//------------------------------// // Dreams (rewritten) // Story: Daughter of the moon // by Helia_Writes //------------------------------// Twilight smiled happily as she snuggled up against Cadance, both of them laying in bed. She enjoyed the warmth of another pony surrounding her, and she loved the feeling it gave her. This is what it's like to love, and she had to admit, it is the best feeling in the world. "Tch Tch Tch, you disappoint me daughter. You seem to have forgotten one of your major lessons. Having a connection like this is a weakness, one you must leave behind" The figure of Nightmare Moon appeared in the doorway. "Great. I'm dreaming. What do you want, mother? To take away my happiness?" "You only think this is happiness, but it is only pain. I experienced it and I shall not let you experience it either" The surroundings changed to that of where she slept when she was on the moon. Cadance started suffocating due to the lack of air, causing Twilight to panic and try to help. "You disappoint a second time. She is an alicorn, she will adapt. Yet you still panicked as if she were dying, which is concerning. You are smarter than this, so why do you act so stupid? Celestia replaced you with her, and you decide to fall in love with your replacement?!" Nightmare growled. "You are a terrible mother if you do not want me to find happiness. She makes me happy. Deal with it" Twilight defiantly retorted. Nightmare stood, eyes wide and jaw agape. "Now please leave my dream before I force you out, which would be bad for both of us. We both know what happens if somepony is forcefully removed like that" "Very well daughter, but do not think this conversation is over" Nightmare faded from existence, leaving Twilight alone with Dream Cadance. This dream was her comfort, it made her happy. She wouldn't dare question anything in it. "She is gone for now, most likely to leave you alone for the rest of the night" A voice said "I know mom, but I think right now all I want is to lay here with Cadance, in peace" Luna nodded and she too faded from existence. The warmth of Cadance by her side felt so real, so comforting. She is such a coward. She could have this outside of the dreaming world, but she could never bring herself to ask. Cadance knows Twilight is interested in her like that, but Twilight has no idea whether Cadance is interested in her. "Twily, I know you said you want to lay there in peace, but I feel like I must speak with you about your hesitance with Cadance" Luna laid down next to her daughter, resting a wing over her. "Ok. Fine" "Twilight, you need to take a chance. If you wait, something might happen to her or somepony will take her before you can, then you will live life in regret. When you wake up, get some flowers and go ask her out. You will be happy, trust me" Luna promised. Twilight was scared, but nodded. "You are right. Ok, I will do what you said when I wake up. I promise you" "Good. Now I will leave you to your dream" Twilight stared in her mirror. Sure, she was still dreaming, but it had changed. She had started thinking about her self-loathing. She stared at her own eyes, that made her so different. The pupils that should be round like any other pony, were actually slitted similar to that of a reptiles. With them, she always looked intimidating, always looked evil. Her teeth were no better, being sharp fangs that made her a predator. Cadance was the one thing right now keeping her from doing anything bad. She was the real hero, keeping the villain on a leash. Keeping the monster on a leash. That is what I am, isn't it. A monster. She growled and punched her mirror. Then again. Then again. She kept punching the shards until they were ground to dust. She let out a primal roar of rage, one that could strike fear into even the greatest dragon. Her vision blurred and turned red as she began destroying everything around her, whether it be soft or hard, sharp or blunt. After her vision cleared, she gasped. She was standing upon a pile of bodies. Directly under her lay Cadance, beaten and bloodied, barely breathing. She felt bile rise to her throat. This is Twilight Sparkle. This is her true self. This is why she hated herself. It took her a while to notice the other figure in the room, staring in shock and horror. Her mother. Her real mother, Luna. "Is this what she... I have done to you? I..." Luna vanished. Right. Of course. When a villain shows their true selves, they lose everything. "I have no good side. Just a smart side and a crazy side. What's the difference anymore" Twilight asked no one. "The difference is we are still apart" Midnight said, stepping from the shadow. "Right. What's the point of being apart now anyway, we are both as bad as each other. No. I'm worse. So much worse. I got clever with it. You just kill randomly, you don't think about it. I convince others to die. I convince them to give their lives for a meaningless cause. Why kill when I get others to kill themselves" "Things might get better if we become one. We could be good" Midnight suggested. "Oh it all makes sense now. I've never truly listened to you. I'm not Twilight, and you're not Midnight. No. I'm Midnight, and you're Twilight. I'm the bad side. The thoughts on killing were mine. You've always stopped me from acting on them. All while labelling you the bad one" The one who called herself Twilight realised. "Forget about all that. Come, if we merge we will become whole, unfractured. We can be Twilight Andromeda Sparkle once more, no longer broken" The one who was called Midnight before offered. "Yes. Whole. I accept" The two identical mares glowed, slowly beginning to fuse into one. The dreamscape around them twisted and turned until