Chapter 3: The Journey Begins: The Morning After
Luna stretched out a bit yawning softly as she opened her eyes, the room was dimly lit with a soft glow. The sun had just begun to peak over the horizon dawning a new day. Picking her head up a little Luna stretched herself out with a moan of satisfaction. "Mmmmm~ Good morning Cielo." Luna said playfully looking down to where Cielo should have been. To her surprise Cielo was not in bed with her, "Cielo?" Luna called out softly as she looked around the room. No response came to her call.
Rolling to her belly Luna kicked the soft sheets off her body before rolling to her side and slowly getting off the bed. Luna looked over at the bathroom door thinking Cielo might have been in there but it was wide open, no light from a candle or anything came from inside. "Cielo!" Luna called out again now loud enough for anypony to hear if they were passing by in the hall. Still no answer came from anypony.
Luna's heart started to beat a bit faster, her mind quickly jumping to the thought of Cielo ditching her. 'Calm down now' Luna told herself scanning the room, her eyes falling upon Cielo's saddle bag. 'See... he did not take off, maybe he just went out for a bite to eat... yes that's it, but why did he not wake me?' Luna Looked at atier for a moment and thought about getting dressed and going out to look for Cielo. 'No Luna pull yourself together, give him a bit of space. yesterday was a rough day after all it's not so far fetched to think he might still be a tad bit agitated. Wait here for him to return, he promised he would stay after all... he promised." Luna let out a little sigh, her breath quivering a bit. To help herself relax Luna decided to take a shower while she waited.
Turning on the water and getting it up to the temperature she wanted Luna stepped under the stream of water, Using her magic she adjusted the heat a little more and peaked her head out of the shower eager to hear the door. Waiting for a moment Luna used her magic once more and closed the door to the bathroom slightly but still left it open so she could hear should somepony enter the room. After about fifteen minutes Luna had finished washing her body and was now just standing under the water letting it run down her mane and muzzle. 'Where is he...' she wondered.
'Face it he left thee behind.' A eerily soft mare's voice replied causing Luna to groan in pain and bring her hoof to her head.
"No... it can't be..." Luna shook her head a little in disbelief, her heart racing in fear causing her breathing to escalate. "Go away..." Luna whimpered softly.
'We know thou does not mean that, we are all thou hast, we always have been.' The voice whispered. 'Look at thy self thou hast become weak, we listened to thou beg that wretched stallion like some sniveling commoner licking at a kings hoof for forgiveness. Thou hast become a pathetic little foal, thou... needs... US!'
"Shut up... shut up... SHUT UP!" Luna demand banging her head against the tiled wall of the shower. "Loving somepony does not make us weak... it's you who's pathetic." Luna shook her head a little feeling pain starting to emanate from the spot she slammed against the wall. "Get out of my head... now." she ordered.
'Heh fine... we will be on our way. Call us what thou wilt yet when thy stallion uses thee and tramples thy heart we shall be there to pick up the pieces... thou wilt come to us sooner or later. Thou cannot escape what thou art...' the mare replied before her voice faded.
"Go to hell Moon... i'm not you... not anymore." Luna whispered, her voice quivering as she spoke to herself. Her ears quickly perked up snapping her back to reality as she heard the bathroom door open.
"Luna? everything okay?" Cielo asked having returned, he walked into the washroom and looked around as Luna poked her head out of the shower to look at him. "Were you talking to yourself?" He asked having walked in to investigate and make sure Luna was alone.
Luna bolted from the shower and hugged Cielo tightly pressing her wet body to his and wetting his coat.
"Whoa... hey... Luna?" Cielo was baffled at this sudden display. "Whats wrong? are you okay?" Cielo asked hugging her back as she began to sob a little. "Luna... talk to me..."
Suddenly Luna let go of Cielo and gave him a shove knocking him to his back.
Cielo quickly recovered and looked at Luna in utter shock. "What the hell!"
"Where were you!" She screamed with tears in her eyes, her body shook still from Moon's haunting words.
Cielo could see something was not right and stood down to avoid confrontation. "Easy Luna... I'm sorry I just went out to get us breakfast and picked you up a little something to show you I was sorry for yesterday." Cielo explained calmly "Now... care to tell me what's wrong?"
Luna nodded a little before turning her head and using her magic to turn the water off.
Cielo opened the little closet and took out a towel for Luna to use to dry off with. "I'll let you dry off in private... i'll be right outside in the room, i'm not going anywhere else." Cielo said softly.
