The horseshoe bounced across the sand, missing the peg entirely.
“Nice hit!”
“I missed, Luna.”
“Nice miss!”
“Uh huh, thanks.”
I looked over at the mare who wasn’t paying attention in the slightest. Luna was lying down on a beach towel, with a big pair of shades on, happily relaxing just two hooves length away from me. She had a slight smile on her face as she soaked up the sun’s rays. The fact that we were in a dream made no difference to the moon alicorn.
“I can hear you staring at me, Phasma.”
“I didn’t hear a ‘stop staring, Phasma.’”
“.... A lady likes to be admired.”
“Well you’re not getting any compliments just yet. Not while I still have the taste of iron in my mouth. We have telekinesis, you know. Why anyone would ever throw these horseshoes with their mouths is beyond me.”
Luna didn’t move an inch, “Because that’s the sport. Everypony has mouths, and not everypony has horns. You throw them with your mouth.”
“I’ve also got working hooves.”
“Yes, but have you ever tried throwing something with your hooves?”
I looked down at one of my forehooves and rolled it around, “Uh…. no.”
“It is not an easy task. A pony’s– a quadruped's range of motion is somewhat limited. You can try to throw things with your hooves, and with enough time, you can get good at it. But by and large, most ponies chuck things long-distance using their mouths. One can rotate and angle the throwing-object more using their mouth than their hoof. And for the last time, this is a dream! Just will the taste away!”
I picked up another metal horseshoe using my mouth, and tried throwing it. Again, it missed the peg entirely, even going so far as rolling down the small incline and dropping on its side in the shallow waves that lapped against the beach.
“Nice hit! See, you are getting the hang of it!”
“I missed again, Luna.”
Finally, the lounging princess turned to look at me, lifting her sunglasses with a hoof to look at me. I expected her to say something, but she just sat there, eyeing me up and down. A smile slowly crept onto her face.
“I can see you staring at me, Luna.”
“I did not hear a ‘stop staring at me, Luna.’”
“... You’re just making me throw them using my mouth because I look stupid doing it, aren’t you?”
She snorted, “That is just a side benefit. No, everypony really does throw things using their mouths.”
“Really?” I asked incredulously.
Luna nodded and turned away, resuming her sunbathing, “Yes. The small things that can be, at least. Overhead throws while on hind legs is one thing, and side-tosses using a hoof is another. But for the most part, if you can throw using your mouth, it is more accurate to.”
“Even though it’s extremely unsanitary?”
“Oh you will be fine. If ponies have survived by throwing things with their mouths for thousands of years, I think you will survive make-believe sports in a dream. To emphasize the point; we learned to clean things very early on, compared to what you told me about your old species.”
“I imagine discovering germ theory was a lot more pressing for you, and a lot more possible using magic,” I said while idly kicking a spare horseshoe across the sand.
“That is right.”
I picked up the horseshoe, rolled my neck around to loosen it up, twisted to the side, then chucked the horseshoe across the beach, at the peg stuck in the ground.
Luna cheered, “Ha, see! All you had to do was believe–”
“I missed again, Luna.”
“... Not my fault you are so bad at this,” she said under her breath.
I gave up trying to play horseshoes and instead plopped down on the warm sand next to Luna. When she didn’t react, I rolled over and snuggled up close to her. Luna grunted in annoyance when sand got rubbed into her fur, but moments later she dug her right foreleg underneath me and pulled me into a hug, grinning all the while.
“So, winter vacation. Yay or nay?” I asked.
“You said it was right after the Gala?”
“Yeah.”
Luna pushed her sunglasses up to the base of her horn so that she could look me in the eyes.
“You know that is unrealistic, Phasma. We both will be very busy dealing with the aftermath of the Gala.”
I groaned, “But we’re both due for a vacation! Especially one we can go on together. We haven’t been together in the real world outside of that one time that I smashed your face into the ground. This will be like an actual date!”
“As nice as that sounds, we have duties to our subjects. You think rebuilding Celestia’s court can be done in an afternoon? Or concisely mending the gap between the Principality of Equestria and the Fifth Hive can be done overnight?”
“.... Yes.”
“These things will take time. Both of us will be needed in Canterlot if we want the war to end and for stability to be brought to both of our kingdoms.”
I threw my hooves up in the air out of frustration, which was a difficult task considering Luna was squishing me up against her side.
“Okay, fine! How much time?”
“As long as it takes. The Gala takes place during the fall anyways. How would we have a winter vacation during the fall?”
“It’s up north, in the mountains. There’s snow up there year round.”
