Nº 7: ACT 3
Act 3
The winds were calm. Rain fell not. It was a truly heavenly place; the sky above the storm. To Celestia, it was a whole nother world. Mere meters separated her from heavy sheets of rain. She sat atop the dark layer of clouds, shivering and watching Philomena circle high above in the tranquil, rainless night sky. The gentle breeze brought horrible chills, as her entire body was soaked from the rain, but she somehow failed to mind. The rains on this place were not like the rains plaguing her banishment. These rains, while cold and harsh, did not bring poor memories; quite the opposite. They reminded Celestia of how strangely pleasing the cold could be, her mind almost totally lost in remission of the far-gone times when her sister would be the one to drag her into the rain for a playful flight rather than Philomena, who seldomly ventured along when the two sisters would depart. She supposed that many things could change in the space of 700 years.
After unfurling her wings and giving a few hard flaps to help shake more water free, Celestia laid back on the clouds, keeping her wings spread against the almost bed-like formations as she gazed into the clear, peaceful night. The full moon above rendered Philomena's figure to nothing more than a silhouette and dimmed the thousands of blinking, distant stars that freckled the deep, black canvas. She thought back to Iris having told Nightmare Moon that she should "show her that the night isn't a bad thing". Never once had Celestia felt negative towards the night. In many ways, she found it more beautiful than the day; the drabness, mystery, and blue-black color palette of the night had always struck her with awe. They failed, entirely, to understand her discomfort. She, much like most of the ponies living under her and Luna's rule 700 years ago, did not detest the night, and felt no venom towards it. She held distaste for the night's permanency, not for the night itself.
Another hard shiver rocked Celestia's body as the winds picked up, her wings coming up and wrapping around her in an attempt to stay warm.
"Philomena, s-shall we return to the castle? W-We wish to not f-further our sickness with the cold," called Celestia through chattering teeth as she looked up to the circling Phoenix, who now began a descent.
Philomena called out loudly as she dove down, zooming past Celestia through the clouds like an arrow. With a playful chuckle, Celestia spread her wings and took to the skies, gaining a little bit of altitude before following her friend's example and diving through the storm. The tranquility of the above gradually turned back to the chaos below, winds picking up as she continued on through the pitch black cloud layer, not a single thing being visible as a point of reference. On and on the clouds seemed to go, the fringe of the clouds where rain fell not presenting itself. Celestia angled herself down more, thinking she had not taken a steep enough approach. Still, she dived on, and still, she saw black. No rain hit her fur, and no winds seemed to pass over her cold figure. She flared her wings, coming to a halt in the air as she looked around, her eyes still seeing pure darkness.
Celestia jumped as lightning cracked a short distance away, her eyes being drawn to the totally blinding strobe, a flash of heat striking her like a concussion wave. Instantly, her ears began ringing loudly, the high tone overpowering every outside sound, her own heartbeat now thumping in her ears like a hard drum. A second, muffled crack pierced the air, a hot blue strobe exploding right by her, its source appearing as a silhouetted figure against the black canvas of clouds. Celestia's heart skipped a beat. That figure had only appeared for a split second, but it was unmistakably a pony; one of great size with large, swept wings and a spire-like horn rising tall from their shadowy head. Celestia began diving again, her heart still pounding past the horrible ring in her ears. Her wings pounded the air with haste to increase the speed of her dive, escaping whatever she had seen being the only thought to run through her mind. A third, bright blue bold broke the air by her, eliciting a scream as she rolled hard left to avoid the searing bolt.
Suddenly, she pierced the black clouds, appearing not below, but above into the tranquil night sky. She paused, bringing herself to a steady hover as her eyes darted around in every direction, trying to spot the being that had most certainly be trailing her. Her ears continued to ring and her heart continued to pound as she frantically searched, but as the seconds slowly ticked by nothing appeared through the clouds. As her sense began returning, she realized she had lost Philomena.
