Discovering the Past

by Astral Star and Company

Chapter 7: Dreaming of Luna

Dreaming is a lot more complex than random events happening inside your head, there is a magic to it. Dreams are made of feelings, memories and experiences, buried deep inside your subconscious. Only when your conscious self is deactivated (i.e., you’re asleep) can these things manifest. These thoughts could present themselves in many ways, that is to say, no person can have the exact same dream as another. There is so much to dreams, reliant on your own personality and experiences, for the same one to occur more than once.

When you are the Princess of the Night, and a master Dream-Walker however, the limitations of the mind are mere speed bumps to her magical will. Here, in this realm of dreams, she sits, and waits for some pony in need of help. To describe the dream realm would be impossible for physical language, but to the mind, nothing makes more sense. The realm has no shape, no matter, no life, unless the dreamer wills it. Even subconsciously, the dreamer creates a world in their head, full of possibilities. To attain a degree of control in this world, is near impossible without sheer strength of thought. For to have conscious control of your dreams, without waking up, is a difficult task indeed.

Princess Luna stood vigilantly over the dreamscape, an endless, hill strewn plain of long green grass, bathed in the light of the afternoon sun. Though she might not openly admit it, the sunset was indeed beautiful, coupled with the fact that it signalled the end of day, and the beginning of her glorious night. Her task was to make sure that all ponies under her care slept safely and soundly. It was her duty to help her subjects conquer their fears. For who better to absolve them of fear, than the ruler of its source? Images from dreams all across Equestria, floated lazily by in the darkening sky, one in particular, drew her interest. It seemed that Twilight Sparkle was asleep, and was silently pleading for the Night Princess’s help. She unfurled her wings, and launched into the sea of darkness above, travelling across dream space, to help a fellow alicorn in need.

When she arrived, she found herself sitting at a gazebo in the Canterlot gardens. The sweet scents of the garden’s many exotic floras wafted through the air, calming the nerves. Twilight sat opposite to her, and between them a small table, with herbal tea and biscuits set and prepared for them in the traditional Canterlot style that nobility were so fond of. This construction of landscape was neither of their doing, it only reflected how the dreamer, Twilight was feeling.

“I’m glad you made it princess,” greeted Twilight “The girls and I have made progress in our investigation,”

“Already?” asked Luna, clearly impressed by this fortuitous turn of events “my sister’s words about you are beginning to become quite apt, as I’m sure,” she paused to see her host look away and blush, despite being in an insubstantial environment. “Now, please tell me, what you have found,”

“Well, we decided that we should have the fillies go first,”

“A risky decision, but it payed off without harm, yes?”

“Of course, we have discovered that there are foals in their care,”

“Foals?” asked the Princess, of all the things to find in that house, foals were not at the top of the list “How many?”

“Four, a unicorn colt, and earth colt, a unicorn filly and a Pegasus filly,”

“Names?”

“Noctilucent…”

“An ancient name that one, haven’t heard it in centuries. I certainly hope he is nothing like his predecessor,”

“Asphodel…”

“Another strange name. It’s a realm in the Underworld,”

“Yep, I found it in a book about Ancient Equestrian Mythology. There is also Elysium…”

“Where does he get all these names from?”

“and finally, Snowdrop,”

Suddenly, all psychological processes in the princess’s mind short out at the mention of this name. She sat silently, eyes trained sightlessly on the purple alicorn, who was desperate to get her attention. “Princess? Are you alright?” she asked. Snowdrop, it has been many years since she has heard that name. Her best friend, the only one that understood her and her night. But she died; she died during her banishment on the moon. The poor Pegasus looked on as her best friend became a tyrant, a monster. Luna’s greatest heart ache, was never saying goodbye.

“Twilight,” she said intensely, an edge being added to her voice “What exactly do you know about Snow Drop?”

“Only as much as the folk tales mention, but I’m sure the girls can get some more information,”

“I want you tell me everything you know about those four when they are done. Clear?”

“Crystal, princess,”

The sudden intensity of Luna’s attitude was no surprise to Twilight. According to the tales, She and Snowdrop were the best of friends, and if Luna’s reaction was taken into account, it must’ve been true. ‘There must be more to those three than we thought’ pondered Twilight ‘I wonder what…’

“In the meantime, I will go to Hades to check on his realm,” continued the blue alicorn “Your news may very well concern him,”

“Hades?”

