Chapter Three: Reunited
The sun was shining brightly through the windows as she awoke. Confusion immediately began to set in. “Where am I?” The young Unicorn mentally asked herself. “What… happened to me? Why can’t I remember…?” Her thoughts trailed off as she looked out the windows at the serene landscape just outside the window. A field of flowers, blooming in the warm spring sun, stretched on and on, and in the distance she could see…
“Oh my! You… You’re up!” She turned to see a young mare standing in the doorway, a Pegasus with a soft yellow coat, and a pink mane that greatly contrasted her sparkling blue eyes. “Are you okay?” The yellow mare asked. “You look a bit pale…”
“I… I’m fine. I’ll be fine” The confused and unsteady young unicorn answered. “What’s your name? Where am I?”
“Oh… I’m… I’m Fluttershy…” The yellow Pegasus’s introduction trailed off, before she straightened up and continued. “As for where you are… Well, Twilight said you would need a place to stay, and I couldn't just say no to somepony in need…” She stopped herself. “I’m sorry; I’m just rambling now, aren't I? A good friend asked me to give you a place to stay for a while, so I brought you out here to my cottage so you could rest.”
“Oh…” Said the young Unicorn. “Well…thank you for giving me a place to stay, Fluttershy.”
“It’s no problem, really.” Said Fluttershy. She sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than anything. “If you don’t mind… What’s your name?”
“I… I don’t know.” The Unicorn said. “I can’t remember anything… Wait…” She felt a spark inside her, a half-forgotten memory that clung to the words of an old friend… “My name is Painted Melody” the mare said, as if in a daze. She shook her head a bit to clear the fog. “Painted Melody. But… If you want, you can just call me Melody.”
“Well it’s very nice to meet you Melody.” Fluttershy said. “And it’s good to see you’re starting to remember things, too. Anyways, I came in here to check on you, but since you’re awake, would you like to have some breakfast?”
The two mares went downstairs and had a small breakfast, as Fluttershy explained the events that had recently occurred; the three ponies falling from the sky, Princess Luna’s visit to Ponyville; anything that came to mind, they talked about. After a while, Fluttershy felt like she was beginning to open up to this new friend, like they both had some unseen, unspoken connection that allowed them to become fast friends. Maybe it was the fact that neither of them spoke much louder than was absolutely needed.
Before she knew it, Fluttershy began telling stories of all that her and her friends had been through together; The battle against Nightmare Moon, their disastrous trip to the Grand Galloping Gala, the grim return of Discord; Melody just sat there and listened, absorbing every piece of information that was thrown her way. She barely even said a word, until Fluttershy noticed a shiver run down her spine during the tale of the Royal Canterlot Wedding. “What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked politely.
“It’s nothing, it’s just… Devouring love? What kind of monster would do that to somepony?” Melody answered.
“Well, Changelings are strange creatures, after all.” Fluttershy said. “They eat whatever emotions they can get their hooves on, but to them, love is an invaluable delicacy. It gives them power both for themselves, and power over whoever they drain it from.” She explained, trying (and failing) to comfort Melody.
“Still… That’s just so… Despicable.” Melody said as another shudder ran down her spine.
“Maybe I should tell her a happier story…” Fluttershy thought to herself. “Did I ever tell you about the time when Princess Celestia asked my friends and me to help Discord reform his ways?” Fluttershy asked, trying to change the subject.
“Discord?” Melody asked, straightening up. “Wasn't he that villain who turned you and your friends against each other?”
“Oh, he isn't that bad, really!” Fluttershy said, full of conviction. “He was just a bit… Lonely.” Fluttershy launched into the story of how together with her friends, they released Discord from his stone prison, and how Fluttershy was the only one to give him a chance to better himself for the good of all.
“So… In the end, all he needed was a friend.” Melody said, hardly believing the tale she had just heard.
“That’s right.” Replied Fluttershy. “Sometimes, everyone needs a little push to help them find the right path."
“The right path…” Melody muttered to herself, the echoes of a memory forming in her mind… Suddenly, there was a flash of green flame, and a neatly-tied letter appeared out of nowhere, and fell to the floor.
“Oh! A letter from Twilight!” Fluttershy exclaimed. Quickly untying and reading the letter, Melody got up and walked over to read the message as well.
Dear Fluttershy,
Just a little while ago, the “guest” the Princess sent over woke up and introduced himself. To make a long story short, his name is Silver Dawn, and he was hoping that he could meet up with the others tomorrow. He says that he has amnesia, but we both agree that it would be for the best if we got everypony together and tried to piece together everything that’s happened to them. We don’t know if any of the other ponies that fell have amnesia, but if they do, then maybe by getting everypony together, they might be able to remember some of their pasts. Who knows, maybe they’re all friends? Anyways, everypony is going to try to gather at my house tomorrow, so if you and your guest will be able to make the trip, please write back ASAP.
