//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: The First Week // Story: The Centurion Project // by TheEighthDayofNight //------------------------------// Journal Entry Day 768? 769 probably I didn’t do much today. Tried to scavenge, but the weather was too cold. I got robbed last week. Somebody got in and took all of my clothes, so now all I have is what’s on my back. I decided to lay bait and set up a nasty trap that I saw in an old book. It’s called a Pun Stick Trap, I think. Doesn’t matter, I made sure to sharpen the stakes nice and pointy. I have a bottle of bleach stashed nearby too. If I’m lucky I will catch them alive. Payback is gonna be a bitch. Elias scratched his head as he stared blankly at the wall. The prison cell was a bit chilly, but he honestly didn’t care much. He had begun slipping into apathy after the second day, but this little visit just made it worse. In truth, he wished the cell as a bit more run down and dank. It would at least give him something to do, something to complain to himself about. Instead he was stuck in a perfectly maintained stone cell, each grey wall as featureless as the next. The steel bars were in pristine condition, with not even a spot of rust on them. Elias groaned in boredom, unable to find anything to occupy his mind within the picture-perfect cell. ***** His week had been a tidal wave of anger and irritation, with each new day bringing something new to further drive a spike into his forehead. After he had left Anyon and Luna cackling behind him, he had waited in the corridor, shutting off their mockery as he studied his sword, swinging it through the air as he tested its weight, ensuring that it hadn’t changed enough to throw him off balance if he got in a fight. Luna had eventually come out of the blacksmith’s room, and she offered no apology for her mockery. Instead, she had remained silent while she led him around the castle, showing him important locations. The armory, the cafeteria, the training grounds. The last stop had been the castle tailor, who had looked upon Elias’ tunic and sandals with greater disdain than Luna or Anyon. She assured both Elias and Luna that he would have an array of new clothing and shoes that would be just as functional as his current gear, while also being more durable and, quote “more befitting a member of the guard”. Elias wasn’t wearing any of that clothing yet. Despite the fact that the unicorn had finished within twenty-four hours, Elias was still unsure about it. It looked far too soft to take the punishment he submitted his clothing to. When asked, he had said he was saving it for when he started his guard duties. Elias closed his eyes as his head thudded against the stone wall. That day was now likely farther away, and he couldn’t tell if he was angry that he couldn’t get it over with already, or glad that he didn’t have to interact with anyone yet. After the visit with the tailor, Luna had dropped Elias by his quarters, somewhere around seven in the morning, giving him a small schedule for the next night. Nightshade was supposed to stop by his room promptly at 6 p.m. to wake him; with the intention of getting his body naturally prepared to sleep during the day. Unfortunately for her, Elias was gone by that time, his night terrors driving him awake almost as soon as he fell asleep. Using the map on the back of his schedule, Elias found his way to the library at the bright and early hour of 11 a.m. He was surprised when he found Twilight there, and was even more surprised when she just silently waved when she spotted him. He had expected the pony to jump him for more information, but she simply continued reading, letting the human go in peace. It didn’t take Elias long to get lost in the long row of books, and he picked out several small books on simple subjects, primarily history. He then settled against a bookshelf and began reading, losing track of time as he tore through page after page. He didn’t even look up until he began hearing a series of pops. When he did, he saw a series of purple flashes. To his credit, Elias only jumped a little when Twilight appeared beside him; with a very angry looking Nightshade beside her. That had been the first time he had gotten yelled at by the thestral, a species he had learned about in a biology book that had snuck its way into his stack. Throughout the dressing down, Elias couldn’t help but watch Twilight curiously as she went through the stack of books he collected. As Nightshade’s tirade lengthened into tens of minutes, the unicorn would disappear with a book, then return with three, setting them beside his pile before combing through it once more. By the time Nightshade had finished, the stack of books was nearly as tall as he was, and had been split into three separate stacks. Twilight however, looked completely satisfied with herself, perched atop the books as she waited for Nightshade to stop. When she did, the thestral looked at the stack in awe. “I don’t remember that many books being there before,” she said. Twilight smiled. “I just added in a few references and newer versions of some of the books Elias had picked out.” She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “I’ve kinda had a whole list prepared if we ever came into contact with a foreign species, and I may or may not have filled out that list so that Elias would have the basic level knowledge of Equestrian history, culture, as well as flora, fauna, and pony biology.” “That’s the basics?” Nightshade asked, dumbfounded. “I haven’t read that many books in my entire life.” Twilight scoffed, waving her hoof dismissively. “Maybe not all at once Captain, but this include stuff that gets taught to colts and fillies in school. Elias is starting with no knowledge! He needs everything! He’s