Nightmare Mom

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 3

Chapter 1

“Get up, boy.” Your bed shifts, rocking you from the most pleasant dream you've had in months. You were warm for once; it was bright, and there was a scent in the air that you couldn't identify. It was fresh and natural, whatever it was. There was a figure in the distance and she usually didn't show up in this dream, but much about the dream was different. The details are already fading as a stern voice shouts you fully awake. “I SAID GET UP! I have no time for your foolishness today!”

You roll over and see your mother's cyan eyes glaring at you, as usual. Nightmare Moon never seemed to do anything else, particularly with you. Her mane was flowing particularly violently today, you notice. Something must have upset her before she got here, as waking up late usually just got her annoyed. Time was hard to gauge these days, due to it always being night. You were glad your fire was still burning, so you could see at least part of her looming above your bed. Too many times you had been awoken to her eyes glowering at you from total darkness.

Your mother loses her patience with your sluggishness and seizes your many covers before pulling them away. Frigid air slices through your black coat, causing you to involuntarily curl a bit and pull your wings closer. You seize a sheet with your magic and pull it back. “I am awake, Mother,” you growl.

“You are late, boy. Clean up, quickly, and get to work! And mind your tongue!” She turns to leave.

“I suppose it would kill you to call me Nebulus,” you mumble sarcastically, pulling yourself from your bed. It was built for two, but didn't ordinarily have a second occupant.

“What was that?” she snarls, looking squarely at you.

“At once, Your Grace,” you say quickly, straightening, your height almost matching hers, short only an inch or so. You remember the last time you actively talked back to her all too well. Your size never intimidated her like it did just about every other pony you'd met.

She turns and strides out, slamming the heavy wooden door. You glare after her, toss a log on your fireplace, then head to your bathroom. Like your room, it was a spartan affair, holding the necessities and little else. You had a bookshelf full of educational tomes and approved literature that you used to use often to teach yourself things like math and history, and there were a few foreign weapons seated on pedestals or mounted to the wall. These were the extent of the things you actually owned. There were also moldings and other assorted trims and immovable decorations that no commoner had, leading you to believe your room had once belonged to royalty. Your tub was one such ornate object, but that went largely unused as water tended to freeze on particularly cold days. Today was not such a day, as you turn on your sink to find the icy water flowing. You splash some on your face and quickly wash the parts of you that were most in need of it, then head back out to your room, thinking about your dream.

That figure... you still remember her. You never got close enough to her to see clearly, but she always looked familiar. She always stood or sat on a hill, framed by a full moon. Her mane flowed, somewhat like your mothers, but smoothly; gently, like a river. Every night that you had this dream, you tried to reach this figure, to see who she was. And every morning, either a guard would wake you, or if he lost track of time, your mother would scream you awake before screaming at the guard, which you could hear her doing now. You feel like she is the only one who can tell time properly in this world.

You brush your blue mane and tail out neatly like you did each morning. It was more difficult than usual, with it beginning to become ethereal at the tips. It was a good thing you kept it at a moderate length. Mother would shout at you if it became unkempt. You briefly go over your routine and decide you'll have to skip your workout to avoid being later than you already were. You grab your immaculately kept armor from its mannequin, similar in style and color to what your mother wore, decorated with star fields and other stellar bodies, but with a chest more like the ones the old Royal Guard used to wear, and lined with furs to stave off the cold. The chest plate held a simple icon of your cutie mark: A shield with a sword pointing downwards behind it, added when your cutie mark arrived. As you put it on, you inspect each piece for dust, smudges, or scratches. Of course, there were none, but she'd shout more if there was any sort of imperfection on it. She'd shout at you anyway for being late, but there was no avoiding lecture right now.

You head to the throne room, trying to remember your dream again. That hill... it was near... Ponyville? Was that the town? It had to be; you remember seeing what you're sure were apple trees behind it. They looked so alive; so lush, so much like the pictures in the books Mother never let you read, not like the pitiful things now growing under the artificial lights. And the grass felt so good, tickling your legs as you galloped through, trying to reach that lovely figure. Once, you thought you caught a glimpse of cyan eyes, so different from your mother's, so full of love and affection, but it was such a short glimpse before you awoke that you weren't sure. Once in a while, you even thought she was smiling at you.

“There you are. At least you groomed yourself properly,” Nightmare Moon says. You had hoped you wouldn't be at the throne room already. It was a simple room: Obsidian throne at one end on a raised dais, a midnight blue carpet leading up to it, and plain tall windows lining its length. You had heard there were once stained glass portraits in those windows. She strides toward you as you snap to attention. “This guard tells me that there has been unusual activity around the western gate. Investigate. You know what to do with them if you find any.”

“At once, your majesty,” you say, playing the perfect little soldier.

She strides past you with no further words, and you head for the west gate, stopping only to grab food. You know you're supposed to bring guards with you, but they felt more like an obstacle than help. You were more than capable in a fight; you knew it, they knew it and all of Equestria knew it. A pile of broken bodies was testament to that, all at your hooves. Once or twice, a pony threw rotten fruits at you, but the guards were on them in seconds. Only once did you order them away immediately, and for that, you received your own beating from Mother for displaying weakness.

“My Prince?” a guard near a torch prompts you. “Are you well?”

“Fine!” you snap at him, wings flaring. You then take a breath, composing yourself. “I am quite well.”

The guard looks up at you nervously. “You looked... distressed.”

You realize you're at the palace gate already. Time is flying today. “Have you noticed any strange activity lately?”

“Not personally, no.”

“I see. Carry on.” You stride past him and look around. The only thing you see is the numerous lit torches, carried by non-unicorns, and the moon high above, craters forming a silhouette of your mother. You cast a simple light spell to see what you were doing. You inspect the various nooks and crannies around the gate and the wall itself for a few dozen feet, your thoughts drifting once more. The figure, could it be your father? Mother never talked about him, and you had trouble imagining any pony brave enough or stupid enough to lay with her willingly. You imagine it would be like sleeping with a manticore.

No, this figure was definitely a mare, now that you think about it. It was too slender to be anything else. You made a mental note to conjure this dream again when you went to sleep, and reach this pony as fast as possible, if you could avoid the nightmarish part of it if it came up. Whoever she was, you had to see her -really see her- and know if you were only imagining the smile and the eyes.

Something strikes you in the head, something wet and pulpy. You spin around and see a pony turning to run. You reach out with your magic and seize the pony by its dirty brown tail, dragging him towards you across the pavement. You haul him up into the air by said tail, glaring into his face. “You dare strike me?!” you snarl.

The pony spits in your face. You wipe it off, and punch him square in the mouth. You do it again. And again. And again, your anger taking control. You're only dimly aware that you're drawing a crowd. Suddenly, an image of your mother's hoof racing towards your own face snaps into your mind, and you cease your punching, your anger chased away like a dog afraid of his master's whip. You look at the hoof you've been using, blood glistening off of the armor in the moonlight. You're glad that no pony from the crowd has gotten close enough to light your face, or they would see your horrified expression.

You drop the pony and stride away as fast as you can, trying not to think about it. You try to adopt an annoyed expression, as though you've just smashed a bug under your hoof and now have to clean off the guts. You've seen your mother use it so many times before; it comes to you surprisingly easy. You hear a scuffle of hooves behind you, likely ponies moving to help the stallion.

You barely remember entering the castle or returning to your room. You don't recall passing your mother, but surely she'd say something about the fact that you're trailing blood on her clean floors. You toss your helmet onto your bed, turn on your sink and begin scrubbing your hoof off. You can only think about your armored hoof smashing into that young stallion's face, over and over again, and the all too familiar rage that overcame you. Your thoughts turn to the figure in your dreams, but now she doesn't look happy to see you, she looks... disappointed. You scrub harder.

“Boy, why is there blood on my floor!?” Oh no. You quickly shut off the faucet and step out to face your mother. She scowls at you. “Well?”

“Rebels,” you answer automatically. “Just one. I taught him a lesson.”

“And you felt the need to track that filth's blood into my palace?” She slaps you. You stumble, but ultimately remain standing. “Did you bring him in for questioning?”

You hesitate. “No.” You'd be in even bigger trouble for lying, when she found out.

She slaps you again, harder. You remain standing, but you begin to taste something coppery. “IDIOT! Where did you learn to be this stupid? I certainly never taught you this!”

“You never taught me much of anything,” you spit, your own anger rising.

Your mother's glare turns to open fury. “HOW DARE YOU!” No slap this time, but a full punch, right in the snout. You briefly flash to the stallion from the street as you stumble backwards and bump into a dresser. “I GIVE YOU A HOME, I GIVE YOU PURPOSE, AND I AM REPAID LIKE THIS?! WITH DISOBEDIENCE AND INCOMPETENCE?!” Another punch. “I NEVER WANTED YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE, AND YET I GAVE YOU A LIFE OTHER PONIES CAN ONLY DREAM OF!” And another. You're on the ground now. “YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL, YOU LITTLE WORM!” One more punch. You're certain your nose is bleeding. She leans in, her face less than an inch from yours, her voice a hiss. “All I ask for in return is for you to do as you are told! Why is this so much to ask?”

“And why is it too much to ask for you to be a mother for once? Hm?” She leans back, but you close the distance as you stand, your own rage boiling over. “All I ever get from you is lectures, orders, and shouting! 'Do this, do that, clean up, wake up, and on and on AND ON!' ALL YOU WANT IS ANOTHER OBEDIENT SERVANT! I AM NOT YOUR SERVANT, I AM YOUR SON!”

For once, she has no words for you. Her face, however, is a sculpture of pure rage.

You compose yourself as much as you can. You can dimly feel a stabbing pain in your heart as you think about her words, but you push it aside. It no longer matters. “If you don't want me, and I am as useless as you say, then get rid of me like you do every pony else who fails you.” You stare at her defiantly.

And then the hitting comes, harder than you've ever been hit before. You're on the floor in a heartbeat, your mother's hoof coming down at you again and again. You feel teeth come loose, your vision blurs, blood fills your mouth, and then-

She stops. Her hoof is poised to strike again as she glares at you, but as you look into her eyes so full of hatred, your thoughts turn to the figure in your dreams.

She pulls away, and wipes her hoof off on your coat. “Consider your every breath from this moment forward as yet another gift from me, boy,” she spits at you and walks away. She turns to you at the door. “And if you ever show me such defiance again, I will kill you.” The door slams shut so hard you can swear you hear it crack.

You spit blood out after her, rolling slowly onto your stomach. You feel lightheaded from the beating, both physical and verbal, but you manage to drag yourself to the sink and begin washing yourself. You'll definitely need to see the doctor, though. You catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror. Your black coat is matted with blood, and there's what looks like a cut just below your horn. You're definitely missing several teeth, and one of your eyes is swelling shut. You look into your still good eye, only dimly aware of the pain encroaching on you. You used to think it looked much like your mother's, but now...

