Foiled

Foiled

Written By Steve Ott

Celestia

This was supposed to a cause for celebration. Finally, after over a millennia of waiting, my little sister had returned. No more Nightmare, no more pain, and no more suffering. It was going to be as it once was, two sisters who very much cared for one another. However, some things are simply never meant to be.

My younger sister that I have waited so long for sat across the dining table toying with her food. Her once beautiful blue eyes now were downcast, cold, and dark. her once flowing mane now just hung limply down her neck. This was not the Luna I had been expecting. I wanted the fun Luna, the devious Luna, the carefree Luna, not some alien.

But I didn't say that, I couldn't risk further damaging her already fragile psyche. Not now. Not ever.

I knew her time on the Moon would affect her, but not to this degree. Perhaps I was in denial or being naive. Or maybe I underestimated the effects of banishment. I almost want to ask her about it, but I think better over it and stay silent. As much as I want to hug her I stay still. Her bones are probably fragile. I want to laugh with her, but her ears may not be used to the noise. I want to cry on her shoulder and let my guilt wash away, but I am unable to break my facade, something that has lasted a millennia.

So I stay silent, unmoving, just like a Princess should.

Luna

This was supposed to be a cause for celebration. I suppose it had been at first, yesterday, but now it felt cold. It didn't help that Tia looked at me as if I was some sort of alien. Was I an alien to her? She would be half-right I guess. Normal ponies don't typically have two sets of memories.

As I toy with my tasteless food, I search through my memory. There were two conflicting sets, both different yet similar. Themes of anger, distress, lack of belongingness, and overall melancholy permitted from both. Yet both also emitted hope, happiness, and joy. It was complex and hard to swim through, but what hasn't hard was to tell the difference between them. One contained the memories of Luna, Princess of the Moon, The War Mistress, Nightmare Moon. The other contained the memories of Aaron, a normal man just trying to swim through his own anxiety.

I had tried to determine which one was real and fake to no success. Instead, both felt natural, felt familiar, yet I knew that couldn't the case. Reincarnation is a myth, and I haven't died yet or am I capable. Yet the feelings remained.

I wanted to tell my older sister about it, even if she were to think of me as some lunatic. I didn't want to fall back into familiar patterns. I knew how much Tia cared for me, how much she wanted me to talk to her. But I wasn't sure, I am never sure.

So I stay silent, unmoving, like a Princess should.