New Moon

by Xirdus

I Had a Dream

It was dark. Very dark. Jason couldn't see anything, not even his own muzzle.

But he kept walking.

The air was cool. He never felt anything like that. He was used to high temperatures all the time. Cold was something completely new to him.

The chill was biting his skin. But he didn't care.

He kept walking.

He didn't know why, or where he headed.

He just kept walking.

He didn't know where he was.

But he kept walking.

He hardly had a reason to do so – but nevertheless he did.

He kept walking.

It wasn't a very pleasant walk. He felt like he was walking in place, since nothing was changing around him: all he could see was perfect darkness; all he could hear was perfect silence; all he could feel under his hooves was a perfectly flat ground.

He kept walking, hoping that something would change soon. Anything. This perfect stillness was driving him mad.

After what felt like eternity, he saw a white flash. A painfully bright flash that emerged from nowhere. He gave his eyes a moment to adjust to this new intense light. When he could finally see well, he looked around.

It was still dark, but now he could see everything clearly – though the dim quality of light made everything look like a shadow. Then he gave his surroundings a second, more thorough look.

Everywhere, there were huge, tall trees. They all grew very close to each other and had very dense crowns that, in poor lighting, looked almost like a solid wall, blocking all the light. Another second and he noticed he was standing in the center of a somewhat large clearing in the forest.

The last thing he looked at was the sky.

It was all pitch black, just like everything else a while ago. The only thing not obscured with this darkness was a giant white orb, high above the ground. It was perfectly round, and seemed to give a faint light – the light that was illuminating the world around him. It reminded him of the sun, with the difference that it wasn't nearly as bright. He liked it actually – at least he could look straight at it without being blinded.

Suddenly, he heard a voice. It wasn’t a voice - it was thousand voices, all different from each other, yet all speaking in the perfect unison, like if they all belonged to the same body. He could distinguish the particular voices, but he hardly had a reason to, since they were all the same.

No. Not all were.

Deep inside, there was one voice that was different. It could be heard the tiniest bit before all the others, making it sound like their leader, and all others seemed to just echo what it said.

“Come to me, my little pony” the voices bellowed. Jason looked around. He couldn't see where the words were coming from. He was unsure of what to do, so he remained still. But after a second, he saw something. Before him, a strange, very dense, black mist appeared on the treeline. After a moment, the fog dispelled, showing a pony hidden inside. Though at distance, he could see nothing but the silhouette, and the long, strangely shaped mane that was flowing in the wind, despite he couldn't feel any wind himself.

“Come here. Don't be afraid” The voices were clearly coming from this pony. For the lack of anything better to do, Jason stepped forward. He was walking very slowly, focusing his sight on the mysterious pony. It was walking in his direction, too – far more confidently than himself. While they were closing the distance between them, Jason was noticing more and more details about the other one here. Definitely it was a mare. She was also noticeably taller than him – she was the tallest pony he ever saw, actually. Next thing he noticed was that she was a unicorn. A little while later, he noticed a pair of wings on her back. He did a double-take at that – because it was impossible for a unicorn to have wings, or a pegasus to have a horn. But there they were – wings and horn both, on a single body. They were now only a few steps away, and he could take a better look at her strange mane. It was a very strange look to him. It seemed to be made of the very same mist she originally emerged from. But he didn't have much time to contemplate over this, since she already began to speak again.

“My little pony. I have been watching you for a long time. You are a very strong pony, and also you are smart, though you didn't have many occasions to show your intellect so far. But this will change soon, very soon. It is because I choose you as my Champion. You are given a great mission that will change the whole world. You will become hero of millions, you will have everlasting glory – and I will be freed. Me, Princess Luna, the rightful ruler of Equestria, commander of the night, controller of the moon, sister to Great Princess Celestia, commander of the day, controller of the sun. Follow my orders, and you will return peace and order to this world, free ponykind from the chaos it has fallen into, and restore the glorious cycle of day and night!”

“What do you say?” she said it in far calmer and quiet voice, almost whispering. A small smile appeared on her face, too.

Jason barely registered being asked a question. He had other things on his mind at the moment, for example what the hay was happening exactly. Ms. Luna here was clearly a goddess, and she needed help of some kind, and it just happened that she chose him for the task. Him, Jason, of all ponies. The most average stallion in whole Equestria, with not a single special trait he could brag about. He seemed like the worst choice ever. But who was he to challenge the judgment of the gods?

Another part of his brain had entered his internal conversation. The adventurous part, full of bravery, self-praising and adrenaline lust; the part he hadn't been to aware of his whole life. 'I've spent my whole life on farm; I am strong. And if she says I'm clever, I indeed must be. Or at least I'm clever enough. And I'm surely not content with life as it is now. And now I have a chance to escape it all; to do things nopony has dreamed of; to go on a big adventure like in all those books I've read, and possibly help countless ponies and fight evil out of this world. I will leave a mark on this world, and I will be memorized, and bards will be retelling my story centuries after. Maybe none of these will happen, but still it's better than farm life – and I won't have a second chance. Luna, count me in.'

“So? How will it be?” Luna was growing impatient. Quite strange, given her situation. She returned to her former manner of speaking. “Do you accept me as your deity, will you become my worshiper and my Champion and will you follow my rule in order to fulfill your destiny and bring the world back to the old order? Will you help me break free?”

If Jason was convinced of what he's doing just before, Luna's overwhelming voice(s) intimidated him and broke all the confidence he built up apart. He gave himself a moment to calm down, rethink the decision, and... he came to exactly the same conclusion as before.

“Whatever you say, Princess” He bowed low before her.

“Excellent”, Luna bellowed, her overjoyed face not at all matching the low and powerful voice that almost blew Jason from his hooves. While Jason was regaining his composure after the sudden hit, Luna regained composure of her own, returning to her former stoicism. She cleared her throat and began to speak again. Jason braced for the impact.

“And so, by your own choice, you will be forever known as my Champion, and I will be your protector and guide on your way to cleanse the world from the corruption it has fallen into. I also recognize you as my friend. As a token of our new friendship, I grant you my first gift. It will allow you to never get lost in time, and predict some of the future events. Take it, and put it to good use”

After those words, everything around got silent. Luna closed her eyes and spread her majestic wings. She didn’t flap them, though – yet she still went floating in the air, just above the ground. Then Jason heard a wind building up somewhere near. At the same time, Luna’s body had started to emanate with beams of golden light. It actually didn’t look like straight rays – it was more like smoke floating in the air. Smoke leaving Luna’s body and coming straight at Jason. A sudden whirlwind had created itself between the two ponies, gathering all the smoke and directing it at the stallion. The sound was deafening, but strangely enough, physically, he hadn’t felt anything. Not a single hair on his mane went out of place. It was like if the wind was from a different realm. He could sense it with his eyes and ears, yet for his body there was no wind; or maybe, for the wind, there was no body? Doesn’t matter – what’s important is that it creeped the hell out of Jason.

The scene had lasted for a long while. When it ended, Luna made a weird maneuver in air, then shot up high, leaving Jason’s field of view. When he relocated her on the sky, she seemed to be flying off to the moon. He once again heard her voice.

“I will be seeing you again soon. But before that, I give you your first task. Go to the city of Trottingham, and wait for me there until the next full moon. Don’t take any items with you from home. I will be waiting for you. Remember, you are my only hope, friend” With that, she disappeared completely, and soon everything else around Jason followed the suit. He was once again thrown into darkness – the kind of darkness you see when your dream has ended and are about to start a new day.

Comments

[themanesix]

intriguing....just found this is the buried treasures group......go on