A Do-Over

by Pip232

14: Deal With the Devil

Nightmare Moon’s demeanor immediately brightened, but it only served to make her more terrifying. Her smile widened, a small blue light shone from her eyes. “That, my little filly, is a question I thought you would never ask.”

Scootaloo’s ears flattened against her skull, her forelegs grew shaky. “So, where do I fit?”

Nightmare Moon began to approach her. Scootaloo wanted to run but felt frozen in place.

“Look at us, we're both standing between life and death, three hooves in the grave already, but if we work together, we'll both get a second chance” She saw Scootaloo was uncomfortable and stopped. Even without her armor, Nightmare Moon’s vertical pupils and pointed teeth made her a terrifying sight.

Scootaloo’s narrowed her eyes a little. “How do I know you’re not lying to me?”

“I’ll prove it. Try to lie to me.” Nightmare Moon watched her expression closely, wanting to see the impending look of realization on her face.

“Alright, my name is Scootaloo.” Why did I say that? I wanted to say Apple Bloom!

“Try again.”

“I live in Ponyville.” Canterlot! She scolded herself, You were supposed to say Canterlot! “Rainbow Dash is a pegasus! Applejack works on a farm!” Scootaloo shook her head in frustration. “How are you doing this?!”

“I’m not doing anything, it’s an effect of being in the dream realm. I don’t know why it works this way, but I am affected by it, too.”

“Oh yeah? Then give me something I don’t know about you!” Scootaloo challenged. There must be something to this! There’s no way she’ll tell the truth too.

She gave Scootaloo a sly grin, showing her pointed teeth. “My name is Moonlight.” She saw the confusion and shock in Scootaloo’s face, which only caused her grin to widen even more. “Yes, you heard correctly. My true name is Princess Moonlight, although it seems that it was buried beneath a thousand years of legends and my sister’s falsifications of history.”

“Falsifications? I don’t understand. I thought your name was Nightmare Moon.”

Moonlight’s eyes narrowed, her tone much more bitter. “Everything you think you know about me is a lie. Celestia spent the past thousand years bending facts and truths to paint me in a horrible light while portraying herself as a hero!”

Scootaloo was confused. She knew the story about how a thousand years ago Luna was consumed by jealousy of her sister, became Nightmare Moon, and was promptly banished. Now, however, her curiosity was piqued. Is there more to it than that? I never thought about her side of the story, but now I want to hear it... “What else is there?”

Moonlight seemed to think for a moment, deciding how to explain it, but she suddenly scoffed, waving a hoof through the air as if to bat away whatever she’d been preparing to say. “Words won’t do it justice. The only way for you to understand is to show you!” She splayed her wings out, her horn and eyes shining with a blinding light.

The light made Scootaloo recoil, shutting her eyes tightly. She struggled to open them, but through the narrow slit of her vision, she only saw a blackened silhouette. The light further intensified, forcing her to close them again.

---

A short time later she heard Moonlight’s voice. “Open your eyes, Scootaloo.”

She was standing in what looked like Fluttershy’s cottage, but there wasn’t an animal in sight, and the more cozy aspects of it weren’t present. A brief look around and she found Luna sitting at a desk, writing in a journal. Luna looked much younger, her mane wasn’t waving or sparkly. Scootaloo looked for Moonlight but while she couldn’t see her, she could clearly hear her voice.

“Long ago, my sister and I were taught by the greatest unicorn of our time, Starswirl the Bearded. What you are seeing is me undertaking my greatest challenge. My sister and I were each to spend a year alone, free of all distractions, including other ponies. While isolated, we were tasked to come up with new spells and forms of magic to present upon our return, as well as study and master existing spells.”

“No distractions for a year? At all? That sounds so boring.” Scootaloo shuddered at the thought.

“It wasn’t as bad as you might think, Scootaloo. The solitude allowed me to make tremendous progress on my project as I spent entire days working to accomplish this task. However, the results of it are of little importance.”

