Not All Injustice Is Fought With Retribution
Luna stood and stared at the door.
It did not appear a door at a glance. There was no obvious divide in the great stone star burst of color. The only hint to the door's nature was a single slot, for a horn. A keyhole, for a key, and key only her, her sister, and Twilight Sparkle could wield. Luna did not wish to unlock the door and look within. She didn't think she had the strength to. Not that she needed it anyway. Even if she wasn't dreadfully aware what this door that was not a door hid behind it, the senses the unicorn part of her soul, attuned by millennia of life, granted her could feel it... them behind that door. She could feel how the subtle bonds of magic bound every creature to them, how the beat of joy and hope pulsed through them, fainter than a fly's breath, but, at the same moment, she was aware of just how fast this heart of hearts could beat. How it could pull the very powers of hope and life to itself, and, by the will of its... their bearers they could wield that power and scourge the wicked and malignant with perfect justice. Luna had been the will in the center of that great cosmic heart.
Luna had also been on the end of it's wrath.
Luna stood, and stared at the Elements of Harmony, pondering their nature.
There was something... about the elements. Something that bothered her the more she pondered it. “Perfect Justice” was an apt term to describe the workings of the elements. Too perfect, sometimes it seemed.
Take, for instance, the case of Discord. What was he, exactly? Discord was Discord. He was the Spirit of Disharmony. The God of Strife. Suffering and Malice were his stock and trade, and his bread and wine. To him, Harmony was a blight to be stamped out. An aberration. Hatred, Pain, Betrayal. These are the world to him. Celestia had once told Luna that Harmony was like a Clock that had built itself. A thousand pieces of all shapes and seizes that fit themselves together as best they could and, in doing so, made something great. To Discord, the Clock was a lie. The gears were rusted, and uneven to boot. The more the clock turned, the more it ground itself down, reducing the smaller gears to dust as the larger ones spun fruitlessly in a mad dash to be useful. Discord had always had the power to smash the clock, to maim and kill instead of corrupt and torment, but he rarely took that path. Luna suspected that to him, the fact that that Clock kept trying to rebuild, despite the more out of step he made it, and therefore the more it kept killing its own components, was somehow the funniest thing to him.
Harmony was Order from Action. Discord then was Destruction from Action. What had the Elements of Harmony done to him though, when they had finally been brought to bear?
They turned him to stone. A thing which could neither take action, nor suffer destruction. Timeless, unchanging, and therefore, perfectly peaceful. Discord, a creature who never knew rest, who schemed and spun endlessly, who made sure that no creature he could lay his talons on knew an iota peace, was doomed to the eternal serenity of statuary. The idea nearly made Luna snort the more she thought about it. Even the idea of isolation must have been hell for a creature like Discord. At no second had Luna seen him that he was not inflicting pain on another. Being kept from that, left with nothing but his thoughts, must be a torture in and of itself.
What then also, of King Sombra? The Sorcerer King of the Crystal Empire? He had sought the Crystal Heart, to dominate it with all of his admittedly impressive mortal power. Through it, he would cast Equestria in the shadow of his glory and vanity. Fear and despair would become the tone of the ages to come. All Hail Sombra! All fall to shadow. What fate did the Elements reserve for him? To be nothing but a shadow, bound helpless inside ice as cold as his own heart. It went further though Luna had realized as she spent more of these sleepless nights staring at the door. What was a shadow? The absence of light. It had no weight, no form. It could do nothing, affect nothing. It was merely what the eyes painted for the mind when they had no light to grasp.
For a beast so vain as Sombra, who attempted to stamp his sneering face into the soul of Equestria itself, what could be more galling than to become nothing?
Luna and Celestia had cut a swath of blood through the ages to make Equestria a world safe for their ponies and all the other races who came under their wing, beginning when they bound Discord all the way to Sombra's mad bid for power. At each confrontation the Elements had been their jury, their judge, and the axe by which justice was served. Each time, the more Luna dwelled, the more it became apparent to her that the Elements had chosen their punishments to the ironic suffering of the wicked. The Elements protected the weak, but they did so without mercy to the cruel. Discord, Sombra, the Princes of Tartarus. All had paid the worst penalty they could for their crimes. Every time the Elements had been used, there had been nothing but perfect justice in their actions. Every. Time.
