All Ends With Beginnings

Another Nightmare overcome. Poor Sweetie Belle was quivering and screaming over being hunted by a timber wolf. Nothing you couldn’t handle. ‘Twas a tame dream.

Being Princess of the Night, no filly nightmare could give you any trouble.

You are Princess Luna, Goddess of the night, and co-ruler of Equestria with your sister. Though, practically, you only hold ruler in title alone.

Yes, you had your say in laws, you had made your own decrees, your own guards, your own crown.

But you weren’t really the figure head. That title went to your older sister. Such is life you suppose, you did try to threaten your ponies with eternal night, and your sister had to stop you.

You loved her though. And to be honest, you appreciated your line of work. Finally doing good for your subjects, instead of threatening them.

Plus, you didn’t have to listen to the constant arguing at court. No nagging, no being paraded around everywhere, no ponies pining for your attention. So long the power YOU had wasn’t threatened, everything would be fine.

You took a deep breath in through your nose, the sweet air of the waking realm filling your lungs. The dream realm can be a bit stuffy sometimes. Though such a thing couldn’t last. You had other business to attend to. After using the little filly’s room, you made your way down from your personal chambers, towards the room of Anonymous.

The poor Human found himself here about a week and a half ago, and was plagued with nightmares since arriving. You were the one who found him wondering the palace gardens, wielding a blade stained in blood, and a strange rectangular object that was emitting a light from it. He called it a “cellphone.”

You’ve heard of phones. An up and coming new piece of technology, though not widely used, and requires a rats nest of wires to connect to different ones.

His little box didn’t have any at all, and didn’t look like what the phones here had. Plus, what does the “cell-” part mean anyways? Didn’t matter. It’s in your possession now, along with his blade, lighter, and a pack of cigarettes. You had to take it from him. He was very shaken and poised for attack, ready to draw blood from any that went near him. And clearly where ever he came from, he succeeded in doing, with all of the crimson liquid drenching the clothing he wore.

Though now you know he was probably defending himself, and in a situation far beyond his control. So his stay in the dungeon wasn’t long. He never did say what that was all about. No matter, the bigger issue was quelling his night terrors. Poor monkey would scream himself, and Tia, awake in the middle of the night.

It took you all you could to try and quell them, but the amount of magic needed was exhausting. You never even saw a bubble into his dreams, it was just him, laying down in the dimension in front of you and screaming in agony. You’ve read all your books and couldn’t figure out why that was, or how you could get into his dreams. You had to wake him up, and he’d be there for a short while with you but leave as soon as he saw you, waking up in his own bed. Thank the maker Twilight Sparkle and her friend managed to calm them down.

They never fixed it, but it was made manageable to combat, and it stopped him from waking up the castle.

You reached his room, and...was that strumming?

You silently peak your head in and look around. He was on the balcony. He was sitting there, smoking a cigarette, and playing away at a guitar, probably one from the ball room. You enter the room and start to approach Anon. What ever the tune he was playing, it was rather pleasing to listen to. Not very uplifting, but listening to it reminds you of his personality. You sat there silently, waiting for him to finish. Watching his fingers pluck and dance around on the instrument.

Once he was finished, he took a final drag from his cigarette, and smothered it out on an ash tray he had on the ground. Anon was really talented, it put a smile on your lips that instead of tossing and turning in his bed in a cold sweat, he was relaxing and enjoying himself.

Though that enjoyment was short lived, as when he turned over to put out his cigarette, he noticed you looking at him and jumped out of the chair he was sitting in, grabbing the guitars neck and bringing it up like club.

”AH! Holy, shit! What, the...Princess Luna? Oh, fuck, you scared the shit out of me.”

“Oh! Our apologies Anonymous! We didn’t mean to sneak up on you like that! We just came to do our nightly checks on you.”

Anon slowly brought the guitar down back to waist level, and finally set it on the ground, laying it against the railing.

”Ah! Of course, yea that’s...fine...”

“Yep! Of course! We can see that you are all fine as well.”

”Yep.”

An awkward pause filled the air with tension.

You and Anonymous were never on the best of terms since your first interactions. You two came to an understanding that neither of you were looking to harm the other. And you even offered to help with his nigh terrors, though, mostly so he would stop screaming.

But after the first night, a slight uneasiness would fill the space between the two of you. Anon scratched the back of his head and looked down.

”So...how long were you uh...standing there?”

You rubbed one fore leg with another and looked up no where specific.

”Oh, we...several minutes ago. We heard you playing the guitar and didn’t want to bother you.”

”Ah, I see. Thanks for that, I guess. I’m not too great on it though.”

“Nonsense, you played very well.”

”I appreciate that, but I really don’t know a lot of songs. I really was only playing because I couldn’t sleep.”

“Oh? Is it the nightmares? Have they woken you up?”

”No, it’s...*sigh*”

Anonymous turns around rests his arms onto the railing of the balcony. You walk over and stand next to him, waiting for him to speak.

