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Experiencing an unprepared, ultra-long-distance spatial teleportation feels like drinking five jin of Erguotou, scarfing down over thirty skewers of barbecue, stripping completely naked, tying yourself behind two wild horses in heat, and letting them drag you wildly for over three hundred kilometers.
This wasn’t Ye Ziji’s first time experiencing spatial magic.
But this time felt particularly awful.
All because he had accidentally tweaked the preset stability parameters by just a tiny bit—a single decimal point.
The already uncomfortable spatial conduit became even more turbulent and wild, and in the next instant, everything was replaced by a blur of chaotic colors and an ear-splitting hum.
“Bang!”
With a heavy thud, Ye Ziji’s four hooves finally touched solid ground.
He stumbled, his dark pupils contracting slightly from fleeting dizziness.
He looked around.
The air was thick with dust and the stench of decaying stone.
He shook his head, his jet-black mane swaying, gradually shaking off the residual ringing in his ears.
“Blegh—!”
“I’m never messing with spatial coordinates again! My hooves are like jelly!”
Just as Ye Ziji was about to take a closer look at where he had landed, a resonant voice echoed through the throne room of the abandoned castle.
“I have been imprisoned for a thousand years!”
“A thousand years! At last, I am free from that accursed cage!”
“Now—fear shall envelop all of Equestria! I, the Queen of Eternal Night, have returned!”
“I shall bring forth eternal night! All of Equestria shall tremble beneath my hooves! Hahaha… Hahahahaha!”
“From this day forth, Equestria shall never see the hateful daylight again! I shall bring an eternal, beautiful night that belongs only to me!”
Ye Ziji’s mind gradually cleared.
He raised his head and followed the sound.
At the far end of the hall, perched upon a dilapidated throne atop stone steps, appeared a figure that made his breath catch.
An Alicorn!
He had only read about them in ancient books!
Her form was far taller than any pony he had ever seen.
Her body was a deep, midnight black, as if capable of swallowing all light.
Her mane and tail flowed like a star-studded nebula.
Her eyes—sharp, cat-like, cyan-green vertical slits—brimmed with resentment and ecstasy.
Even though Ye Ziji came from the distant East and knew little about Alicorn legends…
Still—
That iconic appearance, the overwhelming dark magic, and that peak-chuunibyou entrance monologue clearly pointed to one identity: Nightmare Moon!
Nightmare Moon’s grand declaration ground to a sudden halt.
Her oppressive gaze, which had been sweeping down toward the thousands of subjects she imagined kneeling at her feet, now locked straight onto the figure who had suddenly burst into the middle of the hall.
The atmosphere instantly froze.
“Uh… hi?”
Ye Ziji blinked, giving an awkward greeting.
Then he silently shifted his gaze.
First, he looked down at his hooves, which were still glowing with residual spatial magic.
Then he looked around at the ruined, cobweb-covered pillars and walls.
Finally, his eyes inevitably returned to the Alicorn radiating a distinct “keep away” aura.
Their eyes locked in midair.
One gaze was filled with interrupted rage and scrutiny, while the other was filled with…
An indescribable, agonizing awkwardness.
*My spatial magic really screwed me over!* Ye Ziji was thoroughly speechless, unable to stop himself from complaining internally.
*Off by tens of thousands of miles is one thing, but to drop me right into Nightmare Moon’s return scene?!
I’ve never fought an Alicorn before!*
“Who are you, stranger pony?”
Nightmare Moon finally spoke, her voice ice-cold and probing.
Her magnificent return, a vengeance declaration brewed over a thousand years, had actually been interrupted by a stranger unicorn who appeared out of nowhere.
This was a blatant insult to her royal majesty!
“Why are you here? Are you a spy sent by my hypocritical sister? Answer me!”
She took a step forward, her horseshoe striking the stone floor with a sharp *clack*.
*(Stone slab: I’m cracking…)*
An invisible wave of magical pressure rushed toward Ye Ziji like a tide, trying to crush this intruder to the ground.
However—
Before the force could touch his body, it seemed to hit an invisible shield, effortlessly shedding most of its momentum.
Ye Ziji’s body only sank slightly before he stabilized himself.