But then, where did it leave their last case? Where did that leave... Luna?
There, that was the question. The one gnawing at her gut in the dark, eating at her spirit and sapping her strength. The one that brought her here, night after night, to stare at the door too scared to confront what she already knew to be the reason she came. Now that it was finally in the open, the gates were broken, and she could not hide from it anymore.
Why? Why banishment to the moon? Why redeem her? Why show here leniency? Of all the sinners to face judgment on the altar of the Elements, why was she the one spared? Out of all of them, she deserved to suffer the most! Even if Discord or Sombra had ruled Equestria forever, at least there would have been an Equestria to rule! Furthermore, of all the creatures, Luna should have known better. Celestia assured her that there had been another will in her body. A spirit that had been driving Nightmare Moon just as much as Luna had been, but that was no excuse. Even if Luna had not been entirely in control she should have known the spirit was manipulating her and fought it. The fact that she fell and let herself become Nightmare Moon was just as inexcusable to her that she would have chosen the path willingly. A princess could not afford weakness, for weakness and evil were inseparable.
So what then, was her punishment? What was the purpose of her sojourn on the Moon? Each other punishment had been calculated to the detriment of its victim. What had the elements done to her? Was her imprisonment on the Moon a sardonic nod to her mad attempt to bring her night sky to Equestria? Or force her to bask eternally in the sun she hated so much? Was the barren realm she dreamed in for a thousand years meant to show her the cost of her actions? Was it just a knife twist in a heart already wounded by loneliness?
“Why...” Luna said, her body shudder as she stared at the door. “Why... WHY!”
Luna slammed her hoof against the unthinking stone.
“WHY!-WHY! WHYWHYWHY!”
Each shout was punctuated by the crack of hoof on stone. With the final strike, Luna finally broke, leaning against the wall, sobbing. Her near silent gurgles and shudders were the only sounds in the room. She stayed that way for a while.
Why?
Luna's head snapped up. Her head swiveling around, looking for the source of the voice.
“Who's there?!”
No one but us.
“Who said that?!”
We did.
The voice was innocent and child-like, but also tired and sleepy. Like it was being awoken from a... rest...
The voice giggled.
“You... you're...”
Yes. We are.
There was a long silence.
Why Luna, do you come here every night with pain in your heart?
“I... I need to know.”
Need to know what?
“I... why I was spared.”
The voiced yawned, a little confused.
Spared?
“What?”
Spared, from what?
“The punishment I deserved?”
Luna felt confusion radiate through the door.
“Why did you place me on the moon? To what end did you do so? Why? WHY?!”
The voice giggled.
Is this why you cry in the night Luna?
“I...” Luna said, tears welling up in her eyes. “I... yes.”
The voice laughed again.
We do what we can to ensure Harmony Luna. Why did we place you on the moon for a thousand years?
To keep you safe until we found a friend for you.
“You-What?! What?! What does that even mean?!”
Luna ran her hooves over the stone, her jaw gaping as her eyes bulged, studying the unyielding edifice for some clue, some cue or hint. Her only reply was a fading laugh and a faint yawn as the elements returned to their slumber.
Don't... don't worry about it...
And with that, the hall was silent again.
Luna stared at the wall for what seemed like an eternity, when a sudden sound caused her to nearly jump out of her skin. She whipped around and saw... a startled purple unicorn.
“Luna I-Oh! OH!” Twilight turned her attention to the candle she had dropped in her shock and Luna's sudden movement, stomping the flame out before it set he carpet ablaze. Luna used the moment to collect herself.
“Ehehehe” Twilight giggled, nervously. “Hehe-Whoops! Ahahah...” She was grinning sheepishly, but her face suddenly filled with dread. “You won't tell Celestia will you?”
“Wha-the candle?” Luna smiled, “No Twilight Sparkle, your secret is safe with me.”
“Oh, good.” Twilight's entire body went limp with relief. “I was worried.”
