The Moonlit Road

by Arnyx

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Nightmare Moon, Original Character
Length: 8012

A gemworker and jeweler who was afraid of the dark finds herself in the service of Nightmare Moon.

Harmony Shard is a gemworker and jeweler in the town of Mirrorside, and she has always been afraid of the dark. One day though, a mysterious stallion comes to give her an opportunity to take a new path in life, under none other than Nightmare Moon.

Harmony Shard is a character I made for a Ponyfinder campaign which never happened. There is some inspiration taken from Ponyfinder, particularly in regards to Nightmare Moon. I will attempt to minimize this.

Published 2022-02-01 04:10:00 UTC
Last updated 2022-02-04 02:28:13 UTC

Chapter 1: A Night to Remember

It was a Monday morning when I got ready to open up shop for the day. “Harmony’s Shards: Gemstones and Jewelry,” open from noon till sunset. It’s a somewhat tight window, but those do tend to be the most active hours of the day anyways, so I’m not missing out on much.

I was just finishing up getting everything ready; heading back into my workroom, the door to which was plastered with my cutie mark; a shard of emerald. I entered, picked up the two gems in my magic, and turned back towards the door. On my way out, I took a quick look at the reflective side of one of my backup gem-cutting blades I had mounted on the wall. Coat is a nice, clean white, my lavender mane is smooth and flowing, and my deep violet eyes stared back at me with confidence. Something told me today would be an interesting day.

I returned back to the main floor of the store, putting my newly acquired gems into cases alongside all the others—rubies, opals, amethysts, some on their own, others parts of necklaces, amulets, or other pieces of jewelry. It’s something one would expect to see in big, high-class cities like Kadaes or Azura, the two closest neighbors of the town of Mirrorside. They’re part of how I make a living, selling expensive gems in a small town, rich ponies will often travel between the two and make pit stops here. We receive a lot of other traffic as well, from weary travelers looking for rest or drinks or to enjoy the view of the almost mirror-smooth Lake Reflection, which Mirrorside sat next to. I had just finished making a custom peridot for a repeat customer from Azura, who should be picking it up soon. Once I was satisfied with the layout of all the displays, I went to the front, flipped the sign around, and returned back to my spot behind the counter. It’s only a few minutes before I hear the Ding ding of the front door opening.

“Ah, Antiquity!” I greeted the bronze-colored pegasus, “come to pick up your peridot?”

“Hey, Harmony Shard! Indeed I did, and I’ve got the remaining 300 bits,” the pegasus said, pulling a bag of bits out of his saddlebag as she approached the counter, setting it down.

“Final inspection?” I levitate the gemstone over for them to see, setting it on the counter. On the surface it’s a relatively simple triangular shape with rounded edges, but it had some detailed engravings, which is what validated the 600 bit price tag associated with it. A few moments later, Antiquity placed his hoof on the gemstone.

“Wonderful!” he happily took the gem and slid it the rest of the way across the counter and into his saddlebags. “It’s a fine addition to my collection!”

“You always say that,” I joked,

“Well it’s true! You make some good things, that’s why I come through here so often!”

“So how long are you staying this time?”

“About three days is all, I want to enjoy the lakeside for a little bit before I head back home,” he paused for a moment, “and perhaps spend a little time drinking at the tavern, it’s been a good while since I’ve had any.” He chuckled.

“Well, I hope you enjoy your stay here, maybe I could join you as long as it’s not late at night.” I shuddered at the thought of the creeping darkness. Even closing at sunset felt a little too close for comfort, but I needed something more solid to consider closing time.

“Heh, well unfortunately unless you intend to close for the day I don’t think our schedules would line up, and I’m not staying all the way until sunday.” Antiquity turned around, “well I should probably get going now. Until next time!”

“Alright, see you later!” I said as the pegasus walked out the front door, the bell dinging once more as the door opened and shut.

I looked out the window. Sunset was growing near. I started tapping my hoof on the ground as I hoped ponies would start to file out soon, and luckily, the store was almost empty. Then a unicorn approached, wearing a dark hooded cloak that prevented me from seeing their face. They approached the counter silently.

“Hello,” I said as politely as I could to the mysterious figure, “what can I help you with?” the strange unicorn was silent, simply levitating a scroll over in front of me. I took the scroll in my magic and opened it. It featured an image of a moon-shaped amulet. No, not an image, this had measurements and views from multiple angles, it was practically a blueprint with how detailed it was.

