The Equestrian Monomyth - Book 2 - Complexs of Disharmony

One last suture, and the gryphoon's wound ended stitched up. Then, Rarity, proud of her work, cut the remains of the surgical thread.

"And that's it. This uncout and mean avian is going to see a new day." She commented. Then, she turned around and walked to a pair of nurses, who were looking at her with wariness. "Why are you staring at me like that, darlings? It's very uneasing." She looked to each one of them two or three times.

"I don't know how you can attend that bucking gryphoons. They attacked us!" Said one of the nurses.

"Oh dear! I don't know if you have noticed already, but this is a hospital, and hospitals is where patients are attended." Rarity replied.

"But they attacked us! They tried to kill the princesses! They're mean and pony-eaters! They're our enemies!" Protested the other nurse.

"Then why you brought them here, if you weren't willing to heal them?" Inquired Rarity.

"We didn't! It was the Royal Guard! They have that nonsense order to take every wounded to the hospital, friend or enemy!" Said a nurse.

"Yes! It's a nonsense! And luckily, we aren't obliged to attend them!" Added the other.

"I don't know what your parents taught to you, but that's not the way a health caretaker should behave! A true healer should always display mercy and compassion, even with their enemies, as that's what make us superior to them!" Rarity replied, upset.

"Yeah?! And what about if they get healed, and then start to slaughter everypony in the hospital, huh?! Because that's what they'll surely going to do!" One of the nurses protested, clearly frightened.

"Yeah! And we're just little ponies, weak and defenseless, with no Princess to protect us now..." The nurses started to tremble, looking to the unconscious gryphoon in the litter. "He's going to kill us all..." One of them whispered, scared.

"I don't want to die..." Whispered the other, scared too, sweating cold.

"That's not going to happen." Assured the Royal Guard Sergeant. "Cadance has just arrived with reinforcements. We'll keep the gryphoons at bay."

"Ow." The nurses sighed, relieved. "But we'll better stay away, just in case..."

"Don't worry. I'll take care of them." Assured Rarity.

"That sounded like something I'd say." Slightly happily commented Fluttershy, trotting to Rarity. "I'll help you, Rares."

"Ow. Thank you, darling."

"You haven't to." Fluttershy smiled. "But tell me, Rares, as I'm intrigued. How did you managed to overcome your hemophobia?"

"Ow! That's a very amusing tale to tell!" Rarity giggled, closing her eyes, while suturing another gryphoon. "It happened that Sweetie Belle wanted to prepare me a breakfast, and she dropped a flask down. And when I got there, scared by the noise, and saw her all stained in red... I thought it was blood! I must have fainted at least a dozen times straight, as everytime I woke up, I was looking her all red!"

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Both mares laughed.

"And that's how you overcome it?" Asked Fluttershy, still laughing.

"Not at all!" Continued Rarity. "After the thirtheenth or fourteenth time, Sweetie Belle had freaked out too, and she was trying to pick me up with her body, and thus staining me with the red thing as well. And when I woke up and saw myself red too, I just screamed so loud..."

Fluttershy looked up, recalling: "Ow. Then that's why I heard that scream the other day..."

"Sure it was, and then I started to shout: 'Blood, blood, I'm bleeding to death!' And then Sweetie Belle yelled to me: 'It's tomato puree!'"

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!" Both mares laughed again, even louder.

"Well, to make the story short, I was so embarrased, that I lost my fear to blood... ow, seems that I run out of suturing thread. I'm going to get some more." Rarity concluded and went to the hospital's medic shelves.

She was on that way, when she heared a stallion's voice: "Pinkie, wait!"

Rarity looked to the walkway, happening to see Shining armor, Cadance and Pinkie Pie, who was slowly turning back to them. Ow! Fresh gossip! Her specialty! So, she hid under the wall, to hear without being seen.

"Cadance, if you loved me as much as you say, then why you keep refusing to get married with me? I lost the count of how many times I practically begged you to!" Shining Armor inquired the alicorn.

