//------------------------------// // 12/25/21 - Chapter 41 - Complete Rewrite // Story: The Stereotypical Drafts // by JinxTJL //------------------------------// Her head turned again, this time against Her chest: so Her gaze met his as directly as it could. Her hooded eyes over unnatural pupils seemed to dance with mirth and challenge, beckoning him to leap ahead and join in. "An interesting thought, isn't it? Guaranteed honesty at a risk? What might you choose, child?" /////////// Bridge /////////// He furrowed his brow and smacked his lips as set his face into the most thoughtful expression he could manage. If he looked like he was furiously deliberating, She'd probably give him more time. Though, in truth: he knew there was only one thing to say. While this bait was obviously a trap, he could not for the life of him figure out how. Thinking critically and making random conclusions off of little information was practically his specialty, and a 'game' based off of that seemed designed to specifically benefit him. Why would She do that, though? To play fair? She didn't seem the type... Was this a manticore's paw situation, where he'd end up regretting the promise of honest answers? Images of a brown unicorn's head expanding and exploding into viscera flashed before his eyes for a moment, before he quickly shook them away. No, that was dumb; answers were what he needed most. He didn't particularly care how traumatizing or dangerous they were, he just wanted them. So, there was really no reason to refuse. If She was being truly genuine about answering honestly, then this would be an opportunity he couldn't let pass. Having to guess the premise for each answer would leave him to do a lot of the hard parts, but- Oh. His expression soured as instantly as the connection was made, and he turned a critical eye on the once again detached stare of The Queen of Nightmares. "This.." He spoke slowly, almost accusingly. "..this is just another part of your 'test', isn't it?" It was a moment of hanged silence before Her face found a smile again, somehow both condescending and praising at the same time. "..And? Your choice?" Bingo, he was right. The next part of the test was about thinking critically, and forming conclusions based on few and inconsequential details. Ugh. Well, he was still thoroughly on Her track, but he hadn't thought he was getting off anyway. He rolled his eyes as pointedly as he could, and nodded once. "I'll play." There was nothing else to do, and nothing to say as Nightmare Moon's grin widened: showing blunt edges and sharpened points alike. "Then, play." A command, spoken so casually, but with firm authority that he probably did not want to disobey. She wanted him to play, to guess. 'Ask your first question': Her eyes seemed to shout. So he would. He lowered his head, and brought his hoof up to his chin in the most classic 'thinking' pose he could think of. There were a lot of things to consider, and a lot of memories to go through. A placebo to help him think wouldn't hurt. So... his question was why She had brought him here, why She had taken this specific time to fetch him. So, why had She done that? What possible reasons would there be? Think the facts over. She was rather vain, having crowned Herself a moniker of Queen: maybe She just wanted him? In a material way? This was the first time She had been free in a thousand years, so maybe She just wanted him as soon as possible? She had said something to that effect multiple times in Her monologue of his memory, so it wasn't far-fetched. But... no. As he flicked his eyes up to Her expectant gaze, and thought back over everything he'd gone through to get here... She had been urgent. She needed him here, not just wanted. It was an important distinction; things he should carefully distinguish between. She didn't want him; She needed him, now. Why would She need him, what for? He didn't have anything that she'd want, he was as naked and possessionless as the day he'd been born. He didn't have any special talents to do anything, not even in his actual special talent. This was going nowhere, fast. Step back, he was focusing in too much on the details. Take a breath, and reevaluate. Find the core of the question, and work from there. Why would somepony need somepony else? What is the most common cause to seek another's help? No, wait: there it was in the question. To help them with something. She needed him to help Her. What did ponies usually need help with, discounting mundanity? Oh, that was a little broad, though; now might be the time to consider the relevant factors. Okay, what was She here for? What did he know about Nightmare Moon? Over the years of Her apparently talking to his subconscious in his sleep, She had told him not-so-surprisingly little about Herself. She was Princess Celestia's long estranged sister; the Princess of the Night who had been banished to the moon exactly one thousand years ago after She had tried to orchestrate a coup. Okay, so this was pretty obvious: She was here to depose Her sister and take over Equestria. Did She need his help with that? No... She'd already done that, hadn't She? When they'd been together, up in Her room, She'd said that she'd come back victorious. Sure, She hadn't specifically said that she'd won, but she'd implied it. And that was all she'd implied. That She'd defeated Her sister. Nothing else. He narrowed his eyes up at Nightmare Moon; past Her awaiting gaze, and at Her fur. She didn't seem hurt or winded in any way, and Her coat was beautiful and blemish free as he'd described. She'd seemed that way earlier, too: when they'd been in Her room together. She had no reason to lie about defeating Her sister in that moment, but She hadn't said how. Maybe that was on purpose. If She had, say: assassinated Princess Celestia or some such thing, then it wouldn't exactly be the end of things, would it? No, The Pure Goddess was the heart and head of the country for sure, but She wasn't the entire country. If She disappeared, there'd be retaliation. The Royal Guard, at least. Nightmare Moon's conquest wasn't over, yet. There was still something standing in Her way. As soon as the thought processed, his head instantly flew into a frenzy of self-deprecating comments and refusals; but he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and did his best to sweep them aside. Whatever it was, She thought She'd need him to help Her overcome it. It didn't matter if he could; all that mattered was that She thought he could help. Think in Her horseshoes. That was it. She didn't want him here for some petty, vain reason. She needed him here; so urgently that She'd coached him through several heartfelt conversations and then forced him across a broken-down bridge over an indeterminably deep canyon. Why would She have put him in danger like that? What would She have risked him for? It was urgent; he'd had to hurry. He'd had to be here, now, for this moment. This... was good. It left a lot of holes in a lot of places, but it also made a lot of sense. She'd put in a lot of effort to have him here for this specific moment; and there was no way she'd have done all of that for anything less than something dire. It was a good guess, he was going for it. His thinking done, he let his hoof fall to the floor, and raised his head back up to Nightmare Moon's. She was still staring at him with ease and breeze clear in Her general demeanor. Her