//------------------------------// // S1 CH 6. Punishment // Story: The Story of Twilight Glow // by Jeweled Pen //------------------------------// ”WELL, BARD?! WHAT DOEST THOU SAY?!” Twilight gulped and stared at the princess. She watched her and whimpered. She couldn't stop herself. She was too scared to move, too scared to run. Too scared to do anything but await death. ”WELL?!” Finally, she cracked. The tears formed in her eyes and she fell on her flank and began to full on bawl. She didn't care if she looked like a foal, she was going to die and she knew it and she didn't care if she looked horrible in her last moments. She felt the movement as warmth wrapped around her and she waited for the end. It would only take a moment, she hoped. Probably compressed down to the size of a can. She hoped it would be painless. Instead, nothing happened. The warmth stayed and, more surprising, it was soft. Wings held her close as the princess gazed down at her. Slowly the tears began to fade as she looked up into the eyes of her ruler. Most surprising of all, the rage was gone from them. The look on the ruler's face was soft, gentle. Almost loving. Motherly. Her wings gently wiped the tears away. “Be calm, bard,” the princess said soothingly. “There is no need to cry.” Twilight stared, her mouth falling open as she watched. “I... I thought...” she croaked out. “You're... n-not going to... kill me?” The alicorn sighed and frustration formed on her features as she closed her eyes. She looked torn. Twilight's eyes widened as a new thought formed in her mind. “Princess... do... do you love us?” Her eyes opened in shock. “Bard?” “Us... ponies. Do you love us?” The princess cocked her head to the side. “Of course we love our subjects. What kind of ruler would we be without the love of those we protect?” Twilight gulped. “Are... are you going to kill me?” The princess shook her head. “No. You... are our subject. A foal. But you are ours. You still must be punished, however.” Twilight nodded. “Thank you...” Nightmare Moon watched her for a moment. “Was... it truly necessary to ask?” “I'm sorry?” “To ask if we loved our subjects?” Twilight gulped. “W-well... you... did almost kill and tear off the wings of that pegasus.” “She assaulted us!” the alicorn roared. But then paused. “Why did she?” “She... thought you had her friend held captive. Rarity. She was... trying to free her.” The alicorn stared, before pulling away. “A thousand years, and yet it all stays the same,” she said bitterly. “I'm sorry?” “Would they have ever suspected their other princess of holding a pony captive? Would they have assaulted her?!” Nightmare Moon asked, slamming a hoof down hard enough to crack the stone. “W-what?” “Our sister!” “W-well, no, I suppose they wouldn't. But--” “Of course not! Even now, when we are all you can see, still we must stay in her shadow! Why must all of you ponies hate our night so?!” she roared, stomping her hooves yet again. Twilight cringed. “It's... it's not that. Honest! It's just...” She took a deep breath as she watched the princess. A moment ago she'd been so calm and soothing. Now, however, the anger and pain she was so familiar with was returning. “It's because we don't know. Nopony knows. We're afraid of... what's going to happen. We don't know you.” “Of course you don't know us!” Nightmare Moon yelled. “We are hidden from you! As our sister wanted, she stood revered and loved by all, while we were cast aside, forgotten and banished!” Twilight cringed. “I-I wouldn't say--” The princess turned back to her. “Oh? Tell us, bard. How did you know of us?” The earth pony gulped. “I... I read about you in a book. It was just an old fairy tale and--” “Oh course it was! Just a tale, something to tell foals before tucking them in!” she roared again, before she stormed to the throne and sat down on it. She then gestured to the floor. “Very well, bard. You who have had so many questions. You have filled your books with what you thought you needed to ask. But now, let us tell you of who we were. Of what our life was before we were banished.” Twilight blinked, her eyes widening. “W-what? But--” “You have asked questions. So many questions. You have begun to weave your story. To know of our fall. But this time... we will tell of who we were. Before we even considered rising up to our wicked sister and dethroning her.” The earth pony nodded. “Can... I ummm, get a scroll and a pen? I'd like to--” A scroll and quill popped into existence before her. “A-ah. Carry on.” The princess took a slow, deep breath before closing her eyes. “We... were the princess of the night. Alongside our sister, we protected our subjects. Our ponies. We defeated the greatest of evils. Tirek, Sombra, even Discord. We put our lives on the line for so long, did everything we could to protect our subjects.” Twilight nodded and made a mental note to research those names later. “But never the praise fell on us,” she said, her tone cold as ice. “Always our sister was the one who received the glory. The one who ponies praised. Revered.” She gave a shudder. “They would hold... banquets in our honor. Raise statues. But they were always of her. Often there was but one statue, just of her. Or ours was to the side, tiny in comparison. Always in her shadow. But... we persevered. We thought... we believed we were unworthy. Perhaps our elder sister was better than us.” She ground a hoof into the ground. “We... thought perhaps if we tried harder, they would love us as well. But we were wrong.” Twilight nodded as she took down the notes, glancing up at the princess. That