The Legend of the God-Hunter

by BobThePlaneswalker

Nightmare's Embrace

Moon floated about inside of her Celestial body, although, floated may not be the right word. Seeing as she had no physical manifestation at this particular point in time she really couldn't float at all and even if she could, her current mood would have certainly kept her anchored to the ground. She was in about the poorest spirits that an abstract and formless being such as her could be in. She had suffered not one, but two horrible defeats. Not just any horrible defeats either. She had been so close! Eternal rule and glory had been dangled in front of her face and stolen away at the last possible moment. To say the least, Moon had not been in a good mood for a good bit of time.

Those damned elements were a barrier she could not pass. A wall she had no way to break through, and no perceivable route around. This bothered Moon the most. She was the only true Queen of existence. A being that was in every way perfect. So, that being said, why in the hell couldn't she best them? For the Moon's sake, a bunch of sappy little friendship obsessed ponies were barring her from achieving her destiny!

How could a being as powerful as her meet her match in a crew as pathetic as them?! It was infuriating! This couldn't be!

She slowed her train of thought. Moping would get her nowhere. Nightmare Moon doesn't mope. Sadness, insecurity, depression, these were her weapons, not her weaknesses. She had to return herself to a constructive path of thought. If nothing else, she had found two plans of attack that DIDN'T work.

A full on assault on the Elements was hopeless. They were just too strong. A fault in her reality that she vowed to bring up to whatever being created it. She couldn't simply tear away one of the Spirits of Harmony either. Their... Moon gagged, friendship was too strong. So then what angle must she take? Every boulder had its weak point. This one's was just difficult to find.

Just then Moon felt a twinge. Something was connecting with her. Her anger, her hatred, her determination, her rage. Some entity was finally feeling these things in such force that she could sense them. She reached out, probing it to see what it was. When she identified it, all conscious thought froze.

It was her, Moon's most prized catch of all time. An immortal, a dark blue, lunar immortal. Moon couldn't help but feel giddy. She had been positive that Luna was eternally out of her reach. Since that second encounter with her she had become so confident, so absorbed in her “friends” that Moon had written her off as a lost cause.

However, now the Lunar princess was consumed with rage, unable to comprehend Moon's entry into her mind even if she was to waltz in with a band of mind eaters. This was an opportunity that Moon could not pass up. Plan or no plan, she needed a body. Abstraction was SO boring!

She entered Luna's mind and began to hinge onto her mental faculties. The princess was angry, very angry. She grasped onto Luna's vision and observed. It was this creature, this strange looking smorgasbord of genes that she was angry at. Looked to be the result of an alicorn who had drank one too many drinks at a dragon's fraternity party.

Moon chuckled. Without even a single prodding from her Luna had crushed that specially confused creature against the wall like a stress ball. This was, of course, no reason not to prod. She latched onto those feelings of rage and hatred and filled them with power. This was her home field, anger, hatred, she could use them like they were extensions of her very body.

Just then she saw her. That frustratingly purple and pink prize of Celestia's standing right before Luna, trying to stop her from exacting her revenge on that worthless draconic mess of flesh.

All of Moon's hatred welled up inside of her. All she wanted to do was punish the little brat for everything she had done. After all, this was the mare that had stolen the glorious future she was entitled to! She grasped onto Luna's nervous system, stealing her vocal capabilities and swung her hoof out at Twilight. “You insolent foal!”

Shortly after striking the insufferable little creature, Moon felt Luna's conscious contesting her control. She may have made her move just a bit too soon. Luna tore her nervous system back like an angry parent stealing the spoils of theft from a little foal. She knew she should quit, retreat back into Luna's mind and re-assume her prior strategy. She should simply lurk in the shadows of her thoughts and stoke the fires of her anger but how could she pass up this opportunity? Twilight was right there before her, no elements, no friends, no Celestia, nothing to save her. Even if she lost her opportunity at seizing Luna, it would all be worth it to eliminate this most resilient plague on her existence.

