//------------------------------// // Chapter 31: A game of shadows // Story: Shield and Shadow Part 1: Rise and Fall // by LucidReverie //------------------------------// Terror. Spring Mist saw nothing. There was no light, no dark. Just nothing. Actually, not nothing. There was fear, terror, anger, despise, jealousy, rejection, malice. They soaked into Mist’s very spirit, his mind, shaking him his core. Mist looked around for any source of light, anything, any respite from the emptiness and the stirring of emotions. Mist did not know if he was moving in any direction. He knew he wanted to, but he couldn’t quite tell if he was actually doing it. Nothing seemed to move, there was no passage of time, no indication of where this was, how Mist arrived there, or what was happening. Then there was a voice. Soft at first. Nothing more than a whisper uttered from far away carried on the wind. But soon it rose in volume – it was still a whisper, but it seemed to get closer. Soon it was as if the origin of the sounds was right next to Mist. Spring Mist, my dear friend. How are you? Mist was greatly confused, but felt compelled to answer. “I suppose I am fine. Where am I? And who are you?” Where we are is unimportant. And you know very well who I am, Mist. We speak frequently. “I don’t think I know you. I don’t know many ponies who trap me in… well, nothing… then speak to me in whispers.” Oh but you do. Your little conversations? Your doubts? Fears? Trepidation? Your… ego, entitlement. All me. All you. “So… you are me? That sounds a bit absurd, I’m afraid.” Well, not you precisely, but I do have a connection. I both feed off of your anger and fears, and I inspire them. “So, some kind of spirit of… what? Negative emotion?” In a way. I am born of jealousy and rage, subsist on fears and wrath, and live by despise and malice. I am your bad dreams, your self-doubts, both the reason for and the result of you and your more… antagonistic feelings. Mist was unsure of his situation. On the one hoof, he was trapped by this creature, this… nightmare, and could not escape. On the other hoof, he was finding it difficult to actually fear the thing. “What do you want?” Ah, I am so glad you asked. I want… everything. Control, respect, all of those things something like me never receives. But that is neither here nor there, because what I really want is something you can provide. “Something I can provide? What exactly? And why would I?” Why, to protect your precious little pony. Princess Luna, Mistress of the Night, Warden of the Moon, Keeper of the Stars, Vigil of Shadow. I happen to know that something is coming. A storm, a crescendo, a veritable cacophony of terrible things. As to what it is I want, well… shall we just say that I want you. “Me? What are you talking about?” So many questions. As I said, something just awful is coming. And nothing would be better than to see you watch as your world crumbles around you. See, there is nothing you can do about it. “Then why tell me anything?” To make the game more fun. Sow the seeds of doubt. A dash of fear, a sprinkle of paranoia. Garnish with a few sprigs of guilt, and you have a delectable cocktail of bad feelings, just waiting to be gobbled up. “You are insane!” No, dear boy. Discord was insane. I am hungry. “So what do I do then? You tell me something terrible is coming, demand that I watch it, then claim that you will effectively ‘feed’ off of me and my misery. I’m not exactly enticed by the offer.” Not an offer. Just a fact. “And what stops me from telling Celestia or Luna?” Ooh, that’s the best part. You can’t say anything about this. You will barely even remember it – just enough to make you uneasy and fretful. “I’ll have none of this, creature.” I didn’t even mention the best part. You can change things. Stop them, even. “You just told me that I could do nothing.” Nothing you can do, but something we can do. We can stop it. “No. I’ll not listen to another word. Be gone, and leave me and the Princesses.” Oh, no, no, no. That will never happen. See, as long as there is strife and hatred in the world, I will always be there. Those flickering doubts, those little annoyances. I will be there. Always. “I said enough. Leave.” Mist concentrated on trying to push out the sound of the shadow. Fine. But I will never be far. If you ever feel the need to find me, just think bad things. I’ll get there eventually. But do enjoy the time you have left before it is ripped away. Laughter filled Mist’s mind, and soon he could see wisps of light filling into his vision. His head swam as the world took shape around him. Unable to keep his balance, let alone form coherent thoughts, Mist knelt, trying to avoid falling over. He blinked repeatedly, clearing out the haze in his eyes. He looked around. The hallway was dimly lit, and dark in some corners - it was still night. Mist stood and shook his head. What just happened? He wondered to himself, I feel like a wall collapsed on me. He looked down both ends of the hall. The last thing he remembered clearly was walking down a dark hallway… then nothing. Must be stress. Not easy telling a pony that you are involved with her sister, let alone telling a Princess that. And it’s not easy being in a relationship. Again, let alone with a Princess. And a particularly temperamental one at that. Mist nodded to himself. That must be it. Mist felt better at clearing his thoughts and making sense of his muddled mind. He trotted down the hall, turning to head towards Luna’s quarters, worrying just how long he had been out of it. He saw the guards standing in front of the entrance, keeping their silent vigil as always. He approached them, about to speak, when the left guard piped up. “Her Majesty is expecting you,” he said in a deep voice. Mist nodded and gave a smile, “Thank you, sers.” The two guards nodded in response, and the door opened. Mist walk through the now-familiar passage to Luna’s door. He knocked once he reached the entrance, awaiting a reply from within. Mist heard the sounds of crashing and shattering through the door. He pushed open the door quickly, fearing a threat was inside. What he saw was a sight all too familiar – books and papers littering the floor, overturned bookcases, paintings