Dark Side

Dark Side

(Clop-lite Version)

By: NeonEclipse

Luna just couldn't keep still as she switched between watching the door expectantly and pacing in her room as the appointed time drew near. Twilight would be joining her tonight, which in itself wasn't that unusual of an event given the nature of their relationship, but tonight would be different than any other.

She had sent a letter to Twilight asking the unicorn to join her tonight. But she hadn’t told her that the reason she called her was so that she could show the mare one of her deepest secrets. Or just how important or life altering it could be once she did know, but why cause her to get worked up before she even got here? Which wouldn't be much longer now. She was sure that Twilight would be on time, she was never late when Luna called for her.

She was debating not telling her, just calling it off while it was still not too late to do so, but she had already come this far and she needed to tell her. She couldn't keep this secret from her anymore. She loved Twilight and she didn't want to keep secrets from her. She wanted Twilight to find out now, when she had control over the situation, rather than something else bringing it to light.

But this wasn't something that could be handled easily. After all, she wasn't all that sure if Twilight would still even love her after tonight. At the very least she hoped that she could keep their relationship after everything was done. If Twilight couldn't accept it she could always just ingore it and never speak of it again, besides, she was already used to keeping it hidden.

There was a familiar knock on the door to her bedroom and she heard a voice call through the door, “Princess Luna, Lady Twilight is here to see you.”

Luna gulped and steadied herself before answering back, “Send her in please.”

The door opened as one Twilight Sparkle unhesitatingly walked inside her room. It was no rare occasion for Twilight to spend time with Luna in her room and all of the guards knew about and respected the relationship between them. As far as they were concerned, as long as the princess was happy, so were they.

After his duty was done, the guard went to take his leave and return to his post outside the door but before he could go, Luna stopped him. “There is no need for you to guard your post tonight, you have my permission to have the rest of the night off duty.” The guard nodded and quickly turned to go, through the dark princess still noticed the light pink tinge on the fur of his cheeks before he turned. They had worked out a way to give Luna and Twilight their privacy after Luna got particularly loud one night night last summer with the royal Canterlot voice. They found themselves in quite the situation as a group of guards burst through the doors as Twilight and her were engaged in... activities.

Though this night that was about the last thing on her mind.

The guard took his leave, closing the door behind him, and it wasn't until the door clicked shut behind him that Twilight chose to leap across the small gap between them and dive onto Luna, bringing them both down to the throw pillows on the ground locked in a kiss.

“I missed you.” Twilight said, looking up at her with a wide smile.

Luna smiled back and ran a hoof through her mane. “Did we not just see each other three days ago?”

“Has it been that long already? No wonder I missed you so much.”

Once again she was pulled into another kiss but as much as she wanted to just forget about her plans for this night and just embrace the mare in her arms, she couldn't ignore it any longer. It had been eating away at her more and more as the days went on and it was beginning to show whenever she saw her.

Twilight, sensing her partner's hesitance, held her endless barrage of kisses to look up at her.

“Whats wrong Luna?” Twilight asked, concern filling her upon seeing the look on Luna's face, which was to say, not very happy. She was currently battling with herself in indecision.

Luna opened her maw but closed it once more. How could she tell her? What would she think? Or worse, how would she react?

Twilight brought herself off of Luna and into a sitting position as her concern turned into full-blown worry. “Luna, if there’s something wrong you can tell me.”

Luna got up and slowly walked to the middle of the room in order to give them some space. The comforting words from her marefriend did help the princess to gather up the courage she needed but did little to steady her nerves.

“Twilight, I have to show you something. And I'm not sure how you will take it. But I want you to know that I love you no matter what... You are... the best thing that has ever happened to me.” As she talked her body began to shake with more and more fear rising in her.

“What do you mean Luna?” Twilight asked desperately, seeing the alicorn beginning to shake from nerves was making her question just how serious this was. She got up as well, in want to do something to stop the blue alicorn from shaking. “Whatever it is... we can work through it together...”

Luna turned her head finally to Twilight revealing her eyes which were now watery with emotion. “Please. Promise me that you won't scream. Or... or run away.”

Twilight's face immediately stiffened, her mouth agape, as the words left her. Seeing the look of worry on her face and realizing what she said she added quickly. “I would never hurt you. Never. But I need to know that you won’t panic when I show you.” She had faith in Twilight's quick reasoning skill and ability to see past the obvious, but it would be nice to know that she wouldn't bolt out the doors screaming.

Twilight nodded hesitantly and Luna decided that it was as good of a answer as she was going to get in such a situation. She had worked out a couple ways to start the subject but she thought that the best way to breach the topic was to start with her past. “How much do you know about me? My past, I mean.”

