//------------------------------// // Book Three: Dagger Days // Story: Painted Mirror // by Lord of Turtles //------------------------------// Raj took a deep breath and shook at the cold quiver in his lungs, the air coming back out in a long spume of mist that hung in the still, winter air. He looked up at the skeletal arms of the Everfree, the narrow branches gnarled and grasping. Dust-fine snow clung to them, as if the trees had sought to jealously replace the lost leaves with whatever they could reach. He continued forward, the great hammer Gate Maker laid lazily over one shoulder. This was nothing more than a bush patrol, a simple search of the outer forest because somepony had seen something lurking in their fields. Likely a deer out foraging or a stubborn badger. He wasn't worried, everything really dangerous was hibernating through the winter deeper in the forest. Sliding down a small embankment, he called back over his shoulder. “Be careful Ben. It's steep.” “I will Dad.” his son shot back as he matched Raj's motions. Ben hit the ground hard and stumbled, letting out a short grunt. He was back on his feet in a second and brushing snow off his pants. “I'm fine.” “I know you are son.” he answered back and continued forward. His son scurried ahead of him, blazing a trail through the high snow, Crescent held in his eager grip. Raj smiled at his son's back and said. “Keep close and mind the brambles. They may be frozen but they're still sharp.” “Okay Dad.” He said back, eyeing the purple tangles cautiously. They continued forward in companionable silence, Raj simply grateful to be spending time with his son. He knew how fleeting this time was, the brief moments when Ben was almost, just almost, no longer a child. Soon, the boy would be infected with teenage contempt and any time he spent with him would be met with begrudging tolerance rather than enthusiasm. He hoped that this short day trip would be something they could talk about for years to come. “Hey Dad, look at this.” Raj shook out of his thoughts and looked over at his son who was intently pointing at a section of ground in the shadow of a tree. Raj hustled over to see a deep print mark. Cloven hooves cut through the dense layer of white, just a little smaller than his palm. Raj stared down at the track, working out the math in his head to figure out how big this boar was and not liking the result. “What is it Dad?” Ben asked, a hopeful note in his voice. “Giant Boar track. Big one from the looks of it.” He shrugged and looked around. “Maybe fifteen feet from snout to tail.” “Aw cool! Are we gonna hunt it?” He asked delightedly, that hopeful note having grown quite a bit. “If we need to. It's tracks are leading into the Everfree. We'll follow it for a bit, see if it keeps that way. If it does, we'll leave it be.” “And if it turns back?” the boy asked. “Then we go home,” he paused, rubbing at his head as he felt a sudden twinge of pain. “and then I come back by myself to deal with it.” “But Daa~aad.” Ben whined, want deep in his voice. “Don't whinge at me like that Benjamin. I'm not going to put you in danger just so you have something cool to put on instagram or whatever. Now come on, we've only got a few hours of daylight left. Stay where I can see you.” “Yes Dad.” he said with a touch of teen weariness. Raj wanted to feel annoyed by his attitude, but he couldn't tamp down the pride he felt when he looked at his son. The boy stepped lightly through the snow ahead, bow held low with a silver shaft resting on the string. He'd taken to the thing with a kind of aplomb Raj could only dream of, nocking, drawing, and loosing with rarefied talent. More than the skill, he'd grown so much in the last year. Only thirteen and already coming up past his shoulder, Raj knew the boy would have his height, but by looks of it his mother's more solid frame. Tall, strong, and ever so slightly darker skinned, he was sure the boy would be beating girls off with a stick before long. Raj diverted to follow his son's path and stopped, a strange thought hitting him. “There's, wait... girls? What girls?” He mumbled to himself as a powerful sense of vertigo struck him. He let out a grunt of discomfort and leaned against a tree, a painful buzzing sounding in his ears. Ben turned around and said, “Dad? What's wrong?” Raj leaned heavily on the tree and looked at his son. “There are... there are no girls here Ben.” The boy looked flabbergasted and stammered out. “D-Dad, there... I know that. It's just me and you here.” He glanced around desperately, fear plain on his features. “I'll, I'll go get help Dad. Stay here!” Rajrishi grabbed his arm and pulled him closer. “There are no, there's nobody else here. No other humans why did I... how are you? How did you get here?” “Dad, you're scaring me.” Ben said fearfully, tears brimming in his eyes. Raj clutched at his head for a moment, his mind swimming, before shouting out to the gray sky. “Luna!” Everything froze. The snow in the air, the wind on his face, everything went completely still in an instant. Ahead of him, reality fell flat on its back, like the set of a play breaking apart to reveal a vast, smoking void of nothing behind it. The world to his left, right, and behind fell away in an identical fashion and the tree he was leaning against deflating like a balloon, shrinking down into nothing as the snow beneath his feet blew away into the void. The last to go was his frozen son, breaking apart into thousands of flat, colored shards like an impossibly complex model rendered by polygons. He watched until the last of the simulacrum melted away and he said again. “Luna.” The Princess of the Night was there suddenly, her presence somehow not startling despite its immediacy. She flicked her tail in something like annoyance and said. “What was the flash?” “A lot of things. I