//------------------------------// // XIX. // Story: The Nobody's Regret // by Synthetic Soul //------------------------------// I stood atop the decayed castle that I once called home, looking up at the star filled sky. The wind blew through my hair as I stared at the pony shaped pattern imprinted on the moon, waiting for the all-defining moment when the stars would aid in Nightmare Moon’s escape. A thousand years. It had been a thousand years since I’d seen my closest friends. The time had a way of wearing me down. I can’t imagine what it’s done to Luna. Was she conscious during this time? I really didn’t know what it was like for her. I probably wouldn’t ever know either. I was just here to make sure everything went the way it was supposed to. I’d make sure the Mane Six freed Luna, and then…well, I’d probably return to my isolation. I still felt as though I couldn’t face them. This was about making things right, not about mending my own emotional state. I felt a chill run through me as the image on the moon dissipated. I saw a light appear in the darkened sky. It quickly shot through the sky, before disappearing in the horizon. “I guess it’s time,” I said to myself. I pulled my hood over my head, and leaped off of the tower I was standing on. “Let’s do this.” I stuck to the darkness as I followed Twilight and her friends. Though it had been millennia since I saw the show, I still remembered how this all went. As the ponies walked along the edge of the cliff, their first trial, I saw a purple mist float towards the rock. Nightmare Moon’s magic soaked into the hard stone. The moment Rainbow Dash made her attempt to scare the six, the cliff began to rumble and shake. A crack formed, causing the ledge that the ponies were standing on to break. Rainbow and Fluttershy took to the sky as the others began to fall, crying out in surprise. The two pegasi were able to catch Rarity and Pinkie Pie, while AJ and Twilight slid down. Fluttershy and Rainbow quickly their two friends down safely, as Twilight and Applejack had their exchange. I used to wonder what took the pegasi so long, that they weren’t able to just grab the two earthbound ponies off the cliff, instead of letting Twilight fall. Well, it turns out, I was. The way it was going, the two would have made it to Twilight and Applejack in time to lift them both off the cliff. But, I knew I couldn’t let that happen. It was absolutely essential that everything went according to how it was written in the show. Twilight had to put her faith and trust into Applejack in order for her to be recognized as the Element of Honesty. So, I decided to slow down the two pegasi. As they started flying towards the cliff, I cast Aero to blow them off course. They were surprised at this, and it cost them time. But they were able to recover and make their way towards Twilight. It was at this point that Twilight released her grip. A jolt ran through me as I saw that Twilight was falling at a speed greater than the pegasi were flying. “Damn it!” I cursed under my breath, as I realized I did my job too well. I wasn’t about to let Twilight die because of me. “Stopza!” I cast Stopza on Twilight to slow her descent, and speed up Fluttershy and Rainbow. It was a variant of the magic that I had developed a while ago. I had done a lot of experimenting with my magic in the past, and had developed a lot of new abilities. Rainbow and Fluttershy caught Twilight, and gently lowered her to the ground as Applejack did her Parkour down the mountain. The group recovered and made started up their journey again. What they didn’t see, was a purple mist slithering past them like a snake. I teleported down the path to monitor the next threat. The Manticore. When I found it, it was sleeping soundly, hidden by the foliage. That didn’t stop the mist from finding it though. I expected the mist to place a thorn in the creatures paw. But that’s not what it did. The mist entered the manticore, absorbed into it through the nose as the beast breathed in. It woke up immediately, and started hacking and coughing. As it did, the Manticore started to change. It’s claws and teeth grew longer and sharper, same with its horns. It’s body started growing, reaching twice its original size, with its muscles becoming much more pronounced. Purple veins could be seen as its eyes glowed a similar color. “Looks like Nightmare isn’t playing around this time,” I said to myself. I knew I only had a few minutes before the girls showed up, so I knew I had to fix this as soon as possible. I started sprinting towards the monster, materializing my Keyblade. The beast growled, and charged towards me. As it reared to strike me, I teleported right above it, and smacked it in the head with my blade. I landed on it’s back, and jumped into the air. I aimed my Keyblade right at the creature. The end of my Keyblade started to glow, as a keyhole appeared on top of the Manticore. A beam shot from the tip of my Keyblade, which hit the keyhole. A bright light appeared as I accessed the beasts’ heart, and released the darkness trapped inside it. I landed softly on the ground, as the Manticore reverted back to its old self. As it regained it’s senses, it looked at me strangely, before coming up to me and licking me. The Manticore began purring, and rubbing up against me, clearly thankful that I had saved it. I knelt down and began petting its mane. It was nice. It had been so long since I’d gotten to pet an animal. It was like having a cat, or a dog. Feeling the creatures affection made me feel happy, and at peace. But just then, I heard something. “And once Pinkie and Rarity were safe, me and Fluttershy looped a looped around, and bam! In the nick of time!” That was Rainbow Dash. They were closing in fast. I looked down at my side, as I noticed a thorn lying on the ground. The Manticore had its eyes closed as it nuzzled me. I let at a pained sigh, as I picked up the thorn. “Sorry about this, fella,” I said as I jammed the thorn into its paw. It roared