Elements of Heroism: Season 3

by Bahamut0

Episode 3: Nightmare's Return

Burst Stream groaned as he woke up. He took a moment to take in his surroundings. He was in a room, and he noticed that he'd been bandaged up. "The impact when I landed must've banged me up a bit. But who brought me to this room and patched me up?" Burst's memories after being launched out of the crystal heart were fuzzy at best. "I remember seeing the Castle of the Two Sisters as I started to slow down and land. So chances are, that's where I am. But who fixed me up? Not to mention the castle." Burst saw his coat and Duelist Arms waiting on a nearby table. "Time to find out." Burst slipped on his coat, and holstered his weapons. He winced as he did so. "Still smarts a little..." Burst opened the door to his room, and began to explore the halls of the ruined castle. As he journeyed, he heard someone singing. "It looks like I'm not alone." Burst decided to follow the source of the singing, and soon found himself in the throne room. Only to find nothing. "Weird." Burst froze when he heard a soft chuckle circle him.

"Here I was thinking I'd have to go to you. And lo and behold, you've come to me." A smooth, female voice called out from the darkness.

Burst narrowed his eyes, and kept his hands near his Duelist Arms. "Who or what are you? Show yourself!"

The voice seemed saddened by Burst's response. "You really don't remember me? I haven't forgotten our first meeting in the slightest. Of course, it would probably help that I give you a hint. 'The night shall last forever.'

Burst didn't need any further hints as he spun around and found himself face-to-face with Nightmare Moon! "It won't! And neither will you!" Burst quickly drew one of his blasters, and fired a charge shot point blank at Nightmare Moon! But when the smoke from the blast cleared, she hadn't been damaged at all! "What?!" Burst reached for his sword, but winced in pain from the injuries he hadn't fully healed from! "Agh!" Burst fell to one knee and clutched his side. He was about to try standing again when he locked eyes with Nightmare Moon. Burst was prepared to fight back, but he was utterly surprised at what the former Woman in the Moon did next.

"You really shouldn't be moving around so much after your rough landing." Nightmare Moon said with a concerned tone. Burst was shocked. First his Duelist Arms didn't do any damage, and now Nightmare Moon looked worried for him? Burst was about to ask why she was acting this way before he was hit with a sleeping spell. Nightmare Moon hoisted Burst onto her shoulder, and carried him. "Rest well Burst Stream. You'll reawaken soon enough."

About an hour later, Burst opened his eyes once again. Groaning in discomfort as he fully awoke. "Urrgh. Man. What a weird dream I-" Burst froze when he saw his coat and Duelist Arms on a nearby table. He then looked at his chest and saw the bandages. "Not a dream. DEFINITELY not a dream!" Burst tried to jump out of bed, but the pain in his side kept him from moving too fast. "Great. Injured and stuck with the avatar that tried to bring about eternal night. With my weapons being unable to do any damage to her." Burst then got to thinking out loud. "Wait. The Duelist Arms only do damage to evil beings. Even powerful defensive magic can't shield evil from their power. But still...how is Nightmare Moon even alive? She's just supposed Luna's dark side. Right?" Burst was startled for a moment when he heard footsteps. He then noticed the doorknob slowly turn. "Well, I guess I'll have my answers soon enough."

Nightmare Moon entered Burst's room still clad in her fearsome armor. However, Burst's attention was directed to the pleasant smile on her face. A sight Burst didn't think was even possible. "Looks like someone's feeling better." She greeted.

"You know? I'm surprised you're not upset that I shot you earlier." Burst noted. "But given how it didn't do any damage to you, I've got no reason to try and fight you. That and my condition doesn't leave me that good of a shape for fighting."

Nightmare Moon was slightly put-off by how quickly Burst had adapted to the situation, but accepted it all the same. "Well make no mistake. I still felt the blast strike me. Still, I was expecting a lot worse than merely feeling the damage."

"That's because the Duelist Arms can only harm evil entities." Burst explained. "They can't harm good or innocent souls. So if you're not hurt from that shot earlier, maybe there's more to you than meets the eye. But what I don't understand is how you're alive. If the Elements of Harmony didn't kill you, then what did they do?"

Nightmare Moon giggled. "Burst. When has it ever been said that the Elements of Harmony have destroyed anything? They can purify, seal, or imprison. But they can't kill. Don't get me wrong. Tanking a rainbow made from the magic of friendship hurts. A lot." A sad look soon appeared in Nightmare Moon's eyes. "But the pain was even worse because I was separated from Luna. And how the elements opened my eyes to how much I had hurt her." Nightmare Moon then held herself. "The one thing I swore I'd never do to her..."

"You said you were separated from Luna." Burst noted. "Aren't you just her darker desires brought to the surface and given form? The old story says that Luna turned into you."

Nightmare Moon's face had a hurt look on it. "Is that all everyone thinks I am?" A heavy sigh escaped her lungs. "I guess I really can't blame them though. Luna's negative thoughts and feelings did heavily influence me when she made me."

"Made you?" Burst asked.

