Atonement

A/N: Hey everyone, new chapter. Just a heads up about the song, neither the original or the cover, is mine, and it belongs solely to those who made it. Anyway, yeah, first musical number of the story I think, so there's that milestone out of the way. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy it, and I'll see you never because we're on the internet.

It was so very long ago, in a world you wouldn’t recognize. It was our home, where ponies, the draconequus, and all other manner of creatures lived in peace…. and Harmony.

It was the beginning of the twelfth era, Celestia and I were still relatively young, and Luna…. Well, she was too young to remember what happened.

You see, Celestia and I, believe it or not, were… close. As close as two could be, we were. We would spend the days laying beneath her father’s sun, or playing in the fields, and we would spend the nights sending each other letters, or sneaking out to kiss beneath the night my father brought forth.

Yes, I know, it’s a shocking revelation. Our parents were good friends, even going as far as to call each other brother. I can’t remember their names now, but I will always remember their faces. Both old warriors with faces hard as stone, covered in scars. They’d fought side by side since they were children, they said. Some say I’m the spitting image of my father, but I don’t see it. His face was longer; his fur was always a darker shade of brown, all those minor details. I like to think of myself as more like my mother, but I digress.

Our parents were close friends, yes, but there’s always something that can tear friends apart. In this case, it was many things. Land. Resources. A slight rising tension between them about the budding romance between Celestia and I. But, in the end, it all came down to one thing.

Her.

Queen Chrysalis, as is her nature, had wiggled her way into our kingdoms, kidnapping our mothers and taking their place while our fathers were out at war with the gryphons. They returned to find something amiss, something they couldn’t quite place. Their wives would disappear for days on end, never letting anyone know where they were going. Eventually father began to suspect something, and caught my mother sharing a glass of wine with King Solari. He’d always had a temper, and this threw him into a rage, while mother, whom I later discovered was Chrysalis, accused father of being tempted by Queen Cadenza, and he flew off the handle beyond any hope of return.”
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“Wait wait wait….. You’re saying that princess Cadence is not only older than Celestia and Luna…. But their mother?” I asked, cutting him off mid story.

“No, no.” He replied with a said laugh. “You see, her mother, which of the princess she is I’ll never know, named her after the late queen due to their similarities.” He explained, which I acknowledged with a slight nod. “Now, as I hope is obvious, this turn of events started a war….
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You see, our fathers were proud, but neither could find the strength to strike down the other on the spot. They retreated to their respective fortresses, executed their respective wives, whom had been returned under cover of darkness, and assembled their armies.

Now, my father was a great speaker. So much that he not only convinced me to end my budding relationship with Solari’s daughter, but to convince me that the ponies had killed mother dearest and that she’d wish vengeance by my claw. And thus it was that day, when father fell during the end days of the war, that I took his place and led our kind to what I thought was a brighter future.

Instead… I led them to their extinction.

Solari had perished as well, long before my father, you see. He shed no tears for his old friend, but I know it broke him inside.

So, it came down to me against Celestia. At first she pleaded for me to end the war, to remember what we had years before, but her pleas fell on deaf ears… I should have listened. Maybe then I wouldn’t be here now. But, what’s passed has passed. I don’t know why I didn’t listen. Maybe all of father’s propaganda had actually broken my mind beyond repair. All I know is it was the downfall of my people.

When the last of my cities fell, I appeased to dark gods for help, for power. I promised them my soul, and they gave me madness in return. They told me the rules, how things worked, that I would have to give up my hereditary power over the moon to one whom I hated. And thus, Luna became who she is, as Celestia already had power over the sun. Of course, my actions probably led to her becoming Nightmare Moon as well, but such is life.

Anyway, it wasn’t until after the ritual was complete that I realized just what I had done, and it drove me over the edge. I snapped, and I turned to spreading chaos, my vengeance, across the world, all in a sick attempt to get her back, and then…… [It all came to an end for me….

At that point, as if on some unheard and unseen queue, music began to play, and memories of ages past rushed into my head. A musical number](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTx6jmKp6_o&feature=related) that brought a sense of déjà vu with it, as I saw the seen unfold as if Discords eyes were my own. And it was then that I understood just what he’d tried to do, and felt a pit grow in my stomach as it reminded me of my own tale.

"And never again shall I be..... Whole." he said at almost a whisper as the music, as well as the memory, faded. I sighed heavily, knowing how he felt.

"Never whole are we who give in to darkness, as our place is simply to keep the balance, nothing more, nothing less, until the day we die. Then, and only then, are we whole again." I said, repeating a quote I made centuries ago.

"Like I said, never again shall I be whole." he said with a small laugh before flying off into the night. As he left, I felt sorrow, both for him and myself. Two beings that had their love taken from them by the words of another, but their own actions. I sighed again as I stood once more, and proceeded inside.

"And never again shall we be whole, for light begets darkness, and darkness begets fear."