Number The Night

by YetAnotherBrony

Chapter 2

Night 783

Four nights I have been up trying to formulate a plan. For far too long, my concentration on escape has not been sincere enough. Often when I was on the precipice of an idea sleep would overtake me, but not this time. There would be no rest until I knew.

Or so I had thought. My plans are becoming increasingly absurd, and the ideas I had formerly been on the cusp of did not pan out. Even my sleep deprived mind now knew this had been a terrible idea.

The weight of my eyes is so great that it is impossible to know whether the cries of “sleep. sleep. sleep,” are coming strictly from my brain, or are also coming from my mouth. But I can not sleep just yet. A new night has just started. It needs to be numbered.

Getting to my hooves is difficult. Walking is easier, though I feel dizzy. Thankfully the wall isn’t far away, but upon arriving at the wall Celestia stands in my way.

“Writing on this wall is a waste of time,” she mutters.

“You could visit me all along?!” I shout.

“Yes,” she replies simply.

“Why now?!”

“Bored,” she says shrugging.

“Are you ever going to let me out of here?!”

She shrugs again.

I used to wish she was more direct, but not even pretending to care is more aggravating.

Then she transforms into father and I realize this is some sort of hallucination.

“Let me guess. You’re going to say you always liked Celestia better.” I mutter.

But he doesn’t so much as turn his head toward me. Instead he walks right through me.

“What do you want?!” I shout.

Yet again there is not the slightest indication that he heard me. He doesn’t change pace.

I chase after him, get in front of him, and stand my ground.

“Go away!” I yell.

He transforms into mother. In truth, it is a slightly altered version of Celestia that stands before me, but I know it is her.

She passes through me, and trots back to where Celestia had stood. She turns toward me and says, “Follow me my daughter.”

As she starts to disappear I harshly swipe my hoof through her and say, “Why would I want to!”

The mark left on the wall by my hoof, is far deeper and longer than the others, but it is on the counting wall.

~~~

Night 1,913

The several hundred foot long stretch on which musical notes had been etched into the moon’s dusty surface, was now blank. The only evidence that anything had been there was the thinner coating of dust due to a hoof hastily wiping away its contents.

There were numerous such wiped away areas. Some had contained rules for solitaire games, others had detailed what my conversation with Celestia will be like when I escape, while others still contained attempts to draw. Repeatedly I had forgotten that my artistic ability does not apply to doodling.

The only thing I had written or drawn that survived my rampage was the counting wall. I wouldn’t lose count even without it; time passes too slowly to lose track of. Yet, unless it was to increment the count, or to clarify the number, I couldn’t lay a hoof on it.

The surfaces I lazily let my eyes wander over while I lay in bed (not all dust is equally soft) no longer capture my interest.

I am stuck. My drilling attempts have been more and more successful, but are still failures. Were my attempts more than a small fraction of what is needed, maybe some day escape would be possible. It isn’t. Yet nopony cares.

How is it that I once admired the words of Clover the Clever that likened loneliness to a flickering candle? A candle conveys nothing of what I feel. Words can’t convey anything. What were my favorite works are now my shame.

I stare at a blank wall in disinterest, not wanting to think.

“With hotels on both Manhattan and Canterlot, you owe me two thousand bits,” I say.

“Here you go.” says my sister handing them over without hesitating.

“Wow Cele. You sure are rich. That’s the third time around the board in a row that you have landed on those,” I say. I am surprised she isn’t out of business yet, but a few more times around the board will fix that. How many times will it take though?

“How much money do you have anyway?”

“Enough,” she states.

My sister isn’t usually evasive. Further, I could have sworn I felt something bump my hoof. Upon glancing under the table, I notice my sister is nervously digging at the ground.

She had to be up to something, but she would never do that.

“Celestia are you... cheating?” I made sure to say the last word quietly and quickly

Without so much as blushing she proclaimed, “I’ve been robbing the bank the whole game.” She giggled.

“That’s not right!” I shot back fiercely.

“You do it all the time!”

She isn’t wrong about that, but that isn’t the point. She is my older sister. Where does she get off copying me.

“Aren’t you supposed to be a goody two shoes!”

“I thought you hated it when I’m a goody two shoes!”

Whenever Celestia wanted to tell father about something I had done, which was most of the time, it bothered me. But for once I am relying on her being a goody two shoes.

“Fine, if you’re me, then I’m you! I’m going to tell on you!”

“You wouldn’t dare!” she said, her cheeks finally blushing.

I dart out of the room with her chasing after me. But before she can catch me, or even finish saying, “What about that time I didn’t tell...” we reach Father.

“Celestia cheated at Monopopony,” I blurt out.

There is silence. Immediately I regret unleashing our Father’s shame upon her. But then he says, “It’s only a game,” before gently patting me on the head.

It was rare for him to be in such a good mood, but even given his unusually cheery disposition, would he have said the same thing if it had been me?