Once the door closed Luna started to dry herself off, she was still quivering in fear from Nightmare Moon's voice reaching her while she was awake. 'Moon.... are you there?' Luna closed her eyes tight fearful of hearing Moon's voice once more. She remained still for a moment before slowly opening her eyes, there was no response. Letting out a little relieved sigh Luna finished drying off the best she could. With her mane still flat and damp Luna opened the washroom door and walked out slowly.
Cielo was laying on his belly on the edge of the bed waiting for Luna to come out of the washroom. "Are you okay?" Cielo asked concerned as he stood up and got off the bed to meet Luna.
Luna shook her head a little but did not say anything to Cielo on the subject just yes. Luna lowered her muzzle and nuzzled under Cielo's chin softly. "I'm sorry I shoved you... I don't know what came over me..."
"Forget about it Luna." Cielo replied nuzzling her back. "Please talk to me and tell me whats going on, why were you so upset with me?"
Luna swallowed hard, she was not really sure how to sugar coat anything from Cielo at this point. "Promise me you won't get upset with me, I already know the questions you are going to ask and the answers might bother you. I don't want to argue... or cause any more problems." Luna expressed her concerns first. "Can you promise me that?"
"You put me in a tough spot." Cielo sat down in front of Luna looking down and pondering. "You could tell me anything yet ask it not to bother me." Cielo looked back up at Luna and could see the fear in her eyes, not from what he was saying though, this was the same fear he saw before in the washroom. Taking a deep breath Cielo nodded his head in agreement. "I will not get upset no matter what you might have to say to me." Cielo took his hoof and gently brushed Luna's cheek. "You can talk to me."
"I heard her voice Cielo..." A tear from Luna's left eye rolled down her cheek onto Cielo's hoof. "Nightmare Moon spoke to me..."
Cielo moved his hoof away from Luna's cheek slowly looking at her in a bit of shock. "So... you fell asleep in the shower and were dreaming?" Cielo questioned trying to understand what Luna meant.
"No Cielo, I was awake... and she spoke to me." Luna clarified swallowing hard. "This has never happened before, she has only been able to reach me in my dreams..."
"What did she say to you?" Cielo asked calmly
Luna fell silent for a moment, her eyes gazing at the floor fearing Cielo's response and questioning that would follow her reply. Taking in a deep breath Luna let Nightmare Moon's words leave her lips. "She said you left me behind... said you make me weak and my actions towards you yesterday were that of a beggar and not of a princess." Luna slowly lifted her gaze to meet Cielo's eyes, though her voice was steady tears were still falling from her eyes. It pained her to repeat Moon's words to the stallion she loved. "She said You will trample on my heart and one day I will go back to her..." Luna close her eyes expecting the inevitable questioning of her love.
"Do you believe her?" Cielo asked calmly, Luna's words did bother him but he knew that it was not her own thought that brought about her words.
Luna opened her eyes back up to look at Cielo, this was not the question she had been expecting. Cielo sounded calm to her seemingly keeping to his promise. "No... No I don't Cielo, she may see it as weakness but I do not. Love is about compromise... that's what I did. I knew I did wrong by you and I was willing to do whatever it took to fix it... that was my compromise to you, my pride in that moment."
"And I thank you for that... had you not been so calm in that moment things might have gone differently, you made a very difficult choice to keep us together in that moment. Takes more strength to swallow one's own pride than it does to throw up a defence wall." Cielo replied and moved closer to Luna, nuzzling under her chin.
"I'm scared..." Luna whispered as her eyes closed, Luna tried to allow herself to get lost in Cielo's tender nuzzle.
"I know..." Cielo kissed Luna's neck softly. "Maybe it would be best if we returned to Canterlot for now."
"Cielo please... I don't want to go back, I feel if I do it's the same as giving in." Luna brought up a valid point, if she felt defeated then Nightmare Moon would have the upper hoof on her yet again. "Please tell me you think there is another way."
Cielo let out a little sigh and pulled his muzzle back. "There is, we push on for now and try to keep you from getting too worked up. This will be hard given we will get hounded by the media but if you give me your honest word to give it your all, I will back you one-hundred percent." Cielo looked up into Luna's eyes as she gazed back at him, ears perked listening intently. "You let yourself be shaken so easily, show me the princess that defied her sister, took charge and faced such a challenge without so much as flinching."
Luna recalled she was nervous but she did not back down. "Yes but look what happened after... I almost lost you over that."
"And yet here I stand, forget about the fight and our argument and simply focus on how set your mind was in that moment. If you met Nightmare Moon with even half the determination you had yesterday she would not be able to shake you like this." Cielo continued. "She feeds off your fear and does what she can to keep you down because she is afraid of you, once you realize she has no real power over you any more she's as good as done."
