“Let us hereby have this meeting adjourned.” Luna’s message echoes around the room to the rest of the attending ponies. These include Twilight Sparkle, Celestia, Cadence, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and the dragon, Spike. As the ponies bustle about to exit there is a lot of talking about the meeting. Having been about the Cutie Mark Crusaders encounter with a Mare’s Tale last night it was that they are to all be on guard. There seems to have been a resurgence, according to Luna, of the Mare’s Tales, ponies that were evil but were subdued by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, before she was banished to the moon. They were thought to have been destroyed, living only in the stories told to fillies, but it seems that they are coming back now.
Each pony is expected to have to face at least one Mare’s Tale, but it was made apparent that some may face more. Between Luna and Celestia over a thousand Mare’s Tales had been banished. It is unclear as to if they are all back, or if just some have found a way back to Equestria. Luna ponders this as she raises the moon, following her routine. She keeps a watchful eye over Equestria, looking for any sign of a Mare’s Tale. She is too concerned in her observations of Equestria to hear the pony stepping up beside her. As she approaches she sneers, laughing at Luna’s obliviousness.
“Well, it’s hard to believe that you are the same pony that banished me all those moons ago,” says the pony sarcastically. “Your mane is not its old light blue, and you can’t hear those who approach you. What happened to you? Did your sister’s banishing you to the moon damage you that much?”
“Well, it’s good to hear your voice again,” says Luna, sighing. She recognized the voice instantly. It belongs to a Mare’s Tale that she banished many moons ago, just when they began appearing the first time. She never dreamed she’d see her again. “I have changed more, but not because my sister banished me to the moon.”
“Well, whatever you say, princess,” says the Mare’s Tale mockingly. “I doubt that you even remember my name now that you’re back from the moon.”
“It would be impossible for me to forget such a wretched name,” says Luna. “Of course I remember your name, Wordsmith. Such a name for such a twisted pony as yourself.”
“Haha my dear, now that is a matter of opinion. My name is perfectly fine for me,” says Wordsmith with a hint of mockery in his voice. “In case you forgot I am a bit good with words. I did almost make you believe that killing yourself would stop me, didn’t I?”
“Sadly, that is true,” says Luna, remembering then. As she faced him, Wordsmith had twisted whatever she said into a weapon against her. As soon as she vowed to defeat him he said that he would stop his terror if she killed herself. She was about to when she realized he was just turning what she said into a weapon against her again. She used that opening to banish him to a faraway land, hoping to never have to deal with his words again. Too bad it was not to be that way.
“Well then Luna, how about it? Should we continue where our little battle left off the last time we met?” As he said this Wordsmith started to move closer, slowly, towards Luna. He moved slowly enough so that she wouldn’t notice, and it worked.
“How did you-! Dammit Wordsmith, why are you so annoying with your words! I guess I really do have no choice but to banish you again,” Luna said with a hint of sadness. As much as she hated Wordsmith she had to admit that she liked the way he looked. He was a slightly taller pony with a striking black mane that went perfect with the night. Even now she could feel herself blushing at the thought of him. She hoped so much that if she saw Wordsmith again that he would have changed. Then maybe they could have been together.
“I am sorry milady, but I don’t see how you plan to do that. All of the Mare’s Tales, including me, were training to get better after you banished us. That is why we are here now, we believe that with all of us we can take Equestria. It is only a matter of time.” Wordsmith was now back to his old tricks, but he was being honest. Even he could not stand to lie to such a beautiful Princess. The mere thought of Luna made him more tame, less willing to try to harm anyone. He didn’t want to have to kill her, but there was no other choice.
“Well, Wordsmith, I think you have underestimated all of us. Since you have all been banished we have found a new Princess. Princess Twilight Sparkle is stronger than Celestia with her magic and that is a fact. And all the same we have all been getting stronger just as you have. I doubt that your endeavor will be as easy as you think.” Luna was finally slipping back into the mindset that Wordsmith is a threat to Equestria and that she must protect it, even if it meant killing Wordsmith.
“Fine by me, if you can touch me that is. I no longer rely only on words for fighting. I have trained more physically and I can tackle hoof-to-hoof combat better. I do think that your pleas are quite cute, but they mean nothing to me. You will not banish me again!” Wordsmith leapt forward, tackling Luna to the ground.
“How dare you!” Luna exclaimed, furious that she had let her guard down. She kicked with her hind legs, throwing Wordsmith off of herself. She stood up and leapt toward him, landing beside him. She pinned him by his legs, pushing down with all her weight. Wordsmith squeezed his front leg out from under her hoof and hit her straight across the face. Luna recoiled, turning away for a moment. Wordsmith got up and lunged toward Luna, hitting her on her spine as he landed. Luna collapsed from the impact, her mouth bleeding from his first strike.