It looks like the ones from the figure in your dreams.

Chapter 2

You spend two hours in the doctor's office having the damage from your beating fixed; too much time for your tastes. And there was nothing he could do about hearing the mare that gave you life never wanted to in the first place, a truth you had long suspected. Your thoughts race, pushing the stinging of the healing ointments, potions, and other magic out of your awareness. And through those two hours, you reached a conclusion: you'd had enough. It was time for her to face a justice she had long avoided and greatly deserved. The only question left in your mind was how you would bring it about, and those are the thoughts that occupy you as you patrol the streets of Canterlot, your remaining task for the evening.

You are in the midst of running through a particularly brutal plan in your head when something gold catches your eye. A unicorn mare is giving a blanket to another shivering pony. Ordinarily, you wouldn't notice this, but something on her neck glinted in the torchlight. You stop and look, seeing a glimpse of a pink gemstone, quickly covered by her cloak as she moves. You approach this pony, your anger driven from your mind.

The pony sees you, light pink eyes widening in horror as she tries to run. You reach out with your magic and hold her in place. The pony that holds the blanket stands to protest, but you silence him with a glare. You make sure to magically gag the mare, dragging her with you behind the furniture shop they were in front of. You pin her to the wall with your foreleg, careful not to hurt her and push aside her thick cloak with your magic. She cringes as you do so, crosses her legs, and you hear her whimper through the gag, “Please... no...” You take a moment to cast a shield around the two of you that blocks all sounds, in and out.

The necklace she wears is simple, yet still incredibly valuable for a pony who otherwise looks very poor. If it hadn't glinted, it might have matched her coat quite well. The gemstone was pink, cut masterfully into the shape of a butterfly. Your eyes widen as you whisper, “It can't be...” You look at the mare. Her hood has fallen away, revealing an icy blue mane. She's crying, on the border of sobbing. “Where did you get this necklace?”

The mare only looks at you. “Wh-what?”

“The necklace you wear. Where did you get it? It's too expensive for anyone other than royalty to have.”

“I-I-It's a... a family heirloom-”

“Don't lie to me!” you snap, pushing her into the wall harder. You reign yourself in and ease back. “Tell me the truth of where you found this, and you will not be harmed. I promise.”

She looks you in the eye, and seems to calm down a little. “I-I found it.”

“Where? No pony outside this bubble will hear you.”

She swallows and notices the faint shimmer of the audio shield. “E-Even her?”

You nod. “Even her.”

“You promise?”

You fight down a surge of impatience. “I assure you, only we will ever know of this conversation.”

“Could... could you let me go?”

“No. If any guards should see us, I want it to look like an interrogation. Just tell me about the necklace.”

She looks you in the eye again, and takes a breath. “I-I found it down in Ponyville. There's this old cottage, near the remains of the forest. I was just looking around for some things I could use to help make life here a little better: extra blankets, firewood, anything really. It's horrible, some of the things I've seen here. I just want to help, bring a little light into this dark world, and-”

“The necklace,” you remind her, keeping your voice even.

“I found this gem in the cottage, sitting under an old couch. I couldn't believe something like that would have just been left behind, even by the other scavengers. I went to touch it, and it flashed really bright, and then was gone. The next thing I knew, I had this necklace.”

Your heartbeat picks up as ideas start forming in your head. “This gem you found, how big was it?”

“I don't know, about as big as my eye, maybe? I didn't get a good look.”

You nod, a smile tugging at your lips. You push it down. “You live in Canterlot, correct?”

She nods.

“Does anypony else know you have that necklace?”

She shakes her head. “I live alone, and none of the ponies I've helped have said anything about it.”

You release her and pass her your scarf, the same light blue as your armor. “Tell no one of this conversation or that necklace. Hide it. If Nightmare Moon knew you had it, it would be the end of you. If that's what I think it is, I'll be back for you, miss...?”

“Mint Drop. And why? What's so special about it?”

“Better you don't know yet.” You stride back to the palace, your mind swimming with ideas now. All the pieces fit with what you've read about the Elements, but you had to be sure. And if it really was one of them, you might just have a way to pay Mother back for twenty-five years of torture. It wouldn't be by YOUR hoof, but none of the plans you had come up with before guaranteed your success. Survival was a secondary consideration for you.

You stop in the castle long enough to get some dinner. Mother wasn't present in the dining hall, so either she was busy or you missed her completely. All the better. You finish quickly and head straight for your room to find a pink mare laying on your bed. You groan inwardly. Of all the times to be in heat... Mother never usually sent you mares unless she was in heat or thought you needed to work out some stress, and it was about time for her to be the former, you realize.

The mare gets up and saunters towards you, flashing you bedroom eyes. “Well look who it is. My prince, returned from the dirty streets.” She drapes her forelegs around your neck. “Beat up any more rebels today?”

You push her away. ”No. Get out.”

She gives you puppy eyes. “I just want to help. You seem so stressed, love.”

You glare at her, barely restraining your anger. “A whore doesn't know what love is, especially one who was sent by my mother. Now get out before I throw you out.”

The mare steps back. “I-I'm sorry, my Prince.” She scurries out without another word.

You close and lock the door. Normally, you might have been willing to rut her, but not now, not with this new information. You take off your armor, clean it, and put it away, then pull a book out from under your bed. A simple place to hide forbidden things, and obvious, but it worked. It had six gems on the cover, each a different color, with a unicorn head in the middle.

You place the book on your bed and begin to flip through. You begin to mumble to yourself, reading random parts of the book. Your mumbling ceases when you find the passage you wanted. “'The Elements of Harmony are six magical artifacts..'” You skim over the rest. “'-Accounts vary, but many have said that they take the shape of large gemstones, about the size of a pony's eye, until they are wielded by a pony who represents their element, and is theorized to take the shape of some sort of jewelry. The form of the Element of Magic is unknown, and only reveals itself when the other five are united and create a spark.'”

You close the book and put it back, your plan cemented in your mind: find the Elements, bring them to Nightmare Moon, and trigger them to destroy her. Mint Drop was they key to finding the others, you just had to find her again, and then create the spark somehow. You lay down to sleep, smiling.

Chapter 4

“Get up.” Your bed jostles, and the voice of your mother cuts through the dream like a sword. She doesn't seem as angry as yesterday, judging by her expression, a cool neutral. You must not have been late today.

You roll to your belly, stretching out. “Hello, Mother,” you reply dutifully, trying not to spit out that last word. “What brings you to my chambers?”

“I need you in Manehattan.” She tosses a scroll on your bed. “Clean up. I'll have a carriage waiting for you.”

You wonder why she couldn't have just had a guard give you the message, but you take the scroll and read over it. You hear the door close a moment later. Rebels needed hunting in Manehattan, according to the scroll. You go about your morning routine, including the workout you missed yesterday, and head out. The hours it takes to get there pass uneventfully.

Like most of the major cities that remained, Manehattan had become home to many ponies who fled their small towns in search of food and warmth, and the cities had been rumored to have much of both. The city had expanded rapidly to accommodate, then contracted when the shortages hit. Things had leveled out since then, and Manehattan sported one of the highest city populations in Equestria. Most of the abandoned buildings had been converted into farms, as they had become ideal areas to contain heat for growing food. Many of them were in the outer areas of the city, and you decide that's a good place to start.

You notice ponies giving your carriage dirty looks as you pass them. Manehattan, as you recall, had long been theorized to be the rebel base, but it could never be proven. All you ever got for evidence was that the leader, the former Princess Cadence, was supposedly sighted here from time to time. You were fine with staying here for a few nights, using your presence to scare any overt rebels back into their holes for a while, and make a small show. If luck was with you, you'd find one of the Elements here.

You stop in front of one of the complexes and survey the surrounding area. You notice an abandoned building up on a small hill, seemingly sound structurally and defensible. You walk up to a pony pulling a cart. “You. Is that building inhabited?”

“Um, as... as far as I know?”

You walk away, rolling your eyes. You approach the captain of this group, a soft yellow-orange pegasus with a blue mane. “Secure that structure for us.” The pegasus doesn't respond immediately. You clear your throat.

The pegasus jumps. “Apologies, my Prince. We'll get right on it.” He hops down and sets to work.

You shake your head as you approach one of the farm buildings. Blasted memory spells. I hope Nightmare enjoyed her toy. This building was much like the others, a re-purposed house, single floor. It looked like there would be some sort of attic to it, but these buildings could be deceptive. You notice two of the guards had followed you, out of your escort of eight. “You two. Wait outside,” you order them. You knew they were a formality, but it was one of your pet peeves that they followed you.

You step inside, noticing there's only a sand-colored pony with a brown mane and matching scarf doing runner stretches. He notices you and comes to his hooves. The hatred is visible in his dark blue eyes. “So the prince of the night comes to our humble little farm. How may this mere mud pony serve your majesty?” He does a mock bow.

“You can drop the sarcasm, first,” you reply, looking around. You see quite a few sprouts in the ground, bags of fertilizer against the walls along with assortments of farm equipment. The windows are sealed tight, with several walls that once denoted rooms knocked out, and the entire floor pulled up to make room for the farming. The weight bearing columns remain untouched, oak pillars rising from the ground like squared trees. Artificial lights line the roof, providing the warmth. You walk up to the pony, a bit shorter than the average stallion. “Second, why are you alone? I thought these were manned by at least two.”

“My buddy's coming back. Had to grab a few things.” The pony turns away, returning to his exercises.

“You seem to have no love for me, but also no fear.”

“Why should I be afraid when I have nothing to hide?”

“Everypony has something to hide.”

“Nothing interesting to hide, then.” As he stretches, you catch a glimpse of gold underneath his scarf. You approach him and pull his scarf off. “Hey, what-?”

You see a necklace just like the one you saw on the pony in Canterlot, only the gemstone is a red running pony. You lock eyes with him, his face a portrait of shock. He bolts for the door, which you lock magically before he gets there, but just barely. He lunges for you, but you swat him away, then walk over and place your hoof on his throat. You cast a soundproof shield around the two of you.“You're quick. I'll give you that. Is it because of the necklace?”

The pony only growls at you, squirming and trying fruitlessly to remove your hoof.

“I didn't think so.” You take a breath to calm yourself a bit. “Now, where did you get that necklace? Most stallions I know wouldn't want to be caught dead with one.”

“Wouldn't you like to know?”

“I would. And I would like to know without having to beat the information out of you.”

“Do your worst.”

“Clearly, this isn't your first interrogation. You must be quite suspicious.”

“I'll take that as a compliment.”