“Sir… Sir?” they nodded in confirmation. “Alright. Sir, while this isn’t the most complex request I’ve ever gotten, it is highly detailed. While some of my most complex designs have gone to about a thousand bits, if you want me to be as exact as is on this scroll, it’ll probably be closer to two thousand. If you really want this, my policy for custom cuts is that the client pays half of the price in advance, so unless you’re carrying a thousand bits…”

I was interrupted by two large bags being sat on the counter, both labeled “1K.” I didn’t know how to respond.

“Sir, you… you only need to pay half in advance,” I recollected myself, “and Sunday is when I close to do customs, so you’d need to come in a week from now to pick it up.” He pointed at the calendar behind me, to tuesday.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t just close down to do a commission. It may be two thousand bits, but that’s still a business-” another thump of a bag, labeled “500.” this stallion really wanted his amulet, and he wanted it now. “Alright, fine, I’ll work on it tomorrow. You can come near the end of the day to pick it up. Happy now?” The stallion nodded politely and, without another word, turned and made their way to the door.

I stood still for a moment before looking out the window once more. The sun had just touched the horizon. I quickly ran back into my workroom and tossed the bags and scroll in there. Rushing back to the front, I grab a lantern and turn it on, heading to the front door, flipping the sign to closed, and shutting and locking it, not bothering to put away my wares. That conversation had taken longer than I’d thought and I’m not staying out at night, especially after someone as shady as that stallion had approached me. I trotted home quickly, staying close to the glow of my lantern. I had set up my shop near my home for just this reason, to minimize the amount of time it would take to get home should it get dark.

Upon entering my home, I pressed a button on my wall which set off a spell matrix to make all the crystal lights in my home glow. I can’t thank Light Etcher enough for helping me with this. More calmly now, I made my way to my kitchen, turning on the much brighter lantern inside as I started to prepare myself a small dinner, just some salad. It was quickly thrown together and eaten, I was functioning on autopilot here, and immediately after finishing, I got up and went to my room, deciding to have an early night, turning on all the lanterns in my room. Nice and bright. After I was comfortable, I flopped onto my bed, and as the tiredness of the day brought me swiftly to sleep.

I was surprisingly energized upon waking, earlier than usual, I might add. Perhaps it was the early night I had. Either way, I was ready to get to my shop and open up for the day. I got up and went to the kitchen, quickly poured and ate a bowl of cereal, made my mane and tail, and got my stuff together. It was a quick trot over and I unlocked my store and went inside, remembering how I forgot to put away my gems. Oops. Well, I went back to my workroom to grab some gems to fill the empty spots, and then saw the bags of bits and the scroll sitting on the ground. Ah, right. That.

I sighed and decided I’d better get to work on it. I approached my collection of rough gems to find a moonstone, the material requested, lighting up my mini forge for later. Taking it to my skeif I began to grind it down to a more appropriate size, the diameter about the size of my hoof, and flatten it to be half the diameter of a bit. This was the easy part. After I felt it was sufficiently sized and ready, I went to do the cut for the moon shape. I couldn’t use my saw for such a task though; sawblades and inside curves do not mix. So, instead of going to my saw, I made my way over to my mage cutter. It was a relatively simple device, it took magical energy from a crystal and converted it into a beam I could use for cutting.

I funneled magic into the crystal and flipped the connecting rune into place, starting up the beam. I marked the path to cut with a marker, placed the moonstone onto the plate where the beam sat, and slowly moved it through the beam, cutting along the line I marked. This was a much slower and more deliberate process than simply flattening a circle, as one wrong move could ruin the whole thing. About a minute of slow, careful movement and the cut was done. I shut off the mage cutter and lifted up the moon-shaped moonstone. I took the center piece and put it away in another storage bin for potential reuse. Waste not, want not, after all.

I placed the moon on my tool desk to do the fine detailing, and checked the heat of my forge before sitting down at my tool station, placing the scroll beside the gem to use as a reference. Taking a variety of tools in my magic, I go to work, smoothing out what little imperfections exist in my cuts. This is the most time consuming part of my work, due to the precision demanded by the client, each action requiring intense scrutiny before I made it to ensure no part of this was even a little bit off. Despite the strange stallion forcing me to close down today to do his commission, he paid the price of the gem—plus extra—up front for it, so it had to be flawless. I pulled over my magnifier and looked through it as I started my work. taking great care, I began to cut and chip any little bump I saw, polishing it smooth after each change to ensure no bumps would remain. This gem was going to be so smooth you’d think glass was rough by comparison.

About an hour of painstaking observation and careful modification, I carried the gem over to one of my clay boxes, where I pressed it in to make a mold for a socket. A little magic works to swifty dry it out so I can put it in my kiln for firing. And now the waiting game begins, as I wait for the forge to finish heating up and the mold to fire. I looked out the window, it’s almost noon. Have I really been working that long? Luckily that means that the forge should be heated up, so I can get started on that. I put some silver into the forge and let it heat while I waited for the socket cast to finish being fired.