She called out Philomena's name to only hear the vibrations caused by her voice, the true sound leaving her lips not making it past the horrendous ringing. She continued to cry out for her friend, scanning in each direction to try and spot either Philomena or the figure she was now unsure she had truly seen.
Then, through the clouds at a far distance to her front, appeared two of the castle's guards, their silver and blue metallic armor reflecting the moonlight quite brilliantly. Gasping, Celestia quickly dove to the clouds, hiding herself in the black cloud layer as her heart began to pound once more. That figure in the cloud layer. It had looked so much like the cursed form her sister possessed. Her mind raced; those hot bolts of energy, they were straight and pure as if they were spell-cast, and not made of electricity. Those bolts, she remembered them vividly. Not from moments ago, but from the night she had been betrayed. Their heat, crack, and color were those of that cursed beast. That thought only struck further panic into her, her breathing quickening to near hyperventilation as she decided to continue diving through the clouds. Once again, she dove, and the end of the blackness never seemed to come. True panic was beginning to set in; her mind struggling to find an answer as to why she was unable to find the end of the cloud bank.
Without much forethought, Celestia brought life to her horn, casting a yellow glow into the night, an unnatural coldness gripping at her from deep within as her horn ripped at what shards of magic remained in her broken being. What her horn's contrast revealed was not what struck her with fear, it was what her horn had not shown. There were no clouds around her, and no rain fell to pelt her coat, there was simply blackness. An abyss. No horizon, no clouds above, nor ground below. Her magic abruptly ceased, leaving her with an incredibly painful headache and a metallic flavor in her mouth, her once totally black vision turning gray with millions of flickering spots. She pulled out of her dive, coming to a hover in this abyss while she continued to frantically look in every direction. Still, nothing presented itself. She felt trapped; there was no up or down, no seeing what could be lurking behind or above, no listening for any sounds quieter than the clap of thunder, and no way to provide herself with any sort of defense.
With no more options, Celestia continued to scream out Philomena's name, her star-ridden vision still darting around in the blackness as she tried to find any speck of light to use as reference. There was still nothing. No matter how many times she screamed out, no matter how hard she tried to focus on seeing light, there was nothing. She dropped her jaw to scream for Philomena once more, but she stopped herself. She looked in the direction she assumed to be up as she futilely searched for the one hunting her. Such loud calls were far more compromising than helpful. That beast lurking in the clouds must be able to hear her screams. Celestia gasped in surprise as her hooves impacted something; wet grass. She gained a tiny bit of altitude, looking down at the black nothingness before slowly lowering herself back down, and surely enough, her hooves planted to the wet ground. Her total disorientation had left her in a gentle decent rather than the hover she had intended to maintain. She laughed in relief, dancing on her front hooves to confirm what she felt was not a product of her mind. She stepped forward, her hooves only continuing to find new ground. Satisfied, she paused, still having no idea what was before her.
A distant clap of thunder shook through her body, bringing her eyes up to see the strobe illuminate the quite distant castle perched atop its mountain face for only a split second. Things turned back to abyss, and Celestia stood with her eyes locked in the direction she had seen the castle. She was still far too frightened to attempt flight, not knowing what may lay in the murky night or what may be hiding in the clouds above. Still, she was trapped; mind racing and struggling to comprehend things fully due to the horrible distraction of her ringing ears, throbbing temples, and the seemingly excessive build-up of metallic-y liquid in her mouth. She coughed a few times, spitting out the liquid, the act bringing a horrible ache to her already pained stomach muscles. Fear gripped every possible thought her panicked mind could conjure. A fear she had only felt the night her sister had betrayed her, a fear that stiffened her muscles and caught her breathing. Fear of the end.
With much hesitation, Celestia drew magic to her horn, casting a faint, flickering glow for a short time to reveal she was standing in a clearing; there appeared to be no trees around, but such a thing was hard to tell, as her contrast only broke shallowly into the darkness. She ceased the spell, her headache becoming worse from the mere seconds of use. Each breath was hard with panic, short grunts escaping with each exhalation from both exhaustion and pain. Remembering the general direction she had seen the castle in, Celestia spread her wings and went into a pure vertical climb, wanting to gain as much altitude as possible before trying to continue forward. Her upwards acceleration lasted some time before she began her forward flight, keeping her eyes locked with the spot in the abyss she had seen the castle and keeping her wings at the ready to pull into a hard vertical climb if any obstacles presented themselves. Her speed was kept slow, and she kept her forelegs held in front of her chest to detect anything. What she would do to have her lantern.
