The Crimson Mare Meets The Princess of Shadows

The day after my large birthday party I find myself heading to Ponyville with Midnight nestled protectively in my mane. The weather limits my travel mode to the train. It's a long and bumpy journey however the falling snowflakes help to brighten my mood. Even without Fluttershy’s judgment I feel good about Midnight’s chances of being able to fly again, which also helps to lighten my mood. Finally the chance to see Nova again brings me a little trepidation but also a little excitement. “Looking forward to this buddy?” His return chitter and attempt to nuzzle brings a large smile to my face.

  As I make my way to Fluttershy's the snow begins to fall even faster and heavier, covering me in a layer of white all along my back and most of my mane and tail. By the time I get to the cottage I'm almost fully covered in white but the cold is not affecting me as much. With a violent shake I clear off the gathered snow and knock at the door, noting that it's been painted with a giggle.

  “Oh uhm..... He- hello Moonshade, what brings you here today?” She quickly leads me inside. As we pass the couch I smile at the crimson coated pegasus laying on it. She barely manages a weak smile and return wave.

  ‘I wonder what she’s thinking right now.’ “Well Fluttershy it's been about a month and you said to bring Midnight back to evaluate his wing. Hey Nova, how're you doing?”

  “Oh yes..... It has been a month hasn’t it? Come on into the kitchen please.”

  Before I follow her Nova finally speaks up. “Hi Moonshade..... I guess all things considered I’m doing good. How are you doing?” I can tell that she’s conflicted and still unable to meet my gaze.

  “I’m doing good thanks Nova, I'll talk to you in a little bit ok.” With a smile I carry Midnight to the kitchen and gently lay him on the table. Before she begins I whisper in Fluttershy’s ear. “Hey, just curious, how mobile is she?”

  “Oh, uh..... her leg is fine, but her wing is still broken. Why?”

  “Well I want to do something special, but I want it to be a surprise. Think you could get her out of the cottage for about thirty minutes? Also I need to go into town for a few things, I'll be using the back door when I enter ok.” With a nod Fluttershy goes to work as I sneak off and into Ponyville. Before I leave I take note of what Hearth's Warming Eve decorations are already up.

  My first stop is an antique store. Despite not knowing what she likes I end up buying an old chess set made of exquisite craftsponyship. The second store I visit is a high quality accessory shop and I end up getting a pair of saddlebags that I have her cutie mark embroidered on. After I get a few more items I finally get to Sugar Cube Corner.

  “Hi Moonshade, how are you? Didd you enjoy your birthday party yesterday? What brings you to Ponyville today?” I can’t help but snicker at Pinkie’s energy as she greets me. Another giggle comes out as I spot her pet Gummy hanging off an ear.

  “Hey Pinkie, I’m doing good thank you, and I enjoyed your party a lot.” I look over the displayed cakes for a little bit, then select a marble cake with chocolate and vanilla icing. “Hey Pinkie, I’d like to buy this cake. And I’d like to have something written on it. However can I write it myself?”

  “Okie dokie lokie, step back here and I'll show you the different icings.” After being shown the icing I make my decision and with her instructions I soon get what I wanted written to my liking I give her a smile and lay the bits down on the counter.

  “Thank you Pinkie, I’m looking forward to your Hearth's Warming Eve party. Take care.” Once I've ensured everything is safe I hurriedly make my way back to Fluttershy's, taking my gaseous form. Once I make sure Nova hasn’t spotted me I enter from the back and hide everything from plain sight. “So Fluttershy, what is your prognosis?”

  “Eep..... Oh..... Welcome back Moonshade, from how well its healing I would say that in a few more weeks you can start strengthening the muscles.” Her smile brings me a lot of relief and I pull her into a hug before I scoop up Midnight.

  “Think you can take Nova out for thirty minutes, then can you spend some time with Rarity when you get back please?” I make my request in a whisper and wait as it takes Fluttershy a while but eventually she’s able to convince Nova to go out with her. Their conversation is muffled words as I hide. Once Nova is bundled up and out the door I wait for another five minutes before I get to work making my preparations.

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  I trudge through the snow next to Fluttershy. The winter gear does block out quite a bit of the cold, but it’s still really cold. “Stupid snow,” I mutter under my breath as we start heading into the town.

  “Don’t be that way, Nova. You’ll never like it if you keep yourself locked up inside forever.”

  “I’m only staying inside until the snow is gone, not forever.” A cool gust of air blows past us and I feel my body warms as it uses my ‘firepower’ to try and keep me warm. “I just really hate the cold.”

  Fluttershy just smiles at me. “Well, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

  “I want the hot chocolate you promised me. I may hate the cold, but it’s a small price to pay for a godsend like that,” I say. A pang of regret shudders through my chest as I think back to drinking the last of what Lore had brought me.

