Putting on a Silver Robe and Wizard Hat

by David Silver

94 - Facing the Darkness Within

Night Watch stepped out onto a rooftop. She wasn't aware, but it was the same upon which Silver had once made a critical error. Her eyes were carried upwards to the pregnant moon above, heavy and full, much like herself. Silver was asleep and she had snuck out to be with herself. "What am I doing?"

She let out a slow breath, misting in the chill of the night. "He's..." She frowned a little. She was angry, but what at? It didn't make much sense to blame Silver after a day spent... "Maybe it's me." She sat on her haunches, eyes locked on the moon above. "You know, you were a lot easier to deal with as a distant figure of myth." She thought of Luna, the Mistress of the Moon. Her musings wandered to Celine... Silver's first wife. No matter how often he insisted hotly that Night was his true first, it simply wasn't true. Celine was first, and set things up for her even...

"I thought you were such a dork at first." Night spread her good wing wide, as if to soak the rays of the silvery moon. "You still are, but you're my dork."

Her busted wing suddenly irritated her. She felt irrationally furious at it and bit at the thing, tearing the bandages free with sharp teeth and powerful pulls. Her wing hung down with a painful twinge that only served to fuel her building anger. She lifted the injured limb and slowly spread it to match the other wing. Once the two were at equal height, the fury abated within her, just a little. She felt whole and proper before the moon.

She thought back to when she used to do that ritual more often, bathing in the moon's light and hoping to absorb the positive qualities of it. The moonlight saw all. The moonlight understood. The moonlight was silent, and would catch anyone it cared to. She bared her teeth to a sudden breeze. "The moon watches the Night..." And what was she, if not a little part of that, or so she liked to think... She was Night Watch, after all.

But was she? She sat on her haunches and raised her forelegs to run her hooves over her growing belly. She had a new purpose, but was it her only purpose? She couldn't even be a guard while she was heavy. She wasn't protecting anyone or anything. She was being protected. What watcher of the night was she?

Night grimaced as she rose up to all fours and strode for the edge. What was she carrying on about? She had almost single-hoofedly handled the Crystal Empire's problem and opened the way to peace. For a big fat slow mare, she had taken on an unknown enemy, beaten it, and made a new friend out of its corpse. By most any measure, she was a success... She sat at the edge and looked up to the unresponsive moon. "Why don't I feel like one?"

"Verily, you two were truly meant for one another." Luna rose from below, hovering with near-silent beats of her powerful wings.

Night recoiled in surprise, scrambling backwards along the roof and making room for Luna to land lightly. Luna approached the heavy mare, looking down at her. "We trust you were not considering following your husband's hoofsteps quite that closely."

An angry blush erupted through Night's face, mixed with shame and rapidly swelling rage. "What are you saying?! I'm allowed to think..." Her head lowered slowly. "I can still enjoy your night..."

Luna sat down before her. "Of course you can. You do realize, however, he did not choose to fall."

Night looked up sharply. "What?"

Luna indicated the edge of the roof. "The foalish stallion slipped. He may have been considering it, but he didn't cement that decision."

Night trembled. He hadn't tried to kill himself? "B-but..."

Luna shook her head. "I urged sister to have a proper rail placed here, but it offends her aesthetic tastes." She wrinkled her nose. "I don't understand her sometimes..."

Night clopped the ground with a hoof. "Luna!"

"Yes?"

"Forget the rail..."

"As you wish." Luna reached with her feathery wings, encircling Night and drawing her closer. "What brings you up here? What weighs heavily on your mind?"

The moon was always there, and never judgemental. Luna... Night looked up at her smiling face, but there was more there. She could see Luna was worried, concerned. Luna cared about her, and was trying to look cheerful despite being scared. "I... We had the foals examined today."

Luna's expression twitched subtly. She was keenly interested. "I trust all was well?"

Night buried her face into Luna's front. She didn't want to see everything or anything at the moment. "They're fine. Everything's working the way it should... The way you planned."

"Plan--"

"Don't try to deny it!" She nipped at Luna with sharp teeth. "It was by your orders I began watching him. It was by your orders I stayed by him. You kept me close until I learned to like my cage. You wanted us together, and you got that. You wanted these foals, well, you're getting that too." Night put her fore hooves at her belly. "Look at them, at me, all according to plan."

