A Talk With a Friend

Luna slowly made her way back to her room, wondering about what to do with the voice in her head. She slowly walked down the corridors of the castle, passing the tall imposing pillars, and the occasional guard, standing at attention. Each and every one of them bowed to her as she passed, having long since accepted her as their princess. But as the princess was too lost in thought to notice, she walked on without a word or gesture.

Eventually she reached her room, the large black doors, adorned with a splotch of dark blue, and a crescent moon in the center. Seeing their princess lost in thought, the guards at her doors opened them for her, allowing her in without disturbing her thoughts. The alicorn looked up at the open doors and gave her guards a small nod as she walked in, the doors closing behind her.

Though she was a princess, Luna preferred a simplistic layout to her room. It was not near as large as Celestia’s, and she was happy with that. Her round bed, made of a deep, midnight blue, with a full moon stitched into the center, lay centered against one wall. Across from it was a pair of glass doors, leading to her own personal balcony, allowing her to watch the night from her bed. Just to the left of the door were rows of bookshelves, filled with all manner of books. On the far wall sat a door leading to her closet, and further down, another door leading to her personal bathroom. The floor, walls, shelves, and bed were all made of a dark redwood, reflecting the moonlight beautifully.

The princess looked around her room and sighed. She loved her room, it was one of the few places she felt safe. But now she hardly felt safe in her own mind, let alone her room. She trotted over to her bed, climbed into it, and curled up under the blanket.

The night passed as Luna thought, and soon it was time to meet her sister for her dinner, and to change over from night to day. She crawled out of bed and made her way slowly to the dining hall, her plans still in their infancy. Celestia was waiting for her as she walked in, giving her a warm smile. Luna looked up and returned the smile, though a much smaller one. Celestia noticed the trouble in her sister’s eyes and sat next to her, putting a forehoof around her shoulder.

“What’s the matter little sister? You look so much more worn out than usual after a night of guiding the moon. Is there any way I can help?” the princess inquired, trying to probe into her sisters mind.

“Nothing Celestia. Just wondering how some things are going to work out.” The younger sister replied, her head down. She was scared of what Celestia would do if she learned that the Nightmare might still be inside her. Remembering what Twilight had said, she looked up and asked “Do you think I could have this coming Nightmare Night off? I will still raise the moon, but Twilight Sparkle has invited me to Ponyville’s celebration this year.”

Celestia smiled, glad that her sister and pupil were becoming friends. “That sounds like a wonderful idea sister. I will make sure you have the night free, so please enjoy.” Smiling happily, Celestia sat back to begin her breakfast. “And if I may suggest it, why not see if you can enjoy the Summer Sun Celebration in a few weeks with Twilight. I’m sure she would love to spend more time with you. And if all her friends come you can meet them all.” The princess added, smiling up at her sister.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea Celestia.” It would allow Luna to find out what her subjects liked to do in this age, and she would have a guide to the festivities. “I will send her a letter and see if she agrees. Thank thee sister.” Luna gave a small bow, to which her sister laughed.

“Come little sister; let us change over the day.” At this both ponies stood and walked to the nearby balcony. Together they closed their eyes, and their horns began to glow. Luna’s dark blue contrasted against Celestia’s warm yellow as the two changed over the cycle, from night to day. The moon slowly slid out of the sky to the west, as the sun slowly rose in the east. “Thank you Luna. It is wonderful to do this with you.”

“Good morning my sister. I shall see you tonight.” Luna replied wearily “If you will excuse me, I must head off to bed. I have had a long, tiresome night.” And with that, Luna turned around, and slowly left the dining hall. Celestia looked after her, watching as her sister slowly trotted out of the room. Wondering if something was wrong, the princess considered going after her and asking, but decided against it. If Luna was having issues, while she had resolved to talk with her about them, she would also give her the time she needed to sort things out first.

For the next week Luna planned. She wanted to make sure that her meeting with the voice in her head was safe and secure for everypony. Spending many of her Night Courts alone, as few ever showed up, Luna planned. When she was finally sure that her plan was as well thought out and planned as possible, the princess began deciding on a when. She knew it would have to be soon, she couldn’t leave this alone for much longer. Deciding on the following day, Luna made her way to her meal with her sister.

