The Crimson Mare Meets The Princess of Shadows

by Kix

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life
Length: 33967

This story is a collaboration between Sphinx_Herald and myself involving his OC Novs and my OC Moonshade. The story describes the events that have led up to the pair meeting and future meetings

This story takes place during the third chapter of The Chronicles of Moonshade; Part 3. It also takes place 2 weeks after Sphinx_Herald's Crimson Mare, Choices chapter

The story goes to describe what happened to Midnight that led to the fateful meeting of two mares whose pasts are very troubled. Knowing what Nova is going through Moonshade is eager to help her new aquiantence in dealing with her past butMoon still has her own demons to worry about. Can Moon help the suffering pegasus and what price will she have to pay?

Let us know how you feel about the story in the comments. Either good, bad or indifferent.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-11-07 17:23:53 UTC

Uncomfortable meeting

  “Hey Midnight, ready for a new day?” I ask my sleepy bat hanging from the wall above me. With a happy chitter he swoops down and gives me a nuzzle before settling upon an ear, which has apparently become his favorite perch. As he gets settled in I begin to get ready for the day ending with a shower. His playful antics in the added bath specially for him cause me to giggle. Playfully he splashes me before zipping to my back and takes the loofah pad, scrubbing along my spine diligently. His help with bathing ends with a massage and combing my wet mane. A towel is gathered and I carefully pat and rub him dry before he’s placed on a hook as I dry off and brush my teeth.

  As usual I've timed it just right so I can join mom and Celestia for our usual breakfast along with watching them perform their ritual of rising and lowering of the sun and moon. “So, do you have anything special planned for today, Moon?” Celestia’s question comes as normal but the tone throws me a little, like she’s more than just a little curious.

  “Well, other than playing with Midnight I don’t really have much planned, why?”

  “I just happen to have some free time and would love to spend some time with you and Midnight.” Celestia lets out a grunt as I hug her tightly with a smile.

  “I as well would like to join you before I have to go to sleep.” Mom’s words make me feel alot happier, this being one of the rare times I can spend time with her due to our differing time schedules. As the round of hugs end we make our way to the garden, laughing and joking the entire way there.

  “Ok Midnight, show us what you got!” With a grin I form a small frisbee and throw it as hard and high as I can. Immediately, he launches from his perch and races towards the flying disc, catching it in his feet as he performs a barrel roll. Then he pulls up into a sharp spinning climb and ends with a loop de loop before making his way towards us, hanging the frisbee from Celestia’s nose, causing me and Luna to giggle. For the next two hours the three of us spend it watching Midnight perform silly tricks while catching the frisbee, talking and just overall having fun.

  All too soon both mom and Celestia have to leave and Midnight begins to tire as well. “Alright buddy, last throw and we'll figure out something else to do.” As he begins to chase after the frisbee something causes him to cry out painfully and he begins to plummet to the ground. In a hurry I grab him in my magic, my heart racing in fear as I pull him to me. “Are you alright Midnight, what happened?” To answer he holds out his left wing, clearly shredded in some parts. Without thinking, I hold him tight and dissolve into my gaseous form and I race for Ponyville, my mind going over all the bad endings this can have.

  I arrive there a few moments later, hoping that I had been quick enough. With a startled eep Fluttershy, who had been tending to some of her animals jumps behind the nearest tree as I make my way towards the ground in my gaseous form. “Oh..... Uhm..... Hey Moonshade, is- is everything ok?” She steps out as I solidify with a worried expression, cradling Midnight gently. “Poor thing, what happened to him?” She asks as I follow her to her cottage.

  “I-I don’t know, w-we were just playing and then he started falling...” My sentence trails off.

  “Calm down, Moonshade, I promise he’s going to be okay,” Fluttershy says gently. She pauses for a moment and looks at me then back at her cottage. “Oh, uh… I happen to have some company, if that’s not a problem.”

  “Huh?” Before I have time to ask who it is she rushes inside. Suddenly, I feel something very wrong inside the cottage, just a feeling of dread and unease. I freeze outside the door and try to shake the feeling off but it just won’t leave. Despite the feeling of dread I open the door and step inside, my sole focus right now on Fluttershy, everything else is ignored. However, my whispered words don't go unnoticed, along with my appearance. "Please let Midnight be okay, please dear Celestia let him be okay."

*****

  The door to the cottage opens bringing a cold draft in with it, sending a shiver down my spine. I look over as Fluttershy runs past and to the kitchen. For a moment I wonder what she’s doing, but I go back to the book I was reading.

  Before I even find my place on the page, the door opens again this time giving way to a grey unicorn. Some parts of her coat are a dark blue, but she is mostly grey. I manage to catch a glimpse of her red eyes filled with concern. Something’s wrong.

  Yeah, the door is still open.

  That too, but I was talking about the unicorn. I sigh and get off the couch, careful not to put any weight on my right foreleg or my right wing. Even though I’m still uneasy on three hooves I manage to the door easily enough and close it with a kick of my hind leg. With that I head to the kitchen to see what’s going on.

  Fluttershy and the unicorn stand near the table, occasionally I can see something on the table moving. Once I get closer I see that Fluttershy is tending to the wing of a wounded bat. I wince inwardly knowing the pain of a torn wing. “Anyway I can help?” I ask getting me a quick yelp from the both of them.

  “Oh, Nova, sorry about that but I’m a little busy right now.” Fluttershy exclaims quickly going back to work on the bat.

  “You know, I could help.”

  She stops for a moment and looks at me then back at the bat. “Um… alright, could you hold this here as I go get some gauze from upstairs?” she asks. For a moment I go to argue that I should go get the gauze until I realize I can barely climb the stairs on my own.

  I sigh and take the cloth from her as she runs upstairs. The bat hisses at me when I get close, I roll my eyes and hold the cloth to his wing anyways. The bat hisses again, in pain or anger, probably both. “You’re hurting him!” the unicorn shouts.

  “Trust me, he’d be in more pain if I wasn’t here. I take it that this is your bat?” I ask the unicorn.

  “Uh, he’s… he’s my friend. His name is Midnight.”

  I give her what I hope comes across as a friendly smile. “Don’t worry he’ll be fine, Fluttershy knows what she’s doing.”

  “I hope so.”

  It doesn’t take long before Fluttershy comes back into the kitchen carrying a small basket of medical supplies. She takes my spot at the table and take a few shaky step back to give her space. I stick around for a few seconds, long enough to watch Fluttershy start disinfecting the wing.

