Eternal Night

Chapters

Chapter 2: Ghosts of the Past
Chapter 3: Night Terrors
Chapter 4: A Mother's Love
Chapter 5: Protective Instincts
Chapter 6: Initiation
Chapter 7: An Evening by Candelight
Chapter 8: Fractured (Standard)
Chapter 8.5: Fractured (Grimdark Option)
Chapter 9: Into the Forest
Chapter 10: The Stallion Behind the Mirror
Chapter 11: Leaving it All Behind
Chapter 12: Perceptions, Memories, and Willpower
Chapter 13: Blood Agent
Chapter 14: Cavatina
Chapter 15: Abandonment
Chapter 17: The Worldspine
Chapter 18: Unraveled (Standard)
Chapter 18.5: Unraveled (Clop Option)
Chapter 19: Hall of Reflection
Chapter 20: The Embattled Domain
Chapter 21: Suffering and Injustice
Chapter 22: Anonymous
Chapter 23: Group Therapy
Chapter 24: Consumed
Chapter 25: Propaganda
Chapter 26: Up Against the Looking Glass
Chapter 27: The End Justifies the Means
Chapter 28: The Elements of Sorrow
Chapter 29: Manipulations of Trust
Chapter 30: A Daring Rescue
Chapter 31: Cysts
Chapter 33: Treachery, Plague, and Fratricide
Chapter 34: Forgiveness
Chapter 35: Pandemic
Chapter 36: Mutation
Chapter 37: Convergence
Chapter 38: Infiltration - City of Psychopaths
Chapter 39: Redemption
Chapter 40: Rebirth
Epilogue
Chapter 1: The Stars of Our Tale
Chapter 16: A Book with Missing Pages
Chapter 32: Variola Major (Necron's Secret Weapon)

Chapter 2: Ghosts of the Past

Sirius shivered as he stood, his ratty sheets tangled underneath his hooves. Rain was pouring down, lightning flashing in the sky. He was soaked, cold, but he felt alive.

The bat-pony loved thunderstorms. Lightning rippled in the sky, illuminating the forest around him with stark white light. For a moment, he could see everything clearly: the verdant green of the leaves rustling in the wind, the brown of the tree bark glistening with rainwater, the bright yellow dandelions and soft white daisies peeping up from the soaked dirt.

The light flickered, and everything was plunged into darkness again. He could still see, for he was a Nightborn and had adept night vision, but it was all grayscale. No color.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, the sound a roiling cadence before rising up to a terrifying crackling that seemed to shake the very ground.

He closed his eyes. He let the wind tear at him, the rain lash his face, and he could feel the thunder reverberate within him. He wanted to howl. He wanted to take flight, to fly up into the heart of the storm and never come down.

Lightning branched out in the sky, bathing the forest landscape with light again. In the distance, Sirius could see the other hovels hidden in the lush plant life. They were all makeshift residences much like their own, their tattered clotheslines swaying, and broken shutters flapping about.

It had a certain charm to it. They were at the edge of civilization. Nopony knew what lay beyond their little village. Unchartered territory, the forest stretching out as far as the eye could see. Sirius looked out as far as he could. There was a tremendous lightning flash, the whole sky turned white, and Sirius gasped. On the horizon, like tiny teeth, he saw the silhouettes of mountains in the farthest reaches of the forest.

The world was plunged into darkness again. Sirius folded his legs and sat, his eyes full of wonder. He had lived here for his entire life, unaware of the range of stone behemoths in the distance.

Their world was a vast and enigmatic one. He was thrilled by what the storm had revealed to him.

It was strange how such a tumultuous upheaval of nature could reveal the world’s true beauty. He would rather it be this stormy and rough all the time, if it were to provide him with these discoveries. He was tired of the enslaving complacency that came with the calm dark.

He looked around at his belongings at his hooves, the hovel behind him, and the awning that provided him with almost no shelter. He wanted to leave it all someday. Fly out into the great unknown, soar above those mountains, explore….

He sat down and wrapped his blankets around him, shivering again. As the darkness wore on, the lightning became more sporadic, and he began to fall asleep. He felt like he was falling, and the dreamscape opened up before him.

His body was asleep, but some part of him was awake. He was Dreamwalking.

It was said that when a pony dreams, his soul is bare to the night and all those around him. Sirius saw a spectral version of himself standing above his sleeping body. This was a form of astral projection, and he could observe, or even enter other people’s dreams.

It was a gift unique to the Nightborn.

He blinked. Every living thing exuded an aura, an ethereal radiance that enveloped them. Sirius looked behind him, to the hovel. He could feel the active minds of the three ponies inside.

His dream-self drifted over to the window, and inside, he saw Cepheus, Persei, and Mother sprawled on the floor. Tiny beads of blue light rose from their bodies, rising a few feet into the air before fading away.

All beings with well-developed forebrains emitted such sparks of light when they slept. It was an expression of the imagination, an imprint of a sentient being.

It was beautiful to see them sleeping like this, cocooned in steam and light, like a nebula star-nursery in the depths of space.

Mother’s mind wasn’t emitting light. It was always closed off for some reason. She never dreamed.

So, Sirius peered into Cepheus’ dream….he blushed.

His brother’s burgeoning sexuality failed to dampen his curiosity. Moving on.

Sirius probed at Persei’s sleeping mind, her REM cycle starting. Her dream was at the beginning of its manifestation. She was dreaming about Mother. Persei’s brain was solving a puzzle that she had been thinking about before she had fallen asleep. What is Sirius’ relationship to all of us? Who is he and where did he come from? Sirius immediately drew away, retreating to his own body.

It had been a question that had haunted him a long time, and he had always wanted to know, but once he had found out, ignorance was preferable by far.

That was the thing about ignorance, or complacency, it was comfortable. But knowing the truth of his becoming, it made him realize that he would never belong in this family.

Mother hated him, even before he was born…the memory manifested in his own dream, turning it into a nightmare.

Sirius had been a little foal, and he had been so cold. It had been a very harsh winter, and he had been outside while the other three ponies slept within the hovel. He had been scared.

The wind had teeth that night. It was howling in his ears, gnawing at his exposed skin, the frigid gales searing him. He had curled up into a ball, his tiny wings covering his head to preserve warmth.

The blizzard raged on. Snow, wet and heavy, began to envelop him. He had been buried several times, but the fear of suffocation forced him to break out of his snowy tomb.

Soon, the burning sensation in his limbs had faded away, and he had actually felt warmth inside his chest. His hooves and wings had turned gray with frostbite, and the ice was travelling inwards towards his heart. He was dying.

He had pressed himself against the hovel, the walls warm from the stove burning inside. But the storm intensified. He looked inside, seeing the warm light of the fire within, and the three ponies snuggled around it.

He remembered timidly knocking on the hovel door.

No answer.

He had forced the door open and had tumbled inside, shivering and sneezing. He closed the door behind him, and as he stumbled to the stove, his knees had buckled and he had fallen on top of his mother.

She immediately awoke, and she reeked of something sharp and abrasive, and he later would recognize that scent as alcohol.

Her eyes had been red and puffy from crying, and she stared at him with terror. He could no longer move his limbs, and she had been so warm. Some foal survival instinct had kicked in, and he had hugged her, wanting her warmth and security.

She was breathing heavily, and she began to thrash her hooves out. “Please…please….” She begged. He hugged her tighter, trying to console her. Tears streaked down her eyes as she looked at him, her barrel heaving with each sob. “I’m just a poor mare down on her luck. Please no…no…NO! STOP!”

Mother had begun to buck wildly, as if Sirius was doing something terrible to her. Her hooves struck him in the gut. He was sent flying through the air, his back slamming against the wall. He crumpled there, preparing himself for whatever punishment she had in mind.

But she just stood there, heaving, staring at him.

Sirius had just wanted to disappear, pain bursting in his stomach.

“You,” she spat. “You look just like your father. You bastard, you…” she spluttered, “you half-breed aberration born of rape.”

Sirius had no idea what a “bastard” or what “rape” was, but he knew they were terrible things.

She continued hissing, her eyes filled with a maniacal hysteria. “Your father killed my husband, so I wanted to return the favor by killing his son.” She snorted angrily, stamping her hooves. “I tried killing you so many times, but you…just…wouldn’t…die.” She lunged towards him, and Sirius whimpered as she hung above him, stomping on him. “You touch me again, and I’ll cut your throat!”

She had tossed him out in then, and he had bled out into the snow.

He awoke with a start, Cepheus shaking him. “Were you having a nightmare?” his half-brother said, genuinely concerned.

Sirius stared at him for a moment. His siblings could never know the truth of his becoming. It would alienate him from the only two ponies who treated him well.

Sirius nodded, wiping the perspiration off his brow. “What’s going on?” he asked.

Persei stepped out of the hovel, her medicine saddlebags strapped on her back. “We’re delivering medicine to the village folk. You watch the house and Mother while we make the circuit.”

Sirius shuddered at the thought of being alone with his mother after dreaming about that incident. “Can I come with you guys?” he asked anxiously.

Cepheus’ eyes went wide with mock surprise, grinning lopsidedly. “Are you sirius?”

“I see what you did there,” Sirius said, brohoofing his brother.

Persei raised her hoof. “Wait, are you sure you want to come? The village folk hate the Nightborn, after all, everypony here are exiles from Nightmare Moon’s realm.”

Sirius sighed. He could barely remember the last time he had walked into town. Not because of how long it had been, but because of all the concussions he had received. “Yes, I’m sure. I feel adventurous today.”

“Me too,” Cepheus beamed.

Yeah, you’re definitely feeling adventurous. But not as much as last night Sirius thought. He was tempted to ask him about the beige mare he had been so vigorously rutting with.

Persei and Cepheus began trotting away and Sirius followed closely behind.

The full moon was shining brightly, its soft light bathing the landscape. His hooves squished in the mud from last night’s storm, and he felt a nervous anticipation as they drew closer to the main cluster of residences.

Sirius saw tiny lanterns hanging from the trees, the smoke from the flames within mixing in with the scent of wet earth and wildflowers. Tiny fireflies flitted about, their incandescent posteriors blinking a yellow light.

The hovels they were passing began to become more numerous, some of their windows illuminated with light. Sirius pressed himself closer to his brother and sister. He saw a mare putting up laundry on a clothesline, and his heart fluttered nervously. She didn’t appear to be holding any rocks.

Sirius sighed in relief. A small parade of romping foals sprinted by, and Cepheus cheered. He pounded hooves with each of the foals, greeting them all by name.

The foals worshipped Cepheus. They all knew the tales of his legendary shenanigans. The elders whispered about it. Like the one time the colt Cepheus had replaced all the candles in the lanterns with firecrackers. Or the time….

“Oh, hello!” a mare greeted them cheerfully. Sirius looked over Persei and beheld the beige mare. Hilarity began to bubble up within him when he recognized her. So this was the lovely mare in Cepheus’ dream.

Sirius remembered her supine figure, her legs spread with his brother’s muzzle buried in her marehood….

Sirius giggled. Cepheus stammered, placing his front hooves together to hide the increasingly turgid mass between his hind legs. “Hey, Candle Glimmer,” he said nervously.

Sirius made a feminine moaning sound, and Cepheus blushed. Candle seemed to enjoy the stallion’s unease, stroking her raven mane and advancing on him. “I see your delivering medicine,” she said, gesturing to Persei’s medicine bag. “It’s a great thing your mother does for our village.”

Persei nodded, somewhat uncomfortable after noticing her brother’s arousal. “Yes, our mother is very talented,” she sighed, staring at the dumbstruck Cepheus. “Candle, would you like to come over for dinner sometime?”

Cepheus blanched, but Candle didn’t seem to notice. “Of course,” she said, winking at Cepheus. “I would love to. I’m free tomorrow night.”

Persei nodded, and Candle trotted past them. Cepheus and Sirius watched her leave. Sirius was grinning, and knocked his hoof against Cepheus’ playfully. “She’s got a nice flank, brother.”

Persei stamped her hoof in frustration and towed her brother away. Sirius giggled and followed. They arrived at their destination, a small hovel which apparently housed an old stallion who was sick with hay fever.

Persei knocked on the door, the two green lanterns rattling at her impatience. There was a delay, and she faced Cepheus. “Brother, we must do something about Mother’s drug addiction.”

Cepheus’ eyes went wide, looking at the door. “I don’t think this is a good time to discuss this.”

“Hey,” she said. “I got you a date tomorrow night. You owe me one.”

Cepheus waved his hoof in acquiescence. “Fine, fine. What should we do?”

“We need to hide her pills, they prevent her from sleeping properly.” Persei sighed. “She’s exhausted all the time, and the alcohol just makes it worse.”

Cepheus nodded, responding to his sister’s urgency. “Yes, I understand. We should confront her as soon as we get home.”

She shook her head. “No confrontation, we just steal the pills when she’s not looking.”

“Got it,” Cepheus said, and quickly turned around to face Sirius. “You do it.”

“What? Me?” Sirius said alarmed, suddenly saddled with this dangerous task.

He was about to protest further when the door finally opened. The wrinkled gray stallion was trembling, grinding his teeth together. “Oh, sorry about that,” he said in a nasal voice. “It just takes a while for me to get to the door.” The aged stallion beckoned them inside. “Come on in.”

Persei muttered as they walked in. “This is why I hate dealing with old people. We’re going to be stuck here for an hour now.”

Cepheus shrugged. “I hope he tells us a story.”

The old stallion laughed. “Oh, it’s been such a long time since I had company,” he said, sitting down on his recliner in the middle of the dusty living room. “It reminds me of my father, and the time he first brought me here. Back in the day, about seventeen years ago, the Empress Nightmare Moon suddenly became very aggressive against us Dayborns….Even more so than usual.”

Persei’s frustration was palpable, but Cepheus was listening attentively to the old stallion’s tale. Sirius withdrew slightly, aware of the hate between the two species.

They all gathered around, as he told his account of the past. “It all began with Nightmare Moon’s discovery of the secret religion….”

Author's Note

Ahh, the elderly. So full of tales and wisdom.

Comments/Discussion is encouraged below, like always

Don't hesitate to point out any typos/errors

Chapter 3: Night Terrors

The three ponies sat before the elder stallion, spellbound by his tale. “There was a secret religion that became very popular for a brief time,” he whispered in awe. “In their holy book, they prophesized the return of an alicorn mare, a goddess that would set the world on fire,” the stallion gestured grandiosely. “Celestion was her name, and according to this religion, she used to reign over Nightmare Moon.”

“This sounds like nonsense to me,” Persei muttered.

“Shut up,” Cepheus hissed.

“Celestion,” the stallion said, “was the benevolent ruler of Equestria, and Nightmare Moon was her subordinate. The religion was devoted to the worship of Celestion, and rumors began… speaking of Celestion’s rebirth and how she would strike down Nightmare Moon and set the world ablaze once again.”

How can someone that was so benevolent set the world on fire? What kind of twisted religion was this? Persei thought. Who would be delusional enough to believe that this would happen, or even think that this would be a good thing?

The stallion had trailed off, and Cepheus asked. “So, what became of this religion? Is it still around?”

“It’s still around,” the stallion whispered. “But the Church of Celestion was destroyed by Nightmare Moon, and its believers scattered and branded as traitors.”

“How did Nightmare Moon find out? If this was so secret…were they betrayed?” Cepheus asked, fascinated.

The old stallion looked around fearfully, making sure they weren’t overheard. “No, there was no betrayal.” The stallion shuddered. “The Night Terrors found out.”

Persei noticed Sirius withdrawing from them, but she was intrigued and ignored him. “Who are the Night Terrors?”

“The Night Terrors,” the stallion whispered. “They are Nightmare Moon’s brutal secret police. They gather intelligence for her, they are her spies.” The old stallion struggled to his feet, slowly moving further inside the house. They all followed.

“You see,” he grunted, out of breath from the movement. He closed the door behind them. “The Night Terrors, their specialty was dream espionage. A select few Nightborn,” the stallion said, glaring at Sirius, “have this fearsome ability. They can enter a sleeping pony’s dream and rob them of all their secrets. That’s how Nightmare Moon found about the religion. They foolishly thought they were out of the reach of the Night Terrors….”

Cepheus was fascinated. “So, they can enter your dream and learn everything about you?”

Persei was mortified. How come she had never heard of these ponies?

The old stallion nodded. “Yes, and so much more…” he trailed off cryptically. “They scan the populace’s dreams, searching for any thoughts of dissent, or anything that could be seen as unfavorable to Nightmare Moon. If they find something they don’t like….”

The old stallion had trailed off again, staring at Sirius. “What happens if they find something?” Persei asked. She hated how he was being so dramatic.

“A pony’s dreaming mind is completely vulnerable to them, and until he wakes, the Night Terrors can do whatever they want to him. I have heard stories of the secret police torturing dissenters, trapping them in a nightmare they couldn’t escape from.”

Persei and Cepheus leaned forward, terrified.

“A pony would wake up in the morning, and not remember a thing. Though there would be fear entrenched in his heart, and subconsciously, he would never be able to think negatively of his government again, let along disobey them. But, if psychological torture wasn’t enough, if thoughts of dissent were too deeply ingrained, the Night Terrors had other means of punishing them.”

The old stallion leaned forward. “Have you youngsters ever heard of a thing called sleeptrotting?”

Of course they had. Ponies could gallop, eat, drive, have sex, and do almost anything while they slept and still appear normal from the outside. When they woke up, they wouldn’t remember a thing. Persei nodded. “Yes, we’ve heard of it.”

She didn’t like where this was going.

“The Night Terrors liked to do this to ponies to make an example. They would hijack the sleeping pony’s dreaming mind and he would unknowingly walk to the kitchen, pick up a knife, and carve the word ‘traitor’ into his chest. He would return to bed, and when he woke up, he would be covered in blood and in pain. But, if thoughts of dissent were too deeply ingrained to be removed, they could prevent you from ever waking up again. You could sleepwalk yourself off your balcony, slit your own throat, and if the Night Terrors didn’t like you in particular, they would force you to murder your own family. They would wake you up for a moment then, to see what you had done, and then watch you take your own life.”

Cepheus eyes were glazed in terror. “So, the Church of Celestion…the Night Terrors found out and scattered them all?”

The old stallion slumped down on his bed. “Yes, the religion was a threat to Nightmare Moon. So she destroyed it.” The old stallion stared at Persei. “That marked the beginning of a period of time where the Dayborn where subject to many atrocities. That’s when my father and I were forced to come here.”

The old stallion looked intently into her eyes, and Persei felt uncomfortable. “Yes, what is it?” she asked.

“You look like your mother.” Cepheus and Persei looked at each other. “Yes, I knew your mother when she first came here. It was around the same time the order had been given to destroy the Church of Celestion. You two were still tiny foals clinging to your mother’s hooves, and that bat-pony wrapped in a white bundle.”

Cepheus stared at Persei. “Could Mother have been a believer in the Church of Celestion?”

The notion was ridiculous. Persei shook her head. “That’s impossible. Mother is a die-hard atheist, and has been for her entire life.”

Cepheus put his hoof behind his head. “Oh, yeah. I forgot about that.” Persei knew that look. Those wondering eyes pointed upwards, gears spinning behind them. “I’m going to ask her though,” Cepheus said. “I want to know why she left her life of grandeur as a pharmacist to live here.”

Persei sighed. “She did not live a life of grandeur….” But she was intrigued. They had never asked Mother as to why she had left the city. They had always assumed it was because of Father’s death, but the old stallion’s story made her think that maybe there was more to it.

After giving the old stallion his medicine, they noticed that Sirius had disappeared. Cepheus had shrugged when asked about his whereabouts. “Maybe he got bored and left?”

Persei had rolled her eyes. “He probably went home. After all, it is his race of people that are oppressing us. Sirius probably didn’t like the way that stallion was looking at him.”

As they walked back home, her mind began to wander.

She had been thinking about Sirius last night, and she realized something. “If the Dayborns are so oppressed by the Nightborns, then why did Mother sleep with one?” she blurted out.

Cepheus blinked uncomprehendingly. “What?”

“Well, where else did Sirius come from? He didn’t just fall out of the sky.” Persei told him sarcastically. “She obviously slept with a Nightborn.”

Cepheus shook his head. “I don’t want to think of Mother like this. Maybe she needed some money on her way here after Father died. She did lose her job.”

Maybe, but Mother was too proud of a mare to sell her dignity for any price. Though she could have been a different type of mare then, Persei thought. Or she could have been doing it so her foals could stay fed.

Persei wanted to share her thoughts with her brother, but he seemed closed off. The topic made him uncomfortable. It always did.

He knew she was still thinking about it, and changed the subject. “So, what are we going to do about Mother?”

The drugs. Persei looked at her brother’s dazed expression. This really wasn’t what he wanted to talk about, but he was uncomfortable about approaching her and was mustering up the courage to do so.

She humored him.

“We find out where she’s hiding them, and then take them from her.” Persei explained simply.

Cepheus blushed, and Persei realized that he was thinking about Candle.

“What kind of things do mares look for in a stallion?” he asked nervously, uncomfortable about having to ask her sister.

The question was a little too personal. Persei hadn’t thought much of stallions in that way. She found them attractive of course, but all the stallions in the village were much older than her or still colts. Persei suddenly felt very uncomfortable. “Umm, a big stallionhood?”

Cepheus laughed, and then looked down between his hind legs. “Yup, I got that covered.” He raised his head back up, looking straight forward. He genuinely wanted to know. “What else? You know. Personality wise.”

That joke was uncalled for, she scolded herself. C’mon Persei, don’t let your brother know that you’re clueless about stallions. So she thought of what she wanted in a stallion. “Mares want…” she looked at Cepheus, his blue eyes staring intently. “Mares want a stallion that gives them a sense of security. They need someone to stabilize their lives and keep them on track.” Persei paused, holding back raw emotion. “A mare needs someone to cling to, someone to give her life purpose and meaning. Anything to make me feel significant.”

Persei hadn’t even noticed that she had switched to first person. Cepheus abruptly leaned into her, nuzzling her neck and wrapping his white wings around her. Persei gasped in surprise, but quickly returned his embrace, wrapping her hooves around him. She felt his warm breath against her muzzle. “I love you, sister,” he said, putting his head against hers, his ears brushing her horn, “and believe me, you are significant.”

Persei sobbed, tightening her embrace. She hated having to be intimate with her brother, but she had no one else. Mother was an alcoholic drug addict. Sirius, well…he was Sirius. She had no friends, no other family…her brother was all she had.

He withdrew his wings, and Persei’s painful emotions ebbed away. She felt much better now. “Let’s go home, Cepheus,” she sniffed.

They trotted together in silence, and their little hovel came into view. The moon was shining on the thatched roof, a soft breeze blowing. Cepheus stopped and cast her a shy glance. “So, about Candle…can you not tell Mother? I don’t want her to know that I have a mare-friend just yet.”

“If you make Sirius steal Mother’s pills,” she joked. Persei had no idea that Sirius had just done so…and he had been caught.

There was a great commotion from inside the hovel and the door burst open. Sirius ran out with the prescription bottle in his muzzle. Mother followed him closely behind, screaming obscenities

“Aw, hell,” Cepheus groaned.

They both galloped down to the hovel, trying to calm the situation. Mother was an earth pony, while Sirius was a pegasus. It was going as well for her as it possibly could, but Sirius flew just out of reach every time. Mother screamed, hoarse. “You give me those damn pills! I need them!”

“Nuh-uh!” Sirius warbled, the pill bottle in his mouth.

“Give it back to me!” she screamed.

Sirius flitted away from her. “Not until you love me!”

Mother leapt up, higher than Persei had ever seen an earth pony jump. She wrapped her hooves around Sirius’ legs and dragged him down to the ground. “Noo!” Sirius groaned, struggling out of his mother’s grip. “Love me first! Tell me that you love me!”

Now this was just ridiculous. Mother used her earth pony strength to pin Sirius down. He struggled underneath her and she punched him hard in the belly. The pill bottle was expelled from his mouth with a surprised ‘ooph’ and went clattering away. Cepheus leapt in, trying to disentangle the two.

Meanwhile, Persei ran to get the pill bottle. Perfect. She lowered her head, letting her saddlebags slide over her horn and fall to the ground. She used her magic to dig through the pockets and pulled out an identical looking prescription bottle with identical looking pills. She chucked Mother’s bottle into the forest, and smudged some dirt on the placebo bottle to make it look like it had fallen in the mud.

She looked behind her, seeing that Mother had her hooves wrapped around Sirius’ neck. “Love me!” he choked, his eyes popping out of his skull.

“Never!” she screamed, shaking him.

Persei would have laughed if this situation wasn’t so pitiful. She trotted over to Cepheus who laid sprawled in the dirt some distance away, a dark gray circle around his left eye. She would have helped him first, but Sirius was dying.

She used her magic to pull the two apart. Her white aura surrounded her rabid looking mother and the half-dead lunar pegasus who was gasping for breath. Persei tossed Mother the prescription pills, and she plucked them from the air, holding the bottle to her barrel like it would try to escape if she didn’t hold it tight.

“Traitor!” Sirius wheezed.

“I saved your life, you idiot,” she said, releasing him from her magical hold. He plunked to the ground, making a very ungraceful landing. There were tears in his eyes, and he took wing and flew away. Persei didn’t stop him.

Mother had retreated inside the hovel with her pills – or what she thought were her pills. Persei trotted over to Cepheus, and dragged him by the hoof back inside. “What a day,” she grumbled, the last sliver of the moon disappearing on the horizon.

Author's Note

Sleeptrotting is a fascinating phenomenon. Has anypony ever heard of sexomnia?

Discussion is encouraged below.

Again, don't hesitate to point out any typos.