out in pain, as I quickly leapt back. I teleported to the cliffs above, just in time to avoid being noticed by the ponies. Just how I remembered it, the ponies engaged the Manticore, ultimately winning it over with Fluttershys kindness. I hid, but stayed watch to make sure no one was hurt. When Fluttershy removed the thorn, the Manticore seemed wary at first, but quickly warmed up to her. I felt bad, betraying its trust like that. But it had to be done. I opened up a darkness portal, and went through, hoping that I hadn’t been seen. I had more work to do, to make sure everything went as it was supposed to. The girls faced the rest of their trials, with me having a hand in each of them. The forest where Pinkie would ‘giggle at the ghosties’, was actually filled with poisonous gas. I cleared that out, and proceeded to whack and disfigure the trees to make them look right. The sea serpent was actually being mind controlled by Nightmare Moon. I released him from the spell, but cut his mustache before he fully regained his mind back. Then came the last obstacle: the bridge. I walked along the rope bridge, as a fog clogged my field of vision. The girls had a ways to go before they’d make it here, so I was surveying the area. It looked like I’d have to cut the bridge. But, when I was about halfway across, the fog increased greatly. Through it, I could see the outline of a pony on the other side. I stopped, and stood ready to defend myself. “This is certainly an unexpected development,” said a voice. One I recognized. “Nightmare Moon,” I said calmly. The mist cleared enough for me to see corrupted form of Princess Luna standing across from me. “Is it really you?” she questioned. It almost sounded like she…missed me…. “It is,” I replied. “We…never thought we’d see you again.” She paused. I took the moment to observe her. She didn’t look like she was looking for a fight. “Am I talking to Luna…or Nightmare Moon?” “We are…not sure,” she replied. Her voice sounded dual toned, as if two ponies were talking at once. “Luna, if you can hear me, you need to fight this! This darkness isn’t you!” Nightmare raised her hoof, as if to take a step forward. The purple mist coming from her eyes started to wean. “Listen Luna. It was my fault this happened to you. I knew something like this was going to happen, and I made the mistake of trying to fix it alone. I should have sat you down with Celestia and have you talk about all that was going on. It…it was my fault.” Nightmare looked saddened for a moment. I started to think I was reaching Luna. “It’s not too late though. Things can go back to being good again! You can go back to Celestia! She misses you!” For a moment, I saw the real Luna. It looked as though Luna was able to fight back against Nightmare, and take control of her life again. “What about you? W-will you be there too?” she questioned. “I…I don’t…I don’t know.” “Wh-why not?” she questioned. It looked like Luna and Nightmare were fighting for control at this moment. “I just…I can’t…” “Can’t? Or WON’T?” “I…” “You’re…you’re afraid aren’t you? That Celestia won’t forgive you?” I didn’t respond. “Well…if she can’t forgive you…then WHY WOULD SHE FORGIVE ME!?” Luna shouted, as Nightmare Moon regained control with a burst of magic. I readied my Keyblade. “You will not destroy my hold over her! I will destroy you, and then plunge this world into eternal night!” She started hovering in the air with her wings keeping her aloft, as I took a battle stance. “So, Sir Roxas, do you think you have what it takes to put a stop to me?” “Not sure,” I said with a pause. “But that’s not my job.” I teleported behind her, and quickly cut the ropes holding the bridge up. Nightmare Moon turned around to see me, as I disappeared in a portal of darkness. ”You’re running? Come back here and fight me!” But by then, I was gone, though still in range to hear her, and monitor the situation. “COWARD!” she screamed, before disappearing in a mist of purple energy, and heading towards the castle. As she did this, I hid behind a tree, with a hand on my heart. It was beating rapidly, and my body was erupting in tremors. I ran my fingers through my hair. A thousand years. I hadn’t seen Luna in a millennia. I though she was completely dominated by Nightmare Moon. But there was still some of her in there, and I was enough to help part of her resurface. I didn’t know how the whole thing worked. How much control did Nightmare Moon have when I spoke to her? Was Luna truly lucid, or was it just her heart breaking through? Would Luna remember our interaction when she was free? I didn’t know. From then on, everything went according to plan. Nightmare Moon battled Twilight, only to be defeated by the Elements of Harmony. The girls woke up, to be greeted by Celestia. The two sisters saw each other for the first time in a thousand years. I stood, watching behind a wall, as everyone had their happy reunion. I…wanted to join in. I wanted to see my friends again. But I…I was scared. Would they want to see me? I knew it would create less drama for them if I just left. I opened a portal, and prepared to leave. ‘Coward!’ What Nightmare Moon had said to me rang in my head. Maybe she was right. Maybe me leaving without talking to them was cowardly. “We were meant to rule together little sister,” said Celestia. Memories of our happy times together ran through my mind. The times we’d comforted each other when we each faced our challenges. I wanted to make new memories with them. I really did. I also owed them a proper explanation. “I can do this,” I whispered to myself. I swallowed the lump in my throat, and emerged from my hiding place. I walked towards my old friends. Celestia gasped in surprise, and Rainbow saw me as a threat. Without responding to anyone, I simply stopped in front of Luna. She looked with fear, as I raised my Keyblade. I lodged my Keyblade in the ground, and dropped to my knees. All was silent for a few moments. Then, I spoke my heart. “Princess Luna…I…am so sorry.”