"Rebels in Equestria 9.5 - Luna's Lament"
By MDR-V6 (https://pastebin.com/u/MDR-V6)

URL: https://pastebin.com/SVsuivhQ
Created on: Sunday 12th of August 2012 11:41:02 AM CDT
Retrieved on: Saturday 24 of October 2020 05:18:29 AM UTC


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKFjPfP7aTs

>Over the course of a thousand years in imprisonment one comes to an abundance of time.
>That time was miserable for us
>Solitude was the only thing we knew.
>Our cries for help where heard by no one but ourselves
>The echoes of our voice rang for ages before giving way
>The earth below us stood as a constant reminder
>The cold hard truth that we were not wanted
>This truth chipped away at us
>It chipped away at our very sanity
>For a thousand years we endured ourselves
>But yet, miraculously, we pulled somehow managed to through

>Deep down, we had hoped the p0nies would forgive us
>Forgive us for something that could not be forgiven
>Maybe even forget our errors
>For us, a thousand years is nothing only a fraction of our lives
>But for them, for our citizens, it is more of an eternity
>Surely they would forget…
>Surely they would…
>Surely…

>The day finally arrived when we were released from our cold prison
>The day we were freed from Nightmare Moon
>The day when the Elements purged us of evil and hatred
>It was a truly glorious day for us
>To walk Equestrian soil once more was a dream come true
>To meet with our sister for who we so longed for
>To break our solitude 
>To break our silence 
>To offer us love and friendship once more
>It was truly beautiful

>But yet…
>Despite their warmest welcome and sincerest smiles, we could tell something was odd
>The p0ny folk
>They had forgiven us for our errors. For which we could not be more grateful
>They had welcomed us back as their ruler with open arms
>But they certainly had not forgotten
>We could sense the fear within them
>It would certainly take time for to mend their wounds

>In one thousand years of imprisonment we had an abundance of spare time
>We used that time wisely
>We explored ourselves
>We learned that which could not be taught
>How to forgive and forget
> We honed our magical skills as well
>We gained several abilities while waiting for our escape
>One of which, was to experience the dreams of our faithful subjects

>That is how we remained sane
>That is how we pulled through
>We used our magic to watch the dreams of the p0nies resting below
>We saw everything.
>Their dreams, their ambitions, their hopes.
>It gave us strength to push through
>Their dreams taught us how to forgive
>At first we thought ponies simply neglected our night
>For no matter how beautiful we made it, they always slept through it
> We would constantly ask ourselves why.
>Why?
>The answer was not clear then
>But we did learn
>We learned that our night gave way for their dreams
>That which contained their hopes and joys.
>Everything they wish to achieve in life
>Images of bliss and happiness filled our vision whenever we would scope into their dreams.
>They truly did appreciate our night
>We were foolish to think otherwise

>For we are Princess Luna
>Guardian of the night
>The moment dusk falls; we maintain a vigilant eye on Equestria from within the castle walls
>It was only a few nights ago when we sense a disturbance

>A lone being had appeared as if out of nowhere
>We could sense its presence all the way from the Canterlot Castle
>It was unlike anything I’ve ever come across before
>I could this thing would be different
>I could tell this thing had various traits we all lacked
>A will that could not be broken was among them
>An untapped strength was another
>They were certain capabilities no p0ny could posses

>After discussing it with Celestia, we decided the best course of action would be to send the Elements of Harmony to met with this unknown entity
>The Elements are the strongest forces known to all of p0ny kind
>They could match any foe’s strength
>They surely could match this new threat

>They traveled deep into the Everfree forest in the dead of night in order to met this creature
>They exercised extreme caution and prepared for the worst
>But when the Elements finally came across the unknown creature they came into shock of what they found
>A human

>There are historical recording of humans living in Equestria at one point
>They settled everywhere from the Crystal mountains to the Southern Badlands
>But that was so long ago.
>The records are hidden deep within the Canterlot archives
>So not many p0nies even have a good idea of what truly occurred
>But we do
>We were there.