hanging at an angle on the walls or face-down on the ground. And at the center of the entropy was Luna. Her breathing was heavy, and she looked as if she had been crying. Mist stood in the doorway as she bucked over her desk, scattering quills, inkwells, and more paper over the floor. “Luna!” Mist called out. Either she did not hear him, or she was ignoring him, as she continued to storm about the room in search of another object to kick over or damage. Her horn glowed, and a beam of dark-colored magic shot out towards the last intact thing in the room – the giant cushion on which Luna would lay and study, the same one where she and Mist had slept not too long ago. Now, with that glowing stream of magic, it became an immolated ball of blue light, then soon was reduced to ash. Mist felt a pang of regret as he watched the pile of ash simmer. He turned to look at Luna and called her again, “Luna! What is going on?” She finally looked at him, seething, anger burning in her eyes. Upon looking into his eyes, her expression softened, and tears poured down her face as she finally broke down and fell to her knees. She wept, gasping for air. Mist quickly moved to her and slung his arm over her neck. “Luna,” he whispered, “What’s wrong, Luna?” She sniffled, not looking up, “I’m so afraid.” “Afraid of what?” “Everything. Afraid of being hated, afraid of my sister, afraid of losing you. I am afraid of myself, what I have become. What I can do.” “Luna… nopony hates you, and you have no reason to fear your sister. And I have already told you not to worry about me. I will be here as long as you need me.” “Well certainly nopony loves me. Nopony loves my night. My sister only ever looks out for the day, commemorating the day when my night is shortest, when she has the greatest dominance. Is there a celebration for the moon, the longest night? No. So much for equal rule. She even tries to steal you away from me. And you let her. You left me. And look around us, at this room. Why would I do that? And with my power, what is to say that I couldn’t do worse?” “Luna… I… I love you. And other ponies will learn to love you. And your night. It is a wonderful thing. They will come around. And you are correct - it’s not fair that Celestia has a day to celebrate her sun while you have no night to celebrate your moon. And that is something we can talk to her about. And she was never stealing me away. And I take offence to you thinking that I would allow it. I have duties to attend to, and those must be acknowledged and carried out. Just as you must move the moon and guard the night, I must study the stars and report my findings. I will never leave you, as long as it is in my power.” Mist picked up Luna’s head to look at her. “And you listen to me. You are not dangerous. This was just a small episode. And I’m certain you regret it, and will try to do better. You are not a dangerous pony, and I will not leave you.” Luna looked at Mist and broke down again. She sobbed, chest heaving with ragged breaths. She moved closer to Mist and cried into his neck, soaking his coat almost instantly. Mist hugged her tightly, making sure she knew he was with her. She tried to speak. “I just… I…” “Shhh. Just relax, Luna,” Mist stroked her starry mane, trying to comfort her, “Everything will be fine…” Mist trailed off, something from within making him doubt himself for a moment. “Everything will be fine.” Luna continued to sniffle for a time, but soon calmed. “Thank you, Mist. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Mist smiled. “I don’t want you to think about that possibility.” “Of course, my love.” My love. Mist doubted he would get entirely used to hearing that. “Good. Now head up to your chambers and rest. I think I should clean up a bit.” “I can’t make you do that. I’ll send word for a servant pony. And why don’t you come up with me and we can get some reading done?” Mist moved his head away. “Up? To your bedchambers? I don’t know if that is appropriate, even given our… closer… relationship.” Luna rolled her eyes, “Perhaps not. Regardless, I would still like you to go up there, right now, and wait for me.” Mist gave her a hard look. “Luna –” “No. Up, now,” Luna stood and walked from where she and Mist lay, heading to the door. “Go. It’s the door in the back,” she said finally before walking through the door. Mist groaned and stood. Walking to the stairs in the back of the room, Mist reflected on the last few minutes. “That mare… What am I going to do?” Mist shook his head as he walked towards the steps. Heading up the steps, he halted in front of the door furthest from the stairs – the door to the bedchambers. Mist breathed out slowly and nudged the door open. He looked inside with trepidation – this was hallowed ground. The bedchamber was simple enough: a large, circular bed was the most dominant feature. A few paintings lined the walls, and there were two bookshelves that Mist could see. A small desk sat in a corner. Otherwise, the room was fairly sparse. Mist stood in the doorway, unable to bring himself to psychically move into the room. “Well go on,” came a voice from behind him, making him jump. He turned to see Luna standing behind him, smiling. “A servant pony is coming up, and we wouldn’t want to be in the way, so please, go in.” She nudged him forward. Mist stumbled into the room, and Luna followed, closing the door. He turned back to her. “What would you like to study, then?” “You pick a book. I’ll get comfortable.” Luna moved toward the bed. Mist headed to a bookshelf, looking through the various titles. He picked two larger tomes and floated them over to the bed. He placed them down before hesitating. He grimaced at the bed and then at Luna. She cocked her head before scoffing. “Just get up here,” she complained. Mist climbed up onto the bed, feeling the soft, silky, sheets cling against him. He settled down, and within that second, Luna had snuggled up to him, pulling a blanket over them. She looked at the books and smiled. “Ooh, good choices.” Mist smiled back, “Thank you. Now, shall we begin?” “One last thing.” Luna leaned forward and planted a kiss on Mist’s cheek. The stallion blushed and opened the first book. Enjoy it, Mist. While you can.