“Very little, I would imagine.”
“You ponies control the weather, don’t you?”
“Trying to force radical changes upon the Pegasi Union’s weather schedule is like trying to tame a twister. Not only would it be a gross misuse of power, it would also be painful.”
‘That’s probably fair. I’d be pissed if someone was just up and deciding all of the weather.’
Luna continued, “Do you also have reservations? I doubt that you could secure lodgings just one month in advance. If this place is as good as you promise, then one would suspect that all available hostings are booked in advance.”
I scratched my head, “We’ll figure it out.”
“Look. How about this; you help my sister and I, and then we will go on this vacation. All three of us work together, my sister and I will finally get to spend some time together, and to wrap it all up, you and I will get to spend time together. Does that sound fair?”
‘Luna hasn’t actually seen her sister outside of a single conversation in a thousand years. And here I am, trying to– oh just say yes.’
I nodded, “Yeah, that sounds good.”
‘I could stay here for hours… But there’s always business to worry about. Wars to plan.’
I cleared my throat, “Luna… What are we going to do about the Nightmares? You know now that they are probably one of the biggest threats to Equus in history. I’m trying to do what I can, but honestly? There’s nothing I can really do to prepare other than to teach everyone in my Hive the spell that worked against them. But they have the upper hoof; they’ve been fighting this from the start, and apparently used me to awaken their King. Or will use me, they weren’t exactly clear on that. If it took such overwhelming firepower to destroy one general that it completely evaporated a city, how are we supposed to fight the biggest and baddest of them all?
“They had their claws in me from the fucking beginning!” I continued, “We’ve got practically nothing, whereas they somehow know everything about us, and appear out of nowhere. What if they ambush one of us while we are sleeping? I’m not strong enough or even trained at all in fighting them outside of the material realm, Luna. What if that mark that they branded me with does more than simply ring the dinner bell for them? What if it makes me a sleeper agent, like some sort of inactive mind control rune?”
“I inspected the mark when you first showed it to me. From what I understand, it can not interact with the rest of your mind at all. It is like a stowaway on a ship: unable to affect its course at all, but not a benevolent presence at all. How about this; once you may enter the palace without fear for your own life, we shall inspect this mark further. Myself, Celestia, and perhaps even Tia’s personal student, Twilight Sparkle, shall study it in depth. If possible, we will place protections around it, as to limit any possible control it may have. As a warning, you will be quite vulnerable during this, since we will have almost full access to your mind, but if you trust me, then I promise you will not regret it.”
“I trust you. I would like that very much, thank you Luna.”
Luna smiled, “Then we have a plan. As for the war, we will handle that together,” she reassured me. “During the aftermath of getting Equestria back in the right hooves, we will prepare. This is not a battle you shall fight alone, nor should either of us ever fight alone ever again. Against these spawns of darkness, Equestria, the Fifth Hive, Vallachia, and potentially more in the future are united by one cause. Together, across three nations and many tribes and species, we can beat back the Nightmares, wherever they rear their ugly heads. But that means no dying of stupid reason, like poking ancient artifacts or skeletons in dead cities!”
“My method gets results, moonbutt.”
“Your method is going to get you killed, bugbutt.”
I admitted after a moment of trying to get comfortable, “There are some points being brought up that are worth considering.”
“You ought to listen to your elders more often, Phasma.”
“Oooh, so you can pull the age card, but I can’t?”
“Not if you wish to ever sleep in the same room as I.”
“I… How are you doing, Luna?”
“Pardon?”
“A lot has been happening for you, right? You were trapped on the moon for a thousand years, then you were dropped down on Equus for a war, then your sister immediately became possessed after you were cured, and it just keeps going on. How are you doing?”
Luna squeezed me close to her, “In times such as these, I look to good company. I am blessed to have you, Princess Cadence, and Twilight Sparkle. In times past, there were droughts of such pleasures. Ruling is often a lonely business, but it is when the long night draws near that the absence of friends makes its pain known the most. That is to say, I am doing much better than I would be if I did not have all of you. Where did this question come from?”
“Well, you always ask how I’m doing, but I don’t think I reciprocate. You’re going through as much as I am, and… I want to be worried about you.”
Luna sighed softly and rested her head against my neck. Since our bodies were based off of how they were in the real world, I was actually taller than Luna now. That seemed to matter little to Luna, who just treated me like a big teddy bear.
