The Crimson Mare Meets The Princess of Shadows

  I sit anxiously by on the couch. Slow I extend and tuck in my recently healed wing getting used to using it again. I give a few flaps lifting me momentarily into the air. Too restless, Nova. Calm down and take it easy. I close my eyes and let out a deep breath as I land back onto the couch.

  When I open my eyes again they settle on a glass chess set in front of me. Made out of clear and smokey glass. Already all the pieces are lined up, ready to start a game. Lore had fished it out of Fluttershy’s trash when he came for a visit. It had been wrapped up, a gift from Moonshade.

  I sigh reflecting back to the fight against Tybalt. It’s been five days since then and I’m still split on how I should feel. She did try to help me, but she risked her life. No one should risk their lives for me, I don’t deserve anything of the sort. But then, why does it happen so often? Aura, Lore, Twilight, Moonshade, why bother helping me?

  A quick pang of guilt resonates through my chest for being so angry at her. But, I push it aside. No one should die for me. For a moment I hear the fire crackle a bit louder before falling back down to normal. I sigh and continue looking at the chess set.

  Someone knocks on the door bringing me out of my thoughts. I stare at it for a moment before they knock again. Shuffling can be heard upstairs as Fluttershy gets up. “I’ll get it!” I call up to her as I get off the couch. Peeking through the window I find Twilight and Lore standing outside. I groan and open the door.

  “Nova, we need to talk to you and Fluttershy,” Twilight says.

  “No.” I slam the door shut and head back for the couch. They knock again, but I ignore them.

  “Nova, open up, it’s really important!” Twilight shouts.

  “Let me guess, if I don’t you’ll just knock me out!”

  “It’s about Moonshade!” Lore shouts through the door. I stop and look back at the door. Moonshade? What happened to her? I quickly open the door getting a grin from Lore.

  “What about Moonshade?” I ask putting my body behind the door to try and hide from the cold.

  Lore and Twilight look at each other then back at me. “She’s missing, she ran away. We need help finding her,” Twilight says.

  I stare at her as I process the information. “Wait, what? What do you mean by ‘ran away’? Why would she run away?”

  “I’ll tell you later, but right now every minute counts. Luna is gathering up some more ponies and we’re all supposed to meet at my library. She’s gonna catch everypony up when we all get there,” Twilight says.

  I hear hoofsteps coming down the stairs as Fluttershy comes over to join us. “Okay, but what exactly do you expect me to do? I don’t know where she is, she never told me where she’d go if she ever ran away.”

  “We could always use some eyes in the sky,” Lore says. He takes a step forward and puts his hoof on my shoulder. “She’s been trying to help you all this time, don’t you think it’s about time to repay the favor?” He nudges his head toward the chess set.

  “Is Celestia going to be there?”

  Lore shakes his head. “She said she’d stay at the castle in case Moon came back.”

  “Alright, I’ll go. Just don’t tell them about my abilities,” I say heading to put some clothes on.

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  "LET ME GO PRINCESS, YOUR DAUGHTER IS OUT THERE SOMEWHERE AND NOT ONLY ARE YOU NOT OUT THERE FINDING HER YOU'RE ALSO PREVENTING SOMEPONY ELSE FROM GOING OUT IMMEDIATELY TO SEARCH!" I yell from the makeshift cell I'm in. My gaze falls angrily on my two oldest friends Almond and Sunstreak. "AND WHY AREN'T YOU TWO SAYING OR DOING ANYTHING TO HELP? TALK OR BEAT SOME SENSE INTO HER!"

  A depressed sigh escapes from deep in the night ruler's chest as my two 'friends' try to comfort me. "Lily, I know how you feel about Moon. But you can't just go off on your own. You have no idea where she went, only the last known direction. Having more ponies search will be better because that means more eyes available, and in your state you could easily miss something." Sunstreak says as he holds me close.

  At his touch I can't help but begin to cry. 'I..... I shouldn't have ignored her or gotten angry with her. She wanted to have her first dance with me despite her unsurity of her feelings towards me. But I was stupid.'

  As I continue my breakdown I can barely hear Almond speak. "How much longer is this going to take? Lily does have a point, the longer we sit here the harder it'll be to pick up her trail."

  "Hopefully the other ponies I've gathered will be here soon. Solar and her squad are getting everything organized and packed. They're getting a separate briefing but will join you in the Crystal Empire....." Luna trails off as the door barges open, eight ponies hurrying inside while being chased by the cold winds.

  "Thank you Nova for joining the search, and I do wish to have a private word with you before you leave." I recognize Twilight and her friends, but not the other two. Before I can ask Luna clears her throat and the room settles down. "Thank you everypony for showing such concern for my daughter and I hope you find her soon. Celestia and myself have been with a little success scrying on Moonshade. As far as we can figure her last known location is to the west of the Crystal Empire."

  A large map is unrolled on the wall and on it is Moonshade's cutie mark in the center of a large group of mountains. "We do not know much about this place except it is the current home of the wendigos and other dangerous creatures. For the pegasi going I must caution against flying for too long or too high while in the mountains. I have a train specially reserved to carry you from here to the Empire as quickly as it can and it leaves in an hour. Get as much stuff packed and the warmest clothes you have available and meet me at the train station in forty-five minutes."

  Once she dismisses us I try to rush off, only to be stopped by a raised forehoof as the princess and the strange pegasus mare go upstairs. "We've already got our stuff packed Lily. We're gonna wait here and escort princess Luna to the train station." Almond's hoof rests gently on my shoulder as Sunstreak wraps a hoof around my back as he talks. "Hey Twilight, why aren't you going at the least?"

  "We think because of what happened last night seeing myself or the other alicorns would only anger her even more." She explains as a few maps are rolled up tightly and shoved into a case which is already overflowing with books and other items. It takes about ten minutes before princess Luna and who I guess is Nova to reappear from upstairs.

   "Hi, I'm Almond, it's nice to meet you." I just watch as he approaches her along with Sunstreak, both offering their hooves and smiling.

  "And I'm Sunstreak, how do you know Moonshade?"

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  I look down at the two of them, in the background I see Lore waving me on. “Nova Hearthfire,” I say shaking their hooves. “I met Moonshade when she came down to Fluttershy’s with Midnight. I helped treat Midnight.” I look over at the earth mare standing a fair distance from me. “She stuck around while I was healing from some injuries and I figured I would repay the favor.” I look back down at them for a moment then start heading for the door. “Well, I might as well wait on the train,” I say heading for the door.

  Behind me I hear Lore quick introduce himself before coming after me. “See, that wasn’t so bad.”

  “They don’t know what I am,” I retort. Slowing down a little I walk beside Lore putting him between me and the wind.

  “You know, I don’t think it matters. They’re clearly friends of Moon and I can only assume they know about what she’s done.”

  “The other one didn’t seem to like me.”

  “The mare, Lily? You didn’t bother to talk to her and you’re not exactly approachable, yourself. Try to be friendly, after all, you’re gonna be working alongside them.”

  I stay silent this time, actually thinking about what he said. “Alright then, so what can you tell me about Lily?”

  “Ask her yourself,” he replies giving me a smartass grin.

  “Fine. Can you tell me what’s going on? Luna never actually said what happened.”

  He stops and thinks it over for a moment. “I guess,” he says as he starts walking again. “Someone revealed who her father was, before you ask, no I won’t tell you. If you want to figure it out you can either start reading newspapers or actually talk to Moon. Also there’s a rumor circulating around about her dating Lily.”

  I snort out a laugh, but he quickly silences it with a glare. “Sorry,” I mumble.

  “I know you don’t exactly ‘swing’ that way, but there’s nothing wrong with it. Honestly, it’s stupid to think that dating someone of the same sex is a bad thing. Besides, didn’t you end up dating Aura at one point?”

  I feel a blush come to my cheeks and I look away. “It was a test.”

  “So was hers, you have no right to laugh.”

  “You’re right,” I concede as we arrive at the train. We take our seats, I take one near the back of the train while Lore takes the one across from me. He takes a book out from his bag and flips over to a bookmarked page.

