Taming Nightmare Moon

by Leafdoggy

Chapter 14

It was almost sunset, and Luna and Applejack were finally making their way back to the castle. Vim had gone on ahead since she had other work to do, but Applejack had decided to spend the day with Luna as she did her royal duties. There hadn’t been as much time to talk as she hoped, but that wasn’t so bad. Just being together was enough for both of them.

Still, it left them with plenty to say, and they were catching up as they walked leisurely through the streets.

“It just ain’t gettin any easier to commit to this,” Applejack was saying.

“I know,” Luna replied, “but I’ll be there for you every step of the way.”

“It’s not becoming a Princess that’s got me worried, though,” Applejack said. “It’s what comes after.”

“Nopony is going to force you to give up the farm.”

Applejack frowned. “That’s just the thing, though. Nopony can force me, and if there’s nothin with the option to stop me, how do I know what I’m doin is right?”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

“Well, maybe it’s the wrong thing to do, but anypony who would stop me cuz of that won’t be able to.”

“Well, Celestia and I could stop you,” Luna said, “but we don’t plan to.”

“No offense, Luna, but you two don’t exactly tend to make the soundest decisions when it comes to somepony you’re close to.”

“I… Suppose I cannot argue. Do you not want to become a Princess, then?”

“I dunno…” Applejack sighed. “I mean, it kinda feels like the same choice. Either I can step up for Equestria, or I can go back to my normal, quiet life. Does it really matter if I’m already a Princess if I know I have the option?”

A cold breeze ran through Canterlot and made Applejack shiver, so Luna wrapped a wing around her to keep her warm. The castle loomed over them as they reached the grand staircase leading up to it.

“It’s not like ponies are makin this choice every day,” Applejack continued. “Heck, I don’t know if anypony’s ever been able to make this choice. I mean, Twilight didn’t exactly choose to become a Princess. Did you?”

Luna shook her head quietly. Ahead of them, the doors into the castle creaked as two guards scrambled to open them for the Princess, then creaked again as the guards shut them behind the couple. The halls were mostly empty at this hour, and most of the ponies who were there were busy installing new carpets throughout the castle.

“So yeah,” Applejack went on, “I just… I’m not sure I really have a choice anymore.”

“You always have a choice,” Luna said. “Sometimes you have to prioritize yourself over your responsibilities. You wouldn’t exactly make a great ruler if you were miserable.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Applejack said. “Still, it changes things. It’s not really about if I want to anymore. It’s if I think I can. If I can make Equestria a better place without sacrificing my own happiness, I can’t rightly say no. At least, I don’t think I can.”

They walked into the hallway leading up to the throne room to find it packed with ponies. Several of them were attending to the broken window, preparing to put in a replacement, but there were also ponies at other windows, the ones without portraits, taking measurements and sketching designs. It seemed that Celestia had made herself busy while they were out.

“Just do what you think is right,” Luna told Applejack as they walked past the working ponies and into the throne room.

Celestia was in her throne, looking thoughtfully through a sketchpad filled with designs. Aside from her, the room was empty, whatever guards were stationed there having been dismissed for the evening. She looked up as they walked up and did her best to put on a soft smile.

“Welcome back,” Celestia said.

Luna’s expression hardened. “Sister.”

Applejack elected to stay quiet.

Celestia sighed, set the sketchpad down, and got up to walk down and stand before her sister. “Luna,” she said, “can we just… Talk?”

Luna’s posture was tense. “Of course.”

“Look, Luna…” Celestia rubbed her eyes, and suddenly they could see just how weary she was. “I’m sorry, okay? I-I keep hurting you, and I’m sorry.”

Luna’s face softened. “I…”

Celestia shook her head. “I wanted so badly to have you be the sister you were before Nightmare Moon that I couldn’t see how much you’ve grown. I’m sorry for that, and I promise from now on I’ll see you, and not the pony I want you to be.”

Luna looked down at the floor and was quiet for a long moment. Then, she looked back up and locked eyes with her sister. “Thank you, Tia.”

Celestia smiled and held her leg out to offer a hug, and Luna fell into her and squeezed her tight. Celestia wrapped her leg around Luna and rubbed her back as her eyes watered up.

They stayed like that for a long time. Luna had her eyes clenched tight, and they were both smiling with relief.

Eventually, Luna stepped away and wiped her eyes. Then she looked back up at her sister. “I’m sorry, too. I probably could have been less… Dramatic.”

Celestia chuckled weakly. “Where would the fun be in that?” Then she took a deep breath, and her expression took on a more serious tone as she placed a hoof on Luna’s shoulder. “I’m not going to be able to change overnight. This is probably going to be hard on us both.”

Luna nodded. “I understand.”

“Especially if…” Celestia paused nervously. “If you’re going to need to use Nightmare Moon.”

“She’s not just a tool,” Luna said, “she’s me. I’m not going to keep her locked up anymore.”

“I get that,” Celestia said. “At least, I’m trying to understand, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get along with Nightmare Moon. I just can’t forgive her for everything she did.”

Luna frowned. “Sister, I did all those things. It’s not her you should be forgiving.”

“You say that, but you act completely different when you’re Nightmare Moon. Even if you are her, you did those things as her. You wouldn’t have done any of it without her.”

