//------------------------------// // S3 CH 8: Our journey // Story: The Story of Twilight Glow // by Jeweled Pen //------------------------------// Nightmare Moon slowly let her eyes linger over the gathered ponies. The snow that they had so fretted about still covered the town, leaving it buried beneath a coating of white. She didn’t understand why they wished her to not just wipe it away with her magic. Such a silly tradition. But if they truly desired to do it all by hoof, it was no concern of hers. Her shades had been examining the town regularly over the last few days, ever since Twilight and Moondancer had arrived. As far as she knew, they were all doing everything by hoof, with no danger or threats. Such a waste of time she could never begin to comprehend. She lowered her eyes to her bard and student, the pair staring up at her and wrapped in thick scarfs. “I see that the… wrap up is going… well,” she said slowly, her eyes wandering over the pair. They both seemed nervous, though she couldn’t imagine why. They had asked her to come and explain these things to them, why would they be frightened? “Oh, yes,” Twilight said quickly. “We’re actually expecting to make a lot of headway today while we’re gone. We’ve made all the preparations and everything is ready. It’s actually why we asked you to come here now, since we’re not necessary at the moment.” Nightmare Moon nodded, glancing over the crowds. Headway. She found that doubtful. Her eyes narrowed slightly whenever they cringed, lowered their gaze or even hid behind a wall. Were her subjects still so frightened of her? She had given them a night sky to rival that of any before it! And they treat her like a horror. She ground a hoof into the ground, before turning her gaze towards the forest. The place was so strange, it had been a place of horrors even before she had been sealed away. A part of her was tempted to try and cut the forest down to a small smattering. Another part of her was tempted to make it grow, to bind all the creatures within to her will. One final part of her, however, worried about what was hidden in that forest. Her power was great, but there was something strange about those woods, something different from even her power. There was one tree in particular that even she knew better than to underestimate. The ruler paused for a moment, closing her eyes. She remembered the first steps they’d taken into those woods. ------ “Sister, please...” Luna whispered, shaking her head. “You can’t do this.” The younger princess could barely move, the bruises across her body aching terribly. All she wanted to do was rest. “I can. I must. I will,” Celestia said, slowly getting to her hooves. Discord had won this battle, playing with the two as if they were mere toys. “You can’t fight him again,” Luna said, before slowly getting to her hooves and cringing. The fight had been pathetic. Try as the two may, there was too much chaos and power in such a creature. How could one fight something that could replace its form with anything it desired in a moment? Who could shift the very rules of the world? How could anypony hope to fight a creature who, with a flick of his wrist, had banished them from their own kingdom? She glanced over the sorry state of their lands. Cotton candy clouds. Upside down homes. The ponies who were now trapped in torment that only the two had been spared. Spared only so Discord could have the audience he so desired. She hated to admit it, but they were honestly outmatched. For all of their sake, she couldn’t lie to herself about this. “I cannot… we cannot just standby and watch,” Celestia whispered, her own head hanging in shame. “We are the rulers. This is our kingdom. Our home. They are our ponies.” Luna nodded and then slowly stepped towards her sister. She put a hoof on her withers. “We cannot. We will not. But… we cannot rush in and hope to overwhelm him with our own power. We need more than just that. If we face him like this, we will only fail again. This helps nopony.” Celestia nodded and then turned towards the forest. The place where their friends had long ago disappeared. “I see… you are correct, dear sister. We need more than just us. We need… the pillars.” ------ “Your highness?” Twilight’s voice called, piercing through Nightmare Moon’s thoughts. “W-what?” she asked, shaking her head. “We’re ready. Are you okay?” “What? Of course. We are ready,” she said, before beginning to walk into the forest. It had been so, so long since she’d thought of that time. A time when she and her sister had stood side by side. A soft, gentle ache flowed through her heart. She tried to push it aside with each step. Her sister had betrayed her, in the end. For all of the dangers they had faced together, her sister had turned on her in the end. She owed the sun nothing. “Your highness? What was the Everfree Forest like in the past?” “It… was...” Nightmare Moon mumbled, shaking her head. Old memories slowly began to rise to the surface, pushed on by the soft aches. ------ “No no no no! Please, no!” the zebra had screamed. It had only taken a moment for the two to react. The timber wolves were nearly on the small, striped creature. But before it could touch the zebra, Celestia’s magic had sent them scattering to the winds, broken sticks crumbling to the ground. The poor, frightened, lost creature had been trapped. They had no time, they had to keep searching. Yet Celestia refused to abandon the poor zebra. Had told Luna to go on ahead. But even though Luna knew that time could not be wasted, she did waste it for her sister. Because she would never abandon the one who meant the most to her. “Your generosity will be the death of us, Celestia,” Luna said with a light laugh when they’d walked away, leaving the zebras, a new ally, behind. “Perhaps,” Celestia said with a shrug. “But we can hardly protect Equestria if we can’t protect those in front of us, can we?” “No, we cannot.” ------ “Your highness?” Twilight asked, her voice filled with concern. “Are you okay? Did you hear me?” “What?” Nightmare Moon asked. “What was the forest like, then?” “It was… different...” Twilight waited for the ruler to expand on the thought, but received nothing but silence. After a few moments she sighed and gave up, shaking her head. ------ They had been so frightened. So scared. The trees seemed to reach out at them through the darkness, tearing at their coats, at their manes. The sounds of monsters flapping through the trees. They were weak. Too weak. How long had it