Twilight fumbled a little at the question. “Well... I know that you and your sister used to rule together before...” She stopped not wanting to discuss the touchy topic. She found that Luna didn't like when the topic got brought up during a conversation and learned to avoid it.

“Before I turned into a nightmare.” She finished for her. “But do you know why that nightmare came to be in me?”

“Because ponies didn't appreciate the night and a dark spirit possessed you in your sadness, turning you into a nightmare.” she said with ever increasing hesitance. “Luna, what does this have to do with what you want to show me?”

Luna took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “Twilight. Nightmare Moon was not a spirit that possessed me. It's a part of me.”

“W-what?”

Luna closed her eyes and felt her oh-so familiar link with the moon and felt a tingling sensation run through her body as she felt it expand and change in various ways to accommodate her new form.

Twilight began to hyperventilate as the dark-blue alicorn slowly changed into Nightmare Moon right before her eyes. Her fur turning from a dark-blue to pitch black from the bottoms of her hooves to the tip of her horn, her mane and tail became more ethereal as well, and an increase in size that now left her as tall as Celestia. Most frightening of the changes was the form of two long fangs that stretched to poke out of her mouth even when closed in its signature frown. The only thing that was missing was her armor. Twilight had promised not to scream or run but she was now finding it hard not to.

Finally Luna opened her eyes to reveal two teal eyes, which upon seeing the shock and fear on Twilight's face, immediately turned sad. “That bad?” she asked her voice holding a cold ring that sounded exactly like Nightmare Moon’s.

At hearing the same voice that sometimes haunted her dreams, Twilight felt an immense amount of fear well up inside her and urge her to panic and run. Her body was now quaking slightly. “Bu-ut that’s not possible. We used the Elements of Harmony against you. I was there! I saw it!”

“'Nightmare Moon' was destroyed. But she was just a byproduct of repressed emotions. This is a part of me, a part that was filled with anger and hate and sorrow.... the elements cleansed it of all the hurtful emotions that plagued it, the corruption that was Nightmare Moon, and brought it back to what it should be. But this has always been a part of me. A darker side of me, yes, but still me. To destroy it entirely would be no different than killing half of what makes me who I am.”

“But you look exactly like Nightmare Moon. You even talk like her!” Taking another look at the fangs, she felt a shiver run up her spine.

“Please Twilight!” Her loud voice causing the purple pony to flinch and cower a little more. Luna quickly brought her voice back to a lower volume. “I'm not a monster. Its still me. I just look a little different.” Luna flashed what she hoped was a smile and added, “I'm still the pony you fell in love with.”

Luna held her head low in the most non threatening way she could and took a step towards the mare she loved, but instead of making her feel at ease the pose cause Twilight to remember her fight with Nightmare Moon and when they charged at each other. She took a step back away from the alicorn which caused Luna to stop.

“Again...” she murmured, her voice not filled with the anger that Twilight remembered, but sadness and hurt.“Is that all I am now that you see me like this? Just a monster?!”

“I don't think-”

“Then look me in the eyes and tell me you're not afraid of me!” Luna shouted, she didn't use her 'Royal Canterlot' voice but it even without it, it still shook Twilight.

Twilight's gaze fell to the floor as she couldn't bring herself to look Luna in the eyes and comply. A thick silence filled the room as her request remained unanswered. Tears began to form in the alicorn's eyes as her fears turned into reality and the pony she loved thought her a monster.

.

“Leave...” Her voice no more than a whisper but Twilight's ears flattened at the hurt in her voice.

“Luna I-

“Just leave Twilight Sparkle!”

Twilight shook a little again as Luna's voice, filled with both anger and sorrow, assaulted her. Unable to find a way to fix the situation she dejectedly made her way to the door, opening it, and exited.

The door slowly closed behind her leaving the dark princess alone. A wave of tears trailed from her teal eyes as she sat down on her bed and cried her eyes out.

Alone.

She was all alone.

Again.

Was she really such a monster?

At one time it was true that this part of her had been dark and cold, but this is still an important part of who she is inside. She loved everything that Twilight was. Why then could she not return the same? Was every loving word that the lavender mare had spoken to her hollow? Did she not mean what she said when she told her that she would lover her forever?

Why did this half of her have to look so horrible? It really did make her look like a monster. The only emotion that anypony had ever felt for her darker half was either a horrible fear or anger. Nightmare Moon had furthered those emotions but they always existed towards her.

Even that day when she first got her cutie mark as a foal.

The day when it had first appeared.

She would never forget that day...

It had just hit nightfall with the moon hanging low in the sky, waiting for somepony to help it on its journey across the heavens. Two alicorn sisters stood together in a large meadow, the white one watching peacefully as the smaller blue one faced the east and the coming moon.