"That's what you want? To get married? Then, yes, yes! Let's get married! As soon as Celestia gets well, I'll marry you, I swear!" Assured Cadance.

Pinkie trembled, clenched her tearful eyes, scrunched her muzzle and raised the head. Now she knows why her beloved stallion had told her to wait: He wanted revenge from her to not had prepared his party, and now he was gonna make her suffer up to the last second! And she deserved it! She deserved it all! How could she be so inconsiderate?! HOW?!!!

The world started to twirl around her. The voices sounded like an echo in a dark and creepy grave. She started to hyperventilate, her hinderlegs lost their strenght, forcing her to sit on her haunches. A piercing pain in her heart, that forced her to put a foreleg in her chest, was the dreadful sign for her nigh death. 'Please, please, say it already, say that you are abandoning me, so I can die and my suffering ends for once and for all!' She wanted to say, but the words simply don't come out from her muzzle...

"Now I'm the pony who doesn't wants to marry you, Cadance!" Shining Armor angrily assured.

'No, that wasn't possible. My ears must be tricking me', Pinkie thought.

"In this last six months, I've met a mare that have filled my heart with joy and happiness, and who doesn't spend all the time enthralling me with spells, to keep me drooling like a stupid after her!" Shining Armor continued.

'It has to be a mind trick. The mind part that doesn't want to die must be inventing that nonsense', Pinkie thought.

"I'm tired of you playing with me, as I was your toy! You didn't want to marry me, because you were minding what the other royalty would say! If you had truly loved me, nothing of that would had mattered to you! And I had enough!" Shining Armor angrily explained.

'Three times? This is starting to get weird. What if...?' Pinkie recovered her composture, hopeful, and everything started to look and sound normal, even the horrible pain was gone.

Cadance was deeply blushing. "Sorry, Shining Armor. Sorry for enthralling you. Now I realize how mistaken I was. Please, let's get married now... I don't care what they would say anymore..."

Pinkie facehoofed and gasped, scared to death, hyperventilating and sweating cold. Her heart wanted to pump out from her chest.

"I think it's a bit late for that... 'Princess of Love.'" Shining Armor sarcastically scolded her. "That's your special talent, isn't?"

"What... what do you mean?" Asked Cadance, without confidence, looking nervously to the sides.

"You cheated on me! Did you think I wasn't going to find out?!"

Pinkie looked to Cadance, astonished: "You cheated on him?! No way!" She couldn't skip a smile, and her mane and tail poofed again: She was saved.

"What did you wanted me to do, huh?! You cheated on me first! I was heartbroken and wanted revenge!" Cadance tried to justify herself.

"I didn't! I'm being respecting miss Pie all this time! You just assumed I did, and never tried to find out the truth!" Shining Armor angrily roared.

Rarity mischievously smiled too. What a juicy gossip she has on her hooves! But what she heared next, erased that smile in a blink:

"And it has to be with Prince Blueblood! The worst possible choice!" Continued Shining Armor. "He was bragging about that the other day, assuring that you have to marry him now!"

Now it was Rarity the pony taken aback. All her dreams and hopes had been destroyed like a card castle. Her illusion of marrying a perfect blue prince gentlecolt was just that: An illusion, and nothing more. Stumbling and with tearful eyes, Rarity walked to the medic shelf, to get the suturing thread, unwilling to continue snooping about.

Pinkie's tail and mane twitched: Something awful was about to happen to one of her friends. She looked back, concerned.

"Miss Pie." She heard her beloved stallion's voice, and she turned her head again, to face him, with their muzzles at mere inches from one to another: "Will you marry me?"

Pinkie was about to faint, but something clinched inside her, making her to regain her consciousness, and the twitching of her hairy parts only got even stronger, making it impossible to ignore.

"SorryShinnyIhavesomethingtodooooo!" She turned around and galloped away.

Cadance smirked, and walked to the stallion: "Hmpft. It looks that the monkey was right. You're not worthy for anymare!"

Shining Armor lowered his head, and clenched his tearful eyes, heartbroken.

