Lingering

She thrashed in their grip, howling. They didn't let go. They never let go.

"...yes, some signs of..."

The chains tightened as she lashed out. A prisoner. A traitor, that was what she was. A traitor of the demon.

"...surely there is some underlying..."

She had defied him. And now she was chained to the dark corners of her mind.

"...yes. Right away..."

Images flashed before her as she screamed desperately. Help! HELP ME!! The sound of it all echoed through the space.

"...hold on..."

Images of the moon's rocky surface, of a falling Celestia, of a young unicorn, and the rainbow that stood over her, overpowering her.

"We need Doctor Violet!"

She felt it next, the pain sending her nerves into agonized whimpers, and then pleas for mercy. She sobbed and struggled again, trying to escape from her bindings.

"...heart rate increasing..."

One chain suddenly broke off. Ecstatic, she reached up with her free hoof and tried to break the surface.

"It's going to be okay."

Those comforting voices beckoned her to break the surface. Reach further...reach further...

Further...

"She's out of control..."

Further...

"Sh, sh, it's just a dream..."

She woke up panting.

Sweat dripped down her forehead as her eyes darted from one patch of darkness to another. She was fearful that she was in the same depths, the same corner if her mind. But there were differences, she noted to her relief. The steady beeping, the warmth, the sleepy heaviness...

Heaviness...

She was chained. She knew it. She knew it like she knew herself. It was definite. It was precise. She was, and always would be, a prisoner.

The beeping invaded her ears, her pants turned to whimpers, her eyes became a fountain. There it was. The answer. She was doomed. She was a captive of her mind. She decided to plead with the demon. She opened her mouth, but out came only a soft cry. She tried to move her free hoof--

It strained against something. Leather?

She tried her other hoof. Leather. She tried all four of them. Leather. She was tied down by her past, by her demon.

She finally broke through her mess of sobs: "Let me go..."

No one responded.

Not her demon.

Not those voices.

Nothing. She was alone.

She strained against the leather, grunting. She whipped her head from side to side. She did anything to escape, to summon the voices, but all there came was a slam. Light flooded her vision, and she heard a clutter of hoofsteps as a couple of heads loomed into her burnt vision. Her eyes went wide. She screamed in terror, not ready to face her fate.

Fate...

Did someone say something about that? It sounded familiar. It was like...like someone she'd known very, very well had said that to her...

"Hey. Hey! Look at me."

Her eyes snapped up and met a pair of lilac-colored ones.

"You'll be alright. We're going to put you to sleep."

Sleep? No!

Listen to me.

LISTEN TO ME.

The demon was back. It was there, and it once again had complete control of her. Panicked, she began to struggle some more. She was going to escape, and she was going to--

Kill them.

No.

KILL THEM.

No!

HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME.

Something sharp jabbed into her shoulder, and she screamed. Screamed with all her might. Out came a deadly groan that soon faded into hiccuping cries for help. One by one, her limbs succumbed to numbness. Her eyelids felt like the heaviest weights known to ponykind. She fought to stay awake...

She thrashed in their grip, howling. They didn't let go. They never let go.

She was back in the dream.

She was back.

She was there.

She was once again a prisoner...

Her eyes snapped open.

Light flooded her vision again, but this time there was no rushing sounds. She sighed in relief. Maybe she wasn't tied down...

She was.

Leather. Leather. Leather. Leather. All four limbs, leather. She bit back a cry, reminding herself of the last time.

ITS ALL YOUR FAULT.

The demon was back to attack her again, this time screaming and grating its claws on her bones. She tried to shake him off, she really did, but the leather, oh, the leather kept her still and the demon, the demon...

YOU WILL DIE

DO NOT MOVE, OR YOU WILL DIE

Her struggling faded as she processed the new demand. Do not move...or you will die. She fought back a shiver and took a few breaths and lay perfectly still. Her eyes focused on a single point on the ceiling. She lay her head back. It was...relaxing. It brought her calm and resolve but yet...but yet...

DON'T BREATHE. DON'T YOU DARE BREATHE.

The voice screamed in her ear, a rabid scream that roared through her mind.

But I have to breathe.

The voice did not answer. What did it want? Was there room for bargains? What...maybe. She decided to breathe, but shallowly. As long as she didn't move, she could survive. It was a deal.

...

She woke up and found herself still tied down. She stayed still. Did not dare talk. Did not dare let her chest rise more than an inch. It was dark this time. The blinding lights were gone. The darkness lulled her to sleep.

...

"She's actually sleeping peacefully...should we, you know..."

"No. She is a dangerous criminal."

The hope inside of her died a gruesome death.

_____

Celestia watched from the one-way mirror as Nightmare Moon slept. She looked...restful. At peace. She looked like she didn't mind being restrained or being kept in a psych ward. Celestia shivered, remembering what had happened two nights before when Nightmare Moon had woken up screaming.

The doctors had never trusted her; of course, this was a dangerous case. They had immediately placed her in the leather restraints and kept her in a room at the end of a long, twisting hallway, separate from the other patients at the Canterlot Royal Psychiatric Hospital. Patients were kept from being anywhere near the place. Nightmare Moon was considerably a threat, and the doctors treated her so.

Except for Red Violet.

Red Violet had worked with the toughest cases at Canterlot Psych, and she had quite a reputation for it. Word was she had counseled Starlight Glimmer herself after Starlight's reformation. Of course, those were rumors; after all, Celestia would have heard from her former student if such a thing were to happen. Nonetheless, Red Violet was also the most trusted nurse, which was why she was the lead doctor on Nightmare Moon.

Red Violet stood beside Celestia now, nodding and taking notes. She had a long, stringy, dark pink mane usually kept in a bun at the base of her neck, and coat color of a relaxing tan. Her cutie mark was that of a checklist, for she loved to make lists.

Red Violet turned to Celestia. "Princess, I believe that we may start counseling in about a week."

Celestia startled at the comment. "A...week? You think that it's going to take that long?"

Red Violet nodded. "She will need to believe that she needs some help first. It may take a while to convince her, and in her current mental state it may be tough. We're looking at about a month, max."

About a month, max. Celestia felt icy hooves pressing on her spine. A month...was that what it would take to cure and eventually reform Nightmare Moon? Of course, Chrysalis had been given a chance but refused. And Nightmare Moon had shown with her "sister" Daybreaker that she wasn't ready to go without a fight.

Celestia turned back to the mirror and watched as Nightmare Moon slept.

Then her eyes shot open.