Lucidity

by Indulgence

Exeunt

For the second time that evening two alicorns walked side by side down a seemingly unending corridor of portals, vast to the point of infinity, their steady passage this time lit by not one but both their horns glowing in unison. Just less than a single step ahead the older teacher (conflictingly wary of what she taught) subjected their path to her gaze, whilst her determined pupil (unflinching from her goal of mastery) followed in imitation. Since the younger had reappeared (never itself a given) they had remained deep in conversation, the night having been a long one, bringing with it a plethora of discoveries as well as questions in need of answering. To this end together they talked, each trying to excise the shadows which, although not truly an opaque barrier, had risen to stand between them.

‘She needs some space for now’ Luna persisted, her speech continuing with their path, ‘to let her subconscious at the very least come to terms with what she’s been through. But, in time, when she’s ready we can be there to help her through this. You did well tonight.’

Twilight shook her head. ‘No, not really I didn’t.’

‘You can’t blame yourself for what happened’ the dark alicorn responded, reading her partner perfectly. ‘This isn’t your responsibility, so if it’s anypony’s fault it’s mine, and Trixie can be chalked up as another I’ve failed to find, and therefore let slip through the cracks.’

‘No’ Twilight returned, stopping as definitively in place as her words. ‘I’m not going to let you call yourself a failure on my account. What if the thing was right? At the very least I let her down, but what if there’s more to it than that? What if…’

Luna’s wing came to wrap around the smaller alicorn’s shoulder, pulling her in close to her side, hugging her tight. ‘Believe me when I say I know it’s hard to, but you should try to ignore what it said.’ Her other feathered appendage went to Twilight’s muzzle, inclining it up to face her own rather than the floor as she continued. ‘Looking for our weaknesses is what it does so that it can make use of them. It’s how it gets out and as you’re the most caring mare I know, your concern for others knowing no bounds, that’s where it chose to strike, to try to get you to needlessly self-doubt.’ The Princess of the Night leant in nuzzling against her partner. ‘Do you trust me?’

‘Yes’ Twilight answered simply without needing thought.

‘Then trust me when I say that you’re perfect.’

Their lips met tenderly, each passing caress a cure for even the most potent poison. For some time they remained unmoving from their joint hug, each at that moment very much needing the sustenance of their closeness. Newly bolstered however, they did eventually choose to return to motion, drawing back away following the last in a series of soft kisses.

For a few steps further on they remained quiet until Twilight raised her voice up once more. ‘I want to help you here’ she said flatly, ‘or at least for as long as I’ve got these powers that is.’

‘No’ Luna replied, perhaps a bit more bluntly than she had intended to, although her inner discomfort in expressing the refusal was writ large in her tone.

‘But I can help.’

‘I’m well aware of that. It’s not that I don’t appreciate what you did earlier or where you’re coming from with the offer, but it’s just… well like I said before: I wouldn’t wish this on anypony else, not least of all you. The… thing we faced earlier is the worst, but it is not the only denizen here and I would not risk you to any of them.’ At this point her partner opened her mouth to interject against this rebuff, but to this she raised a hoof pleadingly to be allowed to continue. ‘You said it appeared in the guise of Sombra and then later when we fought it had changed into the being of my other self; we two were always its favourite prizes. In his case it preyed on his inquisitiveness, using it combined with his own almost paranoid cares for his subjects to get at and then tempt him. As for my own fall, you’re already very much aware of it, not to mention it being well known by the rest of Equestria as well, suffice to add that it found me in a very dark place, not so dissimilar from that of Trixie.’

It was Twilight’s turn this time to wrap the other alicorn in her wing, the difficulty of even this fleeting retelling plain to see, leaning into the taller shape in an attempt to emphasise her supportive presence to her partner.

‘I should mention that I don’t at all hate Tia for what she did’ Luna added as an aside, her speech fast becoming an outpouring explanation, ‘even if there’s probably a small wretched part of me which can’t let it go, but in my absence how many do you think I wasn’t there for? Because of my selfishness how many Trixies were there who didn’t have anypony and didn’t get a second chance? That’s why I have to do this.’

‘But you shouldn’t have to face it alone.’ As she had spoken Luna’s eyes had focused on the distance, growing darkly clouded, now however Twilight gently coaxed them down to meet hers, gazes looking into one another. ‘It shouldn’t just be your lone burden to bear, particularly if I can carry some small part of it. Please let me be there.’ Her wing moved, purple feathers stroking the dark navy of her partner’s muzzle, guiding it downward to her own where she met it with another kiss.

