//------------------------------// // The Waning Crescent // Story: Softening the Stone // by TheMyth //------------------------------// “So she hasn’t shown any signs of movement at all?” Spike shook his head sadly. “Not even a little bit. Ever since they carried her in from the hospital the only thing she’s done is lie in bed. Heck, I don’t think I’ve even seen her blink yet.” Cadance furrowed her brow as she followed Spike up the stairs. It was odd enough to hear that she suddenly had another aunt that she had known nothing about. But when she read Celestia’s description of her condition, she thought there had to be some sort of mistake. “Do they have any idea what could be causing this?” she asked. “No clue,” Spike responded with a shrug. “Apparently, she was perfectly fine trying to create eternal night one minute and then they zapped her with the Elements and *POW* she’s not responding to anything anymore.” This troubled the young princess. She had of course heard the legend of the Elements of Harmony. They were supposed to be the most powerful magic in all of Equestria. However, she had always heard that they were a force for good, capable of cleansing the darkest heart or calming the most troubled spirit. The idea that they could be used in such a way to potentially destroy the mind of somepony as powerful as Nightmare Moon… It terrified her. As they approached the large oak door at the end of the hallway, Spike reached up and gently pushed against it. It creaked on its hinges as it cracked open, letting out the light from inside. Cadance gasped. Before her was the same alicorn she had read from in her history and story books, Princess Luna. Yet she was surprised to see that Luna was no bigger than her in size, especially from what she remembered seeing the stained glass windows in the Canterlot Castle depicting her glory. But now, there was no glory. Only a shell of a pony was before her. Cadance shuddered, thinking what the poor pony had been through to end up like this. A part of her mind also begged to know what she had done to deserve this? Shaking her head to rid her of the somber thoughts, Cadance slowly approached her aunt sat down next to her haunches. “Auntie Cadie, you sure you don’t need a chair?” Spike asked Cadance, rushing to the other side of the room. Cadance waved her hoof to Spike. “No need Spike! I’m perfectly fine,” she looked to Luna and noticed her chapped lips. “But can you fetch a glass of water for me please?” “Right away!” With that, Spike was out of the room. Before Cadance knew it, he was back in the room as quickly as he left it, with a glass of ice cold water in his hand. “Here you go!” He handed the glass to her, feeling a tingling sensation in his claw before a pinkish aura surrounded the glass and lifted it from his grasp. Cadance smiled demurely to Spike, reaching down and nuzzling him. “Thank you, Spike.” She told him and turned her attention again to Luna, lifting the glass to Luna’s dry lips and pouring a small volume into her mouth. Only a small amount of water actually went in though. Most of the water slipped out, running down the side of Luna’s face and pooling into the sheets below. Quickly retracting the glass, Cadance set it down before rubbing down the sheets to try and remove the water before it soaked them too heavily. She shuddered as she touched the chilled liquid. “Oh, I am so sorry,” she exclaimed. “I didn’t mean to do that, it’s just—” She stopped. Though the water was freezing cold, her aunt hadn’t reacted in the slightest to it running across her fur. Even after everything Spike had told her, it still surprised her that a pony could really be that far gone. Grabbing the glass again, Cadance returned it to Luna’s lips, this time making sure to pour much slowly so that it wouldn’t overspill again. As she did, she peered into Luna’s eyes, looking for some sign of response. But like the rest of her, they were cold and unmoving, glazed over and seemingly unaware of the world around her. Still, Cadance knew she had to try. “Can you hear me?” she asked, pulling back the water and leaning in closer to her aunt. “I mean, can you understand what I’m saying to you at all.” Once again, there was no reaction. Ignoring that, she pressed on. “My name is Cadance by the way. I’m your niece. Well, at least I’m Celestia’s niece, which I guess means that I’m yours as well, right?” Nothing. “I bet you didn’t think you’d have a niece now did you? Unless of course, you had nieces before you left. Though, from what Auntie Tia says, it sounds like the world was a lot different back then. She doesn’t like to talk about it however. It makes her sad you know?” Still