Nocturne

Nocturne
Chapter Seven
Celestia

Celestia. She the oldest of the two sisters and most powerful of the two, so did she seen Nightmare Moon’s return coming? Yes, in fact, she saw her return coming; she just hoped it would not happen within this lifetime. She herself knows that the Elements of Harmony do not destroy, only change one’s nature. The Elements are those of healing. So how are Twilight and her friends supposed to defeat Nightmare Moon, when the only way to truly stop her is to destroy her, and the Elements do not harm? Quite a puzzle.

“You know you cannot defeat me.” Nightmare said with pure obviousness.

“I know. That is why I won’t; Twilight and her friends will.” Celestia rebutted defiantly and full of hope.

“How do you expect them to do that without the Elements?” Nightmare replied pointing out the glaringly obvious problem.

“They will find them.” Celestia simply stated. “They have defeated you once before, they have strength you can’t even imagine.”

“You mean Twilight does.” Nightmare said correcting Celestia. “The only one you have any faith in is Twilight; your most faithful student; your protégé; your fulfillment of your own immortal selfishness; to have a being that looks to you as a mother, no, as a goddess. Which is what you are, true, but you want someone who worships the ground you walk and treat it as if desecrating it is committing the greatest sin imaginable.”

“That’s not what I want…” Celestia said shamefully.

“Now it isn’t.” Nightmare said antagonizing. “Now she is just a personal weapon to show off, just like countless before her, and I know for sure she won’t be the last.” Nightmare’s tone had anger creeping into it. “You haven’t done a thing to help with the disasters plaguing your world since she and her friends became the Elements.”

Celestia’s gaze fixed downwards, her eyes almost full of tears.

“She is destined for great things…”

“You have said that about countless foals countless times.” Nightmare spoke as if from experience. “Remember Star-Swirl the Bearded who couldn’t even complete that spell of his and just gave up on it and threw it aside like a piece of trash?”

Celestia had anger growing inside her at this point.

“What about that sister of yours, who all she simply does is raise the Moon, or a better example; you? All you do is sit and reap the rewards of your immortality, all the smiling gazes, the unquestioning acceptance of your subjects, never having to work a day in your life.”

“You don’t know what it’s like!” Celestia spat, a tear flowing down her face.

“I don’t know what it’s like? What do I not know what is like?” Nightmare said leaning forward with her antagonizing tone returning.

“All of the great ponies in my life, all of the great things they have done, all of the ways they have helped everyone and everything, and all I can do is just to sit here and remember them! That is what you do not understand!” Celestia said leaning forward and stamping her right fore-hoof angrily as she spoke, making her point. Celestia has not felt rage like this in a very long time. More tears flowed from her large eyes as she looked down and shut them.

“You think I haven’t had people in my life that I care about that I lost?”

Celestia looked up and straight into Nightmare’s eyes and shouted, “No because all you know is hate! You have not loved a thing in your life! All you are is pure evil!” Nightmare narrowed her eyes into a glare.

“You think I am evil? You yourself know that there is no evil, just a darker shade of white. I have had family of my own; children, grandchildren; two sisters at one point.”

Celestia looked up. This struck a chord with her.

“You threw their love away when you become what you are now.”

“And what am I now, prey you tell?”

“A monster...” Celestia answered quietly and away from Nightmare’s piercing, serpentine eyes.

“Say that to my face…” The dark Alicorn demanded quietly and with supreme authority.

Celestia looked straight up into Nightmare’s eyes, “A monster; that is what you are! A creature trying to destroy all that is good for your personal gain!” She burst into tears. There was a silence as Nightmare’s glare intensified.

“We will speak again.” Nightmare said as she flew off.

“Sister, wake up!” a familiar voice broke Celestia out from her dream.

It was Luna. The Moon being quarter full, she was barely as large as Princess Cadence.

“What is it?” Celestia asked, concerned.

“You were talking in your sleep; I could hear you from outside your door. Is everything all right?”

“Yes… yes… everything is…” Celestia trailed off and wiped her eyes for tears, pretending to wipe the sleep away.

“No, everything isn't; I know that look. That’s your ‘I’m the big sister, I can do this on my own’ look. I’m not the filly I look like right now ‘Tia.” There have been many things that Celestia would have felt better about if she had spoken with her sister. Who knows Day better than Night?

“It was Nightmare Moon… She came into my dream.” Celestia admitted.

“What did she do?” Luna asked, climbing up onto her big sister’s bed.

“We just talked…”

“About what? You hardly ever talk to me about your problems, it’s a wonder you spoke to her.” That was true; Celestia did not want to share her problems with Luna, or any one for that matter; after all, she was the big sister, she can do things on her own.

“About several things; about students, evil, Twilight…” Celestia trailed off, “About her…”

“You mean Nightmare Moon?”

“Yes…” Celestia felt a tear crawling from her eye.

“She isn’t what she used to be; you’ve got to remember that.” Luna said.

“Do you think that she could be again?” Celestia asked with hope. There was a pause, Luna looked away, out of the balcony window, and back again. “I’m not sure… I didn’t think I could have been saved from her, honestly.”

There was another pause, a longer one this time. Luna reached over to her sister and embraced her. “I know Twilight and her friends can do it.” Luna said. “Yes… I’m sure Twilight - and her friends can do it…” Celestia caught herself. Nightmare was right; Celestia only truly had faith in her most faithful student.

Celestia rose from her bed, stretched her legs and wings and walked over to the balcony with Luna behind her. The two looked up to the sky at three different bodies in the sky, the Sun high in the sky, the Moon setting, and the Mare’s Moon chasing the Sun.

“It’s supposed to be dawn…” Luna said quietly. Celestia fixed her gaze to the large field below where the war between her and Nightmare Moon’s soldiers had still waged for the second week straight. Her look was sad and reminiscent.

“They’re- We are fighting a losing fight.” Celestia said emotionlessly. She was thinking of when Shining Armor had been captured in Nightmare’s Hold. Luna looked at her in a way that questioned whether Celestia was the supreme powerful being that she remembers her sister being.

“How could you say that?” Luna demanded. “Do you really think that we are losing?”

“Yes…” Celestia still spoke with cold emotionality, gaze still fixed on the battle waging below.

“So you believe no matter what happens, even if Twilight finds the Elements, we will still lose?” Celestia looked down and closed her eyes ashamed. A single tear flowed from her eye, down her face, and onto the marble floor.

“What has gotten over you? A minuet ago you said you had all your faith in her!”

“I have a letter to write…” Celestia said silently. Luna looked at her sister disappointedly and took that as her cue to leave.

Celestia dipped the quill into the ink and wrote, “Dear my most faithful student, Twilight…”