She yelped as something somewhat gently impacted her back, causing her to flip around in the air to both throw the object free and to make an attempt at seeing what had hit her. Her eyes went wide as her gaze met with Philomena's, who's flaming wingtips provided enough light to make her full figure visible. Celestia exhaled in relief, not wasting any time by telling Philomena to lead her back to the castle. Philomena's confirming squawk was rendered inaudible through the ringing in Celestia's ears, her eyes remaining locked with the beacon-like flame of Philomena as she began guided her through the stormy night.
The rapid thump of her heart and panicked breathing began to calm, the wave of relief that had washed over her drawing her mind from searching for both Philomena and the Tartarus spawn that had been hunting her. Now, she could only focus on the many things within her own body that screamed at her. Her wings ached from being pushed to their utmost boundary, her ears screeched with a loudness that the bell of the long-gone Canterlot Town Hall could only hope to sing with, her mouth was fouled by the taste of blood, her nostrils too leaking crimson, and her temples felt the pressure of a marble slab.
The wave of calmness retreated from her thoughts, panic returning as she realized what harm may have been inflicted. More than that, she feared the fact she had caused such pain by casting a simple spell to throw forth an abysmal flicker of light. The pain throughout her body only served to increase the crushing sense of weakness and vulnerability. The shields, daggers, and blades she once could create and wield were not as if they had been stripped away, but as if they had been thrown into the far corner of the cell Celestia lived in. She could feel magic around her; in the ground, in the air, in Philomena when she hugged the soft Phoenix as if she were a toy. That inability to grasp at powers that lay mere inches away was what brought her the most enmity for her traitor sister.
Celestia jumped, yelping as lightening struck once more, the purely white strobe revealing the now much closer castle for only a split second. She never imagined she would truly be relieved by the sight of that place. She looked over her shoulder, her eyes still only seeing the abyss of the night. She couldn't shake the thought of what had happened earlier, and she couldn't shake the thought that the thing she had seen through the clouds was a creature she would not make escape from by returning to the castle. Returning to the castle would only place her in the heart of the home of the beast.
Apprehension. Indecisiveness. Celestia's mind was plagued with these creatures. She stood with Philomena, shivering in the breeze and returning rains beneath a large tree she suspected of being oak as her eyes strained through the darkness to peer at the distant entrance to the castle from the garden. While her surroundings were quite dark, things were not the murky, endless void of black they appeared as when she had been away from the castle. She could clearly make out the sky, the outline of the castle, and the silhouettes of the many different trees, shrubs, and flowers that thrived in the garden. Now standing with a far clearer mindset Celestia pondered on her hellish experience. Her mind could not decide if it had created most of what she had seen, or if it had been reality. The bolts that broke the air near her had most certainly been there, her lack of hearing was proof of that, and she had most certainly seen the two guards ascend from the clouds before her, but she remained indecisive on one thing; something that had only happened for a fraction of a second. The silhouetted figure. A figure that was most certainly her sister's.
Her eyes remained locked with the dark arch of the castle's entrance, indecisiveness still keeping her under the tree she and Philomena stood under. Suddenly, Philomena's wing impacted the side of her head, bringing Celestia's gaze back to the Phoenix, who began nodding her head towards the entrance.
"W-We know, we should leave the rain... but thou knowest not what we did see in those clouds."
Philomena cocked her head.
"Our sister's shadow. T-Those blasts of lightening were not that; they were spell-cast."
Philomena rolled her eyes, slapping Celestia with a wing once more.
Celestia scoffed angrily. "Keep thy feathers to thyself! We... we do know well what we saw!"
