Bad End AU: In her shadow.
Hello hello hellooo! Long time no see : D , hope that all of you have been doing good! Sorry for the lack of posts about my AUs, but I’m working on designing and redesigning some characters and i just want them to be perfect C:.

And yay finally another story from the point of view of one of the next gen of the AU! This story takes place during Spectra’s coronation as princess, so she is a bit younger here around 15/16 while in the current time of the AU she is 22, but she is already realizing that something is wrong with her mother’s reign. Enjoy! C:
Also have this un-shaded version so you can appreciate the drawing better without the heavy shading C:

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The coronation had been perfect, the sensation of all her feathers ruffling with emotion as the tiara was placed upon her perfectly combed mane still hadn’t faded away. The beautiful ornament made of obsidian with a sparkling moon and star that were enchanted so they would never lose their shine, a perfect beacon of what she represented as a princess, the shining star that all of Equestria looked up to. The thunderous voice of her mother filling the room presenting her as princess Spectra Selena Nocturna of Equestria, the roaring applause after it, it felt like a wonderful dream to her. Equestria’s princess… What an honor it was to serve her kingdom, to be loved by so many ponies.

And the party! She’d been to many parties before; when your mother was queen of most of the realm it was only natural. Be that as it may, this was the first event she’d attended that was about her. The ballroom felt as if it was filled to the brim, all of the noble ponies reunited to celebrate the upbringing of a new princess, something that had not been seen in many years. The nobility congratulated her with sweet words as she stood in the middle of her mothers, the empress looking down at her with contempt and the queen consort had a softer expression than what was usually seen of her, Spectra appreciated it, she knew her mother didn’t smile much.

She saw from the corner of her eye a blue and pink haired blur, her little sister fidgeting around the room on her ball gown, giving her an awkward wave of her hoof. She wished she could join her, she knew that Astral wasn’t a big fan of these kinds of parties and used to always stay by her side to make her feel comfortable as she did most of the talking. Even before the party she had asked her little sister if she would be okay, that she could even stay in their shared chamber if she wanted to, Astral responding with “Are you kidding me?! I would never ever miss your coronation! Spectra I’ll be fine, I promise, see? You are already acting like a princess”

“How so?”

“Making sure everypony feels safe”.

It made her smile, knowing she would have such a great companion for her rule.

After greeting what must have been a thousand noblemen, and feeling a bit burnt out, Spectra managed to avoid the gazes of the ponies and snuck out of the ballroom. Spectra felt the magenta rug beneath her hooves muffle the sound of her hoofsteps as she walked through the throne room.She let out a slow breath, bringing a hoof up to her chest and drawing it away on the exhale as her mom had shown her many times before. After such an exhausting night, this was just what she needed, some peace and quiet. Spectra gazed around the room, the various stained glass windows letting in the soft moonlight, she couldn’t help but feel a bit nostalgic as she remembered waddling as a filly behind her mother, Nightmare Moon, as she explained what each of them meant, the stories behind them. She remembered how towering they felt to her, but now as a teenager she had begun to finally be able to look at them from another angle, an angle almost equal to that of her mother.

She stopped at the front of the Empress throne at the center, at the right it was the queen’s consort throne. Her own throne, the same height as the queen consort was in the works, soon she would be joining them in this same room. Spectra circled around the central throne, and an idea made her cheeks lift up with a smile. She sat upon her mother’s throne, straightening her back and spreading her wings, her horn up to the sky. She couldn’t help but giggle, it reminded her when she used to play queens and dragons with her little sister. Someday she would be sitting upon this throne, she wondered if she would make a good queen. And then a brush of something against her shoulder startled her out of her thoughts.

“Easy, my child” it had been the long, sidereal hair of her mother that touched her “you know I have a habit of hiding in the shadows”, Nightmare Moon looked down at her eldest daughter “Has the party bored you Spectra?”

The purple alicorn shook her head “Of course not mother, it has been splendid, I just needed some air”

“And getting some air is playing around on my throne, hm?”

Spectra got off of the seat as fast as she could

“Oh n-no mother I was just…”

“Just…?”

“Sorry, it’s a bit silly…” Spectra looked at her hooves, a bit embarrassed as she was caught in a childish display “It’s just, I was actually wondering how it would be when I become queen someday” she couldn’t help the smile that crept up her face at the idea, but her mother didn’t seem so amused

“Queen? Spectra dear, you just were crowned princess” she stroked one of her wings against the side of her daughter “don’t be greedy”.

“O-of course not mother! I’m not being greedy just, you know, it will come many years later, right” Spectra tried to laugh it out as a joke, but her mother’s glowing eyes were upon her, did she made her upset?

“Oh Spectra, you know how much I’ve had to fight to get where I am now?” Nightmare Moon walked to the stained glass that depicted all of the villains, her daughter following behind her “I’m not giving up my reign anytime soon”

“I-I know mother it’s just that…princesses become queens and so on”

“Tell me, Spectra, do you know what it took to be crowned a princess before?”

“Yes…you had to be ascended to alicorn”

“Correct” came the cold answer from her mother “Do you realize how lucky you are? You were born in royalty, and as an alicorn, you were born with a power you don’t recognize yet, a power you didn’t fight for, like me or your mother did” Nightmare Moon bowed to her daughter’s level, icy blue meeting teal “and yet you want more”

Spectra bowed her head down, she couldn’t bear the gaze of her mother.

“Enjoy what you have, my child, you are a princess, you don’t have any responsibilities for I, take care of everything as the Empress, your duty is to be a beacon of perfection for your people, the princess Equestria deserves, the princess I gave them, you understand how important that is, right dear?”

“O-of course I do mother” Came out the trembling voice of Spectra, she straightened her back, and tried to clear her voice “I’ll do my best”

Nightmare Moon wrapped a dark wing around her daughter “Good dear, let’s go back to your party, ponies may wonder where we have been”

Spectra walked at the same pace of her mother, but she felt as a filly again, behind her, now instead of the stained glass towering her, it was the dark figure of the empress, she would never be at the same level as her, would she?

She was cheered upon once more when she returned to the ball room, but her expression had changed, the joyfulness of the day replaced by understanding. She wasn’t the princess of Equestria…she was Equestria’s princess.

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As always, thank you so much TigerLilyKitty for helping me by doing the corrections for the story! C:

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