Playing With Power

Luna looked back to the human walking behind her. His head was tilted to the road with a smile still stretched across his face. He was muttering something, but it was too low for her to hear.

"Is there anything else to know about this 'Grand River'?" Luna asked.

His head snapped up at this. "Probably, but do you really want to know? Most things in this world should stay a secret."

Luna frowned. "I'd rather be informed of such a thing if something were to happen."

Nodding, he gave his reply. "I understand. Of course I'm only going to recite what I read."

Luna only nodded, turning her head back to the road ahead. Princess Twilight's castle just in view as as slowly made their way down the road.

"The Grand River, a place of death and the undying, life and the birthplace of all. To be born is to leave the calm waters that flow through eternity, and death is the action of returning to it. Some believe we never leave the river, and our spirits are just experiencing some form of existence for but a brief moment. Others believe that the river itself isn't actually real, but only one of many ways for our mortal minds to comprehend what is before us."

Luna hummed. "Back in Canterlot, you had spoken about being baptized in this river. What would you make of that?"

"I wouldn't make anything of that. It was in my way, so I had to do the only thing I could, I swam." A muffled giggle escaped him. "Well, now that I think about it, swimming is such a strong word. It was more like I was dragged in and spat back out. The moment I stepped foot into its waters, I lost myself, and when I awoke, I was on the other side."

"Does that explain the way you are now?" It wasn't far from the castle now, only fifty paces or so.

"What do you mean? Broken and confused? Hungry and lost? Lonely and trying to drown the desert that is my thirst?"

"I would have said something along the lines of 'moody'. Like you don't know what to do with yourself most times..."

When there was no reply, Luna stopped at the castle doors and turned her head back to look at the human. The smile was still there, but he gave no response, choosing only to return her stare.

She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Her chest began to tighten and her jaw clenched, butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Her head swam as her heart pounded.

"What's wrong?" He asked as his smile widened. "Cat got your tongue? A little bit of stage fright maybe?" The air around him thickened with a sickeningly sweet scent that burned her nostrils. All with a hint of something she hadn't smelled in a long time. Rot.

Tearing her eyes away, Luna sucked air into her burning lungs. Sweat dripped down her brow as her body shook. Before Luna could say anything, the door behind her opened up with a heavy groan.

"Don't worry, Spike. I'm just going to get some extra snacks for the– Oh, Luna when... did..."

Turning back, Luna's gaze met her fellow princess, Twilight. Although Twilight wasn't looking at her, Luna could tell where her eyes were fixed.

With furrowed brows and a frown stretched across her face, Twilight stared at the human on her doorstep. "You."

The human offered a smile. "Me."

Twilight looked to Luna. "What happened to Celestia? I thought she was–"

"My sister is occupied right now, getting some rest should be her top priority right now so the human has been left in my care."

"Human? Is that what it is?"

"Yes, he is a human... whatever that might be." Luna turned to the human in question. "What is a human?"

"Simple answer? An evolved primate."

"I don't think I've met another of your kind before. From what land do you hail from?" She had been gone for one-thousand years, and after being released she had to catch up with the rest of the world. It was possible another race had been found.

A brow on Luna's face rose as her only reply was laughter.

"What's so funny?" Twilight asked. "Did Luna say something–"

"Course you're not gonna meet the rest of my kind."

What did that mean? Luna stepped toward the still laughing human. "There is still much undiscovered land we have yet to find, maybe you come from an island of sorts." This only strengthened the human's laughter.

The human had to come from somewhere warm, the lack of fur on his body assured that.

Wiping a tear from his eye, he gave an answer. "Unless there's a portal to my world on that island, you're not gonna find a bunch of other people running around."

There was only so much Luna could handle. "W-what do you mean? Another world? Surely you're bluffing."

"I mean... I was brought here, I can't really remember if it was out of my own free will or I was forced here, but yeah. Whole different world. My kind are the dominant ones on our world. Living on almost every piece of land we could find. So I know I'm not from an island around here."