eyes were hooded and glimmering with mischief, Her muscles were loose and relaxed, and Her wings sat stilly and comfortably at Her sides. She didn't look pressured, but... maybe She was putting on airs? He quirked his eyebrow, and lifted his hoof back up to sit under his mouth. "You... need me for something." His question trailed off as a stray thought caught his momentary attention, before he was brought back around by a reproachful look from the mare in front of him. Focus in; be detailed, idiot. He pursed his lips as he gathered his thoughts. How best to articulate it..? "You need my help with something. You went through a lot of trouble to have me here tonight, specifically." He narrowed his eyes in pointed suspicion. "There's something happening soon that you need me to help with. Something that, for whatever reason, you can't handle on your own; or, at least, you need me for." Was that too broad? She'd only said that he'd need to land near the mark, not be exact. "Some kind of.. opposition?" Finishing unsteadily as he caved to a strange sense of integrity probably wasn't the best thing to do in this situation, but he did feel better for narrowing it down; even if it might hurt his chances of being correct. //let's do this nasty thing The immediate lack of a response as Nightmare Moon stared blankly with hooded eyes at him was... somewhat concerning; but, before he could even begin to spiral into regret, She began to speak. Plainly and without any sort of grand, uncomfortable mannerism. "What sort of opposition do you foresee stifling me so? Be more exact." The sheer lack of pomp in Her voice as She simply spoke threw him off for more than a moment, as his mouth hung open dumbly. It was just so odd for Her to forego any sort of tactic to make him uncomfortable; his jaw worked wordlessly and autonomously until something kicked into gear, and he stammered out a response. "Buh- uh- The.. The- uh- Royal Guard?" He instantly wanted to kick himself for being so indecisive as the end of Her mouth almost instantly rose in a mocking sneer. It was only a moment of the disparaging look, though: as Her face strangely lost its ever-present malice, and Her eyes trailed upwards to the ceiling. "The Royal Guard?" She whispered, seemingly almost asking the question of Herself. The uncharacteristic show of... indecision was almost enough to make him gape; but not before She was blinking and shaking the emotion off as quickly as it had come, and turning Her gaze back to him. Whatever mystifying thing She was mulling over had passed, as Her face regained its former air of weirdly deserved superiority. "The Royal Guard, you say?" She barked out a single syllable of a laugh as She theatrically threw Her head aside. "You believe my sister's glorified retainers may yet come to save you? That there's any such hope left from her?!" Her eyes turned back around to him as Her voice grew in volume, and he was taken suddenly aback at the wildfire burning in Her eyes. Her mouth stretched in a grin that almost seemed too wide for Her prim face, and Her rows of edged teeth seemed suddenly jagged and at odds in Her mouth. "You believe you may yet find hope?! Some recourse?! Some tunnel of rescue to a tomorrow?! Is there still light left, Light Flow?!" As escalated and dangerous as the situation seemed to be becoming, and as much as he was suddenly feeling as though he should back away: the tempest of anger on Nightmare Moon's face just sort of... drained. All at once. Her wide, undeniably frenzied grin that had grown in an instant turned down, and the mania dancing in Her eyes was snuffed out as She suddenly closed them. Her shoulders slumped down as though Her strings had been cut, and She simply... hung for a moment. It was disconcerting in nearly every way he could find a meaning. He watched with wide eyes and a hammering heart as She took a single, deep breath, exhaled in one long stream, and opened Her eyes again. Carefully controlled indifference shone from them in front of something muted, and when She spoke again: Her voice came as a monotonous, matter-of-fact, drone; as if the words had been obliquely rehearsed. "Unfortunately, the Royal Guard will not be an issue." Her shoulders drew up against an invisible backboard to a meticulously straight posture; one which seemed nearly painful in its adherence. She sat perfectly stilly, like a statue; quite the change from Her work up to raving madmare mere moments ago. If he hadn't known better: he would say it was almost as though She had been reset, in a way. But that didn't really make sense; not in any real definition. Her lip curled as Her gaze fell, showing the edge of a.. strangely pained grimace; as if the words burned on Her tongue. "You see, my sister seems to have issued a standing order to what I gather as being every branch of the government; one that renders them rather unable to stand against me, and one they seem to be obeying." He... what? No, wait, what?! He wasn't sure what his expression of dumbfounded, gaping surprise was contributing; but: in truth, with the layering shocks, his mind had almost completely shut down. There was barely enough power left in his head to light a lightbulb, let alone to form more than one or two cogent thoughts. "You- You can't be saying?!" It was all he could do to gather himself enough to ask something so short and obvious, stupefied as he was. Few things were connecting in his brain very well; as he struggled to comprehend the situation as it had apparently formed behind the scenes. If Princess Celestia had ordered a cease-fire against Nightmare Moon, and Princess Celestia had lost... Wouldn't that mean..? It was a strange thing to witness: Nightmare Moon looking almost as grim as the feeling creeping along his neck. She closed her eyes and nodded once; the action bringing an air of heavy finality to Her words as She spoke next. "It seems that, in the absence of my sister, the kingdom has laid itself prone." Her eyes narrowed, and shifted to the side slightly. "Equestria... has surrendered." Quick words, spat in an instant; like they had a sour taste. The deceptively simple sentence held weight beyond imagining, and- as his eyes froze widely- he could only blink in autonomic reflex as multiple conflicting thoughts all collided messily in his head. A massively destructive wagon pileup of emotions and thoughts and ruined plans. Nightmare Moon had won. Sense had scattered around his mind like a cake dropped into a deep, dark cavern, but the general air of present urgency allowed it to semi-quickly grossly reconstitute into a semi-solid mush. Except: that was a pretty weird metaphor that he wasn't sure he would have made if he'd been in his right mind. Oh, but hadn't he made tons of weird metaphors over the years? Was this panic par for the course? What kind of panic was normal for him when he wasn't completely insane? Was it even normal to panic? What was normal, to a new, old, him? Okay, he was badly drifting, now. Bring it together, okay? Remeber the certainty. Help wasn't coming. That was... fine. It wasn't like he was banking on a last minute rescue and a total defeat of Equestria's soon-to-be new ruler, or anything. Except he was and now he wasn't sure what to do anymore and maybe it was kind of terrifying and maybe he was beginning to freak out a bit?! He.. sure he had said stuff about being a villain and overthrowing the government and all