You apply some pressure to him. You can hear him straining to breathe. “I know what that is you wear. An Element of Harmony, an artifact that my- the Queen,” you correct yourself, “would be very interested to know you have. And, if I were as dutiful as she would like, I'd have you arrested right now, and we would get all the information we need from you. However, I bear no more love for her than you bear for me. So I need to know where you got that Element, and if you know any other ponies who have them. I assure you, this conversation will not leave this room.”

The stallion responds by kicking at your stomach, loosening your hold on him. He squirms out from under you and makes another dash for the door. You seize him once again with your magic and pin him against a wall. You punch him a few times before you manage to suppress your anger. “Come on, impress me,” he says.

“At least I know what Element you are,” you snarl. “And if you're so loyal to your friends that you won't speak, they must have at least one more Element among them. But you don't have all of them, or you would have used them by now.” You look the pony in the eyes, a bright green. “I know where one is.”

“Oh, I bet. You tell me some made-up story, I tell you about my friends, and the next thing I know half the city burns and we're all rotting in Canterlot's dungeons, right next to Celestia's old guard captain.” He spits in your face. “And that's if we're unlucky. I bet you don't even know what the Elements are.”

You wipe the spit away and grind it into the dirt. Your next words come from behind clenched teeth. “I know you need six, one of which only appears under certain circumstances. And I know they were used against the Queen before.” You take a few breaths to regain your composure and check to make sure the audio shield was still there, which it was. “I want to use them again. This time, to destroy her.”

“You can't do that yourself?”

“I could try, but I cannot guarantee my success. The Elements are the only certainty.”

The stallion thought for a moment. “If I take you to them, will you agree to meet them alone?”

“I will meet the entire rebel army alone if you will show me what you have.”

He smiled. “I like that answer. Let me go and I'll get things started.” You step back, releasing the shield and unlocking the door. He stretches out and looks at you. “By the way, my name's Dune Runner. I thought you might want to know.”

You nod, and walk to the door. “I have guards outside. I'll inform them that it's clear.”

“You'll get word of where we want to meet.” He flashes you a self-assured smile as he steps over to a table to fix himself up.

“I don't plan to stay longer than a week.” With that, you walk out.

Chapter 5

Your tiny hoofsteps crunched down the cloudy hallway of the Shadowbolts race track, a scroll from your mother held tightly in your mouth. You try to look calm, in defiance of the butterflies in your stomach, but you didn't think you were doing a good job. The hallway seemed like an endless, though oddly familiar, cavern, passing torch after torch with only an ever-retreating point of light at the end. But you couldn't look nervous. The Shadowbolts were the best fliers in Equestria, and known for being tough to boot. They wouldn't train you if you didn't look tough.

You step out into the moonlight and see them. Two are racing around the track, one of them trailing a yellow zig-zag pattern behind her, the other three watching and chatting idly. You drop the scroll on the ground and take a breath. Mommy wants me to be tough, like them. I gotta look it. You grab the scroll with your magic and manage to fumble it before getting a better hold on it. You take another breath, try to adopt one of your mother's cold expressions, and walk up to the three sitting down. You clear your throat, your heart racing. You manage to fight off the trembling.

A mare with a purple mane with brighter purple highlights, violet coat and amethyst eyes turns to look at you. “Who's this kid?”

A red-orange mare with a fiery red mane with orange tips looks at you with ruby eyes. Her eyes widen after a second. “It's the prince!” She stands to face you, as do the others.

“What are you doing here? This isn't a place for foals,” a dark gray stallion says. He had bright yellow eyes and a matching mane, with a lighter highlight.

You straighten and try not to tremble. “You're supposed to teach me how to fly. My mo- the Queen says so.” You pass the scroll to the purple one, who you remember is supposed to be the leader. You try to stop it from wobbling, but fail.

The purple pony takes the scroll from you and reads over it, and the gray one waves down the two that were racing. She sighs. “It's true. Nightmare Moon wants us to show him how to fly.”

A light blue stallion with a red and black mane you think was dyed and a cyan mare with a slicked back yellow mane walk up. They fix you with sapphire and amber eyes, respectively. The light blue one speaks. “This kid? What are we, foalsitters?”

“He looks like he's about to wet himself,” the cyan one says.

They snicker, the others smile, and you feel yourself flush. The gray one speaks up. “She's right. You look terrified, kid.”

“I am not!” you shout.

“Yeah you are.” He laughs, and several of the others follow suit.

“A lot of ponies are too frightened to even walk up to us, like that one little filly that hides in the stands,” the orange one says. She walks up to you and looks you square in the eyes. You stare at her back, fighting down your fear. She smiles. “I can see his fire. It's small, but it's there. I think we should give him a chance.”

The purple one shakes her head and sits. “You and your fires.” She motions for the others to sit too. “All right, kid. Show us what you've got.”

You nod determinedly, jump, and flap your little wings as hard and fast as you can. You manage to hover for a few seconds before falling. You hear the chuckles from the group and, annoyed, you try again. You attempt to fly in a circle but crash as soon as you try to move forward. You try once more and make it a few more inches before crashing again. You stand to try again when you feel a hoof block your way.

You look up and see the purple one standing over you. “You're definitely tenacious, I'll give you that, kid. But we work hard to be this good. You think you can keep up?”

You nod, wiping some dirt from your face.

“And you've got to be tough. Are you tough?”

You nod again, a smile forming on your face.

“All right, then. You ready to get started?”

That little bit of flying left you exhausted, but you nod. You hear the blue stallion snort, but pay it no mind.

“Good. I'm Nightshade, by the way.”

“I'm Nebulus.”

She nods. “Let's go, then. We've got a lot to do.”

Your training passes in a blur, but it was hard, like Nightshade said it would be. She oversaw your training personally, while the others went back to their own practice, and you kept imagining yourself flying with them. It's what kept you going more than Nightshade shouting at you, the promise of being one of them, screaming through a stadium to the roar of the crowd, pulling into seemingly impossible and lethal stunts, making it look like it's second nature the whole time. And after the show, as your teammates were chatting and congratulating each other on another good show, your mother would come in and finally give you a big hug, and tell you how proud she is of you.

It's this thought that you walk home with, absolutely exhausted. Your wings were sorer than you thought they could be. Even your legs feel like noodles, but you force them to carry you home. You can sleep when you get back, as Nightshade had told you to be back early tomorrow. You knew it was going to be a long time before you'd fly like them, and it would be tough, but you were tough, too. You smile at the thought.

“You're so lucky!” A lavender filly trots up to you, wearing goggles on top of her head that looked like the ones the Shadowbolts wore. “You got to fly with the Shadowbolts! What was it like? Are they as cool as they look? Is it true Jetstream and Lightning Dust are going out?” She was practically bouncing in place as she spoke to you.

“I, uh, never asked.” You back away from the filly, as she was incredibly close to you. “Are they?”

“That's what I read in this one magazine! It said that they were going out, and that they fight sometimes, but I don't think that's true, 'cause real couples don't.” She finally seemed to take notice of your expression. “Oh! My name's Twilight Sands, but everypony just calls me Sandy. And one day, I'm gonna join the Shadowbolts!”

“I'm, uh, Nebulus.”

“Like, Prince Nebulus?” Somehow, her eyes got even wider when she took notice of your horn and wings. She started bouncing in place as she spoke. “Oh my gosh, you're the real one! I'm meeting a prince! Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!” All my friends are going to be so jealous!”

You scan your surroundings for a guard. “So, what are you doing here?”

“Sometimes, I come here and watch them train. But don't tell them, 'kay?”

“Why not?”

“'Cause if you do, they'll never let me join the team or go to their shows or anything! I've never been to one!”

“Why not?”

Twilight looked sad. “'Cause my mommy and daddy don't ever have enough bits. They spend it all on food and light and stuff. They don't get much extra from their jobs.” Her expression brightened a bit. “But sometimes, they get me stuff of theirs, like once, they got me these goggles!” She put her head down to show off her goggles, sitting atop her tousled violet mane.

You looked closely at the goggles. They looked to you like they might have come straight out of one of the Shadowbolts' lockers, and could not have been cheap. “Wow. Those are cool!”

“Aren't they? I never take them off, except for when I hafta sleep.”

“You think they'll give me a pair?”

“Sure! You're flying with them, so you're, like, part of the team already!”

Your thoughts return to your fantasy before, and you smile.

“Hey! Maybe if we both get in, we could fly together!”

“Are you a good flier? They made me do a test before they trained me, so I think you gotta be a good flier to join. And tough.”

“I can be tough! I practice flying all the time, and I run into things a lot, but I always get back up and try again! Daddy says 'Quitters never get anywhere in life.'”

“And who is this?” You both jump at the guard's voice. He looks expectantly at you, a half smile on his face.

“My friend, Sandy.”

“Sandy, eh?” The guard looks at her. “Do you know you're in the presence of royalty?”

She nods. “Yup! We were talking about the Shadowbolts, and how cool it would be to be one of them!”

The guard nods. “Well then, young miss, you had best be getting home. The prince has homework to do.”

Twilight nodded sadly. “Okay.” She looked at you. “I hope I see you again!” With that, she bounded off.

“Me too!” you call after her.

“Energetic, isn't she?”

“Yeah, but she seems nice. Maybe I'll see her tomorrow.” You and the guard start walking back to the castle.

Chapter 6

Nights had passed with no word from Dune Runner, unsurprisingly. You doubted the rebels would trust you so easily, or they were planning a trap. You had spent that time making a show of investigating various areas of the city, interrogating a few citizens, and bribing others. None of the information you got, however, was anything you didn't already know or was otherwise useless. You were sure these guards were loyal to your mother, and would be making their own reports on what you did here. As such, you already had several lies from which to choose to cover your meeting.

The mare sleeping soundly next to you wasn't part of that plan, but was certainly helpful. It had been a long time since you had woken up so peacefully, or had dreamed something so... happy, at least compared to your usual dreams. Company tended to drive the more upsetting dreams off for you. You gently brush a lock of her curly green mane out of her face, and start to wonder what it would be like to wake up to this every day. You start to smile as you imagine your life with this one, sunlight filtering through curtains as she sleeps. She stirs and smiles at you, and you share a warm kiss-- a wave of nausea hits you, and you pull away.

You start your waking routine when you hear talking outside your door. You open it to see two of your guards talking over an envelope. “What's going on out here?”

The guards bow. “My Prince, we just found this envelope outside your door.”

“And?”

“It wasn't here a few minutes ago.”

“So, you're saying you completely missed a pony walking in here and delivering a note to my door.”

“I- We-”

You snatch the envelope from the guard. It has your name on the front. “As you were,” you spit at the guard and shut the door. You pull a letter out of the envelope. 'We're ready. Meet us at the MMA. Alone. You have two hours,' it reads. You toss the letter and the envelope into the remains of the fire, and place more kindling on it. It flares to life, consuming the letter.

The mare stirs behind you, sitting up. She rubs her eyes sleepily. “Leaving already?”

