On the Line

by TheBigBob

Pony Royale

Luna stepped onto a hardwood floor. The area was much darker than she expected, and it took her eyes a moment to adjust. From what Luna could tell, it looked like she was in a home office. A desk was placed against the wall with several papers, pencils and a reading lamp on it. Across from the desk, a few wooden shelves filled with all sorts of books lined the opposite wall. Next to Luna, in the corners of the room, were several boxes containing stacks of paper documents. A door was on the wall across from her.

Luna turned around. Behind her was a window with faint white drapes that allowed moonlight to illuminate the room. Luna brushed the drapes aside and saw an ocean not too far from the home. Judging from the distance to the ground, the office was on the second story. Luna could hear the crash of the waves off in the distance. The moon's reflection off of the water looked absolutely stunning. It was a picture-perfect scene that would have put Luna at ease if not for the fact that she had just entered a nightmare.

Luna quietly walked toward the door at the other end of the room. As she passed by the desk, she noticed a picture frame on the wall above it. In the picture were a mare and stallion posing cheerfully with a green-furred foal. It was Novella with her mom and dad. The three ponies in the picture looked content, like they didn't have a care in the world. Nova was nowhere to be seen. Could this dream be taking place in the filly's home? Luna decided not dwell on the picture further and continued walking. When she reached the door, she opened it just a crack, peering into the hallway. On the other side laid a dead colt with a pool of blood forming underneath a wound on his stomach.

The princess gasped in terror and shut the door. She didn't know who killed the colt, or for what reason, but now she had an idea of what she was up against. Even though the colt was imaginary, Luna still felt awful for him. Knowing that the body laid dead in Novella's home made Luna feel sick to her stomach.

Luna took a moment to collect herself. If she wanted to save Novella, she would have to press on. The fact that this dream even existed was proof that the filly was still alive. However, Luna would have to tread carefully; while she was feeling better than before, she knew she couldn't rely on her magic too heavily. If only she had a weapon...

Just after she thought that, Luna noticed a butcher's knife lying on the desk. The princess swore that the knife was not there moments ago. Was the dream making a suggestion to Luna? Suddenly she felt very vulnerable knowing that the dream was aware of her presence. Not to mention, the weapon itself was disturbing. A butcher's knife is too short to be a defend against any attacks, and it would be a poor choice for trying to disable an opponent without injuring them. The only upside is the ease at which it could be used to kill. Is that what the dream was suggesting?

If that was the case, then Luna wasn't willing to play by the dream's rules. She slid the knife under a shelf and went back to the door. Once again, she opened it slowly to take a better look at the dead colt. He looked a little bit older than Novella, though not by much. His fur was scuffled, like he had been in a fight. Luna didn't know much about identifying wounds, but it looked like his stomach could have been stabbed by a butcher's knife like the one she was presented with.

However, the most unusual thing about his appearance was a metal collar around his neck. It almost resembled a dog's collar, but it didn't look like it could be removed very easily. A dog collar is meant to help control the animal's behavior. Did this metal collar have a similar purpose? Luna figured she would find out soon enough. It was time to start searching.

Luna crept out into the hallway, making sure not to step on the lifeless body. She checked both directions of the hallway to make sure nopony was coming, and quietly moved down the hall to her right toward a corner. Her heart raced as she passed a door in the hallway, half-expecting a pony to jump out and attack her. As much as she wanted to leave the door alone, she felt that she could be ambushed at any moment, and would rather confirm that it was empty before moving on. She held her breath and turned the doorknob, opening the door to reveal a closet with nothing but cleaning supplies.

The princess gave a quiet sigh of relief as she closed the door and continued on toward the corner. When Luna reached it, she poked her head around to check on what was ahead. The hallway opened up into a dining room area, with a large table covered by a white tablecloth in the center. On one side of the room was a cabinet, with several nice-looking plates and silverware were on display through the glass doors. Beyond the end of the table opposite the two ponies was a living area, with two couches and a coffee table between them. Just as Luna was about to enter the dining room, she heard breathing.

It was slow and faint, but it was definitely there. It sounded desperate, but controlled. Somepony was just out of sight, either hiding from or waiting for Luna. The princess gulped, ready to confront whoever was there. She took a step around the corner. When her hoof hit the ground, a pony yelled and jumped out from behind the doorway, only to stop when she saw the princess.

“L-Luna?” Novella dropped the knife she was about to stab Luna with. “Y-you're back!” The filly hugged Luna's leg as tightly as she could. “I'm so sorry about what I said earlier! It wasn't fair of me to accuse you of having it easy!”

