Luna could only watch in silent horror as her world crumbled around her.
Everything had seemed so perfect only a few minutes ago, with both her and her loving sister in her grand bedroom- how wrong she was to doubt the fragility of the things she hold most dear. It had no warning, no notice. She was, at first, a wise and young alicorn with the weight of a celestial body on her shoulders, when her true self slipped into oblivion and a facsimile, albeit a little darker, took her sole place. How this came to be she did not comprehend in the slightest, only that whatever came over her at that time was strong enough to be considered a separate entity, not the Luna her sister had come to adore.
She found herself on the edge of a cliff-like pointe, her strength draining by the seconds as her hooves began to shake. The familiar aura of power that usually surrounded her horn had vanished as easily as a passing gale, and her wings felt like stones attached crudely to her sides rather than the most vital tool for a pegasus. The unforgiving underside of her hoof felt slippery on the surface of the cliff. Luna was not alone on her figmental edge, though- a shadowed alicorn, her mane the true embodiment of despair and punishment, watched her suffer from afar.
Her narrow eyes glowed eerily in the dull light that filtered through her troubled psyche. “Who are you?” she asked the tranger, a heavy feeling rising in her chest.
Suddenly, the ground far below did not seem so unwelcoming anymore...
The creature cackled, the sound similar to a thousand bats echoing their approval to a leader. She flared her wings, each like a portion of the night itself, and flapped once. A torrent of wind blasted Luna backwards, and she felt herself slipping both physically and mentally.
A rest seemed quite nice right about now...
“Who am I, little filly?” the alicorn said with a devious smile. “Why, I am you.”
Stones crumbled beneath her, pebbles disappearing down the cliffside like a dangerous rollercoaster. A sudden headache made the alicorn grimace, though she held taught to her resolve.
“ You’re lying.” she stammered. “You... You’re lying, you foolish jest.”
Her vision suddenly warped, and when it cleared the creature had her suspended over the cliff. Eyes as dark as the night stared into the deep, rotten void that was her soul. She felt the sensation of being shaken roughly, though it felt as if she felt the reverberations of it coming from another pony, not herself. The odd quivering feeling that she couldn’t control both mortified and bemused the small alicorn.
“What do you want?” she asked sternly. Though she knew this strange being was the only thing between her and the confusing depths of her inner, troubled psyche, she did not feel any reason to act polite around it. Instinct, she thought at first.
It blinked. Huge eyelids, each adorned with a minimum of a thousand plush, long eyelashes, fluttered. Once, only once. Then it stared, it’s pupils utterly blank. “Me?” it finally responded in a voice like honey. Just the sound of it made Luna relax, and she wasn’t sure she completely disliked the feeling. “Me?”
“You.” Luna grinned, watching the anatomy of this pony-like creation shift dramatically before her eyes. It came to the point where she didn’t question the unnatural, only the normal. “You.”
“What do I want most of all?” Through the pounding headache and thickening mist, Luna made the connection that this being was in fact a mare, or at least something of that variety.
Silence. Luna felt an unworldly tremor move across her spine again, but she didn’t mind the pangs of pain that accompanied it.
A single, jagged line cut through her aching headache, her confused emotions, her troubled mind and body. Pure white was the only thing she saw as another alicorn materialized- her stunning pink mane seemed like something so easy to remember, yet she found herself searching her mind for the name...
“Luna!” she screeched, the damp beginning of tears beginning to form at the crinkled edges of her eyes. Her mouth seemed suspended in a permanent, wide gasp, yet her words had the clarity of a new tile of glass.
Suddenly, the glass broke into millions of shards and Luna found herself stuck between the realm of the alicorn as white as snow and the world of the inky creature, her eyes strangely mesmerizing. She felt the bones in her body morph and crack, mended back together in a split second.
Everything was so confusing, the young princess thought, a nap sounded simply delightful...
Both creatures screamed at the same time, creating a devilish symphony that rang in Luna’s ears. She tried to yell back a complaint, but to her surprise she didn’t utter a thing- nor even opened her mouth. It was as if she was watching from inside her own body, yet powerless to do anything to stop the dreadful screeches.
“What do I want?” the dark creature asked. Her eyes seemed to grow deeper and deeper as Luna gazed into them, and she was certain they could swallow her in a single gulp if they so desired. “Oh, honey...”
“Don’t ‘honey’ me.” said the thing that was not Luna. She could only watch herself- so she thought, at least- fire responses back at the alicorn and yet do nothing. That sinking feeling returned to her spine, and a numb sensation was revived at the back of her skull. If she was able, she would have pulled her mane out, hair by hair, from the dull pain. “Tell me what you want from me, you blasted scum.”
“Such strong language from such a young foal.” she snapped, twirling her hoof. Luna felt herself drifting to sleep’s welcoming embrace. “But even so, I’ll answer your petty query.”
Perhaps it was better this way- falling slowly into an enigma, not a care in the world, than bothering to stand up against the heathen. Perhaps it was for the better.
After all, even eternal royalty needed a rest...
“What I want, my dear Luna...”
“How do you know my name” was a question that came to mind, but Luna didn’t have the ability nor want to speak. Everything had a meaning, as did this.
“...Is you.” Suddenly the alicorn was gone, and all that remained was a few stray aquamarine wisps. Luna blinked slowly, her eyes adjusting to the cruel nothingness. Her mind felt at ease, her spirit diminished to the point where it was very nearly nonexistent.
And frankly, she didn’t care.
She felt as free as a bird, yet as weighed to the surface as an Earth pony. Words failed her as she plummeted into the deep pit of insanity, her psyche a mess of emotions and cheeks a mess of tears. It felt like a feather was tickling her flank, and the feeling of something other than herself inside of her frail body made her wince. The thought of something taking control of herself was intriguing yet horrifying, but Luna didn’t care for fighting back.
Blue mist pooled around her joints as her vision blurred, massaging her tired body and soothing her muscles. “Sleep, my little filly...” a voice as sweet as honey, yet as sharp as thorns whispered in her ear. “Everything will be alright...”
Yes. Everything would be just fine, Luna thought blissfully. This creature was certainly trustworthy.
As the alicorn breathed her last breath as the divine ruler of her being,
she smiled.