"We do not believe we can do this."
Princess Luna stared at herself in the ornate mirror and at the mane that had only begun to flow like the night sky a few days ago. She shifted her eyes and peered at the reflected white form of her sister. "Your powers have returned fully," came Princess Celestia's soft voice. "You can very well do it."
"That is not what we mean."
"We have discussed this before. I am aware of your misgivings."
"But art thou? Truly?" Luna continued to stare at herself, unable to soften her steely gaze as she beheld her recent transformation. What should be familiar was anything but. "This is not the form in which ponies expect us to appear."
"Nightmare Moon is in the past, dear sister."
"That is not what we mean. They expect to find us ... small. Weak. Safe. Like the pony they saw after our defeat who was barely larger than a filly."
"Do you wish to appear in that form?"
"No," Luna said in a small, irritated voice.
"The longer you wait to take up this responsibility again, the harder it will become."
"We have the task to dispel nightmares, not cause them!"
"You vastly underestimate the capacity of our subjects to forgive."
Luna's gaze remained fixed to her reflection. In her mind's eye, she saw the armor cocooning her once more, her eyes narrowing as they had when a single unicorn had dared to challenge her. "It is not about forgiveness. It is about memory."
"Then challenge that memory," Celestia said firmly. "Chase away their fear. Show them who you really are."
"But is that what we will face? Endless visions of ourself at our worst moment?" She frowned. "We can see it now. Stand aside, mortal pony, and let us banish ourself from thy dream!"
"Sister, do not equate what you are now with what you were. They are not the same."
"But in our subjects' minds, we are!"
"For some, yes. But what counts is what you believe."
Luna had no reply.
"You once told me that the most important thing to remember about dealing with nightmares is that they are phantoms. They have only as much power as the pony gives them." Celestia lifted a hoof and placed it under her sister's chin, gently directing Luna's eyes to her. "Don't you give them any more power than they deserve."
Luna's gaze finally softened. "We will try."
Luna willed the impact of her hooves to shake the ground of the dreamscape as she landed. She flared her wings and stared down the snarling beast until it cowered under her unyielding gaze. "BEGONE, FOUL BEAST! THY REIGN OF TERROR IS AT AN END!"
She reared up on her hind legs, kicking with her fore-hooves until the manticore turned tail and ran for the Everfree Forest, vanishing with a shimmer like rising heat as it reached the edge of the imagined reality. Luna brought her hooves down and turned her head.
Meeting her eyes was the shimmering gaze of little unicorn filly, her pink body still trembling. As she stared at her ethereal savior, she swallowed hard.
"Thou art safe," said Luna in a flat voice. "Thy sleep shall no longer be plagued with such terrifying visions. We wish thee well."
Without waiting for a reaction, Luna turned away and took off, racing out of the dreamscape as fast as her wings would take her.
She floated in the realm that loosely connected all dreamscapes, a netherworld of dark sky, stars, and the baleful glow of the moon. With a sigh, she settled upon a cloud and crossed her fore-hooves before her.
"What good are we truly doing?" she asked nopony in particular.
That had been the fifth nightmare she had dispelled. She had yet to see a vision of herself ... of Nightmare Moon ... but she also had yet to see a sign of gratitude, or even a hint that she had been any less frightening than the monsters she dispersed.
"Of course not," she muttered. "They were imaginary. We are real."
Luna sensed another nightmare about to start. She rose and extended her wings, uttering a small sigh. Perhaps she would do one more and call it good.
She leapt from the cloud and descended in a spiral. The dreamscape which opened below her widening eyes elicited a gasp. Her heart pounded as she approached the red-carpeted hallway, hovering just out of sight. She spotted the tiny, cowering pegasus foal with the dusky red coat and yellow mane, hiding behind a large flowerpot.
In the center of the hall was a member of Celestia's Royal Guard, a rather large and formidable pegasus pony with bright red fur and dark blue mane under his golden armor.
"WHERE IS MY TRAITOROUS SISTER?!"
The roar shook the walls of the hallway and Luna's heart. Her throat went dry as the doors to the hall glowed with alicorn magic before being ripped from their hinges in a cacophony of splintered wood and pulverized stone, and she stood there. Luna's eyes fell upon the vision of Nightmare Moon, her heart racing as fast as that of the one bearing this dream.