  She smiles and shakes her head at me. We continue walking in silence, save for my grumbling and cursing. Soon we find ourselves in front of the large gingerbread house known as the Sugarcube Corner. I huff out an annoyed breath when I see the pink pony from when I first arrived standing behind the counter.

  “Hey, Fluttershy and…” the pink pony’s sentence trails off as she notices me. I should apologize… nope too cold, gonna have to wait.

  “Hey Pinkie, I was wondering if we could have some hot chocolates?”

  The pink pony, who I assume is ‘Pinkie’, perks up and looks at Fluttershy. “Sure thing, just one sec,” she says heading over to a small beverage machine. She fills them up and puts them onto the counter as Fluttershy pays for it. “Here ya go, have a nice day,” she says fully ignoring me at this point.

  Fluttershy smiles and give me one of the hot chocolates as we leave. “See, the walk here wasn’t that bad.”

  I sit back and drink down a sizable amount of it. “Totally worth the past several minutes of pure agony.” Once again she shakes her head at me and starts walking off further into town.

******

  "Alright Midnight, do you think she'll like this?" The bat just looks up at me with a confused look from his makeshift bed as I pull out a large banner. "I know I'm not that hyperactive pony who likes to party, but well..... when do you think the last time Nova had a birthday party was?" Apparently the name goes unnoticed by him. "You know, the crimson mare we met when I brought you here to have your wing fixed."

  Upon recognizing the description he just hisses as his fur bristles at me. "Oh hush you, she isn't a bad pony..... just.... a pony that had some unfortunate events happen to." As I look at the banner I try to decide where I'm going to place the words and what color I want to use. 'This seemed so much easier in my mind. I shoulda planned this more, oh well.'

  With a sigh I begin to fill in the banner, deciding to use a pink and purple combination to write out Happy Birthday Nova as large as I can. 'Hopefully the colors won't remind her of anything bad.' It takes me about ten minutes of placing, adjusting and checking but the banner is eventually placed as straight as possible over the entrance to the kitchen.

  "What do you think Midnight?" Instead of hissing he just ignores my question and falls asleep. With a shrug I first bring out the chess set and study it a little.

  The top part is split in half and they fold off to the side, revealing the board which is a mix of clear and smoky glass. Inside the folding top are the pieces, each one made out of glass and carved with very fine detail. The white pieces are clear enough to almost be able to see completely through while the black pieces are a bit more smokier than the black squares. Each piece has its own place setting in the top to keep them safe. Before I close the lid I enchant the whole thing with two spells. First to ensure that it won't break or scratch while the other is to fireproof the whole thing.

  Next I take a look at the new saddlebags and after I remove the price tag I give it a fireproofing spell as well before I wrap up both gifts, using the most cheery paper I can find. "Oh Celestia, I should have had them stay out for a little bit longer." With urgency I hide the boxes under the small tree Fluttershy put up, hoping that my suprise won't be ruined as I quickly remove the cake and place it centered on the table. A pair of plates, cups and forks are set on the side. I debate on if I should add candles but eventually decide against it, not sure how they'll affect her. A small bowl of punch is placed on the counter.

