The Princess of the Night
Chapter 9 – The Return
Gerard awkwardly stumbled out of the way of the carriage, cursing.
"Goddess damn, this civilisation thing is everywhere."
For a pony that hadn't left his cave in the better part of seven centuries, it was quite a shock. That and, the city in question was one of the largest in the kingdom. Canterlot. Gerard had been able to see the castle for hours now; it was just a matter of navigating a labyrinth of streets to get there. He was tempted to simply teleport to one of the high balconies he could see, but he suspected that would be frowned upon. He opted instead for a more subtle tactic. A pile of pebbles and a burst of magic later, Gerard was inside a taxi carriage on his way to the castle, his saddlebags filled with spare bits.
Half an hour later, Gerard was walking up the winding path to Canterlot castle. He could see some sort of commotion up ahead. A young purple unicorn appeared to be in more of a hurry to get to the castle than he was.
"How odd." Commented a voice from the back of Gerard's head. "Do you think she knows?"
"Highly unlikely," muttered Gerard in response. "She's probably just late for some get together or something."
By now, the gates were in sight, and Gerard noticed a serious lack of guards there.
"They've grown a bit lax with security, don't you think?" inquired the voice.
"Indeed they have. In Luna's time the gates would always be manned." Gerard whispered distractedly, focusing on the magical auras all around him, just as Luna had taught him. Several of these stood out. Two of them were in seemingly random locations throughout the castle. Gerard assumed they were simply powerful unicorns in the employ of the princess. The third aura, however, glowed as bright as the sun and was directly ahead. Perfect.
Gerard trotted purposefully towards the throne room, only to find his path blocked by the outstretched wings of two Pegasus guard ponies.
"Do you have an appointment with the princess?" asked one gruffly.
"Well, not exact-"
"If you have no business with the princess, then I'll have to ask you to leave." Interrupted the other guard.
"No, you don't understand, it's imperative that the prin-" Gerard tried again. Just then, the doors to the throne room were encased in a golden glow, slowly swinging inwards to reveal a large white Alicorn wearing a crown. Celestia. Her voice was slightly strained as she spoke, trying to hide the annoyance.
"What is all the commotion about?" she asked, appraising Gerard, who flinched under her gaze. This was, after all, the pony responsible for the very existence of Nightmare Moon.
"This pony demands an audience with you, Your Majesty." Stated Guard One.
Celestia raised an eyebrow at that.
"Does he now? Well I'm afraid I am quite busy at the moment, but if you wish to make an appointment-"
"No princess, that simply won't do. I need to speak to you right away. The fate of Equestria hangs in the balance!"
Celestia ignored Gerard, turning to Guard Two.
"Please escort our guest here out of the castle."
"At once, Your Highness." Came the reply.
The guards darted forward, restraining Gerard with strong fore hooves, flying him towards the exit. Gerard struggled to break free, catching a glimpse of the throne room before the doors slammed shut. It was enough.
"And stay out!" shouted one of the guards as they pushed him out the great doors of the castle. Gerard hid a smirk.
"That went well," commented the voice sarcastically.
"It went according to plan," retorted Gerard, his horn beginning to glow.
"Getting kicked out was part of the plan?"
Another layer of light burst into existence around Gerard's horn as he began to sweat.
"No, this is the plan," said Gerard through gritted teeth, disappearing.
Princess Celestia looked up from her work as she felt a huge surge of magic in the room. Instinctively, she erected a shield around herself, turning as a large ball of light materialised into a brown pony, who swayed for a moment before regaining his balance.
Celestia stood there, her mouth slightly agape. Forcing it closed, she asked; "Didn't I just get my guards to throw you out?"
"Yes," answered Gerard, "and I'm even going to forgive you for that, but I really do need to talk to you, and it really is very important."
"You just teleported in here?"
Gerard nodded.
"But… how?" asked the Princess, confused.
"I caught a glimpse of this room as your guards 'escorted' me out. After that, it was quite easy to just teleport in here." Gerard said casually.
The Princess relented. "Fine. What is it you want to talk about?"
"Well," began Gerard, "as I'm sure you've noticed, it is the eve of the thousandth year of the Summer Sun Celebration."
"Yes? And?" inquired Celestia. At that moment, Gerard sensed an unfamiliar magic, just as a scroll appeared in front of the princess. "Excuse me, I must read this," she said distractedly, already unravelling the scroll. Her eyes narrowed as she read. As she finished reading, she levitated over a quill and some parchment, scribbling a quick reply before sending it back to its destination.