“So, Luna, are you still okay? Do you still think you can beat me, or do you accept that I am stronger than you? You must see by now that your attempts are futile,” Wordsmith said mockingly. He was happy now that Luna, the one who banished him so many moons ago, was now on the ground because of him. He felt a surge of power.
“Of course I think that I can still beat you,” Luna said matter-of-factly. “I doubt that you will ever be able to stand up to me, even if you trained for a thousand moons!” As she exclaimed this Luna picked up a nearby chair with her magic. She flung it straight at Wordsmith, hitting him square in the back of the head. Wordsmith collapsed, unconscious. Luna thought quickly of the rope that was outside her room. She went out and picked it up. When she came back into the room she tied up Wordsmith, ready to interrogate him when he awoke. About an hour later Wordsmith regained consciousness.
“Damn you, Luna!” he exclaimed as he saw her, feeling the rope around his legs. “How dare you tie me up! You only knocked me out because you fought unfairly! What type of leader are you if you can’t even fight fairly!?!?”
“Calm down Wordsmith!” Luna exclaimed, tired of his yelling. “I had to do what I did to protect Equestria. Your mind games won’t work on me. Now, tell me what the Mare’s Tales are up to. Why have you decided to come back to Equestria?”
“We want to rule Equestria. I told you that already, didn’t I? We trained since you banished us and we felt that we were finally strong enough to do so. I guess that wasn’t true, though. Look at me, defeated again by you.” As he went on with his speech he was working on getting out of the ropes. He felt one leg slip out, and he knew it was only a matter of time. He used the now free leg to get a second one out. He in turn used that leg to get the rope off the other. Only one leg still had rope on it. He slid the rope off the final leg and continued his speech.
“I would not underestimate us, though. We are a very worthy opponent for the Princesses. Trust me, we will succeed in out endeavor, and Equestria will be ours!” At the final exclamation, Wordsmith jumped from the chair and again tackled Luna. Luna was caught off guard and flew backwards. She hit the wall and let out a yelp. Wordsmith rushed toward her. As he got right in front of her, Luna shot a beam of magic at him. The beam hit Wordsmith and he flew backwards. Luna took this chance to get up. She shot another beam of magic, hitting the wall behind Wordsmith. The wall collapsed, encasing Wordsmith in its debris.
“What the hell Luna! How dare you do this! I will not remain in this prison!” Wordsmith rammed against the wall with all his strength. The impact knocked him out cold, allowing Luna to take a break. She resisted the urge to remove the debris around him, for she knew that when he awoke he would try to attack her again. Wordsmith was not the same pony as he was. He was now possessed by his need for power.
“It is a shame that you changed so much,” said Luna longingly. She thought of a world where she and Wordsmith could live together in the castle. “It could have been different if you hadn’t been consumed by your need for power. I should know better than anyone what that can result in. I tried to kill my sister and was banished to the moon. I know that it is lonely, that it results in longing. I am ashamed that you will not even have the luxury of being banished after today, though, for your crimes were too great this time.”
“Well at least I know the feelings are mutual,” said Wordsmith, having heard Luna’s rant. “I wished that we could be together also, but you seemed bent on killing me. And your right, it is lonely being banished. With that said, I can only imagine what it would be like to be dead. It must be the loneliest feeling in Equestria and all the lands beyond it.” Wordsmith broke through the debris just enough to see Luna. She sat staring at the debris, watching his cage that she made.
As Luna sat there, lost in her thought, Wordsmith broke a little more of the debris. He began breaking more and more of the debris, slowly, until there was a hole large enough to show his face through. Luna looked up and gasped at the sight. Wordsmith, having looked so beautiful before, now had his face covered in blood. It had many scratches on it with blood flowing from them.
“What happened to you?” asked Luna, bewildered. She couldn’t think of how that happened. Then she realized that she could see him. “You broke through the debris? I applaud you on that, but why would you do something so dangerous?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been doing a lot of stupid stuff lately,” Wordsmith replied, coughing on blood. “It was my mission to kill you because I had fought you before. He thought it would make it easier, but he was wrong. It only made it harder because now I can see your beauty. There is no possible way I could kill you.”
Luna knew that, for once, Wordsmith was being true. She could tell from the tone of his voice because even when he used words against her he couldn’t sound completely sincere. It was the one flaw with his weapon. He could wield it well, but not perfectly. Then she realized something Wordsmith had said. “Who is the he you speak of?” Luna asked, wondering how he let that slip.