The guard set his eyes hard and flared his wings, spreading his hooves to brace himself. "You are not welcome here! You will advance no further."
Nightmare Moon laughed as she stepped forward. "I am amused by your foolishness. Stand aside! I have business with my sister who saw fit to banish me so cruelly."
Luna remembered. She had come to Canterlot first before appearing in Ponyville, only to find Celestia had already fled. The pegasus was Fire Wing, one of the best of the Royal Guard. He already knew Celestia had left. He was stalling, even though Celestia had never ordered him to do so.
"She will not bow to you!" Fire Wing shouted. "Nopony ever will!"
Luna's heart clenched as she watched herself ... no, this vision of Nightmare Moon ... strike Fire Wing with lightning from her horn, slamming him into the wall to the scream of the pegasus colt.
But ... no, Luna thought. We never heard the little colt's cry.
Nightmare Moon strode forward and gave the quivering body of the guard a kick with a fore-hoof. "You are fortunate I'm in a hurry," she snarled. "Or you would feel my full wrath upon your worthless hide."
Luna cast a despairing look upon the scene. Had her paralysis allowed the nightmare to advance too far? Should she have stopped it by now?
Nightmare Moon leveled her horn at the next set of doors and blasted them into oblivion before galloping through.
The foal flew from behind the flowerpot. "DAD!"
Fire Wing had survived, Luna knew. He had retired due to an injured wing, but he had lived. It did little to comfort her.
Tears in his eyes, the colt stood by his fallen father. "D-Dad?"
Fire Wing lifted his head and gave his son a stern look. "I'm very disappointed in you, son."
The colt's eyes widened. "Wh-what??"
"Very disappointed."
"But why?! I only just ... Dad!"
Fire Wing had vanished.
"And why would you care about his opinion of you?"
Both the colt and Luna gasped as Nightmare Moon stood in the door through which she had gone moments before, her lips curling into a sly smile.
"Don't you feel good about what you've done?"
The colt whimpered and flew to escape, but the doors that had been splintered by Nightmare Moon's arrival were suddenly whole and closed. He turned and trembled, his eyes shimmering. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Oh, but you most certainly do," said Nightmare Moon with savage glee as she stepped forward. "For I have reveled in it myself. As should you!"
Luna flew down and landed before the vision of Nightmare Moon. "THOU HAST GONE FAR ENOUGH! B-BEGONE, AND CEASE PLAGUING THIS FOAL'S DREAMS!"
Nightmare Moon backed up a few steps, then began to laugh.
Luna stared, her eyes widening. She lifted a fore-hoof as if intending to back up, but stomped it back down again. "THY MOMENT IS GONE! THOU HAST DONE WHAT THOU HAST COME TO DO! BEGONE AT ONCE!"
Behind her, the foal began to cry.
"Oh, but my words could have been meant for you as well, dear Luna," said Nightmare Moon. "Or do you refuse to admit how good this made you feel?"
"Thou makest no sense! Thou needest to leave this dream at once!"
"You believe I can be chased away so easily? You are pathetic. I AM NIGHTMARE MOON! I AM POWER! I AM ANGER AND RAGE!"
Luna's mouth dropped open. "We ... w-we never said that. Why art thou saying such things?! Why ... no ... no, wait!"
The dream shimmered into nothingness, leaving Luna floating in the void. She whimpered and lowered her head.
Somewhere in Ponyville, a little foal woke up screaming from his nightmare.
And again the next night.
And the night after.
"We cannot do this!"
"Luna, calm down, please," said Celestia, her voice edged with worry rather than admonishment.
"We cannot change it," said Luna. "We fail every time. We c-cannot stare down ourself."
Celestia sighed and stepped to the edge of the balcony, looking towards the sun as it hung low in the sky, awaiting her touch.
"We do not understand," said Luna. "The little colt's name is Dusky Flight. We found no evidence he witnessed these events. He was not at Canterlot that night."
"Somepony told him what had happened, then."
"But then why is his nightmare so powerful? Why are we powerless to stop it?!"
Celestia closed her eyes for a moment, her horn glowing as the sun lowered. "You are powerless only if you continue to believe you are."
"We have tried everything!"
"Have you?"
"Is that not what we have just said?"
The skies darkened to velvet twilight as the sun slipped below the horizon. Celestia turned to her sister. "What I am hearing is your frustration in doing battle against this vision of Nightmare Moon, but what of the greater problem, that of the foal's nightmare?"
