The flagstones are cracked and uneven, centuries of no maintenance has made sure of that. The walls are moss covered, with monstrous cracks running down to its foundation; it’s a miracle they have remained intact for this long. The ceiling is dotted with holes of all sizes, barely keeping the elements out. The Castle was certainly a masterpiece of construction in its time.
“Ugh…” This existence is surely a gloomy one, nothing to do but kick the dirt below and observe these… familiar surroundings. The only sounds were that of the wind whistling through the holes in the roof and occasional alarming chirp of a bird, flying too close to the castle. If it were possible, I would leave this prison.
Dull is a good word to describe it here… but what am I to do? I am unable to leave. Cursed to forever live, knowing I will be bound to this place till the end of time. I try not to think about it much, but it pops up at the forefront of my thoughts every now and then.
I turn over to face the other wall, stretching my wings as I do so. They get restless, so they do… my wings. How I wish to soar, but alas, it is not possible. I pull a foreleg up and examine my rough fur; it has been centuries since I last bathed, “What does water feel like?” I probed the depths of my memories, it is for naught, though.
A sigh escapes me, this is my life. Repetitive, tedious and oh so bleak. I would not wish this on even my greatest of enemies. Not even Celestia…
“What?” My ears pivot into the direction of an unnatural sound, from the North. An animal? A Pony? This wasn’t a common occurrence, as animals seemed to be wary of the Castle, and I haven’t laid eyes upon another pony for… I can’t really seem to remember. My ears perk up, and my eyes focus on the Northern most hallway.
I feel a bit on edge as I hear the sound in the distance, maybe I should call out? Probably not, I’m not sure who or what could be down there. I froze completely still, slowing my breathing down quietly. I sat and listened. There is a lot of stumbling, and clanking… what’s going on? How in Equestria did somepony find this place?
The sound of approaching steps increased. Closer, and closer they came. I stand up, ready to take on a defensive stance when ready. Something, I’m not sure what it is, came carelessly crashing through the huge double doors of the Castle foyer. It’s an odd looking thing, kind of like a hairless ape… but with a more intelligent face, not much different than that of a ponies.
It hasn’t noticed me yet, as it’s eye's scan the roof and walls, with a sense of wonder. I loosened my muscles and stood more comfortably. I await for the creature to take notice of me, and as it’s eye's follow the patterned cracks of the walls downwards; it see’s me. The eyes widen a fraction, a curious stare adorning its face.
“What a queer looking creature…” I whisper to myself, “Hello…” I call out softly, the creature looks taken aback. Has it not seen a pony before? It takes a few tentative steps forward and comes to a rest mere meters from my position.
“Y-you’re an alicorn…” It say’s in a rather soft, masculine voice. It’s a male.
“Yes…” I say tiredly, slowly analyzing him.
“But I thought…” He seems to drift off for a moment, “I thought Princess Celestia was the only one…”
My brow raises in question, “So you are unaware of who I am?” Typical, it has been centuries… of course, my story has probably faded into myth and legend. But, perhaps this would be a good opportunity to escape from this hell… he could be the one to release me.
“Come forward…” I speak slowly, “I need your… ‘help’ with something.” I’m not good at hiding the suspicious tone in my voice, he looks hesitant and stays still.
“I-I think I’m fine here.” He seems scared, unsure of what to make of my form, “Who are you?” He asks after a while, his voice wavered as he spoke.
“I am Nightmare Moon.”
His eyes widen once more, as a look of familiarity flashes in them, “So you know who I am?” I ask him, a small smirk playing across my muzzle.
He stays silent for a while longer, “Only from foal’s stories.” I frown at that. So my efforts to bring forth eternal night have turned into nothing but a foal’s story… how disappointing.
I sigh, and lay down, folding my fore legs, “You are not terrified by my presence?”
“A little… but, you haven’t tried to hurt me yet. I try to give ponies the benefit of the doubt.” He loosens up and stands more comfortably before me. Clearly, he has convinced himself that he is safe, “I’m Elliot, by the way.” He smiles. How curious.
