//------------------------------// // Chapter 26: Up Against the Looking Glass // Story: Eternal Night // by Lucaro //------------------------------// “I’m telling you Candle, they talk to me in my sleep.” Cepheus said to his wife, sharing a blanket with her. “I’ve never had such good dreams before. I don’t even remember what they say, but I wake up feeling great.” Candle smiled, and nuzzled him softly. “I’ve been having dreams as well, and Dusty too. I think this place is good for us.” Cepheus put a wing around his wife, beaming. “These ponies have kind hearts. I can feel it.” They lapsed into silent agreement, watching Dusty play with the other Nightborn foals. Other Dayborns were appearing as well, all getting along perfectly. Dusty made a chittering sound, trying to mimic the other foals. This elicited gales of laughter from the other foals. Why can’t adults coexist so harmoniously? Cepheus looked past the foals playing tag, and saw other Nightborn parents watching as well. He saw scarred muzzles and faces, eyes that still had the cold edge of an ex-killer, fading tattoos and piercings offering a glimpse of the darkness that used to shroud their hearts … Yet, they were smiling, genuine kindness now instilled in their features. These ponies had been given a second chance, and were making the most of it. These ponies, once harboring the wickedest souls, had made a complete turnaround. Put in a healing environment where they were encouraged to be good, even the worst of them were improving. Perhaps it’s true. Maybe everypony can change for the better. Everypony can change for the better…. Cepheus saw Antares lurking in the shadows, also watching the children. He had that wistful look in his eyes again. Cepheus had talked to Daisy about him after their third group therapy session together. He remembered the nurse’s words very clearly. “He’s taken a shine to you, Cepheus. Antares can see right through almost everypony. He sees a good heart in you, and he’s drawn to ponies like that. When he’s not alone, he chooses very carefully who he spends time with. If you watch closely, you can see him copying the mannerisms of whoever he’s with… It’s as if he’s trying to learn how to be a better pony from them.” Cepheus had been intrigued. He had been following their leader for a few days now. He indeed copied the mannerisms of ponies he admired, but there was more to it. He reflected each and everything perfectly. He actually became a different pony altogether, his mimicry was perfect. Cepheus found this very disconcerting. Antares barely had a personality of his own. He was a patchwork of traits taken from the ponies he came in contact with, and those traits faded when he was away from them for an extended period of time. Perhaps that’s what his mirror cutie mark meant: he reflected those around him. Still…There wasn’t something right with him. Cepheus looked away when he saw Antares approaching them. Candle greeted him, her attention drawn away from Dusty. “Hello,” she said cheerily. “How are you?” Antares mirrored her mood and expression. “I’m doing really well.” He gestured to where all the children were playing. “I was watching the foals too. We can learn so much from them. Hopefully one day, foals of both Nightborn and Dayborn blood can play together like this.” Cepheus nodded. “Hate is a learned behavior….” Candle agreed, looking back over to the foals. “I guess there can be peace between our two races. I had always thought the differences would be too much, but these foals don’t even notice.” “Foals…” Antares whispered. “They are little miracles, aren’t they?” Cepheus and Candle looked at each other lovingly, and nodded. Antares abruptly turned around and left. It was so sudden, that it shocked Candle. She looked at her husband questioningly. “Did we say something wrong?” Cepheus stood up, watching him trot out of the room. “I’m going to follow him. Something is eating away at him, and I want to find out what it is.” She sighed, looking back over at Dusty. “Be gentle. He’s damaged.” Cepheus left the warmth of her side, and followed him out. Antares turned a corner at the other end of the stone corridor, and he crept up on him. Antares disappeared inside a door, which Cepheus assumed was his personal quarters. He waited outside for a moment, and then followed. As soon as he opened the stone sliding door, he was disoriented. There were mirrors everywhere, save for the stone floor. What’s with this stallion’s obsession with mirrors? Cepheus slowly trotted, seeing his reflection on all the walls of the chamber. He heard two voices whispering softly, and he strained to listen. One voice was Andre’s, and he sounded terrified. “I’m telling you, Antares. This new guy at the head of Nightmare Moon’s task force is completely insane. I think Necron was his name….” There was some indiscriminate muttering from Antares. Andre’s voice became more urgent. “I have heard whispers that Nightmare Moon is altering the world’s climate. She wants to make it more arid and windy.” Cepheus was too dizzy by this chamber of reflections, and rested against a mirror. He stifled his breathing so he could listen better. “Does this have to do anything with the weapon Nightmare Moon has been developing?” Weapon? Cepheus was both intrigued and frightened. There was some muttering from Andre, but he managed to catch the last part. “The Scions are completely unaware, as well as any other Dayborn. Our