"Are they not one in the same?"
"Are they?"
Luna frowned. "We do not care for riddles."
"It is not a riddle, dear sister," said Celestia. "I am merely trying to prevent you from failing to see the forest for the trees. Now, please, raise the moon, if you would."
Luna gave the horizon a forlorn look. The irony was not lost on her. She had regained her power to control the moon, but now she wished she could give it up, as it heralded only another night of failure.
Her horn glowed, and the moon rose, if reluctantly.
Celestia stepped next to her. "Sister, I have faith in you," she said softly. "You've dealt with difficult nightmares in the past."
"The long past," whispered Luna as the skies deepened to full night, the stars sweeping across the heavens. "Before we became--"
"Stop."
The glow from Luna's horn faded as she turned towards her sister.
"You need to take a step back," said Celestia. "This is not about Nightmare Moon. This is about a foal's terrifying dream."
Luna was quiet for a long moment. "Dost thou say that Nightmare Moon is irrelevant?"
"I do not profess to understand the intricacies of the dreamscape." Celestia gave her sister a troubled look. "After you had been banished, I once tried to take up your mantel of entering dreams."
Luna's eyes widened. "Thou never told us this!"
"I am not one to discuss my abject failures very often."
"Then ... why dost thou believe thou canst offer us advice?"
"I cannot, not for dreams. But I can tell you this: as long as you continue to believe you and Nightmare Moon are still one and the same, you will get nowhere."
Luna lowered her gaze and sighed softly.
"I said I have faith in you," said Celestia. "You need to have faith in yourself."
Luna settled to a gentle landing before a small cottage on the outskirts of Ponyville. She was not sure what this would accomplish, but it was her only recourse. She knew she could do this in the dreamscape, but she did not want him to feel like he was a captive audience.
She took a deep breath but stopped just before she was about to announce herself with all the flourish of the Royal Canterlot Voice. She stepped forward, rapped her fore-hoof on the front door, and stepped back.
The door flew open, and a large pegasus with fiery-red fur appeared. "Who the hay is coming by this time of ..." He trailed off, his eyes widening.
Luna's gaze fell upon the former Royal Guardpony. His left wing was still extended towards the door handle, while his right wing lay flat and shriveled against his side. She tried to ignore the twinge of guilt as she spoke in a somber voice. "Fire Wing, we wish to speak with thee."
Fire Wing blinked rapidly before his face twisted into a scowl, his ears flattening against his head. "What makes you think I would want to listen to anything you have to say?"
"This concerns thy son."
"My son? Are you here to gloat?!"
Luna tilted her head. "We do not understand. Gloat?"
"He's had terrible nightmares for the past three days. He said he saw you in them!"
"We were not there to terrorize thy son."
"Dusky was a good colt until you started in on him!"
"We have done nothing to--"
"So is that how it works now? You were denied absolute rule over Equestria, so now you take it out on innocent foals?!"
Luna's teeth clenched for a moment before she exploded, "HOW DARE THEE ACCUSE US OF TORTURING SMALL FOALS IN THEIR SLEEP! WE SHALL NOT BE INSULTED IN THIS MANNER! WE ... we ..."
Luna trailed off. Fire Wing stared at her with a mixture of terror and fury.
Luna's wings quivered. She took a few deep breaths. "We are sorry."
"And that's supposed to make everything better?" Fire Wing said.
"No," Luna said to Fire Wing's surprise. "We cannot make everything better with mere words. We understand this."
"Then why are you talking to me?"
"We are not the cause of thy son's nightmares."
Fire Wing narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe you."
Luna quelled a resurgence of her anger. "Please tell us one thing, and we will leave thee be. Thou sayest thy son was a 'good colt' before these nightmares. What didst thou mean?"
Fire Wing paused, as if debating whether to even entertain the question. "Fine. If you must know, I was called into school the other day. Miss Cheerilee said Dusky was bullying the other foals. He never did that before."
"And how didst thou react?"
Fire Wing frowned. "How the hay did you think I reacted? I told him just how disappointed I was in him. There is no excuse for doing something like that. You think I want him to grow up to be like you?"
Luna's eyes widened slightly as she recalled something from the nightmare she had missed while blindsided by the appearance of Nightmare Moon.