Philomena gave an inaudible chirp.
"Doth thee question our statement, as well as what our eyes did see?"
Philomena nodded.
Celestia held her tongue a moment, looking away from Philomena as she thought. Her eyes were brought back up as Philomena hopped from her back, flapping to the tall, wet grass and stepping behind Celestia's foreleg, beginning to lean herself into the limb as to coax Celestia forward.
"First we art led into the storm, now thou art leading us from it... thy motives are strange, dear friend," Celestia spoke as she craned her head down to look at Philomena eye-to-eye.
She simply nodded, stepping back to stand idly in waiting for Celestia to make up her mind.
"Maybe it is... fatuous of us to believe the traitor was hunting us in the night." pondered Celestia as she looked back up.
Unbeknownst to Celestia, Philomena gave a squawk in agreement as she nodded her head. She thought a moment longer, Philomena's firm disagreeance bringing some sense to her thoughts. Much to Philomena's enjoyment, Celestia slowly began her way towards the archway, Philomena hopping along side her in the grass. As they two neared the door, a quartet of castle guards descended from the ceiling, their sudden presence sending a shock through Celestia, her eyes wide with fear. Each guard gazed back with concern, their voices silent for a moment before the leftmost guard piped up, speaking futile words that failed to penetrate the ringing.
"We... we cannot hear, thunderclaps hath deafened us," Celestia informed, her words causing the four guards to look amongst themselves.
She saw them share a few words, that left-most guard now tapping at his nose with his armored hoof, then pointing it towards Celestia. She cocked her head. The guard stepped forward, gently pressing his hoof to Celestia's muzzle and pulling it back to show her quite a substantial amount of fresh blood had been imprinted on the shiny metal of his shoe. Celestia gasped, bringing her own hoof up to find the same thing.
"T-Tis nothing... we art fine; over-use of our magic hast caused this," she trembled, a little frightened at how much of the red stuff had leaked down her muzzle and chin to her chest.
That same guard leaned in, bringing his head along side Celestia's. "Shall we direct you to the castle's medical center?" he inquired, Celestia focusing quite hard to make out his muffled speech over the ringing.
"Nay, nay. We art fine. J-Just cold... where be the spa?"
"The spa is closed, Your Majesty."
Celestia nodded. "We know well, but too, do we know how to operate the hot rain, as well as the music machine," responded Celestia with volume greater than how she anticipated.
At first, her far from standard nomenclature put a puzzled look on his face, but a second of deliberation led to understanding. "Of course, Your Majesty."
And thus, he began down the hall to the left, those other three guards sharing a look with Celestia as she and Philomena trailed at a slow pace. A hoof tapped at Celestia's back, prompting her to turn around to meet one of the three remaining guards, her nicely folded blanket sitting in his out-stretched hoof. She looked back and forth from the blanket to the guard a few times, his azure, glowing eyes not striking her with fear or disgust as they once before had. Now, though his gaze, she saw genuine care. She stood as the sole threat to the throne he defended and the way of life he no doubtedly loved, yet he saw fit to treat her as he would treat any other being in his castle.
"We art far too damp to be adorned with this, and our magic hast failed entirely... couldst thou bring it along with us?" Celestia asked with a little smile.
The guard holding her blanket looked past Celestia to the guard who had been leading her as he stepped over, the two exchanging a few words as the blanket was held out for the escorting guard to take it and hold it firmly beneath his wing. He shared a quick glance with Celestia before continuing on down the hall, the other three guards bowing to her before taking flight and returning to their posts. Following the escorting guard, she took a look over her shoulder to watch his three comrades simply vanished into the darkness of the high-soaring buttresses above. She could still feel their gazes, and the gazes of the many other guards hung high above. She had preferred it when she was ignorant to their presence; now, during the castle's downtime, when she found herself in the halls, all she could feel was their eyes on her.
