//------------------------------// // Prologue: The Longest Night. // Story: A Second Chance // by Bolt Magnet //------------------------------// She knows what I've done. My pain. She knows that how ever hard I try, I won't escape... Luna loved the night. How could she not? She was The Princess of the Night, after all. Such trivial things were to be expected, for how can an artist claim as much, if they do not love their craft? She sighed, as she gazed upon her sleeping kingdom. Her attention was slowly – and surely – pulled towards the small village of Ponyville, nestled snugly within the valley that held it. A smile formed on her lips. To many, Ponyville held historic value, as one of the first settler towns. To Luna, it held a much more symbolic meaning. It was where she was set free, or more accurately, it was where Twilight and her friends saved her from herself. Since then, her reintegration back into a society that no longer needed her was… difficult, to say the least. Her first Nightmare Night was evidence enough of that. Until Twilight saved her for a second time. Luna owed her a debt that she couldn’t properly repay, freeing her mind and reuniting her with her sister. For that is where she belonged, ruling beside her sister, not in her shadow. Her gaze returned to the rest of her kingdom. Night court had been adjourned a few hours prior, and all of her other evening duties had been concluded. The only thing left for Luna now, was to kill time until Celestia raised the sun, in two hours’ time. She sighed a content, and happy sigh. As she did, something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. A whisk of a blur that only lasted for a fraction of a second, raced through the cover of night, and towards Ponyville. “Curious,” Luna muttered, before she took to the night air. The cool, crisp air of night sky ruffled her coat, and filled her ears as she sped towards Ponyville at an impressive rate. Diving towards the ground to gain momentum, she arched her body upwards, high above the sleeping town. Flaring her impressive wingspan, she came to a halt instantly, and floated over Ponyville's town hall; the very heart, and center of the town. Scanning the immediate area, she soon discovered that the shadows cast by the clouded sky were too dense for even her to see through. Firing up her magic, she cleared the over-cast sky, and brought the moon to bear directly behind her; illuminating the streets completely. With added visibility, it didn’t take long for The Princess of the Night to acquire her target. Her shadow, while more pronounced, was still difficult to make out at this altitude. She watched as it darted between the streets, hugging the ground as it searched for something. Her brow arched as she lost track of it, only for a moment. It soon reappeared, dashing out of the town, and speeding towards its outskirts. Narrowing her eyes, Luna followed suit. A few short minutes later, the dark sapphire Alicorn had found herself high above the secluded cottage of ‘The Shy One’, as Luna had dubbed her. Although, she would never call Fluttershy such a name to her face, it was simply a caricature she used for all of Twilight's friends. The Farmer, The Speedster, The Fashionista and… The Pink One… Returning to the matter at hoof, Luna scanned for a sign of her mysterious shadow, giving a frustrated little huff at the fact that she could see neither head nor hoof of her elusive friend. Convinced that there was nothing more to be done here, she turned and began making her way back to Canterlot. Or she would have, if a small ruffle of movement in a nearby tree hadn’t warranted her full attention. “Most curious,” she muttered to herself. Righting herself fully, she activated her magic once again. Morphing herself into a miss-like form, she shrank herself down to the size of a pony’s hoof, and slithered silently towards the source of her curiosity. Stealthily, she slid through the branches and leaves, and beheld something she had not been expecting. Truth be told, Luna didn’t rightfully know what to expect when she first spotted her shadow. She certainly wasn’t expecting the creature before her to have the body of a lion, and the head of an eagle. Returning to her original form, Luna conjured a small cloud beside the tree and its sleeping occupant. She then proceeded to plop herself down onto said cloud, dumbfounded. She blinked, “Old One?” She whispered, still in a state of shock. She hadn’t seen one of their kind in a millennia, Griffins tended to keep to themselves, and were generally hostile to all outside elements. Perhaps this why Luna found herself so fascinated by them. Due to their reclusive nature – and despite the fact that they had roamed this land since long before Luna and her sister arrived – next to nothing was known about them. Shaking herself back to reality, she did a double-take of the Griffin before her. Firstly, she noticed that the creature was sleeping. Second, and more importantly, she noticed the creature was mumbling and moaning quietly as it shuttered. A grin spread across the Alicons face as she clopped her hoofs together. She was The Princess of the Night, after all. And as such her duties involved ensuring that all inhabitants of her kingdom were safe in the comfort of the nights embrace. Closing her eyes, her horn flared for a third time… ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Luna’s eyes flew open, and she beheld her surroundings. She was standing in a poorly lit and cramped corridor; the steel grating beneath her hooves unsettled her almost as much as the riveted, steel plates that made up the walls. But not nearly as much as the hooks and chains that hung from the unseen ceiling. Darkness enveloped