You nod, resuming your morning routine. “Business. The guards will have a meal ready for you before you leave.”

The mare looks as though she's about to say something, but thinks better of it. She gathers her cloak and leaves without another word. You follow after a few minutes and inform the captain you are going to follow up on a lead by yourself after grabbing some food. The mare seems to have left completely, without touching her food. You frown, but put it out of your mind quickly and set out for the city.

It had been some time since you had been inside Manehattan proper, but you had reviewed the map several times before you arrived. Unfortunately, looking at a map was a different beast than actually being in the city itself. A number of street signs had fallen or were outright missing, and only now were ponies moving to light the street lights for the “day” cycle. Some of them gave you nervous looks, but otherwise ignored you.

After a few minutes of aimless wandering, you decide to fly up to one of the high roofs and see what you could. If you remembered correctly, the Manehattan Museum of Art was towards the center of the city, near Solar Park. You scan the horizon, blocked by the occasional taller building, and see part of what looks like Solar Park from behind one of them. A quick glide around it confirms your position, and after making sure you weren’t followed, you're at the museum in minutes.

The museum was styled like a building from the long-lost Crystal Empire, lots of angles and gemstones, all built to look as though it had been carved from a single titanic crystal. The actual gemstones it had used had long since been looted, you notice, and it looked now as though a few desperate ponies had thought the museum actually was made of crystal, taking chunks of it out. You hop over a fallen balcony, which reveals the true nature of its construction: carefully carved and painted stone. You briefly imagine what this place was like in its prime.

As you step inside, you see the interior has fared no better than its exterior. The lobby you stand in is expansive, and if you didn't know better, you'd swear the floors were actual crystal. Dust and bits of debris litter it, but was otherwise clear. You decide to search the first floor first, but as you move toward the remains of a gift shop on the left, a voice calls out to you.

“That's far enough, Nebulus.” A white unicorn mare with a blue mane and green eyes steps forward from somewhere on the second floor, placing herself at the top of the steps to it. Dune Runner flanks her on the right, a blue pegasus stallion on her left, followed shortly by two others from the sides, an orange earth pony and a red pegasus mare. Other ponies step out from various hiding spots all around you, wielding weapons of all types or their own magic for the unicorns.

You notice each of the ponies on the second floor but the white one wears an Element. “Either you're putting on a show, or you truly do have four Elements.”

The white mare ignores your words. “I didn't think the son of Nightmare Moon would keep his word.”

“If any guards followed me without my knowledge, feel free to kill them. I would.”

“You'd do that to ponies who are supposed to serve you?”

“For once, I would like to keep my word. As for my... mother, I grow weary of my service to her. Our goals are aligned.”

The white mare looks at the pegasus next to her. You're reasonably sure his necklace has an orange cloud on it, but the cloak he wears obscures much of his Element. The two whisper to each other briefly, and then the trio begins to walk down the steps, Shimmer at the head. “My friend here has a talent for telling when others are lying. And either you're an incredibly good actor, or you really are being honest.” She holds out a hoof when she gets in front of you. “I'm going to believe the latter. I'm Shimmer.”

You press your hoof against hers. “You're that confident in his judgment?”

“I'm confident in all of my friends. We've been through a lot.”

You nod. “I assume these are the real Elements?”

“Every last one. We're just missing Kindness and Magic, I think. Our books are incomplete.”

“I know where Kindness is. She lives in Canterlot, a yellow mare with an ice blue mane. Magic will be more difficult to acquire.”

“How so?”

“Magic will require some kind of spark to trigger, and only when the other five are united around the sixth.” Shimmer looks at you quizzically. “I have a complete book from the Canterlot Royal Library. I actually found it in Ponyville's library. Either the Queen's guards weren't as thorough as they had hoped, or somepony hid it.”

“So Twilight brought the book with her. Strange how we never found it. She must have hidden it well.” Shimmer turns away and gestures for you to follow. “Let's go sit down. We need to make plans, if what you say is true.”

The two of you walk up the stairs, into one of the display halls. The display cases are empty, but looked like they displayed suits of armor from days long past. Broken glass crunches under your hooves as you walk through the empty exhibits. “I have a question.”

“Hm?” Shimmer responds.

“When I awoke, my guards spoke of a letter that seemed to appear out of thin air in front of my door. I'm curious as to how it got there without them noticing.”

Shimmer's horn glows, and she vanishes. A moment later, she reappears, not missing a stride. “Does that answer your question?”

“It does. Invisibility is powerful magic.”

"I seem to pick up new magic pretty eaasily, but I never had much of a chance to learn. Invisibility is the first spell I mastered.”

Your group arrives near the rear of the museum. A large faux-crystal door stands in front of you, the sign above it reading “The Princess Hall.” Shimmer pushes open the door with her magic, and you, along with her friends with Elements, step inside. The door closes with a bang, echoing through the also empty hall. A round table has been set up set up, room enough for yourself and them, on top of a large sun emblem on the floor. The Elements take their seats, and Shimmer gestures for you to take a seat as well. You do so. She begins to speak. “Now, before we begin, we need to know a few things. At the top of our list: Why? Why do you want to kill your own mother, and why can't you do it yourself?”

You take a breath. “The former is a long and sad story. Let's just say I am sick of being a monster to others in her name. As for why I can't do it myself,” you pause. “I might be able to. But might is not good enough. That's where you and your friends come in.”

“I thought alicorns were gods?” the blue pegasus asks.

“A false assumption. A good way to gauge an alicorn's power is the mane.” You flick a hoof through your own, the ethereal front scattering briefly before reforming itself. “If it is fully ethereal, like hers, then they may seem to ordinary ponies to be gods in their power. If it isn't, they are closer to a high-level unicorn. But I assure you, both are equally susceptible to physical harm.”

“So, you're half as strong as she is? Your mane's only about half ethereal.”

You pause. You hadn't considered it like that before. “I have read theories that state that alicorn powers can grow exponentially under extreme duress. I can hold her, if the situation calls for it, but more than that, I can't be certain.”

“So, going horn to horn with Nightmare Moon is out of the question,” Shimmer says, settling into a businesslike tone. It was clear she was used to thinking this way. “Can we get her out into the open? Alone?”

“No. She rarely leaves the castle, and when she does, she carries an escort of guards. I know I can rely on some guards, but not enough to make that plan work. She does, however, feel safe in the castle. I know many ways in and out, and can ensure any route you take in is guarded by ponies I trust.”

“The castle's the only place to get her, then.” Shimmer settled into thought.

“Correct. I can give you swift routes in, and I'm confident that many of the guards will scatter when they realize their queen is dead. Not all of them serve her out of loyalty.”

“Hey, who's going to run the country after she's dead? You?” Dune Runner spoke up.

You snort. “Absolutely not. Princess Celestia can bring herself back from the grave and rule for all I care. I'll think about the aftermath of this when it actually happens.”

“I don't like not having some kind of plan in place for the future,” Shimmer says.

“Then decide amongst yourselves. I want no part of it.”

Shimmer shakes her head. “All right, I guess we can discuss it later. But do we all agree that this is likely our best plan?”

Murmurs of assent round the table.

Shimmer nods and turns to you. “We're trusting you on this. And you realize that, if this is going to be some sort of elaborate trap, it'll never work again?”

You nod.

“Then let's get to planning the specifics. Nebulus, I'm going to pick your brain for everything you know about the castle: guard strength, positions, weak spots, Nightmare Moon's schedule, everything.”

“You'll have everything I know. I'll start by drawing a map. Get me papers and something to draw with.”

Chapter 7

You were surprised Mother remembered your birthday this time. Usually, you had to remind her, and she never gave you much more than a day off. You had grown accustomed to that, and generally spent the day in the library or training. Today, it was the library. Twilight Sands had sent you a book she had found in Cloudsdale, a collection of stories about knights in old Equestria. You were sure it was fiction, but you always liked reading about heroes like this. They always felt right to you, as opposed to what Mother now had you doing on an almost daily basis. Not to say you didn't enjoy throwing around your authority for unofficial business.

You finish off the chapter you were on, where one knight had just slain a dragon only to find the damsel he was rescuing missing, and decide to take a walk. You'd been here since you received the package, shortly after you finished your morning workout, and you felt it was time to stretch out. You teleport to your room to put the book away and grab a cloak before teleporting out to the gardens.

Fortunately, it was warmer than yesterday, but still cold enough to freeze the stream you appeared near. You start following it to its source, where you knew there was a pond. As you walk, you start imagining what this place would have been like when it was alive. The stream running past your hooves as you walked in it, the sound of the wind moving through the trees, lush with leaves, and gardeners walking around, tending to all manner of flowers. You smile to yourself as you imagine it, eyes closed as you walk, and you could swear you could smell the flowers.

You're jolted out of your imaginings as you bump into something. You look around in irritation to see an earth pony filly about your age in front of you, with a soft yellow coat, long orange mane and tail, and amethyst eyes. Your irritation immediately fades when you see her.

“I'm so sorry! I should have been watching where I was going!” She backs away from you, clearly recognizing you. She averts her eyes and bows quickly as she does so.

“No, it's okay.” You smile at her somewhat nervously. “I was, ah, lost. In thought.”

She takes a breath. “I was, um, lost too. I've never been in the castle before.”

“I didn't think I recognized you.” You rattle your brain, trying to think of something to say. Any pause seemed unbearable. “I'm Nebulus. The prince.”

“I know. I mean, I didn't know, until just now. When we ran into each other.” She smiles at you awkwardly. “I'm Orange Blossom.”

“That's a pretty name,” you say without thinking.

Orange Blossom blushes. “Thanks.” The two of you stand around awkwardly for a few moments. “I should, um, get going. It was nice meeting you.” She quickly turns to leave.

“Wait!” You trot alongside her. You push aside the butterflies in your stomach, determined not to lose this opportunity. Most fillies tended to keep a bit of distance from you. “I, um, don't have anything else to do today, so, um... maybe we could do something?”

“You- you want to do something with me?” She blushes again.

“Well, if you aren't doing anything else.” You try to act nonchalant, but you can hear the waver in your voice and know you failed miserably. You try not to look at her too expectantly, and fail at that, too. You're acutely aware of your racing heartbeat, but try to focus on her, but not too hard. The last thing you want is to look desperate.

“I'm flattered. I've never been asked out by royalty before.” She pauses for a moment to take a breath, a moment in which you can feel your heart clench up a bit. “Sure. What did you have in mind?”

You chuckle as relief floods you. “Well,” you begin, desperately trying to think of someplace one would take a filly on a date. An idea pops into your head. “It's about lunchtime, I think, and there's this nice restaurant down in the city, called 'Gaston's'. We could go there.” Fillies like fancy restaurants, right? Some of your books agreed.

“That sounds really fancy. And expensive. Could we do that?”

