... Take Care of Thine Selves.
Luna, I beseech thee...
A MLP:FIM fanfiction
Written by Quillo Manar
Tensions are high.
The night shift was uneventful. For the better part of the night the courtroom remained empty, save for a select few night guards and the Princess of Nights herself. Every night, the throneroom undergoes a swift and concise transformation. What would once hold Celestia’s magnificent and shining-almost-to-the-extent-of-flamboyant throne within a glimmering palace room of the finest marble, would under the veil of night, be transformed into a sombre dark-coloured almost crystalline room with the steps not leading to a throne, but what more amounts to a bed. A soft, large and plush cushion made of the finest velvet, encased in a shallow outcropping of the darkest obsidian. Atop the bed lays the mistress of the night, in all her mysterious glory. Above her lies the heavens, unmarred by any ceiling, as it is in fact an illusion spell constructed to exactly replicate her current night sky.
The night court was in progress, where her sister’s day court would meddle in the fiscal affairs of funding from the palace treasury, or any matters that would require the Princess of the Sun’s powerful intervention, the night court would deal with troubles of the heart and mind, those with personal struggles, beyond that of the capabilities of the numerous psychiatric healers, would present themselves to the Moon Goddess for aid in rebuilding the fragile construct that is the pony heart and soul. The Princess specialised in the scrying and diagnosis of ponies with psychological disorders and helping the ponies through the dark into the light.
For the most part however, the darkened atrium would stay silent.
If a simple pony were to take the place of the night princess, they’d quickly fall into the depression of loneliness, from the quiet winds being the only sounds that would prevail in the cold atmosphere, tedium, from nothing but themselves and stark unmoving guards for company, and melancholy, from all of the varying problems the ponies would present. One would become overwhelmed, if one weren’t the ancient Goddess of the Moon and Stars. She only becomes stupefied, both by the severe idiocy of the nobles in Canterlot, and of their ignorance. As was the case she finds herself in, as a noble fills her ears with his supposed troubles, the goddess deeply wished for the lonely silence.
“… so you see Princess, this little runt of a daughter I have will not conform to the delicate guidelines I set forth! Clearly she’s been touched by Chaos, so you must save her!” The haughty high-class accent common with nobles in the district surrounding the palace echoed through the empty halls. The middle aged noble gestured franticly to his child, a filly of not even a decade old, who was currently in the process of trying to unsuccessfully free herself of her father’s restrictive grasp. The night suffered a long and arduous sigh that echoed through the gardens, though it remained unheard by pony ears. The night princess rose from her comfy mattress to address the desperate stallion’s problem. Her shoes clicked against the onyx staircase separating her from the family.
She shut her eyes as she approached the stallion. Having already conducted a plan to help the poor pony before her. She stopped short of the filly, who had grown sober from her futile attempts at escape. The little filly took in the seemingly giant pony before her. A moment passed in blissful silence as she constructed a spell in her horn. She then opened her eyes, horn shimmering slightly, “Present her to me,” the dark princess ordered, a simple strict command directed towards the stallion before her. He did as he was told, and set his child in front of the princess. The filly did not run, but was instead captivated by the sight of the night goddess. The princess lowered herself to the ground, her warm belly making unfortunate contact with the frigid floor. “Sleep,” she suggested the filly in a soothing melodic voice.
The foal unwillingly obliged, a direct result of the combination of the soft motherly voice filling her mind and the spell from the owner of said voice. The filly was out like a light, she gently snoozed on the ground in front of the princess, immune to the world. The moon princess then grinned, adverse intent snaking its way onto her features. She then glanced up to the stallion looking down at her in confusion. She forced upon him the same spell, and hissed at him, “You as well, whelp.”
“I beg your pardon? What are… you…?” He wobbled and fell to the floor, the princess catching him before he could scratch the pristine crystal-like tiles. The spell she placed on the father and child is an intricate one, she implanted in them a magical connection that will link the two in a dream. She knew what was wrong with the child the moment her father opened his arrogant mouth, a problem the little filly had no control over, a stifling parent. The noble before her will seek to know this come morn.