She pressed against Luna, vying for control of her body. She could feel Luna reeling back from her sudden surge in strength. She was only moments away! She'd be able to crush Twilight and achieve her rule over-... What was that? Her connection with Luna, something about it, was burning at her... like a scolding hot article of clothing. She could just barely discern its origin. It was that love... That sickening connection she felt with Twilight. Her, “friendship” with her. Moon's rage boiled over. She didn't care what it took! That despicable mare would die here, and NOW! She growled, forcing her form on Luna. She was only able to force through her fangs before Luna pushed back with a sizable amount of force, completely dislodging Moon from her faculties.

Depressed or not, Luna was far more powerful than Moon remembered. She finally accepted her defeat and disappeared into the recesses of Luna's mind. Destroying Twilight was obviously out of the question. However, she still may be able to consume Luna's mind. Luna was, after all, under a great deal of stress. Not to mention that, for once, under all the confidence and disgusting love, there was the slightest bit of doubt. This was the widest opening she had seen in the alicorn's psyche in months and she still had some very powerful cards in her possession. She faded into the recesses of Luna's mind, a cold joy emanating from her conscious.

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Amidst the center of the Canterlot Watchtower appeared a white flash of light. It expanded and grew into the dark blue form of Princess Luna. The princess emerged a few feet off of the ground. Not expecting the drop, she fell awkwardly forward and stumbled into the guard rail at the edge of the balcony. She hit with enough force that her crown vaulted from her head, dropping down to the bushes below.

Her insides felt as though they were being eaten away. That horrible image of Twilight tore at her heart. The image of the pony who had only minutes before looked on her, not as some terrifying monster, but as a friend, cowering in fear before her like all the others. Was she truly so terrible a creature that she could not hold a friendship with even a pony that studied it for a living?

NO! That was not it! Twilight was simply no different from the others. She watched as the ponies below hustled about their day. They're all the same. All disrespectful little cowards! Why they don't even deserve my respect, much less my friendship!

Luna listened as her mental words resounded in her head. She remembered those words. She had spoken them before. Emotions rushed through her body like a chill after an ice cold glass of water. She gazed off into the night sky and recoiled into her mind.

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Luna could see a younger version of herself storming through the halls of the castle in the Everfree. Closely behind her cantered Celestia. “Please little sister,” Celestia called, “We know tis difficult for thee to understandan right now-”

“I understand it just fine sister!” the young Luna replied, “They hate our work, and they hate us!”

“Sister, no...” Celestia sped up, moving close enough to Luna that she could make eye contact with her but Luna kept her vision straight ahead. “They don't hate thee,” Celestia said, “Thou simply hast yet to learnest how to interact with them.”

Luna's eyes widened. She stopped and turned a glare to Celestia. “We don't know how to interact with THEM?!” She approached Celestia and prodded her with a hoof. “Two months Tia, TWO MONTHS we spent preparing the most wonderful night we could possibly muster for those ponies. We begged them for their time, sent flyers throughout all of Equestria. Told them how much it would mean to us if they would come out of their homes and witness the wonderful night we made just for them. But no, not single one of them could spare even one of their precious nights to come outside and enjoy our painstaking effort!” Her eyes narrowed as they closed in on her sister's. “How dare thee suggest that this is our fault.”

“Tis frustrating dear sister, We understand,” Celestia retorted, “But thou givest them naught but formality. It makes them uneasy, causes them to withdraw their trust.” Celestia laid a hoof on Luna's shoulder, managing to catch her eyes with her soft gaze. “Thou must givest them thy friendship if thou wishest them to love thee.”

Luna looked away, her breaths becoming heavier. She considered her words. However, to Celestia's despair, Luna's hoof rose to strike her hoof from her shoulder.

“We have tried sister. We have done everything that we were taught, and still they refuse to give us their love.” Her brow furrowed as the pace of her breaths increased.

Celestia brought her hoof to Luna's snout, attempting to recapture her gaze. “Please Luna,” She begged, “Please, give them anoth-”.

Luna ripped her head out of Celestia's reach. “No!” she shouted, “They do not even deserve our respect, much less our friendship!” She tore down the hallway, leaving her horrified sister behind, one hoof still outstretched.

