//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: From whence you came // Story: Long Far Gone // by A-P-A //------------------------------// Canterlot, Equestria. 10:35pm 27/06/1000 AN It was that time again, so it appeared. Princess Luna sat on her private balcony in the castle's highest spire, preparing for an ancient act, the likes of which had not been performed a thousand years. It had been her charge, her duty of the night, and nopony could have possibly thought to replicate it. Not even her sister, with her almost godlike powers, came close. No. For this was something that only she could do. Luna's horn began to glow, thin white wisps emerging from it's tip. They grew out like a blossom, creeping and crawling up the surrounding walls. The dream walk had begun. The alicorn felt her body transcend existence, exiting the waking world into a specifically constructed limbo, where she would be able to complete her task. She reached out with her mind, looking for ponies in need of comfort in their slumber. Instantly she found three, two of which resided in the nearby town of Ponyville. Her sisters prodigy and her friends had left for there a day ago, seeing as they were no longer needed, the apple one also repeatedly mentioned how she needed to tend to her farm, which was understandable. Luna opened her eyes, and was standing in a starry landscape, where the words up or down held little meaning. There was only an infinite stretch of nothing in all directions, the nature of which even she couldn't explain. After a moment, hundreds of doors began to populate the sparse environment, flowing endlessly down an invisible corridor. It was here that the 'magic' happened. Luna could feel her first door calling, and she slid the others out of the way with her hoof. She could see her prize. A simple entrance, it's surface was brashly painted, and it most certainly wasn't that of an adult, seeing as no cutie mark was present. She placed her hoof against the cold wood, and she could feel the emotions that came from within. Fear, desperation. Not things the lunar diarch strived to promote. She slowly pushed it open and flew into the dark abyss. Applebloom's P.O.V Applebloom was alone and scared, her hooves planted firmly in the cold grass. She could her laughter, manical laughter that was chilling to the bone. "H-hello?" She called out, unable to do anything else. It was as if the night itself noticed her presence, and she began to grow terrified. "Ah ain't wantin no trouble, ya hear." Something began to slink it's way out of the shadows, a tall black form with a jagged white smile. "P-please don't hurt me..." The pony lowered her head, a monstrous face becoming visible in the light of the moon. "Now now, my sweet child." Whispered Nightmare Moon. "Fretting will ruin your taste." She punctuated the end of her sentence with and evil cackle, before rearing up and preparing to pounce on her prey. Applebloom screamed, but no sound escaped, and she could only watch in horror as the fanged maw of her greatest fear grew closer and closer. Luna's P.O.V Luna could hear the sound of a fillies screams, and sped up in response, flying fast through what appeared to be an orchard. The screams were getting louder, more desperate. The princess flew out of trees and into an open expanse of grass, bordered by a forest. She could see her target. A small yellow earth pony, a pink bow in her mane, a frightened look on her face. She was backing away from something, just out of view due to the forests edge. Luna was about to dispel the horrid dream when she noticed something about the tree line. A wisp of ethereal mane was inching out, followed by a head, and then a body. Nightmare Moon stood in the clearing, her low gaze fixed on the youngling. "P-please don't hurt me..." Luna gasped, how was that witch still alive! She had dissipated while she was on Mathew ship, yet here she stood, defiant as ever. "Now now, my sweet child. Fretting will ruin your taste." The moon princess was frozen on the spot, unable to move. She could only watch as her own weakness slowly made its way towards the frightened filly, reared up, and pounced apon her screaming form. The dream world collapsed around her, as child violently woke up. Luna was tossed out into the sea-foam void, unable to control her body. How could she just let that happen! Why didn't she do anything to stop the Nightmare, forcing that little one awake. Luna knew why, but she didn't want to accept it, she was afraid, she was afraid of what she had allowed herself to become. She was afraid that, even though a thousand years had passed, she still held a special place in the hearts of youngsters everywhere. A place of fear. Her drifting lament was interrupted a hard surface bouncing off her back. It was a door. Luna looked back at the rows of doors behind her, faintly visible on the starry horizon. Why was this one out here on its own. She tried to move it, but it remained locked firmly in place. It wasn't an outstanding door, a simple white paint job with a purple streak down one side. A glass handle was neatly set into its surface, and a classic four square design showed know reason for its exile. After a few seconds consideration, she placed hoof on the hard surface. For a moment, their was nothing. Then an explosion of negative emotions caused the diarch to lurch backwards in surprise. This was no ordinary nightmare, it was fuelled by hate, by loss, and most alarmingly, loneliness. Pure