The rest of the day was relatively uneventful. The sailors handled the news better than I expected, as many of them already wrote Moon Shine off as a dead bat when he first locked himself up. Bringing up the idea of a temporary guard service earned me many questioning looks but eventually seven ponies volunteered – all six of the former Night Guard members on the ship, and Rickety Board, the latter still haunted by the guilt she felt after breaking the orders and fishing up a siren.
I wrote a short report to Sea Worthy – who at the time had been busy with trying to make sense of discrepancies in charts and maps she collected – and headed off to my cabin early in the evening. The possible threat of a banshee kept me awake so I decided to take a few drops of Midnight’s ‘sleeping aid’. As I had hoped, I quickly drifted off to sleep.
I woke up in that place again. The Law and Disorder sparred in the middle of the room and the reality shook with every principle established by the Radiance or overthrown by its hideous opponent. Just by watching them, I was suddenly bound by a Law that prohibited all movement. In turn, the unholy mass of limbs quickly boiled with anger that shattered this new decree and a few others. In particular I was not prepared for the sudden cessation of gravity and went spinning into the ether until the Light recovered from the blow and restored the laws of physics. I couldn’t have come at a worse time.
“No, the time is finally right,” I will hear the words carried by a gentle gust of wind that will envelop me. “Come with me before they notice your presence.”
A second, colder wind will blow following my wordless acceptance. It will not have a beginning, only a purpose. The world around me will fade away as I travel through eons untold, at last emerging in the same place that I left. The room will be empty, save for me and one Power shimmering on the verge of existence.
“When are we?” I will ask.
The wind will blow once more, granting me freedom and revealing an unidentifiable cloaked silhouette dressed in an infinite number of stars. I will not see her face but nonetheless she will smile.
“At the edge of infinity, where the Three became something less, so that we might become something more. Not unlike you, if it comes to that. You can speak freely here,” it replied in a voice I never expected to hear again.
To my surprise I discovered that I was once again a batpony, not a bat, and so I bowed down. “Are you… our Princess?”
“I needn’t see proof of your devotion,” she said, ordering me to stand up, “your journey says more than any fleeting gesture. I am not her, but she is me, in a manner of speaking.”
At this declaration, the wind revealed her name to me. I meekly asked, “What do you mean, Night?”
She conjured images of countless worlds full of creatures. “In a fraction of a second, I will shed most of what makes me who I am, and the tiny shard of myself that will emerge from the process will descend to your world as the Luna you know. That’s a part of the rules; at our full strength we’d unwillingly decimate the world, ending our game prematurely.” With a stomp, all the images dissolved into fog.
I felt a sharp prick of disappointment and instinctively scrunched up my muzzle. “Forgive my audacity, but are we just game pieces to you?” I hoped my voice didn't betray my agitation.
“To me as I am now?” The question surprised the starry being, whose voice became sharper. A new gust of wind chilled me to the bone. “No, you’re not game pieces. You’re dust or perhaps even less than dust.” She paused, letting her voice reverberate in the room. I didn’t dare to interrupt her silence.
When she at last spoke again, her voice was calm and caring. “But that is not true for Luna. She will truly care for all her subjects. I have no reason to disbelieve her judgement.”
I didn’t think she tried to confuse me but her every answer raised even more questions. Deciding on the most pressing one to ask, I said, “What about the ‘game’, then?”
“The other Two were playing it out of boredom since before Time came to exist. Their powers evenly matched, neither of them can ever claim supremacy over the other. For someone who lived longer than any galaxy, they’re awfully short-sighted sometimes.” She looked at me and in the millions of stars around her I saw the same conflict replay itself with minimal changes. The brightest of the stars, however, was empty. The Night exhaled and said, “I wanted change. Change for the better, I hope.”
Charmed by the glow of that mysterious star, I stood up straighter and focused on it until I saw Equestria reflected in it. “Is that why You– why Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon?”
“Believe me or not, that will be an unforeseen consequence. I did not see how this change would impact us.” The reflection of Equestria showed the history of the land and the ponies that lived there. When it reached the advent of the Sisters, the star became so foggy and unclear that I couldn’t see anything more. “But the potion that let us meet was also born from the same pursuit. The search for something greater, something that none of us could accomplish here, something… permanent.” She stressed the last word, sending the stars on her cloak into a flurry. Only reflection of Equestria remained in place.
“But you’ve said it yourself, your game here will eventually end and you’ll leave us, won’t you?”
“I have said all that I had to say about myself for now.” The stars swirled, replacing the floor and the walls of the cabin around us with a night sky. “Dust that you might be, your struggle has impressed me. Therefore I will grant you three wishes, as I believe is customary in your world. Choose wisely,” The Night added and waited for my response.
I reflected on the home that I left when the war started. I focused on our journey and the Equestria that we abandoned. I considered Princess Luna’s ideals that were never realized due to us losing the war. I thought about Princess Luna herself. Taking it all in, I decided on a wish.
Gathering my courage, I stared straight at the starry silhouette and said, “I wish for safety, stability and justice in all of Equestria for the rest of time, provided and assured by Princess Luna and Princess Celestia.”
The Night laughed in a melodious voice. “I promise you that I’ll try. This was as much of a test for you as it was for me.”
“Test?” I said, noticing that the Night began resembling a pony. “I don’t understand.”
“You asked me about the inevitable end of our game.” She gestured with a semi-transparent hoof and galaxies around us followed the movement. “If all three participants would agree, we could change the rules and postpone our return. Even permanently. To prevent that from happening, the Law forbade us from taking the desire for change with us. However, because of your wish, I hope that I am going to retain it. I would not dare to go against Light's word without a promise binding me to do so.”
I blinked twice, speechless.
“In simpler terms,” the Night concluded her explanation, “Your wish presents a loophole that could possibly let some part of us stay in Equestria.”
“Thank you, Night.” I smiled and bowed down again.
“No.” To my greatest surprise, she returned the gesture, looking more like our Princess by the minute. “It is I who should thank you. Tell me, do you still want to reach your Princess even knowing that, even if you succeed, you might end up on the moon just like her?”
“Yes,” I responded without a moment of hesitation.
“Then that will happen.” Her horn – which she didn’t have a moment ago – glowed as the bandages that I wore after my fight with Nocturne’s captain slid off my body. Beneath them was an intricate blue scar that emanated a warm pale glow.
“I… I recognize it,” I stammered. “Even though I’m quite sure I never saw it before. How is that possible?”
The Night’s ethereal mane was now flowing through the air. “It’s written in the language of the stars like the map you’ve brought from here earlier. It means homecoming, and as such everyone recognizes it in their heart,” she said as the black veil covering her eyes dissolved. “Our time has reached its end. Goodbye, captain!” she cried out.
A blinding flash of blue light erupted from the Night, dissolving her in the process. Those rays carried power and memories that she couldn’t fit in her new form. One of them hit me, severing my connection to the dream realm. As I was fading away, for the briefest moment I saw Princess Luna standing where the Night used to be. Our eyes met and her horn glowed with a stabilizing spell but I disappeared before she could cast it.