that; but... It was just... different, to hear about it happening for somepony else. It was scarier. It was... sad. He lived in Equestria. He was apart of it. He lived there. He swallowed what little moisture there was in his mouth as his throat began to close up with a mixture of panic and something else, and flicked his blurry eyes up to the apparently completely unopposed conqueror in front of him. She must have been lost in Her own, respective thoughts of glory and conquest: as Her head and eyes were tilted thoughtfully somewhere along the ceiling. It was weird, though; even through the slowly working fear fixing to paralyze him. To his eyes: She didn't really have the look of a vengeful Goddess, finally prevailing over Her fated enemy and gaining what She had suffered for a millennia to achieve. That glorious height of spiteful victory; of satisfying accomplishment. She looked sad. Sad, wistful, and old. Wait, who cared? His legs were wobbling with the sudden weight of the world, so he allowed himself to fall back onto his behind; because the world could stand to rest for a moment. The impact bruised a bit, but the sensation was welcome; it meant he hadn't gone numb, or anything. He... he needed to calm down. He was in a life or death situation, here! But it was so hard. With his jaw set tightly, eyes staring unblinkingly forward, and hooves together in what he supposed was his lap: he felt somewhat like a child. A child that had just been told something to the effect of their favorite playground having just been closed. Trying desperately not to cry, even as civilization as they knew it crumbled to pieces around them. Despite- or perhaps in spite of- his shell of confidence having been firmly smashed and stomped into the ground, his eyes rose up again to Nightmare Moon. She was sight for pained eyes, especially in Her current state. Face sunken and worn, gaze far away, and sallow emotion unabashedly regretful: one would think it had been her kingdom that had just fallen. His throat was full of claws and rocks from keeping bitter tears down, but he let his voice rise through the discomfort to a hollow tune that barely carried into the hall. "Why so glum?" Her eyes, hooded and glassy: seemed to lighten and zero in onto focus at his interruption. If She was upset at his presumed impudence, it didn't show in Her eyes as they flicked down to him, one barely visible behind the side of Her face. Her mouth parted the slightest inch, showing a bare glimpse of sharpened fangs. "What?" Her whisper came out of a hint of a breath, though not from a usual place of scorn. It wasn't a remark in the form of a hidden rebuke, it was an actual question; She hadn't heard him. What was She so preoccupied by? Even now, with Her attention on him, She looked... lost; as if She wasn't really in the situation. It was somewhat funny- hopeless and prone even as he was- but.. Her face just didn't look right without some form or another of disgust. Actually, it... made him a little uncomfortable: seeing Her stare through him without the usual weight of insult behind it. Was it apropos to feel like that for the mare who had felled his nation? Was it disrespectful to Her and his country? The thought brought a chuckle to his chest, despite the wide, staring eyes on him. It rumbled and shook through his body, like there was a little earthquake in his lungs; before something broke down and the laugh turned into a bitter cough. Or, maybe it was on purpose; for theatrical reasons. Maybe it was all a show, as he turned a sour, broken breath into a harsh point. "That's an awfully strange expression for a victor, isn't it?" He found a sudden satisfaction in stomping his hoof, and forcefully tightening his jaw. Something approaching oddly righteous anger was building in his chest, and he let it show in the form of an angrily bent brow. "You've won. Shouldn't you be celebrating, or something? Why. so. glum?" Each spat word barely felt proper through his clenching teeth, but it was becoming harder to care about what was proper for Her. Her Highness. She had won, she had conquered. Why on Equus did She look so sad? What gave Her the right?! What right did She have to luxuriate in the silence of his words; sitting with nothing on Her tongue and suffocating emotion in Her eyes? The tyrant who had ruined his life and toppled his kingdom. Sitting and staring there: chest falling into a steadier rhythm as his beat out of control? Her face gradually finding footing in apathetic serenity while he found nothing but fury and fire? He had to find a spark in himself, for his kingdom. Not for any measure of simpering patriotism in his heart, he would never feel that way for Equestria: but because there was nopony else to. It wasn't The Pure Goddess, or any of Her celebrated generals that had found themselves in dire realization following society's new order; it was him. It wasn't any of them sitting there in front of the now apt Queen of Nightmares; it was him. Whatever happened and whoever sat on the throne, he was still here. He was a citizen of Equestria, no matter his emotional distance from it. He would metaphorically stand, and make their case. For once, and maybe the only time: for Equestria. He had cause. Whatever crazy explosion of emotion was happening on his face, it must not have been interesting enough for Her; because Her expression was rapidly shedding any and all traces of feeling. Lines drawn down from misted memories smoothed into perfectly considered turns: far more familiar in their sardonic lack of tract. Immaculate and unattainable in Her deep depths of distance. Her momentary lapse into whatever past She had been in was over, and Nightmare Moon had come back to Her own kind of reality. A reality that could never stack up to Her expectations, apparently: as She regarded him with a high-held air of frowning, leaded, disappointment. At least it was recognizable, rather than whatever had been happening to Her before. It was in Her voice, too; when was it not? She hemmed quietly, and Her brow bent inwards as Her eyes traced over his form; likely not finding whatever impossible thing She was looking for. That piercing stare roved and raved against his spirit, but for once: he stood against it. Metaphorically, because he was still sitting. He stood in the defiant, heroic sense; despite how skeevy that made him feel. Finally, Her inspection of his angry, sweaty face finished; and She looked pointedly away as She broke the silence in a quiet, dismissive tone. Her trailing, sparkling mane- which had as far stayed relatively unobtrusive- suddenly and unhelpfully chose to- as if by conscious effort- float along in front of Her face: hiding Her expression from further view."