Cepheus blinked, and yawned as he awoke. A few strands of hair entered his mouth and he gagged. He quickly closed his mouth, giggling to himself. His muzzle was buried in Candle’s mane. The scent of rosewater and salt that had once been intoxicating, was now just a pleasant reminder of the events that had transpired the night before.
Her head lay on his chest, his wings wrapped around her in a protective embrace. It was silent in the room save for her soft sighs, accompanied by the gentle swelling and deflating of her barrel. It was so peaceful in here.
They were lying on a soft mattress on a poster bed. White veils shrouded the bed, obscuring the outside world. A large mirror was mounted on the bed canopy, the reflection of a white pegasus and a beige earth pony with a tangled snarl of sheets at the foot of the bed.
Cepheus sighed, gently stroking his wife’s back. Dusty had been sent to another room so they could have some privacy, so there would be no disturbances. Now that the ordeal of escaping the clutches of the Night Guard has passed, his mind was free to think of other things.
Melancholy began to well up in his chest. “Mother,” he whispered. “I am a married stallion now.” He sniffed. They would have a proper wedding once he was united with Mother and Persei. Hopefully they were both alright.
Cepheus couldn’t wait to introduce her to them as his wife, and Dusty as his son. Would Mother approve? Of course she would. She had always respected his decisions.
Now, Persei was a different story. Would she be jealous knowing that he and another mare were having an extremely intimate relationship? Cepheus hoped not. He had to hook her up with a stallion once Persei was with him again. The prospect of being matchmaker was amusing to him.
Candle’s breath suddenly caught, and he knew she had awoken. He kissed her forehead, and held her especially tightly. She nuzzled him, and he could feel her warm breath against the tuft of hair on his chest. “I had the most wonderful dream,” she whispered.
“Hmmm?” he groaned.
“It was us in the future,” she whispered in awe. “Oh, how I wish all those things would come to pass. We were standing together, Dusty was all grown up, and standing at our hooves were two tiny foals.” She beamed, stretching out. “We were all so happy.”
Foals…Cepheus thought. They needed to talk about this. They needed to talk about a lot of other things as well. “Candle, do you want a foal?”
Candle became very still. She was silent, and Cepheus felt like she wasn’t going to answer. “I do, but…” her eyes became downcast and she trailed off.
But what? Cepheus felt like he shouldn’t pry, but something was troubling her. “Are you afraid that you won’t be a good mother?”
She didn’t respond. Cepheus was about to say something more, but there was a knock on the door. Candle shifted his wings apart, and lifted herself off of him. The place where she had slept left a warm, tingly sensation on his flesh.
He wanted to talk to her more, but he felt like there was nothing more to say now. They were very young and had just gotten married. They had more than enough time to make this decision.
Cepheus was shuffling out of bed, when Candle opened the door. Dusty was sitting in front of the door, his eyes aglow with joy. Two other bat-pony colts were waiting behind him, panting. Dusty pushed a tray full of food through the doorway, and bounded away. The two colts raced after him, chittering happily.
“These Nightborn ponies are so strange,” Candle whispered.
“But I’m glad he’s happy here,” Cepheus added cheerily.
Candle didn’t seem to share his enthusiasm. Whatever that was holding her back from wanting a foal was still on her mind. Cepheus put a wing around his wife, pulled her close, and kissed her.
She seemed to relax, and was smiling when they parted. “Cepheus…Candle,” a voice called them.
They both looked down the hallway and saw Antares approaching. He had a sorrowful expression which quickly melted away as he engaged them in conversation. “You both are good ponies. Would you care to join our group meeting?”
“Sure,” Cepheus said, grinning.
Antares grinned, reflecting Cepheus’s expression. “Your villagers are still wary of us, so it would help them to see you mingling.”
Cepheus nodded, and Antares trotted away. They both watched him leave. Something strange caught Cepheus’ eye. Antares’ cutie mark had always been covered with armor or some other clothing, but this time he could see a light impression of it though the translucent cloth of his trousers. It was a long framed mirror, but there was something odd about it. There was something else faded in the background.
Antares had two cutie marks, but one was very blurred. It was as if it had been erased somehow.
Candle was drawing back into the room with the tray of food, and with one last look at Antares, he closed the door behind him.
She was unwrapping the food, and Cepheus joined her on the floor. She was quiet, and Cepheus tried to talk to her. “These bat-ponies are pretty friendly. I find them trustworthy.”
