Hello Again, My Opposite
On a lone hill, late into the night, one alicorn could be seen gazing up into the sky at her hard work.
She didn’t know why but she had gone through some extra effort to make this the most beautiful night she could. Her effort showed through, though it was likely to go unappreciated by many. Cities that would have a great night life like Manehattan would be too bright for them to truly see the sky, and places like Ponyville would be asleep due to the need to get up early the next day.
It didn’t matter though. Regardless of reason, she worked hard on this night, and now she will enjoy what she had done.
It just so happened that she had someone else to enjoy it with this night.
“You really outdid yourself, Little Lu-Lu.”
Her startled reaction did not delay her recognition of the voice’s owner. A voice she never expected to hear again after that fateful day a little over a year ago.
Jumping up to her hooves, she sighted and confirmed her target before crouching low to the ground…
And pouncing playfully on the midnight black Alicorn behind her.
“Nightmare! I’m so happy to see you!”
A fact that the alicorns kept from the ponies is that they actually have 2 minds. One, the one that is seen: the kind soul, the beautiful face, and the generous heart.
The other is the one they kept close to the chest. The one that they always confided in when the harsher decisions have to be made and the one they always go to for a different opinion from the same viewpoint. Every court ruling given, battle fought, or moral shaking decision made was from either the advice or partial control of their alter-ego.
“OMPF! Careful little-one! I only just formed this body!”
Luna frowned in annoyance as she lay on top of her counterpart.
“Oh sure. We haven’t seen each other in over a year, a year I was left thinking you had been killed, and when we finally meet back up, all you’re concerned about is damaging your body! A fine way to greet me Nightmare! Hmpf!” She pouted.
Nightmare Moon was Luna’s, and the event of those thousand years ago was what happened when full control was given in an emotionally charged situation.
…Speaking of which…
The last year did not just contain her getting used to the oddness of being alone, of thinking her other half had been destroyed. It had also been filled with a tireless, unending search.
A search for a reason.
Why?
Why did she try to bring an end to the day?
Why fight her sister, whom she loved dearly?
Why did she do it?
She kept trying to remember that day, but it seems even immortal alicorns can be forgetful in the years that go by. She could only come up with two feelings, nothing more.
This reunion may prove to be a relief though…
“…Nightmare?”
“Yes Luna?”
“…Do you remember why we did what we did?”
Nightmare was silent for many minutes as she stared at the starry night sky, contemplating the question; Luna’s eyes never leaving her darker counterpart’s face all the while.
Over the time that was spent doing so, both of their frowns deepened as each fought for memories that refused to surface.
Nightmare finally broke the silence with a sigh of frustrated resignation.
“No, I do not. All I can remember is…” She paused to gather her thoughts once more. “All I can remember is the feeling of absolute despair… and an unfathomable rage…”
Luna felt defeat eat at her when she listened to her counterpart. Nothing different. Nothing new. It was all she could remember as well, but she had hopes that her other half would have something different. Would know something different.
She sighed in defeat. She knew this question would haunt her for the rest of her days, but she also knew that all possible avenues for discovering what happened had been exhausted. When a matter becomes impossible to solve, leave it be, and focus on what’s there now.
Locking away the sadness once more and shoving it into a dark corner (surprisingly easy since there’s a large vacancy that had never been there before), she smiled a happy smile before pouncing on her sister once again before jumping out of hoof’s reach.
Startled as she was, Nightmare couldn’t do anything more than gasp in surprise before looking over at her sister with a questioning gaze.
“What brought on this playfulness?”
“Well, I always wanted to play some games with you when we were a kid, but you never had a body of your own to do so! So… YOU’RE IT!!!” She jabbed her counterpart’s side before taking off into the sky as fast a speed as she could.
“Wha-? Get back here you little foal!” Though she shouted it in an angry tone, the smile she had on her face was a mile wide as she shot off after her.
***
In her study, Celestia paused in her late night work.
She felt a presence that once was so hard to feel because it was so intertwined with her sister’s. But now that Nightmare had a body of her own, her presence seemed to brightly shine like a blaze of glory. Such a shine also came the ability to read her emotions.
First came amazement, then awe, a small bit of happiness, confusion, then frustration, acceptance, and finally happiness once more…
“…No rage… from either of them… Good, it worked.”
She hated ever having to do that to her sisters, but extreme measures had to be taken due to their combined, emotionally charged power.
If ponies had known what she had done, there was no word to describe the hatred and disgust that would come from such a stain on her image. But they never would realize how completely necessary the decision on her life’s toughest choice had been. Nor would they realize how much it had scarred Celestia herself…
Celestia’s mind flashed with foreign memories.
“Dirge… Dirge…? Nyx…?... Oh God, no…”
“Aeterna die pro omnibus!”
“You… you monsters… i will destroy you…I will destroy you…I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!”
Shaking off one of the memories she had ripped from her sister’s mind, she looked at a small painting on the wall she made sure is kept from Luna’s sight at all times. She felt her sight being shared by her blue flame wreathed counterpart Corona Blaze as they stared sadly at the happy sight shown.
“I’m so sorry sister…”
A moment of the past painted on her mind as permanently as it was on the parchment stared back at her.
A moment of her sister lovingly nuzzling a small, but kind looking dark purple stallion as she held a cloth wrapped sleeping filly in her hooves…
Fin...
