The Night's Lament
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1 YEAR LATER
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The extremely soft sensation of cool silk sheets greeted Celestia as she woke up. She opened her eyes, staring into the darkness of her room. The dead silence drew forth memories from the depths of her mind, very recent and painful memories being at the forefront of her brain. It had been a year since Ale left and many things had changed since then. The elements, while seeming to have gotten over his presumed death on the outside, resonated with an inner sense of turmoil. They just weren’t quite the same. Many of the guards and citizens of Equestria pushed for a day of remembrance for all the heroic deeds he had done. Celestia had gladly accepted this request and had a national holiday in his honor. He even had a statue in the garden dedicated to him. The stone carving showed Ale in all his armored glory standing in a combat stance. His right arm clutched his rifle while his left reached behind him, comforting an earth pony foal.
Perhaps the biggest change to have occurred was the actions of Luna. After that fateful day she locked herself in her room, not once coming out. She had stopped taking care of the moon, forcing Celestia to take control of it. Celestia was worried about Luna, her cold, silent attitude certainly not good for her health. She hardly ate and, to the best of Celestia’s knowledge, refused to sleep a full nights rest. Celestia had attempted to comfort her or even break through her shell, failing every single time. Luna would either clam up and stare at her or simply ignore her.
With a sigh Celestia slipped the sheets off of herself and rolled out of bed. She slowly stretched and sluggishly headed towards her bathroom. She put on her eyeliner, the only make up she ever cared to use, slowly. It took her much longer than usual to prep for the day as her movements were hampered, a huge amount of stress weighing down every motion. After placing her royal regalia on she headed for her chamber doors. She stopped and breathed quietly for a few seconds. Sucking in a lungful of air, she straightened and stood tall, creating an aura of strength and leadership. She may be hurting but her ponies needed her. She pushed the doors open and stepped out into the torch lit hallways.
The two door guards nodded at her and took their place on either side of her while staying a respectable distance behind her. They headed along the hallway, Celestia nodding and giving polite greetings to the maids, butlers, government officials, and guards that they passed. Everypony other than the princess still seemed to have troubling thoughts on their minds. They were still saddened by the legendary warrior’s death and the fact that the night princess was suffering concerned them just as much. Celestia was honestly surprised that the Spartan’s death impacted her ponies so much. She smiled as she remembered them cheering every time he would fly or drive past, waving or performing stunts for the crowds. He had racked up quite a bit of fame globally when he went on tour with the Wonderbolts as a special guest.
They stopped by a very large balcony. Celestia stepped out onto the balcony by herself as her guards knew this to be a part of her daily schedule. Celestia pushed magic into her horn and flared out her wings, raising her head high. A dull orange glow began tracing the horizon, slowly increasing in width and intensity. Soon after the edge of a bright orange ball began peaking over the rolling hills in the distance. Celestia gave a very slow and gentle flap of her wings, her hooves slowly lifting from the marble ground. She levitated higher as the sun struggled to escape its earthy prison on the horizon. With a bright flare from her horn the sun finally pulled free and cleared the ground. The now blinding white sphere was only interrupted by the shape of Celestia, her form producing a majestic view of the infinitely wise ruler.
She slowly dropped back down and made contact with the floor. She stayed still, staring at the sunlit lands in silent contemplation. She didn’t know how long she stood there, but by the time she turned around she noticed her guards giving her very concerned looks. When they saw her face they saw right past her façade. They smiled softly and gave her understanding nods. Celestia smiled sadly. Many of her guards had confided in her with many things, slowly getting to know the other as if they were best friends. Celestia gestured with her head to get lost, the two guards smiling while bowing. They left her alone, trusting her judgment. Celestia sighed and began walking down the hallways again.
She soon reached her destination. The two lunar guards standing by the door looked at her with blank looks.
“Any change?”
“No, your highness,” the two guards softly replied.
Celestia sighed once again. “You may have the day off. I don’t think she’s going anywhere.”
The two bowed and left, their hoof steps quieting as they moved farther away. Celestia thought for a few moments before knocking on the door. “Luna? It’s me, Tia.” She received no response. “I’m coming in okay?”
Celestia opened the door slowly, the creaking of wood echoing loudly throughout the room due to lack of use. The light cut a path through the darkness, allowing Celestia to see a little better in the dull gloom. She looked towards the bed and found it to be unmade. She looked the other way and saw the dark shadowy form of her sister sitting in front of a covered mirror, the dusty sheet ruffling slightly in the draft of the room. Celestia approached her sister slowly.