“You were telling me an hour ago how as a filly you nearly leveled the school attempting to hatch an egg. I'm sure my sister would forgive you for singeing a few fibers and getting wax on a rug she doesn't like anyway.”
“Better safe than sorry!” Twilight chirped, highlighting her nerves instead of concealing them.
Luna finally finished crossing the distance to Twilight.
“Why aren’t you sleeping with the rest?”
“Well, I woke up to find you gone, and, well, it’s not much of a slumber party if you don't sleep! You’re lucky Pinkie wasn't the one to find out!”
“Sorry, Twilight” Luna chuckled. “I don't sleep much.”
“Oh.” Twilight said, yawning and rubbing one eye with her hoof. “Well, in that case I'll stay up to keep you company.”
“You'd do that?”
“Of course, you're my P.P.B.F.F.!”
“P.P.-?”
“Pony Princess Best Friend Forever!”
“Oh really?” Luna asked, quirking an eyebrow. “What about Cadance, or my sister?”
“Oh no, you’re right! I hadn't even considered. This will take months of research and-!”
“Twilight.” Luna said, chuckling. “Relax. It was a joke.”
“Oh, o.k.. A joke. Haha. Riiight.” Twilight's grin didn't reach her eyes, which darted around, no doubt considering the diagrams and charts need to complete the monumental task Luna had inadvertently set before her.
Luna rolled her eyes and began walking out of the hall.
“Come, Twilight, let us get back to my room.” Then, suddenly, a thought occurred to her. She turned towards Twilight. “Why are you down here? What possessed you to walk this far?”
“Oh, I heard a voice.” Twilight, frowned. “Like a foal. It was laughing and it... lead me... here... Luna, what are you staring at?”
Luna did not speak for a long time.
“Nothing, Twilight.” She finally broke her gaze on that door that was not a door. “Just... old memories.” She began walking. Twilight waited for her to catch up before fall in step with her.
“Maybe we can go to the library and look for spooky stories, or perhaps swap stories about colts-no, wait, that won't work. I wouldn't have any. Oh! You know I've always wanted to try combing your hair.”
Luna laughed at that, continuing the idle chatter as they walked through the hallways in the dead of night. A not so lonely princess, and her very best friend.
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the Elements were not used on Sombra
The elements were only used on Sombra to lock him in the frozen north the first time. And the second time was the Crystal Heart.
6843720
They were used to seal him into ice, actually. Then the Crystal Heart was activated when Sombra came back, and...well, we all know how that turned out.
Speaking of the Crystal Heart...anyone else realize that, while the Elements have a sense of irony, the forces of love and happiness(?) have a tendency to go "DIE, YOU EVIL @#$%!^*"? I mean, with Chrysalis, it was just launching her and the changelings out of Canterlot and into the badlands, where there was no love to feed on, meaning that Chrysalis would - best case scenario for the ponies - starve to death. And with Sombra, it just outright killed him. By shattering him into a dozen pieces.
6844362 the animation suggests to me that Celestia and Luna just blasted the crap out of him with their own power.
6844425
...Ooooooookay, you have a point; it doesn't actually say they used the elements...
6844362
Chrysalis was not defeated by the elements, she was defeated by Shining Armor and Cadance
6843720
6845715 He never said that. He was making a comparison between how the Elements operate to how the magic of love operates.
6846335
Exactly.
6846335 You're right i read it wrong. sorry.
I reviewed this story!
My review can be found here.
I feel kind of "bleh" about this. That was kind of just... no. Discord? Horrible asshole who needs to be tortured for his assholishness. Sombra? Horrible asshole who needs to be tortured for his assholishness. Nightmare Moon? Horrible asshole who needs to be placed on the moon so the elements can find her some pwetty wittle fwiends! That entire reasoning was honestly just dumb. The fact that the elements start talking did it no favour, either.
6849640
Discord also came out of his stone to find a friend in the end.
6850521
That doesn't help the reasoning this story actually gives for it.
She had heard certain philosophical and was at the moment feeling very existential and confused.
Discord and Charnel don't look that much alike do they?
