a point. It would be hypocritical of her to call out such sentimental reasoning when she was guilty of considering Vinyl’s emotional wellbeing, too. She wanted Vinyl as a friend, so she chose to not force augmentation upon her unless she had a straightforward answer.

That’s what being considerate was about, wasn’t it?

“I’m not an idiot, Wolf,” Vinyl continued with a sigh. She paused to take a drink. “I know Octy will love me even if I weighed as much as you with none of the height…” Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes. “And grew seven spider legs. Hell, she flat-out said she’d be fine if I accepted. And I know I have a lot of fans that also won’t care. But you know… some ponies do. Some ponies might even think that I’m allying myself with you.”

“You are my friend.”

“Friends can disagree,” Vinyl looked out into the garden. “I don’t agree with a lot of the stuff you do, even if you are protecting Equestria. But if I take your offer and look like the rest of those guys you hang out with, then ponies will think that I’m a legit part of your guard. Like a spy.”

“Hm… That is a possibility,” Nightmare Moon nodded. “And I don’t think any amount of affirmation that you’re not part of my guard will change their opinions.”

“I could probably handle it if they just thought bad of me…” Vinyl looked back, her brow furrowed in worry. “But what if they badmouth Octavia? Or my other friends? My fans? This is Canterlot: words hurt more than shills and stones, or however the hell it’s supposed to go…”

Nightmare Moon frowned in annoyance. As much power as she had, she couldn’t be everywhere at once and she couldn’t stop free speech. It would be a waste of time and resources to control every news outlet in Canterlot and monitor what is published to make sure no gossip would harm Vinyl or Octavia's reputation, especially when they were in the middle of a war.

Fancypants and Fleur were fine; their relationship was more professional than personal, so it would be hard for anypony to point at them, find a specific point where they were acting like they were in cahoots, and cry ‘treachery’.

‘I want to help her, but how can I do that if she doesn’t accept?’

“And between you and me…” Vinyl lowered her voice and looked back to the bedroom door. When she turned to Nightmare Moon again, she was grinning sheepishly, embarrassed. “I know Octy will love me no matter what, but I still want to keep my natural looks, ya know? That goth and edgy look your personal guards have will look shit on me.”

“Yes, I, ah…” Nightmare Moon cleared her throat. “I can’t control that.” Visual changes were the one thing she couldn’t control with her augmentation; they would always have draconic eyes and muted shades.

“So, now you know, huh?” Vinyl laughed weakly, though it stopped when she looked at her can. “I seriously hate not being able to use magic. Like, imagining never being able to use it is like…” She trailed off and shook her head. “I dunno. Maybe I will take your offer, but I need to make sure that… well, that I’m sure. Don’t want any regrets. That’d be like spitting in your face, huh?”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Nightmare Moon responded on what felt like reflex. “I would be…” She swallowed and fought back a cringe. “I would be happy to know that you have your magic. I already told you that I offer this because it would give you a greater chance of defending yourself.”

Vinyl chuckled, a genuine one. “Yeah, I know. You’re actually a little overprotective now,” Nightmare Moon scowled at her, and she gestured to the bedroom in response. “Well, you gave me this sweet-ass place for my recovery. Hell, you practically threatened me to stay here because it was the safest place in Canterlot.”

“I did not threaten you.”

“Don’t sweat it; I knew you were just putting on a show for everypony at the hospital.”

Nightmare Moon scowled harder. “Vinyl…”

“I know, I know.”

Nightmare Moon shook her head. She was really lenient with this mare. It was somewhat astounding just how much. And how much she didn’t mind it. “Very well.”

“Hm? What’s that for?”

“I came here to persuade you into making up your mind, but now I believe it’s better to just let you decide on your own time,” Nightmare Moon wasn’t happy with it, but she would be more unhappy forcing augmentation on her friend. “I still wholly believe you should do it, but my offer will stand for as long as you desire it. Whether you have already healed on your own, or not.”

Vinyl beamed with joy. “That’s… I’m really stoked to hear that, Wolf. Thanks.”

“I must admit…” Nightmare Moon returned the smile through her disappointment. “I am upset that I can’t threaten you into accepting like I do with my enemies. It would be so much easier.”

Vinyl blinked at her, red eyes glinting in the sun’s rays, like she wasn’t sure if that was a joke or not – it wasn’t – then chuckled. “Yeah, true. Honestly? If it was for something really important, then I’d take your offer no matter how I felt at the time.”

“Oh?” Nightmare Moon cocked her head in intrigue. “Like saving the world?”

“Well, yeah,” Vinyl nodded. “Everypony loves a hero.”

“What if it was to save me?”

Vinyl grinned from ear to ear.

“Wolf, if it was to save you, I’d get augmented to hell and back within a heartbeat.”

Nightmare Moon returned the grin with more subtlety. She liked this feeling; this sense of warmth and fulfilment that was similar to what she got when she inflicted harm on something she didn’t like, or when she obtained something she’d desired.

Unfortunately, her good mood evaporated the instant she felt a pressure at the back of her head.

“Empress?” Ebony’s mental link twitched with anxiety; she didn’t even wait for Nightmare Moon to answer before continuing. “Empress, I think you should see this. I-I’m coming in right now.”

“Wolf?” Vinyl tilted her head as Nightmare Moon’s face turned impassive and cold. “Everything okay?”

