Emerald Eyes

by TheApostate

The Curse

‘The Traveler visits the wanting.’

- Ancient Changeling quote.

Luna tucked the cloak closer to herself. She held on tightly to her second cup of coffee, she had ordered it to be burning and heavy. She wanted to eat her pastry, but in that minute it was exposed to outside air had made it nearly frozen. Uneatable.

‘Too damn cold. How do people still live here?’

The head of the local militia, like his troops, seemed unhampered by the cold. He had said it was warmer than usual today. He casually was sitting in front of the Princess, like an old friend he was used to meet around that place.

‘We just do, Princess. It is not fancy Canterlot- In fact, I will argue Featherfall is better than that shithole.’ He brought his hooves to his mouth, fearing Luna’s reaction.

‘Oh, calm down! You don’t lie – and that I deeply appreciate. But know how to control your urges. I do,’ she winked.

He made an awkward grin. ‘I am not fancying you.’

‘I love those jokes, I truly do, but let us not make it the norm, eh?’

He chuckled, appreciating the Princess lightheartedness.

A group of Featherfallians passed by them. They ignored Luna, almost snubbing her. Though she noticed their wary walk, like wanting to escape her notice.

Luna’s expression darkened and hid her face beneath her hood. She shook her head; she tried to put down the coming stomach ache. The hushed tone of the inhabitants, those heard from restaurant’s staff, and the local troops bothered her greatly.

‘You know of Coccinelle, my Lady?’ he attempted to divert her attention.

‘I heard of her,’ said Luna, turning her gaze back at him, forcing a smile that disgusted her for its fakeness. ‘And I remember a… “Seli”? Right?’ she said in nervous curiosity.

‘Yes. Coccinelle was the mare Chrysalis had protected. She was born and grew up in Canterlot as a part of the Strong Wing household.’ Luna smirked in amusement of the name of a family she thought extinct. ‘She became a photographer of certain renown-’

‘And she had chosen to live here? Away from all?’

‘Per Lord Inspector’s work: it was a personal choice in pursuit of a friend she had wronged. If she had succeeded, I know not… She is dead…’

‘You seem unsure.’

‘The body seemed… off. Like almost fake. But nothing could be further gleaned. The Lord Inspector tried but nothing came out of the investigation. He was very angry.’

‘Then I wonder why he had not found her at Cadance’s Wedding…’ Luna exhaled lengthily. She had not been there back then. She still had to sort her own issues with the Realm of Dreams, to fix the years of neglect and the damages she… her… both… had caused to it. Cadance and Shining Armor had excused her for that aspect. Celestia wanted Luna to join her, to stay with her during the soirée ahead, to entertain her. She had insisted, Luna smiled, but they will have the time for more talks in the future. Luna promised.

Though she preferred that promised future to arrive faster. She had not rested after that night. Canterlot had been attacked, yes, but a string of towns and strategic positions had been also heavily compromised. With Chrysalis’s retreat, their withdrawal had been swift. Luna had went to the pursuit of many, but none had the Queen in their midst. She had retreated to her realm, continuing to that warren of serpents was suicidal at best, and Luna lacked the time and support for this endeavor.

Celestia had been busy turning the continuous of the marriage as a show of defiance and the culmination of Equestrian determination. Forced to confront the political downfall wasn’t simple either, but Luna had purposefully kept away from this malarkey.

‘Princess?’ he worried at her tattered expression.

It was better that way. Celestia deserved it.

She shook her head. ‘Nothing. Just regrets. Nothing major.’

‘Regrets do be something major, I reckon.’

Luna laughed slowly. ‘You reckon right. But it is not if they can be changed.’

He nodded. ‘You are wise, Princess Luna.’

‘No. No, I am not. Every half-learned idiot can spew words like I do. But thank you for the consideration nonetheless.’

‘Even after that long absence, you’ve preserved humility.’ He bowed.

She smiled mirthlessly.

‘Are you not worried about the Changelings, Princess? Perhaps we are greatly infiltrated.’

‘Infiltrated? Without doubt. We simply cannot ignore the possibility of it being true. Greatly? Not under my sister’s watch. And until my work is done, under our watch.’ She did not convince herself about the latter part, she was almost discomforted by it.

‘They managed to arrive in Canterlot.’

‘I had been told to not underestimate the mad Chrysalis – just ask any here. I know I cannot, but I had thought they were mere exaggerations. My sister has this bad tendency of her…’ She paused, Twilight’s name flashed in her mind. She frowned. ‘A contagious one,’ she said dourly.

‘Either way, do not concern yourself with them, Princess. The people are just ashamed to meet your gaze.’

Luna crooked her head, wanting to know more.

‘During your absence, they had put faith in you.’ She nodded affirmatively, not knowing what she was nodding to. ‘They have a plume of yours in display, one with your own dried blood upon it.’

‘Ah…’ I should’ve asked Celestia more about the town… shit… ‘They have lost it, I presume…’

‘It is still there. But Chrysalis… mmm… “desecrated” it, if you will. It was a few years before your return, Majesty.’

Luna got up, pushing the chair with her and threatening to let it fall on the ground. Not bothering to look behind her, she began to walk away from him.

