//------------------------------// // Nº 3: CIRRUS // Story: Life In Boxes // by CoffeeBean //------------------------------// From atop her perch at the tip of one of many rooftops lining the thoroughfare, Luna watched as a certain Pegasus made her exit from a restaurant. The hour was midnight, an hour later than the hour at which this particular restaurant is set to close, which Luna found a bit odd. This particular Pegasus was part of the wait staff at this establishment; why should she stay behind so long? Nevertheless, she stood from her perch and followed the Pegasus, keeping to the dark rooftops to maintain her clandestine nature. As she had the night prior, this Pegasus couldn’t help but occasionally check her surroundings as she made her way down the dark street, and any pony to pass her by was tracked by her eyes with a curious level of diligence; whoever she passed stayed in her view until they were quite some distance behind. What had changed from the prior night, however; was Luna’s understanding of why this Pegasus made such frequent checks. In her mind, all to come into view were possible threats, either wishing harm or wishing to lock her within the white walled cells of that Institution. Paranoia drove her to mistrust any who came into view, which left Luna wondering how such a condition would affect her work as a waitress. She had claimed to be the top of the wait staff at her place of work, but could such a claim hold truth if those she served came into her sight not as a patron or friendly face, but a possible foe? Nothing but another question in the long queue. Making inquiries to this poor mare would be a task all in of itself. Prior, she had been suspect of Luna with the mindset she was in collusion with the hospital, but after the previous night’s happenings, how would she see her? Luna's hopes were set with the idea that if she were able to truly show her she meant no harm, she would loosen her defensive stance a bit. That was nothing more than a hope, of course. Pausing her movement, Luna watched as the Pegasus opened the wood door that led into the lobby of the multi-story building in which her little home resigned. Silently swooping to the dim path below, Luna stood before the door a moment before continuing inside, the fairly basic lobby being silent and devoid of any life. Taking a breath, she went to the stairs and began on her way to the fifth floor. A rap on the door pulled Wispy's eyes from the papers laid out across her coffee table. Her heart rate instantly increased. It was past midnight. No pony should be knocking on her door at such an hour. Standing from her couch, she cautiously crossed the dark living room and came into the entry hall, standing before the door a moment before holding her ear against it. A long pause went by before another rap thumped through the door, causing her to recoil back. “Yes?” she finally asked, her voice cautious and inquisitive. “Aye, hello.” Her heart skipped a beat. For a single moment, she stood totally frozen before backing away from the door, her eyes locked with the handle as she anticipated it to begin turning at any moment. “We hath come alone.” Again, she froze. Crouching down, she peeked below the door seal to see the shadows of a single set of hooves just before the door. “Why?” There was a pause from the Princess. “Our Guard caused fright.” “No, why are you here?” “Our help was requested from thee.” Wispy got back to her hooves, again staring at the door. She had wondered if last night had been a dream, but this certainly suggested it hadn't been. “You… came back, even after what happened?” “Aye.” “Well, how do I know you're alone?” The handle clicked as it turned, causing her to gasp and step back, wings spread ready to flee as the door swung open, but all she found was, indeed, the lone Princess, bare of her cloak and looking back with a neutral, emotionless expression. There was a long silence as the two stared into one another’s eyes, Wispy's wings staying spread at the ready in case she was lying. “We hath been acquainted with this 'psychiatric welfare' facilty. Thou art right; tis a hell.” Wispy let out a little breath. “You… you're here alone?” Luna stepped back. “Thou shalt see for thyself, if t'is what thou wish.” Cautiously, Wispy complied and came into the doorway, quickly glancing from side to side to find the hall empty. After a moment, she turned her gaze up to Luna, who returned her somewhat frightened frown with a small, yet still genuine smile. “You're not mad with me?” Luna shook her head. “We do not hold anger, we seek vengeance.” Wispy's eyes went wide, her hooves carrying her back. “W-What? B-But… Princess, I'm sorry!” Chuckling lightly, Luna stepped forwards into the entry hall of the apartment. “Not upon thee, young mare, upon the thing which lives within thy mind.” Wispy lowered