Rarity had reached the medic shelf, and a sharp set of scalpels quickly drawn her attention. "Why to continue living, if I have nothing to live for?" She sadly asked herself, with crying voice, without taking her sight off from them.

"Rares, are you alright?" She heard Pinkie's voice.

With a scared gasp, Rarity quickly and loudly closed the shelf and walked some steps back, looking to Pinkie, panting and with a hoof in her chest: "Pinkie! You scared me to death..."

"I think it wasn't being scared what was gonna kill you." Pinkie joyfully dropped down.

"What? What're you talking about, darling...?" Asked Rarity, 'surprised', nervously looking to the sides.

"Come on, Rares. You can't fool my Pinkie Sense." Pinkie assured with a smile.

Rarity looked down: "Ow..."

Meanwhile, a couple of pegasi Royal Guards, coming from the recent arrived squad, a stallion and a mare, were walking to other pair of guards, which were guarding the Princesses's room:

"Take a rest, soldier. We're your shift." Said the mare.

The guardian stallion looked to a big clock in the wall with tired eyes: "It was about time. I was almost falling asleep on hoof already. Sweet Celestia! I truly need a break."

"There's another pony with the princesses?"

"Just a nurse. Miss Pie went out to dinner or something, just a while ago."

The newly arrived Royal Guards patiently waited for the other two to dissapear on the walkway, and then the mare looked to the stallion, and her eyes flashed with a quick shade of green: "Stand there like nothing is happening."

"Yes, my queen." Confirmed the stallion, like hypnotized.

Then, the mare entered the room, and the nurse quickly scolded her: "Hey! What are you doing here? You can't be bothering the Princesses! They need to resght...!" She couldn't end the phrase, as the 'Royal Guard' mare pulled out a dagger and sliced her throat, making her to bleed to death, among a few final agonic stertors.

Then, the mare approached Celestia, who was with assisted breathing, like her sister at her side. She smirked: "Justice at last, you filthy tyrant. You're going to pay now for what you've made to pass through to my kind. I only regret that you're unconscious, but I guess one can't have everything in the life..."

Pinkie's twitching doesn't look to stop: "This is weird." She noted.

"What's weird?" Asked Rarity.

"If I saved you, then why my Pinkie Sense is still...?" Pinkie's eyes and muzzle opened wide: "The Princess!" She jumped with her four opened legs in the air, scared, and then, without reaching the floor again, she darted back to the Princesses's room.

The murder mare had already raised her dagger again, this time over Celestia, when a pink blur literally teared down the door, and Pinkie and the murderous pegasi rolled on the room floor, violently bucking each other. The pegasi tried to take off, but Pinkie put a hoof in her cheek, hitting and pressing her head against a nearby metallic shelf, dimpling the metal door with a loud metallic sound. Using her levitating magic, the pegasi tried to stab Pinkie in the loin, but Pinkie managed to roll over, and the dagger ended piercing the shelf.

Then, Pinkie delivered a couple of jabs to the pegasi's muzzle, but her contender managed to pull out and in a concealed black and twisty horn, full of holes, almost pulling Pinkie's eye out. Without minding the pain, Pinkie hit her muzzle again with an elbow, and, while she was stunned, she pulled the pegasi's mare left foreleg against her body, delivering two jabs in the mare's rib, that made her to gasp and left her almost breathless, and then, she quickly projected her loinside to the floor. Pinkie learned all those moves from a time she saw Rainbow Dash and me practicing martial arts, and it was only once.

"Slave, protect your queen!" Exclaimed the 'pegasi', taken aback with such unexpected beating.

The hypnotized stallion outside the room wielded his spear and entered the room, but when he raised the weapon, Rarity stopped it with her magic: "Heeeeelp! Heeeeeelp! The Princesses are being attacked!" The unicorn mare warned, frightened.

However, the stallion sudden entering startled Pinkie enough to give time to the pegasi mare to escape flying.

"There she goes! Don't let her escape!" Rarity warned the guards that quickly came to her call.