Luna smiled and nuzzled the filly. “It's okay, child. I understand. I'm here for you.”

As they hugged, Luna saw that Novella's coat had been scratched up, like she had been in a fight. She had no visible wounds, but regardless, Luna felt awful for what the filly must have had to contend with during the princess' absence. Luna glanced around the room to see if any other ponies might appear. The two of them were very vulnerable at the moment, but after a little time passed with no sounds or movement, Luna concluded that they were safe. Once the princess was able to relax, she noticed the cold metal collar around Novella's neck pressing against her. Luna pulled away and raised the filly's neck so she could inspect it.

“What is the purpose of this device?” Luna asked.

“Oh! It, um...” Novella looked away. “It's meant to keep us in line.”

Luna tilted her head. “In line? How does it do that?”

Novella looked up at the princess. “If any of us try to escape, the collar will explode.”

Luna's mouth hung open.

Novella looked down at the floor to avoid Luna's gaze. “The only way to remove it is to be the only pony left alive.”

Once again, Luna was being dragged by the filly into a world of violence. During the sky dream, Luna had thought that Novella enjoyed action-packed stories where death was of little consequence. But this time, the filly was terrified for her life, and for the actions she would have to take to keep it. It seemed like with every dream, Luna's preconceptions of the filly changed.

This time, Luna wanted to spare the filly's suffering. “Well, I could help you remove the collar with my magic...”

“NO!” Novella looked dead at Luna, her eyes as open as they could possibly be.

Luna was taken aback. “But Novella, you have nothing to worry about. It's just a simple matter of-”

“Please!” Novella pleaded, on the verge of crying. “Leave it on! I can't risk taking it off!”

Luna paused for a moment, sighed, and relented. “Alright, Novella. For the time being, I will leave it.”

“Thank you!” Novella tightly hugged Luna's leg.

At first, Luna thought that the filly was just being difficult again. Luna still had energy left, so it wouldn't have been troublesome at all to bend the dream and free Novella from the collar. But then the princess realized that Novella had subconsciously put herself in this nightmare. If Luna were to interfere, then she would be fighting Novella's battles for her. It didn't matter who or what had put those collars on the ponies; Novella had to survive, no matter what. Luna's role was not to save the filly from her problems, but to help her through this ordeal.

Once Luna knew what her objective was, she then needed to have information. “How many ponies are left?” she asked.

Novella let go of Luna and thought for a moment. “I don't think there are many left. Just a few.”

Luna felt somewhat relieved. If the “game” wouldn't last much longer, then she wouldn't have to worry about the hour Celestia gave her running out. Of course, she had another question. Luna lifted Novella's chin with her hoof and looked her in the eye. “Did you have to kill somepony yet?”

The filly shook her head. “No. I've just been hiding and running away all this time.” She looked away from Luna, sighing. “I'm nothing but a coward...”

“Oh, don't say that...” Luna lifted the filly's chin and smiled. “You've lasted this long, right? I'd say that's something to be proud of.”

“I guess you're right...” Despite her agreement, Novella wasn't smiling. “But if I want to be free, I'll have to-”

As Novella was speaking, Luna noticed a figure about to throw an object from the other end of the dining room table. The princess barely had time to react. Luna grabbed Novella and pulled her aside just as the knife flew past them and stuck in the wall of the hallway. A colt with a black mane and dark blue fur with several cuts in his coat stood up from behind the other end of the table. His rage-filled red eyes seemed to glow in the dark.

“Don't try to protect her!” He said, jumping onto the table and galloping toward the two of them.

Just as the colt was about to leap onto Novella, Luna hit him with her magic, hovering him in the air above the table. The colt struggled, but he had no way to escape. As he twisted and turned, trying to find some way out of her spell, Luna saw that he had a metal collar on him as well.

“No!” the colt yelled. “This isn't fair! Nopony else was capable of using magic like this!”

Luna wanted to keep the colt at a distance, but she knew that her magic wouldn't last much longer. “Quickly, Novella. You have to finish him off.”

Novella froze. The colt and her looked each other in the eyes. He was completely at her mercy. Novella picked up the knife lying by her hooves, but continued standing still, contemplating what she had to do. She took a single step toward him, but that was all she was able to muster. After several seconds of silence, she dropped the knife and knelt onto the floor.

“I can't do it...” Novella whimpered.

Luna knew that the filly hated what she was being forced to do, but the princess didn't see any other options. Luna shut her eyes, trying to restrain the colt as much as she could. “Novella, I can't hold him up forever! If you don't make a move now, he's going to attack us!” The princess's magic was already weakening; the colt was getting closer to the table beneath him.

