Prologue: In which we meet our patients.
In truth I had never thought that I would be in this situation. Sure I had been a few situations where I had really questioned just what the heck I was doing, but I digress, I always managed to scrape by in the end. Sure it was difficult, but that was why I did it, because I always ended up having fun with it in the end. Did it really matter that I had almost lost my head during it all? Not really, I sort of liked heaving the danger surround me when I least expected it; it always gave me a sense of how short my life could be. And by life I mean the time I spend on a particular planet. In truth, I'm more of a traveler than anything. Although, I have been compared to a therapist before so I suppose some might call me that as well. The closest description that has ever been given about me, and the one that I like the most, is when someone compared me to the infamous Doctor in Doctor Who. I remember that show fondly, I do wish I had a TARDIS as well, but I was stuck wandering the universe on my own with nothing but a book in my pocket.
Now then, back to the dreadful situation. Like I said, I had never thought I would wind up in this kind of situation. What situation one might ask. Simply put, I was being asked to be the overseeing doctor to a group of people I had never thought I would see again. I had originally come from their planet actually, a lush and verdant world with many diverse species that would boggle the minds of anyone who met them. I can't remember what form I had back then, I transcended that body a long time ago, but I believe I was some kind of bird if I can remember right. Yes, a large bird of prey, an owl perhaps or maybe I was actually some kind of dragon or a pony, I just couldn't remember. Still, it would be nice to go back and see what was up with the place if I got the chance, but I had a mission to complete first, the parameters of which were still very worrying. As I looked in my book the words sent down to me by the men and women up above in the heavens were written in gold, shining letters across the page. They read as follows;
Dear Nit,
It has come to our attention that the goings on of the planet Equus have become rather sporadic lately and it has given us cause for concern. As Equus was once your home-world we feel that you would be the best option to send to the planet to deal with the issue. Many of the world's leaders have become rather rambuctious as of late and we feel that it might be best if they resolved it in a peaceful manner. As we know they would never do so under normal circumstances we have threatened their world with total annihilation if they do not resolve their issues within two weeks. You will lead them in this endeavor in hopes they will succeed.
Your's in high hopes,
The High Heaven Council
I crumpled the letter in my fist and burned it without a second thought, those people up their were really getting on my nerves. I was supposed to be the boss here, not them, I was supposed to be the great Ninten the Heavenly Sage. Yet I still let them push me around like I was beneath them, all because of that one little choice to go out and start again with this new job. What a drag this was going to be. I cursed the day I made that choice, but there was no going back on it now so it seemed I was to be the Equestrian Royal Therapist for the time being.
I quickly read down the list of people I was supposed to summon to start this work, and it was pretty extensive. I spotted a few names that seemed prominent so I thought I would summon those names first and have the rest come on a need to have basis. I rolled up the scroll and it zapped from existence just like everything else did when I had no further use of it. There were some perks to having my job and that was one of them; never any need to have a cluttered office. It seemed that work was upon me soon so I snapped my fingers and spontaneously created a room that appeared like a place you would find in the back of a convention center. It was the cliche for a group therapy session as I was now calling it so it didn't seem like a bad idea.
It was then time to summon the guests to my new abode, so with another snap of my fingers I did just that. The first to appear where the six ponies who personified the "Elements of Harmony", whatever those where. Next came the assortment of Princess Luna, Celestia, my old poker buddy Discord, and the Crystal Empress Cadence with her husband Shining Armor; who according to my list was also the brother to Twilight. After their arrival came the Queen of the Changelings; Chrysalis, my old pal King Sombra who used to be a lot less dark, and finally there entered the alter ego to Luna; Nightmare Moon. Oh yes, even those who had died or been erased could be summoned by my powers, such is the will of the all powerful Ninten! Anyway, they all seemed very confused and had begun shouting at their enemies for a bit when I was thinking on other matters. I snapped back to reality and cleared my throat which instantly gained the attention of everyone present. I smiled cheerfully as I looked at their faces. "Welcome everyone. As I am sure you have noticed, you have all been transported to this place for two reasons. First, your world is in danger of being destroyed by the High Heavens if you don't cooperate. Second, you all desperately need some therapy."
Chapter 1: The Deal with the Moon
Needless to say that the reaction to my announcement had not been very good. Everyone in attendance began to shout at me like I was some sort of lunatic and that I was to send them back immediately. They weren't a very polite bunch, I hated the way this was going already. I was supposedly the best therapist in the universe, and yet I had no degree in psychology or psychiatry from any known or unknown university, I was just some guy who was really good at talking to people; or ponies and various other fantasy creatures in this case. Still, I had to try my utmost in order to get these guys to work together or else we would end up in the iconic situation of their home being annihilated by the jerks upstairs. If it had been me up there I would have just gone down here and fixed it the normal way, but since I wasn't the head honcho around anymore I couldn't do things the easy way, It ticked me off really bad, but I had no choice in the matter so it was only a matter of keeping my anger out of my business, because taking out your rage on the people your helping is apparently "unethical". "I invented ethics," I whispered "Why do I have to follow them?" I knew the reason of course but I didn't want to say it because it would only make me angrier.