been since they had left Equestria? How long had they wandered through these horrifying, evil woods? All hope had been lost. Now they would perish. Luna glanced back at her sister and, despite herself, she couldn’t stop it. She laughed. “What’s so funny?” Celestia asked, staring at her younger sister. “Y-your mane is a mess,” Luna responded. “What? Sister, be serious, you--” “Bwa ha ha ha! Your mane looks like Madam Goldennuggets at the last gala!” Celestia just stared at her younger sister with confusion. However, after a few moments she began to smile. Then, slowly, she began to laugh. “Well YOUR’S look like something Lord Dupre’s mustache!” “Well your’s look like the after effect of the sour rainbow incident!” “Well your’s looks like...” And before the two knew it, they were giggling and coming up with more and more preposterous and silly examples of how their manes looked. Letting the joy of each other’s company drive away the darkness in their hearts. In those moments, all the fear pressing in on them seemed so much weaker, so far away. Together, even these terrifying woods weren’t so bad. ------ “Your highness?” Moondancer asked. “Are… are you crying?” “No… be silent… we are fine...” Nightmare Moon whispered, ignoring the concerned look the two were giving her. So many long lost, abandoned memories flooded to the surface, rising up around her. ------ “Leave them to rue over their folly,” Luna snapped, her eyes narrowed on the griffins that now cowered before their magic. They had thought to beat them, to steal from them. Now they begged for mercy. Celestia shook her head and stepped forward. Such a foalish endeavor. She’d offered them aid. Healed them. Fed them. They had been hungry. Weak. Frightened. So her sister had offered them all she could. Giving of herself. Though it cost them valuable supplies, her sister had given freely. That was who the ruler of the sun was, a pony who only gave of herself, even if it meant she herself would have to go hungry. Luna promised that, no matter what, she would always help her sister and not allow that kindness to destroy her. Better they both go hungry than allow her sister to suffer alone. ------ Twilight stared at the princess, her own heart beating faster. This all seemed odd to her. They’d been in the Everfree Forest before, last time it was besides Trixie. But this time, things seemed different. Nightmare Moon was barely speaking. When she did, she only gave curt, simple answers. She seemed almost lost to the world entirely. Her eyes dull and slightly glazed over, as if she didn’t see the world around them. ------ “I won’t leave you! I WON’T!” Luna screamed. “GO!” Celestia yelled, bound as she was in the ice of the windigo, she couldn’t move. “P-please, sister. Leave me. We can’t… we can’t fail. Equestria needs you.” “Equestria may need me but I need you!” Luna yelled back, grabbing her big sister’s hooves and pulling with all her might. Despite her best efforts, however, the ice refused to let her go. The howls of the windigo came ever closer, signaling their doom. “GO! Now! Escape, before they find you. PLEASE! Equestria needs a ruler.” Celestia gripped her sister’s withers and stared into her eyes. “And you will make a fine one.” Luna stared back into her big sister’s eyes. Then, slowly, she nodded. “You’re right. Equestria does need a ruler. Thank you.” She pulled away from the ruler of the sun, noting the relief in her eyes. If her sister only knew what she had planned. “Listen here, you old nightmares of the past!” she yelled. “I am Princess Luna, Ruler of the Night! And I will NEVER let ANYPONY take my sister from me!” Her horn glowed with a dark and powerful light, her eyes glowing black. “One of you, ten of you, a thousand of you! I don’t care!” “LUNA!” But the Princess of the Night paid no heed to her sister’s cries. She charged forward into the spirits of cold. Through the pain and agony, she pushed on. Because that chill was nothing compared to that which enveloped her heart at the thought of losing the pony most important to her. ------ “What’s wrong with her?” Moondancer whispered, nudging up besides Twilight. The bard shrugged before giving a soft sigh. “I have no idea. She’s… I haven’t seen her like this before.” The ruler of the night kept drifting off, her focus seeming entirely torn. Fortunately, nothing in the forest seemed willing to disturb the great ruler of Equestria. Though there had been the occasional movement of something moving through the woods, aside from the occasional howl of a timber wolf, nothing seemed willing to attack them. The outline of the castle could now be seen. Back at Ponyville, they’d likely begin shortly. ------ “The Tree of Harmony...” Luna said as the pair walked up to the massive tree. In the center of it-- Her cutie mark. Above it, her sisters. But above it, that which held the sixth and final element. Hidden behind the cutie mark of her bard. ------ “Your highness? We’re here. Is something wrong? Why are you staring at me like that?” Twilight asked. Nightmare Moon had turned to the earth pony, her eyes wide. The way she stared at the earth pony was strange, yet oddly terrifying. A strange mix of sadness and hate flooded the alicorn’s face, as if she couldn’t decide if she should start screaming, killing or crying. Twilight was suddenly jerked towards the princess, caught in her magic. She was brought to the Alicorn and her heart nearly turned to ice. “You… you were the one… weren’t you? It was you all along...” the ruler whispered, her eyes narrowed with murderous intent. Her sharp, jagged teeth bared. “W-what?” Twilight asked. “Y-your highness, I-I can’t breath….” “You were the one who… who was...” Nightmare Moon stopped, staring at her. Then, as quickly as it had begun, the ruler dropped her. “No. No no. This… must be something else.” “Something else?” Twilight asked nervously, quickly backing away. “I-I’m sorry, your highness. If I have angered you in some way, I never meant--” “Angered us?” Nightmare Moon asked. “No. You have not angered us. We merely...” She then paused before, starting softly but only growing in volume until it echoed through the courtyard of the castle, she laughed. Moondancer and Twilight shared confused looks before shrugging. “This… only means we were correct, our little bard.” “Correct?” With one final light chuckle, Nightmare Moon walked into the castle, her heart lighter than she believed possible. “You will, one day, rule by our side forever. We just need to be patient. That is all.”