//------------------------------// // Lover's Eyes // Story: Moon Dancing on Water // by michealdark //------------------------------// Ch. 3: Lover's Eyes -------------------------- It was night, Luna having just completed her work (surprised somewhat that Celestia hadn't tried to keep daylight until her own strength gave out). She sat in the mess hall, staring at the pale candlelight. She didn't know why she had let the Doctor talk her into this, but she was already formulating what she was going to say. And it pained her a little bit. It needed to be said though. She didn't think Aligorna was fully aware of his own emotions and just how clouded they were, so as a friend, she knew she had to try to set him right. Aligorna walked in soon after, dressed in his best uniform, in his tri-corner hat as well. He could hear above deck the singing of the lanyard shanties, the Doctor's voice joining the crewmen, as they hoisted down the sails for the night. No word had come about Celestia pursuing them, but he was confident enough that they had a sizable lead on her and could afford to rest for a night. Besides, the remnants of a storm lay ahead. Clouds were tricky things. While weather was produced in Equestria, in the pegasus city of Cloudsdale, once it was made it was basically allowed to wander, and like in our world that wandering was directed largely by the wind and the natural air currents. This storm was moving out of the south, heading north ahead of them. Everyone had felt the wind change an hour earlier and it was decided to lower the sails, try not to drift in its path, and wait it out. Luna heard it too, the chorus of voices singing, "YO, HO! LAY HER ON DOWN! Down on the bed, to sleep, to dream. YO, HO! LAY HER ON DOWN!" She couldn't help by give a slight smile. One thing was for sure, these ponies were talented musicians. She'd heard the songs much of the day, and while some of the more bawdy tunes had shocked her, they had sung them all beautifully, and their accordion player was almost as good with his instrument as Octavia was on her cello. And the crew had proved themselves to be friendly to both her and the Doctor and Ditzy. In fact, the new company made them seem absolutely giddy. Aligorna noticed the smile and sat down, about to open the wine and pour some for her, when Ditzy popped her head in, looking a little lost. "Um...I'm not interrupting, am I?" Aligorna shook his mane. "Not at all. Not yet at least." Ditzy smiled, relief on her face. "Whew! Can I ask what you have to drink? I realized I forgot to get something with dinner." Aligorna smiled at her, suppressing a chuckle. "That all depends on what you want, Ms. Doo. We have distilled water..." "Why is it distilled? There's plenty of water around us. Why can't we just drink that? I mean, I know it's salt water, but salt is good, and water is good, so salt water should be great, right?" The Doctor came in behind her, clearing his throat. "Actually, it's not. You see, too much salt can actually hurt the body. For that matter, too much water can too, but let's just stick to the salt. It can make you really, really sick. Even kill you if you have too much. So salt water can actually be really bad. So they have to boil the salt out of it before they can drink it." Aligorna nodded. "He's right. That's why on ships, there's usually other things besides water to drink. We also have whiskey, blackberry brandy, ale, mead, wine, and we have cider. We can't grow much in Aquilonia, but we do have different berries and apples and the like. We also can grow grains pretty well, as they grow anywhere. Oats, barley, hops, wheat, we have all of that. Especially barley. We have a LOT of barley, so we make a LOT of beer." Ditzy slumped her shoulders. "Um...I'm...I'm a light..." "You're a light drunk, aren't you?" "...Yeah." He smiled and got up, walking into the kitchen. Some of his men had stopped at Sweet Apple Acres soon after they had first arrived (after all, Celestia told them every visit for nearly 100 years now that the Apples made the best of everything), though they hadn't made a big deal of their presence at the time, dressed not in royal duds but just and about naturally. He soon came back, a tall glass of non-alcoholic cider in his hooves. "This better? It's your friend Applejack's stuff." Ditzy brightened up instantly, taking it from him and taking a quick drink. "AH! Tastes like home!" He smiled more at her, when the Doctor put a hoof on her back. "Now come on, Ditzy. I was just asking the boys to show me how to use the capstan at some point. Besides, we need to let these two have some time." They walked away, and he turned to Luna, finally pouring her the the wine. "I've missed you, Luna. A thousand years is a long time to wait, and I'll honestly say I had given up hope." Luna gulped, taking a shaky sip. "I am surprised you would even remember me after all that time." Aligorna blushed. "How could I not? I know it was only a week we spent together, interrupted time to time by business, but that time was one of the most amazing times of my life. You were, and still are, beautiful. Your nights are beautiful, and while your sister did an admirable job trying to keep the balance herself, they were never the same under her. Nopony else would have noticed, but I did. And you were fun!" Luna blushed now herself. "Even with all of my stuffy formality? That