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Luna shuddered as she withdrew from the scene. She picked herself off of the balcony and trudged back towards the sheltered area of the tower. She made it to the archway before she fell against the frame. She turned herself until her back was propped against it and slunk down. Soon the back of her head was the only thing that remained in contact with it. The rest of her body was sprawled across the floor.

This wasn't right. She had put all of this behind her. How could she have regressed this much? Images of her victories raced through her mind. The battle with Nightmare Rarity, the citizens of Ponyville surrounding her, accepting her as one of their own. The Nightmare Night just months ago, when her arrival had been met with the little ones charging up to her, their eye's filled with joy, as though they had been waiting all year for her arrival.

Just a few days ago, such memories served as fuel to press her forward, to motivate her to work harder and achieve more. Now they served only to taunt her, sitting just out of her reach, reminding her how wonderful things would be if she could just get a hold of them.

Luna's tail caught her attention, breaking her line of thought. She lifted it, seeing that it no longer glowed with the celestial beauty of the Night Sky. It was instead back to its fluffy grayish blue form. She must have regressed in her dismay. She rolled the rest of her body onto the ground, curling up into a ball and squeezing her tail against her chest.

Had she ever even truly improved? What if the others had simply been deluded into thinking that things could change, when truly they couldn't? What if, deep down, she was still, and would always remain, the angry, awkward, weak little creature that had fallen to Moon's power? Who's weakness had caused them so much pain. Her eyes felt as though a match was being held in front of them. She buried her face in her tail, letting the downy fur absorb the warm tears.

What had they even seen in her anyway? She was a terrible ruler. She couldn't connect with anypony, she couldn't rally anypony, she couldn't even exist for a full week without falling to pieces, forcing them to waste their time setting her straight. What good did she ever do aside from scaring the daylights out of foals once a year and throwing them advice once in a while when their nightmares grew too tumultuous? She never helped adults. How could she? She was less capable of answering their questions than they were. Instead this immortal alicorn who was to them as they were to their foals, needed their direction and guidance to function on a daily basis. It was pathetic...

Her sister's words reverberated from the depths of her mind. “Regardless of what they see now, you have all the makings of a great leader.” Like a relaxing cup of hot cocoa, they brought relief to her anxiety stricken body. She pulled her face out of her mane and let her lips arc ever so slightly upward.

She ran a hoof through her tail as she recalled the warm embrace of Tia. Her elder sister was the very definition of perfection, capable of demanding respect without so much as raising her voice. The champion of kindness, completely unrivaled in her capability to forgive and utterly untouchable when it came to suffering those that rubbed her the wrong way. There were many occasions Luna could pull off of the top of her memory where she had seen Celestia come to the aid of those who had dedicated themselves to tearing her down. That wasn't to say she was weak. Deep within Celestia was a righteous fury that could reign down justice with all the might of the burning sun. She had only seen it a couple of times. It was a rare sight, only coming out of hiding when tyrants attempted to enslave the innocent.

Luna stopped stroking her tail as a thought passed through her mind. Celestia would never stand for something that put her subjects in danger. If truly Luna was as terrible as she thought, her sister would have permanently exiled, jailed, or destroyed her. Certainly she would not have allowed her to return from the Moon or maintain her position as princess. If Celestia saw something better in her, then there was something better in her. There had to be.

Her lips curled into an actual smile and she rolled onto her belly, positioning herself towards the balcony so she could gaze out into the castle yards. She looked down to the gateway, its beautiful golden frame glistening with the results of tender care. The wonderful display caused a memory to skitter through her head. She grabbed at its tiny tail and pulled it out from her stream of thoughts. As she did, a ghastly image of her sister appeared before the archway and soon her memories blended with reality.

She saw her sister standing just a few feet back from the gateway, greeting ponies as they arrived for the castle tours. Ponies surrounded her, eyes wide with adoration. The line looked as though it never ended. Ponies were willing to wait hours for even a slight chance of meeting their wonderful sun princess.