The filly will dream of memories, of the times she was the most bored, the most ‘troublesome,’ and the most rowdy, and she will also dream of the exact reasons why. The father, however, will take a back seat, his musings will not be heard by his daughter, but everything in the filly’s dreams will be seen by the father as if he was using her eyes. The father will learn this night, to better take care of his daughter. The filly will learn this night, to respect her father, whilst not letting him invade her creativity and joyful youth.
The princess shook her head as she stood, her magic enveloping the two, levitating them with her rising. She issued a command to one of her unicorn guards, “Mederi, take Lord Set and his daughter to one of the temporary lodges. Tell the maids to be considerate of the father come morn, I foresee he may awaken with a daze-inducing revelation. See to it he leaves with his daughter after breakfast.”
“At once your Highness,” the paramedic accepted the resting ponies by telekinetic transfer and set off for the visitor areas of the castle.
She made her way back up the black stairs to her bed-like cushion. Before she sat however, she looked to her heavens. She noticed that her glorious moon was positioned at high midnight. She glanced around to her guards, issuing to them a single command, “The Moon as risen high this night, my court is now closed.”
“Understood,” rang the unified whispers of the guards in the room, as they busied themselves with closing up the castle and set off to begin their patrols. The Night Princess spread her wings, and silently set off for her bedroom’s balcony. She flew slowly towards her room, only rushed by a single responsibility, that of her duty of dream watching. She cast a glance down to her city, very much still alive and well during her magnificent night.
Whilst most ponies don’t spend the night exactly how she wished them to, that being quietly observing the stars above or playing amongst the various nocturnal beauties she hoof-crafted all those millennia ago, at the least they no longer feared and shunned it. From this fact, a content feeling set itself deep within her chest, warming her through the cold, sunless air. During her flight, she noted the slight starlike gleam of the obsidian metal that formed her guard’s armour. The night watch have started their patrol. She smiled at their efficiency and retreated swiftly to her bedroom, restful in the knowledge that her night is guarded.
She made her way to her bed, she stripped herself of her regalia and shoes, depositing them carefully on her nightstand. An unusual chill crept up her spine. She spun quickly as if she’d find a perpetrator. Her room was empty, save for herself. Exhaling through her nose, she stepped back over to her bed. Instead of pulling herself under the covers, she merely rested on top, and adopted a comfortable position. If she was in her room in the intent for sleeping, she’d climb under the covers, but she had work to do; she had to take care of the dreams and minds of her and her sister’s subjects.
Her horn lit with the soft beating of magic, she slowly lost herself to the world as she fell into a trance. She took herself away with her own magic. Her head slowly descended and landed on her soft mattress. The world around her fell to black as she ascended into the realm of dreams.
She almost made it.
Her eyes darted open with a painful shock, her horn pulsed with the throbbing ache of a migraine. She immediately closed them and clutched her head with her hooves in a vain attempt to ease her headache. She let out a pained moan as she grit her teeth. Slowly, the pain ebbed from her mind, and she was left with a dull ache. Even slower, she reopened her eyes.
She wasn’t in her room any longer.
She instead found herself in a plain of absolute darkness. No images, no detail, no light, nothing. She frowned, she wasn’t having any of this tonight. She tried to reinvigorate her horn to eject her out of this void-like reality. The headache came back, she at once shut off her intention to escape, in the notion to keep her mind spared from any further torture. What was this, this foul force that kept her here? For what reason? Questions invaded her mind, questions she sought to answer soon.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the words of a filly, “Oh well, would you look who’s here?”
The words severed the cold silence that made up this realm, it caused her ears to spin behind her to find the source of the noise. The rest of her body though, froze, horror plastered into her features, as the familiarity of the voice seised her arteries and restricted her movements.
“Why are you here, huh? You’ve come to gloat I take it?” The taunting voice returned, it was the high-toned voice of a child, just beginning the troubles of adolescent development. She knew this voice, it was so very hauntingly familiar, it was the voice of somepony she knew, somepony so very close to her being, yet so very far from who she is. She turned slowly to face the owner of the voice.
“What? You having problems looking at me?” The filly continued, the sound of something hitting metal rung out through the plain of nothingness, “After all these years, you can’t bare to face me? Is that it?” she spat. The silence was then ruptured violently, “Look at me!” the filly screamed as more sounds of clanging-against-metal could be heard. The moon princess turned fully towards the voice.