“He is the leader of the Mare’s Tales. He is the strongest of us all, far stronger than what I am. Bloody Death, who you encountered in the forest last night, was stronger than me, but even she doesn’t compare to him. His name is Hidden Terror. He looks only for the strongest ponies to fight, and kills anypony else who gets in his way. He has a strange power, a power made completely of darkness. He speaks strong, with authority. He also stands tall, above the average pony. He is taller than you but not quite as tall as Celestia. You would know him if you saw him. His mane is red, as are his eyes. He looks like he’s covered in blood, which is quite befitting for him.” Wordsmith used this as his final gesture of good faith towards Luna, revealing his leader to her.
Luna recognized this gesture and moved the debris away from him. She knew he would not harm her anymore. “Thank you for the information,” Luna said, amazed at how good of a description he gave. “I can relay it to the others and we can watch for him. Now, how about we clean and dress your wounds? You look very beat up.”
“Yes, that would be great… Thank you,” Wordsmith said, not sure of how to address Luna. “So, what will happen to me then? Will I be executed, or will I be locked away? I don’t want to be killed, nor would I like to be locked away. Would it be possible to be set free? I swear I will not harm anypony. I’ll help you kill Hidden Terror!” Wordsmith was scared of being left alone again. While he acted like it was fine when he was banished he was terribly lonely. He couldn’t decide what to do, seeing as how there was nopony else to make it seem less lonely. This terror showed on his face as Luna looked at him in the beautiful moonlight.
“I will see what I can do,” Luna replied, sorry for having hurt the pony so much, both now and in the past. “I am sure that, upon my request, my sister will let you be free. It will help when I tell her the information you gave me about Hidden Terror. That will be seen as a great form of forgiveness for your crimes. Also, I may help to assure your freedom by a few words. Now answer me this, would you like to be with me? If you would that may help, but be assured you will be free even if you say no.” Luna knew of Wordsmith’s feeling for her. She had seen them both today and in the past. She had also seen them in his dreams. Peaceful dreams where they walked together in the night, noses touching. She had the same feeling for him.
“We both know my answer,” replied Wordsmith, blushing as he realized she had most likely seen his dreams. “You have seen my reluctance to hurt you, both now and in the past, I’m sure.” Wordsmith paused, not knowing how to say what he thought. He flustered for a moment, stuttering as he tried to speak. He had never said anything like this before, since he had been alone for so long. “Luna…I-I-I-…” Luna waited patiently, knowing what he meant to say. She didn’t finish his sentence aloud, nor did she continue with her response. She merely waited for Wordsmith to finish.
In an instant, though barely audible, Wordsmith blurted, “I love you, Luna!” Luna knew he said it, but teased him some. She didn’t want him to get off too easy for what he had done.
“What was that, Wordsmith?” Luna asked mockingly. “I couldn’t quite understand you. Speak louder, or let your words be lost forever.” Luna tried not to laugh as she spoke. She wanted what she said to sound serious, but the thought of her talking to him like that was hilarious to her. She waited for his reply.
“You know what I said,” replied Wordsmith, slightly annoyed, but laughing a little. He knew she didn’t mean what she said. “However, for your amusement, I’ll repeat myself. I said…” the words caught in his throat. He had trouble saying this to her. “I love you, Luna.”
Luna smiled as he said it. She wanted to hear that from the beginning, but she wasn’t sure he ever would. “I love you, too, Wordsmith,” she replied, her voice quiet yet steady. She was happier than ever now. She had finally found somepony who she loved.
As they continued down the hallway, they walked in step with each other. Their manes brushed against one another’s as the moon gave way to the sun. As Celestia appeared in front of them, Luna looked up, smiling. Celestia knew what had happened, and she had already made her decision on Wordsmith’s freedom. She loved to see her younger sister so happy.
“Dear sister, shouldn’t you dress this stallion’s wounds. You wouldn’t want them getting infected now, would you?” Celestia spoke calmly, with a voice full of love. She would never think of locking up someone who Luna loved so much. Nor would she lock up someone who was so helpful. She smiled as they walked past.
“Thank you, sister,” Luna whispered as she passed. She was happy now that she knew Wordsmith would be safe. She couldn’t wait till Wordsmith had healed. She wanted to show him how beautiful Equestria was in the night. She could finally share her beloved night with somepony else.
They walked off down the hall, heads together. Celestia smiled as she watched them. She knew her sister was happy now. She turned around, heading off to call a meeting. There was no more time to waste. Even if he was peaceful now, Wordsmith had gotten into the castle. Celestia had underestimated the Mare’s Tales. She had to gather everypony immediately.