Broken Ties.
Author and editor- Venom158
Co-editor and proof reader- A mate of mine
DISCLAIMER:- I know Luna is meant to have a very formal attitude when speaking but I have given her a mix of both colloquial and formal speaking lines. This is meant to symbolize that she has been around long enough to start understanding how "normal" ponies talk but not long enough to fully break out of her formal speaking method completely.
Divine Shield scanned the sides of the corridors with disinterest as he trotted along the maze of hallways that made up the palace. Light streamed in through the stained glass windows, bathing the walls that were decorated with tapestries and paintings in a myriad of vibrant dancing colours. Each step he took echoed off the polished white marble floor, the reverberations falling in time with the sound of his footfalls, creating a beat like a score of drums following sheet music. An interesting use of magic if there ever had been. Soon Divine Shield arrived at his destination, a large circular antechamber filled with towering, painted marble statues. A squat onyx dais with golden words engraved on it sat in the middle of the room. Divine had frequented this place enough to memorize all the words.
Here stand the heroes and heroines of Equestria. Their services in war, magic, politics and life shall be immortalised in this room so their deeds and values can be taught to future generations of ponies.
Truer words had never been spoken. All the most important ponies were here, the greatest mage in the history of Equestria, Starswirl the bearded. Bladestorm, whose victory against Magnus, King of the changelings, cemented his place in history. Even Silvertongue was here for her services as Princess Celestia’s chief advisor. This was only a fraction of the great ponies that filled the chamber; so many others stood silent vigil, marble sentinels that watched over Equestria. Divine flicked back his long, sparkling yellow and white mane, continuing to stave off his duties as he lingered in this hallowed place. Soon he came to the royal statues, the most extravagant of all the marble sculptures, their slender bodies and regal nature captured by the sculptor and used to breathe life into the stone. Princess Celestia’s brilliant white coat had a surreal lustre, off set by her blazing cutie mark and shimmering blue, green and pink mane. The effigy of Princess Luna that stood beside it was sombre in comparison; her mane was painted a dark blue that twinkled in the light and her petite, blue-black form held the gloom of a night’s sky, the black blotch on her flank creating the perfect background for her crescent moon cutie mark. Each statue of the Alicorn princesses had a shining motif behind it, a blazing sun for Celestia and a full moon for Luna, the paintings casting each sculpture in a beautiful light, yet another pretty use of magic. Divine then turned to find a stallion Alicorn in full battle armour leering down at him; it was reared up on its hind legs, announcing a full charge. Its face contorted in righteous fury, bellowing a wordless battle cry. Everything about this stone carving angered Divine, its scarred white body that rippled and bulged with muscles, the winged shield of gold branded on its flank nearly unrecognisable on one side due to the scarring. Its golden eyes that, whilst gentle, held an intensity that demanded respect and the final and most stunning feature of the statue, its white and yellow mane that sparkled with a warm light. This stony mirror that Divine gazed upon sickened him to his very core. He spat on the golden plaque that sat on the pedestal in front of his effigy.
To our great Prince Divine Shield, younger brother of Celestia and guardian of his baby sister Princess Luna, whose efforts in the changeling war will be forever remembered. Without him our great nation would have fallen. For this we thank you, o’benevolent protector.
It was all lies, he was a fraud of a god and nothing he ever did seemed to change that. The only reason he had his own statue was because he was a prince. He failed as Luna’s protector the day he was too weak to stop her becoming Nightmare Moon and he had failed as a soldier and leader in the war against the changeling king. He despised this statue and he despised himself. Every chance of redemption so far had been stone walled by his sister, the return of Nightmare Moon, Discord’s restoration and even the infiltration of the changeling queen. Every time his sister would say “Divine, we must leave this to my student and her friends. They must be prepared to face any challenge for they hold the elements of harmony. They must learn what it means to be the bearers.” Nonsense, the lot of it. He could have stopped Discord when he sensed his prison weakening. He could have been the one to bring his sister back from the brink of madness. He could have even stopped the disaster at Canterlot, but instead of going to his sister to tell her the impending threat of Queen Chrysalis he chose to sit on the side lines, as he knew that his chance for deliverance would be quelled by Celsetia’s need to let children fight her battles.