  I set my bags down next to me. Another gift that Moonshade had decided to throw away after the attempted ‘birthday party’. My cutie mark is embroidered onto the sides of it, though since they’re pentagrams it gives the bags a slightly menacing look. Still, the fact they aren’t burnt to a crisp yet means that there’s some form of fire protection covering it. I look at it for a moment then shake my thoughts back into order.

  I pull out my chess set and put it next to me. “Wanna play a game while we wait.”

  He looks over at me then goes back to his book. “Maybe you should try playing against one of the others.”

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  'I truly am a monster. Why..... why did mom and auntie hide this from me?' The question is asked for the hundredth time as I walk to nowhere in particular. The wind howls as it tightly embraces me, chunks of snow and ice patter against me but do not slow me down.

'They are afraid of you, they wanted to keep you under their control. How many times have I said it Moonshade?' The voice of the remnant echos in my mind but I pay it no heed. At its words I stop and let loose a scream as well as some magic. Thick ice juts up sharply from the ground around me in answer as the ice I'm standing on shivers and groans. Shadowy tentacles also rise and twirl around me as the cracks turn quickly into deep jagged holes. A roar follows me as I notice an avalanche begins to race towards me.

  With a sigh I wait for the crushing rush of ice and snow with my eyes closed. After a few minutes I open my eyes and look around. A sheet of ice and shadows are forming a wedge in front of me, diverting the avalanche safely. 'You don't really think I'd let you just die did you?' All I can do is let out another scream before I collapse on the ground, shadows and snow forming around me as I curl up into a tight ball. My tail covering what it can of my face.

  'I hate you. Leave me alone now.' I think before drifting off to sleep.

  I have no idea how long I've been asleep when I wake up to a complaining stomach. With a groan I dig myself out of my den and search for what food I can find. The hours seem to crawl by as I eventually find enough to fill my belly. As I continue my aimless wandering I find myself getting deeper and deeper into the mountains. 'Not only am I monster, but I'm also a screw up.'

'How so Moon?'

  Despite the taunting of the remnant I can't help but answer aloud. "I tried to show I wasn't the evil mare I used to be, but that failed. I befriended a pony who is going through what I am and I tried to help, now she hates me. I tried to gently tell Lily how I felt about dating her. Now Almond, Sunstreak, Solar, Ruby, Diamonds, Amber and Lily hate my guts." I sniffle at the last words as I make my way to the cave I spotted. Before I reach the entrance four spectral wintery horses appear from the mouth and surround me. Again I can feel my anger begin to boil as I glare at them in turn. "Leave me alone..... NOW!"

  Instead of complying four separate gusts of cold icy wind begins to envelope me. With a roar I feel ice begin to surround me, but it comes up from the ground to form a protective barrier. 'Punish them Moonshade. They deserve it for attacking you.' Its voice rings urgently as I'm surrounded by two layers of ice.

  Instead of doing as she continues to suggest I cover my head with my hooves. "SHUT UUUUPPPPP!"

  My yelling again causes the thick ice under my hooves and surrounding me to crack. The walls shatter in a million pieces as the ground bucks and shifts. Large pieces of ice on the ground breaks off and falls down the slope as cracks extend for a long ways away, radiating from my hooves.

  I don't know what happened but as I open my eyes I catch the tails of the wendigos disappearing back into the cave. With a shiver I follow suit, gathering what few burnable items I can. Once I get the fire started I huddle as close to it as I can, the wendigos not bothering me as I just lay there. The flames dancing as I watch my mistakes and wrong decisions flash before my eyes. 'I should never have been born. Or at the least reawoken.' I look down at the two necklaces surrounding my neck and after a few minutes I rip them off, breaking the back links and throw them angrily at the far wall, deciding against throwing them in the fire. 'Just let me die already Nightmare.' I think angrily before I pass out again.

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  “Wanna play a game of chess?” I ask.

  Lily looks up at me with a slightly glazed over look as she comes back to reality. Clearly, I broke some train of thought she was having. “What?” She at the chessboard and shakes her head. “How can you play a game at a time like this?”

  “Well, worrying won’t help either. At least chess helps pass the time.” She looks back at the chessboard then nods with a sigh. I smile and set up the game on the bench. “So, Lily, what’s your story, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “Oh… uh. I met Moon over a… Wait how do you know my name?”

  “My friend told me. Don’t be too surprised, he knows damn well anyone,” I say taking the first move. “So, you were saying something?”

  She stares at me for a moment then looks down at the board. “Right, I met Moon over a year ago, when she…” She trails off. “We were kinda forced to become friends, but I really do l-like her. We’ve become such good friends.”

  I nod as I take my turn. Only like her, huh? I shrug off the thought knowing I wouldn’t like it if somepony pointed it out. “Sounds like it. And the other two, Almond and Sunshine?”

  “Almond and Sunstreak,” she quickly corrects me. “They were with me when we first met Moon. We were all really afraid of her back then. Now, I’m afraid what’s going to happen if we don’t find her quickly.”

  “Yeah, I know the feeling.” I look over at the other two sitting a little distance off giving her friend some space, amusingly I spot Lore chatting with them as well. “Moonshade has some pretty good friends.” And one that’s not quite so good. “Don’t suppose you’d mind telling me how it happened?”

  The light pink mare takes a shuddering breath as she looks away. "It..... It happened during the ball last night. It started first when I..... Refused to do something with her. At that point we already were on shaky ground. About halfway through a pony arrived and well..... She found out her father is..... King Sombra. Apparently Luna and Celestia kept it a secret from her." With a deep breath Lily continues to stare at the chessboard. "She said something about being related to evil and then took off."

  I look at her for a moment slowly thinking it over. Would be nice to know who Sombra is… I shrug and go back to the game as the train conductor comes into the car. “We’ll be arriving in the Crystal Empire shortly,” he says before moving on to the next car.

  I take her king with my rooke and start packing up my chess set. “I promise we’ll find her. Don’t worry.”

  Soon enough the screech of the brakes rings through the air and the train starts slowing down. I glance out the window, dreading the moment I step outside into the cold.

Again, is Moonshade really worth this?

  “To them, yeah,” I mumble. Eventually the train stops and everyone files out into the meadow that surrounds the city. A long smooth line runs along the ground separating the city for the raging storm outside. This’ll be fun…

  I look back at the group and drop into a combat pose when I see a squad of armored guards standing in front of us. Most of them notice and go into a combat stance as well. Quickly Lore runs between the me and them. “Everyone calm down, Nova here has… issues with guards. Nova, I think they’re here to help find Moonshade.”

  I huff, but I stand up fully. The leader does the same quickly equaling my height. Damn. “Would you two stop this? We are here to look for my daughter,” Luna says putting a stop it. “We will be searching in pairs. We also have a few guards from the Crystal Empire to help look and guide you so you don’t get lost in the snowstorm. Each pair will have a guard assigned to them.”

  “I’d rather not have a guide,” I say, earning a confused look from the others.

  Lore clears his throat to get everypony’s attention. “As I said, issues. I’ll guide her. I know the area well enough, and this weather is too far off from the Republic.”

  “Very well then, you can be her guide. But you both still need a partner.”

  “I’ll go with her,” Lily says stepping forward. Her friends give her a shocked look. “It’d be better to have us split up. Because it’s better for more groups to have someone that’s a close friend to her. She’d be more likely to listen to us after all.” Her friends seem to accept the explanation then everypony splits off into their own groups.

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  As the groups split off I give Almond and Sunstreak one last hug before I turn to lieutenant Solar. "Good luck guys, and be safe." I return to Nova with a sigh, my head dropped low. I can feel tears begin to again form in my eyes as we trudge off towards the last known location. I can tell that Nova is being impatient but is keeping it in check as my two companions keep pace with me.

  'I hope you're alright Moonshade. I'm sorry for how I acted towards you and treated you. Maybe..... maybe if I was nicer you would still be here with us..... with me.'

  "Hey Lily, why are there four royal guard members joining us on this search?" Her question breaks my train of constant negative thoughts. I just look at her as my tears continue to fall.

  "That..... that's lieutenant Solar, Corporal Ruby Shine, and Privates Diamonds and Amberrays. They're..... they're not only friends of mine but also the..... personal guards of Moonshade. They..... well Solar and Ruby at least also have a..... bad rough start with Moonshade. From what I was told..... She..... killed two of Solar's subordinates and..... did something to Solar."