Celestia sighed as the hot shower washed over her, warming her entire body and soothing her muscles, as it always had. Philomena too stood under the stream, her wings unfurled a little to allow the water under every one of her feathers. The one thing annoying Celestia the most about the ringing in her ears was the fact she could no longer experience the wonderful sounds of the shower. The gentle rumble of the water hitting the tiles had always been just as soothing as the water itself. Luckily it seemed that the ringing was beginning to lose intensity, something that made her quite happy. She had frightened herself by speculating that the damage to her hearing would be permanent, but it now appeared that wouldn't be the case. Thinking back, this wasn't her first time being deafened by lightening. One of those nights, when Luna had dragged her out for a midnight flight over Equestria during a storm quite similar to this one, had ended with the two returning without their hearing. She recalled that the ringing and muffled effect on sounds had faded almost entirely by morning. Hopefully, that would be the case this time around.
Celestia's eyes were drawn to Philomena as she stepped out of the stream, quickly fluttering her wings and ruffling her feathers to somewhat dry herself.
"Enjoying thyself?"
Philomena nodded.
"As are we."
Their eyes remained locked for a short time.
"We know not if we should be angered with thee or not."
Philomena cocked her head.
"Thou know well what we mean. Dragging us into such a harsh storm... surely thou knew what effect it would have on our mind."
Philomena hopped forward, wrapping her wings around Celestia's foreleg in a firm, loving hug. Celestia's breath caught in her chest, surprise taking her expression. That shocked look quickly melted into a joyful as Celestia began kneeling down, Philomena releasing her leg to allow her descent.
"Thou had'st nay idea such things would happen to us, did thee?"
Philomena shook her head.
Celestia contemplated. "Thou wished for us to be the playful, cheerful being we once were. Thou knew we used to partake in flights with our sister..."
Philomena nodded.
Celestia outstretched her hooves, pulling Philomena into her chest in a strong hug. "For that... we thank thee."
After a short while Celestia let Philomena go, giving her a little smile before standing and stepping forward to the ornate control of the shower, her hoof turning the knob a few times to fully shut off the water. Almost simultaneously did she and Philomena shake themselves about to fling most of the water from their fur and feathers, Celestia spending a little more time on herself as she shook all four limbs individually, shimmied her flanks side to side to dry her tail, fluttered her wings, and shook her head to throw her pink mane about, sending a field of water in every direction. Philomena took to the air, landing atop the glass door as Celestia turned to exit the shower, the opening and closing of the clear pane barely phasing the Phoenix perched atop it.
With one of the few towels previously and so kindly set beside the shower by the guard who had guided her and carried her blanket now in her hooves, Celestia dropped to her haunches as she began to dry herself off, starting with her very damp mane before bothering with any other part. For every previous moment in her life she had been able to complete menial tasks, such as drying one's self with a towel, with the aid of her magic. Now, such a tiny use of her spells would only wield further blood loss from her nostrils and more stabbing pain in her head. The concept had become quite tiresome. Though, at the same time, her current total lack of any magic was somewhat her own fault. If she had not so foolishly attempted to cast light into the night, she would still be able to competently dry herself with her magic.
Having worked her way from her mane to her wings, then to her tail, Celestia now sat nearly totally dry, save for the typical residual moisture in her mane and tail. As she stood up, Philomena flapped her way down from the door, landing before Celestia and looking at her. With a smile, Celestia took a fresh towel from the little stack and threw it over Philomena, dropping back to her haunches as her front hooves worked in an intentionally rough manner to dry her friend. The towel was pulled up to reveal a dried, but incredibly disheveled Philomena, nearly every feather out of place.
Celestia laughed, beginning to right the now annoyed looking Philomena with a hoof. "Thou looketh as we do after a long slumber!"
Philomena's now somewhat audible squawk only caused Celestia to laugh further as she continued on. With a little more work, she took her hooves from Philomena and moved back, the Phoenix instantly resorting to preening and arranging her feathers on her own accord.
"Always so pristine and regal... maybe we should begin to follow thy example."
Philomena paused her work for a second to nod, though her attention had not gone back to arranging feathers, it had gone to something behind Celestia. She jumped as a hoof landed upon her shoulder, causing her to flip around to see the dauntingly tall Nightmare Moon, that typical look of concern on her face. There was a moment of no speech between the two as Celestia let her breath catch up.