loneliness, the kind she had not felt since her first years on the moon. Whoever was in there needed her help more than anypony she had ever incountered, and she knew that she was to face whatever was causing such plight. With a swift twist of the handle, Luna dived into the inky black of the unknown. The first thing she noticed was how cold it was, as her breath began to condence in the frozen air. Snow began to fall from invisible clouds as she dove deeper into horrific dream, whipping passed her muzzle with tremendous speed. There was no noise, only darkness and silence. She began to get worried, normally the initial blackness of a dream wore off immediatly, but this one was taking it's sweet time. Just as she was wondering if she should turn back, there was wet sensation around her hooves, and she broke the cloud layer. There was know words to describe what she saw. The snow seemed to fall slowly as she finished her descent, coming to a stop above a sight that was truly bizarre. A huge city stretched for miles below her, devoid of all life. Luna could see a great wall, extending far into the distance. This was not what caught her attention though. At the cities center, to halves of a massive sphere were dug firmly into the earth, it's interior hollow and empty, like it had been cleaned out with a giant spoon. The exterior was scorched and burned, long rips making their way up its white sides. It was awe inspiring, and somewhat familiar. She continued to the ever growing source of the hateful emotions. She watched as a jagged tower started to faze into view, it's dark silhouette unmistakeable amongst the snow fall. She could see a large mezzanine, most of which was open to the air. It was easy to land, given the vast amount of space available, but she choose to land right at the tip, before a small set of stairs. That was the only place that seemed right. The courtyard floor was comprised of smooth stone plates, forming a grid iron pattern along the ground. There was a large metal disk flush with the slabs, words inscribed in an unknown language. Luna read them out loud. "ATRVUM PROPVGNATORVM" She spoke, her mouth forming the words perfectly. What did that mean? It didn't matter, she had a soul to cure. The alicorn began to walk up the steps towards the central square, and noticed some things that seemed out of place. There was a blue hut, it's surface covered in snow, with an opening facing inwards. A desk. It was empty, of course, and saddened her for some reason. The rest of the environment was just as eluding. A small red tent, covered in strange symbols and filled with tinker toys not unlike that of the late Starswirl the beaded's old study. A large dead tree, it's ancient curved trunk littered with scratches and prints. This place was eerie, not because it was a dream, but because it seemed more than that, like a memory. Luna tried to continue, but her hoof struck something hard. Looking down, she spotted an odd blue device. Huh, it almost looked like the helmet worn by... Mathew... Suddenly she understood, this wasn't the dream of a colt who had read one to many sci-fi books, it was a real experience, a distorted memory of a long dead past. Mathew's past. Luna moved for the opening at the rear of the square, which was a passage to the underside of the plaza. She raced down the snow covered stairs, determined more than ever to rid her new friend of his plight. She bounded round a wall divider, and entered a long hallway, bordered by tattered chairs and smashed glass. At the end of the corridor was a meeting room, with a long table laden with books and maps, and at that table stood Mathew. His exposed face was blank, devoid of all the emotion that was usually present. He looked utterly distraught. In his hands was another helmet, one that was not his own. He clutched as though it was the only thing he had left in the world, just looking into the shining silver visor, motionless. Luna moved slowly, as to not started him. Something was wrong. She began to hear whispers, voices calling out from seemingly everywhere, and yet no where at the same time. There was a flash to her right, and she swivelled her head to the source. A small shining diamond, flickering in and out of existence. The whispers began to grow, and soon the hallway was full of the little lights. Blinking from one place to another. "You shouldn't be here..." "This is a place of light..." "Leave, or join us..." Luna stamped her hoof, trying to expunge the dream. Nothing happened. "What is this sorcery! I shall dispel you!" The voices grew in hostility, but remained barely above ultrasound. "You cannot dispel what doesn't exist..." "This place shall always remain..." "For that is the will of the mantel..." Suddenly the voices merged into one. A harmonic scream that took her completely by surprise. "Don't make a girl a promise, if you know you can't keep it!" Then they vanished, leaving the diarch alone. Mathew was still there, looking down at the helmet. Luna approached, walking down the shallow steps towards the table. She stood behind the guardian, hoping he would notice her first. After a moment, he spoke up. "I suppose your wondering where you are..." This surprised the alicorn, it wasn't often that a being just readily accepted her presence within a dream. "The thought had crossed my mind, yes, but I'm more worried about you. This isn't a natural dream." "No, it's not." Replied Mathew. "Guardian's are supposedly unable to dream, our