  Finally I turn off the lights and wait in silence behind the couch, waiting for Nova to return.

~~~~~

  “Wait, where are we going now?” I ask.

  “Oh, me and Rarity were going to have a spa day--”

  I’m already walking back toward the cottage before she finishes. “Have fun,” I say over my shoulder.

I think we should have a spa day.

  Ha, fat chance! You’ll never find me in one of those. In the distance I spot the weathered old roof of Lore’s house and briefly think of visiting him, but I quickly push the thought away replacing it with one of lying next to a lit fireplace.

  By the time I’m back at the cottage my drink is long gone and I am back to hating life at it’s fullest. Worse decision ever, never coming back outside. Too much cold, not enough warm. I quickly open the door and jump through, not wanting any cold air to get into the house.

  I idly note that it’s a little darker than when I when I had left, but I ignore it. I head over to the fireplace, quickly igniting it and heating up the house. Better.

  “Surprise!” Moonshade shouts from somewhere behind me. I yelp and whip around dropping into a fighting stance out of instinct. I see her standing behind the couch, taking a few steps back, I assume from my hostility than me surprising her. I relax and stand up normally, scratching the back of my neck.

  “Sorry, not used to… good surprises,” I say as I take in her lowered head, clearly she feels somewhat ashamed.

  “Are you okay?” she asks giving me a concerned look.

  “Yeah, I’m fine, I just dislike being surprised,” I say waving my hoof dismissively. “I got into a few bad spots because somepony managed to get the drop on me, and well…”

  She smiles and come around the couch. “Well, if it’s not too much, I have another surprise.”

  I shrug, trying to ignore my earlier reaction. “Yeah, I’ll be fine."

  “Close your eyes then,” she says grinning at me. I sigh and do as she says. She grabs one of my hooves and starts leading me into what I can tell is the kitchen. I hope she has hot chocolate. “Okay, you can open them.” Once again, I do as she says.

  A banner hangs just over the table, on it is, ‘Happy Birthday Nova!’ written in purple and pink. A chocolate and vanilla cakes sits on the middle of the table, ‘Happy Birthday’ is written on it as well.

  An image of a light green unicron flashes through my mind, hurt and lying on the grass. The memory causes me to reel back and jam my eyes shut. More images flash by, a burning house, rows and rows of prison cells with fire pouring down the hall. “No, stay out! Leave me alone!” I shout at the images.

Remember the good times, the times when nothing could stand against us. The time we met.

  I thrash my head around, vainly trying to shake the memories out. Moonshade tries to say something, but soon all I hear is the roar of fire, crying, and the same booming laughter as my nightmares. Nova, stay calm, some part of my mind insists. Another image, this one the corpse of a white unicorn lying on the stone floor as a pool of blood forms around her.

  “Stop it!” I shout stomping my hooves onto the ground with a thunderous crack. I open my eyes and recoil at the room. The room is charred and smoldering, some fire still burning along the walls. The cake is still on the table, but it burns bright and hard. Above the table still hangs the banner, through the soot and ash that covers it I can still make out the writing, ‘Happy Birthday Nova!’.

  I turn to Moonshade and my heart drops. Standing in her place is the green unicorn. Deep cuts cover her side, most of her flesh is burnt away showing the bones that lie beneath. A large gash cuts across her face, taking out one of her eyes, but the other stares back with anger and hate.

  “Aura…” I say taking a step toward her in a sort of daze. This isn’t real, you killed her, she can’t be here! You have to get out of here! The thought snaps me out of my daze. I shake my head breathing out a cloud of black smoke and run for the door. I burst out into the winter air, but the cold doesn’t even reach me.

*****

  In shock I watch as Nova freaks out and once she gets out side I finally give chase, not wasting time calling out to her. As I keep up with her a plan begins to form and I take to my gaseous form and get in front of her. Once I regain my physical form I begin to immediately focus on the nearest shadows. At once tentacles shoot out and grab Nova, pinning her in place. "Sorry about this Nova." Without any hesitation I activate my sleep spell.

  'Alright Nightmare, it's about time I take you up on your offer, don't screw me.'

'I won't, I know what you're planning and I want you to live, that's all.' With a sigh I meld into Nova's mind using my nearly forgotten terror spell.

  "NOVA..... WHERE ARE YOU?" Once I'm transitioned fully I begin my search. "NOVA, PLEASE ANSWER ME!" It takes some time but I finally pinpoint the sounds of whimpering and head towards it as fast as I can. "Nova, there you are. Don't worry, I won't let anything bad happen to you."

“So, you're the pony who's been trying to help my friend.” The sinister voice causes me to turn as Nova hides. All I can see is a flaming thing advancing towards us.

  "LEAVE HER ALONE FIEND. THIS IS NOT YOUR REALM. THIS REALM BELONGS TO MY MOTHER AND SO BELONGS TO ME AS WELL. HERE I AM IN CHARGE!" All my bravado earns is a mocking laugh as I surround myself in armor and tendrils of shadows. As I prepare my clone I notice instead of one that three appear next to me in surprise. I direct one to go and stand in front of Nova protectively as myself and the other two surround it from the front and sides. "LAST CHANCE, LEAVE HER ALONE OR ELSE!"

  The fire around him falters and he steps out revealing a large thestral-like creature. Around his neck and running down his chest his fur is a bit longer, making him seem more bat-like. His coat is a dark brown, to the point that it’s almost black, with a rust colored mane. Two large bat-like wings are tucked by his side. His fore hooves look like they have small ‘claws’ at the end of them.

