//------------------------------// // Ch. 3: Twice As Bright, Half As Long // Story: The Moon Shall Rise From Hell's Ashes // by TundraStanza //------------------------------// Twice As Bright, Half As Long --- The moon arose into the sky before its appointed time. In doing so, it blocked out the sun’s light, creating a mournful orange as if the very sky was screaming in agony. Plants began to rot. The seas flooded. All the while, I heard my own laughter, the laughter of malice and megalomania. But it was quickly drowned out by a strange wind. It blew the scene before me away and replaced it with a hallway. This corridor was aligned with doorways. Along either side, every other doorway was occupied by some pony standing there. All of their eyes held disappointment and pity as I walked down the hallway. “You think you can just waltz in and make it nighttime forever?” Rainbow Dash fumed. “How can you be so selfish?” Rarity asked. “You’re a liar,” muttered Applejack. “A deceiver,” added Twilight Sparkle. “You cause innocent lives to suffer,” accused Fluttershy. “You’re a meanie-stinking-doo-doo-head!” yelled Pinkie Pie. The corridor and every pony in it were whisked away by the wind from before. Now I stood at the foot of the throne where the other princess stood. “Sister,” I addressed with sorrow. “I don’t know what you’ve done to Luna,” said Celestia, “But you’re no sister of mine.” She and her throne shattered into pieces as the whole world faded into obscurity. ---{Dilan Shier} I blinked the blurry image out. Some distant ceiling came into view. I tried to move, but a slight stinging prevented me from rising very quickly. I managed to take a look at some of myself. It looked like someone got fancy with their roll of bandages. I was covered with the white cloths all over the place. There was a soft mattress underneath me as far as I could feel. It seemed I had once again been undressed while I was sleeping. But this time, I didn’t see the blue armor pieces anywhere nearby. So instead of rolling off the bed, I lied there and shuffled through my memories. I was… overtaken by… a rainbow, I thought, There was a strong feeling of virtuous attitudes. Was that the power of… (What were they called?) the Elements of Harmony? For some reason, my left hind hoof decided to remind me that it existed with a sharp tingle of nerve pain. I turned my legs so that I wasn’t laying so much of my weight on it. Of course in doing so, my right front hoof felt the pain of colliding with the bed. Okay, I get it, body. I clenched my teeth. Those guys cut me up a lot during that battle. I took a few breaths before resuming my train of thought. If I read that legend correctly, shouldn’t the Elements of Harmony have destroyed Nightmare Moon? How am I still here? I looked around the rather bland room. The curtain that surrounded the bed seemed like something that belonged in a hospital. Where is ‘here’ anyway? The curtain suddenly slid open on its own. ---{Narrator} The dream that Luna had been observing had just ended. It was easy for her to figure out that the sleeping pony had woken up. She trotted quickly to the castle’s medical ward. Once there, she magically slid the current open to find the bandaged patient lying on the bed. “P-Princess Luna,” stammered a startled Nightmare Moon. “I need to have a word with you,” Luna stated curtly, “Can you stand?” The injured pony didn’t seem so sure. “Well, I could certainly try,” she finally answered. She winced as she rolled over and dangled her hooves to one side of the bed. As she landed standing up, she clenched her teeth. A high-pitched scream that couldn’t be heard was released from the confines of her voice box. Apparently, the pain in her legs felt worse than it looked. It almost felt like a victory in Luna’s mind. After all that time, Nightmare Moon was finally being faced with some kind of retribution after all the suffering she had caused. On the other hand, it didn’t feel like a victory at all. A pony in pain was still some pony in pain. Luna sighed as she levitated a pair of crutches over from the other side of the room. “Here,” she said, “Use these to keep the weight off of your other two legs.” ---{Dilan Shier} Round tap-dancing table! I screamed in my head, It feels like I’m standing on poison darts! Maybe I should have just given her a ‘no’ instead. But out of respect for an authority’s request, I had rolled over and stood up anyway. As I continued to stand on my hazardous stilts I called hooves, a couple of wooden objects floated out in front of me. “Here. Use these to keep the weight off of your other two legs.” I knew those were crutches that were floating there. What I didn’t understand was how I was supposed to use something that had human shape in mind for its design. But when the crutches floated themselves underneath my wings, a moment of realization hit me. It started with a little awkward wobbling. Between my left front hoof, my right back hoof, and the crutches, I was able to hobble forward at a comfortable pace. “Follow me,” said Princess Luna. It wasn’t a request. Entering the large expanse outside