//------------------------------// // 1:9 The Nightmare's Tale // Story: Timberjack: Season 1 - Heart of Oak // by True Edge //------------------------------// Nightmare Moon, or rather, Luna, looked down at Twilight, eyes narrow and thoughtful. "Ye thinkest we shall be talked out of our endeavor, is that it, Twilight Sparkle?" She asked, voice hard, and Twilight bit her lip. "Maybe. I might hope so. But, more than that, I geniunely want to know why. You were sisters, what could lead you to hate her so much?" Twilight asked, not lying to the alicorn, as she had a strange feeling that would not go so well. Luna scoffed. "Pah! Hast ye any siblings, Twilight Sparkle?" She asked, standing up to her full height, and Twilight tilted her head. "You read my mind. Didn't you find out, there?" She asked, curiosity burning. Luna's frown deepened. "Nay. 'Twas not the information we were after, Sparkle. We have long been most capable at our arts. If we had wanted to, ye would be a slobbering husk on the floor, bereft of all memory or sanity." She said, face cold, distant. At the Celebration in Ponyville, upon first seeing the 'Night Mare', Twilight had thought her eyes those of a monster, with no care or feeling for any creature around her. Now, though, she saw that face for what it was; a mask, meant to hide the alicorn's true thoughts and feelings from those around her. It made Twilight feel sad. "I do, then. Shining Armor, my older brother." She said, watching as the mask cracked a little, with a frown. Luna continued. "Then, surely you must understand the pains, of ever being thought less of! Of being second in everything! Of being cast aside and hidden evermore in thy sibling's shadow!" The dark alicorn pressed, turning and looking Twilight in the eyes, her sapphire orbs boring into Twilight's purple gaze. Twilight slowly shook her head. "No, Luna. No, I don't. We've had our disagreements, from time to time, but . . . Shining was my hero, growing up, before he left for the Guard Academy, and I went off to Celestia's school." Luna lifted her chin, eyes going distant as she turned away. "I see . . . Thou left thy sibling your foalhood. With thy thoughts of him pure, those of a hero . . . My sister was mine hero, as well, you know? Growing up, all I ever wanted was to be like her . . . To be worthy of her love." She said, voice soft. "But as we grew, and time took its toll, so, too, did fame, and she . . . Her and her precious sun became all they wanted! All they saw! And I . . . WE were left in the dark! And she . . . She did not . . . She wouldst ne'er listen to us!" She said, voice wavering between rage and hate, before sliding back into despair. As though coming to her senses, she straightened up, rounding on Twilight with a growl. "You shall not change our goals, Twilight Sparkle!" "Luna! You . . . You're no idiot, surely you know what will happen if the sun doesn't rise again? The world will die!" Twilight begged, and Luna ground her teeth, turning away from the mare, to stare out the window. "That . . . We will see to it that shalt not come to pass. The ponies of Equestria will bow before me, and in that display of love, they will earn their lives, and then, perhaps, we shall let them see their precious sun again." The dark Alicorn said, and Twilight shuffled her hooves. "You . . . What have you done with Princess Celestia?" She asked, and watched the Alicorn's ears flick back towards her, her head turning and one gleaming eye locking onto her for a moment. She looked . . . confused, for just a second, before she clenched her jaw and turned her head away. "She is taken care of." She said, simply, and Twilight felt her heart stumble in her chest. "Is . . . Did you . . . She's not-" Twilgiht stammered, feeling a cold spot spreading in her chest, before the alicorn shuffled her wings, not turning to look at her, though Twilight saw her duck her head slightly. "Nay. She lives." Luna said, and Twilight felt her knees go weak from relief. "Then . . . Where is she?" Twilight asked, and Luna turned to look at her shrewdly. "You thinkest ye willll free her, if you can get out of this room. Well, knowest thee, she layeth in her old room down the hall. Asleep, ne'er to wake until we allow it." She smiled cruely as she watched the young unicorn's eyes widen. "Our sister was always so lauded for her magical strength! Forsooth, she could knock a mountain down, such was her might . . . But where her power lay in raw strength, ours was always more subtle, complex, the art of toying with the mind and dreams." Her smile shifted, changing slightly, becoming almost wistful as she turned to