She watched Luna sitting in the middle of the room, her eyes closed and her horn lit. Scootaloo approached her and reached out, but her hoof passed right through Luna. She waved it around, but she didn’t feel anything nor did Luna seem to notice her. Scootaloo put her hoof back down, feeling more than a little weirded out. “You couldn’t have been working on magic the entire time you were alone. How’d you not get bored?”

“You’re right, I did have time where I wasn’t working on my studies. To pass my free time, I kept a journal of my thoughts and feelings. I also meditated and exercised to strengthen both my body and my mind.” She answered.

“Sounds like when I was-” Scootaloo cut herself off and slammed her mouth shut at the realization of what she was about to say, and what she would be revealing. She waited for the dream realm to force the answer out of her, but nothing happened. If I don’t try to lie, I’m not forced to tell the truth. Good to know.

With that tidbit of information stored away, she could now properly scold herself for her slip up. I could have just gave it a simple ‘nevermind’, but no, I had to cut myself off! I could have just told her that it’s my darkest secret while I’m at it! I was so focused on the story, I completely zoned out and said that without thinking about it. BUCK!

This wasn’t lost on Moonlight. “Like what, Scootaloo? Do tell.”

Scootaloo looked around wildly as the scene below her faded, leaving her alone in a void. She couldn’t see Moonlight, but she could practically feel her smirking. “It’s not important,” she insisted, “Where are you?!”

“Oh Scootaloo, do you really think that will work? And if you think you can just refuse to answer, you’re out of luck.”

A purple mist gathered together, parting as Moonlight took her corporal from again. “You and I have all the time in the world to talk, so you may as well begin.”

Scootaloo gave a low groan. If she’s honest, then she just wants to know it so she can pretend to care about it. Or she’s just toying with me. Whatever, I don’t care. I’m not ever gonna tell anypony about it! “Not happening.”

Moonlight grinned. “You think you can win a waiting game with me, Scootaloo?” She gave off a tiny chuckle in face of Scootaloo’s defiance. “It’s not in your best interest to think you have any control over the situation.”

Scootaloo’s expression didn’t change, so Moonlight continued. “You're dead, but you’re not gone yet. I’m solely responsible for your soul lingering, and right now you need me infinitely more than I need you. With the magic I gained from you, I can exist outside of a host long enough to make an offer to another pony in your position, one that's more agreeable than you.”

Scootaloo’s conviction wavered, and Moonlight seized the opportunity to further undermine her defiance.

“I can tell the idea of death frightens you, so let's make this easy on us both. We will finish this memory of mine first, then you will be revealing your secret. I suggest you accept, that is the best and only offer you will ever get from me.”

“Alright, alright.” Scootaloo’s voice lacked energy as she tried to figure out any alternative.

“Excellent! Now, where were we?”

As much as I hate to admit it, she’s right. Scootaloo thought angrily to herself. She holds all the cards! If she really knows all the same secrets Luna does, then I don’t have much to hide, but there’s a reason I hid this one! She gave a low grunt of frustration.

“Oh, right.” Moonlight’s horn lit up and the scene from earlier reappeared, but this time Luna was prancing like a giddy schoolfilly and shouting ‘Yes!’ over and over again. “This is the day I was to return. What I created was mostly amateur magic or incomplete works, but I was confident they would impress Starswirl nonetheless, and I had a very long time to perfect them afterward.

“After we returned, we found that Starswirl had disappeared without a trace. Equestria was in turmoil as everypony searched for a pony powerful enough to replace him. With the cycle of the sun and moon in jeopardy without him, my sister and I tried to help.” Moonlight smiled and closed her eyes, speaking with fond remembrance. “Not only were we enough, we didn’t need the other unicorns to help us at all, making them redundant. After that, one thing led to another, and before my sister and I knew it, we had both been crowned as the rulers of Equestria.”

She paused and looked at Scootaloo, who had trouble processing all this new information.

She looked up at Moonlight, picturing all of this happening a thousand years ago. “So, what happened to Starswirl?”