‘Excuse me.’

‘Her Highness should not excuse herself,’ he nodded.

Luna scorned him without veering back toward the captain. She hated his needless sycophancy and twisted humor.

No one had bothered her before entering the town hall. No one had been in her way toward it. The mayor was absent and all other officials were out of their hours of work – a nearly sacrosanct schedule no one dared to pass over the allocated hours, Luna came to understand. They all knew the reason for her move. All the habitants of Featherfall could do was to wearily wait for their Princess as she would finally witness the sight of their greatest failure.

They all stood aside, trying to find any way they could distract themselves from her presence. Even the odd Griffon mimicked their Pony compatriots, helping the most confounded away from where she stood.

Luna reached the entrance and readied herself to unlock the door. She paused. She took a look to her left, and then to her right. Teleporting would have been… better. It always made her somewhat dizzy, it was almost nauseating for her. Not even that Twilight girl felt sick when teleporting. No one in the School for Gifted Unicorns did. Celestia had taught her how to hide her nausea. But she could not teach her how to eliminate the building-up vomit that follows.

Luna shook her head; then exhaled. She will stop caring. Eventually, she will.

She unlocked the door, entered, and then locked it with powerful magic wards.

The feather floated in the middle of the hall. The knot in her stomach tightened. Her head felt heavier and her breathing felt more automated, less natural.

She sat next to it, staring blankly at the millennium old feather.

‘It’s not mine.’ She looked away from it, tentatively trying to face it once more. ‘It is not… mine…’ Not my blood… Not my feather… she continued with her thoughts.

She did not want to be there. She wanted to return home. She had let her emotions dictate her actions…

She was making the same mistakes.

‘I want to have a good night,’ someone declared in a frail voice.

‘Excuse me?’

A Changeling, her horn crooked, her eyes shining bright green, her fangs reflecting light, and her height equals to Celestia’s. Luna smiled shyly, barely noticeable even to her.

‘Crysalis,’ said Luna.

‘Chrysalis,’ corrected the Queen, too tired for more.

Luna smiled, gritting her teeth. ‘Please, do not tell me the failure that you are once again planning to meet here – somehow. Redundancy is not good.’

Chrysalis sprung forward, slamming her right claw on the Alicorn’s cheek, the crown sliding to the hall’s edge. Then, in a quick motion, Chrysalis slammed Luna’s head on the floor. The Queen’s eyes shimmered in baleful, built-up magic..

Luna laughed, barely bruised by the Changeling monarch. ‘Rude.’

‘Get up,’ ordered Chrysalis. Luna contented to answer the order, keeping an amused smile.

‘Amuse me, Changeling. What is that you want? Steal my love?’ She was proud of herself for making it sound like a heartfelt insult. ‘You will not be satiated, I am telling you in all honesty.’

Chrysalis withdrew, letting Luna drag herself up.

‘I want to sleep,’ said Chrysalis.

‘Excuse me?’

Chrysalis did not repeat herself, knowing full well Luna had heard her well.

‘Then sleep.’

She hesitated.

‘Sleep,’ ordered Luna. ‘You have the looks of someone lacking a few nights on the counter.’

Nothing. She reached for her neck, trying to grab something that was no longer there, her claw quickly panicking at the void it was met with.

Luna envisaged the cursed Queen readying a spell of some sort. The Princess’s expression softened, taken by sudden sympathy toward the Changeling.

But it was wrong, she thought, she should not let Chrysalis exploit any dent she might unbeknownstly laid apparent. She wasn’t weak.

‘Are you scared of sleeping, Chrysalis?’ said Luna, smiling broadly. ‘Are you really?’

Nothing. She dropped her claw and scowled Luna.

‘You attacked Canterlot. You captured poor Cadance and harmed my sister and Armor, but you, the Queen of All Changelings, is terrified of closing her eyes?’ laughed Luna. ‘Pathetic.’

‘Yes!’ bellowed Chrysalis. ‘It is your fault I have nightmares every night! It is your fault I always tap, tap, tap!’ She stomped the ground three times. ‘I always hear a tick, tick, tick that will never leave me, and it is all your fault! All my life, ever since I first stepped in Equestria as a young girl, I never had a good night! Is it too much to ask for? I always made nightmares and could never sleep. Y-yes,’ she stammered, ‘I am scared of closing my eyes, because of you! My nightmares-’ She grunted in pure anger, and then released something more akin to a roar but mixed with the semblance of a plea. ‘Why did you curse me like this?’

‘I… I did not do a thing…’ Luna wasn’t able to fully grasp what she was witnessing. Chrysalis was terrified of her. The Queen attacked Canterlot… She had done so much harm, and done things that would make any creature question one self… But she was scared of her. Because of something she had no control in.

‘Lies!’ bellowed Chrysalis, causing Luna to recoil. ‘I thought of destroying the feather. It mounted to nothing. It would not burn!’ She was on the verge of crying. ‘Why can’t you First accept-’

‘I do not care.’

‘You don’t care for what? For my condition? And I am the pathetic one here? You are the one throwing insults and curses! I am not the one masquerading as a supposed protector of dreams!’

