I Barely Know Me

by Trinity Copper-Fox

4.2: Pretty Little Head

Author's Note:

First of all, I am SOOOO sorry for not updating for so long! I got a big schedule change, and I was dealing with a lot of stuff. Quite frankly, I have anxiety and office life made it worse and kinda...killed my creativity for a while. I am not going to promise consistency. But I am reoutlining the rest of the story and hope to work it out soon. I've still got a lot of stuff going on, but Lunar Rainbow is close to my heart, and I will not be satisfied till her story is complete.

“So…” Twilight began when Discord returned from taking Lunar Rainbow home. “Did you figure out what that little freakout of Lunar’s was about?” Discord frowned at her for a moment, seeming to debate whether to tell her or not, before he sighed.

“Yes, well, it seems that since she awoke without her memories, she has managed to stumble upon communities that were fond of harming her, and none that could be considered remotely accepting of outsiders, until now,” he explained as the moon was raised by Luna’s magick. He watched the sphere ascend, visible tonight as the waxing gibbous, very nearly full.

“Really?” Twilight asked, shocked, as she led him back toward SugarCube Corner. She and the elements would be staying in the inn next to the bakery that night, along with the other princesses. “I wasn’t aware that there were such places in Equestria! Did she happen to mention the names of these places?”

“She didn’t say, no.” Discord shrugged. “She merely stated that they were on the borders of Equestria, and highly self-contained villages. One, she said, was in the badlands near the mountains where the dragons make their homes.”

“What in Equestria could they have done to her?” Twilight wondered, frowning as she strolled through the saloon doors into the Ponyville Inn. “At least she seems to trust you, Discord. That’s definitely a start.”

Discord stood just inside the door, frowning in her direction as she walked toward the conference room the princesses had reserved so they could plan for Nightmare Light’s return. With the moon in the sky, his protective measures were weakened and could be broken through within minutes. All the townsponies had responded well to the curfew and had returned to their homes as the sun had just begun to dip towards the horizon. So long as they all stayed indoors, they’d be just fine.

And so, his mind was free to turn to his discussion with Lunar Rainbow. She certainly did not trust him. He couldn’t tell Twilight that, of course, because she would press to know why, and then trust would be out of the question. Lunar Rainbow hadn’t spoken of any details, but she had made it very clear that she had suffered torture at the hooves of anypony she’d ever trusted because she was an unknown alicorn, and it had traumatized her. It was a condition that had never been seen in Equestria, but he knew of dimensions where it was common, and some where it was more than just common. In one particular place, he had seen that they had not yet completely abandoned the notion of degrading those who suffered from it and ignoring their needs.

Discord was just moving towards the conference room when a shiver went through him. He swiftly changed direction and was outside in an instant. There, gliding in from the Everfree Forest, was Nightmare Light. Knowing she would go after the princesses, he flashed an extra few yards away from the inn.

“And so the spirit of chaos contemplates the newcomer,” Nightmare Light taunted, lighting upon the ground before him. “Or shall I call her ‘the other one’ since I am new hereabout as well?”

“I don’t believe you know of the other one, she was not here when last you were,” Discord pointed out, scratching his head. “And besides, why should I contemplate her?”

“Oh, there are reasons,” she chuckled, stepping up next to him. “Her secret, for one. Then there is your desire to know her better. And—” she paused, circling to his other side to whisper in his ear, “—perhaps, a wish for more? Yes, I think so.”

Anger boiled inside of Discord and he swiped his claws at her. “What is she to you, anyway?” he snapped.

“I did not come to fight you,” she sneered, lifting into the air and thus dodging his claws. “Oh, and don’t you worry your pretty little head, I shan’t harm her. Indeed, no harm shall befall her at all, so long as none befalls me.”

“You took her somewhere?!”

“Oh, no, I didn’t need to. I just took a moment while you were not with her to enchant her. Or shall I say enchant us?” She laughed while Discord leaped at her, his claws sinking into her foreleg, digging into muscle and sinew. The laugh choked off into a scream, drawing the princesses out of the inn with Luna at the front. Nightmare Light began kicking the foreleg, trying to dislodge the draconaquus. When she managed to shake herself loose, there were three deep gashes on the leg. “Just look what you have done to us!”

“Us?” Twilight asked, looking toward Discord.

“Us!” Nightmare Light repeated, now laughing painfully. “You should learn to let ponies finish, Discord. I placed an enchantment upon Lunar Rainbow and myself. This enchantment makes any injury I receive appear on her body as well! Surely you would not harm your dear friend and subject just to harm me.”

Nightmare Light again broke into laughter, still filled with pain, and by the light of her glowing mane and tail, Discord stared in horror at the blood dripping from his claws. He desperately wanted to tear her limb from limb, but couldn’t. He couldn’t take the chance of harming Lunar further.

“Stop this at once!” another voice boomed, and Luna flew up to an even level with Nightmare Light.

“Hello, mother,” Nightmare Light sneered. “Here to kill me?”

Luna was brought up short. “O-of course not,” she spluttered, drooping lower. “I just—well…”

“Face it, mother! You’ve become weak in your cage. I could succeed where you failed. Is that not why you created me?”

“No! Please, listen to—”

“How many years did I listen to you? Seven hundred years! After which I was abandoned!” As she was shouting, the moon was brightening. “I thought you dead, you know! And you should have been!” A white beam of Magick shot from her horn toward Luna, which she managed to shield at the last moment. Nightmare Light seemed shocked and the beam abruptly cut off. And, just as suddenly, she vanished in a flash.

“Wait!” Luna shouted, anxiously flying toward the spot where she’d been. “Come back!”

Discord, shaking the blood off his claws, took slow steps toward the inn. “Clearly, we cannot harm her now.”

“Discord?” Twilight said, coming up next to him. “Why should she choose Lunar Rainbow to enchant with? Why not one of our friends?”

“Because Lunar Rainbow left Ponyville before sunset and was out of my protection,” he said, though he knew that she had been chosen because of the secret he kept for her. He would likely need to reveal the secret to the others soon. And then, all trust would be destroyed.