(I am very disappointed in you, son.)
"And thou believes the nightmares are to blame for--" Luna began.
"You said one more question, and I've answered two. Good night."
Fire Wing slammed the door shut. Luna resisted the urge to throw it open again with her magic before taking flight.
The conversation repeated in her mind as she watched the foal's nightmare unfold once more, threatening to throw her into a deeper pit of despair. All that kept her from falling was that Fire Wing's accusations made little sense. How could these nightmares be the cause of the foal's bullying?
As much as Luna tried not to equate herself with the vision of Nightmare Moon, her heart pounded when it appeared. Her mind was still in a tumult when the vision left the hallway, leaving Dusky to fly to his father's side. She still did not have the answers she sought. Only Dusky could provide those answers, but that was impossible until she dealt with Nightmare Moon.
Luna flew down and landed hard, spreading her wings in a bid to shore up her own confidence when Nightmare Moon returned.
"Are you not tiring of this?" said Nightmare Moon with a smirk.
"Why art thou torturing this foal?!" Luna cried.
"I torture nopony! I am power! I am anger and rage!"
"What dost thou mean by this?!"
Nightmare Moon laughed.
This was the same impasse Luna had reached before: Nightmare Moon refusing to explain herself, Luna failing to drive her off, and the foal waking up from his nightmare.
Luna stared at Nightmare Moon, at her own past. She had not wanted to think of what had led her to be filled with such terrible bitterness, yet something was happening that was eerily familiar.
Luna had not become Nightmare Moon overnight. She had not abruptly turned her back on friendship and love. She had lost herself little by little. The first sign had indeed been bullying. Not foals, but nobles, subjects, dignitaries, even her own sister. Why?
Because it gave her power.
Because she had been angry.
Luna turned towards Dusky, who raised his frightened eyes to her. Her mouth dropped open when she realized it was not Luna who frightened him, or even the vision of Nightmare Moon.
(You think I want him to grow up to be like you?)
Luna turned back to Nightmare Moon and narrowed her eyes. She spread her wings and advanced a step, stomping her hoof and willing the floor to shake in its wake. "Thou art not Nightmare Moon!"
Nightmare Moon's eyes widened, and she backed up a step. "What nonsense is this?!"
"Thou only appears as Nightmare Moon! Thou art this foal's fears personified!"
Luna took another step. Nightmare Moon stumbled briefly as she retreated. "You're mad! I am Nightmare Moon!"
"Thou art what she represents: a fall to one's dark side! A place we constantly fear we will go again! A place this foal fears he will go if he does not stop!"
"This ... I ... you cannot decide this for him!" Nightmare Moon shrieked.
"No, we cannot. Nor can thee!"
Luna raised herself on her hind hooves.
"BEGONE!"
In a flash of light and a shimmer of non-reality, the vision of Nightmare Moon vanished.
Luna stared at the empty air where the vision had once stood as if to convince herself she had truly done it. Whatever accolades she may have wished to bestow upon herself would have to wait when she heard Dusky sobbing softly behind her.
She turned towards the foal and folded her wings, lowering herself to the floor. "Dusky Flight," she called out in as gentle a voice as she could muster.
The little pegasus raised his head, tears still running down his face. He regarded the alicorn with a mixture of wonder and lingering fear.
"Tell us, young one," said Luna. "These nightmares started after thou began bullying, did they not?"
Dusky swallowed hard and nodded. "Dad told me y-you caused them."
"Thy father is a great pegasus. Strong. Loyal. An outstanding pony. But he is mistaken, and we sense thou understandest this."
Dusky sniffled and nodded again.
Luna still did not have all the pieces of the puzzle. Were she to leave now, she was sure the nightmare would return. She knew Dusky started bullying because of his anger, but why? What had filled him with so much rage? What had made him feel so powerless?
"Dusky, we know this will be painful for thee, but ... please show us what thou didst."
Dusky whimpered.
"We are not here to punish thee, nor to tally thy failings. We wish only to dispel thy nightmares. But we must know what thou did and why."
Foals frolicked in the playground adjacent to the school during recess under a sunny sky. One little pegasus with a dark red coat stood apart from the others, looking sullen and dejected. He frowned when he saw another pegasus foal flutter his wings and fly around the playground.
Off to the side stood the real Dusky Flight and Princess Luna.
"This was a few days ago," Dusky said in a low voice.