“But I know him, Luna!” Novella pleaded, looking up at the princess. “He was my first crush!”

“What?”

Novella's comment caught Luna off-guard, weakening her spell to the point where the colt dropped on the table. Before the colt could move again, Luna threw up a force field in front of him. The field wouldn't last forever, but it was clear that Novella wasn't ready to kill.

Now that they were momentarily safe, Luna had to dig to the bottom of Novella's psyche. She knelt down to see Novella eye to eye. “You have history with this pony?”

Novella nodded, avoiding Luna's gaze. “I know all of the ponies in this game,” she said, speaking quietly.

“Why are they here with you?” Luna asked.

During the city in the sky dream, Novella hadn't pointed out any ponies she recognized. There had to be some significance to the fact that the filly was being forced to kill familiar faces in order to escape.

As Novella pondered her response, the colt began attacking the force field with another knife, presumably one that had appeared out of nowhere. The force field was holding strong, but Luna didn't know how long it would last. She wanted to disable him herself, but she remembered how Novella wanted to keep the collar on herself. Standing up to her past was something the filly would have to do on her own.

“He... embarrassed me.” Novella admitted, looking at the colt through the force field. “I was young, and I didn't know much about what it meant to 'like' somepony else. I was too shy to talk to him, so instead I just followed him around, watching him.” Novella looked down at the floor, avoiding eye contact with the colt. “Eventually,” she said, her tone dropping. “He told everypony about how creepy I was acting. I started getting teased and bullied. I was already bad at making friends, but after that...” Novella closed her eyes and sighed.

Luna and Novella stayed quiet for a little while. Even the colt had gotten tired of trying to break the barrier and simply sat down on the other side of the force field, watching them. He didn't try to respond to Novella's story, though since he was a creation of her subconscious, he couldn't have said anything she didn't already know. Luna wanted to give the filly more time to think, but she knew she had limited time before Celestia woke her up. She decided it was time to break the silence.

“Novella,” Luna said. “Do you find yourself wishing you could just forget what happened?”

The filly looked up at her and weakly nodded. “I've been trying to let it go for a long time. It was so long ago that it shouldn't even matter anymore!” Novella looked through the force field at the colt who had broken her heart. “It's time for me to put this behind me once and for all.”

Novella picked up the knife off the floor with her mouth and braced herself ready to attack. Luna hated to see the filly commit such a vile act, but the princess knew that it wasn't real, and that it may be necessary in order for Novella to let go of her past. Luna stood up straight and mentally prepared herself to let down the wall.

“Right now, my magic is limited,” Luna told her. “Once I bring the force field down, I won't be able to restrain him. You will have to fight him on your own. Are you ready?”

Novella nodded, staring straight at the colt, who was also getting ready for a fight.

Luna counted down. “Three... two... o-”

Before Luna could let the field down, the colt yelled out in pain. Blood spilled out from his backside where a knife had been planted. The colt slumped onto the ground, bleeding onto the wooden floor. Over his body stood Nova, who dug the knife out of him as she looked at the two ponies left.

“Sorry, Novella,” Nova said unflinchingly. “Killing is dirty work. Not everypony is cut out for it.”

Luna listened for smugness in Nova's tone of voice, either for stealing Novella's opportunity or for the thrill of the kill itself, but instead, the pony's tone was flat and stoic. Back at the lab, the pony seemed to have taken pleasure in Novella's suffering, but this time there was none of it. Nova merely stood still, watching the colt under her hoof breath his last breaths. Just like the other ponies in the game, Nova had the metal collar around her neck.

Despite Nova's calmness, Novella's every muscle was shaking. Luna could only imagine what was going through her mind. The filly had finally committed herself to taking action, only to have it snatched out of her hooves by her own sister. Novella's head hung down, unwilling to look her sister in the eye.

“How many are left?” the filly muttered.

“None,” Nova replied, kicking the colt's lifeless body aside. “You and I are the only ones left in this game.”

“Good. It's time I finally stood up to you.” Novella looked straight at her sister. “It's time that I took back my life!”

“Luna, take down the force field,” Nova instructed, bracing herself for battle.

“I'm ready, Luna,” Novella said, readying her knife in her teeth. “I need to end this once and for all.”