  Nova nods her head and doesn’t say anything, but her brow furrows as she thinks about something. Lore smiles and nods. “Good to know they’re Moon’s friends. Too bad about what happened to her teammates though,” he says.

  With a nod I go silent again as the mountains get closer, the pairs begin to split and find different trails. I take another look at Nova and Lore before I return to my own thoughts.

  A few hours later of silence I notice that Lore and Nova are becoming tired quickly. "Nova, could you go and scout ahead while me and Lore get a spot to rest setup please?" With a nod she takes off as we get to work. Or at least Lore does as all I seem to do is get in the way.

  "You sure you'll be fine?"

  "I'll be better once we find Moonshade and get her back." In a few minutes Nova returns. Before she can land I rush over and nearly bowl her over. "Did you see her? What happened?"

  My headlong rush startles the crimson mare, causing her to jump back some. A few moments of composing herself she finally answers. "No I didn't see her. But..... does she know any spells to manipulate ice? Looks like there has been two avalanches up ahead. And somepony or something must be really talented with magic that deals with ice cause the ice on the ground is all torn up."

  "Wha..... what?" At her news I can't help but think of the bad endings that could have happened. I turn and start towards the location Nova scouted. I can feel my heart pounding dangerously hard and fast. Before I take my first step my eyes roll back and everything goes dark as my body goes limp.

  By the time I wake up I notice it's getting late. Both Nova and Lore watch over me closely as I shift around on the sleeping bag. "Why are you two still here? WE NEED TO FIND HER!" Once I get my bearings I jolt to my hooves and barrel towards the door of our tent.

  "Calm down Lily, we couldn't leave you alone. You’ve been out for pretty well the whole day, you need to rest before you burn yourself out. Besides, it’s getting dark and colder out." Lore says as Nova blocks my path.

  "We know you're worried about her, but if you go out there now you won't be helping her if you get lost, hurt or worse. Trust me Lily." After standing there I finally concede and return to my sleeping bag. The stuffed Cadence doll I gave to Moonshade after our first meeting cradled snugly in my forehooves.

  "Please Moon, come back to us soon..... I..... I..... I miss you."

  After a quick cooked breakfast we return to the trail. "How..... how far away was the avalanche sight from here Nova?"

  "It'll take us about the rest of the morning to reach where I spotted the destroyed ground. That's if we keep a good pace and don't have any issues.

  The walk up there again settles into silence between the three of us, save for some occasional mumbling from Nova. 'To Bad we don't have a unicorn. It'd make the search through all this much easier. What could have caused this avalanche?' I look at Nova and Lore as I stop. "I think..... what if she's buried under this snow? We have to dig!" Despite the soreness of the trek I begin to dig my hooves as far into the stuff as I can and begin to fling it haphazardly.

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  I watch as she continues to try and dig into the snow. I feel something at the base of my neck, not sure how to describe it. I push it aside to focus on the idea that Moon could be buried. If she’s under there we left her there the whole night. She won’t be alive… “I’m gonna get a better view of this,” I tell Lore.

  I force my wings to spread and quickly catch the wind. The rough terrain the avalanche had ripped through continues for a good while. But, I manage to spot a hole amongst the disaster area. I land down next to the hole, sinking in down to my knees. I hate the snow!

Please don’t say that.

  Why? Do you suddenly love the stuff? I shoot back as poking my head into the hole showing a small den with a few preserved hoofprints in it.

No, but I’d rather avoid wendigos.

  “What now?” I ask out loud knowing I’m far enough from Lily for her not to hear me. Slowly I take to the air again, even with the buffeting winds.

Wendigos are… the opposite of changelings. They feed off of anger, and them become more powerful when there’s more anger. They are creatures of ice and snow. Can you guess why I’d rather not mess with them?

  “Oh,” I say with minor understanding. After a few moment it actually sinks in. “Oh… Well then. Probably doesn’t help that we’re constantly angry…” I mumble under my breath. I fly up to the point where I can see the other avalanche site. Lining up this one with the further one I find that it points toward a distant mountain range.

  “Where were you!?” Lily shouts as I land next to Lore again. Lily is still digging, but has barely made a dent since the hole keep filling with snow.

  “Moon wasn’t buried, well, actually she dug herself out. I think she went to a mountain range over that way,” I say nudging my head.

  She looks over at the mountains that can barely be made out through the storm. Scrambling out of the hole she starts heading that way. “Come on we have to find her!” she shouts. Me and Lore follow close behind. I take a few steps closer to him so I can keep my voice low.

  “Lore, did you know this is wendigo territory?”

  “Yeah, Luna said so before we left, didn’t you listen?” I raise my eyebrow at him and wait for him to make the connection himself. Eventually something comes together in his head. “Oh… yeah, that might be a problem.” He takes a few steps away from me.

  “Gee, thanks for the support, ass.”

  “Don’t say stuff like that, seriously, we could all die if you do. Just try to keep that temper of yours under control.”

  “Don’t I always do that?”

  With that we fall into silence, as I continue to silently curse to cold. Then I promptly scold myself for being angry. This is going to be harder than I first thought… Lily almost runs off to the second avalanche site to see if Moon’s there, but me and Lore quickly put her back onto track. “If the first one didn’t stop her, that second one wouldn’t have either,” I say as we continue on.

  After a couple more hours of walking we stop for a rest and some food. Once again I feel something tingling at the base of my neck. I pull Lore to the side to speak to him in private. “Lore, we have to split up. You and Lily stick together and check the eastern side of the mountains and I check the west.”

  “Nova, this is about the wendigo thing, isn’t it?”

  “Of course, the fact that I’m here means the two of you are in danger. I’m a reactor for them, and I’m pretty sure they already have their sights set on me.”

  “Nova, we can’t split up. You could get lost, and I’m not going to let that happen. Let the wendigos come, we’ll fight them off, but I sure as heck ain’t leaving you on your own.”

  I grit my teeth and glare at him, but he meets my glare without hesitation. Eventually I submit, “Fine, you guys get to stay with a ticking time bomb. Now, let’s finish eating and get Moonshade so we can leave. Otherwise, we might have to fight off the wendigos.”

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  The uncomfortableness of the stone floor finally wakens me. The first thing I spot first is the pack of wendigos circling me. "GO AWAY. LEAVE ME ALONE!" With a surge of anger I focus a blast towards the nearest one. The others tighten their circles around me, breaths of cold surround me.

'You have the power and strength. Do it, kill them now.'With the remnant's voice loud in my mind I fail to shut it out. Letting loose another scream I can feel my magic surge and the icicles crash to the ground along with large chunks of ice.

  The spectral horses are unfazed by the falling ice but the surge does startle them while they strengthen while feeding off my anger. As my magic calms I can still feel the ground quake and shiver. With a deep breath I try to calm down and head outside. 'Why did this ever happen? Why can't I be..... Normal like other ponies?'

'Why do you wish to be normal?'

  'Because then I wouldn't have to worry about you or about being susceptible to evil.' I look up and notice the wendigos still surrounding me. With another scream jagged spires of ice and writhing tentacles of shadows erupt around me as the ground ice shatters into small shards. Again the wendigos try to encase me in their frigid breath and again it’s blocked automatically.

  As I sit there my thoughts focus on one thing. 'I wonder what my so called friends are doing right now. They're probably glad I'm gone. So is mother and auntie.'

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  As we finish our break I hear a thunderous crash coming from the direction of the mountains. I can barely make out something jabbing out of the ground. “Moon!” Lily shouts a sprints off toward the mountain.

  I quickly go to follow with Lore behind me. “Stay here and go get our stuff.”

  He looks down at our supplies then back at me. “But--”

  “Don’t worry about us being separated. I won’t be too hard to find.” With a flap of my wings I rocket off toward the mountains, the back draft blowing up a bunch of snow and covering Lore. For a moment I feel sorry for him, but at the moment there are more pressing issues.

  Quickly, I overtake Lily, though I doubt she notices. Soon I’m close enough to see a few black dots and lines against the stark white of the snow. Energy sparks along my wings, giving me a little extra boost. I’m aware of the black trail I’m leaving, but between the snow and high winds there’s no chance anyone will see it.

