After Day

[I’ll be here until I die. There’s no way out.]

My horn flared to provide light for my journey. It had barely reached midday, yet servants were relighting candles and lanterns. The Sun was just too low in the sky. My best wasn't enough.

Two guards flank me as I pass another two stationed atop a set of stairs. I completed my descent into the dungeon to see yet two more stood on either side of a door. One breaks their focus to bow and address me.

"She's erratic, Princess, but the wards are holding."

"She tried to escape?"

"Only a few attempts at teleportation."

I nod and order the guards to remain behind as I open the door. I sensed the sound spell break a moment before the cries hit me. I froze under the sobs of the mare that had been my first friend after my return from the Moon. As of two days ago, I had held that Nightmare Night as a precious memory. Now, it was a taint that made me hesitate.

That hesitation didn't last long when I instead chose to recall my sister's sleeping form.

"Twilight Sparkle."

The unicorn was lying limply on the stone floor facing away from the bars of her cell. Once she heard my voice, she did her best to stand, but only managed to flip over. I saw those eyes light up in recognition and relief even through the pain that clouded them.

"Prin- Princessssss L- luna. What happened? What's going on? Why am I so-?" Twilight's rambling was cut short by a cough that caused convulsions throughout her body.

I stared at the trembling pony; I had to once again smother the compassion I held for Twilight. It was easier that time. "What art thou talking about?"

"Wh- why... am... I...?" Twilight took deep breaths between every word; something was clogging her lungs.

"Why art thou hurt?" I stood at my full height, starting down at the quivering mess. "Because a few brave souls had the gall to stand against Celestia's student and the Element of Magic. Because they'd rather throw themselves into a hopeless struggle than see their friends and loved ones slaughtered."

To my surprise, the news didn't cause Twilight Sparkle to shrink away, instead I saw her steel herself. "A dream. This... is a dream." She let out something that was a cross between a sigh and a chuckle that quickly turned into a coughing fit. "I went to sleep and woke up... here. Now... you're here." Her eyes stared directly into mine, she was no longer afraid and seemed to be pushing back the pain. "There's a lesson in this. I made some mistakes, and my guilt created this nightmare. We just need to figure it out."

She let out a strangled gasp as I lifted her with my magical aura. "Twilight Sparkle, it may be that this is a nightmare, however it is not a dream. The reality is that Ponyville burns and the blood of many of her citizens is on your hooves."

That bravado she had managed to amass melted away as she fell back into terror. She tried to form words, but both her body and her mind fought against her.

I felt like I had been in her place once. To many an outsider, the Luna of one thousand years ago lived a very privileged life. They would paint her fall into Nightmare Moon as nothing more than greed, a need to claim more than what she was given. They would miss all the subtle things that drove her to that fate, all the rebuffs and disgusted looks that built up over the course of several hundred years. They never saw the delusions she created to hide herself from the guilt of her actions, they only bore witness to the results that came when those delusions became reality.

Perhaps, Twilight Sparkle's past was dotted my more misery than she let on. Perhaps, those lovely bright eyes and energetic smiles were just a mask to cover the broken mare underneath. Perhaps, that mask grew cracks until just a bit of that darkness slipped through.

Perhaps, Twilight Sparkle could recover and learn to live, again, just like I had.

"The... elements. Can we... fix... me? I need to talk... to Celesti-" The unicorn gasped and chocked. She began to struggle as my magic tightened until I dropped her. I couldn't trust myself to hold her safely anymore.

"Perhaps." I mused. "The events that led to this do not matter. We need only focus on the results." I had been trapped on the Moon for a millennium for my crimes. I see no reason to withhold punishment from another.

Twilight convulsed and struggled to fill her lungs through a fit of coughs. I watched as she writhed. Despite my new resolve, I nearly brought myself to help her on three occasions.

The first healing spell died when I recalled the Element Bearers, how they had been hunted down and wiped out.

The thought of a second spell was thrown out when Twilight's pitiful form reminded me of the white and brown colt I had managed to pull from his burning home mere moments before it collapsed on his parents.

I had questioned myself one final time when I placed my hoof on the door. This was my sister's student after all. Celestia's Sun was never brighter than when she was speaking about Twilight Sparkle. If she were here, she'd bend heaven and earth to help the young mare.

But my sister wasn't here.

I pushed the door open and left behind a silent room.