I folded my arms and looked at everyone as they argued with what I said, they were all just blathering on about how insane this was when in reality it was probably the only sane thing they had heard in a while. We didn't have the time to deal with this kind of infighting, not when the planet was at risk of exploding. I raised my hands and clapped them only once, but once was enough to create a rippling shock-wave that jarred the teeth and rattled the skulls of everyone here. Silence reigned as my power subsided and they looked upon me with awe, was I really the most powerful thing they had seen as of late. It didn't really matter to me, we had business now and I finally had the silence I needed to get started. I knew exactly where I was to begin it all, and it would probably be the hardest trials we all faced in here. But first, a speech to warm them all up to the idea. I rubbed my hands together like I was trying to create a fire from two sticks, and then I spoke, "Now then, if all interruptions are done I should say we get down to business. You don't speak in here unless I say you can speak, savvy? Because we just don't have the time to be arguing over silly things like why I brought you here; I already told you why. I was sent here to give you all a hand in being more peaceful with each other, and if the High Heavens Council doesn't think you've changed enough since I started my job then they will destroy your planet. So, are we going to keep arguing, or can we just crack on?"
Not one pony or otherwise mythical creature raised their voice in defiance to my words. There were faces of terror and faces of apprehension, as well as one face of mirth which belonged to Pinkie Pie. I had read all about her on my list, she was a hardcore party pony with a big appetite and a bigger mouth, although she used the latter mostly to cheer people up and she did know how to contain herself. I simply hoped that she wouldn't become the problem child in all of this, the last thing we needed was a party interrupting the most important meeting in the history of Equus. "What will happen to our kingdoms?" The question had come from Princess Luna, whom I had missed dearly. She didn't recognize me in this form but we used to be the closest of friends, and if I recall I was due to propose marriage to her before I died and ascended. Now I felt like a terrible person just talking to her, but I had to push aside those feelings for a bit in order to keep the ball rolling. I cleared my throat nervously before I responded, "Well, for now, Equus time doesn't pass. That is to say that everything below us on your planet is frozen in time. We, however, can still feel time, and as such we have exactly two weeks to get you all into a better shape than you were before."
King Sombra leaped out of of his seat with anger in his eyes, "What makes you think we'll do what you say?!" His voice was filled with spite and malice, like acid was pouring from his tongue. "We could probably just tear you apart right now and you wouldn't even be able to stop us." He made one valid point, they didn't have to listen to what I had to say. As for the other part, only in their dreams could they possibly do that, and even then they might fail. I whistled a low note and a chair appeared beneath me in which I took a seat. With my right hand I gently snapped Sombra back into his seat, "Don't get your hair in a twist, Sombra. You've always been so hard headed that I'm surprised you haven't tried to break down brick walls with your skull. Even way back when, before you were tainted by those dark magics, you were always ready to have a duel with anybody who crossed your path, it's gotten quite old." The look on his face was priceless as he attempted to understand just how I knew so much about him. I held my hands in a shrug and threw my head back over my chair, "Look, I'm not asking you all to love each other, I'm just trying to get you to see that you don't have to be fighting all the time. From Nightmare Moon attacking Celestia and Luna, Discord returning and trying to chaotify the world, Chrysalis starting a war, and Sombra trying to plow down everyone up north, I just have to say that the people around you are pretty sick of it. I'm here to be your middle ground between each other and help you see that you can work together or at least coexist peacefully."