"T-that can't be possible, just the amount of energy it would take to even peer into another world is inconceivable."

"Really? Inconceivable? You know what we're talking about right? You guys have magic! You can toss the moon around!"

"These are very different things! It is my duty to raise and lower the moon, my talent. Teleportation of such a distance would require not only a massive amount of magic, but it would most likely be something only Celestia, Twilight, and Cadance or I could wield. And we would know if–"

The human threw his arms into the air. "Okay okay okay! Let's just say that we don't know how I got here, maybe it wasn't magic, maybe it was."

Twilight tried to interject. "But–"

The human raised a finger towards her. "Shush! I don't wanna hear it!"

Twilight huffed. "Don't just–"

The human cupped his hands over his ears and yelled out. "Lalala I can't hear you!" All the while closing his eyes and shaking his head.

Twilight jumped back at the outburst, wings spread out wide. Letting her wings relax, Twilight shook her head. "Fine," she turned to Luna. "Make yourselves at home... I guess. I'm going out to get some food for everyone."

Luna bowed her head. "Thank you."

Stepping out of the way, Luna watched as Twilight took to the sky with a heavy flap of her wings.

Turning back to the human, Luna watched as his feat stamped on the ground, hands still covering his ears as he sang out. Igniting her horn, Luna pulled his hands away. "Enough, she's gone now."

"Oh? Already?" He lets out a joyful laugh before his cheer filled smile disappears and his brows furrow. "Good riddance." The lights in his eyes flicker and fade for only a moment and just like that, his face is back to normal. A tooth filled grin and bright eyes.

Luna shook her head and looked at the human with wide eyes. "What was that?"

"Hm?" The human looks to her with a questioning gaze. "What was what?"

"Just now, you–"

Turning away, the human walked into the castle, his feet gently slapping the crystal floor. "No clue what you're talking about, Princess Luna."

Following suit, Luna stepped into the castle, closing the large door behind her.

Turning around, Luna watched the human crane his neck upward, eyes staring at the distant ceiling. Trotting to his side, Luna followed his gaze. Staring up at the mirror like crystal, their reflections stared back.

The human shook his head, turning his gaze back to the room before him as he walked over to the closest door. The sound of muffled laughter drawing him closer. Moving a hand to the handle, he opened the door with a quick shove.

The moment the door creaked the laughter stopped. Slipping his head through the crack, the human spied four ponies, all of them sitting at a large round table, their eyes on him. It was the ponies from the cave, still suffering the effects of the poison joke he had doused them with.

The pink one with her swollen tongue, drool dribbling down her chin as she tried to speak still. A mess of white and purple hair, leaves and sticks caught in the long dread-like locks. A cyan pegasus with backwards wings. And the seemingly unaffected butter colored pegasus.

Throwing the door open, he stepped in, whistling a jaunty tune as he strutted in.

With only a single glare coming from the four ponies, he sat down at the table. Planting himself right next to the pegasus known as Rainbow Dash. Her rose colored eyes boring a hole into him as he swung his bare, dirt flecked feet onto the table.

"So," he said with a sigh, "How's everybody doing? Good I hope." Closing his eyes, he relaxed as much as he could in the cold concrete throne.

A tiny voice spoke up, shrill and distant. "Princess Luna, pardon me for askin' but, what the hay is that monster doin' here?"

He had to open his eyes to find whoever spoke, spotting a small orange thing at the opposite end of the table. "Oh yeah, I forgot Poison Joke did that to you."

The minuscule orange earth pony glared daggers at him.

Correction. There were five ponies at the table with him.

"My sister believes he can be saved and I have no reason to doubt her."

He waved a hand. "Thank you, Luna."

"And I have something to tell you all. Human?"

"Yes?"

"Could you leave us for a moment?"

