//------------------------------// // Chapter Ten: Saving Grace // Story: The Truth: An alternate-world 'Truth or Dare' tale // by SFC Ponycron //------------------------------// The Truth Chapter Ten You scramble like a mad colt over the hill and spy your cave. There it is! you think to yourself. Gotta keep running, gotta keep running... As you slide down the hill, your hoof catches on a rock underneath the loose sand and you start tumbling down the side of the hill. You can taste chalky moon dust on your tongue, but you forget it as you see the ground beneath you get brighter. Gotta keep running, gotta keep running, you think to yourself repeatedly as you get back up and resume your rush to your cave. You can feel the ground getting warmer as you near the cliff with your cave at its base. The chalky taste of moon dust is still on your tongue, and as you take in a breath, you feel some tickle the back of your throat. Still running, you cough and hack, only caring about the closing distance between you and your cave. Almost there... The warmth on your back starts to become uncomfortable and you can feel sweat beading on your brow even as you reach the cliff. My cave! My cave! you think. Gotta write, gotta write, gotta write. Gotta remember, gotta remember... You round the corner into a tunnel that you yourself dug out to avoid the light and heat of the sun and look around. It’s lit up enough that it’s comfortable, and the walls have had numerous etchings on them, all of them scratched out, microscopic bit by microscopic bit, extending the hallway of your cave. You see a rock with a pointy end lying in a small pile of dust. Gotta write, gotta write... Picking it up with your magic, you levitate the rock up and push the pointy end to the wall, writing out the letters of the alphabet, first in upper case letters then in lower case letters below. You etch the numerals zero to twenty below the letters. Below the numbers, you write the names of the two Princesses, remembering to capitalize the ‘C’ in Celestia, and the ‘L’ in Luna. My name, my name... Your eyes dart back and forth. Red Zircon... You etch your name below the names of the Princesses. Below your name, you start etching out six other names in a column. Twilight Sparkle... You pause for a moment. What are the other names...? Oh! Applejack...Pinkie Pie...Rarity...Rainbow Dash... The last name escapes you for a moment, and you feel a tiny sense of dread creeping up from the pit of your empty stomach. No, no, no! Gotta remember, gotta remember... Fluttershy! You etch the final name underneath Rainbow Dash. You look at the column of nine names and smile wildly to yourself. I still remember the names! Something in the back of your mind surfaces. Oh, wait! There’s more to remember! You look at the names again. There’s more names I still have to write. Gotta remember... Jonagold... For some reason that you can’t recall, you write that name beside the name Applejack. Jasper... You remember that that name has to beside the name Rarity. Rose Quartz...That name goes beside Fluttershy. Crystal Prism has to go beside Rainbow Dash... Wait, there’s still two more names to remember. What are the names? Your gaze rapidly darts between the name Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle. What are the names? Gotta remember, gotta remember...! The feeling of dread mingles with a looming sense of helplessness. It was like forgetting the numbers... *-----*-----*-----*-----* The day you forgot the numbers was a bad day, and it got worse and worse. You accidentally lost count of the days at one point, and you fought so hard to figure out how many days you missed that you missed more days. After that, you tried to figure out how many more days you missed and missed even more days, and spent more time trying to figure out how many more days were wasted, and it continued until you were about to succumb to the madness, the neverending spiral of numbers of days missed, days wasted, trying to add to how many days you’ve spent alone, so alone... Eventually, you just tired out and forgot the numbers. The numbers just went away, all except the first twenty. The only things left to remember were the letters and the names. There was your name, the names of the Princesses, twelve names that you forgot the significance to, and the Last Name, the one that for some reason made you angry, made you blind with rage, made you so mad that you brought your hooves to the rock wall and erased everything, all the letters, the twenty numbers, and all the names... *-----*-----*-----*-----* Three more names, you think madly to yourself. Desperation is starting to settle in your mind. No, nonononono...Two more names. Gotta remember, gotta remember... Silver Streamer! You remember that you always put the name Silver Streamer beside Pinkie Pie. Just two more names, you think. Your gaze rapidly darts from one name to another, trying to remember the last two names. You can sense the name fading from your mind, and the feeling of dread clutches at your heart. No...no! Nononononononononono...I can’t forget that name! Gotta remember the name that goes beside Twilight Sparkle! You can feel the dread squeezing your heart. No, no. Gotta stop, gotta calm down. Gotta remember, gotta remember... You recite the names in your mind. Jonagold, Rose Quartz, Crystal Prism, Silver