The King Of Nothing

Deep in the heart of the mountain of Canterlot, an imposing monolith shines with the same magenta light of Princess Luna before its edges are covered in shadows. Moments later, the princess in question marched outside as she was traversing a passage, following close behind her new student.

"We are here," Luna announces as she smiles and takes a deep breath.

Amon also looks around with some curiosity. "And where is 'here' exactly?" He noticed the figures in the distance fighting and yelling in what he could only assume was some massive fight club hidden deep inside the mountains. The two were standing in what seemed to be the ruins of what once was a temple with desk chairs and remains of pillars, all reclaimed by nature, covered in moss, vines, and flowers of all colors, all of which had their own shine and bright levels.

The rooftop was gone, leaving instead a giant hole in the ceiling. Most impressive of all was a table in the center of the table with a crude map of the starry night, with figures representing constellations and how they mirror the stars on top of where they are.

"One of the few remaining temples built in my honor from before my…" Luna stops and holds her tongue before rephrasing her words, "...from a time long past. Come on, Amon, while the night is young, let me show you around."

Luna issues him as they both leave the entrance and explore the place, following a simple and eroded stone path to a desert arena. As they march, Amon can hear the screams and grunts of others, making him know they are not alone. Others have come to this place, and it seems they arrive with the same objective in mind.

"Do not worry about any unforeseen eyes on us, Amon. They don't even know I'm here sharing their goals."

"And who are they exactly?" Amon asks as he sees what appears to be a pegasus fighting a minotaur with training gear. They both were wearing gladiator armor, and the pegasus seemed to be sporting leathery bat wings.

"Anyone that has answered the call to fight, those that enjoyed the sensation of a good brawl, the pumping of their hearts, the adrenaline of combat, or merely seeks to become stronger in a quest for improvement, I suppose," Luna explains, ending with a shrug.

"...and you are one of them?"

Rather than answer, Luna turns and looks back at him with a smile. "Is that so hard to believe? A figure like mine does not just stay like this from diet, light jogging, and hot yoga, you know." Luna announces with pride, “Even if Celly thought that is, by the stars, I just love how much she hates that she doesn’t get ‘results’ as fast as me,” The princess mentions mostly to herself and a sly smirk.

Geez, mortals, ponies, gods, it's all the same. Siblings just love torturing each other. Amon thinks as they reach the destination, a deserted arena with a sand-circling ring and various boulders spread around it. Modern training equipment was too well preserved and clean to have been here for a long time, making Amon assume Luna brought them to this location for her to use.

"...here is where I come to release stress, a secluded place not even Celestia knows where I can express my anger without any issue," Luna explains before punching a boulder next to her so hard it was smashed to pieces. "We all need a release valve from time to time. This is mine, and for the time being, it can be yours as well. I know it is hard to understand now, but trust me. This place," Luna spins and points at the area around the two, "allowed me to escape a dark place in my mind the first couple of months after I returned."

"Returned?" Amon repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"This is a subject for another time; do not worry about it. Let's begin your lesson". Extending her hand, she raises a podium from the sand and orders Amon to place the red book on it.

Once he does that, Luna opens its pages, scanning its content before finding what she is looking for, and pokes the center of it—showcasing an astral image of mares performing combat positioning.

"Perfect. This will do just fine for stretching, helping your body relax and let its innate magic flow."

Amon looks at the image in interest before remembering something. "What about our clothes? I'm used to what I have, but don't you mind sweating your regalia?"

"What regalia?" Luna asked before opening her cloak, revealing that she was now wearing a blue and silver short bra matching her short shorts. Her mane was a comb, and she had silver sweat head, wrist, and leg bands, as well as jogging tennis shoes. "Our cloaks are enchanted for this occasion, allowing us to change our clothes while retaining our normal body heat quickly. The moment we stepped outside, we were already ready."

She then smirked and stepped forward. "Were you disappointed that you could not watch me change?"