It had been about two hours since I started firing the new cast. I’d gone and done my casting of the chain links for the amulet and assembling them, just having the two ends open to attach the socket to, and checking the kiln the mold was finally done. I removed the mold from the kiln and turned it off, bringing it to my forge and pouring the silver into it. Just a little more waiting and everything will be ready. Looking outside it was getting close to sunset and the stallion should be arriving soon, but luckily the process was almost complete. When the casting was complete I’d just need to place the gem in the socket and hook it up to the chain, simple. After about two minutes I removed the socket from its mold, placed the gem inside and magically affixed it, then attached the chain to each side of the upper portion of the socket. This thing was really worth what he paid. I headed back to the counter, carrying the amulet with me, waiting for the arrival of the stallion. Luckily, it wasn’t long, ten minutes at most, before the hooded stallion came back to fetch his new jewelry.

“Ah, welcome back. I’ve got the amulet you requested, take a look,” I say as I levitated it over to him. My aura changed to his as he took the amulet and began his inspection. He spent about five minutes inspecting the necklace before nodding.

“Is it good?” I inquired, and he nodded his approval once more, sat the amulet on the counter, and turned towards the door. I grabbed the amulet, walking after him, “Sir, I’m pretty sure this is yours.” he stopped, shook his head, and then pointed at me before going through the exit door. I followed quickly behind him, calling “wait! Where are you… going…?” I trailed off as when I opened the door, the stallion was nowhere to be seen. I spent some time searching the local area before just calling it quits. Was this meant for me? If so, why? Why spend so much on this? And why rush it? It’s not like my birthday was coming up. I decided there was nothing much I could do. I went back inside, picked up the bags of bits from yesterday, locked the door, and then left to go home. On the way back, I decided that if this was a gift, I may as well wear it. I slipped it around my neck and when I returned home, I took a look in the mirror. It looked good on me. Surprising, given the mare I was.

I opened my eyes standing in the middle of Mirrorside, around noon, and yet there was nobody. I was deeply unsettled as I started to search around.

“Hello? Anypony there?” my calls were met with naught but silence. I looked out across the lake and noticed a big shadow, like day was rapidly turning to night. Looking up, I saw the sun start to fade, being blocked by the moon. Oh no. oh no oh no oh no. I started hyperventilating as I ran around looking for some sort of light to hide in before the darkness reached me, but there was nothing. It was daytime, so of course no external lights were on. I did the only thing I could think of and ran, ran towards my home where all my precious light was. As it came into view, a shadow fell across it, and then me. Then I saw faces. Not those of ponies, but white, evil faces glowing in the blackness, monsters out for me and my blood. Had they killed everyone? Is that why there’s nobody around? Am I the only pony still alive? I ran, ran like my life depended on it, because I’m pretty sure it did. I ran, but the darkness grew faster than I could run, and in my rush to flee the monsters, I tripped, falling over and sliding across the ground. When I opened my eyes I was faced with a completely eclipsed sun and a horde of terrible shadow monsters. My worst nightmares made manifest. I closed my eyes, ready to accept my fate…

And then I felt something. Something growing within me. I opened my eyes and stood up, the creatures laughing at the futility of my petty resistance. There was a glow from my chest. I looked down and saw I was still wearing the amulet from yesterday. I looked at it, and then at the monsters. Some of their expressions started to change. A few began backing away as my confidence rose. I smirked, feeling this new energy within me, this power, this will to overcome. I reared up and slammed my hooves into the ground, a shockwave rippling across the ground, a few shadow creatures instantly dissipating. Those creatures that were still feeling confident now showed fear themselves, the same fear I felt. One tried to attack me, though it was in vain as I took it in my magic and slammed it into the ground. The rest started to run, just as I did, but I wasn’t about to let them get away. My horn lit up with magical energy, and it started shining bright as the sun, piercing the shadows and turning them to nothing. The light from my horn died down, and I looked up at the sky. There was no longer an eclipsed sun, but instead a moon. The stars suddenly warped, forming into a sort of cloud that came down in front of me, and upon touching the ground, coalesced into a new form, that of a tall, black alicorn mare with leathery bat wings, wearing ornate blue armor. The cloud of stars now formed itself into her mane and tail, which flowed in a nonexistent wind. She looked at me with her slitted blue eyes and I yelped. No, it couldn’t be…

“N-Nightmare Moon?” I was about to run away, this isn’t something I was cut out to deal with, but then I took a deep breath, looked her in the eyes and said “Nightmare Moon, whatever pain you may wish to inflict on me, I will not go down without a fight!” I hoped and prayed that she was more intimidated than I was scared.