her, shrouding her vision, making it impossible to determine where the hallway ended, in either direction. Luna furrowed her brow, What manner of horrors torment this soul? She thought to herself as she slowly and cautiously began her trek into the unknown. A scream of terror from behind her, startled her into action. Wasting no time, she instinctively fired up her magic and merged her coat, mane and eyes with that of her surroundings. She pushed herself as far into the wall as she could muster, as the sound of talons and paws clattered against the grating. The Griffin – who’s mind she now resided – sprinted past her with a look of wide-eyed terror that unsettled the Princess deeply. Following closely in the Griffins wake was a monster of shapeless shadows, its blood red eyes filled with hatred, and its razor like teeth protruding from its maw. “Come back! I only wanna play with you!” The monster taunted, as it ran past. Pushing herself off the wall, the Princess cancelled her camouflage spell, and began trotting after them. A short time later, she found the Griffin cowering in corner of a dead-end, with the monster skulking towards it. “Here fishy fishy fishy,” It cooed cruelly. Luna gritted her teeth, she had quite enough of this ordeal. A blinding white light shot from her horn, colliding with the monster and disintegrating it completely. But her power did not end there, the light continued to build encompassing everything, until her vision was filled with nothing but blinding light. And as quickly as it built, it vanished. Leaving Luna alone with the still cowering Griffin in a pitch black room, the only source of light, was from that of a transparent beam shining down on them from the heavens. Sighing, Luna cautiously approached the Griffin, “Ah, c'est mieux.” The Griffin slowly removed it's claws from it's face, and stared up at the Princess with a look of awe. Luna smiled warmly down at it, “Un accueil chaleureux pour vous, Old One. Mon nom est Princesse Luna, quel est votre nom?” The Griffin wiped the tears from its face, and stared at the Princess, dumbfounded. Luna frowned as she tilted her head, “Avez-vous oublié votre propre langue? Perhaps Equestrian will suffice…” The Griffin blinked, “W-who are you?” Luna smiled, “I have many names, Nuit. Nacht. Oíche. However, you may call me Luna.” “G-gilda.” The Griffin replied. Hmm, it could be female, it does have a scratchy sort of voice; tomboyish, very similar to The Speedster... Luna giggled, “A pleasure to meet you, Gilda.” Gilda glanced around nervously, “Thanks for… you know, saving me. If you hadn’t have showed up-” “You would have awoken form your nightmare, no more worse for wear,” The Princess interjected. Gilda blinked, “Nightmare… you mean this isn’t real!?” Her head darted around frantically. Luna rolled her eyes and smirked as she mumbled to herself, “That part always gets them, but not the fact that they are conversing with a Princess…” Gilda shot a worried look towards Luna, “Uh, if this is a dream, where are we supposed to be?” Luna opened her mouth to answer, only to swiftly shut it again. She glanced around at the seemingly endless blackness that surrounded them. With a sly grin, she turned back to the Griffin, “This is all a bit bleak, isn’t it? How about a change of scenery.” A midnight aura surrounded the Alicons horn as she focused her magic, a bright flash of light filled hers and Gilda’s vision once again. When it died down, the Griffin opened her eyes, disappointed that exactly nothing had changed. She frowned, “Yeah, not to rain on your parade Princess, but that didn’t do anything.” Luna smiled as she casually walked up to the Griffin and sat on her haunches. Turning her head to the side, she held her smile as she stared wistfully at nothing. Gilda followed suit, and plopped herself onto her backside as the Princess did, still keeping her gaze fixed on the midnight blue Alicorn. Eventually, curiosity got the better of her, and she trailed Luna's gaze, “Princess, what are you…” Her beak fell open, “Whoa.” Stretched out before her, sat a small pond, surrounded on all sides by the thick trunks of trees so high, Gilda couldn’t see the top of them. She whirled on herself, eyes wide with incomprehension. “Wha… b-but, we were… h-how did-” Luna chuckled, still staring ahead, “Perception spells only work when you least expect them.” “Yeah, you don’t say…” Luna turned her head back towards Gilda, “What ails you, child?” Gilda looked defensive, “What?” "What troubles you." "What makes you think I got problems?" Luna gave her a flat look, “One does not suffer nightmares, voluntarily.” Gilda opened her beak, ready to retort. She swiftly closed it when she saw the unimpressed look the Princess held, a look that said ‘don’t kid a kidder’. Sighing tiredly, she hung her head in defeat, “I… I did some things…” Luna remained silent. “And, well… some… ponies got hurt.” Luna thought for a moment, “Someponies. Or some pony?” Gilda snapped her attention back to Luna immediately. Her eyes couldn’t quite meet the Princesses, and she lowered her head again. Luna smiled kindly, “If you do not wish to talk about it, then that is fine, I completely understand. However, I am willing to listen, if you are willing to talk.” Gilda glanced up at the princess, uncertainty present on her features. Her eyes darted back and forth as she thoroughly considered the Princesses offer. After what felt like hours of thick silence, Gild sighed again. Reluctantly, she told Luna everything. Her time at Junior Speedsters Flight Academy. Her friend, Rainbow Dash. How they drifted apart. Their reunion. Her sour departure. Her time away. The things she did, the ponies she hurt. Everything. Gilda talked. Luna listened.