Sounds more horrible to me really. Maybe there's still a bit of villain in her after all!
Well, one thought that occurs. Wasn't Luna also using the elements against those others? She did just snort at the irony of Discord being turned to stone. Might be their use has something to do with who is using them...
Tensions were pretty high with Saddle Arabia after all.
Post Patented Bakery Failure Finder. It's an inside joke that's too hard for Twilight to explain to the readers. Or Luna even.
6843720
6843927
6844362
Hmm, found the scene, and maybe it's implied the Elements were used?
I mean, on one hand, they don't say they used it and you don't see any Element regalia or stones floating around, but on the other, why wouldn't they use them? Like, if you got them, might as well put them to use on every big baddy you come across.
I suppose it could be that, since this was a "1000 years ago" Luna was already on the verge of Nightmaring, so maybe she couldn't use them.
the sarcastic quotation is for the fact that I know this or the Nightmare Moon initial incident was not a thousand years ago, because if it was exact, and since the Empire just returned, it would mean it vanished after Luna's thousand year banishment since she returned before it.
Celestia, and know it sounds a lot more dramatic, but does everything has to be a thousand years? If the Empire was lost a thousnad-and-ten years ago, just say, you drama queen.
An intriguing line of thought and a very sweet conclusion. Thank you for it.
I'm shocked I didn't comment this earlier, from Frost:
Nothing can make injustice just but Mercy.
Hmm clever , very clever. Never thought of the Ellen's like that.
Good read
This needs the AU tag. I say this because there's no evidence that the Elements were ever used on Sombra. In fact, in canon, there's a ton of evidence that shows that it was just Celestia and Luna that struck him down, and the Crystal Heart that finished the job.
6849640 Luna was never really evil. Discord, up until season 4, was an irredeemable piece of garbage.
Actually, he still is.
7553929
"I'm going to freeze this world solid because people aren't giving me the attention I want" is about as evil as it gets. Say what you want, but justice is supposed to be just. If everyone gets a different punishment for doing the same thing, then it isn't justice at all. Either it applies equally to everyone or it doesn't actually apply to anyone. I'm pretty sure I could come up with some contrived Freudian excuse for the other two as well.
7555046 Luna experienced remorse. Discord never has. Seriously, has Discord ever said to the Mane Six "I'm sorry I mind raped you into complete madness?" No, he's been an unrepentant monster for four seasons.
Sombra doesn't have enough character for me to judge.
7555484
The worst thing he has ever done to most people comes down to an elaborate prank - and non-lethally incapacitating the only six people capable of operating a superweapon against you would be considered pretty damn restrained by any kind of human standard. Nightmare Moon tried to murder them when she dropped them down that cliff. Say what you want, but when it comes to the consequences of their actions? Luna was worse in every sense. We don't punish people on the basis of how bad of a person they are, we punish them for what they actually do.
7555504 Discord essentially violated the Mane 6 in the worst possible way. Luna just wanted to be loved, Discord does what he does out of pure sadism.
*Sigh*Look, I'm just never going to like Discord.
7555530
No one is expecting you to, I'm just pointing out that evil is as evil does. Stalkers also just want to be "loved," for a given value of love, but that doesn't make them good people. The point of my original comment was that for a story called "Perfect Justice," there isn't a whole lot that's actually just in it.
This was a wonderful story.
...what?
The first half looks absolutely amazing. Then Twilight shows up and suddenly, the fic changes. It's like you gave up and decided to go with a heartwarming ending instead.
7555046
The NMM timeline showed otherwise.
Equestria being completely fine despite it being eternal night and NMM mentions its been years since she booted Celestia to the moon, so she must have thought something up in order to prevent everyone from dying.
She wanted to be loved and her night loved too, it will be contradicting her goals if it ends up getting everyone killed.
So she had to have thought up some way to prevent that issue there.
Twilight needs to give one of these convoluted nicknames to all of her friends and family.
Incredibly cute story. I skipped this for so long because of a bad first impression of one of your earlier stories. But I really feel like an idiot now because man I love this so much.
Twilight has good taste.
Cute story. Always happy to see some Twilight and Luna friendship.