Things go quiet for a while, as I stare at him. I try to figure out what his motives are, but he is unreadable, “What are you? As far as my knowledge goes… I have never laid eyes upon your kind.”
He chuckles, “I’m human and honestly I’m not surprised. I’m not from Equestria, in fact, I’m not from this universe altogether.” My eyes widen, how is such a thing possible? Surely he jests.
“How, pray tell did you come to be in Equestria?”
“Not sure, Cel… Princess Celestia said it was something to do with a… ‘magical influx’ in my world, that shouldn’t have been there.” He scratches his head and looks sheepish, “Why are you here?”
His question catches me off guard, “Why am I here? I thought you heard of me from a…foal’s story?” I shudder with rage as I say that.
Elliot frowns slightly, “The story tells of how Princess Celestia… defeated you with the Elements of Harmony and sent you to the moon—”
“Preposterous!” I scream in anger, flaring my wings, “I defeated her! Then she used this forbidden magic to trap me here!” I seethed, my face contorted with unsuppressed rage as I glared at Elliot, who flinched. The small action made my anger subside… no, I can’t scare him off… not the only company I have had for so many years…
“I’m sorry…” I lower my head in apology, tears slowly seeping from my eyes.
Elliot shuffle’s uncomfortable, unsure what to do. As I lay, facing the ground I hear his steps come closer. I gasp in shock, as I feel an arm wrap around my withers. It has been so long since I have made contact such as this with another. This is my chance to escape, my heart races as he continues to hug me… I could just pull him in and leave.
Elliot starts to get up and step back from me. My heart is pounding uncontrollably, why didn’t I just take the chance. Why did I let him go? Has time really softened me this much?
I feel her shiver under my touch, this isn’t the Nightmare Moon from the old stories I have read… she seems so fragile. Why is she here? Is what she did truly worthy enough to suffer this kind of punishment. I’m not sure what she is going through, but whatever Princess Celestia did, it has completely changed this mare.
I pull away from her, my gaze turning to her downturned face. For the first time, I notice a thin line running along the ground. My eyes follow it, and it seems to circle around her. I do the math, it seems she’s perhaps trapped inside it. But why could I enter it and leave then? What magic did Celestia use on her?
I plump myself down just beyond the circle and cross my legs. I look down sadly at Nightmare Moon, who seems to have calmed down a bit. She clears her throat and lifts her head up, and looks at me in the eye.
“I apologize. It has been a long time since I conversed with another and I have forgotten how to hold back my emotions.” She looks very tired now like she has just deflated like a balloon.
“It’s… okay.” I say softly. I feel awkward now, not sure what I should say or do. At the moment I would like to just turn tail and run… but, after seeing her like that. Somepony supposedly feared by all of the ponykind… reduced to a quivering mess. I can’t in good conscience just leave her.
I set out into the Everfree to complete my dream of exploring the unknown, but this is something else completely. I am starting to think this was the reason Celly didn’t want me to come here. She’s always been so protective of me since I was taken from my world all those years ago. To be honest she is like a sister to me now.
But, to think she did this… I’m not so sure what to think at the moment.
“Tell me a story.”
I perk up at the sudden voice, “What?”
“A story. Tell me one, it has been so long since I have conversed with another. Tell me something from your world.”
“Uh, yeah okay.” I slump back for a moment, trying to think of something from my world. It’s been years since I arrived in Equestria… kind of hard to remember much from my home. A story pops into my head, it’s a classic, “There was once a woman, beautiful and kind. She was by far the most beautiful woman in the land. Animals loved her, men’s hearts jumped when they saw her and women glared as she passed by.
Her name was Snow White. Snow White was the daughter of a beautiful and fair Queen, who died soon after giving birth. Years later, the King takes on a new wife, who was both beautiful and wicked. She had a magic mirror, and every day she would speak to it ‘Magic mirror in my hand, who’s the fairest in the land?’