  With that I head back to the couch for some rest. I flop down on the couch, and grab my book flipping through the pages to find where I left off.

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

  As I watch Fluttershy work on wrapping up Midnight's wing I can't help but turn my attention for a second back to the strange crimson coated mare. Something about her bothers me a bit but I put it in the back of my mind. "There, all done, now try not to get his bandages wet and you'll need to change them daily, I also brought down some pain medicine for him, bring him back in a month and I'll reevaluate his wing." Fluttershy instructs as she cuts off and secures the gauze, giving him a tender nuzzle afterwards.

  "Thanks Fluttershy, I owe you a lot, by the way, who's the mare you have, and what happened to her?" I very carefully gather Midnight in my magic and I give him a soft kiss before nestling him in my mane protectively. "How much do I owe you?"

  "Oh..... uh no need to pay or owe me Moonshade, I'm glad to help you and Midnight out. I'm happy he was able to find a very loving owner that takes such good care of him. As for Nova, I… I don’t think I should say, it’s something she wants to keep to herself. But, why don't you..... go introduce yourself? that is..... if you want to."

  "You sure you won't accept payment? alright then, but if you need help don't be afraid to ask." With the offer given I head into the living room and look the mare over, taking my time to really look her over, noticing the bandaged and splinted wing and foreleg. "Hi, I'm Moonshade, thank you for your help and sorry about shouting at you earlier."

  "I'm Nova, and don't worry too much about it." Her reply is tense and filled with reservation as she makes a poor attempt to be friendly, I give her a second quick glance and begin to exit as she returns to her book, but something stops me and I look at her again, this time focusing on her golden eyes.

  'You know we could have some fun with her, nothing serious or fatal, she looks like she needs some cheering up.' The remnant pipes up from her cage, trying to be friendly.

  'No, first off I don't trust you or your ideas, secondly I don't think she's in the mood for fun, there's something about her eyes that bother me for some reason.'  After a few seconds I place what it is that is bothering me about the eyes. 'They remind me of my own eyes. Sad, hurt, angry, like she's done something very bad.'

  'You know, if you hadn't BETRAYED ME you wouldn't have that look, you'd be ruling right next to me.'

  'Oh shut up, I don't want to hear any more of your whining.' As that is said I tune it out and refocus on Nova, who's staring back at me, her eyes narrowing.

  Despite her injuries she tenses as if getting ready for conflict, her tone getting angrier. "May I help you?" At her question I look about the room before I go and talk to Fluttershy far enough away so we can't be overheard. After listening to my request Fluttershy gives a very nervous nod and clears the house of her animal friends, giving the two of us complete privacy. To ensure that I cast my dome of shadows spell, using its second form to create a bubble of sound proof, opaque walls around us before approaching Nova again.

  "Hey, I know we don't know each other..... but something about you reminds me of myself. It hurts don't it, that feeling of fear after having done something bad or had it happen to you." I tell her as I keep my back turned towards her. My voice goes from happy and friendly to sad as I talk. I take a deep breath once I finish my statement and wait patiently for her to answer. "You don't have to tell me now, I just wanted to let you know you aren't alone with how you're feeling, in the meantime I'd like to be your friend, Fluttershy knows how to get in touch with me."

*****

  I scoff as she turns away. No one knows what I’ve been through… what I’ve done. “You don’t know anything about me.” I grumble as I go back to the book. I hear her stop and turn around.

  “I know the pain of hiding something dangerous inside you. I know your fear of hurting those around you.” she says gently. Still I turn and glare at her, finally giving up on the book.

  “You don’t know what it feels like to hurt your closest friend!” I snap stomping my good hoof into the ground. “You don’t know what I’ve been through!” I can feel the heat and anger building up inside of me. “You think you know me but you can’t--” Suddenly shadowy images appears in the center of the room.

  An image of Moonshade, a different Moonshade appears. Black armor covers her and she wields a scythe in her magic. Three ponies cower in front of her, unarmed and terrified civilians. The image Moonshade laughs, the same type of laugh I hear in my mind. I watch entranced as the scene unfolds.

  Moon swings her scythe, ripping the forelegs off of the closest one to her. He falls to the ground screaming, though the screams sounds weak and distant through the shadow image. She moves swiftly onto the next cleaving the head clear off. Tendrils of shadows wrap around the first one, quickly killing him off and ending his misery. The last one she walks up to, her horn begins to shine and a few tendrils of shadow wrap around the last pony’s head. She starts screaming and Moon simply lets her fall to the ground in a trembling ball.

  The image drops and we stand in silence for some time. I finally notice her eyes, the same kind of eyes that stare back at me whenever I look at my reflection. “You still think I know nothing about you?” she says.

  Oh… now she seems interesting. How much you wanna bet she’s nothing compared to us?

  I take a deep breath to collect my thoughts. “Okay, you do know something about me. How ‘bout we start over?” I ask sitting down and offering my good hoof. “I am Nova Hearthfire, I’m a pegasus with a psychopath living in my head.”

  She looks at me curiously, but shakes my hoof anyways. “My name’s Moonshade.”

  “Pleasure to meet you, Moonshade,” I say lying back down on the couch and start making myself comfortable. “Sorry for yelling at you, I tend to be a little… defensive… and temperamental.”

  "I understand, and I know what it’s like wanting to keep a secret and then have somepony discover it without even trying." With a giggle she gives a soft smile. "Seems we have two things in common, I also have a resident psychopath within me, and here's the proof." She again produces the shadowy image, instead this shot is apparently taken in a hospital. A trio of ponies holding Moonshade down as she screams, a shadowy thing is exiting through her chest and takes the shape of Nightmare Moon, though this one is the size of Midnight and slightly transparent.

