Shadows Within the Light

by Oddling

4 - Meeting

Mathew’s eyes opened slowly. Everything around him was darkness, a void of lightless mass, with his body simply aloft like a single spec of glitter in a snow-globe. For a few moments he thought he might have died, until something began to shift in the darkness. Like lightning bugs, small orbs started to pulse intermittently around him. One of them flashed closer to him and he reached out to touch it.

*Hey Matt, check this out, dude! Can you believe this? It took me months, but I finally got that Legendary sword from the quest-line! Pretty sweet, huh?*

It was a memory! That one had been when he was younger. His middle school friend, Tim, had been part of a big MMO, one with some kind of conflict between an alliance and a horde. Mathew had never been into online gaming, simply because his family could not afford to pay for the subscription, much less the game.

Looking around, it was clear that there were a lot of memories around him. One of them, however, looked different. Mathew floated, without even realizing he could do so in the first place, over to the odd orb. As he floated closer, he noticed that it was more of a window. Through it, Mathew saw his body, laying in a cloud of blue-ish vapor and surrounded by his teachers. To his relief, it seemed his arm was no longer missing, but his shirt had been ruined and singed.

He watched with a strange sense of wonder. If what he saw was real it meant that his body could heal from almost anything. Suddenly, a chill filled the space around him… and a voice whispered from somewhere in the void. “Well, well, well… the human finally came to my domain.” Spoke a very distinct female voice. It was a tone that one would expect to come from a devilish villain. It was even followed by a snobbish humming laugh.

Mathew narrowed his eyes and turned around a few times to try to spot the voice’s source. Only darkness greeted his seeking eyes. Though he hated to do it, he had no choice but to use the most cliché response in the book. “Who’s there?” he asked.

Another amused laugh came from the darkness. “Oh, you poor little creature, one such as I has had many names over the millennia. But… you’re aware of one of my names. Care to take a guess?” the voice asked and Mathew could swear it was smirking at him.

Mathew crossed his arms and thought for a moment. He felt that the situation was too predictable, but nothing else would come to mind, so he went with his first idea. He sighed through his nose and eyed the darkness. “If my assumption is anything to go by, you’d be the one called Nightmare Moon.”

The voice hummed in approval. “Indeed, that is a name I once used. Tell me, young one, how do you like the gifts I’ve granted you?” Nightmare asked.

Mathew’s face twisted into a glare of disdain. “Your gifts are more like curses. As much as I’m sure you’d love to play your mind games with me, I’ll have to decline. Get to the point and tell me what you want with me and why you chose me,” he stated firmly. His anger was threatening to boil over, having met the real reason why he had been brought to Equestria, but Luna’s stories about the shadow being gave him the necessary focus to avoid making the wrong moves. Nightmare Moon fed on negative emotions and used them to her advantage.

Nightmare Moon was quiet for a few moments. It was as if she had not expected such a reaction… or maybe she was simply testing Mathew’s patience. “You would be wise to choose your words more carefully from now on. I did indeed pick you, but I’m not in a position to allow any disrespect, especially from an inferior being like you. Alas, you do have a point… time is short, so I’ll waste no time with this meeting. I want your body. From what I learned, thanks to dear little Luna, a pony body is too weak for my needs. Your human body is more resistant to the harmony of Equestria. Not only that, your mind is more complex, which will prevent another mistake – one Luna made me realize all too late,” she explained.

Mathew shook his head and glared at the void. “So you wanted a new tool to use. You still didn’t answer the other part of my question. Why… ME!” he yelled! His anger had reached new levels and he had no desire to waste the chance to get the real reasons for what Nightmare Moon was up to. He had seen this kind of pointless dancing around the topic in too many movie plots, he was going to get his answers even if he had to use his own body as a bargaining chip. “Stop avoiding it, I know you have more behind these petty and vague words. Show me what you look like, look me in the eyes, and explain to me what made me so special and what your end goal is. If you don’t do that… I’ll just have to expose you again and then get rid of the body you’re after.”