I am still trying to smooth over?" "Yes! Because when we were together, alone, you weren't stuffy and formal. You were a young mare that loved to dance, and sing, and jump on me like you were trying to tackle me. And you laughed the most joyous laugh. What happened to that? What happened to you that you were banished before I had a chance to see that side of you again?" Luna now hung her head in shame. The memories on Nightmare Moon haunted her, and she didn't like to speak of that time. "I was thrust into power before I had the maturity to deal with jealousy. And my jealousy lead me to invite forces into myself that I couldn't control. I gave in to the darkness in my heart, and I ruined everything in the process. And I'm still awed that I can ever be forgiven for my sins. I am working hard to make myself worthy of that forgiveness, but I still have trouble forgiving myself, and that makes me skeptical of the sincerity of others when they approach me." Aligorna took a big drink, and frowned. "Luna, look at me. Everypony has had to deal with those emotions before. They're a part of life. I'm the last of my line, and I have no siblings, so I can't imagine what it's like to live in the shadow of a sibling that literally outshines me, but I used to be jealous of my father while he was alive. He was always a tougher fighter and a better sailor than I am. He could almost singlehandedly hoist a sail, while boarding another ship with his cutlass out and flashing. I always wanted to be like him, but I just couldn't be. And it used to make me so angry, because the people loved him, and held him in such high regard, and I felt that they didn't love me at all. It wasn't until I learned that I was a far better negotiator than him, and that the people respected that as much as a good fight, that I learned that they both could, and did, love me all long. So don't doubt your people. Don't be angry with yourself for your own natural emotions. And most of all, learn to love yourself again. Please." Luna nodded, her eyes softening at him. "I will try, but I need you to listen to me now." Aligorna gulped himself. "Aligorna, this can't work. Not the way it is right now. First of all...you stole me. You stole me from my home, from my family, from my people. I can forgive you for that. You were afraid, weren't you? I'm mad about it, but I'm willing to forgive you. Especially if this was Strife's idea...that he talked you into getting over your shyness by going back to what your people are good at. You put a lot of trust in him. I don't know why. I believe he has ulterior motives, but we can talk about that later. No, the reason this can't work is because you..." She was cut off by Aligorna's frown, as he pushed his chair in, the food not even out yet but this beautiful night already feeling like a failure. Luna bolted after him, trying to get him to turn back to her. "Aligorna, please hear me out. Just listen!" They emerged above deck right as she yelled that pleading yell, the whole ship stopping, everyone pretending to be finishing their work but listening to them intently. Aligorna turned back to her, but his eyes avoided her. Luna steadied herself again as she continued. "The reason this can't work between us is because of how you see me. You don't. You see the me I was during our first meeting. You see the young ruler still little more than a filly, an adolescent with the world ahead of her. And you filter that through your perceptions of what the Alicorn race is. We are not gods! I do not know what we are for sure. It is most certainly blessed, but it is not godhood. For one thing, gods do not die. If we were gods, your ancestors and your parents would be with us now. You already admitted they aren't though. We can die, we can be killed, we can get ill, and we can be injured. Those are not godly qualities, they are mortal ones. I wouldn't mind your delusions so much if they stayed solely YOUR delusions, but you are projecting them onto me. I am no goddess. I am just a pony, granted immense power but a pony nonetheless. I am not a goddess, nor am I the mare you used to know. You don't think Nightmare Moon changed me?! Thanks to her, I can never be who I once was. I have to build a new me, something I struggle with daily. I squandered away my youth, and I can never gain it back. But you don't want to believe that. You want the me that you once had. She's dead, Aligorna! The darkness in my heart killed her, and you cannot revive her. And if you are not willing to accept that, then I want nothing at all to do with you! Now if...." Aligorna looked like he was going to disappear under her withering gaze, backing away from her as to him she seemed to grow larger than life. He couldn't listen to her anymore. He couldn't face her like this, not if she was going to reject him so roundly. Eventually, overwhelmed, he ran. He ran to his cabin door, opening it in a panic. Luna was stunned, galloping after him. "Aligorna, wait! I wasn't done yet! Please, please, please don't do this to me!" She stopped when she saw the heartache in his eyes as he stopped her, screaming at her, "I GET IT! YOU HATE ME, AND I WAS A FOOL FOR EVEN TRYING! Fine, if that's the way you feel, you can go home with your sister when we get to port. And you two will never have to deal with me ever again!" Aligorna slammed the door in Luna's face. She tried