“Yes, I would have,” Luna said. “If Nightmare Moon didn’t exist, everything that is Nightmare Moon would still be inside me. All the things that made me make every decision I made as Nightmare Moon would still be there.”

“At least then I would have the context of the rest of you to forgive those parts, though,” Celestia said. “As it stands, she’s just every bad part of you concentrated together, and I just can’t be happy to see that part of you come out.”

Luna sighed. “Well, she’s going to show up whether you like it or not.”

“I understand that,” Celestia told her. “I won’t try to stop that. I just want you to know ahead of time why…” She paused, thinking through her words, and then frowned. “You should know why I’m treating you differently.”

“Will you at least try to get past your feelings towards her?”

“Of course,” Celestia said. “I don’t think I’ll be able to get rid of those feelings, but I will fight against them.”

“Thank you.”

Celestia nodded and sighed in relief. Then she looked up at Luna and put on a smile. “Would you like to see the designs for Nightmare Moon’s window?”

Luna smiled back. “I’d love to.”

They walked back up and sat in their thrones, and Applejack followed close behind. When she caught up, Luna made room for her and she hopped up into the throne.

“Do I get a window?” Applejack asked.

Celestia chuckled. “Once you’re a Princess.”

Celestia floated the sketchbook over and started showing Luna the various designs, pointing out the ones she especially liked, and soon enough they were talking and laughing like nothing had ever happened. Every so often the conversation would steer somewhere that would make their smiles flicker, but they pushed past it, and the time started flying by. They talked about anything that came to mind, they joked about nobles, Luna stole Applejack’s hat, and eventually they had forgotten all about their fight, at least for the rest of the night.

“Oh!” Luna perked up at one point as she thought of something. “I saw that you’re replacing the carpets.”

“Oh, what a nightmare,” Celestia groaned. “Do you have any idea how many hallways are in this castle? What in the world happened that made you get rid of every carpet?”

“Y’know, I knew somethin seemed weird when I got here,” Applejack said. “I didn’t even realize they were gone.”

Luna laughed. “Oh, well, you know how fire is. You can never quite predict how far it’ll spread.”

“That doesn’t explain it at all,” Celestia told her. “Why did—”

She was cut off as the sound of a clock rang out through the throne room, signalling the turn of the hour.

Celestia’s eyes went wide, and she bolted out of her throne. “Sunset!”

Luna coughed in shock and scrambled to get up, and both Princesses sprinted into their bedrooms.

Applejack, left alone, just laughed and got more comfortable in the throne. Then she noticed Luna’s crown on the arm of the chair, having been taken off so she could wear Applejack’s hat, and Applejack decided on a whim to put it on. She sat up straight, gazed out into the empty throne room, and imagined what it might be like to be speaking to a room of ponies. She was shocked to find that the idea didn’t seem all that bad.

Luna had been in such a hurry that she didn’t even realize her balcony wasn’t empty when she burst out onto it. It wasn’t until the moon had been raised and a voice behind her said “Nice hat” that she spun around to see Vim standing by the door.

“Vim? What are you doing here?”

Vim raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you want my help coming up with a plan?”

“Oh!” Luna hit her forehead. “Right, of course. I completely forgot.”

“So, what part do you think you figured out?”

“Well, part of the fortune was about her world going dark, right? Well…” Luna pointed up at the moon.

Vim flinched. “Please tell me you’re not thinking of doing it again.”

“I said it would be risky! I mean, what else could it be about when she’s so mired in my conflict with my sister? Plus, she’ll have to solve some big problem to become a Princess, right? Well, an eternal eclipse is a pretty big problem!”

“I can’t even begin to describe how terrible that idea is,” Vim said. “I mean, for one it wouldn’t even work, because you could just undo it at any time! It’s not a real problem.”

“That’s why I needed your help,” Luna told her. “I need a way to make it a real problem.”

“And how exactly am I supposed to help with that?”

“I don’t know, find me a spell to make the eclipse permanent or a way to make me not want to undo the eclipse or something.”

Vim shook her head and leaned on the balcony’s railing, looking out over Canterlot. “I shouldn’t even be entertaining this idea. I should just go straight to Princess Celestia and tell her about it.”

“You heard the fortune teller,” Luna said. “What else could that part possibly mean?”

Vim couldn’t think of a response. She tapped her hoof on the railing anxiously.

“At least if we do it instead of waiting for something else to happen, we’ll have some level of control.”

Vim buried her head in her hooves.

“Can you at least just look? If you think anything you find is too risky, you can just not tell me about it.”

Vim let out a long, exasperated sigh. “Fine. I’ll look. I’m going to be very picky about what I bring you, though! So don’t expect anything, it’s not very likely I’ll find anything I deem acceptable.”

“That’s all I can ask,” Luna said. “Thank you.”

“Uh-huh,” Vim grumbled, and she slowly pushed herself off the rail and trudged back into the castle.

Comments

[Vaguely Demented]

Luna really should consider consulting Tia. If for no other reason than to prevent the inevitable death battle in the castle.

[Lore Horse]

Taking the power of the Moon out of Luna's control, yeah that's going to go over well.

[Doctor_Den]

then that Luna so persistently wants to make Applejack Princess really like a puff.
Luna really thinks to carry out its plan for transformations, thereby relievings just a hurled relationship with the family?