  Once I’m flying overhead of the mountain base I can see Moonshade, more or less. I tuck my wings in and drop into a straight dive. Once I’m low enough I spread my wings and slow the descent, a little earlier than when most would, but given my flying abilities it’s best to start now.

  Even with the early deceleration I still land fairly hard behind her. She whips around to face me as I recover from my ‘landing’. A rather wide range of emotions spread across her face. “Moon!” I shout, though I’m only a few hooves away. I see a few spectral horses floating around us. Wendigos?

Yeah.

  “Shit.” I quickly start looking around and find more of them surrounding us. Already I can feel the temperature dropping around us. Fine, these guys want a fight? I spin around putting Moon to my back, and glare at the wendigos.

  “What are you doing--”

  I spread my wings, unleashing a quick burst of magic. Circle of fire forms around me and Moon. “Come get some if you wanna fight!” The specters recoil from the fire and pull back a bit.

“Nova, what are you doing here?!”

“Finding you and getting you out of here. Why are you here?” I ask still eyeing the beasts as they start closing in.

  "Just leave Nova. I don't know why you came here to find me. I know you hate me. You thought you were a threat to the world? Ha, at least you don't have the same vulnerability to evil as I do. And you had BETTER leave her alone, or I WILL find a way to kill you." Her threat earns a round of nervous snorts from the pack.

  “Hate you? Why would I hate you. Angry, yeah I’m angry, but I don’t hate you. If I did hate you why would I come here, I’m out in the middle of a frozen tundra facing off against these demons! And you think I’m somehow less vulnerable to evil. I probably am, but that’s cause I’m a bucking disaster waiting to happen!” I feel angry and magic starting to run through my veins. The fires around us roar a little louder. “I’m pure destruction! I don’t want to kill everyone I get close to, but I do because I can’t control this curse!”

  "I NEVER ASKED YOU TO COME AFTER ME! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO I'M RELATED TO DO YOU? I'LL GIVE YOU A HINT, HE WAS A BUCKING TYRANNICAL MONSTER! MY MOTHER WAS SO JEALOUS AND ANGRY SHE TRIED TO KILL HER OWN SISTER!" She shouts, ice and shadows reacting to her anger. An eruption of flames made of ice and shadows surround her as the ground around us begins to crack apart. "AT LEAST YOU FIGHT AGAINST YOUR CURSE! ME? I GAVE INTO IT EASILY!"

  I stop focusing on the wendigos and turn to her. “Oh, congrats you’re related to someone who tried to kill their sister. I killed my best friend! Permanently scarred my sister! Got my mother killed! And I don’t fight it, it’s part of me, I’m simply not allowed to feel then everyone will be perfectly fine!”

  With a snarl I look at her with a humph. "You fight against it because you never wanted to hurt anypony. Unlike me. Now either leave now or kill me, cause you're more trustworthy and less likely to kill anypony than I am." Sometime during the fighting match Lily makes her way towards us.

It's obvious she overheard Moon's last statement by her posture. "Moon..... Please..... I..... I don't want that to happen. You aren't a bad pony. Please..... I..... I..... Love y.....!" I can't help but watch as a tentacle angrily knocks the pink mare down.

  “I thought she was your friend!” I shout a few of the fires flaring up. I mentally note that the storm outside my little circle of heat is far stronger than what it had been a few moments ago. I notice the grinning face of one of the wendigos. “Get out of here you little pests!” I swipe my wing toward a cluster of them unleashing a rolling wave of fire. The flames quickly engulf the beasts and the let out and earthly howl as they’re burnt to ash. A few others blast me with a gust of freezing air. I’m sent tumbling through the snow, my bags flung from my back.

  My hooves scrap across the ground as I regain my stance. A pulse of energy burns through my wings to my feather tip. ‘Arrows’ of fire shoot out from the tips and head for the wendigo. One of them hits it and kills it, the other bolts simply level the area where it had been. I turn back to Moon. “I’m less likely to kill someone, huh? Fine, I’m done with this, if you don’t want any--”

~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  “Stop this, the both of you!” Lore shouts cutting her off. All I can do is turn and stare at him, my eyes narrowing a little.

'Well I think things will get interesting real soon. Do you think that some of the element bearers are somewhere around here as well?' The remnant gives a wicked chuckle. Immediately I can feel something is going wrong as my vision blurs and the sounds around me are quieter. Even my sense of feel has dulled.

  'Wha- what are you doing?'

'Something you've denied me for over a year, but now I'm going to use you instead of Luna' Another laugh follows it's words before I start slipping further and further away. 'And at this point Moon, there is nothing you can do to stop me. Neither can your so called friends, though I must thank them. If it weren't for them this wouldn't be possible.'

  The last sensation I have is of falling into an externally dark pit. Only my screaming accompanies me.

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  "Moon..... are you alright?" The crimson mare asks while standing over me. Both her and her companion share combined looks of worry.

  'What were their names again? Nova and..... Oh yea Lore.'

  "I'm..... I'm fine, just..... haven't been eating too well while I've been up here. Who else came up to search for me?" To emphasize my point I get up very shakily, which isn't too hard given that I haven't had a physical body in quite some time. 'Gonna take a little while to get used to this. But I should have no issues if things have gone according to plan.'

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  “Fine? You come all the way out here, nearly get killed by wendigos, and then pass out. And you’re fine?” I ask still fairly angry.

  She gives a weak smile. “I just didn’t want to worry you.”

  “Lore, take Lily somewhere safe. I’ll stay here and make sure Moon is ‘fine’.” Lore quickly glances between me and Moonshade, nods, then lifts Lily onto his back and starts making his way back.

You feel it?

  Would be hard to miss.

Good, time to see which monster truly is worse.

  "What..... What's wrong Nova? Why'd you send those two away?"

  “What’s wrong is that you’re feeling fine and the only reason you came up here is to find some food. Somehow I doubt Moon’s fine. Now, I don’t know what you are, but that won’t stop me from beating you out of Moonshade,” I say taking a step forward. Fire lights up along my back and wings and I huff out a stream of black smoke.

  “W-what are you talking about, I’m Moon.”

  Another stream of smoke blows out of my nostrils as her charade begins to anger me. And it dares to pretend to be her… “Really, funny how crushed you were when you realized you forgot Midnight. But, you don’t seem too moved by the fact you knocked your friend out and dragged me and a dozen other ponies to this barren, frozen wasteland.”

  Her fear quickly morphs into confidence. “Well, you’re smarter than you look,” she says grinning at me.

  “And you’re dumber than I figured.”

  "I must thank you though Nova. Without you and how you reacted when she wanted to do something nice was the last thing I needed to push her far enough off the edge to allow me to take over." A laugh of pure malice escapes her lips before she turns to look at the remaining wendigos. "Now, go and gather any of the other foalish ponies who came to rescue Moonshade and bring them here." Her gaze returns to focus on me. "As a reward for the role you played Nova I give you this offer. Join me and serve as my left hoof. You'll never have to be afraid of your gift ever again. In fact you can finally use your gift for a purpose, you know Celestia would never give you this opportunity."

  “Mind you, one of those ‘foalish ponies’ is my foolish friend. And you’re gonna be disappointed if you think you can have either of them,” I say narrowing my eyes on her.

  "So you do have heart. Then how about this for a trade. I won't kill your friend or Lily, and in exchange for their lives you will serve me." She says with a smirk as a bunch of wendigos start to return carrying both Twilight's and Moonshade's friends with them partially encased in ice. "Ah, so some of the element bearers did come. This is good." She advances on the nearly frozen solid Rainbow Dash. "Now, let's see where your loyalties really lie. Either kill Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy or Rarity, or I'll kill Applejack. The choice is yours." With that Rainbow is released from her icy cage while a spear of ice and shadows form and is pointed straight at the farmer. "And you also have a decision to make Nova."

  I blink a few times as I slowly process her request. “You want me to join you, or you kill Lore?” I look around at the frozen ponies scattered around the area, taking a small amount of comfort in the fact they can’t see me. “Well, you made it fairly one-sided. Have fun trying to kill him.”