  He grins at me with a row of sharp teeth. “That me be so, little one. However, you seem to forget this is my home, my domain. This mind of hers is all that I have known. This is as much my realm as it is yours.”

  "Please Moonshade..... you..... he’s my problem, you don’t have to....." With a snort I cut her off before turning to face her, my clones mimicking my actions.

  "You deserve to be happy and at peace Nova. Obviously he won't allow you to be unless he's forced or you start learning to stand up to him and take control." With a smile I turn and three pairs of tentacles shoot out to wrap around the thing's arms, legs, body and neck. With effort it’s pulled to the ground despite the increased heat as it begins to enlarge. "Trust me Nova, I am not afraid of him. Nor am I afraid to die if it means giving you the chance for a peaceful life. You never asked for this curse and you've tried to fight it alone for a long time. Please..... allow somepony to help you with your struggle."  With a roar the thing forces itself to its feet, tossing the three of us into the air.

  While still in the air the two clones and I begin to charge up, our eyes glowing blood red as twelve whips magically appear and wrap around his limbs and body through the flames. The magical weapons are unaffected by the fire as we try and subdue him without killing him.

  As he's distracted by the magical weapons the three of us again work on wrapping many shadowy tentacles around it, snarling. Flames shoot out from the few holes of tentacles, threatening to weaken our grip.

  In a flash of light as silvery as the moon itself mom appears despite it still being in the middle of the day. Her presence is not a concern as purple flames begin to shoot out from the edges of my eyes along with the clones.

  As the lunar regent, my clones and myself surround the fiend we look at one another. 'We need to completely cover it in shadows to trap it. However I cannot continue at this level for long. And we cannot kill him either.' I mentally warn mom.

  As Luna charges in I wait with my clones and begin to cast the shadow dome spell. However the thing lands a direct hit and forces mom to crash directly on one of my clones just after we finish the spell. Quickly he is engulfed in shadows as they form a very large dome around him.

  I cut off my magic being sent to my three clones and my eyes revert to their normal appearance after one last spell is cast. This spell causes very thick tendrils to form inside the dome and completely immobilize the fiend. He is completely blocked from our view even as the dome shrinks back to its normal size. All Luna and myself can do is glare at it as we stand there huffing. He looks around blindly before focusing on us with a grin. “Is that all?” The tendrils binding him begin to glow red and ash begins to rise up from around him. “My turn.”

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  I watch as an explosion rips apart the dome and sends Moonshade and Luna tumbling back. A stream of black smoke shoots up into the sky as Tybalt takes to the air. He quickly corkscrews in the air until he faces Luna and Moon again.

  “Enough of this!” I shout, though Tybalt pretends not to hear me. I huff out a breath of smoke and with a flap of my wings I land between him and Moon as she begins to power back up. Her eyes again glowing and flaming as shadowy tentacles surround her. Tybalt just smiles and sends down a wave of fire. The torrent of fire slams into the ground and starts rolling toward us like water.

  I unleash my own blast of fire at it. The two waves slam into each other, they meld together becoming a blinding light and angry roaring of fire. The flames dissipate, revealing the two royals still alive. I sigh and turn back to Tybalt. “I’ve had enough of this!”

  “She started.” he defends pointing at Moonshade.

  “I don’t care, either you stop and leave them alone, or I beat everyone senseless." I say, finally annoyed of his bullshit. He flies back down to ground level and lands in front of me, far better than I could ever do. We stand there glaring at each other for a few moments.

  Next to me, Moonshade calms down and returns to normal. “Nova--”

  “No, you shut up!” I shout at her, without looking away from Tybalt.

  “You can not talk to my daughter like that!” Luna shouts causing the ground to shake. Me and Tybalt break our glaring contest to look at her.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to kill her?” I whip around and deliver a solid punch to the side of his head. He stumbles back a few step and glares at me again. “Fine, I’m leaving!” With that, he spreads his wings and flies further into the depths of my mind.

  I breath out a cloud of smoke as I turn to face Luna and Moonshade. “Leave,” I say, my tone making sure that I don’t want any arguments in the matter.

  “What was-- is he?!” Luna demands.

  Moonshade steps between me and her. “Mom, calm down. And why are you even here? I didn't ask for your help.” She gives the lunar princess a hard glare, her back to me but her posture defiant as she refuses to back down from her own mother.

  “He’s none of your concern, that’s what he is,” I say.

  Luna takes another step toward me. “None of our concern? He could have killed us! Whatever that thing is, it’s a danger to everyone.”

  “That’s why you’re not going to get involved. If you get involved you’ll get hurt or you’ll be killed. That is why you’re both going to get out of my head, right now!” I shout back, stomping my hoof onto the ground.

  Moonshade’s horn starts glowing and I feel myself calm down for a moment. “Mom, Nova, calm down please.” She turns to face Luna, her voice serious and calm. “Mom, please don’t tell anypony about this, especially aunt Celestia. Nova didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