...I believe we haven't settled the matter of your first question." His mouth fell open in muted indignation as Her hidden gaze apparently picked apart the wall to the side of Her, and Her voice continued on. "If you wish to... revisit this topic after, then I don't believe I could sway you otherwise." And, for the moment: the matter was settled. Even as he sputtered furiously in an attempt to call out the undeniably bashful display in front of him, Nightmare Moon was already moving briskly on; clearing Her throat and drawing Herself up with prim poise. Her mane floated away into a return to its serene wispy trail behind Her, revealing Her unnatural eyes set onto him with a vengeance; cold and hard. They caught him there, mid-protest, like an edged trap laid in wait. A snake's eyes, with little room for consideration or contemplation. The message there was clear: he could shut his mouth and let Her speak, or She could do it for him. It wasn't fair. She had shown weakness. She had shown fallibility! Shouldn't he be allowed to prey on that, as She would? Couldn't he be allowed anything, here?! Any kind of advantage?! No, the eyes said. Not this, and not without earning it. Pick your battles. His mouth drifted closed, and he allowed the unspoken future promise of chance to simmer in his expression. Okay, they were still playing their game. Fine, that was great; he was thrilled. He had never been so happy to be subjugated in all his life! Though, he could admit: he wanted to move on too. The matter of his last question hadn't been settled, after all; and he was still itching for resolution. There had been a little hiccup on both of their ends, but things hadn't really changed in any way. He was still Light Flow: a no-name unicorn with no power but for his scrambled head; playing a deadly game of tests and trials against a Goddess. She was still Nightmare Moon, and She was still waiting to speak; which She did: with narrow eyes and a subtle promise of hurt in their furrows even as Her topic moved on. "...First, I would ask you humor me in a tidy reminder of something." His lip curled in confusion as he tilted his head forward in a questioning gesture. Where was She going with this, and why wasn't She just answering his question already? This entire spectacle was incredibly evasive for... what seemed like no reason whatsoever. How long had it even been since he'd asked his question, anyway? Why was She so dodgy? She must not have liked his movement: as She scowled in response, and Her head rose up an inch. "Stow your impatience, child." For the first time in what felt like hours, Her body moved as She rose gracefully to Her hooves, and shook Her head disapprovingly. His instinctive lean away from the possible act of aggression found itself unfounded as She simply turned and took a step to the side towards one of the nearby broken stain glass windows. Her hoof raised in a graceful arc to point to the open portal, drawing his attention to what lay beyond. "Tell me, what do you see here?" Stars, black, a stray bush; that was pretty much it. Actually, It was an odd thing to notice so late, but the room wasn't very well lit. The moonlight dappling in through the twelve or so shattered frames did well enough to light the room, but it was just well enough. He could see Nightmare Moon fairly well, and the windows and their surroundings and such; but beyond that: it was mostly all cloaked in darkness. It was actually pretty off-putting, now that he thought about it. When he looked up: all he saw was a fairly encompassing black void. The walls simply rose up into a gradually shading shadow, before completely disappearing behind the curtained veil of- "Light Flow. The window!" The authoritative shout brought him back to focus, though focus found itself in the form of an angry expression and the stoke of a hot feeling in his chest. He whipped his head down to where Nightmare Moon was staring at him... pretty scarily, but She was also still pointing insistently at the window. The unspoken words were enough. He let his face spread in a snarl, and his voice followed sarcastic suite. "Yeah yeah, I know the window, alright?!" He threw his hoof out toward the offending aperture, as Nightmare Moon let Hers drop with a suffering expression. "It's nighttime, okay?! There're the stars, the moon, the darkness: it's all there! I know it's your thing, but what is it you want so badly to-" Two very terse words halted him mid-sentence, leaving his mouth hanging open for multiple reasons. "It's dawn." His head inched forward slightly as his jaw worked bonelessly, and his blinking eyes struggled to find an answer on Nightmare Moon's stoic, frowning face. Finally, he managed to shake his head, and focus back fully onto Her face: where he found a very simple question on his tongue. "What?" Her face drew another harsh line at his question, as if it offended in some way. Her head tipped down as She forewent Her usual greater-than-him posture to stare him directly in the eyes. "Not ten minutes ago, the dawn of the Summer's great eve came and went." She spoke briskly, as She raised Her hoof to gesture to the window again. To the window shading the nighttime sky. Her words echoed tonelessly through the hollows of his head, while a chilling sense of non-feeling began to rise over his heels. "The gathering, the ceremony, the raising; their appointed times all lay in the past. We have crossed the threshold for day." "Do you see, now? Have you an inkling at what I'm attempting to convey?" Slowly, his eyes crept from the slim showing of twinkling stars behind a lonely bush, to a dark face shaded by piercing cyan eyes. Eyes so accented by violet blush and fluttering eyelashes, but more heavily by a plated helmet and an air of cool unfeeling. Nightmare Moon wanted to bring about nighttime eternal. He had almost forgotten about that. His eyes fell to his hooves, followed by his head. He grit his teeth and swallowed back a heavy lump of emotion as it threatened to crawl up his throat. Impudence, his head seemed to scream at him. It was hard to stay angry, hard to keep a rebellion; when She could so easily remind him of his place. A place in Her world. "I understand." His wide eyes caught the barest hint of a jump as he suddenly threw his head back up, setting them on Her calculating gaze. His quick tongue and a flare of desperation surprised even him as he found a hold against a tide he'd normally fall under. "But- But what does that have to do with-" His mouth fell forcibly silent again as She lowered Her hoof down, drawing an unwilling flinch from him as he expected unexpected violence. Her eyes held familiar promise of rebuke and scorn, though Her voice was surprisingly softer than he'd expected. "Child, think. You tell me." The game, right. Easy question, at least; he already knew the answer. What to say, though? He wanted to speak up, to shout and scream the answer in a righteous, unflinching fury like he'd imagined three minutes ago he would. The fire was still there, still burning and waiting for him to just draw on the strength he knew he was capable of..! But... as he looked for breath... he just couldn't. The sun had gone away, and She'd made that happen. He was intimidated. When he did eventually speak, it was quietly, and without looking up. Meek and humble, like a scholar presenting his tithe findings to royalty. "You intended me to look at the window as a show of power, as a reminder; because I was-" He bit his lip as the next, bitter words came to him. "I- I was being.. insolent." He closed his eyes, and drew a deep, struggling breath as something grew hot in his face. He was falling apart, and he wasn't sure how to stop it. Every time he tried to draw the same, wonderful inner strength he'd had before- he grasped at nothing. Everywhere he sought, all he saw were reminders of his limits. Of his mortality. His breaths were drawing deeper and coming faster with each second as the hot feeling of eyes on his pelt seared his flesh. From every direction at once and from every shadow and hidden nook; yet each still somehow just Hers. He'd- He