"Okay, Luna, stop!" Amon warns her, taking a step back before noticing the same sweatbands on his wrist and how he was wearing loose jogging shorts and tennis shoes and was bareback.

"Luna!"

"Don't blame me; the cloaks adapt to what makes you more comfortable to work out," Luna defends herself, raising both hands and shaking her head. "If you want a shirt, just close your cloak, imagine it, and it will be there. Although it is a shame putting away the gun show," Luna laments, admiring the body of Amon until he covers himself. "Hey! Hey! Eyes here! Luna, eyes here!" Amon demands, pointing at his eyes.

Geez, and this is what many women on earth have dealt with daily?

Amon contemplates as he steps away while Luna chuckles. "Okay, okay, my last one. I swear, in all honesty, shirtless can be better; it lets you breathe more easily, but whatever option makes you feel more comfortable is fine."

"Duly noted. I still want a shirt, thank you very much." Amon covers himself, and when he looks again, he is wearing a plain white shirt now.

"Speaking of, what about our regular clothes?"

"They are safe and sound back in my room. You can collect them once we return. For now, if there is nothing else, let us begin. Please put yourself in the first position,” Luna instructed, pointing at the images again.

Amon nods and approaches the illusion pose before getting next to it and trying to copy the position. He raises both arms and clenches his fist as if he is about to enter a boxing match.

"Okay, but don't clench your fist so hard," Luna instructs, slowly appetizing Amon as she guides his movements.

"This exercise aims to adjust your body to power, focus your mind, and release pent-up anger. To do so, follow this path: First, clear your mind if it helps you close your eyes."

Luna steps away and copies the pose beside Amon: "Next, concentrate on your fist, attune yourself with your body, and picture yourself in your mind using your senses."

Luna breathes in slowly to demonstrate, "Then comes the tricky part: your anger. Remember something that made you mad, and gather your anger into your fist, if possible, making a sphere around it."

Her hand started to glow once more. "When you feel ready, just throw your first punch."

She punched the air, and by doing so, a blast of magic was released in a flashy explosion; it was as if her hand had just exploded. Amon was so impressed that he almost didn't notice Luna looking at him.

"Okay, now you, remember: Relax, focus, remember, and release."
Amon nods, and after taking a couple of deep breaths, he closes his eyes and tries to focus on her pattern.

Once he has a clear idea of his body and recalls one of many events that fill him with rage, Amon tries to throw a punch, only for some sparks to emerge from his fist. "Again, try to remember what makes you angry, relieve the idea, but this time, don't contain yourself; act on your impulse," Luna instructs.
Amon repeats the process, obtaining similar results for over an hour, while Luna insists that he repeat the action.

Once done, Luna passed the page to sword fighting and conjured two wooden swords. "I don't know how it works on Earth, but in Equestria, your weapon is considered an extension of your arm or your wing; by channeling your mana into the object, you use it as a bridge; some of the greatest sages use staffs and even wands to perform spells of great power such as…" Luna demonstrated by slicing a boulder in half once she enchanted the sword.

"Okay, with that kind of power, what is the point of having a practice sword?" Amon questions as Luna gets to his right and points ahead to the rings where she made copies of Mark.

"He stole your face, mocked your life, and tricked you multiple times. I know that anger still lingers in you; now go." With a light push, Luna puts Amon in the ring where the sand clones attack.

By instinct, Amon raises his weapon and starts defending himself. "Don't worry; it's just props. It's a stress reliever, remember? Don't hold back; just let all that anger out," Luna calls as she sits on a bench. Amon keeps moving around until he stabs one of the props, who disintegrates.

"There you go! Keep going!" Under her encouragement, Amon fights on, relaxing more and more, yet the results remain the same: only sparks and micro outbursts. He was releasing his magic, but the blockade was still there.

Before ending the night, Luna had one last trick she wanted to try in a one-on-one fight, yet it required some extra encouragement.

"Okay, try to hit me."

"What?" Amon looked at her in surprise.

"You heard me?" She responds and raises her hands, extending her palms. "Try hitting my hands."