nothing. Cadance sighed. “I wish you could talk about it. I bet you have all sorts of stories about what Equestria used to be like. Tales of all the heroic adventures that you and your sister used to have together. I’d just love to hear all about them. Wouldn’t you like to tell me one?” Yet again, she was met by the same cold look staring past her and up at the ceiling. Cadance sighed, wishing there was something she could do for Luna. Cadance’s nose tickled for a moment, before she sniffed and gently sneezed in her hoof. “Oh my,” she blinked a few times before turning back to Spike. “Spike, could you possibly open the window?” she asked Spike. “Will do.” Spike made his way to the window and reached out to open the curtains. With his tiny claws, he latched onto them and gave a mighty pull, separating each curtain from the other. He opened the window, feeling gentle breeze running through his scales. “Beautiful night tonight, isn’t it?” Cadance nodded in approval. “It is, I hope this is okay for you Auntie.” Cadance turned back to Luna, who was still looking at the ceiling. Cadance furrowed her brow slightly, and decided to reach out to Luna’s head. She gently manipulated the position to have her eyes look out at the night sky. “What do you think Auntie? Isn’t it bea—” “AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGHHHHHHHH!!!” Celestia rushed upstairs as the sound of her sister’s scream. Once she made it to the door, she immediately pushed it open and found Candace on her haunches with Spike being held by her. She turned to the bed, seeing Luna scream out and cry. She was also trying to back away from something, but was stopped by the wall behind her. Wasting no time, Celestia ran over and grabbed her thrashing sister, pulling her into a tight hug. She tried whispering soothing words to her, but they did nothing. Even tightly held in her grasp, Luna struggled to break free, never stopping her screaming for a second. “What happened here?!” Celestia yelled out to Cadance and Spike, unintentionally using her famed Canterlot-voice on them. Cadance looked up from trying to tend to Spike. “I don’t know,” she yelled back over the sound of Luna’s blood-curdling scream. “I was just talking to her and then she started screaming!” Celestia’s brow furrowed. There had to be more to it than just that. Returning her gaze to her younger sister, she looked a bit closer at her. She was still struggling, though with her lack of coordination she would never break free from Celestia’s grasp. Tears were pouring from her now narrowed eyes which were focused as though there was some terrifying creature right in front of them. Turning back, Celestia attempted to follow her younger sister’s gaze. However there was nothing to been seen in the room. The only thing that she could have been looking at was… “The window!” Celestia shouted out. She turned and looked towards Twilight who was standing the doorway with a confused look on her face. Releasing one arm from her sister, she pointed and shouted at her student again. “Quickly Twilight! Shut the window!” Quick as a flash, Twilight jumped into action. Leaping across the room, she grabbed the window slamming it shut while simultaneously pulling the curtains behind it closed with her magic. The effect was almost immediate. No sooner had the window been closed, Luna’s screams subsided being replaced by a faint sobbing. Celestia grabbed her sister, again whispering comforting words as Luna eventually quit struggling again. Within a matter of seconds, she once again went limp in Celestia’s grasp, her tear stained eyes glazing over as she fell completely silent. All the sound that remained was the faint whispers of Celestia and the heavy breathing of the other occupants. There was a sickening tension as Celestia gently lifted her sister and again placed her into the bed and made her comfortable. Cadance walked up to her aunt, tears already having formed in her own eyes. “I… I’m sorry,” she said, trying not to lose anymore. “I didn’t know. I—” Celestia bit her lower lip and reached out to her niece, holding onto her with her hooves. She unfolded her wings to encase Cadance in a feathery cocoon, gently nuzzling her. “There there,” Celestia whispered to her softly. “It’s okay Cadance, it’s okay now…” she chanted to her over and over, trying to convince herself too that everything will be okay. Spike was breathing heavily as he sat on the ground alone. A chill ran down his spine, the effects of Celestia’s booming voice still affecting his tiny body. He shuddered, feeling his eyes turn moist as his throat became dry. He then felt a gentle hoof on his back, and was soon brought into a hug