was- Damn it was so hard to breathe- What- How should- Who even was he, really?! What in Tartarus' unholy name was he even doing here?! What could he even do, against a Goddess?! How could he think to struggle against Her, to fight against Her; when no matter how hard he tried, no matter how hard he fought for every thought; everything he did was just so invariably- "Wrong." What? His mind stuttered and scratched in a false start as a single, powerfully spoken word set his downward spiral off kilter. He swung his head to look up with slightly misted eyes at the figure standing incredibly tall where it hadn't moved from its place at the window. Nightmare Moon's expression, at first blurry glance, was a mixed bag of disgust, disappointment, and odd comfort. It would have looked out of place and chiefly insulting on anypony else's face, but it was such a close shade to scorn that it seemed more than natural on Her face. It was weirdly comforting. Or, maybe he just had Steedholm syndrome. That would explain a lot. Either way, the uncharacteristic show of support from his longtime tormentor was a cold splash of watery reality; and he was suddenly shockingly aware of his position. His very uncomfortable position. Still sitting on the floor like a foal: now about to start crying like one. What was this, the third breakdown he'd had tonight? Stars, he needed to get a grip. He sniffed back grossly creeping snot, and shook his head roughly. His head thoroughly jumbled: he let his hoof rise to wipe away at his eyes as he spoke with something thick in his throat. "O-Okay, I was wrong. So.. So what's the deal?" Her lip curled as She watched him attempt to compose himself, the first change of expression She'd made since he'd looked up. Her voice wasn't warm and comfy as She turned from the window and stepped back towards Her chosen spot, but it would probably be more distressing if Her tone hadn't been poisonous. "The deal, as you have so crudely put it: does not concern you." Her head turned as She stood in sideways place where She'd previously sat, and Her gaze hardened into a point as She continued: placing firm emphasis on a certain kind of disappointment he could hear in Her voice. "You did not guess correctly, or anywhere near it, so I won't be sharing that particular ounce of wisdom with you." He nearly managed to swallow back phlegm to protest before She beat him to the punch with a lecher's favorite word. "But, you still managed to guess the original question correctly; and, as a matter of chance, the question you failed has a certain relation to the answer." ..Huh? His nose was beginning to clear, and astonishment was beginning to creep over his nape as Nightmare Moon's cruel, callous eyes crept away from his face for a single, solitary moment. "Thus: you've not seemed to lose anything at all. A favored star shines on you, child; do not let it down." Bashful, yet somehow still droll. She was letting him pass with a loss. Was She trying to make him feel better? About- About Her winning? He... He didn't think he understood Nightmare Moon very well, anymore. Well, he was going to be puzzling over the mere sight of Her face in the back of his mind for a wide-eyed while, as various pictures in his head failed to reconcile. Certainty was a concept long since forgotten; and, very suddenly, things were much more confusing. Cold tyrant that had ruined his life... Pitiable Goddess who had lost a thousand years... His unwitting mentor who deserved his respect... Evil despot who had shaped his mind like malleable clay... Weirdly tall mare who seemed to both hate and like him in oddly equal measure... She was a fairly mixed bag of all of that, at least. His internal questioning went unnoticed even by the mare who seemed to know everything about him, as She kept the indifferent, brisk pace that She'd adopted. With Her uncharacteristic moment of kindness over: Her eyes walked themselves to his face again accompanied by their usual favored guest of disinterest and apathy. "You've asked me what it is I fear enough to require your services in protection, feeble though you are." Well, he hadn't put it in those exact words, but he wasn't going to interrupt Her. Her breath drew in with a sudden contemplative air as Her head drifted to Her unseen side, before turning back to him with a furrowed, questioning brow. "You would not know anything of the Elements of Harmony, would you?" His face fell into an uneasy slope as the words processed, and his mind carefully combed itself for the unfamiliar term. Elements of Harmony, huh? Grand title, but he couldn't say it rang any bells. Um... Was it...? No, that was... "I... don't think so?" He managed uneasily after more than a couple moments of somewhat frantic thinking. It felt like the sort of thing he should know about; like a long forgotten fact about something really obvious: like strawberries not being berries. But, there was nothing. The Elements of Harmony could be the kings of berries for all he knew about them. He settled for a confused expression as he stared to his tormentor, whose mouth had pursed in... some kind of annoyance- She had a lot of similar expressions. "No... no I suppose you wouldn't..." She muttered, seemingly almost to Herself. She quickly shook off whatever was tripping Her up, though: as She quickly drew in another, solid breath before continuing. "I'll dispense with the time-waster of a test and simply tell you, then." She shook Her head, and sighed. "I really shouldn't have expected you to somehow know of them, being your mind's shadow as I've been. I know all that you know of." Okay, ouch. That was hurtful in a special kind of way that seemed specifically said for no reason other than to burn. She did that special kind of rude so well. The kind of unattached, targeted jabs that managed to be the perfect blend of personal and matter-of-fact. It was about the casual tone, for sure. She always threw insults with the ease that a housewife might comment on the weather to a friend. It was just about facts. 'Oh, it's quite warm out today.' 'Oh, you're a disgusting failure.' Just... He just didn't know how to balance between having respect or reprehension for the way She conducted Herself. Regardless of Her mastery over the common insult, She simply continued on with Her dialogue: with no mind spent on throwaway remarks. If only he could shake them off as easily. "The Elements of Harmony are a simple concept, in truth; one that I won't bother finding lengthy definitions for. Simply know that, at their core: they are a set of powerful weapons numbered in six to be wielded against Equestria's enemies." Her words let lie in the air for a moment as She paused, and stared meaningfully at him. She probably wanted him to say something about that. Well, what was there to say? The Elements of Harmony were weapons. Equestria's weapons. Kind of a silly name, though; maybe it meant something? Harmony.. That... no, that could mean anything. Why was She bringing them up? Was that why She needed him? Was She afraid that they would be used against Her? It didn't seem like much of a threat. What kind of weapon could possibly threaten Nightmare Moon Herself? And, if they were a threat to Her: why would She need him? Seriously, he needed to know about that deal, already. Every answer he sought in his head didn't match up, and he was sure it showed on his face. Church lore would suggest that Princess