A Simple Mistake

Chapter 3: A Rough Night

The shade of night continued to darken Equestria, the moon shining delicately upon the world below. Sunrise was only a few hours away, but for the ponies beneath the darkness it felt like ages. In the past, they could sleep peacefully, relishing in the protection of their princesses. But in recent years, that luxury was stolen from them, and it was not a welcome change. The night they once loved now filled them with the terror of uncertainty. Would this be the night the changelings raided their compound? Would they be dragged out of their homes and taken to Canterlot, never to be seen or heard from again? It was a question they asked themselves every night, and it was a question without an answer.

Most ponies refused to sleep, afraid of what might happen if they allowed themselves even a moment of rest. For the ponies who did choose to sleep, the experience was anything but restful. Their dreams were plagued by the evil that now ruled over Equestria, ages having passed since their last night of peaceful slumber. Many had come to expect the nightmares; they were simply another reason to avoid sleep. But one could not avoid sleep forever, and eventually their bodies demanded they suffer through the horrid visions to gather what little energy they could. Over many years they came to reluctantly accept this as just another part of their lives. One pony in particular was new to this horror however, a recent arrival in this twisted version of her home.

Twilight tossed and turned in her sleep, her eyes clenched painfully, sweat pouring off her body as her mind was warped by the haunting visions she was forced to witness. She had suffered a dream like this before, after her encounter with a pack of timberwolves. Everything she cared about was destroyed before her eyes, and she could do nothing to stop it. The nightmare finally ended when she too was taken by the evil that had claimed everything else.

She spurred awake, panting heavily as tears streamed down her face, mixing with the sweat that covered her body. She sat there, her sheets wet with perspiration as she tried to calm down. Eventually, she regained control of her breathing, and after several long moments of silence, reluctantly returned to her pillow, hoping for a peaceful dream that would not be coming.

In a bedroom chamber elsewhere in the building, Princess Luna slowly opened her eyes, despair on her face. “It’s happening too quickly” she said, looking to the ceiling as tears formed in her eyes. “I have to delay it, or there’s no hope for any of us.”

Twilight looked around the room, gathering what materials she could in preparation for her adventure. She had decided to give up on sleeping, having suffered through two more nightmares. She didn’t know what time it was, looking at the sky was somewhat difficult with a large wall of rock in the way, but she made an effort to quiet her motions in case anyone was still sleeping. She literally jumped in surprise as a knocking came from the door. She quickly gathered herself, preparing to face whoever she had woken up.

“Come in” she said, trying her best to form a smile despite how bad she felt. The door opened to reveal Princess Luna, who instantly saw the heavy fatigue in Twilight’s eyes. “Oh, hi Princess Luna” said Twilight, trying even harder to force a smile. “I’m just trying to get some things put together for the trip. I’ve triple checked my list and all that’s left is for the scouts to tell me how I’m supposed to get inside. I have no idea what time it is, but I’m sorry if I woke you.”

Luna grinned slightly at her concern. “Don’t worry, you didn’t wake me up, and I’m sure the scouts will be here any moment with the information that you need.” Luna closed the door, turning back to face Twilight. “In the meantime, there’s something very important I need to discuss with you.”

“Really?” asked Twilight, somewhat stumbling from exhaustion. “Is there something wrong? I mean, other than what’s already wrong?”

“I’m afraid there is Twilight” said Luna, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “I’ve seen your dreams, and I know what’s happening. I just want to say that I’m sorry.”

Twilight’s face warped with confusion. “You’re sorry? What for? I mean, all of this, it’s my fault. I’ve ruined countless lives, and I’ve destroyed almost all of Equestria. What do you have to be sorry for?”

Luna sighed deeply. There was a long silence before she finally spoke. “Twilight, you have to stop blaming yourself. What happened was a simple mistake, a mistake that you plan to correct. But more importantly, it was a mistake that you can correct. My sister and I have done many things that we wish we could take back, but unlike you we didn’t have that option.”

“Luna…” began Twilight.

“But I’ll save those stories for another time. I’m simply apologizing because I wouldn’t wish your situation on anyone. I can tell you from experience that time can be your greatest enemy, if given the opportunity. But I can also tell you that focusing on your past failures will only stand in the way of your future triumphs. There is…something else that I need to apologize for.”

“What do you mean?” asked Twilight.

“These dreams…these nightmares, are fueled by your emotions” began Luna. “Guilt, anger, depression, they are all contribute to your visions. Unfortunately, they are only fueling the visions, they are not directly responsible.”

“Then what is?” she asked, furrowing her brow.

“Not what” answered Luna, “But whom. Queen Chrysalis has become very powerful over the years, virtually unchallenged as she fed off the love in Equestria. This power cannot be contained, and it is released in the form of the nightmares that everyone is experiencing.”

“I still don’t understand how that’s your fault” said Twilight.