of the room, I decided my earlier assumption that I was in a hospital had been incorrect. The high ceilings, huge hallways, and the occasional armored pony standing at attention proved that. “Where are we?” I asked. “This is the castle in Canterlot,” answered Princess Luna, “I shouldn’t expect you to know that. You did disappear before I came here for the first time.” That particular phrasing sounded weird. I disappeared? Did she mean that this was also her first time in this location? She either didn’t notice or deliberately ignored my pause in motion because she kept walking. I knew we got off on the wrong foot when we met for the first time, but I had no idea that her hostile attitude would continue for so long afterwards. I hurriedly hobbled after her. --- She led me to a balcony that overlooked the much larger city. Based on her earlier statement, I guessed that the multitude of tall and fancy structures was the heart of Canterlot. The view made me breathless (the good kind). I wondered why it was so much bluer, when I looked to the sky and noticed the moon and the stars. “Man, did I oversleep,” I chuckled, “It’s already night.” ---{Narrator} “For ten hours and not a minute more,” Luna added firmly. She wasn’t about to let Nightmare Moon try anything funny to extend the night for a longer duration than the land could bear. So, she made a point of trying to debunk that dream before the black mare could even suggest such a thing. However, instead of an angry retort, Nightmare Moon simply looked at her with confusion. Luna was convinced that the other mare was trying to trick her again, but she no longer understood the motive for the longstanding act of ignorance. Perhaps Luna needed to ask a more direct question to end Nightmare Moon’s game. “Why have you returned?” she softly demanded. “Why indeed.” Nightmare sighed. “I was kind of hoping somebody else could answer that for me.” Still pretending not to know? thought Luna, I already told you that it won’t work. “How did you come back?” she asked. “I’m afraid the details are a bit sketchy to me,” Nightmare responded as she looked past the railing, “All I know for sure is that something gave me a shove from the depths of Hell. Next thing I know, I woke up in this body.” This body? Luna squinted, Are you saying as opposed to overshadowing my body? ---{Dilan Shier} “It’s kind of funny,” I continued, “Twenty-six years is enough time to see a lot of impossible things become reality. But this particular change still caught me off guard.” “It’s only been one and a half years since I was you,” Princess Luna said. I turned to look at her deadpan face. “Since you were Nightmare Moon,” I corrected, “I really doubt that you were ever me specifically.” Now it was her turn to be confused. I couldn’t blame her. I was still having trouble wrapping my head around this whole thing. How could I effectively explain it to someone else? “Very well then, humor me,” she said with her eyes narrowed, “Who specifically are you?” “I’m Dilan, Dilan Shier,” I said while extending my not-so-pained hoof, “Nice to meet you.” ---{Narrator} Dill Anne… Shear? Luna raised an eyebrow and tilted her head, What kind of name is that? Furthermore, what kind of nonsense is this identity? I would’ve expected this kind of headache from dealing with Discord, not some pony like Nightmare Moon. Luna blinked a couple times, unable to register this new information. I mean, she is… was me, right? Surely there must be a hint of my methods to her madness. Why can’t I understand her? She looked uncertainly at Nightmare’s extended hoof. Slowly, she moved her own and met her hoof shake. “This is the part where you tell me who you are,” Nightmare said with a small smile. “You already know who I am,” Luna pointed out. “I’ve read your name in a book, but I have yet to hear you actually use it.” Really? thought Luna with a sigh, Oh, fine. “I am Luna, Princess of the Night,” she said with more flair than she had intended. But Nightmare’s smile didn’t waver. “Charmed,” she replied. ---{Dilan Shier} The handless handshake promptly ended, but it was nice to hear her introduce herself in a civilized manner. By civilized, I meant ‘not shaking the earth, sic’ing vampire ponies on me, or shooting lightning at me’. I kind of wished I knew how to make her smile, though. Switching between seeing her serious frown and confused frown was very disheartening. “What’s on your mind, Princess Luna?” I asked. “Just stop it,” she whispered. “What?” “Just stop,” she said more firmly, “Stop this game of yours. I’m not playing.” “I’m afraid I don’t follow, Princess,” I responded. “You’re lying to me again,” she accused, “You’ve been lying to me for over a thousand years! How can you stand there and pretend that you don’t know?” Oh dear, I thought, She’s getting dangerously close to how angry she was last time. “Your Highness,” I started, “maybe you should take a moment and calm down.” “Oh, you’d like that. Wouldn’t you?” she scoffed, “Listening to you is what caused such a strain between my sister and I in the first place!” “Wait, what?” I interjected, “I thought you and