Honeycomb watched as the doors to Solaris’ chambers closed with a small thud. She blinked, still processing the events that transpired. Honeycomb stood there as she looked around the empty hallway before inspecting her bandaged hoof, putting some weight on it. A small sigh escaped her lips when she didn’t feel any sharp sting of pain.
Suddenly, she let out a massive yawn while falling down onto her haunches. Her wings flared out as she continued to yawn. A small ‘pop’ in her jaw caused her eyes to shoot open. She instantly bent over as she clutched her jaw with her forehooves, keeping her eyes shut until the pain slowly dissipated.
“Ow…” Honeycomb whimpered, “that hurt.”
Slowly, Honeycomb stood up and folded her wings, or at least she tried to. She grunted as she struggled to fold her wings to her sides.
“How,” she said with a groan, “do ponies deal with these wings?”
Honeycomb let out another groan, sitting back down. She concentrated, trying to fold her wings. After a few seconds, she gave up with a sigh, having to use her hooves to manually fold her wings. She twitched as she felt some of her feathers rub her sides. “And these feathers? Fur and feathers everywhere, how do ponies live like this?” she murmured to herself as she stood.
Her hooves wobbled as she felt a wave a dizziness hit her. She steadied herself, another yawn escaping her muzzle. Her eyelids felt heavy. Lazily, she lifted her head towards one end of the hall.
Slowly she walked, one step at a time. There were moments that she would close her eyes and doze off for a second, only to jerk her head up shortly after.
For the first time in a long while, she did not think of her situation, her captor, nor even the future. For once in the past few days, she had a full stomach, and her mind only thought of one thing. Just a few more hallways and she would be at her destination, and in there was the only thing she thought about. Her bed.
She could imagine the softness of her bed.
“Honeycomb,” a voice softly called out.
The warmth of the blankets.
“Honeycomb,” it said again.
Or how smooth the sheets were.
“Honeycomb,” the voice called louder as she felt something touch her shoulder.
Honeycomb shrieked as she gave a slight jump, her wings flaring out. As soon as her hooves touched ground, she spun around.
“Sorry!” Crimson apologized as he held up his forehooves. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Oh,” Honeycomb replied as she folded her wings with her hooves again.
“Are,” Crimson said as his eyes widened, “are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Honeycomb answered as she yawned, covering her mouth with a hoof. “You just surprised me is all.”
“No,” Crimson replied. He gave a slight wince as he looked over the changeling. “I mean, are you feeling alright? You don’t look that well.”
“I’m fine, just tired,” Honeycomb replied.
“You um,” Crimson said nervously, “I don’t mean to be rude, but you don’t look too well.”
“Oh,” Honeycomb muttered as she looked over herself. Do I look that bad?”
“Are you sure you are alright?” Crimson asked, a nervous look on his face.
“Y-yeah,” Honeycomb muttered. “I just had a rough week, is all.”
“Are… are you sure?”
“Yeah…”
“What about your hoof?”
Honeycomb lifted her bandaged hoof. “Oh, this? It’s nothing, was just an accident.”
“An accident?”
“Y-yeah, I just hurt it. It’s fine now.”
“You’re sure you are fine?”
“Yeah,” Honeycomb replied with another yawn. “I’m just really tired, is all.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, I was just heading to my room right now.”
“Oh, okay,” Crimson said softly. “Look, Honeycomb, if anything is wrong, you can tell me, you know that, right?”
Honeycomb weakly nodded, “Yeah.”
“Okay,” Crimson replied. “If you need anything, please just ask.”
“Thanks.” Honeycomb nodded weakly. “I’ll see you later.”
Honeycomb made her way to her room on her shaky hooves. She slipped inside, the door clicking close behind her, and meandered over to her bed. She mustered the last of her strength to simply flop down onto the bed.
She exhaled as she closed her tired eyes. Honeycomb let sleep claim her, and for once, she knew that there would be no nightmares tonight. No dreams of longing. Only peaceful slumber.
A black mist worked its way through the windows. Silently, the black mist coalesced together, teal eyes appearing from the cloud, as a hoof stepped out. Luna took a seat on a pillow in the center of the room.
Luna watched her brother sigh loudly as he leaned back, running an ink-stained hoof through his mane. Luna blinked as she leaned to the side slightly, her teal eyes scanning the disorganized desk of her brother. Parchments and quills were strewn about while three empty coffee pots were sitting on the corner.
"And so I came into the bedchambers of the tyrant and oppressor of innocent servants,” Luna said softly.
Solaris instantly turned around, his wings flaring out. “Who—!”
Luna blinked in return.
“Luna.” Solaris sighed, folding his wings back in and sat back down. “What are you doing?”