  As I answer her Rainbow just looks at us in confusion. "Wha..... What's going on? Why are you doing this Moonshade?" As she looks at us she takes a step towards the imposter. "Why do you want me to all of a sudden choose who to kill? I thought you weren't like that anymore!"

  All she does is stare back at Rainbow after looking at the wendigos and giving them a command. Quickly the spectral beasts hurry off in the direction of Lore and Lily. "Fine, if that is your choice Nova. And you have five seconds to make up your mind Rainbow Dash." The spear point is pressed against the exposed throat of Applejack. Enough to indent the skin but not enough to break it.

  Alright then, five. I glance over my shoulder and see nobody behind me. Four. I narrow my eyes back onto Moonshade, or whatever is controlling her. Three. “Hey, Dash, you said you’re fast right?” I ask as I feel energy pulse through my wings.

“Wha… yeah, but--”

  Two. A few flames ripple down my wings. “Yeah, you had better start getting everyone out of here.” One. Before she can start questioning me, I flap my wings unleashing the energy stored in them. A thunderous boom cracks through the air as I accelerate to breakneck speed almost instantly. I smash through the spear and slam into ‘Moon’s chest sending her tumbling a good dozen hooves away.

  Quickly I pull into a steep climb and I slow back down till I’m hovering well above them. I risk a quick glance back. There is a small cone of charred ground behind where I was standing, followed by a line of melted snow. “I said I’m gonna beat you out of Moon,” I say glaring back down at her.

  "Why fight for somepony you don't like? Besides, if you can figure out how to separate me from your precious Moonshade, she'll die." She says as she gets up, shadows begin to writhe around her as a black beam is aimed directly towards me. I roll out of the way and drop into a dive as the beam slices through the air inches from my head. During the roll I manage to spot more wendigos as they hurry to intercept Rainbow and one begins to encase Applejack in an extra sheet of ice.

  I slam into the ground unleashing a wave of fire in every direction. The fire quickly washes over the frozen bodies, the wendigos, and ‘Moonshade’. Rainbow shouts, and quickly shoots into the air before the fire engulfs her as well. Then lands back on the ground next to Applejack, whom is fine, the ice covering her is partly melted and cracked, but she’s fine. I look over at ‘Moonshade’ and watch as a dome of shadows dissipates from around her. Already I can feel my energy slowly depleting.

We’re going to have to end this fast.

  I’m not killing her. I take to the skies again, this time circling around her well out of range of any surprises she can throw at me.

Well, I don’t think the feeling is mutual.

  Really? I would have never guessed… How physically fit do you think she is?

Not nearly enough to last against us at close range in her current condition.

  Good. Once again I dive at the ground, but this time instead of crashing I charge at full speed toward her.

  As I get closer I can see her maniacal grin as three tendrils shoot into the air once I get close enough, a fourth tendril expands to form a large barrier between us. At the same time a scythe appears out of thin air. "So, what did you think you could achieve by fighting me? It's too late to rescue Applejack. Even if you kept her from being frozen to death by now she's extremely hypothermic." The barrier closes around me as I can feel it's starting to become coated with ice.

  And she thinks she can stop us…

  Energy sparks along my back and wings. With another explosion I rocket forward punching a hole clear through the attempt at a barrier. I burn through the three other tendrils, and simply out run the scythe. A second later I ram into ‘Moonshade’ at full speed. We slam into the ground and skid along for a few meters leaving a shallow trench behind us. I jump off and quickly get into a combat stance not too far away.

  “Dammit Moon, I don’t want to hurt you. So come out, and put this little pest back into its cage.”

  "She can't hear you, no matter how loud you yell." With a chuckle another tendril forms and this time races towards the others. With a grin her horn flares as she surrounds me in her magical grasp. "You really should reconsider. Somepony as powerful as you, you'd be free to display your power. Not try to hide it." When she finishes I can feel her starting to squeeze me.

  "MOON PLEASE..... STOP THIS!" Lily's shout from behind me breaks her concentration a little and the constant tightening loosens a little as the pink mare rushes towards us with Lore in tow. As she skids to a halt a pink hoof lands squarely against Moon's cheek as tears flow from Lily's eyes. "LET HER GO NOW!"

  In the moment of distraction I break out of her magical grasp and turn around to face the two. “Lore, what are you doing here? I told you two to take cover and stay safe,” I say shooting a quick glare at Lore.

  He looks up at me for a moment before turning back to ‘Moonshade’ with a determined look. “She convinced me,” he says nudging his head toward Lily. “That, and I wasn’t about to leave you and Moon to kill each other.” Of course he wouldn’t just leave me! What was I thinking, he’s too stubborn, and Lily wouldn’t just leave Moon…

  “Well, get out of here before you get hurt!”

  “Nova, I’ve been your friend for a long time now. You should know I don’t exactly give up, even if I do get hurt. Besides, I know how to deal with this,” he says glancing up at me. I fall silent as I know he’s referring to the number of times he calmed me down. “Moon, I know you’re in there, and I know you can probably hear me,” Lore says standing next to Lily. “Moon, you’re the only one that can stop this without anyone dying. You have to stop running, you have to stop giving up and fight back.” His voice is calm, and assertive.

  "Moon please, you have so many ponies who love you. I know you're stronger than this demon. I'm..... I'm sorry I..... I treated you how I did." Lily gives her a hug while sobbing into Moonshade's mane. "I..... I realize now that you..... That you didn't want to give me false hope."

  For a moment I flash back to what ‘Moonshade’ had said, about how I was the one that helped her gain control. So, I did this as well? She really did want to help me and I just pushed her away.

But, she attacked me!

  I huff out a cloud of smoke and push the thought to the back of my mind as I focus on the situation at hoof. No time to dwell on that.

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  I barely hear the words from the outside echoing about in the darkness as I begin to come back to my senses. 'I..... I'm sorry I made you all worry so much.' With a sigh I stand up and using my echolocation spell I begin to find way out of the darkness I've been banished to.

'So foalish of them, and you. You really think you can regain control from me?'The Nightmare laughs mockingly at me which I only answer with a quickening of my pace. 'Determined aren't you?' With another mock grin she gives me a moment to see what is going on in the outside. Nova is being crushed by a magical grasp as Lily is being ripped apart limb by limb. 'You can't stop me Moonshade, not at this juncture. If only you would have been loyal to me at the end would this not have happened. But no, you had to go all soft on me.'

  My hurried trot turns into a headlong gallop and it takes some time but I finally find myself face to face with the Nightmare. 'I shouldn't have let it gotten this far. I should've seen the signs. Maybe..... maybe I can at least do enough to distract it.'

'Don't even think about it Moonshade, you aren't strong enough to beat me.'

  With a snarl I launch a trio of bolts at it, which only collide with a hastily constructed shield. As the last bolt hits I reach out with a tentacle of shadows and grabs the Nightmare around a hind leg, giving it a jerk to whip it against a wall.

    With a deep breath I shut my eyes, relying on my hearing and echolocation spell to tell me where it is. 'I am loved. These ponies here are proof that they care about me genuinely. I know now that the hurt they caused me was unintentional.' As I speak I can feel the Nightmare's power become diluted as I work towards releasing the pent up anger and sadness that has built up.

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  A painful impact hits me from the side as Nova shoves me from Moonshade as she begins to shake. She doesn't say anything but she collapses onto the ground with her hooves wrapped  tightly against her skull.

  The moment however is brief and as I begin to stand from the shove I watch as Nova is yet again grabbed in the black aura, two smaller auras focus on her wings. I just stand there in horror as the sounds of bones breaking in the wings is followed by Nova's pain filled screams which continue as the grasp begins to slowly crush her middle. Nova's wings hang limply and oddly bent at her sides.

  "Wha..... No please..... stop this now Moon!" As I watched the display I failed to spot the tentacles heading towards me. With a jerk I find myself lifted into the air as tentacles are wrapped around my arms, legs and neck. My whimpers and sobs turn into screams as I try to fight against the pulling sensation threatening to dislocate me.

  "NNNOOOO!" The scream from Moonshade startles me along with the drop into the soft white snow. I hear Nova give out another pained yelp as she as well is dropped onto her side. Painfully I get up and hesitantly approach Moonshade. Again she's on the ground curled up into a ball, tears flowing thickly from her tightly closed eyes. "Please..... kill me." I can barely hear her as Nova staggers to her hooves. This time Moon opens her eyes and looks straight at Nova, her gaze full of pain and pleading. "Please Nova, I..... I don't have much time..... kill me before it takes back over."