"Sorry for scaring you..." Nightmare spoke in an intentionally loud voice to make it past the ringing in Celestia's ears.
Celestia let her eyes wander over Nightmare's figure for a moment; she was totally naked of her normal attire, and her eyes were not made up with her deep purple eye shadow. She appeared far more gentle than ever before; her presence hardly brought feelings of dread.
"What... dost thou wish?"
"To make sure you're alright. The guards woke me up saying you couldn't hear and were bleeding from your nose," Nightmare laughed awkwardly, "as you can imagine, I was distraught, but I can see you're in better condition than the guards made it seem... minus the hearing, I assume."
"Aye, our ears ring louder than bells, but we do still hear the slightest."
Nightmare sat down in front of Celestia, keeping her hoof on her shoulder. "Luckily, that's one thing I can help with."
A wavy blue aurora sprouted to life around Nightmare's long horn, Celestia beginning to feel an acute tingling deep in both ears. Slowly, the ringing and the muffled effect began fading, Celestia's expression being one of slight shock and wonder as Nightmare's magic gradually removed whatever damage had been done by the volley of booms that had deafened her.
Nightmare's aurora faded as she gave Celestia a gentle smile. "Well, can you hear a little better now?"
"We... can hear perfectly."
Nightmare chuckled. "That's good. I... well, we both know how annoying that is. Remember all those years back when you and I both had our hearing damaged when we flew into that storm, and once we got back to the castle we didn't hear the bell signaling the start of court? Once we finally got there, we could barely hear what half of the Parliament was discussing, so we had Ink Scroll write it all out to us."
The two sisters shared a stifled, awkward laugh. "Aye, we do remember. We... did have many adventures in times past."
"I think you still do have adventures; what prompted you to go out into such a storm tonight? With how poorly you've been feeling, I was really amazed to hear you had gone and done such a thing."
Celestia looked over her shoulder to Philomena, who had long since finished preening and now stood idly. "T'was her idea. She thinketh we needed to face the fears of cold rain since our last encounter had led to such a horrible reality in our mind. She was quite right, and we did so valiantly set out into that night with joy in our heart rather than dread. Retrospectively, our adventure was not too horrible..."
Nightmare thought a moment. "I understand you being a little deaf from the lightening... but why were you bleeding?"
"Over-use of our magic. We tried to call light to our horn, but the contrast lasted mere moments before causing our head to pound."
There was a gap of quiet as Nightmare hung on Celestia's words, guilt writhing in her mind as she stared at her older sister.
"Try... try to not use your magic so much. That's not something I should have to say, but if it causes that much harm, maybe you should... well, restrain yourself a little more."
"Aye, we know well," Celestia's mind suddenly hatched a tiny plan, "we... wish to remain in solitude within our room for some time after this. Working with our magic on small scales to attempt at repairing things. We did recently gather some foods from the Chef for our own uses."
Nightmare looked a little surprised. "Oh, well... alright."
There again was that little pause of quite as the two ran out of things to say. With a little groan, Nightmare got to her hooves, looking down at Celestia for a moment before turning to make her way to the door.
"Goodnight, sister," spoke Celestia.
Nightmare paused in the doorway, looking on in silence for but a moment. "Goodnight, Celestia. I love you."
"We love thee, too."
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You should simplify your story's description into three strong sentences. People's eyes will glaze over looking at that block of text you have there.
7830608 It got you here, didn't it?
EDIT: funny, someone other than myself disliked your comment.
Dope slap
On a serious note, that is some PTSD.
You little cutie
The end offers some hope for reconciliation, that those two might sit down and exchange an apology and forgiveness for all that happened 700 years ago. When a member of family, someone who loved you and was supposed to be together with you, turns on you and backstabs you it breaks your heart from pain. I see it as the hardest thing to look them in the eye and tell them you forgive them.
Nice chapter, as always!