it settled, becoming her bedroom. There Twilight layed, her appearance slightly changed. Was she... Fluffier? Yes, yes she was. How odd. There was one more thing, but she couldn't put her hoof on it. Wait. Her mind was clear, no alternate selves. Luna cried. She cried more than she had ever. More than when she lost her husband, more than when she was banished. She had failed raising her daughter. Nightmare must have gotten rid of the memories or something, and now that she realises it, she doesn't remember a full thousand years, only a few. What had she made Twilight go through? What made her beautiful, amazing daughter become what she saw in that dream? Suddenly, she thought of another daughter she had failed, and the tears came back anew. "I'm a terrible mother. It's all my fault. It's the only explanation. I deserve to be stuck here on the moon. I deserve the pain" Luna sat staring up at Equus, specifically at Canterlot. Her daughter was there. Somewhere, probably in a graveyard, was Pulsar who had been dead for centuries. Maybe she had a great life before she passed? Luna could only hope. She decided to do something she hadn't done in a while, run. She used to run around the moon a few times every night. When she was old enough to face the dangers of the dark side, Twilight always joined her. At least she remembered what she did in certain years. As she ran, she decided to think about her return. Would she be welcome back? Would she be hunted and killed? Would she be given her Princess status again? Her thoughts changed. She loved the feeling of freedom when she was in control. Of course, thinking that caused Luna to wonder where exactly Nightmare Moon is. "She is probably torturing Celestia with Nightmares again" Luna sighed. She had been so used to having Twilight around that she forgot how lonely it could be on the moon. Memories of little Twilight running around, giggling and playing. Listening to the stories Luna told her of the world below, always asking questions. Now she was down there experiencing it, without being under the protection of her mother. "I regret letting her go down by herself. I will see her outside the dreaming world again, after the Nightmare is gone" Luna sighed and laid down in a small divot that fit her form perfectly. She had slept in the same spot for hundreds of years, and eventually it eroded the rock. A sampler divot was next to it, where her daughter would have slept. Luna rested her hoof on the smaller divot, smiling. Her daughter had a bed, food and friends. She didn't need her mother anymore. Her job was done. Candace was enjoying a nice cup of tea with Twilight by her side. Two foals were playing on the other side of the room, making Cadance smile more. "Mommy! Look! I'm levitating the toy!" one of the foals yelled. "That's amazing, sweetie, you will be a powerful mage one day" Twilight said, her voice softer than Cadance had ever heard it before. "Mommy, Blueblood said it's weird having two mommies, is that true?" the other foal asked "Not at all, it's perfectly normal. Remember, love is love, no matter what gender" Cadance reminded, smiling wider. "OK mommy. Can we go play with great aunt Celly and Grandma Lulu now?" "Of course you can, go ahead" "YAY" both foals shouted, running out of the room. Twilight let out a content sigh, laying on the bed. She grabbed a book from a shelf and opened it up to start reading. Cadance had other ideas. She got up on the bed and cuddled up to her wife. When Twilight didn't notice, she nuzzled her. Twilight still didn't notice. "Twiii notice meeee. I want cuddlesss" Twilight didn't move. "Twi?" Suddenly Twilight's skin started melting, then her flesh, then her bones. It all melted into goop and stained the bed. Cadance screamed. A few seconds after the scream, two foals ran in shouting. To Cadance's horror, they started melting too. "NO....NOOO" She cried She stared at the three puddles, sobbing. Her whole world gone, those she cared about dead. Her children were gone, her wife was gone. "My my, what an interesting turn of events" a cold voice muttered from the darkness. Nightmare Moon emerged from the shadows. "So you are the one my daughter loves? How pathetic. You are weak and undeserving" Cadence glanced over to Nightmare, her eyes full of tears. "You.. You would murder your own daughter to prove that I'm unworthy of her? That's... Sick" Cadance sniffed "I see you have yet to figure out this is a dream" Cadance slowly looked around at her surroundings. It was all a dream. That made sense. She took deep breaths and calmed herself. "Why do you get to decide who your daughter, who may I mention is an adult, loves? Why do you get to decide who is worthy for her?" Cadance demanded "I am her mother, It is my duty" "You have no control over her life anymore. You will always be her mother and she will always seek your approval, but she is an adult and can make her own decisions. Even if you disapprove of them" "Yes yes whatever, I don't care. This is not the reason I came here" Nightmare growled "Then why did you?" "I believe she plans on courting you tomorrow, and I must stop it" Cadance backed away, not liking where this was going. Nightmare pinned her down, her eyes changing slightly. Cadance's mind felt like it was clearing, as if someone was changing things. "When Twilight tries to court you, you will do everything you can to break her heart" Cadance felt the voice pierce her mind, slowly causing it to buzz. This was a command, and she could not disobey. "I... I will break... Her heart..." "Good. Now drift into a dreamless sleep" The world around started crumbling, and soon everything was overtaken In darkness. Cadance would not dream for the remainder