Chapter 2:
Laugh it up!
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It was a strange sensation. Cold, silent... and completely dark space was all that surrounded me. I didn't know where exactly I was, but what I knew for sure was the fact I wasn't alone. Someone was there... but where? And who? Wait... How did I ever end up getting here? I couldn't give even a vague answer to any of those questions. Yet, for some reason, I wasn't frightened by that fact at all. What was really scaring me was that feeling of a mysterious presence somewhere near. Then I noticed that I was actually moving, walking forward. No wonder I've noticed it just now... It's pitch dark in here.
And then I felt an impact. No, noone attacked me... In fact, it was quite vise versa: I hit whoever it was as I couldn't see where I was going. The reaction didn't make me wait too long...
"Who... who's there?!" - said the demanding, yet scared voice. The voice I would recognize anywhere.
"N... Nighty? Nighty, is that you?" - I replied as soon as I got over the shock.
"Eclipse? Brother! Yes, yes it's me! Where are you?" - as she was talking, I followed her voice and touched her again. I couldn't see her, but that didn't prevent me from pulling her in a tight hug.
"I'm here, Nighty... I'll be okay, little sis," - how pathetic of me it was to try and calm little filly down when I didn't even know where we were in the first place.
"B... But, where are we? I don't remember us going anywhere... except bed, that is." Bingo! How did I not think of that? Of course, it was just a dream! And with her abilities and us being so physically close in reality... It couldn't be much of a suprise that she invaded my dreams.
"Nighty? I think you need to focus. We're still in the bed, fast asleep... This is just a dream. You can control the dreams. And it looks like you've just entered mine," - I was making a point... but it didn't quite cut it.
"I... see. But why can't I see anything? How can I control something I cannot even see?" - her thinking was as good as ever. It took me a few seconds of silence to think of a proper answer.
"I can't tell for sure, but I just think that... maybe you've entered my dream before it even started. And now it's held in your power, so you can shape it into anything," - I took a pause as the idea crossed my mind, - "In fact, now, that I know it's just a dream..."
I tried to focus. Even though I couldn't see anything, I closed my eyes and tried to think of something to appear. Something nice... Something that would impress Nightmare. The pictures of the night skies from The Elder Scrolls games came into my mind. And before I knew it...
"WHOA!!! ECLIPSE, IT'S SOOOOO BEAUTIFUL!" - a loud gasp from my little sister had made my eyes shot open. And as soon as I did that, I wished I'd never need to close them again. Remember the astral place Twillight went to before becoming an alicorn? Well, what I saw was exactly that, except the view around was replaced by the mixed pictures of the skies from Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim. It was breathtaking even for a dream... No wonder Nighty is so excited.
"Well, Nighty, it looks like I have just as much control over my dream now. Thank you for visiting me here, little sis," - I smiled tenderly and poked her nose as we could already see each other just fine with so many lights around us. She giggled.
"You know what that means, right?" - she was excited about something. I couldn't help but wonder: "What, sweetie?"
"Going to bed no longer means stop spending time together!" - she exclaimed, throwing hooves over her head, - "This is SO amazing! What do we do now, brother? Can you bring your... ehm... smart machine here so we could play more games?" To be honest, that caught me a bit off-guard. Of course, I could imagine my PC and it would appear here with all the games and movies... But it was a dream. A realm of endless possibilities. I couldn't waste such a chance... I had to think of something special. And then it hit me.
Nighty was trying her best to look away from me, but even doing so didn't help her brightly burning purple blush. Who would have ever guessed that the Nightmare Moon is actually such a shy filly... But that was true. Maybe she just needed somepony to encourage her.
"I know you like it, little sis. Why are you trying to look away then?" - I asked teasingly. That only had made her blush even more. Awww, how cute!
"I... I know. I-It's just..." - she began, then stopped herself, thinking about what to say, - "A-a-I... I can't... " No matter how hard she tried, she didn't seem to be able to squeeze at least one sentence out of her mouth. Hm... maybe I overdid it. But then again, it was my goal to impress her, and that's exactly what she was: highly impressed. Okay, maybe a bit too impressed.