You feel yourself flush. “Well, yeah, I'm the prince. I can do what I want and go where I please. But, um, if that's too fancy, maybe a cafe? Th-there's one by the edge of the city with a good view.”

She smiles at you. “That sounds much better. Not that I want to sound ungrateful or anything! I just, you know...” She pauses to collect herself. “I feel like a fancy restaurant is too much. We just met.”

You laugh. “Right, I'm just not used to doing stuff like this.”

“Same here, really.”

“Good, we can both learn. Come on, let's go get a carriage.”

“This place really does have a good view," Orange Blossom says, standing near the edge of the city. You have acquired a table near it, hoping it was vast and sweeping and somehow beautiful to look at.

“That it does.” You get up and stand next to her. The two of you had already ordered. “Do you come out this far often?”

“No. I live near the mountain, working in one of the orchards. My family owns a small group of greenhouses.”

“I assume you grow oranges?”

She nodded. “I seem to be able to make them grow better than anypony else. It's how I got my cutie mark.” She shifts her flank so you can see an image of an orange blossom flower there. You blush slightly as you look. She looks at you. “What about you? A sword and shield could mean a lot of things.”

“That's... not really a pleasant memory.” Your face darkened.

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry.”

“Let's just say I got it for something my mother didn't like.”

The two of you stand in silence. “So, um, what do you do as a prince?”

“A lot of things. Not all of them pleasant.” You look at her and see she's getting more and more depressed. “That's not to say it's all bad!” you say quickly. “I mean, I get to fly with the Shadowbolts if I want to. Nightshade and I went racing last week. I have almost complete freedom to go anywhere and do anything in the city, like I said earlier. Once, I went into a nightclub where they served alcohol. That was a fun night.”

She looks at you, eyes wide. “They served you and everything?”

You nod. “I just told them that if they didn't let me in, I could tell my mother about it. I usually go with that, or just ask if they'll dare to stop me. Both methods work. I went in, I drank, I danced, I chatted with the DJ, all sorts of things. I think she hit on me once or twice, too. The whole night is kind of a blur.”

“Wow. Does your mother know you do that?”

“She doesn't care.” That came out more bitterly than you wanted. You clear your throat and recompose yourself. “As long as I show up for duty on time, she doesn't make a fuss.”

Blossom looks back out at the horizon. “Do you ever wonder what it was like? Before? My parents talk about it often.”

“Yeah, I think about it. How it would have felt to run through tall grass, skim treetops as I fly, all sorts of stuff.” You chuckle. “Aren't we supposed to talk about, like, school, or parents, or sports or something? This is all pretty deep.”

Blossom looks past you, back at the table. “Our food's here. It's getting cold over here anyway.”

As you walk back to the table, you place your wing over her, pulling her a little closer to you. She's warm against your side. “Better?”

She smiles. “A little.” The two of you sit down, the torch now providing the warmth. “Do you play any sports?”

“Does racing with the Shadowbolts count? Or training?”

“I think that's more like practice.”

“In that case, no. I've watched a lot of them, though.” You take a bite out of your sandwich. “What do you play?”

“I like to play hoofball, when there's some free time.”

The two of you continue to converse for a while. The time passes in a flash to you, as you talk about friends, family (during which you remember to choose how you say things), and adventures. You try to downplay your own, so hers don't seem so mundane, like the time she got lost in one of the caves compared to your expedition to the northern mountains. But as you talk to her, you find yourself saying more than you wanted to, but she's more than forgiving of your tongue tripping on itself. The meal is long since over when you realize how late it's getting, judging by the street torches. “Have we really been here all afternoon?”

“It looks like it.”

The two of you walk to the front of the cafe, when an idea strikes you. Some butterflies return to your stomach.

“Have you ever seen the city from the sky before?”

She looks at you, confused. “What?”

You spread your wings.

“You can carry us both?”

You nod again.

She pauses, then steps closer to you, smiling. “Let's go!”

You nod, and dismiss the guards. You then wrap your forelegs around her and take off. You hear her let out a delighted squeal as you do so, carrying her higher and higher. You level off when you see you're well above the towers of even the castle. “You like the view?”

“It's beautiful!”

You look down, and realize it is. You can see the numerous torches that make the streets look like a river of shimmering gold and the lit windows dotting the buildings. “It's almost like the sky, with all the stars and no moon. So... peaceful.”

“I know. It's one of the few places I can go to relax.”

You fly around a bit more, showing Blossom the various areas of the city from the sky, even managing to snatch a flower from a vase as you flew low to a tower, enjoying the warmth of her body on yours. You weave the flower into her mane, and you hear her giggle. You start imagining waking up next to her, her amethyst eyes looking into yours from behind a tousled mane, smiling. Your heartbeat picks up as you smile at the thought. “Shall we go to the castle now, my lady?”

“Of course, my lord.” You can't see it, but you can hear the smile in her voice. She has her forelegs stretched ahead of her, like she's flying on her own.

You land in the courtyard, guards saluting you as you escort Orange Blossom inside to the main hall. Tables had been set up for dinner, rows of them, and food was being laid out. You notice your mother is sitting at the head of the center table, talking to some noble. She glances at you without breaking her conversation, but says nothing. Orange Blossom seems to shiver. You guide her away from your mother, placing a wing around her protectively. “Are you okay?”

She nods. “She just... scares me.”

“She has that effect.” You decide to grab food for both of you, and guide her out of the main hall. “Shall we begin the tour? That was the main hall.”

“Yeah.”

You look at her. “Are you sure you're okay? I could take you home, if you're uncomfortable.”

She shakes her head. “Let's... just go.” She gulps and presses closer to you. “You mentioned you liked to read. Where's the library?”

You lead her to the library, far from the main hall. She seemed more at ease the further you got. “A lot of it is empty. Mother took a lot of the books out and hid them. She says she burned them, but I doubt she found them all.”

“That's horrible!”

“I know. All that knowledge, all those stories, lost forever because Mother wants to make sure no ponies remember anything about the old days. Kill off their hope.”

“You really don't like her, do you?”

“No.” You decide to change the subject. You lean close to her and whisper, “I did manage to save some books.”

“Really? Where?”

“Only if you promise not to tell anypony else.”

Blossom nods. “I promise.”

“Come with me.” With that, you lead her to your room, noticing the fire has been freshly stoked when you arrive. You hang up your cloak and offer the same to Blossom, who hands it to you. You listen silently at the door, then scan your room for unwanted eyes.

“What are you looking for?”

“Somepony who might tell Mother about what I'm going to show you.” Satisfied you are alone, you push aside your bed to reveal multiple stacks of books.

Blossom gasps, clearly recognizing some of them. “You would be in so much trouble if your mom knew you had these.”

“Which is why I hide them.” You pick a few up with your magic. “These three, they're the kind I like the most. Stories about heroes, dragons, and damsels in distress. This one here,” You hold up a thick book entitled “The Trials of Sir Artorias.” “This one I found when wandering the castle one day when I was younger. I started reading it, and I couldn't put it down. It's been my favorite ever since. Every time I read it, I want to be like Sir Artorias, a brave and honorable knight who helps others rather than hurt them. A pony better than I am.”

“Better? So far, I've seen a gentlecolt, like my parents say I should find.”

You look away and put the books back. “I want to be, but I never feel like one. I'm glad I came through that way to you.”

“Your mother... does she make you do bad things?”

“She's a terrible pony and a terrible mother. The past few years, she's sent me to learn proper interrogation techniques, some of which...” You pause and fight down a surge of nausea. “She, herself, has taken me on a tour of the dungeons, showing me some of the prisoners. One of them has been there since the takeover, and he looks... broken. Broken right down into his soul. She never told me exactly what she did to him. I think he was the guard captain when she took over.” You sigh, and look at her. “I remember, when I was little, she never really raised me. I remember nannies more than her. I had a magic tutor who was terrified of both of us, so I wound up teaching myself a lot of magic, among other things. She sent me to go learn how to fly from the Shadowbolts. I even learned to fight from them, too.” You feel tears welling up as you speak. “All I wanted to do was impress her, make her proud of me, something, anything to get her to even acknowledge me! To treat me like her son! All I've gotten from her were orders, like I was some common soldier! And all this-” You gesture to your books. “-I don't know what would be worse, knowing she'd burn them if she ever found them, or the beating I'd get for punishment!”

Blossom only stares at you, horrified.

“I know! I get hit for disrespect, perceived or otherwise, I get hit for being late, I get hit for small messes, I get hit just because she's angry! And if it isn't that or work, she just ignores me! I'm her son! Why doesn't she love me?” You find yourself sitting on the floor in front of the fire, on the verge of outright sobbing. You wipe away your tears, sniffling. “And this... it'd be a beating for showing weakness.”

The next thing you know, Blossom is hugging you tightly. “I'm so sorry. I can't imagine what that's like.” She pulls away and looks you in the eyes. Her own are watery. “But please, don't forget that there are ponies out there who do care about you, no matter what. Like me.”

You reach a hoof up behind her head. You stare into each others eyes for a moment, drawing slowly closer until your lips touch. You both pull away from each other, as though you had been shocked, but you draw back into a proper kiss. You stay locked with her, noticing she's pulling you closer to her. You break off for a moment to catch your breath, then resume, instinct and passion taking over from here. Your tongue finds its way into her mouth, dancing with hers as she pulls you back to the floor.

You pull away as you realize what's happening, your body on top of hers, a stiffness from you pressed between your bodies. You see her flush, her eyes answering the question yours were asking. You kiss her once more as you start to grind against her, slowly; rhythmically. You feel her pull you tighter as you do so.

You attempt to align yourself with her entrance by touch, but it proves more difficult than you thought. You pull away from her to look before she pulls your head back to look at her, but it's enough. She gasps as you work your way inside her carefully. You don't want to hurt her from your own inexperience. You make it about halfway before you feel you can't push further, but it doesn't matter to you. All you can feel is her, her forelegs around you, her marehood enclosing you, her eyes, her smile, her breath, all off it exuding a warmth you never want to leave.

You withdraw enough to thrust, causing her to squeak. You do so again, and again, little squeaks and moans escaping her lips with each thrust, building into a slow, steady rhythm. You start kissing her on the neck, and you can feel her breath hot on your own neck, matching your pace. You hear her breathe your name as you do so.

You feel pressure building up in you as she tightens around you. She calls your name again, louder than before, and you find yourself saying hers. Your thrusting gets erratic as you feel your pressure build, Blossom enjoying every moment of it. Her moans increase in volume as she gets closer to her own finish, finally crying your name as you feel her pulse around you and something wet spill onto your legs. You feel yourself climax not long after her, your seed pulsing into her.

A few final thrusts and you withdraw, your mixed love fluids following your exit. You fall to the side, Blossom's very satisfied face lit by the glow of the fire behind you. You share a brief kiss, drawing her closer to you. You smile at her warmly. “I love you.”