“I have no intentions of harming you, Harmony Shard. In fact, I came to congratulate you.”

“So be it,” I said, getting into the best battle stance I could… “Wait, what?”

“I came to congratulate you,” she repeated, “for what you’ve done here. You faced your fears, and learned not to run from the night, but to conquer it.” I was confused, wasn’t this the embodiment of nightmares? Who brings fear and darkness all throughout the land?

“B-but I thought you were evil. Th-the stories-” she cut me off with a scoff.

“Tales of old, tales once true, but true no more. You see I once was exactly what you described: I brought fear and darkness everywhere I went. But things have changed. I have learned, I have grown, and that is no longer me.” she paused. “Princess Luna. We both share the same domain, the night and the moon, but we wish our ponies to treat it differently. Luna would encourage what you did—you ran and tried to avoid the wrath of the creatures of the night, but I encourage something different,” she looked me directly in the eyes “I encourage them to conquer it, to treat every problem as a challenge to overcome, to let opposition make you stronger.” I was too stunned to move as Nightmare Moon approached me. She leaned down to level her face with me, “I can teach you, like I’ve taught so many others. All I ask for in return is your service. Should you refuse, the only punishment is that of a missed opportunity.” The mare backed off “So, what do you say?”

My thoughts were racing. This is Nightmare Moon we’re talking about, she’s evil… but if what she said is true, is that really the case? Did she do this? She did, didn’t she? She brought these terrors, she created all this fear, she… made me stronger… It was a test. And I passed. Did she want to cause terror? Or did she just want to make me stronger? And the night? The dark? I’d have to… no, no I can face it. I defeated these specters that were actively out for my blood. I can face a little darkness. I’ve proven it.

“Yes,” I finally said, “I accept your offer.” She smiled a big, surprisingly caring smile.

“I’m glad to have you.” her horn lit up…

…and my eyes opened up. I was back in my room. It was the middle of the night and all my lanterns were off. I should be scared, and yet I wasn’t. I got out of bed and onto my hooves, making my way to the door, opening it up to a place I’d never seen before. Mirrorside was dark, illuminated only by the gentle glow of the moon. It was… beautiful. I stepped further out into the night, looking around at the beautiful place I’d never known before. Stars dotted the sky, the moon watching over them, over me, over the whole world. I continued to walk down the silver-bathed town, simply enjoying the peace and quiet of the night. Just me, my thoughts, and the moon. As the moon began to set, I took a seat at the edge of the mirror smooth surface of Lake Reflection, a second sky and a second moon to be seen in its waters. Peace. Tranquility. Beauty. I can hardly believe I’d been denying this my whole life.

“I take it that things went well?” I turned around to see the mysterious pony from yesterday, finally speaking. That voice, I recognized it…

“Light Etcher?” The stallion smiled as they threw their hood off, revealing their gray coat and light blue mane.

“How’s it going?” he said with a smile.

“But… Why did you choose me?” I inquired, “you chose me, the pony that could barely stand a dim room, to serve under Nightmare Moon?” he sighed.

“That was the exact reason. I hated seeing you scared of something so simple as the dark. You were more afraid than young foals,” he paused, “no offense.”

“None taken. It’s not like I ever denied it or anything.” he nodded in response and continued.

“I thought that making you face your fear would be a good way to help you get over them.” I interrupted with a shout.

“Wait a second! it was you who caused my nightmare, wasn’t it?! I was terrified! I thought I was-”

“You were scared, yes. That was the point. Well, not the whole point. The whole point was, as I said, to make you face, and more importantly, overcome your fear.” I raised my hoof to object, but nothing came out.

“I… you’re right…” I lowered my hoof. “Thanks, Light,” I said as I smiled at him.

“Glad to have been able to help. It’s also pretty nice to have someone who knows now.”

“Knows about what?” I asked, and then realized how stupid a question that was, “Oh, right. Nightmare Moon. This was… a decision I was unsure about, and I’m still not entirely sure.” Light Etcher came and sat next to me by the lake.

“Hey, remember that myth about the lake? If you look into the mirror smooth surface of Lake Reflection on a clear moonlit night, you’ll see your ideal self,” He looked towards me, “I think tonight fits the criteria. Wanna take a look?” I consider for a moment, before standing up and leaning over the lake, looking in. what I see is myself, but wearing a purple cloak alongside my amulet. Beside me stood the ghostly visage of Nightmare Moon. I sat back down.