your sister were cool now. Did something happen?” “Did something ha-?” She cut herself off as she echoed the question. “Where was your attention span during that time where we were a single entity?” I gave her an incredulous look. “I can’t help but think that we’re both missing some context,” I motioned. “Does the phrase ‘The night will last forever’ ring any bells?” she threw her words. “Well, the book I read about Nightmare Moon did have her say that quite a number of times,” I admitted. “Oh, yes.” Her tone fluctuated a lot more. “A book is such a more reliable source than your firsthand utterance of that phrase.” “I’d don’t think I’ve ever said that personally.” I shook my head. “I might have joked about something with similar words, but that was just the night before one of my college finals.” I couldn’t really tell through her dark blue hide, but I think I saw a blood vessel threatening to boil over and explode. “That’s it!” Princess Luna yelled, “I am through trying to understand your game!” “P-Princess,” I stammered. “Good night!” she cut me off as her horn wrapped itself in sparks. Oh, gosh! Not more lightning! I internally screamed. Her bolt collided with me, but I didn’t feel the burning of electrocution. Have you ever felt yourself blink out of existence before coming back into reality? Well, I didn’t really have any other way to explain what I went through. One second, I was in a bright, white light of nothingness. The next, I was inches above the medical bed. The second after that, my back landed on the mattress. The impact was met with a cracking noise. Please tell me that was one of the crutches, I pleaded as something on my back felt like it was being pinched really hard. I slowly moved both of my wings to a more open position. The pinching stopped and I watched four irregular-shaped pieces of wood fall to the floor on either side of the bed. Oh, thank gosh, I sighed in relief as I laid my head against the pillow. ---{Narrator} “Good night!” Luna yelled as she cast her teleportation spell on Nightmare Moon. Then, she was standing alone on the balcony. She had accomplished what she set out to do. She had asked all of the questions she felt she needed to of Nightmare. Yet, she was more frustrated and confused than before she had asked. The answers she had received weren’t satisfying in the least. Does Tartarus really have such a brain-damaging effect on the souls that wander in? Luna wondered, Her answers seemed ridiculous enough. Dill Anne Shear? Twenty-six years? A complete denial of the two of them ever being one and the same pony? None of it made any sense. She began to suspect that this was Discord’s work after all. It fit right up his alley. No, she shook her head, That’s an empty excuse. He only said a vague message when Celestia and I sealed him the first time. It was I who entertained the idea of not trusting my sister. Nightmare Moon and all of her subsequent actions were my responsibility. She looked up at her night sky. Somewhere nearby, a cricket started chirping a beautiful melody. Luna sighed. So why does she act like she doesn’t know? Her experience with Equestria was less than my own, certainly. But she still should have been able to pick up the signs. How can any pony just forget that long passage of time and everything that impacted her within it? She chuckled humorlessly. Maybe I can convince Celestia to find a way to send her back into the moon. I’ve received several ponies’ opinions that they rather liked seeing the image of the Mare in the Moon. She rested her chin on the railing. Oh, who am I kidding? Celestia no longer has enough magic to perform a spell of that magnitude and the current Element bearers can’t do anything more than calm this Nightmare Moon down. She turned around and trotted back inside. I need coffee… and a donut. ---{Dilan Shier} The rest of that night had been relatively silent. I slept some more, but I didn’t have any more weird dreams. Sunlight changed the darkness under my eyelids to red, encouraging me to open them. It was weird that in all the excitement last night, I didn’t see that window there. Additionally, the pain that hindered my limbs yesterday felt a great deal better. Was it really only a few hours ago that they hurt so much? I wondered. I heard the door creaking open and I looked over to see. A small cart was pushed in, followed by the pony pushing it. If her cap was anything to be believed, she was a nurse. I was surprised that she was able to walk on just her hind hooves while her front hooves leaned against the cart. As I shuffled into more of a sitting position, she took notice of me. “Ah, you’re awake,” she said with a small smile, “Good morning.” “Morning,” I echoed. Without warning, her horn started glowing with light, though she didn’t seem to notice. At the same time, the tray on top of the cart lifted into the air and floated over until it stood over my lap(?). It was about then that I noticed the contents on the tray: a glass of juice, a decorative daisy, and a spoon for the bowl. The bowl was full of what looked like oatmeal and it smelled like heavenly