//------------------------------// // Sanctity of the Mind // Story: Nightmare: An Equestrian Tragedy // by Meep the Changeling //------------------------------// Throne Room, The Castle of the Two Sisters - 13st of Megan 2550 RH 2,645 Years Ago - The True Beginning To say that this particular day was a joyous occasion is to severely understate the actuality of the event. The last millennia had seen our entire kingdom engulfed within literal chaos. The laws of nature and magic had meant little if anything to anypony for the entire time. The mad god Discord had used and abused our land and our people for whatever ends he desired, exactly like a foal in a sandbox. Had. We defeated him in the end. The means was convoluted, complicated, and would require at least three texts to properly explain. The long and short of the matter is we gained a super weapon with the assistance of a friend, at the cost of another. While Clover’s death had been tragic, she had died a thousand years ago, just after the beginning. We had long since had our time to mourn her. Though one small detail did bother me. As our combined wills petrified the malevolent trickster god, everything he had done was reverted. The entirety of our nation reset to exactly the state it had been in before he arrived. With the lone exception of the Elements of Harmony existing, Clover remaining dead, and my sister and I’s knowledge of the events. Those who had been alive when the chaos began lived once more. Those born during the chaos were nowhere to be found. It was as if time had undone itself, yet a look at the outside world showed it remained the same. Our kingdom had been reset. Which made it odd to me that our weapon remained, the petrified ‘statue’ of Discord remained where it had been ‘made’, and Clover stayed dead. I had my suspicions we would find other things which had not been reset after enough time spent looking. To me, this smelled of an entity we could never fully comprehend playing a game with us and then being a twisted sort of gentlecolt about losing. But in the meantime, we had cause to celebrate. We renamed the month in which our kingdom had been liberated after our now departed friend, and spent the last five days organizing a celebration. Not that anypony else knew why. Though plenty believed us, we were one of the most trustworthy sources of information at the time. “Luna,” Celestia said as she looked over towards me, having been in long thought. She probably wanted my opinion on whatever new change to tomorrows’ feast’s menu she had concocted. “Yes, sister?” I replied, waiting for her thoughts. “When we used the Elements, did you feel any link to them? Any means by which you could guide their actions?” She asked cryptically. I shook my head. “Not at all. I only felt them drawing upon my magic and will as Megan said they would. I served as one of the keys for their lock. That is all.” Celestia nodded. “I see… Then my suspicions must be correct. Whoever is chosen to wield the Element of Magic dictates what the Elements’ spell itself will do.” “Y-you mean you intentionally chose to turn him to stone?” I asked, ears and tail raising in surprise. “Did you also restore our-” “No, I didn’t restore it. I’m not sure if the Elements are that powerful,” Celestia mused. “But I did think about turning him to stone as I was unsure how one might kill a god. But I figured he could be contained, or stopped.” I nodded slowly. “Well, if we are fortunate, we will never have to use them again. But it is good you are learning how they function. One can not tell what the future holds.” “That is true,” Celestia agreed. “Which leads me to a thought… Would it not have been better to have Discord as a friend, or loyal servant?” “Well, yes. Of course,” I began stopping mid-thought as what Celestia was implying hit me full in the face. “I- Bu- NO!” Celestia took a step back at my sudden outburst, ears flattening. “Sister, what’s wrong? You look as if-” I felt my wings flare as my shock and rage at the extreme injustice Celestia had just considered burned in my core. “The mind is a sacred place, Celestia! I- The- There are not even proper words to convey how wrong forcing- You yourself outlawed mind-controlling magics! She nodded. She actually nodded! “I did,” Celestia agreed. “Because they are likely to be abused and to harm those they are used upon. If you read the law in full rather than its summery you would know I only outlawed it for those not working with the Crown’s express permission to use it, and established an application system for a case by case approval so that our constables and licensed therapists may still use such magics if they need to.” I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself enough to think rationally and refute her argument. “And you think that will keep such things from being abused?” I demanded. “One’s decisions must be one’s own. The mind is the one thing you have that can truly be called your own. No force in the world should have the power or authority to forcibly change what you believe or think. It’s not right!” “Perhaps,” Celestia said in a dismissive way, “but it is certainly better than killing.” I felt a vein in my left eye throbb. “Sister, tell me you are joking!” “I’m serious, Luna. If we kill our enemies, what does that teach them? What can they then go on to do to benefit society? Nothing, they are dead. We ended their life, their potential. By killing them we are removing potential good. With the Elements, we have a safe way to invert their hearts desires and bring them to serve the common good,” Celestia said firmly. The rage rolled and boiled, breaking free of my attempts to hold it back. “Every word you have said here are those of a fool! There is a line Celestia, and you just crossed it!” “What line?” Celestia snapped back. “A moral line!” I retorted,.