started thinking about my wife and it seemed strange that she wasn't here, and Ben's voice wasn't quite right.” Luna shrugged. “It's almost been a year, I assumed puberty might be deepening his tone.” “Fair guess. So what's your dumbass plan with all this?” Luna visibly chafed at the casual insult but pressed onward. “Our plan, was to lead the both of you into a confrontation with the boar, which would turn out to be rabid. A thrilling conflict against an uncomplicated foe alongside your son seemed like it would be a cathartic experience.” Raj scowled. “You were going to endanger my life and my son's because you thought it might make me feel better?” Luna rolled her eyes. “Calm thineself Captain. Your progeny was naught but a projection, and if any serious harm had come to you thou would have simply woken up. No harm can come upon a being in a dream.” “Not even you?” “Neigh.” “Shame that.” In a sudden explosion of movement, Raj swung Gate Maker, striking Princess Luna squarely in the head faster than she could react, the power of the strangely enchanted hammer amplifying the energy of the swing tremendously. What happened next was distinctly odd. He had the distinct memory of the shock of the hit running up his arm and seeing Luna's head blow apart from the sheer force of the attack. He also remembered having never swung at all, the hammer dissipating into nothing in his hands as Luna gave him a sour smirk. Both memories occupied the same space in his mind, overlapping but not overriding each other. Luna tossed her mane and glared. “That was entirely uncalled for Captain.” “Was it?” Raj spat back, leaning down to get to eye level with her. “I told you. I told you to stay out of my head. After the last time, I told you I didn't want you diving in and mucking around with my dreams.” Luna stared at him coolly and said. “If thou wish to be specific, mortal minds wander to the realm of dreams upon slumber. It does not reach out to thou. Therefore, technically-” Raj cut her off with a shout. “Do I sound like I give a shit about technicals?!” They stood in silence for a few moments, the only thing betraying Luna's frustration a slight clenching of her jaw. “No, no it does not.” He spun and flung his hands up. “Hey, she can learn. Fancy that crap.” Another beat of silence passed between them before Luna responded. “Cap... Rajrishi, though my efforts were unwanted, they were not unwarranted.” Raj let out a sigh and turned around. “Luna, I really do not want to do this right now.” “Thine mood and demeanor has darkened in the last weeks. Ever since our expedition to the Shattered Lands thine dreams have reflected a troubled mind. This was our attempt to remedy that. We have found that pleasant, cathartic dreams improve overall mood and happiness in the waking hours.” She huffed lightly, “Had we conjured a more convincing play, we have not doubt such would have occurred.” “So you were trying to make me feel better, is that it?” Luna nodded. “And you were going to do that by giving me a fantasy where I brought my son to an alien planet with no hope of normalcy, family, or a meaningful life?” He pointed an accusing finger at her. “This, this right here, this is why nobody likes you. This is why you have no friends.” If the insult landed, Princess Luna gave no sign of it as she pushed forward, “Rajrishi, do not stew in your frustrations. We have read the reports from the engineering corp, about their progress on the Vow of Poverty.” “You mean the lack of progress?” he sneered at her, “Three weeks, they've been working on that thing for three full weeks, twenty four hours a day with the best minds in Equestria, and all they've managed to do is remove a single screw. One, singular. And they were amped up about it. Ratchet said that he's already trying to publish a paper on the breakthrough. All over one screw.” He held a single black finger up as he slowly walked away towards the void. “I'll be lucky if they have any understanding of that damn boat in my lifetime.” “You could lend your own mechanical expertise to the process. We know that you were an engineer 'pon your own world. Mayhap your differing knowledge will hasten discovery.” Raj shook his head and laughed lightly. “I'm not allowed near the thing. The ponies in charge the project are worried that my stupid arcane resistance will spoil some mechanism of the thing. They don't want it getting any more broken before they find out what broke on it in the first place.” “Ah, that is unfortunate.” Princess Luna said back, her eyes cast downwards. “Yeah, it is.” Raj let out a sigh. “So there we go Princess, now you get it. Do you have any practical options for me to pursue, or should I just indulge in some feel good shadow-play and pretend my problems don't exist, huh? What should I do?” The Princess of the night stared at him mutely for a minute and muttered, “I do not know, Rajrishi.” Raj raised his arms and leaned forwards. “Welcome to my every day since I've come to this damn planet.” He laughed lightly and walked off in a short loop before saying, “Whatever, I'm done with this conversation. Stay out of my dreams Princess. The only place I want to see you is meatspace, understand?” Luna let out a sharp breath and nodded. “We do Captain. Your dreamspace shall remain yours from now on. You have our word.” “Great. Now wake me up.” Luna blinked. “Captain, you have only been slumbering for a few short hours-” “Oh my god, fine.” Raj stretched out an arm, clenched his hand, and punched himself directly in the face. * * * Raj snorted awake and shook, eyes fluttering. He sat up on his small bed and clutched his forehead, coming back to wakefulness. He scrunched his eyes and felt a flash of pain in his face. He dabbed under his nose and came away with a sheen of blood on his finger. He scoffed, “Can't get hurt in a dream my ass.”