Important Notice: I am at the airport now, and the travelling will probably disturb my 24-hour posting cycle. I am not sure if I will have internet access for the next 2-3 days, so forgive me if there is a delay in the delivery of the next chapter.

Chapter 4: A Mother's Love

Sirius rocketed through the night sky, tears blurring his vision. He flourished his wings faster and faster, propelling himself to speeds he had never before reached. His head was bolted straight, the wind roaring in his ears. He didn’t know where he was going, nor did he care. Sirius just needed to get away.

His heart ached fiercely. The constant outpouring of tears streamed from his eyes, flowing below his ears and wicked away by the wind.

There was darkness all around Sirius, the monochrome forest rushing past below him. He flew faster. He was so tired of the pain of never belonging.

He was a lunar pegasus, but he had been born to a solar earth pony, raised in a solar family, in a solar community. He was stuck somewhere in between, not fitting here nor there.

All his life he had been an outcast. The ponies in the village would throw rocks at him, his Mother had been trying to kill him the moment she realized she was pregnant with him, and now his half-sister had betrayed him. He squeezed his eyes shut, hot tears tickling his eyelids as they were drawn away by the howling wind.

“What kind of freak am I!?” Sirius howled into the wind. Not even my own mother can love me.

Maybe the villagers are right. Maybe I am a monster.

There was another spike of pain in his chest. His heart felt like a rock in his chest. Nopony wants me, he thought. Nopony will ever love me.

They will always looks at me with disgust and contempt.

I will be alone for the rest of my life, doomed to spend my remainder of years as an outsider looking in.

He opened his eyes, and came to a total halt. He blinked at what he saw before him. “How long have I been flying?” he asked himself.

The sliver of the moon on the horizon answered his question. He had been flying the entire night. He had been so absorbed in himself, he hadn’t even noticed the time passing.

He looked at the city outskirts sprawling before him. Orderly rows of bright fluorescent streetlights lined all the roads, gray concrete three-story apartment buildings lined up neat and orderly beside them, and in the distance he could see tall skyscrapers with soft white light blazing from their office windows. Sirius blinked, drawing closer to the city.

Sirius could see groups of pegasi flying over the mundane buildings on their way to their jobs. The streets were packed with the white and red lights of automobiles, their honking horns filling the air. The sidewalks were crammed with ponies wearing black suits and bowler hats, talking on their cellphones, and moving to some unknown destination.

Realizing how tired his wings were, he flew around to a less crowded part of the city and landed on the sidewalk. Bright neon signs were everywhere in this strip of the city, but Sirius didn’t like how shady this place looked. He trotted past desolate looking casinos, sex shops advertising porn on their windows, and other dubious establishments that catered to every vice imaginable.

His stomach growled. Sirius suddenly felt very foolish. He didn’t have a single bit on him. Here he was in a strange city, alone, and with no money.

Maybe he could look for scraps. He was good at that.

Sirius trotted past two scantily dressed mares using their magic to hold cigars to their mouths. Sirius stood up straight, mortified. One of the mares giggled, and they both began to laugh obnoxiously.

Nopony had ever touched him like that, he felt violated. Sirius began to gallop, not liking this place. But the farther he went, the more abandoned storefronts he saw, the sidewalk grew increasingly deteriorated, and soon he was sure this entire part of the city was forsaken.

The streetlights here were dimmer, and Sirius was frightened. He decided to go back the way he came. He turned around, but then he saw them. Three ponies were watching him some distance away. They were wearing masks, black leather jackets, and were carrying spiked clubs.

He was being followed.

Sirius was terrified. He trotted forward anxiously, trying to remain calm. He shot a glance backward and saw that they were gaining on him. All three of them were pegasi, there was no way he could escape.

This was probably gang territory, and Sirius was a trespasser.

He began to gallop, and looked back. They too were galloping in pursuit. Sirius turned around and crashed into something. He was roughly shoved back, and tripping over a downed power line, he tumbled to the ground.

“Look who wandered into the wrong neighborhood,” a gruff sounding stallion said from behind his changeling mask.

Sirius looked around frantically, the rubber insulation of the power line digging into his back. The other three ponies with the clubs had caught up to him. He squeaked in terror, and they all laughed.

“Oh, he’s a lunar pegasi! I bet he’s loaded!” a high pitched mare said, groping at Sirius’ clothing.

Sirius looked around, and noticed these ponies were all solar ponies.

“What do we do with him, boss?” a stallion said.

A hulking stallion unmasked himself, revealing a heavily pierced face and a black scar over his blind left eye. “Mug him. Make it quick, the cops have been aggressive lately.”

The mare pulled out a switchblade, and he could almost see her grinning from underneath her mask. Sirius edged away from her and the power line scraped him.

A wild idea struck him.

He lunged towards the mare, and she slashed at him with her switchblade. He dodged the slash and wrested the blade away from her. The six ponies surrounding him dove down on him all at once, and Sirius severed the power line.

The block was plunged in darkness, but Sirius’ night vision was excellent while theirs wasn’t.

The gang ponies tumbled over each other, and the mare grabbed Sirius’s legs as he tried to flee. He grabbed the still live power line with his wing and drove it down onto her skull.

She began to convulse and Sirius struggled free. He could smell burnt flesh and hair as he galloped away. Sirius spread his wings and groaned in pain. He saw that his wing was soaked in blood.

The gang mare must have grazed him with the switchblade.

He continued to gallop, and he heard the angered voices of the gang ponies behind him. They would definitely kill him now. The buildings were beginning to look livelier now, and he dove into the first one that looked open.

Sirius pushed through the glass doors and hid behind an aisle of what appeared to be some kind of candles. He watched the five gang ponies rush past outside, screaming obscenities at one another.

Sirius sighed, and took a deep breath. The overwhelming scent of incense invaded his nostrils. He gagged, coughing. “Geez, did someone set a hippy on fire?”

“No,” a mare timidly said.

Sirius looked around and spotted the mare hiding behind the counter. She was sky blue, a flowing white mane, and had a frightened look on her face.

“Oh, I was just joking,” Sirius said, trying to calm her nerves.

He looked around. There were bright neon signs everywhere advertising palm readings, tarot cards, séances, psychics for hire, and all sorts of other magical hijinks.

“Welcome to Madam Trixie’s,” the mare said, dressed in a lavender robe with stars embroidered on it. She bowed before him. “It is so kind of you, sir. A noble lunar pegasi visiting the shop of a poor daypony, he is most kind and generous.” She bolted back up, her lilac eyes staring at him. “You will invite your other lunar friends, yes?”

Sirius nodded.

Was this the difference in treatment between the Nightborn and the Dayborn that the old stallion had been talking about?

The Nightborn must embody the higher socio-economic classes in the cities. After all, they were Nightmare Moon’s favored people. Maybe it had been no coincidence that the ponies he had seen in this desolate part of the city were all Dayborn.

There must be quite a disparity for all Dayborns to automatically assume he was rich just because.

Sirius looked over at the mare. The velvet robed psychic had retreated behind her counter, grinning as if she had hit the jackpot at the casino.

Too bad Sirius didn’t have any money.

But he still looked around, intrigued by the novelty of the store. Never had he seen such exotic wares in his entire life.

Crystal globes which made you sleepy when you touched them, candles that induced lust when a pony inhaled the smoke, rings that actually detected your mood, there were so many cool things here.

Sirius was prodding a talking dragon figurine, when the faint pink glow caught his eye. He looked at the hot pink neon sign. It read: “LOVE POTIONS.”

He drew towards it, and below the neon sign, there was a softly trickling fountain. The water was pink and glowing, and the same enchanted liquid was stored in heart shaped vials. They were submerged in the water, and Sirius reached in and picked up a vial.

Madam Trixie appeared beside him. “Oh, a love potion,” she smiled. “Is there a mare in your life you’re trying to win over?”

“Yes,” Sirius said. “Though, I do not want a romantic love. I want a more companionate love, like…” he closed his eyes, visualizing. “Like the bond a mother would share with her foal. I want that kind of unconditional affection.”

She nodded. “Trixie understands, and the potion will work for both situations. It is a potent magic in the vials, and the effects will last several years.” Trixie shrugged. “But sometimes, if it is meant to be, the effects will never wear off.”

Sirius imagined it in his head. Mother was smiling at him, something she had never done before. She was beckoning him closer, and he fell into her warm embrace. She wrapped her hooves around him, kissing him, and softly stroking his mane. “I love you, son,” she whispered.

Sirius could feel tears falling from his eyes. He wrapped his wings around her tightly. “I love you too, Mother.”

Sirius sniffed, and the mental picture faded. He could still feel his mother’s warmth.

He felt a real hoof on his shoulder. The light blue mare was staring into his eyes. “Trixie feels like you really need the potion, so she will give it to you free of charge.”

He leaned forward and wrapped his hooves around her, clutching the vial. Trixie gasped in surprise. “Never has a Nightpony been so kind to me,” she murmured.

His stomach growled loudly.

Trixie looked at his belly. “Would this particular threstal be interested in sharing dinner with me?”

The doors of the store slammed open, and Sirius flipped around. Three gang ponies rushed in, covered in blood. “The cops are here!”

Trixie fled to a room in the back of the store, and the three gang ponies hid behind the aisles, cowering.

There was the crack of leathern wings, and the store windows were shattered as three Nightborn pegasi in armor made their entrance.

Sirius took a step back, and one of the armored ponies approached him. “Are you in good health, citizen?”

Sirius just stared, dumbstruck. He looks just like me, Sirius thought. They all do.

The Nightguard sighed, looking at his injured wing. “Someone get a medic in here, this stallion’s wing needs attention.”

Meanwhile, the other two Nightguard ponies had found the three gang members, and Sirius heard the whistling of police nightsticks descending, and the crunching sound they made as the Nightborn police struck them down.

The armored pony had moved past Sirius and the guards clamped manacles on the battered gang ponies and hauled them away.

A medic stepped in through the ruined entrance of the store, her horn glowing as she cleared the debris from her path. She approached him, and he stared at her in wonder.

This was the first time he had ever encountered ponies of his own species. He had known their existence, but seeing them for the first time somehow made it more true.

The mare looked him over, and she got a strange look in her eyes. “Captain!” she said, staring at his flank.

Sirius looked over and saw it. His cutie mark. It was a white wisp with glowing bubbles of light emanating from it. That had not been there an hour ago.

A muscular stallion with luminescent green eyes, and a dark blue body trotted in. He seemed to be very sure of himself as he approached the medic mare. He sized up Sirius, and then his eyes went wide when he noticed his cutie mark. “We’ve got a Dreamwalker with us.”

Sirius looked around, and saw that all the Nightguards were looking at him with admiration. He even detected a twinge of jealousy in the Captain’s eyes.

“Follow me,” the Captain said. “We’re taking you to headquarters. A gifted pony like you will fit right in with us.”

Gifted? Sirius liked the sound of that. It was one of those incredibly rare instances where he was genuinely being praised. Sirius enjoyed every bit of it.

The Captain led Sirius outside, and a luxurious carriage was waiting for them there. The Captain went first and opened the door for him. There was a mare sitting in the darkness inside, her ruby eyes glowing. Sirius sat inside first, and the Captain sat next to the mare.

The carriage lurched forward, but Sirius was too amazed with the comfy seats to pay attention to the other two ponies. He started to play with the dials, twisting one. His seat immediately began to warm up.

Now this, this was cool.

Sirius turned another dial, and he noticed the Captain staring in confusion while the ruby-eyed mare just seemed to be amused. The seat began to vibrate, a steady thumping on his hooves. Combined with the heat, it was perfect. “Ahhhh,” Sirius moaned.

“Interesting specimen you’ve brought for me, Captain Darkheart.” The mare mused.

The Captain snorted. “Oh, it’s interesting alright.”

The mare laughed, a soft and feminine sound. “Am I sensing a bit of envy?”

Soon, the carriage arrived at the huge skyscraper in the center of the city. After several security checkpoints, they finally stopped at the entrance.

The ruby eyes mare stepped out, and the Captain followed her. Sirius did the same.

They trotted up the red carpet, leading up to the glass façade of the building. He stared at it in awe. The ruby-eyes mare noticed his interest. “Welcome to headquarters, the center of Nightmare Moon’s operations in this region of the world,” the mare smiled. “My name is Ember, and I will be your guide.”

Ember opened the glass doors, and Sirius stepped into the cavernous lobby. It was a huge atrium, with white steel beams criss-crossing overhead. Dark blue and purple banners hung from the white ceiling, emblazoned with Nightmare Moon’s insignia.

They led him to an elevator, and Ember pressed the button for the second highest floor. As the glass room traveled upward, Sirius gasped. There were hundreds of Nightborn ponies moving about below, carrying out their duties to the Empress.

Sirius loved it. They all looked like him. No one gave him weird looks, or stared, or sneered. They actually looked at him with admiration. They respected him.

He felt immensely satisfied, and Ember noticed it. “Impressive, isn’t it?” He nodded his head vigorously. “You haven’t talked at all since we met. What’s your name?”

“Sirius,” he said.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Sirius.” Ember gestured to the space all around her. “You see, dreamwalking is a rare, but extremely powerful gift. Nightmare Moon treasures it above all other abilities.”

The elevator dinged, and the glass doors slid open. They entered another white room, and there were what appeared to be registration counters up front. Ember led him up to the counter and smiled. “Wait here, Sirius. I’ll be right back.”

Sirius returned her smile and she disappeared into a dark corridor in front of him. He looked around him. There was a sign stating, “Intelligence Central” above the elevator from where he had come.

He noticed some austere looking clerk ponies wandering about, doing paperwork, but other than that, there was nothing.

He looked up at the wall adjacent to him and saw these strange posters. He turned to them and looked at all of them intently. They were wanted posters.

Each poster had the picture of a criminal on it. There were bounties placed below, along with the crimes they were accused of. There was more information on where to turn them in further below.

Sirius noticed red markings over most of them. There were two distinct red marks: “SLAIN” and “APPREHENDED”.

They were some pretty wicked looking characters up here, Sirius thought. Armed Robbery, Larceny, Fraud…somehow these ponies had especially angered Nightmare Moon to earn them a place on this wall.

Sirius looked over perhaps fifty of them before he noticed one in particular. They portraits were all black and white, but he would recognize that mare anywhere. Mother?

It was definitely her. She looked the same in this sixteen year old picture as she did yesterday. It even had her mortar and pestle cutie mark, and said that she had two foals with her.

Sirius’ mind reeled. He read the crimes she was accused of: Mass Murder, Sedition, Sabotage, and Treason.

The pegasus began to perspire, his mind burning. What had Mother done!? Sirius looked to the portrait beside her, and noticed a pony who looked exactly like Cepheus. White pelt, golden hair, blue eyes…this must be Persei’s and Cepheus’ father. The red word “SLAIN” was stamped over his poster.

Sirius couldn’t believe this. He stared at the poster, questioning the mare on it.

“I see you’ve noticed our wall of criminals,” Ember said, and Sirius almost jumped.

“You frightened me,” Sirius said, his heart hammering in his chest. “I was just looking at all of them.”

Ember tilted her head, her orange mane hanging. “That is such a strange accent. I’ve been to all the cities in Equestria, but I’ve never heard such a country twang in anypony’s voice.” She paused, thinking. “You must be from the fringe colonies.”

Sirius nodded, and he couldn’t help but stare at Mother’s wanted poster. Ember looked to where he was so intently staring. “Do you know that mare?” she asked.

Sirius’ heart stopped. Ember detected his fear. “On this wall, are Equestria’s most notorious criminals.” Ember pointed her hoof at Mother. “That mare, she is one of Nightmare Moon’s most hated enemies. Her husband sacrificed himself to allow her and the children to escape, and we’ve been hunting her ever since.”

“What has she done?” Sirius stammered.

Ember’s voice became harsh. “She and her husband were responsible for the death of hundreds of foals in the city. She slandered our Empress, and promoted violence against the government. Many more ponies died because of her treasonous actions.”

Sirius blinked, and pulled out the love potion from his pocket. He stared at the glowing pink vial. I want Mother to love me, but now… He wasn’t sure what to do now. Mother had done so much evil… She had killed so many innocent ponies, spread dissent, and had even defied Nightmare Moon!

Ember had drawn closer to him, and he could feel her warmth. “Join us, Sirius.”

He blinked, and she nuzzled him. He felt a surge of warmth from his chest, enjoying her affection. “Join us, and together we can bring criminals like this to justice. We need talented ponies like you to join the Night Terrors.”

He edged away from her, the mention of the Night Terrors making him uneasy. He bumped into Captain Darkheart, and he grinned at Sirius. “You’ll be the elite of Nightmare Moon’s forces. Right next to the Empress herself.”

Ember drew close to him again. “You’ll have her favor, wealth, and everypony will look up to you.”

“Everypony will love me?” he asked, uncertainly.

Captain Darkheart nodded. “Everypony will absolutely adore you.”

Ember giggled. “I know I already do.”

Sirius smiled, and again looked down at the pink vial he had clutched in his hoof. Persei, Mother, Cepheus….

Captain Darkheart leaned in closer, and they both began circling him. “You’ll be a hero,” Darkheart said, moving behind him.

“The envy of everpony in Equestria,” Ember added.

Sirius was staring at the pink vial. He recalled the image of Mother and him embracing. He longed to feel that warmth in real life. But once the glamor of his fantasy faded, he remembered the reality of it all. It was the reason why he had fled here in the first place.

Mother hated him. She had almost choked him to death. She had beaten him. She had starved him. She wouldn’t even let him near her. Sirius tightened his grip on the love potion.

Captain Darkheart and Ember stood together. “Do your duty to Nightmare Moon, the true mother of all the Nightborn people,” they said in unison. “She loves all her children of the night, and you can make her life easier by bringing even one of these criminals to justice.”

He had never thought of the Empress as a mother figure, but they were right. We were her children, and she loved us all.

Could Sirius really turn Mother in to them? She is a criminal after all.

The love potion glowed especially bright in his hoof.

But I love her, Sirius thought. Even after all the abuse, she was his mother. Her, Cepheus, Persei, they were all his family…

Darkheart and Ember watched him. “Make your choice, Sirius. Who do you want to stand with?”

Author's Note

I'm sorry about the long delay. I literally just got home from my trip.

This chapter is extra long to make up for the days I have missed. I will also be returning to my normal posting cycle now.

Thanks for your understanding.

Discussion/Feedback is always welcome.

Feel free to point out typos, or the like.

Chapter 5: Protective Instincts

Persei pressed the ice bag to Cepheus’ eye. He groaned, whining. “Mother and Sirius had to fight it out yesterday. Of all days, it had to be the one before my date.”

“It’ll be all right,” she muttered, digging through her make up. “Candle seems to like the rough types.”

That seemed to pacify him. She began to apply the white cover-up on the dark gray circle around his eye. He began to pout again. “What if she realizes I’m wearing make up? She’ll think I’m some….”

Persei tuned him out. She didn’t have the patience to deal with this, not today. There were more urgent things on her mind.

Like the fact that Mother was going into withdrawal.

Persei glanced over Cepheus’ shoulder. Mother was lying in bed, her eyes glazed open, staring at the prescription bottle set right in front of her face. She twitched, the ticks racking her entire body.

Mother had been taking the pills as long as Persei could remember. Of course the detox would be painful.

Mother would just have to tough it out, Persei told herself. But she couldn’t help but worry. Mother hadn’t slept a bit all night, and she looked as if she would breakdown any moment.

Persei also had some important questions for her. Mother had been keeping too many secrets.

Persei finished applying the last of the powder, and handed Cepheus a mirror. While he surveyed her handiwork, she moved past him. She sat in front of Mother, and they both stared at the pill bottle.

“Mother….” Persei whispered.

She didn’t respond. Persei sighed, and used her magic to levitate the pill bottle to the roof.

The response was immediate. Mother leapt up to get the drugs, but they were out of reach. Cepheus stared at Mother, startled.

Thank goodness Mother was an earth pony. Persei couldn’t imagine playing keep away from a pegasus or another unicorn. Persei waited until Mother stopped jumping to state her demands. She eventually gave up, the bottle out of her reach. She collapsed before Persei, sobbing.

Persei sighed. “Mother, before you can have the pills back, I need to know some things.” Mother stared at Persei, pain in her eyes. “I need to know how we got here. I need to know who my father was. I need to know who I am.”

Cepheus drew closer, sitting next to her. “Mother, we need to know where we came from.”

Mother shook her vehemently. “Leave the past in the past.”

“Mother….” Persei chided.

“I SAID LET IT BE!” She screamed.

Cepheus’ nostrils flared. “Fine, don’t tell us.”

Persei had never heard such a biting, sarcastic tone from her brother. A tear streaked down from Mother’s eye. “I don’t want you to think any less of me,” she hung her head. “Awful things happened. Tragedies that I would much rather forget.”

Mother sighed, and looked up, replaying the memories in her head. “It began when I grew pregnant with you two. Your father and I worked at Canterlot Central Hospital, the biggest medical complex in all of Equestria. I was a pharmacist researching fertility drugs, your father was the head official of the OB/GYN department. We were so happy, especially when we learned that we were having twins.”

Mother trailed off, cringing as if she had tasted something bitter. “Damn Church of Celestion. They ruined everything. They were some crazy cult that was present in all the main cities, and for some reason, Nightmare Moon was disturbed by their activities.”

Cepheus and Persei exchanged glances.

“They had prophesized the return of their fire goddess, their deity of worship that would destroy Nightmare Moon and her favored Nightborn race. They kept saying that she would be reborn any day now. Ponies began to ask questions. Where will she be reborn? How will she look like? Who will she be born to? How can we identify her?”

Mother shook her head. “It was raising such a commotion in the cities. The Dayborn ponies were challenging Nightmare Moon’s government. There were even some riots, and things were getting worse and worse. The Dayponies were desperate to cling to any ray of hope in their dark world, and the amount of followers of the Church skyrocketed. Everyone was talking about the Church, and Nightmare Moon began to crack down on them. Things were getting bad for them, so they made a prediction to where she would be reborn to provide their tenants with hope. Their prediction was that the fire goddess would be reborn in Canterlot Central Hospital. Since it was the largest hospital in all of Equestria, with thousands of foals being born there every month, statistically it would be the most likely place.”

“Everpony was looking to our hospital. The dayponies were waiting for their fire goddess. Her rebirth would signal the beginning of the war against their Nightborn oppressors. Nightmare Moon grew paranoid. It was a very tense situation. When nothing was happening, the believers in the Church of Celestion grew desperate. They began to see every anomaly during a foal’s birth as a mark of the fire goddess’ rebirth. There were panic sessions and bursts of violence every time some crackhead priest announced Celestion’s return.”

“Nothing happened though. Every false alarm shook the faith of the believers, but Nightmare Moon began taking precautions. Thus began a period of time where the dayborn were increasingly oppressed. Your father and I were so scared, and soon I went into labor. The Church of Celestion was growing increasingly desperate, and sent in their agents to fake the rebirth of the fire goddess. That’s when it happened. I was heavily sedated from the drugs, and your father was at my bedside. The power went out. The hospital was plunged into darkness.”

“Your father had to leave my bed to go restore power, or the hospital would lose many foals. I was in the room alone when it happened. In the total darkness, there was a beautiful light, a faint, warm glow from somewhere near me. It became brighter and brighter, filling the hospital with light. I passed out then. When I awoke, the power had been restored, and I heard the crying sounds of my two foals.”

Mother gestured to them. “You two. The joys of my life. We had been expecting two colts, but Persei came first, and we realized we had a filly and a colt.”

Mother sighed. “That’s when one of Nightmare Moon’s soldiers had come in. He told your father that something weird had happened and they would be checking all the foals that had been born in the past hour. They took you two away, and placed you inside the main room where all the other foals were.”

She paused, and she wailed in anguish. Cepheus and Persei jumped. “It was horrible what they did! When all the foals were in the room, the order had been given to kill all the fillies. They were throwing newborn fillies on the ground and stomping on them until there was nothing but a red stain left. The screaming was the most ungodly sound I had ever heard. I knew my foals were in danger, but I could barely move. I crawled out of my hospital bed and I saw your father trying to stop them. They struck him down, and did the same thing to him what they had done to all the fillies. I watched him die….”

Cepheus and Persei were holding each other, and Persei gulped. “If the order was given for all the fillies to be killed, how did I survive?”

Mother sniffed. “I dragged myself to the main room, and the floors were slick with blood, so I could easily slide to where you two were. It was such a mess. It was then the guards started going after the mothers as well, and I knew they were coming for me. They were dragging mares who had just given birth and were killing them there too.” Mother scrunched up her eyes. “There was so much blood….”

“I made it to your bed, and it was a moment that made me believe that there might actually be a god looking out for me. You two were unharmed, but were frightened and crying. You see, all the fillies wore pink onesies, while all the colts wore blue. They had put you both in blue onesies. We had been expecting two colts, so I guess the nurse accidentally gave you both the blue clothes. That’s what saved your life, Persei. A nurse’s mistake.”

Persei and her brother sat beside their mother and nuzzled her. Mother beamed and put her hooves around their necks. “That discovery that you both were still alive fired up my mother’s protective instincts. They would eventually find out that Persei was a filly, and they would come for all three of us. I found the strength to stand. I bundled you two up, and in a nurse’s disguise, I smuggled you two out of the hospital. I knew I had to get out of the city. It was pandemonium outside. Carriages were on fire, there were explosions in the streets, and police were firing crossbows into a crowd of dayborn rioters. News had spread of the hospital massacre.”

Persei shivered. Her Mother was the toughest mare she knew. To have gone through all that to protect her foals.