"Why art thou alone?" Luna asked. "Did not the other foals wish to play with thee?"
Dusky remained silent, as the answer presented itself. Several foals approached dream Dusky but were rebuffed. He wandered off towards a far corner of the playground.
Dusky stopped when he saw a little orange pegasus filly with a purple mane making repeated leaps into the air while fluttering her tiny wings madly. Each attempt was met with barely a second or two of time that could hardly be called flight before landing back on her hooves with a grunt.
"What the hay are you doing?" Dusky called out.
The filly gasped in mid-leap and came down hard on her belly. "N-none of your business what I'm doing!" came the filly's reply in a quavering voice as she righted herself.
"Looks to me like you were trying to fly."
"Wh-what if I was?"
"So why don't you?"
The filly blushed. "I will!" She glanced away and added in a softer voice. "Someday."
"Why not right now?" Dusky said, advancing on her.
"Huh?"
"You got two good wings! Fly!"
"Stop it!" the filly cried, backing away.
"Why don't you just fly away from me?" said Dusky, his voice growing more harsh. "Maybe you just don't want to."
"I do so want to!" the filly cried.
"Then do it! Stop making excuses! S-stop saying you can't!"
"I can't fly!" the filly shrieked, her eyes glistening. "That what you wanna hear?! I can't! Happy now?!"
"I don't believe you!"
"Wh-why are you doing this?!" cried the filly, almost in tears.
"You can fly again if you want to!"
"Again?" Luna said softly.
The filly stared in confusion. "Again? What do you mean by--?"
A shrill voice suddenly cried behind Dusky, "You leave Scootaloo alone!"
Dusky stumbled back a step when a very angry marshmallow white unicorn filly stood between him and the pegasus. She was soon joined by a yellow earth filly.
"You just back off and stop being mean to her!" cried the unicorn.
"You don't have no right to make fun of somepony jus' 'cuz you can do somethin' they can't!" declared the earth pony.
Before Dusky could reply, the scene dissolved, and they were left standing in the star-filled void.
"Thou didst not stop teasing Scootaloo, did thee?" Luna said softly.
Dusky lowered his head. "No," he said in a tiny voice.
"Why?"
Dusky closed his eyes and remained silent.
"We sense another memory. We wish to see it."
Dusky let out a quavering sigh, and another scene began to form.
A field of tall grass stretched before them along the edge of the White Tail Woods, the sun's rays growing long and deep. The bright red fur of Fire Wing glowed a deep scarlet as he winged his way slowly a pony-height above the grass, a smile stretching across his muzzle. Beside him, Dusky traced a wobbly flight, his little wings buzzing.
"That's it, champ, you're almost there!" Fire Wing called out.
"I think ... I can do it ..." Dusky panted.
Fire Wing glanced down at a stick poking out of the ground just ahead. "A little more ..." The stick passed under them. "You did it, son! Your longest time yet!"
Dusky dropped into a hard landing, but his father was already there to stop him from planting his face on the ground. "Oops," said Dusky, blushing.
"Hey, you did great," said Fire Wing, rubbing his fore-hoof in his son's mane, eliciting a smile. "You're going to be a great flier some day."
"Only because you keep doing this with me."
Fire Wing chuckled. He leaned over and said in a conspiratorial voice, "Well, don't tell your Mom I said this, but it's a great way for us to get out of doing chores around the house once a week."
Dusky giggled. "I'm gonna do even better next week, too!"
"Now, that's great to shoot for, son, but don't push yourself too hard."
"Why not? You always say you gotta be the best up in Canterlot. You gotta protect Princess Celestia no matter what."
"Well, that's me," said Fire Wing in a softer voice. "You don't need to push yourself for my sake."
"Well ... I don't, I just ... um ..."
"Hmm. I think you have. Just a bit."
Dusky blushed again. "Maybe," he said in a tiny voice.
Fire Wing gently lifted his son's gaze to his. "You don't need to impress me, Dusky. I do this because I like flying with you. We don't need another reason."
Dusky hugged his father just before the scene dissolved and left them back in the void.
Guilt again threatened to tear at Luna. She cast her gaze down at the little pegasus. He still stared into the space where his father had been moments ago, trembling, his teeth clenched.
"We are sorry," Luna said in a soft voice.
