Luna awoke to the feeling of a warm body holding her close. Not wanting to move away from the comfort she wiggled closer to the source of heat trying to think when the last time she had this level of comfort. To her chagrin she couldn’t recollect a single memory when she was held like this. Even Tia when she was younger was always to busy to embrace her when she needed it. Always to busy with the affairs of mortals to hold her close during the day as she slept.
She looked up to see that Rarity had fallen asleep holding her and Luna for one was sore to ruin the moment. So she didn’t. It was after a few minutes snuggling into Rarity she woke up and giving Luna a gentle hug went to get up. They both took a few moments to stretch out the kinks in their bodies.
“Are you feeling better Darling?”
“Not really, but we think we are ready to move on. It should be best to get this over with post haste.”
“Well then, let us be off.” Rarity said with a last shake of her body loosening out kinks that she she had built up laying on the cold ground.
They walked to the next room, Luna leaning into Rarity for both physical and emotional support. As they continued the room shifted and they both found themselves standing on the face of the moon looking at the pristine world beneath them. Rarity felt Luna shivering in raw, unadulterated fear, before she saw it. The look of raw terror on Luna’s face was so painful Rarity felt her heart clench from the sorrow of it.
Wrapping her in a hug Rarity talked in a calm, but authoritative tone, “Luna! Listen to me. I’m right here! Do you hear me?!”
After not responding she gave a slight smack across the face and repeated what she said earlier. It took a few repeats of this before Luna looked at and acknowledged her. Taking this as a good sign Rarity looked into her friends terror struck eyes.
“Ok repeat after me. I am not alone!”
“I am not alone!” Luna said in a whisper.
“I can’t hear you! Say it louder!” Rarity said in a loud tone.
“I am not alone!” Luna said in a tone that was almost at normal speaking voice, but louder than before.
“Louder!” Rarity said almost screaming.
“I! Am! Not! Alone!” Luna replied in the royal Canterlot voice.
“Good. Now say ‘We will get through this together!’, and I want you to mean it!”
“We will get ... We will get through this together!” Luna said with a little hesitation at the beginning of the statement.
“I don’t believe you Luna. Say it with conviction!” Rarity said. Almost feeling like Rainbow Dash giving a pep talk, but it was something that she knew that Luna needed to do.
“We! Will! Make! It! Through! This! Together!” Luna screamed punctuating each word with as much conviction she could give. The pep talk from Rarity getting her focused on her friend and her words rather than her fears. She felt for moment as if as long as her friend was with her she could do anything.
“Now I believe you. Now don’t forget those things and you’ll be ok because I am here, and we will make it through this together. Regardless of what happens, it’ll be together.” Rarity said giving her the biggest hug she could.
As Luna felt the warmth and caring radiating from Rarity she nuzzled her cheek before whispering in her ear, “ Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“Any time darling.”
It was about this time when Luna’s Dark Side, Nightmare Moon decided to make an appearance. Her form growing from the dark bowls of outer space. Like a mist formed of all the darkness the universe held and molded it into not only a Nightmare, but one who was known as such throughout all Equestria. As Nightmare Moon looked upon the two cuddled into oneanother for comfort and warmth she let loose a mirthless chuckle.
“My! My! My! Look whose finally decided to show up. It’s been a while hasn’t it Luna?”
“Rarity, do as I say. I need you to run. Now!” Luna said in a panic toned.
“No! Remember what we just said?” Rarity said in a tone that told Luna she would brook no arguement.
“But this is Nightmare Moon, you don’t know what she can do.” Luna said worrying, her fears once again wiping all the courage that she had recently built.
“No! I told you we finish this together and that’s what we’ll do! There will be no argument.” Rarity assertively stated. Giving Luna another hug she turned and moving her body close to Luna’s allowing Luna to feel her comforting warmth and a friendly shoulder to rest on.
