Interlude: Dreams of Destiny
Emberglow was not the only pony that night who dreamed of the mare in the moon. There were four others.
A pony, far to the north in a small, snow-covered kingdom hidden behind a magical barrier created by the Empress, also dreamed of drowning in an ocean of tears beneath a silver crescent moon. She too awoke with a startled scream. But hearing the weeping mare, seeing her distress and anxiety, filled the young pony with purpose and inspiration. She went running into her father’s room, shouting excitedly about her destiny and her purpose. Her father tried to be excited for her self-discovery, despite the fact that she had burst into his room shouting in the middle of the night.
A pegasus stallion, living far across the sea in Zebrica, also dreamed. He had traveled thousands of miles from his home to train, giving everything he had in order to serve and protect the stallion he loved. He had seen the pain in the unicorn’s eyes, and would do anything to ease that hurt. It was the same exhausted, heartbroken look he saw in the eyes of the mare in the moon. The dream left him unsettled; it was too real, somehow, to be ignored. He woke in the middle of the night, lighting the tiny flashlight that was his only source of light in this Zebrican military camp. He shined the light on his journal, and began to write out the details of the dream.
A unicorn, living deep under a mountain in a hidden city, also dreamed of the mare. He was used to nightmares; they were like an old enemy, always dogging his steps and chasing his restless nights. He discounted the nocturnal vision, however, rolling over in his sleep, mumbling. “Leave me alone, Luna. You too, Celestia. You’re dead, remember? I’m doing the best I can, so don’t pester me.” He never even opened his oddly colored eyes.
Last of all was an earth pony, a heartbroken teenager. He couldn’t even understand why, but looking up at the weeping moon, he felt a kinship with her. He too wanted to cry enough tears to drown himself with. But something about the soft desperation in her voice humbled him, and gave him perspective. He longed to reach out, to comfort her, to solve whatever issues had her sobbing. “You’re stronger than this,” he told himself. “You’re a Knight. Well, almost. Whatever hurt you have can’t be as bad as what’s making her cry.”
And deep underground, underneath the ruins of a long dead city, a pony slept, locked away by ancient magic, kept safe encircled by the roots of a primordial tree.
So, a bit of a bad news/good news announcement here.
Chapter 8 is going to be delayed a few days, because me and my editor both want to spend a few more days getting it perfect. That's the bad news.
The good news, is at least I've got something to post, even though it's short. And even though it's short, I think there's a lot of interesting implications here, don't you?
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for Chapter 8.
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Well, there's definitely a lot to unpack here. Could we be looking at a new set of Elements?
Mah mind went KABOOM y'all!
Huzzah! There are free unicorns in the world! (or at least some living ones) The implications of all this probably means the elements of harmony have selected new vessels/woken up. It looks like Twilight slumbers in Old Canterlot, i wonder if there are any other secrets kept there as well.
I'm very curious to see what plays out in chapter 8. I suspect this is when Emberglow is going to start finding the breadcrumbs that will lead to secrets that some would like left hidden.
What's up with the Crystal Empire, did Sombra really come back and enslave them, did Flurry Heart go crazy and become corrupted, or Is the Empire/Flurry Heart playing a con on the Diarchy to leave them alone. So many wonderful possibilities, and yet, very little details to speculate on.
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I absolutely can probably confirm that maybe there might just be some answers to part of your questions here in chapter 8. Or a different chapter.
Or maybe not.
I wonder, do parents who have unicorns ever decide to remove the horn themselves, and conceal what evidence remains? It must have been attempted and worked before, for the time the empire has existed...
"A unicorn, living deep under a mountain in a hidden city, also dreamed of the mare. He was used to nightmares; they were like an old enemy, always dogging his steps and chasing his restless nights. He discounted the nocturnal vision, however, rolling over in his sleep, mumbling. “Leave me alone, Luna. You too, Celestia. You’re dead, remember? I’m doing the best I can, so don’t pester me.” He never even opened his oddly colored eyes."
I sorry but is that discord???
Jesus.
A hell of a lot of stuff to drop in an interlude, though the previous few chaps def felt like they were building up to some sort of reveal, with the way you gradually started mentioning Celestia and Luna more and more.
The bit with Lofty is heartrending, but sadly that's just the way teenagers are. Still, he seems reasonable, and his chemistry with Emberglow was a blast to read. I hope that's not it for them, and their friendship might survive.
This chapter his different when you're re-reading
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Yay!
That was deliberate! I'm glad it worked.
Well noooow it's picking up >:)
AYO????? AYO.???????????????
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I woke up to a dozen or so notifications. Your chapter-by-chapter commentary really made my day. Thank you so much.