Luna heard hoof steps behind her. She turned to find a phantasmal image of her younger self slowly drifting into the observatory. It stopped by the archway to the balcony, staying just far enough back that it remained masked by the shadows, its starry mane the only thing that could be seen with any amount of detail. Its mane drooped down towards the ground waving slowly even on the rather windy day. It glared out at the spectacle of ponies clamoring over one another to get a shot at conversing with Celestia.

So easy it is for thee sister. The phantom thought, her mental voice resounding in Luna's own mind. Tis as though, for thou, the simple act of existing makest ponies swoon. The phantom's brow furrowed. Tis no wonder we cannot get so much as a look of respect from them, every bit they can muster is spent the second thou stepest within a mile of them.

All the warmth that had filled Luna when she had recalled her night with Celestia left her. “Don't,” she whispered, “Luna please, don't.”

We wish sister... The phantom's eyes shimmered.

“Don't!” Luna snapped. She approached the phantom. “Don't you dare say it.” The phantom continued her glaring, oblivious to her presence.

We wish thou were gone, so that finally thy shadow would lift from us and these ponies might be able to see our beauty too.

Luna cringed. “How could you!?” she shouted.

The phantom let out a snarl as she ripped her eyes from the scene and drifted towards the exit. One day, we shall make it so sister.

Luna warped into the phantom's path. “You monster! She loves you!” It continued towards her. She trembled with rage. She threw her head forward, shouting with all her might. “SHE LOVES YOU MORE THAN YOU'LL EVER DESERVE!” In her fury she flung a mixture of spit and tears at the phantom which passed straight through its ghastly image. It walked through her and melted into the door, leaving her alone, panting. Her words replayed in her head. The realization of just what they meant, and who they were really intended for sunk in.

Luna you wretch... It felt as though the metaphorical matches that had been held in front of her eyes before had been shoved straight into her eye sockets. She trudged forward and fell to the ground. She laid in a heap, saturating the room with the sounds of her sobs.

Lord Humphrey's words sprung from her stream of memories. “We put up with you because, for whatever reason, Princess Celestia is incapable of severing whatever family ties she has with you and simply banishing you to the Moon for good. You're simply lucky that her positives are so grand and so numerous that such a burden is well worth our effort. However 'Princess' Luna, even her favor has its limits. Your ill-earned crown may grant you all the niceties of royalty, but it won't grant you our respect.”

Her body convulsed with each sob. Humphrey's words made it all too clear. To Celestia Luna was, and always would be, her little Umie. Her adorable little sibling that greeted her with childish adoration and worshiped the very ground she walked on. No matter the treachery she caused, no matter who she hurt, no matter how terrible she became, Celestia would stand by her, always rooting for her, always believing that little Umie was still buried somewhere within her.

The others probably only liked her because of Tia. Ponies loved Tia, therefore when she wanted something, they too wanted it. Seeing her happy made them happy. Subconsciously ponies such as Twilight and her friends may have drawn a certain love for Luna from Tia. A love that Luna didn't deserve.

But what about the foals? The thought left enough of a break in Luna's sobs that she was able to clear the tears from her face.

The foals that liked her rarely interacted with Tia, apart from the formal addresses she made to the masses. It was unlikely that these short and impersonal encounters had caused them to absorb her fondness. So why did they like her?

Luna sniffled as she stared at the room before her. Maybe they liked her for her... Maybe the nobles were just angry...

Then again, maybe the foals were just too young to truly fathom her flaws. After all they had never truly seen her angry, nor did they have any real concept of the hatred that had lived within her soul. In truth, they probably only knew her as their generous playmate and defender of their dreams. She pulled her forelegs over her head as another flurry of sobs developed in her chest. Face it Luna, they only like you because they don't know any better.

This time she had a difficult time slowing down. Her body pulsed with each wretched memory of her wrong doings. Her tears had formed into a small puddle. She felt her stomach churn. Her breathing increased in pace as her jaw clenched.