Mother sobbed, continuing. “Nightmare Moon had given the order for the Church of Celestion to be disbanded, and all the followers to be killed. The police were breaking down the doors of homes all over Equestria, killing anyone who wore the eight-sided star on around their necks. I managed to find an abandoned carriage in the city, and I put you two inside. I began to pull on the carriage, and I felt something tear. That’s when I feared that I had become sterile. Blood was dripping down my thighs, my womb torn up from giving birth to two foals and the strenuous activity. I reached the city outskirts, but I was stopped by the Nightguard security. They noticed I was wearing a bloody nurse’s uniform, so they figured I had come from the hospital. They were asking me questions, and then you two began to cry in the carriage. The Nightguard found you two in the backseat.”

Mother began to cry again. “I saw him. The same stallion that killed your father, he was there as well. He was the commander, the stallion who had been charged by Nightmare Moon to oversee and coordinate the hospital massacre. He knew that I was a refugee mother from the hospital. Then he had looked at me, and I realized what he would do to me.”

Mother tightened her hooves around their necks. “He stripped off my outfit, and I could hear you two crying from the other room. They had found out that Persei was a filly. Even though he was hurting me, I was more afraid for you two.”

She clenched her jaw, her hooves trembling. “He had pinned me down then…and I was in so much pain. He whispered in my ear as he ravished me, that he would kill my foals in front of me and leave me to bleed in the streets. After he was done, he put his armor back on, and ordered his soldiers to take me and the foals out back. They dragged me out, and as soon as they did, there was a commotion from inside. The two guards left us three outside, and there was an explosion. I lay there for hours, nursing you two, and no one came for us. I eventually found the strength to leave. I began travelling to the farthest reaches of civilization, and I grew pregnant.”

Cepheus cocked his head. “Pregnant? With whom?”

“Sirius,” Mother muttered.

Cepheus and Persei looked at each other. So that’s why she hated him so much, Persei thought. Sirius was a constant reminder to her of what had happened, and the stallion who had taken everything from her. Persei shivered. She would not be able to look at Sirius the same again.

Mother sighed, her ears drooped, and her eyes heavy with drowsiness. “So I gave birth to Sirius, and I eventually wound up here. And to this day, I remain here.”

Mother swallowed some of her pills and dozed off, exhausted. Persei and Cepheus nuzzled mother for what felt like an hour. Cepheus eventually leaned over to her. “Where do you think Sirius has gone? I’m worried about him.”

Persei shook her head. “I don’t know and I don’t care. I hope he never comes back.”

She looked away from her brother, and she could still feel Cepheus looking at her. He got up and left a moment later. “I’m going to go see Candle. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

He left the hovel then, and Persei was alone with Mother. She sighed. “Maybe she was right. Some things are better left in the past.”

Author's Note

How are you guys liking the story so far?

Feedback and discussion is encouraged.

Chapter 6: Initiation

Sirius stood on the skyscraper’s balcony, seeing the entire metropolis sprawled out before him. It was like a field of constantly moving lights, a nest of stars that fluctuated constantly. The wind swept up his black cape, the cold air running through the breaks in his black and violet armor. He spread out his wings, tasting the night.

He felt like he was on top of the world. Sirius could literally reach out and touch the clouds from his high perch.

It had been so long since he had taken a recreational flight. He wanted to go swim among the clouds while the moon was still out, but the smell of food lured him back inside.

He trotted across the moonbathed balcony and pushed open the glass sliding doors to his personal apartment. The room was luxurious as well as spacious. It had a master bathroom with a sauna and a roof that mimicked a starry night. He also had these devices called a refrigerator, microwave, oven, all common appliances which Sirius had lived without back at home.

What excited him the most was the king-sized plush bed with the big feathery pillows. Sirius had never slept in an actual bed before, though the bed seemed more suited for two or three ponies rather than just one.

Ember had said the extra room was for “entertaining guests”, and the way she had smiled at him afterwards had caused him to blush. She had then said that all his Night Terror training would be done in bed, which had caused him to blush again.

After Darkheart made a joke about him being a virgin, they had left him alone.

He needed to mentally prepare himself for his Night Terror initiation. Ember had advised him to sleep on his side in case he threw up. After tonight’s initiation, he would be provided an attendant to take care of his bodily needs as he dreamt and trained.

Sirius looked up at the poster on his roof, right above his bed. It was a giant portrait of Nightmare Moon, with the caption “Do your duty.” He smiled to himself. After tonight, he would officially be a part of the Empress’ elite secret police. He would become her eyes and ears in the dark.

He had done it. He had told them he had wanted to join the Night Terrors. They had cheered and congratulated him, and after giving him his initiate’s sleeping robes and armor, they had shown him this room.

Sirius beamed with pride. He was serving his nation, and when he graduated as a full-fledged Night Terror, he would move to Canterlot so he could be close to his Empress. He would then see Nightmare Moon daily, and he would be among her most leal servants. It was rumored that he might even have a chance of being granted immortality when he joined her inner circle.

He had finally found his place in this world. This was where he truly belonged, and it was right at Nightmare Moon’s side. Sirius grinned. “Who would have thought that I would actually amount to something?” he said to himself jokingly.

Sirius felt a twinge of sorrow then. Even though the memories of home brought him pain, he knew that there was one pony who had truly loved him: Cepheus. Sirius missed him sorely. What would his brother think of him becoming a Night Terror?

Sirius didn’t know, but he hoped that they could still be friends. Cepheus had a heart of gold and hopefully they would meet again someday. Sirius sighed, realizing that he hadn't even said goodbye to him. “Oh, Cepheus. I miss you already.”

He sat still for a while, the melancholy seeping into him. He didn’t want to think of it anymore.

His stomach rumbled, and he sat down on the floor to eat. He uncovered the platter of food. Sirius’ mouth watered, and he began to drool. There were things he had never seen before. A T-bone steak smothered in mashed potatoes and fragrant herbs was surrounded by these strange green vegetables called “asparagus”. He also had a plate of wheat rolls and all the butter he could want. Then there was also this strange can that had the dew of condensation on it.

He knocked off the lid, and he could hear the sound of the liquid fizzing inside. He looked into the can. White froth and bubbles had accumulated over the orange colored drink. He lowered his muzzle over the can, and tilted the lid of the can into his mouth. He took a sip, and giggled as the bubbles tickled his snoot. He drank the drink down, and hummed in pleasure as the orange flavor blossomed on his tongue.

After Sirius finished his food, he became drowsy and plunked himself down on his bed. He slid into the white covers, and tucked himself in. When the pegasus put his head on the pillow, he heard a crinkling sound.

Puzzled, Sirius pulled out a wrinkled paper from underneath the pillow. It was Mother’s wanted poster from Intelligence Central, but this time, there was something else with it. Above Mother’s picture, was a small note in a mare’s clean and curly handwriting.

“My dear Sirius, I am so glad that you have made the right decision. Together, you and I can ensure the continued prosperity of our family, the Nightborn ponies. You must bring this mare to justice. She is an outlaw, and the blood of hundreds of innocent foals is on her hooves. I know that she is your biological mother, but you must do what is right. I have faith in you, my beloved son.”

On the bottom of the note, it was signed “Nightmare Moon.”

Beloved son? Sirius gasped. Nightmare Moon had acknowledged him. The Empress of Equestria had noticed him, and had taken an interest in his life. That was more than his biological mother had ever done for him.

“Nightmare Moon said she loves me and called me her son,” he said to himself in awe. Sirius’ eyes fell back upon the picture of his mother. He made a flicking motion with his hoof and there was a sliding sound from within his armor. A metal blade appeared at the end of his hoof, extending a foot outwards. He jabbed the sword point into his mother’s portrait, driving it into the mare’s heart. “All I wanted was your love,” he whispered to her as he turned the blade, ripping the paper. He sniffed, tears welling up in his eyes.

Some reservoir of pent up emotion surged forward, breaking the floodgates which had held fast for his entire foalhood and early adult life. He began to slowly tear the paper, savoring the sound of the paper ripping. “I will treat you exactly how you treated me. It’s only fair.” He tore the poster into shreds. “I hate you, Mother,” he spat, anger coursing through him. “I hate you, and I promise that I will make you suffer.”

Sirius sheathed his hoof-blade and tossed the remnants of the paper away. He pulled the sheets over his head, seething. The fantasy image of him hugging Mother disintegrated. He tossed and turned, and his eyes caught the mahogany wardrobe at the other side of the room. A soft pink glow could be seen through the crack in the drawer. The Love Potion was in there. He would destroy it in the morning.

He closed his eyes, and sleep eventually came. The dreamscape opened up before him, but he instantly realized that this was no ordinary dream.

It seemed fake, artificial. Was this even his own dream?

Sirius was in a glass chamber with airtight sliding doors. The room was brightly lit, but grew dimmer as time progressed. Is this a nightmare?

He noticed more details as he looked around. He was in a hallway, behind him, past another set of airtight sliding doors, was what appeared to be a hospital corridor. In front of him were more sliding doors, which led into a large operating room.

He breathed in the stale recycled air, and leaned forward, washing his hooves in a sink. Sirius looked down and he noticed that he was wearing a surgeon’s outfit.

The airtight doors behind him slid open, and another pony entered the room. Sirius stared at what appeared to be a darker, more feral looking version of himself. He was bigger and more muscular as well. Dark Sirius acknowledged him with a nod, and slammed his hoof down on a red button on the wall.

Steam jets blasted the room, cleansing both stallions of any outside contaminants. Dark Sirius slipped on his surgeon’s mask, and addressed him. “Alright,” he said in a deeper, more masculine voice than his own. “Our patient has taken a turn for the worse, and it’s up to us to save her.” Dark Sirius hit a lever on the wall, and faced the doors. “Prepare to enter the clean room, and may Nightmare Moon have mercy on this poor mare’s soul.”

The room had been growing steadily darker, and the light turned red. The sliding doors hissed as they opened, granting entry into the dimly lit operating room. The only light they had was from the bright surgeon lamps above the operating table, and the light from the other medical equipment.

Dark Sirius rushed in, and he reluctantly followed. The sliding doors slammed shut behind him, almost catching his tail. He looked at the operating table. A tarp had been set over it, and he could see the outline of the patient underneath.

The mare sobbed, gasping in pain. “Are you just going to stand there?” the other surgeon demanded, holding up a scalpel. “She’s running out of time!”

The dark stallion grabbed the edges of the tarp and whipped it off. Sirius wanted to vomit, and he might have. The mare began to scream in pain. Vomit dripped down the side of her muzzle, large black sores all over her body were oozing blood, her eyes were yellowed with jaundice, and she was sweating profusely.

Sirius overcame his initial fright, and drew closer. She looked familiar. As Dark Sirius injected morphine into her IV drip, Sirius inspected the diseased pegasus. He saw himself. Or herself in this case. It was a female version of Sirius, and she was dying.

Dark Sirius handed him a scalpel, staring into his eyes with dire urgency. “We must stop the infection,” he said, gesturing to the black, bleeding sores. “Necrosis: mass tissue death. That’s what those black sores are. We need to cut it all out, or else the infection will devour her heart by the end of this hour.”

Sirius felt sick, his hooves trembling as he held the scalpel. He felt like he was being watched. The pegasus looked up, and he saw the large panoramic window near the roof of the operating room. A cloaked pony was standing there, watching their every move. The pony was wearing a hood, but Sirius could see two piercing red eyes.

Sirius shuddered, and returned his focus on saving the mare. Dark Sirius had begun cutting out a patch of dead flesh on her belly. Sirius hesitated. The other stallion shouted at him. “Sirius! Remove the dead flesh or she’ll die!”

Sirius swallowed and drove the scalpel into the smallest sore he could find. It was near her groin, and instantly Sirius recalled a memory. It was when he had first come to the city. The two streetwalking mares who had sexually assaulted him came to mind. Admittedly, it still kind of bothered him. He pushed it down, and the memory filled with light, and disappeared.

Sirius opened his eyes and looked down at the sore. He had successfully cut it out, and he was still holding the bloody scalpel over it. Dark Sirius noticed it. “Good job, now go for the bigger ones.”

Sirius felt more confident, and went for a much larger sore near her heart. He cut away some of her fur, and drove the scalpel in. Another memory played out in his head, but this time it was much more painful. Mother had her hooves wrapped around his throat, and he was choking, begging for her to love him. Sirius felt a tear in his eye, but he grabbed onto the most powerful emotion he had. Anger. Hot white rage directed towards his mother erupted from within, and the memory was burned away.

He heard a mare’s voice in his head. “Good, now deal with the source of the pain. The infection itself.”

Sirius opened his eyes. Female Sirius was gone, and on the operating table was Mother.

Her beige coat was damp with perspiration, and her hazelnut mane was tangled and unruly. Mother stared at Sirius in terror, heaving, trying to break free of her physical restraints. Dark Sirius injected a sedative into her IVs and Mother stopped moving. Her eyes were still wide open, glazed with terror.

A mare’s voice echoed on the intercom, and he looked up at the hooded pony standing in the Observation Room. She was the one who was instructing him. “Eliminate the infection, Sirius. That is your initiation. She is the root of all your heartache.”

Mother moaned, and Sirius looked down at her. He was holding the bloody scalpel in his hand, and his hoof trembled. The mare spoke again on the intercom. “My power has amplified your dreamwalking range of influence. You alone know where she is, and you alone brought her here. I merely helped.”

Dark Sirius rolled a cart to him, and on top was a whole array of surgical tools. Sirius ran his hooves over the scalpels, hooks, sutures, forceps, needles, scissors and the other tools. The mare laughed over the intercom. “You know what to do. Your powers have been amplified for this test. She is at your mercy.”

Sirius grazed his scalpel across her chest, causing a thin red streak to rise up. Mother moaned again, tears running from her eyes. She deserves this, he told himself. She had turned him into this, and now she would suffer the wrath of her own creation.

Mother looked him in the eyes, pleading. Sirius tightened his grip on the scalpel, wanting to make another, deeper incision.

She deserved this. He knew that. Yet, Sirius was still unsure.

She deserves this….

Author's Note

The end part of this chapter is intensely psychological. It holds a lot of deeper meaning.

I want to know what the readers think of this situation. What would you do if you were in Sirius' place?

Comments/Feedback/Discussion is encouraged.

Chapter 7: An Evening by Candelight

Cepheus trotted out from the back-entrance of the hovel. He stopped and looked at the sky, the moon, and the stars. A soft breeze caressed his golden mane, the air balmy and carrying the smoky scent of meals being prepared over cooking fires.

He inhaled deeply, taking it all in. The striations of wispy looking clouds overhead gave the starry night the appearance of a black, diamond-studded fabric.

The moon hung directly overhead, meaning Cepheus had a good few hours of moonlight left. Fate had granted him ideal weather for his date. He just hoped that Candle didn’t notice the makeup over his black eye. He rubbed the spot, the bruise still sore.

Mother was an earth pony, a mare born for farming, and she had hooves of iron. Cepheus had now experienced it firsthand. Candle was an earth pony too. She was probably just as strong as Mother, if not stronger. Her well-toned flank definitely said so.

Cepheus grinned, thinking about his date with Candle. He was still nervous though, after all, this was his first date. Ever.

He began trotting toward Chicken Noodle’s hovel. The quaint little chef donkey had made a very nice picnic basket for him and Candle. Cepheus would pick up the basket, along with a tablecloth and some candles, and head over to his super-romantic spot where he would meet the lovely mare.

He was giddy, but then he remembered something that dampened his mood. Sirius would have loved this development in his love life, Cepheus thought.

He turned around and faced the hovel, seeing the shabby awning where his brother slept. “Where have you gone, Sirius?” he pondered aloud. “Have you run away?”

Cepheus missed him. They were best pals, and they may never see each other again. Sirius had been gone for two days now. Cepheus sighed. “I hope that wherever you are, you’re happy. No matter whom you may become, or what you might do, you will always be my brother.”

Cepheus didn’t care about him being a rape-foal, or any of that. Sirius was not to blame for what his father had done, or the fashion he had been created in. I hope you’re all right, Sirius.

Cepheus pushed down his concern for Sirius. He was a grown stallion and a pegasus, he could take care of himself.

His heart still ached, but he was distracted by the image of Candle’s swaying plot. Just the thought was hypnotic. Cepheus sighed, hopelessly infatuated. His heart wanted a long term relationship that would hopefully blossom into a happy marriage, but his loins were screaming “one night stand.”

Cepheus wiggled uncomfortably. “Think clean thoughts. Think clean thoughts,” he repeated to himself over and over again.

He trotted through the cobblestone paths of the village, and finally arrived at Chicken Noodle’s hovel. Cepheus’ mouth watered at the smell of the meal Chicken had prepared for both of them.

The donkey chef appeared in the doorway, his chef’s hat as tall as he was. Chicken saw Cepheus and waved at him.

Cepheus waved back, beaming. “Hey,” he said cheerily, approaching the donkey. “What’s up chicken-butt?”

“Pfftt,” the donkey made an annoyed sound. “You’ve greeted me with that joke ever since you were a colt. How about something new, and maybe something not involving my butt?”

Cepheus put a hoof to his chin, thinking. “Well, you’re still an ass.”

They both laughed, and Cepheus put his wing around the good humored donkey. Chicken finally stopped laughing, wiping a tear from his eye. “Oh, Cepheus. I’m glad you’re still a colt in some ways. Ponies become boring when they become adults, but not you.”

Chicken handed him the basket, the containers within blasting heat. “Say hello to your mother and Persei for me.”

Cepheus took the handle of the basket into his mouth and nodded. The tablecloth, candles, and matches were stowed inside. He was ready.

He trotted away from Chicken’s hovel and instead of following the cobblestone path, he headed into the brush. The path he walked on was a secret passage that he had one day hacked out when he was a colt. It had served as an emergency escape route during one of his more dramatic pranks. Cepheus had eluded many angry adults using this path.

He still often used it, all the brush still trodden down and branches broken. Candle would have to use the long way around, and that would give him lots of time to set up the picnic.

Cepheus finally arrived at his super-secret awesomely romantic spot. He stood before a clearing surrounded by a thick circle of foliage and tall oak trees that would provide them with maximum privacy and seclusion. In the center of the clearing was a tranquil glen, and he set down the basket at its bank.

He set out the tablecloth, and set up two plates and the appropriate cutlery. He held the matches in his mouth, and using his dexterous wings, he held up the scratch pad and rubbed it against the matches. They all caught fire, and he bent down over every candle, lighting them all quickly before he began to feel the matches burn his muzzle.

Cepheus spat out the nearly spent matches, and stomped his hoof over them. He had been careful, but he had still burned his lips. That’s why Persei always lit the matches. That pyromaniac unicorn was good at lighting things on fire. Not so much at putting them out. They had learned that the hard way, and that was the last time his sister had ever played a part in his pranks.

There. He had set down the last of the food, and the picnic was all ready. Now, all the eager young pegasus had to do was to wait for his date to show up.

He waited a while, watching the moon’s silver reflection upon the calm waters of the glen. The wind skimmed the surface of the water, creating tiny distortions in the water.

“Hello, Cepheus,” a mare addressed him.

He had been so intently watching the water that he hadn’t noticed Candle’s arrival. Cepheus stood up, rushed to her, and nuzzled her softly. “I’m glad you’re here, and I hope you’ve brought your appetite because…” Cepheus pointed both hoof and wing at all the food.

Candle was awed, and she grinned. She leaned in and nuzzled him affectionately, and his heart sang.

Cepheus sat her down and quickly moved to his side. “I hope you like it,” he said, watching her unpack two bowls of salad. “My pal Chef Chicken said you had admitted that you loved his food, but you never placed an order or ate there.”

Candle was visibly drooling as she unpacked the rest of the food: a platter of hay burgers, some of Chicken Noodle’s signature Chicken Noodle soup, and some Canterlot Strawberry Cheesecake for dessert. Her brown eyes beamed, surveying it all. “Yes, I do love his food,” she said, looking up at Cepheus. “But his food was rather expensive, and my family is too poor to afford it."

“Oh,” Cepheus whispered. He smiled. “Well, this will be an extra special treat then!”

Candle grinned at him, but he could detect a hint of sorrow in that lovely face. “Thank you,” she whispered. There was an awkward pause, and Cepheus wiggled uncomfortably. “Sooo,” she said, shoveling salad into her plate. “How’s your family? I know your mother has been ill of late.”

Cepheus nodded. “Yeah,” he scratched the back of his head with his wing. “She has a drug problem my sister and I are trying to deal with. Strangely, Persei hasn’t mentioned it at all lately. She used to be right on top of it, but now I think she’s taking a break to reconsider tactics.”

“Ah, my father used to be a drug addict too.” Candle looked towards the glen. “I wish I could have been as proactive as you two have been. Perhaps I could have saved him if I had acted earlier.”

Candle closed her eyes and took a bite of her salad. Cepheus swallowed. “I am sorry for your loss, but you cannot blame yourself. If my sister wasn’t such a control freak, and I mean that in the best way possible, I would have let it be as well. When Mother is high on the drugs, she actually seems happy. Relaxed. I thought she wasn’t hurting anyone with her habit, so why stop it?” Candle looked into his eyes, and he blinked. “But, Persei pointed it out to me that drifting night to night in some drug induced stupor is no way to live. Mother was a slave to her pills, and she didn’t even know it. She almost killed my brother over them a few days ago.”

“Really?” Candle’s eyes were wide. “She would kill to secure her next fix?”

Cepheus nodded gravely. “That’s what the drugs do to you. The addict mind’s top priority is to get high again. Nothing else matters. A mother will even risk the life of her foals to get some.” He shuddered. Drugs were a terrifying thing. “Poor Sirius,” he whispered. “My brother tried to take the pills by force, and she would have killed him if Persei wasn’t there.”

“How is he?” Candle said, concern in her eyes as she sipped from her soup bowl. “The poor stallion must be traumatized.”

Cepheus sighed. “My brother ran away right after she did it. He’s a pegasus so he really could be anywhere, and I am worried for him. But I’m sure he’ll return.”

He munched down on his salad, trying to not think about it. Candle seemed lost in thought, her bowl empty. “It’s so strange though. My father was as addicted to Angel Dust as your mother was to her pills, but murdering your own foal over it? I can’t help but feel that there may be more to your mother’s addiction than meets the eye.”

You have no idea. She had a very rough life, and Mother didn’t really consider Sirius to be her foal. But if Mother had been forced to choose between the drugs and the life of all three of her foals, what would she do? Cepheus wanted to say that of course she would choose her foals, but he couldn’t do it. The uncertainty terrified him.

He felt a hoof touching his, and blushed. He looked up and saw Candle staring him right in the eyes. The candlelight gleamed in her eyes, warming her face. She offered him a smile. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’re the stallion of the house.” Cepheus looked up at her. “I feel like you and your sister have become like parents to your Mother and brother. That is so admirable….”

She trailed off. Candle was looking at him intently, her brown eyes full of some kind of desire. Cepheus suddenly felt warm inside. A mare wants a stallion who can stabilize her life, Persei’s advice echoed in his head.

Cepheus had a wild impulse. He flattened his ears to his head, closed his eyes, puckered his lips, leaned forward, and hoped for the best. He felt like he had jumped off a cliff, and he was counting on her to catch him. There was a moment of empty space before he felt her warm lips pressing against his.

He felt like he had swallowed hot silver, and his veins ignited with warmth and light. Cepheus drew away, and opened his eyes. Candle was blushing prettily, looking shyly at him. “This was really nice,” she said, gesturing at the food. “We should definitely do this again sometime.”

Cepheus was too dazed to speak, but he didn’t want her to leave just yet. He rose to meet her, but then there was a loud burst in his ear. “Ack!” he cried out.

Candle groaned, and looked up at the sky. There had been a sonic boom of some sort, and now it looked like a meteor of some kind was streaking across the sky. It was getting bigger. It was then Cepheus noticed that it was headed right towards them. “Aw, hell,” he yelled, and instinctively jumped onto Candle, wrapping his wings around her, shielding her with his body.

There was a tremendous upheaval of an object hitting the ground, and his back was showered in caustic gravel and burning earth. Cepheus groaned as he was burned, and Candle was screaming.

The pain caused him to hold onto Candle tighter, not wanting to her to feel the agony he was feeling. The upheaval had subsided into silence, but Cepheus couldn’t move. He opened his eyes to see what had happened, but his eyesight was too blurry. He moved his wing, and gasped in pain. Each attempt at motion felt like he was tearing his skin, the smell of smoking feathers and burnt flesh filled the air.

Candle wriggled underneath him. “Cepheus, are you all right!?”

A sharp stab of pain caused him to gasp, and for a moment he couldn’t breathe. She began to panic, and pried away his wings. Cepheus howled and he felt himself being lifted up. Candle had slung him over her back, and he felt her begin to trot with ease.

Through his blurry vision, he looked at her face. Candle’s eyes were lit with determination, her mouth arched in a fierce snarl. It was strangely arousing. I want to have foals with you, he thought. This mare is tough as nails. He gasped in pain as she stumbled.

Cepheus looked around and saw the impact crater. The water in the glen had all become steam, and he heard a groan from within. Cepheus gasped, but Candle hadn’t heard it.

There was another groan, much louder and urgent. Candle turned around, and Cepheus’ vision was swiveled around and now he could only see the crater from his periphery. From the edge of the glen’s bank, a shimmering white hoof grappled with the loose dirt.

Candle and he watched in mute terror.

Another shimmering hoof appeared beside the other, and he could hear her grunting. What the hay? Cepheus thought. Is that a mare?

The white mare pulled herself up, and pushed herself onto the bank. Cepheus stared, amazed. She had a purple mane that glowed and swayed like flame. Her horn protruded from the lilac inferno, and her violet eyes blazed. The light from her radiant white skin faded, and he could see her cutie mark. It appeared to be a ball of fire, with a swaying purple line through it.