To which it would reply with, ‘My Queen, you are the fairest in the land.’ and this continued for a time… until Snow White reached the age of seven. ‘Magic mirror in my hand, who’s the fairest in the land?’ She asked one day, but the mirror replied with ‘My Queen, you are the fairest here so true. But Snow White is a thousand times more beautiful than you.’
So the Queen ordered a huntsman to take Snow White into the woods and kill her.” Nightmare Moon grinned at this, and I looked at her with an amused expression, “What?”
She chuckled darkly, “Surely this Queen is admirable, removing those who stand in her way in such a despicable manner.”
I sigh and rub my eyes, “But evil always fails…” I looked at her, she seemed to have a look of realization in her eyes.
“Yes… I suppose that’s true.” She breathes an almost nostalgic sigh and slumps down, laying her head on the ground.
“But evil always fails…” ‘Evil always fails’ I remember back to my times with Celestia when we worked together and stopped evil from taking Equestria. Each time we were victorious… I was evil, wasn’t I?
“Yes… I suppose that’s true.” I sigh and lay my head down. It’s nostalgic, remembering back to the wonderful times I had with my sister. Yes, I still feel the resentment for her… but I can’t stop loving her as my family… my only family.
“Are you okay?” Elliot shifts uncomfortably from his seat and gazes at me with concern… when was the last time someone cared for me? A small tear escapes me and I breathe out heavily.
“No, admittedly. I feel nothing but sorrow in my life. I am trapped here, I have no way to escape…” I’m not going to use him to escape… I’m not going to trap him here, how could I do such a thing to someone so caring. If I put him here, and left… I would live a life of regret, knowing I imprisoned the only being who felt emotion for me, forever.
“I want to help…” He replies, looking sadly at me.
“There is only one way for me to escape… and I could never do that. Not to you.” My ears fold down, and I sigh again. I stare at a far wall with a forlorn expression.
“What do you mean?”
I let out a shaky breath, “You would have to switch places with me.” I curl up, tucking my head under a wing.
“Oh…”
Things go quiet for a while, the silence is painful. I just want him to say something… anything! It feels like he is judging me, is he going to leave me here? It stays like this for what seems like hours, I peek up at him and see him sitting in deep thought. What is he doing?
“What if… what if I spoke to Celestia?” He sounds unsure.
“No!” I say in a desperate tone, I can’t go to her… she would never let me leave, she put me here! “That would be a fools errand. Do you forget that she placed this prison around me?”
Elliot rubs his temples and sighs deeply, “I’ll be back soon.” He stands up and turns to leave.
“No! Don’t leave me…” I cry out, throwing a hoof out towards him. I crossed the circle and there was a blinding white flash of pain as my leg burst into flames. I felt as my fur burned away, and my flesh began to melt. I yelped in pain and pulled my foreleg back and held it close to me and cried. I forgot how painful it was to cross the line.
Elliot stood by the exit with a look of pure horror, “Are you okay!?” He shouted in concern. I waved a wing at him, to signal him to leave. He didn’t understand the gesture and stood there, awaiting my reply.
“I’m sorry, I forgot what happened when I tried to cross…” I tried to control my breathing and bring it back to normal, “It’s fine, I heal faster than normal ponies.” To prove, I held my burned leg up. It was fully healed as if nothing had happened.
“Please don’t leave me…” I cried pathetically, looking up at him.
Elliot smiled, “I won’t leave you. I just have to pack up my camp and bring the tent back to here.”
I feel like a weight is lifted, “Promise?”
“I promise.” He replies firmly, with a toothy smile.
“I promise.” I say, grinning. I turn to the door and jog out, closing it behind me. I pick up my pace to a sprint, eager to make it back to camp and get back before nightfall. I make it back to the hole in the castle’s side, and lower myself down the strong vines.