Sincerely, your good friend, Twilight Sparkle.
“Oh my… A gathering tomorrow…?” Fluttershy said, thinking to herself. “Do you think you’re up for that, Melody?” “Definitely” Melody replied. “Maybe there we can get some answers about everything that’s going on. Besides, I want to meet these other ponies who fell. Silver Dawn… I feel like I recognize that name from somewhere…”
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He went to see her one last time. He knew that this was his last night before he would fade away, but that didn’t matter; he had already written the letter, and had made arrangements for it to arrive at her doorstep the next morning. Everything that needed to happen would happen, and that left him with one last task: To say goodbye to her while he still had the chance. He found her the same place he had found her every night, sitting in the castle gardens, by the same patch of lilies where he had first arrived. As he sat down and looked up at the stars, he barely heard her as she uttered the three words he dreaded most.
“I love you.” She said. “I've loved you since the first night you arrived. I didn't want to admit it at the time, but I knew it was true. There was something about you, an aura of calmness that made me feel at ease around you. And that night, when you sang to the Moon...”
“Luna…” He said quietly. “Please… Don’t do this. Don’t walk down this road.”
“What do you mean?” She asked. “Don’t you love me back?”
“Of course I love you back; you’re the most beautiful pony I've ever met.” He replied. Luna would have taken comfort in his words; except he wasn't finished. “Luna, I love you too, more than you could ever know, but that’s exactly why we can’t be together. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“What do you mean, ‘Hurt me’? Silver... What is it you aren't telling me...?” Luna said quietly, trying to figure out why her love was telling her their love was not meant to be.
The words he said next shook Luna to the core, and would come to make her question everything she thought she knew about him. “Luna, please… I’m not trying to hurt you… I’m trying to save you.” With that, he got up, and left the garden for the final time.
The next morning, the Pegasus known as “Seraph” was gone, leaving not a trace behind except for a single letter. He wouldn’t be seen again by anypony until a millennium later, in a field of flowers near the border of the Everfree Forest, only a few miles away from the crumbling ruins of an ancient castle…
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The morning of the gathering, I was wide awake, ready to finally meet these two ponies who had been destined to fall from the heavens alongside me. Twilight was anxious too, but for completely different reasons. She had invited not only the other two “ponies who fell”, but her five best friends as well. Now, the detail-oriented Alicorn was panicking about every detail she didn't have the time to fuss over and fix.
“They’ll be here any minute, and this place is a mess!” She yelped. Despite the actions of her, me, and her draconic assistant, Spike, the floor was still littered with books when the first visitor arrived at the door. When I answered the door however, I was surprised to see somepony I had never expected to see: The Mailmare.
“Good morning!” She said in a peppy tone as she dug through the saddlebag that held all of Ponyville’s daily mail. “I have a letter for Princess Twilight Sparkle, and-“She stopped herself as she looked up from her bag to see me, a pony who was most definitely not a Princess. “You’re not Princess Twilight!” She exclaimed. Just looking at this confused grey mare, I felt as if I should know her from somewhere. “My name is Derpy!” She said, introducing herself before I even had a chance to ask her name. “Derpy Hooves! You must be Princess Twilight’s new friend! What’s your name? I might have a letter in here for you…” She began rummaging through the saddlebag again before I even had a chance to answer.
“Uhh… My name’s Silver Dawn…” I said, feeling somewhat out-of-place around this odd young mailmare.
“Well it’s nice to meet you, Silver!” She exclaimed. “Well, I’m sorry Silver, but I don’t think I have any mail for-“She suddenly stopped with a gasp as she looked out of her saddlebag, and saw my cutie mark. “Th-that mark!” She exclaimed.
“What about my cutie mark?” I asked, interested at the sudden change in subject.
“I… Uh…” She stammered, looking somewhat flustered. “Uh… It’s… Really nice looking! Yeah, really nice looking! Anyways, here’s the letter for Princess Twilight… Uh… I need to go now…” With that, she hoofed over the letter for Twilight, and suddenly galloped off towards the bakery at Sugarcube Corner. The last thing I heard from her was a faint shouting from the distance. “Doctor! Doctor, we need to go somewhere right now!”
I almost followed her, when Twilight walked over. “Was that Derpy?” She asked. “I haven’t seen her in almost a month… It’s almost like she shows up to deliver a few letters every few weeks, then vanishes… Anyways, did she have any mail?”
“Uh… Yeah, she had a letter for you. Here.” I hoofed over the letter to Twilight, who opened it and read it faster than I had imagined possible. “Oh…” She said.