She turned and regarded Gerard with a curious expression. "Why is it I get the feeling you're going to warn me about the same thing as Twilight Sparkle?"
"Who?" inquired Gerard.
"Never mind. What is it that is so important?"
"As I was saying, it has been almost one thousand years since you used the Elements of Harmony to banish Nightmare Moon." Gerard stopped, lost in the memory of that night.
Celestia narrowed her eyes. "Enough. I will have no more talk of Nightmare Moon."
"She will return," insisted Gerard softly.
"Is that a threat?" asked Celestia, her voice low, dangerous.
"No, it's an inevitability. And if you would just allow me to explain-"
"I have had enough of this," interrupted the princess, her horn beginning to glow. "Be gone."
Gerard froze, the foalish worry that he was going to be banished to the moon sticking in his mind. However, when the glow subsided, he found himself in the castle courtyard, unscathed.
Luna fell to her knees, gasping. She was covered in sweat, gritting her teeth.
"No! You can't do this! I won't let you!" she exclaimed, attempting to rise to her hooves. She was unsteady, and slumped into a chair. A thought flashed through her pounding head. This was the chair he sat in. Gerard. Strength flooded the princess's body, and she felt her headache lessen. This was bad. This was very bad. She knew that Nightmare Moon would eventually break free of her mental restraints, buy why did it have to be now, on the eve of her return?
A malevolent voice in her head whispered;
"You really don't know, do you?" the tone was low, mocking. "Remember when we first came to this world? The shock of changing dimensions gave you the chance to take over. Do you really think we could pass up an opportunity like that?"
This shocked the lunar princess into silence. How had she not thought of that?
"How indeed?" chuckled Nightmare cruelly. "What do you think we should do first when we return? Perhaps we should pay our dearest sister Celestia a visit? Or maybe we should greet our loyal subjects? Yes, that idea pleases us…"
Luna slammed her hoof on the table, causing the wood to crack and splinter.
"I won't let you!"
Nightmare sighed impatiently. "Still resisting, are we? Well we'll see how much fight you have left in you after we've dealt with your beloved Gerard."
Luna's jaw dropped so low it almost unhinged. "You wouldn't…" she whispered, horrified.
"Oh but we would," purred the princess's evil twin. "We would make it long and drawn out, savouring his every scream." Her voice hardened, "And we will make you watch every single second of it."
Unbidden, images started flashing through Luna's mind, each more gruesome and disturbing than the last.
Gerard, still human, bound to a chair, covered in nicks and bruises. His screams of agony as each individual nail was pulled from his hands and feet. His winces and groans as small cuts opened up all over his body. The sharp cracks as his bones slowly snap-
"ENOUGH!" roared Luna in the Royal Canterlot Voice. She collapsed once more, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Please," she begged between sobs "no more."
"As you wish."
Luna could hear the smile in Nightmare's voice. Small crackles of electricity materialised around Luna.
"Finally!" shrieked Nightmare gleefully.
With a flash, Luna disappeared.
Gerard was fuming. He wandered aimlessly through a small town called Ponyville, muttering to himself. Several ponies had already taken notice and were avoiding him.
"How can she be so blind?" he wondered aloud.
"Maybe she's in denial?" suggested the voice.
"No pony could be that idiotic. Just because she's an Alicorn doesn't mean she's all-powerful. All spells wear off over time. That's like the first rule of magic." He huffed, slumping against a large tree.
"Gerard, you have to remember this is her sister. She turned into an honest to goodness monster. Maybe she wants to believe Nightmare Moon is gone forever, even if it means giving up her only family."
"Ugh, why do you always have to be so deep?" Gerard enquired as he heard some ponies approaching him.
"And that's the story of my whole entire life. Well, up until today. Do you want to hear about today?" asked a little purple and green dragon.
"Oh yes please!" replied a butter yellow pony, who was following a familiar purple pony.
"Ok, now that is weird." Stated the voice.
"What?" muttered Gerard, confused.
"Well this is the second time we've seen that purple mare now. I'm really starting to think she's involved in this somehow."
"Oh please, two coincidences in a row like this may be unlikely, but it's still easier to believe than some random unicorn knowing about the potential end of the world."
"Ok, suit yourself," mumbled the voice.
Sometime during the conversation the two ponies and the dragon had disappeared inside the giant tree, and the sounds of music could be heard from within.
"Shall we go investigate?" inquired the voice.
Gerard knew if it had a face, it's eyebrow would be cocked.
"We shall."