You wake with the distinct feeling that something is missing. You open your eyes and find that Orange Blossom is gone. You stand and remember the night before. You smile and wash the parts of you that were used, then poke your head out of your door. “You. Guardsman.”

“Yes, my prince?”

“There was mare here last night. Did you see where she went?”

“No pony has left your chambers since I started watch.”

You nod and throw on your cloak, worry starting to well up in your mind. I never took her home. Her parents will be furious. And if they find out what we did... No, I can't be punished. But she might! Oh no- You arrive in the main hall to see your mother sitting on her throne and reviewing papers.

“So, you finally decided to wake. Good.”

You ignore her sarcasm. “Where's Orange Blossom?”

“Who? Oh, do you mean the filly you were with last night?”

“That's her! Did you see where she went?” You try to control both your voice and your trembling, but only succeed in the trembling.

“I paid her, she drank her tea, and left.”

Your heart was suddenly in a vice, tightening every second. “Paid?”

Nightmare Moon scowls at you. “Yes, paid. I paid her to take your virginity. Happy birthday.”

This was impossible. “No, that... She...”

Your mother cocked her head, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Did you... actually believe her? That she loved you?”

Emotional control was now lost you you. Every heartbeat felt like it came from a heart held in a case two sizes too small to hold it, and you felt your eyes well up. Nausea clawed at your stomach as well, threatening to overtake you completely.

Your mother shook her head, chuckling. “She is certainly a fine actress, then.” She returned to her papers. “Go, clean up, and report for duty.”

You stumble back to your room in a haze. You didn't want to believe it, not after everything you shared with her. It was only a day, yes, but for that one day, you felt better than you ever had before. And yet... It made sense. How nervous she was around your mother. Why a farm filly was even at the castle.

You enter your room, ignoring the concerned looks from the guards. You see the rug in front of the fireplace, a slightly darker spot on it the only marker of last night. With a yell, you grab it with your magic and stuff it into the fireplace. You yank your bed back into place, noticing a note attached to one of the bedposts. You open it to see it reads two simple words: “I'm sorry. I love you.”

With another yell, you toss it into the fireplace as well. You stomp around your room, kicking at random objects and throwing others, desperate for something to direct your pain and rage at. “I share my soul and my body with you, and this is how you repay me?!” you shout at the air, continuing your rampage. “I give you my heart, and you crush it like this?! WHY?! WHY WHY WHY WHY?! WHY CAN'T I HAVE SOMETHING GOOD IN MY LIFE? WHAT DID I DO WRONG?”

You seize a griffon knife from somewhere on the floor and hold it up to your throat. “If this is all my life is going to be, just pain and misery, what's the point of staying alive?” You press the blade against your throat, tears streaming down your face. You take a breath and close your eyes, steeling yourself, ready to end it, end the pain, end the despair. You wonder briefly if your mother will cry for you.

In one magical motion, you whip the knife away from your throat and in some direction, and you hear it embed itself in something. You make a feeble attempt to stop yourself from sobbing.

Chapter 8

These next few days were going to be perfect, you could feel it. The Elements had left for Canterlot before you, and separately, to avoid drawing attention to their movements. The delay would also give them time to meet with Mint Drop, recruit her, and do whatever else they had to do to prepare. All you had to do was speak with the guard captain about the duty rosters, which you already did so often you may as well have been the captain yourself.

You decide to take a walk through the gardens before you report to Nightmare Moon. She'd be upset that the rebels “slipped” away from you, but you could handle one final lashing before she finally got what was coming to her. In spite of what you said before, you find yourself thinking about what you'd do afterward. Someplace warm, where they won't know who I am. Past the dragons, perhaps. Anyplace I can start over.

“So, what are you daydreaming about this time?” You pull out of your reverie and see Twilight Sands walking next to you, clad in her Shadowbolts uniform, goggles on her head, like when you first met her. Her mane was tied into a single braided ponytail that reached her shoulder.

“Happy times.” You smile at her. “And I see you managed to pry yourself from duty to see me.”

“We just got back from some action in Baltimare, and a show. I liked the show more.” Twilight shakes her head. “When I wanted to join the Shadowbolts, I never thought it would be this busy. Speaking of which, how long has it been since we last saw each other?”

“Two years for me.” Twilight cocks an eyebrow at you. “I saw one of your shows then, in Fillydelphia. You fly very well.”

Twilight chuckles. “First, thanks, and second, that's not what I meant.”

You think for a moment. “Six years? I think it was when you finally got into the Shadowbolts.”

She nods. “And here we are, chatting like we just saw each other yesterday. At least you're in a good mood.”

“It's a sign of a good friend. And I'm in a very good mood today.”

“And you're going to tell me why...?”

You open your mouth, sorely tempted to tell her about your plans. There are still a number of guards around, however. “You'll find out.”

“Oh, a surprise? Must be big to have you like this.”

“It's massive.”

“Is it a mare?” She nudges you. “Huh? Huh? I know how you like to spread the love.”

You twitch at the mention of the word. “One is involved. You could say she is the center of it.”

“Well, tell me about her! She must be something special to have you all excited.”

You smile and shake your head. “It's too big to say more than I have. I don't want her finding out.”

“Oh all right, Mr. Secret. But still, I like this new mood. Most of the letters you've sent me are all sulky or angry or something. I get worried.”

“I can handle myself.”

The two of you arrive at the side of a pond, frozen over. You both sit as you talk. “Can you? You've told me just about everything that's happened to you, and it sounds like you bottle it all up unless you're talking to me. And dishing out beatings or rutting doesn't fix that.”

“No, it doesn't,” you admit. “The cycle has to break sometime, and I have taken steps to shatter it.”

Twilight hugs you unexpectedly. You blink in surprise. “Good. And I'll be around to help however I can.” She looks up at you. “Some ponies do care about you, you know.”

Orange Blossom's face flashes in your mind. Twilight notices your frown. You look at her. “Another pony said that to me once. It didn't end well.”

Twilight sighs and lets go of you. “Do you have any happy memories?”

“Meeting you wasn't terrible.”

Twilight chuckles. “I'll take that as a compliment.”

“How's your coltfriend? You mentioned things were rocky in your last letter.”

Twilight rolls her eyes. “I think he's seeing another mare behind my back now.”

“Do I need to pay him a visit?”

“Thanks, but no. I can break his balls just has hard as you can.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of bones.”

“I can break those too.”

The two of you laugh and spend a few minutes catching up. She's in the middle of telling you about a fanfilly she has when a guard approaches you. She stops as you stand to address him. “Report.”

The guard salutes. “The Queen wishes to see you at once. She tells me it's urgent.”

Could it... no. I took all precautions. You nod and turn to Twilight. “We should do this again soon.”

“It's a date, if I can make the time. Take care of yourself until then. I mean it.” With that, she hugs you again and flies off, and you follow the guard.

“So, what's this about?” you ask the guard.

“Rebels are being brought before the Queen. She wants you to interrogate them or something in front of her. Some kind of test, I assume.”

“Then let's not keep her waiting.” You quicken your pace.

Your mind races as you walk, going over then plan you made with Shimmer and her group over and over again. You knew you made no mistakes, at least regarding your involvement. If her group somehow messed up, gotten captured... You had heard rumors that your mother could invade the mind of another pony, rendering it impossible to hide anything from her. And if that was true, she would know about you regardless. Or at least, what the group knew about you. You were safe.

Perhaps these were other rebel leaders, based in Canterlot. You had been close to catching them repeatedly, and maybe they slipped up while you were gone, assuming they could operate more openly. It would make sense, from what you knew about the Canterlot cell. They were cocky, a fact you exploited to catch many of them. Shimmer struck you as a better planner than that, and far more cautious. It had to be the Canterlot cell. Fate wouldn't be so cruel to you to have Shimmer mess up.

You discover that fate is almost as horrible as your mother as you enter the throne room. There they are, all six of them, chained up in front of your mother, who is busy walking up and down in front of them, no doubt taunting them. You force your expression to stay neutral as you approach, despite the massive pit in your stomach and your heart beating like you had just been sprinting.

Dune Runner spots you first, but they all fix you with gazes of hatred as you walk in front of them. You notice they're no longer wearing their necklaces. He's the only one to try to attack you. “I KNEW WE COULDN'T TRUST YOU! YOU SON OF A-” he's cut off by a guard smashing him in the face with the butt of a spear.

Nightmare Moon turns to look at you. And for once, she's smiling. At you. “Nebulus, well done! I thought you would return to me empty-hooved. But instead, you bring not only some of the highest ranking rebels to me, but they just so happen to bear the Elements of Harmony. I'm proud of you, boy.”

Her words hit you like a sledgehammer. Twenty-five years you've wanted to hear those words, or any words of affection. And not only that, she's still smiling, genuinely happy to see you. As though the past twenty-five years never happened. Words fail you.

She gestures towards the six. “And thanks to some creative interrogation, I have even learned where Princess Cadence has been hiding all these years. Kill these six, and we can make plans to get her.”

You face them, the ponies you had trusted your revenge to. Only Shimmer hangs her head, likely cursing herself for trusting you. Mint Drop looks absolutely terrified, her tears flowing freely. The others wore the varied looks of hate you knew too well. You begin charging your magic into a single spell, closing your eyes in concentration. Their faces still swim before you, along with those of the blue mare, the orange mare, and the red stallion from the orchard near Ponyville. You see others join them, faces of ponies you never knew the names of, but knew from interrogation or other random beatings. And every last one is glaring at you.

And then you see Nightshade and the other Shadowbolts, congratulating you on graduating from their impromptu flight academy. They're slapping you on the back, hoisting drinks to you, and Nightshade is even giving a speech as you hold your first alcoholic drink. You can even feel the warmth of the torches of the bar somehow. Next, you see Twilight Sands, tears in her eyes as you promise each other that you'll write daily. Orange Blossom flashes next, her face aglow with a fire behind you that you can feel roaring to life as she smiles at you warmly. Then Twilight Sands, hugging you in front of that pond, the concern in her eyes as she speaks to you. And then finally, your mother...

At that, without thinking, you snap your eyes open, spin, and fire on Nightmare Moon. She is engulfed in a torrent of sapphire energy, blowing her clear out of the throne room. Automatically, you turn your magic on the guards, vaporizing each one in turn, then destroying the chains on the Elements. You approach Shimmer. “Do you remember where her vault is?”

She nods, shocked.

“The Elements are likely being taken there. If you hurry, you can intercept the carriers.”

“But-”

“Go! I'll deal with her!”

Shimmer hesitates, but nods. “Good luck.” With that, she rallies the others and runs out.

You turn to see Nightmare Moon enter through the still-glowing hole, her armor smoking and partially melted. She pulls off the offending pieces. “You DARE attack me!? After everything I've done, even after I gave you a second chance after your last bit of insubordination, you throw it back at me? Are you so tired of life?”