of that night. "Ugh, what's your problem? I could feel all those petty emotions from the dream realm" Nightmare asked "Just thinking about my daughter" Luna replied, barely acknowledging Nightmare Moon. Nightmare hated it when Luna ignored her, because it showed that her goody two shoes side could still take control at any point. "Everything has been sorted with that pathetic excuse for an alicorn that she is interested in" "What? What did you do?! TELL ME!" Luna demanded "I simply set up another lesson for our daughter. One that I hope she learns" Nightmare adored that look on Luna's face. Fear, concern. Oh, it was lovely. Maybe she will go visit Twilight again before she wakes. Yes, that sounded like a great plan. "You will not be visiting any more dreams tonight, Luna, but I will go talk to Twilight. You will find out the lesson for her soon enough" Nightmare left Luna's little dream, and headed to Twilight's. She was very surprised to see Twilight standing and staring into a mirror, looking slightly different. "Mother. I thought you might visit me again tonight. I prepared your favorite tea, please make yourself at home" Nightmare sat down on a cushion and poured herself a cup of tea. Her daughter did the same, in a very similar manner to her, which of course made her smirk. Twilight always acted a lot like her, which made her smirk grow further. "What is making you smirk, mother?" Twilight asked "You are so much like me, in so many ways" Nightmare watched as a small crack in her daughter's mask formed, revealing a few emotions. Surprise, and a small bit of disgust. Interesting. "Anyway, I wanted to have a nice talk with you, Daughter. We barely talk anymore since you moved out. Oh how I miss your little attempts at privacy on the moon. You got pretty daring in your teen years" Nightmare continued to watch for the emotions slipping past the mask. She was intent on breaking it. She had the perfect way to do so. "It didn't help that my mother constantly spied on me" Twilight muttered. "We have so many pleasant memories, do we not? Like the time you were so confused with feelings. Having a tiny crush on your mentor, but said mentor being your mother complicated things" Regret. Fascinating how easily large emotions are slipping through her little star's mask. "It was only small, and short. Like you said, I was confused" Nightmare smirked. Emotional manipulation is the key in these situations. She needed to push her daughter into asking out Cadance, to then get her heart broken and realise the only one she can trust is her mother. She might as well go all in. She got a little closer to Twilight. "Oh and all those years of training you. What was your favorite lesson?" "The magic lessons, and the lessons on the stars too" Nightmare had gotten pretty close to Twilight now, and she could just feel how uncomfortable her daughter was. "Awww did little Twily not enjoy her seduction and intercourse lessons?" Nightmare teased. Twilight shuddered and her mask broke. Nightmare smirked even more, after all she has always been the best at seduction and flirting. Twilight had been an apt pupil like usual, but could never get flirting right. "That time is behind me now.. It was... Wrong.." "Oh come on Twilight, you loved it back then. If you are concerned about being family, don't be. The mortals were absolutely fine with it when I was younger" "There are laws now. It's not right" Nightmare frowned. She knew it wasn't exactly the best thing, she did decide to go for somepony outside of the family to breed with. She knew her mother and father would be furious. They had always taught Celestia and Luna that it was always the best option to keep pure. It is how they had kept such power that led to the sisters ascending. She had decided to raise Twilight into thinking the same thing, but she was always slightly against it. "Oh come on Twilight, you may call me your mother, but we both know you only consider Luna to be your real mother. I think we already established that" Nightmare lied, leaning into Twilight. Twilight pushed her away. "I don't care. My heart belongs to Cadance. I never want to hear about that awful time ever again. Ever" Nightmare may have been acting to try and manipulate Twilight, but that still hurt. The little foal should be grateful. Twilight had more skill in the bedroom than anypony else aside from her because of those lessons. "I see. Well fine, but don't say I didn't warn you about that pathetic little alicorn. She will break your heart" Uncertainty and doubt could be seen in Twilight's eyes. "Can we just spend this night as a normal mother and daughter would? Either that or just leave" Twilight asked. "Fine. But you have months of mother-daughter time to make up for, little star" She tapped into her dream magic and Twilight's form changed until she was a little filly staring up at Nightmare. "Oh how this old mare misses you like this. When you looked up to me, with wonder and love. No hatred, or disgust. Do you think you can let me have this?" "Fine" Little Twilight agreed, rolling her eyes "I guess we can. Can we stargaze?" "Of course, my little star, of course" Nightmares plan failed, but now she was reliving some of the best times she had in the past. Her small daughter, only a filly, cuddling up to her and staring up at the stars in wonder. This is better. This is what she wished she had again. Her mind slowly fought a battle. Would she give up nighttime eternal and her revenge just for her daughter to love her again? Or would she risk her daughter for her revenge? Maybe Twilight could really free her from the confines of revenge and hatred that Luna condemned her to. Maybe she could have a full family, with no jealousy.