Jumping to his feet, he grumbled, "And I just sat down too. I'll be back." He waggled his fingers in a wave at Rainbow Dash, while he blew a kiss at the shrunken Applejack.

Closing the door behind him, the human turned his head to and fro, looking down the hallways. "Which way was the kitchen?" Nodding to himself, he turned to his left and walked down the corridor. Eyes darting to the doors that lined the either of the walls. Walking on the balls of his feet as he crept through the castle. The mutterings of the ponies long gone and a dead silence was its replacement.

A breeze wafted through the hall, the sounds of humming drifting on its wind. It was probably the dragon, Spike was his name if he remembered correctly.

Turning to his right, he pressed an ear up to the door, the humming coming from the other side.

Slowly pushing the door open, he peeked through the crack.

Pulling apart the last bits of the orange with his claws, the tiny dragon stared down at the fruit covered platter. His eyes scanned along the groups as he muttered to himself. "Got the apples, the oranges, some blueberries, pineapple, and the peaches. Am I missing anything?"

"How about some cherries, cherries are pretty good."

Spike leapt with a yelp, his heart pounding as he turned to face the one who spoke. Only for his gaze to meet a pair legs. Craning his neck upward, Spike peered at the joy filled visage of the creature before him.

Clearing his throat into a claw to calm himself, Spike spoke up. "Um, hello...?" Putting on the best smile he could, Spike tried to match the strange creature.

"Hey there."

Spike's smile fell as he stared at the creature, who stared back in kind. Something felt... familiar about him. If it was a 'him'. If the voice was anything to go off of, then the creature probably was a stallion, or his kind's equivalent at least.

"Have we... met?" Spike asked.

The creature shrugged. "Possibly. Probably. You might have seen me around." The creature's gaze moved past him towards the table. "So, what do you have going on here? Nice little fruit platter?"

"Y-Yeah, just a little snack for the gang while Twilight's out getting some more food."

He nodded. "Cool, cool..."

A pregnant pause was held between the two before the human spoke up.

"You don't happen to need any help do you? Got kicked out by Luna and the rest."

"Luna's here?"

He nodded.

"Well... I wouldn't mind getting some help peeling some more oranges."

The human crossed his arms and puffed out his chest. "You couldn't have gotten anybody better, peeling is what I do best."

Spike tossed an orange to the human and turned back to pick another and get to work. His claws slicing through the skin with ease.

Luna leaned back in her seat, a sigh escaping her. She could feel their eyes on her, waiting. Wanting an explanation as to what was going to happen now. She would give it to them, but what she had to say was something they wouldn't want to hear.

"Do any of you have any questions before I say my piece."

A shrill voice sounded out from across the table. "Yeah! Why the buck would you bring that monster back here!?" If the accent was anything to go by it must have been Applejack.

"Applejack! There is no need for language like that, especially in front of princ—"

"Can it Rarity! You saw what that creature did to all of them animals, even that dragon!"

"That I did, and that's why I see no reason to be at each others throats. I'd much rather hear what the Princesses have planned."

Plans... of course. Luna waited for anything else, but no other voice made itself known. "I cannot speak on behalf of my sister. But I can say this... I have no clue what to do."

Still more silence. Opening her eyes, she stared at the worried faces of the ponies before her. "All I know is that the human in question is an... unbalanced individual."

Rainbow Dash scoffed. "That's putting it mildly."

Luna pressed on. "And I have nothing else to say other than this. Avoid him if you can, but if you can't, do not anger him. You all have obviously seen something I have not and have reason to fear him. But do not let that fear make you do anything rash."

"You're telling us not to do anything?!"

"Yes, because the more you fear, the more likely any of you would do something. Do not lash out and give him reason to strike back. If you say he did something wrong, let him explain his actions. My sister was there with you all, was she not?"

"Yeah but—"

"And she had already known about him long before you have."

"..."

"Yet here she is, telling us she wants to give this one a chance. Does this not seem familiar to you?"