Luna wanted to put an end to this madness. She didn't want to see two sisters fight each other to the death. She would have given anything to just calm Novella down and wake her up. But at the same time, she knew that she had only seen a fraction of the filly's life. As much as she wanted to pretend that everything would be okay, she could not possibly know everything that Novella had been through. Luna had been doing her best to protect the filly, but Luna finally realized that Novella could fight her own battles.

“One more thing,” Nova said, turning her head toward Luna. “You are not to interfere. Do you understand?”

Luna nodded. Not that it would be wise to try and stop the fight; she could already feel the effects of the spell weighing on her.

“Three...” Luna counted down.

Novella gripped the knife in her teeth, ready to move.

“Two...”

Nova planted her hooves in front of the table, directly across from Novella.

“One...”

The two sisters looked each other in the eyes, ready to move.

Luna let the force field down and stood back. Novella immediately jumped high in the air over Nova, higher than a filly her size would have been able to had this not been a dream. Nova reached for the filly over her head, but Novella was too fast for her. When Novella landed on the table, she ran across it and leaped off the other end, pulling out the chair on the end of the table. Nova jumped onto the table to follow her, but when she landed on the floor, Novella kicked the chair with her hind legs into Nova, knocking her off balance. The filly threw a knife at Nova while she was vulnerable, which cut into the side of one of her legs. Nova yelled out in pain, but quickly got back up, ready to hunt the filly down. Novella ran into the kitchen, where her sister was quick to follow.

Luna felt conflicted. On one hoof, she hated to see Novella suffer like this, and wanted to just sit back until it was over, no matter which sister won. On the other hoof, Luna was proud to see Novella being resourceful and smart, even if she was bending the rules of the dream in order to do so. Luna could hear all sorts of clanging from the kitchen, as well as pained grunts from both ponies, but the princess was scared to get closer to observe the fight, worried that she would get caught in the crossfire.

Before too long, the fighting spilled back out into the living room. Novella hit Nova's backside with a frying pan repeatedly, though the filly's short limbs limited her strength. Nova pulled her sister forward and bit one of her legs hard. Novella cried out in pain, but managed to kick her sister in the gut and limp away. Nova tried as best as she could to stand up, but Luna noticed a trail of blood coming out of her side. If this fight were real, the pony would need medical attention immediately. Instead, Nova crawled forward, ready to keep on fighting.

Novella found a broken table leg lying on the floor nearby. She limped back over to her sister, then began attacking her with the leg. After several hits, Nova caught the leg with her hooves, then pulled it away from her sister and began hitting her back. Novella squealed with each hit, but managed to kick the leg away. Soon, both sisters were exhausted, but only one could remain alive.

At this point, they simultaneously noticed a butcher's knife laying just a few feet away from them. Luna watched as the two sisters scrambled to move, both of them horrifically beaten within an inch of their lives. As they crawled toward the knife, Luna noticed the home getting significantly darker. It wasn't just the light from outside dimming, but the entire environment was going black. Luna cautiously walked toward the two sisters, knowing full well what was about to happen. Novella reached the knife first. She grabbed it and held it at her sister's throat.

Beep... beep... beep...

The house had completely disappeared. All that was left was Luna and the two sisters, the younger of which was about to slit her sister's throat. The heart rate monitor beeped loud and clear, slowly speeding up. Nova had completely run out of energy. She couldn't do anything except stare into her sister's eyes and wait for death. She didn't plead for her life, didn't make any last comments on how Novella had changed. She was completely silent, and had accepted her fate.

Yet, Novella stayed still. She was completely in control. All she had to do was push the knife a few inches, and her task would be complete. Luna noticed the filly's hesitation, and saw that maybe Novella wasn't ready to let her sister go.

“Novella.” Luna stepped forward, so that she could see the filly's face. “You don't have to do this.”

The filly looked up at Luna and back down at Nova, not saying anything.

“I know that it can be hard having to remember your past every day,” Luna assured her. “I know I've done some things that I regret.” Luna looked away from Novella, up into the darkness. “I've pushed away ponies who cared for me. I've been less than patient with those who do not know what to think of me. Every day I wonder if the choices I'm making are the right ones.”

Both Novella and Nova looked up at Luna in silence, taking in her every word.

“But trying to forget isn't the answer.” Luna sat down so that she could see Novella eye to eye. “Without our mistakes, our embarrassments, our failures... we will never learn. It is impossible to forget all the ponies that have wronged us throughout our lives.” Luna reached over with a hoof to stroke Novella's cheek. “So instead of giving up on the things that make us happy, or conforming to a life that we despise, we have to carve out our own path.”

Both of the sisters began tearing up, unable to say a word. The heart rate that had been making noise during the darkness was slowly going quiet.