“And I gazed upon him,” Luna continued, “and beheld his greatness; for great was the number of empty coffee pots around him, and great were the ink stains on his forehooves, and as he raised his head, blinking and blearily mutter—"
“What are you talking about, sister?” Solaris interrupted.
Luna tilted her head slightly. “Hm?”
Solaris inhaled and exhaled slowly. “May I ask what you are doing in my room this fine evening?”
“You know why I am here.”
Solaris raised an eyebrow.
Luna nudged her head forward slightly.
Solaris continued to stare blankly.
“Brother, I heard about Honeycomb. Tell me what happened,” Luna urged softly.
Solaris flinched, turning his head away.
“Well?”
The two alicorns sat there, a silence between the two.
“Brother, please tell me.”
Solaris sighed as he leaned back. “It was nothing.”
“Really, brother—”
“No,” Solaris interrupted. “I actually mean nothing. I made Honeycomb do nothing. I just made her sit around all day.”
“And how did she take it?”
“She was scared. I didn’t make her do anything, but it seems like she feared me in ways I didn’t expect. She cut her hoof on some glass she broke and begged me to spare her life for her mistake.”
“And what did you do?”
“I bandaged her wound, gave her something to eat, and tried to explain to her that I wasn’t going to hurt her.”
Luna worked her jaw slightly. “But what about her condition? She was emaciated.”
Solaris bit his lip. “She had trouble eating.”
“Why?”
“She told me that her jaw hurts because she is not used to having teeth like ours.”
“That actually bothered her? I thought they can change easily.”
“I thought so too, but apparently their disguise is so good they can actually feel it.”
“Was that all?”
“That, and her stress killed her appetite.”
“And you did not notice this.”
“No.”
Luna rubbed her temple. “How?”
Solaris sighed. “I ignored her…”
Luna continued to rub her temple. “Brother, let me make sure I heardest thou correctly. You force her into servitude. Then you make her stand perfectly still in your study for hours on end while you neither speak to her nor look at her?”
“She could lie down if she wanted,” Solaris quickly replied. “I mean, if she wanted to do something, she could have, just as long as she didn't make any noise.”
"And do you think she would have dared to as the obedient servant?"
“But—”
“Thou art truly the embodiment of kindness.”
“I—”
“Not to mention,” Luna interrupted, “that I am sure you gave her a warning about how if she somehow screws up, you'll crush her like a bug. It should not come as a surprise that she would beg and plead for her life when she did make a mistake. Like spilling a pot of coffee on her captor.”
“I didn’t want that!” Solaris exclaimed.
“No,” Luna replied as she shook her head. “You got exactly what you wanted.”
Solaris’ eyes widened. “I don’t want her to beg at my hooves for her life!”
Luna shook her head again. “I will tell you what you want. You want to be the master of all you survey. The lord of all the lands. And there is nothing wrong with that. You rule your nation with peace and harmony for all your subjects whom you wish to do nothing more than admire and love you. Yet you would force your so-called enemies to bend to your will and bow before you, using violence and fear to attain the peace and harmony that you desire if you must.”
“I—,” Solaris said as he took a step back, looking away with an uneasy look on his face. “I do not want to be the lord of all lands. I do not force others to follow me! That is outrageous.”
Luna gently placed her hoof under her brother’s chin, turning his head back to her. “Yes,” she said softly, “yes, you do.”
Solaris jerked away.
“Brother…”
“I do not!” Solaris shouted as he started to pant.
Luna shook her head again. “Brother, really?
“I have had enough of this,” Solaris stated as he turned away.
“Very well,” Luna replied, “Lord Solaris.”
Solaris turned his head, giving a hard look at his sister. “What are you getting at?”
Luna sat there, staring back. “I never really did like that title. Lord… such a… commanding, authoritative title. Lord Luna… just does not sound right. Too harsh, strict sounding.”
Solaris squinted his eyes.
“I don’t see why we should not be called ‘Prince’ and ‘Princess’. We were called that long ago.”
“I have told you, sister,” Solaris said, “we have to differentiate ourselves from—”
“From the rest of the nobility. To show that we are the rulers of this nation,” Luna finished. “But not just for our ponies, but for everyone else, isn’t it?”
“But I am not…” Solaris said, his voice low. “I am not a tyrant. I am not cruel.”
Luna wrapped her forehooves around her brother. “No, no, no. Brother, I never said you were,” she said as looked up at him.
Solaris looked down, his shoulders slumping.
“You are exactly like father. You know that,” Luna continued. “I saw it when we were foals. I see it now. Father was strong, kind, and loving. However, he was very prideful and made it clear that he was the father, and we were the children. That’s you. You will guide our ponies and our nations. You will protect them, care for them, and try to make the best life for everyone.