Cepheus felt as if he should flee, but he was transfixed. The mare saw the two ponies, and began moving towards them. She was limping, perhaps injured by her crash landing. The strange mare seemed exhausted, and collapsed. Candle sprang into action, and knelt down before her. “Are you okay?!”

The mare moaned in pain. “They’re coming,” she whispered.

Cepheus tilted his head so he could see better, and saw that the mare was bleeding. Candle cocked her head, frightened. “Who’s coming?”

“The Nightguard. They’ve suddenly gained an interest in the fringe colonies.” The mare picked herself up, her hooves trembling. “They’ve been raiding and burning, and I’ve managed to stay ahead, but…they’ll be here soon.”

Candle shook her head. “Nightmare Moon has never touched the colonies, because we were outcasts who were no threat to her. What happened so we are now in her sights?”

“I don’t know,” the mare coughed. “It’s as if they’re looking for something.”

Candle was in disbelief. “How do you know this? Who the hay are you?”

“My name is Ultra Violet,” she said weakly. She looked at him, surveying his burns. “That stallion needs medical attention. I can’t dare to hope that there is a doctor in this village?”

“Mother….” Cepheus groaned.

Candle nodded. “Yes, we have a doctor. We need to get to her right away.”

Ultra Violet nodded, her horn began to glow, and Cepheus gasped in pain as he was levitated with magic. They began to gallop to Mother’s hovel and he floated above Ultra Violet as they tore through the underbrush.

Before they even got close, Cepheus heard Persei’s panicked cries. The hovel came into sight, and he saw Persei outside, wailing.

Candle, Cepheus, and Ultra Violet rushed to her. Ultra Violet shook Persei, and she quickly grew silent. “Is there a doctor in there? This stallion is badly burned!”

Persei saw Cepheus floating aloft in Violet’s purple magical aura, and she began to cry again. “Cepheus!”

Candle put a hoof on Persei’s shoulder. “Get it together! Where’s your mother?”

Persei began to shake her head. “She won’t wake up!”

What? Cepheus thought. He was reminded of what he and Candle had talked about. Was it an overdose? Just the idea terrified him.

Persei collapsed, sobbing. “I don’t know what to do!”

They all rushed inside, and Violet laid Cepheus down on a bundle of blankets. Candle and Persei stared at Mother. Cepheus watched them in a dreamy stupor.

Mother was perspiring heavily, groaning, and kicking her hooves in distress. Was she having some kind of nightmare? Or was this some kind of symptom of an overdose?

Cepheus’ vision grew hazy, and the last few things he saw was Ultra Violet rifling through the cabinets, looking for something to treat his burns with. Persei was shaking Mother, and Candle stood by her side, both equally powerless to help Mother.

Author's Note

This was Cepheus' first chapter, and Ultra Violet is the first of many characters to be introduced.

Discussion is encouraged.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Regarding chapter 8, please read the blog post on "Optional Chapters". There will be two versions of chapter 8, one will be normal, and one version will contain high amounts of grimdark. Please read the blog post for further details.

Chapter 8: Fractured (Standard)

Sirius couldn’t do it. He couldn’t. The scalpel trembled in his hoof. He had cut her once, but he couldn’t muster the willpower to do it again.

Dark Sirius was watching quietly. “It’s been two hours,” he whispered. “Will you give this mare the treatment, or not?”

“I..I can’t,” he gasped, tears in his eyes. “This isn’t what I wanted…this is sadistic.”

The strange mare in the observation room came back on the intercom. “Sirius, remember that your mother is a criminal. Her punishment is death, and you are merely the executioner.”

Dark Sirius nodded. “Justice demands that she die. Let it be done.”

Mother was watching him in terror, all attempts at resistance gone. It was as if she had accepted her fate.

What the shadow pegasus was saying made sense. She did deserve this for all the harm she had done to him.

Sirius swallowed, and lowered the scalpel onto her belly. It broke her skin, and dark red blood welled up. The sight of it made him want to retch, but he didn’t take the scalpel back. “If you’re uncomfortable,” Dark Sirius boomed in his masculine voice. “Go for the jugular vein. It’ll be a quick and painless death. A lenient death compared to what I would do to her.”

Sirius took his advice. Torture was out of the question, or was it? He scratched the edge of her throat, and she moaned. He hesitated. The mare came back on the intercom, and she sounded frustrated. “One of you will not leave this dream alive! Kill her!”

Sirius closed his eyes and put all his weight into the scalpel. There was a squelching sound that turned his stomach. He opened his eyes, and saw the scalpel’s razor edge embedded in the fabric of the operating table. Another mare’s hoof was holding his from across the table. She had prevented him from dealing the fatal blow.

Sirius grew irrationally bitter, and looked up in defiance at the other mare. It was Female Sirius. She was recovering from her surgery, and was still in her hospital gown. “Don’t do this, Sirius. You’re a good stallion with a bright heart. This isn’t you.”

Sirius stared into her blue eyes, enchanted. She was beautiful. She smiled sadly at him, but he heard Dark Sirius hiss in anger. “Don’t listen to her!” he shouted, and broke She-Sirius’ spell on him. The shadow pegasus towered over him. “Your Mother has abused you your entire life! She would rather kill you than admit she loved you!”

She-Sirius protested, her voice feminine and smooth. “Your Mother is not a bad mare! She has had a rough life, full of trauma and pain, and has succumbed to the wiles of drugs and alcohol. Deep down, she didn’t really want to kill you, she just wanted the drugs! The drugs have warped her mind, so she doesn’t think of the consequences of her actions. Your Mother has a serious medical condition that has impaired her judgment, give her a break!”

It was then Sirius saw it. Dark Sirius and She-Sirius were different aspects of his own mind. Dark Sirius was his logic, his rationale. She-Sirius was his emotions, his compassion. His heart was broken, but it was still there. She-Sirius’ ability to speak on the behalf of his emotions proved that.

Dark Sirius spat at her, snorting. “So what if she’s a drug addict? So what if she’s an alcoholic? That’s no excuse to abuse your own son! That’s no excuse to cut him off from your love and treat him like an outcast!” Sirius felt a flare of anger. The shadow pegasus grabbed his hoof and slid it across Mother’s belly. A large gash surfaced and streaks of red flooded out. Sirius smiled in satisfaction. “Sweet retribution,” Dark Sirius and he said at the same time.

She-Sirius screamed, begging for him to stop. “Sirius! You are better than this!” She leaned over the table and touched his head. The image of Mother and him embracing was forced into his mind. Sirius grunted, resisting her influence. “Give her another chance! She was wrong to hurt you, but two wrongs don’t make a right!” Sirius blinked, understanding. “She has a broken heart. You must use the Love Potion to heal it, and you will see how she will let you in! That fantasy can still be a reality!”

Sirius felt like his eyes had been opened. He now saw the specter’s clawed hand gripping his hoof. He became aware of how it was trying to force his hoof down, wanting Sirius to gut his own mother. He was horrified, and saw the shade behind him.

She-Sirius yelled at him. “Don’t look at it!” He immediately faced her, shocked and scared. “That entity is a manifestation of your hate! It has warped your reasoning, and it will consume you if you’re not careful!”

Sirius groaned, and it felt as if a heavy weight had been put on his back. He realized that the hate entity was leaning on Sirius, forcing him down. “Help me,” he groaned.

“Look at me, Sirius.” She-Sirius took his hoof, kissing it. “You alone can make this go away. No one else. Let go of your hate, for it is the true infection eating your heart. Not your Mother, not Persei, not anyone.” She-Sirius drew near, and he could feel her warm breath against his muzzle. “Let it go, my beloved. Forgive her, and you will find the weight removed.” Sirius groaned, feeling like his spine would snap. He was distracted by her lips brushing against his, and he felt the warmth of healing inside. “Let the past make you better, not bitter.” She whispered. “Hate has no place in the heart of a noble stallion such as you.”

Sirius looked over at Dark Sirius, who regarded him sadly. “She has made her case, and so have I. Make your choice.” The shadow pegasus gesture at the female version of himself. “Mercy?” Dark Sirius puffed out his chest and stood tall. “Or justice?”

Sirius could feel the heavy weight of the hate entity shrouding him, but he knew if he embraced it, it could raise him up. It could drive him to become more powerful. But if he did, he would lose some part of himself. While hate was strengthened, its counteracting force, love, would be diminished. Will it truly consume me?

He knew that every terrible villain stood right here at a junction like this. Every drug addict started out with his first dose. Every mass murderer began with the first victim. Every suicide committed started with the first depressed thought.

Would killing Mother lead him down a path he couldn’t turn back from?

Evil has an addictive quality to it. It would pull him in, and each subsequent evil action would increase his tolerance for it, and soon it would become easy. He wouldn’t think twice of it. Exactly like a drug addict, his doses would steadily increase, until the fateful day where he was so far gone that he overdosed. Wickedness worked the same way.

It felt good until you crashed. Until you realized that you are truly alone, and everyone has fled from you. By then, your life is ruined, and it’ll be too late.

Sirius put down the scalpel gently. He had made up his mind. She-Sirius smiled, knowing who the victor was. Sirius was happy, and it really did feel like a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He leaned over the operating table and kissed his mother’s cheek, and whispered in her ear. “I forgive you.”

Mother stared at him, mute. There was a shrill scream over the intercom, and sirens started going off. They all looked around as metal doors came down over the airtight doors, sealing the exits, the biohazard symbol glaring at them. Dark Sirius howled. “The emergency quarantine protocols! We have to get out of here!”

Dark Sirius ripped Mother’s operating table from the mount and carried it on his back. “Let’s go!” Sirius and the embodiment of his rationale charged the doors. Sirius banged on the metal doors to no avail. “It’s no use!” they both cried at the same time.

Female Sirius was cowering in the corner of the room, trembling, too frightened to move. The glass of the observation room shattered, and all the medical equipment began to short circuit and catch on fire. The mysterious mare jumped down from the observation room, and slammed down onto the ground, sending broken white linoleum tiles flying in the air. “You will not leave here until that mare is dead!” she screamed.

“Bite me!” Sirius called.

Black iron shackles forged from the plumbing below, ripped through the floor and ensnared Sirius and held him aloft. He was screaming, the world spinning around upside down as the magical shackles swung him around. “Hold on, Sirius!” Dark Sirius called, and took wing. He deftly dodged the chains, and flew towards him. Their hooves touched, and a beam of red energy knocked his shadow-self out of the sky.

Dark Sirius crashed into the wall and tumbled to the ground. The chains were upon him then, and pinned him to the floor. Sirius tried to struggle in his chains, but he knew that he was trapped. He saw Mother’s operating table thrown to the side, and Sirius cringed as it shattered against the wall. Mother lay there in the debris of the table, unmoving.

The observer mare cast off her hood, and Sirius stared in shock. The ruby eyes, the bright pelt, it was Ember. “Initiate Sirius, I see that you still resist. Your manifestation of hate was offering you an unlimited supply of power, but you turned it down because you feared that you would lose yourself.”

Sirius remained suspended, his wings pinned to his body. Dark Sirius was covered in chains, being crushed. There was a cry of pain, but it was from neither of them. Ember looked at She-Sirius, who was picking out jagged pieces of glass from her wings. She had Mother in her forelegs, and was trying to carry her up into the observation room. But she was too injured, and crashed against the wall every time. Like an injured sparrow, she couldn’t truly take flight. The blood spatters on the walls suggested that she had tried ascending dozens of times.

Ember looked at the two injured mares, and grinned maliciously. She looked back at Sirius. “To join the Night Terrors, a pony must submit himself to whatever changes his instructor wishes to administer.”

Ember turned to the two trembling mares in the corner of the room, and Sirius struggled in his chains. “Leave them alone!” he shouted. “Don’t you dare touch my mother!”

“I’m doing this for your own good!” she responded. “You will be removed of this parasite, so I will be free to craft you into a form Nightmare Moon can use!”

She-Sirius and Mother were huddled together in the corner, hooves wrapped around each other, eyes lit with terror as Ember approached them. Sirius watched in horror, and begged her to stop. “Please! She’s my mother! Please….”

Ember flashed him a wolfish grin. “Oh, I’m not going to touch your mother.”

What? Sirius thought. Ember flicked her hooves, and a long serrated blade slid out from the sheath strapped to her hoof. With a single motion, Ember drove the blade into She-Sirius’ chest. Sirius, Mother, and Dark Sirius stared in terror as Ember raised the impaled mare into the air. Blood dripped from her muzzle, and she twitched a few times before going still.

Ember slung She-Sirius’ corpse off her blade, and she hit the wall with a sick thud.

It struck Sirius like a searing knife then. The chains released him, and he writhed in agony on the floor. Dark Sirius and he were screaming in unison. “No! No! NO!”

Sirius mind felt like it had been torn apart. A vital part of his being had been destroyed. He lay on the ground, and he felt all semblance of emotion drain away from him. All the conflicted feelings: his budding sense of belonging, all the love he had ever known, his happiness, his grief, everything was bleeding out of him.

Dark Sirius was howling in agony, clutching his head, and wrapping his head in his wings. There was a moment of complete disembodiment, an echoing empty feeling that sapped Sirius’ very desire to live. Sirius felt a sharp stab of pain, and something snapped.

His forebrain had been dealt a devastating blow, and his hindbrain moved to fill the gap. Animal urges, sick and feral rose up within him. Is this what going insane feels like?

He writhed, arching his back up, spreading his wings out. He snarled and snapped, everything that made a pony a pony was now gone. A cold calm swept over him, sedating him. He grew still and slowly stood up. His heart was empty, his mind indifferent. He trotted to the center of the room.

The scent of blood filled his nostrils. What’s happened to me? A thought came to him, but it felt so distant that it was barely audible. Ember was watching him in satisfaction, and he wanted to do such terrible things to her that it filled every fiber of his being. She must have noticed, because her smug grin changed into one of fear.

Sirius trotted towards her, and changed his mind. He would learn her weaknesses, and make her suffer until she begged him to take her life. He would not take this assault on his psyche without some retaliation.

Sirius grinned at her, and Ember seemed to be relieved. “It’s been a pleasure,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I will repay you for this tenfold one day.”

Ember blinked. She wasn’t sure if this was a threat or not, but she dismissed it. “You have so much potential as a Night Terror. I’ve never seen a pony convince himself not to take the life of a hated enemy.”

He would let Ember live for now, but he had another pony to deal with right now.

Sirius looked at Mother still cowering in the corner. He trotted towards her, and on his way there, his hoof hit something. A power drill made for boring through bone lay on the ground. He picked it up, and pulled the trigger. The bit began to spin around rapidly, making a whirring sound.

Sirius looked at Mother then, and she began to weep. Sirius approached her, and she was trying to drag herself away from him. Her fore-hooves trembled, the drugs still impairing her movements. Sirius slammed his hoof down on her back, pinning her to the ground. He pressed down on the drill’s trigger, and Mother screamed.

The sounds of her struggle were delightful. He began to lower the drill, and he realized that he was grinning. Sirius wasn’t doing this because he hated her, or for vengeance, not even for Ember’s test. He was doing it because he enjoyed it.

He drove the drill into the back of her head. There was the sound of flesh ripping as the drill bore through her flesh. She screamed in agony, and writhed. He forced the drill deeper, and he could hear the reassuring crunch when he penetrated her brain stem.

The part of her brain that regulated her life functions was destroyed, and Mother began to go into cardiac arrest. Sirius removed the drill and kicked her onto her back. He watched her struggle for breath, but it was futile. Her movements became less dramatic, until she stopped moving entirely. There was a strangled moan, and she fell silent forever.

Sirius dropped the bloody drill. The deed was done. He expected to feel something: remorse, pity, regret, but he felt nothing. Just clarity, and a spark of triumph.

Mother’s dead eyes stared at him, and somewhere, She-Sirius was watching him as well. Ember began to applaud him, and Sirius smiled viciously.

Author's Note

This was intense, and some of you may have recognized this chapter's potential for grimdark.

Chapter 8.5 (Grimdark Option) is available to read as well. If you are still confused about optional chapters, read my most recent blog post.

Feedback/Discussion is encouraged.

Chapter 8.5: Fractured (Grimdark Option)

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 9: Into the Forest

Mother simply wouldn’t wake. They had all taken turns shaking her, yelling into her ears, but she didn’t even respond. They had pricked her with needles, dunked her head in ice water, shocked her with an electrical current, and had even simulated suffocation, but still she slept.

Was this some kind of effect of the detox? As the hours passed, Persei grew more uncertain. Was she in some kind of coma?

They had all given up, sleepy and exhausted from the day’s trials and tribulations. They would try again in the morning.

Persei had considered sneaking off into the forest to find Mother’s pills, but what if Mother’s coma wasn’t related to the drugs at all? Mother worked with all sorts of medications, maybe she had ingested some potent drug by accident. Persei sighed, knowing she was just flat out guessing now.

Is this my fault? Persei thought. What if Mother never wakes up?

Persei looked around to distract herself. These thoughts would kill her.

The outside world had darkened into a black void, and the four ponies huddled inside the small hovel. Cepheus rested, his burns iced and bandaged. He groaned in pain every now and then, and Candle kissed him softly and held him in her hooves. Persei looked away every time she showed him affection.

Apparently Cepheus had shielded her with his body. She caught Candle looking at him with that soft glow in her brown eyes. It was the look of absolute adoration. Persei looked away.

She hated to admit it, but she was feeling jealous of the intimate bond forged between the two ponies. They had helped each other survive a traumatic event, and they would always share a special connection now. Persei would have snorted if she weren’t feeling so bad.

Her eyes caught the strange mare as she surveyed her surroundings. The pony who called herself “Ultra Violet” lay next to the window, staring out into the darkness warily every now and then.

Persei was very uncomfortable about having her here. Violet was obviously a very powerful unicorn to manage the spell that had resulted in her crash landing. Another thing that Persei noticed was that she was very physically fit for a unicorn. Such a level of fitness was very uncommon for unicorns, since they relied more on their intellect and magic for their lifestyle.

And her mane was so odd. It was gently swaying, as if it were an actual flame. Or was moving in accordance to some unseen breeze.

The same questions haunted Persei again. Who was she? Why was she here?

She had asked Violet those questions, but she said she would talk after she had rested. Violet insisted that she needed sleep, but wasn’t doing so at all. She just kept looking out the window, expecting someone to show up at any moment.

Persei didn’t trust her. She was a new variable in her life, and was claiming that the Night Guard was coming to destroy their village. What if they were actually after her? Maybe it’s her that they’re hunting? Well, now she had led them to their village. That is, if Persei could even believe if the Night Guard was actually coming.

Persei stared at the lilac maned unicorn. She could be a criminal, and they were giving her shelter. She was trouble. It was her fault that Cepheus was burned. She had to go.

She stood up, and Violet looked at her. They held each other’s eyes. Violet had sensed that Persei didn’t want her here, but she couldn’t leave in her injured state. Candle sensed the tension between the two mares and left Cepheus’ side. Persei approached the mare, and Violet rose up nervously. As Persei trotted, her hoof hit something.

There was a clattering sound, and she realized that they were Mother’s pills. Candle gasped. “Are those the pills your mother is addicted to?” she asked.

Persei stared at her incredulously. “How did you know that?”

Candle sighed. “Cepheus told me. He said that she almost killed your brother over them.”

“Yeah,” Persei sighed. “She’s been on them for a long time. It’s how she deals with the pain.”

Candle looked at the bottle on the floor. “Cepheus never said, but exactly what kind of drugs are those? Anti-depressants like Valium? Or maybe pain killers like Oxycodone?” Persei looked at her confused, and Candle sighed. “My father was a drug addict too. He cycled through all of those until he became hooked to the hard stuff.”

“I honestly don’t know,” Persei answered with a tone of defeat in her voice. “She makes the pills herself, so I have no way of knowing.”

It was sad that Persei didn’t know what her mother was addicted to.

Mother groaned in pain, and began to thrash again. Persei moved to restrain her. “It doesn’t matter anymore, she’s detoxing.”

“What?” A voice whispered softly. Cepheus had awoken and was looking at Persei. “What do you mean she’s detoxing?” he said in a rough voice, his eyes clouded with pain.

Persei lowered her eyes. So much had been happening that she had forgotten to tell him. “When Mother and Sirius were fighting, I replaced her pill bottle with a placebo.”

Cepheus seemed hurt. “Why didn’t you tell me? I thought you had given up.”

Persei felt bad for not telling him. He had every right to know.

“Wait,” Candle said. Brother and sister stared at her. “I’m sorry, but where are the original pills?”

Ultra Violet had moved closer to Mother and was examining her. Persei shrugged. “I got rid of them.”

Candle’s eyes went wide. “No wonder she isn’t waking up. You’re supposed to wean her off the pills, not make her go cold turkey. No wonder the withdrawal symptoms are so intense. Believe me, I made the same mistake with my father. I almost killed him.”

Cepheus glared at Persei, and suddenly she felt like such a fool. She should have consulted with her brother before taking action on her own.

Ultra Violet gasped, and everyone looked at her. She was using her hornlight to examine Mother’s eyes, and Persei moved closer to look. Her pupils were flicking back and forth constantly. The lilac maned mare sighed, “She’s in REM sleep. She’s dreaming. Ponies suffering the shock from withdrawal don’t enter REM sleep.”

Ultra Violet looked up at Persei, her eyes dead serious. “I need to know what those pills were.”

Persei shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“What did they look like?” she asked.

“They were red, and…”

“Cylindrical?” Violet cut in. With a purple stripe?”

Persei stared at her. “Yes, just like that.”

Ultra Violet was suddenly frightened. “That is a drug called Nightlock. Completely non-addictive, it’s only purpose is to prevent a pony from dreaming.” Violet gestured to the wine rack mounted on the wall. “You know what else prevents a pony from dreaming? Alcohol.”

“What does this mean then?” Candle asked. “Maybe she had nightmares.”

Ultra Violet shook her head. “Pack your things up. Your mother wasn’t an alcoholic or a drug addict. She was taking precautions.”

“Precautions against what?” Cepheus asked.

Mother groaned, and began to bleed from all her orifices. She thrashed around fiercely, screaming in pain. Ultra Violet looked terrified. “Against the Night Terrors! You’re only vulnerable to their influence when you’re dreaming! They’ve gotten her!”

Persei was frozen with fear. “How?! How did they find her?!”

Ultra Violet had grabbed a bag and was emptying their food cabinets into it. The unicorn shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I’m assuming your Mother has a history with Nightmare Moon, and was hiding out here. She doesn’t have a chance if we don’t find some way to wake her up.”

Mother began choking on her own blood, and was writhing in anguish. “Please stop…” she muttered. “Sirius, please.”

The last part had been barely audible, but had she said Sirius? Persei thought. She flared with anger. Had Sirius ratted them out? Persei shook her head. No, he wouldn’t do that. He may be dumb, but he’s not cruel.

Violet shook her, and Persei was shocked. “We have to get out of here!” she said. “You can explain to me what your mother did to piss off Nightmare Moon so badly on our way out!” Violet shook her head. “The Night Guard will tear this village apart looking for her, and will probably kill or detain anyone associated with her.”

Candle leapt forward. “My family! I can’t leave without them!”

“There’s no time,” Violet said. “We have to put as much distance between us and the Night Guard as possible. They’ve probably got pegasi with them, so we’ll have to set out into the forest so we can have cover. I come from a camp across the mountains, we’ll head back there.”

Cepheus groaned. “Mountains? What mountains?”

“It’s unchartered territory, outside of Nightmare Moon’s domain. The camp is about a ten day walk, a two day flight. We’re badly outmatched when it comes to speed.”

Candle was panicking, and Persei couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “What kind of camp? Why do you even trust us?”

“Hey,” Violet said, looking at her. “An enemy of Nightmare Moon is a friend of mine.” Violet slung the bag over her barrel. “The camp is my home, and is the safest place in Equestria for political refugees like your Mother. She’ll fit right in.” Violet gestured at Mother. “She must be a high value asset for Nightmare Moon to send both the Night Guard and the Night Terrors after her. She has my full respect for that.”

Persei shook her head. “How do you even know that they’re coming after her? The fringe colonies are full of fugitives she could be looking for!”

Violet sighed in frustration. “Just trust me. I’ve been monitoring Nightmare Moon’s operations in this region, and now I realize that her forces are going to converge on this village. We have to get out of here, and take your Mother back to camp. I know somepony there who may be able to help your mother wake up.”

Persei was reluctant, but she was willing to take any risk to make Mother better again. She nodded. “Alright, but how are we going to carry both Cepheus and Mother there?”

“Don’t worry about me,” Cepheus said, his hooves trembling as he stood up. He groaned in pain, and Candle moved to help him. He put his wing around her for support. “I can still trot.”

Violet used her magic to levitate Mother, spots of blood dripping down from her bleeds. “All right, we head into the forest. We go west until we hit the mountains.” She went outside, and Persei followed.

Candle spoke out when they got outside. “We can’t go just yet! We have to warn the townspeople of the Night Guard raid!” Candle whispered in desperation. “I have to get my family.”

“There’s no time,” Violet persisted. “Our first priority is to get this mare away from here. We cannot engage the Night Guard. We have to get out of here.”

Candle shook her head, and ground her hooves in the dirt. “It may be nothing to you, but this is our home!” Cepheus nodded, barely conscious. “I’m not going to desert my friends and family, we have to at least warn them.”

“Then you will have to warn them alone,” Violet dismissed her. “Good luck.”

Violet lit her hornlight, illuminating a spot of visibility in the darkness around them. She turned around and trotted towards the brush. Persei stared at Candle, she looked devastated. “Give Cepheus here, I’ll carry him.”