Pinkie knocked out the stallion hiting him with a crutch, and quickly took him out from the room, where another guard held him. Then, she said to Rarity: "Rarity, quick, look for Gus, that nurse is badly injured!" She pointed the motionless earth pony, already surrounded by a puddle of blood.

After Rarity was gone, Pinkie got back to her guarding position, while observing another nurse and a strechter-bearer stallion taking away the injured mare. "Heavens! I hope she'll be alright." Then, she looked down, worried: "Sweet Celestia. I hope Shinny can forgive me for this..." She commented for herself, while starting to clean the blood in the floor.

Great agitation formed in the hospital: "Where's she?! Where she got into?! She's a pegasi, search all the pegasis mares!" Could be heard among the pursuing guards. The pegasi furtively hid behind a curtain, and a brief green flash could be seen, and then, it was an unicorn what came out, only to stop short in front or Rainbow Dash's lightning sword:

"Please, give me a reason to kill you." The cyan pegasi angrily threatened her.

"Drat! I was so close!" The newly transformed 'unicorn' furiosly complained below her breath.

It wasn't long until Shining Armor reached the Princesses's room: "Pinkie, my love! Are you alright?!" He asked, concerned, looking to Pinkie, who featured a purple eye and some scratches and bruises.

Pinkie widely smiled, forgetting the pain: Did he said 'My love?' Yes. Yes! YES! HE DID! HE DID!! A tear slid for her cheek, and her quivering eyes, were reflecting the greatest of all joys: He loved her!

"Yes yes! YES! My love I'll marry you I'll marry you I'll marry youuuuuu!" She exclaimed with happy crying voice, and both Shining Armor and Pinkie Pie, tangled themselves in the most romantic pony kiss you could imagine.

Cadance, who just have come over, just frowned, spitted to a side, turned around and left...

"Sorry, love, but I can't approve this." Were saying my marefriend to me. "Mass firearm production? Are you insane? Don't you remember how much damage was done with just a few of that things, six months ago? And we haven't enough time to, either! If Daybreaker is as smart as Celestia, she'll figure out how to use the sun spell in just a few days! No more!"

"Well, what do you propose then, my princess?"

"Stop calling me 'My Princess'. I'm not a princess yet."

"You're already one to me."

"Stop it!" She chuckled. "Come on, let's get serious." Then, she looked to her chemistry table: "Good. It looks that the formula is ready." She commented about the boiling flask. Then, she took a sample of the liquid and poured some drops on a Petri capsule, with a sample of Celestia's blood. Then, she looked it by her microscope, putting a scrunched mouth, then, quickly taking a flask and filling it with some of the liquid, and giving it to Flash Sentry, she told him: "Take this to the hospital and tell the nurses to inject it via intravenous to Celestia! Hurry up!

Once the pegasi has flown away, Twilight explained: "Well, the results aren't the best, but they'll prevent Celestia's death, at least. She'll have to take that injection daily, until we get with a definitive way to get rid of the toxine." She said while filling flasks until the boiler was empty.

Then, she walked to a board and took a chalk. "Now, about my theory: I think I figured out why you're so strong and how I can become stronger."

I looked to her, perplexed: "Already? Weren't you focusing in Celestia's antidote?"

"I can be thinking on two or three problems at the same time. It's no big deal to me." She smiled and winked.

Oh. I had forgotten how smart she is.

"Well, some time ago, I calculated what would happen to Equus, if it had a sun with the mass and at the distance the yours is. It turns that it'll be
under the effect of a radiation level so high, that all the planet will burn in a blink!"

I... blinked, astonished.

"Which means..." She continued, making a sequence of drawings and equations in the board. "That any Equish inhabitant who came to be exposed to your planet's environment, will die due radiation burning in a matter of seconds!"

I lowered my head: "Then, that means..."

"That if you have taken me to your world, I'll had died almost instantly. Burned like a coal log."

I took my hands to my head: Jesus Christ! I was so close of losing her!

"Then, this is my theory: If I came to expose myself to a progressively higher levels of radiation, and adapt to it, I can increase my magical strenght until unsuspected levels!" She happily explained.

