//------------------------------//
// chapter 7 
// Story: vengeance at nightfall 
// by NightSugar pone 
//------------------------------//

A story told


The castle's interior glowed with the soft shine if moonlight while Nightshade was in her room finishing up the design of the letters, it had been a long few weeks of travelling and to be back in someplace familiar was a great feeling. But she dreaded what might happen to the peace if she was always working, constantly debating the next group of ponies or creatures that would be free to live among them. And on this bright night, she felt more pressured than ever and decided to take a break as she got up and walked over to her window. She drew the curtains away from it as more light shone into the room and she leant on the windowsill as she looked out over Canterlot and the vast land beyond it. 
“Can't sleep?” 
Spoke a voice that could only be mistaken for Valour, but it was lined with concern. She quickly turned her head to look back at him and sighed

“Yeah, it's just been so long since I've been able to relax like this, it's hard to remember what freedom feels like sometimes,” 
She turned her attention back to the night sky as he stepped closer to her. 

“You know, I've never imagined hearing something like that from a princess, let alone a mare so free at heart,” 
He said as he looked at her, and Nightshade just smiled and giggled a little 

“I'm free because that's what I want to be,” 
Her smile slowly dropped and turned into a frown as she closed her eyes and sighed again 
“I can never truly be free, not after what I have done.”

Valour seemed more than a little puzzled with her statement but turned his attention to the sky
“I don't deserve it either,”

Nightshade's ears perked up slightly and she looked at him, she could see that his small smile was there to cover up the feeling of guilt radiating from him. 
“What happened?” 
She said quietly 

His smile broadened and he chuckled softly before the shine of tears in his eyes forced him to stop 
“We all have made mistakes Nightshade, but none compares to the mistake I have made.”

Nightshade sat down and lifted one of her wings to rest it on his back gently
“I doubt that very much, but if you tell me your story, I'll tell you mine,” 
He stared into her bright blue eyes before sitting down and sighing. 

“Back when I was a young colt I thought the world was a beautiful place, and at a young age I found myself fascinated with alchemy. Although my mother was afraid that I'd blow my horn clean off my head someday she wanted to help me learn more about it, but on one particular day that I spent extra long time at the library reading, I was attacked.” 
He took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling 
“At first, the bite only itched but then it got worse, I was prone to sunburns and with each day regular food stopped being enough. Eventually, I couldn't eat it and my mother wasn't pleased with my sudden change in appetite”

“And?” 
Nightshade said as he paused for a moment. 

“And then, I could smell and practically hear the blood running through her veins, I tried to stop myself but the hunger and rage made for a nasty combo. Before anything had happened I thought that maybe I should stop when things started to calm down, but that wasn't the case when I tasted her blood.” Nightshade folded her ears back and he looked at her. 
“I sucked her dry, and true, she was probably dead way before all the blood was gone but it still bothers me,”

Nightshade looked away from him and slowly folded her wing. 
“At least you're not alone, I accidentally killed my first official friend with my magic when I didn't know how to control it,” 
She looked at him and offered him a small smile, and he smiled back. 

“What did I tell you, we were destined to be together,” 
Valour said and his accent was more noticeable again, making Nightshade roll her eyes. 

“Keep thinking that casanova and I'll have to check to see if you really are crazy,” 
She giggled softly and sighed as she looked back up at the sky
“You can always mimic things or attempt to get things perfectly the same, but it's never as good as the original is it?” 
And as they sat there admiring the night, they both felt a little freer.