Celestia- and by extension: Her sister- was nothing short of invincible. Near any method of attack would shatter like glass against their respectively holy and unholy coats. Another reason fighting Her would've been stupid. Though, when he thought about it: he didn't exactly have a high opinion of the church; especially not after he'd been laid under successful siege by a forgotten member of their limited pantheon. Pervasive through culture or not, maybe this wasn't a great time to buy into their gospel? Could there be a weapon capable of harming a Deity? Was such a thing even okay to consider in Equestria's name? It probably was in this situation. Equestria could handle a little heresy for its own sake. In the end, regardless of plans for possible deicide, he was just mostly confused. There simply wasn't enough information to go off of. He sent his best shrug in Nightmare Moon's direction; who received the gesture with an expected level of exasperated anger. Her pointed fangs cut against Her lip as She frowned widely, and Her wings rustled restlessly on Her sides. Her voice felt tired, even to his grated ears. "Your... motion is noted, child." That 'child' felt more like 'child' than usual. She pushed past his possibly 'childish' action with a deep breath, as some of the anger bled off Her face. Where Her tone had been hurtful as usual, it returned in a relative, informative drone. "Perhaps I will have to enlighten you." She scowled down at him again. "Your ignorance is far more grating than the loss of time would be." That was the second time now that she'd mentioned time, or a lack thereof. That was markedly odd. She should theoretically have an infinite amount of time to spare, given that Her conquest had already finished. Opposition... Weapons.... A limited amount of time... Maybe not so farfetched after all? Regardless, She was talking again. A tilted head, condescension in Her eyes, and obvious apathetic apprehension in Her voice: She was the perfect picture of a teacher who hated Her job. "They've a deceptively simple appearance: merely colorful gemstones the size or so of an apple each. Unassuming as any bauble you may find in the Generous gadabout's shop." "Fragile in appearance, as well. Any trained eye would label them useless trinkets with no discernable worth. They've certainly not the look of crown jewels." Oddly, some of the unfeeling drone in Her tone died away as She continued; and some of the disinterest left Her face as Her tone grew sharper. "And yet: their power yields no equal as I've ever seen. To wield them is an honor beyond any crown or rule." Her eyes hardened as Her hoof raised to cut the silence with a heavy stomp, and Her wings suddenly unfurled and slowly spread out from Her sides; posing an eventual wide and punctuating figure. "There is no recourse in their face. In this world, they are the arbitrating force." Disbelief had been working his eyebrow up his face slowly but steadily unsurely, but as Nightmare Moon made a clear spectacle of really emphasizing Her point: the incredulous arc rose in a soar. //i forgot to add these for a while This was just too good to believe. "The arbitrating force? The?" He repeated as his eyes narrowed in skeptic suspicion. He didn't know where he'd found the strength to snark all of a sudden, but the hot tone off his tongue made him curl his lip in regret. Her mighty pose wilted slightly, and Her wings ruffled back to Her sides. Her head tilted at an angle and Her face tightened in barely constrained annoyance. "Have you something to say of my descriptions, child? Some concern you wish to air?" Her gritted voice was terse with the tension of Her corded neck; and he- for a single, silly moment- swore he could see a vein pop out of the metal of Her helmet. Well, he wouldn't have said anything if he knew She'd get so huffy about it; but he supposed he was locked into the role of a neighsayer, now. If he was going to die forgotten, unburied and alone on a random hill, it might as well be this one. He didn't quite go as far as to roll his eyes, since that likely would have lead to pain, but he did introduce a disbelieving tilt to his head. A subtle turn with cautiously narrowed eyes that spoke underneath his words: even as his mouth moved. "It's not exactly that I'm concerned, it's- um, well..." His eyes turned from Nightmare Moon's increasingly impatient frown as he stumbled over his words, before he managed to spit the rest of his painful sentence out. "It's just that- I'm not really sure- The way you're describing these... jewels is.. is a little farfetched?" His gaze quickly flicked up to Her face, before tumbling away without even really seeing anything. "I mean- I've just never heard of- of gems having the kind of power you're lauding, is the- the thing. I guess there are enchantments and the- the like, but... this seems.. different..." He stammered out somewhat laboriously, as his eyes stayed firmly on the floor just in front of Her. Oh, he should've been calmer, he really should've; but he was still a little off-kilter and emotional from his 'freak out', earlier, and it was hard to keep his canter steady. His hooves were wobbling in a way that reminded him of Pinkie Pie hopped up on sugar, but without any of the sheer, building power. His heart was hammering under the weight of the possibly imagined danger in the air; and breathing was a little difficult in a way that was soberly familiar. Why was he so all over the place? It felt like he was falling from one overblown emotion to the next every time Nightmare Moon so much as looked at him. He was practically in the throes of a second panic attack already, and nothing was even happening! Was he just destined to fail? Could he just... was he just not capable of controlling himself anymore? Had the torment changed him for the worse, even with his demons banished? Well, not all of them. Maybe it was just Her after all. Regardless of his failure in the ways of composure, Nightmare Moon began to speak again. He was doing his best to burn the sight of the floor into his eyes, so he wasn't really sure what Her face looked like; but Her voice was very clearly definable as tired. "Have you finished? Do you yet have more bumbling to perform?" His mouth was doing an admirable impression of an encompassing desert, so words weren't quite the thing that came out when he first opened his mouth; but his second attempt went better after he took a moment to poke about with his tongue. "I- ah... Yes.. I'm- I'm done, yeah." //do it good, child Still not terribly eloquent, but given that his mind was still spinning uselessly around the concepts of 'eternal night' and 'comfort': he was glad he had managed to say anything at all. This had seemed such an easy concept before... All he had to do was flaunt his somewhat cowardly nature, disregard his general apathy for Equestria, and stand heroically and unflinchingly against impossible odds. What was so hard about that? Lifting his eyes up to Nightmare Moon's usual stare full of negativity must have been whatever signal She was looking for, as Her body moved to sit back into place. Her metal-clad hooves made firm echoes into the silence of the hall as She settled back into a sitting position, visage once more faced solely towards him. In retrospect, he should've taken the time to look at Her cutie mark. He had barely even considered trailing his eyes down somewhere he shouldn't've