Rage welled up inside of Divine, a fury that he had not felt since the last war. He turned from his statue, lowered the front half of his body to the floor and raised his hind legs. With a cry of anger he bucked the marble carving with such terrible force that the enchantments that encased it burst in a rush of energy and sparks, the effigy exploding in a shower of dust and rubble. Divine’s breathing became laboured, the resentment he felt still pulsing through his body, lighting his warrior instincts on fire.
“Big brother! What has happened? Are you alright?”
Divine turned towards the voice, hate and despair still filling his golden eyes. Luna stood at the entrance to the antechamber, her majestic dark blue mane floating about her. She stared at Divine with a mixture of horror and disbelief. For all her regal upbringing and training Luna couldn’t help but recoil from him, he looked like a feral beast, panting, rage contorting his face into a monstrous visage and his once gentle eyes now glared at her with such weariness and loathing. Luna bit her bottom lip to stop it from quivering but her beautiful blue eyes betrayed her as they began to glaze over with tears. Divine snapped out of his rage filled stupor, his anger dissipating the instant he saw his younger sisters grief. His cheeks flushed with blood and he bolted out of the chamber. Luna called after him but he didn’t turn back. He couldn’t stand to see her like that, couldn’t stand that he had turned on her with such hate and disgust in his eyes. Divine had already been avoiding her as it was, unable to confront her after she had reclaimed her senses, unable to accept that he wasn’t able to stop her from falling into despair and madness to begin with. So he ran, ran from his problems like he always did. He was numb inside now; hollow like a dead tree and nothing he did ever seemed to change it.
* * *
Luna stood looking at the once magnificent statue. The colours that streamed in from the windows and danced on the walls had long since disappeared, giving way to self lighting candles and flickering shadows. She couldn’t believe what she had seen; her brother had defaced his own shrine and then destroyed such a beautiful work of art made in his honour. Luna kicked at the dust that coated the floor like a thick sheet, puffs of magic still popping like firecrackers, their bonds to the statue snapping like twigs. Luna bent her head and wept, her brother hated her now and she knew why. He must have still resented her for becoming Nightmare Moon, for letting jealousy and pettiness devour her soul. Now all she had left was her sister, but her royal duties meant that she was always too busy to spend time with her. Luna collapsed and buried her face in her hooves.
“Big brother… I miss you so, so much. I’m sorry for everything.”
She choked on the words between painful sobs.
“You know, he doesn’t hate you Luna, far from it actually.”
Luna didn’t raise her head or even try to stop crying. She had been suppressing her feelings for so long, trying to ignore the fact that her brother, who had been the one to raise her, now loathed her presence so much that he couldn’t be in the same room as her. Celestia meandered over to her sister from the second entry to the antechamber and sat by her, inspecting the destruction before her. There was no way to repair this statue; a new one would have to be commissioned from Stone-Cutter. She shook her head. Now isn’t the time to be thinking about that Celestia, She thought as she bent her head and nuzzled Luna’s cheek, trying to coax her into looking at her as she spoke. Luna raised her head; her puffy blood shot eyes still coating her face in tears. Celestia smiled at her and stretched out her wing, covering Luna and pulling her in close. The comforting act calmed her down and soon she was only sniffling.
“How do you know big sister, you didn’t see him. He was so angry, so disgusted when he looked upon me.”
Luna’s words almost brought her to tears again, but Celestia rested her chin on Luna’s muzzle to distract her from her thoughts.
“It isn’t your fault Luna, Divine has been… different, for a very long time now.”
“Since I became Nightmare Moon?”
Celestia nodded, she wasn’t going to lie to her, it served no purpose.
“Yes, but not for the reasons you think. Divine always took care of you Luna; he raised you as if you were his own daughter. The day you became Nightmare Moon he changed, a part of him died on the inside.”
Loud whimpers started to escape Luna again, but Celestia jostled her to keep her attention.
“This happened because he never forgave himself for not being able to protect you, restrain you, break your barriers or talk you out of your decision. After I banished you he spent the next nine hundred years in training.”
Celestia indicated to the statues that stared at them in stony silence with her free wing, all of them had taught Divine at some stage.
“And when there was no one left to teach him he joined the front lines. He believed that he needed to forge his mettle in battle. That going to war was the only way he would learn what it was like to protect something important.”
