The last solstice

Chapter 12: Inner demons


A gentle knock on the door waked Luna from her deep meditation. The Princess of the Night opens her eyes and already knows who’s going to enter.

“Ah, Twilight Sparkle! Come in.” she says warmly.

The purple alicorn trots inside Luna’s room, levitating several scrolls with her magic.

“What news do you bring?”

“I’ve got some bad news I’m afraid.” Twilight replies nervously.

She unfolds the scrolls, and reveals that they contain complex mathematical equations and calculations.

“Despite our best efforts, the orbit delays continue to grow exponentially.”

“This verifies our worst fears.” Luna states, closing her eyes once again. “How long do we have?”

“If the delays are increasing at this speed, less than four months before total collapse.”

“FOUR MONTHS?!” the moon goddess calls out loudly and the younger Princess winces by the intensity of her voice.

“I’m afraid so…” she admits quietly and bows her head.

“I thought we had more time... We must double our efforts then! I’ll use twice as much magic to maintain the balance!” the cobalt alicorn declares passionately.

“No, Luna, no! You can’t!” Twilight protests vehemently.

“I must! For the sake of Equestria!”

“No! If you use more magic, it will drain your life force!”

“If it has to be done, I shall do it!” Luna says resolutely, her features turning steely.

“It won’t make a difference! You’ll sacrifice yourself for nothing! We have reached our limits! We need Celestia!” the lavender mare exclaims.

“She won’t intervene… you know what she’s been like since... the incident… She doesn’t care about anything anymore… not even her Kingdom.”

“Because she doesn’t realize how dire the situation truly is! We need to go talk to her, even if she won’t let us in! But she must hear it!” Twilight insists.

“I’ve tried. We all have… many times, remember? From the point we determined the orbit delays. But to no avail. Her soul and heart was ripped in half after the accident and the infernal flames of guilt and self-hatred consumed her mind, until there was nothing left."

"She cannot think rationally… she’s a lost mare… I hate to say such things about my own sister, but this is the ugly truth.” Luna explains and the waves of sorrow clash above her head.

“So are we going to give up?”

“No! But it doesn’t depend on us. Tia is the only one who has enough magical power to prevent what is about to come… But she won’t… Look deep into your heart, Twilight Sparkle… you know it’s true…” the cobalt alicorn says grimly as dark concerns furrow her features.

“What about the unicorns? They maintained the balance for eons before you and Celestia came to power…” Twilight speculates.

“True. Unfortunately for us, the magical abilities of the unicorns have been devolving ever since. Even if all the unicorns of Equestria make a united effort, there’s just not enough power. My sister is the embodiment of pure solar energy, and she’s the only one who could restore the balance.”

The nocturnal Princess pauses for a minute and lowers her head.

“I’ve tried, I really have…” she sighs resignedly.

“There’s always hope, Luna…” Twilight replies softly and places a comforting hoof on the older Princess’s shoulder.

“Hope…” Luna repeats, her voice is barely audible. “You know it’s actually quite ironic… When I was Nightmare Moon, I wanted the Night to last forever… it seems my dream will come to fruition eventually…”

Somepony busts the door open; the two mares are startled by the sudden, loud noise. Cadence rushes inside and she looks very agitated.

“Cadence! What’s wrong?” the purple alicorn asks in surprise.

“Something happened upstairs…” the Princess of Love replies.

“What do you mean?” Luna questions with a raised brow.

“The emotional grid… it’s become ensnared…” Cadence stammers.

“All right, just calm down and tell us what happened.” Twilight throws in.

“Yes, yes… I sensed an emotional explosion… Its source was Celestia and Nocturnal Mirage… They resonate on a higher level now…”

“What does this mean? You know our senses aren’t as acute when it comes to emotions as yours…” the Lunar goddess remarks a bit impatiently.

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you!” the pink alicorn calls out. “I believe they have met muzzle to muzzle!”

*** ***

The room is spacious… and dark. His hooves clank on the marble floor as he walks ahead slowly. The sound echoes strangely in the blackness. There’s only a shimmery light originating from his cutie mark. A silhouette of a pony emerges in front of him.

“Who are you?!” Nocturnal Mirage questions sternly.

The blurry shape giggles and that sharp laughter sends a cold shiver down on the stallion’s spine. He quickens the pace and heads toward the sinister shadow, but before he could reach it, it runs away. Mirage still hears its weird snicker and its hoofsteps. He spots the shady figure on his left side and runs after it. The chase lasts for a few minutes, but the silhouette continues to be illusive and escapes from Mirage every time he gets closer to it.

“I’m growing tired of this! Show yourself, coward!!!” the royal blue earth pony demands.