look out the window once more. "We once used it to help . . . to heal. But that was before . . . " She said, softly, vocie turning dark at the last. "Before . . . Before what?" Twilight asked, shaking slightly. "What happened?" Luna stiffened, wings rustling along her back. "Our sister betrayed us!" She growled, low in her chest, and Twilight frowned, feeling a sudden anger and indignation of her own. "No! Princess Celestia would never do that!" She said, firmly, only to recoil in shock as the alicorn suddenly spun on her, fangs flashing in the moonlight, eyes burning like blue fire, Luna roaring in fury and, beneath that . . . confusion. "Why dost thou call her that!?" "Ow. Ow. Ow." Rainbow Dash grunted rhythmically in time with her steps, as she hurried down the hall, trying to catch up to the sounds of the chase, if you wanted to call it that. Pinkie Pie had led Flutterbat a merry chase through the dark, moonlit halls of the ancient castle, popping into one room, only to pop her head out of another door entirely a few seconds later, or even appearing once in a suit of armor, without seeming to take the time to get into it, in the first place. This strange act of teleportation, flying in the face of Pinkie being an earth pony and lacking any sort of magic, was something Dash had caught bits and pieces of, as she painfully limped along, trying to keep an eye on the pair, while also trying to find Twilight and the others. For Flutterbat's part, she seemed to be getting increasingly irritated, and less and less ponylike as time went on. At this point, her fur had faded to a dark, msutard yellow, almost grey in places, like that stupid, fancy Prench mustard Rarity liked to use that tasted like crap, and was named after it, too. Her eyes glowed a sickly, blood red in the dark, and she kept snarling and growling in anger every time she came a few inches from snagging Pinkie, only for the pink pony to suddenly disappear, only to reappear a few yards away, or in some cases right behind her. Such moments were often followed by the pink pony shouting "ARIBA!" or something of the sort, sending the batpony into a startled spasm, before Pinkie sped away. Also, a couple of times Dash thought she'd heard music, something fast paced and silly, playing in the background, but that was impossible. She must be worse off than she thought . . . Then again, everything Pinkie was doing was in direct contradiction to all known laws of physics or reality. Dash was far from any kind of egghead, but even she knew that. Still, it was keeping the vampony busy, for now. Now, if only she could find the others- She nearly jumped out of her skin as she passed by an open window, showing a view of the castle courtyard from, probably, the third floor, about forty feet up. What made her jump was her thoughts being interrupted by a decidedly unladylike scream as something whipped past outside the window, plummeting to the ground below. Dash staggered to a halt, instinctively trying to snap her wings open to go to the rescue, and promtply flinching at the pain that went through her abused body. "R-Rarity?!" She gasped, rushing to the window as fast as she could and leaning out, casting her eyes down to the courtyard below, where the sound of a meaty impact still echoed softly. . . . "That . . . That's her title." Twilight said, nervously, uncertain of what she might have done wrong. Luna's eyes narrowed and she shook her head. "Nay! My sister was . . . Her title was Queen! 'Twas always Queen!" She said, insistently. Twilight blinked, shaking her head. 'What? No! That . . . " She went silent, blinking and glancing aside in thought. "Oh." She said, softly, eyes softening as she bit her lip, ears laying back against her head. "What?" Luna questioned, tilting her black furred head to the side, moonlight glinting off the polished silver plating of her helm. "What lie wouldst ye tell me now, Twilight Sparkle?" She demanded, though her heart did not seem to be in the accusation. She said it as though she were simply playing a part, and one which bored her, as well. Twilight looked up at her, swallowing tightly. There was much more behind this frightening face before her, than it seemed. She had been painted by legend and history as a villain, a monster and a demon who ate foals and terrorized the kingdom. In appearance, she was exactly as the stories claimed, all vicious fangs and dark, foreboding presence. And yet, that was not who she was . . . the voice that spoke to Twilight wore a thin visage of evil, of superiority, while underneath was a depth of sorrow, anger and spite. Something had driven her to feeling