and shook her head, shutting her eyes and clenching her teeth. “What… what does that mean?! You talked about some voice in my head last night, and now you say that there's something living in my brain?! There isn’t something alive in my mind! That isn't possible!” “We thinketh thy notion of the possible hath already been stood upon its head, nay?” Wispy stood still a second, last night flashing in her memory. “How do I know you're not reading my mind again?” she asked flatly, keeping her head down. “Look upon our horn.” She complied, finding nothing out of the ordinary. “There's… nothing happening.” “Aye. Think upon prior night's happenings. What dost thou see?” It clicked almost instantly. “That… that black mist! So, if that weird, black mist isn’t there, you're not reading my mind?” Luna offered a silent nod. “But… I just don't understand. Why read my mind in the first place?!” “Because we saw difference within thee. Thy speech, motions, and way of conduction are foreign, and the longer we remained in thy presence, the more we wished to learn.” A long moment of pause passed as Wispy's gaze focused in on oblivion, that pause most certainly caused by that voice speaking and showing its images. “You want to learn more... why?” “T'was thy doing to ask for our help, so we shalt give it in our best capacity. Hard to do so when blind to all knowledge.” She paused again, this time for a much shorter period. “Ah, well, how'd you know my name? And how'd you know I was a waitress?” Luna again gave a gentle chuckle. “Still suspecting we shalt cast thee off to the institution. If t'was our intent, thinketh not we would hath done so when a blade was thrust our way?” Wispy's gaze fell off to the side, her ears going flat with her head. “I-I suppose you're right… but that still doesn’t answer the question!” Luna looked to her right, finding her apron to be hung where it had been one night ago. Lifting it with a spell, she held it out straight and found the name tag, aiming it in Wispy's direction. “From our place at the sofa, we did see this.” Wispy perched a brow. “You could read that from there?” Smiling, Luna nodded. “Aye, practiced eyes, hath we.” “And you knew I was a waitress because of the apron…” “Nay. The delivery of our tea. Skilled and practiced, only something one within the culinary profession would have enough time to perfect.” “You're very observant.” “Everything speaks, one must listen.” Wispy quietly nodded, again letting her gaze fall to the wayside. “Well…” she began after a pause, “I suppose I should let you in.” “Tis at thy discretion.” Pausing once more, she looked over the Princess for a moment before reluctantly stepping off to the side and letting her enter fully. “Would you like another cup of tea?” she asked meekly, watching as Luna took a seat on the sofa. “T'would be lovely,” smiled Luna in return. The whistle of a tea pot cut the nippy air of the apartment, a light breeze accompanying that nip thanks to the open window behind the sofa upon which Luna sat. As it had been last night, the apartment was only lit by candles, the single tea light upon the coffee table offering an orange glow that contrasted the pale blue light of the half moon above. Luna looked left towards the kitchen as Wispy appeared around the corner with two cups on each of the tips of her wings, and with similar grace to what she had displayed the night before, each cup was delivered to the table without sloshing or spilling a drop. “Tis thy talent in life, waiting upon others.” Wispy looked to her own flank. “That's what my cutie mark told me! Been doing it for a good 5 years now… at various places, of course.” “Tis a long time for somepony of thy age,” returned Luna as she watched Wispy drop to her haunches at the adjacent end of the coffee table, right where she had been last night. “Yeah, I started out doing dishes and stuff at this little diner when I was about 14 growing up in Cloudsdale, and it sorta snowballed from there.” Lifting her tea, Luna hummed. “And what prompted a move from thy home?” She paused, though not in contemplation. “I… haven’t ever really enjoyed flying, if I were honest. I know, that sounds odd, after all, I have wings on my back, but I've always… felt more at home here at ground-level.” Luna gave a small, reassuring smile. “Contrary to what thy peers may tell, tis a rather ordinary thing to happen. One of Equestria’s bravest protectors is as thyself; grounded by choice. We doth know well cowardice play no part in thy choice. Experience hath shown tis those ‘round a pony who weigh down that pony with persistent speeches claiming the sky as their true place of being. Words meant to pull one from a ledge often give the final push.” Wispy hung onto that last sentence of Luna's speech. For a time, she held a tranquil state of silence as she mentally replayed the sentence