  “Good to know, but you really didn’t have to show me that. Your eyes are those of somepony who regrets what they’ve done. And we both know full well what it looks like. Now, no offence, I would like to get some rest. So, have a nice day, maybe we can talk again some day.” She smiles and heads for the door again. “Oh, and needless to say, I would rather you don’t tell anyone about me.”

~~~~~     ~~~~~     ~~~~~

   With a smile I nod to her and try giving her a light caring nuzzle, but she just scoots away from me. “Sorry, I have an issue with ponies getting too close to me,” she says with an apologetic smile.

  "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye, I promise nopony will learn of you and your special gifts from me. Just make sure you don't upset Fluttershy ok? I do have one question, do you know Twilight Sparkle since you know Fluttershy?" I end the shadow dome spell as I ask my question, motioning for Fluttershy that it's ok to enter.

  At the mention of Twilight's name Nova lets out a snort and glares at me, being enough of a confirmation for me that she knows Twilight. "Well, whenever you wanna talk or just hang out with me, let Fluttershy know, she can get a hold of me ok? Also..... I don't know how you feel about being in crowds but my birthday is coming up. It won't be anything big, me, Twilight and her friends, three other friends and my mom and aunt. I'd love for you to come, but will understand if you don't, think it over and take care Nova."

  "Sure..... I'll..... think it over, but don't get your hopes up. Take care Moonshade, hope Midnight gets better soon," she says before returning back to her book, a small smile decorates her muzzle.

  'Hm, she seems like a useful minion, hey she may even be more amenable to using my powers than you are'

  With a dismissive shake of my head I start to make my way to the door but stop and look back at her. "Hey Nova, some bit of advice, if things get too bad for you, maybe you can try writing out a mood journal or keeping an art journal. They could be a helpful release for you until you feel comfortable talking to somepony. Hey Fluttershy, can you come with me for a little bit please?"

  My advice causes Nova to give me a sceptical look. "Really, and how exactly would a journal be helpful?"

  "Basically what you do is write or draw whenever you are feeling upset or even happy. When you put down whatever is upsetting you it can be a safe release for those negative feelings. When you put down something happy it can be used as a positive reinforcement and help you cope with any negative thoughts that appear. Also I want you to remember these words." I pause long enough for her to take what I've suggested in. "Your past doesn't fully define who you are, because your past is not your today or tomorrow."

  "I'll keep that in mind, thanks." She offers another smile and waves before I walk out the door, followed by Fluttershy. A chilly wind wraps around the three of us for a moment.

  "Hey Fluttershy, would you..... would you keep me informed if something goes wrong with Nova please. Also before I return home I wanna go into town. I want to give Nova something but I don't think I can stay out much longer before mom and auntie start getting worried, so you'll have to give it to her for me."

  "O-okay, but can we hurry please, it's getting close to dinner time and I don't want my friends to go hungry." With her agreeing we hurry to Ponyville. "If you don't mind but..... what did you two talk about to make Nova so..... open with you after just meeting her. It took Twilight and Rainbow a while before they could gain her trust." Her question comes out in pants due to our hurried pace as we finally enter the town square and head straight for Rarity's.

  "I can't tell you, sorry Fluttershy but I promised." I answer her as my hoof wraps against the door, hoping that Rarity isn't too busy or gone.

  "Coming..... oh it's you darling how have you been?" A wide smile graces the eloquent and well groomed white unicorn as she opens the door, inviting us in quickly. "Are you looking forward to your first royal ball? I must say I am a bit jealous but also happy for you. Can I offer you some tea or a snack?"

  "No thanks Rarity, and I have been doing good thank you. I'm not really looking forward to it to be honest, but that isn't why I'm here. I was wondering..... could you..... make a necklace for me with a charm shaped as my cutie mark?" I can't help but fiddle with the locket and nine charms dangling from two different chains as I make my request.

  "Of course I can dear, is this a special  gift for Lily? have you two finally decided to get together?" I can't help but giggle at her expression when she gets on the topic.

  "It is a gift, but not for Lily, as for that....." I take a deep breath, having heard this question many times before from her. "I don't know how I feel about Lily, I like her as a friend but I'm not sure if I feel that way for her enough to take it to the next level."

  "Very well darling, I'll have your necklace done in no time. You should really think hard about you and Lily being a couple over very hard." Her words travel from a back room while me and Fluttershy are left alone.

  "Hey Fluttershy, you know how I feel about my relationship with both Luna and Celestia being known, so..... please don't tell Nova. I don't want her to be scared of me just because of who I'm related to."

  "O-okay Moonshade, I won't tell her. Uh, how is Midnight doing?" In response I carefully expose him resting peacefully within my mane, his bed strengthened by a shadowy net. Concern and tenderness cross her face at the same time.

  "Here you go Moonshade, and no I don't expect you to pay me, I hope whoever this gift is for likes it." A small box is handed over to me and placed in my hoof. The sight of Midnight nestled comfortably in my mane causes Rarity to ooh and gush.

  "Thanks Rarity, I appreciate it. Take care and I'll see about inviting you to the castle or I can come and visit you sometime." Before me and Fluttershy part ways I cast a simple but very effective calming spell on the necklace and hand it to her. "See you later Fluttershy, take care, of both of you. Also let her know that I cast a calming spell on it to help her out when she needs it."

  "Be safe Moonshade, and take care of yourself please." With a nod and salute I gather enough shadows to create a pair of wings. After giving a couple test flaps I take off and make my way back to Canterlot. As I make my way back my mind reels over not just Nova and her issues but also the events that caused Midnight to be hurt in the first place.

*****

  I sigh and flip over to the next page of my book. Being bed-ridden is not fun, not in the slightest. I look out the window as snowflakes float down to the sky. Sorry I couldn’t make it home, I think. For the next few minutes I just sit and watch the snowflakes drift to the ground, thinking and missing home.

  “Nova?” Fluttershy’s quiet voice comes from my left, snapping me out of my home-sickness. “Sorry, I had called you for dinner, but you didn’t say anything.” she says while putting a bowl of soup on the table nearby.

  “Thanks.” I say sitting up and taking the bowl of soup. “Sorry for not hearing you, I was… thinking.”

  “Is there something you want to talk about?” she asks wrapping a hoof around my shoulder, but I move away from her.

  I don’t answer her for a few seconds, but ultimately I decide not to worry her. “No, I’m fine. Just cursing the weather.” I say with a small chuckle. A small and slightly concerned smile crosses her face, but she doesn’t say anything more. Instead, she simply sits next to me as we look out the window watching the snow fall.

  We stay that way for the better part of an hour as we eat our soup. “Fluttershy, do you know the story behind Moonshade?” I ask her once my soup is pretty well gone. I sense her tense up at the question.

  “I-I… I, um… she didn’t want me telling you, sorry.”

  Not quite the answer I was looking for, but a respectable one nonetheless. “It’s fine, if she didn’t want you telling me you don’t have to. We all have our secrets to keep.” I say, shrugging to the best of my ability.

  “Oh, but now that you mention it, she wanted me to give you something.” She gets up from the couch and heads back to the kitchen. A moment later she returns with a small box. “Here you go.” She puts the box down next to me on the couch and looks at me expectantly.

  She got me something… she hasn’t even known me for a day. Then again, we’re both pretty messed up and need help… severe help. With a shake of my head I get out of my minor mental debate and undoes the latch on the box, flipping it open. Inside is a necklace with an amulet shaped like Moonshade’s cutie mark.

  Well, this is quite nice, I think taking it out of the box. I’m going to have to get her something now-- The necklace starts glowing red, causing me to yelp and drop it. As soon as it leaves my hoof it goes back to normal. “Nova, are you okay?” Fluttershy asks already halfway to the stairs to get some medical supplies.

  “Uh, no… yeah, yeah. I’m fine, just… overwhelmed.” I look back down at the necklace. Briefly, an image of a light green unicorn filly flashes through my mind. I quickly pick the necklace up, put it into the box and close it. Placing the box on the table I hobble my way to the stairs. “I-I just need some rest. Goodnight, Fluttershy.”

Chapter Two; Photo Shoot Revelations

Groggily, I wake up from a night’s sleep, a shiver of cold running down my spine. Another dreamless night actually, at least it’s better than the nightmares. I open one of my eyes just a wink to see the early morning sunlight stretching across the wall. With a snort I duck under the  blankets again. Wake me at noon, it’s too early to get up.

Wake me up in spring.

Agreed, I think. It might not be often, but I do agree with him… sometimes. As I try to go to sleep I hear someone knocking at the door downstairs. Ponies are crazy for going outside in that weather. I just curl up further into the blankets and wait for Fluttershy to get it.