She ripped her forelegs away from her head and slammed them onto the floor, vaulting her body upright. Forget them! Who cares if they don't like me! I'm an important pony dammit! Even if it is just because I'm her sister, Tia believes in me, and I'm not going to let her down.

Sister doesn't think I'm weak. The moment I came back she put her faith in me. She gave me my position along with all the responsibility it comes with. She walked over to the balcony again and gazed out at the evening sky. Remember what she said? “Don't get down on yourself sister, even I get jealous sometimes.” She put herself on the line for you Luna. Now it's time to prove her right! Handle this situation yourself. Prove to everypony that sister's faith was NOT ill placed! Luna's body tingled as her magical energies returned to her.

How would Tia resolve the situation? She thought back to the recent challenges that had faced her sister. The Elements! Grab the Elements, arm the Spirits, beat Dragonface! Luna dashed towards the door. Her magical aura wrapped around the handle and turned it. It reached about halfway before she froze. Tia didn't give me access to the Elements... Why wouldn't she give me access to the Elements?

She let the handle snap back into its neutral position and sat down. Why? She's given me other responsibilities. I'm responsible for raising the Moon, for reporting to her on the status of the dream-scape, I am to be at her side for all gatherings and courts... I have to run.... I... Luna's stomach seized up. I don't do anything on my own... Everything I do, I do with sister's guidance... Does she truly give me these responsibilities because she believes in me, or... to appease me?

A small memory sprung from the depths of her mind, letting her sister's voice reverberate through her head. “Thou art not a burden on me my sister, I promise thee.”

A burden? Luna tried to capture the thought but it sank back into the stream with all the others. She sat, gazing at the door before her as she retreated from reality, diving in after it. There was something important about that memory, something that would answer her question. She chased it around blocks of thought, catching quick snapshots of it as it scurried away. She grabbed at it catching a piece every now and then, enough to get a short glimpse of the scene, her sisters face, the walls, the lighting, but each time it slithered away before she could get a full grasp of it.

Finally she caught a chunk. She saw herself in it, still so small, about twice as big as the average cat, laying in her bed with her face buried in the covers. Was she upset? She tried to glance around to get a better view of her face, but the scene began to blur again. She needed something to keep from losing it. She scanned for anything that would help. What would she be upset about? She looked out the window. The Sky's scene was that of early night. The switch had just been made, but the stars, they weren't right. They were so controlled, so shapely, laid out like a checkerboard. This was not her night, she hated a structured night sky. In chaos there was so much to be seen. A structured sky did little for the imaginative mind.

As she viewed the blurring image of the sky a detail of the scene hit her like a meteor. This night sky, while difficult to look at without gagging now, had been very important to the filly that lay in bed. That filly would wait out on the balcony with her juice and watch the evening sun, cheering it on as a lulled off to sleep under the horizon. Then, when the stars came out she would literally shiver with excitement. When the Moon finally took its place in the sky, she would leap for joy and dash to the front door. When the Moon took its place in the night sky, it meant sister was coming home.

She looked back to the bed as the fog surrounding the little filly cleared. There, in her hooves, was a box. A number of tokens and a die or two were scattered about the floor, leaving a trail that lead from the door to the bed where she lay. The box itself was still cracked open and a corner of a game board hung out of it. When she got a better glimpse of the box, more of the fog dissipated.

“Mages and Monsters...” she mouthed as she read the letters on the front of the box. The night she had that game, she hadn't run straight to the door to wait for sister. She had instead headed to the living room where her newly purchased prize stood, assembled and ready to play. She was so eager to see Tia's face. Tia loved board games but after leaving Ifringale she was never able to find the time to play, nor had she taken any of her collection with her. When she saw that Luna had Mages and Monsters she would be so happy! She would scoop her up and tell her what a wonderful little sister she was. Mages and Monsters was, after all, Tia's favorite game.

The fog around the exit had finally cleared. Luna glided through the door and looked down to the little filly, now sitting at the living room table, her form slowly fading into darkness as the fire died down. She no longer bounced, she just sat, staring at the entrance to the living room with every bit of focus she had. She had waited and waited. The Moon had taken its place hours ago, and still, no sister.