Nightmare moon started to laugh. The shadows started to shift around and a darker black form took shape in front of Mathew. The form became highlighted by a soft pale green glow. Then bright turquoise eyes, with slits like a snake’s, popped open and stared into Mathew’s. He took in the black Alicorn’s appearance. It was just like the depictions he had seen in a few books he had read – after Luna had shared her stories about the dark entity.

Nightmare Moon’s eyes narrowed and her fangs glistened in the dark as she let a grin spread across her muzzle. “Oh? So how would you get rid of your body? I’ve made it immortal, you know. There is no way for you to get rid of it,” she said and her grin grew more as she felt victorious.

Mathew stared at her, his expression turning to un-amused. “You seem to be under the impression that I’m unaware of the little fact that all I need to do is purge my body of all magic and it won’t be able to regenerate. After I cut myself the first time, I repeated the process later on. After properly analyzing the event I figured out that I could drain my magic completely if my body was injured enough.”

Nightmare’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You wouldn’t da-“

“Oh, yes I would!” Mathew interrupted. “The ponies in this world value life greatly, but my kind are very capable of making exceptions to the preservation of life. Self-sacrifice is actually an honor, especially when it’s done with the right intentions. Don’t push your luck! Now answer my questions or else,” he demanded, confident that his little partial bluff would put him in more control of the situation.

Nightmare Moon’s grin turned into snarl and her eyes lit up in anger. Then she shut her eyes and grit her teeth as she struggled to bring out her rebuke. Without even noticing it, her mane began to form behind her dark form. It looked just like Luna’s, only being a lighter shade of night blue and having a few more prominent stars. Then, she let loose a heavy sigh and slumped. “You know, human, I could offer to send you back to your world.”

“And I wouldn’t go for it. I’m not foolish enough to ignore the unspoken terms of a deal. You want any form of cooperation with me then you’ll need to put all of your cards on the table – even the ones you have hidden up your sleeve,” Mathew said, cutting Nightmare off in her attempt to persuade.

Nightmare Moon sighed again and gave Mathew an irritated glare. It was then that he noticed her façade had slipped. In those intimidating turquoise slits was the faint hint of emotion. In a way, it reminded Mathew of the hidden emotions behind Celestia’s gaze. Before he could ponder more about it, Nightmare spoke, her tone was far more suppressed than before, too. “Mathew… how much do you know about the way Luna and I met?” she asked.

Mathew tilted his head slightly. The sudden change in her voice and mannerisms was a bit unexpected, and he failed to see exactly how that question was relevant, but he decided to humor her. He explained that everything he had learned summed up to Luna becoming irrationally jealous of her sister and giving in to her inner darkness.

Nightmare held her gaze with Mathew’s while he explained what he knew. Her eyes only let faint hints of her sadness slip through as he spoke. When he had concluded his part, she closed her eyes and took in a breath. “I will tell you now,” she said before slowly opening her eyes halfway. “What Luna remembers is only part of our story. Her mind was… altered when she accepted my power. She remembers the important parts, I suppose, but the rest is easily overlooked. I saw her wandering that dark forest that night. I had been watching her for a long time by then. I offered to lend her my power…”

Nightmare paused for a moment. Something was nagging at her. If Mathew had any idea as to what, he would have guessed it was her emotions being troublesome. It was just like Celestia; the most important thing for a ruler was to remain calm and collected at all times. He waited patiently, though he still felt angry, since he believed this was the right way to address the situation. “What nopony knows,” she continued. “Is that the Nightmare Moon that Luna became was not because of me. She took on my appearance, gained some of my power, and then… she became consumed by her own heart. Deep down she is a good pony – one could even say she’s the best. But the power of emotion can be terrifying. Her jealousy and hatred warped my gift to her into a literal nightmare. Of course, she’s done her own part since then, I’m sure you heard about the Tantabus.”

