From the Eternal Love of a Sister

by Scootareader

The Nightmare Returns

Nightmare Moon will not share her magic with us this night. She offers no explanation, nor hint of her intentions.

She has infrequently allowed us to use her magic for centuries. She most often speaks not at all or in a psychotic babble, but there have been numerous occasions in which she has been lucid and eager enough to give us what we request of her.

It has been our comfort and our solace to sojourn into the dreams of our citizens. With so little else to occupy us, we savor every moment spent with the sleeping ponies. We connect with them on a level our sister will never be able to reach, even in her dreams. We checked personally.

My sister’s dreams have, however, revealed new insight. She yearns for me to join her again, to finally reunite what was once torn apart. It is a window into the world we used to live in and a wish that reality could be as perfect as dreams.

I have not met her in her dreams. She has the same one every night, ever since we decided to first look upon her while she sleeps, but we refuse to acknowledge to her that we are watching. It feels wrong, somehow.

---

I cast my eyes wildly over the bleached-white walls which enclose me on all sides, searching for something, anything that I may see. I gallop frightfully toward one of the walls, but it seems to stretch away from me, while the others follow me, making me feel like I’m never moving anywhere. I know that there is only one pony who can stop the walls, who can give me a door, and I call her name.

“Luna! Luna!” My frightened cries echo away, then come right back to ring in my ears. She has abandoned me. I am alone.

---

It is not my place to reassure my sister in her time of doubt. She must bear the burden of her actions as we have borne ours. The cost has been high for the both of us.

Moon, when can we go home?

”Soon,” comes the enigmatic reply. Over the centuries, the Moon has entertained an occasional question of Her, but soon to Her appears to be hundreds of years to us. She refuses to tell us how long we have been imprisoned, or how much longer we will remain imprisoned. Her infinite wisdom confounds us.

For a long time, we have been able to think. We have been awake for the entirety of our sentence, though our sanity has escaped us occasionally. Meeting others in their dreams has strengthened our tenuous grasp on the reality of the world outside these walls, but imagining will not keep us happy forever.

If there is anything more to learn, we cannot fathom what it may be.

Nightmare Moon’s eyes shift lazily to the roof of our prison, her gaze upon nothing at all, vision unfocused as she sits absolutely still. We cannot imagine a more agonizingly droll way to spend our evening, but we are in control of this body no longer. She has more right to it than we do.

The mare’s eyes focus on something in the ceiling. We initially pay it little mind, but Nightmare Moon rises to her hooves, wings flapping as she rises to the ceiling.

There is a glowing light traveling toward us.

“It’s here! I’m free!” comes our host’s exclamation.

We exercise more caution and curiosity, not incessant optimism, and observe as the light comes closer to us. Eventually, we made out a small, dark shape in the center.

Nightmare Moon’s eyes catch the glare from another light source, and her head whips around to observe three more balls of light traveling toward her.

“It’s the stars! The Moon’s subjects have come to save me!”

These... may be stars. If that is so, however, what are the dark shapes inside of them?

Through Nightmare Moon’s raucous onslaught of joy, we use her eyes to study the dark blotches in the balls of light as intensely as possible. We believe we can make out appendages, like... hooves?

Nightmare Moon abruptly stops her celebrating and looks closely at the star she initially saw. Under her focused gaze, the creature inside indeed appears to be a pony.

They are traveling toward us at great speed as well. It appears that, at this rate, they will collide with the Moon quite soon.

The moments seem to tick by with singular slowness. We watch as the stars inch closer and closer, until we can begin making out their features.

We see... wings. On two of them. There are two pegasi in these stars. What are the other ponies?

The glare from the other stars overtakes us, making us unable to see the inhabitants any more. Hurtling terrifyingly quickly at the place where we are trapped, we brace for the impact with the Moon.

Instead, they meld seamlessly into the Moon Herself.

Sister, what is happening to us?

---

I was dreaming of Luna again.

The first instinct of my body is to take a desperate gasp for air. I despise this dream so greatly that I will suffocate myself before I see it through to its end.

I refuse to believe that the Moon would lie to me. Luna has to be coming back. I’ve waited 1000 years and ruled Equestria for the both of us while patiently anticipating this day. The day she comes back.

Twilight Sparkle has a destiny. I believe that the Moon foresaw when the Elements of Harmony would next be wielded, and that time is now. I must trust in Her to know what is the right thing to do.

So, I dispatched Twilight to where I believe Nightmare Moon will go: Home.

The settlement that I allowed the Apple family has grown into a quaint farming town in the 25 years it has been around. I am doing all that I can think of to bring my sister back to me, and if I am to do that, Nightmare Moon must be stopped, and I imagine she will make her first appearance closest to the place she remembers.

If it came down to another fight, would I let her kill me so that she may be free?

I imprisoned my sister for 1000 years. Perhaps my life is forfeit to her.

Oh, what am I saying? The Elements of Harmony will defeat Nightmare Moon. I’m certain of it.

Luna, you’ll be home in just a few hours.

I open the door to the balcony, give several powerful flaps of my wings, and glide swiftly toward Ponyville.

Author's Note:

Five more chapters at the most. For those of you who like really long stories, sorry. For those of you who like your reading to be bite-sized, rejoice!
--Scootareader

Comments

[vampyr-pony]

my heart has been burning with the feels from this story since the begining, please dont stop early.....i think im in love(with the story)

[Psychobogle]

Amazing story. It's in my favorites.
Keep it classy.

[Scootareader]

3665423
All stories must end eventually. I really don't know which chapter will be my last. I keep writing until there's nothing left to say. I'll do what I can to make these last few chapters memorable, though.

3666855
Thanks! The reassurance definitely helps.

[PaulAsaran]

Now I only hope that the next few chapters aren't exacting repeats of the first episodes. That would be unfortunate.