>The humans
>They were known for their mastery of trades
>They built magnificent structures and built wondrous technologies
>They were a proud and noble
>For where when we studied Magic and Alchemy, they ventured into Physics, Medicine and Mathematics
>They created a far better off society within their settlements
>At the time, their enormous structures dwarfed our simple mud huts and wooden huts
>The humans stepped forward and drew us into a new age
>They taught us their sciences
>They showed us how to build as well as they did
>Not many know this, but the Canterlot castle was actually designed and built by the humans as a gift to us p0nies
>We could have learned so much from them
>But yet, mankind proved that their greatest enemy, was none other than itself
>Eventually, a simple conflict grew into an all out war between the humans
>They eradicated themselves from the face of the earth
> And eventually, their great name and reputation was lost within the seas of conspiracies
>The humans are now regarded as a shamed and pitiful mythological creature
>It’s a shame to see such a great race fall at the hands of itself

>He was tired, wounded and lost
>Twilight Sparkle said he spoke an alien tongue
>The Elements say that they managed to capture him and detain him
>They explain how he hardly seemed like a threat at all
>They even scoffed at his weakness.

>[spoiler]Those fools.[/spoiler]
>They do not see what we see
>They do not know what we know

>For we can peer into the dreams of any creature that walks on Equestrian soil
>That night, we caught a glimpse of the human’s dreams

>Except, there were no dreams in the humans mind
>Only nightmares.

>Nightmares so vivid and detailed, we can only imagine that they are his real experiences in life
>We saw so much in those dreams
>So many horrors

>We could not believe what we saw
>For nop0ny. Nop0ny could ever endure what we saw

>I was terrified at what I saw
>I returned to my bed chamber for the majority of the night
>Out of fear, I dared not face the human

>The Elements eventually brought the human to the castle and scheduled an audience with Celestia
>They say that Celestia managed to teach him the Equestrian magic with her magic
>They say that the human suffered throughout the entire process
>Ultimately, losing conscious
>It was again that we peered into his dreams
>Again we saw, nothing but nightmares

>Does this human not have any dreams?
>Did he not have any hopes?
>Did he not know joy?

>We tried to heed a warning to our sister
>But she already saw what was held deep in his mind
>She saw more than what we did

>She truly saw the kind of person he was
>She trusted him

>We were uneasy
>We returned to the castle labyrinth
>It is there where we could always find peace with ourselves

>Our peace was shattered when I sensed the nightmares once again
>It was a truly disturbing experience
>One that I surely will not forget anytime soon

>I did not leave that labyrinth for sometime

>It was then that I reminisced about my life
>About my life with Celestia and the p0nies
>My experiences with Nightmare Moon
>My time in the moon
>My joys
>My sorrows
>Just what defines a p0ny?
>What makes a p0ny good or bad?
>Is it because they do good things?
>Is it because they do bad?
>We’ve always considered ourselves good, despite doing “bad” things
>How much different is this human from me?

>It was then and there where I came face to face with the human
>Anonymous is what he called himself
>I got a good look at him
>I looked him in the eye
>For they say the eyes are the window to the soul
>I stared long and hard into those eyes
>And they stared back into mine
>Those soft innocent eyes
>They weren’t one of a murderer as we thought
>They were pure
>They were sincere
>It was then where he graced us with a smile
>A warm smile and open arms
>We stared at him for what seemed an eternity
>It was something about him that we found so captivating
>Perhaps is was his smile?
>Or was it his voice?
>His personality?
>Or maybe his eyes?

>Yes, it was definitely his eyes
>For we could get lost in those eyes

>That night he offered me his sincerest friendship
>That human, he treated me as an equal
>He showed no fear or unease when in my presence
>But instead, he showed my compassion and kindness
>Perhaps, he was the first person to offer us such since our return to Equestria
>A true friendship!
>One whole and free from fallacies
>One where he does not judge from our past mistakes!
>We stared long and hard into those eyes
>Accpeting his friendship was one of the hardest choices of our lives
>What would occur if he were to discover our past with Nightmare Moon?
>What if he revokes our friendship?
…
>But then again, what if he doesn’t?
>When he began to praise our night sky, we could tell his words were true
>His resolve was absolute

>Even though we conversed so little, we learned so much
>He would not speak about his past life
>Although we had a gist of what was going on we played dumb, and he bought it.
>We could sense the shame in his voice
>The regret emanating from his very soul
>It is a feeling we are all too familiar with