“Luna?”
...
“Yes?”
Celestia was shocked that she had actually answered. It was short lived however as she realized how dull and scratchy her voice sounded, almost as if she never used it. She stepped closer.
“How are you feeling?”
“… Lost…”
Celestia faltered, the single word response cutting deeply into her. She nodded understandingly, her sister missing the action as she had her back towards her.
“I know…” she all but whispered back. “He won’t ever be forgotten.” Celestia wiped the tear that had escaped her eye. “Come, breakfast awaits us and many have missed you.”
“… No.”
Celestia stopped. She lowered her head slightly and shook side to side. “Luna, this isn’t healthy. You must get out of this room. Ponies are counting on you. I’m counting on you.”
Luna didn’t move an inch as she replied, “They don’t need me.”
Celestia became exasperated. “Listen, I know how you feel but you can’t jus-,”
Luna whipped around, “Don’t you DARE say that! You have no idea how much it hurts, the amount of pain and loss sucking endlessly at your very being!”
Celestia was shocked. Not just at her outburst but her eyes. They were dull, lifeless. As if they saw nothing.
“Luna, I just want to help.” Celestia reached a hoof out to touch her sister’s shoulder only for her to get slapped away, hard.
“Don’t touch me!”
Celestia backed away, tears beginning to fall freely from her muzzle. “Luna, I-,”
“Leave me,” Luna said.
Celestia slowly turned and walked sluggishly out, her eyeliner leaving sticky black trails on her muzzle. When she had cleared the doors they slammed shut behind her.
“… That’s what he did…”
Luna stared ahead at the dusty sheet. For the first time in months she felt liquid fire burning her eyes. Once the dam burst it kept flowing, her body shaking as she continued to cry silently. She opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling.
“Why? Why did you do this?”
…
“He saw your true self.”
Luna closed her eyes tightly and hung her head.
“But… he loved me. I felt it.”
“It was an act, a ploy to gain your trust.”
“No…”
“He was very similar to the enemy he was fighting…”
Luna curled up into a tighter ball, falling over and quivering violently as she continued to talk to herself.
“Nopony loves you…”
“It’s not true!”
A dark mist began pouring from her eyes, replacing the tears. Every time she spoke it vented out her mouth and nostrils.
“You can’t fi… ght the truth,” her voice split as two voices fought one another. “I love him! He will… never come back!”
Luna felt a sharp pain in her chest as she screamed loudly, tearing the sheet off the mirror with one of her flailing hooves. The Nightmare was standing in the mirror, her draconic teal eyes and bright white fang filled maw gleaming in the reflection. Luna screamed when she saw it and smashed the mirror hard, shattering it instantly. The glass showered around her form with a loud tinkering sound as if was raining. Silence filled the room and no movement came from the dark alicorn.
The room stayed that way for awhile, no pony coming to see what the commotion was about as there was nopony around to hear it. A scuffing sound was heard as one of Luna’s hooves slid across the glass debris. She shifted and rolled slightly to get her hooves under her. Smoothly, she rose from the floor, glass falling free from her pelt. She stayed silent as she stood, her eyes clenched tightly. The shadows in the room seemed to reach towards her as if they were possessed. They wrapped around her and covered her, hiding her from view. After a few moments they lurched away from her violently, still silent as ever. The night princess opened her eyes suddenly.
…
“MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
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*slow claps* Well done. Very well done my friend. Even after all this time, you never cease to amaze me with your writing.
I completely agree with Nanofield! This story has been a lot of fun to read, and while I don't know much about HALO this has given me a pretty good insight about it! Keep up the good work!
4826676 Thank you! Also, you should try Halo put some time. I find its storyline to be really engaging. (And by that I mean the games. The books are great but actually playing is completely different.)
well, nightmare moon is back. rafaelsos.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/fuck.jpg
4829010 okay your comment just got that stupid, "guess who's back, back again," song stuck in my head! Why!? What did I do to be punished so!?
4826837 hehe sorry bro but I'm a Playstaion gamer not an X-Box one! :)
4833157 Heh, I don't like the 1. I would buy and play the PS4 if it wasn't for Halo. Oh, and the remote set up feels nicer for Xbox compared to PS to me at least. Other than those, PS is better I think.