  She stops and looks between the two of us. “Why do you defend her? She chose not to help during the fight, even though that thing could have killed you.”

  “Because, she’s just like me! I… I know her pain, the pain of knowing you’ve done something you can’t undo. You’ve been Nightmare Moon, you know how it feels to regret your past. She’s the same, just that that was her Nightmare.”

  “Can you both just leave, before he comes back. Also, I’d rather if you two weren’t in my head!” A few large bolts of red lightning thunder at the edges of my mind like a coming storm.

  They both look at me then at each other. “We’ll talk about this later, Moon." Luna says before disappearing in a silvery flash. Moonshade looks at me then turns into some sort of gas and phases away.

  There is a heavy thud as Tybalt returns and lands next to me. “They were interesting. I hope I can meet them again, I still have to show them what I can do.”

  I turn on him, my anger flaring. “You dare go after them again, and I’ll--”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it.” he says waving his hoof dismissively. “I’ll leave her alone… for now.” I glare at him, and he does the same. My mind starts fading out as I begin to wake.

  I take a deep breath as I come to, vaguely aware that the last place I was awake was outside. However, I find myself lying on Fluttershy’s couch. The air smells of smoke, but I can’t find any fires, though there are a few burn marks on the floor. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Moonshade. To my surprise, Lore is sitting on a chair nearby looking at us with wide eyes. “Uh-huh… Hey, Moonshade.” he greets.

“Lore, what are you doing here?” I ask shooting a quick glare at Moon.

  “I came to visit and found you passed out outside. I brought you in, got you a cup of hot chocolate, drank it, got you another,” he says pointing at the table at the end of the couch. “Then I sat down, and Moonshade came out of your head…”

  With a huff of smoke I get up. “Leave, the both of you, I want to be left alone,” I say giving them both a glare. Lore just sits there and studies me for a few moments. Eventually he frowns and gets up.

  “Alright then, but I want you to come talk with me when you’re feeling better. And, I want you to promise you’ll come talk with me.” he says staying near the chair.

  “Fine, I promise, now leave.”

  He smiles at me and heads for the door. “Come on Moonshade, let her be, for now.”

*****

  With a sigh I follow him, tears starting to fill my eyes as I give Nova one last look. My mouth open to speak, but the words don't come out until I pass through the doorway. "I'm..... I'm sorry Nova, for everything." I whisper dejectedly. Once we get a few yards from the cottage I just collapse in the snow. The only movements my body makes are small shudders as I begin to cry. 'Why..... why did I have to..... why did this get so messed up? How do I fix it or can it even be fixed?'

'I knew this would happen Moon. But no you had to try it anyway. Next time LISTEN to me.' The remnant snarls out before retreating leaving me alone.

  "Come on Moonshade, you can't just lie there, you'll freeze. Let’s get to my place and I'll tell you what I know about Nova." Lore stops and looks at me. I barely listen to him and when he approaches me I flop over to my otherside with great effort, just wanting him to go away. "I can't carry you Moon, kick your flank into gear or I'm gonna have no choice but to leave you here." I still refuse to answer, ignoring him completely. Lore shrugs, takes off his scarf and gives it to me, then he leaves.

  For an indeterminate amount of time I just lay there as the night begins to fall. My form is covered completely in freshly fallen snow, the cold barely registering as a thick cloak of shadows wrap around me in an attempt to keep me warm. "MOONSHADE WHERE ARE YOU?" Mom's voice is clearly angry but also hints of concern color it. Despite her tone I stay hidden while I work on mentally blocking out my own mother. "If you don't show yourself or let me in I'll have no choice but to bring Celestia here to look."

  At that threat I finally stand, though the effort takes a lot more energy than I have at the moment and I crash back to the ground. Mentally I open myself up and tell mom where I am. It takes her a few minutes but eventually the visage of mother's face, both concern and anger etched on it, appears. "There you are my little Moon. We need to have a talk concerning your new..... friend."

  "I..... I don't think..... she's considering herself my friend anymore." My whispered words brings the night ruler to lay down next to me, offering me a tender nuzzle.

  "Why did you hide her from us Moon? And why do you still wish to hide her?"

  "I..... I promised her I wouldn't tell anypony about her. I..... I wanted to earn her trust. We are so much alike, I wanted to try and help her."

  "That is commendable but when you first learned of the danger she poses you should have told us. You know we cannot allow the danger she mi....."

  I can't help but glare at mom as she begins, not believing what I'm hearing from her. "THE DANGER SHE POSES?! SHE'S BEEN FIGHTING A LOSING BATTLE AGAINST THAT DEMON FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG! OUT OF THE TWO OF US I'M THE ONE YOU SHOULD BE WORRIED ABOUT! I GAVE MYSELF FULLY TO THE NIGHTMARE ONCE! IT WASN'T UNTIL I WAS SHOWN THE TRUTH THAT I STARTED FIGHTING AGAINST MY DEMON! WHO KNOWS IF I'LL EVENTUALLY SUCCUMB TO IT AGAIN!" My outburst surprises the both of us. Mom because it is unexpected and myself because I have no idea where the energy came from.

  "Yes but you have learned how to deal with your problem, she hasn't. *sigh* I know you don't understand this but she has to be removed. How is her choice."