Merited insults. ‘No. I do not care for what is materially plaguing you. I can help in the soul – that is my remit. I have nothing in this world. You can take the crown if you want. If what you had said is true, Queen Chrysalis, then my services will be provided. For no counter price.’

‘Not even me not attacking your realm?’

‘I am sure a cure-’

‘It is not a curse! We are born this way! We feed on it as you feed on grass!’

‘I do not like grass. Always tasted blend. Anyways – I am sure a more sustainable method can be fashioned to cure your woes. Your people's feeding habits cannot be changed, though, in time, a more… friendly method could be applied, developed. I take no side in the nonsense Celestia partakes in.’

‘By being absent,’ rasped the Changeling in a jagged smile.

Luna frowned. ‘I am not taking words from you, Chrysalis.’

The Queen stayed a distance away from Luna.

‘We tried,’ she nearly cursed under an ever weary voice. ‘We do not want outside help. We stand independent. Not from your people. You, in particular, are simple puppets of your people. History tells it had been otherwise.’

‘I do not let a mob govern me. Better tyranny than mob rule.’

‘We can agree, Princess,’ every each word was saccharine.

****

Celestia paced back and for in her chamber. Luna stood aside, waiting for her sister to calm down. It was late at night, nearly four in the morning. Granted, it was no longer night, more twilight, but semantics are only important to those too free minded for those things.

Luna had earlier sensed her sister’s tumultuous night. She wasn’t sure Celestia had noticed her standing aside, drinking the tea she had ordered for both of them.

The second kettle was empty. Maybe she should try to snap Celestia away from her trance.

‘I got married to Twilight.’

Nothing.

Luna sighed.

‘I will cleanse the world of the degenerates. Starting with those six.’

Nothing.

‘I have a secret child with Shining Armor. Her name is Stupid Ignorance. She is also older than me.’

Luna sighed again. She needed to be more drastic.

‘I am not Luna. I am Nightmare Moon trying to fool you.’

Celestia stopped her ceaseless march.

‘Will you shut up with all your absurdities!’ decried Celestia. She approached Luna; she, in turn, idly smiled at her sister’s reaction. ‘You let her escape! Lest you forget.’

‘She was too fast,’ casually answered Luna.

‘What if she comes b-’

‘Then so be it, Celestia. Then so be it.’

‘Then you will be to blame…’ she wearily affirmed.

‘Then so be it,’ confirmed Luna in a graver voice. ‘If the path for deliverance leads through the halls of the erroneous, then so be it.’

She closed the distance between her and Celestia.

‘Go to sleep. Nothing will happen. I am here.’

Celestia felt her legs calling for rest, and could only nod back.

‘I like it when you are submissive!’ smirked Luna.

‘Shut up,’ she laughed.

****

The Griffon stood beside the Queen’s bed, taking her pulse.

‘How was your sleep? No nightmares?’

‘No…’ breathed Chrysalis.

The Griff nodded and turned away, heading towards the chamber’s dead.

‘Cici… my friend,’ she played with the word. Chrysalis rose her claw to where her rosary had always been, stopping in disappointment at the nothingness it was again met with.

She stopped.

‘Yes?’ she asked.

Chrysalis took note of Coccinelle’s grave tone. ‘Excuse me, but we will need to part once more.’

‘Where my Queen wishes for me to voyage to?’

‘To Canterlot, once more. And keep a close eye on Cadance; when the Crystal Empire will return-’

‘Crystal Empire?’

Chrysalis grabbed her by the ears, much paining the Griffon. ‘An old land which returns is heralded for…’ She twirled with her claw. ‘Soon. I will deliver upon you the details soon enough, but until then, know that a chance still lay. Perhaps…’

Coccinelle nodded, pushing herself away, and putting a claw on her ear to ease the pain. Chrysalis put her own back.

‘Do you remember?’

Chrysalis took her time to answer, preferring to alleviate her spy’s pain. ‘No. but… I recall idiots. A lot of idiots. And your… old self among those idiots.’

Coccinelle accepted it with a light laugh. ‘You like to send me back to my parents. To Lord Inspector.’

‘Their daughter is dead. A revenant is… nice, I guess. And the other is an idiot. Now, rest for a while. You deserve it. The usual?’

Coccinelle grimaced. The usual. It meant staying alone in her room, away from everyone and prevented to interact with anyone; reading or roaming it in endless strides, letting her imagination run ramped. She envisaged many stories and concepts in her lonely times. Many she wrote down in notebooks. Many she kept stored in her mind, too concerned writing them down would ruin their essence.

But, perhaps for the first time, she wanted her parents to be here with her. She was missing earnest interactions. Ever since the death of Alkenex – that idiot – she found it even harder to fill that void. She spoke little with Chrysalis outside work. The thought the Seli she once knew would resurface at some point crumbled to a bare structure, barely something to feel remorse toward. In fact, she wasn’t sure why she ever cared so much for this shit.

But it was her life now. It was her decision. It was her desire; to just follow orders.

‘The usual,’ she answered.

‘Enjoy it.’

‘Yes,’ she almost cursed.