brains are only sustained in the waking world." "Then how is it so?" "I don't know Luna, I don't know..." He turned to face her, still clutching the piece of headwear in his grip. "Why are you here?" Luna straightened up, trying to look as regal as possible. "I am the princess of the night Mathew, dreams are my charge, just like the sky." "Okay... But why are you here, in paticular, surely there are more pleasant dreams to be watching." "You misunderstand, it's my job to make sure that there are no nightmares plaguing Equestria." She gestured around with her hoof. "And this is what I would call a nightmare." Mathew nodded. "I suppose, yes it is." "Then let me rid you of it." Luna raised her foreleg, readying to end the dream world. A hand stopped her. "Wait. Just, give me a moment." The guardian took one final look at the helmet in his hands, before pulling back and launching it at the window nearby. The hard object shattered the glass on impact and descended into the valley below. His companion raised an eyebrow. "Why would you do that?" A weak smile slowly spread across Mathews face. "Kalie always said, if she was ever to go, she wanted her helmet thrown through one of these windows with at least one of the higher ups watching. You may not be commander Zavala, but you're leadership all the same." Luna hummed in understanding. She felt a great sadness within him, it permiated the dreamscape with a scent of agony. "What is this place?" Whispered the lunar princess. She looked around, taking in the scene. It was like no place she'd ever witnessed. "This... Was my home. It was home to all of us." Mathew picked up a small compass, twirling in between his fingers. Luna sat in silence, watching as her friend twitched in pain. "We called it the tower, it served as our base of operations. As guardians, we were always deployed on missions, ranging from recon to full blown raids. When I was off duty, which was rarely ever, I liked to come and spend my time down here, talking to the Vanguard. They were honest, good people, who cared about the cause as much as we did." The compass in his hand began to vibrate, as an unknown energy was channeled through it. "It's funny actually, every time a look at Twilight, or one of her friends, it's like I see my own friends staring back, their personalities, their morals, it's like a spitting image of us. People, or ponies, who only want to make a difference, in a world where making a difference is damn near impossible." The brass navigational device floated out of his palm, glowing purple and pulsing with raw energy. "It's hard to accept death for what it is, when death to most guardians is a daily occurrence. Then it would happen, we would lose someone close to us, in the blink of an eye. I used to know a warlock, nice guy, really quiet. His name was Drew. He was sent out on a mission by the reef, the poor kid never came back. I used to sit with him during R&R, and every day for three months I waited there, hoping that he would come back, he never did, and I was left reminding myself that he was gone." Luna could feel tears welling up in her eyes, and she lifted her hoof to wipe them away. "I'm sorry Mathew, I wish I could have done something for them." The aura disapated from around the compass, and it fell back onto the table. "I told you that I have existed for over one thousand five hundred years, didn't I?" She nodded. "Do you know how much of that time I've been alive?" Luna said nothing. "Twenty years Luna, I've been alive for twenty years. To me, my friends were alive four days ago, and I was back here." Mathew looked down at her, his eyes were slick with tears, and the silvery pearls slowly began to make their way down his tired face. Without thinking, the alicorn pulled him into a tight embrace, the cold metallic texture of his armour brushing across her fur, it was smooth, and riddled with fine scratches and dents, imperfections that told stories that had been lost with his world. Slowly he returned the affection, and for what seemed like an eternity, they stayed that way. Two damaged souls lost in a world they didn't know. "How did you do it? How did you keep your sanity up on that moon, when I can't even keep mine down here?" Trembled Mathew, braking the hug. Luna lowered down from her bipedal stance, relaxing on all four legs. "I didn't Mathew, the first few years I felt exactly like you do now, and over time, anger gave way to fear, and then loneliness, until finally, I accepted what was happening to me. After that the years began to melt together and lost track of time." The human let out a harsh chuckle, it wasn't one of joy, or happiness, but of pain. "To be honest, I always thought it would be me, the risk taker. The one who shot first asked questions later, and made it through so many shitty situations based on luck alone. Yet here I am, the least qualified individual to be here." Mathew took a seat on the table and wiped his face with his sleeve. "Go on, do that thing you were going to do..." Luna touched the ground with her hoof, and felt the dream world begin to destabilise. Bits of paper began to disintegrate and the world seemed to lose focus. "I shall see you when you awake, until then, good night my friend, may you rest well. "Thanks Luna, I'll try my best." He watched as the azure princess stepped onto a shimmering platform of stars, floating gracefully through the smashed window and up towards the moon. Vanishing from sight, but not from mind.