>For in our thousand years in solitude, we learned two valuable things
>How to forgive
>And how to forget
>We could tell Anonymous hasn’t learned either

>It became apparent when we took him indoors.
>We used magic, a simple teleportation spell to bring us all inside our bed chambers.
>We arrived inside as usual, but Anonymous…
>There was something odd about him
>He stood motionless, eyes shut. Almost as if he had fallen asleep while standing
>He did not respond to any of our calls.
>It was if he was trapped within himself.
>We could see him struggling. His breathing became labored, his body trembled, his shut eyes became welled with tears.
>We grew worried. 
>He would still not respond to our calls.
>Any physical attempts to awake him proved futile.
>He called out in his sleep. He grunted in pain. His brow furrowed with sweat.
>We tried to awake him for what seemed like an eternity
>Eventually he threw himself onto the ground
>HE yelled profanities into the air while pressing into the floor
> “No! No! No! I’m losing her!” He shouted
>It was then that we peered into his dreams
>We witnessed what he witnessed
>We felt what he felt
>At his hands was a dying woman

>He did not know who she was
>He had never met the person before
>He could have easily abandoned her to save his own life
>Yet, he risked his life more than once to ensure her safety
>To protect her
>Is that what Anonymous is?
>A guardian?
>Is it fate that he landed her in Equestria?

>It was at that very moment we realized, those nightmares?
>They were not nightmares at all
>But vivid memories burned into the back of Anonymous’ conscious
>Ironic isn’t it?
>The phrase still stands true
>’Mankind’s greatest enemy, is none other than itself.”
>That war.
>That fighting.
>That bloodshed.
>It’s nothing any p0ny has ever experiences
>The conflicts that we’ve had are nothing compared to human warfare

>I saw it in the eyes of those fighting
>Despite commit terrible atrocities to one another, I could still sympathize with each of them
>Each and every one of them has qualities us p0nies could never even dream of having
>I saw their strength
>Their inner strength that lies deep within their souls
>An unbreakable will
>I felt all of that and more when I was with Anonymous.
>A desire for hope.
>A strive for honor
>And a foundation deep within him that could not be shattered by any weapon
>A desire to see the new day, to just break the dawn once more. 
>And ultimately, a spirit that will lead him through the darkest of times.
>All of this was not for his own accord
>No.
>This was all for his fellow man
>For the men and women around him
>Those that he called his family and friends
>Those that he cared about
>It was for the greater good of his people
>We could just feel it.

>Eventually Anonymous awoke
>Still he stood motionless

>We will never forget the look in his eyes when he opened them.
>Words could not possibly the dead cold that filled his gaze.
>For the cold sorrow had filled his gaze, and his soul as well
>For what seemed like a moment, stretched out to what felt like an eternity
>We stared hard into those eyes
>This time we saw nothing  
>No hope, no remorse, no joy, anger or sorrow
>We saw nothing
>We could not sense the strength that filled our souls
>Instead, we only found a weak and tattered Anonymous. 
>A lost shell of himself
>Simply searching for answers
>Desperately searching for a way out.

>We feared for the worst
>For now we knew the burden that lies on his shoulders
>Tears welled up in our eyes
>It was a terrible sight to see
>Someone as strong as him, to be in such a state
>It was un-natural
>Unholy
>Unjust

“Anonymous!” I called out to him

>Almost as if he was awoken from a trance, he returned to himself
> “Wh-What?” He called out
>A wave of relief passed over us
>I watched as he returned to normal
>His body returns to life
>His calm voice echoed throughout the room

>And those eyes.
>Those innocent pure eyes.
>Unlike the p0nies, there was no fear in them
>Nothing but pure friendship
>He gave us a warm smile again
>He was true
>His resolve was absolute
>It was truly magical
>Those innocent eyes…
>They stared deep into our soul
>They studied us well
>We only pray that he sees us as we see him

>For we could get lost in those eyes
>We don’t what would happen if we did.

>[spoiler]But we wouldn’t mind finding out.[/spoiler]

>[spoiler]Thank you Anonymous.[/spoiler]