No one objected to my words so I chose to continue on. "Now, I'm sure you all have questions about who I am and how I know so much, but those will have to wait until we have the time to discuss them. For now we need to begin our first real conversation, and I have an idea on where to start. We shall first go back to the first conflict and arguably the one that affected the world the most." I pointed to my two victims of the hour, "Princess Luna, Nightmare Moon, we're going to discuss your issues first. Hopefully if we can conquer your hatreds we will be able to cure the world of some of its poisons." Nightmare Moon hissed at me through her dagger-like teeth, "What gives you any right to address me in such a way, I would never discuss anything with that weak mare, she knows nothing about power! You might as well just destroy the world right now because I will never go through with this." I blanched for a moment after I heard those words, but my laughter got the better of me and I fell out of my chair in a fit of mirth. Forget what I said about how boring this was going to be, this experience might just become the funniest thing I did all year. "What's so funny?" Nightmare Moon didn't seem to pleased with my outburst of laughter, everyone else just looked confused by it. I wiped a tear from my eye as I sat back down in my chair, "Well, you don't really have a choice in the matter." Luna stomped her forehoof on the tile floor, "What do you mean we don't have a choice? You said you were not going to force us into anything." I nodded in a sage-like manner as I stroked my long, white beard, "Yes, I did, but I'm not. You see, did you ever wonder why you and your evil half were so well connected? It was because you had the same feelings about how mistreated you were, but now that you are separated you do not have that bond anymore. However, in this room, emotions are heightened to a degree, which means that you two do have a connection once more. But, only on an emotional level, so that means that when Luna shares something Nightmare Moon does as well. Welcome to the conundrum that is my power. I am Ninten, Lord of Sage Mountain, Head Honcho of the Order of the Crooked Soup Ladle, and Grandmaster of the Ten Levels of Alcohol." Yeah, those probably weren't my best titles but using the comedic ones might give me an upper edge.
"Now then," I said, "Which one of you two shall go first? And by the way, no more outbursts from anyone, if we keep having interruptions we'll never get anything done in here." I knew it would be hard for those like Discord and Pinkie Pie to keep their mouths shut, but they would have to bear with it until we could at least get as far as we needed to with the psycho twins. I looked back and forth in between said ponies and found that neither of them wanted to speak their mind first. I had expected Luna to at least try and get a couple of words out, but she was completely silent as she ran her hoof across the ground like some filly who had done something wrong. This was probably going to take longer than I thought, but in order to get the ball rolling down the hill and into the volcanic pit I decided to try a new tactic. I whipped my hand behind my back and brought about three mugs of steaming hot, vanilla coffee that I thought might get them both talking; it was their favorite after all. "Drink up, you'll need the energy if we're going to get through this." Luna eyed the coffee suspiciously, but upon smelling the contents she took it in her telekinetic grasp and drank to her heart's content. Her darker side seemed much more apprehensive about taking the drink, but she chose to do so in the end; I knew them both too well. I took my own mug and took a quick swig before setting it down on the floor. I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back in my comfy chair, no need to be doing this all in a plastic foldout. "Alright, so it's clear you both need some kind of help getting started. Allow me to get it going. We can go back to the beginning, to how you both felt all those years ago, the time when you became one."
After a few moments of silence and both ponies looking at each other to see who would go first it seemed they had come to a silent decision. Nightmare Moon cleared her throat and focused her aquamarine eyes out the window of the room and towards the moon that was still off in the distance. "On that day I could feel Luna's agony, how hurt she was that no one cared for her night. How much time and effort she put into making the night sky and non appreciated her work. I could feel her resentment for her sister, for how she was treated like a little filly who didn't know right from wrong. I could sense her weakness in her time of sadness, I could see how to exploit it and make her mine. I wanted to use her power, to control it and use it for my own gains of bringing eternal night about. It would have been a glorious conquest and none could have stood against me." I nodded, "But, you were stopped." The darkened mare hissed once more, "Yes, by those foolish elements, those pieces of stone ruined my entire life and they still plague me to this day. I had hoped that by becoming one we could defeat Celestia and rule the kingdom by ourselves, but we failed."
"And what do you think Luna? Do you feel the same way?" The starry maned alicorn took a nervous sip of her coffee, it was clear to me that she wasn't used to speaking about how she felt back then. She seemed more like the timid character I had once known her to be, I missed that Luna so much. We used to enjoy life together, to be happy. I appreciated her night greatly, and I couldn't help feel like it was partially my fault that Nightmare Moon even came to exist; if I had just been there for Luna I could have stopped it all. But that was my professional and personal feelings getting too mixed up, I needed to stay focused on the task at hand, I needed to listen to Luna's side. She spoke up eventually, "No, I do not, at least not completely. On that day I had great pain in my heart, I had watched as my entire being was stripped away from me because I felt no love from the ponies I presided over. I was their protector and yet none of them cared for my night, they only wished to see my sister's day. I did not understand why and I was foolish to believe that they simply hated me and adored my sister. But when my sister ignored my cries for help I believe that was the last straw, I could not hold on anymore and I fell into a dark hole that I did not understand. When Nightmare Moon and I became one I saw the potential to fix the world as I saw fit so that ponies would adore my night and spurn my sister's day. I wanted to do it, I wanted to feel loved. But much of me knew it was wrong, but I had no say in the matter after she took over my body."
I hadn't expected such a response from Luna, I had expected her to deny ever having feelings of wanting to take over Equestria, but I suppose she has matured since we last met. So now I had a knowledge of how their own emotions had affected each of them, but I still did not know two things; if Nightmare Moon was telling the truth, and how I could be of aid to both of them.