Again there is knocking, however I don’t hear Fluttershy getting up. Do I get up and see who it is, or do I sleep? Making up my mind I close my eyes again. That is, until whoever it is knocks again. I groan and throw the blankets off. “Fine, I’m coming.”

The knocking continues as I hobble down the stairs. “I’m coming, stop that,”  I say as loudly as I dare without waking Fluttershy. I get to the door easily enough, slowly getting use to walking on three hooves. I swing the door open, shivering against the cold air that comes in. On the other side stands a tan brown earth stallion, with a mane that’s a mess of darker browns and black. He has a coat, probably thinner than what most ponies wear, along with a pair of saddlebags on his back.

“Good morning,” he greets smiling at me.

“What are you doing here, Lore?” I ask more than half tempted to close the door to stop the cold air from getting in.

“Just got back from my trip to the Griffon Kingdom, figured I might as well visit and see how you’re doing. Also, I got tea and hot chocolate,” he says motioning to one of his bags.

I narrow my eyes at him, but I step aside. “Start getting the hot chocolate ready,” I say letting him in. He smiles and trots in and I swing the door closed behind him. I quickly get to work lighting a fire in the fireplace. “And you had better well leave that here when you leave,” I call over as the fire ignites starting to warm up the small cottage. I take a spot on the couch and make myself comfortable.

A minute later Lore comes back in with two mugs of hot chocolate. “Sorry about coming here so early. Again, just got back and I wouldn’t have been able to sleep, so I came here to share my misery with you… and to see how you’re doing,” he says passing me a mug which I quickly start draining.

“So long as you keep bringing this stuff, I don’t mind.” I sigh contently as the warm liquid washes down my throat.

He chuckles as he sits down next to me. “Kinda figured as much. So, how have you been, or better yet, what have you been doing? I expected that thing to be off by now,” he says pointing to the cast on my foreleg.

“It should be coming off soon actually, I mean my leg feels fine. Really, they just need to take it off. My wing is still pretty banged up though. Anyways, how was your trip?”

“It was quite nice actually. Got to see the castle, their harbours, and their famous opera house.”

“Again?”

“Nothing wrong with seeing something a second time,” he says with a shrug. “Did some ice fishing, went to an opera, told some stories in one of the mead houses got a free night there. You should come next time, I’m sure you’ll love it.”

I snort and lean back into the couch taking another sip from the mug. “As if, too cold up there.”

“Speaking of which, do you have any plans for the winter, or are you just gonna skulk around here?” Once he mentions that I frown at him and look out the window at the clear day outside. “I see, miss them, huh?”

Once again I think back to my family and home. “Yeah, I might go visit them once the snow’s gone.”

“I think that’d be good for you,” he says leaning back into the couch and looks out the window with me. “Make any new friends while I was gone?”

“No, not really…” I say trying to brush the question to the side, but my mind flashes back to Moonshade. “Actually, there was one, a unicorn named Moonshade. She’s… similar to me, there’s some sort of monster hiding in her as well. Do you know the story behind her?” I ask turning to face him.

He scratches his chin and looks up at the ceiling. “Moonshade, huh?” I nod only to realize he doesn’t see me. He doesn’t answer for some time and just continues looking at the ceiling until a look of realization crosses his face. “Yeah, her, I know her. She’s, well was, an orphan from Canterlot. She was adopted to a middle class family not long after. Nothing really happened to her until the return of Nightmare Moon and her defeat by the Element of Harmony. Not sure how, but the nightmare forces got to Moonshade and she went on a rampage. That’s pretty well all I know.”

“Oh…” is all the reply I manage. Not sure what I was expecting. I sigh and go back to looking out the window as I drink the hot chocolate.

*****

  As the dawn approaches I wake up groggily, my unfocused gaze blurrily takes in my surroundings, after a couple of minutes of blinking my vision finally clears, revealing a strange room. Anxiously I look around, trying to find Midnight as my heart begins to race, it takes me some time but I begin to remember that I'm at Rarity's, and that Midnight had to stay at the castle under mom's watch.

  "It's about time you woke up, you're gonna be late for breakfast." A squeaky voice reaches my ears, bringing a yawning smile.

  "Well good morning to you to Sweetie Belle, have a good night?" My grumbling stomach urges me to skip any attempts to try to be somewhat presentable.

  As we walk down the hall my very bad bed mane and tail causes Sweetie to giggle. "Rarity is going to have a fit when she sees you Moon." As the two of us settle down in the kitchen she shows me where eggs and other breakfast goodies are and I begin to cook, making three omelets, the inside is coated with three types of cheese, green peppers and hash browns, topped by some more cheese and a light and creamy gravy. Accompanying the omelets are more hash browns, toast, a glass of orange juice for Sweetie Belle and two steaming mugs of coffee for me and Rarity.

  As we begin to eat the white coated fashionesta makes her appearance. "Mm, something does smell absolutely divine, did you cook this Swe....." Her lower jaw nearly hits the floor as her pupils shrank to pinpricks, apparently Sweetie Belle wasn't kidding about her sister's reaction. "Wh- what happened to your lovely mane and tail darling, it's so..... so..... unkempt, you must simply fix it now." Before I can argue she grabs me by my tail and drags me off to her master bathroom, a giggling Sweetie Belle follows.

  "Rarity, thank you but that wasn't really necessary. Now with how much fussing you did over me the food and coffee are gonna be cold now. Besides, it's not like it wouldn't have gotten fixed at the spa." I grumble as she finishes. "And speaking of the spa, it's almost time to meet Fluttershy."

  "Just because we're going to the spa Moonshade doe not mean one has free reign to let oneself be so..... messy. Sweetie Belle please clean up the kitchen while I'm gone. And do try to stay out of trouble." All I can do is roll my eyes as we make our way to the spa.

  "So Rarity, what exactly am I supposed to do as a model?" I try to find the right topic to lighten our moods, along with the fact I'm genuinely curious about it. "Hey Fluttershy, how are you today?" Right on time the shy pink maned pegasus approaches from her cottage, a smile creasing her lips as she spots us.

  "Oh..... hi Moonshade, I almost forgot you were going to join us, how..... how is Midnight doing?" Her question comes as we enter the building and select which treatments we want, Rarity adds more to mine as I finish.

  "He's doing good, probably missing me by now. But mom's taking care of him. How are you and Nova doing?" As we settle into the hot tub I can't help but feel some worry about the crimson colored mare. As we sit and stew an idea flashes through my mind.

  "I'm doing good..... I- I think Nova is doing ok as well, but she didn't seem to like your gift, sorry Moonshade."

  "Not your fault Fluttershy, she's probably not used to getting gifts from near strangers." As we continue to get pampered I find myself turning to mush under the expert care of the masseuse, letting out a groan of pleasure as my muscles go limp. "Hey, I had an idea. I bet since she's been injured she hasn't had much chance to get out and about right? Well why not either see if she can join us at your boutique Rarity or we can hold the shoot at Fluttershy's."

  "Why are you concerned about her darling? She doesn't seem like a very friendly pony and only wants to be alone." Her question brings some old memories flying through my mind, my expression saddening a little.

  "Because Rarity, I know some of what she's going through. And if a pony like me can be given a second chance and be accepted, why can't she be treated the same?"

  As our spa time expires we eventually decide to hold the shoot at Fluttershy's before parting ways. Me and Rarity go to the boutique to gather the already selected sampling of dresses and accessories while Fluttershy heads home, apparently to get a place ready for pictures and to warn Nova.

  "Don't worry about how this turns out dear, I know you'll be marvelous. Just stay relaxed and follow the photographer's instructions." The words snap me out of my growing panic, the realization of what I've volunteered to do just now starting to sink in and I begin to second guess the decision.

  "You- you sure Rarity? I've..... I've never done something so..... public before. What if just seeing me in the pictures cause you to lose business?" My anxiety increases with each step and I continuously nibble on my lower lip just to keep myself from backing out.

  "Oh hush now, don't say that. You have a natural beauty that needs to be shown to the world. And you know the saying, if you don't take the chance to fail than you will never take the chance to gain." The carts dragged between the two of us hide my smile from her as I work on remembering that quote.

  "Well, I know you had necklaces to show off, but I'd rather not take mine off. They mean too much to me. Andd how long is the shoot going to last?"

  "Alright, I guess I can model the necklaces myself if it comes down to it. And it shouldn't last for more than two to three hours, why?"

  "I want to spend some time and visit with Nova for a while afterwards, not sure how long I'll be gone though. Think you can manage getting these back yourself, or want me to take one back?" The cottage finally gets into view. On the front lawn some big lights and a camera are already set up, the photographer waiting for us anxiously.

  "Alright darling, I shall leave one of these racks for you to bring back with you. Take as much time with Nova as you wish." The first dress is thrust to me and behind a curtain Rarity begins to help me get the dress on as well as doing up my mane, tail and makeup.

