Upon hearing this, the bat ponies ran, led by Major Antares, to surround the Princess of the Night, weapons in their mouths, to hold her at swordpoint.
Swift, on the other hand, went to secure the helmet, borrowing Trixie's hat without asking for it, to avoid touching it directly, for fear of contaminating it with a part of his memories.
"Moony?!" Aglowing shouted worried.
The young guardian was livid at seeing Luna treat Nightmare Moon's life so dispassionately. Keeping her calm with difficulty, she grabbed Luna by the horn. "Stop it!"
"I promised not to touch the changelings, Nightmare Moon is not a changeling," she calmly reminded whom she thought was Pepper. “Besides, it's only a matter of seconds now.”
"Moony!!!" shouted Aglowing in terror.
Gamine, orange wisps trailing from her eyes, realised that she would not be able to save Nightmare Moon. She smashed Luna's head against the floor in rage, and started to run towards Nightmare Moon.
The shock was too violent and Luna lost consciousness.
The bat ponies kept an eye on her.
The Tantabus was barely larger than an apple, and the presence of Nightmare Moon was barely visible, a leg or horn desperately trying to reach freedom.
Gamine, not knowing if the destruction of Nightmare Moon would be complete, wanted to make sure that her soul would survive the Tantabus. She was forced to use her native magic. Her eyes and the golden halo around her horn turned into a deep shade of purple and green as she threw herself on the Tantabus to tear Nightmare Moon's soul away from it.
The ethereal body disappeared like a soap bubble, only a powerful opalescent flame remained, which flickered in silence, weakly illuminating the guardian's face, who held it the palm of her left hand, gloved with a purple halo.
In tears, the child approached first, observing the flame that reminded him of a star that had fallen from the sky. "Pepper! Where's Moony?!"
Sitting on her rump, Gamine replied, fascinated by the soul. "What I hold in my hand... is all that is left of her," her gaze was glued to the soul. The power that emanated from it, she felt it pushing through her arm.
Pepper woke up. As she witnessed the situation, she frowned, yet remained silent.
"What do you mean, all that's left of her?" asked the child.
Never before had any creatures in Equestria seen a soul, but it was enough to know what kind of monster was standing in front of them to quickly come to the conclusion of what this luminous white flame was. Trixie, Chitin, Chrysalis, Swift, Antares and all the bat ponies present understood that the situation had just degenerated into the worst possible scenario. If nothing was done, Nightmare Moon would suffer the same fate as Celestia.
The tension in the air quickly became palpable, and captivated by the soul in front of her, Gamine confused the ambient uneasiness for hostility. Every second she spent like this, simply holding the soul in her hand, using magic that required embracing her true nature, her heart was closing on her mother's lessons while her nature took over.
Pepper could feel the strength of the soul pulsating in the palm of the hand. It was among the top four she ever handled in her entire life. "Would it be this easy to ruin everything she taught you?" she whispered to herself.
With a click of her tongue, Chrysalis ordered her daughter to step back. The changeling could imagine the hunger that the human being must have felt at that moment only too well, and it was better for her child to stay away from her, because the bat ponies would surely not stand by and do nothing.
The little hybrid complied with the order, but asked for an explanation on Gamine's answer, which did not come. Her look of concern remained on the strange white flame throughout this entire exchange, because according to the one holding it, it was a part of her friend.
Antares, on the other hand, could not see how she could force a soul eater to abandon a potential meal. Seeing Swift standing there, she assumed in more than one respect that he did not want to confront the regicide again, given how their first meeting had gone. “Pepper Chilly, the city state of Broncoliande is grateful to you for saving our Queen's soul, but your only option now is to let her become a star to guide our people," she ordered firmly.
But Gamine refused such an option, instead of answering, she growled while spreading her wings to intimidate the soldier and tightened her fingers on the soul, not allowing it to leave her sight for a moment.
The tension went up a notch when several bat ponies, swords still in their mouths, began to move slowly towards Gamine. However, considering that this would only worsen the situation, Antares signalled to them to hold their position until further notice.
Frustrated, Pepper sighed. “Gamine, stop being foolish.”
