//------------------------------// // Somewhere in the far North // Story: That Night // by PTR-RainbowDash //------------------------------// The snow slowly drifted down upon the land; the full moon’s glow spread across the cold, wintery acreage. Gently swept was the snow-covered plains by the slow, drawling wind. Hoof prints, gathered in a line, speckled the evening snow. Atop the rising plains, stood a dark blue mare whose mane whispered with the night. Troubled was the heart that belonged to the mare who stood upon the snowy tundra. “I know you’re here.” She softly announced to the air, frustration tucked away within the words, her whispers rising to a shout. “I know you’re here, just as I know my Moon will follow the day!” Anger seeped from her words. “Come out and face me!” The faintest shift in the air followed by the soft crunch of compacting snow signaled the arrival of her dark companion; a mare, but not quite a mare. “But the moon mustn’t always follow the day. It could have been eternal.” Spoke the new arrival in a teasing, mischievous voice. “Spare me the lecture for I have no interest in that life.” Replied the first voice, more harshly than before. “Why have you come here?” “Surely you’d know why I’d come back to our own special little spot…“ Teased the second voice, the first feeling a soft touch along the back of her neck. A pause filled the air before retreating from whence it came. “But you want to know more…” continued the second voice in a softer, deeper, and accusing voice. “You wish to know why I’ve come back to Equestria.” The first voice did not reply, merely staring out at the night sky hovering over the glowing white land. “Of course you’d want to know… you’d want to know if what I feel for you still holds true... if I still love you.” The first swiftly and roughly pushed the second away, almost yelling in reply as she looked upon the other for the first time that night. “Why would I care if you still love me, I am only interested in the wellbeing of my people! Why have you come to Canterlot, and why did you try to enslave my subjects?” Demanded the first voice. “Oh but Luna, the answer stares you right in the face and yet you refuse to see it.” The second voice spoke in a soft and almost adoring voice. “I did it for you. Everything I’ve done has been for you since that day we met.” “And what could possibly make you think I’d want my home destroyed and my subjects erased?” “My kingdom would be sated, and with yours in pieces, there would be nothing standing in the way of our love… nothing to keep us from spending eternity together.” “And what would make you think I would want to spend an eternity with you, Chrysalis?” yelled Luna, her eyes filled with flames. For the first time that night, Chrysalis looked surprised. “But… I’ve waited for you for one thousand years.” Chrysalis replied idly in shock. “The Luna you waited for is dead!” spat Luna as she started to advance upon the Changeling Queen, stopping right underneath the towering, but so very fragile queen, Luna’s expression slowly fading into sadness; the kind of sadness that a mother might show after disciplining their child again and again. “What will it take to get that through your thick skull that I am not Nightmare Moon anymore, nor will I ever be again.” Luna softly whispered, gently stroking the changeling’s cheek. Chrysalis flinched at the touch. This wasn’t her Luna, but it sure looked like her. Everything was going wrong. And suddenly, Chrysalis was sliding across the snow on her back before drifting to a stop with an angry alicorn looming over her. Chrysalis also noticed several aches that weren’t there before. Luna was getting rather fast with her attacks it seemed. “Never return to Equestria, lest you wish to be slain.” Said Luna before turning tail and walking away. Chrysalis wasn’t sure how long she lay there. Once she was back on her hooves, she couldn’t spot Luna except for her hoofprints in the snow. Snow began to fall from the sky. It wasn’t a harsh snow, nor was it particularly light. The large frozen particles simply drifted down to ensure the complete coverage of the earth. There were no words to express, nor any thoughts to be thought, only pain to be felt. As she stood there, the tracks of her lost love slowly faded under the fresh snowfall. Minutes turned to hours, or was it hours that turned to minutes? Chrysalis felt as if time itself was not sure of where or when it was. Sometimes she noticed that minutes had passed, and other times it was tens and half hours that had suddenly passed as parts of her mind focused on keeping in touch with reality whilst other parts just wished to drift off into the black nothingness. And suddenly, she was aware again. It was all a joke. “That must be it!” she thought to herself. “Luna was playing a joke on me! Jokes are things that ponies do, right?” Chrysalis wasn’t sure if such a serious situation would be considered prank material by normal ponies, but then again Luna was not a normal pony. Luna wasn’t a normal pony by any means. She was special. She was the one pony whom Chrysalis did not seek to harvest for sustenance. Instead, Chrysalis sought her approval, her company, and her love to treasure. Chrysalis knew she needed to head to Canterlot, for that was where her love would be waiting for her. And so she set off towards Canterlot, following the trail her love had left in the snow, though faded it was. Chrysalis just couldn’t wait to return and find her love waiting for her to return, perhaps with a bottle of wine and a few roses, or perhaps she would find Luna lying upon a pillow before the soft glow of a lit fireplace. Chrysalis couldn’t care much for wine or roses but those were things that ponies did like; though she did have to remind herself once again that Luna was not a normal pony. And the tracks came to an end. But light wingtip indentations in the snow and a general dip on each side suggested that Luna probably had flown the rest of the way. No matter, Chrysalis knew the way to Canterlot from their special spot, though now that she tried to recall it, she could not remember it. Instead, she remembered moments of their past from many many moons ago; one thousand moons and change, to be precise. “Soon, Equestria will be ours!” spoke a younger Nightmare Moon, her foreleg wrapped around Chrysalis’ shoulders. “The night shall rule and changelings will feed upon the sun lovers!” “I can hardly wait.” Replied a younger Chrysalis as she nuzzled up to her companion. Nightmare Moon turned towards Chrysalis. “Alone, I am powerful, but together we are unstoppable. Celestia will be gone, and our reign will last eternity… and I have you to thank for it.” Nightmare Moon finished as almost a whisper, leaning in towards Chrysalis, their lips touching in a growingly passionate kiss. This did not help Chrysalis find her way. Perhaps it was not a joke that Luna had set, but rather a test! A test of her love, like those in certain forms of Equestrian literature. That had to be it! But if it were a test, then surely it would be one she could pass. At least, she hoped it was. And so minutes became hours as Chrysalis stood there, unable to remember the way. “It appears you have moved very little in a single day and in the wrong direction as well. Is a poor sense of direction a trait that which all changelings share?” Said a voice which brought Chrysalis out of her stupor. Turning around, she found herself only a few meters away from Luna once again. “I would have thought that my message was rather clear, though I do admit it is fortunate that you chose not to heed it.” Spoke Luna in almost cheerful voice. “There may yet be a place for you in Canterlot… if you are willing to change. Else, I must end you right here and now.” Luna finished with a sad expression. “You were right, though Nightmare Moon is no longer a part of me, I do still desire you in my life, or rather a version of you to which my mind believes is a believable and almost perfect form of you. Nevertheless, you now have a choice, my love. Denounce what you know of destruction and death, and in turn embrace what I can offer you; a life free of starvation, a life of service to Equestria, a life with me.” Luna moved closer to the changeling queen, their muzzles within inches as Luna suddenly embraced the changeling, Luna’s muzzle moving past her own and aligning with her ear. “If I am to be right about anything in this life, let it be this. Change for me in a way you have never changed before. Embrace a peaceful night that shares with the day.” Whispered Luna as she finished her embrace and backed off just enough to look Chrysalis in the eyes, waiting for an answer. To Luna, it felt as if hours had passed before that reply came. “What must I do?”