Amon looks at her confused before slowly approaching and shrugging, trying to punch her hand lightly, only to receive a slap on the wrist.

"Did I say love tap? I say, hit me! Now, try again, and this time, it hit me. Put actual effort into your swings," she says in a deadly, solemn tone.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Amon remains quiet before clenching his fist and trying to hit her hand, only to respond with the same result: "Pathetic, again."

Amon tries with the other hand, yet the same thing happens again: "Again."

Another miss, "Faster."

Amon keeps hitting over and over again, getting increasingly angry. "This is just sad, a grown stallion afraid to face any challenge, preferring to run away when things start to get hard."

"Enough, Luna."

"Make me. Oh, that’s right, you can't. Because that is not in your nature, is it, coward?"

"Shut up."

"Can't even throw a decent punch. You are right, you should just run, go to your human world, and hide around. I would give you two weeks before you end up homeless again."

"Shut up!" Amon tries to hit her with all his force, yet his attack is sloppy and predictable, so Luna has no issue grabbing his arm and sending him flying into the ring with a judo movement.

Yelling, Amon stood up and lunged at her as Luna rushed to him, and they began to fight. The stallion was more like a wild beast, so Luna had no issue controlling the fight, but she had seen more significant results, as his magic was discharging all over his body.

"Is that all? Is that all you can do, Amon? Show me the monster that everyone is so afraid of; show me what exactly YOU are afraid of; show me the king of nothing." Luna kept poking his buttons until she saw both of his arms starting to glow.

For an instant, time seems to have frozen over, Amon could see leaves floating in midair around him, and the shadow figures of the monsters that torture him appear behind Luna, laughing at him. Their faces were obscure in shadows, but Amon could hear them laugh, laugh as they slaughter humans, laugh as they make him watch, as hands start to crawl and grab Amon's face everywhere, making his blood boil, and he can only see red.

The drop in temperature and the glimpse in Amon's eyes were the only warnings Luna got before she responded.

In one swift move, Luna took to the air to avoid Amon's final attack as he punched a boulder that raised various bits into the air before falling with a loud thud. A clean fist hole still fumes the same smoke on Amon's fist, releasing a good chunk of his magic, draining him of energy, and making the stallion fall to his knees from exhaustion as he pants hard.

Luna descends slowly next to Amon. "That will be enough for today."

As he continues to pant, Amon clenches his fist and teeth, still frustrated by what happens as Luna rests her hand on his shoulder. "Why?" Amon whispers in a broken and shaking voice, trying to contain his emotions again and forget the still-ringing laughter in his mind.

"Because you are still holding back, conscious or unconscious, I don't know why, but I know that it harms you in more ways than one. And should your enemy find out, I assure you. They will exploit it. So, I did what needed to be said to let you release your magic. I'm sorry if it hurt you, but I won't apologize for saving your life."

Amon remained quiet as he panted and stared at the ground. The night was getting darker, and they could hear the thunder fast approaching and the smell of rain.

After a few minutes of silence, Luna decided to stare at the sky, and the darkness of dark clouds slowly swallowed it. "None of us are saints, you know? Sooner or later, we all traverse our dark paths. Darkness that would forever linger in our hearts. By ignoring and pretending that it is no longer a part of us. Not only hurt us, but it also insults every soul we hurt along the way."

"Enough, Luna! Enough," Amon calls for her in frustration. "All night, you have been spouting nonsense about not holding back this and accepting the dark past, as if you knew exactly what I'm going through. When you don't, you have no idea the sort of demon that lives here," Amon exclaims, pointing at his head.

"No, Amon! I know that demon more than well because mine has a name, and it's Nightmare Moon," Luna yells back. And before I could defeat her, she made sure to leave a trail of bodies behind," Luna confesses as the sky is swallowed by clouds. Both of them are illuminated by a streak of lightning near them before they are submerged in pure darkness.

Luna just sat next to Amon and hugged her legs in shame. "And not even a thousand-year exile inside a rock would be able to erase that memory from my head."