Her eyes widened in shock as she took in the familiar features of the angry filly. She blanched on the familiar silky sky blue mane, the darker blue yet no less groomed and bright fur, the uncared for wings, the sharp horn that graced her head, and a muzzle twisted into a hateful frown, her lips apart, and her teeth barred. All of these features were compounded with the turquoise eyes that looked straight at the night mare with a fierce accusation.
The goddess was looking upon herself, a younger version of herself, and she was trapped in a cage.
“Oh so you do remember me?” The younger Luna seethed, “I’d figure that you’d want to forget about me.”
“What are you doing here?” Cried the horrified princess at the cage’s occupant.
The filly was taken back with mock shock overtaking her features, “Why am I here?” she asked, faux betrayal dripping from her speech, “You should ask yourself that!” She then paused, dropped her shocked act, and regained her cruel accusatory look, “Oh wait," she spat, "you are!”
“How darest thine talk to us like that!” the goddess threatened her insolent self before her, in the heat of her argument, she hadn’t noticed that she slipped into her olde Canterlot speech, “Thy must treat us with greater-”
“What, ‘respect’? Is that what you were going to say?” Young Luna interrupted her older self, “And what if I don’t? What are you going to do to me?”
“We swear, we’ll- we’ll just have to-” The lunar princess started, but was once again interrupted by Young Luna.
“What? Kill me? Could you really do that to yourself again?” She shook her head and looked to her left and, following a sarcastic laugh, she deadpanned, “though, you already did once, so, sure, the second time is only half as bad.”
The princess followed her gaze, and was shocked to find that it landed on a coffin, constructed of the darkest ebony. On the lid of the coffin was emblazoned the sickly distorted, amethyst and marble cutie mark of Nightmare Moon. Above the coffin, hanging as if pinned to a wall, were the remnants of her armour that she once wore.
“Well?” Luna asked as she turned to once more match the Goddess of the Moon’s gaze, “Are you going to bucking kill me already? Are you going to destroy me and bury me in a coffin like you did Nightmare Moon?”
The lunar goddess stayed silent.
“What are you waiting for?” Luna became frantic, she started banging on the bars of her cage, each clang adding emphasis to her words, “Hit me! Do away with me like you did to Nightmare! Kill me already! KILL ME!”
“ENOUGH!” The void stiffened with the lunar princess’ deep yell, she overcame the rants of her pestilent younger self with her own exclamation, “If thou wishes to be killed, then so be it! We will do away with thou as we have done with all of our enemies!”
“Do it,” the younger pony hissed.
The lunar goddess spread her wings and began to hover off the absent ground. She began to charge a spell designed to eradicate the very atomic structure of everything in her path. Her spell charged, but, a moment later, her horn rebelled, it punctuated her mind as if wielding knives intent on stabbing, scratching and severing through her skull and into her brain. She cried out in pain as her spell dissolved and dissipated, she fell to the ground in agony. She clutched at her head as the pain of her earlier migraine split through her mind once more, becoming level with what she’d imagine the feeling of being slowly ripped apart.
She sprawled on the ground as the pain carried on, her eyes teared with pain, she screeched wishing only for the pain to stop. It didn’t.
The smaller alicorn looked towards her hoof, as if expecting something to happen. “Look at you,” her cruel voice seethed after a moment's peace, “so far detached from yourself that we don’t even feel the same pain.” Her temper flared once more as a means to cause the lunar goddess more agony, “can you even dare to call yourself Luna?! You don’t even want me to exist!” She scoffed as she looked upon the writhing pony behind her cage bars, “How can a pony live for so long in denial of herself?” Her enraged look returned, “How can a pony possibly want to kill herself?!”
Luna’s words compounded with the shrill pain of her migraine, the lunar goddess could do naught but cry. Her tears ran down her face, into her arms. “Please…” she cried.
“Pwease stop shouting…” cried another voice, much more high-pitched and far more innocent than that of Young Luna’s. It was a foal’s voice. The saddened princess’s head shot up as she looked towards the source of the voice. In a cage she hadn’t noticed until now, just left of Young Luna’s was a baby version of the filly beside her. What saddened the lunar princess further was not who was in it, rather, how she was imprisoned. The foal had iron chains wrapped tightly around her hooves and a single rusty iron shackle around her neck like a collar. The little foal herself was crying, eyes shut tight, and hooves covering her head in pure terror of the world around her. The chains appeared to be cutting into the foal’s skin.