I turn and survey my surroundings. The ground before me is scattered with rubble, obviously broken off of the castle. Tufts of weeds growing out from random areas, it’s a sorry site. I make my way over the uneven ground and jog into the dense brush of the forest. I see a marked tree, with bright orange spray paint. I had marked trees on my way, so I could find the path back to my camp.
It was about a five kilometers to the east, and if I kept at an even jog I would be there and back in a few hours. It was difficult at times, due to the dense underbrush I came across every now and then. But for the most part, it was a clear path.
A while later I found my camp, it was in a small clearing and in an easily defended area. I also had a few noise traps to catch any unwanted predators. I didn’t want to get eaten while I was asleep! I packed up my tent as fast as I could, taking down some of my improvised traps as I did.
When I had everything packed up and secure on my back I made my way back to the castle. By the time I reached the open area before the hole, I climbed up to, to gain entrance to the ruins, it was just past sundown. The place was dark, but with the rising moon and light of the stars I had just enough light to find my way to the vines.
I took hold of them in my hands and at an agonizingly slow pace, pulled myself up to the hole. It was really dark here, inside the castle and when I set foot in, I fell face flat straight away, “OW!” I yelled as I hit the ground, and groaned as I pulled myself up.
“OW!” I heard the loud yelp of my… friend. Yes… my friend, I smiled at the thought. There was a lot of stumbling, and loud crashes, until finally with a large groan I saw him push through the double doors of the foyer.
I giggled at the site of the small male, wearing a huge bag on his back. It looked rather heavy and was probably one of the factors of his falling about on his way here. He made his way over to me and with a moan he let himself fall onto his back, the bag cushioning his fall.
“I hate hiking…” He says tiredly, sighing with exhaustion and staring up at a hole in the roof.
“You came back…” I said happily, I felt really giddy when I heard the first sounds of his return. I was beginning to doubt he would ever come back. I’m not sure what I would’ve done if he left me forever, but I swallow back the thought.
“Yeah, of course! I said I would, didn’t I?” He cranes his neck to face me, he has a goofy smile on his face and I just giggle at the silly being.
“It’s a really nice night…” He says softly, as he stares back at one of the holes, “You can never see this many stars from Canterlot… the lights block most of them.” I felt a pang of anger as he said that, the lights are bright enough to shroud my night?
“Thank you,” I say happily, looking at him with a smile. I love it when ponies comment on my beautiful night sky.
“Well, I better set my tent up…” He groans, and stands up, shifting the bag around to face him. He begins opening it up, to take out his equipment… but a selfish thought crosses my mind, and before I realize it, I’ve already spoken it.
“Can’t you… stay with me tonight?” I actually looked away from him, horrified that I had spoken my thoughts aloud.
Elliot seemed to freeze in place, I am scared I might have broken him, “Uh…” He scratches his head, unsure of how to deal with this situation, “Y-yeah…” He replies awkwardly. Maybe I was too forward?
“You don’t have to! I know you are probably afraid I may leave when you sleep… but I-I could never do that to you!” I speak quickly, to try to ease his mind. It would be good to have someone lay with me, as I spend every night and day alone. Unable to sleep.
“I can’t sleep… it’s been centuries since I last truly slept.”
His face falls, “I’m not sure how that must feel for you…” He quietly adds, “Yes, I’ll stay with you tonight.” He looks more confident, that makes me happy. He trusts me enough to step inside the prison.
I shift to lay onto my side, and I lift a wing to invite him to lean on me. He blushes heavily as he steps over, unsure of himself. There is a bit of shuffling, as he finally leans down into my embrace and lays a head onto my side.
I bring my large wing down to cover him, and protect him from the cool night air, and I hear a soft sigh… it was a sigh of contentment and it makes me so happy to hear. I turn and lean in to nuzzle his head slightly, before laying my own head down to wait the night out, and stare up at the stars.
I hear the noise of the birds waking up in the trees, they always woke up around sunrise, meaning I had a seven-hour sleep, or so. I moved my head to look around, momentarily confused as to where I was. I felt the soft wing of Nightmare wrapped around me and I smiled, as I remembered her desperate attempt to get me to lay with her. It was quite pitiful to see such a powerful being reduced to a quivering mess.
