//------------------------------// // Divided Soul // Story: Sun and Moon // by Graymane Shadow //------------------------------// “You’re sure you want to do this alone?” Celestia took a scarf in her magic, wrapping it gently around Luna’s neck. “I can take the time to go with you.” “No.” Luna’s reply was polite but firm. “Thank you for the offer, but at some point I need to learn to walk on my own four hooves again. It might as well be tonight.” Celestia looked as though she wanted to say more, but paused before sighing, nodding her assent. “Then I will see you in the morning. Good luck, Luna.” Luna pushed open the glass doors, stepping onto the balcony. The chill was brisk, and she was immediately grateful for the scarf. Looking back, she smiled, if only slightly. “Thank you, Tia.” Her sister raised a friendly wing in response. Luna pushed off the balcony, taking to the skies over Canterlot, and the destination that lay beyond. The Everfree Forest was greatly changed from her day, and yet despite the obvious danger it now held, it still felt far more inviting than the towering spires and alabaster walls of Canterlot. At least the creatures in the forest disliked all intruders equally. The sight of her former home filled her with a mixture of joy and sadness. There were many memories held within the rent walls, the true reason she had come that night. In discussions with both Open Mind and her sister over the recent weeks, she had finally come to realize that she could not hope to progress forward until she confronted her past. The Elements of Harmony had cleansed her of the Nightmare, giving her the strength to reassert her former nature. They had not solved the root issue that caused her to become Nightmare in the first place. For that, she felt like she had to return to the place where things had gone so wrong. She circled over the ruins once before sailing through one of the holes in the roof of the throne room. With a deft dive, she came to rest behind the wreckage of the dais where she had made that fateful choice, so long ago. Motes of dust, stirred up by her landing, drifted chaotically in the shafts of moonlight coming through the shattered window behind her. But that was all that happened. There was no grand revelation, no procession to herald her arrival. Nothing but the dust of time and decay. She closed her eyes, listening carefully to the sounds of the castle around her. Her heightened Alicorn hearing was enough to pick up the sounds of her own heartbeat, but as she focused…there was a slightly distinct second thrumming coming from somewhere else in the castle. It was instinct that sent her walking in the direction of her former chambers…the place where things had truly begun. The door was stiff, the hinges rusted and damaged. It took a considerable amount of effort to open the door without simply tearing it down, but she managed it. She’d done enough destroying for a lifetime. Inside, things were even worse. What little warmth she had felt was stolen away as she entered, and the darkness of the room was deeper than the mere lack of torchlight would have caused. The thrumming of the heartbeat grew stronger, melding in unified disharmony with her own. She pressed onward, at once hopeful that she might finally find some semblance of peace, and terrified that she was going to face something she was not prepared for. The heartbeat was strongest in her bedroom, as was the stench of decay. That stench seemed to merge with the darkness, filling the very air with a presence that brushed uncomfortably against her skin. Her wings flicked as she shivered, trying to push off the sensation. As her eyes fell on the mirror leaning against the far wall, she recognized it was her goal. Biting her lip, she forced herself forward at an angle, avoiding looking in the mirror until she was directly in front of it. When she finally looked - upward, for the figure was taller than she - the Nightmare stared back at her. “Hello, Luna,” she said, all fangs and malice. “Hello,” Luna replied. Her heart, which had been beating a drum inside her chest, slowed back to normal. “You don’t seem surprised to see me.” “Can a mare be surprised to see her own reflection?” Nightmare inclined her head, conceding the point. “And yet, not quite accurate,” she continued. “Even when I took control of you, I never quite had your full allegiance.” “That’s because I was too afraid to trust anypony,” Luna replied. “Even you.” “A wise choice. Trust brought you only sorrow and betrayal. And yet, little Luna, you’re making those same mistakes again. Trusting the sister who betrayed you. Trusting that the fools of the nobility will finally show you the respect you deserve.” Nightmare flashed her teeth. “They never will, and you know it. Only fear will bring them in line.” Luna lowered her head, as if pondering the idea. “You know I can help you with that,” Nightmare continued. “I can make you greater than your wildest dreams. Instead of being subservient, you can rule, as you were always meant to.” “You offer me what I already have.” Luna’s eyes were ice, and the Nightmare stepped back under their gaze. “You claim that I can bring the nobles in line with fear?” Luna scoffed. “They already fear me. I don’t need the help of a failed echo to bring that about.” “You dare –“ Luna had no intention of listening to any more of the Nightmare’s poison. “That’s all you are. An echo, a memory of the lies I told myself when I embraced the foulest arts to ever besmirch this land. But you’re just as hollow now as you were then. I reject you, and your lies, as I should have done then.” “Foalish pony. You will not find me so easy to find, when your sister inevitably hurts you again.” “Tia may yet hurt me, and the ponies of this land may yet reject me once more, but I would gladly suffer both for another thousand years before I gave the slightest hoofhold to your lies.” Flaring her wings and stomping her forehooves, Luna let loose with the full force of the Royal Canterlot Voice. “DEPART!” The mirror cracked, splintered, shattered, the glass tumbling down out of the frame. The heartbeat slowed, became more regular. yet did not disappear completely. The chill that Luna had felt gnawing at her eased, and the darkness lifted, if only slightly. She knew this fight wasn't over, but she trusted she could rest for a moment. In truth, she didn't have the energy to continue on, not right then. All she could do was lie down and weep, as the bravery she had felt faded, the fears clawing their way back in.