7830624 PTSD is indeed what I would describe her 'episode' as. The illusion I was trying to draw with the supposed silhouette of Nightmare Moon and the lightening strikes being akin to bolts of magic was their fight 700 years ago. Something like that would certainly haunt someone until their death.
Did you mean to have "quite" there, or is a typo of "quiet"?EDIT: He fixed it.
7830850
Yes, I did.EDIT: I did fix it
Find myself looking forward to this story the nost out of any on this site ATM. The story just pulls at my hearts strings too much. Keep up the good work.
7830858 With my advanced knowledge of how this ordeal will end (being the author, and all), that statement only makes me happier.
7830608 That won't be necesary.
7831300
HIS COMMENT IS UP TO 4 DISLIKES.
7831097
With that statement, you entirely defeated your own question of "is Celestia supposed to accept things?". No. She isn't. And she won't, because both she and Nightmare Moon know that there is supposed to be balance. If you'll notice, Nightmare Moon hasn't actually told Celestia to not raise the sun. She has *SOMEWHAT* hinted that she'd prefer if Celestia didn't, but she explains that her reason behind such a statement isn't; "oh, I still hate the day-time", it's; "I fear what the day-time could cause after being gone for so long". People over-look this theme quite often: while there are a lot of things said in this story, there are even more things that are unsaid that are almost just as important.
Nightmare Moon's reluctance, fear, and possible fibbing about being able to return Celestia's magic isn't because she's scared the day will be more beautiful than the night, and that the day will make everyone forget about the night, she's scared that those beneath her in power will have a fit and do something stupid, and she's also scared of the possibility that, as I've stated, the day-time might do some bad shit to a place that has existed for 700 years under total darkness.
Also, to address my quoted point above; the point of this conflict *IS* that the fate of an entire world has been reduced to a spar between two siblings. That's what the conflict was in the show, why is it such an issue for that to be the conflict here?
Shall we also keep in mind; it's canon to the show that a permanent night Equestria is possible. Maybe that AU episode simply showed the castle and the few ponies an insane Nightmare Moon kept in her care, and the rest of the world has simply crumbled away because of a lack of sun, but I like to think that's a stupid idea.
While I'm defending my work, I will raise another point; I purposefully do not state many things in explicit fashion because that's boring.
7831343 Five.
7831598 10/10. Thank you for your contribution. Also, as I assume you're currently reading the story, how do you like things so far?
7831629
I'll summarize: Feels. Anger, Sadness. Fear.
Angry at what this NMM did to Celly.
Sadness at how this iteration of the two sisters are well.. Their relationship isnt wounded. its lacerated. And thats some nasty heavy scarring. Scars never fully go away.
Fear at what the world your setting up is going to end up in/react to the day. 700 years of darkness and Equestria is thriving means plant and animal life adapted to perpetual night. Raising the sun suddenly could very much kill and/or blind everything. The Thestrals/Nocturne are a ruling class, and would revolt, so there goes Equestria, torn asunder by civil war.
7831685 Reading that tells me I'm doing a good job; that's all the things I'd like people to feel.
Gosh darn it! I love the descriptions in this story.
You took a 20 minute event and made it feel like a full hour long movie special!
7831745 I guess these events would only amount to around 20 minutes or so...
Good to see you back again, Mocha, and good to see you've enjoyed the latest chapter!
7832414 if you recall back to other chapters, the population of Equestria in this world is set out to be quite large. And, while only hinted at, Nightmare Moon is a bit of a militant, and devouts a lot of the nation's GDP and such to funding their military. I do imagine Equestria being a bit more of a superpower under Nightmare Moon. That said, they don't use that big, well funded and well equipped military often.
Ahhhh I'm loving this. The basic premise inversion here is fantastic and well done! I wait for each new chapter with baited breath. Bravo!!
Philomena make all steps, that NM must do.
Hmm, i like this story but the period for feels and hatred and fear has already sort of passed and now it feels like its on a loop. I know this chapter was needed to let Celestia set up for her expedition to the ruins but its a lackluster chapter with spa, music and sort of feels that Nightmare wants to show.