Luna had her tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth and her eyes shut in concentration as she tried to use her magic to reach out to the moon. But it just wouldn't respond to her call to move. Luna slumped down in defeat as her sister put a reassuring hoof on her shoulder.

“Perhaps it is too early yet to use your magic on the moon. After all, I didn't learn to control the sun until I was a year older than you are now.” Her sister said comfortingly in assurance.

“Let me try again. I know I can do it!” She pleaded to her sister, to which she smiled and nodded her head to give it another try.

Luna concentrated much like the last time and her horn began to once again light up, but this time she kept her eyes open and fixed on the moon. The white orb in the black sky shining its white light down on the world. And slowly she began to feel the moon respond to her call.

“Tia! I did it! I moved the moon!” She cried out. It had only been a little more than a slight shift further up into the sky but, to her, it was an accomplishment beyond any other.

“I suggest you take a look at your flank as well.” She suggested off-hoofedly as the dark-blue filly bounced up and down.

Celestia laughed as Luna gasped and spun around to inspect the newly formed cutie mark which was a black ink blot like cloud with a white crescent moon in the middle.

“I moved the moon *and** I got my cutie mark!”*

She could feel a tingling sensation flow through her as she explored her new connection with the moon but was too excited and distracted to notice the change that was happening to her as she wove her way through the warm feeling.

As she turned to celebrate with her sister she was greeted not with the bright kind smile of her big sister, but with a look of shock and fear.

“What's wrong Tia?”

She lifted a hoof up to her mouth as she heard her own voice, or what she thought was her voice, but with a much deeper tone.

As she took a step forward her older sister seemed to cower a little and take a step back, keeping the space between them. She could feel tears beginning to well up in her eyes at the action. She then noticed that she seemed to be a much taller than her sister which in itself was a shock. After all, she was a lot younger than her sister.

“M-m-monster!” The white alicorn said backing away from the black alicorn. “You're not Luna!”

“Sister, what are you talking about? Of course its me!” She held out a hoof towards her sister in a attempt to convince her to stop and noticed that it had changed color. Quickly she hurried over to the water's edge of a nearby pond in order to see her reflection in its surface. What she was greeted with was not her own face staring back at her but a black furred face with bright teal eyes and a mouth that held fangs and what seemed to naturally conform to a scowl no matter how much she tried to change her expression.

“But Tia its still me! I look different but I'm still me!” She said turning back to her sister.

But she was gone.

Her sister had run away, leaving her by herself, alone.

She had scared her sister away.

She called her a monster.

Anypony that would have been walking by that night would have seen an adult sized black alicorn curled up and weeping in the middle of the open field, her face finally holding a look of something other than a scowl...

Sadness.

And, as nopony was awake during the night, there were none.

Even after she had apologized to Luna for acting that way, things were never like they used to be. And every time she revealed her darker side to her sister she would always see the fear in her eyes despite her attempts at hiding it.

She never blamed her for how she reacted that night. After getting a good look at herself in the mirror while she was alone she could tell just how scary she looked in that form. Her sister felt no love for the darker part of her. So to keep the love of her sister, she hid it. She decided she would never let her dark side out again. If she did, she would end up lose her sister. Then she would be alone again, just like that night.

So she hid it deep inside her,never letting it show to anyone. And in time her sister began to look at her once again with a face of kindness and love.

But keeping this part of her repressed for such a long time had hurt her. It ate away at her everyday to know that deep down inside her was a monster. She was just fooling everypony by keeping her less frightening form out in public. The only time she ever let her darker side out was when she was completely alone. And only as a reminder of what she was hiding.

And as the repressed side of her that ached and hurt for the attention she denied herself for years grew, she began to separate the two. Princess Luna. And the monster inside her. A nightmare.

And the dark side of her grew into a true nightmare. One that would no longer be denied.

And well... there isn't a pony alive that doesn't know the story from there.

Celestia didn't even know that it still existed within her. Not gone, just freed of it's burden and set equal to her other half again, but she could feel the scale in her beginning to tip once more. She once again was hiding it inside her. And she was beginning to fear that it would one day manifest into a nightmare once more.

So she had decided to show her other self to the one other pony that she held so close to her heart.

Twilight Sparkle.

She had fallen in love with this pony and confessed her feelings to her about a year ago. She had not felt so happy in her entire life than when Twilight had admitted to also secretly having feelings for her as well.

She finally thought that she could be loved as a whole.

But she too had been scared away.

Truly she had to be a monster, to even scare away the only pony she truly loved.

