//------------------------------// // "Nothing More to Give" // Story: The First Re-Mark // by iowaforever //------------------------------// “Nothing More to Give” “Centuries ago, a ruler rose from the ashes of a dead kingdom. She was a Queen, mighty in strength and beautiful as the morning sun. Her armor was gold, her voice like a ringing bell, her wisdom a vast collection from a thousand lifetimes. With a word she could speak the stars into place, and with a glance the mightiest of demons and horrible creatures would wither. “But for all her power and majesty, she was alone. There was no one to share the world with her, for in that day only demons and other creatures populated the land. Ponykind would arise in due time, but the Queen found none to be with her. “‘It is not good,’ she said. ‘For me to rule alone like this. I will craft a new being to rule at my side’. So using her magic she plucked a star from the sky, crafting it to fit her image and breathing life to fill its lungs. The star took the form of a mare, slight in frame with a coat of rich blue night. The mare looked upon the Queen and said ‘I am your equal in all things, am I not?’ “‘No,’ said the Queen. ‘ You are much more than that’. “And the Queen loved the mare as if she were her daughter. She set a tiara of onyx and jewels on her head, and draped a silver chain around her neck. The mare was clad in armor of gilded silver, her weapons forged from lightning. She was placed at the head of hundreds and the head of thousands, and all Ponykind bowed at her name. The Queen gifted the mare with treasure fit for ten kings, giving her a palace that sparkled as she did. The mare and her friends feasted on splendor, the spread great enough to feed a village for months. The Queen roamed far and wide, finding new gifts and treasures to bring to the mare. And for a while then, the mare was happy. “But one day, a demon entered the court of the mare while she and her friends were feasting. He dazzled them with gifts and parlor tricks, his wit unmatched by any the mare had seen before. The mare was pleased, and invited the demon to sit at her side for the feast. “The demon bowed low and asked. ‘Why, O Queen of Queens, do you allow yourself to take such a lowly position, and sit beside a traveler like me?’ “‘Lowly?’ The mare asked. ‘Is not the splendor of my court fit for ten kings? Is not my army vast, and are my subjects healthy and loyal? Why then do you say I am lowly?’ “‘Great is your splendor, O Queen, and vast are the riches under your roof,’ the demon said. ‘But there sits above you one greater, more glorious than you. I have seen the splendor of the Queen’s court, and it is a rival to yours in many ways. And it should not be so, for is not yours the greater throne whom ponies and beings of all kinds seek, not hers? Should she not yield to you her throne, that you make take what is rightfully yours?’ “The mare sent the demon away, but his words troubled her. Why would the Queen be above her, if she doted on her so? Would it be truly fair if she were to be ruled over? So she went to the Queen, sadness and concern lining her face. “‘My dear friend, what troubles you so?’ the Queen asked. ‘Has there been some transgression between us? Please, speak your mind, and I will help you however I can.’ “‘O Queen,” the mare said. “How can you call me your equal when your splendor is greater than mine? Why must you rule over all while I am left picking at scraps? Is this truly how you intended us to be together?’ This made the Queen sad, and she took pity on the mare. “‘My dear, what is mine to give is yours,’ she said. ‘What gift of my throne would you like? If there is some transgression I must set right, I will do so right away. Go and set before me what troubles you.’ “‘It is the very throne you sit upon,’ the mare said. ‘That throne implies I am but a subject, not an equal. Give me your throne, make me Queen in your stead, for if I am lowly in your sight then you must be lowly in mine.’ This only troubled the Queen further, and she withdrew from the mare. “‘I am sorry,’ she said. ‘But the path that led me to this throne is not one for you to traverse. I have given you all I have, save for that which has not yet come, but with this I am sorry to say that I have nothing more to give you.’ “The mare left in a rage, cursing the Queen for denying her what she felt was hers to take. She returned to her palace, and there the demon awaited her. ‘Now, what will you do?’ he asked. “‘What can I do?’ the mare replied. ‘The throne is mine, but the Queen will not give it to me. I will drive her away and take what is mine, and then she will know what it means to be lowly!’ “‘If this is what you seek,’ the demon said. ‘Then give me a vessel to fight against the Queen. My power is a pale shadow compared to hers, but with her help I may oppose her as well.’ “‘Very well.” the mare said. ‘Take what you want. When I am Queen, such a trade will be trivial in my eyes.’ The demon smiled, and with a single stroke drove the mare from her body, taking it as his own. “‘Foolish mare!’ he cackled. ‘In your arrogance and greed you have squandered all that you have! Now I will take my vengeance on my greatest enemy, and when the Queen is dead at my feet you will both be equals, rulers of the slain and forgotten!’ “And so the demon and his legions made war against the Queen and her throne. Her magic was great, but with a broken heart she could not hope to overcome the demon. The mare watched and wept, for she had been deceived to turn against her greatest, oldest friend. “The Queen lay injured at the demon’s feet, and she spoke. ‘Demon, release now the mare’s soul.’ “‘Why?’ the demon asked. ‘You have nothing more to give, nothing that I have not already taken. What more do you have to offer, that would be worth the soul of a foolish mare?’ “‘That which only now I am able to give.’ the Queen shed her armor and dropped her weapons, holding her neck out to the demon. ‘Come now, take my soul for hers! I gave my wealth, my power, my word that she might move forward, now I give my life that she might be free! Come, demon! Finish this now and free her soul!’ the mare saw this, watched as the demon drew his blade back to slay the Queen. With a cry the mare threw herself forward, not hesitating even as the blade slashed through her wings and tore at her soul. “But in this the demon’s control was broken by such a selfless act. The Queen banished the monster, sending it and its legions back to the hell that it came from. The mare fell injured, but peace returned to the land. “‘My Queen,’ the mare said. ‘I am sorry for my rebellion. I am not worthy of your life.’ “‘No, my child.’ said the Queen. ‘You are far more worthy than you realize.’ “‘I only wanted us to be equals,’ the mare sobbed. ‘I grew envious of your throne, and only wanted it for myself.’ “‘As I said, my throne is not for me to give to you,’ the Queen said. ‘My throne, my life, my destiny, all has been given to me from kings long dead. That, I cannot change, but I had so much more to give to you. The wealth and power is but a symbol, a means by which you would be free to forge your own destiny, your own kingdom. I gave you all that I had to give, for you are more than my equal: you are my friend, my companion, and you can do so much more than follow my own footsteps.’ “The mare rested until she was healed. From there she set out, seeking to bring good to all she had hurt in her quest for power. And peace reigned in that kingdom for many years.” Revelation fell silent. Starlight thought of some witty rebuttal, but nothing came to her.  Even her anger from earlier seemed hollow. The two unicorns sat in silence for several minutes, listening to the drumming of the rain overhead before Revelation spoke again. “Do you see now why I spoke with you? Why I was so persistent in breaking down that wall?” she asked. “No...” Starlight said, looking up at Revelation. “That story was the Tale of the Two Sisters, embellished a little but it’s still the same story. Why did you tell me this?” “Every pony has a destiny, some role to play in the world around them.” Revelation said, rising to her hooves. “Perhaps it is a grand destiny, like that of the Princesses in Canterlot, or perhaps it is something simple, like a baker caring for his wife and family. But the one thing that unites them all is that everypony’s destiny is unique to them, even if they do not realize that.” she looked to her flanks. “A cutie mark is not a symbol of destiny as some might think, but it is a part of the soul just the same. To deny one is to deny the other, and in doing so one breaks the soul of its very being.” Revelation looked to Starlight. “Your destiny was derailed because you suffered loss and heartbreak. Now, you break the souls of those around you and deny their destinies, their very being as ponies of Equestria. You may have meant well, but often I have found that the most well meaning of actions can have the most tragic of consequences.” she got off her chair and crossed to Starlight, resting a hoof on her shoulder. “You must let them go, if they are going to be happy again, if you are going to heal.” “I-I can’t.” Starlight stammered, shrugging off Revelation. “I have seen too much. I-I don’t want anypony to be hurt like I was-” “You do not want yourself to be hurt again,” Revelation interrupted. “You are scared, confused, but you do not need to be. There are ponies who want to genuinely be your friend, who can help you regain what was lost. Now you tread a dark path, where you deny ponies true friendship and twist them to better suit your needs. In this, you must let them go.” “No. No! I-I can’t do it!” Starlight backed away from Revelation. “Ponies will just leave me again, they always have. Th-this is the only way I can have true friendship... And why would you care? You’ve been trying to drive them all away from me, to shame me into letting go. Why would you care about me?” “Because I was just like you, Starlight,” Revelation said. “I was once scared and alone, unsure of where I stood in the world. I once tried to