~~~~~

I peek over the edge of the windowsill at the lights and camera on the front yard. Great, I should go hide now… “Fluttershy did warn you,” Lore says from couch.

“I didn’t think it would be quite so… big,” I say. I close the curtains and head back to the couch and the game of chess setup on it. “Who’s turn is it?”

“Yours, I took my turn while you were busy being paranoid. Killed your knight by the way.” Once I’m on the couch he goes over and opens the curtains again. “You might want to hide, but I want to watch at least.”

I groan and move my rook up to kill one of the unguarded pawns. “Fine, if you’re going to keep it open at least stay between them and me.”

He looks down at the board and moves one of his pawns up then looks back out the window. “Didn’t Fluttershy say Moonshade is out there, or will be out there?”

Before I answer him I move my rook back into a defensive position. “Yeah, and she’ll probably freeze out there.” I peek around him and see the grey unicorn out there wearing a dress.

“She’s your friend, right? Don’t you want to see her?” Lore asks. He moves his knight up closer to the defensive wall I have.

I poke my head back around him to look at her. “Still deciding on that, actually,” I mumble.

“Really, I thought you said you two have something in common? That she actually knows what you’re going through?"

“Yeah, but she’s from Canterlot. How can I trust she won’t tell anyone? If word spreads there then Celestia would find out quickly.” I move my king back to a place where it’d be harder for him to get at.

“Well, Celestia’s not here, neither are the royal guard, or the military. Moonshade has known you’ve been here for sometime. My guess is that if she was going to tell someone she would have by now.” His knight jumps over my defenses and kills one of my bishops.

“Guess you’re right. Might as well talk to her afterwards.” I move my rook into a position where it can kill the knight next turn. “Wouldn’t want to bother her while she’s busy with that.” I look up and narrow my eyes at the camera. “How many ponies know about her, about what she did?”

Lore quickly choses to have his knight retreat back beyond my defensive line. “Hm… most of Equestria I would have to say. She was something to be afraid of for a while there.”

“Then how can she do that?” I ask gesturing at the photo-take in front of the house. “How can she just throw herself out to the public?”

“Hm… good question, why don’t we go ask her?” he suggests giving me a smug grin.

