Luna's Lacunae

by kudzuhaiku

Chapter 7

“Concentrate, Maeve. Remember what I told you. Deep breaths and retain your focus,” Luna said, offering gentle instruction. Luna, who was smiling, looked down at Red Russet, who was watching Maeve with slack jawed expression.

Whispering, so he would not disturb Maeve, Red asked, “How does she do that without a horn?”

Wrapping a wing around the earth pony colt, Luna replied in a low whisper, “I do not know. It is a great mystery to me. But she has power.”

The pair watched as the stone that Maeve levitated above her hand began a gentle spin. Red relaxed against Luna’s side, realising that she was just another pony and she was nothing to be afraid of.

“Maeve, if you train yourself, Red never need to fear stumbling around you, you will be able to catch him before he brings harm to himself. The same energy can be used to shield yourself and those you love. Feel it flowing through you. The stone has no weight unless you believe it does,” Luna said in a soft whisper to her student.

A rivulet of sweat trickled down the back of Maeve’s neck. The stone felt heavy, no matter what Luna said. The weight was in her mind, it caused her brain to strain and she could feel a headache coming on as a dull, pulsating throb began to happen between her ears.

“Mind over matter… what the mind can conceive, your magic can achieve,” Luna said, noticing that Maeve was starting to sweat. “You have held the stone in your hand, so you know it is heavy. The memory lingers in your mind. Banish it. If your belief is firm enough, the stone will be weightless. It is how my sister and I move celestial bodies, it is because we believe that we can.”

As Maeve’s concentration broke, she let out a pained cry as one exceptional thud struck her between her ears. The pressure inside of her head made her worry that her eyes would pop out, so she squeezed them shut. She felt a shortness of breath and it seemed that every inch of her skin was now soaked in sweat.

Opening her eyes, she looked down at the stone and saw that it wasn’t a single stone. It had cracked in two. Maeve’s gaze rose, slow, uncertain, and her eyes met Luna’s. Maeve saw admiration, pride… and fear.

“I think that’s enough for today,” Luna said, her eyes dropping back down to the split stone. “We will continue this lesson tomorrow, if you are feeling up to it. I think I shall go and take a nap. I am feeling sleepy.”

“Sleep well, Luna.” Maeve wiped sweat from her face with her hands, then blinked blinked when the sweat got into her eyes and made them sting.

“Maeve, this entire place has a wall around it. Feel free to go anywhere you wish, just do not go over the wall,” Luna said to Maeve.

“I have no intention of going over the wall.” Maeve, still blinking the stinging sweat out of her eyes, remembered Ponyville and shuddered. “I think I’ll go find the creek that is supposed to be around here somewhere. You coming with me, Red?”

---

Ahead, the trees parted, and Maeve saw the creek that she had been listening to as she walked. A small pool had been made, filled with small rocks, and the water looked clean and clear. The creek was narrow, widened out for the pool, and then narrowed out once more.

It was idyllic. The late afternoon sun shone down and most of the pool was in partial shade. A long, flat, broad stone lay upon the shore and stretched down into the water, providing a natural ramp into get in and out. The pool did not appear to be too deep, perhaps just above waist deep on Maeve.

After staring at the pool, Maeve realised it was too deep to stand in without getting everything wet. She raised one hand and began to tap upon her chin with her index finger as Red Russet walked to the edge of the pool and stared down into the depths. He stuck out his leg and touched the water, dunking himself in up to his fetlock.

Poking down at the water with his hoof, Red looked at Maeve. “This is too deep… I could drown in here. Plus, if I slipped on the rock getting in, I could break something.” Sighing, the colt took a few steps backwards and sat down upon the grass.

“If I got in there, my skirt would get wet.” Maeve frowned and looked at the sparkling water, unable to stop thinking about inviting it looked. The pool glittered as though it was filled with diamonds. It was just about the perfect depth for a large alicorn in need of a good dunk. “I really want to go for a dip.”

“This is why I never wear clothing.” Red looked up at Maeve, feeling a peculiar feeling as he looked at her. He watched as she took off her sun hat and her fiery orange hair began to spill out around her shoulders. “Some ponies wear clothing, I never understood why.”