over and over. “Y-Yeah… that… falls in line with what I've seen, too.” Sipping at her tea, Luna too went quiet, looking down at the little candle upon the table between them. Wispy was able to watch her pupils shrink the longer she gazed at the tiny flame. “Why a candle?” Wispy held her tongue for a moment. “What?” Luna looked her in the eye. “Why a candle? This place, gifted with the advancement of electrical lights, yet thou hast given flame to candles. Is thy system in disrepair?” “Oh! No, the lights work fine, but… well, money’s tight for me right now, since I’ve-“ Wispy fell silent, cutting herself off as another one of those pauses struck her. Luna’s ears perked, her wing fluttering a bit as she awaited the pauses end. “Money’s tight. I haven’t been working enough.” “Lack of sleep hath led to less work?” Wispy nodded. Luna stayed silent for a while, her eyes staying locked with the mare before her as she pondered her. Those pauses were linked with whatever thing spoke to her, but what she knew not was why they struck when they did. Then, another oddity came to her school of thought. “Pray tell; how should a lack of money bring lack of light?” Wispy pitched a brow. “W-What?” “Thou hast stated thy lack of money keeps thee from bringing forth electric contrast. Explain this.” Still bewildered, Wispy stumbled over her tongue for a time, trying to figure what the Princess wished, as well as how to word it. “It… it costs money to use electricity. When the lights are on, it raises the electric bill.” Luna’s eyes narrowed, her gaze remaining locked with Wispy’s for a long period of silence. “Electric bill,” she stated flatly. “Yeah, an electric bill… do… you not know what that is?” “Do excuse our ignorance of this new Equestria. We hath nay knowledge of these mentioned concepts. Allowing thy lightbulbs to glow costs thee money?” “Yeah…” “These lights seemeth essential to how life is conducted within this new Equestria. To us, seemeth wrong for the country to hold a hoof out in asking for bits.” Wispy shrugged. “I dunno, that's just how things are.” Luna kept her voice silent, her eyes still locked with Wispy's for the long period of silence she held. “Noted. Thank thee for thy knowledge.” “Uh, yeah, you're welcome.” For another short moment, Luna stared into Wispy's deeply green eyes before finally looking away to sip at her tea. “Lack of sleep is thy plague. What is the cause?” Wispy blinked. “The cause?” “Aye.” “S-Stress, I suppose?” “Stress over what?” Wispy took a pause, Luna paying close attention to see if its cause was the voice, or simple thought, and by how her gaze seemed to unfocus, she felt the words being fed to her by whatever being writhed within was the pauses doing. “Well, the lack of money is one thing…” Luna's eyes narrowed. “One thing. Others, be there, aye?” Again, she paused, but for far less time. “L-Look, I don't understand why I have to tell you all these things! Are you just using all this information to build a case against me?” “A case? The courts want thee not, young mare.” “Y-Yeah, but that damned asylum does!” Luna paused, holding her tongue as she looked over Wispy for a moment. “Thou art still under belief that we associate with the institution.” “There isn’t any other reason that you’d be gathering all of this information!” “There isn’t?” A bit perplexed by the reply, Wispy stuttered a moment, “n-no, I don't think there is!” “The reason we hath cited; wishing to help. Holds nay validity?” Wispy paused, Luna noting the short lapse to be caused by the voices within. “It doesn’t make sense! You say you want to help me, but the question is why? You're a Princess, you have a whole nation to rule over and worry about!” Luna's eyes narrowed, her neutral expression becoming a scowl. “We rule the night. As the moon peeketh ov'r the horizon, so peeketh our rule. Our hoof holds the leverage within this nation that thy hoof holds in thy own mind. We hath been given bureaucratic meanderings clacked upon parchment by the typist's writer to rule over, for t'is what sister thinketh the best allocation of our life be. We art Princess by title, nothing more. In this moment, thou art our nation. Thou art what we rule over and worry over.” Silence took the room. Wispy’s mouth had opened a bit, but any words she had planned were stuck behind her tongue. She let her gaze wander a bit, breaking eye-contact with the Princess. “Think a moment, for thyself. Block words given by thy false sub-conscious, and listen to mine. We know thy name. We know thy place of living. We know thy place of work. We know details about thee that most do not. We know that thou hast thrust a blade forth at us with intent to kill. Yet, with this vast plethora of knowledge, thou art still sitting in thy home. No associates of the institution hath cometh to collect thee, and neither have we. Odd, nay? What