Luna could deny it, but she wasn't so foolish. Night Watch would see through her. "You're right." She leaned in and nudged Night with her nose. "I did play matchmaker. I saw two halves of a pony, and thought how wonderful they might be as one whole. Was I wrong?"

Night clenched her teeth. "Blast it all... of course you weren't..." She sank to the cool floor of the roof. "It doesn't mean I have to like it. I don't! I'm big and fat and slow."

"You're swollen with life, as a goddess of the night." Luna curled around Night. "You think you are shirking your duties, but you are not. You are simply undertaking a new duty. Night, I know this is difficult to believe, but this is why I am eager to recreate Celine."

Night raised an ear. "Hoping for more foals?"

Luna frowned. "Sharp, but not entirely undeserved. No. We have become too close. She... infected me."

"Your plan went awry."

Luna smiled a little. "They can't all be perfect... I'm making you unhappy. I should be your distant mother, not... this. I'm hurting you."

Night scowled up at Luna. "You're making an excuse, for yourself." Night sat up to her haunches. "Luna... Do you love me?"

Luna trembled, and clearly didn't want to answer, but that was an answer. It was loud and clear and unmistakable.

Night spread her wings wide. "Would you shove that love away too? Stuff it all in that puppet so you don't have to face it?"

Luna's wings flared out, matching the posture. "Silver would be most hurt to hear you call her a 'puppet'." She slowly pulled them back in. "We know you are dealing with very... intense emotions right now..."

Night reached out, prodding Luna in the chest. "No, you listen. You think you're above everypony, but you're not. You're not the damned moon, just like Celestia is a poor sun. Your blasted sister wishes she could find some pony that would see her as a mare and be blind to her title." She rose to her hooves, forcing Luna back as she advanced on her. "Besides, I'm no fool. Silver's taught me to think about certain things." She scowled up at Luna, almost pushing her to the edge. "Whatever you make, it won't be that Celine. What is destroyed is never un-destroyed."

Luna sagged, sinking to the ground, which stopped the backwards motion with the bulk of her body. "What would you have me do?"

Night thrust a hoof at Luna's face. "Start with talking to him. He's... he's put down every other love and infatuation he has, all except you. Talk to him, either you two work it out and come together, or we split, like adults. No magical macguffins, no tricks, no lies." She glanced away a moment. "Even if we do part, I won't hate you, Luna. Night take it, I don't hate you..." She sank down before Luna. "No more tricks..."

Luna reached with a wing, brushing along Night's back. "No more tricks. May I bring you to your bed? You're cold."

"What's with everypony carrying me?" It wasn't a no, and Luna didn't take it as one.

She lifted Night gently with a glow of magic and perched her on her back, legs going down either side. "Come, I'm tucking you in. Your husband may awaken and find you missing. We can't have that."

"He doesn't panic that easily." Night rolled her eyes. "He knows I like to look around sometimes." She leaned forward on Luna's back. "You know he took my name?"

Luna swiveled an ear back at her. "Silver Watch?" A faint smile overtook her. "You really do have his heart."

"And I intend to handle it with the care it deserves. Talk to him."

Luna strode down the stairs into the castle proper. "And would you rather the result be a bringing together, or drifting apart?"

"I would rather it be honest." Night nuzzled into one of Luna's shoulders. "Which means you have to figure out what you and he both want. No tricks."

As Luna strode through the quieter halls of the evening castle, guards looked to her respectfully. Though they had practice at stoicism, some were caught by surprise at her carrying a pregnant mare on her back before their blank expressions could return. There would be gossip. Let them talk... "You should not assume he's helpless in this."

"Hmm?"

Luna looked over her shoulder. "He has learned the art of dream walking. Clever stallion picked it up while I was pulling him apart."

Night frowned. "If he didn't jump from the roof, then he didn't need to be pulled apart... If you knew that, why?"

Luna was silent, but that was still an answer.

"You were trying to 'cure' him of his infat..." Night's mouth went dry. "How... How many mares did you turn his heart from? How many open wounds did you cauterize shut into ugly scabs?" Night scowled as the mental image came to her. "Is that why he doesn't even bring up Fast Change? What did you do to him?!"

Luna opened the door to Night's room. "We will speak more, later... For now, sleep." Her words were no suggestion. Night's eyelids grew heavy, and she sank to sleep quickly. Borne aloft in Luna's magic, Night was tucked in beside Silver. The sliver of light from the cracked door closed slowly. "Good night."