“The ruler of the dead. And you said you studied ancient mythology,” Luna smirked

“Well… I…”

“Do not worry yourself, I was only teasing,” Luna spread her wings once again and prepared to leave the dreamscape “Remember your task, Twilight,” she said, and took off in a flash of white light, leaving Twilight’s mind, and approaching the waking world.

Hades, was not someone who you wanted to visit. He is King Under the World, Emperor of the Dead, God of the Land itself, and all things that dwell on, and within it. It has been thousands of years since either princess has met him, and the last times were on less than pleasant circumstances. The journey to the Underworld was easy, all you have to do, is die. If you wanted to keep your life, then it causes issues. The front gate is blocked by Cerberus, and all other entrances are protected by wraiths and other malignant spirits. Spirits that are, oddly absent from their posts. Luna touched down at the base of one of the many mountains close to Canterlot.

It was hidden by an ancient enchantment, one similar to the one protecting Astral’s Estate. It was invisible to all witnesses, but clear as day to those who knew where to look. This way, no one will ever accidentally enter the Underworld. Luna took a deep breath, and stepped through the invisible passage. Inside was a small alcove of rock, the smell of moisture and dead plant life hung thickly in the air. Ahead of her stood a tunnel, just about her height, with two black obelisks either side of it. The obsidian prisms were had a flawless black sheen, disturbed only by warning sigils, carefully carved into its surface. She glanced around; surprised to see that there were no guards at all. Steeling herself, she stepped through, and walked down the tunnel.

After a few minutes, the tunnel widened into a chamber. Judging by the numerous cruel looking weapons and armour, it must have been an armoury of sorts. ‘Been’ was the right word, the light crystal has long since died out, and cobwebs were draped generously across all the arms. Despite this, the weapons looked good as new, forged in the river Styx, these were not ordinary swords. Luna exited the armoury, now heading along an extensive, narrow corridor, conjuring a light for herself using her horn. The torches that once lit the hallways were all but burnt out; bones littered the ground and webs hung from the walls like white velvet curtains.

At the end of the hall, she found herself in a cathedral-like room. Statues of various creatures lined the sides, ancient tapestries hung on the walls, depicting great battles and figures of power. This was the throne room of Hades. The chair he sat upon during his rule was made of stone, carved to look like it was made of bones. At either side were two lesser thrones, one for Persephone, Hades’ wife, a simple armchair adorned with now dead flowers, and Thanatos, the grim reaper, his was made of real bones, adorning an onyx chair. All thrones were empty.

Something wasn’t right, he should be here, and come to think of it, there should be dead all over the place, where is everybody? She took flight and patrolled the surrounding corridors, all dark, and all empty. She then flew straight out the throne room, and into the grand cavern which housed Hades’ capital city. A huge, natural cave, big Manehatten and twice as tall. The once thriving City of Hades, lay in ruins below her. Piles of earthen rubble remained of the countless buildings; the once mighty Rivers of the Underworld were reduced to a trickle. Landing on the spire atop Hade’s castle, she used her magic to enhance her vision across the dark cavern.

Elysium and The Isle of the Blessed looked operational, but was completely deserted. The Fields of Asphodel have long died out, leaving behind cracked soil and dead grass. It too was empty. The fires of The Fields of Punishment too, were long extinguished. The only place that still seemed full was Tartarus, as dangerous and secure as ever. Luna tried to comprehend what this meant. If the dead weren’t here, and if Hades wasn’t here, it meant no pony truly died. Their souls would have nowhere to go, either being born again, or wander across the surface, with no sense of purpose or identity. She took it all in, and prepared a teleport to Canterlot. She landed and focused her immense magical power into her horn. She willed herself to travel to the Canterlot throne room, and as the magic instantaneously consumed her, so shall it be.

*=_/)|*|(\_=*

Astral’s Estate

“Ok, you go first,”

“I rolled a 5, what does that mean?”

The eight foals now sat in the mansions library, playing board games and reading books to past the time. Dinner was simple, no conversation took place there. When Apple Bloom asked Astral if they could stay in the library, he reluctantly agreed. Sweetie Belle was flipping through a Geaneology, scrunching her face in confusion as she read it.

“How come there aren’t any family names?” she asked “and what’s with all the weird pictures?”

“Back then, ponies had all sorts of names,” answered Noctilucent “Sometimes, more than one. Those pictures are family crests, it’s the only way ponies could associate with family centuries ago,”

He got up from his game of ‘Snakes and Ladders’ and pointed a hoof at one of the symbols.