"Or you could end turned in pony steak." I replied with a somber face. "And then I'll eat you." I direfully pointed her with a finger.

Twilight put a 'surprised' face: "You'll... eat me?" She put a hoof in her chest, with a fake gasp, joyfully 'scared'. "No!" She slightly shooked the head, facehoofing with a mocking grin.

"Yes! Absolutely! You'll be dead, anyway." I tried to sound scary, ignoring her sarcasm, but a slight chuckle betrayed me.

Twilight chuckled too: "Not necessarily. I've calculated a 77.62 percent of success rate!"

"Yeah, right. That makes a 22.38 percent of a horrible death rate, if you haven't noticed it." I protested.

"Come on, love! This can be the next hit in magical development, at the level of Starswirl the Bearded! Maybe higher!" Twilight happily waved her hoof, very excited.

I shooked my head. There was no way I'll approve such experiment. "Love, that'll surely take a lot of time! Weeks, months, years!"

"No if we do it... together..." She couldn't skip a blush.

Ahhhh. That's just so perfect. That way, I could witness her turning into dust from first hand...

Suddenly, a messenger arrived to our house, warning us about the Princesses's murder attempt. We rushed back to the hospital, and I cast my Life-Force healing spell on the nurse. But it was too late. Life has already abandoned the poor innocent pony. That day I felt so disgraced.

I looked to my marefriend, very angry: "We have to make a decision."

She frowned, and nodded. "We'll do both." She said with unbreakable resolution.

I sat down and lowered my head. Twilight hopped to my lap, hugged and kissed me in the face and in the lips: "Love, I need you to trust me. I won't be able to do it, if you aren't supporting me."

I sadly smiled, hugging and kissing her as well. "Alright. How we're supposed to do it?"

"Well, first I'll synthesize a catalyst from your blood's plasm, and I'll inject it to my own blood current, to make me radiation resistant. Then, I'll expose us to progresively more rads, while you'll be casting regeneration spells on me if I get too harmed."

"Wait, wait. That'll be a lot of pain, isn't?" I asked, worried.

"Don't worry, love." She smiled with that soothing expression of hers. "I can take it. Now, how are we supposed to get to a mass firearm production?"

Rarity was sadly looking to the hospital's hall. All major work had already been done, and she was still down by her recent heartbreaking discovery, so, she found nothing better to do than just doing nothing at all. Fluttershy trotted to her:

"Rares. What's happening to you? You're not the same from a couple of hours ago."

Rarity forced a smile: "It's nothing, Flutters. I'm just tired. That's all."

"Ow." Fluttershy smiled, buying it. "Then, why haven't you gone to rest already? I bet you're hungry. Hey, do you want to come along with me? I know how much do you like gossiping and... I have a date."

"What?!" Rarity opened the eyes, surprised. "A date?! With who?"

"Ow, there he comes." Fluttershy smiled, watching Flash Sentry landing near her.

That's it. Now, Rarity was officially pissed off. Even the shiest mare in Ponyville gets a date, while she's more lonelier than an unicorn's horn! Inconceivable! Then, Rarity took a look to Flash Sentry... 'Ohhh! He's so handsome...! I want him for me!' She thought, turning all her generosity in egotism in a blink.

Fluttershy's date passed fine at first. Rarity could restrain herself pretty good at the beginning, but it took only an attempt of Flash Sentry to cuddle with Fluttershy, to drive off her. What could be a lovely soiree, quickly turned in a unfriendly argument. However, to Rarity's surprise, Fluttershy not only didn't ran away, but she actually fought back, and ended calling her 'Bad friend' and 'You're hateful'.

That made her react: She was being hateful. She was being hateful with the lovely Fluttershy! How could she?! She tried to apologize, but the two pegasi had already gone, leaving her alone with her gruntings. Rarity looked down and started to cry: Her life couldn't get worse, right? Right?

Slowly getting back to her house, Rarity remembered how she tried to take Twilight's coltfriend as well. Could be that the reason because she always ended alone? Because beneath a false impression of generosity, an egotistic and hateful mare was actually hiding?