Maeve looked around, looked at Red, and had a troubling thought. Red Russet was a pony. An animal. Yet, so was she, she supposed. Red was not human, but he was male. Maeve suffered a mental conundrum that she did not know how to put into words. She looked at the water, then at Red, and then at the water once more. Red was an animal, but he was an intelligent animal. He was aware of concepts like embarrassment and feeling awkward and he knew about nakedness. Maeve tossed her hat down into the grass and sighed.

Feeling very awkward, Maeve pulled off her tunic, folded it, and placed it into the grass. She stood wearing her chemise and she could feel the breeze blowing through the thin fabric. She was all too aware of the fact that it was almost see though and she tried to tell herself that Red was only a pony. Popping a few buttons, she took off her skirt, then her slip, and then she stood there in her knee length bloomers. She folded her slip and her skirt and placed them down upon her folded tunic.

Clambering up onto the rock, she took a few careful steps, felt a shiver when her foot touched the cold water, and then continued down the incline until she was knee deep. The water was much colder than she thought. Closing her eyes, there was only one way to deal with cold water. She fell forward into the pool.

The water was cold. So very cold. When her head broke the surface of the water, Maeve gasped and blinked from the shock of her body being dunked in the cold water. She stood, her feet braced against the bottom, and she could feel small rocks and fine sand between her toes.

Waiting in the water, hoping that some of the chill would go away, Maeve felt her teeth begin to chatter. Sometimes, when one dunked themselves, the initial feeling of cold would subside and the water would be tolerable. Maeve was beginning to understand that was not the case here. She could feel her muscles cramping, there were painful stabbing sensations as the cold crept into body, like right behind her knees. She pushed her way through the water, got a foothold on the incline of the rock ramp, and climbed up out of the navel deep pool. Once clear of the water, she sat down on the rock, which was hot from the sun. She pulled her knees up to her chest and began to shiver.

“The water didn’t feel that cold,” Red said as he listened to Maeve’s teeth chattering.

Maeve did not reply. She could not reply. Her jaw clenched as she tried to make her teeth stop chattering as she fought her need to shiver.

“I don’t think you are as durable as we ponies are. You burn in the sun, you freeze at the slightest hint of cold, I think it is because you are a mostly hairless monkey-thing.” Red cocked his head to the side and watched as Maeve tried to warm herself up.

Mostly hairless monkey-thing, Maeve thought to herself. If Red wasn’t so frail and she wasn’t so weak, she’d toss him into the pool and show him what a mostly hairless monkey-thing could do.

“I never realised your mane was so long… it comes down to the middle of your back when it's wet. Usually it hangs at your shoulders. You’re mane must be really, really frizzy,” Red said, oblivious to what it was that he was saying to Maeve and its effect upon her.

Scowling, still shivering, Maeve sat on the sun warmed rock, hating her hair. It was always a frizzy unmanageable mess, and it was red. Other people had called her ‘Ginger’ and all manner of awful names. There were only two beings that could make Maeve’s hair behave. One was her mother, who was gone, and the other was Celestia, who had infinite patience along with powerful magic.

“Maeve? Maeve, I can see something on your back, are you okay? I can see through your shirt thingy.” Red got up and trotted a little closer to Maeve, his eyes squinting to see through the white fabric.

Feeling ashamed, Maeve closed her eyes and focused on repressing her need to shiver. “It’s a brand. Princess Luna has one too. When we were captured, they branded us. I was kept as a slave. Luna was kept as livestock.” Behind her, she heard a choking sound and she turned her head. She saw that Red’s eyes were damp with tears and there was a pained expression upon his face. She scrabbled over the rock, scooting along, until she sat in the grass beside Red. Reaching out, she patted the colt upon neck as he was overcome with sniffles and then began to stroke his ears.

“I don’t understand how somepony could do that to somepony else,” Red said as he squeezed his eyes shut and struggled to hold back tears, his barrel heaving as his struggle intensified. “I’m so sorry you were hurt.”