4829061 great, now you got it in my head now! why did you do this to me?!
4833841 NOOO!!!! The horror! *Faints on couch*
4833862 this is s.mlpforums.com/uploads/post_images/img-1557050-3-FYkc74B.gif
That music, right there, did it ALL for me. I've always loved that Halo: Reach music, and I gotta get it on my iPod. I already have most of the Halo 4 songs, two Halo 3 songs, and Nightfall and Tip Of The Spear from Reach. BATTLE MUSIC >:D
*read the chapter* CHECK
*keep looking at the monitor for a minute* CHECK
*feel the sudden urge to clap my hands* CHECK
Well done
Oh well i will just sit here and nap until the new chapter comes out yah?
4846230 XD Look at my second to most recent blog post.
4846727 do i have to?
4846727 I-im a little scared too
4848858 turns out, if you sit on a bench in the outdoors for a week you get really sick.
my throat is killing me. next time im bringing warm clothes
4848413
4848873 It's just the tid bit for chapter 1 of the next story. You don't have to if you don't want to.
4848883 what the heck man! I was so worried! I had the police looking for you and everything!
4849071 yea... they kinda mistook me for a street person.
thats why i got sick in the first place.
but im fine, i had some rice! i find that helps with colds so... got that going for me.
still watching from the sidelines.
and dont bring that bat anywhere near me!
4853386 How's a spray bottle? Or maybe a super soaker? Oooo! How about a bandaloir of garlic?
4855107 i thought i was done with the vampire jokes! even people who have never met me! why does this world torment me?
and i dont like any of those things, just dont bring any weapon or tool or anything else like that near me.
4857295 Well I'm sorry to say that I will be releasing my new one shot very soon. I'm afraid that Jimmy has a very powerful tool that will be very close to you, a leaf blower. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
4808778 Is that the same bat from that ONE time?
I still want to see him get hit by a bat.
NOT HAPPENING!!!
5478331 we must invoke the 21 gun salute
LUNA FOR FUCKS SAKE
Warning: more caps lock follows
ALE THIS COULD HAVE BEEN FUCKING AVOIDED
YOU COULD HAVE RECORDED A VIDEO OR SOMETHING
A VIDEO TO TELL HER THAT YOU WERE DOING THIS TO FUCKING SURVIVE
YOU HAD THE ENTIRE RIDE UP TO THE EMBER
I KNOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO SHIT EXCEPT START THE AUTOPILOT
YOU'VE DONE IT BEFORE
FAILING THAT
OR IF FOR SOME REASON
YOU HADN'T LEFT SOMETHING BEHIND FOR LUNA TO WATCH THE VIDEO ON
LUNA PROBABLY WOULD HAVE COME AND JOINED YOU IN A CRYOTUBE
I MEAN
ONCE YOU WERE FROZEN
THE SHIP COULD HAVE HUNG AROUND FOR A FEW MINUTES
LUNA HAS TELEPORTED ONTO IT BEFORE
PRESUMABLY THE AI COULD HAVE TOLD LUNA HOW TO WORK THE CRYOTUBES
I am displeased by Luna's reversion to NMM. I admit having a loved one suddenly leaving and going on a 300 year space trip isn't something that's happened to me. But you know what, all Ale had to do was tell Luna the last day he would be alive in Equestria, then when Discord told him about the solution Luna probably could have tagged along, or at least known where the hell Ale was going and what the hell he was doing.
5926277 Hmm... I honestly didn't think of that.
...
Plus, I needed a reason for her to change. Let's call it... A plot hole necessity XD
6183187 this is the second book of a trilogy. Did you read the first one?
6304805 It's good to cry every now and again, both physically as it flushes out crap in your eyes and releases chemicals in your brain as well as mentally because it makes you feel better :) Nobody would judge you man. Glad you enjoyed the story though.
6185226 I think I did
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I really don't have a good opinion on this. Luna becoming Nightmare Moon again feels cheap and..... overdone.
7408786 Aye, but it serves my purpose. There were a few other options, but it would have become a quite complicated mess and I'm not confident with my current writing level to wing it. It's kinda hard being original too, seeing as there's almost always a replica of some kind of what you make somewhere in the world :/ Nonetheless, Nightmare Moon serves my purpose.