“But you want to make it clear who is the father, who is the head of the household. You want to be on top. I see it in how you act, how you display your commanding presence.”
Solaris relaxed, sitting next to his sister.
“But,” Luna said, her voice low. “You can become so blinded by the ends that you pay no mind to the means. When our enemies attack us or our ponies, you tend to lose sight of what is important. Your priority no longer is just to protect but to enact justice and vengeance. When that happens, you do it with such ferocity that even I become scared.”
“Luna, I would never harm you or our subjects.”
“It is not just them,” she squeezed him a little closer. “Our enemies are people too. Look at the changelings. What they did was undisputably wrong, but if what Honeycomb said was true, and they were that desperate for food, then how should we see them? Everything is not as black and white as you always make it out to be.”
“But sister—”
“I once heard a most interesting analogy once,” Luna interrupted. “I find it very fitting. One of these days, brother, you'll wake up with a donut on your horn, and you'll go around the whole day with it because everypony is too afraid to speak up to you about it.”
“What is this about?”
“Brother, do you think our ponies should fear us?”
“Of course not. They have nothing to fear,” Solaris quickly answered.
“Except for becoming our enemies.”
“But that will never happen.”
“You don’t understand, brother,” Luna said as she again looked up to her brother, her wings wrapping around him. “We are already distant from our subjects to begin with. That is the nature of our positions. But when you punish our enemies with no mercy, our subjects become afraid of becoming your enemy. Honeycomb is your donut, brother. You need to do something about her before she gets seriously sick. They will do whatever it takes to not be on your ‘bad’ side, so to speak.”
Solaris slouched forward in Luna’s embrace, a saddened look on his face.
“It has happened before. Remember your wife after the Griffon Invasion?”
Solaris turned his head away from Luna.
“Do you know how I became aware of Honeycomb’s condition? Crimson ran into Honeycomb after you told her to take the day off. He noticed her condition, and it concerned him greatly. He wanted to tell you, but when he went to knock on your door, he got scared. He could not muster up the courage, so he came to me instead. He is afraid of you.”
“But he is my friend. Why would he be scared of me?”
“You intimidate him. You intimidate a lot of ponies. We are physically intimidating to some degree. You keeping Honeycomb here is not helping.”
“But I showed her mercy.”
“But you need to show more mercy, brother.”
A silence filled the room.
Solaris leaned further into his sister's loving embrace, nuzzling her. "Am I a monster, Luna?"
Luna remained in reverent thought for a long time. "We all have monsters in us, brother." She looked down. "You and I most of all. 'Tis how we battle these beasts that shows us for what we truly are.
“We each let them out once. You as a foal, where father had to stop you and I so many years ago, where you had to stop me. There are monsters inside you and I. But it is our job to make sure they are never freed because if they were, then everyone would fear us and grovel at our hooves.
“We cannot let that happen because we are lonely. We want to guide our ponies, and we desperately want to be loved in return. It is selfish desire of ours, but it is what we want."
Solaris sighed. "What do I do, Luna?"
"Well, you could always let Honeycomb go…"
"I can't do that. It would not be fair.”
“Ah, just like father, clinging to your ideals,” Luna stated with a smirk.
“Luna…”
"It is simple."
Solaris looked down into Luna's soft eyes.
"Show her that Lord Solaris is no monster."
“And how would I do that?”
“Well…” Luna said as she bit her lip. “Hmmm, good question. Well, you told me that she has problems adjusting to her disguise. If she has problems with something as simple easy as eating, what about flight?”
“What do you mean?”
“Our wings and changeling wings are different. Do we even know if she is able to fly with a different set of wings?”
“What do you want me to do?”
Luna blinked. “Really?”
“What?”
“Teach her then. Teach her to be a pony, so she can at least function in our world. You had pegasi foals before, so I know you can teach her to fly.”
Solaris pulled himself out of his sister’s grasp.
“What is it, brother?” Luna asked as she folded her wings.
“I can’t,” Solaris admitted.
“What?” Luna said, a little louder than she would have liked. “And why is that?”
“Because I don’t like her, Luna. I don’t hate her, but that does not mean I like her.”
“But brother—”
“But what?” Solaris asked as he shook his head slightly. “You don’t expect me to fraternize with the enemy, do you?”
“There you go again, brother,” Luna said with a loud sigh. “Clinging to your ideals. You of all ponies should know that creatures are not divided into ‘good’ and ‘evil,’ ‘friend’ and ‘enemy.’ Can you not see her as an enemy, but rather, a child that made a mistake?
“Yes, I know your pride was hurt when you had to fake your defeat. I get it, brother. I truly do. Your authority was challenged, and it bothers you. But it will get better. It will take time, but it will get better. But that does not mean you have to take it out on Honeycomb. Is it that hard to see her as a child first?”