The door behind her groaned before a head poked in. The beady eyes of the human they belonged to shifted between Luna and the five others. "Watch out, scary human incoming."

Luna glared at him as he entered, Spike following shortly after with a platter filled from edge to edge with fruits. "You were listening?"

He shook his head with chortle. "I'm always listening. Ponyville may not look it, but ponies are always hiding something. Take Mayor Mare for example, she may not look it but she is quite the potty mouth when alone."

"So what?" Rainbow asked. "If she says b—"

He shrugged. "So what indeed."

"How would we know that you're telling the truth?" Luna asked.

"How would you know I'm not?" He shrugged. "Believe me or not, do you want another example?"

Luna smirked. "You're trying to put others in the limelight it seems."

His eyes fell to the fruit as Spike slid the plate onto the table.

"I'd rather put this platter of fruit in my limelight thank you very much. Last time I did that to someone else I was locked away." He cackled before reaching to the pile of fruit before him, stuffing his mouth full as juices dribbled down his chin. "Good shtuff," he muttered with a full mouth.

"Speaking of locked away," Luna said as she took an orange in her magic. "You spent time in Tartarus if my assumption is correct...?" An orange slice slid into her mouth before she chewed in silence, waiting for the human's response. The others had gone on to speak amongst themselves, but Luna wasn't interested in hearing what they had to say.

"Mm- that's right."

"If you don't mind me asking, what was it for?"

The word that left the human was one she had not heard in a long time. A word that silenced every single pony in the room and had eyes turn towards him.

"Murder." He finally swallowed the fruit before speaking back up. "Three to be exact."

Equestria was no stranger to death, but murder was something else entirely. Ponies died, age, sickness, it was a fact of life. But murder? The last murder was before her time as Nightmare Moon, it was even shortly before Celestia and her were declared rulers.

"Just picture it, a time after Luna was locked away. A human, lost and hungry, looking for something to tell him of the world he was now on. A pony crosses my path, and I think of nothing other than filling myself. Of course I was starving at the time and berries can only get me so far."

"That's... disgusting!" Applejack cries out. "Why would Celestia let an animal like you be free?"

Luna's eyes widened as she turned her gaze towards the human in question. She expected a face of rage, but instead she was met with a small smile and raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, I wonder. Back then, she wanted nothing but to tie a rope around my neck and hang me from that tower of hers." He guffawed. "Should have seen her face, she was not happy."

"You killed ponies!"

"And she made me a monster. I think she got what she wanted."

Luna stepped forward. "My sister would never do something so cruel."

"Then why am I here? If Celestia was so good, she would have just painted the castle walls with my brains and been done with it!"

"Death is a mercy to you?" Luna asked. "Do you even hear yourself? How can you say these things with a smile on your face?"

He waved his hands around his head as if he were swatting away flies. "Bah, all this talk over how I act, boohoo, I'd much rather move on."

"You say that, but do not blame me if I don't believe you."

"Good, everything I say is a lie anyways."

Luna watched as the usual smile he wore was slowly disappearing.

"Is that a lie too?" Rainbow asked.

"I don't know." The human sneered. "Is it? I'm playing with the cards I've been dealt. Be glad I'm the one going in for the hold."

"Luna, this psycho shouldn't be allowed to roam free!" Applejack interjected.

"Careful there, Applejack you might hurt my feelings."

Luna watched as Applejack's eyes widened.

"Hurt your feelings? Your feelings? You're a murderer!"

"What are you going to do, lock me away for a crime I've already been punished for? Celestia can't. I can even feel the shame coming off of her when ever she looks at me."

"What about Luna?" Applejack asked as she turned her head towards the princess in question.

"Oh? And what would Celestia say about that? Here I am, looking for redemption, and what do I get? I have done absolutely nothing to spite you all, and yet I get called an animal. Sure, I killed some ponies hundreds of years ago, but what do you think Tartarus was for? A spa retreat?"