Still stroking Red’s ear, Maeve scooted a little closer. “It’s okay… it doesn’t hurt very much anymore.” Maeve realised that Red, for all of his seeming maturity, was still a colt, and a soft hearted one at that. As she thought about this, she felt Red’s head brush up against her. She froze, feeling panicked, all of her muscles tensing from the contact. She didn’t want to shove Red away, he was grief stricken and sad. Maeve struggled with her rising panic and fear. A wave of nausea hit her and for a moment, she thought she was going to be sick. Reaching out both arms, she wrapped them around Red’s neck and pulled him close to her, clinging to him, hoping her fear and panic would pass, while also hoping that Red would feel better.

The colt was warm against her chest, his body heat felt good against her cold skin, and Maeve could feel the soft velvet of his hide through her thin chemise. She felt his nose pressed up into her neck, pressing in against the curve of her jaw, and she could feel his hot, moist breath against her skin. After the initial panic, which was now fading, Maeve discovered that this hug felt nice. She pulled Red a little closer into a gentle embrace, and with one hand, she stroked his withers. He was also very, very warm, and Maeve was still very, very cold.

“You’re wet,” Red said in a muffled voice, his words tickling Maeve’s neck.

Feeling reluctant about her actions, Maeve pulled away and looked at Red. It had felt nice to hug somepony and Maeve wished that such a thing was not so difficult for her. With one hand, she brushed his mane out of his eyes and then gave his ear a tug.

“Now I’m wet,” Red said, complaining so he could ignore his awkward feelings that he was experiencing. Reaching upwards with his trembling hoof, he pushed aside a soaked tendril of fiery orange hair from Maeve’s cheek, revealing a wealth of freckles, making certain that he did not scrape her skin.

“Thank you, Red, for always being so nice to me, and for being my friend…”

Author's Note:

Hopefully there are people reading.

Comments

[HoneyBadgerr]

Hopefully there are people reading.

There are. Still loving this awesome story.

[ScrambledCrackers]

I can't speak for others, but I will read the whole thing.

I want to see stories that dare touch on difficult topics that often get ignored like they don't happen in life. This delivers.

[disiple]

I'm reading. And let me just say even though it probably won't happen cause Red is most likely friend-zoned, coupled with the fact Maeve is scarred cause of the abuse but I ship them so freaking hard

[Xenomorpher]

Yeah, I'm reading.. Always reading always..reading... always....reading...

[ChibiChabot]

Feels so many feels. Thanks Kudzu.

[kudzuhaiku]

6101214

I have actually contemplated this possibility... when they are both older. Much older.

[Moosetasm]

Hopefully there are people reading.

How could we not read this? You capture character emotions so very well.

[Bolt]

I'm reading whatever you post, regardless.

[marcelojj]

Nope, nobody reading...just us, the ghosts...

[Inactive AF]

I'm reading. You have my attention. Every single day, I sit down, check The Chase for updates, check The Catch for updates, then check this for updates. Usually I'm not disappointed for at least one

[Miss Appolonia]

I'm just here to count the spaces. 2055.

Just kidding, of course we're reading, it's a cool concept and of course masterfully executed.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Progress. Slow and halting, but indisputably progress. The subconscious may fear, but the consciousness can choose to ignore that fear, override it. Perhaps, in time, quell it. It will never go away in full—that's why they're called mental scars—but it will fade. Even the fey brand may, far from their lands. Maeve has been through far too much for one so young, but she's in a good place now.

[The Countess of Tuscany]

I ship it.

[Midnight Musashy]

I'm reading!
I'm reading.
I'm reading, and I think this story is getting to me. I cried in the chase. I may cry here too.
This story is so touching, so rough, and so raw. this is some of the best storytelling I've ever seen. Kudzy, () you have delivered again.
Now I'm going to go find the catch. I thought I was caught up on that...

[MagicKnight55]

6108569
You and me both.

I get so into chasing The Chase that I fall behind on other stories, so now I need to catch up on The Catch but now I worry I'll lose Luna's Lacunae...

Such a perilous predicament.

[Midnight Musashy]

6113926 And to think it's all written by one author...

[lazyreader19]

D'awww, this was an adorable chapter.

[Mr Swanky Hat]

The stone has no weight unless you believe it does,

There is no spoon.

[Raul]

The whole time I had 3 quotes in my head
"The force is strong with this one." And "there is no spoon" and Yoda's Little chat with Luke at the X-Wing.