The Laws of Life.

Chapter 11: Lifes nightmares.

“No. Please. Don’t leave me. Not alone. I don’t want to be alone.” My voice echos into the growing darkness, as I watch everypony I had ever loved walk away from me. No. Not me. They are walking away from the monster I am. By this point, I know I am dreaming. But, there is no controlling this dream. . . . Or should I say nightmare. Slowly, everything fades to black, and I sit there, in wait. By this point, I expect nothing. I’ve heard stories. Stories from my friends and others having the princess of the night visit them in their dreams. They had a nightmare, because of recent events. And the princess shows them their errors, in hopes that they will fix it.

Princess Luna. . . She’s never come to my nightmare before. She’s never come to show me the supposed ‘errors in my way.’ It’s not like I’ve done anything wrong before. Maybe. . Maybe she knows. . Knows about me. Maybe she is here, and just watches me from a distance. Ah. Here comes the part of this nightmare I hate the most. I’m walking now, slowly, through those woods. I see the blood that is spread all over the floor of the forest. I walk until I reach the body of Blitz. But, not just his body. Spinners as well. . And mine. A life cut short once again, along with two others.

My greatest fear is that I wont be able to live this life for Ink.  That everything would just be for vain. This fear is constantly played out before my eyes, in my nightmares. I look at my body, laying on the ground, a bloody mess. My eyes open wide in terror, looking towards my direction. I look down at myself, and see black fur covering my body. “No. . No.” I say as  I step back slowly. A pond of blood grows in front of me, the crimson red reflecting my appearance to me. I look into the face of a monster. “No. I’m not like that anymore.” I shout, hearing my voice echo out.

“Why must you think that? Young stallion.” I hear a voice behind me. I watch as everything fades to black again. I turn slowly, and look at the moon princess standing here. In my dream. “Took you long enough.” I say to her. Why is the first thing I say to her an insult? I always say the stupidest things. I need to invest in some duct tape.

“There are millions of ponies in this world. I am only one princess.’ I let out a sigh. “Yeah. But you have other reasons, don’t you?” She looks to the side and frowns. “We all have our reasons. But to the point at hand. Why do you think you are a monster?” I sigh. “Look at me, Princess Luna. I’m a monster. A changeling. I’m just a shell.”

“No. You are much more than a shell. What I see standing before me is a pony who just wants a chance. changelings are far from the beasts that we learn about. You should know that. They live life in their own unique way. And for the most part, changelings keep to themselves. And sure they sometimes have their moments of. . . Resistance. But, they are as evil as we are.” I shake my head when the princess finishes speaking.

“In my experience? They’ve only caused pain. I’ve only caused pain. We are inherently monsters. Sure, as time moves, we may change, but at our core we are what we are. Monsters.”  The princess walks up to me. “Genesis has talked to you about the state of his nest. It’s dying. Just look at it.” The princess brings us to the nest.

The seen before me is horrid. Many changelings straggle around. Malnourished from the lack of emotion flow. Bodies piled in ditches from the ones who have died. “This is their state. Changelings are just trying to strive, and survive. Most of the nest has evacuated the area, and joined other nests. Soon, this nest will crumble, the king along with it. And the Locum will be no more.”

“Good. Then I can finally live peacefully. I can at least know that the monster in me is, kind of, no more.” The princess lets out a long sigh. “I wish I could say that is true. But, you are still a Locum. Deep down. No matter how much you deny it. And, once the nest crumbles, so will you. You will fall with them. Your pony form will shed away. Everypony will see the monster you think you are, while you spend your last moments dying in front of them.”

I look to the princess. My eyes wide with shock. . “So. No matter what. . . . The past doesn’t matter, the future is bleak. . Why did I even try then! Why did I take his life, if it was just going to die in vain.” The princess shakes her head, her long astral mane, flowing in an invisible wind.

“No. This is just a nightmare. Things can change. But only if you find the way to make them. I can only leave you with this warning. If you continue down this path, it will end in vain. But, if you can find the turning point, you can change these event for the better, and you can live that life you've been longing for. A life free from the ‘monster’ inside of you.”

I let out a gasp as I sit up in my bed. My head throbbing with pain. “Ink. Come on. We had a date planned. . Remember?” I hear Spiral call from outside my door. “Umm. yeah. be right out.” I call, and slide out of my bed. I walk over to my mirror, and look into it. I see me. I see Ink. I see the pony. But, there’s a monster there. A monster that I can only hide for so long it seems. Unless. . . Unless I change my course. . But how?! God, this is infuriating. I’ve waited that long for the princess to visit me, only for her to tell me that!

Maybe. . Maybe I can just run away before that happens. That way no pony gets hurt. . Except my sister. . And Spiral. . And me. . No, there has to be something that I’m missing. What can I do to make the monster in me disappear for good. “Come on Ink. We might miss the reservation. We payed a lot of bits for those seats.”

“I’m hurrying. . I just can’t find me tie. . “ I say. Even though it’s a blatant lie. My tie is right in front of me. I quickly grab it, and slide it down, and around my neck. I tighten it as well as I can, and open my door.  Spiral has her hair done up in a nice bun on the back of her head. But what really stuns me is the long flowing red dress she has on. And the necklace with the red heart, surrounded in a gold frame. “Wow.” I mumble as I look over her body again and again. She rolls her eyes at me.

“Quit gawking, you goof. And. . “ She lets out an annoyed sigh. “Let me fix that.” I feel her magic wrap around the tie, and adjust it, tightening it slightly as well, so it isn't loss around my neck. She smiles, and gives me a small kiss.  “Lets go. Wanna fly there?” She remarks teasingly.

“Yeah. Let’s get outside first.” I stick my tongue out at her, and we walk down stairs. I give my sister a goodbye, and we are out. She hops onto my back, and I take off towards the Starlight Sterling. A fancy restaurant that opened up in this place. Very expensive. And we had to book like. . four month in advance, I wanna say. Anyway.  “We've been waiting for this forever. Let’s hope everything goes right, and nothing goes wrong.” I say and smile up at Spiral. . . . .

I close my eyes for a moment, as I bring my hoof to my face. Why, why, did I have to open my big mouth?