  At her words I can't help but let loose a sniffling sob. "No..... Moon..... please..... there..... there must be..... you can't be....."

  "Do it Nova, if you care about me or at least Equestria kill me."

  "You..... you can't Nova..... please don't..... we can find a way to help her!" I turn to the strange mare I've traveled with but haven't gotten to know much about. Pleading as I tentatively step between her and Moonshade. "Please tell me we can find a different option."

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  I struggle to stand as pain shoots through my midsection causing my vision to fade a little. Great, gonna be bed-ridden, again. My vision clears as I focus on Moon and Lily standing between us. “Nova, please… you have to stop it,” Moon says still curled in a ball.

  “No, please… please don’t do this. There’s another way, I know it!” Lily pleads. She looks at me with pained, sad eyes.

She tried to kill us, I think we should show her the same kind of respect.

  She doesn’t deserve or need to die!

Deserve? She tried to kill us, your friend and her own ‘friend’, and you think she deserves to live? Look at her, she’s desperate, she wants it to end. Why don’t you just--

  I stomp my hoof onto the ground with a sound something akin to that of thunder. Red cracks spread across the ground from the point of impact, glowing slightly. “Enough! Everybody, just shut up!” The three stop talking. I walk around Lily, she tries to get in my way but I make her back up with a quick glare. “I’m not going to kill you,” I say looking back at Moon.

  “W-what, but you… you have to. The remnant is going to kill you--”

  “Then stop it.”

  She stares up at me in fear and confusement. “But, I’m not strong enough. How can I--”

  “You’re strong enough, trust me.” She wincing and grasps at her head from what I can only guess is the ‘remnant’ coming back. I watch as she has some form of internal conflict, while I can only sit and wish I could do for her what she did for me. My turn to get into your head.

  “Moon, listen to me. You’re so much stronger than you think. You just have to let go of that doubt that she could win. But, she can’t win, there’s no way, let me tell you why. Think of everything, everyone you know. Think of your friends, and family. Think of Luna, Celestia, Twilight, Fluttershy. Think of the palace, of Ponyville, of all the great places out there in the world. Think of every single little thing, and everyone that you love. That’s why she can’t win, because you have all of them at your side. She can’t win, because if she does, they’re all gone.”

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  'She's right..... Midnight, Lily, mom, auntie..... I'm..... I'm sorry I let things get this far.' With another deep breath I focus what is left of my will and strength on the remnant and bars yet again form around it. Though this time the bars meld till the cage becomes a transparent one piece cell.

  'WHAT..... HOW?..... NNNOOOOOO!' The frustrated scream of defiance is the last thing I hear before things go blank. My last act of defiance is a smile directed at the remnant.

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  "Moon?..... MOON!" I watch in horror as she goes still on the ground, even her breathing stops. In anger I turn to Nova and grab her shoulders, shaking her angrily. "WHAT DID YOU DO? YOU KILLED HER!" With tears freezing against my cheeks I let out a scream as I start hitting the closest thing to me, which happens to be the mare I was shaking.

She just sits there and takes it. She looks over at Moon with a confused and bewildered expression then back at me. Opening her mouth a few times she tries to say something, but ultimately remains quiet.

  Solar and Diamonds walk up from ruined area where Nova and Moon had fought. "Lily, it’s not her fault. Besides we have time, just hope I'm strong enough." Solar says turning to face Diamonds and barks a quick order. "Let the others know mission successful, I'm teleporting to Canterlot general hospital."

  With a flash the four of us reappear in an emergency waiting area. Moonshade is still out, Nova is in serious pain, or something and lieutenant Solar falls unconscious. "NURSE! SOMEPONY..... HELP!"

  I don't know if it was our sudden appearance or something else but three gurneys are already making their way towards us. Confused shouting ensues as the three are placed quickly but carefully on them and rushed to separate rooms, leaving me alone for a few seconds as my mind catches up finally and I follow the one Moonshade is on. 'Please be alive Moon..... I'll..... I'll do whatever you ask if you just stay alive.'

  "You're lucky miss, you got your friends here just in time, but you need to go to the waiting room, we'll let you know when you can visit them. Also we already sent word to the castle that Moonshade is here." In total numbness I can only nod and crash hard onto nearest bench for what seems like days.

  A crash down the hall catches my attention, snapping me out of my daze. I look up at the clock and only a few minutes have went by. The shouting draws my attention again. I look over curious as to what’s going on. For a moment I think Moon may have woken up again... and is… I toss the thought aside not wanting to focus on it. A scream comes from the hall quickly followed by shattering glass. I wait anxiously to see what happened.

  Over the next minute a couple of nurses rush in and out of the room. Eventually, they bring out a nurse on the gurney. One of the other nurses comes down the hall into the waiting room. “Excuse me, miss? Were you one of the ponies that came in with the red pegasus?”

  I blink at her a few times. ‘Nova, did something happen to her?’ “Y-yes.”

  “Thank goodness,” she mumbles under her breath. “Uh, do you know where she… would go?”

  “What do you mean?” I ask, finding myself slightly worried about the mare. She almost killed Moon, but she did actually try to help find her.

  The nurse winces and looks back at the room she had come out of. “Well, she started to panic when we got her into the room. It got to the point where she knocked out one of the other nurses, then flew out through the window.”

  “Wait… her wings were…” I trail off thinking back to when she was caught in Moon’s grasp.

  “Broken, yeah. That’s why we would like to find her before she hurts herself anymore.”

  "Find who before they hurt themselves?" The familiar voice of Luna comes from behind as her shadow covers me from behind.

  Her appearance and concerned voice causes me to jump and bow. It's at that time I notice her older sister is by her side. "Its that strange mare you included in the search princess, N..... "

  Before I can finish princess Luna interrupts me. "We will find her. In the meantime Celestia could you please check on Moonshade and lieutenant Solar?" All the older sister does is give us a confused glance but heads in the direction of the rooms. Once she's out of sight the lunar ruler turns and gives me a sigh. "I need to mention this now, but Celestia cannot know about Nova. I do not know why but I promised Moonshade." As she warns me a piece of parchment is summoned and a note is quickly drafted and sent.

  "But..... why can't we talk about Nova in front of princess Celestia?"

  "That I cannot tell you. What happened to the rest of the searchers?"

  "Oh, they're back on the mountain, Solar teleported the three of us here."

  "Alright, I will check on my daughter and then Celestia and myself will go and get them."  With a smile princess Luna turns and heads to the room Moonshade is lying in. Despite my exhaustion and sore limbs I follow.

  It takes a few hours but Celestia, Luna and Twilight eventually return with the others. As everypony else goes to check on Moonshade and Solar or get Applejack much needed medical attention I pull Lore off to the side, keeping my voice low. "I..... I know I don't know you and Nova that much, but..... I owe her a lot and I don't want her to hurt herself anymore than she already is. Is there..... a place she'd go if she were injured?"

  He smiles and quickly glances around to make sure no one is near. “Don’t worry about her too much, you saw what she can do, right?”

  "Ye- yes but..... she needs serious medical attention. I'm no doctor but the shape her wings are in..... they were bad. Also I just..... I really want to thank her for what she did for Moon. I probably can trust you to deliver it but I just want to..... say it myself." I stare at him as I answer, hoping he'll help as I shift nervously in place.

  “Fair enough, she’s probably somewhere she feels safe. If her wings are broken I doubt she’ll fly back to her home. She’s probably at Fluttershy’s, but before you go. You saw what she can do, and the power she has. That’s why she’s not here, that’s why she left. She’s no unicorn, she can’t control her magic well. She doesn’t want to go to a hospital because she doesn’t want to burn it down,” he says the last part as a clear warning.

  "Thank you, and I've..... fallen for Moonshade, so, I'm not scared of her power. And I do have a little medical knowledge. I'll get Fluttershy and we'll see what we can do to help her out." With a nod I turn and make my way towards the cluster of ponies. Luckily the pink maned yellow pegasus is on the outskirts of the group. "Hey Fluttershy, can I..... can I talk to you for a moment?" I whisper trying not to gather any unwanted attention

  Once we're far enough away from the others she finally speaks softly. "Ye- yes Lily?"

