Short Shorts

by Coranth

171. Seek.

Things... hadn't gone as planned. Oh, Nightmare Moon had been hit with the Elements, but instead of reverting - becoming Luna - the Dark Mare had just... tottered about drunkenly and had then collapsed. Unsure of what to do, Celestia had had her transferred to a heavily warded cell beneath Canterlot Castle. Now, as the Solar Mare looked on sadly, she could see that her sister was awake, and whispering something to herself, over, and over, and over. "What... what is she saying?" she asked the Guards overseeing the place. They shook their heads, the words of the dark mare too soft to hear.

Wary of her sister's power, Celestia lessened the wards a little, allowed Nightmare Moon a drop of magic, and then summoned a pair of scribes; perhaps the dark mare might reveal her secrets? To her surprise, as Nightmare Moon felt the change in the air, she stood and then - seeming to see right through Celestia - she cast a spell upon her own throat. When next she spoke, her voice was amplified and - instead of being the Royal Canterlot - it was heavily modulated, but it didn't seem harsh at all; in fact, it seemed soothing and somewhat sad. As Celestia looked on, her breath hitching softly, Nightmare Moon, Luna, started to sing:

"Where are we?
What the hell is going on?
The dust has only just begun to form
Crop circles in the carpet
Sinking, feeling
Spin me around again
And rub my eyes
This can't be happening
When busy streets
A mess with ponies
Would stop to hold their heads heavy

Hide and seek
Trains and sewing machines
All those years
They were here first
Oily marks appear on walls
Where pleasure moments hung before
The takeover
The sweeping insensitivity of this
Still life
Hide and seek
Trains and sewing machines

(You won't catch me around here)
Blood and tears
They were here first
Mm, what'd you say?
Mm, that you only meant well
Well of course you did
Mm, what'd you say?
Mm, that it's all for the best
Of course it is
Mm, what'd you say?
Mm, that it's just what we need
You decided this
Mm, what'd you say?
Mm, what did she say?

Ransom notes keep falling out your mouth
Mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cutouts
Speak no feeling, no, I don't believe you
You don't care a bit, you don't care a bit
Ransom notes keep falling out your mouth
Mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cutouts
Speak no feeling, no, I don't believe you
You don't care a bit, you don't care a bit

(You don't care a bit)
Oh, no, you don't care a bit
Oh, no, you don't care a bit
Uh-uh, you don't care a bit
You don't care a bit
You don't care a bit..."

By the end of the song, even the stoic guards were misty eyed, and it was all Celestia could do to maintain control of herself as she squeezed her eyes closed to stop the tears, breathed heavily through her nose... Gently, she took the scroll with the words - such wondrous, poetic words - of the strange, sad song her sister had sung and then retreated to her room. Inside a tiny sob escaped her as she set to studying what had been written. What was this? A message from her sister's deeply fractured mind? What was she singing about? Their parents? Her exile? Celestia didn't know, didn't understand, even as she tried futilely to glean meaning from the words inked upon the scroll. Over and over she read them, heard them sung in her sister's voice, mouthed them softly... until, overwhelmed, she folded her wings over her head and wept like a foal.

Author's Note:

"Hide and Seek" is copyright Imogen Heap.

Comments

[ninjanaut1000]

Totally turning this into a story.

[Coranth]

7648669 Please do; I can't wait to read it!