before- with as little warning as anything ever happened- the gesture was completely halted by the sight of Nightmare Moon's face contorting in a strange measure of sudden focus. Her eyes clenched close, Her head lilted to the side, and Her jaw crept back in a snarl as lines of stress drew up under Her helmet. "Uh," The half-word crept out on such a reflex that his mind immediately blanked at its exit; though, with its egress, committing to it seemed to be the only real option. "-are you okay?" Why, oh why was he showing concern for the Moon Tyrant? What inordinate defect had bloomed in his head such that his first reaction to seeing his worst enemy under duress was concern?! He had problems. He sucked in a gasp as, mere moments after he spoke, Nightmare Moon's eyes flew open: showing Her pupils completely clear. But then: all signs of tension in Her face smoothed over in an instant, and a blink left Her eyes correctly colored. The change was so quick, his immediate thought was just that he had been seeing things. But, no; he didn't hallucinate anymore, and he was completely certain that Nightmare Moon's eyes had just been a ghostly, milky white. Almost as though She was blind, or something. That was creepy. Heavens, that was so creepy in such a bad way! Well, maybe it would've been a good creepy in any other situation. It actually looked kind of cool. The reticence he felt must not have been hidden very well, though: as Her widely staring eyes flicked down and hooded into interest at his face. Like most of Her emotion, though, it only stayed for a moment before dying into careful apathy. "My apologies," She spoke in a slow waltz, silk and misdirection clearly present in Her voice. "I was momentarily... distracted." She wanted him to forget what he'd seen. Yeah, right; as fat a chance as Her massive behind. His eyes crept into a glare that felt good after his most recent simpering breakdown. "No.. No, that didn't really look like any sort of distraction. What were you doing?" He spoke with probing accusation in his voice that, extremely surprisingly, wasn't immediately rebuffed. Nightmare Moon simply scoffed, and set eyes filled with scorn and crushing weight onto him. "Multitasking." She spoke the one word simply and quickly as the edge of Her frown crept up past Her fangs into a growling scowl. He was beginning to see a pattern. With so long spent enduring Her constant, paralyzingly brutal gaze, he was starting to understand how She operated. There was no bite to Her bark that he'd seen. She had done plenty of murdering with Her eyes, for sure; but this entire time, throughout all of the uncomfortable silence: She'd barely even moved. All She did was stare at him. Reproachfully and hurtfully, but it was just staring all the same. Maybe he shouldn't be as afraid as he was? He'd been assuming that She wouldn't hesitate to hurt him just because he was important, but... with what he'd been realizing about Her... Maybe he was wrong? A different sensation of warmth began to spread across his chest as his brazen show of confidence went solely unpunished, and Nightmare Moon continued to simply stare at him with all Her usual flavors of spite. He'd been too meek. She said he'd been wrong before, remember? She wasn't faulting him for being insolent. Maybe... Maybe She wanted him to be insolent? Wasn't that what She'd told him to do, after all? To fight Her? Had he been missing the point this whole time? Well, realizations of his short memory aside: that still left the actual point of the window up in the air; as well as his original question. He didn't care about whatever they'd just been talking about, anymore; there were too many things building up. Set whatever thing about Her eyes aside, and find the point. He could do this; it was coming back to him! The wonderfully familiar fire of confidence found home within his chest again as he squared his shoulders, and set his eyes to firmly clash against Her stare. His chest up, his hooves firm, and his frown stoic: the memory of uncertainty felt faded and worn. Steely and strong. Now She had to contend with it. The moments ticked by as he held his gaze like a solid shield against Her weapon of disappointment. He could almost imagine a bead of sweat trickling dramatically down the back of his neck as his hold threatened to waver, before he found strength to keep it steady amidst recollections of purpose. Of course, that would be too dramatic for real life. It was just a staring contest; though his eyes were beginning to sting a little bit. Finally, nearly as his vision began to redden at the edges, a smile quietly rose on onto Her face. Satisfaction: Her eyes seemed to call out as She leaned Her head back slightly. She still didn't take Her eyes off his, because She just didn't need to blink, apparently; but he allowed his own head to lean back from where he hadn't realized it'd been inching. The first blink after too long without felt like victory, and he savored the moment even through the successive repeats. "So... to answer your question?" Her sly, almost celebrative tone would have ordinarily set his thoughts after mocking, but, for once: he was going to let himself think that She meant it. She was even letting him pick whether he wanted to pursue the moment, or find the original topic. Small victories. That's what this was all about. A smile of his own came to his face; almost humorous in its uncharacteristic freedom. "Yes, back to my question." He'd been missing the point. He'd been so stuck up on old habits and new rulers that he'd forgotten the point of it all. Of this entire weird spectacle. Freedom. His freedom, for the first time in so long. Freedom to think, freedom to speak, and, most importantly: freedom to snark. No more half-done insults followed by intense sulking, he was back. He was Light Flow. He had always known words had power: as the internalized, self-aggrandizing speech sent waves of energy coursing through his veins. Bubbling excitement rose his cheeks in an unabashed grin as he leaned on his front hooves, and brought his back leaping up. Two firm, clopping impacts against the ground as his posture returned to standing. A little stiff, but he wasn't a corpse yet. His mane swished against his eyes as he whipped his head up to stare embarrassingly proudly at Nightmare Moon: who was watching him with a toothy smile and glorious laughter dancing in Her own eyes. A fight to somepony's death or no: there was little reason to turn this into a funeral. Debate was fun, debate was exciting! Just because there were two pessimists in the room didn't mean they had to act like two farmers at sea! Show some pep, show some flavor! "Well, look at you." Each one of Nightmare Moon's sharpened fangs gleamed in the moonlight as Her smile refused to die, even through Her drawling words. "It seems the colt has come to sense at last." Oh, She'd been waiting for him to perk up, had She? That made a lot of sense; he wouldn't want to talk to the downer he was becoming, either. How many times had he cried, three? Eesh, what a drama-hound he was. No more, though. Denial or not: he was going to the end with an insufferable smirk on his face. He nodded in response to Her words as the silence stretched for a moment, before he broke it with his newly steady tone. "So, the Elements of Harmony? What are they?" No more stalling, it was time to cough it up. She knew, too; though, surprisingly, the