“But Luna!”
“Were we not once enemies?” Luna cried out as she placed a hoof on her chest. “Do you see me as an enemy or your sister?”
“What? No!” Solaris exclaimed as he took a step towards his sister. “Of course I see you as my sister. I would never see you as my enemy. Not in the past, not now, not ever.”
“If you can forgive me for my wrongdoings, brother, then you can see Honeycomb for what she truly is.”
“But sister—”
“Enough, brother,” Luna said as she looked up at her brother, her face stern. “I will make this very easy for you. Either you take care of her, or I will take her in my charge.”
“Luna…”
“And you know exactly what will happen if she is under my care. I am going to let her go.”
“Sister!”
“What will it be, brother?” Luna asked, her teal eyes staring at him.
Solaris sighed as he hung his head. After a minute, he finally said, “Ok, sister, I’ll do it.”
“Good,” Luna replied as she quickly embraced her brother again.
“Then what will I do with her?” Solaris asked softly as he leaned into the embrace again.
“We can give her a small task here and there,” Luna answered. “Nothing serious nor strenuous. Just something to keep her busy.”
“I guess I can find something.”
“Why not take her to your court? Have her announce who is coming rather than yourself. At least it will give her something to do and allow her to see you help others.”
“But what about important things that she should not hear?”
“We can set those up behind close doors. We always get a warning ahead if it is something that dire.”
“Maybe.” Solaris sighed. “But as you said, I have to make sure she can fly at the very least.”
“And one more thing”
“More?”
“Brother,” Luna replied, her voice cold and grave. “Under no circumstance will you use father’s method of teaching somepony to fly.”
“What?” Solaris asked in surprise, his eyes widening. “Why not?”
“Why not? Why not?” Luna gasped as she pushed away from her brother. “Throwing some poor soul off a tower and telling them to start flapping is never a good idea. It is so stupid that I can not think of anything else to say about it.”
“But it works!”
“Brother! I just spent the last couple of minutes telling you the end does not justify the means!”
“But father never taught you that way—”
“Thank the Sun and the Moon that mother yelled at father after she learned of his stunt.”
“But we always catch them—”
“That’s beside the point! Don’t you remember your first pegasus foal? Poor Skyhoof was crying in his mother’s hooves for hours after you ‘taught’ him that way!”
“He was one of the best flyers Equestria ever had!”
“And you think pushing him off a tower when he was not ready was the reason?”
“Sister—”
“Don’t ‘sister’ me!” Luna exclaimed as she threw her hooves into the air. Suddenly, she froze, a small grin forming on her face. “If I recall,” she continued in a low voice, “a certain brother of mine was also wailing in his mother’s lap. Sobbing about how scared he was…”
Solaris inhaled sharply, a faint tinge of red forming on his face.
"So, do you think Honeycomb will fare better than you?"
Solaris sighed in defeat. “Fine, sister, I concede.”
“Good,” Luna replied as she leaned forward, resting against her brother.
Solaris wrapped a wing around her.
“It is like I have to tell you everything. How ever did you survive without me?” Luna asked.
“I have no idea,” Solaris replied. “To this day, I still wonder that.”
“Well, Equestria still stands, so I guess you must be doing something right.”
The two sat there, enjoying each other’s company and watching the moon drift lazily across the sky through the balcony window.
“Luna.”
“Yes?”
“You have changed so much since your return. It surprised me. I am curious to why though.”
Luna smiled in return. “I was wondering when you were going to ask me that.”
“You were?”
“Indeed.”
“So, may I ask why?”
“It is simple really. I just found out who I was.”
“What do you mean?”
Luna chuckled. “Since we are having such an intense discussion, I will answer your question with another. Do I remind you of anypony right now?”
Solaris exhaled lazily, his nostrils flaring. “To be perfectly honest, you remind me of mother more and more.”
“Well, there is your answer.”
“What do you mean?”
This time it was Luna’s turn to sigh. “For the longest time, brother, I never knew who I really was. When we were young and took power, I never figured out what I really want. And then when ponies started to fear the night, I tried acting like you and father to command their respect.”
“Luna.”
“And we know that did not work. So when I came back, I tried that again in Ponyville and that failed. I never knew what I really wanted to be, and I can’t be you or father. It is not me. So I tried acting like the only other pony I knew, and do you know what?”
“What?”
“I like it. I really do like it. I can’t act like you or father. If I did, I will never escape your shadow.”
“Luna,” Solaris said softly.
“So I will be like mother and shine in my own light. I think it is fitting.”
“What is?”
“You like father, and I like mother. Just like them, we are opposites.”
“Opposites?”
“Aye,” Luna said with a smile, “like day and night.”