Nightmane gave his daughter a murderous look. How had she managed to escape from their cellar? How had she managed to climb all the way to the summit of the mountain? How in Equestria had she managed to befriend all of these princesses in the space of a few seconds? Ugh! Friendliness, he thought in disgust, there isn't a more disgusting and evil feeling in the world. It's much better to be in control of a pony than be friends with them. If Moonlight has succeeded in her endeavors, it could mean trouble.
So, in order to keep up his pure appearance before the throng gathered behind him, he switched into a faux caring attitude. "Moonlight, my beloved daughter! Whatever are you doing here? We tried to find you and lead you on the path to this righteous sacrifice, but we couldn't locate you! Oh, my darling! Oh, my little foal!"
He picked her up and covered her face with kisses, but she could see right through his chicanery. Once he set her down, she ran back over and stood beside the princesses. He continued his charade. "Oh, my darling Moonlight! You must be careful! Surely you know the demons that you stand beside!" The crowd made a move to rush the escapees, but Nightmane held them back. "No, my brothers! First, let my daughter explain her odd choice, then you may kill them." The cultists, unsatisfied with being told to wait, pawed at the ground with impatient hooves. Good, Nightmane thought, their bloodthirst shall be this putrid land's undoing. Then I will rule Equestria! I will cause ponies to rise up and worship Luna. They will do whatever I command. Then, after a few months of lulling, I shall kill Luna and complete my takeover.
"Daddy," Moonlight began, "this is all wrong! Everything is wrong!"
"Why, whatever do you mean, dearest one?" He gave her a look that said, "go there, and you're dead," but she pressed on bravely. She was determined to free these poor ponies from the lock that her father's scam of a cult had on their brains. She looked up at Luna, who gave her an understanding look back, and continued.
"We have been forced to do things that are despicable by any moral standards! We have been forced to sacrifice the innocent, to kill the weak ponies among us and feast on their flesh, all because my father told you all that it would appease Luna!"
The crowd gasped. "She…she just spoke the name of the Great Mare of the Moon without the proper reverence!" Somepony shouted, "SHE MUST DIE!" The crowd went to rush her, and her father stood aside, happy to allow them to finish her off. But Celestia, Cadance, and Twilight stood beside her. The crowd stopped in their tracks. "See now," the same pony shouted, "the daughter of the Moon Priest hath become a demon herself! She hath been swayed by the lies and deceit of the three evil ones! WE MUST KILL THEM!"
With a great roar, the crowd rushed forward. The princesses and Moonlight couldn't do anything, for the royalty's magic was nonexistent and the filly was too young to put up a fight. But they forgot about Luna. The dark blue mare finally managed to break free from her crystalline bondage and flew down amidst the crowd. Immediately, they stopped their violence and hushed. They bowed low as Luna walked among them.
The Princess of the Night moved to where Moonlight lay, her breaths coming quick and blood flowing from multiple wounds. She gently picked the filly up and brushed off her coat before applying a magic spell to help heal her. Then, she walked back to the mobile throne and grabbed a small first aid kit out of her saddlebag. Good thing this wasn't forgotten, she told herself as she went back over and continued to gently help the small pony.
After seeing to it that Moonlight was stable, she moved to Twilight and administered the same treatment. After that, she went to Celestia, then Cadance. With every touch she made, every bandage she applied, and every spell that she cast, she showed her true love and friendship for these ponies. She hoped to show the crowd that she wasn't a vengeful goddess, but rather a kind and caring princess and friend.
After finishing, she stood up and addressed the crowd. "This…is friendship," she said, "the distorted picture of it you have received from this charlatan," here she pointed an accusatory hoof at Nightmane, "has ruined this village for years. I remember back when the founders of this town first came to my sister for permission to build this far north. They were kind ponies, who were very private and kept to themselves a lot. But still, this did not drive them away from friendship. When this town first came into existence, the ponies who traveled through here came back to Canterlot and reported tales of great kindness and compassion on the part of the villagers. But, sadly, I can see that a false hero worship has infected this town.
I am sorry that you live so far north that it's difficult for you to bask in the radiance of my sister's sun, but that's no reason to begin worshipping me. I'm not worthy of your worship. I'm no goddess. I am but a humble princess who strives every day to make up for the mistakes I have committed in the past, both as Nightmare Moon and as myself. I'm sorry if I have disappointed any of you, but truly, I just wish to be your friend. I don't want to be worshipped. Yes, I do wish to be treated with a certain amount of respect due to my position, but that doesn't mean I want you to grovel at my hooves every time I pass by. I'm not that kind of pony, none of us are. Yes, we may be princesses, but we're also your friends, and that is how we should be treated."