There was no reply. Nothing.

"It's one moment I'm wandering lost through a forest where even the flowers want me dead, I eat some things that look like animals and then boom! I'm being muzzled and dragged to the capitol where, get this, they run the country! And their ruler can toss around the sun like a four-year old with a rubber ball!"

Once again, nothing but silence. All they can do is sit and watch him stomp at the ground, his bare feet slapping against the crystal.

"And I'm told you're people, just like me!" A slap echoes through the room as he slams the back of his hand to his forehead and leans back. "Publicly shames me and tosses me away for more than a few lifetimes! Let's me stew in my own filth."

"B—"

"Oh woe is me, he killed somebody I never knew and had no hope of knowing that I just cared so much for!" He slams his hand back onto the table and they're greeted by his wide-eyed, tooth filled smile. "Let's talk real, sister! You ju—"

The human's ravings are replaced with a shrill squeak as he stood up straight, his hands clasping at the edge of the table.

Luna watched as the lights in his eyes flickered and popped as the human stood stock-still.

The smile he wore shrank down until it was nothing but a small frown. Letting out a sigh, he spoke up. "Sorry. Not every day that I get to do that." Gone was the booming, energetic voice, replaced by something stern and low.

There was no reply.

"Confused? I know, I would be too if I were in your hooves, so to speak." The more he spoke, the more his frown morphed into a grimace.

Out of all the ponies, Luna was the first to speak up. "What?"

"Scary question, time for tea already?"

"Okay, I'm lost. What happened?" Rainbow asked, looking to her friends who could only shrug.

"Simple answer? Or long one?"

Rainbow shrugged. "Simple please."

"Same body, different mind, or... spirit I guess. I'm not exactly an expert on how this actually works. I just do it."

"So it is spirit magic that you're using. Is that why your eyes were glowing?" Luna asked.

"Maybe? No clue, I haven't really looked at myself in a mirror for a while. Are they doing it right now?"

Luna shook her head.

"Hold up!" Applejack yelled out. "Glowin' eyes? Spirit magic?"

He nodded. "Long answer it is." Drawing in a breath, he began his story. "You all know that I had killed ponies, and was locked away not long after. This was maybe a year or two after Princess Luna had turned into Nightmare Moon. Now, Celestia was not exactly, let's say, her usually forgiving self at the time. Upset at her sister's banishment, here comes another monster to take away what she holds dear. Are you following me?"

They nod.

"After my trial was held, I was enchanted, given a pseudo immortality. Told that'd I'd spend three lifetimes in Tartarus for the three that I took. I couldn't argue, and I didn't want to either. But that was a lie and it took only a month for me to see that. At first it was the lack of water, I started to lose myself. Within the first two weeks, I died in that cell. The magic brought me back, but it didn't take away the memories. The... the... the..."

Luna watched as the human's gaze moved past them and glassed over, and the lights that were once gone were coming back. She coughed into a hoof to bring his focus back to the conversation.

"Pain... Sorry. It was every day by then. My head wanted to burst, skin cracked and bled, I started hearing things. My isolation didn't last long as I found company in myself. The magic put my body back into working order, but something else took hold. I began wondering what my body tasted like, starved, dehydrated, and not exactly in the right state of mind, I took a chance and chewed through a finger."

He paused to look at the group before him. While both Fluttershy and Rarity were dead to the world, collapsed in their thrones, Rainbow Dash listened with furrowed brows and ears perked up, her sky blue face was now a sea foam green. Applejack was impossible to read, given her current size, while Pinkie sat back with a bucket of popcorn before her. And Princess Luna was stoic, her long life having numbed her to even the most gruesome of details.

"It hurt... but it tasted good. Too good. After that point on, there is a large gap in my memory as to what happened. The next thing I knew, I had been reborn. My spirit had broke into pieces over the time I spent in Tartarus and we used that to escape. I'd imagine the only reason I'm here now having this conversation would be thanks to magic existing here."

