Shades

“Voice your questions, princess.” The shadow pony said from across the pond. His voice and words reverberating through the cave. His face was expressionless and uncaring, but his yellow glowing eyes gave a sense of fear around him, probably because of his appearance.

Luna looked over the shadow stallion. In the light of the cave it was much easier to see details on the shadow pony. He had the average build of a stallion and was about half a head smaller than herself. His mane and tail looked slick and hang close to his body. It wasn’t a typical hair or tail style of a stallion, yet Luna found it familiar. He didn’t look muscular nor skinny, just… Average. If one would have pictured a normal pony stallion in their heads, he was probably the picture that took shape. Except maybe for the fact that he looked to be a living shadow.  She  also had some experience with ponies using that sort of magic. Not any good experiences.

“Are you done staring?” The stallion asked nonchalantly, not moving his eyes from Luna.

Luna flinched at his sudden voice. “Oh, uh, yes.” She quickly replied.

“Good. Would you like to ask those questions now, princess? I tire of you gaping at my appearance.”

Luna realised her mouth had dropped open and quickly shut it. “We were not gaping!” She quickly retaliated, with her face starting to heat up once more.

“Uh-huh.” The stallion simply replied, his face still holding no emotion.

Luna was practically fuming at his response. It was not often that somepony undermined her authority and presence as much as this stallion and even less acting so casual after. Luna took a deep breath to calm down. Take it easy Luna. Don’t let this pony get to you. She thought to herself and took another deep breath. With her mind back on track, Luna remembered the reason she had come to this cave in the first place. “Who are thee?” She asked.

The stallion tilted his head at her words. “I see you are getting more accustomed to the language of this era. Good.”

“Yes tis has been quite…” Luna stopped herself and realised the stallion was playing around her question. “Stop stalling and answer.” She said flatly

The stallion looked oddly at her. “I already answered that question on our first meeting.”

Luna scowled at the stallion. “‘Does it matter?’ is not a proper answer.”

“Okay then, you may call me…” The stallion paused and took a hoof to his chin in thought as if he had trouble remembering his name. His yellow eyes seemed to widen a little as he came to some sort of realisation. He then shook his head and finished. “Seethe. You may call me Seethe.

What a peculiar name. Luna thought. Her mind was drawn back to what he said before and her mind analysed his exact words.‘Language of this era’ He speaks as if he has lived beyond this era. These thoughts sparked Luna’s interest even further. Not many beings were able to live longer than the average pony lifespan, even less an entire era. Only currently known beings that were able to live beyond an era was her sister and Luna herself. “How old are thee and where dost thou come from?”

“Those are some of the questions that I cannot answer.” Seethe replied much to Luna’s frustration.

“Very well then.” Luna said, annoyed. “What is this strange magic around thee?”

“I cannot answer that either.”

“Dost thou have any family?”

“I cannot answer that.”

“Ugh!” Luna groaned. He won’t tell me anything! “Why did thou even want us to get to this place?”

Seethe chuckled at Luna’s frustration. “Because as I have already said, I want to help you.”

Luna snorted at his response. “Thou have a weird definition of ‘help’ if you are referring to thine riddle.”

“It is not a riddle, but a warning.”

Luna resumed her with scowl. “Then what did thou mean by ‘stay in the light’?”

“First when we accept all sides of ourselves can we find peace.”

Luna gave Seethe a confused look. That answer made no sense whatsoever. “Huh?”

“I fear that in time, your Nightmare will return, unless we rid it of this world. You must achieve inner Harmony to accomplish this. Do you wish to achieve Harmony? Do you wish to stay to let me guide you so that you can actually feel comfortable in your own room? To make sure that what nightmare you had will never return? Seethe’s gaze hardened. “Or will you trust in your own abilities and do it yourself?”

Luna gulped at his words. She hadn’t known of his motives, but it just became a little clearer. He wanted her to achieve inner harmony, to find peace and make sure that Nightmare Moon would never return. Now she just had to decide. Did she want his help, or trust herself that she was able to find Harmony by herself? She still didn’t trust this stallion. He was mysterious and downright refused to answer simple questions about himself. She had no reason to trust him. But could she do it alone? She had fallen all by herself a thousand years ago, and she hadn’t changed her isolated state much since her return. She could of course tell Celestia about all of this, but what could she do? They barely saw each other with their duties coming in the way, and if the past had proven anything it was that Celestia essentially wasn’t enough to keep her from falling to darkness. Perhaps this stallion could help? But was it worth the risk? At this point Luna saw no other choice. She knew the darkness was still inside of her and threatening to come out.