Luna was captivated by Celestia’s story, this was the most she had heard of her brother since regaining her senses. The transformation of her brother from the pudgy, kind hearted teacher to this stern and callous warrior was almost to overwhelming to hear. Celestia’s voice dropped to whisper as she continued with her description of Divine’s time at war.
“I never agreed with his need to prove himself, especially when that meant charging head long into battle… I tried my best to keep him out of the fighting, I pulled the right strings and made sure he had simple tasks like guard duties and escorting medical supplies, but even they became dangerous. He didn’t get all those scars from sitting around doing nothing and I’m rather sure he began doing his own covert operations.”
Celestia released a drawn out sigh, the fatigue in her pink rimmed eyes evident. She had never had to explain her actions to anyone before.
“Now I think he hates himself even more, because when he returned he refused to attend the veteran’s parade. By holding him back I stopped him form achieving a sense of accomplishment and recognition of skill that he had been working towards for so long.”
Celestia’s eyes began to glaze over as she spoke now. All the regret and shame she had felt was being washed away with her admission to Luna. Luna herself was staring at Celestia now; this was more emotion than she had ever seen from her big sister. She was always so composed, so in control.
“Then when you came back a spark lit up inside of him. He felt like he would finally be able to right every wrong he had ever committed, but I snuffed it out Luna. I crushed his hopes and dreams because I was so afraid of what might happen if you met at that stage… I wouldn’t have been able to bear loosing either of you. I even went so far as to separate the elements of harmony and put them in the care of children. The excuse of ‘needing my student and her friends to discover what it meant to be the bearers,’ was the only thing that kept him at bay.”
Luna reeled back; Celestia had just admitted to putting the safety of all Equestria at risk for the sake of her siblings. It was a touching sentiment made all the more poignant by the grief that broke through her mask, her crying and shuddering breathes muddling her words.
“He was devastated Luna, he never got to fix what he thought he had broken. At every chance of redemption I stopped him out of fear of what might happen. I see now that I’ve made things so much worse for him. Please, don’t blame your brother for his actions. The same gentle, kind hearted stallion that raised you is in there somewhere, he just needs your help to find him.”
Celestia removed her wing from Luna and left the antechamber without another word, her wrenching sobs still echoing down the hall. Luna wiped her eyes that now burned with determination and stood up, her posture perfect. She set off down the hallway at a gallop; it was time to get her brother back.
* * *
Divine Shield lay sprawled across his bed; the smell of stale sex permeated the air in his under furnished room. Feather-Duster, the pegasus pony who had fallen for his almost supernatural charms, fluttered out the door. Her dazed and groggy movements were more than enough to convey the quality of his performance. A thousand years of practice was long enough to polish his skills in bed, but the shallow glow of warmth he felt after satisfying his more basic lusts had already started to fade. After hearing the door shut Divine rolled onto his back and stared up at the mural of the night’s sky painted on the ceiling. When Luna was a filly she would sneak out of her room and into his bed at night, too afraid to sleep on her own. So as a surprise Divine had painted this for her, to make her feel more comfortable when she ‘visited’. He even went to the trouble of creating small lights in the roof that that looked like stars, the dull illuminations looking like twinkling diamonds spread across black velvet. Divine embraced the wave of nostalgia that overcame him, all too eager to add its warmth to the glow inside of him that had begun to cool. He let out a weary sigh and closed his eyes.
“You spoiled her, Divine.”
There came a knock at the door and Divine’s eyes flew open as he sat up. With haste, he pulled a sheet over himself; he never liked feeling exposed. A cocky grin spread across his face.
“Came back for a second round, aye? Well come on in, I’m not doing much after all.”
The door creaked open, causing the darkness to recede from the candle light that spilled in from the hallway. As Luna entered her nose crinkled, the scent of stale sex smacking her in the face. Luna’s unannounced appearance startled Divine, he stuttered a pathetic greeting before clearing his throat and composing himself. His horn glowed with a dim white light and the windows opened, allowing the cold night air to roll in.
“So, this is how you spend your free time, Divine? Having fillies fawn over you and then bedding them?”
Divine snorted, dismissing her comment as his emotional barriers began to rise. He was always a little vulnerable after being intimate with a mare, but his natural, sombre state started to come back to him. The warmth he had felt moments before freezing in an instant. He drew strength from his bitterness, enough to write off Luna’s comment.