  "I think..... I think Nova went to your place and she's badly hurt. We need to go and help her out."

  "Oh my..... how..... how badly hurt is she?" She asks as we make our way to the train station. Her shyness slowing us down a bit but ends up helping as we get there an hour before the train gets ready to leave.

  "Her wings are broken, I know that. I don't know what else is injured or any additional injuries she caused." During the ride my worry switches from Moonshade and Nova. Hoping they are both alive and not seriously injured. While Fluttershy ends up napping I restlessly pace the entire car. Lore sits nearby looking out the window as the train speed along the tracks, two bags sit next to him on the bench.

  Without any baggage me and Fluttershy exit in a hurry and head straight towards the cottage, while Lore follows at a slightly slower pace. The freshly fallen snow makes the journey a little harder and longer. Out of breath and panting hard we eventually go through the front door. "N- Nova, you here?"

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  I wince as I finish wrapping my wing with a new layer of bandages. Smoke clouds the air in the bathroom, but I ignore it and lean against the bathroom counter. They don’t know who I am, they didn’t get my name or picture, I tell myself trying to calm down. Exhaling another breath of smoke I push down the pain pulsing through my chest and wings.

  After a few moments the pain lessens to the point where I can actually open my eyes again. I quickly glance at the haphazardly wrapped bandages on my wings, already starting to singe around the edges. Just gotta wait for Lore… With a sigh I head out into the hall and down the stairs, careful to not cause much more pain. After a few slowly, painful minutes I make it to the bottom and lie down on the couch.

It’s your fault, had you actually tried to--

  “Too bad I didn’t, and if I did, a couple of ponies would have died.”

  Suddenly the door bursts open, Fluttershy and Lily quickly come inside. “N-Nova, you here?” Lily asks apparently completely missing me. I feel heat radiating off my wing as the bandages burn to ashes again.

  “No, I’m not here, go away!” I shout and try to turn away. Waves of pain shoot through my body, but I eventually manage to put my back to them.

Real mature.

  You, shut up!

  “Oh my,” Fluttershy’s soft voice says from over by the door. “Nova, are you--”

  “I’m fine! I don’t ne-- don’t want help…"

  "Nova..... I just..... I..... thank you. Thank you for helping Moonshade get out of whatever was affecting her. I owe you, a lot and so does Moonshade. I can tell you prefer to be alone but..... I'd like to consider you a friend. And if you'd like..... I could help properly bandage your wings with Fluttershy."

  My ears fold up against my head as I try to think of reasons to have them leave me alone. I glance over my shoulder at them. Fluttershy has moved to the center of the room with Lily standing next to her offering me a soft smile. I look down at the bandages around my wings, horribly wrapped, and partly burnt. I flip over and lie on my stomach making sure to put most of my weight on my forelegs and keep it off of my sore chest. “I… I could use the help.”

  They both sigh, Lily comes over and starts unwrapping my wings as Fluttershy goes upstairs to get some new ones. A new wave of pain washes through my wings and back as she unwraps them. She constantly apologizes whenever I wince or yelp from the pain. Eventually, I manage to convince her to stop apologizing and to just remove the stupid things. At some point Fluttershy comes back down with bandages, a few supplies to make a splint, and some painkillers.

  “How did you even manage to get this far with your wings like this?” Lily asks as she starts securing my right wing in the splint, fluttershy does the same on my left wing. Though, fortunately enough I had taken enough painkillers for it to be little more than a throbbing, dull pain.

  “From what I’m told, I’m very stubborn,” I say resisting the urge to pull my wings back to my sides.

Stubborn, ha! That doesn’t even come close.

  Who’s the immature one now? I wince as Fluttershy finishes up on my left wing. “Do you need any help?” she asks Lily.

  “No, I think I can manage.” Fluttershy smiles and starts packing up some of the supplies to bring them back upstairs. I find myself giving her a thankful smile as the pain in my left wing starts to fade. As Fluttershy heads upstairs I look over at Lily.

  She has a few scratches and bruises, but none of them too bad. The worst of them is from Moon knocked her to the ground. All in all she doesn’t look much worse for wear. Slowly my mind drifts from her to Moon. “How’s Moon?” I ask slightly worried. “I didn’t kill her, did I?”

  My words cause her to stop for a moment. “I’m… I’m not sure actually. They took her into the emergency room, but then I had to wait outside… Though, I’m sure she’s okay,” she says forcing a smile.

  “Well, maybe you should go be with her.” She goes to say something, but I hold up my hoof and cut her off. “Go be with her, she means more to you than what I do. Go to her, make sure she’s okay, and make her smile some. I’ll be fine anyways, I can finish this off on my own, I’m so drugged up I can’t actually feel it anymore…” I shake my head to get my thoughts back on track. “Go be with Moon, she needs you more.”

*****

  I look at Nova as she says that, letting out a rough sigh. I take a look at Fluttershy and all she does is nod at me. Before I leave I turn and gently wrap my arms around Nova’s neck. “Thank you again Nova. I….. Please stay strong and don’t be afraid to ask for help. I don’t know much about you but I can tell you’re afraid to let others get to close. Don’t be and don’t be afraid to ask for help.” With a smile I release her and head out of the cottage. Before I take my first step outside I find myself shaking very badly from exhaustion.

  Thankfully the door is still open and by the time I make it inside and close the door my legs give out and blackness washes over me before I hit the floor.

  'Uhh..... wha..... what happened?' The scene I wake up to is back on the frigid mountain, though I don't feel the cold.

  "I hate you." The voice comes from nowhere as I work on getting my bearings. I look around in confusion trying to figure out where the voice came from. "I hate you and I never want to see you ever again." At this point I somewhat recognize the voice, but not the words.

  "Moon? Is that..... is that you?" Only silence is the answer to my shaky question. 'This isn't real, it's not real.' "Why do you hate me Moon?"

  "I don't want to associate with a dirty unnatural fillyfooler like you." Finally a shadow begins to form in the flowing snow as it gets closer.

  "I know this isn't real. Moonshade would NEVER say that. Why are you trying to torment me?"

More and more visions of Moonshade form out of thin air. Each one repeating what the voice said as they surround me, forcing me against the cliff edge.

  "You are ugly, unnatural and undeserving of my love. You are a freak that needs to be put down." The original visage says over the others. As she speaks she pushes me closer and closer to the edge until I'm hanging by my front hooves. As I watch all the images turn their backs on me and it's at that time a strong gust of wind smashes me against the rock face. As I fall into the darkness I can't help but watch as the dream starts over and over and over again.

  "MOOOOOONNN!" With a scream I bolt upright, my breathing heavy and labored as I'm covered in sweat. My eyes darting around quickly as I finally, begin to register a throbbing pain in my left hoof. As I begin to focus I notice I'm on a bed, shock and concern evident on both Nova's and Fluttershy's faces.

  "Are..... are you ok, Lily?" Fluttershy asks once I start to calm down.

  "What..... what happened?"

  "You passed out before you could leave the cottage. You've been asleep for almost two days now." Nova responds as Fluttershy settles down her plethora of animals.

  "Is..... is Moonshade awake yet?"

  "No, but Solar is." Lore says as he comes in behind Nova. "Your screaming when you woke up worried us." As I get up shakily Fluttershy comes to help out while Nova and Lore just watch. "You gave us a bit of a fright, had a nightmare?"

  "Yea." I barely mumble as I nod my head. As we get ready to leave a small box catches my gaze and curiously I look inside, revealing a necklace with Moon's cutie mark. As I take a look at the box I note that Nova's name is inscribed on top. With a deep breath the four of us make our way to the dining room where I chow down till my belly becomes a little rounded.

  "We'd like to hear it..... uhm..... that is..... if you want to tell us."

  'Only way you can overcome your fear isn't it since Moon is still asleep.' After a couple of minutes I start. "Its..... I dreamt that..... Moonshade would hate me when she wakes up. She called me ugly and..... unnatural because I....." I drift off with head hanging low. "It's true isn't it? I am unnatural cause I'm a..... fillyfooler."