There were tears in her eyes, but she helped him over. Cepheus grunted in pain, and managed to stand on his own. “Go without me,” he groaned to Persei. “I’ll just slow you down.” He trotted unsteadily over to Candle, standing at her side. “I’m staying with Candle.” Candle looked at him, and got that glowing look in her eyes again.

Persei couldn’t leave her brother behind. “Cepheus, please be rational. You could die if you stay here!”

Cepheus shook his head. “That’s a chance I’ll have to take. Candle and I will warn the villagers of the Night Guard, and evacuate. Hopefully we’ll all be able to meet you at the mountains.” Cepheus lowered his gaze, almost leering at her. “You go with Violet. You have to get Mother to safety. I’ll be fine, because you know that Nightmare Moon prefers fillies over colts.”

Persei blinked. “Cepheus, this is no time to play hero! Come with us, please.”

“Nightmare Moon prefers fillies over colts, now go!”

What did that even mean!? Persei had tears in her eyes, but she knew her brother would not budge. “Alright, Cepheus. You have to survive. I might have lost Mother, and I can’t lose you too! We’ll be looking for all of you at the mountains.”

Cepheus nodded. “Farewell, sister. Be safe, and protect Mother.”

Violet whinnied, impatient. “Come, Persei! Into the forest we go!”

Persei turned away, and galloped away. She looked back one last time, seeing Cepheus and Candle standing together in front of the hovel. This could possibly be the last time she saw her home and her brother.

“You may be fine,” Persei whispered to herself as she caught up with Violet. “You may be fine without me, but I need you. You’re the only one in this world that I trust.”

“You heroic idiot,” she whispered. “I’m going to be very cross with you if you die.”

Please be safe, Cepheus.

Persei parted the brush, stepping into the foliage. Violet’s hornlight glimmered up ahead, a soft magical aura that bathed the surrounding forest with purple light.

What had Cepheus meant when he said that Nightmare Moon likes fillies? Persei thought it over as they drew deeper into the forest. Her mind wandered, wondering what her future held.

Little did Persei know, that by following Violet into the forest, she had unwittingly become part of a much bigger chain of events that would change the fate of Equestria forever.

Author's Note

I actually had to rewrite this chapter twice. Tell me if I missed anything.

Feedback/Discussion is encouraged

Chapter 10: The Stallion Behind the Mirror

Perhaps the greatest faculty our minds possess is the ability to cope with pain. When we are damaged, the brain can even go as far as distorting reality to protect itself from further harm. Well, at least our perception of it.

Philosophy and early speculations of psychology show us that there are Four Doors of Pain. Four defense mechanisms where the damaged mind retreats within itself; to seek refuge from the world which has hurt it so.

First is the door of sleep. Sleep offers us an escape from the world and all of its pains. Sleep marks the passing of time, and with time, most things may heal. When a person is wounded, they often fall unconscious. Same goes with emotional damage as well as physical. That’s why people often swoon or faint when hearing traumatic news. This is the first door in which our minds step through to ensure its wellbeing and recovery.

The second door is forgetting. Some wounds are too deep to heal, or too deep to heal quickly. Memories can be too painful to bear, and no amount of time can heal it. So it is submerged in our conscience, hidden behind this door. Victims of disasters often do not remember what took place, despite witnessing the whole chain of events. Thus, illustrating the mind’s ability to simply forget that which has hurt it.

The third door is insanity. There are often times where the mind is dealt such a blow, that the brain’s perception of reality itself will become warped and distorted. Restated, this occurs in instances where the world offers nothing but heartwrenching sorrow, and to escape the pain the mind reinvents reality or simply leaves it behind. This is the second most effective way that a damaged mind can distance itself from this world.

The fourth and last door is death. The final refuge. Nothing can hurt as after we are dead, or so we are told.

Sirius coughed, his tongue pushing out the remaining chunks of half digested food. He groaned as he awoke, his bed stinking of stale vomit.

He wiped the pale yellow reside off with his hoof, spitting out the bitter aftertaste. There was a sticky, burning sensation in his esophagus from the acidity of his vomit.

Sirius groaned in pain, beset by a splintering headache. He shifted from his bed, feeling the call of nature. As he slid out of the soiled sheets, he realized that the pony leaving this bed was entirely different from the pony who had first climbed in and dozed off a few hours ago.

He stumbled to the bathroom, and as he made his way to the toilet, he turned on the faucets in his sauna. He stood over the porcelain toilet and sighed in relief, enjoying the pleasant sensation after one evacuates his bladder.

Sirius knew he should be rattled, damaged, disturbed from what he had encountered in his dream, but he only felt calm. Everything seemed relative, as if nothing seemed to matter as much as it did before. He felt like there was a shroud around him, insulating him from reality.

Sirius found himself laughing hysterically. His predicament was just so amusing. Parents always told their foals that they were just nightmares, that they were just dreams. They can’t hurt you. Sirius simmered down, still chuckling. How wrong were those ponies.

The pegasus began humming to himself. He watched the water fill up the sauna, watching the water bubble and accumulate foam.

The bathroom soon started to smell like the soap they scrubbed the floors of fancy hotels with. It smelled like the beach, but with less of the briny scent of the sea. It was a cool, refreshing scent.

Water soon started to spill over the edges of the sauna, wetting his hooves. He didn’t even notice. There was such a stillness within him. He had never been so…so at peace before. It felt as if he were aloft on some cloud, nothing could hurt him from his high vantage point.

But as time passed, frothy water began to flood the floor, and he became discontent. This wasn’t just a stillness, this was death. He was in a calm void that was punctuated by occasional outbursts of irrational laughter. But there was no real happiness behind those noises issuing from his throat. It was a strange manifestation of some chemical imbalance in his brain, nothing more.

Sirius drove his head into the water. There was that rushing sound as he stayed submerged. He opened his eyes, and felt the wet pressure against his eyeballs. Little bubbles of air rushed up from his nostrils, making blooping sounds as they surfaced. He closed his eyes, resting. Soon, his lungs began to burn. He ignored it. He longed to feel something, to break the calm shroud surrounding him.

Sirius felt dizzy and whipped his head out of the water. He gasped for breath, collapsing on the floor. As he lay there, he saw the mirror on his bathroom counter.

Sirius struggled to his feet and looked himself over. Everything looked the same as it had before, but there was one major difference: his eyes. There had been a light in his blue eyes, but now there was some kind of dark hysteria. It unnerved him.

Sirius suddenly felt surreal as he gazed at his reflection. It was the feeling you get after opening up a yearbook from your freshman year at high school. You’re a senior now getting ready to graduate, and you want to look at how far you’ve come in those four short years. You look over your portrait, and you can tell that you’re a completely different person now. You wonder to yourself, “Would my fourteen year old self be pleased with my eighteen year old self? Do I like the person I’ve become?”

Perhaps most ponies didn’t think so deeply, but some ponies were nostalgia junkies. Sirius realized as he stared in his reflection, that he both loved and hated the pony he had become. Despite the sacrifices he had made, the pain he had endured, he now felt raw power coursing through his veins. Sirius was the apex predator of Equestria, the top of the food chain. He could kill without regret or guilt, he no longer had any restraints. And that was power. He was actually somepony now. But he had lost something in the process, and he could feel the emptiness gnawing at him.

Ember may have left a hole where his heart was, but perhaps he could still fill it. The same sick urges that had driven him to kill mother resurfaced, maybe…maybe he could do it again. He had access to a whole populace of sleeping ponies. A whole city of potential victims he could torment and maybe even kill. Yes, that sounds fun.

Sirius looked at himself in the mirror again. “Do I like who I have become? Would my foal-self be proud to know that this was his future?”

Why am I brooding like this? Let’s go give somepony a terrible nightmare!

Sirius didn’t know who he was anymore. On impulse, he struck the mirror. The glass shattered. Broken shards of glass fell around him, and he saw a lot of crimson on his hooves.

He felt empty, save for the endorphins released by his wounds giving him a small high. It’s not that he didn’t care, but he felt nothing! His calm shroud could not be penetrated.

Sirius felt a tear in his eye. He looked at the mess of broken glass around him.

His eyes caught what appeared to be an indent in the wall behind the glass. It looked like somepony had carved out a shelf in the wall, and then had put the mirror over it.

Sirius put his hooves on the bathroom counter, sliding the pieces of glass onto the floor. He climbed up and looked at the strange items on the hidden shelf. There was a leather bound journal, a golden ring with the name “To the love of my life, Amberleaf” inscribed into the metal, and a few scraps of paper covered with words in crimson ink.

He picked up the ring first, looking it over. It was simple in design, obviously a wedding band made for a mare’s hoof.

He took up the leather bound journal then. The pages were yellowed with age, and the ink fading. This probably had been stowed away here for a very long time. Who left this stuff here?

Sirius shut off the water, avoiding the broken glass on the floor. It was a big mess in here, but that wasn’t his problem. He carried all the objects to his bed, but gagged as the scent of the old vomit assailed him.

Sirius held his breath and retreated into his walk-in closet. He slammed the door shut in the empty white room. Racks for shoes and clothes were mounted on the walls, along with built in drawers and clothes hangers. The pegasus sat down on his haunches beside an armor stand. He opened up the journal, and sneezed from the cloud of dust that was released.

Wiping his snoot with his hoof, he began reading the first journal entry. It was written in a particularly meticulous fashion, becoming of a very neat stallion. Dated from a year before Sirius’ birth, almost seventeen years ago, he began reading.

I weep as I write this. I have no one else to talk to, so I must rely on this journal for emotional release. Now, I must confess. My fellow Night Terrors and I have done terrible, terrible things for Nightmare Moon….

Sirius gasped. The stallion who wrote this had been a Night Terror as well.

I can make up a thousand excuses for my behavior, but I won’t. I must take full responsibility for my actions. I am the monster who has finally seen his own reflection. I see my sins etched into the hard creases of my face, I have beheld the ocean of atrocities I have committed dammed up behind my eyes, and I cannot hold it in any longer. I am….

Sirius couldn’t read the next part. The stallion’s name had been marked out with several slashes of his quill. It continued like this:

… the terrifying leader of the crusade against the Dayborn. I thought I was at the top. I thought I was invincible. I didn’t even feel guilt, or remorse, I was completely beyond reproach. I was lost. I was my Empress’ favorite, and had spent many nights in her bed. It was known that I was her lover, but I had not known that I was the only one.

I realize my beloved is just as lost as I am, and is leading others astray just as I am. Again, I take full responsibility for both my Empress’ actions and my own, for we always acted in collaboration.

Nightmare Moon and I perfected a method of breaking the wills of our Night Terror initiates. It’s how she and I turned all those who worked for her into murderous psychopaths like us. The Empress saw to it that the practice becomes routine protocol for our instructors.

When a pony dreams, his psyche is vulnerable, his subconscious thought processes bare and exposed. An instructor with the more powerful dreamwalking ability can easily dominate the mind of the initiate, and can craft those latent subconscious thoughts to align to Nightmare Moon’s desires. It is said that the subconscious, the id, is the greatest contributor to a pony’s decision making processes. Influencing the id, or even reconstructing its motives, can achieve total control of the initiate’s mind.

Though there are exceptions.

Sirius swallowed. Having just gone through the process this stallion had developed, he could not help but feel a sense of loathing admiration towards him.

The id is the base animal desires that seek immediate gratification, and it is in contrast to the superego. It is that entity of psychic energy that poses a problem for our instructors.

For almost all ponies, the superego is weaker. It is the higher thought processes: honor, kindness, courage, the like. Most of our initiates are degenerate, animalistic creatures so the superego is almost nonexistent. But there are a few who have strong superegos, the “good” ponies with “bright” hearts.

These ponies with strong superegos have the biggest potential for dreamwalking, but would always hesitate when aligning their desires with our Empress’. That hesitation creates the seed for disloyalty, and it must be destroyed to access all that raw potential.

Where there is capacity for good, there is an equally proportionate capacity for evil. It was just a matter of breaking a pony’s superego to access that wickedness. We must reverse engineer psychological entities such as love, kindness, loyalty, through their opposites. Once their virtues become vices, then the superego will succumb to the id.

Sirius shivered. He didn’t quite understand. What had Ember done to him? She had directly attacked his superego. He had let go of his hate entity and had forgiven his mother, then why had she been able to do that?

Had Ember truly converted him into a psychopath? What if She-Sirius was still alive in him somewhere? He continued reading.

I developed this process, and its first victim had been me. I realized that the more troubled a pony was, the more effective this method of conquering his superego was. That is what led to my fiancée’s death. I killed her. She was the love of my life, and I was convinced at the time that hate was stronger than love…My lovely Amberleaf had been the first true casualty of my madness.

I miss her so much. Her removal allowed the floodgates holding back my hate to burst open. I thought it would make me more powerful, and I did terrible things as a result because I believed I was more powerful. But I was wrong. Love is the stronger of the two. It was just that I did not believe it to be so. I sacrificed all my love to gain hate, convinced that it was the only way to attain true power. I was so wrong.

As I lay in Nightmare Moon’s bed last night, having sated her and enjoying the afterglow, I saw something in her. I saw a reflection of myself in her. I was lost and broken, just like her.

I could rut with her for the rest of eternity, and I could, for I had been granted immortality, but it would never truly sate me. Sex is as physical as emotional, and I realized that the acts of lust I performed on her were hollow gestures. I had been trying so hard to fill that hole in my heart where love used to be, but lust is a poor substitute….

I’m just going in circles now. I am so lonely….

- The Stallion Behind the Mirror

Sirius wanted to sit down and digest what he had just learned, but he heard an impatient knock at his door.

Angered at the disturbance, he stormed to his door. Who is the Stallion Behind the Mirror? He thought to himself. Is he still around?

Sirius opened the apartment door and saw Ember and Darkheart standing there. He swallowed his anger, letting his calm shroud act as armor against them.

Ember grinned wolfishly. “Come now, Initiate Sirius. Your first lesson in Night Terror training awaits in the city.”

Author's Note

Sorry about that confusion a little while ago. I had mislabeled my chapter numbers on the original MW manuscript.

Alright, there's going to be lots of ponies reevaluating their personal philosophies in the next few chapters. Like Sirius is having a bit of an identity crisis here after his initiation.

Feedback/Discussion is encouraged.

Chapter 11: Leaving it All Behind

Cepheus mind was lit with agony, yet he still charged forth. His second degree burns screamed for him to stop galloping, but this village’s fate could depend on his haste.

Candle and he were following cobblestone paths in the dark of the night, having only their lantern lights to guide them. The glass lantern swung precariously from his muzzle, the illumination burning away the veil of darkness in an arc before them. The ominous projection of the light revealed the winding, weed stricken cobblestone path they tread on.

All Cepheus could hear was the pounding of his hooves on the path, his gasps for breath, and the sound of his frenzied heartbeat. They were going from hovel to hovel, pounding their hooves on the doors, waking the residents and warning them of the impending Night Guard raid. Some ponies rushed to warn family and friends, most began to hurriedly pack their things.

If all these ponies hadn’t known Cepheus and Candle as honest ponies, he doubted that any of them would have listened.

Cepheus and Candle galloped through the darkness to the next hovel, having only their memories of the village and the spot of light before them for guidance.

There were about fifty ponies in this village, and Cepehus had told each pony he had visited to meet at Candle’s hovel in the heart of the village once they were ready to travel. Cepheus looked up at the horizon. Once first light came, they would leave whether everyone was accounted for or not.

After pounding on the doors of a dozen more hovels, they could hear voices in the night. The villagers were moving about, checking on friends and family, and Cepheus could see their lanterns as tiny, moving flecks of light in the inky void.

Cepheus grunted in satisfaction. It was finally time to go to Candle’s house and help her collect her family and belongings.

This would be the first time visiting his mare-friend’s residence. He wondered how her living conditions were. Cepheus also wondered what her family would be like.

They arrived at the heart of the village, the densest cluster of hovels. This was the ideal place for a meeting. Even the farthest hut was relatively equidistant to all the other outlying hovels on the outer fringes of the village. Cepheus felt a spark of satisfaction, finding the logistics of their plan to be firm.

Rushing through, they found all the hovels lit up already. The lanterns which hung from the trees cast their flickering light as they swayed in the breeze. Soon, Candle led him to a particularly shabby looking shanty.

The windows were all roughly patched up with tattered cloth, there was no chimney which meant no heating during the winter, and it was only big enough to fit two or three adult ponies at the most. The candlemaker’s profession was not a very profitable one.

Candle knocked on the door gently, and called out to her family inside. “Dusty, open the door. It’s me.”

There was a sleepy groan from within, and the door opened. Cepheus stared at the empty doorway for a moment, before the little foal spoke up. “Candle, who is this?”

Cepheus looked down at the sandy-maned colt, and gestured to him. “Candle, is this your brother?”

She nodded, and nuzzled Cepheus as she looked down at her brother. “Dusty, this is my stallion-friend.” The colt didn’t budge, seemingly shocked. “Cepheus, this is my little brother,” she added, gesturing to Dusty. Introductions aside, she stepped over Dusty and went inside. “You two stay out here, I’ll get our things.”

The two just stared at each other. In the lantern’s light, it showed that Dusty was an earth pony just like his sister, and had the beige pelt and brown eyes as well. Cepheus smiled for the colt, but he continued staring, examining him like a foal does when he encounters something strange. Dusty scrunched his nose and asked him in awe, “What happened to your face?”

“I got burned,” Cepheus said. The white pegasus cocked his head, looking down at the dumbstruck colt. “How come I have never seen you before?” Cepheus asked. He knew all the foals of his village, but he had never seen this one. “How old are you?”

Cepheus gasped, the pains of his injuries returning. Dusty shook his head, noticing his suffering. “I am eight years old, and I don’t like to go outside. Maybe that's why.”

What kind of colt his age doesn’t like to go outside?

Candle returned, but this time she had a saddle with two brown sacks strapped to the sides. “Come on, Dusty. Let’s go.”

Dusty nodded, closed the hovel door, and followed her sister. Wait, Cepheus thought. Candle is an orphan?

Cepheus followed at a distant behind them, watching brother and sister interact. The little colt latched onto the sacks on her saddle and had climbed onto her back. He curled up and closed his eyes, falling asleep.

Candle was raising a colt all by herself. Cepheus knew their father had died from an overdose, but what had happened to the mother?

Cepheus’ ears pricked up as he heard the worried voices of many ponies talking, and they saw a crowd standing before Chicken Noodle’s house. Everypony had made it, and had their luggage in tow behind them. They all looked sleepy, but anxiety kept them from nodding off. Candle, Dusty, and Cepheus joined them.

They had made good time. It had been perhaps two hours since Persei and Ultra Violet had gone into the forest. Soon, all these ponies would join them in the forest. Hopefully they had enough supplies to last until they reached Violet’s camp across the mountains.

The villagers all fell silent when they saw Cepheus. They stared at him, looking at his burns in grim fascination. After Cepheus found a rock to stand on, he could address all the ponies here. He stood up, and looked around at everypony.

They were all looking up at him, wanting to know what was going on. He swallowed. “My fellow villagers,” he said. “I had a visitor tonight. She appeared before me, after descending from the heavens in a ball of fire.” The crowd gasped, drinking his every word. “Even from a distance, I could tell she was the most powerful unicorn I have ever seen. She told me that she was fleeing, trying to stay ahead of the Night Guard. She also told me that they were looking for somepony, and were killing and burning everything in their path.” Cepheus paused, looking them all in the eyes. “Now it’s our turn. We are next on their path of destruction.”

Everypony gasped, and began to whisper in fear. He heard cries of disbelief, shock, and terror. “Why are the Night Guard doing this?” a mare said from somewhere. “What have we done to deserve this?”

All the ponies began to murmur, and Chicken Noodle piped up. “What are we going to do? Where are you taking us, Cepheus?”

Everypony looked at him, and Cepheus realized that it was up to him to be the leader here. He flapped his wings, ascending above the trees so all could see him clearly. The brief exertion was terribly painful, and tears came to his eyes. He looked up, not wanting them to see how hurt he was. The first sliver of the moon had appeared on the horizon, and Cepheus saw it in the distance.

In the distance, hidden behind a ridge, he knew there was a village. The moonlight revealed billowing columns of black smoke rising into the sky from there. A massive fire was underway.

He knew he had fallen silent and everypony was waiting for him to speak, but he was held transfixed. There was gust of wind, and he could taste the smoke. The rustling of the leaves ceased for a moment, and all fell silent. He could hear it then, the sound carried by the wind. Not so far away, ponies were screaming.

Terror filled his heart, and he looked down at all the ponies on the ground below. “We must head west!” he announced, keeping the tremor out of his voice. “To the mountains, beyond Nightmare Moon’s realm and out of her reach!”

Cepheus descended, pointing his hoof westward. “We must get across the mountains if we are to survive!”

There were murmurs of uncertainty from below. “No one has ever seen these mountains you speak of.” An elder stallion said. “Nopony has ever explored the territory beyond this village, nopony knows what’s out there.”

“Then we will make the unknown known, and venture into the wilderness!” Cepheus declared. “We have nowhere else to go, into the wilderness we must tread!”

Cepheus swallowed, seeing his words taking effect in their body language. They were right though. Nopony from Nightmare Moon’s realm had ever dared to venture out beyond the fringe villages. What if there was a reason why Nightmare Moon hadn’t expanded her territory in a thousand years? Cepheus looked out towards the forest that stretched out as far as the eyes could see. What could be hiding in the brush?

The ponies below had come to a consensus, and were beginning to pick up their luggage and gather their families. Cepheus flew down and landed besides Candle. She pulled him close and kissed him. Their heads leaned in, and she whispered to him. “Everypony is looking up to you, Cepheus.”

“I know,” he whispered. “I promise I will take good care of them,” he nuzzled her, feeling her warmth against his snoot. “Especially you two.”

Candle drew away from him, seeing all the ponies heading towards the western boundary of the village. She winked at him as she turned away. “I always get a feeling of security when you take charge like this….” He heard another mutter from her as she trotted away. “You would make a great father.”

The way Candle had said it, Cepheus was pretty sure she hadn't intended for him to hear that last bit. He blinked. A father…He had never known what it was like to have a father, so he thought he would be clueless when he became a father himself. But apparently, it was within him all along. Pegasi were especially known to be excellent fathers, they had a protective instinct ingrained within them.

Cepheus swallowed, and decided that he would think this over later. He had to lead these ponies to safety first. The Night Guard was less than a few hours away, he had to make haste.

He stood in front of the wall of foliage. Bushes, tall grass, and rocks lay on the forest floor, while deciduous trees towered forty feet into the sky. The thick canopy of the trees blocked out the moonlight, and Cepheus motioned for everypony to light their lanterns or activate their hornlights.

Cepheus took his the first step into the foliage, and Candle followed him. “Alright!” he called. “Everypony form a double-file line, so we can easily keep track of each other. Keep your foals and the elderly close to you. And whatever you do, don’t let your lights go out.”

They all ventured into the forest, led by the light of their lanterns. Here in the darkness of the mysterious forest, fleeing from his home, leading his village folk to safety, it made him wonder about some things. His future, his ability to protect these ponies, where he was going, and a question he had been contemplating for a long time resurfaced: Is there a God?

Cepheus wanted to believe. He wanted to feel like there was a higher power than all of this, and that if Mother didn’t wake up, she would at least be going to a better place.

Up until recently, he had been ignorant to the concept of a deity. Mother had never mentioned religion, or anything like that. She had simply suffered too much to believe in such things.

Cepheus knew many people believed in a higher power of some kind or another. Though there was no way he could be certain that any of these things could exist: the afterlife, God, or any of that.

But there was one thing he knew for certain. The definition of “God” was flexible. It simply meant a higher power that looks out for us. Cepheus believed in a “God,” but it was very different from what most ponies perceived as religion.

God, to Cepheus, was the collective amalgam of ponykind’s virtue. To say that Cepheus believed in God was equivalent to saying that he believed in ponykind’s capacity for good. He had faith in ponykind’s ability to be morale and just.

For now, that was his current understanding of any higher power. If there is any higher power that controls the fate of Equestria, it begins within every single one of us. We have the power to change the world, but for that, we must have faith in our ability to do so.

Cepheus looked into the darkness ahead, the lantern hanging from a metal ring in his mouth. Candle was beside him, with Dusty snoring on her back. Persei, Mother, and Ultra Violet were somewhere up ahead as well. Cepheus had every right to be optimistic. Without his choice to help Candle, all these ponies would have been dead by time the moon set.

The sliver of “higher power” within his heart had changed the fate of the ponies in his village. We were survivors, and his “higher power” would live on to galvanize the “higher power” of others through his example. The way wickedness and vice was infectious, so was morality and virtue.

When ponies see an act of kindness, or generosity, their hearts grow a little. They are encouraged to do good as well. Ponykind’s potential for both good and evil was staggering.

That was what Cepheus believed.

“Celestion,” he whispered to himself. Perhaps he could work on extending his personal definition of God to include this entity.

He looked over to Candle, wondering what she would think of his thoughts on religion. Would she think him naïve and foolish if he told her?

Cepheus continued staring down the path, contemplating. He looked back at all the ponies behind him. They were trudging through the undergrowth, fear in their eyes. He thought of the smoke, the flames, and the screams on the wind.

He thought of all the villages that had succumbed to the Night Guard. Had there been any survivors at all?

Cepheus, the white pegasus, leader, and the protector of these ponies had to preserve their lives and get them to safety. Cepheus looked all around, grasping for something within him that had lain dormant for a very long time.

How would he possibly be able to protect these people from the Night Guard? How?