Wait, that doesn't make any sense. Then, why she was chosen as the element of generosity? Something wasn't right here! What was happening with her?! What was wrong with her feelings?! Why can't she be happy?!!

Rarity opened her eyes, realizing all by a sudden. She wasn't happy. She was a lonely and a narcicist mare, always too worried for looking beautiful and for to please everypony, that she never tried to please herself. She never gave a chance to herself. She... she never really tried to be happy. What... what can she do?

Without realizing it, her pace has taken her in front of her house. But she wasn't tired. She was... just sad. Luckily, she knew certain mare who's always happy and she can... teach her how to be happy! Yes! And she can take something to her to eat, and a blanket and a pillow, so she can feel confortable while standing guard! She bets that Pinkie will need a shift from time to time, to not to let the Princesses unguarded! Look what happened in the single minute she was out!

Smiling of self-reassuring, Rarity entered her Carousel Boutique, only to get blankets, pillows and some spare bits to get Pinkie a well deserved Rarity-like display of generosity!

It was the third day that Applejack was hospitalized, and she was almost recovered. The effective magic treatment, plus her natural earth pony's resistance, were doing miracles. At least, on the physical part. Emotionally, she was tore down. Lying downside with the four legs resting straight back, she had her muzzle sunk in the pillow, and she was sadly looking the occasional Royal Guard patrol to pass by, or the not so occasional gryphoon struggling to escape, quickly reducted by the sudden and inexplicable appearings of Pinkie Pie, as like she knew that was gonna happen.

At least that was funny. Seeing those bucking avians shrieking like the vultures they were, was like music for her ears. But it didn't make the sadness to go away. In the past, at least she could put some fight to her foes, but now, she was clearly outmatched. If a war gets to come open, she'll surely be forced to evacuate to a safer place, as she wasn't strong enough against this new enemies. And she wouldn't be of any help in the hospital, as she doesn't know how to cast spells. In fact, she wouldn't be of any help, at any place, at all. And that feeling of uselessness was breaking her down.

The cowpony perked an ear, and looked to a side, glancing at Fluttershy, who was coming for the ninth time to check on her. There was no way she could escape this time.

"Hi, AJ. Feeling better already?" The pegasi asked with tenderness.

"Brflfgflbrsgbfff!" Applejack angrily replied, without raising the muzzle from the pillow.

Fluttershy smiled, sweating cold, hoping that wasn't a collection of countryside insults: "AJ... I... I didn't understood."

Applejack raised her head a bit: "Leave me alone, Flutters! Buck off!"

"I'm not 'bucking off' until you don't eat properly, AJ." Fluttershy came closer to her with a dish of food.

"No!" Applejack turned her head to the other side. "Ah'm not hungry!"

"Come on, AJ! Don't force me to do this like you were a filly! Eat already, is for your own good!"

"No!" Applejack continued refusing, covering her head with the pillow.

At that very moment, Rarity happened to pass nearby. She had been trying to apologize with Fluttershy this past three days, but she kepts avoiding her, leaving her with the word in the mouth. But now it was her chance: Fluttershy wasn't gonna leave AJ without being fed. So, the white unicorn approached the yellow pegasi, who looked to her with disgust.

"What do you want now, Rarity? Don't you see that I'm busy?" She asked with unhiding hostility.

"Flutters, forgive me please. I didn't mean to be so mean in your date. I don't know what came into me." Rarity pleaded.

"I perfectly know what came into you. You were jealous, and tried to spoil off my very first date! We have nothing to talk any longer. You're not my friend anymore." Fluttershy blurted, upset.

Rarity sat on her haunches, sobbing: "Flutters, pleaaaaase. I didn't meaaaaan it. What do youuuu want me to doooo? To beeeeg? I beeeeeg youuuuu! Forgive meeeeeeee!" She raised her forelegs to Fluttershy. "Wahhhhhhhhh!" She covered her face with her hooves, crying.

"AJ, eat something, please." Fluttershy requested again, completely ignoring Rarity's plead.