Candle continued staring down at the food. “They’re ex-Night Guards and Night Terrors. They’re traitors. I think there’s a limit to how much we can trust them.”
Cepheus hadn’t expected this paranoia from her. “They’ve taken us in, and are feeding us. They saved us.”
She sighed, slumping down. “You’re right, I’m sorry.”
They remained silent as they began to eat, and Cepheus began to wonder what was wrong with her. He suddenly remembered something Persei had said. “Mares want a stallion that can stabilize her life….” That’s right, Cepheus thought. There had been no stability for the past few weeks. They had been chased through a dark forest, had risked an encounter with the Night Guard, and were now in the company of near strangers. She hesitated at the thought of having foals, because she wanted a stable environment to raise her foals. That was a luxury they didn’t have. Or did they? “Candle…” he said.
She looked up at him, still chewing. “Yes?”
Cepheus swallowed. “Do you want to stay here?”
She stared at him. “What about your Mother and sister? Don’t you want to find them?”
“I’m asking what you want,” Cepheus said. “All this travel has been very stressful, and perhaps we should stay here for the time being.”
Candle seemed hesitant.
“Don’t worry about me,” Cepheus added. “I won’t mind if we stayed here for an extended period of time.”
Candle nodded, and thought about it for a moment. Then, like a flower blooming, she smiled. She touched his hoof. “Yes, I would really like that.”
Cepheus had guessed correctly. Persei’s advice had been useful once again. “We can talk to the other villagers and our Nightborn hosts. I’m sure both will consent. The villagers are exhausted, and the Nightborns appear to really want us here.”
Candle nodded, still smiling. They sat quietly then and finished the remaining food. His wife’s good mood persisted.
Soon, they wandered into the hallways. It was somewhat eerie with all the mirrors mounted on the stone walls, but eventually they arrived at the gathering.
It was the largest chamber in the mausoleum like building, and there were about two hundred ponies here, not counting the Dayborn villager here and there. All the Nightborns had split off into small groups of a dozen or so ponies. They had gathered chairs and were sitting in tight circles. They all were talking to one another, one pony speaking at a time. It was like a massive group therapy session.
Cepheus and Candle found two empty chairs and sat down there. The eight other Nightborn ponies smiled at them, looking at the Dayborn newcomers with wonder. A bat-pony mare in a white nurse’s robe made a small chittering sound to get their attention. “Hello, everypony!” she said in a cheery voice.
“Hello,” most of the Nightborns responded. The others seemed troubled.
The nurse smiled again. “Since we have two new faces here today,” she gestured to Cepheus and Candle. “We’ll all be introducing ourselves.” She wiggled in her seat, and cleared her throat. “I’ll introduce myself first. My name is Daisy Brightheart.”
“Hello, Daisy.” The others said.
Daisy smiled and gave a small wave. “The purpose of us meeting today, and for the past few years, is for therapeutic reasons. Nightmare Moon has broken us all, robbing us of our free will by afflicting us with terrible mental illnesses.” Daisy looked down at the floor, her voice solemn. “She’s made us do terrible things, but these group sessions are all about healing. We have all struggled, we have all suffered, but now it is time to recover.” She paused. “Each one of us will tell us their names, their affliction, and a brief introduction.”
All the Nightborns nodded, but the pony besides Candle seemed to be shivering. Daisy looked at the fidgeting stallion. “Steel Wind? Why don’t you start us off?”
The stallion looked all around, still trembling. “Yes,” he said. “My name is Steel Wind.”
“Hello, Steel Wind.” Everypony said, including Cepheus and Candle.
The stallion seemed encouraged by the warm reception. “I have schizophrenia and I used to be a Night Guard captain.” The schizophrenic stallion twitched uncontrollably, his shaking muzzle jerking his words around. “I’m having such a hard time.”
“It’s the drugs we are giving you,” Daisy reassured him. “Muscle tremors are a side effect. We had to up your dosage since last time.”
Steel shook his head. “I…I don’t think I need a higher dosage. I need to make peace with the demons living inside of me. They’re always fighting and yelling at each other, and when they’re not fighting, they’re making fun of me.” He clutched his head, screwing shut his eyes. “They never shut up. Every waking moment they are talking. They say I’m stupid for attending these sessions.”
A mare sitting next to Steel Wind put a hoof on his shoulder. “I don’t think you’re stupid,” she said. “You tell those bullies to back off, you stand up to them.”
Steel Wind stared at the mare, and nodded.
“Alright,” Daisy said, smiling. “Who wants to introduce themselves next?”