His thoughts returned to the notion of a deity. There has to be a God, whether her name be Celestion or Nightmare Moon, it’s there. It has to be.

Cepheus, for the first time in his life, prayed. There has to be a God, because if there isn’t, there is no force in this universe powerful enough to save us from the evil which pursues us in the night.

There has to be something, anything…I have faith…I…I believe.

Please, to whoever may be listening, please help us. I know you’re out there….

As he delved further into the unknown, deep inside Cepheus’ heart, a small flicker of light was kindled.

Author's Note

Sorry this took forever to get posted, but there shouldn't be any more interruptions in my life from now on.

Cepheus is entrusted with the safety of his people, and as a result, considers a change in his personal philosophy.

Feedback/Discussion is encouraged, and please be respectful

Chapter 12: Perceptions, Memories, and Willpower

They trotted down the sidewalk, and Sirius was keeping his distance from Darkheart and Ember. He honestly had no idea where they were taking him, but he had a bad feeling about it.

Ember, his instructor, had mentioned that he was going to be taught the basics of being a Night Terror. That wasn’t the thing that had unsettled Sirius. The way she had smirked at him afterwards was what disturbed him. That little smile held the silent promise of another night of sadistic intent.

If they dared to try anything on him again, he would not hesitate to cut them.

Sirius shook his hooves, and heard the metal blade rattling inside its sheath. He was ready for a confrontation if it came down to it.

Sirius sighed, his focus exhausted from his vigilance. He looked around at the deteriorated concrete jungle which he was being led through. This was the same poor and desolate sector of the city he had seen before.

He was reminded of the first time he had explored the city. All those casinos, strip clubs, brothels, and whatever other shady establishments he had seen were still in his mind. That was also when the gang ponies had come after him.

Sirius wished they would show up again so he could kill them.

Sirius exhaled in frustration. His attempts to suppress his homicidal thoughts were futile. It was like a craving you can’t fulfill because you’re on a diet. Or an itch from a rash you’re dying to scratch but you know you shouldn’t.

Each time he had one of these urges, they were stronger and more persistent. They were the only thing that could disrupt his calm rationale.

It was still strange though. He had expected his mind to be in a much worse state after what had been done to him the night before. Except for that one fit of madness that had led him to kill his mother, he was for the most part unscathed.

Other than the murderous impulses, his ever present shroud of calm, and his altered sense of identity, there seemed to be no other damage to his mind. Had he somehow recovered from what had happened during the initiation? It seemed very unlikely.

In the Night Terror’s journal he had found behind the glass in his bathroom, the methods he had mentioned seemed to be foolproof. Sirius still seemed to be fully in control of his actions, despite what the other stallion had forecasted.

Something wasn’t right here. During that fateful night, something inside of him had been broken. He distinctly remembered the animal sensation that had overwhelmed him. Where had that feral rage gone?

Sirius was overcome with a sense of foreboding. It felt as though he was being watched.

He flipped around, surveying his surroundings, but found nothing out of the ordinary.

“We’re here,” Ember said quietly, and Sirius turned to face her. She was standing before the facade of an abandoned looking hospital. It looked like no one had used this building for years, but there were lights on inside.

It stretched thirteen stories high, had windows which were cracked and covered in dust, and there were black streaks above each window, suggesting there had been a great fire that had consumed the hospital at one point in time. The place had more of an aura of a morgue, a place for sick ponies to go and die, rather than a place of healing and restoration.

Ember pushed open the glass doors, casting a faint streak of white light on the otherwise dark street corner. Darkheart entered first, stealing a kiss from Ember before going in. Sirius followed, and he blinked his eyes to adjust to the light. He was overcome by the scent of stale air, latex, and a faint trace of rot.

He blinked a few more times, while Darkheart and Ember spoke to a dayborn pony at the registry. The poor nurse looked mortified.

Sirius looked around, and felt the oppressive presence of the place crushing him. There was a bleak waiting room with what appeared to be homeless dayborn ponies sleeping underneath the chairs. The nurses and doctors that moved about in the reception area looked like death, their eyes sunken in with exhaustion and their uniforms tattered. Stretchers with sick ponies still strapped to them lay about in the hallway, waiting to be treated.

Foals were crying, ponies were coughing and groaning in pain, a pregnant mare was sobbing, and then there was the frightened screech that broke the depressive ambience. The nurse Darkheart and Ember were talking to had fled from the room with tears in her eyes. Darkheart and Ember were laughing, and beckoned Sirius over.

“What a dump,” Darkheart grumbled when Sirius came into hearing range. “Can you smell that? Is that stench coming from the cafeteria? I bet more ponies die from that food than their actual illnesses.” Ember rolled her eyes, and Darkheart’s emerald eyes lit up when he saw him standing there. “Ah, looks like our novice Night Terror had his initiation last night.” Darkheart suddenly sighed, and looked over at Ember. “Would you please cross your legs?”

His voice was so earnest, that Ember consented without any rebuttal at the strange request. She crossed her legs, and Darkheart took a breath of relief. “Good, now that the gates of hell are closed –“

She blasted him with her magic, sending him flying into the counter. There was a clattering of armor, and the heavy thump of Darkheart’s back slamming against the counter. He lay still for a moment and then clutched his hoof, giggling softly.

Ember suddenly addressed Sirius, startling him. “Alright, welcome to Sarin Hospital; the only hospital in this city that caters to the Dayborn. This is where you’ll learn your first lesson.” Ember flipped around and began trotting towards a set of double doors at the edge of the room. “Follow me.”

Sirius looked at Darkheart for a moment, and then followed her. They tread through the austere white hallways in silence. They passed several shambling ponies, speaking in tongues and ranting to the walls. Ember pulled Sirius along. “Don’t worry,” she said. “The psych ward probably had another overflow.”

The eventually reached their destination. Ember opened the door into a large room, and Sirius stepped inside. The room was dark, and he could hear the sighing sounds of sleeping ponies and the wheezing sound of decrepit ventilators. This was the comatose ward.

Ember plunked herself down in the middle of the room, and curled up, making herself comfortable. Sirius just stared at her, surprised. “Lie down,” she commanded, and he did. “Now, go to sleep.”

Ember’s orange eyes flashed and her horn glowed. Sleep washed over Sirius, and he quickly fell asleep.

The dreamscape opened up before him, and he saw his sleeping body lying on the floor. He looked around. The comatose patients all exuded a soft purple aura, but the colors were unusually dark. Only a faint semblance of sentience remained within these ponies.

Ember appeared before him, and she drew close to him. “Tonight, we will be experimenting on these vegetables.”

“What?” Sirius said. “I don’t know if….”

They saw another figure entering the room. The stallion lay down beside Ember, and Darkheart joined them in a moment. “You were whining about experimenting on these ponies?” he asked Sirius pointedly. “You talk in your sleep.”

Sirius shook his head nervously. “I don’t think this is right.”

Darkheart looked puzzled. “These are just a bunch of dayborn ponies. They’re trash, oxygen thieves, wastes of space. They don’t matter. Do as you please with them.”

Sensing that Sirius was still uncomfortable, Ember gave him one of her sadistic, toothy grins. “Practice on these comatose patients, or shall we visit the nursery?

Sirius was taken aback by her cruelty, but it wasn’t out of character. He decided to go with the flow for the time being. “Pfft…There’s no sport in tormenting newborn foals.”

She smiled, pleased by his answer. “Alright, let’s begin our lesson. How do we influence sleeping ponies into doing what we want?”

Sirius honestly had no idea and just stared blankly.

Ember made a mark in the ground. “Perception,” she made another mark, “memories,” and making one last mark, she said, “willpower.”

She cleared her throat. Her voice became pedantic, as if she was reciting from a scholarly article. “Perception is our mind’s interpretation of the information we receive from our sensory organs. Memories are where that information is stored in a bank for future reference. Willpower is the ability to act on those memories and perceptions to advance ourselves.”

She continued, seeing that Sirius was following along. “These are the three gates of a Night Terror’s manipulation. Altering or disrupting these functions is how we advance our own agenda in the victim’s mind.”'

She gestured grandiosely. “I can teach you so much. I will first teach you how to drain a pony of his willpower, so that when he wakes, he will be unable to muster the motivation to do anything productive. Instilling lethargy in a pony is the easiest of the willpower manipulations.”

Sirius understood, but something else didn’t make sense to him. “If we are to instill lethargy in a pony, how is that going to work on a comatose patient?”

Ember nodded. “I have found comatose patients to be defenseless against our manipulations. It’s perfect for learning purposes.” Ember trotted to the bedside of a sleeping mare. Her horn began to glow and a visual representation of the comatose mare’s nervous system appeared overhead. This was a pony’s internal electrical circuitry. Sirius watched in awe as the mare’s body was lit up with sparks, minute bursts of electricity coursing through the axons of her nerves.

Ember began to make a circling motion with her hooves, zooming up on the central nervous system. “Alright, the most direct way to influence a pony is by altering their neurotransmitter levels.”

Sirius blinked. “What’s a neurotransmitter?”

“They are like hormones, but much faster acting. They are chemical agents that are crucial to the biological computations that underlie perception and thought. They allow the nervous system to connect to and control other systems of the body.” Ember gestured to what appeared to be a current of blue sparks running across the mare’s twitching hoof. “This right here is a neurotransmitter called “Acetylcholine” and this chemical connects motor neurons to the muscles. Lowering, or even inhibiting the action of this agent, can cause stiffness or even total paralysis. There’s very little visible acetylcholine since this mare is a comatose patient, but a healthy pony in motion, is completely alive with the blue sparks of acetylcholine.”

Ember then showed him how he could influence a pony’s mood with dopamine, to make them feel euphoric or depressed. She showed him how to throw off sleep patterns, appetite, and overall well-being using excessive or minimal serotonin.

She showed him the neurotransmitters responsible for everything from arousal to body temperature regulators. Ember then began to teach him the anatomy of the brain. “The occipital lobe, in the very back of the brain, is responsible for the processing of the information received by our eyes. Once you learn how to play with this region of the brain, you can have a lot of fun. Inflicting blindness is just the beginning.”'

Ember then pointed to a different part of the brain. “This here is the thalamus, and on the sides, you notice a structure. This is the most important part. It’s called the limbic system. It regulates sleep and awakening. To keep a pony asleep and in your influence, you must manipulate this part of the brain.”

Sirius opened his eyes and yawned. He realized that he was awake. Ember pushed at him several textbooks. “You must fully understand the function of every part of the brain, every hormone, every neurotransmitter if you are to gain mastery in controlling them. Learn what certain drugs do to influence the release and uptake of these chemicals, understand the biological mechanisms that make a pony tick.”

She pushed a paper and a quill at him. “I want a report on the effects of excessive serotonin on behavior by tomorrow. Get to it.”

Darkheart awoke as well, stretching out like a cat. He joined Ember’s side as she trotted away. While Sirius was collecting the textbooks, he heard Darkheart flirting with her. “How about you open those gates of hell for me tonight? I promise I won’t scream when I see the flames.”

He mentioned something about her “carpet” before they trotted out of earshot. Sirius was curious as to how Ember would respond, but he suddenly felt very tired.

He picked up his supplies and trudged out of the comatose ward. That was the last thing he remembered from the night before.

Sirius awoke in a cold sweat, his sheets in a snarl around him. He looked around and found himself back in his bed. “What the hell?”

His armor had been stripped off, he was clean and groomed, and his apartment room was clean and no longer smelled of vomit.

What happened? How did I get here?

He strained his mind, trying to remember, but he couldn’t recall a thing. He vaguely remembered leaving the hospital…but then it all went blank from there on.

Sirius froze when he heard a sound. It was the gentle exhale and inhale of a sleeping pony. Except he wasn’t sleeping, then who was…?

He lifted his sheets and found the figure of a mare dozed off at the edge of the bed. She was unlike anything he had ever seen. Her pelt was cerulean, her mane and tail was streaked predominantly azure, but with cyan and purple lines as well. She was incredibly fit too, not a single sliver of fat in the wrong place. Very shapely….

Sirius put the sheets back down, thinking of the implications of what a beautiful mare was doing in his bed. He could almost hear Darkheart applauding him in the back of his mind.

He nudged her softly, and she was slow to wake. She stretched out, yawning. She smiled at Sirius then, but grew puzzled at his shocked expression. “What’s wrong, master?”

“Master?”

She nodded. “Yes, you’re my master. I am to take care of all your bodily needs as you train.” She looked away, seemingly disappointed. “Or would you prefer a stallion to fulfill your needs?”

Sirius shook his head. “No, no, you’re fine.” He looked around, his head spinning. That's right, Ember had mentioned that he would have someone to serve him during his training.“What’s your name?” he asked.

She looked at him puzzled. “We talked for hours last night. I know it was just pillow talk, but I thought you would at least remember….”

She trailed off, noticing his totally blank expression. “You really don’t remember anything?”

Sirius shook his head. “No,” he whispered. “What did I do last night?”

“Well,” the mare cocked her head. “I was waiting for you in this room. I noticed the glass in the bathroom was broken, the floors were half flooded there, there was vomit in the bed, and everything was a mess. I had just finished cleaning up when you showed up. You had a lot of blood on you, so I bathed you….”

Sirius was disturbed. Very disturbed. “Was there anything else?”

“Well,” she said. “You had a few other things on you, and I put them beside your armor after I cleaned it.”

Sirius stumbled out of bed and opened up his closet. His armor was on its stand, and he saw the bags of laid out at the base. He opened them and found his textbooks. He also found a completed report on the effects of excess serotonin on pony behavior in his handwriting.

Had he gotten drunk? Or taken some drugs?

“Yeah, probably,” he muttered. “No more of that,” he promised himself.

He found some loose change, a receipt from some restaurant, and a torn white bracelet that hospitals put on your wrist when they admit you.

Had he gotten in some kind of scuffle?

Sirius looked himself over, only finding minor scratches and bruises. That blood that his maid, servant, whatever-her-name-is had cleaned off his armor wasn’t his. If he had gotten into a fight, he had obviously won.

Sirius plunked down, and the blue mare folded her hooves and sat next to him. “My name is Sapphire Glimmer.”

Well, at least I'm back in the present now.He extended his hoof out to her, and they shook hooves. “Nice to meet you Sapphire, I need you to do a few things for me….”

Author's Note

Sirius had a huge memory lapse. Fun, fun, fun.

Drugs are bad, mm'kay?

Discussion/Feedback is encouraged.

Don't hesitate to point out any errors. I recalled all that information on brain anatomy and neurotransmitters by memory, I'm pretty sure it's all right, but don't hesitate to correct me if I'm wrong.

Chapter 13: Blood Agent

Guided through the darkness by her hornlight and the lilac radiance of Ultra Violet, Persei tread through the ancient forest. All conversation had ceased long ago, and her sense of continuity was completely lost. It seemed as if time stood still in the quiet of the forest.

Persei felt the silent stillness seeping into her marrow, a slow poison that was driving her mad. She would have engaged Violet in even the most frivolous talk, but she had told Persei to be quiet in this section of the forest.

Persei looked at the eerie surrounding her. The leaves on the twisted, gnarly willow trees looked gray and lifeless. The dark brown dirt beneath her hooves seemed spongy and made a sucking sound every time she stepped in it. The air was heavy with moisture, and had the scent of death and decay. A low fog clung to the ground, concealing the intricate network of ensnaring roots.

As time dragged on, the fog grew thicker. It was becoming difficult to see. She felt like she was choking in the mist’s vapors. Persei looked up at Mother’s body floating in the air in the lilac aura of Violet’s magic. She appeared to be peaceful in her coma.

The worry gnawing at the back of Persei’s mind finally convinced her to speak. “Violet, I….”

Violet flipped around and put a hoof up to her muzzle. “Shhh….” she hissed in a low urgency.

Why? Why did she have to be so quiet? She opened her mouth again, and the fog entered her mouth and filled it with the taste of rot. She coughed, and Violet stared at her with horror. “What?” Persei asked.

“I said quiet!” Violet hissed.

Immediately, there was a wailing sound from somewhere in the thick, white fog. It was a low and mournful sound of unfathomable grief. Violet looked around, her eyes wide. Persei had frozen in her spot, listening quietly.

The sound faded, but both mares remained in their rigid poses. Violet whispered into her ear. “This part of the forest is haunted. There was a great massacre here during the climax of Nightmare Moon’s genocide. Stay quiet. We don’t want them hearing us.”

Persei nodded, and Violet looked around warily before continuing on her path. As she trotted, she could swear that she heard whispers from within the fog.

Persei listening closely, trying to piece out what they were saying, but there were too many voices speaking at once. What had happened here?

Mother groaned loudly, breaking her out of her thoughts. Violet immediately dropped her to the ground, and Persei rushed beside her. Mother’s lips were turning blue, and Violet grunted. “She’s hypoxic.”

Mother wasn’t getting enough air. She was going into cardiac arrest. Persei put her hooves on her breastbone and began pumping. Her CPR failed to work, and Mother’s gasps became more dramatic and drawn out. Violet pushed Persei aside, and her horn began to spark with electrical current. “Clear,” she whispered.

Violet touched her horn to Mother’s chest, and the current jolted her. Violet pressed her ear against her chest to check her pulse. She raised her head up and began charging her horn again. “Clear,” she whispered.

Mother was jolted up again, but this time her gasps had ceased entirely. Tears streamed from Persei’s eyes. Violet was pressing her ear to her chest again, and began charging her horn again. But the futility became increasingly apparent with every passing moment Mother couldn’t breathe.

Violet lowered her horn again, a last attempt to shock her mother’s heart into beating again. This time, the burst of electricity singed her beige pelt, but nothing happened. Mother lay unnaturally still.

Persei began to cry. She tried to stifle her sobs, but her attempts to do so made them even louder. She wrapped her hooves around her mother’s corpse, hugging her. “Mother, no…” she moaned. “No, no, no….”

Persei nuzzled the tuft of her on chest, right against her mother’s heart. Violet stood by Persei as she mourned.

Why? Why? Nightmare had taken away everything she loved: her home, her family, everything. Persei would never see her mother again. She might not even see Cepheus or any of the other villagers again.

Here she was in the place where Nightmare Moon massacred countless other Dayborns. It seemed a fitting place for another one to die here. Persei was so absorbed in her grief that she didn’t hear the sounds of the struggle behind her.

Persei hugged her mother tightly, feeling the fading warmth of her body. She would be completely cold soon. “I love you, Mother,” she whispered. Persei stood up with a grim resolve, trying to not think of anything.

She pounded the earth with her magic, digging a hole. Dirt sprayed everywhere as she put her full mind and focus into her task. Eventually, a large enough grave had been dug. Persei wiped the perspiration of her brow and picked Mother up, and gently slid her into the hole.

Tears blurred her vision, and she felt like collapsing. Mother looked so at peace as she lay there in the hole. Her face was pale, her hooves folded across her chest, and her dark hair rustled about in an elegant way. She was still beautiful, even in death. “Goodbye, Mother. I’ll…I’ll never forget you.”

Persei covered her corpse with dirt, and soon, the hole was filled and only a mound of dirt marked her burial site. Persei looked around for some stick or stone she could craft into a tombstone, but she noticed that she was alone. Persei stared at where she had last seen the other unicorn, slowly turning around. “Violet?” she softly called out.

She was gone. Vanished.

Concern for her own safety began to take precedence over her grief, and with one last look at her mother’s grave, she set off in search of Violet. Where could she have possibly gone?

Persei hadn’t even noticed when she had left. She trotted through the fog, her horn glowing with an orange light. She began to hear whispers. “We all died here….” a mare’s voice hissed.

Persei began to gallop, fear driving her to move faster. “Nightmare Moon knew we would try to flee through here….” a stallion’s voice muttered solemnly.

Ghosts? Persei thought. She was galloping full speed now, and she tripped over the skeleton of a pony. She tumbled on the ground, her foot had caught the pony’s skull and it fell on top of her when she landed on her back. She stared into the skull’s empty eye sockets, and with a frightened gasp, she knocked it off.

Persei leapt up to her feet again, but this time as she galloped, she felt half buried bones underneath her hooves. She fought through the thick brush, a tree branch fell before her, and she screamed. The leaves rustled in a sudden breeze, and she could hear the sound of hundreds of ponies gasping for breath and screaming for help. “THE LEAVES WERE SLATHERED IN POISON!” the voices screamed.

“Ahhh!” she screamed. The pale visages of the ponies whom Nightmare Moon had poisoned rushed past her as she galloped.

“We all suffocated!” the voices shouted in a choked gasp. “No matter how much we breathed, the poison was in our blood, choking us….”

Persei charged through a bush, her hornlight flickering from the exertion. She gasped for breath, and she realized that she was choking. She filled her lungs with air, but it was futile. The poison coursing through her was preventing her blood from picking up the oxygen. She was dying.

Persei screamed, growing dizzy. She slammed into a tree and collapsed, desperately trying to get some air. She blinked, and all the faces of all the suffocated ponies appeared in front of her. Their eyes were wild looking, their faces pale, and their lips were blue. “Join us…” they whispered to her.

Persei felt herself growing faint, but she couldn’t give up. Not with so much injustice in this world that had yet to be rectified.

What had these ponies done to deserve such a fate? Anger filled her, igniting her heart. “Curse you, Nightmare Moon! Your cruelty will be repaid to you tenfold!”

She struggled back to her feet. She wasn’t going to die here. Persei would avenge the deaths of these ponies, the destruction of her village, Mother’s demise…All the lives Nightmare Moon had taken.

Suddenly, it felt as if she could breathe again. Invigorated by the air, Persei charged through the dark fog and saw Ultra Violet standing before a tree. “There you are!” she shouted, anger still in her voice.

Violet smiled in relief. “I was looking for you!”

“The ghosts,” Persei said, rushing up to her. “They were talking to me.”

Violet nodded. “They do that,” she examined Persei closely. “You seem to have a new resolve about you. Are you getting a sense of who you are now?”

“What?” Persei said, surprised. “How did you know that?”

Violet shrugged. “A pony with control issues like you is obviously compensating for something. You thought that if you could control all of life’s variables, the one unknown variable would become clear. You.”

Persei gasped and Violet continued. “Yes, you. All your life you’ve known that you never really fitted in. That’s why you shied away from making friends. On the outside you appeared to be irritable and unsociable, but that was just a mask. You were unsatisfied with your life, because you weren’t sure who you were. You knew you had a greater purpose in this world, but couldn’t find a way to get yourself there.”

Persei couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Violet was reading her soul to her, and she gestured to Persei’s blank flank. “You are especially lost. You have a blank flank. Your cutie mark is yet to make an appearance, despite you being an adult. You have no concept of what your talent, destiny, or purpose is. But rest assured, only the most powerful talents take so long to reveal themselves.”

“Really?” Persei asked. “I thought I would never find out what my cutie mark is without leaving the village. I grew hopeless and –“

“Frustrated?” Violet added. “I understand that. It must be difficult not to have the sense of worth a cutie mark grants you.” Violet brushed Persei’s flank, where her cutie mark was meant to be. “As I said before, you have no concept of what your purpose is, but it appears you now have touched upon it.” The unicorn cocked her head, looking at her sideways. “Did you mean what you had said earlier?”

Persei felt disembodied after having her soul interpreted to her by somepony else, but she found her voice. “What did I say?”

“Your vow to avenge the deaths of us ponies here.”

Persei thought about it. Deep wells of anger rose up within her. Nightmare Moon had tried to kill her as a filly, and had finally killed Mother. All the atrocities that mare had committed….Persei felt thoroughly angered, and that purpose, that directive gave her a sense of direction for the first time in her life. “Yes, I meant it. Nightmare Moon has to go.”

Violet smiled cryptically, leaning in close enough so she could feel her breath. “See that? Your destiny was once uncertain, now grows clearer with every decision you make. I know you will do your best to fulfill what you have said before us today.”

“Wait!” Persei said a little louder than she should have. Ultra Violet drew back from her. Persei hadn’t noticed it the first time, but the second time…. Us? Who else was she referring to? Was there….

“Persei!” a voice called her from behind.

She flipped around and saw Ultra Violet standing some distance away. She was covered in mud, and was panting.

“But…” Persei looked in front of her where Violet had been speaking to her a moment ago, and doubled back. “How did you get there?”

Violet gave her a strange look. “I had heard you talking before, but when you shouted I was finally able to pinpoint your location.” Violet approached Persei, looking her over. “Who were you talking to?”

Persei was thoroughly confused. “I don’t know….”

Was Persei hallucinating? No, it couldn't be. A hallucination was a figment of her mind. It couldn't tell her things that she didn't know already. Had it been some kind of spirit trying to teach her a lesson?

“Come,” Violet urged her. “You’re losing your mind.”

Persei followed Violet as she trotted away. “What happened to you?” she asked. “Where did you disappear to?”

“Apparently the trees here are enchanted, and the roots snagged me while you were mourning for your mother.” Violet wiped the mud off of her. “I had to fight these things in the mud to escape them.”

Persei looked at Violet incredulously. “Who are you?” she demanded. “What kind of camp would harbor a pony as powerful as you? Nightmare Moon wouldn’t allow a Dayborn like you to live.”

“You’re right, she wouldn’t.” Violet said, and sized her up. “Do you know of the Canterlot Hospital Massacre?”

Persei was intrigued. “Yes, I know of it.”

“I am a survivor, I had to become strong. I was a mother who had given birth that fateful day.” Violet looked down, and sniffed. “I lost my foal.” She then looked up, her eyes glowing with a purple fire. “I took out the bastard who gave the orders to kill my foal. I blew up the entire building where the commander was.”

Persei gasped. Ultra Violet had caused the explosion that had saved Mother’s life. She was a survivor too…. Violet shook her head. “You now have lost someone you love as well to Nightmare Moon’s evil.”