Applejack opened her eyes: Maybe actually there was something that she could do?

"Flutters, Ah'll only eat if ya forgive Rarity." She demanded.

Fluttershy stopped short, surprised, with the spoon in the hoof: "AJ, that's not fair. That's blackmail." She scowled.

"Well, tha's how is goin' to be. Remember tha Ah'm like a little filly now." Applejack assured.

Fluttershy's sidelips angrily twitched: "Fine, but don't get used to this." She conceded, closing her twitching eyes. "Alright, Rarity. I forgive you. Now... EAT, AJ!"

Applejack smiled. She'll be scolding herself for a very good long season for blackmailing a friend, but it was totally worth it...

No! No! NO! My worst nightmare come true! My beloved marefriend, crumbling to dust among my fingers!

I woke up in our bed with a scared gasp, and quickly relaxed up, putting my fingers in the bridge of the nose: Thank God. It was just a nightmare. Just that. Then, I looked to the side of my marefriend, seeing her blanket flat over the mattress: It seems she woke up already, to make me breakfast again. I smiled, but then, my smile dissapeared when I saw a strange bulge in the center of the blanket. Intrigued about what that could be, I raised the blanket and: "Ahhhhhhhh!" I screamed, as there was... a small pile of dust!

"Twilight, my love! NOOOOOO!" I screamed in despair, but I quickly stopped when I heared her laughter:

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Oh, love, that was priceless! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" She was laughing her lungs off.

I sat back in the bed, but I can't get upset, so I laughed too. Karma is coming around. Isn't?

"You seem very cocky today." I 'scolded' her, with a smile. "Why the good mood? Don't you tell me that you're actually enjoying being cooked off. That's masochism. You know?"

"Don't worry, love. I told you that I can take it." She assured. "It's that earlier today, I received very good news: Celestia regained consciousness and she's recovering satisfactorily! It seems that my formula is slowly draining the toxine out from her system!"

"Oh! That's great news!" I happily cheered. "But then, that means that you can't be a princess anymore." I tried to 'avenge' from the fright to death that she made me to pass to.

"I told you that I don't want to be a princess. Not like this, I mean."

"Right. And Luna? Is she awake too?"

"Not yet." Twilight facehoofed, seriously looking to a side. "And that's weird. Her condition wasn't worse than Celestia's..."

Back in the hospital, we quickly went to see Celestia, who was besides her little sister's bed, looking at her, very worried:

"Your Highness! Welcome back!" We both hugged her and we all laughed and cried of true happiness.

"My faithful subjects, I'm so glad that you've came so quickly, as I fear for my little sister's life." She thanked us, drying her tears.

"What? Why? Her vitals looks good." Said Twilight, intrigued, looking to the monitors, and later, lightening her horn over Luna, to double-check them. "I don't see any problem, so far." She concluded.

Celestia shooked her head: "It's not her body what's injured. Is her mind. I fear she lost the will to live. That's how we lost our middle sister, Eclipse."

Twilight gasped, facehoofing: "Yes! I remember that story! Eclipse got depressed after your family's demise, and she fell in coma and died short after! But how are we supposed to save her?!"

Celestia sadly closed the eyes: "We can't. This's a battle that she has to win on her own. But I need you to be close. Maybe that could give strenghts to her... and to me. If I lose her, I may follow..." She said with crying voice.

We quickly hugged her, and Pinkie joined too: "No, Your Highness, no! We'll support you, no matter what!" We said at the same time.

The surroundings were all dark and silent, and Luna raised her head, startled: "Where I am?! What's this place?!"

She stood up, and looked around: "Hello? Is anypony there? Hello?!"

The echo of her own voice lugubriously resonated around, scaring her.

"What's happeni-i-i-i-ing?" She stuttered and trembled.

Suddenly, her attention was drawn to a group of blurry forms in the far aways. Luna shrugged the eyes, and then, she opened them wide: "Mommy? Daddy?! Eclipse?!!" She galloped there and started to look around: "Mommy! Daddy! Eclipse! Granpa! Granma! Uncle! Auntie! Cousins! You're all here!" She happily shouted. "Where were you hiding all this time?! I was worried sick!"