All the Nightborn ponies looked at Cepheus and Candle expectantly. Candle seemed shy, so he spoke up. “Hello, my name is Cepheus.”
They all looked genuinely excited to meet him. “Hello, Cepheus,” they chimed.
Cepheus grinned, and put a wing around Candle. “This is my wife, Candle.”
Everpony there gave a collective, “Oooooohh.”
He chuckled and continued. “It’s my first day here.” Cepheus gestured to the space around him. “I’m guessing this kind of like a giant psychiatric hospital, right?”
Daisy nodded. “Kind of, but with a much stronger community. We all help each other out. Together, we can conquer whatever illness we are afflicted with.”
Steel Wind twitched, and began to talk. “So, what’s wrong with you two?”
“Oh,” Cepheus said, wondering what he should say. “Nothing really,” he said. “I thought it would be cool to come talk to you guys.”
A mare sitting across them sniffed, tears in her eyes. “You…you guys are here because…you think I’m cool?”
Cepheus nodded. “The coolest.” The mare gasped, and looked around at everypony.
“We all think you’re cool,” they all said, smiling with such sincerity that it affected even Cepheus.
The mare melted in her chair, a look of pure ecstasy on her face. She hugged herself, rocking on the floor. “Mom…dad…the ponies at school like me. They actually like me…” she began to whisper to herself, gently swaying.
Cepheus was impressed by the amount of healing that had already taken place. He looked around at all the other groups, some more successful than others. Some ponies were in straitjackets, others were completely catatonic, but the feedback seemed mostly positive. He even saw some of his own villagers among them. They seemed to be getting along. Cepheus’ eyes drifted over to the corner of the large chamber, and he saw Antares watching a therapy group wistfully.
Cepheus noticed that there were some other ponies wandering about as well, seemingly unattached to the other groups. They all looked miserable.
“Daisy,” he said, catching the attention of the group. “Who are those ponies wandering about?”
Daisy seemed to be saddened by his question. “Oh, them. We have all sorts of patients here. We have ponies with personality disorders, delusions, anxiety…All things that we can fix. But…” Daisy looked over at Antares. “No amount of therapy or medicine can regrow brain matter. Ponies like Antares have been either lobotomized, lesioned, or just have irreversible brain damage done to them by Nightmare Moon’s surgeons.”
Cepheus continued staring at Antares. “He looks lonely. We should invite him over.”
Daisy shook her head. “He just watches. We’ve invited him before, but he always refuses.” She leaned forward, and so did all the other Nightborns. “Rumor is that he’s done something exceptionally terrible. That’s why he’s so withdrawn. It’s like he’s punishing himself.”
Steel Wind didn’t quite understand. “When I was in the Night Guard, I was the one who detained ponies.” Everypony was looking at him then. “The reason why they called me Steel Wind was because of the barbed metal whip I used on uncooperative prisoners. I enjoyed my job, but one day, as I was lashing down an innocent filly, she made a sound before my final blow killed her. If all the undeserved suffering in the world had a sound, that’s how it would sound like. As I lifted up her body into the trash compactor, I had that epiphany that Antares mentioned. I metaphorically saw myself in the mirror. My schizophrenia had clouded my mind, but for one shining moment, there was clarity.”
Daisy Brightheart rubbed her hooves together. “The thing is, Cepheus. We’ve all done terrible things. But there are a few of us who have committed atrocities far greater than our own. There are a few of us who can’t entirely blame the mental illness for what they did.” Daisy looked down, a tear in her eye. “But... despite our blood-soaked pasts, we have genuinely changed for the better. We hope to amend all the wrongs we have done by doing what we believe will make the world a better place: the removal of Nightmare Moon from power.”
The mare who was rocking herself on the floor looked up at them. “We strive for the forgiveness of all those we have harmed. We long for absolution.”
Cepheus looked back over at Antares. He had a lit cigar in his muzzle, looking down at the ground, blowing out sporadic puffs of smoke. He was hiding something terrible.
Cepheus knew he was a changed pony, but there was something haunting about it. If a single act could define you, what had he done to deserve such self-loathing?
Everypony else seemed to be feeling better about themselves, but there was a depth to Antares’ guilt that could not be healed by time.
He wanted to know more about these ponies’ leader. In which way was he brain damaged? What did his mirror, and faded cutie mark mean? Was he a Night Guard, a Night Terror, or some other ex-agent of Nightmare Moon? What had he done that was so terrible that he needed to kill Nightmare Moon to absolve it? Who was Antares?