"Hey, don't worry so much, little sis. It's only us over here... Just tell me what's on your mind," - those words had managed to calm her down a bit, helping her focus on her own thoughts.
"You... You're so beautiful, brother," - she finally said. It was my turn to blush now.
Okay, okay, I get it. Stop giving me that look, please! I was just about to tell you exactly what the hay was going on, alright? Let me get right to it...
Before the little filly Nightmare Moon was standing a large alicorn stallion with glowing green eyes. His entire chest was bathing in obsidian crystals, a bit of which also was on his sides and back. The wings he possessed were larger than Celestia's, and their bones also had a bit of obsidian armor. The mane and tail of the staliion, while being way smaller than Celestia's, were waving in just as beautiful way and consisted only of shadows. Which means they were just as dark as his coat. In other words, it was an image of a perfect brother for Nightmare Moon.
"Thank you so much, little sis..." That's right, one more thing I need to mention: the voice of the stallion was deep as Void and had a nice echo.
"Oh, I wish this dream would never end!" - that made me frown. I knew she was a filly. I knew she was excited. But I also knew that some things must be taught at a young age... And that's when I realised something: the chance of changing her for the good was in my hands hooves at the moment.
"Listen, Nighty..." - my voice had gain a serious tone, maybe even more than I wanted it to, - "There is something I need to talk to you about... Something I need you to understand."
I could tell all of her attention was focused on me, my words sinking in. I hated to wipe that sweet smile from her face, but that's exactly what my voice did. She knew it was going to be a serious talk, and I honestly doubt she was happy about it. Yet from what I saw I could tell she had enough respect for me not to let even a bit of her frustration show. She was listening. Nightmare Moon was looking me in the eyes and listening to every word I say... I couldn't be any more honored.
"You have just said you would like this dream to never end. But it must end when the time comes. The time you spend asleep is just as important as the time you spend awake. But when one of those things starts stealing the time from the other it becomes no good. If you sleep too much, it becomes just as bad for your health as being awake for too long. Only by keeping things in harmony you can save your good health. The same goes for the night. The night is just as important as the day. The day and it's Sun provide the world energy to move on and develop... The night and it's Moon provide the world the rest it needs after every day. Winter is just as important as Summer. And for quite similar reasons. Noone likes having a bad day... Yet bad days are important too." The confusion my last sentence provided made her cut me off... Pretty much expected.
"But how can the bad day be important, brother? Wouldn't you want your life consist only of the good ones?" That was exactly the question I wanted her to ask me. The question I had an answer for.
"If you live a life full of good days, you forget what a good day means and stop appreciating it."
It took a few seconds for my sentence to sink in Nightmare's mind. She opened her mouth several times to respond, she looked ready to protest... Yet every time he ended up closing it in defeat as nothing came out. She lowered her head, sighing.
"I guess you have a good point here, Eclipse. And besides, I shouldn't be sad about this dream ending anytime soon. After all, that would only lead to us continuing spending time together in reality."
I put my hoof on hear head and stroked it gently and lovingly: "That's the pure truth, my little sister. Plus we'll have something tasty to eat." I heard her giggling at that. However, soon I could feel the cold wind starting to come from nowhere, getting stronger with each passing second as the borders of my dream started to get blurry.
"You see this, Nighty? I suppose, it means I'm about to wake up," - I said that and her face instantly became decorated with a frown, - "No worries, sweetie... You will be awake soon as well, I believe. I'm not leaving you, and you know that." Her smile was the last thing I saw before my dream was shattered to pieces.
I have to say, it was a pleasant feeling to be surrounded by such a warmth after experiencing a cold wind in my dream before waking up. I opened my eyes slowly. And the smile came across my face as soon as I did that. I had no idea she's even more beautiful when she sleeps... You know what? I take it back. The really pleasant feeling was holding her in a loving embrace, experiencing her coat rubbing against me as she breathed peacefully.
I looked around. Judging by the amount of light, it was already evening. But there sure was plenty of time before the sunset, and I knew exactly what I had to do. I did my best to leave the bed as careful as possible: I didn't want to disturb the little filly's sleep. I figured out she was going to wake up naturally when the sun sets completely. And there was a promise that needed to be fulfilled before that happened.