“Why not? I enjoy myself and those MARES enjoy themselves, and why shouldn’t they? They get to spend a night with a ‘War hero’.”
The final words Divine spat with such distaste and sarcasm that a sneer spread across his face. The corners of Luna’s mouth tightened in response, a motion that would go unnoticed if not for Divine’s ability to read faces. Luna kicked at the floor, still finding it hard to grasp modern language.
“I-I meant no disrespect big brother, I was just trying to ‘break the ice’ as one might say?”
Divine cursed himself, of course she hadn’t meant anything by what she had said. She referred to other ponies as fillies only in relation to her own age. How is it that he could have forgotten something like that? Divine shook his head and eased out of bed.
“Look, Luna, I’ve got a lot of work to do today. I have a new batch of recruits that need training. These kids are green as grass and I need to whip them into shape.”
Divine’s horn glowed again and the gold and white enamel armour that sat on the dummy in the corner drifted over to him, buckling and latching itself to his body as he walked. Luna frowned; she knew that her big brother was just finding an excuse to be rid of her.
“Why don’t I come with you, big brother? It will be just like when I was a filly and would accompany you to the classes you taught.”
Divine bit his lip, he wanted to say yes, but he just couldn’t. He walked past Luna without making eye contact.
“Maybe next time, child.”
“WAIT!”
Divine stopped, looking over his shoulder in confusion. Luna had just used the royal voice on him. She straightened herself, rising to her full height. Divine knew what was coming next; the confrontation he’d been dreading. Luna was tired of waiting for him to come to her. He shrank away and turned to run but Luna expected this and leapt over him, slamming the floor in front of Divine with her hooves and forcing him back into his room as she strode forwards.
“YOU HAVE BEEN AVOIDING ME FOR TOO LONG! I WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING YOU HAVE TO SAY, I WANT MY BIG BROTHER BACK!”
Luna’s voice blasted Divine, her magic wasn’t as powerful as his spell-barriers that he maintained at all times, but her words shook him. She wanted her brother back? Did that mean that all the resentment he held for himself was for nought? With his concentration broken by the questions swirling in his head, Divine’s barriers shimmered into view and shattered like glass orbs. With them gone Luna’s voice buffeted him, ripping away his armour and throwing him onto the bed.
“GIVE ME BACK MY BIG BROTHER!”
Divine tried to push against the power of Luna’s voice but he was helpless. His nine hundred years of training escaping him as the emotional walls he had erected crumbled away like dirt, causing his anxieties and doubts to contort his face into an expression of despair and confusion.
“ I-I c-can’t! I need to… I need to-“
“SPEAK!”
Divine clenched his jaw and forced himself to look at Luna, he was tired of being talked down to. He pushed his magics into his throat and discharged them, his own royal voice quelling Luna’s and knocking her back.
“I FAILED YOU! YOU NEEDED ME A THOUSAND YEARS AGO AND I FAILED! CAN’T YOU SEE WHAT THAT HAS DONE TO ME, THE PAIN I’VE BEEN IN SINCE YOU LEFT?”
The two didn’t say anything for a long time after Divine’s outburst, they just stood staring at each other. The tension in the air was palpable. Divine unclenched his jaw and looked away, trying to find some comfort in the scenic view outside his bedroom window.
“I’m sorry Luna. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you and I’m so sorry for avoiding you. I just couldn’t bear showing my face around you. I honestly thought you hated me for not being there when you needed me most.”
Luna shook her head, flashing Divine an earnest smile.
“You were the only one there for me, big brother. You tried so hard to get through to me but I just wouldn’t listen, I was so mad at everything that I lost myself.”
Luna walked over to Divine and nuzzled his neck.
“Even when I became Nightmare Moon you didn’t give up on me. You fought Celestia at every step when she wished to banish me, do you remember?”
Of course Divine remembered, how could he forget the night that had almost destroyed him?
“You came to my room at midnight. You thought that you’d try and talk me out of my decision one last time.”
Luna looked at her hooves. She sniffled and wiped her nose with her foreleg.
“Then… Then I turned on you. I became Nightmare Moon and nearly killed you, but you didn’t care, you just lay there, smiling and bleeding. Telling me over and over that you loved me and that I couldn’t do anything wrong, that I only needed to stop and everything would go back to normal.”
