Open Youself

I'll do it. Please, leave me." I stepped in front, holding my weapon in. "I started this, I'll end it." Looking down on the once powerful king, I didn't know what had driven him this far. Looking back one more time, my sister finally lowered her weapon, he already beaten and on the verge of dying.

Realizing that he had lost, he must've felt nothing but regret and pain. He had lost his nation, his powers and was going to be imprisoned.

"How cruel... letting me... bleed to death..."

Before he could say more, I picked him up.

"What... are you doing...?"

"Finishing what I started."

I had no intention to kill him. Carrying him away, I eventually stopped, letting him down carefully, firing dozens of energy blasts into the room they had fought me, setting it high on fire.

"I'm going on ahead to fix the damage done to the Crystal Empire!" Celestia yelled through the raging fire.

"Where..." Sombre coughed, not being able to finish his sentence.

I picked him up again but he couldn't hold on.

"I need to hurry before he bleeds out." I mumbled.

* * *

Two days had passed before he woke again. I watched  the fallen king almost around the clock, with little to no sleep while my sister was out taking care of the damage. Even if he managed to destroy the binds that confined him to the bed, I knew he would be to weak to fight me. He wasn't stupid.

"What do you want, you incompetent excuse for a princess?"

I took a deep breath and spoke.

"To talk. Tell me about yourself, tell me about your past. I want to know what made you become like this."

I didn't want to give up on somepony's life if there was some way to save them. Especially if it was someone that might eventually have been me.

"You want to learn about how great and powerful I and my nation were? I suppose I could be telling you. Someone has to educate the fools and weak."

And so began a series of talks that I could have never even imagined. Whenever I saw him and he wasn't in his shadow form, he would not talk but simply look depressive and almost dead. He was completely different from his other form. After a few hours, he was pretty talkative and seemingly looking forward to showcasing just how great his rule had been.

Several more hours had passed before I noticed the first big change in him. It was becoming obvious that there were inconsistencies in his stories. That there were errors in his memories. Thoughts that tormented his mind were ever-present, causing him a lot of emotional pain.

I saw some similarities between myself and him. We both had pursued their own goals, for him it was conquest, for me it was wanting to be noticed.  We both changed dramatically when transformed, arrogant and assuming a leading role. And most of all, when we weren't fighting, it was very much peaceful.

The more I listened, the more I realized what course had led to him ending up like this. There was one thing that made me, Luna, completely different from him. Having somepony to help you. Not once did he mention any. Even his oracle was just a means to an end, fearing me. Without friends or family to put me back on the good path, I might have eventually ended up like him. And thinking that, made my heart ached.

It wasn't until nightfall had passed that he had told all could be told. His wounds mostly healed, there was little that would stop him from escaping. And yet he didn't even try.

"Why do you care?"

It was the only question which I never answered during all this time. At first, he hated us and wanted to kill us, but the more his talks went on, the more he simply wanted somepony to listen. Because nopony else ever did. After waiting a few seconds, I responded.

"Because your story might have been mine."

Those words visibly shook him, making his eyes grow wide in surprise. He must have believed that all we were destined to fail. If we couldn't rule a nation forever, then nobody could.

"There is one thing I had that you lacked. The one thing that stopped me from ending up mad with power and destroying my own land with my arrogance. My sister."

There was nothing he could say to that. It was painfully obvious that he had not had someone to call a friend in longer than most of the current nations were around.

"So what, I don't need any-"

His words were stuck in his throat, his body struck with fear. I got up and treated him to a hug.

"What... what are you doing...? Are you mad? I'm your enemy! Stop this! Get away! Don't you touch me!" Squirming, he desperately tried to free himself but I wouldn't let go.

"It was easy to hate you when you were our enemy. But I had to know what motivated you, what drove you. And now I see that you're not evil. You're hurting. More than anyone else in the world. I know there is no way for me to ever close that wound, but I want to at least cover it."

Feeling the weak hooves of my back, I trusted my instincts. If he was as starved for somepony to care about him as I thought I was, then there was no way he would attack me.

"Stop it... don't be nice to me..." His voice was starting to tremble. "I can't... everything that happened... if you're nice to me... I can't accept anymore it's... all my fault..."

He tried to push me away, but he stopped.

"That's fine. You lived with it for all these years, unable to face the truth because there was nopony with you that could support you. I'm here now."

"Why? Why do you do this?"

Shaking his head, I could tell he was trying to stop the flood of truth that was about to break loose.

"Because living a lie so long that it becomes truth to you is something I can't let go on."

I could feel that he was reaching his breaking point. His arms going limp, head resting against my name, he didn't even resist the embrace anymore. For the next few minutes, he was crying, the pain of the truth of his actions finally sinking in.

After his onslaught of crying ended, the room went quiet and my mane was stained by tears, he finally calmed down in my hooves.

"I never had friends... I always thought a ruler was supposed to rule through power. Eventually, I forgot that without my army, there would be no empire. I followed what I thought was right... and look where I ended up."

What had been like a blight on his psyche was starting to vanish. But it was being replaced with guilt, horror and pain. The feelings I'm all to familiar with. After he found the strength to push me away, he looked away. Most likely out of embarrassment. I don't think less of him for it though. I was the one individual that knew all of his delusions and the truth... I'm sure these new feeling must be confusing.

I stood up without saying a word. I went to get my staff and turned around to face him. His eyes were still closed so I walked up to him and cut the chains binding him.

He opened his eyes, looked at his body and then looked at me with confusion.

"What are you doing?"

There was no anger or tension in her voice, only surprise.

"Your life became a living nightmare because you were left with your pain, with nopony to show compassion to you. I can't go back and save you back then, but I can show you love right now and save you to live out the many years of your life that remain."

"Trying to save me... nopony could possibly even like me after everything I did."

"Do I look like I'm lying to you?"

He opened his mouth and closing it again, he was at a lost for words. The look in his eyes were so calm, so honest, that I knew I had gotten though to him.

"How do you feel anything for me that isn't hate?"

"You need love more than anypony else in the world. I'm not about to let the past get in the way of following what I think is right. There are also other, obvious reasons. You're beautiful, powerful, intelligent, tall, I really like that by the way, they can be used for good and not for evil."

He seemed to be at lost for words at how blunt I was. He seemed to finally understand my intentions. Relaxing significantly, I reached out with my hooves creating a hold that he couldn't get out of.

A few minutes later, I let go and smiled.

"What now? Am I going to be executed for all the horrible things I did?"

"I can't give you back the Crystal Empire and I can't give you Canterlot. But I can give you love and a place at my side. You can be a ruler again. This time, one that will not succumb to power."

"Are... are you serious? After leading the Crystal Empire to ruin... you would still trust me?"

""I'm here to watch over you." Bending down and kissing him.

It was then I knew for certain I had made the right decision. I may not be as power as my sister or loved as much, but I st least was able to save somepony. And that's something nopony can take away.