The sisters ate in silence, Luna lost in thought, while Celestia was simply tired. Though nothing was said, the princess of the sun could still see the struggle in her sister’s eyes. Luna finished her meal, thanked the chef, and left without saying a word to her sister. Celestia sighed, knowing something was up, and decided to talk with her the following evening.

Luna quietly walked the halls of the castle, it still being too early for any but the royal guards to be about. She made her way back down the familiar corridors to her room, stopping only to talk to the guards outside her room. “My faithful guards. First allow me to say my thanks for your devotion to your duty.” The guards smiled sheepishly at being thanked by the princess, mumbling something about just doing their jobs. “However, today I have a special request of you. Do not allow anyone in, or out of my chambers today.” The guards looked up, rapt with attention at the change in their princess’ tone. “For any reason. If I have not left my room by midnight tonight, alert my sister, and tell her it is of grave importance that she arrive and help me.”

The guards were taken aback by these strange instructions, staring at each other blankly. But knew they could trust their princess, no matter how odd the request. “As you wish, Princess Luna. What if you wish to leave before nightfall?” one guard asked, speaking for his compatriot and himself.

“I will not. If I say otherwise, or for any reason order you to leave your posts before night has fallen and my moon is high in the sky, alert my sister.” The guards nodded, still confused, though still trusting their princess. “Thank you again,” Luna added, walking into her room, closing the door with a soft thud, shortly followed by a click as the door locked.

Luna sat in the center of her room, gazing out of her window. She had been up late, and had had a trying night, with everything that had come up. Her body screamed for sleep, though her mind reminded her that there was still more to be done. And as she had ordered her guards, she had no excuse to put it off for another night.

“Nightmare,” Luna thought to herself, hoping to talk with the voice that had been plaguing her all day.

“Yes old friend?” the voice replied, though with none of the venom or ice that Nightmare held in her voice. “And please, I beg of you, call me Mare. I am no longer the one who tried to overthrow our sister.”

“That is what I wish to speak with you about. I want to visit you; we need to talk.”

“Please friend, I would love a visit from you. It has been so long since we had a real conversation.”

Luna cantered over to her bed and climbed in, deciding to be comfortable. As she lay down she concentrated her magic, creating a powerful barrier around her room, trapping herself. The spell was constructed so none other than her could pass through or break it down. Hoping it would be enough to contain the nightmare if she tried to escape, Luna closed her eyes, and ventured deep into her own mind.

She opened her eyes to darkness. Not the darkness of a room with no light, but of a room with nothing in it and black walls. The darkness of nothing. It did not frighten Luna though, she was used to this. Anytime the moon was not lit by the sun was as bad as this. “Nightmare!” she called out, deciding to start. “Come out and face me.”

A lone figure strode out from the nothingness to greet Luna. As she approached, Luna took a step back. The figure was the spitting image of Nightmare Moon. Her mane was etheral, blowing in the nonexistent wind, and her pupils were slits like a dragon’s. The figure strode forward until she stood with the princess. “Hello Luna. It is good to see you again.” Though it was from Nightmare’s mouth, and with the same coldness, something about her voice told Luna it wasn’t her old foe. “I would love to talk with you. Shall we sit down?” She motioned to a small table with chairs that had materialized out of the ether surrounding them.

“Alright,” Luna stated simply, letting her voice imply her contempt. “Let us have a civil discussion.” Luna sat across from the mare, relaxing for just a moment before she brought up what she needed to ask. “What happened on the moon during our exile?” She asked, he voice keeping it’s serious tone.

The mare across from Luna stared for a moment, surprised at how quickly Luna got to business. “It was my exile Luna, not yours. And I spent it wandering the moon.” She responded, hanging her head. “At first I plotted my revenge. I had every detail planned out, knew exactly how the battle between our sister and I would go. But I could only plot for so long. I grew bored very quickly. That’s when I first called out to you.”

Luna was taken aback. She knew that if it truly was Nightmare Moon in front of her she would have denied knowing what happened, trying to make it sound as if she was a new mare. But this mare was admitting to everything, taking the blame. It wasn’t at all Nightmare’s style.