agent found out by accident, and all we know is that this weapon will destroy all those who stand against Nightmare Moon. We still have no idea what the nature of this weapon is, or where it is….” Cepheus edged closer to the origin of the voices, and there was the echoing thud of a door closing. He assumed that Andre had left. He finally found the end of the maze of mirrors and saw Antares sitting alone by a shallow depression in the stone floor that had filled up with water. Small streams of water fell from bamboo pipes on the roof, creating a soft cadence of trickling water. Thick carpets of lichens had formed on the edge of the pool. The vegetation was bunched up in one particular spot, and Cepheus realized that this is where Antares slept. There were mirrors here too, but they were all broken. It was as if he had shattered them all, not being able to stand at the stallion looking back at him. Cepheus breathed in the scent of cold water and the earthy scent of the plants. He sighed, and approached Antares. “Are you well?” he asked. Antares seemed surprised to see Cepheus. His demeanor changed, reflecting Cepheus’ concern. “I’m in pain, but I’ll survive.” The pegasus commander tilted his head, looking at him sideways. “What are you doing here?” “I want to know more about my host,” Cepheus said, deciding to cut straight to the chase. “What made you want to lead the Knights of Lunara?” Antares quailed, looking down at his hooves. “I needed ponies to help me kill Nightmare Moon,” he muttered. “Ponies don’t know how truly toxic she is. She needs to go before we’re all corrupted.” Cepheus was displeased by his answer, and though it was very subtle, Antares mirrored him. “Why are you here?” he asked, a hint of displeasure in his voice. He was unfazed. He needed a point of entry, something to break his defenses. He would never confess at this rate. “Why were you watching the foals?” Cepheus pried. “What relevance do foals hold to you?” Antares looked away, and Cepheus could tell he had struck something. “Please leave me alone,” he whispered. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.” “I do want to know,” Cepheus insisted. “Everypony in this place is healing, regardless of the horrors they have committed. Why can’t you?” Antares trotted away. “Please, Cepheus. I don’t want you to think any less of me….” He flew up into the air in a flurry of wings, and Cepheus lost track of him as a kaleidoscope of reflections flashed on the mirrored dome roof. Cepheus took wing, circling in the air, trying to find him. “You suffer day and night, never letting yourself forget. You tear your old wounds open again and again. Tell me, who is benefitting from this self-pity? No one!” his voice echoing in the cavernous room. “You have no idea who I am,” Antares whispered from somewhere. “You have no idea what I’ve done.” Cepheus flew from one mirror to another, only seeing his reflection everywhere he looked. “You don’t even know my true name…” Antares added, a tinge of grief in his voice. Cepheus noticed something. There was break in between the edges of two mirror panels on the roof. Inside, there seemed some kind of passageway just large enough for a pony to fit through. Cepheus tucked his wings in and flew into the tight passage. He crawled through, the cold glass pressing in on him. “Your past doesn’t have to define you,” Cepheus groaned. There was silence. He arrived into a small stone room, and saw Antares sitting before some kind of shrine. Flickering candles were everywhere, along with flowers, pieces of jewelry, and black and white photographs of a mare and a younger version of Antares. There was one photo that depicted the same mare in a white wedding gown. There was something written at the bottom in her handwriting. “Forever and Always, love Amberleaf.” Was Antares married at some point? Cepheus stood behind Antares, and put a hoof on his shoulder. “Let me help you,” he whispered. He put down a framed picture of Amberleaf. “I liked to kill foals,” he said. “When I was a Night Terror, I….” Antares flipped around, facing Cepheus. There were tears in his eyes. “No one else has pursued me like this. Why do you care so much?” “Because you’re hurting,” Cepheus said, drawing closer to him. “And I want that hurt to go away. You’re a good pony now, and that’s all that matters.” Antares shook his head. “I am not a good pony, nor am I bad one. I’m just a mirror. Perhaps that’s why Nightmare Moon liked me so much, because she only saw herself when she looked at me.” “What do you mean?” Cepheus asked. “Is that why you have two cutie marks?” Antares was quiet for a moment. “Do you know what it’s like to lose your cutie mark? To no longer be able to do what you were meant to?” Antares looked down at his hooves. “My second cutie mark, the one that is faded… it’s a therapist’s couch. My cutie mark was the ability to heal the minds and hearts of others.” “So what happened?” Cepheus asked, urging him onward. “Did Nightmare Moon perform psychosurgery on you?” Antares nodded. “She did. She cut out the part of my brain where my healing talent was. I was a good pony. I was kind and affectionate. Nightmare Moon did away with all that. That’s how I got the mirror cutie mark, because of what I developed as a result of the damage.” “And what would that be?” Cepheus asked. Antares looked into Cepheus’ eyes. “I have Giovanni’s Mirror Syndrome. That’s what my cutie mark means. When I awoke