I find myself unable to sleep. So, here I am. Sitting on the balcony. Looking out across as far as I can see, I can only imagine what might befall this kingdom should Null snap and give in to his desires...I’m sure Luna could take my place, but I know first hoof how difficult it was for me when I… Banished her...
I wouldn’t wish that upon her anyways. Unlike me, she wouldn’t have any hope of her sister coming back. Even moreso, by the hands of her friend no less. I can only imagine how close they actually are.
’I WAS THERE FOR HER MORE THAN YOU EVER WERE!’
His words echo through my head, haunting me. Reminding me of my failure to my own family. Letting out a shaky, breath, I look down at the ground beneath my hooves.
’I’M BASICALLY HER FUCKING DIARY!’
I shudder as I hear his voice again.
Everything was going so well too. Luna was adjusting to modern society, The elements have found new bearers, Twilight’s studies were coming along nicely. And now, Null entering the equation seems to have put a halt to all of that.
He wants me dead. But… here I am; Still alive. He says he has nothing against anypony else, which seems to be true… he could have killed my guards when he first appeared; but he didn’t. Sure, he nearly did, but they all seemed too close to be accidental. Those near deaths had to have been deliberate on his part. Which only makes me even more fearful of him. With how much anger and raw emotion he was showing… he was still focused enough to do such precise actions…
And he was still sane enough to stop when he recognized Luna… I’m not sure whether to find that comforting or disturbing… the fact he recognizes anything at all is a miracle, according to what he says he went through. How did he get free to begin with? Let alone with his mind intact.
I rest my head on the railings and continue to stare out into Luna’s night sky.
And of course, there’s the fact that I deserve all of his hatred… I really am at fault here. I should have at least tried… to at least have said something to him. There’s nothing I can do either. If I try talking to him now, he could fly off the handle. I can’t offer to go through what he did for multiple reasons. I doubt I could go through what he did and come out sane… and I’m too important to this country. Would that even appease him? No doubt everypony else would have their objections. There really is nothing I can do… nothing except wait for a chance.
I begin to wonder, what other mistakes have I made? Who else have I wronged? Who else could be the next enemy lurking around the corner? What else could be going on that I’m unaware of that could lead to the next uprising?
...What if Discord got free? What chaos would he cause? How would he react to Null? And vice versa? Null might hate him as much as he does me if he knows the role that he played in getting him imprisoned.
I let out a sad, mirthless laugh. I say that like I can shift the blame entirely over to Discord. No… while he shares some of the blame, I’m still mostly at fault. Still… it is something to think about… Maybe I could offer to let Null decide what to do with Discord? That could score me a few points. But that’s definitely a dangerous offer to make… depending on what he chose to do, it could lead to Discord being free again. I’ll have to give this more thought.
I sit alone; still on the balcony, looking out at Luna’s night sky. How long I ended up stargazing, I’m unsure of. It must have been a while though, because I find myself starting to nod off. however, just as I’m about to, I hear the telltale sound of wing beats. Looking to where its coming from, I see one of Luna’s guards flying towards my balcony, and perch himself upon my railing. Upon closer examination, I realize it’s one of her Crescents. Wait... “Skyline, wasn’t it? Aren’t you supposed to be keeping an eye on Null?” I ask with a poorly hidden yawn.
He sits down on the railing and greets me with a dismissive wave. “He’s asleep on your student’s couch right now. Passed out drunk probably.”
I raise an eyebrow. “And how did he get there? Let alone get drunk?”
“Long story short? He started drinking and we were just talking on one of the upper walkways. He saw something that interested him, said ‘shiny’, then teleported away. I figured out where he went because the only thing that could have been considered “shiny”, was a light coming from Twilight’s library. He ended up talking to your student, and she let him in. I watched through a window until he fell asleep.” he explains.
“And they’re safe, yes?” I question with a bit of concern.
Rolling his eyes, he responds. “Of course, he’s probably going to sleep til noon with how much he drank. That, and given how old his body is, he’ll definitely be out for quite a while.”
Their safety no longer in question, I turn my attention towards the next most pressing matter. “And you let him drink? Despite knowing that his mental stability is clearly in question?” I raise my eyebrow again.
“It was either show him where it was or let him get mad while wandering the castle. I’m sure we both don’t want him angry, regardless of how weak he is.” he states.
This actually piques my interest. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I ask. “How would you know if he’s weak?”
He takes a deep breath and looks down at the castle grounds. “He wanted to get a better handle on his powers, so he asked to go to the dueling circle. How he knew what one was or that we had one, I have no clue. I let him mess around in there for a while, then he asked me to fight him a lil bit. How do I know he’s weak? He doesn’t even know how to fight. He managed to take me by surprise by lunging for me under my blade, and grabbing me by the neck. But he couldn’t follow up; He didn’t know what to do. Barely felt it too. I didn’t even have to try against him; his body would have given out had I not stopped him. He’s not strong at all Celestia. Even a foal could take him down if he didn’t have that special eye.”
“A foal? Really?” I question with obvious skepticism in my voice.
He simply shrugs. “Maybe I’m not giving him enough credit, but he’s definitely a glass cannon. Yes, he could really hurt ponies, definitely can kill them too; But he’s just as fragile.”
I take a moment to digest this information before I remember something he said earlier. “You said he can teleport? Did he display any other abilities? Any magic?”
He rubs behind his head awkwardly. “Well, maybe ‘teleport’ is a bit of a stretch. He can only go as far as he can see. He tried teleporting somewhere but only ended up a few feet in front of himself. So the best way I can describe it, is he can blink. Of course, it hurts him, but apparently it doesn’t if he’s in immediate danger; if that makes any sense.” he brings a hoof to his chin in mock thought. “That’s the only thing he discovered while in the dueling circle. As for magic, I’m not exactly a unicorn, so I couldn’t really tell you. Maybe your student will turn up some information on that.”
I let out a sigh; of relief or disappointment, I’m not sure. I feel Skyline place a comforting hoof on my shoulder. Bold move honestly. “I wouldn’t worry too much about him Princess. Your safety isn’t in jeopardy.”
I look at him. “It isn’t my own safety I fear for. There’s plenty he could do to get to me. And I can’t take any measures to protect those things, else it might anger him more. Even me knowing what you told me could anger him.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Why do you care so much about his feelings?”
“Because… the guilt I feel for what I have done compels me to care. His case isn’t like Sombra’s or Tirek. He’s willing to try and live a normal life. His grudge against me is justifiable; just because I’m a princess doesn’t place me above any wrongdoing. So I have to do what I can to help him, as much as I can from the position he’s placed me. Would it really be so different had it been Discord who put him in stone? Or even a random citizen?” I rant out loud.
He thinks over this for a good moment. “Well, had it been Discord who imprisoned him, I’m sure he’d have no problem allying himself with us. He’d still want to kill Discord, but would anypony really object to that? Had it been a random citizen for whatever reason, he’d either hate all ponies or have no care in the world because whoever would have done it would be long gone. At least, that’s what I think. But none of that matters, because those aren’t the case.”
Letting out a sigh, he prepares to take off. “Get some rest Princess. Judging by how he’s behaving, if you give him the space he needs, everything should be fine.”
With that, he takes off back towards Ponyville, leaving me alone with my thoughts once again.