by Twilight. “Spike, are you alright?” Twilight asked him, stroking his spines gently. The only reply she got from him was a nod before he buried his face in her chest. Twilight scrunched her lips before picking Spike up and placing him on her back. “Let’s go to bed Spike.” She turned to Celestia, who only nodded to her, before she left the room with only the royal family remaining. As the door clicked shut, Celestia sighed as she pulled Cadance in a bit tighter. “It’s alright dear,” she said again stroking Cadance's mane. “This wasn’t your fault.” Cadance nodded, still caught up in her aunt’s embrace. “I know,” she said quietly, still shaken up from the sudden events. Pushing back, she looked up and into the kind eyes of her aunt. “But I don’t understand. I thought that Luna wasn’t able to move? So, what just happened?” Gradually, Celestia turned back and looked at her younger sister. Luna had returned to normal, or at least back to her catatonic state. Once again, she was lying completely still in bed with only her faint breathing as a sign that she was still alive as her dead eyes peered up to the ceiling. “I have no idea…” Twilight groaned as she laid down on the large magenta sofa. It wasn’t nearly as comfortable as her bed back in Canterlot was, but it would have to do for the time being. The library only had two beds, and Twilight had insisted that the two princesses be the ones to take them. Still, as she attempted to get comfortable, she made a mental note to go shopping for a third as soon as possible. Sighing as she rolled over onto her back, she looked out through the small window above some of the library’s bookshelves. The moon was already high in the sky, its light gleaming through and bathing the darkened library with its pale glow. Twilight smiled as she saw it. At least the unicorns Celestia chose had managed to get it into the sky without Celestia’s help. Perhaps this crazy plan was actually going to work. “Twilight.” a voice from down the hall caught her attention. Leaning back up, she looked out, seeing Spike standing sheepishly in the doorway. “Spike…” Twilight trailed off as she looked at Spike. “Something wrong? You had a bad dream?” she asked softly, remembering the past when Spike would always climb into her bed and snuggle close to her when he had nightmares. Spike shook his head, and yawn slightly before answering. “I’m just checking up on you,” he told her, walking towards the couch where she was lying down. Twilight smiled demurely at Spike and his thoughtfulness. “I’m alright Spike,” she answered him. “But it’s getting late now, and you need your sleep.” The whelp played with his tail a bit before looking back at Twilight's eyes. “You mind if I—” his words were cut off when an aura of magic surrounded him and levitated him towards Twilight. He was gently placed next to her and he felt her hooves wrap around his tiny frame, holding him close for him to feel Twilight’s breathing and her steady melodious heartbeat. “Of course you can,” she told him softly. She expected to feel him relax in her grasp, but he still remained tense. “What’s wrong Spike?” Spike bit his lower lip before looking up to meet Twilight’s gaze. “I’m worried about the princess.” “So am I.” “And I’m scared,” Spike admitted, looking away for a moment. “I’m scared of her Twilight.” Twilight was puzzled for a moment. “I know Princess Celestia can be scary at times, but—” Spike shook his head. “I meant her sister. It’s Luna that I’m scared of.” “Spike,” Twilight placed her hoof on Spike’s cheek. “Please don’t be scared. Princess Celestia needs all the help in the world to help her sister.” Her eyes looked up to the staircase. “And I know Princess Luna isn’t bad pony, like others make her out to be.” “I know.” Spike interrupted. “It’s just that, what if she never gets better? What if she stays like that all the time? Or worse, what if she freaks out the way that she did earlier tonight again. What will that mean?” Twilight paused. “Honestly, I’m not sure myself Spike,” she responded pulling Spike a little bit closer. “But I promise you this much. No matter what ends up happening with Luna, we’ll get through it together alright?” “You promise?” “I promise.” She said with a smile. Spike returned the smile, snuggling up closer to Twilight as well. “Alright,” he said with a yawn, his eyes already fluttering as he relaxed and began to doze off with the beating of Twilight’s heart acting as a lullaby to him. “Goodnight, Twilight.” he said through her chest, his voice being replaced by light snoring soon after. Twilight kissed him softly on his forehead, nuzzling him and closed her eyes slowly. “Goodnight, Spike…” she