Time passed, and soon the filly found herself consumed by worry. Sister was late. Very late. In fact, on any normal night, she would have been home hours ago. Just as she began to pace back and forth, she heard the rattle of hooves outside. The noise grabbed the her attention and she dashed to the door. Luna followed her and seated herself a few feet behind. It was still a while that the filly sat, doing her best to fight off her fatigue. Her vigilance was eventually rewarded when the door opened to reveal Tia.

It was at that moment, that everything sped up for Luna. She couldn't make much sense of the details that were coming her way. Fillies tended to miss important bits of information when they got excited. Between that phenomenon and the large cloak that covered her sister, she was unable to see her in very much detail. However there was something else that, even through the handicapped perception of a young mind, signaled to her that something was not right.

Tia and the Luna had a very specific routine. Luna remembered this because it was one that they didn't stray from, EVER. Once she received the Moon's cue, she would dash to the front door and wait. Not long after, Tia would burst through and scoop her up. She would nuzzle Luna for a bit, then put her on her back. She would finish up her conversation with whichever pony, or ponies, had decided to follow her home begging for one thing or another and send them off. Upon sending them off she would walk to the kitchen, telling Luna all the details of her day. Once they reached the kitchen, Tia would make her whatever snack she wanted. Then they would go to the Living Room to partake in whatever small bit of leisure activity they could steal away from her responsibilities.

This time, however, Tia strayed from the routine. She didn't scoop the filly up, she certainly didn't nuzzle her, and she didn't have just one or two ponies following her. She had a dozen or so, each garbed in armor and wielding a weapon. This time it took her a good bit of arguing to get the ponies to leave them in peace. She closed the door, and ambled off towards the kitchen without so much as a pat of the filly's head.

It was at this time things became choppy. Luna no longer had full strips of memory, rather only increasingly small snapshots. However, she knew that this scene, while it had concerned the filly, had not derailed her intent. She still wanted to celebrate in the spoils of her discovery. So she prodded sister, followed her about, asking her to come to the living room.

Now much older, Luna could see that Tia was not in any mood for the filly's bothering. However, Tia was a benevolent sister so she endured. She put together a cup of tea, a single cup of tea, and followed her little sister out to the living room. The filly dashed around the table and sat before the game, watching her sister for the flurry of joy that would soon erupt from her.

But the flurry didn't come. Instead she made a simple comment, something along the lines of “That's nice,” and turned back towards the exit. The filly, had she the perception that Luna now wielded, would have let it go and resigned to bring it up another time. But cutting losses is not in the nature of foals and so she chased her sister down, begging her to play. After all, Tia simply didn't remember how fun the game was. The minute she began to play she would remember, then she would scoop the filly up and tell her what a wonderful sister she was.

Tia, of course, declined. Unfortunately for both of them, “No,” was not an answer that the filly was going to stand for. So she continued to beg, doing everything she could to get sister to change her mind. Standing in her way, pulling at her tail, bouncing at her face. Those were only the things Luna could remember.

One thing Luna did know, was that, in the filly's bouncing, she eventually lost control and bounced straight into her sister's lower jaw driving her tiny cranium into it just as she was opening her mouth to speak. Her big sister's jaw slammed shut so hard that she reeled back in pain.

Things at that point got even more disjointed for Luna. She caught a glimpse of Tia nursing her jaw, then one of the filly looking to her sister, eyes wide with terror. Then, for a short moment, the scene became very clear. Most likely because it was at this point that Luna saw her sister do something she had never seen her do before.

The magnificent alicorn removed her hooves from her jaw and slammed them onto the ground. “UMARAK!” she shouted, “HOW DARE THEE! I am tired, I am not feeling well, and I have a lot of work to do tomorrow. The last thing I need is for thee to burden me with this stupid game. Go clean it up, and go to thy room! I don't want to see thee, or it, for the rest of the day!”