I have to mention one more this about myself now: whenever I set my mind on something, I just stop noticing everything else. And at that moment my mind was set on surprising Nightmare with something delicious... something she had never eaten before. And I had the exact idea in mind...
Cooking borsch is never too much fun, since it takes quite a while. It was a good thing I had a meat broth ready, it did save me a couple of hours. Now, now, I know ponies don't eat meat. But there was no actual meat, only a broth. And since every other ingredient for the borsch was a vegetable, I figured it was not going to do any harm to little filly's stomach. At the same time, I knew that a well-cooked borsch is always delicious and she sure never tried it before.
It turned out I was right about heading straight to the kitchen and starting to cook right away, not wasting a minute. As soon as the borsch was ready, I could hear the sound of tiny steps coming closer. I turned around to see Nighty entering the kitchen. About time... The sun was almost down, so my guess about her waking up time was correct.
"Good evening to you, sister of mine," - once again my attempt to sound solemn turned out to be a kind and warm tone. She smiled, looking up at me and rubbing her left eye with a hoof.
"Good evening, brother," - she said before yawning unprincesslike, - "What is it that smells so delicious?" Hearing that was already a good enough praise for my hard work.
"Well, that's exactly what I promised you yesterday. Remember when I said that I was going to cook something delicious for you? Well, you've just admitted that it seems to be delicious enough."
When I said that I was expecting a smile, blush, giggle... I could think of a lot of things, but the shock that came across her face was not one of them. What's... going on? I was lost in my thoughts, trying to figure out if I accidentally said something wrong. I had to think of something, and fast! For there were the tears already appearing in her beautiful eyes. But I didn't do anything wrong, I knew it! All I did was trying my best to keep the promise I gave her. Wait a second... Is she so shocked because I actually kept my promise?
Before I could give that idea a second thought, the crying filly flew at me faster than a bullet and a second later she was already hanging from my neck, holding me in a tight embrace.
"YOU ARE THE BEST BIG BROTHER EEEEEVEEEEEEER!!!" - she exclaimed through the stream of her tears. The only thing I could do for her at the moment was returning the affection and holding her close.
"Sshhh, Nighty... Don't cry. I try to be the best brother I can possibly be for you, sweetie... Because you deserve nothing less."
The next ten minutes were spent cuddling, until Nightmare had managed to calm herself down. Then I decided to carry her to the bathroom and help her wash a face up and get ready for the day night.
She didn't say anything. She couldn't say anything, to be exact. She was too busy eating. I didn't even remind her about manners... Instead, I simply smiled as I watched her gobbling up a huge bowl of borsch. It was the third one already. The only thing she said after tasting the first drop was asking for more. And, to be honest, I could not had dreamt of a higher praise. However, it seemed like the third bawl was enough for her, which meant her ability to talk was finally back.
"Never..." - she said in between her panting, - "Never before I have tasted... something... THIS good!"
I only smiled in response, she was so adorable at the moment. Hay, she is ALWAYS adorable, isn't she? Well, I can't argue with that.
"I'm really happy to see you loved it..." - I took a pause before mimicing her tone, - "THIS much!" She giggled. And once again, I almost died of cuteness.
In fact, even after all the time we spent together, I still couldn't believe that she was real and sitting there, right in front of me, that I could talk to her, touch her, hold her in my arms. It felt too good to be true. Regardless, it was pretty much real. And so the feeling of happiness was overwhelming me. And I was happy about many things. Not only I had a cute filly version of Nightmare Moon living in my apartment and calling me her big brother, but also I had a wonderful chance of raising her the right way, teaching her the right things and helping her become the best pony she could possibly be. It was an amazing feeling.
"So, brother, what shall we do now?" That question had snaped me back from my thoughts. Indeed, what to do now?
"Hm, I don't know... You feel like watching the next episode of 'Littlest Pet Shop'?" She gasped.
"THERE IS MORE?!" Yup, she was as excited as ever. It's settled then...
"AAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW..."
Well, I have to say, the combination of a cute "aw" and Royal Canterlot Voice is certainly something. Yet, before I could give it a second thought I was distracted by the feeling of a certain little filly jumping up and down on my knees.