“So this is what I’m destined for, then. This is my future, to stand beside and serve Nightmare Moon.” I take a deep breath. “This is my purpose. I’m ready. I’m ready to join you, and to walk the moonlit road.”

Chapter 2: Into the Night

I felt the feeling of my bed beneath me and my blanket overtop. Morning already? I shifted, tired like I’d been up all night… and then I shot up. I’d been up all night! Well, the latter part of it anyway… I think? How much of that was real? Any of it? Did I actually meet the real Nightmare Moon? Swear myself to her service? Stay out all night? Was Light Etcher really…

I jumped out of bed with newfound energy and immediately started running to my door, slamming it open and closed again as my gallop to Light Etcher’s house began. He lived a good ways off from Mirrorside itself, though was technically still a resident of it. I ran and ran across Mirrorside, completely ignorant to the relative darkness of the early morning, the moon amulet I’d never taken off, and the bewildered stares of the few ponies out this early in the morning.

A few minutes of full-speed running and I stopped in front of the door to Light Etcher’s house. It was mostly stone, so it was easier to engrave new runes into it if he wanted to power some new thing that he built into his house, as he so often does. Gasping for breath, I started knocking at his door.

“Light!? You … you in there!? I need to… talk about something!” I heard the clopping of hooves on stone approaching the door, and then it opened, revealing the stallion I’d been looking for.

“Harmony! I’d been hoping I’d see you! Come, come, I have much to show you.” He excitedly beckoned me inside and I trotted inside, Light closing the door behind me as he followed. The inside of Light Etcher’s home was lit up with a combination of magically-powered lights and the glowing lines of the runes which powered them.

Unlike most runesmiths, he was more than capable of using and abusing runic matrices to their full potential due to his position on a magical ley line. It functioned as a virtually infinite source of power for his runes, using some ambient magic absorption runes to fuel the matrices.

Seeing the inside of his house was always very nice for me, it made me wish I could live on a ley line so my house could always be lit like this. But I wasn’t here for pretty glowing lines today.

“Light…” I needed to figure out how to phrase this, “...was last night real?” he chuckled a little bit.

“Ah, I can understand the confusion and disbelief, it was a big and sudden change after all, and it all had occurred during and directly after a dream,” he stated, matter-of-factly, “but to answer your question, yes. It was real. All of it.”

So it was real then. The rush of confidence and power I felt after defeating the monsters in my dream, the feeling of safety knowing that the queen of the night would protect me in darkness, and the beautiful tranquility of the night that I never knew before.

“Here, I wanna show you something,” Light Etcher said, as he pulled me along to his hallway to seemingly nothing, before lighting up his horn, causing the end of the floor to shift and fall into a set of stairs down into his workshop.

“Made something new?” I was still a little shell shocked from finally being able to process my current situation.

“No, it’s something rather old, but something you’ve not seen.” he started to walk down the stairs and into his workshop.

While the rest of his house had runic lining, the inside of his workshop was absolutely crawling with them, used to power various devices for inscribing runes, forging items, and so much more. I’ve seen it many times before, I was almost used to it, and jealous that he got to live with all this lighting I couldn’t have.

“Y’know I’m pretty sure you’ve shown me every single thing you’ve made down here… multiple times.” I stated, and he shook his head.

“It’s not in here, it’s in there,” he said, pointing at a wall.

“It’s a wall.”

“So you think. That’s the point.” he said, as he approached, pressing his hoof against the wall and lighting his horn, a few seemingly random runes across other walls having the magic flowing through them change from blue to the yellow of his eyes and horn, before the wall in front of him began to shake and shift, falling away into a new hallway and a new set of rooms. “Later I’ll set both this and the workshop entrance to be usable by you,” he said casually as he walked inside the secret hallway, and I ran to follow him, the door closing a few seconds after.

There were a few rooms connected to the stone hallway, which surprisingly only had one line of transport runes running along the top and into each room. It was the room at the end of the hallway that we entered, though, which was mostly empty, but at the edges of the room there were various tables and drawers, unlit candles and chalk sitting atop them, and more likely than not the drawers were filled with more of each.

“This is the ritual and meeting room,” Light Etcher suddenly said.

“Meeting room? Are there others here?” I inquired as I looked around the room. Light Etcher had picked up a few candles and started lighting them using the sole rune of the room, one which created fire.

“Oh, no no no. I thought that was established last night with the whole ‘I finally have someone who knows’ thing.” He placed the candles in various locations around the room as he spoke, “No, devotees of Nightmare Moon are rather scattered. Communication and coordination would be near impossible, were it not for this gift she had given us.” He moved to the center of the room and sat on his haunches, then tapped the spot next to him. “Come, sit. I’ll show you.” I hesitantly approached and joined him on the floor.