Altho i dont know why Celestia even entertains saying to NMM that she loves her, If Luna is 80% of NMM then that 20% that is NMM is winning since shes deliberately hurting Celestia and trying to use logic to keep her under wraps only for her comfort and ease of mind.
7832860 Well, luckily; there will be no more 'loop', as you've described it. Chapter 8 will begin right off the bat with Celestia being at the new castle. Also, I think you've quite horribly misinterpited Nightmare Moon. Unlike what most people believe Nightmare Moon to be, she is not a demon or possession. She is 100 percent Luna. I imagine Luna simply went a little... crazy all those years back. Do remember; this is a whole 700 years since Nightmare Moon did what she did. That's a long time for someone to sit down and think, and I speak for both Celestia and Nightmare with that.
EDIT: Additionally, as for the 'loop' thing, I would like to say this. Every interaction between Nightmare Moon and Celestia is quite different, and works to show some different things. If you notice in this chapter, Celestia doesn't hesitate in returning the words 'I love you' like she did in previous chapters.
There are subtle changes. You're looking at quite possibly the most wounded relationship in the history of everything. It's not going to take a matter of 3 conversations for things to totally repair.
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And while it could be interpreted like that there is still something guiding the actions for NMM from what i see, the change of name and form/looks would be one of those things that just weren't natural if she changed herself over night saying *OMG lets go crazy and overthrow my sister and make eternal night cuz nopony loves me* Even if this was the breakdown that probably would have happened either way after more than a hundred years of loneliness and fear from her subjects.
Not to mention never ONCE has she thought after she calmed down after her episode or thought what she has done that maybe she should reestablish the natural order and let the sun raise like how Celestia could raise her moon in cannon.
And on top of that NOW she cant for fear of what would happen when she instigated/usurped the whole country and forced everypony else to comply or die to her reign of terror. The fact that the old generation is dead and nopony left to oppose her is even worse as she must have done SOMETHING to let the newer generations over 700 years NOT hate her guts and want her dead.
If there is absolutely nothing to explain the actions of NMM aka Luna in her leave of mental absence then she has pretty much killed Celestia or left her suffering in a fate worse than death in perpetual pain plaigued by vissions, phantom pain, lack of power/worth/defence and meaning as you have already said.
If this isnt the cruelest rendition of what is being done to a family member than i dont know what is even if NMM is trying to make things right she is only making things worse and will lead to eventual collapse/death of Celestia.
7832968 I bring this point up again: at no point as Nightmare Moon actually told Celestia to NOT raise the sun. She only tells Celestia to think about things because of possible consequences, which seems like a fairly rational thing to do, in my book.
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True but what about the other things i pointed out?
-The reason for her transformation and name change
-why wait 700 years to bring her back
-why not reestablish the order of sun and moon like Celestia did in Cannon
-how in gods name can a tyrant that usurped the most favourite princess of the time (Celestia) simply dominate the country of thousands of ponies and not make every single one of them hate her guts even the newer generations.......... Especially if most despised her and feared her.
7833008 Well, those other points are things that will happen sooner or later. As for your very last point; she is not a tyrant, and has not ruled as such. 700 years is a long, long, LONG time. Also, there's nothing in the story to suggest she is loved by everyone. Quite the opposite, In fact. Every pony that Celestia has interacted with on a detailed level (including one of the Castle Guards) has expressed their distaste for Nightmare Moon's actions.
EDIT: I'd like to redact a previous statement, and that is that Nightmare Moon is Luna. I thought on that for a second... and I don't think it makes much sense. I change my mind on lots of things.
Lol, in the middle of reviewing this chapter and I found this... (Should be "lightning").
...I never thought anyone could ever make me actually like Nightmare Moon. Well, maybe like isn't the right word, more like... not dislike.
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"I am not telling you not to raise the sun. But I've stripped you of your power to do so and can't/won't give it back."
Disingenuous much?
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No one ever said Nightmare was a good person.