It composed of a crescent moon, with a darkened circle where the rest of it should be, and a sun on top. Then on top of it all was a changeling’s face with a sword through it.

“That’s my family crest,” explained Noc “There’s a story behind every one of these. They say the crests reflected the family’s values, or their best deeds. My one is just our uncles' and aunt’s cutiemarks, one on top of the other with the oldest at the bottom and the youngest at the top,”

“Ooh! That reminds me! Hey Snowdrop, how’d you get your cutiemark?”

The pale blue Pegasus looked up from her book to look over at the general area of Sweetie Belle. Snowdrop sat on a cushion on top of one of the libraries study tables, despite a chair being directly next to her.

“I don’t want to talk about it…” she murmered, voice fading out as she finished the sentence.

“Why not?” demanded Scootaloo

“Just read this,” Elysium randomly popped out of a gap in the book shelves and tossed a small paperback over to the orange Pegasus.

“Um, thanks?”

“No prob,” and the little yellow unicorn disappeared back into the shelf.

Shrugging off her random antics, Scootaloo examined the book she was given. It was a small paperback, like the ones she found at school for reading. It was blue, with a pale blue decorative border and a flower on the front. It was titled ‘The First Snowflake’.

“You mean this fairy tale? What’s that got to do with…” Suddenly, something clicked in the young pegasus’ mind. “Wait, so you are…” her little brain then finished registering her sudden Epiphany, as her mouthed let up girlish squeals. “You’re Snowdrop! The Mother of Winter! The First Snowflake! The filly whose wish came true!” she continued to excitedly buzz around on her little wings and rattle off Snowdrop’s many titles.

The gathered foals covered their ears while Snowdrop just looked away and blushed.

“It’s good to see that she has not yet been forgotten,” They all turned to the source of the new voice. It was Astral Star, sitting in one of the armchairs by the hearth, reading a huge encyclopedia. He appeared to also be making corrections with a quill and inkwell. How he got there without them noticing was a mystery.

“Ponies these days take so much for granted,” he whispered, not looking up from his book. Sweetie Belle began to take a closer look at the stallion, and her eyes eventually wandered to his cutiemark, a crescent moon surrounded by three stars.

“Hey, Mister Star?” she inquired, trotting up to the older unicorn

“What can I help you with, Miss Belle?” he smiled

“How’d you get your cutiemark?”

Suddenly, the smile was gone. He violently slammed the book shut and teleported it away in a flurry of blue sparks.

“That, my girl, is not a happy story,” he said intensely, the sudden change in mood was unsettling “are you sure you wish to hear it?”

Sweetie nodded, and soon, all the foals gathered round to hear the coming story.

“Alright then,” he sighed “I’m sure every other cutie mark story you heard was a happy one. My one is not, so don’t say I didn’t warn you…”

/|*Astral's POV*|\

Verity and I lived in a city on the other side of Equestria. My father was a guard to the ruler at the time, Matriarch Amarylis, and my mother was a crystal Pegasus, a rarity to the crystal ponies, who took refuge there during a particularly violent blizzard. She fell in love with my father and ended up staying. Verity was taken in by the Matriarch after a magical accident during an entrance exam into the ruler’s own school. I passed mine as well, but not without earning the suspicion of the judges, and eventually, every staff member in the school. Each exam was different for all entrants, but each was difficult. Verity’s was to fly as high and as fast as she could around the school, doing it in less than ten seconds earned her a spot in the school. Mine was to make a statue of the Matriarch using my magic, out of diamond.

I tried every spell I knew on it, laser spells, shatter spells and a whole range of harmful magic. Little did he know that the giant boulder of diamond was enchanted to withstand offensive spells, they were testing intelligence, not power after all. When I was on the edge of giving up, I experienced a magical surge. When a unicorn’s magic surges, his/her magical power distabilises, increasing it by an order of magnitude, but resulting in a complete loss of control. I vaporised the diamond into a dense black smoke, using my newfound power I arranged the smoke into the tall, slender shape of the Matriarch. Once satisfied, I froze the smoke using gathered moisture in the air, and my surge subsided. The result was a statue of the matriarch, as required. Not as required was that the statue looked to be made out of black ice, not diamond. The judges were stunned, not only have I experienced my first recorded surge, but I controlled it so easily.