She expected him to explode, to vent his rage at her for stealing this beloved ritual from him. Instead, he continued to stare at the spot where his father had been.
"Thou art not angry at us?"
Dusky shook his head.
"Pray, tell, then, who?"
Dusky did not answer.
"Thou hast more. We beseech thee, show us."
Moonlight cast a silvery glow through the window of a darkened bedroom. Dusky lay under the covers, still wide awake. Loud but muffled voices could be heard in the distance. The little pegasus slipped out of bed and trotted over to the door, reaching for the knob with his hoof and easing it open.
"--don't want to go over it yet again!" came the angry voice of Fire Wing.
"Why are you being like this?!" demanded a mare's voice.
"For Celestia's sake, why does this mean so much to you?"
"Why doesn't it mean anything to you?!"
"I've told you before, it doesn't matter anymore."
"Flying doesn't matter anymore?!"
"You never complained before about having an invalid for a husband," growled Fire Wing.
"That's just it, you don't have to be!" cried the mare.
"So you think this will get me my position back on the Royal Guard?!"
"I never said it would, I just--"
"You heard him yourself! It'll never be good enough for that again!"
"What about your son?!"
Fire Wing was quiet for a moment. The only sound was that of Dusky's ragged breathing. "What about him?" Fire Wing said in a subdued voice.
"He misses flying with you."
"He'll get over it."
"It's more than that. He thinks you've given up," said the mare, her voice turning bitter. "He thinks you don't care anymore."
"Don't tell me I don't care about Dusky!"
"That's not what I meant. You don't care about yourself."
"What is there to care about?" Fire Wing growled. "I can't do my job anymore. I can't go back. Nothing can change what happened."
"What is that supposed to mean?" said the mare in confusion.
"Look, never mind, it's not important. Just stop harping on this. I've had enough."
"And you wonder why your son has nightmares," the mare muttered.
"Don't start on that again! The only pony responsible for my son's nightmares is that wretched pretender who should've been left to rot on the--!"
The scene abruptly dissolved like mist being blown by a strong wind as Dusky cringed.
Luna took a deep breath, her heart aching. "If we understand thy memory, then thy father can regain the use of his injured wing. He can fly again."
"An operation," Dusky said in a quavering voice. "Doctor said it wouldn't cost him a bit. All paid for by his retirement stuff."
"Our sister is generous to a fault in that regard." Luna looked down at Dusky. "But he refuses. And thou art angry at him."
Dusky's eyes widened, and he trembled. "N-no! No, I'm not!"
"Dusky Flight, thou wilt listen to us," Luna said in a firm voice. "Thou needest not feel shame at admitting thy feelings."
"I just ... I just don't want to be like Nightmare M--" Dusky gasped. "I-I didn't mean--!"
"No, thou didst indeed mean exactly that. And thou art correct. Thou dost not wish to become as we were." Luna sighed. "We were angry at our sister when we returned. It burned like a terrible, dark fire in our heart. We wanted to lash out by any means." Luna's eyes glistened. "Eternal night had not necessarily been our sole intent anymore. It was simply a means to express a rage whose target was untouchable."
"I don't want to be that way," Dusky said in a small voice.
"Then choose not to be."
Dusky lifted his eyes to Luna, sniffling once.
"Thou dost not need to express thy anger this way."
"I-I didn't really want to be mean to Scootaloo. She was just ... just ..."
"A convenient target."
Dusky nodded and looked away.
"Thou must apologize to her."
"I-if she'll even accept it," Dusky muttered.
Luna slowly smiled. "Thou vastly underestimates the capacity of thy fellow ponies to forgive."
"You really think she'll forgive me?"
"Dusky Flight," Luna said in a soft voice. "We threatened Equestria with eternal night. We jeopardized the very lives of six ponies sent to confront us. We attempted to smash the Elements of Harmony. And we were forgiven."
Dusky's eyes were wide. Luna gazed into them, expecting to see fear and revulsion, but instead, she saw something she had not expected.
"You really did all that?" Dusky asked.
Luna tilted her head. "Why, yes, we did. Why art thou so surprised?"
"It's just ... all this time you spent with me ... you just seem so kind, I can't believe you and Nightmare Moon were ever the same."
Luna could have defeated ten visions of Nightmare Moon, and her heart would not have soared as high as with those simple words. Her eyes glistening, she said in a soft, slightly quavering voice, "Thou hast honored us in a way mere words cannot describe. We thank thee, and we are happy to have helped thee."