Mathew nodded. It was one of the few secrets that Luna had shared with him, if only recently, and it was a little funny. She had a habit of letting herself get caught up in what others saw her as, but the end of the story was a pleasant one. He was happy that she had found peace when all of the ponies of Ponyville had shown her forgiveness and then showed that they wanted nothing more than for her to forgive herself. Of course, he had not wasted the chance to tease her a little about how trivial it was in hindsight.

Nightmare Moon allowed a slight smirk that faded into her calm expression a moment later. “That was just another example of how she was able to alter the part of me I lent to her. Like the Tantabus, my gift was fed by her emotions, eventually becoming something it was never intended to be. I never wanted her to start a war with her sister and threaten the entire world with eternal night. I only wanted to… to offer her a helping hoof.”

Mathew caught it. In that last part, there was the thing he knew was hiding from him. There was the truth. In her slip, he knew he saw a very distinct expression in her eyes. “Nightmare Moon… did you care about Luna?” Mathew asked. He flinched, realizing that was supposed to only be a thought, but it was too late to take the question back. He hoped that it would not undo the meager progress he had made with the dark being.

To his surprise, Nightmare Moon shifted her gaze to the side, only letting herself remember something for a short moment. “Is it so wrong?” she asked, not necessarily to Mathew, before she looked back to his pale eyes. “What would you have done? If you, having watched a young filly grow up, become a beautiful young mare, a mare with such an honest, loyal, playful, wonderful personality, and see her feel alone and hurt with nopony else to lean on for support in her darkest of thoughts…” she looked away again. “Is it wrong of me to care for her? Is it really such a terrible thing for a mother to care for her child?”

Mathew’s eyes shot open. He knew a lot about the dreaded Nightmare Moon, but either she was the greatest actor in the universe or the tears that faintly shimmered in her green glow were genuine. Then again… it made sense, when he put everything together. Except, there was still something he could not quite figure out. “Why don’t Celestia or Luna know that? If you’re really Luna’s mother, why doesn’t she know?”

Nightmare’s eyes lowered further. She made no attempt to stop her emotions from gracing her face with how much that question hurt her.
“There are some truths that are just too painful to be made known. But…” she hesitated for a moment, “but you wanted to see all of what I have to offer, so I’ll grant you this… if only to make you see that all I want is for the best for my child.”

Nightmare took a long calming breath before she continued. “Luna does not share the same mother as Celestia. Their father was an old god, and the creator of much of the world of Equus. Celestia’s mother, who happens to be the one responsible for all life on Equus, was a goddess. She and I used to be great friends… that was, until we learned we had both given birth to the offspring of the same male. He had played with us.”

Nightmare paused again. It was clear that what she had to say next was not the easiest of events to retell. Still, she found her voice again and looked Mathew in the eyes. “Luna’s father took to me as his favored. I knew it was just a ploy to get the goddess angry, but I could never have imagined just how upset she would become. She… convinced herself that I had betrayed her trust. In all my life, that was the only time I had ever felt that I could be killed. It was the single most frightening experience of my existence. Even though I had no desire to do it… I somehow struck her with a fatal blow. Had I known that my power was one of her few weaknesses… I truly wish things had been different.”

Mathew listened to her words with his full attention. It was almost a surreal experience, hearing Nightmare Moon’s history being told. She had killed Celestia’s mother, tried to get revenge on the god behind the conflict, failed to catch him before he escaped to worlds unknown, and then took it upon herself to watch over Equus and her daughter. The incredible reality of the truth he now knew was beyond anything he had ever hoped for.

He finally had everything he would ever need to ease Celestia and Luna’s fears of Nightmare moon, but something else had crept up in his mind, that somehow felt like it was more important to him. He took a breath of his own before he asked, “So how did I play into this? If everything you’ve done has been for Luna’s sake, what would you have needed me for?”