“Killing ends life, but is just a tool. It is not right or wrong in and of itself. By killing those who use their power to harm others for their own gain, you bring more good into the world than you take from it via the sword. But if you reach out and break the mind of another to force your will upon them, regardless of your reasoning or intent, you have committed a truly monstrous act. A truly good person brings others to their side by example, not by removing free choice!” Celestia’s ears parked, lips forming a small ‘o’ shape as she came to a realization. Thank Faust, perhaps she could finally see the truly reprehensible- “I’m not saying we should use the Elements on any and every lawbreaker, Luna. Only those of a power and threat similar to Discord. We are throwing an opportunity away if we don't bring them to our side,” she said in a simple explanatory voice. By all that is bucking good! What in Tartarus had gotten into my sister?! I stood and stared at her, my mouth agape for several long moments. “If you intend to dominate the minds of anyone directly, then I shall never help you activate those things again! Regardless of circumstance,” I informed in the most ironclad way I could manage. Celestia sighed. “I am certain you will change your mind should we experience another disaster of Discord’s scale.” “I will not!” I said firmly, wheeling around, hooves scraping the stone as I marched to my chambers. “Speak to me again when this evil is no longer in your mind!” Night Court, Canterlot - 8th of Solardusk 17 EoH Present Day Lyra winced, rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof. “So uh… Yeah… I know you two reformed like four people with the Elements back in the day… That had to be a mess,” she said slowly. Luna nodded, her face barely holding back a wrathful sneer. “Yes. She tricked me four times into thinking she was going to simply imprison them. Four times. That is how much I trust my sister, Lyra. She was able to fool me four times into doing something reprehensible before I found a means to renounce my connection to my Elements. I could not take part in that monstrous evil anymore.” Lyra nodded slowly. “Then um… When it comes to Twi-” Luna’s eyes shut tight for a moment, her body trembling as her dark blue fur rippled, turning as black as the night sky for a heartbeat. Lyra’s frightened yelp echoing off the walls bringing an end to the budding change. “It’s alright! It’s alright… I’ve got it under control. That has been building up for some time. But it's fine now,” Luna called urgently. “A-are you sure? We can stop. Like, I want to know but it’s totally not worth making you go ballistic!” The knight insisted. Luna shook her head. “We can continue. Nothing else is as enraging as this single issue for me. I… I’m sure you have noticed Twilight’s oddities. She is a very nice young mare, and truly a genius with magic but, well, I’m sure you know.” Lyra nodded. “Yeah, she’s a bit dumb at everything else. But that’s okay, we all have our talents and drawbacks. Besides, she’s very nice. Did you know she paid for a second honeymoon for Bonbon and I? She felt bad after hearing our first one was reading books on the couch. We went to Mareland for a week, it was a blast!” “Right,” Luna agreed. “There is nothing wrong with how she is. But when she truly can't understand many of the common elements of normal social behavior… The simplistic way she views the world… Everything is black and white to Twilight. There is not a single shade of gray in her world. And the way even a single thing being out of her normal experience can break her mind entirely.” Luna shook her head bitterly. “Did you know she once put the entire town of Ponyville under a compulsion hex just because-” “She thought her homework was late,” Lyra muttered. “Yeah, I know. She got me with that one. Tartarus she got Bonbon too… Everypony in fact.” “Precisely!” Luna exclaimed in exasperation. “I’m not saying she can’t be a hero, she is, and she is also remarkably good at governing Ponyville. Her oddities make her far better at some things than a normal pony could ever hope to be. However, her mind is easily steered by those she respects due to her simple view of the world’s nuances. She sees my sister as a Goddess who can do no wrong. “Which means Princess Celestia is content using a mare incapable of seeing her flaws as a weapon… Every time Twilight has broken the sanctity of another’s mind she has been but the arrow. Celestia has always been the archer. To her, Twilight is the means to use the Elements as she always wanted to… It sickens me.” Lyra nodded, clearly understanding, but her expression showing nothing about her own thoughts regarding the matter. “If you are that opposed to Celestia’s methods and morals… Why are you still here? Why not leave?” Lyra asked, each word ringing with genuine confusion. Luna looked up at the ceiling with a sigh. “Because despite this deep, dark, and clear flaw, she is still my sister. She is the one friend I have had since fillyhood. The one friend I have had before I was a person of power. When your fond memories of somepony go back as long as you can remember, and you can remember millennia… It’s very hard for me to hate her. Though I do hate things about her, I still love my sister. “You see… I hope that she can change further. She has changed her mind on many issues over the long years. Perhaps one day she will see that this is wrong and seek to make amends for her actions. I deeply regret attacking my sister as the Nightmare. I do not regret attacking the Princess as the Nightmare, and were she not my sister, I would do so again. This is the only reason I have not killed Celestia for her evil deeds. And the only reason I did not attack her on the spot that very day." “Because you know she can change?” Lyra asked. “No. Because she is my sister, and I have a strong emotional attachment to her,” Luna corrected. “In theory, anyone can change. But it’s extremely unlikely, especially for those with extreme views or extreme age. Which is why destroying evil is the best option as it is almost certainly the way to save the most lives… Actually, that’s the next issue we need to go over. A few hundred years later Tirek attacked Equestria for the first time. If I had my way it would have been the only time.”