  Lore leans forward as if he’s expecting more, after a moment he leans back with a slight shrug. “I don’t see what’s unnatural about loving someone. I mean I’ve seen pony-griffon couples, that didn’t seem unnatural.” As he speaks all I can do is look at him dumbly before turning my gaze to Nova.

  "Have you..... have you two ever..... loved a pony of the same gender?"

  Nova’s cheeks seem to glow a brighter shade of red before she turns away. Lore leans back holding his hoof up to his chin. “Yeah, once…” he mumbles.

  "And..... did you two ever..... feel weird or..... like it was wrong?" I somewhat perk up at their reactions, a semi smile lifts a corner of my mouth.

  “N-no…” Nova mutters out. Lore doesn’t answer he just winces and quickly shakes his head.

  Once I finish watching them I look at Nova. "Thank you guys for that, I'm..... I'm still afraid that..... Moon might love somepony else but just....." Instead of finishing I pull out the small box and open it, displaying Moonshade's cutie mark. "I..... I found this as we were heading downstairs, it had your name on it Nova."

Her eyes go wide for a moment before narrowing on the box and looking away. “She gave it to me the after the first time we met. It was a gift for helping Midnight…” She glances back at the box then gets up and grabs it. “I’m going to put this back.” Before anyone can say anything else to her she leaves.

Lore sighs and shakes his head. He looks back at me with an apologetic smile. “Don’t worry about it, Moon got it for her to try and get Nova to open up some. It kinda had an… adverse effect on her.”

  "I..... I didn't mean to....." I cut myself off and follow Nova. Once I find the room she went to I make a soft sound so I don't startle her before approaching. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..... do that to you on purpose. I'm thinking about moving here to Ponyville if you're gonna stick around for a while. I need a more stable life than that of a long haul courier. And I'd like it if we could maybe..... hang out sometime."

“Don’t worry about it, I didn’t think you did it on purpose. It just… reminds me of a friend I lost…” she trails off glancing back at the box. She shakes her head and looks back at me. “Anyways, sure, I might hangout sometime. But, first I think you should focus on Moon rather than me.”

  "Alright Nova, I'll look forward to it." I give her one last hug before I head off towards the train station, anxious to get back to Moon.

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  "M- mom? Lily? What..... what are you two doing here?" I croak out as I stare at the blurry but still recognizable forms sleeping in the chairs next to the bed I'm on. My questions and following yawn wake the two up and immediately hurry to my side, both of them looking very worn out and disheveled. I just lay there and listen as Lily recounts what happened up on the mountain, reinforcing the thought that has been bouncing around in my skull. 'I need to find a way to better control the remnant, and it's clear I can't while I'm still here in Equestria.'

  "Thank you for coming to get me Lily, it means a lot. Tomorrow think you could..... round up Twilight and her friends for me please? I have an announcement for everypony." As she finishes I weakly return her hug then gives mom a hug as well. Once we break apart the nurse shows up ushers them out of the room, leaving me in complete darkness.

'You can't control me, and you know it. You know one day I will succeed.'

  'No you won't cause I won't let you. Nova was right, if I let you take over than everything I care for is gone.'  The argument is short lived as I go back to sleep.

  In twelve hours I find myself being discharged after a close exam. Solar and her squad escorts me back to the castle and to my room. The discussion inside lasts for a few hours and ends in sad but knowing murmurs and hugs. With one last look back I ensure I have a tight grip on Lily and head quickly towards Fluttershy's cottage.

  Nervously I enter with Lily following me closely, Midnight perched in her mane. I find Nova and Lore sitting on the couch playing a game of chess using the glass set I got her. They look up from their game. “Hey Nova.”

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

She’s back, maybe we should finish what she started.

  I feel a quick buzz of anticipation and agitation at the back of my mind. But, I focus on my relief that she’s alive rather than my urge to fight again. Still doesn’t mean I’m happy with her though… “Morning,” I reply going back to the game and moving one of my pieces forward.

  “Uh, how are you?”

  A jolt of pain shoots through my right wing and I shift it over slightly to try and make it more comfortable. “Sore, tired, angry…” I trail off though I continue making a mental list.

  Her mood drops noticeably. “I’m--”

  “Don’t be,” I say cutting her off before she can even start apologizing. “Wasn’t your fault. My wings will heal, I’ll get some rest, and I’ll get over it. I just need some time to calm down and burn through my emotions. And, I do mean that literally.” I take a sip of some hot chocolate Lore had made, enjoying the taste and warmth as it goes down. So long as I have this I should be fine…

  She shifts from hoof to hoof uncomfortably. I glance over at the chair next to me then scoot over to make some more room. “Well, you two can sit down.” They smile at me and Moon sits next to me while Lily takes the other seat. “And how are you?”

  Moon blinks a few times. “I’m… exhausted actually, and really sore too.”

  I roll my eyes. “Well, I expected as much after I hit you a couple times. Quite frankly, I would be insulted if you weren’t sore.”

She wouldn’t be sore if you had--

  “Well, glad you’re awake, but not quite as glad as Lily over there.”

  “Thanks… Uh, Nova, I wanted to talk to you about something,” Moonshade says, a bit of a nervous edge to her voice. She takes a deep breath and looks over at Lily and Midnight. "I've..... I've decided to take a solo trip outside of Equestria. I need to figure out how to..... keep the remnant in check and there are too many distractions here. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone but I will still have my journal if you ever want to keep in contact." She fiddles some with her necklace before continuing. "Its seems that..... Midnight has grown attached to you. Think you could..... watch over him while I'm away please?" As she speaks the little bat flutters towards me and lands on my neck.

  With a forced laugh she turns to Lily. "I..... I know how feel about me, maybe this trip will answer the question of how I feel about you as well. Think you could..... drop in and check on Nova from time to time for me? Be her rock and help her as you've helped me please?"

  I sigh and dip my head slightly dropping Midnight down onto the couch. “Sorry, but no, I can’t look after him. There’s a reason I don’t have a pet of my own, that’s because I can barely look after myself, let alone another living creature. And then there’s the whole mental breakdowns, outrages, and such… Sorry, but I’m not meant to have a pet,” I say giving the bat an apologetic smile. “I’ll try to stay in contact, but no promises.”

  Lily and Moon stare at me confused and slightly hurt, respectively. I feel blood rush to my cheeks and I start avoiding their gaze. “I’m kind of… illiterate…”

  “Well, not exactly,” Lore says cutting in. “You know how to read, though you read at thirty words a minute. And, you can write, it’s awful and nearly impossible to understand, but it’s still writing.”

  "I could help you, and I bet Lore will help as well." Lily offers with a smile.

  I continue to look away, still embarrassed by the fact I can barely read. “S-sure… I could use the help… Still not looking after Midnight though, sorry.” I look down at the bat and give him another smile. “But, I’d probably be the death of you if I did.”

  With a heavy and sad sigh Moon stands and gives both Lily and Midnight a hug and nuzzle. Afterwards she turns and faces Lore, giving him a hoof shake and nod before turning to me. "Thank you Nova, for what you did for me. I'd still be lost if it weren't for you." She gives me a light hug as the tears that started welling up begin to fall. Before she breaks off she whispers. "I don't know if you knew or not, but that necklace I gave you has a calming spell cast on it. And don't be afraid to follow the advice you've given me."

  Well, that explains a few things, I think momentarily flashing back to the necklace. “Don’t worry, I will. And don’t you let those who came before define who you will be. You write your own story, not your parents.” With a small smile she separates from me and heads outside, giving one last deep breath as shadows form along her sides, creating wings. With one last round of hugs and goodbyes she takes of and heads towards the Everfree Forest and beyond.

I grin as I head back to the game. A few memories of my home drift through my mind. “Hope she finds what she’s looking for,” I say.

Lore chuckles a little. “Well, it did you some good, I’m sure she’ll be fine… Though it is becoming an alarmingly popular option, just leave Equestria.”

“Not like you can complain,” I shoot back. “You’re barely here for a month at a time.”

“Fair point,” he concedes with a shrug. “Do you think we’ll be seeing her again, on our own travels?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. I look forward to seeing how far she’ll come.”