Luna's Secret World Redux

Luna’s Secret World

Chapter 5

Poison, the Past, and a Close Encounter

By: Azurekaryu

August 26, 1008 P.N

A soft *poof* behind her tempted Luna to turn back and she chuckled at what she saw.

“Hey!” Twilight blushed, removing the snow from her muzzle.

“I apologize dear Twilight, T’was not my intention to embarrass you,” Luna reversed her path and offered the cloaked mare a hoof.

Twilight muttered her thanks and gratefully accepted the hoof, “It was, you’re slipping into your old habits again, Luna.”

Luna huffed, producing a pseudo pout on her face, “Well you are literally slipping!”

Twilight sighed, ignoring the comment.

“I jest Twilight, thank you for correcting me, it would be a shame to reverse all of that progress. I must say, you do look quite adorable half covered in snow,” Luna teased the mare.

Though the blush had dissipated it came back full force, burning the mares cold cheeks. Adorable?

Luna smiled at the mare, turning around to continue walking. As she was turning however, she heard the gentle compacting of snow from a creature that was not either of the mares, but somewhere in the near vicinity of the two.

“Shh!” Luna quickly halted any chance of a response from Twilight and crouched into an alert position. Luna scanned the area with her eyes and magic, but couldn't find anything suspicious.

Confused, Twilight tries to get some information, “Lun-”

“SHH!” Luna shushes her companion once more, trying to iterate that silence was necessary

“Twilight, get on my back,” Luna whispers softly, she still hasn’t found the source of the noise, but the same sound appears from a different direction now. Snapping her head around, she lowers herself closer to the ground.

We’re being surrounded. Winter wolves? No, not at this time of day. Ponies? Possibly. They probably silenced their hoofsteps, maybe I should call out to them?

Twilight was confused and rightfully so, “Luna what's going o- OW!” Twilight felt a very sharp pinch on the right side of her rump, causing her to jump a little and then collapse, her back muscles giving out.

“Dammit, come on!” Luna notices the mare fall, and noticing another projectile whizzing through the air. She quickly ducks to the right, dodging it and closing some distance between herself and Twilight. Using her horn, the mare quickly lifts Twi onto her back, “Hold on!” she yells as she bursts off the ground with the help of her legs.

Twilight barely has time to grab a steady hold around her carriers neck. The speed at which they were flying was unreal to her, she was struggling to avoid falling off. Testing her hind leg, she immediately regretted her decision when she felt a burning pain shoot up her leg. She winced and tested the other leg with similar results.

“Luna! What happened right there!” Twilight was forced to yell, the wind blowing by deafening the both of them.

Hearing the muffled words from behind her, Luna slowed down a little to hold a conversation with the mare, “What was that Twilight?”

“I asked what happened, and what did I get hit with?” Repeating her question and adding another, Twilight is starting to feel concerned about the dull throbbing pain around her thighs and rump.

“Twilight, I’m bringing us to a nearby cave where we will be safe, I’ll explain it all there, alright?”

Instead of responding, Twilight nods into Luna’s fur just, above the plated armor protecting most of her neck, and they sped up heading for the mountains.

***

A few minutes later, the pair arrived at the cave. Setting the mare down, she quickly got to work, knowing that time was important now. “Twilight, you said you got hit by a dart right?”

The pain had spread now to encase the entirety of her hind legs and the lower part of her midsection. It was a dull pain and not all that worrying, but Twilight was unable to move without extreme pain shooting through her body. “Yeah, something hit me, here,” Pulling up her cloak she pointed at the small still bleeding wound on her rump, “My legs kind of hurt, a dull pain. Whenever I move either of them it hurts a lot.”

Luna’s expression changed from stoic to noticeably sorrowful, “Twilight, I’m so sorry,” Luna moved around the side of her to examine the wound.

“Sorry? Why, what’s wrong Luna? Am I going to be alright?” Twilight was starting to panic a little bit, the sorrowful expression on Luna’s face and worried tone scared her.

If she is worried about it, what’s wrong with me?

“I promise you Twilight that you will be fine, I will not let you die from this despicable toxin. I’ll do anything to make sure of it.”

Toxin!?

“Luna, I’m scared, what happened? What do you mean Toxin?” Luna’s words were not making her feel any better. I could die from this?

“Twilight, I have to say again I’m so sorry. I should’ve taken extra measures to protect us from an attack like that. We were surrounded by the ponies of this world, a scouting party probably, and they use those darts to capture or kill, depending on the situation. The darts inject a venom from the red legged arachnids you encountered a week and a half ago. At least I know they are still using some of the same methods from the previous millennium.”