‘Thank you, but…’ Luna began, resistance wavering, before Twilight’s lips silenced her again.

‘No buts’ the purple alicorn shushed, ‘I love you.’ By now they had travelled far down their path between the parallel ranks of portals, with most being pretty nondescript, eliciting little interest from her, but now as the pair parted she better caught sight of the far too familiar doorway at the other alicorn’s back. It was a finely carved crystal slab, a neat six-pointed star etched on its front face, the door to her own bedroom. The surreal image, now the last in the evening’s long stream, spawned new questions in her mind. What would it be like to step into her own dreamland? Would it be as a normal dream filled sleep or would she again be a spectator except this time to her own subconscious? Luna meanwhile picked up on her staring and turned to follow her gaze, smiling understandingly as she realised what was being looked at. ‘Does everypony have a door here?’ Twilight asked.

‘Yes.’

‘Even Princess Celestia?’

‘You know Tia wants you to stop using her title, but yes she does, although we agreed a long time ago that I wouldn’t stray there.’

‘Why?’

‘There should be a degree of privacy between siblings, there being certain things about each other we really don’t need to know, whilst at the same time we agreed to be honest with one another. Though that condition was ultimately something else I fell down on, I never have broken the promise attached to it. It’s a small pride perhaps, but nonetheless mine.’

‘So what’s it like?’

‘What’s what like?’

‘Come on, you know what I mean’ Twilight pushed, gesturing towards the doorway which held her attentions. ‘What’s it like going through your own door?’

‘Erm… if I remember rightly it’s like dreaming normally, except with a much higher degree of detail and control, more so than even the most lucid sleep, but it’s rather hard to remember.’ Receiving another questioning look from the other alicorn she continued: ‘it was there where I… changed, so I haven’t had the nerve to return since then.’

‘What about your dreams though?’ This question got only a weary shrug in response, but in Twilight it threw up a new weight of concern. How could somepony not dream? Her loathing for the demon, already hardened by their meeting, was prompted to new heights, spurring abject hatred for it for what it withheld from her marefriend. Holding back her inner seething she noticed that Luna was looking past her, again slightly vacantly, turning her to find a portal of fire scorched stone webbed by sulphurous seams. ‘Is that yours?’

‘Yes, although it’s my being in Tartarus makes it look like that.’

Twilight took a few steps towards the blackened rock surface and then looked back to her partner, beckoning her to follow.

Luna’s eyes visibly widened. ‘Twilight, I really don’t…’

‘Nopony should be denied their dreams. For one thing I know you, so I don’t have any fear for what may lie on the other side. At the same time I know that anything else there may be will not be of your making, and together nothing can be insurmountable. So please, your dreams should be yours.’

Side by side they stepped up to the door and to the sound of scraping stone their joint streams of magic slid it open. As one they briefly paused in a final embrace on the threshold, each feeling the strength of the other’s presence and trusting that it would always remain, and then onwards through it together they moved, disappearing into a corona of light which filled the portal.

Comments

[icecreammac]

Allow me to grace this story with its first of what I hope to be many comments.

Arguably the most important chapter in a story is the first chapter. It's what allows the reader to determine if they want to keep reading or spend their time elsewhere. To use a metaphor, if the summary, tags, and main characters are the bait, then the first chapter is the hook. You could have the best bait in the world, but if your hook is poorly made, dull, or plain incomplete, then we fish are going to get away quickly and easily, and we're unlikely to return.

All that said, you had a great first chapter. Your description and attention to detail, though long-winded at times, painted a delightfully vivid picture of what was going on. My absolute favorite part of the chapter was your juxtaposition between the caravan's dingy interior and Trixie herself. Busying herself with make-up and hair implements, listening to recordings of her past fame, Trixie seemed very optimistic in her poor state, right up until she hanged herself, which was so unexpected that my jaw literally dropped. It was there that you had me. Hook, line, and sinker.

Overall, this was a very well-written and interesting story. I devoured it all in one sitting, and I'm very glad to have done so. There could be some improvements, though; I noticed a few grammatical errors and a spelling error or two, but they didn't take away from the story itself, which is good. I very much enjoyed this story, and I hope to see it get the attention it deserves! Good luck in your future endeavors !

[Indulgence]

8005889 Major thanks