//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Without a Dream in My Heart... // Story: Midnight in the Heart of Equestria // by Wheller //------------------------------// Chapter 3 Without a Dream in My Heart... Luna awoke. Her eyes thrown open, screaming at the top of her lungs in fear. She went unheard. She was breathing heavily, but began to collect herself as she saw the familiar surroundings of her padded room. She had never been happier in her entire life to see herself locked in an insane asylum. A dream? More like a nightmare... but still just a nightmare. “Sorry. You don’t get to be that lucky.” Luna turned to her left in horror to see the three pitch black ponies. “Leave me alone! Please I just want to be left alone!” Luna sobbed. A cruel smile formed on Nightcaller’s face. He merely shook his head. “Why? Why are you doing this to me?” Luna was at the point of breaking, what she’d been forced to experience was too much for her to handle. “Why? I’ll tell you why. We made you, we nurtured you, we kept you safe for our thousand year exile on the moon.” Nightcaller leaned in close, dropping his voice to a mere whisper. “And you are not allowed to forget it.” “You lied to me! All those years you lied to me! You told me that everypony hated the night; you made me jealous of my sister! It’s your fault I was forced to go to the moon!” Luna screamed at it. “One ponies’ fact, is another ponies’ fiction.” Nightcaller said, brushing her off. “Everything you did before our exile... that was all you. You made choices. We didn’t force you to do anything.” “We did lie,” Nightsinger said. “We’re not going to pretend we didn’t, but you chose to listen to the little voice in the back of your head that you knew didn’t belong... So who’s really to blame for that?” “Truth, lies, good, evil, these are concepts, formed in the minds of ponies,” Nightshadow stated plainly. “They are fiction. All that is real are Order... and Chaos.” Nightcaller leaned in close. “I think our good princess is tired. We shan't keep you up then.” Nightcaller gave the Princess a kiss on her muzzle; she was disgusted by this and wanted it cut off. “Sweet dreams,” he said mockingly. The Siblings Nightmare returned to the cloud of smoke, whisking away under the door. Luna would not be sleeping that night. … Morning came, and Luna’s eyes were still as wide open as they had been. Her door opened, Nightcaller was standing before her, clad in his white medical coat. He was Doctor Nightcaller right now. “Good morning Princess!” He said cheerfully. “How are you this morning?” “Don’t play games with me,” Luna said coldly. “Whatever do you mean?” Doctor Nightcaller said stepping aside. “You have a visitor you know.” Celestia stepped into the room, smiling at her sister. Luna’s eyes widened, she had never been happier to see Celestia in her entire life. “Tia! Oh thank goodness you’re here!” “I’ll give you two a moment.” Doctor Nightcaller said with a wink towards Luna. “Thank you Doctor,” Celestia said. Nightcaller smiled and closed the door behind him. Luna sighed a sigh of relief. “You have to get me out of here! He’s not a doctor! He wants to kill us all!” Celestia looked at her sister with confusion. Luna didn’t notice and continued to speak. “They came last night! They came and they tortured me! They played with my mind, made me do horrible things! Please Tia! Please! You have to help me!” Luna had broken down into tears. “Luna...?” Celestia asked gently. “Have you stopped taking your medication?” Luna stopped crying. She looked up in horror; her own sister didn’t believe her. “You have to believe me! We’re not safe! Those three will kill us all!” “I...” Celestia trailed off, looking for the right words. “I want to believe you... I really do, but... You have to consider where we are when you’re saying them...” Unbelievable, her own sister didn’t believe her. Luna knew she had a point about the fact that she was saying these things while locked in a padded room in the psychiatric ward, but she didn’t care. This was her sister! “I’m sorry.” Celestia said, rising to her hooves. She crossed to the door, and lightly tapped on it a few times. Nightcaller opened the door, and Celestia looked back at her sister. “I’m so sorry.” Celestia said and she walked out of the room. “Don’t leave me!” Luna screamed at the top of her lungs. “They’ll kill us all! They’ll kill us all!”