"Do you have to go now, Princess?"
The hint of disappointment in Dusky's voice made Luna's heart melt even further. "Alas, we must go. We believe we have dispelled thy nightmare."
"Princess? Do you think my father will ever get that operation?"
"Unfortunately, that is entirely up to him."
Dusky sighed and nodded. "I just wish I knew why he wouldn't. If he won't tell my Mom, I don't think he'll tell me either."
Luna considered. "Perhaps he will come around in time."
"I dunno."
"Have faith, young one," said Luna. "Have faith."
A knock upon a door several nights later, a grumble and a stomp of hooves, and the former Royal Guardpony Fire Wing appeared at the door. He frowned. "You again."
"Good evening to thee, honored Fire Wing," said Luna. "We apologize again for the intrusion."
"Never mind the pleasantries, what do you want?" he demanded.
"We trust thy son's nightmares are gone?"
Fire Wing sighed. "Yes, they are."
"And he is no longer bullying his fellow foals?"
"No. He even apologized." Fire Wing paused. "Miss Cheerilee said he's friends with the little pegasus he was teasing."
"We are pleased to hear this."
"Let me guess. You're gonna claim credit for that, right?"
"Not at all," said Luna. "We can only guide ponies, not control them. Thy son did what he did because, as thou put it, he is a good colt. He has a fine example to live by."
Fire Wing's expression softened slightly.
"Most of the time."
His eyebrows rose. "I beg your pardon?"
"We have learned that thou couldst have thy wing healed."
"Oh, now, don't you start!" Fire Wing cried. "You of all ponies!"
"We simply wish to know what thy reasons be for refusing."
Fire Wing narrowed his eyes. "And why would you care?"
"We care about all of our subjects."
Fire Wing snorted. "You had a fine way of showing how you 'care' that night in Canterlot!"
Luna sighed. "We regret what we did to thee."
"Yeah, right. Sure you do. Okay, I see what this is now."
"Dost thou?"
"You just want to ease your own guilt over what you did. So you want a reason why I don't get this wing healed? It's a reminder. A reminder of what you did!"
"Why wouldst thou insist on such a symbol when thou hast made it clear thou wishes nothing to do with us?"
Fire Wing hesitated. "Wh-what are you talking about?"
"Such a reminder, as thou put it, if truly directed at us, has meaning only if presented to us each day and night. This is hard for thee to do when thou resides in Ponyville."
Fire Wing clenched his teeth. "I guess it really doesn't matter to you, does it? You just don't care. It doesn't matter to you that I was the only pony standing between you and Princess Celestia!"
"Our sister was not there."
"That doesn't matter!" Fire Wing roared. "What mattered is that you didn't know that, and I stood in your way. And I failed!"
Luna frowned. "What?"
Fire Wing's eyes glistened. "I had only one task. Protect Princess Celestia. And I failed." His voice cracked. "A-and this wing is a reminder of that."
Luna remained silent, her gaze sad.
Fire Wing swallowed hard and looked away. "Just go away, Princess. P-please."
Luna cast her gaze downward. "We will say only this, and then we will leave thee be. Of all the emotions we have struggled with, of every cruel and cold feeling we have had to expunge from our heart, there is one that is more insidious and terrible than any other. One we struggle with still."
Fire Wing closed his eyes and let out a quaking breath.
"Thou art a pony with a good heart. We beseech thee: do not let it become darkened by guilt."
Luna turned away and extended her wings.
"W-wait."
Luna slowly turned back around.
Fire Wing opened his eyes and raised them to Luna as he stepped out of the doorway into the cool night air. "Why are you doing this? Why is this so important to you? And don't tell me that stuff about all your subjects being important! Why me?"
"We art not doing this for thee. We doest this for thy son. Perhaps thou believest thou art punishing thyself, but thou art not the only pony who suffers."
Luna turned and flew off. Fire Wing stared until he had lost her among the stars.
Luna lay in the tall grass, one fore-hoof draped across the other, a small smile gracing her muzzle as she watched a pegasus father and son flying together just outside the White Tail Woods. Her smile widened as she heard the laughter of the little foal and the supportive comments from the older pegasus.