“Oh?” I repeated. “Oh what?”
“Hmm…” She said. “This is a letter from my friend Rarity. It says that she was getting ready to bring the pony she was taking care of, Tartanis, to the gathering today, when he just up and vanished. She says she’s got it under control, but… I guess they won’t be coming today.”
“That’s okay; at least one of the other ponies will be able to attend. What did Fluttershy say her name was?” I asked.
“It was Painted Melody, if I recall correctly.” Twilight answered. “Oh well, it’s a shame we couldn't get everypony together, but… There’s really not much we can do about it.”
“Painted Melody…” I repeated to myself. “I know that name from somewhere, but I can’t remember where…”
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Alexander didn't quite know what to make of the young blue Unicorn he found standing in front of him. She had claimed that she knew the Princess personally, but he still wasn't sure… He felt a feeling in his gut that this young mare wasn't telling him everything, and his instincts were never wrong. “Young mare, Princess Luna is busy right now. Please, come back some other time.” But the mare persisted regardless. “Fine,” Alexander relented. “If you truly do know the Princess personally, then tell me your name, and I will tell her that you’re here to meet her.”
The young Unicorn tensed up at this, but she finally seemed to resign herself to this decision. “Fine. Tell her that Colgate is here to see her. Tell her there are a lot of things we need to catch up on.”
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I could hardly believe my eyes as she walked through the door. She was a young Uniciorn, about the same age as me, with a tan coat, and a curly brown mane. Her cutie mark (I saw it out of the corner of my eye, I swear,) depicted a paintbrush with a musical note (“A treble clef” I somehow registered) emerging from the tip of the brush, almost as if it was being painted onto a fresh canvas. As she and her yellow Pegasus companion walked in, my heart stopped. “I know her.” I thought, but I had no idea where I knew her from. When she turned and saw me however, something happened. I saw tears in her eyes, but not tears of happiness, or joy. She was sad to see me. And deep down, it killed me to see her again. It broke my heart to see her in this paradise of a world.
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This was it. She had finally broken free. She had finally taken revenge on her sister, and had plunged the world into an eternal night. So why did Nightmare Moon feel so empty? She knew that she had to destroy the Elements of Harmony; she knew that they were the only things left that could stop her. And yet, she still found herself flying towards that same field, just outside the Everfree forest. That field where she and her sister had played as foals, that field that could always be seen from their old chambers in Everfree Castle. That same field that she had burned to the ground a millennium ago. She didn’t know why she came to this field full of memories, but she did. Nightmare Moon didn’t know it, but deep beneath the curtain of darkness that clouded her mind, Luna had guided her here, hoping for one last look at the place she once called home, before surrendering to the darkness. What neither Luna nor Nightmare Moon knew was that they were not alone.
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As he faded away, thinking that his life had finally reached its end, Fate intervened. His story was not over yet. He found himself standing in a field of flowers beneath a full moon, and in the distance, he could see a mare he knew all too well. “Luna… I’m so sorry…” Seraph thought to himself.
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She heard his voice, and she awoke. Luna pushed through the darkness in her heart, and saw him again. Her beloved Seraph, who for a thousand years, she had thought long dead. “Luna, what are you doing here?” He repeated. In a sudden rush of darkness, Nightmare Moon took over once more. “You.” She said, voice filled with malice and loathing. “You will pay!!!” She shrieked as she launched a beam of darkness at the young colt. Luna’s heart stopped as she saw the beam rush unerringly towards its target…
In a flash of bright light, the beam vanished, banished by an aura of silver light. The silver glow that banished the dark magic emanated from Seraph. “Luna, you can’t hurt me. You won’t hurt me. And I won’t hurt you.” Bolt after bolt of dark magic flew at the young Pegasus, but not a single one connected, each being defeated by the silver light that emanated like a shining star from Seraph’s heart. He walked forward, never even flinching as one shadow after another was flung at him. “Luna, this isn't you, and you know it. The Luna I know would never do this to her subjects. The Luna I know would never attack anypony, unless it was in the defense of another.”
Nightmare Moon grew more and more desperate as Seraph walked closer and closer. Finally, as he stood in front of her, Nightmare Moon knew what she had to do. Both she and Luna screamed as they felt their horn pierce Seraph’s flesh. But not a drop of blood hit the ground that night…
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As I felt her horn pierce my chest, I felt at peace. As my body began to fade away for the last time, I saw the tears in her eyes. The world began to fade around me, and I could feel my soul began to pass into the void. The final words I said to her were the ones that she needed most to hear, the words that would reassure her that her feelings had not been misplaced. “I love you Luna,” I said. “I will love you, forever and always...” Both our tears stained the ground as I faded away…