As a student of Princess Celestia, running alone into the depths of the dangerous forest on the eve of the 1000th Summer Sun Celebration to these ruins, which had long been forgotten by other ponies.
Nightmare Moon would never believe that she had no other purpose and had simply run over here to wander around.
Furthermore, Aurora did not seem overly surprised by her appearance, which suggested she truly believed the story of Nightmare Moon was no mere legend and had somewhat anticipated her arrival during this period.
That made Aurora's purpose for being here all the more intriguing; perhaps she had come specifically to search for the elements of harmony.
Although Nightmare Moon was feeling incredibly inflated at the moment, especially after defeating her sister, she felt that there was no longer a single enemy in Equestria who could stand against her. Nevertheless, she was not arrogant enough to disregard the elements of harmony.
After Nightmare Moon attacked Celestia and banished her to the sun, she searched the entire Canterlot Castle, but apart from the limited-edition cake her sister had hidden away, she could not find where her sister had placed the elements of harmony.
Having finished the cake, Nightmare Moon thought of this place—the Old Castle. It had been severely damaged during the destructive battle between the two sisters a thousand years ago and had since been abandoned.
That was when she ran into Aurora, who was supposedly here to retrieve the elements of harmony but was actually hiding away to slack off.
It just goes to show that fate is truly a [redacted] thing.
"...If I said I really just happened to be passing through, would you believe me?"
Although she had told the M6 that she was coming to retrieve the elements of harmony, she had actually only intended to pay lip service to the idea. She never expected to bump into Nightmare Moon herself. In all likelihood, she wouldn't be able to bring the elements of harmony back now, though she couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Still, if she had a choice, Aurora would not have wanted things to end up this way.
After all, nobody wants to sneak out to slack off only to be watched by a different boss—especially one with whom there was no emotional rapport, making it necessary to carefully weigh every word before speaking.
Escaping was not difficult for Aurora; she had a method to "teleport home" in case of emergencies.
It should be noted that Flying Light's magical strength had always been the foundation of her confidence, allowing her to remain calm in any dangerous situation. Even if Nightmare Moon were to suddenly go berserk and show signs of aggression, Flying Light knew a few ways to protect herself.
But the problem was that if she suddenly vanished in front of Nightmare Moon, the latter would likely pursue her to Ponyville immediately. Given an Alicorn's flight speed, Flying Light would be hearing that familiar, booming royal voice in Ponyville within a few minutes at most.
Moreover, after witnessing her methods, Nightmare Moon's vigilance would only increase, effectively raising the difficulty level for the M6 in the end.
Our production values friendship as magic, not firepower as justice.
"What are you hesitating for? You don't actually think anypony is going to come all the way out here to save you, do you? Don't be silly! Even your trusted teacher is no match for me; who else could you possibly count on now?"
Nightmare Moon clearly did not believe what Aurora was saying; she felt that Aurora was deliberately playing dumb to stall for time while waiting for reinforcements. She cast a mocking glance at Aurora, though a trace of impatience crept into her tone.
"I advise you not to try anything in front of me; loyalty to me is your only way out now."
Nightmare Moon was right; Aurora was indeed stalling for time.
The early onset of darkness should have already alerted the ponies of Ponyville to the anomaly. If she also failed to return after such a long time, the ponies would naturally come looking for her.
The tacit understanding and favorability ratings of the M6 had been boosted high enough in advance—certainly higher than the last-minute efforts seen in the original story.
As long as the six of them stood before Nightmare Moon together, shouting "Friendship is Magic" while launching their charge, the nearby, unseen elements of harmony would naturally follow the scent and join the fray.
Therefore, Aurora just needed to keep Nightmare Moon pinned within the ruins of this Old Castle and prevent her from wandering off.
"You are the Princess of the Moon of Equestria; of course, I will respect and be loyal to you."
With a plan for what to do next, Aurora calmed herself, appearing more composed when facing Nightmare Moon.
"So, I have no intention of deceiving you. In fact, this is not my first time here; I often come to this place to find books to read, and today is no exception."
"Are you sure you only came to look for books, and not something else?"
Nightmare Moon cast a scrutinizing gaze, and Aurora met her eyes without a hint of fear.
"Is the castle not open to the public today?"
"...A thousand years have passed; I suppose this place no longer has such rules or restrictions."
"I suppose so."
Although she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, Nightmare Moon truly sensed no hostility from Aurora, so she temporarily set her doubts aside.
"I have a question that has troubled me for many years, and perhaps you are the only one who can answer it."
Perhaps it had been a long time since she had a proper conversation with a pony. Facing one who was not afraid of her, Nightmare Moon showed great patience.
After all, she had already dealt with Celestia; taking back control of Equestria was a certainty, so she could spare a little time.
"Do you have any recollection of this book?"
Aurora took the magic book out of her backpack. Because she had occasionally torn out pages to use over the years, it was much thinner than when she had first acquired it.
Nightmare Moon took the magic book from Aurora and flipped through it, only to find that there wasn't a single word written inside. She almost thought Aurora was toying with her.
"Once, a pony used the properties of this book to set up another mysterious magic trap using Nightmare Magic. Afterward, not a single witness could remember the details of the process or the incantation of the spell."
"Nightmare Magic can also manipulate memories? That is the first I've heard of it."
Nightmare Moon flipped through the blank magic book for a moment, soon lost interest, and returned it to Aurora.
"Are you sure it was Nightmare Magic you encountered, and not something else?"
Nightmare Moon did not recall any other ponies in the world besides herself who could use magic related to dreams, so hearing that this incident was caused by Nightmare Magic felt like an insinuation against her.
"Princess Celestia said it was Nightmare Magic."
When Aurora brought up how The Grand Princess had slandered her sister back then, she saw Nightmare Moon's brow furrow deeper and deeper, so she immediately changed the subject.
"We all believe this has nothing to do with you; after all, you are an upright and honorable princess. It is just that the magical residue at the scene was indeed Nightmare Magic. Perhaps another pony obtained this power for some reason and committed the act."
Upon hearing Aurora's explanation, Nightmare Moon's expression softened slightly.
Even as Nightmare Moon, she, Princess Luna, was honorable. She would absolutely not be tricked into taking the blame for something she hadn't done!
"But I still do not quite understand. I can be certain that Nightmare Magic and Memory Magic are two distinct forms of magic. Why do you believe the memory loss effect came from Nightmare Magic, rather than some other magic you have long since forgotten?"
"Because the purpose of Nightmare Magic's existence was to mask another type of magic. If the memory loss was a side effect of that other magic, then the traces of the Nightmare Magic would have been hidden as well."
Once the conversation turned to the properties and derivatives of magic, Aurora was wide awake. Even if the M6 arrived now with the elements of harmony, they would have to wait; even if the Rainbow Cannon arrived, it would have to wait until she and Nightmare Moon finished discussing magic before it could fire.
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