Streamer, Jasper... Ruby Dawn! Ruby Dawn! Ruby Dawn! You feel unadulterated elation as you joyfully write the name beside Twilight Sparkle. Ruby Dawn, Ruby Dawn... You put your hooftip gently beside the name. I’m sorry I almost forgot you, Ruby Dawn... You look up and suddenly see red. The Last Name, you think as you see the rock etching the Last Name in large capital letters over the alphabet. You can feel your mouth open in a roar of rage, but you hear no sound. Your anger overtakes you, and you see nothing but red in your vision speckled with gray moon dust. You can taste it in your mouth, but the Last Name is still all you can see. You continue to scream and attack the wall where the Last Name is etched on, trying to get it out of your vision. Red Zircon...? You stop suddenly at the female voice invading your mind. Who’s there? you think. You look to the main chamber of your cave and see a shadow approaching. You scramble backwards and hit the wall of your tunnel as the shadow gets longer, gets closer to you. Red Zircon...? The female voice invades your mind again. Who are you? Go away! This is my cave! A tall female head peeks out from the edge of the tunnel’s entrance. Red Zircon, is that you? Go away! Go away! you cry out in your mind, tears streaming down your cheeks as you try in vain to disappear into the wall behind you. You’re not real! No one is here! Sweet Celestia! You stop and look at the tall female. Celestia? You know Princess Celestia? There is silence in your mind and the tall female nods slowly as she walks into your tunnel. Yes, Red Zircon. Princess Celestia is my sister. Princess Celestia has a sister! The revelation is almost too much. You are her sister! What is your name? My name is Luna, she replies in your mind. I am a Princess, too. You are Princess Luna? Yes, Red Zircon, she replies. Her face is unreadable as she takes a tentative step towards you. I need to do something for you, but I need you to trust me. Why? What do you need to do? Why should I trust you? I have names to remember. You should trust me so you can put faces to the names, faces to remember. ...Faces? Yes, faces, she replies. There is something in her voice in your mind, something...apologetic. You need to put the faces to the names so you can remember everything. Everything? Everything, she replies. I just need you to trust me and let me touch my horn to yours. Will I remember the numbers? The days? She seems taken aback by your question. You will remember the names, she replies after a moment. You will remember the faces, the numbers, everything that you forgot, Red Zircon. I just want you to trust me. Slowly, painfully slowly, you nod once. Sit down. You fold your legs under yourself as she takes a nervous step closer to you. Will I really remember? Yes, she replies as she steps towards you nervously. I only need you to close your eyes and I will touch my horn with yours. O...okay. You close your eyes nervously, and you feel the coolness of her shadow as she stands over you. You feel the tip of her horn touch yours, and immediately a calming feeling rushes through you, as if you just waded into a calm stream of water. You feel at peace, and everything just seems to click back in place in your mind. You open your eyes and briefly glimpse Luna’s apologetic face before a bright white light obscures your vision. You see Twilight’s face, a loving expression in her eyes. You see Applejack’s face, and she’s wearing the smile she always has after working a full day at the farm. You see Fluttershy’s face, smiling timidly. You see Pinkie Pie’s face, a wide, bright, infectious smile on her lips. You see Rainbow Dash’s face, a confident smirk on her lips and mischief in her eyes. You see Rarity’s face, a secretive, discreet smile on her lips, and there is suggestiveness in her eyes. You hear your voice as everything sets back in, and the calming coolness gives way to a windy rush. “I remember...” *-----*-----*-----*-----* Everything is black and your right side feels flat, rough and scratchy, as if you’re laying on carpet rather than moon sand. You groan, vaguely surprised to hear yourself groaning. You slowly open your eyes and lift your head. “Oohhh...” you manage. “Z...Zir-Zircon?” “Huh?” You groggily look up to the source of the voice as your vision starts to clear. “...Twilight? Is that you?” She nods, tears falling from her eyes. “It’s me, Zircon. It’s Twilight. You’re home.” “I’m...home?” “Dad?” You look around for the source of the voice. A unicorn foal nervously steps towards you. He has the exact same coat color as you, as well as the same mane and tail color. “Jasper?” you chance. Tears suddenly well up in his eyes and he nods as he runs up to you and attempts to wrap his small arms around your neck. “Yes, Dad. It’s me, Jasper,” he replies, his voice muffled as he presses his face against your chest. “It’s you. You’re really home.” “Yes, I am,” you say. You look up to see Rarity, smiling though tears are also streaming down her cheeks. “Welcome home, Red Zircon.” This chapter formed way too quickly in my mind. If anypony asks how Red Zircon survived on the moon for six years without food or water, think of the Pandorica from Doctor Who. Red was trapped on the moon in the ultimate prison. You can't escape, not even by dying. Magic kept him alive and sustained just enough, but not exactly mentally stable...