"Yes. Made me." Nightmare said with a nod. "It was a little over a thousand years ago. Luna was extremely lonely since everyone loved Celestia so much. Luna was neglected, and wanted someone to keep her company. Someone who loved the night as much as she did. So, she set to work using her magic to create a best friend for herself. However, she was angry and jealous of Celestia as she made the being. And the negative thoughts flowed into the entity as soon as she was almost done creating her. But then, Celesita showed up to check on Luna. Luna cut off the magic, and told her that everything was fine. However, the negative feelings finsihed what Luna's magic began. And thus, the entity made itself known to Luna one fateful day. But, her intelligence wasn't anymore than an infant's. She wanted to make Luna happy. To have everyone love the night as much as Luna did. And there was only one way she knew how." Nightmare then looked sadly at Burst. "I think you know who that entity became, and what happened next in the story."

Burst cast a knowing gaze at Nightmare Moon, and looked down at the floor in shame. "...I'm sorry."

"What do you have to be sorry for?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"The old story's much sadder than I thought." Burst said sadly. "All you wanted to do was make Luna happy. But for all your good intentions, all it landed you was getting called a monster and exiled for a thousand years." Burst looked at the ground in shame.

Nightmare lifted Burst's head by the chin as she cupped his face. A small smile graced her face. "There's no need to feel sorry for me Burst. I regret what my actions caused, but not to where they've led. Luna's happy now, and everyone is starting to love her and her night. And you helped make all this possible." She then pulled Burst into a tight hug. "When you stood against me at the Summer Sun Celebration, you told everyone how Luna came to fuse with me. You were the first one to speak to me as a person. You gave Luna's story a happy ending. You were willing to give your life just so Luna could return home. Seeing you do that made me so happy."

Burst blushed. "Nightmare Moon..."

"You look so adorable when you're blushing." Nightmare Moon said with a giggle. "But I don't like being called Nightmare. Would...you call me Moon, please?"

Burst smiled. "Sure thing...Moon."

Moon smiled. "Thank you. But we better go to sleep if we want to accelerate your recovery."

"Wait. We're sharing a bed?" Burst asked in shock.

Moon giggled. "I might have fixed up this old place, but I haven't fixed everything yet. Besides, the recovery spell works faster with close contact. You and Celestia have shared a bed if I'm not mistaken."

"How...how did you know that?!" Burst demanded.

"I saw your dreams during Hearth's Warming." Moon replied. "And I was also that cool wind you felt on Nightmare Night."

Burst let out a sigh. "Well...I guess there's no getting around this. I do wanna get better faster." Burst climbed into bed, and Moon followed suit. He soon felt himself being pulled into Moon's embrace. Burst opened his eyes to look at Moon, and nearly jumped out of bed!

Moon pouted as she sat up. "What's with you? I thought you wanted to heal faster."

"Moon! Y-You're naked!" Burst shouted!

Moon looked herself over and smiled. "You didn't think I was going to sleep in all that armor did you?" A sultry smirk then slipped across her face as she caressed her body. "Besides, I've got you to keep me warm. And my body and Celestia's are quite similar. You could take the chance to get more...familiar."

Burst was blushing uncontrollably as he found himself climbing back into the bed. "Just...don't try anything while I'm sleeping." However, Burst's pillow was hard no matter how hard he tried fluffing it.

"Let me help you with that." Moon said with a giggle as she turned Burst toward herself and rested his head upon her chest. "Is this any better?"

Burst's face flushed red for a moment, but he soon calmed down as he felt how soft Moon was. "Y-Yeah. I didn't expect you to be so soft." Burst soon closed his eyes. "Good night Moon."

"Sweet dreams. My Precious Light." Moon said as she slowly wrapped her wings around Burst and they soon fell into slumber. Burst slept soundly, but stirred slightly when he heard felt something brush against his face. He opened his eyes to find Moon snuggling against him. A low purr escaped her lips as she did so, and a blissful smile graced her face.

'How about that? Nightmare Moon looks cute when sleeping.' Burst thought as sleep soon overtook him again. 'Maybe this nightmare...isn't such a bad thing after all...' As Burst slumbered, Moon had just finished doing a sweep of the dream realm taking care to mask her presence from Luna. Upon her return to Burst, she gazed upon his dreams. In them, Burst was worrying about all his friends and what they were going to do if they couldn't find him. Moon had also seen their dreams. All of them missed Burst dearly, and were concerned for his welfare. Moon then linked the dreams of the Elements of Heroism and Elements of Harmony. Giving them a shared dream of Burst in the Castle of the Two Sisters. Moon soon awakened, and got out of bed.

"Dreams will only do so much." Moon said as her hands glowed with the dark blue aura of her magic. She made a series of invitations. One for each of Burst's friends. The envelopes were black, and their seal was her cutie mark. Moon took a moment to admire her handiwork before she sent the invites flying off to the homes of both sets of elements. "Now all I need to do is wait." Moon returned to bed and smiled down at Burst's sleeping form. She planted a small kiss, and quickly returned to her own slumber. Happily nuzzling against Burst as she did so. 'Until then, I'm not letting you go My Precious Light.

Comments

[Bahamut0]

8302243
Next chapter's up.

[Sornos]

Good job!

[Bahamut0]

8305526
What did you like?

[ArcticAce01]

8305527
I love everything about this chapter! this chapter was amazing I especially love where Burst encounter Moon and now I'm looking forward to seeing more to come