"It's so nice they are friends again! I hated seeing them both sad... Though, I must say that I liked some of those offensive jokes," - she giggled as she said that, - "But she should have never overstepped her bounds." She added with a more serious tone as she stopped bouncing.
"You see, Nighty," - I began as my hand was already stroking her mane, - "Some only learn their lessons the hard way. That is why you should always think about the consequences before doing something you're not sure about. Pepper ended up hurting her friend, when the only thing she intended to do was making Penny Ling laugh. I believe it feels awful when instead of a smile you bring a frown to a face of someone you care about."
I stopped when I noticed the look on Nightmare's face. She was looking at me, her eyes wide open, her features serious, her ears catching every word. She was learning. I was actually teaching her some wisdom. That thought had sent a shiver down my spine... I was doing it. I was raising a better Luna. I was giving her what she deserved: a loving and caring older sibling.
"Brother... what's wrong? Why are you crying?"
Her innocent sweet voice snapped me from my stupor. I didn't even notice I was actually crying. When did I even start crying? I, however, had a more important matter to pay attention to: what was I going to tell her?
"Oh, it's... it's nothing, sweetie. For a moment, I just imagined what that feeling would be like. And believe me... It felt, like, really bad." Phew! That reply seemed good enough for her to buy. And so she did...
"I do believe it does feel awful..." Suddenly, she stood up and leaned against me, pressing her forelegs against my face: "Smile for me, brother. I hate seeing you sad..." That's... so touching...
I couldn't help but wrap my arms around her and pull her closer to me. She didn't resist. In fact, a moment later I could feel her forelegs embracing my neck. We spent the next few minutes like that, holding each other close and not saying a word. No words needed to be said: our embrace expressed just how much we cared for one another. I cared for her... And she cares for me...
"Take this, you filthy pigs!" - she exclaimed, launching another bird.
That's right, we'd been playing Angry Birds that time. Nightmare Moon seemed to love playing games so much, especially the games where you could improve your result and find a better, creative way to solve the task. I just smiled, watching her silently. Her focus was absolute, and I sure didn't want to disturb it. Especially since she was no longer using Royal Canterlot Voice at night.
"There! I did it! I've got all three stars!"
She was so happy. She was herself, no mask was needed anymore, no feelings had to be concealed. Moreover... she was just having fun. She felt joy. She knew someone cared about her and was there to share her feelings. She was happy... and so was I.
"You're so funny, Nighty..." - my voice seemed to distract her from the game. She giggled.
"And what's so funny about me?"
"I don't know... I just want to smile all the time when I'm with you." She giggled again. Does she have to be so cute all the time?
"You're the one who's funny!"
"Oh, really? How so?" - I said as her statement caught me off guard.
"You're funny because you think I'm funny," - she put her hoof to her mouth and chuckled softly, turning to face me. Then she beeped my nose playfully. My smile could rival Pinkie's. However, my track of thoughts was soon disturbed by Nighty's giggling getting louder until she burst into a laughter, collapsing on my knees and starting to roll around. I don't know why, but just looking at that scene had made me want to laugh as well.
"Brother... " - she said as she managed to catch her breath between her laughter, - "Why... Why are we laughing?"
"I... Haha... I don't know!" - I exclaimed, laughing out loud as well. I really didn't know why. There was no logical explanation, no obvious reason. Noone had even said a funny joke! I just laughed. And so did she.
But through that laughter I could feel how we were becoming closer. How a certain sort of spark was ignited in our hearts. I know it sounds silly now as I look back at it, but it doesn't sound any less true. It was a spark that brings people together, the spark that makes them understand how much they enjoy spending time with one another, no matter what it would be: a game, a movie or a simple talk. The thing is just that spending some time together makes them smile. And that is all that matters. All the bad feelings, worries, fears, doubts.... Everything negative was left behind that laughter. It was rushing through our very souls, washing away everything that made us different, helping us see what made us alike. In the realm of that laughter we were no longer the dark princess of the night and an ordinary human. We were... just us, I suppose. Just the two beings having a good time. Having a good time... together. Everything else didn't matter at that moment. The force of laughter had made everything else just... fade away just for the two of us.
It all starts with laughter...