Catharsis

by L-N

... And How To Use It.

You sigh as you see the crack of dawn in the distance. Well, work was going to suck today.

Better to see if you can steal a nap at least.

On the couch.

“Don’t...”

You glance back at the alicorn on your back- clearly talking in her sleep.

Or, you assumed. You couldn’t really turn your neck- you could only really see her mane drifting softly next to you.

Considering the hooves curled around your neck, and them being as limp as ever, you could make a solid guess though.

It took... some time to get her there without waking her up.

And even if it was a pain at times, especially to your poor back as you leaned forwards to keep her from slipping off, it was worth it. You hadn’t seen her sleeping this peacefully, well, ever.

For Equestria’s ‘Demon of the Night’, she was pretty bad at fighting off her own terrors, it seemed.

... It was another reason why you made sure she got to sleep properly, and dealt with the couch for so long.

But not tonight, apparently. Tonight she gets some peace.

She’s earned it.

So while it was a pain to eventually get everything back in the basket, and gently nudge her into grasping onto your back, all without waking her up through it all...

Totally worth it.

...

Well. Starting tomorrow, things’d definitely be a bit different at home.

You were going to extend your daily-regimen of ‘be healthy’ on her, and just, work on things.

It was going to take a while, definitely, but it was probably going to be a lot easier than it was for you at first. Not relying on motivation or- god forbid- discipline, would help, for sure. And having a friend to help you through it would help.

Because seeing her smile tonight? Seeing her get happy like that? Seeing her get out of that damned fog, and finally get a good day?

It’s absolutely worth it.

...

“Mmmf...”

She shuffled on your back again, hooves curling a bit closer to your neck.

... You could straighten your back a bit. The god of carrying capacity was on your side this time.

She, of course, took that moment to react to the movement, prompting you to stop.

Only for her to rest her head on your shoulder, and tighten the grip further.

Which... meant you could stand properly now.

“Thank you,” you mumble under your breath, leaning back into the walk.

“No, I want...” she nuzzled into the side of your neck more, “... be happy... don’t...”

“I-”

‘I think you’ve got the roles reversed there, moonie. But the thought’s appreciated.’

You reach up your only free hand, and give her neck a few small scratches.

If her happy little sigh mid-dream told you anything, she appreciated it.

‘I hope the dream’s nice. And dream-me, if you do anything weird, you’re accountable.’

You crested the final hill on the way back to town, and as you saw your house on the edge of Ponyville, you couldn’t help but smile.

No matter what, everything was going to be okay.

Author's Note:

And thus, every night started and ended like this:

Hope you enjoyed! Finished this up on a taco-salad from Wendy's. Good vibes.

And a bit of an edit here- I've seen that a lot of people have enjoyed the story, and maybe even learned something from it. I'm super glad- this was written after a few months of personal struggle, and I really wanted to share it in some way.
Thanks for reading, all of you!

Comments

[Venerable Ro]

Now this, this is some good stuff.

Very well done.

[Thorfin]

Holy molly broski, that was very well done and I would like another.

[Opponent]

Well, 'anon' here's wrong in many ways concerning NM, but he said what he had to. It got the job done. Mixed feelings about it, but - needs must, I understand that.

Well-written. A more subdued and reasonable take on 'anon' concept, as well as Nightmare Moon.

[AnonymousFin]

Congratulations good sir, this story has earned a place in my favorites!

[Drazhan]

Really good story. I sure wouldn't mind random bits of their lives as a sequel. Glad to see your take on Anon is more of a normal person than internet troll. Has an edge like everyone but getting thrown to another place entirely, etc would test anyone's sanity. Being a night person myself I've got issues with the morning people. Works in my favor when I bust out the telescopes though!

Gotta admit, the ‘I don’t feel satisfied whatsoever’ came close to home in being relatable. Past six years have been pretty rough in terms of a number of ways and while it's been getting better as I chip at the problems it's one of those things you just get numb to after awhile. Just gotta keep moving forward and you'll get past it eventually situations.

[Enonnnymous]

“FUCK YOU CELESTIA!”

I'm entirely biased on this, I'll admit that, but this kind of stung a little bit.

[Malabazoo]

This was good stuffs. Hope to see more like it!

[L-N]

10709396
10709753
10709786
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<3
10709775
As a fag who likes basically every alicorn, I feel you. But sometimes you've got to take it.
10709576
Appreciate it- I was kinda writing NMM in a way that combined a bit more of 'Luna' along with, well, NMM. So it might not be the most accurate for just NMM, but when you also include a lot of Luna's problems, that I thought would still be present...
Tbh I didn't overthink it too much.
10709767
That's often how it is- you gotta muscle past the tough stuff, deal with what you can, and pursue what makes you happy. If you manage, you'll come out on top every time. At least, personally.
I mean, there's a reason why the most chill people are the kinds of people who've been through some serious shit in their lives but don't let it break them. I've talked to several older-folks like that, they're genuinely some of the nicest people I've met.
10710013
Oop- nice catch! Kind hard to get everything in 11k, hahaha.