“We began to talk. I won’t say that I felt any remorse or sadness at what I had done, not at the time. But I grew to tolerate your presence, as I would have said at the time. You kept me sane, and I’m not sure if I should thank you for that. I am glad to have stayed sane, but at the same time, if I had not been upon my return, my downfall may have gone smoother.” The mare again hung her head, sighing. She looked up at Luna, sorrow in her eyes as she continued. “We talked as I wandered. At a few points I had decided to torture you as best I could, I did still hate you. Those were the times that I let you take control.”

Luna stared across the table, not sure of what to make of the naked honesty. The few times she was able to walk around and stretch her legs had been the best. She had been forced back after a few minutes each time, but had still loved each second she had. Her eyes softened slightly, Luna beginning to believe that it could be The Mare in the Moon sitting across from her, not Nightmare Moon.

“It took me a few times to realize that you loved them, so I stopped. And I began to wander again, talking with you to stay sane. I knew that our imprisonment would not last forever, so I waited. It was dull on the moon.” Mare looked down, a few tears trickling out of her eyes. “Can you forgive me for what I’ve done?” The few tears had turned into a stream, the mare crying quietly across from Luna.

Luna stood and walked around the table to place a forehoof around Mare’s shoulders. “I have already forgiven you. There is no need for me to hold a grudge against you for past actions. Not when they have been dealt with. What I want to know now is if I can trust you.” Mare turned and pressed her face against Luna’s shoulder, crying harder than ever.

“What can I do to prove myself to you? I will do anything, just please accept me. I know the other ponies never will, but I want you to accept me.” Mare hiccupped, her eyes still watery but the tears having stopped as she looked up at Luna. The princess could see the pleading in her eyes, and, knowing that Nightmare would never allow herself to do this, began to trust the mare a bit more.

“Tell me what your plans to take over Equestria were.” The princess took a step back, sitting down again. “Knowing you, you’d have made backup plans in case you didn’t succeed when you returned.”

Mare thought for a moment, piecing together the memories still half buried in her mind. “I was going to regain my strength. I knew that if the Elements of Harmony were used to defeat me again that I would need time to recover.” The black alicorn spoke quickly, trying to get it all of her chest as quickly as she could. “Then after I recovered I would have figured out a way to trick you into letting me out for just a moment, and then fight you if I needed to. I was determined to rule the land.” Luna stiffened at her words, wondering what would happen next. “I’ve dropped those plans now. I don’t want to rule, not if it causes strife between us and our sister. I just want to be accepted.” The alicorn hung her head, ashamed of herself.

“My friend, I thank thee. You have begun to prove yourself. Now, I must go. It would not do well for Celestia to begin worrying.” Luna stood and gave her friend one last hug. “I shall speak with you again soon.” The princess closed her eyes, pulling herself back out of her mind. Mare’s eyes grew heavy with tears, though these ones being of joy. Luna was gone with a small flash, and Mare began wandering again, the last few tears dropping to the unseen ground.

Luna opened her eyes to see the sun almost down below the horizon. Not knowing so much time had passed she stared at it for a moment, confused at how low it was. As the realization that she would have to raise the moon shortly hit her she ran to her balcony, only to be bounced back by her own spell. “Right,” she said to herself, shaking her head slightly. She left the wall intact, knowing her guards were still under orders to alert her sister if she seemed to be trying to escape. Though they had only been with her for a little less than a year, they would still recognize her magic disappearing. Her horn glowed slightly as she quickly raised the moon on the far side of the sky, not wanting anypony to worry over her lateness.

She knew her guards would alert her sister if she tried to leave too soon, and so had to wait. Slowly, she became aware of a musty smell and began searching for its source. It took her but a minute to discover it was her, that she had been sweating during her entire visit to her mind. Ashamed at her filthiness, the princess of the moon ran into her bathroom for a quick shower.

Sitting under the spray, Luna let the water wash through her fur, slowly cleaning herself. She let the water cascade over her, feeling its warmth as she began thinking about what Mare had said, still confused from the conversation. It wasn’t like her old foe to admit to such things, or to accept defeat like that. But what was the strangest was the lack of any attempt at freedom. “There was no way that could be the Nightmare,” she said to herself. The princess continued to think as she cleaned herself, getting ready for another night. Next Chapter: The First Night Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 2 Minutes