Nightmare sighed, a smile finally gracing her face. “I told you before. Your body and mind are not affected by the magic of Equus. Well… not by any magic outside of your control. But to add to that, I needed one with the insight that you have. I’ve watched you for some time now. You can read others through their eyes… one of the reasons I was not inclined to speak with you face to face, at first,” she said.

Mathew nodded. He was aware of his little knack for seeing through people. He was often teased by his friends that it was also what made him get lost in natural beauty, whether it was in the world around him or in one of the models that he rotated through as the background of his cell phone.

Nightmare Moon continued, “There were many humans I could have used, but you had just the right balance I sought. And, as I’m sure you noticed, Luna has opened up to you quite quickly. You have the natural ability to let others connect with you. Even though you simply see it as ‘going with the flow’ it is part of what makes you unique. My original intent was to use your body to finally… speak with my daughter. I’ve caused her so much pain, I even hurt her sister, and I wanted to be able to… to apologize properly to them.”

Mathew noticed the slight tremble of Nightmare’s eyes at the end there. He let a small smile slip onto his face. “You wanted to try being a mother to her, didn’t you?” he asked. She stared at him for a moment, but eventually nodded and sighed.

“I’ve always wanted to be by her side. It’s only natural for a mother to want to be with her child. I’m no goddess, but my physical form would cause disruption to the harmony of Equestria. It is the reason why the Everfree Forest is so untouchable… I had placed a part of my core in that place after Luna had been lost to her emotions. Just as I had hoped, your body canceled out that effect…” Nightmare’s voice trailed off. Her eyes were suddenly heavy with the signs of regret.

Mathew became aware of his own heartbeat at that moment. He placed his hand on his chest and looked at her with a hint of fear as he licked his lips. “That crystal was your core… and that part of you has fused to my heart. You and I are connected permanently… aren’t we?” he asked.

Nightmare simply nodded, closing her eyes and frowning as she berated herself inside.

Mathew sighed, then he allowed a small smile to cross over his face. “Don’t worry about it,” he said.

Nightmare’s eyes shot open and she stared at Mathew with disbelief. “But… I’ve changed you forever! And if it were to be removed, you would…”

Mathew let a small chuckle slip out. He shook his head and let a warm gaze settle upon Nightmare Moon. “You know… I think I know where Luna got that obsessive attitude when she can’t accept forgiveness from others,” he teased her. “Besides, I could think of worse things to have happen to me. This isn’t so bad… once you get used to it. Honestly, I feel better about everything now. I was afraid of having magic before, but now that I know why I have it… I think I can relax a bit more,” he paused for a few moments, seemingly in deep thought.

Nightmare Moon watched him, slightly curious as to what he might be thinking, and also happy that he had not been as upset about being bound to her. Then she realized she still had to find a way to get her feelings to Luna… and Celestia. Suddenly, she felt the space around her warm up pleasantly. Mathew was looking at her with a warm grin.

“Nightmare Moon… I’ve got a proposition for you. Are you interested in hearing it?” Mathew asked.

Needless to say, Nightmare Moon was surprised by his question. Just what was the human thinking? She tentatively nodded her head, eyeing Mathew with slight caution. He held his gaze and kept up the grin as he proceeded to put his offer on the table. “In exchange for my help, you’ll put all of your power under my control. You will do everything I say, leave any and all decisions to your plan up to me, and you will be rewarded in the end. I know you want to have a relationship with your daughter, but I’d prefer to keep my mind and body as my own, we’ll find a common ground in this. You can’t use me, but I will do everything in my power to give you what you want. What do you say?”

Nightmare Moon only stared at Mathew. In no way was the proposition equal, in fact, if it had been at any other time she would have let loose a mighty booming voice of her disapproval. She knew it was one sided, but the genuinely warm expression on Mathew's face reassured her that he would not do anything ill natured. Though it had been well over five thousand years since the last time, she felt she could trust in another. Still… she had to say one thing before she accepted his terms. “Promise me… please promise me that you’ll help me be a good mother.”