The moon princess’ chest tightened as she looked upon the sight of herself in chains. “Oh yeah,” came the horribly sharp voice of Young Luna, “you didn’t think I was the only one you put here did you?” She cackled, a piercing malevolent laugh, “No, no, there’s me,” she said pointing at herself, “the foal,” she remarked, gesturing to the crying foal in chains, “and then there’s that bitch.” She uncaringly threw her hoof in a direction over to a cage just passed the coffin, she hadn't noticed it before. Inside the cage was another version of the Moon Goddess, but everything about the mare in the cage screamed on word; melancholy.
She was older than the Luna in the centre cage, yet slightly younger than the moon goddess. She sat with her back to the other cages and the coffin, with her head hung low. The night princess noticed this Luna to be the one immediately after her release from Nightmare Moon, now tragically entrapped wherever this blasted place was. Her wings were drooped down by her side, so far as to be draped ungracefully on the ground, and her shoulders were easily visible by how far her neck was lowered. Her face was hidden from the three other alicorns. One could easily mistake this Luna as a statue, for how still she kept her body. Not a movement could be seen, not a twitch, not an itch, nothing.
The presence of these ponies was overwhelming to the night goddess. She quickly dived her head back down into her hooves and cried once more.
“Pathetic,” Luna’s voice echoed around and into the mind of the Lunar Goddess, “Look at you, you can’t even stand the sight of yourself.”
How can you possibly expect a scared little foal like yourself to rule over a country?
“E-enough…”
If you can’t deal with yourself, how can you hope to deal with anypony else?
“P-please, I beg of you…”
You became a horror story for your jealousy, you tried to kill the planet.
"I-I wasn't... I just wanted..."
How can you hope to forgive yourself for tormenting everypony for a millennia?
“P-please…”
“Such a shame…” A different voice rang out into the void, the voice was older, yet still as smooth as the water at night. It spoke with the wisdom of countless ages, even more so than the night goddess’ sister. It spoke with the conviction of a parent. The princess recognised this voice, instead of chilling her blood however, its familiarity warmed her. She missed this voice.
The night goddess opened her puffy eyes to that of white legs. She looked up to the pony that owned the hooves. What she found wasn’t quite what she was expecting. She rose from her prone position to sit, agape at the mare before her. She stared, taking in the detail of her crimson mane, white body and blue-green eyes. She was positioned to the side of her, she was looking towards the cage that held Young Luna, now frozen with a look of pure hate on her features. All of the versions of Luna in the cages were frozen, the foal, with her eyes shut and her forelegs over her head, and the statue that represented herself after Nightmare Moon, frozen in the same position she was found in.
The alabaster mare lifted her foreleg to rest it on the cage that contained the fuming adolescent filly. Her eyes were upturned in sadness, and her mouth fallen to a solemn frown. She looked upon the filly with a sadness unparalleled, yet contained in the gaze of every parent alive, disappointment.
“M-Mother?” the moon princess questioned, her mind stilled with the revelation.
The goddess before the princess ignored her, “Why do you treat yourselves like this?” asked the mare her voice surrounded the princess, it flowed around her like water.
The princess couldn’t answer, her mind was still reeling.
The goddess sighed, the sound echoing throughout the void and in the princess’ mind. “Luna,” the simple word rolled off the alicorn’s tongue as if she was tasting it for the first time in ages, she turned her head to look down at the princess, “My daughter,” she cooed as a soft smile crawled on her muzzle.
“Why…” The princess cried softly, “why are you here?”
The snow-white mare turned fully to face her daughter, she sat and opened her arms, inviting the moon princess for a hug. The princess complied, moving to fully let herself be encased by her mother. The void fell from the night princess’ mind as she let herself melt into the embrace and her mother’s strong heartbeat. “I’m here to help you, Luna,” her words vibrated into her very core, “I’m here to help you realise who you are.”
“I know who I am…” the sad princess sad into her mother’s chest, the larger alicorn pulled away from the hug, much to the princess’ dismay. The dark alicorn looked away from her mother, in denial of her words. The goddess insisted, she used a hoof to gently push her daughter’s head up to face her. The princess met the goddess’ gaze. She studied her mother’s eyes, finding nothing but maternal love and a hint of pity. She opened her mouth to ask her daughter a question that the princess couldn’t answer.