desperately to open it, to explain to him, but the door was locked and she knew he wasn't going to let her in again tonight. Luna slumped to the deck, hiding her face in her hooves and weeping. "Damn it! Damn it all, you fool! I was going to tell you that if you would just get to know this new me, if we could just start again as friends, maybe there is a chance for us!" That's when she noticed Strife looking at her almost triumphantly. Damn him! He set all this up wanting her to fail, didn't he?! She didn't know what he was after, but she had to make this right somehow. If only Aligorna would give her another chance...if she deserved one after hurting him like that. The Doctor couldn't bear to see Luna like this, and he and Ditzy quickly ran to her, helping her up and taking her down to the shipmen's quarters, trying to soothe her. Ditzy didn't feel comfortable right now, her normally confused mind at even more of a loss for coherent thought, so she gave the princess a hug and returned to deck, hoping the Doctor could work his magic and sooth her. -------------- Above the entire scene, Rainbow Dash was hovering over the ship, whispering out observations for Spike to record. She was in shock herself, part of her wanting to rush in and break down Aligorna's door and give him a piece of her mind, another part in awe of the sincerity of the whole scene. She didn't envy Aligorna, having so little experience dating that he could be talked into thinking kidnapping counted as a legitimate courting tactic. Everything seemed to be going well, as she observed the rest of the crew starting to go to bed, leaving only Strife and Ditzy above deck. Then Ditzy had to go and notice her. "RAINBOW DASH! HI! HEY! DOWN HERE! YOO HOO! IT'S DITZY DOO!" Rainbow tried to ignore her, but Ditzy just wouldn't give up, repeating that sentence over and over. Finally, Rainbow couldn't contain herself, screaming as the Doctor came back above deck. "DITZY! WOULD YOU PLEASE SHUT IT!? I WANT TO CHAT, I DO, BUT I'M TAKING CARE OF SOME BUSINESS RIGHT NOW!" That attracted Strife's attention, as he disappeared through the deck. Rainbow had noticed, and that didn't make her feel comfortable at all. Ditzy was still excited and shouted out to Rainbow Dash, "ARE YOU HERE TO SAVE US?! WHERE'S THE OTHERS?!" Rainbow was about to respond, but the Doctor put his hooves over Ditzy's mouth anyways...which made the groaning sound of something heavy opening resound through the night. That's when Rainbow Dash saw the front of the ship open up just under the figurehead, and she was confronted by something that made her gasp in shock. There, aimed at her, was a cannon. Not just a cannon, but a huge one, with a 72 inch barrel and a bore bigger than her own head. And Strife was behind it, smiling at her. Right before he pulled the firing string, the 9 inch ball flying right at her! Rainbow literally dashed out of the way just before the ball smashed her out of the sky, letting out a loud pitched yelp and taking off away from the ship, trying to reach a safe distance away so Spike could finish his letter. As she ran for one of the rare times in her life she had ever done so, she could hear Ditzy's voice fading out, "WAAAAIIIITTTTTTT! BRING ME BACK A MUFFIN! ALL THEY HAVE IS HARD TACK AND IT SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKS!" ------------------------------- In the shores of the Equestrian city of Baltimare, Celestia and the others had gathered, waiting on Rainbow Dash's report. And it arrived soon enough, her jaw dropping as she shared it with the other Princesses and Shining Armor. Then they all turned to Discord. Twilight was the one to speak, trying to calm herself and saying as smoothly as she could, "Discord, do you have a brother?" Discord tried to look innocent, but he knew he couldn't hide it. "Damn it, Strife, what the heck did you get yourself into now?" Everyone stared at him as she shook his head and said, "Yes, I do have a brother. An older brother named Strife. He's got power over conflict. He's really good at getting into people's heads, finding those things that are bothering them no matter how small, and turning them into a full blown fight. If you think I'm pompous, arrogant, and a bit of a butt, then you have no idea what we're getting into. IF Strife is involved in some way with what's going on..." Everyone was surprised to see him shudder, and a sense of dread fell over them. "All my life, he's been nothing but a bully. Said he loved me, called it tough love, but all I got in my childhood from him were black eyes, soliloquies about how I derive my power from him, that there has to be conflict before there can be chaos instead of the other way around, and a sense of complete contempt. He's always said that he's stronger because he was the first born, and I can honestly say that growing up he was...." Celestia let out a ragged sigh, this development being one she would have to carefully figure out how to navigate. "That's enough. Take your time explaining it all, and only when you are comfortable doing so. You are not comfortable with it right now, so you don't need to force yourself." She looked at the gathered fleet, she knew far too small, her multi-hued translucent pastel mane billowing behind her as her head shot up to stare at the moon. "Luna, hold on for me little sister. We will work this out somehow. I promise you."