Moonlight responded with a small shrug. “That is something even I don’t know. After we became princesses, one of our first decrees was to scour Equestria far and wide in search of him, but we couldn’t find any leads, and his ultimate fate remains unknown, even to this day. After that-”

“Wait!” Scootaloo cut her off, earning her a glare that made her ears droop. Receiving an expectant look, she continued. “Why didn’t Twilight or Cheerilee teach us about any of this? This is all completely new to me!”

“Only three ponies in all the world know the truth about these past events: Myself, Celestia, and now you, Scootaloo.” She chuckled lightly. “Feel honored.” Her chuckling stopped abruptly when she saw Scootaloo gearing up for another question. “Before you ask why it isn’t common knowledge, my sister is responsible for that.”

“Even Luna doesn’t know? And why doesn’t Twilight know about it?”

“Because if Celestia had told her any of it, she’d have to tell her all of it. Twilight would never have been content to know only part of the story. The years being counted from my banishment, the earliest story that’s told to foals being about how I tried to shroud the world in eternal night, ponies know little of history before then, if they know any at all. Not many wonder, either. They just accept these stories and move on; as far as most are concerned, there is no relevant history before my banishment. As for Luna not knowing, she remembers some of it, but the Elements of Harmony purged the most intense memories.”

That could explain how Moonlight is a separate pony from Luna. I’m not sure how many more surprises I can take. Why would Celestia take such drastic steps to hide everything? And what made them fight in the first place?

Moonlight started to talk again, causing Scootaloo to refocus on her. “It was quite insulting when I showed myself in Celestia's place at the Summer Sun Celebration and only Twilight knew who I was.”

Moonlight’s words cut short as she flinched, her eyes flashing purple for a moment. “I’m afraid we’ll have to finish this later, I can sense Twilight near us. I need to get you on your hooves quickly, or we risk her discovering us.” The clubhouse manifested itself again, and both ponies could feel the solid wood beneath their hooves. When Moonlight looked at the wall of pictures, she saw one for herself had materialized in a bronze frame among the others, and couldn’t help but chuckle in amusement.

“How do you know that?” Scootaloo was more than a little relieved that Twilight had forced Moonlight’s hoof. At least I won’t have to tell her my secret just yet.

“Her Tantabus fragment.” She responded matter-of-factly. “Time may move far faster in the dream realm than the waking world, but I need to get you up as quickly as possible.”

“So how is this going to work?” Scootaloo asked with a feeling of ambivalence.

“This is my offer-” She looked her in the eye “-I will save your life and grant you a new body, one beyond anything you could have ever hoped to achieve before. I will teach you about whatever you wish to learn about, and certainly the truth of the past. Help me come to life and return, and you will rule directly under me. But most of all, I offer you the chance to decide for yourself what you want to be, without anything else dictating your path, and all I ask in return is your help and cooperation.” She let that sink in for the young filly.

I’d be lying if I said that what she’s offering isn’t appealing. A new body? I’d take new wings alone. I’m not sure about her being my teacher... But she’s almost as old as Celestia. Surely she has a lot of wisdom to pass on, and I really want to know the rest of the story... And I could be what I want to be, not what life forced me to be. It’s so tempting... But there’s still a problem...

“Alright, but what’ll happen to me once you get your own body? I don’t want to just disappear.”

Moonlight chuckled. “I am not the kind of pony to just discard a foal for no reason, especially one that will be so helpful. Do not worry Scootaloo, I will always have a place for you.”

Not sure if I should be glad or nervous about that, but better than her killing me the instant she doesn’t need me anymore, Scootaloo decided. She took several deep breaths to steel herself for what was about to happen.

Moonlight grinned from ear to ear. “Let us begin. Luna has already cast the spell necessary to save you. It’s been getting everything ready, preparing your body for what’s to come. Now it just needs some more magic to kick things off, which your fragment will provide.” Her smile faded somewhat. “I suggest that you brace yourself, and do it quickly. We're short on time.”

