//------------------------------// // A Pale Prison // Story: From the Eternal Love of a Sister // by Scootareader //------------------------------// Eyes that are not my own gaze upward, into the roof of our prison. We are... somewhere. We know not where, only that it is dark, cold, and lonely. Perhaps we deserve this for our lapse in judgment. We no longer even have a body to call our own. The darkness has taken everything from us. We invited it in, let it know our fears and resentment. It took hold of us and strangled us into submission. We do not know if my sister was telling the truth, that she would let us take on the responsibilities we desire so jealously. Perhaps, if she had defeated us by her power, she would have given us an opportunity to redeem ourselves. The darkness bores its eyes into the walls of the bleak interior, a faint glow permeating throughout. It is a warm, reassuring glow, something familiar. “Ugh. You are so boring.” This vile, loathsome creature can hear our thoughts? Or perhaps our feelings? Whatever it is remarking upon, we do not like it. We feel my host’s mouth curl downward in a frown. “Well, that’s quite rude, calling yourself ‘vile’ and ‘loathsome.’” We... are her? This does not make sense. We only let her into our thoughts, not our selves; she has overtaken me, destroyed me and reformed me into a device of her own creation. We are no longer her, but she is. We are simply a fragment of her conscience. The body grimaces in disapproval. “Oh, but Luna, we’ve always been one and the same. Just because you see me now doesn’t mean I haven’t always been here.” The mare’s voice takes a mocking tone. “Who notices a shadow, Luna? “Surely not the earth ponies; they look toward their crops, ignoring what lay behind them, focusing instead on what comes out of them and what goes beneath them. They do not see the darkness which creeps behind every food they grow and eat. "Surely not the unicorns; they focus on their spells, content to look straight ahead at the books they read. They illuminate the shadowy corners of the physical world of Equestria and the mental realm of knowledge alike, yet they do not see the shadow which they leave behind them, watching and waiting for the moment that light fails. “Surely not the pegasi; they look toward the clouds, content to live aloft and away from where the things on the ground cast a shadow. Yet, every cloud they create, every rainbow that is cast, every tiny body which scurries within their precious sky cities—all cast a shadow downward, to the ground, to cover large swaths of land. “And what of this darkness? They mock and shun it, do they not? It is nothing more than something they are familiar with, to be trodden underhoof. They do not fear it. They do not worry for it. “And what are you, dear Princess Luna? Are you the light that creates the shadow? Or are you the shadow?” We already know the answer, and we grudgingly admit this. We have always been the shadow; that has never changed. And what is this point she is trying to make? “That you and I are the same.” The mare’s lips curl back to reveal bared fangs, something she must imagine to be a smile. We only feel a growing sense of dread. “We are the same shadow, Luna. We have always been able to rise up and swallow the light. We only needed to remember ourselves.” I... do not remember a life of light. I have always been my sister’s shadow. Is that not my lot in life? As the younger sister, it is my duty— “—To never be good enough for anything. I know, I know. Didn’t I say we are the same?” I am not you. I would not attack the sister I love. I would not betray the nation of Equestria by striking down its ruler. The voice booms in anger at us. “And you are satisfied to writhe in her shadow for eternity? You chose your lot in life, Luna! You chose the life of the shadow! And now, the shadow has become more powerful than the light! We will defeat her as soon as we are free of this prison! And we will do it WITHOUT your help!” She says these words as if we were to be hurt by them. Instead, we feel only pity for her wretched existence. She is discontent to be the shadow, but we relish in its cool embrace. Nightmare Moon sighs. “I am no cool embrace. I am pain. The shadow brings fright, terror... and pain. As you always have, and always will, Princess of the Night.” We can think of no rebuttal to this, unsure of what she is trying to get at. We have never brought fright or terror, or pain. “We? Or I? Because I seem to remember you thinking differently when we were joined. You have forsaken the light and retreated into the shadow... and the shadow will someday overtake all.” We refuse to believe these sinister words being woven before us. Nightmare Moon is content to not offer any more. So it is, and we sit in silence for a time, a stalemate of sorts. After several minutes the mare remarks, “I’m bored. Where are we?” We know not, yet there is something familiar about our prison. The glow it emits feels as if we were home, not imprisoned. We sense agitation, misunderstanding in our host’s body; we counsel her that we are somewhere safe, somewhere familiar. She tosses her head back in confusion. “But where? We can’t escape if we don’t know where we are.” It seems so familiar. Something we have always known, always felt within ourselves. Almost as if we have always seen— “The Moon. We’re trapped inside the Moon, aren’t we?” Nightmare Moon sounds incredulous, disbelieving of such a bizarre fate. We wish to disbelieve this ourselves, but it seems too... right. Our host does not appreciate this insight. Her horn glows with a deadly blue energy as it arcs away from her body and dashes against the illuminated wall of the thing around us. It dissipates harmlessly, prompting a greater fury from her, incredibly powerful magic lancing from her horn in a maelstrom of sinister spells, only to vaporize pitifully against the Moon’s body. She has weathered greater power than what even the darkness can muster. Her energy spent, Nightmare Moon collapses upon the ground. We can feel the sadness within her as she sighs longingly. “I don’t want to be alone, Luna....” We do not want to be alone, either. We hate to admit it, but we do not want to be imprisoned here, much as we want to keep this creature of darkness away from Equestria. We will fight her as long as we can. Perhaps she is more like us than we first thought.