For a time, Amon could only stare at her in shock before closing his eyes and finally understanding the intention behind her actions. Inhaling deeply, the two decided to stare ahead of them as the rain began. Other than putting their hoods back on, they refused to move and just let the rain fill the silence.

"Do you hear them too?" Amon finally asks in a very low voice.

"If you mean the ghost of ponies praising my sister's day while insulting or mocking my night, then yes."

"Would they ever go away?"

I hope they do. By the stars, I really do. From time to time, I can still hear glimpses of them. At first, it was deafening, but now I can barely hear a whisper. But I'm aware; they are still there." Luna replies with a nod before she turns to him. “What do you hear?"

"Mostly mockery or laughter, and the sounds of machines turning on and off, saw drills, and screams. You get the idea" Amon raises a hand to see the raindrops falling from his palms.

"What hurt the most was when other victims switched sides as if they had lost their minds or maybe this hell was what they always wanted in the first place. The idea alone is enough to make me furious," Amon confesses as he clenches his fist. "I can still feel the blood dripping in my fist."

Another lighting shone on them both, and for a brief moment, Amon saw his fist soaked not in water but in blood before returning to reality.

"That is the one thing, Luna. The only thing I don't want to remember ever again."

"And yet only by confronting it, by acknowledging it, can we truly be free of them, Amon."

Luna mentioned with a sigh, "In my case, my most vivid and hurtful memory was a simple throat slice to the worst of the nobles imaginable, a snob among snobs and rotten to the core. A noble that loves mocking my night," Luna remembers as she admired her fingers the same way Amon was looking at his fist.

"Wanting only power for himself, he spread rumors about how weak and gullible I was as a princess, how any shady business could be fair play under my sky, as long as they only apologize later if caught. When I became my demon, he just kept yapping nonsense about being the hero Equestria needed and how he would present my head to my sister as a marriage proposal. I never want to remember our encounter again for as long as I live."

"Geez, he sounds like a complete and utter asshole that may have had a death wish."

Luna can't help but chuckle and nod. "I don't want to speak ill of the dead, but… yes, yes, he was. A complete and utter asshole, whom I refused to let have any control over me. Do you see now, Amon? That is why this is so important. I want to help you release all that rage inside your heart.

She sighs before looking at Amon. "For the sake of my mental health, I did it; one last time, I relived that moment and discovered a way to make peace with myself because only that way. Would that stallion lose control over me? Same for your captors, Amon; until we manage to confront them, they will still control us."

Luna explained by placing her hand on Amon's fist, "You are still trapped in that lab, Amon, just like I once was in the castle. Your mind has yet to step out of that dark room and be free. That is why I had to push you this hard. Tell me, when you threw that last fist, how did it feel?"

"It… it felt nice, somewhat like a piece of them was gone," Amon admits after thinking about it.

“And that is the whole point of us being here, before we do anything else. You need to really let go.”

“Didn’t I just do that with that last punch?”

Luna can’t help but laugh. “Oh, if only it was that simple, that was just a sample. There is way more to cleanse Amon.” Standing up, Luna offered her hand.

“There is a long journey ahead of both of us, but as long as you listen to what I say, that demon in your head will eventually be nothing.”

“...thanks.” Amon takes her hand and accepts her help in standing up as Luna nods.

“Now let go, the rain is picking up force, and Celestia is gonna kill me if you wake up with a cold,” Luna informs, pointing at the ruined temple.

“Sure, just one last thing,” Amon pleaded before taking a couple of steps away and standing in front of a boulder. Close his eyes and concentrate before throwing a punch at it. The rock jumped a little, and it left a dent, but other than a fist mark and some cracks on it, it didn’t do much.

Amon even had to retract his hand in pain. “God, that hurt! Why?” Amon asks as he stares at his hand.

“I told you, you are mentally blocked, of course your physical strength would be affected. But all in all, it seems like an improvement, now let go,” Luna repeated as she took Amon's hand, and they both retired back for the night.