"Az, look away for a sec." Maya looked down at the counter. Azrael nodded and looked up at his paintings.
When they looked back to where Van was, Van was already gone. This time, he'd actually ended up in the far corner of the room, facing the corner.
"Yep." Maya nodded. "He's weak, and that has everything to do with it." "What are you talking about?" Azrael asked.
"He's barely got a presence," said Maya. "Like his soul, his existence, is weak, too. Like a ghost in a haunted house." "That..." Azrael scratched his beard. "That actually makes sense."
He turns around, wandering back to the counter, retaking his seat, "... Sorry, were you saying something?"
Nightshade stared at the image for a few silent minutes. Finally, she spoke; "Of course it wasn't going to work. I know that now. Part of me knew it then. I was just so... angry." She dismissed the image, and continued. "It's like I told Raven. I'm not a normal pony. I don't have a lot of friends. I don't make friends easily. When I found this bar... met all of you... everything finally felt perfect." She sat down, shaking her head. "And then I found out about Az's past. I found out that the pony who I hoped would be a friend... the pony who Raven thought of as family... hated me. He didn't even know it yet, but he hated me. I certainly didn't help matters when I lied to him, but I panicked. I was happy, for the first time since I lost Summer. I didn't want to lose that happiness."
"Nightshade..." Dusty sighed. "I want you to talk to him. I can help you with your mind. With Heart Song's help, I can possibly help with your disfigurement. But making total peace with Azrael is on you and him." Maya nodded. "Good. We're cool."
"I'll... try. If he truly hates the cult, I don't see..." "He hates what you believe in." Silver Crescent's ghostly form, enormous in size, appeared behind her. "He hates what you are. He hates you. He is your enemy. You are his enemy. You were defeated. You must redeem yourself!" She cringed away from the apparition. "No! I don't want..." "IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT YOU WANT! VICTORY IS YOUR DUTY! REDEEM YOURSELF!"
"We should do something about this." Dusty fired an unusually powerful blast at Silver, one that would never appear from him in the waking world, banishing the image. "Silver Crescent and his ideals are no longer in charge of you. Maybe twenty years ago. But you're a mare now, not a filly." He forced an image of a fully intact Nightshade to appear. "Take a look. This is your master." Azrael nodded. "I think so, yes."
"I'm in control," she repeated. "I... I'm tired of being a weapon. I want a life. A real life." The doppelganger spoke. "Do we deserve it? We're a monster. A killer. A freak. We've grown so accustomed to the darker path that the light burns our eyes. Can we be saved? Should we be saved?"
"You can," said Dusty. "Look at Princess Luna. What she did. Waged war with Celestia. And she was spared. Shown mercy. Redeemed. Azrael. Servant of Discord, became so violent even Discord wanted him out. Redeemed. Asmodeus and Stuffy... everything. Redeemed. Discord. Had dreams of plunging Equestria into chaos. Redeemed." "Not really," Maya replied.