He takes a few unsure steps ahead and recognizes the strange figure in front of him. The light becomes brighter and Mirage looks around perplexedly. He realizes he’s in a maze of mirrors.

“Great… I’ve been chasing my own reflection…” he sighs and stops at one of the mirrors.

The cobalt stallion gazes at his reflection and the images stares back at him. A slideshow of different emotions appear on his face. It’s the expression of a pony who’s re-evaluating his life. Mirage furrows a brow and doesn’t like what he sees. He’s always managed to hide his emotions effectively, yet his face and his eyes tell more than a thousand words.

“What is happening to me?” he whispers and touches the mirror.

He lowers his head and his ebony mane falls into his eyes. Suddenly there’s a glassy noise, like if the mirror would have cracked. Then he hears that cruel laughter. The stallion looks up and recoils in shock. The image in the mirror is no longer his own reflection. It’s…

“Celestia?!!!” Mirage gasps.

The Princess lets out a devilish laugh.

“NO! You cannot be the real Celestia! WHO ARE YOU?!!” the earth pony shouts vigorously.

“You and I have known each other for quite a long time, Nocturnal Mirage.” the white alicorn smirks.

She turns hear head so the scarred half of her face is visible.

“Who are you?! Answer me!!!”

“Don’t you recognize me? I am Hatred! I am the driving force in your life! I drive you insane and consume you!” the apparition growls.

“NO!!! I’m more than just hatred!” Mirage yells furiously.

“You have dreamed of destroying me for a thousand years. Face it. I am you!” Celestia replies sharply.

“NOOO!!!” Mirage growls, smashing the mirror into pieces.

The image of Celestia reappears in another mirror behind him.

“I’m everything you hate…” her voice changes entirely to another feminine voice which balances on the edge of pleasurable darkness and cold blooded cruelty. “…or everything you’re afraid of becoming."

When Mirage turns around his jaw drops in horror, for the reflection in the mirror is not Celestia anymore, but another mare. A tall, white unicorn with a sharp horn, fiery orange mane and piercing, cold emerald green eyes.

“No… you’re...” the stallion gasps.

“I am the Fear in your life, Mirage! You fear of power. Your fear of everypony! Your fear of ending up like me…”

“Never!!! I’m nothing like you!” the dark blue stallion hisses and a grimace of rage distorts his face.

“I didn’t raise my son up to become a weakling! Use that anger and finish off the alicorn! She’s responsible for so many horrors! PUNISH HER! I am the fear that keeps you from your most ultimate desire... the only thing you desire...” the unicorn mare yells and she sounds like herself and Celestia at the same time.

“Then I’d truly become just like you, mother!!! I will never follow your dark legacy!!!” Mirage replies, foaming with rage and shatters the mirror.

But he has to face another specter. A violet earth pony mare with dark purple mane and golden eyes.

“No, not you too!” the stallion moans painfully as he recognizes her sister’s face.

“Yes. I am Doubt! Your doubt. You doubted your own family and everything we believe in! You doubted your own kind and chose the alicorns world instead! You even doubt yourself... your own emotions!” the young mare states firmly.

“ENOUGH!!!” Mirage roars and crashes the mirror.

Everything quiets down for a moment, but then the images of the three most defining ponies in his life appear all around him in the mirrors.

“Hatred…” the scarred Celestia yells.

“Fear…” his mother smirks.

“Doubt…” his sister soughs.

The different voices mix together and become a maddening cacophony.

“NOOO!!!! STOP IT!!! STOP!!!” Mirage screams and runs away, but the specters follow him everywhere he turns he sees their faces.

Then that familiar emotion overwhelms him. The sinful craving for more. He felt it since the first time he accidentally absorbed unicorn magic. And that craving returned with renewed strength every time he got desperately angry. His cutie mark begins to glow brighter and brighter, and the dark vortex starts to spin around its angle. Mirage extends his arms and roars viciously.

“Hatred…”

“Fear…”

“Doubt…”

Everything floats toward his direction as the vortex in his cutie mark gains more and more power.

“IVE PUT MY PAST BEHIND ME!!! BE GONE, SPECTERS!!! I AM MORE THAN JUST HATRED OR FEAR OR DOUBT!!!” the royal blue stallion shouts loudly, his voice almost reaches the regions of the Royal Canterlot Voice.

All the mirrors shatter to pieces and the images dissolve as Mirage floats in the middle of the whirling darkness.

He wakes up to his own scream again. The earth pony looks around and realizes he’s still in Canterlot, up in the Ivory Tower. He gasps for air, but calms down after a few minutes.

“I’m more than just that… and I’m going to prove it.”