Luna came to a conclusion and nodded. “We are willing to let thee guide us, but how will thee rid us of the darkness? Dost thou have a spell?”

Seethe’s gaze hardened on Luna. “The answer is not as simple as you might think.” He gazed down into the pond before him and Luna kept her eyes intently on him.

She quickly noticed that he had no reflection in the water. At a closer look Luna also noticed that he also had no shadow. What is he? She thought and felt sweat forming on her forehead. All natural order and logic seemed to be nonexistent to the stallion as if he didn’t even exist.

“Tell me, princess Luna, when you look into this pond, what do you see?” He kept staring into the pond as he said those words.

First now did Luna realise just how quiet the cave was. The only sound was the occasional drop of water that dripped into the pond, and creating a small ripple. Other than that the cave was silent. There was no wind rustling through the grass, no currents in the water and no other sound than the two beings talking and the drop. It was unnatural and almost frightening. Despite them being in a cave there should still be some kind of emotion or energy in the air, yet there was none.

Reluctantly Luna started lowering her neck over the water, her mane almost making contact with it. She didn’t want to see what she had seen earlier in the reflection. She didn’t want to see the traces of Nightmare Moon lingering on her like paint. Her heart beat faster as she lowered over the water. She had closed her eyes prior to lowering her neck out of fear of what she would see. All she heard was her heart beating fast in her chest and her own breathing. If there was anything she didn’t want to see again, it was her other side, her darker side.

Luna slowly opened her eyes and they were met with her normal reflection. Luna let out a breath of relief at the sight. It was still her, not that twisted monster she had become. As she looked closer, Luna began to see small but significant changes. There were spots  in her coat and on her neck that were darker and she even spotted a fang in her mouth. She gasped and tried to pull her neck away from the pond, but she was stuck. She couldn’t move.

“What do you see?” Seethe repeated in a calm voice.

“What is happening?! Why can’t we move?! What did thou do to us?!” Luna yelled still trying to pull away from the pond, but to no avail. She  tried to look away from her reflection, but her eyes were stuck to it. She couldn’t look away.

“What do you see?” The stallion repeated again louder and more sternly.

The reflection's dark coat spots were spreading and its eyes was turning into slits. Luna felt as if the reflection was getting closer to her. And despite Luna’s mouth being clenched shut and her trying to will herself away with all her might, shaking in the process against the strange force that kept her there, the reflection’s mouth was twisting into a toothy and malicious grin. All hope of being with her sister again like they used to, to have friends, to finally feel like she was home, were starting to get drained from her as she looked into that reflection.

Luna was starting to get scared. Her heart was pumping faster and faster and she felt herself starting to sweat. What is happening? Why can’t I move?! Her eyes were glued to the reflection as it seemed to come even closer to her. “Please, let us go!” Luna pleaded without even thinking. She wanted to go home, she wanted away from the cave, but most of all, she wanted away from that reflection. Memories began streaming through Luna’s head from the time before was starting to turn into Nightmare Moon. She saw destruction, fear and her own evil laughter over crowds of frightened citizens. She felt her own pride as images streamed across her eyes. Pride of her actions as Nightmare Moon, this pride turned into guilt as she realised she was feeling prideful about her previous actions.

“Tell me, what do you see!” Seethe yelled in her direction.

“We see her!” Luna instinctively shouted back.

“Who?”

“N-Nightmare moon!”

The moment Luna yelled the name, the darkness in her reflection disappeared, returning to her original reflection and she felt the grip that had held her be released. She stumbled back and fell on her haunches. Her breath was ragged and she could feel a single warm tear drip down her cheek.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that, but it was the only way to make it resurface.” The stallion said and began walking over the pond stopping in front of Luna, still standing on the pond as if it was solid.

“A-art thou trying to bring her back?” Luna jumped to her legs and ignited her horn, pointing it threateningly in the direction of the stallion. “Is that why thee wanted us here?” Luna’s eyes began glowing white and lightning flashed behind her. She spread her wings in a threatening way and a violent current came out of nowhere in the cave. “DOST THOU SEEK TO BRING BACK THE MONSTER IN ME?!”