“Uh, no, no… she’s busy, it can wait,” I quickly say much to his amusement.

“She probably has a different way of dealing with things, or is at a different stage than you. Honestly, to me it looks like she accepts who, and what she is, you however…”

I snort at him and move one of my pawns up. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m in denial, I get it. But, isn’t she afraid what everypony might do to her?”

“You’re not either, you basically do the same thing, just in a different way. She does it in a far less… blunt fashion I would say. Not to say that that’s for you, stick to what you’re doing if it works for you,” he says moving his bishop up to defend his front line.

I pause and look up at him, mildly surprised at how wise he can be sometimes. “Fair point,” I sigh. My second rook moves up as more of a threat and distraction than actual action.

“You know, I feel like introducing myself to her,” he says perking up a bit.

“No, you don’t.”

He sends his bishop through a hole in my defenses, trapping my king. “I wanna go talk to her,” he presses. He gets up from the couch.

“No, you don’t.”

“I’mma go talk to her.”

“No, you won’t,” I say. The door closes a moment later though. “Of course you would…” I sigh, get up and go over to the window.

*****

  As I begin to change into my next costume the creaking door reaches my ears. Expectantly I look hoping that Nova would step out, but my smile fades as a strange stallion with a dark brown mane and tan coat approaches instead. Smiling as he purposefully approaches me with a nod. "Good morning, it’s nice to finally get to meet you. My name's Lore and we seem to have a common friend." As he speaks a hoof is held out to me in a friendly gesture.

  "Hi Lore, I didn't know she had other friends. She seems so..... isolated, and I would shake but as you can see I'm a bit busy. I was hoping she'd have the strength to come out and say hi." My voice gets muffled some as the sheets of fabric are pulled over head, blocking my vision for a bit. "And I'm wondering how you got to know me well enough to not be afraid of me like the vast majority of ponies are."

Oddly, he starts laughing. “Yeah, she’s strong, but she hates the cold. To the point where she effectively hibernates during winter. And she a few problems with ponies from Canterlot. As for why I'm not afraid of you, I've known Nova for a long time now. To include some of her darker secrets, so not much phases me anymore. Honestly, speaking to you is rather low on the list of stupid things I’ve done"

  "Understandable, and why is she afraid of me being from Canterlot? Is she hiding from somepony that lives there?" His words throw me a bit, curiosity flowing through my mind, causing me to stop in my tracks and look at him.

  "She has… issues with the princesses. Don’t worry it’s not a vendetta or blood feud, but that's all I can say. Also, I told her you're an orphan and was adopted by a middle class family from there." He whispers while standing next to me, making sure I'm the only one that hears him.

  "Darling we're waiting, it's getting close to dusk and we're almost finished."

  "Sorry, coming Rarity." As I hurry back to the lights I turn and look at Lore. "I can understand why you said that, but I won't lie. Not to her. She needs somepony that she can trust fully, and lying won't get me there."

  "Don't say I didn't warn you, but I do wish you best of luck. Now I must go and take my leave. It was a pleasure meeting you Moonshade." With a smile and wave he heads back towards town. All I can offer is a slight nod as I follow to the best of my abilities the instructions given to me. The sight of a crimson coated mare in the window widens my smile and I offer a brief wave.

  Finally the shoot ends an hour later and the chill begins to at last get to me as we pack up. The pictures are stuffed in a suitcase and handed to Rarity. As the rounds of goodbyes are passed along we finally separate. Rarity decides to take both trolleys with her, leaving me with a big silly smile and feeling slightly rubbery and a little out of breath as I make my way into the cottage. The smile grows even bigger as I notice Nova sitting at the couch in front of a chess board. "Hey Nova, I didn't know you played chess, how have you been doing?"

  "Hey Moonshade, I'm doing..... ok I guess..... and yes I do play, but not really competitively." The sulky mare barely meets my gaze as she just lays there, barely reacting to me getting up and laying across from her. "I take it you're doing good..... judging by what you just did. How..... with all you've done and all the ponies you've hurt or killed, how could you..... bring yourself to do something like that?"

  Her question causes me to stare at her as I unconsciously begin to reset the board with my magic. A white and black pawn are wrapped in small shadow balls and shuffled around. "Pick one Nova, if you're up for another game that is. Or do you want to take a break and get something to eat first?" My belly lets the two us know its lack of sustenance in a loud growl, thankfully I can smell something good coming from the kitchen.

  "Food first, I don't want to beat you cause you were hungry." A bit of cockiness edges into her voice, causing me to smirk at her.

  "As for your question, do you remember the quote I told you before I left during our last visit?" Nova sits there and thinks back for a bit, then gives the closest thing to a shrug she can before sitting down.

  "A little bit..... something about your past not being your today or tomorrow or something like that." Unsurprisingly Fluttershy leaves us mostly alone. Only interrupting to ensure we have full plates before checking on her friends. I can't help but notice that Nova is having a hard time looking at me.

  "That's the basis of the quote yes. Who I am today or even tomorrow is not fully defined by who I was in the past. I..... I know I've done bad..... very very bad things in the past, and I might still burn in Tartarus for my crimes, but I've had my eyes opened and was shown the truth of what I was doing." I take a deep breath, knowing exactly what she wants to know, but takes my time to answer. Trying to choose my words carefully. "When that moment came..... I had a choice..... continue with how my life was going or try to change. You can see what my choice was."

  "But aren't you..... afraid of the other ponies and what they might..... do to you?"

  "I am afraid yes. But I can't let that fear get to me or I'll end up in the same place I was, or worse. And whatever they do to me, I will accept it cause it won't be near what I deserve." I give her a quick look of appraisal before I continue, taking another deep breath. "I want to show ponies I'm not the mare I was before. I was a monster yes, but when I offered myself up to be punished by the princesses, all four of them in the end decided to absolve me of my crimes. Saying I only did them because I was..... under the control of a negative influence."

  "Wait..... how..... how much of your crimes did the princesses know about?" The revelation that I was absolved by them, specially Celestia and Luna brings her eyes to widen as the mention of those two obviously has a negative reaction from Nova.

  "All of them. Even the most gruesome, extended, bloodiest kill I performed. I hid nothing from them." The memories of the closed trial bring a sour smile as I push the food around my plate.

  "I..... I don't..... understand..... and why is it that..... you can be so outgoing and happy, doesn't your..... past or even the Nightmare bother you?" I can see the conflict in her eyes as she briefly looks at me.