from my surgery, I could no longer understand who I was. I was too good of a pony for Nightmare Moon to change me through ordinary means, so she wiped the slate clean. The Mirror Syndrome rendered me unable to regain my identity; therefore, I had to use other ponies’ moral compasses and ideals to form a basis for myself. There was no such thing as Antares. I was just a reflection of whoever looked upon me. Only being able to copy others, I learned quickly. I was adept at mirroring my fellow Night Terrors. I ascended the ranks of Nightmare Moon’s forces. The higher I went up, the ponies I was surrounded by grew increasingly wicked, and I had no choice but to copy them. I would mirror them, and eventually beat them at their own game. I killed everyone I loved as a result of this. I rose to the very top, right next to Nightmare Moon.” “Then what happened?” Cepheus said. “What was the terrible thing you have done?” Antares shook his head. “I woke up. I had become the perfect mirror, and somepony shattered me. There was an explosion, and from it, I received even more brain damage. Somehow it partially negated my Mirror Syndrome, just enough for me to gain my own moral compass and recover a little bit of my identity. I flew away then, in the wake of the terrible act I committed. I flew all the way out in the forest and began this group.” “So,” Cepheus said. “Killing Nightmare Moon is vengeance for what she made you do?” Antares nodded. “I was a mirror, merely reflecting who Nightmare Moon was. I was imitating her perfectly. If the explosion had not damaged me, I would have gone on to eradicate the Dayborn ponies. She and I had been developing some kind of weapon, but my injury caused me to lose all memory of it.” Antares groaned, putting a hoof on his temple. “She needs to die before she can finish developing it. The Dayborns won’t stand a chance.” “So what now?” Cepheus said, trying to position the conversation in a way he could make his proposal. “What is your next move?” “I’ve never connected with another pony like this since Amberleaf died,” he said, looking up at Cepheus. “There is something about you that radiates light. I am helplessly drawn towards you, like a moth to a flame. When I was alone, I still felt the draw…The feeling is real.” Antares shuffled his hooves. “The thing is, even though I’ve recovered some of my identity, my sense of self is still suspended when there are others nearby. That’s why I’m so careful of who I spend time with. The Mirror Syndrome forces me to become like them.” It was time for Cepheus to make his move. “The villagers and I were deciding that we should leave.” A look of fear spread across Antares’ face. “We no longer wish to be a burden upon you all." Cepheus didn’t want to leave at all, nor did the other Nightborn ponies think the villagers were a burden, but he had to make Antares believe that. Antares spluttered, and immediately fell into a prostrate position before Cepheus. “Please stay,” he begged. “Please… You and your Dayborn friends have made such a difference here. Everypony is healing so much faster, and we are so happy to have you here.” Cepheus could tell that he was only telling half of the story, and kept up the act. “I have to find my sister. The other villagers will follow me.” “Okay!” Antares said, wrapping his hooves around Cepheus’. “The truth is: I need you.” Cepheus looked down at the pleading bat-pony. “I need you. You have a beautiful personality, and by spending more time with you, I’ll copy you. I’ll become like you. Please don’t go.” “I’ll stay…” Cepheus said. “In exchange for a request you must fulfill to the best of your ability.” “Anything,” Antares said. “Forget about the Empress’ weapon,” Cepheus said. “Forget everything.” He huffed, looking down at the pony in submission before him. “I don’t want you to kill Nightmare Moon.” Antares blanched. “But,” he protested, but Cepheus put his wingtip to his muzzle, shushing him. Cepheus shook his head. “You call yourselves the Knights of Lunara. According to your archives, Nightmare Moon wasn’t always Nightmare Moon. She used to be a benign ruler who went insane, named Lunara. She was the mother and goddess of the Nightborn race.” Cepheus drew up his hooves, and puffed out his chest, creating a commanding aura. “I want you to bring Lunara back. I want you and the rest of the Knights to focus on changing her back to her former state.” Antares shook his head. “She is beyond repair….” Cepheus looked down at Antares, imposing his will over him. “No one is beyond repair, living here has shown me that. She deserves a second chance. Surround her with love and affection, and she’ll begin to heal.” Antares looked up at Cepheus for a long time, staring into each other’s eyes. Antares blinked. “This is proof,” he whispered. “You are a better pony than I am. Perhaps you’re right. Everypony deserves a chance to redeem themselves, and even forgiveness if need be.” Antares rose up, now eye level with Cepheus. “Lead by my side, Cepheus. Together we will bring Lunara back.” Cepheus nodded, taking Antares’ hoof. “Together.” They embraced, a special gesture shared between two brothers, or two stallions who had amends with one another. “Are you going to tell me what you did now?” Cepheus asked, pushing his luck one more time. “No,” Antares said. “I can’t tell you that, but I can tell you this…” He drew back. “My real name is Starlight. Call me Starlight Mirror from now on.”