“Sooooo… what happens now, exactly?” Light Etcher closed his eyes and spoke something under his breath, and suddenly all the orange candle flames turned a cool blue, the sudden change startling me. “Light, what do I have to do?”

“Close your eyes, repeat after me,” he said, and I followed, closing my eyes. He took a deep breath. “My queen of the night…” he paused for me to follow.

“My queen of the night,” I mimicked.

“Allow me to dream the shared dream,”

“Allow me to dream the shared dream,”

“-and bring me into the night.”

“-and bring me into the night.”

As I finished that line, the floor seemingly fell out from under me. A few seconds passed where I felt like I was falling, and then suddenly I felt ground beneath my hooves. I opened my eyes and found myself gazing at a teal and magenta sky full of stars, the floor seemingly made of the same material.

“Hey Harmony,” I jumped, startled at the sudden voice of Light Etcher.

“Light… you almost gave me a heart attack, by Celes-” I was cut off by Light covering my mouth with his hoof. Right, probably not a good idea to use her name here… wherever “here” is. Light removed his hoof from my mouth and turned me around. What I now faced was a massive temple—more like a castle, really. Black stone and stained glass windows were positioned all across the outside. The massive stone doors at the front had silver linings that displayed iconography of the being the temple was dedicated to. I was stunned.

“Welcome to the Temple of the Night.” he said, breaking me out of my stupor, “this is where we devotees of Nightmare Moon come to meet. It’s a part of the Realm of Dreams that Nightmare Moon has sectioned off for us, keeping us safe from both Luna and dream demons.

“Dream demons?”

“You think that we’d worship our queen of the night if she still brought fear and nightmares? No, she doesn’t do that, she hasn’t in thousands of years. Nightmares are caused by dream demons, which Luna attempts to ward off as ponies sleep.” Light Etcher began walking towards the gates of the temple, which started to open automatically as he approached, and I swiftly followed.

We entered into the atrium of the building, which had hallways on either side to different sections of the massive building.

“Let me show you around,” he said, turning to the left and opening the door. The room was large… larger than it felt it should or could be. It was a library, filled with seemingly endless tomes, some ponies roaming throughout.

“The library, a collection of knowledge that Nightmare Moon has acquired over her thousands of years of existence, all assembled into one place,” he said as he approached one of the spruce shelves, pulling out a random book. “Honestly, I’m not entirely sure how big this library even is, and it’s for the reason that you should be able to find virtually anything nonfiction, even books that don’t exist elsewhere.”

I nodded, still trying to comprehend the immense size of the library. Each row was probably about as long as my entire shop before coming to a gap and shifting slightly. I couldn’t see how far it went. Light Etcher put his book back on the shelves and began to speak once more.

“Now then, the other side,” he said as I started walking back towards the atrium and over to the other room. It was mostly plain, except for racks of weapons and armor stands, a few areas sectioned off as arenas, and a group of ponies using one of said arenas. “Sparring ground, for testing your skills in combat, and while in reality one would have to hold back so as to not injure or kill their opponent, due to this being the realm of dreams, no risk of death exists. You are able and encouraged to go all-in; hold nothing back.” he approached one of the weapon racks, filled with just about everything you could imagine. Swords, spears, axes, they were all there.

“Am… am I going to need to fight?” I asked. I had never considered injuring someone, let alone killing them.

“Ideally not, but it’s better to be prepared just in case. You will probably end up fighting here, if nothing else.” I wilted a little bit at the idea that I’d be forced to fight and kill, but I can’t just pretend I’d never have to. I suddenly question why I’m here, what exactly is forcing me to serve her. Should I just back out now? Leave and pretend none of this happened? Do I owe her my continued-

“Harmony.”

I jumped as Light Etcher snapped me out of my thoughts. “You alright?” he asked with concern.

“I… I don’t know if I want this. To fight and maybe kill. Why am I here?” I started to tear up, and Light Etcher moved to my side, putting her hoof on my back.

“Hey, it’s okay, Harmony. Everything is gonna be fine. You’re here because you’re strong, and because I want to help you become stronger,” he reassured, “Nightmare Moon trusted that I would make the right choice in who to bring on board, and so far you’ve proven to her that I was right, that you’re someone destined for great things.” I sniffled a little.

