Hardships of coming back home
E2S1
Elements of Harmony are about to strike her the second time but she will have none of that. Her magic suddenly malfunctioning, she just charges The Bearers with a crazy laugh but rainbow hits her first.
Elements eat through her brain, causing immense pain in her whole body, especially head, but she gets through the pain seemingly unharmed and unaltered. The moment she starts to see clearly, she captures The Element Bearers in her magic while they are still coming to their senses and is about to…
But Celestia crashes down before her first, standing in a fighting pose she proclaims – Luna! Stop this at once. If you want revenge, take it, exact it on me, but don’t hurt anypony else.
Nightmare is startled at first, but when the wording gets to her, she spreads her lips in a wicked, fanged smile.
"‘Luna’ died a long time ago, Celestia, Nightmare is what’s left of her, besides, it suits me well and if you wanna fight, then let’s fight!" – Nightmare growls and lets out the first magic beam of concentrated dark magic, Celestia is forced to shield and in the next move she flies out of the castle to distance the fight from the six ponies within.
Celestia is trying to not hurt her sister, fighting more defense style, trying to exhaust her sister’s magic reserve. The dark sister however is not saving any energy and is going all in on her spells, trying to break through the masterful defense of her opponent. They fight hard, each trying to achieve their own goal. After some time they both get exhausted, finally ending up on a small clearing in the Everfree forest nearby the castle
Standing on the land, quite empty herself, Celestia makes her last counterattack weak but precise so it will use-up the last of her sister’s energy on shielding.
Nightmare Moon finally lands on the grass, too exhausted to stay airborne much longer.
“T’was a good fight” – she says breathing heavily, with a small sad sarcastic smile on her lips. After those words she lays down, practically falling, on her side, right in the grass, happy to finally vent her frustration and have a fight with someone but herself. Even if her sister was just toying with her as if she was a small child, it seems Celestia has gotten better than her at yet another thing – fighting.
Celestia, leaving a relieved sigh, happy that the fight has finally ended, walks up to her sister, Nightmare doesn’t move, still looking away, but acknowledges Celestia with ears moved in her direction.
“Are you hurt?” – Celestia asked with true concern and desire to help her sister, worried that she might have hurt her during the fight. Of course deep inside Celestia knew that her sister is hurt in a different way, but she just doesn’t know how to ask better right now. No matter how much Celestia was preparing for her sister’s return, she understands now how foalish any of her plans were and how inappropriate any of her prepared questions and answers are.
"Am I hurt?" – Nightmare asked calmly, though anger laced her tone, directed at her sister for even asking such a foalish question with such an obvious answer. The mere thought made her laugh, a bitter, hysterical sound, before she snapped back angrily – "Of course I'm hurt! Thanks for caring… dear sister.” – But not having the energy to do anything aside from raising her voice, she just laid her head back down in the grass and breathed, actually surprising herself that the breathing reflex was returning to her, during the fight and even just a moment ago, she had to consciously breathe in before speaking. Air actually smells nice, hmm…
Celestia just hung her head in shame for knowing how stupid this question was yet asking anyway because she just couldn’t come up with anything better. – “I… I know, I’m very sorry for everything that happened to you, to us. I was stupid and didn’t understand the situation you were in, I.. I failed as a sibling, as the one who was supposed to support you.” – Celestia sighed – “but I have changed, ever since that night I’ve tried to become better at understanding others at becoming better so that when you return, I could try to fix everything that I’ve done wrong. And ponies changed too, they no longer shun your night, many love it and will love you too when you come back… Please let’s go to canterlot castle, you can have everything you want, the throne the..” – seeing no reaction she sighs and adds – “We will rule together as before, rule the country together, make important decisions together, just, please… Let’s go home.”
Nightmare Moon with some latency answered – “It’s not my night anymore and ponies did not change, my mere appearance in that town proved that. I see you moved the capital to the Canter mountain… How can I rule the country when I wasn’t able to do that thousand years ago, when I don’t understand even the things I’ve just caught the glimpse of, everything changed. And go home? Where? Last place I could’ve called home is now in ruins and it stopped being home to me some decades before my banishment.