She was abruptly brought from her thoughts of her sad past as the large double doors that led to her chambers creaked open. Her tear filled eyes widened as they opened to a small gap and the purple mare that shattered her heart returned after exiting just minutes ago. Because of the way twilight was holding her face and the tears in her own eyes, Luna couldn't make out her expression and couldn't begin to imagine what it might hold. Luna could only stare at her in shock as the mare entered her room.

Why did she come back? What could she possibly have to say in a situation like this?

Her shock quickly melted into more sadness and fear as a dark thought struck her.

Had she come to end it...? Did she not want to be lovers with her now that she knew about her dark side? Luna tried to steady herself for the inevitable sadness and fury of tears that would come when she rejected her and asked to end their relationship but was failing miserably as the thought only furthered the hurt in her heart. Besides.

How could she love a monster?

For a time, neither of them said a word, and the only sound that could be heard in the room was the occasional choked sob that raked its way through the black alicorn. Luna shifted uncomfortably from her presence and was beginning to consider telling her to leave again or just take off from her balcony herself. But before she could act, Twilight began to move slowly across the room. Each step was slow and muffled by the soft carpet, but to Luna each step took ages and when they touched down they were deafening in the thick silence of the room.

This went on until Twilight had crossed the room and now stood only a few feet from the bed where Luna was now laying.

“Wh- wha..t-t do-o you wa-ant?” She choked out behind her sobs.

Twilight stiffened at her voice and to Luna's horror began to once again walk closer to her. Once she reached the bed and was but a mere two feet from her, she brought her hooves up on top of the bed, making it sink down to accommodate her weight, and lifted herself up on her back legs.

She paused for a second, hesitating, before she, to Luna's immeasurable surprise, brought her face next to the princess’ and buried her face into the soft midnight black fur of the mistress of the moon's neck, slowly shifting her head left and right, nuzzling deeper into the alicorn.

Luna gasped as she felt the unicorn press into her.

“I'm sorry...”

She felt a pair of hooves wrap around her neck and lavender mare pull herself closer to her.

“I'm sorry. I'm so sorry...”

She slowly chanted apology after apology as she squeezed the dark alicorn tightly. More tears trailed down the alicorn's cheeks, a few drops reaching the mane of the mare beneath her.

“B-but why... I'm a m-monster-”

“NO!” The shout from Twilight was forceful even with her face against the princess' neck. She continued a little more quietly. “No. You’re not a monster.” She firmly stated, holding the weeping princess in her hooves.

“You're still Luna right? You're still the pony I fell in love with, right?” The question wasn't asked in contempt but as if confirming a fact.

“Yes.” She choked out as a response and was rewarded with the hooves around her tightening their hold.

“I love all of you. And if this is part of who you are-” She paused only to bring herself out of her embrace and look into her teal eyes, finally allowing the black alicorn to have a look at her face. It was saddened but gentle and loving, not at all like the fearful face she imagined, and her eyes were also filled with tears. Twilight reached a hoof up to left side of her face to wipe away her tears and lightly caress one of her black cheeks. “-then I love this part of you as well.” And with that her lips met with the black alicorn's in a loving kiss that Luna happily returned. Twilight quickly broke it much to Luna's disappointment but only so that she could look her in the eyes and say, “I am not afraid of you.” And then pulled her back into the kiss.

Twilight eventually broke their kiss, but only so that she could place a loving lick below each of the black alicorn's cheeks, drying them of any left over tears.

“You know... when I first saw this form of you, I was terrified.” She said quietly. “But now that I can look at you without fear...” She used a hoof to softly caress the alicorn. “You're beautiful.”

“Really...? But I look so frightening like this...”

“Well the fangs are a little intimidating.” She admitted honestly. “But your eyes more than make up for it.” Twilight finished bringing herself up to look directly into her eyes, staring lovingly at the teal orbs that glowed slightly in the dark room. “They’re beautiful.”

At that, Luna couldn't help but melt into the unicorn's embrace as they looked into each other’s eyes and, ever so slowly, brought their lips together in another passionate kiss. She had done it. She had found a pony that loved her dark side. This was the best day of her life. As they deepened their kiss, fresh tears fell down the princess' face as she croaked out, “I love you.”

“I love you too Luna.”

“Please don't leave me. Promise you'll never leave me alone...” Her hooves tightened around the purple mare and she responded by wrapping her own hooves around the princess just above her wings.

“I promise.” She vowed, Holding the dark alicorn tightly against her.

To any of the ponies that had been looking up at the moon hanging in the sky, they would have seen that the form it took had changed that night and for every night thereafter from the usual full bright moon. Part of which was now visible, brightly shining its white light. The other part hidden from view, but still an important part of the sphere when it came for it's time to beautifully shine its light. Creating a variety of white crescents that closely resembled a certain cutie mark.