Letting his story end, he listened as Rainbow spoke up. "So if your spirit, thing, broke, why don't you fix it?" She asked.

"Again, it's probably because it's for the best I don't. We're having this conversation because my thoughts are divided. If I were to—be whole—as you put it, I'd most likely be a brain-dead pile of drool. So my saving grace is that, while I may be difficult to deal with, I can be reasoned with. Especially with me, more so than my counterparts at least."

"Why are you telling us all of this?" Luna asked. "Why couldn't the other one tell us what you are saying now?"

"All of us are different. We want different things, have different dreams, it'd be like having a family made up of exclusively twins. I can't speak for him, I can only say one thing on the matter; Don't believe that I'm an ally, no matter what I promise, no matter how much I beg, trust me no more than you might trust a stranger."

"Even you?"

He nodded. "Even me. Unlike my counterparts, I'd like to be as straightforward as possible. But that doesn't mean I won't lie here and there. But I won't be the one to put the knife in your back."

"What is it that you want then?" Luna asked. "You said all of your kind want different things, and you're here now, what is it that you want?"

He laughed. "I don't think you could-"

"What do you want?" Luna said, interrupting him.

"... I guess our relations can't get any worse." He shrugged. "You want to know what I want?"

Luna nodded.

"I want peace, I want quiet, I want Celestia to look me in the eye, and kill me. She did this to me, so she should be the one to end it. Reasonable if you ask me, but I already know her answer to it."

"Why do you want death so much? Is it too much to try and enjoy what you have now? Yes, my sister made... a mistake, but that doesn't mean—"

"A mistake? That's... an interesting way to put it."

"You understand though."

"Yes. I do. But what she did wan't a mistake, it was out of anger, fear, an action driven by emotion. Not unlike how I am now, driven by a need for redemption." Laying his hands out on the table, he shrugged. "Let's say that I find myself forgiven, then what? I can live a normal life?"

Raising his left hand, he moved it to his right and pinched finger between his index and thumb. "Doesn't it feel great when you get sick?"

Before Luna could stop him, he pulled back on the finger, folding it back, letting soft pops and a crunch echo through the silence. "When you age." He moved his grip to another finger. "When you can look at another, and see nothing but someone you can trust. You know," he gave a dry laugh, "the normal things that life can bring."

Another set of pops rang out, they may have been soft, but in the silence, they were like roars of thunder. "You see, I'm not going to sit here and pretend everything is fine and dandy." Pushing the fingers back, he clenched his hand and threw his fist into the table. "Sit here and play house while these animals eat me from the inside out. So let me just tell you this, if you don't want to give me what I want, and kill me, you'd better find a way to fix me, and fast."

His head snapped upwards, letting their gazes meet once more.

Luna hummed, her stoic face belying the thoughts rushing through her head. Staring at the human who wore a smile, she went to speak. "May I ask why you want to die? As opposed to letting us help you?"

"Help?"

"...Yes?"

"Are you sure?"

An eyebrow on Luna's face rose. "What is there to be sure about?"

"Look me in the eyes... and say that you want to help me again."

Luna had no reply.

"You already know there's no helping me, lying to yourself only delays the inevitable."

Luna slammed her hooves into the table, a thunderous thud echoed throughout the castle. "We can help you! You have to want us to help you though, it won't work if you don't let us!"

The frown he wore slowly turned into a small smile. The lights in his eyes began to burn once more as he stood in silence.

Luna sat there, waiting for a response, any response, but all she received was silence.

Finally, he spoke up. "I... don't want your help." His gaze lowered to his broken fingers. "I'm a disgusting person, worthless and it hurts to know that."

Luna watched as he lowered himself to the floor, his arms rested on his raised knees as he sat.

"I just want it to be over, I want to just go to sleep... and not wake up. Why is that so hard to ask for?"