At that, the filly ran faster than she had run in her entire life. She had never seen sister so mad. She had never even heard sister raise her voice. Thus, hearing her yell was utterly terrifying. Father had yelled before, but never sister. If sister was yelling, then the filly must have done some serious damage when she hit her. Luna followed the filly, watching as she skidded around the table. With all the speed of a pony fearing for her life, she threw the board and its contents into the box completely disregarding the pieces that scattered across the floor. She jammed the box shut and slid it down the hallway to her room, bouncing off walls and losing pieces as she went.

Luna slowly walked down the hallway, following the trail of pieces the filly had left in her wake. She stopped just before it and listened to the filly's sobs. She took a deep breath, hesitant to go any further. Eventually she gathered her strength and entered the bedroom.

She sat at the foot of the filly's bed, studying the distraught game box, the trail of pieces, and the horribly organized night sky. Each sob from the filly brought forth a stabbing sensation to her chest. She did little more than watch for what seemed like hours. The fog surrounding the scene closed in on them until all she could see was the filly.

Eventually the filly's painful tears ran out of steam and her convulsions slowed. Luna heard the faint sound of Tia's voice and saw a white hoof pierce through the fog to nudge the filly's shoulder. The little mare opened her eyes and rolled over. Like heat rays, they cleared the fog, revealing Celestia standing beside her bed. This time Luna saw a much different image of her sister. Stains of dried salt lay under her eyes. Her mane was disheveled and bandages were wrapped around her cranium, covering her horn and a good portion of her mane. The pieces of mane that poked out from them were black and charred.

The filly looked at her sister in horror. She must have done some serious damage! “I'm sorry,” she murmured, dropping her gaze to the floor.

Tia's snout glanced across the back of her neck in a weak nuzzle. “No little sister, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at thee... I... I've just had a really hard day.” She pulled Luna up against her with a foreleg. “I took it out on thee. Thou didst not deserve that.”

The filly trembled in her sister's embrace. A few small sobs breaking from her throat. “I didn't mean to be a burden sister. I just wanted to help.”

“I know,” Tia said as she wrapped the other foreleg around the filly and pulled her tight. “Thou art not a burden on me my sister, I promise thee.”

Tia just held her sister for a bit, keeping her head flush with her back so that her cheek compressed her grayish blue mane.

The filly let out a couple of sobs. “I wish I was grown up! Then I could help thee instead of bothering thee!”

Tia sniffled as a few tears dropped from her eyes, racing down her cheek and eventually disappeared into the filly's fur. “Do not ever wish such a thing Umie, please. Thy youth is precious, once it's gone, it will not ever return.”

“But I cannot do anything like this!” the filly cried. “I cannot help thee, I just run around and play. Thou art so busy sister, I want to help thee so that thou canst play too!”

“Oh Umie...” Tia gasped as a new stream of tears began soaking into the filly's fur. “Thou art a wonderful sister, dost though knowest that?”

“NO I'M NOT!” the filly shouted, “I do nothing to help thee sister!”

“Thou dost more to help me than thou wilt ever understandan little sister,” Tia said. She ran a hoof through her sister's mane. “For now, thou will just have to trust sister when she tells you that thou art not a burden. Canst thou do that for me Umie?”

“I-I...”

“Please Umie.”

“Okay sister,” the filly groaned.

Tia sighed and pulled her head back to look upon the filly. “I tell thee what sister. I am told that thou hast been making wondrous progress in thy magic classes. Keep up thy pace and I shall soon teach thee to raise the Moon and bring out the night. That would give sister a lovely reprieve in the evenings. Would that be acceptable to thee little sister?”

The filly pulled her face out of her sister's wing and looked at her with wide, hopeful eyes. “Dost thou mean it sister?”

Tia smiled and nodded. “Yes little sister. So long as thy studies do not falter. They shant falter shall they?”

The filly gave an enthusiastic shake of the head.

“Good,” Tia giggled. “Then thou shalt soon learn to use thy mighty magic like sister.”

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Luna re-emerged from her memories, shivering as the pieces fell into place. As she had suspected, that particular memory was the keystone. With it in place, years and years worth of memories fell into line. It was that experience with Tia, so long ago, that had taught her two very important things. The first, that her sister's seemingly infinite patience was not, in fact, infinite. The second, that when she cried, sister paid attention.