the way she did. Something her sister, Twilight's own beloved mentor, had done. Taking a breath, Twilight spoke, softly. "Princess Celestia . . . forebade the use of the title 'Queen' in Equestria . . . over eight centuries ago. She stated that, 'never again will any leader of this nation take a title greater than Princess, nor shall any leader be considered greater in power or title than any other.'" She said, quoting directly. She watched as Luna drew back from her, face unreadable. The looming, black mare turned away, walking to the window and stopping, staring out at the moonlit forest below. Twilight took a tentative step forward. "You . . . You and Celestia once bore the Elements of Harmony, right?" She asked, and saw the lunar alicorn turn her head slightly, lip curling to show a fang at the mention of that which had banished her so long ago. " . . . Yes, we bore the foul things. Until such as our Sister took to use them against us! We are not certain what happened, then, though obviously she was unable to bear them alone." Luna said, sounding angry, sad and thoughtful, all at once. "What are they? I assumed they were just . . . a metaphor, simply a stand in for the virtues they're named after, but if they really did all those things . . . and you're speaking like they did . . . what are they?" Twilight asked, her curiosity peaking a bit, though she kept her mind firmly on her task at hoof. Luna clenched her jaw and turned back to look out the window. "Dost thou thinkest we are foolish, Twilight Sparkle?! That we wouldst tell thee of the weapon to banish us once more!?" Twilight lifted her head. "I . . . I don't want to banish you, Luna. And . . . I don't believe that Celestia meant to do so, either." Luna whirled, growling. "How wouldst thou know?! Thou?! Who were not even a glimmer of a thought in the expanse of the multivere when it befell us?!" She said, stamping her hoof to the floor, cracking the marble tiling there, and Twilight straightened her back, trying not to show the panic that spiked through her. "You're right, I wasn't there! But I know Celestia, Luna . . . I know her now. Not the mare you once knew, who . . . Who betrayed your trust, broke your heart . . . whatever she did to you, it had an effect on her, as well!" She said, clenching her jaw, before softening her tone. "You . . . You once bore Honesty, didn't you?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. Luna took a slow step back, face unreadable once more, before she swallowed and nodded. "Yes." She said, simply, turning back to the window once more, wings shuffling while her back hunched slightly. "Then . . . you know I'm telling the truth, don't you? And . . . Correct me, if I'm wrong. I'm assuming the Elements are, in fact, some sort of . . . enchanted object, as the book claimed? But which can only be used by those who possess the virtues for which they are named?" Twilight pressed, tone gentle, but insistent. She would have answers on this. Luna took a breath and let it hiss out of her nostrils, but she nodded, stiffly. "Mostly, thou art right. Though . . . They be similar most to blessings, rather than enchantments. Sometimes, in the past, objects have been used to aid in the Bearers' focus, but they are not needed. The Elements are gifted unto those which possesseth their virtues." "Gifted? By who?" Twilight asked, frowning. Taking another breath, the alicorn's horn lit, softly, the blue aura taking hold of her helm and lifting it clear of her head, with only a moment's hesitation. As it came loose, the flowing waves of her midnight blue mane fell free, billowing gently about her head as she stared out at the night time forest. She lay the helm to rest on the windowsill, and slowly turned to look at the young unicorn. "Harmony." She said, simply. The first thing Rarity was aware of was pain. A lot of pain. She wasn't certain if she'd ever hurt this badly in her entire life, not even that one time when she was a filly, and a nasty old hornet had stung her on the nose. That had been awful. This, though, was different. A bone deep ache in her back, that seemed to be washing back and forth from her right hind leg, up her spine to her neck. She groaned, shifting her weight slowly, and grimaced at how tight and hot her body felt. She felt something . . . soft and warm under her, and became dimly aware that it was rising and falling in a shallow fashion, as of something . . . breathing. Her eyes snapped open rather quickly and she forgot about her pain as she leaped to her hooves, scrabbling quickly away with a yelp of fear. This turned into a low keen of pain as her neck twinged sharply, and her right rear leg tried to give out on her. Gasping, she barely kept her balance, as she turned her eyes towards where she had been laying. The creature that lay there was as she remembered it, and yet it looked different. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, or perhaps it was the way it was twisted, awkwardly, crumpled in a heap on the stone courtyard floor, back twisted in a way that was not natural or healthy. Its dirty orange fur was matted with a lather of sweat, and its breathing was shallow, pained. As she watched, it twitched, and a low pitch whine issued from its throat. She thought she saw a flicker of glowing emerald eyes for a moment, before the creature shivered all over. "A . . . Applejack?" She hesitantly said, torn between trying to run, and an odd desire to stay and help. It was ludicrous! This creature had attacked her! Tried to kill her! It had thrown her from a window, for Celestia's sake! Of course . . . it had then gone out the window with her . . . . And . . .She recalled how the creature had grabbed at her, in the air, how they had twisted and spun, before her memory went dark but for pain. Had . . . Had this thing been trying to . . . get between her and the ground? She grimaced in pain, feeling her back leg and neck twinge again. Obviously, it hadn't worked . . . or, rather, she was still injured. But, of course, she had fallen eighty feet to a stone floor. Of course she was hurt! But . . . she wasn't dead. Another whimper pulled her eyes back up to the figure laying on the stone floor, twisted and broken, and she felt a sudden, terrifying thought rip through her mind. This was Applejack . . . And she had saved her life. By taking the force of the fall on herself! "Applejack!" She gasped, staggering over to the creature and finally letting herself drop to her haunches. This close, she saw blood on the ground, and nearly fainted when she realized it was coming from one of Applejack's forelegs, which was bent backwards on itself, bone sticking up out of the flesh. A compound fracture. Rarity might have taken first aid classes, but she'd never cared for the sight of blood, and had actually fainted during one of her lessons. She bit her lip, though, and forced her stomach to settle. She should set the bone, but . . . looking at the . . . mare? Wolf? Wolfmare? Looking at Applejack . . .she wondered if there was any point. The werewolf's back was twisted in such a way that . . . there was no way it wasn't broken. There wasn't anything Rarity knew that would help with that! Aside from . . . not moving her, but . . . As she worried and fretted, her eyes were caught by a building, emerald glow, and she looked down, gasping again and shuffling backwards, as static discharges of magic washed over the creature from head to tail. The wolf whimpered and yelped, jerking away from her as it writhed, it's body twisting with a sickening cracking sound that threatened to leave Rarity swooning. As she watched, the figure, now covered in flickering, emerald arcs of magic, was growing smaller, and the whines and growls were slowly deepening, turning into the familiar, throaty tones of her friend. As the light and magic faded, Rarity shuffled forward, wide eyed, as she looked at Applejack, apaprently healed and fine, laying on her side, barrel heaving as she breathed deeply, eyes half open and looking dazed. "Applejack?" Rarity questioned, hesitantly, limping closer slightly. Applejack lifted her head slowly, blinking tiredly and looking woozy. "Ra . . . Rarity?" She question, looking around, before suddenly jerking upright, leaping to her hooves and turning her eyes, still glowing slightly, to the ivory mare. "Rarity! Are you- Oh, sweet Celestia!" The farm pony exclaimed upon seeing the shape Rarity was in. "Oh, no! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I couldn't stop it! I just- I didn't want-" "Darling, darling!" Rarity said, shocked at the almost hyper, panicked way her friend was speaking. "Darling, stop! I'm . . . Well, I . . . I'm in a lot of pain but, I don't think it's anything permanent. Whiplash and a sprained hoof, best as I can tell . . . And it would have been a lot worse, if you hadn't broken my fall." "That wasn't me!" Applejack snapped, glaring. "And it wouldn't've happened in the first place, if I could just control it! Or . . . If I jsut wasn't there. Now look at ya!" Rarity frowned at her. "Applejack, what . . . What do you mean it wasn't you?" She asked, and APplejack frowned. "That damn . . . monster, livin' in my brain . . . Ain't nothin' but a threat to everypony around me! I thought I had it under