[FluffyPanzer]

You cant just come into my life
Make me care about these characters
And not have 200k more words for me to read.

[L-N]

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I'll consider it. Just not before I get along with my current IP story, especially since I've gotten into a good flow. No longer being depressed af while you write is definitely a boon. And start its sequel.
Ngl, I did have a lot of fun writing these two. Just enjoying getting this done rn, though

[Torrific]

I loved every second of reading this; super captivating, nice, and comfy. Gets you thinking and relating situations, which is one of the things I always love to see in writing. Nice work

[Drazhan]

10710031
My thoughts exactly. Keep moving, work on what you can, prioritize, ask for help if you get too deep, and try your best to not let it get to you. Can't say I'm where I want to be in life but I've got goals, just gotta work toward those as well. As a whole it can be daunting so just gotta break it down.

Gotta agree with older folks being more mellow. I've certainly got that way more than before. Just turned thirty-eight today so getting toward the middle there. Getting into astronomy also helped a bit because once you really look up and see the vastness of everything some of the small day to day things just fade off.

[Dude3]

Just wanted to say: Thank you for writing this. It made me feel good and the idea to scream out your frustrations is something I'll need to try.

[DovahkiinMaster]

This was incredibly well written, very good job. I honestly don't have the time to write out everything that made it so good, but this is now a personal favorite. Very good, and applicable too. I can feel the emotion put into this story. 10//10

[Lynwood]

Ooh, I like this. I like this a lot. Good job. Just an absolutely charming read. I really really hope we can see more of these two in the future.

[Aldon]

This was simply perfect really. A nice and real way to portay a human in Equestria and a "redemption" arc for Nightmare Moon. Amazing work

I know this story is it's own thing since it's the foundation to their healing more than the road ahead...but I would really love a sequel to these two

[Twilight_the_spy]

This was absolutely beautiful. I have no other words.

---

10712679
10710088
Completely agree. I've got this on a list of mine which I go through once a year to check for sequels... If one comes out I will be extraordinarily happy.

---

The NMM/Anon art in the A/N was super cute as well :)

[Arlan753]

I greatly enjoyed this fic. It's lovely to see Nightmare and Anon as emotional, thinking beings rather than mindless tropes and stereotypes

[Coretz]

D'awwww

I'd like to place an order for twenty thirty more chapters, please.

[Mr Bob]

Excellent!

[Maramanasa]

This was a comfy story and a good attitude for things. Well atleast anon and luna have each other to lean on.

[Tome Turner]

Brilliant fic. I'd love how you wrote the dialog and interactions between the two. I'd love to see more.

[HoneyBadgerr]

Fucking loved the whole thing. Especially the pic at the end

[Sarge1995]

Out. Standing! This really strikes home with some of my own issues I've been dealing with, and I appreciate the overall upbeat tone and humor. Well done!

[Wickedkingken]

I think most of us would agree we would like to see more

[KvAT]

Beautiful

[The_HIVE]

This...this was actually very good. We would also like for this story to not get a sequel or more chapters, it feels better as is, and we think that adding more would probably ruin some of the feel of the story. Would love to see more short stories though.

[23 KM To Nerdiness]

soloquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Motivational-Quotes-Stay-Amazing.jpg

[gekkey]

Black Snooty needs so many hugs

[Luster Wellwisher]

I really do enjoy your works and was a bit sad when I realized I already read your other ones! I'll just have to read them again sometime in the future especially this one. Maybe put some of what was in it into practice. I Know that I'll definitely be sharing this one with others, so well thank you.

[L-N]

10826163
Aww, thanks!

I've got more coming in the pipes, even if it's a bit slowly... a lot slowly... er...

Glad you got something out of this story, though. As cheesy as it sounds, it was cathartic to write as well. Glad you've got something out of it, and hope whoever else does as well!

[LlamaSama]

Honestly this story was a delight to read ! It also brings an interesting idea that the transformation to nightmare moon was in fact more permanent than the show.....showed ? Really nice writing and the characters are really believable and genuine which im definitely a sucker for.

[TrollgeGermaSussy]

Very nice fic i enjoyed it very much

[Lupenndawolf]

Dawww. The picture is a perfect ending.

[AHeater]

This was treat, can I have a second?

[Blackberry-womp]

This was very nice.

[D-F]

good stuff, have a like and a favourite!