Twilight’s eyes opened as Luna paused. Those things? How do they even harvest that! It must be incredibly dangerous to do so, the venom must be worth it. “Am I going to be ok? Is there an antivenom?” Twilight noticed the pain spreading further throughout her body, her veins pulsing with a dull pain now, starting to consume her chest. It still wasn’t very powerful, but noticeable for sure.

“Yes there is an antivenom that the ponies usually keep in abundance, but there is no way I can transport you there safely. I cannot create it either, and the fatality rate without an antivenom is near 95%. It is similar to the venom produced by the black widow spider that exists sparsely in equestria, but much much stronger.”

Wait.. the black widow usually causes extreme pain and muscle spasms along with nerve damage... “But the black widow has a venom that kills nerves and causes excruciating pain, I’m not in unbearable pain and I’m pretty sure I have no nerve damage.”

Luna smiled lightly, but it was clear she was masking sorrow, “Yes my little pony, it isn’t quite the same, but it once the venom overtakes your immune system it will be something that will change your view of pain. I’m so sorry.”

Twilight hadn’t noticed until now but one of Luna’s hoof guards was glowing, runes lighting up from the bottom to the tip of the spike about a quarter of the way up her left foreleg.

“What do you me-” Then Twilight suddenly lost control of her words, instead transitioning into an involuntary scream. The dull pain she felt pulsing in her veins and muscles transitioned to an extremely sharp fiery pain. It was as if somepony had jabbed dozens of white-hot blades into her body at the same time. Her eyes widened, and jaw dropped, a hoof suddenly coming down on her neck. The pain of the impact was so minimal when compared to the sensation shooting through her body she barely noticed.

The screaming stopped, unable to form sounds anymore and Twilight heard one more thing whispered into her ear, “I’m sorry, Twilight.” The voice belonged to Luna, but sounded.. wrong somehow. Even if she had time to contemplate the voice, the pain would’ve stopped coherent thoughts, but alas she didn’t have the time as two small needle-like objects pierced through her neck, knocking her unconscious.

***

March 17, 1789 BN

“LUNA! THROW DOWN ARMS AND ORDER YOUR ARMIES TO SURRENDER, THIS IS OVER, NO MORE BLOOD NEEDS TO BE SHED.”

Twilight’s eyes opened and the mare removed herself from the cold grass and dirt, moving into a sitting position trying to take in her surroundings. She was in a very large, flat grassy field. It was dark, probably just past midnight judging on the moon’s position.

Twilight looked to locate the source of the voice that had awoken her from slumber. Tracing sound for a moment, she saw floating in the air thirty feet above her a very large majestic looking mare in complete armor with a billowing multicolored mane. Celestia!? Shocked by her discovery, the mare quickly shouted her name but received no response. Further observing her surroundings, she noticed behind and below the royal mare was an army. A huge army. There had to be at least 100,000 ponies in formation, all wearing golden armor and wielding spears and bows.

“WHY, MY DEAR SISTER YOU SHOULD AT LEAST ADDRESS ME PROPERLY BEFORE YOUR DOWNFALL.”

Looking to her right to find the source of the voice, she noticed a small cloaked figure hundreds of feet from herself and celestia was floating in front of a high walled city with thousands of ponies lined along the walls, and what could only be much smaller numbers just outside the gate.

Luna..? But how? What is this?

It was obvious Luna was just acting tough. Her numbers were crushingly smaller than Celestia’s, there was no way she could win this.

“Luna!” Twilight yelled as loud as she could in order to get the mare’s attention, but it didn’t work. Once more she called to Celestia, asking what was going on, but once again she got no response. Twilight got up from her rump and ran towards Luna and the town.

In only seconds Twilight suddenly appeared in front of Luna and her smaller army. “Luna!” she yelled once more, but to no avail. What is this? Is this a dream? It has to be.

“VERY WELL SISTER. YOU LEAVE ME NO CHOICE”

Twilight turned back to see celestia charging her horn and her army charging, shaking the ground as they moved en masse

Twilight turned in time to see Luna landing and talking to what Twi guessed were her generals. After an exchange of a few words and an interesting salute, Luna took flight again and intercepted a beam of light that Celestia had shot from her horn.

Twilight ran towards the fighting pair, yelling at them to stop, there wasn’t much she could do and she knew it was a dream but it still tore her apart to watch. As she was running she suddenly teleported up into the air, following the pair as they deftly dodged each others bursts of magic.

“Luna! It is not too late to stop this! We can end this bloodshed!” Celestia tried once more to reason with her sister as their armies clashed below.

Wait a minute. I know what this is!

“I will not dear sister, You’ve taken their affection long enough!”