That second bit of information set up a long line upon which fit so many other happenings in her life, allowing her to see all too clearly the progression. It was shortly after that night that Tia took on the responsibility of Princess of Equestria. It was also after that night that Luna began to see much less of her sister. Even as a filly she could comprehend that this was because of her increasingly rigorous schedule. She couldn't do without her sister however. She wanted to be with her, and so she cried, she wailed, she moaned, she yelled, and for a while, sister paid attention. Luna could now see that she had been the exact opposite of what she wanted to be. When things got worse for Tia, Luna got worse. When Tia's life was at its hardest, Luna became all the more difficult to handle. She talked like she wanted to make Sister's life easier, then turned around and made it into a living hell.

Luna now saw that, even in light of this, Tia refused to give up on her. She put every bit of energy she had left after returning from her struggles to maintain Equestria into her relationship with Luna. She just didn't have enough though, and so she appeased. She gave Luna little responsibilities, little trinkets of importance to keep her happy while she was off battling with Equestria's fate.

However Luna began pushing her away. When Luna pushed, Tia came charging back into her life, terrified of losing her. Unfortunately, at some point Tia had to reach her limit and once she did, she would no longer be able to counteract the separation. Inevitably they drifted apart, and Luna blamed her for it.

Luna shivered. That must have torn Tia apart...

Luna could feel her face wrenching as the stream of tears returned once again. She fell to the ground, trembling. It was all spelled out, right there before her.

Ponies didn't hate her because they didn't respect her night. They didn't hate her because she wasn't as good as her sister. They hated her because she was a wretched creature that caused pain for everypony around her, especially the ones that loved her.

They weren't angry, they didn't hold a grudge. They were the anti-bodies in Equestria's immune system working to combat and destroy the disease that was her. What they did to her was nothing personal, it was simply what they had to do to make Equestria healthy again. To make Tia healthy again. Luna felt a chilling set of tendrils wrapping around her mind. It was a feeling she was all too familiar with. Moon was invading again, and she no longer had the energy to repel her.

She thought of Twilight laying on the ground after her foot had struck her. She thought of the terrified ponies that stared up at Moon as she announced that the night would last forever. She thought of Tia's painful recounting of the toll exiling her little sister had taken on her. She remembered her sister, for the first time in so long, lying in her wings, so weak from despair that Luna had to literally support her lest she fall to the ground.

Not again... Never again... Tia, their subjects, all of Equestria had suffered enough for her. She forced herself to her feet, struggling against Moon's influence. She looked around the room, her mental faculties on overdrive as she concocted a plan. She saw along the sides of the balcony some heavy curtains. She wrapped one in her aura and tore it down, ripping three long strips from it. She wrapped them around her barrel so that her wings were restrained. She pulled them tighter and tighter until she could feel some of the smaller bones in her wings snapping. It felt as though someone had sprayed shards of glass into her sides, but Luna didn't care. She tied off the strips and walked towards the balcony.

By this point, Moon was well aware of what she was doing and fighting furiously to steal control, most likely horrified at the thought of losing such a time tested earthly avatar. She threw visions of Tia crying over her body, fears that her death would leave the aristocracy with a void they couldn't fill, anything she could muster. Luna wouldn't have it though. She held on with all of her willpower, moving closer and closer to the balcony, step by step. With each one she whispered to herself, “Make it right Luna, make it right.” Tears fell from her eyes like droplets of rain falling from a tree branch during a storm.

She forced her hooves over the balcony. “Make it right Luna... make it right...” She pulled herself across the guard rail and relaxed as she slid over the edge and dropped towards the ground. Cool evening air flowed around her body. Her stomach wrenched and her wings pressed against their bonds, instinctively trying to break free. With all their straining it felt as though hundreds of claws were tearing them to pieces. Luna shut her eyes as tight as she could. “Make it right!” she screamed at them. “We have to mak-!” her words hung up in her chest, blockaded by a fresh batch of tears. “M-mak-...”