At the same time, Aglowing was stunned to hear this. Was this really all that was left of her friend? Tears welling up in her eyes, she turned her gaze to her mother, fearfully seeking an answer.
Chrysalis, the corners of her eyes still exuding purple and green wisps because of the hatred that refused to release its hold on her, watched the scene with detachment, until she noticed her daughter's yellow and green eyes pointed at her. And when she read the beginning of sadness in her big eyes, she looked down, and came to offer her a caress on the cheek. "Don't cry, she died to protect us."
However, this was small comfort for the young changeling who was still reeling from the notion that the flickering white flame being held by Pepper was all that was left of her friend. She remained staring at her mother with tears of fear and confusion in her eyes, seeking a more comforting answer. The air suddenly became so heavy that the little Cæsar began to have trouble breathing, her heart beginning to race with a feeling of helplessness, causing tears to roll down her cheeks and wet the arid soil of the Badlands.
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The tears of a child, tears shed for a loved one forever lost, reached Gamine's wounded heart. This song of despair distracted Gamine from the soul she was holding. The purple wisps that filled her green, iridescent eyes were driven away by orange wisps as she regained control of herself due to her aching heart echoing Aglowing’s. She coughed as she faltered to hold back tears, wincing in disgust of herself as she tore herself away from the monstrous thought that had almost devoured her. As she stood up, a tear rolled down her cheek as flashbacks of her mother's death raced before her eyes. The unscrupulous feral monster that had stood there a moment prior was now walking towards the child, animated now by more noble intentions.
Pepper sighed again, out of relief this time. “At long last.”
Except for mother and daughter, all could see Gamine's attitude had changed completely, moving now like a model of rectitude.
Antares was not left in awe, remembering the words exchanged two months ago, she wondered if it had anything to do with the so-called call she had been talking about.
"Despite all the magic I have, there is nothing I can do to bring your friend back to life, and believe me when I say, I regret it, Aglowing Shell."
The child, still in tears, left her mother's cheek, who until then had offered her little comfort to turn to her friend's soul. "Moony? Moony, please come back, I don't want you to leave, we haven't played yet tonight," she begged.
Chrysalis, Gamine, Antares, who was now following her closely, and the other bat ponies who had come closer, all clammed up in a cold silence following the plea. Only Swift, who was standing next to Trixie while they both stood behind Antares, his hooves still holding the hat which contained Nightmare Moon's battle helmet, had any hope that this scene could end with a better outcome than the current situation suggested.
"She can not hear her," Pepper whispered.
Gamine only then realised Pepper's presence. "You're back? Since when?" She noted the whole situation, and turned pale. "It's not what you think, I-"
"You saved her soul. I am aware, now repeat my words," Pepper ordered before explaining why.
Each word Pepper said was repeated by Gamine as she stood up straight, focusing her attention on the child. "She can not hear you. A soul is not conscious, Aglowing Shell. A life is composed of a body, a soul, and a spirit. But without the latter, she will not be Nightmare Moon. Just an amnesiac mare."
Swift was sure that was the whole point of Bitter Truth's spell. "Then there's still a chance. Our Queen Nightmare Moon, anticipating such a possibility since she never had her own body, enchanted this helmet to keep a copy of her memories. Would that be enough?"
"It could work if she had a body," Pepper sighed, with a shrug.
Antares was surprised. "How do you know that? Even I didn't know about it."
"I got it from your sister, she was our Queen’s lieutenant where you are only her aide de camp," Swift explained.
Antares was sceptical. "Why would my sister have shared such information with a moron like you?"
“She didn’t.” The comedian could not help himself from capitalising on such an opportunity. "She talks in her sleep."
"Oh." Antares said before it clicked in her mind. "Wait a minute, when did you sleep with my sister?!"
The glimmer of hope offered by Swift and the playfulness between the childhood friends was all it took to ease the mood, the bat ponies burst out laughing, embarrassing Antares to the highest degree.
After the laughter was over, Aglowing used mimicry to take her adult form. "Use my body! I want my friend back!"
"Impossible..." whispered Pepper.