Scootaloo nodded, thinking of what was about to happen. I’m about to make a pact with Moonlight. I’m going to become a bat pony, something I know nothing about, and that’s just the start of it. I’m going to have to face the others at some point after this! What’ll they think? What’ll Rainbow Dash think? What’ll she-

“Scootaloo.” Her thoughts were interrupted by Moonlight’s voice. “I know this isn’t how you wanted things, but just because you've had little control of your life's events up until now doesn't mean you won't have it very soon. This is nothing short of your second chance, a do-over to get the life you've always wanted for yourself. Together, the only limit to how far you can go will be that you give yourself." She put her hoof out towards her. "And all you need to do to grab it by the reins is take my hoof."

Nice speech, wish it was coming from a different pony. She still felt a tiny amount of reassurance at the thought of not facing what would come next by herself, even if the one she was facing it with was a pony like Moonlight. She looked at the outstretched hoof, but something prevented her from reaching out for it.

“Hold on.” Scootaloo looked at Moonlight. “Were both of you alicorns before you met Starswirl?” If she can save me with her magic, I bet Twilight can as well. I just have to stall her long enough, and I’ll get a new life without having to put my friends in danger!

Moonlight scoffed, the delay noticeably annoying her. “Yes, why?”

“Were you always that way?”

The question made Moonlight look uneasy. She put her hoof down again. “No. No, we weren’t.”

Scootaloo sighed, a little annoyed at herself that she hadn’t just asked this first. “So how did you two become alicorns?”

Her question made Moonlight shudder and slowly recoil. “I will tell you, but not right now.”

Scootaloo’s jaw nearly dropped. Moonlight had been in almost total control of the conversation, but now she seemed completely freaked out. She wasn’t willing to immediately discuss it, and her tense body language told what her words didn’t. Whoa, didn’t expect that. “Why not?”

Moonlight gave her a somber expression. “I don’t care to tell that story right now. Just know this: if you think my sister and I were born alicorns or made that way by something beautiful or pure, you couldn't be more wrong. It was a horrifying, excruciating, and exacting process."

This revelation both intrigued and horrified Scootaloo. So they weren’t always alicorns, they were made that way, but what could be so bad that it scares a pony like Moonlight?

Anger flashed in Moonlight’s expression. “Do you even realize that Celestia wronged you as much as she did me?”

“What do you mean?” Scootaloo asked, confused.

“Think about it, who created the system that just left you to rot in the Canterlot orphanage?”

Scootaloo turned away from Moonlight, her gaze going into the distance. “Celestia,” she mumbled.

“Who decided that Ponyville is too small for an orphanage, resulting in you having to sleep in the basement of a school, always in fear of Cheerilee discovering you?”

“Celestia,” Scootaloo said, just a bit more firmly than before.

“Who enacted the laws that meant that you could turn to nopony for help because you would be ripped away from your friends?”

“Celestia,” Scootaloo said, a tear running down her cheek from the mere thought of losing Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.

Moonlight grinned, but Scootaloo couldn’t see it. “Who formed this culture for over one thousand years? This culture, that made it impossible for Luna to openly help you?”

Trembling from hatred, Scootaloo said, “Celestia.”

“Who forbade and shamed the kind of magic that could have allowed you to fly, that would have undoubtedly helped countless other ponies just like you, had she allowed ponies to study and refine it?”

Scootaloo’s eyes narrowed. That’s right, Twilight would never save me. She’s too loyal to Celestia, and she would have me destroyed or sealed away because of the dark magic Luna used on me. Through gritted teeth, Scootaloo pressed out, “Celestia!”

---

Moonlight looked around the clubhouse. Something new was appearing out of Scootaloo’s sight, but she could see it as clear as the night sky. A picture of Celestia pinned to the wall by a knife straight through her eye.

Moonlight wanted to grin from ear to ear but forced herself to take an expression of pity. She waited until Scootaloo looked at her again and said, “Do you see it now, Scootaloo?”

Scootaloo didn’t answer, but the rage in her eyes was enough to tell Moonlight the answer, anyway.