“Yes,” Persei said. “Something needs to be done about that wretch.”

Did Violet know of the light that had flooded the hospital, the event that triggered the massacre? What would Violet do if she found out that she was a survivor too?

Violet nodded. “The camp where I was taking you and your mother, it’s a place where the enemies of Nightmare Moon gather to plot against her. I’m part of the resistance group, and was spying on Nightmare Moon’s activities in the region. The time for us to act is drawing near, and….” Violet looked down at Persei. “We need motivated ponies like you to join us.”

Persei stared at Violet. A resistance group planning on instigating revolution? She remembered what the ghost that had looked like Ultra Violet had told her. Her destiny was becoming clearer with each step she took in the direction of vengeance. She nodded vigorously. “Where do I sign up?”

Violet grinned, embracing her. “We all have been scarred by that tyrant,” she whispered in her ear. “Together, we can bring her down and drive her unholy Nightborn children to extinction!”

Author's Note

Blood agents block hemoglobin's ability to carry oxygen. It's a common type of chemical weapon, that only takes one drop on exposed skin to kill.

Next chapter I will be introducing a new character, in tandem with Sirius' chapter. It'll be split half and half. I am considering doing this for the next few Sirius chapters since their two story lines will intersect.

Discussion/feedback is encouraged.

Chapter 14: Cavatina

Dressed in the fine livery such formal restaurants demanded from their classy clientele, he felt especially at home. Arcturus had his mane dyed black and slicked back, his azure pelt gleaming alongside his silk shirt. He was standing next to his lovely mare-friend, her blue mane glossy, neatly tied into a bun and resting underneath a net of pearls.

She looked splendid. He had brought her a fine white dress, a sapphire necklace that matched her eyes, and had arranged a beauty session for her. Arcturus intended for this to be a first date she would remember for the rest of her life.

Arcturus nuzzled her, sensing her discomfort as they idled in front of the marble steps of the Lunaria Cantina. “Come now, my lovely Morning Glory.” He took her hoof into his and kissed it. “You’ll fit right in among the other socialites.”

Morning smiled, radiance blooming in her features that had earned her the sobriquet of a beautiful flower. “You are such a gentlecolt, Arcturus.” She blushed prettily. “It was so nice of you to take me here.”

“It’s a pleasure. It’ll be a great opportunity to get to know each other, and simultaneously enjoy the sophisticated company of like-minded fellows.”

Arcturus led her up the steps and they both stood before a bouncer to have their attire appraised. The stallion nodded, and gestured to the red sign on the door. “Before I let you in, I must inform you of the policy. No Dayborns allowed. We run a classy establishment, and won’t have such rabble within our midst.”

“Well good sir, we obviously are not in the company of such ponies,” Arcturus said, mustering all the politeness he could.

The bouncer nodded and opened the door for them. Arcturus allowed Morning to enter first, and followed behind. He was immediately met by the cool air of the interior, and could hear what he recognized to be the opening notes of On the Beautiful Blue Danube being played by the live orchestra.

Arcturus stood by his mare-friend as they waited to be seated.

The Lunaria Cantina had a large domed roof that was adorned with a mural depicting Nightmare Moon and glowed with a soft blue aura that lent the dining area with a sober atmosphere. Waiters in tuxedos held platters in their hooves, lighting the candles at each table, and taking orders from the most affluent ponies in the city.

A waiter stallion with an impressive mustache and a lilted accent introduced himself. “I am Varen, and I will be taking care of you tonight. Come with me.”

They were seated in a secluded area beside a sparkling fountain surrounded by fake foliage, statues of Nightmare Moon and other figures related to her. “It’s a lovely rendition of our Empress,” Arcturus noted to both the waiter and his date, gesturing to the grand statue. “Very impressive.”

They both sat down at the table, and the waiter lit their candles with his horn. Varen trotted away then, fetching their drinks and bread.

Arcturus then noticed the way Morning was looking at him. Her initial shyness gone, she had a feisty and flirtatious smirk on her face. “Are you trying to buy my love, Master Arcturus?”

“Oh, ho,” Arcturus said. “True love can’t be brought,” he winked at her. “Besides, this opulence comes within the package of dating a Night Terror.”

Varen returned with their drinks. He poured them champagne in their glasses, and put a bowl of wheat bread and butter before them. He then handed them menus and went off to serve other ponies.

There was a lull in the conversation as Morning spread butter on her bread, and it was then when the orchestra simmered down, and was replaced with the soft plucking notes of Cavatina. It was a simple piece, but extraordinarily poignant.

Morning made a huffing sound, laughing softly. Arcturus turned his face away from the music and turned to her. “Is something humorous, my dear?”

“Oh, it was the dreamy look you had in your eyes.” She giggled again. “You really like the orchestra, don’t you?”

“Of course, Cavatina is a classic. I grew up in this city listening to musicians playing such music.”

Morning nodded, taking a sip of her champagne. “Oh, so you’ve lived here your entire life? You have a strange accent for that, but I guess I can’t really speculate as to how the ‘other half’ speaks.”

Arcturus grinned. “I was raised by two immigrant doctors. They spoke this way, and I guess I do too.” He raised his hooves, gesturing to her. “Enough about me, tell me of your upbringing.”

She suddenly got a solemn look on her face. “It wasn’t a happy upbringing, I’ll tell you that.” Arcturus touched her hoof, and looked into her eyes, empathizing with her. Morning was encouraged, and continued. “My parents had a nasty divorce. I can’t remember a time when they weren’t fighting. They often vented their frustrations on me.”

Arcturus nodded. “It’s all right,” he moved to wipe her tears with the edge of a napkin. “We all suffer, but we recover.” They both nodded at the evident truth of the words, but he felt like she needed further consoling. “You know, I too have suffered at the hooves of the ponies I have loved.”

“Really?” she said. She quickly recomposed herself, and there was no sign that she had ever cried. “What happened to you?”

“Well, I…” Arcturus gasped, a splinter of pain needling through his mind. Morning looked at him with concern in her eyes, and leaned forward, but Varen appeared with their food. He set the platters down before them, refilled their champagne, and left.

Arcturus drained his glass, the alcohol dulling his headache. He felt a hoof touching his, and looked up at Morning. Her blue eyes were sparkling, a sad smile on her face. “I promise I will never hurt you like that.”

He smiled, poured himself more champagne, and raised it in a toast. “A vow,” he declared. “To a happy relationship.”

She raised her glass and clinked it against his. “To a happy relationship.”

They both drunk the champagne, and as the hours passed, they grew increasingly fond of each other. Laughter constantly issued from their throats, words of praise, encouragement, sympathy, it all poured out.

As far as first dates go, this one had been blessed by Nightmare Moon herself.

Sirius groaned, Darkheart pinning his hooves down. The captain rolled his eyes, “C’mon, initiate. Ember may oversee your Night Terror specialization, but you’re still a soldier, and as a soldier, you must meet certain fitness benchmarks.” Sirius completed another sit-up with great effort, his stomach burning. “One more,” Darkheart said.

He completed another grueling sit-up, and collapsed on the ground. Darkheart released his hold, and let Sirius catch his breath. He trotted away, opening the door to his apartment. But before he left, he looked back at Sirius lying on the floor in a puddle of his own sweat. “Get some more protein in your diet, and maybe you’ll look more like a mature stallion instead of a lanky adolescent.”

Darkheart closed the door behind him, and Sirius lay there. Heat was radiating from his body, but he could feel it particularly in his forehead. It felt good.

He struggled to get back up, his hooves trembling. Sirius managed to make his way to his bathroom and plunked himself down in his already drawn bath. Sapphire was waiting for him there, and as he settled in the warm water, she began to rub his back. He closed his eyes and leaned back, and Sapphire began to hum. She seemed especially happy today.

She began to massage his shoulders, and kissed him behind the ear.

Sirius opened his eyes and looked up at her for a moment, then looked back down. He wondered to himself, exactly what were the boundaries of Sapphire’s service to him?

The first time they had met, when he had awoken beside her after a night of drinking, she had been surprisingly tender with him. Was she supposed to be so intimate with him?

Sirius, for the life of him, could not remember if he had actually had sex with her or not. If he had lost his virginity to her, he at least wanted to remember what it felt like.

He sneaked a glance at her, and wondered how she would respond if he asked her to join him in the sauna. He didn’t know what frightened him more: the risk of being denied and offending her, or her actually taking up the offer.

Sirius had been thinking of this more frequently than he would like to admit. He had decided that he would at least take her on a few dates before he asked her for sex.

Sirius couldn’t think of that anymore. Having erotic thoughts naked and in her presence was courting disaster.

Instead, he thought about the pony he had dubbed the “Glass Stallion.” It was his journal and notes he had found behind his bathroom’s mirror.

He had learned many things about Glass’ life.

Sirius had been reminded of himself as he read the beginning parts of the journal. A bastard born between some noble in Nightmare Moon’s court and his mistress, Glass has been given up to an orphanage in the city. Neglected and lonely, until one day he showed talent in Dreamwalking.

Sirius looked up, making a mental note to himself. Glass’ background was written in very poor detail, as if he had struggled to remember the events that took place.

Glass had written that whoever had slept with him got strange dreams, so one of his caretakers had assessed him.

The account had then skipped to Glass’ initiation.

Nightmare Moon herself had appeared before him. Glass had somehow resisted her will, and it had become apparent to her that he was a Dreamwalking prodigy.

Glass had been a remarkably good pony until then. Kindness was his dominant trait.

After he had fought her off, he had been roughly awoken from his sleep. The Empress’ surgeons had done something terrible to him then. After that, Glass had become a murderous psychopath, as was intended, and grew worse as he ascended the Night Terror hierarchy.

He went to the very top, right alongside Nightmare Moon.

It’s so odd, Sirius thought. How does a pony that was so good before degenerate so quickly? But apparently that was common, not only in the Night Terrors, but in all branches of the Empress’ military.

And then Glass had done something terrible. Right afterwards, he had been severely injured where he received a terrible concussion. It was then where he became self aware, and started to regret all the crimes he had committed. In his final words, it said: “I have finally seen my reflection. The mirror is both a lie and truth.”

In the depths of Glass’ despair, the narrative had ended.

There had been two extra parchment scraps with the red ink that Sirius had looked through as well. Apparently, the ink wasn’t ink. It was blood.

The two parchments had detailed speculations inquiring about the mechanism Nightmare Moon had used to turn him into a villain, and then it tried to explain how his concussion had alleviated it. Apparently, Glass’ speculations were in vain. He never found out exactly what Nightmare Moon had done to him, and then the text went off on a rant about how she would always find a way to convert a Night Terror initiate into pure evil.

Sirius had then inquired about the identity of the “Glass Stallion.” He had gone to the city’s libraries, and then to the Night Terror database. It was there Sirius found some old record books. He learned that every page, every article mentioning Glass’ existence had been ripped out of the records.

He had then gotten suspicious looks from some of the bookkeepers there and had decided to leave. Nightmare Moon’s government had completely erased Glass from their archives. It was so strange. She didn’t want anypony finding out about him, or he had been disgraced, exiled, or even killed. Maybe all of the above.

Sirius had then thought of himself. Glass had said that Nightmare Moon never failed to turn her Night terror initiates into evil.
Sirius had done a self-check then. He looked at Sapphire smiling above him, looking at him with affection in her eyes. What have I done to make her like me so much? he thought.

Sirius felt normal. But that was the catch.

Glass hadn’t even known his own darkness until a violent concussion had opened his eyes. Reiterated, Glass hadn’t even realized what he was doing. He had described it as, “An inability to resist the influence of others.”

Sirius wasn’t sure what that last part meant, but he knew one thing: Nightmare Moon always got what she wanted.

Perhaps my initiation conversion had failed, he thought to himself. Maybe it had failed, and Ember hadn’t noticed it.

He was still fully in control of himself. He was still his own, and that gave him hope.

After finishing his bath, with a more than happy to help Sapphire, he laid down in his bed.

Sirius realized how incredibly lucky he was to have avoided Glass’ fate. That feeling of gratefulness was the last thing he remembered before he fell asleep.

Author's Note

Arcturus' narrative will appear in tandem with Sirius from now on.

Also, more optional chapters are on the horizon. Expect at least one grimdark chapter, and I am considering a clop chapter too.

Discussion and feedback is encouraged.

Chapter 15: Abandonment

Exhaustion tempered Cepheus’ movements as he trotted through the dense, dark forest. His hooves felt like lead, his brain tired from his constant vigilance, even his muzzle was sore from carrying the increasingly heavy feeling lantern.

Cepheus wanted to rest, as well as all the other villagers, but fear prompted them to keep moving. Some of the elderly ponies had to be carried in the luggage wagons, and he knew they would have stop and make camp very soon.

They had been traveling through this seemingly endless forest for several days now, or so it felt like. There was no way to keep time, since the forest’s canopy completely blotted out the sky. They were trapped inside a dark void with only their lanterns to guide them.

Cepheus was both grateful and wary of the darkness. He was grateful because the canopy would prevent any passing Night Guard pegasi from seeing them, but he was wary because the darkness could be hiding anything.

It was deathly quiet in the forest. No insects chirped, there was no wind to rustle the leaves, the silence was oppressive and smothered all desire to talk.

Cepheus looked at Candle trotting alongside him, and saw that she was falling asleep on her feet. Her little brother, Dusty, clung to her, especially affected by the silence.

“Candle,” Cepheus whispered.

“Hmmm?” she responded sleepily.

“Let me carry Dusty,” he said. “You need a break.”

She had been reluctant before, but now she immediately took up his offer. Cepheus scooped up the colt, and Dusty actually seemed to want to be with him.

Dusty knew his sister was tired and didn’t want to be a burden, but there was also something else. Dusty could tell that Cepheus cared about his big sister, and he wanted to get to know her stallion-friend better.

Foals were very perceptive when it came to their caretakers’ feelings, and Cepheus had a lot of experience with foals. He could connect with them with ease. Even the most inconsolable foals would immediately fall silent when he picked them up, because they trusted him.

Mother had always told him that ponies with good hearts are often good with children and animals.

The colt climbed jumped onto his back, curling up between his wings, making himself comfortable. But even though Dusty was tired, he was still keeping an eye on his sister.

Cepheus sensed that he was very protective of his sister. That was understandable. Having lost both parents, Candle was all he had left.

The white pegasus felt a small hoof stroking his right wing, and Cepheus couldn’t help but giggle. His wings were very ticklish. “Your wing feathers are so soft,” Dusty whispered.

Candle heard him and laughed. “They’re great for big, warm hugs.”

Dusty seemed to be fascinated with his wings. “It must be so cool,” he whispered, feeling all the bones underneath the feathers. “Why do you stay here?”

“What?” Cepheus asked.

“I mean, why do you stay here?” Dusty said inquisitively. “You have these wings. You could go anywhere you want. You are freer than all of us earthbound ponies. Why don’t you just fly away from this dreary place? I know I would.”

Candle seemed to be worried, but Cepheus answered him anyway. “I can’t just fly away, Dusty. My home is here. All the people I love and care about are here.”

Dusty suddenly grew bitter, and Cepheus became guarded. The colt crossed his hooves and looked away. “That never stopped my mother.”

“Dusty!” Candle scolded.

The colt shook his head, crying out. “She left us! How could she? She just flew away one day.”

Cepheus sighed, understanding. When he was a colt, he had similar feelings. He had always felt like there was some greener pasture out there, some better place waiting just for him. But he learned that the dark misery that was in this village was present everywhere.

Candle was about to speak, but Cepheus spoke first. “Dusty, your mother made a mistake. There is a darkness in this world,” he groaned in frustration. “There is something missing. I can feel it deep inside me. We pegasi are naturally curious. We explore, we seek, always searching for brighter horizons we can come to call home. We want better living conditions not only for ourselves, but all those under our protection as well.” Cepheus drew closer to Candle and put his wing around her. “Some pegasi get this wrong. It’s not the place that makes home a home, it’s the ponies that you share it with.”

Dusty and Candle grew quiet. After a thoughtful pause, Candle softly whispered. “I was just a filly, and Dusty a newborn foal. Father had recently died, and we were all mourning. Mother had said that she would be going out to get us some food, and that she’d be back by supper. I watched her fly into this forest, and that’s the last time I ever saw her.”

Dusty was bristling with anger. “She took all our money, that’s why we’re so poor.”

Candle shushed him, and they all lapsed into silence.

A family is only as strong as its weakest link, Cepheus thought.

Candle had leaned into him, and he could feel Dusty’s hooves wrapped around the base of his neck. Even then, he could still feel the bitterness smoldering within the colt.

Cepheus sighed. “Dusty, your mother was foolish. She abandoned her foals, and forgot that family is a pegasus’ greatest blessing. Take it from me, traveling with you and your sister has made me realize what a wonderful thing it is to be in the company of ponies who love each other unconditionally. It reminds me of what I felt with my own family before we were split apart.” They all listened to him quietly, drinking his every word. “Your mother didn’t know what she was missing out on by leaving. I know she still remembers you two, she probably regrets it too. It was her mistake entirely, and neither of you were to blame.”

Cepheus paused, knowing what had to be done here. “I know she has caused you two a lot of pain, but…you have to forgive her.”

“Why?” Dusty retorted. Candle also looked at him, wanting an explanation. He could see the extent of damage that had been done to her by her mother’s departure in her eyes.

“Hate is a bad thing to carry in your heart. You may hate a pair of shoes, or barley bread, but you cannot hate another pony. It’ll make you bitter. It’ll make you miserable and angry, and it’ll consume you from the inside.” Cepheu shuffled his hooves. “You see, my mother and sister didn’t like my brother. They hated him, and that deadened their hearts.” Cepheus looked at Candle and then looked sideways, seeing Dusty in his periphery. “Even righteous hate takes its toll. You need to forgive her so the wound can heal.”

Cepheus looked up, addressing Dusty. “Maybe that’s why you were always so reluctant to go outside. Because you were afraid that you might get hurt.”

Cepheus softened his voice, the way a parent does when he’s explaining something to his foal. “As long as you hate your mother, the reminder of all that pain she caused you will remain, and it’ll make you paranoid and not trust anyone with your feelings. It’ll hinder your ability to make new relationships.”

Candle and Dusty were silent, and remained so for a long time.

The air soon gained a damp, balmy feel to it. A thunderstorm was coming. When a cold breeze started to stir, he shivered. Cepheus decided it was now time to set up camp. The villagers found comfortable spots in the shelter of the massive trees. The wagons were unloaded, supplies were distributed, and attendance was taken. Candle had then approached him, exhaustion in her gait. “Here,” she said, brushing up against his barrel. “Let me put Dusty to bed.”

He breathed in the scent of her mane, putting his hooves around her in an embrace. Candle was surprised at the sudden gesture of affection. Breaking away, she took Dusty and gave him a weary look. “Cepheus, we need to talk. Come to our tent in an hour, when Dusty asleep.”

Cepheus felt a bit nervous, but smiled and nodded. “Alright, see you then.” She trotted away with Dusty on her back, but he called after her. “If you need help making your tent, just ask!”

She didn’t respond. An elderly mare approached him. “Young lad,” she said in her sweet, grandmotherly voice. “Will you help me make my tent?”

Cepheus smiled, taking the tarp from her. “Of course.”

Soon, all the tents were erected, lashed and secured, and Cepheus realized that he had no tarp of his own. Persei and Ultra Violet had taken the family tarp.

He had been so busy helping others, he had forgotten about himself. Cepheus looked around, finding everypony hidden away inside their tents. He was alone out here.

He began trotting across the camp ground, wondering if Candle would allow him to sleep inside her tent. She had wanted to talk to him about something.

I hope she’s not angry with me, he thought. Did I overstep my boundaries by telling them to forgive their mother?

Cepheus couldn’t stand it when ponies were upset with him.

The rain was coming down harder now, and he saw Candle’s tent lashed against the massive roots of a tree. The outgrowths were massive, arching many feet off the ground, providing a burrow that could accommodate two ponies. Three would make a snug fit.

Cold and shivering, he stood there, staring at the soft light emanating from Candle’s tent. He could make out two huddled figures inside.

Lightning rippled in the sky, illuminating the forest. Cepheus immediately knew he was being watched. His pegasi instincts flared, and looked up in the trees. He saw a silhouette of a pony hidden behind the dense foliage, a pair of glowing yellow eyes with slitted pupils staring down at him.

Cepheus felt afraid, and the forest was dark again. Thunder crashed in the sky.

What was that? he asked himself. He looked up, trying to hear or see the pony again, but nothing could be heard or seen due to the darkness and the sounds of the storm.

That pony had eyes like Sirius’….

Am I just imagining things? He hadn’t slept in a few days. Lightning illuminated the forest once again, and he looked up. The pony was gone. There was no evidence that it had even been there in the first place.

I need rest. I’m seeing things.

Water dripped from his muzzle, his golden mane was plastered to his forehead, and his wings were ruffled. He sneezed and shivered violently. He would get sick if he stayed out here.

Cepheus swallowed and approached the tent.

The cold, soaked, and shivering pegasus entered the snug burrow, and saw Candle and Dusty huddled together with a lantern hanging from a knob on the overarching roots.

Cepheus gave her a small smile, and settled down close to her. “Candle,” he whispered. She regarded him solemnly with her brown eyes. “Do you mind if I sleep here tonight?”

“Listen to what I have to say first,” she said, her face expressionless. Cepheus felt nervous and listened attentively. Candle sighed, gently brushing Dusty’s mane as he slept. “You don’t have a cutie mark,” she finally said.

Caught off guard by the question, he wasn’t quite sure how to respond. “I know I’m a late bloomer,” he said, rubbing his hooves together nervously. “But you can’t rush your destiny.”

Candle blinked at him sleepily. “It’s not normal….”

Cepheus began to explain himself. “I know I may not have my official talent, but I’m a hard worker….”

“Let me finish,” she cut in. Cepheus fell silent. She continued. “The way you read ponies. That’s not normal. You see right through all of us, and can immediately diagnose what’s wrong with all of us.” Candle stared at him, and sighed. “You were right about my mother. I hesitated to agree with you then, because I was afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” Cepheus asked.

“You have us both completely figured out. You know what troubles us, how those afflictions impact our lives, and what to do to make us feel better and repair the damage. It just kind of frightened me that you knew so much about us…and I’ve been thinking about it.” Candle rose from beside the sleeping Dusty, and drew so close to him that he could feel her breath against his muzzle. “I…I feel so strange when I’m with you. It feels like I have no secrets…like I’m naked. I…I…don’t know if I can handle to have somepony this close to my heart….”

Candle trailed off nervously, and Cepheus leaned forward and kissed her. Their muzzles locked together, and there was a nervous whimper from Candle. He drew back from her, familiarizing himself once again with her taste. “Forgive me if I read you again, but I understand. Like I said with Dusty, you have trust issues because of what your mother did. You don’t know it, but you have a wall around yourself. You subconsciously fear getting hurt like that again; of being abandoned. That’s why you have difficulty in allowing other ponies to see who you really are.” Candle stared at him, the lanternlight flickering in her brown eyes. Cepheus continued softly. “You shy away from intimacy, and fear that if a pony gets too close, he’ll be able to hurt you. That’s why you shut yourself off. If you don’t let anyone in, they can’t hurt you.”

“You’ve forced yourself into my heart,” she said, interrupting him. “You force yourself into the heart of everypony you care about.” She looked down, staring at her hooves. “I want you, Cepheus. I need you, but I have to know something first. You seem to be so well off…so emotionally secure. I need you, but do you need me? I feel like you would be perfectly fine without me, I…”

“I love you, Candle Glimmer.” The sincerity of his words stunned her. “I need you because of that. I wouldn’t be perfectly fine without you, not at all. You and Dusty make me feel whole, and in all honesty…I already feel like we’re family.”

Tears were welling up in her eyes, and she rushed into his embrace. “I swear,” she muttered. “You are everything that Dusty and I have ever needed. How did I manage to make an angel like you fall in love with me?”

Cepheus felt his protective pegasi instincts kicking in. He felt a strong sense of possession over not only her, but Dusty as well. They were his now.

He felt a joy in his heart, and wrapped his wings around her. They remained in their embrace for what felt like an eternity, gently rocking back and forth. Cepheus never wanted to let her go, and neither did she.

“Marry me,” he whispered in her ear.

Her sobs were renewed, her frame trembling with pure happiness. “Yes! Yes…”

Dusty immediately rose from his feigned sleep and wiggled in between Cepheus and Candle. They both laughed, and Dusty wrapped his tiny hooves around them, crying.

Cepheus felt an incredible warmth within him, and a luminance deep inside of his heart which was once kindled, now became a blaze. It filled him up and shone through his blue eyes, setting them aglow with a soft radiance.

A beautiful cutie mark now emblazoned his white flank, signifying everything Cepheus was: light and warmth.

Author's Note

Although Cepheus and Persei are siblings, you can see the enormous difference between them. They both have a ‘fire’ within them. Cepheus has the type of fire that provides warmth, where Persei’s burns. Both have their uses. These are the two aspects of ‘passion’.

Cepheus has a prodigiously high emotional intelligence. He is also very wise for a stallion his age.

Discussion/Feedback is encouraged.

Chapter 17: The Worldspine

Persei stared in awe at the immense chain of stone monoliths before her. The mountain range was like the jagged teeth of some great monster, risen up from the bowels of the earth, taking thousands of years to form.

The trees thinned out around them, vegetation grew increasingly sparse as the soil became rockier as they ascended, and soon it was just gray rock for the rest of the way up. A blanket of wispy white clouds shrouded the peaks, giving the mountains a majestic, mysterious charm in the light of the full moon.