”Luna, I want to apologize to you. For when I first showed up.”

“No need Anonymous! It was a misunderstanding between the both of us. You, a creature of folklore from a war like race, and we, another creature of folklore you’ve never seen, and could have been another threat for all you knew.”

Anon pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and first finger.

”Even still. I want to formally apologize. For that, and never properly thanking you or helping you with my nightmares. I really appreciate that, and you especially, after I found out about your story.”

You lifted your head up and straightened your self. So he’s been told.

“You mean about Night Mare Moon, and my banishment?”

”Yes, Twilight told me about it the first day she arrived when we were discussing the differences of our worlds.”

“And pray tell, Anonymous, how learning of my story makes you appreciate me more?”

You leaned in closer a bit to understand him better.

”Well, I was never banished to the moon.” He chuckled.

You furrowed your brow. Anon’s smile faded and he sunk back down to the railing.

”I was never banished anywhere, but I know how it feels. To be lonely, and to have a sort of shadow self consume you. Make you do things you wouldn’t normally do. Make you see things about yourself you’d never accept. Make you think things you’d never think. They give you nightmares.”

This all caught you off guard. What does he mean? Is he trying to say he feels sorry for you? What exactly is he trying to get at here?

“I...appreciate your understanding Anonymous. But we don’t understand why you are being so open about all this. We assure you we don’t need to be felt sorry for. We have accepted our past, and wish only for a better future.”

”Well. I do feel sorry for you, but that isn’t why I’m opening up.”

“And why are you then? We are most likely the one pony you’ve spoken to the least with. Yet you seem to be choosing me to open up to.”

”It’s because, out of all the ponies I’ve met, you are the only one with a backstory similar enough to mine that they may understand what I’m going through. And I didn’t know that until Twilight told me, and if I knew I would have opened up more. I’m sorry I didn’t.”

Anon stood up and dragged the chair he was playing the guitar on over next to him and sat down.

”It’s not even that I’m not thankful or don’t trust the others either. But all of my problems. The one’s I’m not willing to share, are complicated. And last time I told a friendly face about them, I was stabbed in the back, and didn’t want that to happen again. So I never told them, out of fear more than reason, but knowing your past? I feel safer telling you, and can’t give an explanation as to why that is.”

This was a lot heavier that what you were expecting to happen tonight. With a poof of magic, you summoned yourself a pillow and laid it on the ground. Getting comfortable, you sat down right across from Anonymous.

You were very unsure what to do with all this information.

Say ‘Thank You’? Is this what he was thinking about the whole time? Is this why he couldn’t sleep? Because he sees a little bit of himself in you?

“So, this is why you couldn’t sleep tonight?”

”No. That was all something that needed to be said in the first place. Something I needed to say. Just that I understand what you went through and have been through a lot of the same shit, and I’m sorry I never helped you or got to understand you because of that. I’m sorry if this is heavy and out of no where, but it’s my last night here and I might as well tell you in person.”

You were touched. You didn’t believe Anon had some demon that over took him and threatened to spread permanent night across his world. But he was willing to open up that he was also lonely and felt like an angrier part of him was pulling the strings some times.

And now it sounds like he wants to help you with the nightmares, if such a thing can be done in this case. He probably means that he will open up more. You smiled.

“We are honored to hear all of this Anon. In that case what is troubling you?”

Anon returned a small smile before putting on a more serious face.

”Well, it’s about where I was. I have so many questions about that place, or, if I actually have the answers, if I could truly accept them.”

You rose an eyebrow.

“You mean this ‘dark place’ you keep mentioning?”

”Yes.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want to bother you on such things, especially since you’ve been getting better.”

”Really?”

“Anonymous, we wouldn’t dare to think of pushing you to explain anything you were uncomfortable with. It would probably help us, but we also understand full well how hard it is to communicate about being in such bad places. Just stay in contact, and we can get to know each other better, once you are ready, you will be able to explain every thing.”

Anonymous smiled. A real smile. It wasn’t sad like the other ones. It was genuine, you’ve managed to make Anon smile a smile, and it was rather contagious as you could feel your own lips curling up.

”Thank you Luna, I really needed to hear all that. I’ll make sure to write to you often, and tell you about my progress.”

“We’d be happy to read every letter Anonymous!”

You looked up into the sky, and noticed that it was almost time to lower the moon, which meant it was also almost time for Anon to get to the train station.

“It’s almost time for you to depart it seems. I must make my leave, it’s about time to lower the moon. Thank you for opening up to us, and please, practice more on your guitar.”

”Of course.”

You get up and make your way to the door of Anon’s room, until you’re stopped by him one last time.

”Hey Luna!”

You turn around to see him standing in the balcony’s door frame.

”Would you say we are friends?”

What a silly question. You shake your head and smile.

“Of course we are Anon. Please have a good trip.”

Anon smiled and waved you good bye.

”Thank you for talking with me Luna.”

~~~~~