  "Then if you do that I'll follow her. If she deserves such punishment then at the least so do I for the crimes I've committed. And if you say any different than that just shows you and auntie are giving me preferential treatment because I'm related to you. Now just..... just go, please." With a sniffle I turn to avoid mom's gaze, Lore's scarf falling to the ground as I once again surround myself in the darkness. This time however I don't block myself from any kind of mental contact.

  With a sigh I can hear mom begin to leave hesitantly, either the fight earlier or the current fight nearly exhausting her. Her departure leaves me yet again with my own thoughts for company. 'Why would you even say that stuff? You don't deserve to be punished for following me. Instead you should be punished for being turned into their little drone.' The Nightmare's face reappears as mom leaves.

  'No, had I fought with no holds barred not only could I have possibly killed him that means I would have killed her as well. I don't want any more deaths on my consciousness.' I give the remnant a dismissive snort and gesture. Curiously I check on which direction mom started heading. To my surprise she is making her way to Fluttershy's. 'Mom, why are you going to Fluttershy's? Nopony's there. Please just..... go home."

  'You're wrong Moonshade. There is somepony home. I figured that this is where your friend is hiding since it is the closest place to where you are currently laying. I know you don't want me to but there are some words I wish to have with Nova.'

  'Please don't..... not now mom. She..... she doesn't like royalty and after what she went through..... what I put her through.....'

  'Did you mean to put her through that Moonshade?' This time it's my turn to be interrupted as I can sense her nearing the door.

  'No, I..... I didn't mean to cause her to..... freak out like she did. I..... I just wanted to try and cheer her up, that's all.'

  'I can tell. You cannot blame yourself for causing something to happen that you did not intend to cause.' With a deep and stress filled mental sigh she adds. 'I promise I won't harm nor arrest Nova and for now I will reserve my decision to keep her a secret.' With a mental groan I can hear mom knock a few times at the door.

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  I lie by the fireplace, letting my anger burn away slowly. She came after me, she went into my head, she thinks I deserve happiness… I scoff and the fire flares up for a moment. I’ve hurt too many ponies to deserve anything of the sort.

She trespassed in my home.

  “I think I already said that,” I tell him. I could care less who sees me talking to myself right now. I don’t need anymore blood on my hooves, much less hers. A knocking at the door catches my attention. I told them to leave. I think and choose to ignore it.

  Who is she to choose what’s best for me? She doesn’t know what I’m like… She doesn’t know what I have to deal with. Again there is a knocking at the door, this time I turn around to look at it, but the glass is too fogged up to see out. Could be Lore… but he want me to visit him… The pony knocks on the door again, this time a little more forceful. Not Lore, he would have just come in.

  I sigh and walk over to the door, and I open it to find Luna standing on the other side. “Hello, I--” Before she can finish I slam the door closed and lock it. With an angry huff I go back to the fireplace.

  “Can’t they just leave me alone,” I mumble as I lay back down and look into the flames.

We could make sure they leave you alone, permanently.

  “What did I say before?” I wait for an answer, but he stays silent and I feel his presence fade to the back of my mind. I sigh, partly from relief, partly from annoyance.

  Nothing else disturbs me, and for another half hour or so I simply lie there watching the fire. After a while I yawn and look out the window at the night sky. Get some sleep Nova, work everything out in the morning. I get up and pour a last bit of energy into the fire making it roar with vigour. Then I cut off the energy and the fire quickly burns itself out, leaving a slightly charred fireplace.

  Before I head upstairs I head over to the door and unlock it for whenever Fluttershy decides to return. Then I go upstairs, not bothering to check if Luna is still there. As I walk past Fluttershy’s room I check inside to make sure she didn’t come back inside while I was busy skulking. I don’t see her, but I do spot something a little odd.

  The bat Moonshade had brought in is resting on a perch by the head of the bed. What’s his name again… Night-something… Midnight. I approach the bat curiously, surprised that he’s still here. His wing is still wrapped in gauze, quickly giving me an idea why he’s still here. He looks up and hisses when he sees me and haphazardly flutters over to the bed.

  “I get it, you don’t like me, join the club. And, while I was hurting you, I was also helping. Trust me, I know how to fix a torn-up wing.” I give him a clear look at the cast that still covers my right wing, though it is a little burnt now. He calms down a little, but still very clearly dislikes me. He climbs back up onto the perch and looks out the window.

  I follow his gaze and sigh. “You want to see Moonshade, don’t you?” As an answer it starts excitedly chittering at me, which I don’t even come close to starting to understand. But, I assume he does since he’s nodding his head. I look back out the window. It’s cold, it’s dark… I’m not going out there. I look back at the bat. “Damn it,” I mutter and spread my good wing toward the perch. “I’ll take you to her.”

  More excited chittering and it climbs onto my wing, I sigh and head downstairs. I set Midnight down on the couch so I can get dressed and once I’m done he climbs back onto the wing. I head to the back door, still slightly paranoid Luna’s at the front door, and look at the window. “This is stupid, it’s cold and dark out there. Is she honestly worth it?” Midnight hisses at me again.

  He’s her pet, I can’t just keep them apart.