“Good morning.” I hear the soft voice of Nightmare Moon, coming from behind me. I lean back in a stretch and turn around so that my chest is leaning on her side. I smile widely at the dark mare, who returns it with one of her own, “I am happy you were here to accompany me this night.” She says quietly and sighs.
“You’re very comfortable, but I can’t say the same for the ground!” I chuckle, and she reaches her head around to nuzzle my head, “Say, what do you want to do today?” I asked and hopped up onto my feet energetically. Her ears perk up at the thought of spending the day with me again.
“How about I tell you a story of my own?” She inquires, looking at me with a smile.
“Yeah, I’d love to hear yours!” I exclaim and sit down in front of her.
“I’ll tell you about the time Celestia and I defeated Discord. It seems like a rather funny story as I think back on it now…” She giggles and puts a hoof to her mouth.
As I sit and listen to Nightmare Moon talk about Celestia and her’s adventure to defeat Discord, I pull out a snack from my backpack and get comfortable. Hearing about all of the pranks and traps he left in their path before they could get to him was rather funny and on many occasions we found ourselves laughing loudly.
Of course, Discord was reformed now, and perhaps I shall tell her so afterward.
“And then he took our tails!” Nightmare exclaimed as I laughed ecstatically.
“So, what then?” I sighed heavily, catching my breath from the bouts of laughter.
“Well that was when we used the Elements of Harmony against him and turned him into stone, you have perhaps seen his statue in the palace gardens. I would assume it would be there as it was when we were in this particular castle.”
“Yeah, well actually… he escaped once, only to be put back again. Then Celestia released him, and kept him under the watch of the new element bearers and, well… the Element of Kindness reformed him.”
Her jaw drops, “D-discord has been reformed?”
“D-discord has been reformed?” I was in shock. The god of chaos itself had been reformed… how such a thing was possible I had no idea. But it only saddens me further, to think that Discord is now free from his prison… while I am still here suffering from this loneliness. But I have Elliot now!
“Yeah, I didn’t think it was possible either, but he’s a really nice guy when you get to know him. Trust me, you’d never want to get yourself stuck in a prank war with him…”
I chuckled, “I would believe it wouldn’t be a smart idea, no.” Maybe there is still a chance for me… maybe one day Celestia will come to me. The thought of my sister feels heavy in my heart. Elliot seems to sense my shift in mood and shuffles closer to hug me again. It’s such a lovely feeling… a simple hug and I feel like melting away in his embrace.
I guess it is the result of these many years of being alone. Another thought crosses my mind, one I am scared of… he can’t stay here forever, can he? He probably has friends… and a family. I feel sick at the thought of him leaving me, he seems to genuinely care.
He is still holding on to me, and with these thoughts weighing heavily on my mind, I begin to cry. I shift around to wrap my hooves over his shoulders, to hold him close to me. He strokes the back of my head softly, shushing me and saying things will be okay… but will they?
We sit like this for a while, and when he begins to get sore I lay down and open my wing to usher him closer. He does so, and lays into my side, wrapping an arm around me. No words are exchanged, just the soft embrace is enough for comfort between us.
For hours we stay like this, and before I know it the sun is beginning to set. I see that Elliot has fallen asleep and I lean over and… kiss his forehead. I lay over and tuck my wing behind him a little to make it more comfortable for us both. But the action seems to stir him.
“Coming on to the night already?” He asks himself quietly.
He turns around to look at me, and he sees that my eyes are still wet from crying almost all day. He comes over and lays down by my head, wrapping an arm around my neck and I look at him lovingly. Slowly I lean in, and his eyes seem to flutter closed softly and I kiss his lips.
It is only a gentle, innocent kiss… but it is enough to convey how I now feel for this strange being. He opens his eyes again, and he leans over me and pulls me into a tighter embrace, whispering sweet-nothings into my ear and slowly… I let sleep over come me for the first time in a long time.