The current suddenly seized and the light in Luna’s eyes died out without her control. Memories kept surging through her and the feelings they brought with them were overwhelming. She collapsed on the violet and blue grass, her eyes buried in her hooves. The guilt she felt was too much. She couldn’t pull herself together. She missed the days she used to have with her sister, she missed the friends she used to have and she had betrayed them. And for what? Praise, to be superior to her sister? They must have hated her in their final moments, Luna still hated herself so why shouldn’t the ponies she used to know in their final moments?

“Emotion is a powerful thing in this world.” The stallion said sadly. “What ponies feel towards each other creates who they are. They are what become their personality, they are their experiences, their wisdom, but like everything else, they must be cared for, nurtured and never ignored. Forsaking them will only worsen the effects they might have. You, princess Luna, knows this better than anyone else.”

Luna felt warm tears fall into her hooves as the stallion spoke and the memories kept flowing. She lifted her head and saw that the stallion had laid down as well on the water of the pond and was looking her right in the eyes. His expression hadn’t changed, it still bore no emotion and it angered her. She wanted to fire every harmful spell she knew after him, but she couldn’t. Despite his face holding no expression, she could feel a hint of sadness from him.

“Guilt is the last emotion to haunt one.” Seethe continued. “When everything is finished, when the task is done, when the table has turned and time has past, one cannot help but look back at what used to be and then it happens. You regret your former actions and feels guilt for what they have done and it only pulls you deeper down the hole you were trying to crawl up from.” Seethe rose and walked closer to Luna and stuck out a hoof. “Therefore it is the emotion you must overcome first to finally ascend from the hole that was dug a millenia ago and make sure you'll never fall again.”

Luna stared at the shadowy hoof for a good while, contemplating his words. Then she gulped and took his hoof. It felt warm and at a point Luna was sure her own hoof would pass right through his. She then shifted her attention to his face. She could see a faint line pulling on it. A small smile. And it disappeared just as quick as it appeared, replaced by the same emotionless face.

“Become stronger and overcome your guilt.” Seethe said and let go of Luna’s hoof.

As he let go, Luna’s stream of continuing memories seized and she felt as if a great weight was lifted from her chest. The colors around her seemed brighter than before and she felt relieved. She didn’t know why, but she did. A smile crept up on her face and a tear of joy fell from her eye. She couldn’t help but ask.“W-why are we feeling so… Relieved?”

“Because you are beginning to find your way into the light once more.” Seethe answered and turned his back on her once more and walked over to his own side of the pond.

Luna remembered his words from before. “Therefore it is the emotion you must overcome first to finally ascend.” Luna reminisced. “Thou said guilt was the first to overcome, does that mean there will be more?”

“Yes”

“How many?”

“You were lead to this place because of the guilt you felt and every time a new emotion shall emerge, you will be led to this place for guidance. Farewell for now, princess Luna.”

As Seethe finished his sentence, all light went out in the cave and so did Luna’s vision.

Luna woke up outside the cave she had originally entered. She quickly rose and looked back at the cave. It was still dark, but now she could see through the darkness as she normally could. She still felt the sense of relief inside of her and it made her smile. She hadn’t felt this good in millenia. She spread her wings and took flight towards her relatively new home.

Celestia yawned as she walked down the hall inside Canterlot castle, a bright smile on her face. This gala has been the best in centuries! She thought to herself. She hadn’t thought the gala could have been that great without her sister, but Twilight and her friends had that effect on Celestia. They made her happy. She just wished Luna could have joined in on it. Luna could be very ‘fun’ when she wanted to, she had proven such on the most recent nightmare night and when they were young.

She came across Luna’s bedroom on the way to her own and heard wingbeats inside. Out of curiousity, Celestia opened the door and saw Luna had just entered through the balcony. Her mane and wings were ruffled so she must have been on a long flight. Luna was also breathing heavily as if she had been in a hurry to come back or had done something exhausting.

Luna smiled as she noticed her sister in the doorway. “Greetings, sister, how wast thine gala?”

Celestia couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at her sister’s unusual smile. Especially since she had been moping a few hours before. “It was good, Luna. Where have you been?”

“We were just out on a short evening flight, no need to worry, sister.”

Celestia smiled warmly at her sister. Above everything she was happy to see that Luna was in a better mood. “Okay, Luna.” Celestia yawned. “I think I’ll go to bed, see you at dawn.”

“Goodnight dear sister.” Luna said as Celestia closed the door to the bedroom and began the rest of her journey to a good night’s rest.