“But why am I here? Why am I going to put myself through these things? Why am I going to train to fight and maybe kill ponies? Because I might need to? If I weren’t here, would I still need to? It was such a heat-of-the-moment thing I did in a dream.” I dropped to my haunches, and Light Etcher sat down next to me, stroking my back with his hoof.

“Harmony, if you don’t want to spar, nobody will force you. We encourage ponies to be ready to fight, but we aren’t tyrants. You are perfectly welcome to never enter this room again if you don’t want to.” He stood up, bringing me to my hooves as well and started walking us both out of the room and the temple, dropping us both down outside. “Harmony,” he lifted my face to look at his, “I’m here for you, to help you every step of the way. While Nightmare Moon encourages one to be strong for themselves-”

“But I’m not!” I interrupted, tears still filling my eyes, “I just broke down at the idea of… of fighting and now I need you to help me…”

“You didn’t let me finish.” I just stared at him, nodding for him to go on.

“While Nightmare Moon encourages ponies to be strong on their own, she fully acknowledges that even the strongest pony cannot weather every storm alone, and that sometimes the greatest show of personal strength is knowing when to ask others for help.” I sniffled again in response as I attempted to pull myself together. “Some of her most devoted disciples have had times where they had faltered, or questioned their own strength.”

He looked around for a moment. “I know someone personally who had a similar experience to you, who questioned themselves, why they were here, learning to do questionable things.”

“A-and who would that be?”

“Me. When I was first introduced to the idea that I’d have to do questionable things, like killing, in the name of my new mistress. I had someone else comfort me, like I am with you.”

“R-really? You’re not just saying that?” he shook his head.

“It’s true. Harmony, I really hope you can be like me, to learn from this moment and become stronger for it,” he gave me a pat on the head, “do you want to go back?” I nodded.

“Alright. All you have to do is close your eyes, and tell yourself to wake.” he sat down, closed his eyes, and disappeared a moment after. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and told myself to wake up.

Suddenly, the floor felt like stone, and upon opening my eyes, I was back in Light Etcher’s home. Light Etcher came around in front of me.

“Safe and sound at my house now. Nothing to worry about now.” my breathing becomes slow and shaky.

“I… I don’t know what’s happening anymore. I don’t know what I’m doing or why I’m doing it…” I looked up at Light Etcher. “Is… is everything going to be okay? Am I going to be okay?” My amulet started to glow with gentle, blue light. It was likely meant to be calming, but it ended up being more worrying. Was I being watched? Did Nightmare Moon see me break down? Would I be punished? My breathing sped up.

“Hey, hey, look at me, calm down…” I looked Light Etcher in his yellow eyes, “breathe. Breathe.” I slow my breathing again and swallow. “Do you want to go home, Harmony?” I shook my head.

“stay here with me.” I said, and Light Etcher nodded.

“Whatever you need. Do you want to stay here or go back to the workshop? Or maybe my bedroom?” I stood up.

“Anywhere but here…” I started walking to the end of the hallway, which Light Etcher opened for me. I sat down right outside, not wanting to move any further than needed. Light Etcher followed out and closed the secret door behind me. “I don’t know why I even accepted her offer.”

“Nightmare Moon promised you strength, and told you you’d do great things.” I nodded. “She told you that she’d make sure of it, and she will. Somewhere inside of you, you knew that. That’s why you accepted.” I was silent, just staring at Light Etcher. My tears were starting to disappear and I was slowly starting to stabilize. “If you think that you’re weak, Nightmare Moon is giving you the opportunity to prove otherwise, to others and to yourself. That is why you accepted.”

I nodded. Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. I finally felt strong, like I could do anything. That was why I joined. I blinked away the rest of my tears, took a deep breath in, then out, and then spoke.

“I… I think I get it now. I understand why. The feeling, of power, of confidence, of being in control. I wanted more of that. I wanted to be able to live strong, confident, afraid of nothing,” I swallowed, “today was the exact opposite of that. I looked at a challenge, at something that I’d have to overcome like I overcame the shadows, and instead of rising to the task, I broke down.”

I started to speak with purpose, “I can’t do that. Not anymore. That’s not the kind of mare I want to be. And it’s not the kind of mare I will be. I’m going to be strong, and strength starts with facing adversity.” I took yet another deep breath and felt all the tension that had built up in my body fade away. Light Etcher started clopping his hooves in applause.

“Bravo! You’re getting it! What you just did here is exactly what we preach!” heh. It was, wasn’t it? Maybe this whole thing was a test? Like the shadows in my dream last night? “Do… Do you want to head back to the temple?” he tentatively inquired.

“No, no I don’t think so. Right now I think I want to stay here. Tomorrow, though, after work.”