Nightmare Moon stood up. “I’m not sure,” She turned and walked back into the bedroom. She heard Vinyl quickly follow her. “My Right Hoof has something she needs to show me.”

She didn’t even make it to the door – Ebony practically barged in with a worried Octavia in tow when Nightmare Moon was halfway across the room. She had two pieces of paper in hoof, and Nightmare Moon grabbed it with her magic. If Ebony looked and sounded this alarmed, then the situation needed to be dealt with as quickly as possible.

She read the papers.

She re-read them.

“A guard ran up to me saying both of these were found nailed to the door of your personal quarters…” Ebony mumbled. Nightmare Moon was only minding her a little; she was focused on what was on the paper, a seemingly innocuous scrappy thing. “He didn’t see anyone leaving.”

“Wolf…” Vinyl said carefully, putting her drink down so she could return the concerned hug Octavia was giving her. “What’s going on? Are the knights back?”

Nightmare Moon finally looked away from the note. She met Vinyl’s gaze and shook her head. “No. It’s from Celestia…” How did it get in the castle? “She wishes to parlay.”

Vinyl’s eyes widened, and Octavia covered her mouth with her hoof in surprise. “Seriously?”

"That's what this one says..." Nightmare Moon levitated the note to the said and raised the other. "This one is in different hoofwriting: it appears to be an apology note, saying that whoever delivered the note was pressed for time and had no tape, so they took a nail from a nearby wall painting and used that instead."

Vinyl scratched her head. "That was..." She looked at Octavia, who shrugged. "Nice of them?"

"Are you sure the first one is from Celestia?" Ebony asked.

Nightmare Moon nodded. “It must be: somepony would have noticed an Entropic Fracture if it was a knight, and I can’t think of anybody else that would have the fortitude to elicit such a dangerous reaction from me.”

Nightmare Moon glared at the notes until they began to cake over with frost and crumble in her grip. She hadn’t heard a peep out of those fools in Ponyville since the princesses and the Element bearers escaped, yet now it seemed that they were finally making a move. And such an odd one, too…

No, it had to be a trap. Unless…

“They want to meet here in Canterlot,” She murmured, mostly to herself. “Celestia, Luna, even the Element bearers… what play is this? They know I have the advantage here.”

“Maybe they want a truce?” Vinyl suggested. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend?” Nightmare Moon glared at her. “Or… my ally? Will ‘ally’ calm your teats? Don’t eat me.”

“Ebony – put the castle on alert,” Nightmare Moon ordered. “Somepony had to have snuck in to place that note. Check every Eclipse guard’s routine and found out whose route takes them near my personal quarters.”

Ebony saluted. “Right away, Empress.”

“In the meantime…” Nightmare Moon licked her teeth, her mind already working on how to turn this unforeseen development in her favour. Of course there were risks – Celestia and Luna wouldn’t risk a meeting unless they had something up their sleeves. And to include the Element bearers as well? That was an ambush if she ever heard one, but Nightmare Moon had more than a few tricks and precautions to counter whatever they might have. Let those mares come, then; she would be ready. “Send me a messenger – this calls for a swift response.”

Ooh, this was quite thrilling! She’d love nothing more than to capture those alicorns and inflict the same pain and humiliation she experienced back then!

“Wolf?” Vinyl swallowed. Nightmare Moon remembered her company and reigned in the bloodthirst in her face. “Seems kinda redundant to ask if you’re ‘alright’, so I’m just gonna ask if I need to be worried.”

“My nemeses are simply arriving in two days’ time for talks,” Nightmare Moon replied with a comforting, knife-toothed rictus. “Depending on what they say, there may be a few explosions and corpses. Nothing you need concern yourself with so long as you remain within the castle,” Vinyl cocked one eyebrow and lowered the other. “Come now – it’s nothing compared to what you went through in the human world.”

“Yeah, that’s what they say in the movies right before things go to shit.”

“… so I gave her the note, and then she slips this muffin to me,” The burly stallion shrugged emphatically to his friend. “What the hell am I supposed to do with this?”

Said friend took one sniff of the muffin in his friend’s hoof and recoiled in distaste. “Throw it in the rubbish, dude. Look – we gotta secure this place before General Zombie gets her teeth on our asses.”

The burly stallion sighed, but followed his friend as they ran down the corridor and narrowly missed a maid cleaning a nearby window.

Said maid turned her head to watch them vanish around a corner before harrumphing. “How rude to pawn off such a passionately created baked good…”

Before anypony could turn into the corridor, she pushed the window open and jumped out with a flash of green fire.

Author's Notes:

Note 1: "Eh? How does it work? I don't really know, honestly - the boss doesn't really talk much about herself, yeah? I... heard something from Haze about it... I think he said that the boss acts like this big conduit of power, and me and you and the others are 'connected' to her with magical cords or some shit; it's how we get this power and how she does that telepathy shit, yeah? Kinda had this bad dream about her taking a pair of scissors to those cords after I heard that..." - Fade in a conversation with Lightning Dust.

Note 2: The Law of Transformative Magic dictates [the amount of magical energy converted into another form of energy will always exceed the original usage]. Therefore, barring certain circumstances, magic will almost always surpass any form of energy as a power source. However, magic is also unpredictable, especially in an active state, so using other forms of energy is not an obsolete practise.