//------------------------------// // Princess of the Night // Story: Thine Own Self // by jdb1984 //------------------------------// After a brief period of disorientation that always comes with entering a dream, Luna suddenly got hit from a barrage of voices that came from all sides. Each one was a different voice, and they all said different things. “You’re a liar, Silver Spoon.” “Nothing but a bully.” “It’s your fault Tiara walked away.” Looking around, Luna could see the young silver filly that sat in the beam of light, her body wracked with sobs, as the voices gave her no quarter. Trying to ignore them as best as she could, Luna made her way over to her and put a hoof on her shoulder. The filly jumped and turned around to see her standing there. “P-Princess?” Silver stammered out, taking a few hoofsteps away from her and giving a bow. “There is no need for formalities, since we are all equal in the realm of dreams. Now, do you really think these things about yourself?” Luna asked. “I...I deserve it,” Silver answered, tears still falling down her face. “I am a bully. I did lie to my best friend, and it’s my fault she wants nothing to do with me.” Luna stepped closer and wrapped a hoof around the young filly’s shoulders, as Silver just cried in her body. As she did, Luna focused her magic, and created a dome of light blue around the pair. As it came down on the ground neither could see, the voices seemed to stop. Silver’s ear twitched, as she noticed the sudden silence, and looked around at the dome surrounding the two before looking back up at Luna. “A silencing dome. Keeps the voices outside, giving us peace while we talk,” Luna explained. “Now, maybe you can start from the beginning.” Silver did, going back to kindergarten and her fake cutie mark. --- “...and that’s why I’m a liar. I had years to tell her, and I didn't say anything,” Silver finished. Luna gave a small smile, as she said, “Child, you do not know how many colts and fillies have painted a cutie mark on themselves. You are not the first or the last to do this. Keeping the secret for this long does not make you a liar either.” “I kept it up because everyone who met me knew me as having a silver spoon for my cutie mark. And I wasn't sure how Diamond would react. Since she is...or was...my only friend, I didn't want to do or say anything to ruin it,” Silver replied. “So you did all the work to keep the friendship together?” Luna asked. “I am no expert on friendship, but one thing I do know is that all good friendships involve some give and take. It sounds like she took, but did not give.” Silver was silent for a moment, as her mind processed what Luna said. As she thought back to moments in her life, and moments she spent with Diamond, she realized that the only thing Diamond offered was someone for her to be with at times. “I...I...I don’t want to be alone,” she sobbed, burying her face into Luna’s body. “That’s why I stayed with her for so long, why I put up with her, why I followed her everywhere. I can’t stand being...being alone.” “My child, you are never truly alone,” Luna answered. “When you see the sun in the morning sky, you will know that Celestia is present, and watching over her subjects. And when the sun sets, and the moon and stars come, I am there. I watch over the night, and over the dreams of foals like yourself.” “B-But what about when I wake up?” Silver asked, as she looked up at Luna, tears still in her eyes. “I won’t have any friends. And I treated everypony so horribly, nopony will want anything to do with me.” “It will take time and effort, but if you can show that you are willing to change, that you are changing, ponies will take notice. You may have been a bully in the past, but your past does not have to command your future,” Luna answered, as she turned away slightly. “I have things in my own past that I am not too proud of, but I do not let it affect how I live here and now.” Silver nodded, remembering the stories of Nightmare Moon and her actions at the Summer Sun Celebration. Her parents were willing to forgive her and even offered a few pieces of their finest gold silverware, though Silver knew it was more for marketing than anything else. She knew that most ponies were not quite ready to trust her at first, the last Nightmare Night was proof of that. But she has made friends in some ponies like Pipsqueak and Princess Sparkle, despite her dark past. And if Luna can do it with that against her, there was no reason why she couldn't do it. “Still..,” Silver said. “Diamond’s a bully, and I’m afraid she’ll start teasing me next. Or worse, blurt out some of the secrets I confided in her. If she does, I don’t know if I’ll have the strength to stand up to her.” “You have more strength than you may think,” Luna replied. “When six little ponies ventured into the Everfree Forest to take me on, while I was still Nightmare Moon, do you think they initially had the strength? They courageously ventured in, and found the strength through kindness, laughter, honesty, generosity, and loyalty. All of those traits strengthened their bonds of friendship, ultimately powering up the Elements and defeating the darkness within me. Those traits can help you find the true friendship and the strength to help you defeat your own inner demons, as well as stand up to your former friend.” “...Thank you, Princess,” Silver answered. as she wrapped her hooves around Luna. As she did, the darkness around her seemed to fade, and when Silver looked around, she found herself in her bedroom. She looked around in confusion and looked up at the princess, as she cancelled the silencing dome. When she did, Silver noticed the voices were gone. “Your dream is almost over,” Luna told her. “Just go to your bed and sleep, and you will awake back in the real world. I hope I was able to help.” Silver only gave a nod, as she climbed into the familiar bed, pulled the covers over herself, and closed her eyes. As she did, the dream started to fade all around her, and Luna stepped out of the dream to find another that would need her assistance. --- As Luna told her, when Silver opened her eyes again, she found herself back in her own bed, in her own room. As she sat up, she was aware of some voices outside. “Just be silent when you go in, miss. I think Miss Spoon is asleep, and I don’t want you to disturb her,” one voice said, which she recognized as Good Service. “I’m just here to drop off the homework from our teacher. I won’t disturb her,” a second voice said, and she recognized her voice as well. “Sweetie Belle,” she whispered.