control, well enough, but . . . tonight's shown me, ain't it?" THe farm mare snapped, eyes going wider as she went, pacing back and forth and shaking her head. "And now you're all messed up, an' we don't even know where the others are! And it's my fault!" "Applejack!" Rarity snapped, causing the farm mare to stagger to a halt, turning to look at the brusied, dirty fashionista, her tail cut short and her mane all out of sorts. she stood wit hher head tilted slightly, and one hoof up off the ground, clearly hurting. And yet, there was a hardness to her face and a fire in her eyes that made Applejack really stop and see her. "Now you listen here! None of this is your fault! If it is as you say, and you have no control over that . . . wolf, of yours, then even what's happened to me is no fault of yours!" "But-" Applejack started, only for the unicorn to light her horn, her light sapphire aura wrapping around the farm pony's muzzle, holding it shut. "No buts! You will cease this mindless blaming of yourself, this instant! It serves no purpose but to drag you down! If it had not been for you, why, poor Rainbow Dash might've died at that bridge earlier!" Rarity said, stepping forward and moving her magic to press against the other mare's chest. Applejack stared at the unicorn, wide eyed, before frowning and looking down, ears tucking against her head. "You did as much to save her, or more!" She said, trying to argue, but Rarity was having none of it. "All I did was tie a tacky old piece of cloth around her leg! ANd . . . And break some pony's wing." Rarity said, stuttering slightly at the last. "BUt, it's hard for a tourniquet to do anything if the pony is already dead, and if you hadn't jumped over and kept Twilight safe while she fixed the bridge, and kept the rest of them off of Dash, we all could have been killed!" Applejack put her hoof down, glaring at the other mare, griding her teeth. "Damnit, Rarity! I don't care what you say! Helping Dash don't make up for what I am!" SHe said. "APplejack! As far as I'm concerned . . . Well, so far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with you! I'm almost certain that . . . this 'wolf' of yours helped me, too! If it hadn't turned us so I was on top when we hit the ground, I would have died!" Applejack waved a hoof, snorting harshly. "Luck! That damn monster don't give a rat's ass about nothin' but it's own self! And killin' anything it can get its claws into." She said, voice going distant and cold, and Rarity frowned, taking a step back. However, she lifted her chin, best as she could, and looked Applejack in the eyes. "Whatever you say, I don't believe it. It did not have to move me like that, and it did do it on purpose, Applejack!" Rarity snapped, and Applejack's eyes went wide. "Goldurn, you are stubborn as a damn mule, Rarity!" She snapped, before shaking her head. "I don't care if you think-" At that moment, their argument was interrupted by a high pitched scream which came from somewhere higher up, inside the castle. The fact that they could hear it so clearly was astonishing to Rarity, who turned, wide eyed, staring up at the looming structure behind her, and she painfully stepped back, to be beside Applejack. The two turned and stared at one another. "Perhaps we should put this disagreement on hold until after we've gotten out of this castle, darling?" Rarity suggested, and the farm pony nodded, clenching her jaw. "Eeyup." She agreed, stiffly. "Harmony?" Twilight Sparkle asked, frowning. "What do you . . . Wait, you mean that hokey religion?" She watched as a frown once more marred the features of the black alicorn. When she wasn't snarling in rage, or casting possibly fatal spells at her, Twilight had to admit, Luna was actually quite beautiful, her coat like the sky on a moonless night, and her mane and tail holding all the stars of the sky. Twilight was an avid stargazer, and found it fascinating to note actual constellations within the two voluminous wells of magic. "Hokey . . . What?" Luna asked, snapping Twilight back to the present. "What is this thou speak, Twilight Sparkle?" "You . . . spoke of Harmony as an object or entity. The only way I've seen it spoken of that way before is in scriptures written between the third and fourth Centuries B.N.M, by a Religious Sect known as the Harmonists. It seems to have been quite a popular religion for osme time in Equestria, but it has since fallen away, the last few centuries-" "What?!" Luna snapped, mane flickering with small bursts of lightning while her bright, blue eyes glowed. Twilight gulped. "Um . . . " Before she could speak the other mare whirled, stamping one hoof down and sending a crack through the floor and up one wall, as lighting snapped out, striking the wall nearby, scorching the image of her, but not her, that was painted on the wall. "Hath mine sister lost what little sense she ever had!?" She whirled on Twilight, seething. "Harmony was not . . . some 'religion'! Some Mythology! 