Part 2: Chapter 7: Father and Daughter
Luna landed in the center of the empty room and looked up at the stream of magic flying up from the large crack in the center. She saw something move behind her and turned around to find a shadow. Her eyes followed to the shadow to its origin to find two ponies, specifically pegasi, lying side by side, facing the stream of magic. Luna smiled as she slowly made her way to the ponies, making sure not to disturb the two colts.
The white colt on the right had his metallic wing wrapped around the younger, sun-burnt colt on the left. His mane and tail were multiple shades of dark blue, while the other's was brown-turning-cherry red. The youngest colt couldn't be older than 15 and had a bluish blanket over him.
Luna now stood in front of the sleeping colts, and grinned. Apart from the skin and mane/tail color, one could mistake them as brothers.
"So cute…" Luna whispered to herself.
"I will agree with you there." Replied the oldest colt, raising his head in response. He slowly opened his eyes to reveal one brown eye and one red eye.
"You're awake." She said, surprised.
"I am." He said with a smile. "How are you?"
"I'm fine." Luna said. Her grin was not from laughter, but from relief. "So, what happened?"
"Nothing 'special', if that's what you are asking. Alpha knew Carlie and Delta were having trouble sleeping so we brought them here. After a brief conversation about depression, Charlie slowly lowered himself down onto the ground and fell asleep. Alpha decided to accompany him, just in case he had another nightmare. I decided to stay awake if Celestia decided to come back here and heal herself."
Luna's grin slowly subsided.
"What's wrong?"
She sighed, then shook her head, as if pushing a thought aside. "Just thinking."
"About?" Beta asked, curious.
Luna noticed her shadows was covering the two sleeping colts, and walked to Beta's side before sitting down next to him. Her back was straight as an arrow, not hunched over like he would sit. Her wings folded neatly at her side. "Are you aware of your reputation?"
Beta rubbed his eyes and shook his head. "I never really cared about it."
"After you died, Celestia scapegoated you, she blamed everything on you. All the deaths, all the destruction and chaos, and even made you the reason why I did what I did."
"That's not surprising."
"You became a…" Luna pondered about the word. "Legend."
Beta chuckled in amusement. "The Legend of Beta."
"You know about it?"
"I heard other ponies talking about it when I was with Alpha in the factory while gathering the materials to create his wing. At first I ignored it, but then my curiosity grew."
"And?"
"It's typical propaganda bullshit. 'Blame the colt, everything goes back to normal.'" Beta took a deep breath.
"You okay?" Luna asked, worried. Technically, she was currently talking to THE rouge mutant that tried to kill her sister long ago. According to legend, Beta was supposedly a bully that went insane on power and his sick sense of entertainment and humor got the best of him. And because of such, he went on a rampage, killing and torturing all for entertainment and boredom. But because she now knew the truth, she grew to like Beta, even respect him.
Beta chucked nervously, or was it sarcastically? "What do you think? I'm a 917 year old colt, stuck in a 17 year old colt's body, whose goal is to gain revenge on my former enemy, who is still alive. And I have begun to realize that neither I nor Alpha have begun to imagine to grasp the idea of why she did so. I, personally, know that Celestia tortured Alpha just for entertainment values and because she could, but I have neither the heart (as if I had one) nor the courage to tell him that. But because I haven't told him so, I feel like he is aiming not just for his goal, but mine as well."
"I see…"
"Do you? When I was alive, I was sent to multiple phycologists and therapists in an attempt to rid my anger. Every time I went there, I was told the exact same thing: 'I understand' or 'I was there' or 'I know how you feel'. Each sentence, each attempt to make me feel wanted or liked did the opposite, it fed the flames; it gave the fire fresh oxygen. How could they? I was a mutant, I was different. I was told from the first day in school that 'You are Special, different.' And because they said that I was special, I was treated differently, treated horribly. I had a disorder, even before I learned I was a mutant. I had no friends. The legend based off me says that I had friends, I never did, never had. I was alone. Always alone. I was used to being teased, being abused and bullied, beat up and put down-" Beta stopped as he remembered his dark days.
"I was hated for what I was because of that bullshit excuse of a Princess your sister is. The lies she said, the hatred she created, the horror she made, the dis-harmony she brought. You and her fought Discord together. Are you even aware of what Discord was actually doing?"
Luna stood up, amazed and shocked.
"How about Tirek? The EverFree Forest?" Beta took over Alpha's body, standing up. His metallic wing slowly left Charlie, as he walked towards Luna, who was now backing up, in what seemed like fear, or the unwillingness to hear the truth. "Your sister says she brought harmony back to this world, when she has done the complete opposite. Change is a part of life, I know, I fully understand and agree with it. But when Change crosses the line, what do you do? You blame it on those that you do not fully understand. You take control of those who are not aware of what they are doing wrong, and you tell them the rules which totally go against those you grew up with."
Do not lie.