~~~

Night 5,813

Though calculating the number of nights from the number of years and months that have passed gives me something to do, it interferes with always knowing how many nights it has been. I wipe away the 15 years 11 months and several tick marks. The number 5,813 takes its place.

It is a large number. I know it is right for I remember every one of its predecessors, but its size still shocks me. Even though at the time, time seemed slow, looking back it had been very fast. Fifteen years without contact with anypony else, yet I am alive and of sound mind. It is a testament to my strength.

Celestia, with her need to be validated by others, wouldn’t last a night. She probably thinks I am dead. My existence would eventually fade into the annals of history. Nopony would remember me. The Elements of Harmony would eventually find new owners and they would have no idea who I am.

The seal on the moon would break.

Sadly, alicorns don’t age past maturity, so they tend to live incredibly long lives. Thus, it may be awhile before Celestia passes. But even alicorns can’t live forever. If nothing else, disease will eventually get her. But on the moon, who will infect me? And Cely surely wouldn’t be confident enough in my survival to pass on the knowledge of my existence.

Then again, Celestia had always been cautious. Perhaps she would live far longer than I thought. It wasn’t as though I was immortal on the moon either. But would it really be so bad if I never escaped? With my sister willing to betray me and not a single fan out there, I had always been alone. All that had changed was that the illusion of comradery was gone. Being foolish enough to believe this illusion, perhaps this is better for me.

While there had been numerous terrible nights, some of them hadn’t been so bad. Sometimes they were even enjoyable and when they weren’t it was often because I had permitted myself to wallow in pity. But such things are beneath me.

Regardless, one thing is clear; all I can do is wait.

I am in the old room my sister and I shared growing up. The memories there made it hard not to be drawn to it, yet actually being there does nothing. If I felt like getting up, I would undoubtedly go to a different room. But I don’t.

Instead, I just lie there in a bed that is scarcely long enough for me, not thinking. Ponies always said that it was not thinking that got them in trouble, but I always found it to be the opposite. Thinking wrong and deceptive thoughts led to poor choices. Not thinking lead to nothing, and nothing had never done me any harm.

The door begins to creak, and looking over at it reveals Celestia trying to sneak in.

“You know our door isn’t quiet enough for that to work.”

Celestia smiles and says, “You can’t blame me for trying. You seem to be in the mood for silence.”

I’m not sure what she means, so I shrug and say, “You can scream at the top of your lungs for all I care.”

“Then why aren’t you at the funeral?”

I shrug again and respond, “They never really did anything for me.”

“I know it isn’t easy...” she begins, but I cut her off.

“Look, you have your way of dealing with this, and I have mine. Yours is to have a public farewell, so go out and have it. What will they think if neither of his daughters are there.”

“Since when do you care what other ponies think?”

“I don’t, but you do. That’s why you should be the one who goes.”

There’s a moment’s pause during which she frowns, but after a deep breath she continues.

“I know you like to be alone when you are upset. Father told me of how you shut yourself in your room for days after I was sent off to school. But he also told me that it wasn’t until after the two of you talked that you came around.”

Knowing she’s right I mutter, “Maybe, but I hate it when ponies spend just enough time with me for everything to seem alright, and then they leave. Sometimes appearances are deceiving.”

“Why do you think I would do that?”

“Because you have a funeral to be at,” I mutter.

She looks back apprehensively for a moment, but then that same wild and crazy look that overcame her the night of the coin flip overtook her face.

“I can say goodbye to our father at any time. Right now, I have a sister who needs me.”

I smile and say, “In which case I propose one ground rule; No mentioning him for twenty four hours. In the meantime, let’s just hang out like we used to. It’s been so long since we’ve spent time together, not as royalty, but as sisters.”

She likewise smiles and says, “Very well.”

If only that was where the memory ended. We had fun for a couple of hours just drinking coffee and talking over a box of donuts. But then...

“Those were good times. Father sure had a handful with us,” said Celestia.

“What about our agreement?” I gently remind her.

“I have to talk about him.”

“I’m just asking for a few more hours.” I plead.

“I don’t understand how you can put off dealing with this.” she said sighing.

“I am dealing with it, just not with words. Not yet.”

Again the castle fell silent.

“But many of our best memories involve him. You can’t just pretend he didn’t exist.”

“I don’t want to pretend he never existed, I want to pretend he never died!” I blurt out.

“We can’t! We are queens now!”

“His blood is still warm, and you are worried about the throne!”

“The truth is what it is! I’m just trying to help!” says Celestia blushing slightly.

“Yet you can’t just give me a moment to sort things out!”

“I given you a couple hours! Maybe I need to talk about it!”

“And maybe I need not to!”

There is a brief lull in the shouting, during which neither of us look at each other.

“Fine, we can still call ourselves princesses, but it doesn’t change anything.” she says.