Showing no outward distress, he quickly assessed her power internally.
*Tsk, what domineering strength.
Pure shadow magic with an added mental shockwave.*
*Looks like her morning mood is pretty terrible.
Going head-to-head is definitely the worst move.*
With that thought, Ye Ziji stood up straight with calm composure.
He gently patted the dust off his coat with a forehoof, unhurried, as if the pressure capable of making an ordinary unicorn collapse was nothing more than a passing breeze.
He tidied his slightly disheveled dark mane.
Then, bowing deeply to the Queen of Eternal Night in an Eastern style, he met Nightmare Moon’s gaze and spoke clearly and calmly.
“I am Ye Ziji, a mere unimportant unicorn.”
“I come from the distant East, a realm that is likely unfamiliar to Your Highness.”
“A miscalculated spatial spell brought me to this land. I had no intention of offending you, nor did I mean to intrude upon your castle.”
He raised his head, his dark eyes looking straight into Nightmare Moon’s frigid vertical slits.
With a touch of sincere apology, he added:
“I am deeply sorry for interrupting your… return.”
Seeing that Nightmare Moon didn’t immediately speak, Ye Ziji let out a quiet sigh of relief inside.
He then continued, somewhat awkwardly:
“So… if you don’t mind, I shall take my leave now.”
“I promise not to disturb your grand ambitions any further.”
“What do you… think?”
As he spoke, he tentatively took half a step backward, ready to bolt the moment things went south.
“After all, I’m just a passing, unfamiliar, completely unrelated pony~”
Hearing the explanation from the strange pony who had barged into her return ceremony, Nightmare Moon’s brow furrowed tightly.
Imprisoned on the moon for a thousand years, she had rehearsed her return in her mind countless times: there was demanding answers from her sister, declaring her rule to her subjects, and crushing those who resisted…
but she had never rehearsed *this*—
At the solemn moment of her return, an odd-acting, surprisingly unbowed stranger unicorn standing there like a neighbor who walked into the wrong house, saying, “Sorry, wrong room, bye~”?
“Halt!”
She shouted sternly, her voice colder than before.
“Do you think my throne room is a place you can enter and leave as you please?”
Throne room?
Ye Ziji looked around with a hint of doubt.
Dilapidated, desolate, dusty, eroded by a thousand years of time, leaving behind only traces of past battles and the former rule of the two princesses—a “throne room.”
Rather than a throne room, this place looked more like a long-abandoned, medieval European-style royal haunted house.
*Of course,* Ye Ziji rolled his eyes, utterly unphased as he complained internally.
*I knew she wouldn’t let me leave that easily.*
Nightmare Moon slowly descended the stone steps, her towering figure projecting immense pressure.
She paced around Ye Ziji, her nebula-like mane trailing light through the air.
Her vertical pupils flickered with scrutiny, as if trying to see right through this mysterious visitor from the East.
“The East…”
She muttered the word softly.
She had only heard brief fragments about it from her sister long ago.
“You say you come from the East?”
“What kind of land is that?”
“Are the ponies there like the ignorant fools of this land, knowing only how to laugh in the bright day while incapable of appreciating the quiet and beauty of the night?!”
Her question caught Ye Ziji off guard.
He had expected a bitter battle, not for her to suddenly become interested in his background.
“You carry none of my sister’s sickening sunshine aura, nor the foolish innocence of the ponies in this land.”
Nightmare Moon stopped in front of him, looking down at him while recalling the power he had used to resist her pressure just moments ago.
“Your power… is quite strange. It is neither a unicorn’s arcane magic, nor a pegasus’s cloud control, nor an earth pony’s brute force. It feels closer to pure elemental power.”
She had felt it.
Though discreet, the elemental power Ye Ziji had used to ward off her pressure without emitting any major magical fluctuations could not escape her perception as an Alicorn.
Yet that fusion of multiple natural forces was something she had never encountered in her memory.
Nightmare Moon’s sharp gaze swept over the strange Eastern pony, finally settling on the Cutie Mark on his flank.
It was an exquisite, complex seven-pointed star.
Each point shimmered with the subtle light of a different element, surrounded by interlocking black and white waves of varying depth, forming a unified whole.