“The truth about Celestia, the creator of the system that failed you, and enough power to change Equestria for the better. You’ll even get wings that will carry you through the skies, faster than even Rainbow Dash could hope to be, as the cherry on top. And all you have to do to get all of that is to lend me your body for a little while.”

Moonlight extended her hoof to Scootaloo once more.” So, what do you say? Do we have a deal?”

Scootaloo reached out to take her hoof but pulled back at the last moment.

Moonlight scowled and narrowed her eyes for a brief moment but she quickly regained her composure, fighting back the frustration in her voice. “What’s wrong, Scootaloo?”

“My friends, they could—they could be hurt, or worse!” Scootaloo’s voice was full of terror at that prospect. “New life or not, I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle because of my choice here. I’d rather die than let them get hurt.”

“My dear Scootaloo, have some faith in yourself,” Moonlight replied with a tone that was just a little too sweet to offset the impatience, “You will be more than powerful enough to protect them if you agree to our deal, and you’ll be around to be with them after we’ve corrected all of Celestia’s mistakes.”

Come on, take it already! Moonlight thought, Even if I could reach another pony in time that’s desperate enough to take my offer, I’d never find one so easily rallied against Celestia! She felt Twilight coming closer and closer. “If you agree you'll be powerful enough to protect them, but you need to decide now!”

Before Scootaloo could think it through anymore, she tightly grasped Moonlight’s hoof. As soon as she did a pain like sharp needles radiated throughout her entire body, but it ended as quickly as it started. Scootaloo gasped as the pain disappeared, her body growing heavier and heavier. She fought to stay on her hooves, but couldn’t stop herself from falling over.

Moonlight caught her with a foreleg, cradling her small body and gently lowering her to the floor. “Rest now, Scootaloo, and when you wake, you will be ready to take the first steps down your new path.”

Scootaloo heard her speak, but it was like she was hearing her through gauze. She could feel that she was being held, and with her mind as foggy as it was that wasn’t a particularly bad feeling. She barely noticed her eyes closing, drifting off to her last mortal sleep.

Author's Note:

FINALLY! IT'S DONE! AHAHAHAHA!! This chapter took way longer than it should have, and you would not believe the work that went into this. Through rewrites, edits, outtakes, and tweaking ideas, I probably went through 15K words writing this chapter. I hope the chapter was worth the wait.

I also want to take some time to note that this chapter wouldn't be nearly as good as it is were it not for the help of Blackyoshi. They were way more than just an editor for this chapter, and I'm very grateful for their help. In fact, they're going to be a co-author for this story going forward, and I eagerly look forward to working more with them!

After this, I hope to get the next chapter out in a much shorter time than this one took (216 days). I will also be focusing on continuing and potentially completing other stories in the meantime, so stay tuned for those as well.

Until next time!

Comments

[Edguy0009]

Interesting.

[Tempestus]

An update? I have a feeling things are about to get messy.

[Replica Knight]

My gosh! This is a mighty good chapter!

[Blackyoshi]

10051127
Thank you! It's good to see that our efforts weren't in vain

[Silent Wing]

Finally, it continues

Great Chapter and sorry that I didn't give you a fave earlier, you earned it.

[Fisherman]

Well, we're in a dream realm. And we now have some info about MC, so I just put it here.

[Blackyoshi]

10051279
Thank you very much from both of us, I hope you'll stick around till the end

[Silent Wing]

10051468
I sure will. After all I follow you guys since day one.

[tsaukpaetra]

Nightmare has no shame taking the advantage.
Her pact has many holes in it, if it were an Olde Madgik style contract. Is she really going to seize complete bodily control?
Calling it now: she'll force Ascension by the end of this book.
Keep going! ;)

[SonicDJM]

Great story, I have never thought of something like this, but I love it, I honestly can’t wait for the next chapter.

[Redwolf777sg]

Trembling from hatred, Scootaloo said, “Celestia.”

Yes...yes, Scootaloo. Let the hate flow through you. Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!