“Nova may have caused you a lot of pain,” Luna continued. “But you told me yourself that she was willing to stand up for you. She took risks because she knew something had to be done, and was willing to accept the consequences. Even if you're ashamed of some of the things she's done, she will always be a part of you.”

Novella nodded. Without saying a word, she took the knife away from Nova's throat and tossed it away. The two ponies stood up and looked at each other. Both of their wounds faded away, and the collars around their throats dissolved. The house began to reform around the three ponies, but this time, it wasn't a scene of violence. Instead, warm sunlight beamed in from the windows, and the furniture was comfortably arranged for guests. No butcher's knives could be found.

Luna smiled at the reformation of Novella's home. After all this time, it seemed that she finally figured out how to get through to the filly. It wasn't through trying to save her or take control of her life for her, but by letting her make her own decisions and her own mistakes. Yet, just by being there, reminding her that she had a friend close by that she could count on, could have been enough to steer her in the right direction.

Luna cheerfully admired the scenery in the home. This all may have been a distant memory from when Novella's family was happy together, but it was sure to be a much-needed reminder of how great life could be.

Luna rustled the filly's hair and laughed. “I guess soon you'll have to wake up and say hello to your family again, won't you?”

Novella was still in shock from the wave of emotions running through her, but she managed to giggle at Luna's playfulness.

“I know you may not be on the best terms with them, but I'm sure they'll be happy to have you back.” Luna knelt down and hugged the filly. “And be sure to have a talk with your sister, okay? I'm sure Nova is more sensitive than you think.”

“Um, Luna?” Novella said, hugging her back.

“Yes, Novella?”

“Nova's not my sister.”

Luna pulled back, shocked. “She's not?”

Novella shook her head.

“Then who is she?”

“I'm Nova.”

Comments

[arcum42]

24.media.tumblr.com/a257ad5165644b1f79354634dfdee284/tumblr_mqo61uYbwk1rj6vd5o1_400.png

[EonMaster]

Woah! Did not expect that plot twist, although it does explain why they were unable to find anyone in the hospitals under Novella's name.

[Menoshe]

24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6y4y258vs1r99bw1o1_500.png

MINDFLIP.

[Twilight_Crow]

Oooooh, now that fight makes more sense. Good .

[Noble Cause]

... whoa. Well... ... dang!

[Alanith]

Plot twist!

[Aqua Shimmer]

Oh flip. My mind has been blown by this plot twist.

[De Carabas]

"Backside" means "ass," you know. Pretty sure that's not what you were trying to convey.

This has gone from an interesting conceit to a series of movie and television references.

[Luna Secret Stallion]

This story went from 7/10 to 11/10 in two words!

[TheBigBob]

3149657 I can see why you would get a little tired of the constant media references, but in my defense, I'm basing Novella's dreams off of my own experiences. I'm a huge reader/tv binger, and I've found that most of the dreams I have ARE based off of stories, so I wanted to reflect that here. This latest chapter was lifted straight out of a nightmare I once had, where I was forced to kill people my own age, in my own home, with randomly appearing knives. If anything, it's scaled back, because I also had to put up with that girl from "The Ring".

Plus, the movie references have been going on since the first chapter, so you can't say it's a new development.

[HeirOfNorton]

And then John was the zombies

[Super Trampoline]

WHAT A TWIST!

[singleclick]

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD

*head explodes*

goddamnit that twist. THAT TWIST.

[Grisnir]

i knew it, i knew it!

[Tyler799]

What a !

Totally unexpected. So...
If Luna has been going into Nova's dreams, then either:

1: She doesn't have a sister after all
2: Her sister is Novella, and she's been trying to work out...something.
It's fucking 2 AM. No way I can figure this shit out now.

Oh well.
Now that you've gone and added this twist, you're officially obligated to finish this story, you know that, dont you?
You can't just drop it in the "Incomplete" bin, because very simply...

You'll lose The Game.

[Danitee2]

> The strength of heart required to face oneself has been made manifest...
> Nova has faced her other self...
> She has obtained the facade used to overcome life's hardships, the Persona
Novella !
All joking aside I know every one has said it but I really didn't see it coming.
Anyway I'm not sure how much longer you'll keep this story going but you've impressed me so far and I doubt that will stop soon.
So keep it up and good job!

[Amber flicker]

The plot thickens.....

[Ampathy-Engine]

hmm,Idk. I like that twist,and I did not see that coming. I'm just so speechless TBH.

[Silver Streak1]

I KNEW IT!!!