She’s in Canterlot, do you plan on walking there?

  I look at Midnight then outside again. I’ll just go over to Lore’s and have him bring Midnight the rest of the way. With that I take a deep breath and go outside before I change my mind, again.

  As soon as I step outside the cold air wraps around me and sends a shiver down my spine. Instinctively, my wings tuck in against my body, and the bat falls into the snow. I feel energy pulse through me as my magic tries to keep me warm. I glance down at Midnight and he starts chittering at me, while I can’t understand him, I assume he’s angry. “Sorry, the cold isn’t my thing,” I say bending down to let him climb onto my back.

  Before heading onto the path to Ponyville I peer and the corner to the front of the cottage. Fortunately for me, Luna’s no longer there. I walk onto the path and start down toward Ponyville. Soon after I feel a quick pinch at the back of my neck as Midnight makes himself comfortable.

  The path itself is usually lined with trees, though it’s rather dark and difficult to see them. I can sort of make out the outlines of the trunks, but it’s rather easy to see the snow covered branches against the night sky. So, I decide to use the branches as my guide, as I try to ignore the uneasy feeling of walking under the icicles.

Why are you doing this for a bat of somepony you hate?

  Because, why should she lose her pet for pissing me off? I’m still furious with her, but I don’t hate her enough to take away her pet.

She could come tomorrow.

  I pause for a moment and think it over, but then I start walking again. True, but at least this way will keep Moonshade away from the cottage for some time. Gives me a reason to visit Lore too, I really need somepony to--

  Something yelps as I walk over a mound of snow. The mound starts moving, and eventually shoves me off. I land in the snow and instantly I regret every choice I’ve ever made that has led to this point. I yell and jump to my hooves, a ring of fire surrounds me quickly to keep me warm. “Sweet bucking mother of Celestia, that is cold!”

  Oddly, Moonshade pops out of the snow and starts shaking the stuff off of her. She rubs the back of her head, where I had stepped on her. She completely freezes, and slowly turn to look at me. “Uh, N-Nova, what… I’m…” she keeps working her mouth to try and talk, but stops after a few tries and shirks back a little.

  “Why were you buried?”

  “I… nothing. I’m not doing anything.”

  I raise my eyebrow at her, but don’t press the issue further. So, I hurt her that badly, huh. I look down at the ground and find Midnight by my hooves, having fallen off when I fell. I guess she needs a friend too… With a bit of effort I extinguish the small ring of flame around me. I grab Midnight and drop him into Moon’s lap. “Go home, Moonshade, and get some sleep.”

  She looks down at him and brings him into a hug. With a sad look she places Midnight back on my neck. "I... I don't... take him back to Fluttershy please." Her words cause him to chitter in confusion and what sounds like fear. "I... I abandoned you Midnight... I don't... I don't deserve a pet like you." She again falls into the snow heavily, her back to me.

  I take Midnight off of my neck. He looks at me, clearly confused. “No.” I drop him onto her. “Not taking him.”

  She looks back at me, still rather depressed, but some surprise in her features. “But--” Before she can say anymore I cut her off.

  “Yeah, you forgot him, so?”

  “But I--”

  “Forgetting him once does mean you don’t deserve him. I was yelling, you were exhausted, and then Lore dragged you out. I would have been surprised had you remembered him. And look at me and Lore. I don’t deserve a friend like him, but he sticks around. I yell at him, hit him, and just generally disregard him, but he’s still my friend. Why he puts up with me, I don’t know. But honestly, forgetting your pet once is not reason to give him up.”

  She looks back at him then uses her magic to pull him into a hug. “Thanks Nova.” Her words feel heavy and sad as she speaks. I feel a twinge of familiarity in the voice, though it’s not a welcome feeling. I see why she wants to help me...

  I start back toward the cottage. “I’m going back before I freeze. You can stay at the cottage if you don’t think you can make it to the castle. Just don’t go wandering into my dreams,” I say over my shoulder.

  The next morning comes along after another short night. I huff as I slowly come back to consciousness after another dreamless night. Still drained from yesterday I don’t bother opening my eyes, and contently lie in darkness. Well, at least Moon didn’t break into my head again, I think. I roll over covering up further with the blanket, hoping that it’ll keep the cold air out.

  There is a dull thud from downstairs, muffled by the floorboards and the door. I vaguely remember letting Moonshade stay the night at the cottage. Maybe I was a little hard on her, she did just want to help… But, she could have died. She would have died trying to help me…

She attacked me!

  A bit of cold air runs down my back. I growl and roll over wrapping myself in a small blanket cocoon. I open my eye just a crack and peer out through a small hole in my ‘anti-cold shield’. Morning rays pour in through the window, the one part I hate about the room is that the window happens to be on the east side.

  I glare at the window then duck down under the covers. Wonder if Moon slept well… She certainly wasn’t doing well yesterday. She was worse off than me after the fight… I hear a muffled conversation downstairs, seems like Moon and Fluttershy are up. Once again I feel the cold air grasp at my back and limbs.

  Rolling over again I find the edge of the bed and roll straight off it. I hit the ground, though it doesn’t hurt much since I’m still wrapped in blankets. A little yelp comes from downstairs and the conversation stops. “What was that?” someone says, sounds like Moonshade, but hard to tell through the floorboards.