Do not kill.
Do not steal.
Do not hate anypony.
Accept all for who they are.
Perfection is not part of our life, do not try and grasp it for you will not come close to it.
"The laws and rules that Discord himself gave our ancestors before you and Celestia decided to take over. Instead you took over control and changed the rules."
Do not lie if your life does not depend on it.
Do not kill, unless in self-defense.
Do not steal, unless you have been robbed.
Do not hate anypony, unless your friends give reason to hate them.
Accept all for what they look like, not who they are.
Perfection is the goal of life, reach for it like you reached for the stars when you were young.
Luna looked around as she realized the truth. She turned her attention to Beta, who had begun to sway his head left and right, as a snake does when it is hypnotized by a snake charmer.
"Yes, I did kill. Was it for fun? I was in the amidst of anger, OF RAGE! Did I laugh?" Beta paused. "I did. I laughed a lot. I laughed because I realized the truth. Because I found out it wasn't my fault that I was like this." Beta started to grin. "That I was born a mutant, and I could be proud of what I could do, not be ashamed. Your stupid sister didn't agree. She sent guard after guard after me. With each guard came another death, another eight year old colt, hysterically laughing in the bloody remains of the guards that tried to stop him." Beta stopped grinning and went back to Charlie's side, placing his metallic wing across him. "There's a space between the truth and lie, where sanity isn't what it seems, and reality is nightmare of a dream.1" He lowered his head, as if to sleep then raised it and looked back at Luna.
"I apologize. Just it's just that when I think of Celestia or talk about her, all I remember is her flaws."
"I was aware that you did not like her, but not to this extent."
Beta was silent for a couple of minutes as he watched the stream of fire and magic in the center of the room rain upwards, splashing on the ceiling before being absorbed by the mountain. He looked down at Charlie, who had snuggled closer to him, practically using his metallic wing as a blanket. Beta smiled in amusement before looking back at Luna.
"I am not used to this. For a while after I bonded with Alpha, I wasn't used to having a friend, let alone being near anyone. Much to Alpha's annoyance, I was quiet for the first three to four months. Only talking when necessary, but I would take over instantly without him letting me if I thought he would be in danger. Mostly, it would be a false alarm, but when it wouldn't, I'd not let the attacker any respite, not pain, just an instant death." He had a troubled look on his face, as if he was trying to solve a complicated algebraic problem. His eyebrows squished together ever so slightly, just creating a small frozen ripple in between. "Just a question, if I may." He said as he turned back at Charlie.
"Yes?" Luna said, no longer cautious, but listening intently, as if to hear a cryptic message.
"What will happen when we die?"
Luna was taken by surprise by this question. "You died before, you should know the answer."
Beta chuckled and smiled. "Not like that. What will happen to you if Alpha and I are killed? Both of us noticed that the only reason that most ponies stay at the mountain is because of us. Not because we escaped, but because we returned to help others escape."
Luna fell silent for a moment as she turned and looked up at the magic raining upwards towards ceiling. "We are all here because of you. Most in the mountain are alive because of what you and Alpha have done and what you two will do in the future." She looked directly at Beta, who was looking at her too. "You and Alpha are Special. Not in the educational sense but the…reality sense."
Beta tilted his head in confusion. "How so?"
"I am Luna, otherwise known as Nightmare Moon. I travel into the dreams of all ponies; mutants, changelings and normal alike. And in almost every dream I have seen, most are about what the dreamer wants; a toy train, a party with friends, good grades at school, graduation, marriage, finding true love, living the life of excitement. With every dream I enter, I have to push away the nightmare from entering. Sometimes I let it enter, giving the dreamer a lesson they need to learn or experience. But Alpha's and your dreams are different. Instead of wanting a toy train or getting good grades, both of you dream of the same thing." She paused.
"Of what do we dream?"
"You dream of nightmares, but unlike how others cower from it, you and Alpha stand against it, determined to see it though. You two face your problems, determined to find the solution. You may have thought that you were a freak, that you were screwing up the society when you were young and alive." She laughed quietly at Beta's view.
"What's so funny?"
"Go to sleep. I'll personally show you."
Beta nodded then lowered his head before slowly nodding off. Luna smiled as she watched her young friend nod off, then, once he was asleep, took a deep breath before introducing him to Nova.
"Anything I should know before I talk to him, sweetie?" Nova said, appearing beside Luna, semi-transparent.
Luna smiled. "Go easy on him, Father. He has had a rough life."
"I know." Nova looked down at Alpha and Charlie, both snuggled together, deep asleep. "I will admit they do look cute like that. Two mutants, each with another mutant within, the chance that this happened is astronomical. What is more impressing is that the two who have not discovered their ability are in love with each other." Nova nodded in respect and acceptance. "Nebula would be impressed." Nova said as he slowly disappeared, entering Beta's mind.
1. Line is from the song "Her Darker Side" By Aviators.