//------------------------------// // Chapter 28 // Story: Luna's Lacunae // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// The breathing stuffed rabbit made no sound, did not speak, nor did it move, other than breathing. Luna examined it, looking at it, trying to understand it and what it represented. She cocked her head, her analytical mind engaging, all of her own troubles forgotten for the moment. “Bun Bun?” Little Maeve reached out both of her hands for the stuffed rabbit. “Say please,” Luna said. The little girl frowned, her lower lip protruding. She waggled her fingers. “Pwease?” “That’s better,” Luna replied. She lowered the stuffed rabbit down to the little girl, who took it, snatched it to her chest, and began to hug it while she bounced in place. “Do you have anything to say?” “Bun Bun?” Little Maeve squeezed the rabbit once more and looked at Luna with wide, almost luminous green eyes, the same shade of green that a stormy sky held over the ocean. “Luna—” “Hush, Shining Armor,” Luna commanded. “Maeve, are you forgetting something?” “Um… Thank you?” Maeve, clutching Bun Bun in her left arm, reached up and scratched her head with the right. She smiled at Luna, blinking her bright green eyes, and did what little did girls were best at, which was being adorable. “You are welcome.” Luna bowed her head and gave Maeve a smile. “I don’t understand what is going on,” Shining Armor muttered. Cadance, who was now looking around the room, said to Luna, “I think I understand.” “Care to elaborate, Cadance?” Shining Armor asked. Turning to look at her husband, Cadance shook her head. “No.” Sighing, Shining Armor stepped out of the bedroom and back into the hall. He didn’t understand dream rules or how to traverse the dreamscape. He hardly understood his own dreams. And being inside of the mind of an alien creature? Shining Armor decided that he was out of his element and that it was time to fall into the role of a guard. Just go with things. Don’t question. Just do. Everything would be better this way. This is what he understood. Twilight, also confused, and disturbed by the room, followed after her brother. She stood beside him, silent, not knowing what to say, not understanding what was going on, not certain she wanted to understand what was going on. Luna stepped out into the hallway next, followed by little Maeve, and then Cadance stepped out. The door slammed shut on its own and there was a clicking sound as the door was locked. Luna scowled as she remembered the stuffed version of herself left lying on the bed. A part of her was going to be left behind in Maeve’s mind. The night blue alicorn sighed, feeling frustrated. She knew that the door, now locked, wouldn’t open, no matter what she did, unless she resorted to desperate measures to force her way inside. Doing so would hurt Maeve though, so Luna accepted the loss of herself. Maeve was as good of a place as any to leave behind a fragment of her psyche. “What do we do next?” Cadance asked, because somepony had to say something. The silence was unbearable, uncomfortable, and unpleasant. “Find Mommy,” Little Maeve replied. The door opened up into a stone hallway that reminded Luna far too much of the castle of the fae. Tír na hÓige. Something smelled bad, like rot, old sour wine, and cinnamon. It was dark and dim. Standing at the door, Little Maeve balked. “No go.” Luna, nodding her head, looked Maeve in the eye. “You wait right here with Bun Bun until I return. You are not to leave this spot, do you understand?” The little girl, who was holding her rabbit clutched in her left arm, was now picking her nose with her right hand. She nodded as she continued to dig about for hidden treasures, causing Shining Armor to laugh yet again. Head high, Luna entered first, followed by Twilight, then Cadance. Shining Armor, unable to help himself, stretched out his neck and kissed Maeve on the cheek, causing the little girl to giggle. Tail swishing, Shining Armor followed after Cadance. The moment that Shining Armor stepped through the door, it slammed shut and vanished, causing Twilight to let out a little scream of panic. Twilight, embarrassed, composed herself. She flapped her wings a few times, lifted her head high, blinked, and then skulked off after Luna, who was striding ahead without her. Cadance ignited her horn and walked with a fierce stride. This place felt dangerous somehow. She didn’t like it. It smelled awful. Her ears perked, straining to hear, and without realising it, she fell back into her earliest training as a princess. “Captain Shining Armor, to my side.” Hearing Cadance’s stony command, Shining Armor felt compelled to obey, not even knowing why. He scooted ahead until he was walking abreast with Cadance, his own horn ignited, ready to protect Cadance and do her bidding. He had pledged his life for her. The sound of hooves approaching caused Luna some alarm. She peered ahead, having trouble seeing, understanding that whatever was ahead was obscured by forces beyond her control. She had to play by the rules, such as they were. She lifted a wing, signaling a stop. Twilight, not versed in military lore, bumped snoot first into Luna’s backside when Luna came to a halt. Ahead, a tiny figure approached. Luna recognised him at once. She felt a smile threatening to show itself, but Luna’s own harsh nature lept up, snatched the smile, clubbed it with a truncheon a few times more than necessary, subdued it, and dragged it back down into the darkest depths of Luna’s mind, the place below the dungeons. “Hello, I am Sir Red Russet, the Knight. I am looking for my Lady Faire, the Sorceress known as Maeve. She’s enchanting.” The little red colt looked up at Luna. The colt was small, far too small, a trick of the mind. He wasn’t much bigger than a potato. Luna lowered her head, bowing, and then kept her head low so she might look the tiny representation of Red