“Who are you?”
The princess remained silent. Her head lowered and her eyes looked away.
“Oh Luna,” the older mare cooed, grasping at her daughter’s arms, “I wish not that you dwell on my question, instead, allow me to assist you in remembering the answer.”
The goddess stood and walked over to the cages, the princess moved to follow. The goddess’ horn shone with magic, the cages disappeared, leaving the ponies inside behind. She moved all four of the frozen princesses in front of them. The three ponies originally trapped in the cages, and one more at which the princess’ mind screamed in fear. The still, slumbering form of Nightmare Moon, in all her terrific glory.
“Mother? What are you doing?” The princess cried as she backed away from the slumbering nightmare. She was stopped by her mother’s tail as it curved non-threateningly around her flank.
“Listen to me Luna,” The goddess commanded, her daughter looked hesitant but looked towards her, “They cannot hurt you here. You are completely safe within your own mind.”
“But why are you letting her free?” The princess complained.
“Because Luna,” The goddess said simply, her voice reaching the far ends of the void and returning, “In order to make true peace with yourself, you must make it with all of yourselves,” she gestured a hoof over the frozen figures of the Luna’s and Nightmare, “It is not enough to deny that each of them were you at one stage, you must make amends with your past, to be at one with your present.”
The princess was still frightened, and leaned on her mother. To which her mother responded by giving her daughter a small kiss on her forehead. A flowing calmness entered into her mind and filled her body.
“Luna, I beseech thee,” the goddess’ voice filled her mind and soul, “Take care of thine selves.”
The Nocturnal Princess awoke with a gasp. Her mind awash with confusion. What had just happened? Did she just have a strange dream of her mother? Or was that but an illusion created by some powerful trouble maker? Questions pervaded in her mind, she became angry. That was the Chaos Incarnates’ fault wasn’t it? It was he who cause her to feel such terror and sadness. How dare he torment her with such images of her mother!
She blinked, her eyes became foggy. She reached a hoof up to clear them. She saw something that made her freeze, around her hoof, lay the imprint of what appeared to be chains. She blinked again, her vision cleared and so too did the markings. She laid there in confusion, in wonder of what was happening. She shook her head, trying desperately clear her mind. She reached up with her hooves to feel her cheeks, it felt wet. She had been crying. It has been a very long time since she cried, actually truly cried.
Long since before she became Nightmare Moon.
She was overcome with the revelation. She hasn’t cried, she hasn’t laughed, truly laughed, since the moment of her freedom from her self inflicted nightmare. Her thoughts were interrupted by the Tower of Canterlot’s declaration that dawn was upon the land. She blinked, how long had she dreamt? Usually she’d be done before six so that she may better prepare herself for the lowering of her precious moon. She hurriedly jumped out of her bed and briskly flew over to her bedside table, where her shoes and regalia lay. She paused as she looked over her bedside.
Upon it lay five photographs.
One of her as a baby, sleeping soundly in her crib.
Another of her as a filly, prancing out in a forgotten field with her sister, playing together.
The third depicted her as the Nightmare, standing proud victory over the sun goddess.
The fourth showed her as a resurrected mare, being held by her sister in forgiveness.
The last showed her as she is now, standing proud acclimation over the world anew.
Just in front of the impossible photographs lay her shoes and a note, scribed in a language long forgotten, that now only she and her sister knew.
Filrak un eldi, yisilrak un yundi. ~ Faustak
Make peace with the past, to make peace with the present. ~ Mother
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I enjoyed the concept of this story. Certain individuals have unique ways with dealing with change over time, with past selves, or with past choices. Getting a glimpse into the mind of Luna as she deals with self identity and forgiveness is intriguing.
While I personally don't believe in Fausticorn to being the mother of Luna and Celestia, clashing of OC vs cannon, I can accept it when it is pulled off in this subtle way.
While I would have liked to have seen how Luna deals with her inner demons, I mean, inner selves, the story is still complete in its short execution. I will admit though that the ending looked a bit rushed. But that's just me.
5803997 Even by my standards it is a bit rushed, for that I'm a bit annoyed.
Oh well, when I get better, future stories won't suffer as much. As it stands now, I managed to write a story, and I like it.
Thanks for the critique my good sir!