Persei stared in wonder. How would they ever get over those?

Ultra Violet was wrapping up their tent with her magic, and noticed Persei staring at the not so distant mountains. “Those mountains, my folk refer to them as the Worldspine.”

The Worldspine…Persei stared in defiance at them. Although beautiful to look at, they were an obstacle that needed to be conquered. “Let’s do this,” she said, determination in her voice.

Violet smiled, and they began to trot towards the Worldspine. Hopefully Cepheus and the other villagers would soon arrive at there as well, and together, they would proceed up the mountains. But that was a problem. “Violet,” she said, and the other unicorn looked at her inquisitively. “How are we going to get the village elders over those mountains? Your camp is on the other side, right?”

Violet nodded. “There is a secret tunnel that bores through the mountains and leads directly to our camp. We don’t actually have to go over the mountains. They are considered impassible, not only by ground, but air as well.” Violet pointed her hoof at the Worldspine, sweeping it across the horizon. “The mountain range extends indefinitely in both directions. As far as we know, they go on forever.”

“So, it’s like a giant wall separating one part of the world from another?” Persei asked, awed.

Violet shook her head. “Not really. The sea is all that’s behind those mountains. You’re not really missing much by not seeing the other side. Our own camp is nestled in a large crevice on the mountain face. It’s a sharp drop off into the ocean.”

Persei nodded. “I heard in old legends that there used to be ancient cities, exotic lands, island nations, but they were all flooded when the tides rose during the start of Nightmare Moon’s reign at the beginning of the new age.”

Violet nodded. “I have heard that as well, but that is beyond our imagining. All written records of the past age have been destroyed, although Nightmare Moon claims that only a tyrannical regime existed before her and they hadn’t developed their language to include a written form.”

Persei imagined a civilization of illiterate barbarians, but could they believe what Nightmare Moon said? Definitely not. “It’s most likely she had destroyed all the records on purpose, to make us think that things were never any different than they are now.”

“Exactly,” Violet said. “Her government is built upon deception and lies.”

Persei nodded, looking up at the mountains again. The trees around them were already thinning out, and the terrain was becoming rougher. Moonlight reflected off the stone face of the mountain. A continuous cold breeze that seemed to emanate from the mountains themselves caressed her face, blowing her brunette mane back.

The frigid wind whistled all around her, and she breathed it all in, the cold chilling her lungs and invigorating her.

Persei felt powerful. She had never felt so secure in her entire life. She dared fate to knock her off her high perch. Nothing was more dangerous than a pony who knew what she was about.

Persei felt like a changed pony ever since she had left that haunted part of the forest. For the first time in her life, she had a direction, a higher goal. She was part of a grand cause that was far greater than herself.

Despite her newfound purpose, the pain of Mother’s death still ached inside her. But instead of sorrow, she felt a hot anger in her heart.

Nopony should have to go through the pain Persei had experienced. No more Dayborns should have to suffer under the whip of Nightmare Moon’s oppression.

Persei felt a fire within her. She would see that tyrant fall…she swore it upon her mother’s memory.

Ultra Violet had been glancing at her every now and then, noticing that something was simmering inside her. Persei wanted to share her outrage with Violet, but that mare had suffered far more than she could ever imagine.

All the ponies in her camp probably all had suffered more than Persei had.

Persei exhaled, calming herself. She had to focus on getting there first. She noticed that the trees had thinned out, and Violet stopped her. Her horn began to glow, and there was a lilac flash that blinded Persei for a moment. “There,” she said. “Protocol demands that once we leave the cover of the forest, we must wear our camouflage. To anyone flying above, we’re going to look like bushes.”

Persei was still rubbing her eyes. “Why would any of Nightmare Moon’s soldiers come here?”

“We haven’t stayed hidden from the Empress this long by not exercising extreme caution.” Persei nodded, gesturing to the gradually increasing steepness of their climb. “We will be meeting two of our agents when we reach a certain point. They’ll check our identities, they’ll ask you a few questions, and then they will lead us to the tunnel.”

Persei felt nervous, but she was certain she could pass their little inspection.

Soon, they had emerged from the forest. Pale green grass and small shrubs adorned the stone feet of the mountains, and they continued to ascend. They crossed a meandering stream, stopping to drink the pristine mountain water.

Persei could taste the small tinge of salt in the breeze from the sea, but it was subdued by the cold, algidity of the mountain air.

“Persei,” Violet said. “I was thinking about this for a while now, but do you know your mother’s actual name?”

Persei sighed. “I asked her once about what her name was, but she always told me that she no longer had one. So we just called her mother, since that’s what she was to us. She had always been secretive about her identity, and now I know it was for good reason.”

“Hmmm….” Violet thought pensively. “Do you know your father’s name? Was he a unicorn like you, or a pegasus like your brother?”

“I don’t know my father’s name either, but I do know he was a pegasus.”

Violet stared at Persei. “Then how are you a unicorn? Genetics would dictate that you either be an earth pony like your mother, or a pegasus like your father.”

Persei shrugged. “Maybe it was a mutation, or some remnant blood from some other unicorn ancestor.” She put a hoof under her muzzle, stroking it. “I haven’t given this much thought. I was sharing womb space with my brother, maybe that caused it.”

“You two are twins?” Violet asked.

“Yes, fraternal.” Persei answered.

Ultra Violet shook her head. “Interesting, you must tell me more about your origins when we get back to camp.”

“Same here,” Persei whispered.

They continued their ascent of the mountain, and Violet had stopped to give her some hoof-wraps to protect her hooves from sharp rocks and help her grip the mountain face better.

Soon, they arrived at a waypoint in their journey. Persei struggled as she climbed up a particularly high ridge, and was out of breath as she followed Violet.

They were standing in some wide, flat space. The mountain went up in an almost vertical direction at the other end of the clearing, and behind Persei was an open view of the vast green forest stretching out below as far as the eye could see. But what was most intriguing was what was at the center of the clearing. There was a wrecked statue of some regal looking mare, her shattered head sitting at her feet.

Persei jumped when two armored stallions emerged from within the cracks of the ruined statue. They gave her a guarded stare, and then looked around the clearing before facing Ultra Violet. The pegasus with a minty green coat and mossy colored mane addressed her with the utmost respect. “My lady, you’ve brought only one mare with you? Drawnzer managed to bring half of the ponies in his assigned village a week ago, not to mention….”

“Silence, Grass Blade.” The stallion suddenly fell quiet, as if he had been bitten. “I will be personally escorting this mare to our camp, and I want you to descend the mountain and wait at the very foot. Her entire village should soon be arriving, and they will require assistance in the climb.”

Violet faced the other guard, an orange earth pony with a blue mane. “Broadsides, you wait here for Grass Blade, and maintain your guard duty. I want you personally held responsible for this task here: when the villagers arrive, a pegasus named Cepheus should be leading them. Immediately send him to my pavilion once everypony is settled.”

Violet looked at Persei for a moment, and then addressed the two guards once more. “You have your orders. Carry them out.”

Grass Blade gestured towards Persei with his wing. “What about her background check?”

Violet’s lilac mane flared up. “I will take care of her. You focus on your own assigned duties.”

Grass Blade flapped his wings and in a moment he disappeared down the ridge.

Persei faced Violet, confused. “What did those stallions mean by assigned villages? Did you…did your camp already know the Night Guard was going to attack all of the fringe colonies?”

“Yes,” she said in an authoritative tone. “I had been spying on Nightmare Moon’s activities, as I told you before. The increased amount of military personnel at her forward bases suggested that she was preparing to attack. Though I, and as a result my forces, underestimated the tenacity and swiftness of her Night Guard. I thought I had more time, but we did manage to gather as many refugees as we could and bring them here.”

Persei nodded, and thought out loud. “Do you know what caused the Night Guard’s interest in our colonies in the first place? They had left us alone, then all of a sudden they were all over us.”

“It was the Night Terrors,” Violet said immediately. “Somehow, they found your mother and wanted her dead. That was the catalyst behind the Night Guard raids. That’s the reason why all the villages were destroyed, turning thousands of our fellow Dayborns into refugees.”

“How did they find mother? Do ponies give off a signature when they sleep that acts as a beacon that the Night Terrors can see?”

“Each dreaming pony’s mind gives off a certain signature, but definitely not a beacon. Even without the Nightlock, she would still have evaded notice. It was either she had very bad luck, or somepony ratted her out.” Ultra Violet looked at Persei very closely. “No Dayborn would help Nightmare Moon, so it had to be a Nightborn.” The unicorn grew closer, looking her right in the eye. “Was there anypony like that in your town? A Nightborn who knew your mother, or had something against her?”

Sirius…It had been him. He had flown off and had told Nightmare Moon about their location. So many ponies had suffered because of him. Persei had been right to hate him. She sighed. “It was a pony named Sirius. He was the only Nightborn in the village, and was friends with my brother, Cepheus.” Persei shook her head. “I knew he was wicked. My Mother tried to kill him. I should have helped her finish the job.”

Ultra Violet nodded. “You should have. All Nightborn ponies are inherently traitorous and wicked. But I’m sure you won’t make the mistake of allowing one to live again.”

Persei nodded, feeling guilty, but hating Sirius more. If she ever found him, she would not hesitate to kill him. So much blood was on his hooves.

Violet was trotting away, and Persei began to follow. But as she drew close, Violet looked back at her. “Oh, and you said your brother was friends with this Nightborn?” Persei remained silent. “Straighten him out,” she growled. “Or I will do it for you.”

Ultra Violet continued trotting alongside the face of the mountain, and Persei followed. She had to tell Cepheus what Sirius had done.

Persei felt bad about telling him though. Cepheus had honestly loved the threstal, and the betrayal would break his heart. Even more so once he learned of Mother’s death.

They arrived at another, much smaller clearing. Persei looked around, and Ultra Violet stood in front of the mountain face. What was she doing? There was nothing here….

“Who dares to approach my lair?” a deep voice boomed from above.

Persei stared up in horror, and saw a silver and gray dragon staring down at them from his perch. Smoke issued from his nostrils, and he bared his razor sharp teeth at her. “Leave now, and I may spare you.”

Ultra Violet moved into the dragon’s eyesight, and there was a visible change in his demeanor. “What have I told you about theatrics, Sarim? I will have none of that nonsense while you watch the gate.”

The dragon wilted. “I was just having some fun, my lady. I meant no offense.”

Sarim retreated out of view, and Violet shook her head angrily. Her horn began to glow, and she touched it against the mountain. The illusion of the featureless rock face dissipated and a large crevice appeared. It was dark inside, narrow, and looked treacherous.

Ultra Violet’s horn began to glow, and she led the way inside. “Follow me, Persei. The camp is through here.” Persei followed her inside, water dripping on her head. “Consider yourself one of us now,” Violet whispered.

Author's Note

Sorry if there was any trouble last night or this morning. Fimfiction was glitching out on me. I think I may have lost an upvote because of that.

It seems Persei has finally found her place in this world. Maybe she'll be able to make some friends now.

Discussion/feedback is encouraged

Important Note: The next chapter will have a clop option. Have fun with that.

Chapter 18: Unraveled (Standard)

Arcturus’ heart was racing. The smell of rot breached his nostrils. He stood in the hallway, staring at the door at the end of the corridor. Perspiration dripped from his muzzle, trickling down his neck.

Something was in the room again, and it smelled as if something had died in there.

“Please….” A mare’s familiar voice pleaded from behind the door. “Somepony help me!”

There was the sound of chains rattling and a whimper of pain.

Arcturus took a hesitant step forward, and his already crippling migraine intensified. He took another step forward, and gasped in pain. Each step amplified the pain tenfold. There was something in that room that his subconscious didn’t want him to see.

This had been going on for weeks. Arcturus hallucinated about the door. He always drew close in curiosity. A little bit closer every time, but sense found him and he fled every time. It was as if one part of him was luring him into some kind of trap, and another part was desperately trying to protect him by keeping him away.

Morning Glory had gone shopping, and she wouldn’t be coming to rescue him any time soon.

There was another pity-evoking cry for help. “It hurts so much….”

Arcturus remembered the flayed hoof. The hypnotic voice that had drawn him in every time. His mind was screaming to get away, but he was transfixed.

Arcturus had been having dreams of ponies being dragged into the room, being tortured, and strung up on the wall. They were just nightmares, but his dreams were becoming reality.

Orange and red hairs lay in clumps leading up to the door. As if somepony had taken the mare’s mane and had wrenched it back, dragging her into the room as she screamed and kicked. The torn carpet and hoof-marks on the wall was more evidence to that.

Something was in that room. Something that wanted him to share that mare’s fate.

Arcturus blacked out for what felt like a few seconds, and there was a scream. He opened his eyes again, and he was slightly closer to the door. He blacked out again, and he was a little closer. The door was open, and he could see the silhouette of a pony standing in the dark.

Arcturus blacked out again, and he was even closer. He saw that the silhouette had a linear extension to his hoof. He was holding something. Arcturus blacked out. When he opened his eyes, he was close enough to see the bloody edge of the meat cleaver and the hysterical grin of the pony holding it.

Arcturus screamed, and thrashed his hooves trying to stop himself. But every blackout drew him closer. It was pulling him in.

“Leave me alone!” he screamed. But it was futile. He couldn't resist the hidden force drawing him in.

“My name is Necron!” the pony in the dark bellowed in a guttural voice. “And you’re time is coming soon!” he said, pointing at Arcturus with the meat cleaver.

“Noooo!” Arcturus screamed. “Don’t kill me!”

Necron laughed, a hideous sound that was only heard alongside the screaming of suffering ponies.

I don’t want to die! I can’t leave Morning alone….Arcturus felt a fire ignite within him. He wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

Arcturus spread out his wings, and launched himself towards the door. Necron’s face became one of surprise. Arcturus hurtled through the air, imagining himself striking Necron hard across the face.

He flew full speed into the doorway, the sudden cold and reek of rot invading his nose, and he collided with Necron.

There was a burst of pain.

The door slammed shut behind him, plunging them both in darkness.

The apartment fell silent. Not a pin drop was to be heard. Arcturus’ cello lay on the ground, his sheet music scattered all over the floor.

Nothing moved.

Sirius awoke with a start. The newspaper he had been reading crumpled to the ground. The headline on the front page read, “Mass Murderer Strikes Again: Five Ponies with Gang Affiliations Slain.” Sweat was beading on his forehead, and he realized that he had almost fallen from his chair. The hospital waiting room was eerily quiet as he waited alone.

A doctor stormed down the hallway towards him, his stethoscope bouncing against his barrel. The frightened pegasus stared up at the angry stallion. “This is the sixth time you’ve come here this month!” the doctor exclaimed, waving his clipboard around. “You show up here with severe injuries, we patch you up with magic, but before we discharge you, you always demand to see a psychiatrist.”

Sirius blinked. This was the first time he had ever come here. “Doctor, you must be mistaken. This is the first time I’ve ever….”

“That’s what you said last time.” The doctor said annoyed. “We patched you up anyway because you were a Night Terror. But we are absolutely forbidden to provide you with psychiatric help.”

Sirius was dazed, and was struck by the sensation that an immense period of time had passed since he had last passed out. “Why am I not allowed psychiatric help?” he demanded.

The doctor sighed. “I’ve already explained this to you, Chaucer. But I’ll do it one more time.”

Who the hell is Chaucer? Sirius thought to himself.

“That is the protocol for treating Night Terrors. No mental help. No counseling. No psychological diagnosis for you. You’re on your own.” The doctor shrugged, sighing. “A lot of Night Terrors have come here, begging for help. But we have to turn them down.” The doctor pointed at Sirius with his hoof. “But you, Chaucer. Your instructor, Ember, told us personally to inform her of every time you show up here. She was very strict in her instructions. And of course, she emphasized that we deny you any treatment.”

Sirius felt a rush of rage, and the doctor’s irritation turned into fear. “I want to see your manger, your superior, or whoever you answer to.”

The stallion shook his head. “Doctor Pharus didn’t show up at work today. Besides, even if he did show up, he wouldn’t want to see you.”

“Doctor Pharus,” Sirius said as much to himself as the doctor. “That name sounds familiar.”

“Well, he’s a world famous psychiatrist and runs this hospital’s psych ward. Everypony knows who he is.”

Sirius sighed, trying a different tactic. “What if I were to talk to Ember? I want to know why she won’t let me get help.”

“You said you would talk to Ember last time,” the doctor said. “That was about three days ago, and she hasn’t contacted me.”

Sirius shook his head, almost begging the doctor. “You have to give me something. Anything.”

The doctor sighed, and grew pensive. “Well, we do have the drug test you requested.” The stallion leafed through his clipboard and handed him a paper. Sirius grabbed it and began reading. The doctor continued speaking as he read. “You were pretty much clean. We found some trace amounts of cocaine, and that was about it.”

Sirius’ world was caving in on him. If it wasn’t the drugs causing his blackouts, what was?

His mind reeled to understand. The doctors hadn’t found anything physically wrong with him. It had to be something psychological. That’s why Ember had denied him psychiatric aid…Ember.

Ember knew what was happening to him. She was the one that had done this to him. Sirius remembered his vow of vengeance on her. He also remembered his homicidal urges, the sick feral joy that came with inflicting pain. Where had all that gone?

The doctor was still standing there, watching Sirius. He looked around shiftily, and pressed a pocket watch into his hoof. “Take this,” he whispered. He then handed him a pen from his clipboard as well. “This will help you keep track of time. Make a log of when you are conscious, and when you wake up again.”

Sirius was stunned by the doctor’s kindness. “Thank you,” he whispered.

The doctor gave him a sad smile. “I had a friend who was a Night Terror. The mare completely lost her mind, as the Night Terror training program is intended to do.” The doctor looked around again, making sure no one was listening. “I don’t know if you’ve seen yourself in the mirror lately, but you look well on your way to insanity as well.”

The doctor flipped around and trotted away. Sirius watched him leave.

He then opened his pocket watch and scribbled the time on his hoof with the pen.

Sirius needed to get a handle on this thing. He had to take control of his life. Things happened when he blacked out. He needed somepony to watch him. To monitor his activities. “Sapphire,” he whispered to himself.

Sirius needed to get home to her. He shared an apartment with her, and she had to know what had been going on in his life.

The pegasus flitted down the hallway, trying to get home as quick as possible. But it was as if his mind sensed that he was trying to get help, and Sirius blacked out.

Something strange happened this time though. He actually began to dream.

A stallion with blue fur, a bluer mane, and bright green eyes appeared beside him. “You’ve done well, Initiate.”

Darkheart. Sirius stared at him, questioning his presence here. “Why are you here?”

Darkheart shrugged nonchalantly. “I don’t know. I was summoned here as well.”

The dreamscape began to shift, and they were transported inside the throne room of a castle. Large ivory balustrades wrapped in translucent violet sheaths lined the stone chamber he stood in. He was standing on a black and purple carpet, leading up to a tremendous looking throne. Above the throne, there was a massive stained glass depiction of Nightmare Moon.

This was no ordinary castle.

An apparition of Nightmare Moon herself appeared in the throne.

Darkheart immediately bowed, and Sirius did the same.

Sirius timidly looked up at her, seeing a wicked grin on her face. She was wearing her traditional armor, her dark purple mane flowing out behind her. “Rise,” she said in a smooth, feminine voice that sunk into his ears like poisoned nectar.

Sirius and Darkheart rose.

Nightmare Moon sat on her throne, seemingly pleased. “I personally have come to congratulate you, Sirius.” She trotted down from her throne and approached him. “We have just confirmed the death of your mother. That mare had eluded my grasp for years, and you finally put an end to her.” Nightmare Moon grinned. “Well done.”

Sirius felt absolutely overwhelmed. “T..thank you, my queen.”

“No,” Nightmare Moon said. “Thank you. Ember was able to pinpoint her location while you were killing her. It made me realize that it’s time to finish something I began a long time ago….” She grinned again, her razor sharp teeth glinting in the light. “The fringe colonies have been burned out. All the Dayborn living there have been killed or scattered like the insects they are.”

The Empress faced Darkheart, regarding him expectantly. “Now, where is this stallion’s instructor? She should be here to witness what is about to happen now.”

Darkheart looked stymied. He rubbed his hoof into the carpet anxiously. “Nopony has seen her for the past three days. She’s vanished.”

“Oh ho,” Nightmare Moon mused. She winked at Sirius, and looked back at Darkheart. “Well then, I guess you being here will suffice.” Nightmare Moon cleared her throat, preparing her royal Canterlot voice. “Step forward, Initiate Sirius.”

Sirius stepped forward.

Nightmare Moon put her hoof on his head. “Today, I promote you from Initiate to Knight in the Night Terror ranks. You will be taking Ember’s place and will henceforth be charged with her duties.”

Darkheart spluttered from behind him. “My Empress, what will become of Ember now?”

Nightmare Moon grinned sadistically. “Why don’t you ask her yourself?”

“What have you done to her!?” Darkheart demanded, tears in his eyes.

She smiled, and waved her hood. Darkheart’s form began to fade away as he was expelled from the dream. “No!” he cried. “She and I were to be married!” he struggled fiercely, but soon he disappeared completely.

Nightmare Moon snickered, as if enjoying an inside joke. “Knight Sirius, I have your first official task.” She drew uncomfortably close to him. He could smell her scent of cold night air, and a faint touch of lilacs. “Complete this task,” she said, circling him, pressing herself against him. He was intoxicated as she brushed her tail against his muzzle. “Complete this task and you will be able to come live by my side in Canterlot palace. I want you to…” she drew close to his face, their muzzles almost touching. She looked into his eyes. “I want you to hunt down your brother and sister.”

Sirius couldn’t talk. He was so entranced by her proximity, he could barely register what she was telling him. “Of course, my queen.”

Nightmare Moon grinned wolfishly again. “Honestly, the only reason I wanted you to find your mother was because of the two foals she gave birth to on that fateful day. I knew if I found her, her children would be close by.”

She pressed herself against him, kissing his cheek softly. “Find them, Sirius. Bring me their heads.”

“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “I live to serve.”

There was a flicker in her demeanor. “You have the loveliest blue eyes,” she whispered, circling him once again, examining him. “You remind me of somepony I used to love. So full of potential, so ready to serve.”

Nightmare Moon purred seductively, and Sirius found himself moaning in response. “Wake up,” she whispered in his ear.

Sirius awoke in the sauna in his apartment. He blinked a few times, trying to get a sense of time. He raised his hoof, but all the pen markings had been washed off by the frothy warm water.

He began to lift himself out of the tub, and immediately felt all his blood rush to his hooves. He groaned and slid over the edge, collapsing on the cold ground. Where is my pen and pocket watch?

Sirius shivered, lying wet and cold on the bathroom floor. There was a longing in his heart. He just wanted his life to return to normal. Sirius wanted to go home.

Back to the village where he was raised. Back to the place where life made sense. But it was gone and it was all his fault.

Sirius blinked. Had that Nightmare Moon dream been real? Am I really tasked to hunt Cepheus and Persei?

“Sirius,” Sapphire’s voice called from outside the bathroom. “Are you okay?”

The soaked pegasus stood up, feeling lonely and cold.

He opened the door and saw that it was dark in the room, and Sapphire was lying in bed, waiting for him. She smiled when she saw him. “Come here, Sirius. I can warm you up.”

Sirius failed to notice the suggestive overtones of her voice, and slid into the sheets with her. He lay beside Sapphire for a moment, and then it all came crashing down on him. It was all over for him. He would eventually lose control. He was destined to go insane, just like all the other Night Terrors.

Sirius began to sob, and Sapphire immediately wrapped her hooves around him in an embrace. “Please don’t cry, my love.”

The sincerity in her voice charmed him, and he wrapped his wings around her, holding her tightly against him. Through his sobs and tears, he whispered to her. “Sapphire, I am having these black outs. Every time it happens, I wake up in a strange place and I can’t remember what I’ve done for the past six or seven hours. It’s getting worse and worse, I’m losing more and more time and I just want to give up….”

Sapphire forced her muzzle onto his, kissing him. Sirius fell silent, enjoying her touch. She began to pant, kissing him again and again, each time with more vigor. He returned her kisses, and he pulled the sheets over his head.

Heart racing, gasping for breath, he actually felt happy for the first time in a long time. They tumbled underneath the sheets, and Sirius forgot all about his worries, the pain, the impending loss of his autonomy, and was grounded here in the present with Sapphire.

They soon surfaced for air, sweating and exhausted. Sirius reveled in the afterglow. He wasn’t going to give up on his life just yet….

Sapphire put her head on his barrel, and he put a wing over her. He looked down at the mare lying against him, feeling true affection blooming in his heart. She had saved him. Impulsively, he said, “I’m so glad to have you here with me, Sapphire.”

She grinned as she began to fall asleep, her eyes already closed. “I love you, Arcturus.”

Sirius froze. What did she just call me? Did she just say…

He went completely catatonic. He was racked with silent seizures, his central nervous system short circuiting.

Sirius’ eyes were wide open, screaming for help, but he couldn’t make a sound or even move. Sapphire had exposed something by accident….

Sirius blacked out.

When he awoke, Sapphire was gone, and there was a bloody message scrawled on the roof. “You’re next.”

Author's Note

A lot of stuff happens this chapter. Mind-blowing stuff. All the questions that have been raised about Sirius' mental health will be answered in his next chapter.

Remember, this chapter has a clop version of it as well if you want to read that.

Discussion/feedback is encouraged.

Chapter 18.5: Unraveled (Clop Option)

Author's Note

This is the version of Chapter 18 that has a rather large clop scene in it.

Contains: M/F, bondage, oral, and excessive semen

This is my first time writing clop, so please be encouraged to give feedback and advice. Thanks!