  I can barely hear Fluttershy speaking. “Do you think it’s Nova waking up?” she asks keeping her voice down to probably try and not wake me if I haven’t. I stay silent as await for either of them to talk.

  After a minute I get fed up and start fighting with the blanket to free myself. Eventually I manage to get free, though there’s no doubt Moon and Fluttershy heard me. I head for the door, deciding that waiting till Moonshade is gone is a stupid idea. I sigh and walk down the stairs, I hear a bit of shuffling around from the livingroom.

  I hear the door close just before I come into view. Fluttershy still stands in the room eyeing me carefully. I notice the burn marks on the floor and walls are cleaned off. “Morning Fluttershy,” I mumble and make my way to the kitchen. I pause before going in, a few memories flashing through my mind again, taking a deep breath I head in.

  Everything is gone, cake, banner, even whatever mess I made running out. I look back at Fluttershy. “She was cleaning it when I woke up. She never told me what happened though,” Fluttershy says walking up next to me. I nod and goes over to the fridge and get an apple out of it. “Nova, what exactly happened? She was… hurt, not physically, but something was wrong.”

  I sigh and sit down on one of the chairs. “I… lost my temper… again. I’d rather not get into the details, but I treated her like I did you. I got angry at her for helping me.”

*****

  "I..... I got to..... go Fluttershy, take care and I'll..... see you at the ball in a couple days." I hurriedly get out as I hear hoofsteps on the stairs. In my rush to exit the cottage the two tagged gifts for Nova are haphazardly thrown in the trash, still wrapped.

  Once I get outside and out of view of the cottage I look towards Canterlot and then Ponyville, unsure if I want to return home or even go see Twilight or any of my other friends. "I messed up royally Midnight. I thought..... I thought I could help her, I wanted to help her, but now she hates me, I know it." The bat looks up at me and gives an admonishing chitter as he's snuggled as warmly as possible in my mane. "I don't know what to do now. I don't feel like going home yet but I can't stay out here." Being as assertive as he ever has Midnight chitters and motions back to the cottage. Despite his demands I head away from the building and without any real idea where I'm headed I find myself trudging towards Ponyville in the snow.

  Despite his insistent chittering that I should return I find myself outside the Golden Oaks Library. With a sigh I give the door a tentative knock which is answered quickly. "Hey Moonshade, is everything ok?" The purple dragon baby and Twilight's number one assistant greets. "Twilight's in the shower right now, why don't you come in. Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"

   "No, but thank you Spike." With a sigh I flop into the couch and just lay there as I wait.

  A couple minutes later Twilight comes down, a worried expression on her face as she's followed by Spike. "What's wrong Moonshade?"

  "I..... I messed up Twilight. Do you..... do you know Nova? She's staying at Fluttershy's." She only answers with a nod as she joins me, not wishing to interrupt. "Well I met her about a month ago. On our second meeting she..... found out who my mom and aunt are and sorta..... exploded over that." With a trembling sniff I take a couple seconds to do my best to compose myself. "Yesterday I..... I decided to throw her a..... birthday party. She just..... freaked out, I chased after her. Then after I put her to sleep I..... I invaded her mind." I don't dare to look at her, lest I meet her disapproving gaze. "I- I didn't want to..... I just..... didn't know how else to help! A fight ensued that mom eventually got involved in. Now we're fighting and Nova hates me."

  "I don't think she hates you Moonshade. From what I've seen she never had a pony, and certainly not a stranger go that far to try and help her before or try and be so kind. She's just overwhelmed by it, that’s all." A purple hoof gently rests upon my shoulder. "What happened that got you and Luna into a fight?"

  With a sniff I shrug off the hoof. "She..... she thought Nova was too dangerous to be allowed to either live or at least roam free. I..... I told her..... if that's how she felt about Nova then whatever punishment Nova received than I should..... receive the same." Another sniff  comes as my tears begin to flow, my eyes squeezed shut tightly as I bury my head in my hooves.

  "You need to talk to Luna soon, if you don't then things can only get more and more difficult for you two." When it becomes clear I won't resume talking Twilight leaves and heads upstairs for a moment.  "You can stay here for now Moon, I need to go out for a bit. I don't know how long I'll be gone."  I hear her sigh as she walks out of the tree.

  After a few attempts to talk Spike finally gives up, but the peace is short lived as somepony knocks on the door. "We'..... Oh, hi Princess Luna. Twilight is away but Moon's here if you want to talk to her." I groan as mom approaches me.

  "I really want to talk to you Moon, and I should have listened to you last night." I just look at her with one eye before making room for her. "I'm sorry about how quickly I judged her. I was scared that I was going to lose you in that fight." I look back up at her, tears still streaming down my cheeks. "I promise I won't tell Celestia about Nova, nor will I invade her dreams ever again. I did think your words over and I do think she deserves help and a second chance."

  "I'm sorry I got so..... angry at you mom, as well as scaring you." It takes me twenty minutes but I finally answer her. Shakily I get up and give her a hug while drying my tears. "Why don't..... why don't we go home and finish this talk mom." With a smile The dark blue princess rises and follows me out the door and onto the chariot.