You toss your own armor aside. You'd need the mobility. “Life under you? Yes.” Your horn flares to life once more as you stomp towards her. “I'm going to enjoy this far more than I should.”

She readies herself. “I'll have to enjoy it even more.”

You fire at her with your magic again, which she deflects, but you're on her in an instant. Your hoof collides with her jaw and other parts of her face, again and again, before she throws you off of her. By now, your rage has taken hold, a fire long stoked that has finally roared to life. You attack, she defends, and then the roles switch, until you catch an opening to exploit, where you go on the offensive. Magic flashes past you, even into you, and you're vaguely aware of dealing out your own spells and throwing at her every loose object you can grab.

Your hoof connects with her jaw once more, but something cold and silky seizes your throat and squeezes. Your mother sneers at you, her mane having wrapped itself around your throat, a sheen of wetness tracing from one of her nostrils. You struggle as she slams you into the wall, laughing. On the third impact, your horn flares and you find the constriction around your throat gone. Your entire body feels like air, and you drift it away from her and near one of the windows. You feel your body return to its normal state quickly. Your mother stares at you in confusion, then smiles, understanding. You realize you must have become a cloud, like she could. You reach out with your magic and pull out the windows, shattering them, catch every last shard, and send it all flying toward your mother, a wall of razor-sharp glass.

You're pleased to see that, despite her best efforts, many of the shards hit their mark. Your gloating is short lived, as something smashes into you, something heavy. You push it off, realizing it's her throne, and scramble to your hooves, ignoring the sharp pain in your right wing. She lunges for you, you dodge, and in a roar from you and a flurry of moves, you're on top of her, bringing your hooves down into her head like she's done so many times before to you. Your blows pick up speed as your rage surges once more, but you find yourself flung off quickly. She charges at you this time, and the dance begins again.

Unconsciously, you reach for your new smoke form to dodge her spells, and she shifts into her own, driving towards you like a spear, and your fight takes to the skies. You catch glimpses of yourself, a glowing blue smoke cloud much like the nebulae you saw in the observatories, as you duel your mother's smoky star field for higher ground, arcs of energy lancing between you. After a series of moves, you dimly realize you're in the skies above the castle. You reform and attempt to use your magic to cause damage to her cloud shape, and fail. She wraps herself around you like a constrictor, squeezing you as hard as she can. You can hear her voice in your head, “Foolish boy, taking on a goddess.”

Your horn flares once more and magic pulses through you, throwing off Nightmare Moon's cloudy shape. She reforms to her pony shape and charges at you. You dodge, the fight morphing into a dogfight over the city, lances of devastating magic slicing across the sky. You push your attack, driving upwards, knowing your mother will follow, and quickly round on her, aiming to impale her on your horn. You miss and try to round on her again, but she slams into you, driving you rapidly towards the floor of the throne room. You manage to squirm your way back on top, slowing your descent as you wrestle with her. The two of you smash through the roof and into the floor in a resounding crash.

Your crawl to your hooves, pain clawing at the edges of your rage-fueled mind. It looks to be the same case for your mother, if her expression is anything to go by. Her wing feathers are shredded, one eye nearly swollen closed, her body now crossed with scorch marks and cuts, and you imagine yours looks much the same. You glare at each other for an instant before charging once more, clashing horns.

“I'll admit, you're stronger than I thought.”

You don't reply, instead opting to push harder against her.

She pushes back. “It just makes my inevitable victory all the sweeter!”

You pull back and attempt to headbutt her, but she catches your horn once more. You try slashing at her with it, then thrusting, and manage to embed yourself in a wall. You wrench it free with a roar and a burst of magic and repeat, engaging in a brief duel that ends with you clashing with her again.

“I remember Celestia and I made quite a mess when we fought. But this time, you have no Elements to cheat with!” She shoves you off of her. “I'll be generous and say you'd be a match for her. But still not strong enough to beat me.”

You blast her back with a snarl and reach out with your magic. You grab hold of the roof itself and tear it loose, taking much of the walls with it, and mimic your plan with the glass and break it into ten of thousands of tiny shards of stone. You smirk as you see your mother stare at it in horror. You drive it towards her, but she slides into her smoke form just before impact and slips away. She reforms and seizes you with her magic before you can recover.

Your mother kicks you in the gut a few times, and then in the head. You struggle to refocus. “As I said, you're just not strong enough.” With that, you feel yourself flying through the air. Something extremely hard shatters itself on your back, and your last conscious memory is that of a wooden CRACK, and something else breaking itself on your back.

Chapter 9

Oddly, it was warm. Much warmer than usual. And... painful. Somewhat. Stiff, too. You can feel your joints popping as you stir, something very bright right in front of your eyes. Somepony must have started a fire and you fell asleep next to it. But it didn't explain why you were so stiff. Did Nightmare and I fight agai- The memories come flooding back: the Elements, your mother livid, and a lot of fighting. The last thing you recall is pain.

You try to open your eyes and are assaulted with light. You squeeze them closed again, and attempt to open them slowly. It works a little, and your room slowly comes into focus. You notice you aren't anywhere near a fire. In fact, there is no fire. Your fireplace has burned logs in it, and embers from a long-dead fire, but somehow, your room is warmer and far better lit than you've ever seen it. Colors pop with a vibrancy you've never seen, not even in books, and you realize just how many bright colors are in your room.

You look around, and see a book next to you. Your eyes widen in shock as you recognize it: it's one of yours, one of the ones hidden under your bed. Not far from the book, curled up and sleeping soundly in a chair next to your bed is a small blue mare, with a light blue mane and tail. She has a horn and wings, like you, and...

A cutie mark of a moon over a large black splotch.

You can feel your anger building, but try to stifle it. It looks like the Queen's, but... not. Something has definitely changed. You tear yourself away, the mare having taken no notice of your movement, and you pull yourself out of bed. Twinges of pain lance through you, and you look to see yourself covered in bandages, recently changed. They smell of the ointment the healers used to clean wounds and speed recovery, a bitter smell. You pull them off and drop them to the floor, pleased that your magic still works. You head to your balcony, stretching your wings.

The city nearly blinds you, and you raise a hoof to block the intense light in the sky. You attempt your slow adjustment from before, opening your eyes slowly, but this process takes much longer than before. When you adjust, you see why. Canterlot gleams like never before, the light in the sky reflecting off of the golden rooftops and white spires. You finally look into the sky to see what the light is, and you catch a glimpse of an orb before you are forced to look away. You blink away the after image, and decide it would be wise not to look again.

“The sun... but how?” If you had lost to Nightmare Moon, she would have killed you. So that meant that the Elements had to have arrived before she got to you and destroyed her. You smile at the thought. “At least I got to hit her back.” As you look around, you catch a glimpse of yourself in one of the glass doors to your balcony, and notice your mane has finally become completely ethereal. It catches the sunlight as you move, making it shimmer blue at its edges, deepening to an opaque navy blue in the middle. And even still the middle manages to glimmer a bit. You nod in approval. “Looks like that legend was true, too.”

You return to your room, noticing there's several letters sitting on your dresser. You pick them up, and notice one is from Twilight Sands, one is from Shimmer, and another is from Nightshade. Before you can open one, you hear the mare stir and yawn. You put the letters down, and decide to read them later.

The mare looks at you groggily, rubbing sleep from her eyes. When she finishes, she gasps and bounds toward you, grabbing you in a massive hug, and nuzzles your neck as she talks. “Nebulus! I'm so glad you're awake! When I saw how badly you were hurt, I was so scared I'd lose you!” She looks at you, smiling. “But you're okay now, and that means everything else will be, too.” She starts hugging you even tighter.

“Who are you?” Her eyes were familiar, somehow. You had to see them again to be sure.

The mare pulls her head away to look at you. Her eyes were just like the ones from your dream. “I'm Luna. I'm, well, your mom.”

“You're the mare from my dreams...” Pieces of the puzzle were starting to fit together. “You're the one who kept showing up and disappearing just as I got close!” You shake her off of you. “Why? Why did you keep appearing? Who are you, really? Explain!”

Luna backs off. “I'm sorry, I just... You must be confused, you've been unconscious for days-”

“I said explain!”

Luna takes a breath. “I'm Princess Luna. I ruled alongside my sister, Princess Celestia, until... until I became Nightmare Moon.” Luna looks at the floor. “She banished me until I returned, when I banished her, and-”

“So, you're her.” You start stepping towards Luna. “I understand now. You thought it was some big joke. Show up when I'm reliving the worst moments of my life, night after night, and when I realize you're watching and try to catch you, you run off to go laugh!”

“No, that's not-” She backs away from you, cowering.

“That's exactly it! You weren't content to make my waking life miserable, so you had to jump into my dreams, dangle hope in front of me, and then yank it away just to watch me cry like a foal! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH BECAUSE OF YOU?! THE PONIES I'VE MURDERED AND TORTURED BECAUSE YOU WANTED ME TO?!”

“I just... I wanted-”

“WHAT DID YOU WANT? HUH? DID YOU WANT SOMETHING ELSE TO HURT ME WITH, SOME OTHER WAY TO MAKE ME WANT TO KILL MYSELF?!”

“I wanted to show I did love you!”

Your backhoof sends Luna skidding across the floor towards your door. “YOU DARE TO USE THAT WORD TO ME! YOU, THE BIGGEST WHORE I KNOW, OPENING HER DOORS NIGHTLY TO ANY STALLION WHO MIGHT WANT IN, WHO TOLD ME THE FIRST AND ONLY MARE I'VE EVER LOVED WAS JUST DOING IT BECAUSE YOU PAID HER TO, WHO ONLY KEPT ME AROUND JUST BECAUSE SHE FELT LIKE HAVING A POWERFUL SERVANT, ONLY TO HIT AND SCOLD ME IF YOU WEREN'T IGNORING ME WHEN ALL I WANTED WAS A MOTHER, DARE TO SAY THAT WORD TO ME! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT BEFORE I FINISH WHAT I STARTED!”

Luna scurries from the room as fast as her legs would carry her, tears flowing just as rapidly. It was several minutes before you managed to calm down enough to realize you had grabbed multiple heavy objects, as well as sharp ones in your rage, and put them back. You storm out to your balcony to try and calm yourself further.

You stay out there for several minutes more before you walk back inside and head for your bathroom. The water flows readily from your sink faucet, cool, but not the near freezing you were used to. You splash some of it in your face and wipe away what looks like a trail of dried soup from your mouth. Your gaze shifts over to the bathtub, which is wet, like it was used recently. A large sponge sits on the edge, also damp. A pile of bandages and healing ointment sit on a small table near it. You frown, and head back out to your room.