They allowed me entry, but not without spreading caution to my teachers. So much untapped power can be dangerous, after all. From then on, my school life began to look up. The wariness of the teachers was soon amended, and my entrance exam forgotten as I began to ascend rapidly through the school’s ranks, with Verity coming close behind. The difference between her and myself being, she was very popular, easily the smartest and prettiest mare in the school. She always had a group of ponies following her around, hanging on every word she said. While I became the sole target of relentless bullying from older students, who remember how a mere foal, and a blank flank at the time, bested them in every academic contest the school had. I merely shrugged it off, my only friend in the whole school was my sister, and that was enough for me.

One day, walking home from school with my sister, one of the senior students walked past and violently shoved me to the side, into a nearby alley. The unicorn stallion who shoved me took hold of Verity and threw her in as well. Several more senior students materialised next to the first. Before Verity could take off an escape, one of the students threw a vicious punch to her cheek, knocking her down. He then proceeded to rear up, and stomp on her right wing, fracturing it with a crack, triggering a scream. I stood by no longer, and rammed the stallion away from my sister, sending him tumbling head-over-hooves back to his friends. Angry, they all pointed their horns at us, each shooting lasers of various colours. Their beams were caught deftly by a shield from myself, spreading the energy along its surface until it dissipated. Despite the efficiency of the barrier, I began to falter, now struggling to maintain the shield. The colts in turn raised the intensity of their attacks, witnessing their opponent struggling to stand, pure rage replacing all reason they used to have.

I knew that if I were to let up now, they would surely kill me, and maybe my sister as well. I was out of options, with barely enough power to keep the shield going, I had nothing to work with, as the shield took up all of my concentration. Just when the shield faded, my mind snapped. I begun to feel angry, no, furious at these colts. I suddenly became aware of their every thought, I found their actions to be no more than a show of spite, accelerated into full blown hatred. Digging deeper, I found the real reason why they did this, they were jealous. They belittled me everyday just to feel superior. I began to pour more of my own untapped potential into the shield, letting rage gradually consume me. The blue dome of my shield began to swell, and change into a sickly green. According to witness accounts, I had green fire in my eyes, as anger controlled my actions. The shield was no more a shield, but a wall of bright green flame, my own magic at its purest, with barely a hint of control. Letting out a mighty shout of rage, I propelled the wall towards them, letting the wild magic consume my assailants. Wave by wave, I battered my enemies, relentlessly crushing them underneath my magical might. When my power ebbed, and focus returned to my mind, I collapsed.

When I woke, I found himself sprawled on the ground in the alley, Verity fitfully dosing by my side. He looked towards the senior students, who lie still, too still. Worry overcame my mind and I scrambled over to them, waking my sister in the process. When I got to their side, I was relieved to find that they were all still alive. What shocked me though, was that their eyes glowed a sickly green, and exuded an odourless purple vapour. They were muttering in their sleep, eyes wide open, body racked with random spasms and shivers. I turned to Verity, but her mouth was set in a hard line, eye brows furrowed in thought, and her right wing hanging limply by her side. She had no idea what happened to them.

The scene did not go unnoticed, and shortly after I came to, the guards arrived and escorted Verity and I to the Matriarch’s chambers. Matriarch Amaryllis was glad to see that we are alright, and sent my sister away to the medical bay. She showed no wish for punishment for either of us, or our attackers. To me however, she looked suspicious, wary, almost afraid. What I had done was an ancient, evil art of magic, one that could not be learned easily, especially at my age. It was Fear magic, the art of manipulating the minds of ponies, often in order to control and gain power over them. She thought that what I had done was punishment enough for them. She then became gentler and told me she was going to teach me as well. That brightened up my day that’s for sure.

/|*End POV*|\

“What happened to the bullies?” asked Apple Bloom

Astral tore his eyes from the ground and glared intensely at the young filly, making her grimace and look away. His expression softened.

“They died,” he whispered, shame leaking into his voice “years afterward. But by bit their minds degraded until nothing was left of the ponies they once were. They went insane,”

“Like Twilight with Miss Smartypants?”

“No,” he chuckled humourlessly “They killed themselves,”

Comments

[Astral Star and Company]

3950461 (moonview)
Will do, thanks for the heads up!

[amiamera]

Ok, I find this story somewhat interesting but there are wall of text problems that can be solved with more application of paragraphs or an extra space between them as well as indenting at the beginning of paragraphs. You also need to make sure to start a new paragraph when you have a new speaker. You've failed to do that a few times and I've had to reread a section a few times to be sure I'm understanding who exactly is speaking.

This chapter also specifically suffers from wrong perspective. It keeps switching between third and first without deciding what it's supposed to be.