anger was growing, she could almost taste it. “Our sister was crafty. Wise. We... didn't realize what she was doing. We were foals. But we learned. And now we have had our vengeance.” “Learned what?” “Her plot of the day. Of the sun,” the princess said coldly. “She lured ponies away, told them of her beauty, of her glimmering light. She dazzled them, drawing their attention to herself. Always to herself. More and more they were lured in by her... false light. By the time I realized what she had done, what she was doing, it was too late. There was... naught we could do.” Her tone shifted suddenly, going soft and sad. “We... tried to draw our ponies back. To... make them see that we could be... beautiful. We could be dazzling. We could be what they wanted. We created such beauty in the sky. Shows that none had ever dreamed of. Meteor showers, great glimmering night lights far more beautiful than any rainbow. But it was too late. They slept through them. They IGNORED us!” Nightmare Moon yelled. “They always ignored us. Always... refused to listen. When we went to meet with them, they forgot about us. Our requests and thoughts were seen as unimportant to them, useless whining. We would receive only a hoofful of the support that our sister had. We heard their whispers. We saw their dreams. None of them wanted us. None of them thought there was even a need for a second princess. A... back up princess.” She closed her eyes and gave a little shake. “It was too late. With our sister there, there was naught we could do. For they loved her and would listen to whatever she said. But we... were seen as second best. They would have given their lives for her, but for us, they wouldn't even give their time. Not one night. All of you ponies, all of my lovely subjects, drawn into her light. And that is when we decided. There was only one way to show our glory. To show who we truly were. To show... our subjects that we were not just a... second princess. We would be the only princess.” Twilight nodded. “And then... you turned into...” “We forsook the name of Luna,” the mare said coldly. “It was soft, weak. The name of a pony who could do naught but stand in her sister's shadow. We became Nightmare Moon.” Her wings spread out, seeming to radiate out from the throne. She then looked down at Twilight. “We have worked again and again to show ourselves to our subjects. And still you view us with such fright. Almost... hatred.” The earth pony lowered her eyes. “I... I thought... I mean... Rainbow you were... going to cripple her.” “She struck us! It is well within our right to punish her!” Twilight cringed and gave a nod, lowering herself slightly and closing her eyes. “Please... m-mercy...” Nightmare Moon took a slow, deep breath before closing her eyes. “... Perhaps you... are right. You ponies are such... foals. Yet we do care for you. We will not allow these... attacks to go unpunished any longer. Far too many have taken place.” A hoof was brought to her chin. “But we shall not cripple or kill either of you.” Her eyes widened slightly and her lips formed a small smile. “However, there is one punishment that was long abandoned even in our time. Perhaps it is time it makes its return.” The earth pony looked up, nervously staring at the alicorn. ------ Twilight shook as she rocked back and forth in the wagon. The entire wagon jumped a little with every bump, making her nerves shake with it. She looked across the wagon at Rainbow, who was trying to put on a casual, calm face even as they passed by the crowds walking with fearful eyes. Punishments like this hadn't taken place in millenia, they were thought to be only used in stories or with more barbaric races. Now the crowds had gathered to watch with a frightened fascination, to see if the act would be repeated. When the wagon came to a stop in the courtyard, two guards came to their sides, gently helping them to their hooves. She kept her head high, trying to keep herself from letting the fear show. After all, as terrified as she was, she knew this was only a fraction of what Nightmare Moon was capable of. They would survive this. Probably. She was slowly guided to the stage and stared at the guard who had been tasked with the deed. Strapped to his side was the whip to be used for the punishment. It looked fresh and new, as if it had never been used. She supposed it likely never had. The guard met her eyes for a moment before his gaze turned away and he looked just as desperate to escape as she did. She was led forward and her hooves were locked into position. “It's fine,” she said softly. “Just... ten lashes each. You can do this,” she said comfortingly to the guard. “I'm... I'm so sorry,” he said softly. “I know. We... all do what we must,” she said, before looking out over the crowd. Most of them couldn't look away, they just stared as another guard announced her punishment for the deeds. She doubted most of them even believed it was going to happen, that at any moment Celestia would appear over the horizon and say it was all a big joke. That Nightmare Moon was just a prank, her in a mask. But there was no Celestia, not anymore. There was just the nightmare. Twilight closed her eyes and waited until she heard the uncoiling of the whip behind herself. It was just ten, she could endure. Would endure. It probably wouldn't even hurt that bad. She doubted she'd even-- The crack tore through her ears like lightning and for a moment she just stood there, in shock. Then the pain struck and all of her self-assurances evaporated, replaced by a scream that tore from her throat.