She spoke quietly, “It is unfortunate to say that I have experience in dealing with matters such as these, but I simply do. There were times where I would find myself distanced from Celestia, alone dealing with grief or anything Harmony threw my way. That does not mean that today’s pains are any less due to yesterday’s. I simply know what to focus on, and when. If you wish to help me, then continue being so adorable.”
“I’m not adorable, I’m handsome,” I protested.
“You keep telling yourself that, and one day your wish may come true.”
“Oh yeah? Well, you’re cute, too!”
“I am offended,” Luna said in a sarcastic tone.
“But are you really okay? I can only help you if you want help, Luna. Don’t suffer in silence; that’s my job.”
Luna didn’t respond. Seconds dragged on, making me wonder if I said something wrong. Or if she decided to ignore me. Either way, it was looking like another dead end in the conversation. Just before I opened my mouth to try again to ask her about how she’s doing, she finally began to talk again. Luna’s voice was quiet, making me lean my head closer to her to hear her.
“The world is so different. It moves much quicker than it used to. During Daybreaker’s absence, I had at least the comfort of duty, since she was away at war. But now, everypony goes to her and has once more forgotten about me. It is like a horrible case of déjà vu; my age-old pangs of jealousy, now only embers, begin to smolder once more. While the absence of ponies hurts me during what few public hours Daybreaker allows, I at least have the benefits that come with being forgotten. Coordinating against the Nightmare is suspiciously easy. I believe I have fully goaded it into bringing the Elements out during the Gala, as to ease our subject’s worry and as a show of power.
“However, each conversation gets harder and harder to endure. That thing is a monument to everything I had thrown away, and it is twisted into a form that hurts the most. As I count the hours till Celestia’s fateful return, I keep thinking what I am to say to her. How can I ever mend the gap, now that I am responsible for her fall, as well as my own?”
“What happened in Canterlot was none of your fault. You tried doing the best you could to stop anything bad from happening. Okay, Luna?”
“Yes, I hear the words and understand them. Yet I do not know if I can accept them. Emotion and logic stand opposite from each other. I let go of one long ago, and I am still paying the price. So if my heart says that I have failed, would I not be a fool for ignoring it? Then there is you, Phasma. At nights, we are so close to each other, yet so far. I fear for you. I fear what you may do. I know what I did when I was pushed, and I had the luxury of family with me at the time.”
I hugged her tightly as I thought of how I could respond to that. I couldn’t deny it. Saying yes would be damning her, which is something I didn’t really want to do.
“Luna, I have a confession to make. I’ve done some questionable things. Since my… death,” the word put a pain in my chest, “I’ve found it harder and harder to be nice to others. Being thrown into the beginnings of a war for survival only made it worse, I think. There was a moment in Manehattan, one where my life was in danger, where I let go of logic. Some pony ordered his cronies to mutilate me right in front of him, in a public restaurant. I understand that empirically, I wasn’t in too much danger, and that I could handle the situation without bloodshed. But I didn’t care. I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to kill him. He reminded me of that bastard that… that took everything away from me.
“So I hurt him. So I killed him. He was an Equestrian noble, and I watched as he bled out slowly. It was completely within my power to spare his life. If someone like Cadence ever found out, I don’t think they would ever forgive me. Especially not after she freaked out that I mind-wiped someone who would have gotten me killed otherwise. I’m not making this conversation about me, I’m just… I… You’re a better person than me, Luna. I took pleasure in repaying the pain people like him have given to me. You worry that you didn’t work hard enough to save your enemies, and of course your own family. I don’t think I can ever come back to anything close to that mindset. I’m sorry I don’t have the right words to explain this, or make it make sense, or make you feel better. What’s happening to Celestia is not your fault, nor are any of my actions. I don’t know what I can tell you other than I want to be here for you. I haven’t told you about this until now because I’m afraid of disappointing you. If you turn your back on me, then…”
“I could never do that. I understand what you are trying to tell me. Though it pains me to hear that you have been… I am not happy with the fact that you have killed somepony. You say it was at least in self-defense?”
I tried to shrug but the motion was stifled thanks to our closeness, “As much in self-defense as it can be.”
She exhaled slowly, breathing warm air against my neck.
“We will have to discuss this far more in depth in the future. For now, let us simply be miserable together, and leave the duty of wise and kind words to our betters. Once Celestia returns, I am certain she will try her best to help both of us. She is cursed to care for everypony she meets, after all.”
Instead of quietly watching the waves wash up against the beach, we decided to talk idly about what was going on in each of our lives, and just nonsense topics. It turns out her favorite food was pancakes. Less so for the taste, and more so for the fact that it was Celestia who made them for her in the mornings.