“Home, is a place where you can feel safe and have support of your family, and I swear that I will never let you down again, can’t we just… live like a good sisters we were?”
“Living with you, you who are better in anything and everything. You still don’t get it, you don’t understand how miserable I felt when anything I was doing was either useless or you were doing it much better than me? Before I had one thing I was better at. I was better at fighting, now look how you toyed with me, you had a thousand years to hone your skills in spars or against the foes while I could fight only with myself, how can I ever be better than you now. The night that stayed how it was for a thousand years, I bet nopony ever even had a second thought about it. Or my dreamwalking, does ponykind struggle from unstopping everynight nightmares, no, everyone is living a happy life under your rule. You were raising the moon for a millenia, has anypony ever complained, no. Tell me, what purpose could I even have in this world other than being your shadow?"
“You… don’t have to be better than me, you are you. You can live your life, find friends, your favourite thing to do and be best in it. I’m not in any way better at smithing then some other pony whose talent is smithing and I can never be as good in dreamwalking or in making the night sky beautiful as you are, no one can, it’s your talent, and you’re wrong if you think it’s useless, we have entire science dedicated to studying your night sky called astronomy, and there are many who need your advice in dreams for their life struggles. Sister, you’re not useless, do not ever say or even think that.” – Celestia came closer and was about to comfort her sister with a wing but stopped when Nightmare flinched.
“Study about no longer mine, night sky that has not moved for a millenia. Curious how they would react to me moving the stars around, I'm sure they’ll be happy. And giving advice to ponies with their life struggles, Celestia, please don’t make me laugh, I couldn’t help myself and I bet even a foal nowadays knows more than I do, seeing how much progress ponykind has made… Please stop, don’t say anything, I don’t need your pity to know how pitiful I am, if you want to take me to this Canterlot I can do nothing to stop you, just do it.”
“I won’t be taking you anywhere, we can stay here, remember the old times” – Celestia laid down beside the Nightmare Moon, the darker sister didn’t say anything but wasn’t too happy about it either. – “My offer stays though, no matter how pleasant taking a midday nap could be, we would be safer in Canterlot castle. I just.. want what’s best for you, trying to help.”
“The safest place is where I am not, this applies to everypony including me, so it’s not really making any difference. I will sleep here, the sun is not nearly as scorching as it was on the moon and it’s not so cold too so I think I will have the best sleep in millenia here. And if someone eats me here, you will be happier, trust me.”
“Don’t, please do not ever say that. I love you.” – Celestia pleaded.
“You love only whatever you think I am, you may love me now but what about when I wake up next evening, would you love me too? Me, who’s only thought would be to kill everything alive and bring as much pain as I can? And it’ll be me still, the same me who you’re talking to now. It just so happenes that I feel calm now for no reason. I guess it’s Elements work, but how long will their effect last?”
“Please, you’ll do no such thing, and I’ll be there for you.” – Celestia tried to hug her sister again but she didn’t let her.
“Stop, you don’t know me, never knew, and certainly don’t know now, after what I’ve gone through on the moon it’s only thanks to the Elements that I even speak coherently now and I have a feeling that their effect won’t last, and then you won’t be able to simply exhaust me and talk to me. You know why? Because I would fight to the death.”
After these words, Nightmare Moon turned from Celestia, laid down her head and closed her eyes just to escape her sister’s care, knowing well that she would find no rest in her sleep.
Celestia finally managed to move closer to her beloved sister without her moving away, Nightmare just had no will to protest anymore.
Celestia had a fleeting thought about her duty to inform Twilight and the government that everything is good and decided to write a simple note to Twilight, simply stating – “I’m ok” – so unlike her but she thought writing a single more word would be stealing of what she owes to her sister already.
And just like that, Celestia and ~~Luna~~ Nightmare, two sisters, stayed for the rest of the day together.
Author's Note
Pls comment and cricise. If people like this story, I could finish it.