“Oh this is rich! You actually try to be friendly to her know? After everypony ignored her for three long years. She had to make all the first moves, and even then she was barely tolerated by our subjects.” Nightmare Moon replied in a cold voice. Laughing at Rarity’s statement that she was there for Luna. “The only pony that was ever there for Luna was me. But you and your group of miscreants stole me from her. Now she is all alone again.”
“Well yes I admit that I wasn’t there for her for a long while, none of were,” Turning to Luna she whispered, “Sorry darling. I promise that after all this is over me and the girls will hang out with you later.”
“You promise.”
“Cross my heart. Hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye.” Rarity said going through the motions of the most unbreakable of oaths.
Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes at the display of sentiment. “Well let’s see how you stand with that sentiment after I tell you a little something.”
“I don’t care what you have to say. Nothing you can say will make me leave Luna.”
“We’ll see Rarity. We’ll see,” Sitting down on her haunches she had a smug grin stretched upon her face, “ Did you know that all the things that I was blamed with were actually done by Luna?”
“I don’t believe you.” Rarity said incredulously.
“When I was first birthed I was born from the isolation, loneliness, and anger of Luna. I gave her the power to act on her darkest desires, her most evilest wishes. But I was without direction like a child. It was her hate, her anger, her desires that guided my actions. That and having seen your own dark side. You know that I am her, and she is me. Well this form is special to Alicorns as Luna can tell you.”
Looking at Luna she saw her give a sad nod, looking at everything but at the mares before her. Rarity was partially shocked to hear this. She knew that Nightmare Moon had done crimes in the past, but she didn’t know that Luna guided her actions although having saw her dark side. She couldn’t fully blame her. In Rarity’s eyes Luna had done more than paid her time, and then some.
“Think about this Rarity. Think of your dear sister Sweetie Belle. Now think that it was the mare beside you who ordered the assassinations of orphanages, and orchestrated monster attacks on school houses. Think of all the sisters just like you have that were stolen from their families from her actions. That’s the pony that you say you’ll stand by? Really?”
Rarity sat down her mind reeling from the images that Luna’s Dark Side was planting in her head. As she sorted out her emotions, her coat dulling slightly. Luna wept silently as Nightmare Moon laughed at her suffering. “You forget Luna you gave me my ruthlessness and ability to know where to stab others. How can anyone other than me love you knowing the sins you’ve committed?”
Rarity looked at Nightmare Moon and walked up to her. As Nightmare Moon glazed coldly upon her Rarity smacked her with all her might in the jaw while yelling, “Don’t you dare talk that way to my friend! Yes I feel sorrow for what happened to those poor foals. But I know that Luna has carried that weight to a degree that not even I can imagine,” Pointing a hoof at Luna while still shouting at a shocked Nightmare Moon, “ That mare! That precious princess has been doing everything she can to make up for her past. Even I can see that. And I. Won’t. Leave. Her. I made a Pinkie Promise and I’m not about to break it.”
Nightmare Moon gave her an appraising look tinted with a glowering glare. Shifting her view to Luna she rolled her eyes, “ We’ll see about that. Everyone leaves us but each other eventually. Even our sister sealed us in the moon for a thousand years rather than heal us. Even know we are alone. But if what this pathetic mortal says is true. Than we shall see what we shall see.”
Luna steeled herself and lowering her head humbly started speaking, “Unlike the rest of these ponies whom until know never knew their darkside. We were the closest of ponies. At first thou were just a friend, a pony that we could talk to and rely on. It was thy fault that thou turned evil, and it was thy actions that resulted in the deaths of thousands. Not a day goes by after our cleansing where we do not suffer from what we have done. Our heart bleeds for the lives we have taken, and for the pain we have put thee through.
But we feel as if our friends are ready to take steps to truly letting us experience the magic of friendship. Yes our sister still has yet to learn to not repeat the actions that caused our dark decent into evil, but with Rarity, Twilight, and the others we feel that things will now change. And we art sorry our friend that we have placed a great pain upon thee as well.”
Luna then walked up and hugged Nightmare Moon whom broke down in tears upon her. “We forgive you.” She said before dissipating into nothingness as the room shifted back into normal.