This has to be back during the Lunar Rebellions, there's no other possibility!

“Very well!” Celestia shot a very powerful blast of magic at Luna, and Luna drew her blade and blocked it, the runes on the side lighting up as they absorbed the powerful magic. The blade had a purple hilt, with an erratic velvet red pattern running up the foot and a half long blade.

Wait. That looks a lot like mine.

Luna quickly charged at her sister with a push from her wings, propelling herself forward at near supersonic speeds. Celestia dove to the right, dodging the blade for the most part. A cut appeared on her cheek, blood quickly seeping from it. Before she had time to react, Celestia had been hit in the back with a beam of magic and plummeted straight into the castle at the center of the city.

That's the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters! This must be one of Luna’s memories.

Twilight was still floating, and looked down below her too see a gruesome sight. The armies clashing below her were almost impossible to see due to the hail of arrows the two sides were exchanging, but whenever there was a break it was clear that it was not much of a fight. Although Luna’s ponies seemed more skilled, there just was not enough of them and they were being slaughtered quickly.

Turning around, Twilight saw Luna chase after her sister into the castle through the hole in the room her body created.

Before Luna got there, Twilight popped into the castle and saw Celestia had already recovered and had a glow on her horn. “Oh sister. Why do you leave me no other options?”

The tile behind her lit up and removed itself from the floor, a statue of a tree slowly rising with five gems on the outside and one in the center.

The elements of harmony! It was easy to recognize the familiar objects. Luna landed softly behind Celestia and yelled at her, “What do you think you’re doing, sister?”

Celestia was forced to turn around, hearing the cloaked mare dash off of the tile, her blade in front ready to slice through her. Celestia brought up her left forehoof and projected a shield in front of her leg guard, hardening it to the point where it could take the impact. Luna’s blade bounced harmlessly off of the metal protector and shocked her, leaving her open to a blast of magic that burned through her cloak and fur, scorching her belly.

“LUNA!” Twilight rushed towards the fallen mare, jumping over her body and in between the fallen nightmare and her mentor. She tried to protect the mare, but she remembered once again. It’s just a dream Twilight. Calm down. Let it play out, this isn’t real. But it did feel real, and it looked real too. It was becoming difficult for Twilight to control her emotions

“I’m so sorry Luna,” The last words Celestia said to her sister before powering the artifacts behind her.

Luna’s memories! Twilight realized exactly what this was, a fragment of her friend’s past. Why am I seeing this? Why is Luna losing this fight, she’s never fought so badly when she taught me.

The gems circling Celestia furiously soon turning into the all familiar rainbow swirl. Nightmare Moon looked up from the ground, raising her sword, a final, futile attempt to protect herself.

Twilight looked at the mare on the ground behind her, her cheeks becoming wet from the tears that appeared when she saw the panic behind the draconic pupils, but the emotion on her face showing nothing of her weakness.

“No!” The corrupted Luna yelled once more as the swirl of powerful magic hit her full force, prompting a loud blood curdling shriek from the mare.

“I’m sorry,” the voice was clouded and unidentifiable, and the world around her faded to black.

***

August 27, 1008 PN

“Luna!” Twilight gasped as she shot up from a sleeping position, her eyes watering. The room around her was dark, and there was a stiffness in her neck preventing her from turning it completely.

“It’s okay Twilight, I’m right here,” Luna’s voice pierced the darkness and brought a light to which Twilight could cling too, and she quickly turned her body, jumping at the mare's voice.

She effectively tackled Luna with a hug, knocking the wind out of the surprisingly unarmored alicorn.

“OOF!” Luna coughed a little, eventually replacing the lost air in her lungs, “It’s alright Twilight, you’re safe, you’re going to be fine. I removed most of the poison and gave you the means to survive it. You’re with me, we are in a cave miles from the other ponies,” Luna returned the mare’s embrace, trying to comfort her.

Twilight sniffled, trying futilely to stop tears from rolling down her cheek, “I sa-saw your memory o-of the last day of the wars” Twilight was able to stop herself from weeping uncontrollably, at least saving some dignity.

What will she think of me, crying like this? Faust I’m too weak! It was only a bloody dream!

Luna’s expression darkened, thankfully covered by the blanket of night.

Damn. I thought I would’ve been able to do it without giving her that fucking curse.

“It’s okay Twilight. That’s the past, it’s over now,” Luna ran her hoof through Twilight’s hair, trying to calm her down. “The nightmare is gone,” Luna lied, concerned about the lavender mare.

Twilight’s tense muscles relaxed, allowing herself to relax and sink deeper into the warm coat of the mare she resided on top of. The feel of Luna’s hoof running through her mane was incredibly calming, and the sniffling stopped soon after.