Russet in the eye. “Greetings, noble knight.” “Wait, Red Russet has a crush on Maeve?” Twilight asked. “Well of course he does… and it’s a lot more than a crush,” Cadance whispered in reply. “It seems that a part of Maeve’s mind knows it. Now be respectful. We’re deep inside of the mind of a little girl, looking at all of her innermost thoughts, feelings, desires, hopes, and dreams. We’re learning her secrets.” Twilight, blushing, flapped her wings and danced around on her hooves, looking nervous and agitated. “Oh my gosh, you mean to tell me that he loves Maeve?” The little red earth pony colt, no bigger than a potato, glared up at Twilight. “I’m standing right here, by the way. I can hear every word you are saying.” “It is only proper for a knight to love his Lady Faire.” Shining Armor lifted his head high and gave his mane a good shake. His ears leaned forwards. “There is no cause more noble than for a knight to find a good Lady Faire to live in service of, doing good deeds, being charitable, being virtuous, and all in the name of the object of his heart’s fondest desire.” As Luna rolled her eyes, Twilight uttered one word: “Shiny?” Cadance let out a demure sigh. “Shining Armor actually believes this… you have no idea how many times I’ve heard this speech and others like it. Look, please don’t make fun of Shining, um, this is, uh, well, um, this is actually the reason I fell in love with him okay, just… don’t tell anypony… do you have any idea how difficult it is to find a stallion that actually believes in this in this day and age?” Shining Armor, looking smug and satisfied, smiled at Red. “We can help you find your Lady Faire. We should check for towers and look at the top floors. Princesses and Sorceresses by extension tend to be kept in towers, and not dungeons. It’s because they’re pretty.” “Good advice,” Red replied, nodding his head. “I thought we were looking for Maeve’s mother?” Twilight asked in a low voice. “We are.” Luna turned her head and looked over her shoulder at Twilight. “I suspect that we’ll find them both together.” Luna, clearing her throat, whipped her head back around to look at Red. “Remain at my side.” “As you wish,” Red replied. Somewhere, during the long walk through a dark, spooky, foul smelling hallway, Twilight Sparkle found herself. She moved out from behind Luna, a look of fierce determination on her face, and walked at Luna’s side, opposite of Red. Much to everypony’s surprise, Twilight’s light drove back the darkness, dispelling the thick shadows, and allowing them to peer ahead a good deal further than before. Twilight walked with her head low, her hackles up, her teeth bared, and her tail whipping around as though she was whipping away invisible flies. Twilight Sparkle, small, unassuming, quiet, introverted Twilight, looked every bit as dangerous as the blue alicorn that she walked beside. Peering ahead, Twilight saw shapes in the darkness, something was moving. She couldn’t make out what it was, but Twilight was already charging up her horn. A roar filled the hallway, a terrifying roar. It echoed up and down the stone passage, the sound was almost deafening in the tight confines of the hallway. Twilight’s horn grew brighter, too bright to even look at, the brilliance of it was making it difficult for Luna to even see. The first of the armored figures came into clear view, and a swarming, teeming horde appeared to be right behind him. Luna recognised the fat, bloated figure right away, a creature that she hated more than anything else. A creature that she reviled. “NILZEBOG!” Luna spat. Even the words left a bad taste in her mouth. She felt strange pain all over her body as the squat figure approached. Fear crept up her spine, taking the form of slithering, crawling cold. She was paralysed with fear at the very sight of him. It was at this moment that Twilight unloaded her stored up charge. A blast of energy surged forwards, the beam itself as wide and and as tall as the hallway. There was a brilliant flash of light that blinded the companions. When Luna was able to see again, she squinted ahead, her ears perked, trying to see or hear danger. There was a soft pattering sound, like the sound of heavy snow falling, a faint whispery sound that few ever paid attention to. She squinted a little. Ahead, in the hallway, it was snowing. Luna shook her head. No, not snow, what was falling down was clouds of ashes. The hallway ahead was thick with falling ashes of disintegrated goblins. A wisp of smoke curled up from Twilight’s horn. Puckering her lips, Twilight blew upwards, blowing the smoke away from her horn tip. “You don’t have to be a stallion to fight for your Lady Faire.” Twilight’s words slipped out of her mouth as a harsh, angry, guttural mutter. “Bring it on… I got more… that was the warm up shot. The next shot will actually have some power behind it.” “Twilight, sometimes, you worry me,” Cadance whispered. “Go Twily.” Shining Armor looked impressed. “That was amazing!” Red shouted as he pranced at Luna’s side. “We should keep going,” Twilight said as she noticed the disturbed look on Luna’s face. Twilight, feeling worried, actually stepped into the lead. She moved ahead, her head low, horn humming as it charged up again. Luna scooped up Red, ignoring his protests, knowing that he would vanish in the ash ahead. He was, after all, no bigger than a potato. However indignified this might be for him, she was obligated to carry him. She followed after Twilight, feeling a curious mix of love, flattery, and self worth. Cadance and Shining Armor moved together as one, Shining was almost glued to Cadance’s side. Cadance, who had watched Twilight grow up, felt a stirring of pride. She had played a role in how Twilight had turned out, and Cadance could not help but feel that she had done a fine job. Beside her, Shining Armor was having similar thoughts. There was still much dark ahead.