"But she does Cielo, she is a part of me thats the problem. Even though we are separated, her and I are still one in the same, two sides of the bit if you will, that's what scares me." Luna admitted brushing her cheeks and drying her tears as Luna was becoming more and more focused the more Cielo engaged her on this topic.
"Then accept it, accept her, accept you have a darker side like everypony else." Cielo said with a slight snarky tone as if it were obvious. "You think I don't have a darker side? I told you all about it yes I changed, is it still there? Hell yes it is, I face it every day but I don't let it control me any more. Every pony has their own demons they must face Luna and you are no different. So you have these feelings of hate, doubt, regret, anger and a lust for power, who doesn't?" Cielo laughed a bit making luna cock her head slightly. "If I had your kind of power back when I was younger heh." Cielo shook his head. "Lets just say I would have been banished indefinitely with no chance of return. Stop giving in to fear, I'm not going anywhere and Nightmare Moon is not coming back unless YOU want her to."
Luna was starting to feel a little better but at the same time Cielo really had no clue what it was like for her. "If you could spend a day in my body Cielo, live my life and share in all my memories you might not think it so easy." Luna countered with a bit of doubt, it was easy for somepony who did not have to deal with an entity like Nightmare Moon to talk big.
"You're right, I'm not you and I have no clue how hard it is." Cielo agreed not arguing her point. "Perhaps if I were you I would have crumbled long ago, i'm going off the mare I see before me, what I have seen from you and what I know about you. You Princess Luna are a fighter, you will not give up or back down if it really matters to you, you will achieve what you want no matter the cost or what you must do... That being said tell me why i'm wrong in saying you are the only one failing yourself and letting Moon strike fear into your heart."
Luna went silent and thought, Cielo had a point but at the same time Luna could not help how she felt. "And what about when it comes to you?" Luna asked. "I cannot deny my feelings for you nor suppress them... when I thought you left...."
"You would do just fine without me Luna but as I promised you I won't leave again." Cielo reinsured her. "You think I took for granted what you did last night for me? You swallowing your pride... playing subservient to me... I will never forget that."
Luna listened once more, she was slightly annoyed she was cut off but Cielo's words soon started to soothe her slight annoyance.
"Last night you showed me just how committed you were to our love... only a blind fool would walk away from somepony so dedicated to making a relationship work." Cielo looked into her eyes with certainty. "That is why I can clearly say without a doubt in my mind I will never leave your side again, I want to make you feel like you made me feel. I want to show you I am as dedicated to you as you are to me, trust me Luna I will not just abandon you like I did last night... never again."
Smiling a little Luna reached out and pulled Cielo in for a hug holding him tight to her still damp coat. "Thank you for saying that... You do more for me than I think you'll ever know." Luna let Cielo go and gave him a little grateful kiss. "Thank you for listening and helping me remember just who I am, I won't let Moon get in my head again." Luna's eyes and voice were drenched in confidence.
"Now that's the Luna I know~" Cielo grinned widely. "What do you say we get a little something in your system, I know you have got to be wanting something to eat."
"You know I am actually hungry." Luna blushed slightly feeling embarrassed she had forgotten to eat yesterday.
Reaching under the cart Cielo had brought back with him from downstairs he first pulled out a bouquet of white roses. "First off I wanted to give these to you and say i'm sorry for taking off yesterday."
Luna's eyes lit up seeing the white roses, using her magic she gently took them from Cielo, brought them to her nose and took in there sweet scent. "Mmmmm~ Cielo they're beautiful." Luna's eyes looked lovingly back into Cielo's with gratitude. "Thank you so much."
"I'm glad you like them." Cielo replied reaching down and taking Luna's hoof in his. Cielo bows his head a bit and kissed Princess Luna's hoof making her blush a tad more. "I also brought us some food." Setting Luna's hoof back down gently Cielo turned to the cart and pulled out a large platter, setting it atop the cart Cielo lifted the lid to reveal a rather healthy portion of pancakes with butter and powdered sugar, two bowls of chopped fruit and two iced fruit smoothies. "I do hope this is to your taste."
Luna turned her attention to the food Cielo had place on the cart. Levitating the flowers over to the bed she lay them down gently before smelling the food. Luna could feel herself starting to salivate at the scent. "It smells amazing~" She said in an almost lustful tone.
"Wish you'd get that excited over me some time." Cielo said teasing Luna playfully making her give him a little nudge. "Lets dig in."
Luna took no extra convincing, the two started to enjoy their meal together having a bit of a laugh here and there as they talked. Cielo showed Luna how the two of them ended up looking on the front page as they ate and everything started to feel normal once more. Soon enough Luna almost completely forgot Nightmare Moon had even been a part of her morning at all.