Luna’s expression softened at the cease of tears. She continued to stroke Twilight’s mane and moved her other foreleg down to her back, loosening the tension and contently closing her eyes.

I’m sorry Twilight, that I’ve trapped you here and for the curse I’ve given you. But right now, nothing can be as great as this moment. You’ve been the best friend I’ve ever had, and now it’s my turn to return the favor.

Soon a gentle monotonous beat made it’s way into Twilight’s ear, and after a second she realized it was the quick heartbeat belonging to the wonderful mare below her. The sound gave her an anchor, something she could connect to and knew wouldn’t ever leave her mind. Twilight lost herself in the calming sound, her worries floating away, dissipated by Luna’s embrace and calming words.

Twilighted lifter her head from Luna’s chest and noticed that she could see the sparkling maned alicorn clearly, almost as if it were day. Her lips were curved upwards at the edges to form a small smile, eyes shut and a large tuft of hair covering the majority of the right one.

*Thu-thump*

The night had suddenly become silent, even the wind dying down.

*Thu-thump*

Her heartbeat was getting faster as she stared at the mare, the alicorn’s face exuding beauty. Twilight’s face unconsciously got closer, as if to further observe the flawless perfection of the mare close to her.

*Thu-thump*

Luna’s eyes open slowly, alerted by the breath’s of the unicorn above her. To her surprise, the bright purple eyes she was staring into were only inches from her own. Twilight’s eyes had black bags underneath them and were very slightly bloodshot from the small amount of tears she shed. Her mouth was slightly open, edges pointed to form a smile similar to her own.

The mare's eyes locked for a few more moments, and when Twilight got ever closer Luna’s heartbeat sped up drastically and her eyes widened a little bit more.

Is this really going to happen ? Excited, this brought forth new emotions from the Alicorn. She is pretty, and incredibly smart. A great friend who will always be there. Luna had felt the pain and pleasure of love, the pain of abandonment and the pleasure of companionship. Every time though, even if she hurt and grieved, it had always been worth it. Sure it was a quick start to something like this, but it was worth it.

Twilight was lost in a cloud of emotions, on one hand the mare merely inches from her was one of her best friends in the world, and she would be spending a hefty amount of time with her over the next few years, but on the other Twilight had come to realize over the last week she had a hardcore crush on the princess who was way too good for her and probably doesn’t share an iota of the interest Twilight has.

*Thu-thump*

This was her chance though, this could make or break everything. What if she doesn’t want something like this? What if this is too quick? She will probably hate me forever if it isn’t right. Is it really worth the risk?

A final breath escaped Twilight’s muzzle and the smile from Luna dropped to a flat line, her muzzle also opening just a tiny bit, as if inviting her in.

*Thu-Thump*

Screw it

And in the cold, silent night of a full moon, on a planet millions of miles away from home, in a cave on the side of a mountain, a new relationship between a scholar and a princess was born with a kiss.

Or it would have, if it weren't for a pain that suddenly shot through Twilight’s neck, the same side that was pierced the previous day. “AGHHHHH!” Twilight quickly shot backwards and rolled around on the ground grabbing at the left side of her neck, pain similar to what she had felt as the venom took hold of her body but concentrated on one area.

It felt like a magical fire had seared the hairs off her coat and destroyed the skin that lay under it, burning freely and passionately spreading from her neck throughout her entire body. Like something was consuming her, something that would only cause pain.

“Twilight!” Luna jumped up and towards the mare, noticing the strong pink glow of the seal Luna had been forced to place on her neck. In order to treat the mare to help her survive the poison, she had been forced to give Twilight some of her magic. Alicorn magic. Something that her body shouldn’t have been able to handle, something that would’ve killed anypony if not for this seal.

The seal had activated, destroying itself in an attempt to save Twilight’s body from the nightmare that infected the magic that had been placed into her body.

At least she won't have to deal with what Celestia and I do. Hopefully the breaking seal should destroy the magic and the damned nightmare inside of it.

There was nothing Luna could do but watch the mare writhe in pain, and quickly realizing where they were, she had to get both of them out of the cave immediately or risk another unwanted arachnid encounter.

“I’m so sorry I had to do that to you Twilight,” a tear fell from her eye as Twilight stopped Twitching and screaming, finally falling unconscious from the pain. Thankfully, there should be no significant changes to Twilight because of the magic. The seal broke and that should be the end of it, whether it eradicated the magic and the Nightmare inside of it was uncertain, but hopefully this event can be forgotten

Luna lifted the mare onto her back and cast a summoning spell to retrieve a blanket to wrap around Twilight before jumping off into the black.