“The nightmares, in addition to causing fear, have another effect. They weaken the spirit of the ponies they haunt, draining their will to fight. I have tried to protect Equestria from their influence, but the power of the changeling queen continues to grow, and I fear the nightmares are beginning to affect even myself. I am unable to protect the very ponies that look to me for strength, and the only thing I can do is apologize.”

Twilight stared silently at the floor. Whatever she was going to say suddenly seemed a lot less important.

Luna placed a hoof under Twilight’s chin, raising her head to look her in the eyes. “That’s why I came to you. Your dreams have already begun to take their toll on your spirit, whether you know it or not. Your negative emotions are making the dreams more powerful, and you need to fight them.”

“I won’t give up that easily” said Twilight, somewhat offended by her comment.

“The changes won’t come quickly, but they will be devastating. I don’t know how long it will take you to reunite your friends, but if the dreams manage to break your spirit, none of it will matter.”

“I’m not sure I understand” said Twilight.

“Your friends have already lost who they are; their failure to defend Ponyville destroyed their friendship and the power that it held. You must remind them of who they are, but you can’t forget yourself in the process. The Elements of Harmony are brought together by a spark.”

“But if that spark fails…” began Twilight, her eyes wide as realization dawned on her.

“Then the elements will fail with it” finished Luna. “If you lose your will to fight, your sense of what’s important, there will be nothing left to stop the changelings. You have to realize that your friends have suffered through many things, and if you can’t rise to the challenge, neither will they.”

“What do you think I should do?” asked Twilight. The worry in her voice would normally raise a chuckle from Luna; Twilight often had a way of overreacting. In this situation however, it was important for Twilight to remain calm.

“Right now, you should try to get some rest” answered Luna. “The sun isn’t up yet and you need to gather your strength.”

“But you said that the scouts would be here any moment” said Twilight, confused.

“I also said that you didn’t wake me up” said Luna with a smile.

Twilight shrank back, blushing with embarrassment. “I’m so sorry Luna, I thought I was being quiet enough, but I-“

Luna raised a hoof to silence her. “Don’t worry; it was your nightmares that woke me up. When I saw that you were suffering I knew I had to do something.”

Twilight rubbed her head in confusion. “But you said you couldn’t do anything. I mean, isn’t that what you just apologized for?”

Luna chuckled slightly. “That’s true…There will come a time when I can no longer protect you from the nightmares, but for the moment I still can. So long as you keep your emotions in check, I should have no problem guarding your dreams. We’ll be cutting it a little close, but it should buy us all the time we need.”

Twilight slumped in defeat, burying her face in her hooves. “How am I supposed to keep my emotions in check with everything that’s going on? I mean, I still feel terrible about all of this, and knowing that my own guilt can ruin everything else only makes me feel worse.”

Luna embraced the young princess, knowing that this would be no easy task for her. She eventually broke the embrace, standing back up as Twilight weakly looked into her eyes. The uncertainty in her tear-filled gaze shook Luna to the core. Twilight’s spirit was already breaking, and she had to do something now.

A reassuring smile crossed her face. “I know how difficult this must be for you” she said, her hooves returning to Twilight’s shoulders. “Experience has taught me that a pony’s emotions can easily be their own undoing….Although the Elements of Harmony freed me from Nightmare Moon’s control, Nightmare Moon is still a part of who I am. That evil calls to me from the back of my mind, and it’s a never ending battle to keep that part of myself under control. There are many times when I feel as though it’s impossible, but I have to struggle on. We all have an evil to face, a part of ourselves that we try to conceal or control. Your negative emotions may not be evil, but they are something you need to fight.”

“And I was just saying how I wasn’t going to give up easily…” said Twilight sheepishly.

“You may be a princess now, but even princesses are allowed a failure or two” said Luna with a chuckle. “None of us are perfect; perfection is a high standard for anyone to live up to. Sometimes we mess up, and we have to accept it like anyone else. What matters is how we handle those failures when they happen.”

A sudden determination crossed Twilight’s face as she stood to meet Luna’s gaze. “You’re right. This is my mistake, and as long as I can make it right, I’m going to do everything I can to fix it. I owe that to myself and everyone else affected by this spell.”

Luna nodded with satisfaction. “Now there’s the spark I was searching for. When all of this is over, you’ll have quite the story to tell my past self. But for now, you really should get some sleep.”

Luna left the room, slowly closing the door as Twilight returned to her bed. A feeling of peace washed over the young princess as she gladly met her pillow, the nightmares lifted from her mind. Luna eventually reached her room, pausing as she opened the door. “It certainly is a never ending battle” she said, smiling weakly as she entered the room. She climbed into bed, pulling the sheets over herself as her head touched the pillow. She stared at the ceiling for several moments before letting out a long sigh. Tears again welled in her eyes. “But I fear I may be losing.” After several more moments, she closed her eyes, a familiar voice calling to her as she dreamt.