'Twas the truth! An Entity older than us! Older than Equus, even! And it seeks to maintain the balance of this world and others!" Seeing the doubt written plainly on the unicorn's face, she ground her teeth. "What did you think the Elements of Harmony were?! You said it yourself, they need not require objects, as the Bearers are enough! Chosen, not to carry some objects, but as they already possess the virtues needed!" Twilight shook her head. "That's just magic! Not some . . . ancient entity or pseudo-deity's will! Harmonic magic is a well studied school, founded by Starswirl himself, and he very firmly denounced the idea that any such entity was involved!" Luna waved her hoof. "Do not speak unto us of that windbag!" She growled, and Twilight blinked rapidly, stepping backwards in shock. "He was our tutor in magic! And all he ever seemed capable of doing was touting his own accomplishments, and spouting his own opinions!" She shook her head. "We are surprised, Twilight Sparkle . . . We thought our opinion of our sister could not get any lower! But if she has truly allowed you to so foolishly keep believing in that idiot's teaching, she has become far worse than ever we imagined!" Twilgiht stood and stared, shaking for a moment, blinking rapidly, before shaking her head. "You . . . You studied under Starswirl?!" She asked, eyes glowing, and Luna turned, spitting and walked to the window. "As though we might's well not speak at all!" She snapped, stepping up to the window, and Twilight blinked, frowning. "Starswirl . . . I'm not a fool, I'm not going to say he was perfect. I didn't know him. I . . .Well, he died a long time before I was born. I just . . . He still made a lot of progress in furthering the intellectual and scientific study of magic. You can't just ignore that!" She looked up and blinked again, seeing Luna staring off out the window, while her face was blank, eyes distant. "Disappeared." She said, softly. "What?" "There was never any sign that Starswirl died. He simply . . . Disappeared, along with . . . ." She sighed, her head dropping slightly. " . . . Though, I suppose . . . It doesn't really matter, now." She stared at the windowsill, silently, for a long moment. "One thousand years. . . . " She said, slowly turning and looking at the unicorn with one eye. "Be it as all we once knew now turned to nought but dust and ash, floating in our memory. . . . " She said, turning back to the window and looking out over the broken, ruined castle courtyard below, really seeing it for the first time, how desolate it was. "Twas a great city, once . . . Before . . . " She grit her teeth, frowning, and turned, looking at Twilight. "Dost thou still wisheth to know, Twilight Sparkle? What transpired that night, so long ago?" Twilight , who had been staring in rapt fascionation and . . . pity, at the black alicorn, now blinked, and bit her lip. Did she? Princess Celestia had been her idol and hero since she was a filly. She knew the Princess, in ways others did not, she knew that, but . . . she still didn't know her on the most personal levels. Not like a sibling might. Did she really want to know that truth? That settled it, and she looked up, glaring almost at the alicorn of the night, and nodded. "Yes. Yes, I do, Luna." The alicorn stared at her a moment, before a small smile quirked up one corner of her mouth, gone almost as quickly as it appeared, and she turned away again, looking up at the now blacked, soot covered image of herself, in younger days. Her horn lit, and her magic reached out, wiping away the scorching as though it had not been. The magic washed over the room, the alicorn's brow knitted in concentration, as she swept the room with her indigo aura and, as it passed . . . the room was left sparkling, clean and neat, everything looking as it must've a thousand years ago. Twilight stared in awe. For all that Luna said Celestia was the stronger of them, this simple performance of a mass age spell was so beyond anything Twilight had thought possible, it left her gaping, even as she looked back to the dark mare. Luna's eyes opened, those big, blue eyes, and they seemed to capture Twilight's gaze, and pull her in. "Close thy eyes, little filly, and I will take thee . . . to a dream within a dream, and beyond, to mem'ry."