The blurry forms didn't answer. Then, Luna looked up: "And this is the cave where we were living before moving to Canterlot! It's like how we left it!" Then, the smile dissapeared from her face. "Nothing of this is real. Isn't?"

Then, she looked to a side, as recalling something, and she walked in that direction. There, a huge and bottomless pit could be seen. She remembered well what was it's purpose. This is where the corpses of the departed were thrown. And all what she has to do is to jump. And everything will be over. No more suffering. No more struggling. She'll join with her family and finally will rest in peace.

But she hesitated. If this option had been proposed to her only a week ago, she'll had jumped with no second thought. But not now. Now, she has a purpose. She was a 'Sparring Dummy', whatever that means. And she has an owner. She fought to save her sister because of HIM, because HIM wanted her to. She knows that her sister will never admit it, but she'll never trust her. That means, she was agonizing, and she didn't tell her how they became immortals! It's that a big deal? Come on!

No. Her only reason to live was HIM. Her only reason to exist was HIM! And HE'LL want her to live!

Luna scowled. What an irony. The Princess of Dreams, trapped in one. She turned around, only to get face to face with Nightmare Moon. Or her reflection, or... wait. She's speaking?

"He'll never be yours. His heart belongs to the little traitor." Nightmare Moon spoke.

Luna clenched the teeth: "Out of my way, nightmare! I'm not under your influence anymore!"

Nightmare Moon smirked: "Are you sure? Then, why did you do all that atrocities, huh?"

"I was under a mind control! I wasn't myself!"

"A mind control? From who?" Nightmare Moon looked around. "There's nopony else here. Come on, Luna. Who are you trying to fool?"

Luna trembled: "You... you're not real! You're just a reflection from my guilt!"

Nightmare Moon smirked again: "Well, I might not be real, but your guilt is. And, be honest with yourself. How long do you think it'll take, before you start being naughty again?" She mocked, tilting the head.

"Never! I'll never relapse again! I have a caretaker now!" Luna angrily yelled.

"You have nothing, Luna! Nothing! You're alone! Alone and despised by everpony!" Nightmare Moon mocked.

"That's not true!" Luna replied with crying voice.

"That's not true? Then, why are you doubting? Because you KNOW that you'll lose him too. You'll screw it up, like you always do, and that'll be it." Nightmare Moon cruelly mocked.

Now Luna was crying.

Nightmare Moon looked to the Pit: "And there she goes again. You're so pitiful, you know? You should jump there, and save both of us from this embarrasment. Come on. Let's jump together. At the count of three. One..."

"SHUT UP!!!" Luna screamed in the Royal Canterlot voice. "SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UUUUUUUUUP!!!"

Nightmare Moon flapped and unfolded her wings: "So, this is it? Are you defying me? You know you can't defeat me!"

Luna flapped and unfolded her wings too: "I don't care! I'll fight anyway!"

"Why?! You have no reason to fight!"

"Yes, I have! I'll fight for love!"

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Nightmare Moon laughed. "Now this is hilarious! Fight for love?! He doesn't love you! He loves the little traitor, and he'll never, never ever, love you!"

"I don't care!" Replied Luna. "I have enough with loving him in silence, in secret, hoping that someday..." Tears appeared in her eyes. "He comes to love me."

The smile dissapeared from Nightmare Moon's face. Luna's resolution was unbreakable. She had passed the test. Nightmare Moon slowly started to fade, with a final statement: "Thank you, alicorn. Now we are truly free..."

Luna opened her eyes and looked to a side: "Sister?"

"Lunaaaaa!" Celestia happily hugged her, with tearful eyes. "Little sister! You're awake! I'm so relieved!"

Luna looked to the other side, to the smiling human: "Pleb scum?"

I couldn't help but to chuckle: "Exactly. That's me." I pointed myself with a thumb.

Then, Luna looked to Twilight, who was looking at her with a furious grin: "Don't you dare..." Twilight said below her breath, with a twitching eye.