Divine nodded. It was strange; he had assumed that this talk would rip out the last vestiges of his sanity. Completing his own transformation into a shell of a stallion, but the more Luna spoke the clearer his vision became. She had been holding even more animosity towards herself than Divine thought possible, and why wouldn’t she? She had turned on her family and wounded Divine, the closest thing she had ever had to a father. She had become a twisted and jealous shadow of herself. He couldn’t believe how blinded by selfishness he had been these last ten centuries.
Luna placed her hoof on a scar that sat over Divine’s heart, the injury she had caused when she had pierced his chest with her horn so long ago. She gritted her teeth and trembled, only just able to keep her emotions in check.
“Then when Celestia rushed in and began the spell you tried to stop her, even as your life drained away onto the floor… I’m so sorry big brother; I know how hard it was for you to see me like that. I wish everything could just go back to the way it was befo-”
Divine pulled Luna onto the bed and wrapped his forelegs around her like a vice. He was so happy to hear that Luna didn’t hate him, that she wanted him in her life. The thin veil of control that Luna had over her emotions was torn away and she wept into Divine’s chest, crushing herself against him, so desperate to embrace her brother that had been little more than a ghost to her for over a thousand years.
“I love you so much big brother, please forgive me.”
Divine smiled and, with a gentleness that seemed so foreign to him now, brushed Luna’s mane out of her pleading eyes. His smile broadened and he whispered the same words that he had spoken the night of Luna’s banishment.
“There’s nothing to forgive, child. You were just a little lost, that’s all. It doesn’t matter what happens I will always love you. You’ll always be my little ray of moon light, never doubt that.”
Luna wailed, unable to believe that even after all the pain and suffering she had put him through; Divine still loved her as if it had ever happened.
“P-p-promise?”
“I promise”
For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, Divine felt whole again. The warm glow that he had been so desperate to rekindle inside himself ignited like an inferno. He realised now how stupid he had been over the last ten centuries, how bitter and repulsive he had become over such trivial issues, like wether or not he had made any substantial contributions to the war. But none of those things mattered now, he had his sister back and the gaping hole that had threatened to devour him from the inside out had been filled. He was so overjoyed that he just sat there, cradling his weeping sister in his forelegs and humming a soothing lullaby. Divine kissed Luna’s forehead and peeled her away, looking at her with a face that brought a smile to hers. A happy lustre shone in his tired eyes and the ever present weariness and tenseness that dominated his features had softened. Her wish had been granted, Divine was back to his old self again, save a few physical changes.
“So you wanted to come with me to training, right?”
Luna sniffled, her voice still thick with tears.
“Oh, yes please big brother! I haven’t seen your duelling prowess yet!”
Divine chuckled, something that he had done for a very long time. He would have to help her learn to speak without the formal attitude, but there would be time for that later.
“Alright then kiddo, lets go.”
Divine wiped the tears from Luna’s face and then pulled himself off the bed, with a gleeful bounce Luna followed, falling in step beside him. All the while she chatted about all the new and exciting things that she had experienced since her return. Divine, still wearing his old smile that fit even after so long, laughed and joked with her, so pleased that his acceptance was enough to make everything bad in her life seem insignificant, as her acceptance fuelled the same emotions in him. The long walk to the training grounds that had once only given Divine too much time to think, now became a pleasing activity. The lights and colours that decorated the hallways seemed brighter and more vibrant; the ponies that worked in the palace seemed nicer, their courteous bows being met with a playful greeting instead of a cold glare, an act that caught everypony that addressed him by surprise. Divine even noticed the beautiful smells that wafted throughout the castle, flowers and fresh bread the most predominant, it was all there and for the first time in a thousand years he felt it.
Divine stopped just before entering the training grounds, he realised now that he had forgotten all of his equipment back in his room. He laughed as he shrugged his shoulders. Luna tilted her head in confusion.
“What is the problem, big brother?”
Divine beamed and hugged Luna, giving her a peck on the cheek.
“For the first time in a thousand years, absolutely nothing Luna, nothing at all.”
She smiled and returned the kiss on his cheek. Wriggling free of his embrace she punched the air.
“Then let us ‘whip these rookies into shape’, big brother!”
Divine just couldn’t stop laughing. It was nice to be home again.
The end.