This pleases me slightly, but I do not feel compelled to say anything.

“I’m sorry,” begins Celestia. Even being mad at her, it is difficult not to admire how much more quickly she gets over her anger. I feel mine starting to abate but then she continues talking.

“Father wouldn’t have wanted us to fight.”

“Who cares what he would have wanted! He’s dead!” I spit, walking away from my sister.

~~~

Night 11,006

I carve another mark into the wall, similarly to how I will carve them all into Celestia’s back, slowly and with great force. To think I used to feel remorse that it would take Celestia’s death for me to escape. Now my only regret is that I wouldn’t get to do it myself.

I had endured a fate far worse than jail, and for committing what crime? My extended night hadn’t harmed anypony. Yet my sister somehow banished me here with the Elements of Harmony. She must have perverted them as well.

I shudder to think what has befallen the common pony during these dark times. After Celestia snapped, who knows what she might have wrought these past thirty years. The more I think about it the more I know I have to save them.

I begin drilling as I had many times before, but now that I had accepted what I had for so long been in denial about, the thought that this endeavor could fail is laughable. Celestia was family, so it was only natural for me to want to think the best of her, but this had gone on for too long. The ponies need a hero. They need me.

The deeper the new escape tunnel becomes, the more invigorated I feel. Instead of falling prey to tiredness, as was usually the case when getting this far in, a newfound restless power continues to emerge from within me. It is the determination to beat my sister.

The conclusion to our battle is coming. Soon she would beg me to stop attacking, but instead of leaving her to go insane, I would beat sense into her.

“Sister, are you alright? You are usually very punctual. It is half an hour passed dawn but the moon is still up,” says Celestia.

“Celestia, would you say my nights are more beautiful than your days?” I ask.

There is a brief pause then she responds with, “Yes, they are. But ponies need the sun to grow their food.”

“Really? You truly think my nights are better? Have you even looked at the night sky since we had a similar conversation?”

“I have been very busy. But that’s not the point...”

I cut her off, “Attending royal duties no doubt. A role you took over a mere two days after his funeral. That has to be some kind of record.”

Celestia sighs and resumes speaking, “I’m not proud of that, but our personal discrepancies can wait.”

“Until when?! Until you get a free moment! Tell me sister, how long has it been since we last spoke?”

She smiles nervously and then mutters, “... A couple of years maybe?”

“Try fifty!”

“Please, sister, I had no idea. I realize that getting caught up in running a kingdom is no excuse, but can you forgive me? I’ll make time for you from now on, I promise.”

“It is too late! If you’d paid any attention to me, you would know that I realized long ago that day is outdated!”

“Outdated?”

“We no longer need it! I submit we are better off without it!”

“What will the earth ponies use to grow food?”

“There are magical means that can achieve a similar effect without the burden of sunlight!”

“It’s a complex spell. We do not have enough magical talent for some ponies not to starve!”

“It is a small price to pay for a revolution! No longer will we have your oppressive sun to tell us when to do what. There will be no standard business hours nor accepted time to sleep. Ponies will take their fates into their own hooves! And no more of the showy artistry of your sun, to inspire ponies to seek the approval of others. Instead there will be but the subtle artistry of night, which will inspire art for its own sake!”

Celestia pleads, “Please, if for no other reason than as a personal favor to your sister, take down the moon! This isn’t a matter of schedules or art, but life and death!”

“I didn’t think you’d understand,” I say shaking my head.

My sister flies off. For almost an hour the night glimmers on. I begin to wonder what ponies are making of their new life, but I can only speculate as none have yet left their homes.

My sister shows up with the Elements of Harmony.

At this I can’t help but laugh. Does she really think something that is half mine can be used against me?

But then two conflicting thoughts occupy my mind. One is finding this humorous, the other is remorseful. Three of the elements levitate into place around me, while the other three do so around her. Then I understand, she never planned on using them by herself. Part of me is going to help her.

Light shoots from her into me, and I can feel both her and myself pushing me out of my body through the elements. Uncomfortable though the sensation is, it soon stops, and I still exist.

“I’m sorry sister, but there is only one other way.” says Celestia with tears now silently sliding down her face.

“I understand.” say my treacherous unprompted lips.

Again a light shoots from her into me, only this time everything fades to black.

Upon recalling this, I instantly cease drilling. I hadn’t even realized I had forgotten part of the confrontation until just now. But not only had these memory contained my role in helping her, but it also contained the realization that had lead me to do so. There is an evil entity within me.

This shocks me for a while, but never before has the possibility of escape felt so real. Perhaps all of that was just a dream. Yes, that must be it. With my mind no longer plagued by the impossible, I continue drilling. However, even my newfound strength doesn’t take me nearly far enough, before I pass out.

Comments

[CanterlotGuardian]

wow. that was... amazing. I'm definitely looking forward to the next update.