And again, Gamine repeated the explanations. "Impossible. It is a thousand-year-old soul, yours would be crushed by its weight. You would not survive it." She turned to Luna. "That leaves us with only one solution."
"Me," Chrysalis intervened, no longer wanting to see her daughter in such an eager state despite the wrath fuelling her.
Gamine gave a shy laugh. "About 30 years older than your daughter would not make much difference, Chrysalis."
"I am nearly one thousand and one hundred years old, ignorant. Concerning Nightmare Moon, either we rely on Luna, who is a little less than one thousand one hundred and fifty years old, or on the fact that Nightmare Moon was born on the day of her banishment, which makes her one thousand three years old. What's more, I ate Nightmare Moon's heart during the battle, and the icing on the cake is,” she used her changeling magic to shapeshift, "I can use mimicry to make it easier on every creature.” Despite being fuelled by Nightmare Moon’s heart, Chrysalis wouldn’t waste her life force replicating the ethereal mane, but the mane she designed with her mimicry gave Nightmare Moon a look as regal as the original. “Anything to complain about?"
"Too perfect to be real," Pepper commented incredulously before explaining the procedure to Gamine.
"Yes and no. Is it possible to keep the appearance, but the eyes remain unchanged?" said Gamine.
Although frustrated, Chrysalis complied. "Can I at least know why?"
"The eyes are the gates to the soul. In this way, it will be easy to tell which soul is in control of the body."
"Anything else, Lady Soul Expert?" Chrysalis mocked.
"Just to put your mind and soul into a deep sleep with the spell of the Frozen Flame," replied Gamine.
Feeling her life somehow threatened, Chrysalis hissed, spreading her wings to make herself appear most impressive.
The sight of their queen hissing and pulling her tongue in an attempt of intimidation was not something the bat ponies were prepared for.
Gamine remained serene as best she could. "Calm down, it is just to avoid a spiritual conflict between you two. When you wake up, you will remember everything she did as if you dreamed it."
Chrysalis hissed again, not loving the idea, but when she saw all the hope in her daughter's eyes, her maternal instinct prevented it from turning into big tears. "Make it quick," she spat.
"Lay down, you will fall asleep and your body will fall if you stay standing." said Gamine.
Chrysalis turned her eyes to Chitin. "One month, no more." Then looked at her daughter. "During that time, make sure that your friend quickly finds an alternative." She sighed, closing her eyes. "I look forward to receiving some sweet dreams,” she punned under her breath
Gamine put her left hand on Chrysalis' forehead, letting Pepper cast the spell. Chrysalis struggled for a moment against the sudden state of fatigue, but quickly sank into a magical sleep.
At the request of Gamine, all of them, without exception, took a few steps back, Swift took the opportunity to get closer and, with the agreement of Gamine, put the helmet on the head of the sleeping mare. Gamine immediately lodged Nightmare Moon's soul in Chrysalis' chest after Swift moved back away.
Bitter Truth's spell took effect, Chrysalis' memories were supplanted by Nightmare Moon's, and Nightmare Moon awoke with the freshest memory. She jolted in a scream of terror, rearing up to escape her imminent death.
Swift and Gamine barely had time to drag themselves out of reach of the alicorn to avoid an errant kick.
The shortness of breath, the alert senses, her light blue eyes surrounded by purple wisp, she observed her surroundings, realising quickly that the situation had suddenly changed.
"Moony?" Aglowing Shell said, holding her breath and restraining her tears.
The alicorn turned her gaze to the child who had not left her adult appearance. She leaned forward, frowning and glaring, her wings spread to assert her status as Queen. "How many times must I tell you, Aglowing Shell, my name is Nightmare Moon! Not Moony!"
This scold made the little Cæsar cry with joy, immediately embracing her friend who had come back from afar.
Nightmare Moon was a little lost, but returned the hug.
"Nightmare Moon, we have a problem to solve as soon as possible," said Gamine.
The queen noted Chrysalis’ absence, and saw Swift nodding discreetly. "And what's the problem, Pepper?"
Gamine searched for the right words, but she lacked the empathy to formulate it in a subtle way, so she decided to be blunt. "To sum it up very roughly, you are dying."