You return to your bed, where there are several spots on your pillows that look like food stains, and a few more on your sheets. You see the book laying on your bed, and pick it up. It's one of your most read ones, “The Trials of Sir Artorias.” You notice that there's a piece of paper in the book. You open the book and remove the paper, see it's blank, and toss it aside. The book, you notice, is open to a page where a mother is mourning her lost son. You remember the chapter well, wishing your mother cared about you enough to react like that if she ever found out you had died. The son had gone off to play with his friends, when they went to explore a cave. In that cave happened to be a dragon, and the foals scattered within the cave. Sir Artorias slew the dragon, and found a few of the foals, and the rest were dead. You remember admiring him for his bravery, both in fighting the dragon and bringing the news home himself to the parents.

You replace the paper and close the book. If that book was out, did that mean Luna was reading it? And why that one? Was she reading it to you, somehow knowing that you liked it, or did she just pick one at random? In fact, how did she know they were there in the first place? You look at the chair she was sleeping in before, and notice that it's starting to compress where she was laying. It was a new chair, so you hadn't sat on it all that much, but the compression indicated that it had been heavily used. Did she not leave the chair the entire time you were unconscious? It certainly seemed like it, if she wasn't doing something for you. Regret starts to tug at your mind.

You turn your attention to the letters. The top one was from Nightshade. You open it and read: “Hey kid. I heard what happened. That was the craziest thing I've ever heard somepony do, let alone live through. But if anypony was going to survive, it'd be you. I've always known how tough you were, having pretty much raised you. Anyway, when you're feeling better, write back. We need to get a drink, so you can tell me how badly you kicked the hay out of Moonbutt.”

You chuckle to yourself, and turn to the next one, from Shimmer. “You continue to surprise me, Nebulus. I found it hard to believe you sold us out, especially after what you said to us, until you showed up in the throne room. And then you blast your own mother with a force I've never seen before. And to take her on while we got the Elements? We nearly didn't make it. I guess both Nightmare Moon and her guards forgot that she's the only one who could open the enchantment on her vault. I'm sorry for doubting you. We all are. We're all hoping you come out of this okay, and if you can, we'd like to thank you in person, for giving us the chance we needed.”

You move to the final letter, from Twilight Sands. Multiple lines are scratched out at the beginning, all of which are various insults at your intelligence. “Alright, sorry about the mess. But can you blame me? I just see you, you finally seem happy, and all of a sudden, you go and attack the queen. Was that your big plan? Kill her, or beat her up, or whatever? If it was, it was bucking stupid! You could have died! You're comatose now! What if you never wake up?” Several more lines are scratched out and slightly smudged. You can't read them. “Just, come see me when you wake up, so I can kick the hay out of you for making me worry so much.”

You put the letter down, smiling. The smile fades as you look at the door Luna fled through. You sigh and walk out, knowing what you need to do now.

Your mother's room wasn't too far from yours, but was a safe enough distance. You can't hear anything through the door, but you were certain that this is where she would have gone. You take a breath, and knock. After a few moments with no response, you raise your hoof to knock again before the door opens. You step inside.

The first thing you notice isn't Luna, it's a very large alicorn mare with a coat such a light shade of pink you almost mistook it for white that you assume is her sister. And the old noble ponies were right: she was beautiful. She fixes you with amethyst eyes, one of which is covered by her flowing rainbow mane. Her expression is completely neutral as Luna pulls her head away from her sister's body, most of the rest of her covered by her sister's wing.

You summon your voice. “I wish to speak to Luna, in private.”

Luna looks down at the floor, and her sister looks at her briefly. Luna nods almost imperceptibly. Her sister rises from the bed and says something into Luna's ear, then strides past you. You notice she's only slightly taller than you.

You step towards Luna as you hear the door close. She's still looking at the floor. “I wanted to apologize for my... outburst earlier.”

“Don't. You're angry, and you should be.” Luna looks at you and rises from the bed. Her eyes are red from crying. “I've been a horrible mother to you, and everything you said was true. I don't know why I thought I could change that with a few words.”

You seat yourself in front of her.

“I've been thinking, and I don't really remember your dreams. I just remember knowing you were in pain, and wanting to do something about it. I'd never admit it as Nightmare Moon, but I guess some part of me was trying to reach out to you, show you I did care, that I did want you as a son. I can see how you'd misunderstand that.”

“And you were trying to show me while I was unconscious, and make up for lost time.”

Luna nods. “That book on your bed, I was reading it to you. I just pulled it out from under your bed. I don't know why I never thought to look there.” She smiles sadly. “I never left your room, even though Tia wanted me to introduce myself to the kingdom. I saw you after the battle, what I did to you, and... I wanted to be there when you woke up. I wanted to tell you I'm sorry for everything, and I'd understand if you couldn't forgive me, but I wanted to at least try, even for a few days, to be the mother I never was. To be there for you when you needed me most. And to tell you that I'm so very, very proud of you for standing up to me, despite everything I did to break you down.”

She said it. And this time, for something good. Something warm forms in your heart. “Thank you. And you're right, I am angry. I see you, and I see all the shouting, all the beatings, all the faces of all the ponies I've harmed over the years. But I came here because the cycle of hate needs to break, and I just needed some of my friends to remind me of that. You took the first step by coming to me, and I wanted to say,” you take a breath, “I'm willing to try.”

Luna's smile expands as you speak, and when you finish, she hugs you, like she did before. “That's all I want. A chance.”

Tentatively, you reach your own forelegs up, and return the hug.

Chapter 3

Ponyville had seen better days, that much was clear. Many of the downtown buildings were closed, and had been for years. Its streets were abandoned, not a single window lit, leaving you alone to walk through it in the moonlight. You pass a sweets shop, decorated to look like one of those old gingerbread houses you saw in books. The door was off its hinges, indicating scavengers had gotten into it. You'd be surprised if scavengers hadn't gotten into one of these buildings, as they were the only residents here now.

You stop and look inside, imagining what it would have been like when it was open. Perhaps the owner was a chubby pony, rounded from tasting all of his sweets like a master chef tasting is creations as he went. Perhaps they were so good he couldn't help but have a cupcake or two. He must have been tall too, a jolly stallion who would greet every pony that entered, wearing an apron that was constantly stained with various colors of icing and flour.

You pull yourself away before you get hungrier and proceed down the road, a familiar tree rising from behind a few houses. You remember pulling a few books out of it yourself the last, and only, time you were here. You start imagining a kindly old mare ministering to the needs of the library and a young, far more energetic colt helping her reach the high places asking you if you needed help finding anything. If she was real, you would have asked her about your list from Mother, about various forbidden subjects, and kept them for yourself. But no, Mother wanted all of them brought to her, likely to be burned. You never found out what happened to the rest of the books, only being able to find two.

You pull away again before you add depression to your hunger, and start walking. Your path takes you toward the orchard. This time, the memories that visit you are not pleasant imaginings of their occupants, but the emerald eyes of the orange pony who tried to protect that orchard, and the magenta eyes of her blue friend.

The proclamation of the seizure of the orchard had been issued days before, and you had been sent with a force to secure it. You had expected the owners to simply leave, as many ponies had come to fear you over the years, and simply arriving here should scare the occupants off. You were only told to secure the farm and ensure compliance from the residents. From there, the orchard would be brought under new management, loyal to the new crown. And so you marched in, thirty guardsmen at your back, when you found them.

There weren't many. There was a big red stallion, almost as big as you were, the orange mare, the cyan mare, and a few others. You knew if they resisted, it would be a one-sided fight. Their images appear before you as your image approaches the orchard, you and the thirty guards not far from them. The ghosts of the past begin to play out what you already knew, but you found it impossible to turn away. You swallow nervously, your stomach turning at the sight of the orange pony getting up in your face.

As it turns out, you didn't frighten them at all, and orange one wasn't about to let you walk in and take over. You knew the look you adopted, one of indifference and superiority, as though the pony before you was barely worth consideration, a look you learned from Mother. The orange one isn't fazed. In fact, the blue one comes to back her up, and the others bear in as well. The guards ready their weapons. The next look you adopt is your own, a scowl that said, “You poor fool.”

The images are clear now as you watch, as though you actually were sitting off to the side of the engagement that night. You watch as you deliver your ultimatum to the orange one: surrender or die. You know what she chose, and a cold sweat overtakes you as events play out. The red one pushes you back and places himself between you and the orange pony, only to receive your hoof crashing into his face and knocking him down. The guards move in as the orange pony and the cyan one jump you.

You turn away, tears forming in your eyes. If only they were scared and left when you arrived, if only they had just left when they were told, you wouldn't have had to put them all down like flies. You remember their expressions, the defiant fire dying in the blue one's eyes as your hoof crushes her throat against a tree, her limbs slowly falling limp, and the scream from the red one as you snap the orange one's neck with your magic like a twig, and how you ran him through with your horn.

During the cleanup, you had entered the house to find the remainder of the family cowering from you in the corner of the living room. A little light green filly shot you death glares from behind her tears, you remember that well. And you remember how the bile rose in your throat as you saw the photo album on the table, left open to a page showing pictures of what must have been the rest of the family. A picture of the orange pony as a filly posed on the back of the red one caught your eye then, sending you out of the house.

You storm away from the orchard as said events play out behind you. Very soon, you'd be behind the house, vomiting. Just remembering it made your stomach churn. You try to calm yourself as you walk, but the faces of those ponies won't leave you. They follow you, their stares so full of hate, even in their death, the images bored into your brain.

The very stars above seem to take the shape of their faces, each one glowering with the hatred only the restless dead could feel. You continue to trudge along, your own rage being sapped by the accusing stares above, your tears flowing fast. “I know what I did was monstrous, but there's nothing I can do for you...” Your strength leaves you, pulling you to the grass. You cover your face with your hooves. “Just leave me alone!”

The only moving you do is for the occasional sob that wracks your body. Time melts together, and you have no idea how long you stay like that. You only know that you have no desire to move. Something bright peeks through your hooves and hits you in the eye.

You look up and see something silhouetted against the full moon, sitting on a hill in the distance, wings spread. “You!” You wipe away your tears as you gallop toward the figure as fast as you can, determined this time to meet her. However, as fast as you're going, the distance between you doesn't seem to get smaller. You jump and spread your wings, hoping flight will get you to her, and the distance finally seems to close. Your heart races, the figure rapidly approaching, a smile starting to form on your face, the figure almost close enough to touch.

You catch a glimpse of cyan eyes, you can swear she's reaching for you, and then she vanishes. You land, looking around for the figure, but she is nowhere to be found. “WHY ARE YOU TAUNTING ME?!” you scream, circling, stomping, hoping the figure appears again. “WHO ARE YOU?!” You blink away newly forming tears, determined to see this figure somewhere else and find her. But she is gone, leaving you with the hateful stares of the stars as your only companions. “And why won't you even talk to me...”