emotion in Her eyes didn't quite die as She moved onto speaking. Her tone, even: kept a sliver of high feeling. "Yes, I tire of playing around the topic. You've finally earned the answer." Her eyes shimmered with mischief and mirth alike, and She spoke with a murmur of a laugh in Her chest. "It only took a mere half-hour or so. What an accomplishment, child. I'm so proud." Despite the obvious insult behind a veil the size of paper, his bubbly grin did nothing but track upwards. "So, it's been a half-hour, then?" No, he wasn't being cheeky; the very thought! When was he anything but completely sincere and up-front? The immediate death of Nightmare Moon's smile was immensely satisfying. "...The Elements of Harmony, then. " She spoke dryly, though he more than welcomed the chance of a fire. He would dance in the smoldering ashes of Her regret every time he won one of those small victories, and She would regret helping to cheer him up. If it had been a half-hour since their fight had started, and it had been a marked ten minutes or so since the six thirty dawn a while back: then he could make a fair guess at the time being around six fifty or so. Maybe even seven. Somewhere around that inaccurately sized ballpark. Knowing the time wouldn't really help him that much, but it was a comfort among other things. Showing Her that he could pick up on the smaller meanings in Her words was a big step towards... whatever he was working towards. Nightmare Moon was still staring at him as his eyes probably glazed over, but he focused in on Her unamused face, and She drew in a short breath. "You've a lesson to be learned in concentration, child." Her words were barbed, but not overly so, and the curve of Her brow was more of a bend rather than a dip. It was that which lent him the audacity to retort. "I believe you've a lesson to be learned in what multitasking means." He lowered his smile into a smirk as Nightmare Moon's frown found a trench. Parroting worked wonders for annoyance, as She'd taught him. That was probably why Her frown only kept for a moment before She was raising Her head up with prim indignance rather than stormy fury. He was doing exactly what she'd wanted. "Would you have us sit to bicker like children for the entire day's night, or would you have me continue?" Well, it'd be more fun to just sit and trade insults, but he did need to know about the Elements of Harmony. His laurels set themselves down with his smirk's suffocation, and its replacement by pure innocence. He was ready to learn, Miss Moon. Barbs were still funny, even if he didn't actually say them. "Then, onto the Element's power; or, more accurately: their source." With Her stare of pointed warning on him, he simply kept his eyes firmly on Her metaphorical chalkboard. Her face could probably work as a chalkboard, actually. At least, if not for the lack of space. Maybe Her side? Oh, perhaps if the tyrant thing didn't work out, She could rent Herself out to unfortunate schoolhouses in need of resources. It'd certainly be more beneficial to the world. He wasn't internally snickering, he was still paying attention. "While my sister and I," She still spat that word with such venom, even in the cheerier mood. She really didn't like The Princess, did She? "-performed as much research as we were able to in our happier days, the core source of the Elements' power remains a elusive question." He spoke out in the pause of Her words with sparkling enthusiasm in his eyes. "Oh, question!" He didn't quite raise his hoof, but his smile did widen a bit as Nightmare Moon quirked an eyebrow at him. "You used to be happy?" He disguised a snicker as a cough as Her mouth opened slightly and Her brow drew deeper; before the laugh-cough died in his throat as he felt a painful pinch on his cheek. His closest eye shut and his lips drew back in a seethe as he vocalized his pain in small, successive 'ow's. He leaned his head towards the source of the pain, and his one open eye identified a blue shimmer at the corner of his vision. Nearly standing on three hooves: he tracked the sight to the end of Nightmare Moon's towering horn, where the same shimmer glowed around the tip of Her horn. "Do not interrupt me for snide comments, child." Her stormy, disapproving eyes were making a return to the heights of anger and vitriol that they'd held before; and he was suddenly thinking that maybe he'd crossed a line. Too far, though at least it'd been funny. "Yeah, yeah- okay!" He managed to make out through the increasing pressure stretching his cheek. Nothing stung quite so much as that special pinching feeling that only unicorns could manage. Well, maybe being stabbed or something did, but he didn't exactly have frame of reference. He hoped he wouldn't anytime soon, either. "What should one say?" Her voice held danger, even through the indignation holding his thoughts hostage. She really wanted to do this, huh? She was really going to go this far? She wasn't his mother, no matter how annoyingly motherly She acted! Still there was only one way out: as he swore something began to tear in his cheek. "Okay, sorry!" He was a little muffled through the hampering of his face, but the sentiment was clear enough that the pinching quickly cut off. His cheek returned to his jaw, and his hoof quickly came up to rub at the sore. So much for physical danger being off the table. He cast his most petulant glare up at Nightmare Moon's own glaring face, though he was sure his beat Hers. "May I continue?" Her short, terse words were the salt in the gaping wound, though Her ever-present position above him managed to add some kind of lemon juice. He nodded, hoof still on his cheek. No more jokes for the moment, just listening. She was free to exposit all She wanted if that was Her idea of a rebuke. It would have been better if She'd just struck him, or something. Would have been less embarrassing. There was honor and flair in a good backhoof; there was nothing redeemable about a cheek pinch. Regardless of Her total theft of his dignity, Nightmare Moon returned Herself to the poise She'd held for the passing of wisdom. Her gaze calmed, and Her air became nearly as serene as it could for a crazy pony. The most lauded, labored schoolteacher in all the land, She was. "Yes, while there are likely none that truly know from where precisely the Elements actually draw their strength; it is a common fact of how the strength manifests." She blinked Her hooded eyes with grace, down at his pouting face. "'Tis there in their title, in Honest fact." Okay, the weird emphasis on the word 'honest' was highly suspect; and he was beginning to have some weird thoughts. Couldn't She just get on with it, already? He let the shuffling hoof on his face fall to the floor, where it began a righteous shuffle in the name of impatience. Why was She just staring at him silently? What was he supposed to say? Was he supposed to have enough information to guess? How?! She'd told him nothing! Fine, he'd guess; he'd throw the wildest guess he could think of! He rolled his eyes as pointedly as he could, and sighed deeply as he hung his head theatrically. He whipped his eyes back up to Nightmare Moon's waiting expression the most powerful weapons in Equestria, as said by Nightmare Moon Herself, somehow worked on the completely undefinable force of Harmony. And he was about to magically sprout wings and obliterate Nightmare Moon- yeah, fat chance!