//------------------------------// // The Tired Mind // Story: Afraid of the Light // by BiniBean //------------------------------// Chapter Seventeen: Luna found herself dragged away from the throne room, left in a void with the darkened colours of fire swirling around her. She groaned as the aftermath of the spell was starting to have a headache set in. A headache she knew she would deal with later as there were much more pressing concerns at that moment. She spun around, trying to find anything in the mindscape. Then, she came to a stop when she saw a small pony far in the distance. She broke into a gallop for the figure. "Celestia? Celestia!" The small pony became more clear as she gained faster. They were a small unicorn filly with her back turned to Luna, sitting down with a light pink mane and white fur. Luna came to a slow stop as it clicked what she was looking at. Celestia, before she became an alicorn. "Tia?" Celestia, the unicorn form perked her head up at the mention of the nickname. Her dull magenta eyes looked briefly behind her with dark circles to Luna. She scowled before looking down again. Luna moved closer, moving around the filly to face her. "Tia, look at me." The unicorn looked up, very tired and clearly not pleased to see Luna. "I don't wish to see you, Luna." Celestia mumbled. "Celestia, we both know that you are aware of what is happening outside of here. You know what Daybreaker is doing and what she plans to do. She is going to hurt the country, hurt our subjects! I know you do not want this, I realize life has not treated you well, sister. But whatever you are struggling with, we can fix this together! Please! We have-" "I do not care." Celestia barked. Interrupting Luna. There was a dead silence that fell between them, an uneasy tension as Luna took a step back. Not quite believing what just came from Celestia. "You...do not care," Luna repeated in disbelief. "My sister would not say that. She could not say that about her home being destroyed. About everything she fought for falling to ruins." "Then, you did not know me at all." Celestia replied, giving a sad smirk as she looked Luna directly in the eyes. "I became a very good liar." "How could you let this happen?" Luna retorted in disgust. The illusion of her sister being a strong pony that could overcome anything was beginning to crumble. The defeated form of Celestia's unicorn self shrugged before she slowly stood up. "Imagine this, dear sister. You were a ruler of a country, adored to the point of delusion. You tried to break it but everypony around you denied you that pleasure. You tried to fight it but the unrelenting fight became too much so you became the fake idol they wanted. Fake smile. Fake laugh. Fake personality. Fake everything. Your sister, meanwhile was dealing with her own great struggles, she turned to darkness and you were left to banish her. Having to deal with the aftermath of that and your own crumbling sense of sanity. Having to rule ALONE and hear how brilliant you are, or how pathetic you are or having to dodge manipulation attempts every day. Even having repeated the same biggest mistake of your life again on another innocent soul." Celestia took angry steps forward, causing Luna to step back in alarm at the fury on Celestia's face. "You may be an alicorn but you couldn't keep that act up every day. You begin to hate yourself. Hate the subjects. Hate everything. By the end of it all, you hate the fight. The fight wasn't worth it, it hasn't been worth it for a long time so eventually you give in because, in the end, all you wanted to do was sleep and not have to wake to the same hell that was your life since the moment you became an alicorn." "Sister..." Luna said softly. Tears formed in her eyes as she stared at the broken soul in front of her. "I am sorry, I am sorry this has happened-" "I don't want to hear it, Lulu." Celestia barked. She used the old nickname mockingly at this point as her rage grew further. "I have been on the planet far longer than you. I have heard every sorry, every excuse, every plan, every single word that could be spoken, and I am sick of the noise. I want silence. I NEED sleep." Luna didn't know what to say as tears rained down her cheeks, the reality of how far gone her sister was, was hitting very hard as she sucked in a shaky breathe. "I don't even remember what I was like as a unicorn...as a mortal pony with hopes and dreams. I don't remember what our parents even looked like. I don't remember our home..." Celestia mourned as she wiped a stray tear from her cheek before her hardened expression returned. "You don't want me back, Luna. Not the true me if it even still exists. You want the shell of a pony back that everypony believed gave stability to their lives and to the economy while she withered away until nothing was left but an angry vengeful hateful sun. You don't want to live with the guilt of banishing your sister as I had to do for one thousand years. But, all I want...is sleep. So. Leave. Me. To. Sleep." Luna gulped, trying to steady her breathing as she stepped closer to the small broken unicorn. Celestia watched her with suspicious eyes as she made her move. "Sister, please, please come home. I know how this feels. At first, you feel justified. Fueled by anger and rage at those who caused you to be in such a state but eventually the guilt sets in. You realize truly what you have done and want to fight against the pain that you are allowing to create." Luna argued with the softest tone she could muster. Celestia snarled and ignited her golden magic, quickly using a short blast to push Luna away, causing her to stumble back in surprise. "Leave me in my misery." Celestia barked in a dark tone of anger that had a hint of warning to it. "I am tired of listening to this, I do not want to return to that life. I am the shell of whoever I was as a unicorn. At least Daybreaker has joy in...anything." Luna opened her mouth to protest, but before whatever argument she knew would fall on deaf ears could be spoken, Celestia rose up. Her eyes turned golden, her magic shining bright before she slammed back on the ground, the magic slammed into Luna, shoving her out of the void, and shoving her back to the cruel reality she hated to believe.