trailed off again before entering into a peaceful slumber. Doctor Stable was not used to making house calls. He much preferred spending his time working at the hospital. At least there, he had an environment that he was used to along with all the tools he needed to do his job. Of course, he also wasn’t used to treating catatonic alicorn princesses either. His horn shone as he focused the beam of light into Luna’s empty eye. “So, you’re telling me that she had an episode last night, but you didn’t bother to call me about it?” Celestia sighed. “It only lasted for a minute. I didn’t think that it would be good to wake you.” “I’m a doctor,” he said moving the light over and peering into Luna’s other eye. “The welfare of my patients far outweighs my own comfort. Next time something like this happens, I want you to call for me immediately, alright?” Celestia nodded as the doctor extinguished his light and sat back with a sigh. “Fortunately,” he began, levitating his stethoscope up to Luna’s heart and listening, “it appears that there wasn’t any lasting harm done. All things considering, she still seems to be in stable condition.” With a sigh of relief, Celestia smiled. “Thank heavens,” she whispered softly. Turning back towards the doctor, she paused before asking, “What do you think caused her outburst Doctor?” “It’s hard to tell exactly,” he said removing the stethoscope and placing it around his neck again. Levitating up a chart, he began scribbling some random notes. “Had you called me in immediately, I might have been able to get a better idea of what triggered it, but for now I can only guess. What exactly was going on when it started?” Celestia closed her eyes, furrowing her brow as she recalled what happened. “Well, Cadance and Spike went up to meet Luna and Spike went to open the window. Cadance turned Luna’s attention to the night’s sky and that was when she started screaming.” Celestia remembered how terrified Luna looked that night, grimacing at the image. “When I closed the window, she stopped screaming.” Doctor Stable tapped his chin in thought. “Interesting,” he continued as he gazed at Luna’s immobile frame. “Could you see the moon with the window opened?” “Oh yes,” Celestia nodded. “It was a full moon and you could see it clearly outside the window.” Celestia trailed off, a part of her happy that the unicorns she had entrusted with the moon and sun were able to pull it off. “Then I guess my hypothesis is correct, unfortunately.” Doctor Stables sighed as he rubbed the temple of his forehead. “I don’t how to say this, but it seems your sister is suffering from a severe case of Selenophobia.” Celestia froze, her jaw agape as she blinked. “You don’t mean—” “The fear of the moon, yes.” “B...but… That doesn’t make any sense,” Celestia stuttered. “Luna has always been the keeper of the moon. Why would she be afraid of it?” Doctor Stable shrugged as he began packing up his things. “While I can’t give you an exact reason, I can’t imagine that spending a thousand years trapped there did her any good.” “But when she came back, before she became catatonic I mean, she wanted the night to last forever. Why would she do that if she hated the moon?” Again, he shrugged. “Those are answers I’m afraid you’re going to have to discover on your own. All I can tell you is that now she has a terrible fear of the moon, enough so that her primeval instincts kicked in to try and get her away from it.” He turned back and looked at the patient. “You got quite lucky this time. If this happens again, it’s very likely that she could have either hurt herself or one of you. Until she’s started to recover a bit more, I’d recommend keeping the blinds shut at night, alright?” Celestia nodded slowly. “Alright.” Clicking his bag shut, Doctor Stable stood and started trotting towards the door. “I’ll come back in a couple days and check on her again just to make sure. Until then, just keep talking to her and make sure that somepony is close to her in case she has another episode. If that happens, come and get me immediately this time, no matter what time it is.” He paused, turning to look at the crestfallen princess. “Also, if you don’t mind my saying so Princess, you really shouldn't keep yourself cooped up in her all the time. Try to get out at least a little bit. The fresh air would do you a lot of good.” Celestia turned to him and smiled. “Alright. I’ll try.” Satisfied enough, the doctor bowed before turning and leaving, shutting the door behind him. Celestia turned back towards her sister, still lying motionless on the bed. She sighed deeply as the tears she was holding back started to poke their way out. What happened to you sister?