cinnamon-sugar. “That smells great,” I breathed. When I noticed that the nurse’s attention was elsewhere, I followed her gaze. Oh, right, I remembered, Those. “Did you have an argument with the crutches last night?” she asked. “Er, no…” I paused. How was I supposed to properly explain the circumstances that led up to falling from a few inches above the bed on top of the crutches? Nobody would believe something as crazy as teleporting in out of flipping nowhere. “I, uh… had a bad dream,” I said lamely. I wasn’t completely lying. I did have a relatively sad dream during the night. However, it didn’t really relate to how the crutches broke and I didn’t really answer her question. I chalked it up to a tally of more good karma I’d have to build in order to make up for concealing information. The nurse chuckled, “That’s funny, Nightmare Moon having a nightmare.” “Heh, yeah,” I returned the chuckle. “I’ll bring the doctor in once you’re finished,” she informed me as the broken crutches lifted by themselves and followed her out the door. As I returned my attention to the breakfast tray, a thought hit me. How do I go about eating this? Then, I immediately thought back to how that nurse’s horn lit up at about the same time that the tray had started floating. I remembered that Zecora had said something about unicorns and magic. Was that it? I knew I had a horn. I just didn’t know what to do with it. Maybe magic worked in this world in a ‘mind over matter’ kind of way. Going on that assumption, I focused my attention on the spoon. I closed my eyes, visualizing the utensil lifting into the air. For a while, nothing happened. Then, I started to feel some kind of arm reach out and grab hold of what felt like the spoon. I cracked an eye open. Then, both eyes snapped open. My smoke-hair was reaching around my head. A section of it was curled like two fingers and had the spoon in a firm grasp, clearly no longer on the tray. Hmm, I thought, That’s not quite what I had in mind, but I’ll take it. Aside from my hair touching the spoon instead of a hand, I went about eating my oatmeal in the same manner I had back on Earth. The cinnamon-sugar tasted as good as it smelled. The hot cereal warmed up my throat. In a matter of minutes, I had finished the entire bowl and the juice as well. I swore these ponies were psychic or something. It hadn’t even been a full two minutes after I set my empty glass down before the nurse came back. She took away the cart and tray (I assumed with her magic) as some other pony walked in. There was just something about his eyes that said “male”. “You’re in luck, Miss Nightmare Moon,” he told me, “The bandages can come off today.” As long as I look like this, I’m going to have to roll with that name, huh? I held back a grumble. ---{Narrator} Keep it together, she thought, It won’t do to break down in front of her. Just because she looks like Luna did, doesn’t mean anything. Twilight Sparkle already verified Pinkie Pie’s conclusion. Apparently, her student’s stress at being less than perfect wasn’t just a genetic trait. Perhaps Twilight had picked up some of her teacher’s habits subconsciously and assumed them to be the norm. Well, there was nothing she could feasibly change about that. Right then, her attention to this matter was crucial. The appearance of a second Nightmare Moon was out of the blue. Celestia didn’t really know what to expect when questioning her. All she could do for now was to ensure that the other mare was in top physical health. With a little luck, mental health would follow example and she could get as complete an understanding of the situation as possible. I shouldn’t worry about it, she thought, The Elements of Harmony did nothing to her. That’s proof enough that she’s not a threat to Equestria… right? She stepped as swiftly as she could while also trying to maintain her regal air. The guards standing around at various places hadn’t said anything. Though, they rarely said anything, so that wasn’t a very good indicator. Before Celestia knew it, she was standing outside of the medical ward. ---{Dilan Shier} Well, that was a weird way to send me off, I thought. As soon as the doctor could see that I was standing and walking around without trouble, he had shoved me into the hall and slammed the door behind me. I would have understood if I were coming out of an E.R. and if they were bringing in another patient immediately after me. But neither of those conditions had been met. So there I was, sitting outside the medical bedroom wondering what in the world had just happened. Was the castle on socialized healthcare or something? Next thing I knew, there was a pony slightly taller than me standing there. She had a mostly white hide. But her mane… I had no idea you could fit that many shades of blue and pink into a single hairstyle. It was almost hypnotizing to stare at it. Her attire gave away her position. In contrast to Princess Luna’s black tiara, this princess wore it in gold. There was no mistake. This was Princess Celestia. “Uh…” I uttered. Way to go, champ, I thought sarcastically, Smartest choice of spoken words ever. ---