A peculiar Cutie Mark that symbolized immense power.
The corners of her mouth curved into a playful, possessive smile.
“A mark never seen before, seemingly symbolizing a unique power… Interesting.”
“Your presence may add a touch of novelty to my eternal night.”
(Ye Ziji: *Huh?*)
Before her words even faded, she raised her forehooves high and slammed them into the ground.
A surge of magic even more tempestuous erupted with her at the center!
This time, it wasn’t invisible pressure, but solid shadows coalescing into tentacles.
Squirming wildly from the floor, walls, and dome shadows, they surged toward Ye Ziji from all directions like hungry giant pythons!
“As the price for offending my majesty,” Nightmare Moon’s voice resounded through the hall, filled with unquestionable tyranny, “you, stranger pony from the East, shall become my first subject. Offer your loyalty as a gift for the return of the Queen of Eternal Night!”
Watching the shadow tentacles swarming from all directions and cutting off every path of retreat, Ye Ziji let out a helpless sigh.
The “I am so done with this” look finally broke through his calm composure.
*For real?
Me, soloing Nightmare Moon?*
He looked up, a hint of exhaustion in his voice as he attempted one final negotiation:
“Your Highness.”
“You are about to claim all of Equestria as your kingdom, with countless subjects prostrating at your hooves. Why make things hard for a passing Eastern pony who just wants a quiet life?”
However, what answered him were attacks pressing forward even faster, the tips of the shadow tentacles charging straight at him.
Clearly, there was zero room for negotiation.
*Alright, looks like reasoning with Nightmare Moon is impossible,* Ye Ziji’s internal thought flashed by, and a spark of battle intent flared instantly in his dark eyes.
*Then let me test the power of an Alicorn!*
In the next instant, the tip of his horn burst into bright light!
A completely different yet equally powerful magical force erupted from within him.
“Earth excels in defense.”
With a low shout, his forehoof tapped the ground lightly, and dense earth elements responded instantly.
Three massive stone walls rose from the ground, precisely blocking the first three waves of incoming shadow tentacles.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Shadow collided with stone, creating dull thuds as shattered stone and magical fragments exploded in every direction.
“Wind excels in swiftness.”
Taking advantage of the moment the stone walls bought, teal wind elements wrapped around his four hooves.
His body became as light as a feather, narrowly dodging the tentacles striking from above and the sides.
A flash of appreciation gleamed in Nightmare Moon’s eyes.
This Eastern pony’s reaction was so swift and composed that it made things even more entertaining for her.
Her attacks grew even fiercer.
Dozens of shadow tentacles merged into one, forming a colossal shadow claw that swiped down toward Ye Ziji!
Seeing this, Ye Ziji felt helpless—she seemed to be getting more and more intrigued by him.
The space here was too narrow, hindering his movement and his ability to cast large-scale elemental magic.
*Gotta change venues.*
Light flickered in his eyes.
Facing the giant claw capable of shattering bedrock, he didn’t retreat; instead, he advanced.
Sharp golden magic instantly covered his horn.
“Metal excels in piercing!”
A concentrated golden beam shot from the tip of his horn like a spear.
Rather than targeting the giant claw itself, it struck precisely at a fragile corner of the hall’s vaulted ceiling!
“Rumble—!”
A violent explosion erupted, blowing a giant hole in the already tottering ceiling.
As moonlight mixed with falling rubble rained down, Nightmare Moon instinctively raised her wings to shield herself, pausing the rhythm of her assault.
*There’s the opening!*
Carried aloft by wild winds, Ye Ziji soared straight through the hole and into the night sky above the ancient castle.
“Thinking of running?” Nightmare Moon roared, spreading her wings as her massive body transformed into a bolt of black lightning in hot pursuit.
She would never allow her “first subject” to slip away like this.
The two figures, one ahead and one behind, left the cramped castle and reached the night sky above the surrounding forest.
Ye Ziji finally felt room to move.
He hovered in midair, turning to face Nightmare Moon in pursuit.
The seven elemental lights on his horn cycled endlessly, radiating high combat spirit.
His voice rang out clearly in the night wind:
“Your Highness, the battlefield here is big enough.”
“Now—we can have a proper ‘talk.'”