As I lay over Nightmare I watch as her eyes start to slowly close over, was this the first time she has fallen asleep for so long? She is just after clearly showing affection towards me, and… I returned those feelings. Despite knowing this mare, somepony supposedly feared by all, for about three days… I already feel such a strong connection with her.
Nightmare Moon is not evil… no, far from it. I look up at the night sky and admire her stars. I slowly let sleep come to me and I rest comfortably into her side.
Again I awake to the sounds of birds chirping, it was morning! I slowly move forward and turn around to look at Nightmare, who is still sleeping peacefully. She has a small smile on her muzzle, and she just looks so beautiful.
“Tell me the rest of the story…” I hear the soft voice of Nightmare, so she’s awake.
“Well, after the Snow White is left alive by the huntsman, the evil Queen discovers this… and in disguise poisons her with an apple. The apple’s poison was to leave Snow White in a permanent coma. But what the Queen didn’t bet on was for the handsome and noble Prince to come to her aid.
With a kiss, full of love… he awakens her. They soon get married, and the evil Queen was put to death for her crimes. Snow White, the fairest lady of them all and her Prince ruled side-by-side over their kingdom and they lived happily. Ever. After.”
I leaned over and kissed Nightmare’s nose, there were tears flowing from her eyes, “I’m happy, that she was destroyed… the evil Queen that is… you are my Prince, Elliot.” She kisses my lips again, bringing her wings around to wrap me in her loving embrace, “I wish to correct my wrongs and go to my sister… I want to be free and rule with her again. I want to live… happily ever after… with you.”
We sat for a few minutes in silence, no words needed to be said, and suddenly there was a warm feeling. Both of us looked up to the sun, and noticed it was beginning to glow brighter, and shine hotter. There was a flash of light, and a beam came out of the circle before us, and it began to slowly follow the pattern of the circle… it was disappearing!
We sat there, unsure of what to do. It was gone! Her prison was wiped away! Nightmare seemed to be frozen in shock, understandable as the prison she has been stuck in was just suddenly… gone!
The sun began to dim again, and a sound of wings flapping were heard in the distance. I looked up at the roof, in time to see the silhouette of something huge descend from it. When it closed the distance, my eyes adjusted and… it was Celestia! She had a serene smile on her face, and she set down just before us. Despite her obvious look of excitement, there was a confusion to it as she saw me and Nightmare embracing.
“I welcome you back sister.”
I sighed heavily as I made my way down the long twisting hallways of the castle. Today was going to be a rather busy one, as I had to hold day court… and Blueblood was wishing to speak with me. I groaned inwards, it would be unbecoming of myself to show such mannerisms in front of my guard.
I reached the doors of the throne room and braced myself for the wave of questions that were about to hit. But just as I began reaching the handle with my magic there was a bright flash from outside. I looked out of a window and saw the sun begin to brighten. I gasped… this meant only one thing.
She’s reformed. I took off like a lightning bold, and shot out an open window, I took flight and with all my speed made my way to the Everfree forest. I need to get to the old castle! My heart was racing, finally I was going to get my sister back! Tears of joy began flooding from my eyes, tears I have not experienced in a very long time.
I saw the castle coming into view, it looks so decrepit from when I last lay eyes upon it. There’s a bright flash from inside, the seal is breaking! I closed distance to the roof, and I began descending into one of the many holes dotting it.
I lowered myself, and as my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the room, I saw her. She was embracing… Elliot? I set down, excitedly and I spoke up quickly.
“I welcome you back sister.”
There was an awkward silence for a time until Elliot spoke up, “Uh, Hi Celly!” He said enthusiastically, still hugging my sister.
“Elliot… what is going on?”
“Uh, me and Nighty here were hugging and stuff… then the prison just, well disappeared!”
“Oh.” My grin grew bigger as I realized what happened here.
Author's Note
Edited version to come.