  "Everypony, no matter what horrible deed they have done is worth being given a second chance. They might surprise you if you let them and are honest. As for how am I this way, it's thanks to the support and love of my friends and family. I do have bad moments true..... but the knowledge they are there, always willing to give me support, no matter how trivial it might seem has helped a great deal in my change." I look down at my two necklaces, fiddling with each of the charms a few times before I begin to focus on the locket. "They've given me the strength and encouragement needed to help build me up after I reached my lowest point. Also I've been seeking professional help."

  My words seem to entrance Nova, rendering her in speechless thought, so I decide to continue. "As for how I deal with the Nightmare, I try to keep in mind all the positive things I've done and all the ponies I've helped. I know I can be stronger than it and can have the self confidence to be able to resist it when it tries to make a power grab from me. Also, I know we are not related by blood or by the marriage of our families, but not only do I consider you a friend, but I'm also beginning to think of you as my younger sister." It's at this time I realize that while fiddling with my necklaces I notice Nova isn't wearing the one I gave her. "Hey, did you get my gift I got you?"

  My question snaps her out of her semi trance and I can something from her past crosses her mind as she goes to answer. "I did yes..... though I don't....l think I want..... thank you for the attempt though." She soon enough follows suit and we both spend time just pushing our food around, not really concerned about eating.

  "I cast a calming spell on the necklace, didn't Fluttershy tell you?"

  "Yea, it..... brought up an old memory, though I didn't have any nightmares last night. So I guess it's..... something." Her gaze falls on my two necklaces and specially on the locket I'm toying with as we both sit there in silence for a while.