Mathew smiled wider. Then, to make sure he did it properly, he placed his hand over his heart and bowed his head. “Under pain of death, I give you my word that I will do everything I can for you and Luna. I owe her a lot already, and I think you both deserve a chance to be family. Everyone deserves another chance to be better… er, everypony, in this case,” he said, grinning sheepishly at his little slip near the end.

Nightmare Moon smiled so genuinely that it almost captivated Mathew. There was no evil in the Alicorn in front of him. No monster of the dark, waiting to pounce on poor helpless prey. There was only a mother, brimming with a joy that no other could hope to compare the feeling to unless they had a child of their own. Then, doing her best to hold back her tears of happiness, Nightmare Moon nodded enthusiastically. “I accept your terms. You may use my power as you desire, but please be careful with it. Both Celestia and Luna know my magic… should they sense it being used, they will come for you,” she warned him.

Mathew shrugged and smiled softly. “I’m not taking your power to use it for myself. I want to study it first, and then I want to work together with you to try and find a way for you to be able to meet with Luna. I’m pretty sure it’ll take time, but I know we can figure out something. If my body has the key to keeping your powers from affecting Equestria then maybe there’s hope for you to have your own body here. After all, magic is always changing in this world, so we might discover something new.”

Nightmare Moon could not believe it. She had thought of something similar before, but never would she have thought she’d meet anything that would willingly want to help her – especially after learning about her past. Her heart fluttered happily as she felt the warmth of hope spread through her. She nodded her head and turned her gaze off to the side.

The subtle hint she gave was enough to make Mathew look in the same direction. The window from before, where he could see his body, floated closer to him. He wondered what it meant, but then realized that he could feel himself being pulled toward it. He was about to wake up. His head spun around to look at Nightmare Moon.

She smiled for him, nodding sagely. “I have kept you here long enough. When you have recovered from your injury I will meet with you again. Don’t tell Luna about our meeting… not yet. Please rest for now, Mathew.”

Mathew smiled back. He let the darkness slip away and he lost awareness for a moment. Suddenly, his eyes opened and he took in a quick breath. He was back in his body. The teachers around him froze, their eyes fixed on him in a state of shock. Professor Glint stepped forward to stand beside Mathew. He had a look of concern, but also held slight admiration. “Mathew… are you feeling alright?” he asked.

Mathew looked at the professor. He let a small smile slip through.
“Yeah…” he whispered. “I think I could really use that break right about now,” he answered and turned his gaze to the doorway.

Six castle guards, dressed in their polished gold armor and bearing their spears, charged through the doors. The force of their charge was a bit excessive in Mathew’s eyes, but he knew the reason why they were so forceful. Even though it was an accident, the guards had been informed of an abnormal event regarding the human, so they were merely following their orders. Orders that stated that the human be placed under their charge should anything happen and to do so as swiftly as possible.

Mathew sighed. He knew he was in for a fair bit of questioning. His body was sore, and all he wanted to do was go to his room and plop onto his bed, but he would have to wait for that. He hoped it would not take long… but he had a feeling things were about to get worse.

Author's Note:

Another chapter out, and slightly ahead of schedule, too.

This whole scene had been on my mind for the longest time as I wrote out this story. Hope you all enjoyed the twist and please look forward to the next chapter!

Comments

[Detsella Morningdew]

Ah, you have definitely re-captured my interest again.

(I still feel that you should have spent more time on having him acclimate to Equestria, but I definitely understand that feeling as a writer to rush to the more "interesting" parts.)

[Doctor_Den]

in the title of the story, we were promised the secret truth about Nightmare Moon. But I thought that they would keep us in the intrigue longer, and as a result, all the cards were laid out on the table already in the fourth chapter.
This is certainly not bad, especially since I definitely did not expect such a plot turn, but for some reason I am a little sad that the main secret was revealed so quickly.