After finishing her small speech, she stepped back and stood next to her sisters and the young one. The ponies in the crowd gave each other despairing looks. Suddenly, another filly raised her hoof. "Yes, little one?" Celestia asked kindly. "So…does that mean you and Princess Twilight and Princess Cadance aren't evil?" The filly asked honestly.
Celestia nodded her head. "Of course we're not evil," she said, "we have nothing but the best intentions for, not only Equestria, but everypony in it."
"We seek to spread love and friendship throughout the land," Twilight said as she smiled through her pain, "and we will accomplish this mission."
"We have ourselves and each other and that's exactly where we need to be," Cadance said.
The ponies in the crowd turned to each other and began murmuring. They didn't know what to think. For years, they had been told that Princess Luna was the only princess worth loving and adoring because all they could see was her moon. They had been told that Celestia hid the sun from them out of vicious spite, and that Cadance and Twilight were evil as well. Had this all been a lie? Were Nightmane and his wife complete frauds?
They turned and looked at their leaders. Nightmane gulped nervously. His own daughter had broken his control on this village. Now, they were the ones painted into a corner. He chuckled and tried to sway control back to his side. "My friends, do you really believe a word that comes out of these lying mares' mouths? No, friends, do not believe it! For it is the word of the devil against our goddess!"
"Would 'our goddess' really have tended to 'the devil' with such compassion as she did? She showed true friendship to her fellow princesses, and even your own daughter!" Somepony challenged.
Nightmane doubled back a bit. He hadn't expected this crowd of duped, dumb ponies to catch on to his fraudulent behavior as quickly as they had. "Um…er…well…she…you know what? I just remembered that I have a sick relative in The Crystal Empire! We must be off!"
He and his wife tried to escape, but were blocked by the now former members of the destroyed cult. They tried to get out another way, but the princesses and Moonlight blocked it. Yet a third way was blocked by more disgruntled ex-members. "You told us we would have a glorious future if we worshipped Princess Luna," one of them said angrily as the crowd closed in on them, "you said we would be blessed if we gave you thousands of bits because it was the 'will of the mighty Princess.' How many other crimes have you justified by telling us that it was all Princess Luna's will?"
The crowd didn't give them a chance to respond and they rushed them. The princesses, who were busily reacquiring their magic from the sorrowful wizards, turned and stomped their hooves as one. The ground shook with their power. The ponies all cowered in fear. Celestia stepped forward. "My friends, please don't be afraid. Arise." So they all did. "You are innocent bystanders in all this. You have been duped by an evil pony and his wife. Unfortunately, I imagine that the cult had its share of leaders. Those are the ponies I would like to see now."
So some of them crept forward, shaking as they did so. Celestia's mane had begun flowing again, and she imposed herself on them. Now was the time for judgment to be handed out. She was a fair judge, and would consider the amount of involvement each of them had. So, one by one, she went along and asked them their name and how long they had been a leader within the scam.
She judged them accordingly. Some of them who had merely been spreaders of the word, she sentenced to community service within Ilswich. The wizards received 1 year of imprisonment in Canterlot's dungeon. Then came the ponies who had committed acts of sacrifice and cannibalism. These, she had no mercy on and threw them in Tartarus for life. Then came Nightmane's wife. She was sentenced to 135 years in Tartarus for not only acts of fraud, but for conspiracy to take over Equestria. Finally, Nightmane himself.
"Nightmane, you have been tried and found guilty of acts of fraud, malice, conduct unbecoming to a pony, voluntary and involuntary coltslaughter, and murder in the first degree. Also, I have it on good faith that you committed violating acts against a large number of the mares in the village, including one in your own house while your wife slept. You, sir, are the most despicable, evil creature I've ever met. You're worse than Tirek! You're worse than Grogar! You're worse than Sombra, Chrysalis, or Cozy Glow! For all of these acts, I hereby decree that you shall be put to death in the same manner that you have used to slaughter so many innocent ponies!"
A gasp went through the crowd, and through her fellow princesses. Celestia hadn't sentenced somepony to death in 1,500 years! Frankly, nopony ever broke the law as bad as Nightmane had. Twilight couldn't help but notice a tear in Celestia's eye as she passed judgment on Nightmane. She certainly didn't enjoy it, but the punishment had to fit the crime. Nightmane had spilled the blood of many innocent ponies, and he had to be made to pay a high price.
Celestia turned away from him. "Get this miserable excuse for a stallion out of my sight!"
At this command, two ex-members grabbed Nightmane and dragged him away, kicking and screaming. They tied him up to the stake that was there and quickly lit a fire. Celestia couldn't watch. Nopony could. Celestia wept as she heard Nightmane screaming. Soon the screams subsided and all that was left was his charred body.