  "Also, there is something you should know about me Nov. I won't lie to you nor will I allow others to lie about me to you." I take a deep breath and let it out very slowly. My eyes closed as I can feel my heart race in anticipation of my next words. "The truth is that.....

~~~~~

I narrow my eyes at her as she starts talking, partly curious, and partly cautious. Somepony lied to me… My muscles tense up, and I can already feel some energy running down my spine. Stay calm… just wait and listen.

“... I am the daughter of princess Luna, and I am part of the royal family,” she finally says as she opens her eyes.

It takes a few moments for me to start processing what she said, slowly working it over in my head. She says something else, but I don’t pay attention as I begin to realize what she said. My vision fades slightly, and the edges of my sight take a reddish-orange tinge. Fire pulses through my veins as my anger begin to focus on her.

“You’re what!” I shout, a few embers catching on my breath. I bring my hoof down onto the table, with a snap one of the legs buckles and the table topples over. She jumps back from the table, either from surprise or the sudden wave of heat.

Crush her.

I jam my eyes shut, a vain attempt at trying to block out his voice. Calm down, Nova. Don’t do this, this is the one place you have and this is your last chance. You can’t afford another mistake! With another shout I slam my hoof into the table again, destroying what was left of it.

I look around, trying to find something to unleash my anger on. Eventually my sight lands on the door. Get outside. I huff out a stream of black smoke and head for the door. I bash through it, and sprint out into the field behind her house.

Once again, I hear Moonshade say something, or at least I think she did. I look back for a second, Moonshade is standing outside slowly following the trail of melted snow. Skidding to a stop somewhere near the middle of the field, I unleash the built up anger and energy.

The ground shakes as an explosion of fire ripples out away from me. The casts on my wing and leg are blasted away immediately, and my wing falls to my side. Soon all I can hear and see are the flames that quickly burn away the snow and ground around me.

She has to die. The voice resonates from the flames around me. Again I close my eyes and scream and push the wall of fire further away, scorching more of the ground with it. I stay in my circle of fire for what feels like hours as I quite literally let my anger burn itself out.

Eventually, I stop, and the wall of fire dies down, becoming small isolated fires that dot the area. I open my eyes to a desolated area around me, the ground completely scorched. Heat still radiates off of the ground keeping the chill from me for the time being. I turn around and spot Moonshade still standing by the door. I feel a few flames ripple across my wings.

Reluctantly, I get up from the charred ground and start back toward the cottage. Stay calm, killing somepony won’t solve anything. I wince as the pain in my still-broken wing comes back.

Moonshade takes a few steps forward. “Nova, are you--”

“Shut up before I really hurt you!” I shout at her pushing my way past. I stop just short of the doorway. You’re still angry Nova, you can’t go in there. I take a few deep breaths, each exhale comes with a stream of smoke. After a few moments I calm down enough, to the point where I don’t want to kill her at least. “You were going to say something?” I ask to her. Much to her credit she didn’t leave me.

“Are you okay?”

“No, of course I’m not okay! I’m pissed, my wing hurts, my friend lied to me, I damn near burnt down Fluttershy’s house, I damn near broke your neck. I am far from okay.” I finish my little rant and go back to the breathing exercises. She doesn’t say anything more and just lets me calm down. We sit in silence save to the crackling fires in the area I just destroyed. “I’m feeling better now,” I say after a few minutes.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m still pissed, but I feel better than before.”

I feel something on my right side followed by a sharp pain in my wing. I yelp and look over to see a makeshift cast made of shadows. “Would you like to go inside and get out of the cold?” Moonshade asks me as her horn stops glowing.

“No, I don’t want to risk burning her house down by accident.” I hear her walk closer to me but I just move away.

I hear her take a deep breath. “Nova, what is it about the princesses that caused you to do that?”

“It’s a long story, and one that I’d rather not tell. And it’s also one the princesses should never hear about,” I say giving her a quick glare with the last part.

“Nova!” calls a soft voice from above. I look up to find Fluttershy flying overhead cradling Angel. Her eyes are filled with a mix of terror and concern as she looks over at the crater I made. “What happened? I-I saw the fire, and I was afraid that…” her sentence trails off as she avoids my eyes, which I imagine look angry.

“I… I lost control,” I say quickly looking away from her.

“Oh my, are you okay?”

“No.”

She lands in front of me letting Angel onto the ground. “Come on inside, before you catch a cold,” she says walking into her house, carefully stepping over the door.

  I sigh as my anger begins to subside. As I head inside I hear Moonshade say, “Nova, you’re still my friend. I don’t know if I’m still your friend, but I promise I won’t tell anyone. I won’t tell Celestia, or even my mother, you have my word.” I look at her for a few moments, but then I head inside without saying anything.

You can't trust her

I’m too tired to doubt her. Besides, she didn’t leave, she didn’t go after me, she… stayed. Maybe Lore’s right, maybe I should start trusting others. I look back and she’s still there. She’s actually worried about me… I offer her a weak smile.

*****

  With a sigh I watch as she goes inside. 'I hope she still trusts me.' Its at that time I notice the destroyed door. "Hey Fluttershy, I'm sorry about your door and table. I'll fix them for you tomorrow, mind if I spend the night?"

  "Oh..... uhm..... I don't..... think it's a good idea..... but seeing that it's getting late I guess." Fluttershy says after giving the two of us a look over. As I step inside I cover the opening with a thick shadow to block out the wind. I watch as Nova hobbles her way upstairs, bringing another sigh from me. As Fluttershy hands me some of her spare pillows and blanket she works on getting her animal friends to sleep. All alone I step outside, finding a strange comfort in the cold as it begins to affect me but I just stay sitting out right in front, my gaze falling on the moon.

  "Please let me have made the right choice, I didn't want to cause her pain but I didn't want to lie to her either. She needs a friend badly. One that she can trust completely. I know we aren't related but she feels like a little sister to me, and I want to help her." For what seems like hours I just sit there like a statue as a single tear begins to fall.

  "Moonshade, please..... come inside, I don't want you to get sick either." Fluttershy's motherly voice snaps me out of my trance and I step back inside. "Uhm..... you can take my room, I'll....."

  "No Fluttershy, thank you for the offer but no, I'll be fine down here." I cut her off, my tone of voice tired and not inviting an argument while also trying to remain calm and gentle. To emphasize my point I already lay down on the couch and get under the blankets. "Goodnight Fluttershy, and if she'll hear it tell Nova I said good night." With a nod she heads upstairs. It's not long after I'm alone that I begin to go to sleep, debating if I should try to cast a sleep spell on Nova.

The next day I make sure I wake up extra early and head into town, still unsure how things are going to be between me and Nova. The distraction serves to either have me ignore or half heartedly greet the very few ponies in town that not only know me but actually befriended me. It takes a few hours but I'm finally making my way back to Fluttershy's carrying a new door and table, the needed parts and something extra I ended up getting for Nova.

'Are you sure she'll accept it, do you even want her to?' The Nightmare's voice asks in boredom. 'And why is it that despite her obvious desire to be left alone you still want to help her?'

  'I can't expect you to understand why, and yes I want her to accept my gift.' As our debate continues my mood darkens little by little with each step until I finally stop just before the cottage and work on some deep breathing exercises. 'I figured Fluttershy would be up by now, wonder if Nova is as well.'

  With one last long breath I step through the shadow covered doorway with the stuff I bought. "Morning Fluttershy, I'm sorry about what happened yesterday." As I lay the new door on the couch the new table is placed against the wall next to the kitchen and I go to work with the instructions unfolded and placed in clear view.

  "Oh..... you..... you didn't have to go through all that trouble Moonshade, I could have gotten it fixed. You didn't have to worry about it."

  A smile lights up my face as I begin to remove the old ruined door, working as quietly as possible. "It's my fault Fluttershy that your table and door got destroyed. Please allow me to make it up to you." My words are a partial whisper, not wanting to disturb Nova upstairs.

  "O- okay, if you insist, thank you Moonshade." Once she leaves I release a stressed out breath, wondering for a bit what I'm going to do with this ruined wood as its piled outside next the door. In silence I get to work fitting and securing the premade door. 'She may want to repaint it, but at least it fits properly and doesn't look skewed.'

  At that time I notice a pair of golden eyes watching me as I work, and all I do is offer a slight smile. "Morning Nova, how are you doing?" For a moment I wonder if she'll even answer, so I turn and get ready to start on the new table.

  "I'm..... confused right now..... about a lot of things." Her admission barely reaches my ears, but it's a little surprising to me to hear her say that. Not wanting to interrupt I continue to go about my task, but turn a lot of attention back to Nova. "Why..... why did you..... stay, why are you so..... concerned about..... being my friend?"

  With a deep sigh I pause, making a note of which step I was on on the instructions before turning to face her. My gaze falling on a bouquet of flowers, one bud having yet to bloom. "Because Nova, like this little bud here if you spend your time wallowing in the darkness nopony will get to see and enjoy your beauty nor will they have a chance to experience what joys you can bring, once you've learned how to control your wonderful gift." With that said I can tell she clearly doesn't believe me, so with a smile I hand her the large box. "I bought these for you. There's a very thick set of winter gear that is guaranteed to keep you warm, I gave them a fireproof enchantment. I want to show you something."

  With great reluctance she gets bundled up and follows me outside silently. I walk as close to her as she'll allow me to as we make our way back to the spot she exploded. "A Lot of ponies think of fire as something dangerous and destructive, something that should be feared. And when wielded improperly it can be." As I speak I paw at the ground, removing what snow there is until I expose a couple tiny seedlings. "However what they don't know or realize is that fire allows for new life to grow, for new beautiful things to be created from the ashes of the old. And what springs up might become even more beautiful and sturdy than what it replaced. If it's given the chance, when harnessed properly fire is..... beautiful."

  As I continue to dig up the ground another unbloomed bud is exposed and I gently pluck it out with my magic, Nova continues to remain silent behind me. "I know you're afraid of your powers, and I know terrible things have happened because of it. You said you hurt your best friend, you need to ask yourself this. Do you think your friend would want you to beat yourself up and not live over that incident, or would she say you need to forgive yourself for what happened?" My question causes her to tense up and stare in shock at me. "Only you know the truthful answer Nova, and you need to ask yourself that, not just in here." I tap my head gently with my hoof. "But in here as well." I gesture to my chest right over my heart.

  All I can do is watch her as I sit as close as I can without crowding her. Gently I take the bud and with great care plant it in her mane next to her left ear. "I don't know how you feel about me, but I also got you a special journal. It's magically connected to one I'm keeping, whenever you wish to contact me go ahead and use it, or throw it away. Anyway I gotta get back and finish the table." Without waiting I head back inside and resume working on the table, all that needed to be done really is to attach the legs and secure them. As I work the door opens and a weight falls upon the couch heavily.

  As the table is finished and the mess is cleaned up I say my goodbyes and head back to Rarity's to go over the photos from earlier, though my mind is mostly focused on Nova.

Chapter Four; Recovery Mission and The Strengths of Friendship

  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.”

Chapter Three; Birthday Party Disaster

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.