control others and twist them to their wills, and I paid the price for it. I am reaching out to you because I am the mare from the story.” With that, a brilliant light engulfed Revelation, Starlight shielding her eyes as it filled her house. The thought of defending herself flowed through her mind, but with no idea what she was facing no good spells followed after. When the light faded, Revelation was gone. In her place stood a majestic alicorn, her wings gently lowering her to the ground. Her coat was a deep midnight blue, her mane a swirling mass of blue energy flecked by motes of starlight. She wore silver shoes and a black necklace marked with a white crescent moon, reflecting the cutie mark displayed prominently on her flank. Starlight’s jaw fell limp, her brain trying and failing to make sense of who stood before her. “P-P-Princess Luna?!” she cried. “But... how did you...?!” “You may not remember, but it was you who called me here,” Luna said, crossing to Starlight. “Many nights ago, I glimpsed a dream of a pony in pain, one who had been lost and worried. I saw she desired to reach out, to cry out and have somepony hear her... but the dream faded before I could reach it fully. “So I ventured out, disguised myself as a wandering unicorn in search of that pony. I followed the dreams of ponies crying out for help, for somepony to reach out and save them from themselves, but for all the ponies I reached I still could not find that one.” Luna gave a sad frown. “Until now, when I found you weeping for your lost friend while wearing the face of a content mare” “I... I remember that dream,” Starlight said. “It was just before Double Diamond agreed to have his cutie mark removed... but why the disguise?” “Would you have spoken to me as you did if I had appeared to you as I am now?” Starlight worked her jaw as Luna continued. “As much as I hate to admit it, the regal presence my sister and I carry often silences more voices than it invites.” “Then, everything you talked about.” Starlight stammered, shying away from Luna. “Meadowbrook, the Two Sisters... that was all real.” “Starlight, I allowed my jealousy and desire to surpass Celestia to cloud my vision, and I turned to dark powers for guidance rather than truly opening myself to my sister.” Luna looked away. “For my actions I was locked away for a thousand years, and even now I do not believe it was ample punishment for my transgressions. And when I saw you following that same path of desperation, I had to act before it was too late.” “I-I didn’t mean too...” Starlight stammered again, tears welling up in her eyes. “I-I-I just didn’t want to be hurt again.” “I know.” Luna knelt to be on eye level with Starlight. “But what you did was wrong, and that cannot be excused. I can hear and see the dreams of every stallion, mare, and foal that falls asleep in Equestria. I see their hopes, their memories, their losses.” the princess reached out, drying a tear on Starlight’s cheek. “The citizens of this town are in pain, even if all you can see are smiles. Every one of them cries out for not just their cutie marks, but their talents, their skills, their souls, which you have denied even through the best intentions.” Starlight fought back sobs, pushing Luna’s hoof away. “I don’t deserve your sympathy,” she said. “I’m just a broken pony... and what I did, I-I don’t deserve-” “I tried to overthrow my sister and plunge Equestria into eternal darkness, yet somepony still thought I was worthy of forgiveness.” Starlight looked at Luna, her face scrunched up as she tried to hold herself together. Finally something broke, and she threw herself around the princess, sobbing into Luna’s shoulder. “I-It hurt so much, Princess...” she cried, tears flowing down her cheeks. “I-I thought I could move on, b-but every day I just saw more reminders of w-w-what I lost.” “I know, Starlight.” Luna said. “But I am here now, my little pony, and I will help you heal.” “How? I’ve done so much wrong already...” “Then perhaps you may learn from one who has also walked the path of forgiveness.” Luna pulled away from Starlight before continuing. “Come back with me to Canterlot. I can be your mentor, both in honing your magic and rebuilding your confidence in friendship. There are many ponies I know, all good stallions and mares, who would be glad to have you by their side, and I can help you take those first steps to regaining true friendship.” “Friends...” Starlight repeated, her sobs dying down. “B-but what if they leave me? What if I screw up?” “There will be mistakes here and there, that I won’t deny.” Luna gave Starlight a smile. “But I will never abandon you, Starlight, no matter what may happen.” Starlight sniffled, but she could feel a smile forming on her face. A chance to learn from a Princess, to start over and make friends again... to never be alone again. “Okay...” she said, nodding quickly. “Okay. I’ll do it.” “Good.” Luna smiled. “There’s just one more thing we must settle before we can leave, though. Do you think you are up to the task?” “Yes... I-I think I am.”