I shot up to my hooves

“Oh my Celestia I never opened up shop today! Light, I think I need to-” I was cut off by Light Etcher placing his hoof on my mouth again.

“Just rest. No need to stress yourself out again. You’ve had more than enough for the day.”

“I… you’re probably right. And I want to stay here with you for now anyway.”

“Oh, one other thing: I’d prefer we don’t use Celestia’s name here. I’ve not necessarily got anything against it, it’s just an expression, but it’s probably a good idea to phase it out of your vocabulary for others who may be a little more… fanatical about it. I’d say ‘by the moon’ is a good choice.”

“Oh, oh, Cele- I mean by the moon, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m not offended, again, it’s mostly for the others.”

“Heh, right, right… sor-” I cut myself off. “Let’s just… relax a bit. Hey, where did you get your cloak from yesterday?”

“Oh, that? Made it here.” he walked over to one of his many runic devices, “this thing is quite nice. Takes wool, silk, whatever, and it waves it and dyes it to whatever prompt I give it. Do you want one?” I nodded. “Alright, let me just get some silk. Nice and smooth for someone like you.” he started over to the exit, calling the stairs down again. “Oh! Can you start up the metalworking machines over there?” he gestured to a set of three runic devices, “I’ll need them to set up the fastener.”

“Actually, I think I have a better idea, if you’ll bring down some silver for me.”

“Oh? I’m intrigued. Alright, I’ll be right back,” he said as he climbed the stairs, which closed up right after him. I went over to the metalworking devices and started them up, pressing the glowing runes on each of them, which caused each of their runic matrices to light up. As more glowing runes floated into the air and presented themselves as buttons, I realized I had no idea what I was doing, and decided to just wait for him to get back to walk me through it. Maybe then I could use these myself.

A few minutes later, Light Etcher returned downstairs, carrying a sheet of silk, a little bit of silver, and a crystal.

“Here we go, plus a little magical crystal so I can set up your access. Fill it, will you?” he levitated the crystal over to me and started with the machine to make my cloak. I took the crystal and did as he instructed, filling it up with my magic for his purposes. Afterwards I glanced over at what Light Etcher was doing, to see him placing the silk into the machine and pressing a variety of floating rune buttons. I had no clue what he was doing. When he was satisfied, he pressed a button and the whole runic matrix lit up, engulfing the silk in light.

As the first device started running, he turned to me with the silver, levitating it over to me.

“So, there’s the silver. Do with it as you will.” I took the silver in my magic and looked at him for a moment, before he realized, “oh, right, forgot. This is just so natural to me, y’know? Other ponies don’t usually come down here so I never have to explain it,” he said, taking the silver back. “So in that case, what did you want to do with this, exactly?

“Well… I was hoping I could add onto my amulet so it could be used as the fastener for the cloak. Y’know?” He considered for a few moments before placing the silver into one of the machines and playing with the runes a bit. When he turned the machine on, a few rune-carved stones floated around the silver chunk, then started projecting beams, cutting it into shapes for two sets of clasps.

“Amulet,” he said, and I floated over the amulet. He placed it on a different machine along with one of the sets of clasps, each facing to one side or the other, pressed a rune, and the device flashed brightly. Removing the amulet found the clasps fixed to it. At that moment, the light from the device making her cloak died down. He picked up the cloak in his magic—violet outside, black inside, just like what I saw in the lake. He took the free clasps and once again used the fusing device in order to fix the clasps to the cloak in another flash of light.

“Is… is it done?” I asked, and he responded by levitating the cloak and my amulet back over to me.

“Try them on.” and so I did, putting my amulet back on, wrapping the cloak around my body, and fastening it to the new additions to the amulet. The cloak was long enough to obscure my body and keep me from being identified, including covering my cutie mark. The cloak also had a hood, just like Light Etcher’s. Hiding my identity should be relatively easy like this.

“How do I look?” I asked, though given that they should look just like in the lake, I’m sure the answer was-

“Absolutely stunning! Crystal Springs has nothing on you!”

“Oh, shut up you,” I said with a small giggle. Today really turned around quite a bit, hadn’t it? Light Etcher seemed to share the sentiment.

“You seem to be feeling a lot better now. If you’d like, maybe I could show you how some of these things work, you could come and use them if you need,” he offered. Usually I would brush it off because I’d need to get home or I could just use my workshop equipment, but this time…

“Y’know what, I’ll take you up on that. It’s not like there’s much else to do, y’know?”

“I do indeed, but which to start with?” he pondered.

“Maybe the metal cutter?” I proposed.

“Sounds like a plan. Now then, you already know how to turn it on, so let’s figure out how to define a shape…”