excuses hath been crafted by the voices within hold nay substance within reality. We know, without looking further than the physical, that the beasts thou hath been harboring protest us with ferocity, and in their tenacity, hath been left grasping at threads, threads too short to wield the rope to hang us with. But, what words lie within cannot lie, aye? They seemeth to rise from the depths of thy being, and when words sprout from deep within the soil of thy soul, t’is custom for them to be followed, nay? That is the anecdote, aye? Follow thy gut? listen to thy instincts? If thy instincts told thee to leap from a cliffside, would thee blindly follow that direction?” Wispy still retained her silence, both overwhelmed by Luna’s words and the denials within her mind. “Answer! Would thee?!” She clutched the sides of her head with her hooves. “N-No! I wouldn’t!” Luna bolted from her seat, clashing her hooves against the coffee table before her, wings spread as she glared down at the cowering mare before her. “Then why listen now!? Why blindly follow false direction?!” “B-Because I don’t know what’s true or false anymore! I don’t understand! You keep telling me that my subconscious isn’t real! That my mind isn’t my own! That what I’ve known as reality since I could remember anything i-isn’t true! T-This isn’t possible!” An aura of turquois magic surrounding Wispy, taking her hooves from her head and forcing her terrified eyes to meet the glare Luna stabbed at her with. “Is it not? Seeing into the mind, according to thee, is impossible. Would thee wish for us to show that the remainder of our words hold no falsehoods?” Again, silence reigned supreme as Wispy’s words failed to come forth, her wide eyes still staring back at Luna in fright. After a moment, she drew in a shaky breath, gulping nervously and blinking rapidly. “I… yes. If… if the reality I’ve always known is… wrong, then I want to see what the right reality is.” The aura ceased, letting Wispy sink into a slouched posture, Luna more or less doing the same as she allowed herself to relax, her rigid wings half-furling and her hooves sliding from the coffee table, putting her on all-fours. “Thou art positive?” Wispy raised her brow at Luna. “Am I positive?” “Aye. Thou art sure this is the path thou shalt take?” “I…” she paused, Luna watching as her gaze fell into nothing. Her breath caught a little, anticipating her to blurt out some half-baked rebuttal, but instead, she watched as Wispy clenched her teeth, shook her head, and after a hard moment of deliberation, blurted out, “Yes! Yes! This is the path I wanna take!” Luna smiled as she came around the table, sitting before the mare. “And without knowing, the first step hast been taken by thee. Fighting what speaks within.” Wispy looked back in apprehension. “Then… what are the next steps?” “The next steps? We know not, truthfully. The path we shall embark is one we hath not traveled ourself.” Thinking a moment, Wispy narrowed her eyes. “When you said the path we shall take... you were talking about us, and not yourself.” Again, Luna smiled and nodded. “Aye. We two shall travel this path together. We shall be at thy side ‘til the very last stone hath been stepped upon.” Her gaze wandered a bit, but after a moment’s passing, Wispy looked into Luna’s eyes not with fear, apprehension, or anger, but with relief. “T-Thank you.” “Very welcome, dear Wispy.” A moment of silence passed as Wispy again let her gaze wander off as she pondered things. “If I had said no, would you have left?” Luna chuckled. “If we were to be totally truthful, nay. We would have persisted for some time. That said, we do present thee an ultimatum; should thee wish to revert thy choice, we shalt honor that. If thou shalt wish it, we shalt disappear.” “So… if I don’t want to go down this path, I can… just tell you to leave?” Luna nodded. Wispy gave a pause, her gaze never leaving Luna’s. “I’m being told to tell you to leave.” “And shall thee?” “Nah.” The two shared a little laugh as Luna got to her hooves, “should seem to us that voice does hold some leverage, for we shall indeed be departing now. T’is late, and if we assume properly, thou shalt attend thy job after moon’s set and sun’s rise, aye?” “Yeah, I do have work tomorrow, and it’s… really late.” “Past midnight, aye. Do have a sound slumber, dear Wispy.” She nodded. “I will, b-but before you go… I want to tell you something.” Luna paused half-way between the mare and the door. “Wispy’s not really my name… it’s actually Cirrus Wisp. M-Most ponies call me Wispy, though. Sort of a nick name.” Luna smiled. “Cirrus Wisp, aye? Pleasure to be acquainted formally.” Cirrus nodded. “Yeah… it is.” “Once more, do sleep well.” “I will, thank you.” With that, an aura swung open the door, and Luna stepped out into the hall, silently shutting the door after herself.