Author's Note:

Well, that took a few turns! I honestly didn't plan for most of this chapter to happen at all, but then it did.

I like it. I like my muse. Good muse, have a cookie.

Comments

[Dravkwn]

I'm always sad when Best Princess has scenes because I have no Luna emotes to use.

[StormDancer]

Nice transition. Might want to clean up the first three sentences though.

[DJ_Arashi_Rora]

Damn, now this is what I love about your stories interpersonal relationships between the cast.

Keep up the good work!

[David Silver]

6979024 Arg, vague typo retports! I found two though.

[Daremo]

the same Silver had once made a critical error - the same Silver had once made a critical error upon -or- the same upon which Silver had once made a critical error

you and he wants - you and he want -or- you both want

There were originally a couple more, but they were ninja'd by StormDancer.
*****
This is a chapter I've been waiting to read for a while now and it was quite satisfying.

I've noticed that for chapters like this one, my reading behaviour changes slightly. I read up to a point where the emotional content builds to some personal mental threshold, then take a short break to let my mind simmer down again and process what's happened before continuing. Not unlike the way I would enjoy a dram of a particularly well composed and aged spirit - one sip at a time.

If Luna can take Night Watch's words to heart and allow herself to be open and honest, perhaps the wounds which Night spoke of can finally begin to heal properly.

*****

Her busted wing suddenly irritated her. She felt irrationally furious at it

I know this feeling well, though circumstances naturally differ. You've captured the sentiment perfectly here.

Luna put Night Watch to bed with an unbound and still broken wing. I hope she doesn't regret that in the morning.

[Booster Spice]

And now Im thinking of just what is the story of Macguffin the Griffin that stole magic from the ponies.

[No one is home]

Luna... What have you really done? It was all a dream. Perfectly harmless, till things start leaking. Am I the only one seeing this going in a very specific direction?

[David Silver]

6979131 Other typo hunters. We're all in this, together! The typos have no chance to survive and are advised to make their time.

This was a powerful chapter, I feel. I really didn't know it coming in, but the weight was almost immediate. My fingers went without me at first, and the moment they decided she was on a roof, things went downhill. You'd think, that being right at the start, I'd know, but no, really. I was swept along for the ride, learning even as Night Watch put terrible pieces together and began to call Luna out.

What is dead is dead.

Usually.

[Daremo]

6979160

What is dead is dead.

Usually.

Dude... so tempted to toss an H.P. Lovecraft quote up in response to this.

[David Silver]

6979153
6979209 You are both teases, just so you know!

[No one is home]

6979224 It is so not on accident.

[StormDancer]

6979100
<chuckles> Sorry, couldn't do very much with my little tablet touchscreen. Citing is near impossible.... as is correcting my own spelling. Well done though! I knew you had it in you.

[tsaukpaetra]

Poor Luna, your attempts were seen through finally. Silver himself had some realization, but as in his nature went with the flow.
Keep going! ;)

[harts fire]

it is not often I make a comment directly to the author.
David Silver I feel this chapter is really going places it gives a hole new light on more of Silver's back story and really shows how much Princess Luna is hiding her true feelings.
you should turn your muse lose in a cookie factory for this chapter.
Harts Fire

[David Silver]

6981821 Folks were quite quick, including Silver himself, to just assume he broke his promise to himself. It was never described that he actually jumped, just that he was falling. Of course, in times of stress, we miss the details.

[harts fire]

6982063
not all of us missed the little details some just chose to not point them out.

[Boulder]

6979224

I like it. I like my muse. Good muse, have a cookie.

Ooh Ginger Snap...NOM NOM NOM.
It's good that Night is picking his dream world up bit by bit, not all at once. The more she knows, the more she can help, Silver might be 'fixed' as Luna thinks but some nurturing to keep him so is a good thing.

edit: here i was just talking about my favourite cookie & now after doing some catch up on Penny's adventures, when she's admitted to Tia's magic school, who does she meet but Gingersnap!, nearly fell off my chair with the coincidence ...or was it?? Think I'm having my own dreamworld now?

[Magical plane]

dangit luna you manipulative arguably evil lovable person!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Magnus_Flare]

Luna's wings flared out, matching the posture. "Silver would be most hurt to hear you call her a 'puppet'." She slowly pulled them back in. "We know you are dealing with very... intense emotions right now..."

Typo found! prepare the anti-typo cannon, single round aim for the sudden gender switch