She did not make her presence overtly known. Indeed, it was only when the older pegasus happened to look her way did he pause and stare, as if unsure if he were seeing the alicorn or simply a dark-coated unicorn. Only once Luna stood and briefly unfolded her wings was he sure.
Fire Wing glided to a landing, and his son followed suit. "Aw, why are we stopping?" Dusky said.
"We've done enough for today," said Fire Wing with a smile. "We'll come back next week. Like we always do."
Dusky smiled. "Thanks, Dad."
Fire Wing hugged him briefly. "Now, you go fly home, and I'll follow you in a bit."
"Why can't you come with me?"
Fire Wing glanced towards Luna. Dusky craned his neck, his eyes searching before giving his father a confused look.
"I, ah, have something I need to do," Fire Wing said. "Now, you get along."
"Okay, Dad," Dusky said with a smile. He leapt back into the air and flew off. Just as Fire Wing turned away, his son shimmered and vanished.
"Greetings, honored Fire Wing," said Luna as she stepped forward. "Thou didst not have to stop on our account."
"It's fine, but what are you doing here?" Fire Wing asked in simple inquiry.
"We are the Mistress of the Night. We can travel freely among the shared dreamscape of our beloved subjects. We art not limited to nightmares."
Fire Wing nodded and smiled slightly. "I guess maybe I'm getting ahead of myself."
"Thou hast not had the operation yet?"
Fire Wing snorted. "Oh, I have. I'm laid up in Ponyville Hospital now." He frowned. "They tell me the physical therapy is gonna be torture to get the wing back into shape since I let it go so long."
"We art sorry to hear that."
Fire Wing waved a hoof. "I've been through worse. It'll be worth it. Dusky even wants to help. I, um, didn't expect that. I thought he wouldn't want to see me like this, not with as upset as he was about the bum wing in the first place."
"We do not believe it was thy physical condition that disturbed him, but thy feelings towards it."
Fire Wing sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
Luna smiled. "We are happy it worked out. We will leave thee, now, Fire Wing."
"Princess? Before you go, I ... um ..."
"Yes?"
"I don't know if I ever will quite get over the whole thing with Nightmare Moon, but you did help my son, and, well, thank you."
Luna took a step back and dropped into a bow before a stunned Fire Wing. "We art honored to have thy thanks, and we wish thee and thy family well."
"I heard some very interesting news from Ponyville recently, dear sister," said Celestia as she stepped onto the balcony.
"Oh, hast thou?" said Luna with a small smile as she followed.
"It concerns a former member of the Royal Guard whom I held in high regard."
"Wouldst that be Fire Wing by any chance, sister?" Luna asked.
Celestia glanced at Luna before turning her attention to the horizon. "Indeed it is." Her horn glowed, and the sun drew down, casting Equestria in red and orange dusk. One corner of her mouth rose. "Interesting how you already knew the name."
"We have a bit of a history with Fire Wing."
Celestia turned away from the twilight and faced her sister. "In any case, it seems he finally had the procedure he needed to heal his wing."
"Thou dost indeed bring good tidings."
"And yet, I had pestered him for some time to do it, and he refused to listen."
Luna's horn lighted. "Oh? This is indeed a surprise," she said as the moon and the stars slid into the skies.
"Rumor has it that somepony talked him into it."
"Obviously this pony must be nearly as wise as thee to accomplish such a feat."
Celestia giggled. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"
Luna simply smiled as the glow of her horn faded.
Celestia smiled and nuzzled her sister. "I am simply happy for the outcome, dear sister. Thank you."
"He only needed a little faith in himself," said Luna.
"I did hear another bit of news," said Celestia. "It seems three foals had themselves a bit of a run-in with a cockatrice in the Everfree Forest."
Luna's eyes widened. "Pray, tell us they are safe!"
"They are, thanks to kind Fluttershy."
Luna tilted her head. "Did we hear thee correctly? Fluttershy?"
Celestia smiled. "It's a long story. Suffice it to say that the foals were a bit shaken up by the experience. They may encounter nightmares over it. Do you think you can handle three foals' nightmares?"
Luna smiled. "Yes. We believe we can."
Author's Note
Even though Scootaloo makes an appearance in this fic, I decided not to mark it with her character tag. Since her appearance was so brief, I didn't want Scootaloo fans expecting a story focused around her and being disappointed.
EDIT 11/16/15: Made some very minor corrections, mostly pronoun issues.