got so much homework to do!” Elias flinched at the word homework. He enjoyed reading as much as he enjoyed breathing, but homework? It had been the only bullet he had dodged in the apocalypse. All of his schooling was self-taught past an elementary level; it allowed him to pick up a myriad of useful skills, as well as to study what he enjoyed, like ancient Mediterranean and European cultures. There was no homework though. If he became disinterested with a subject, he abandoned it. Still, Elias knew he had an out, and it was in the form of a sling on his arm. “Twilight, there is no way I can carry all of that,” he said, pointing to the cast decorating his forearm. The unicorn scoffed again. “Just put it in your enchanted saddlebags. All guards have them. I know because Shiny gave me his old set when he got promoted.” “Guardsman Bright hasn’t been issued his saddlebags, nor has he received much of his equipment,” Nightshade responded. She glared at the man. “In fact, we are supposed to be getting that equipment now, if Guardsman Bright had been in his room on time!” Elias gestured to the long shelves and the blank walls. “There are no clocks in here! How am I supposed to keep track of time, count?” “You are supposed to use your standard issue pocket watch Guardsman!” Nightshade snapped back. “This was all covered in your training manual.” Elias placed his hand on his hip. “Do you mean that standard issue watch I haven’t gotten yet, or perhaps the training manual, which I also haven't received?” Nightshade opened her mouth to respond, then stopped. She flushed red in anger, mostly because she knew he had gotten one up on her. “If you had been in your room this entire time instead of wandering around you would have been on time!” she shouted. Then she reached beneath her armor, drawing forth a blue and black watch, handing it to Elias. “Here. It's magically synced with every other watch in Canterlot Castle. This is how you will stay on time at all times. It also acts as an alarm system if there are any major security threats.” Elias clicked it open with his thumb, noting a flashing blue light on the inside face. “Is that meant to be the alarm?” he asked, flipping it around to show the flashing light to Nightshade. The thestral looked away in embarrassment. “It is. I… may or may have not sounded an escape alarm when you weren’t in your room. I should alert the all clear before you get pounced.” Elias clicked the watch closed, wrapping the chain around his sword belt before he tucked it into an empty pouch. “Escape? So I'm a prisoner then.” Nightshade rubbed her nose with a hoof. “Technically you’re an escaped mental patient until Doctor Scalpel and Princess Luna clear you. You are free to wander wherever you like, I just…” Her ears drooped. “I panicked when you weren’t in your room. It is my responsibility to keep track of all the guards, and I thought you had vanished, maybe losing it after everything that’s happened. Sorry.” Elias felt conflicted. On one hand, he felt intense anger for two reasons; the first of which was that he was considered a mental patient and a flight risk. The second was that even if that was an honest excuse, he was still being treated like a prisoner. There was no trust. The small voice at the back of his mind was screaming at him to just accept it, to think of it like the parole it was. He hadn’t earned their trust yet, and therefore he should wait before getting angry. Elias decided to listen to this voice, partly. He clamped down his emotions and put his usual grim expression on his face, leaving his voice neutral. “It’s fine,” he responded curtly. “Let’s just get started. What are we supposed to be doing first?” After that, Elias took all of the books to his room, with help of course, and then he and Nightshade made their way to the medical ward. He was greeted by an enthusiastic Scalpel, who hadn’t even noticed the fact that they were nearly an hour late. Elias was quickly dragged onto a bed, where Scalpel began his healing treatments, all while directing a pair of nurses that ran about pell-mell preparing what Elias imagined were a series of tests. His eye twitched when he saw some of instruments that got laid out, but he wouldn’t show weakness. If these were standard for ponies, he was more than capable of taking it. Once the healing was complete and his arm was free from both its sling and cast, the tests started with a questionnaire. An in-depth questionnaire. That alone took two hours. The questions ranged from how he was physically feeling, to his medical history (of which there was none), to what he liked to do for fun. More than once Elias had to pass a question, either because he had no answer, or because he didn’t want to address the answers he had. The longer the questioning went on, the more irritated he got, which Elias had no doubt also went down on the sheet, which just further fed into his anger. When Elias reached the point where he felt like he was going to snap, Scalpel moved on. He had Elias strip of his clothes, and unfortunately that meant all of them. Elias and Scalpel had a shouting match when the pony told him he had to lose the briefs as well, and while Scalpel had said that it was purely for medical reasons, Elias pointed out that Nightshade was still in the room. The thestral had only grinned in response, saying nothing as Scalpel forcefully asserted that she was supposed to be there. Elias didn’t believe him for a second. In a dastardly act of privacy invasion, Scalpel had eventually just teleported the underwear away, leaving Elias with no clothes and a flushed face. He grumbled while the unicorn did his tests, moving quick and efficiently through them. It was the only reason Elias didn’t strike the pony. After poking and prodding and collecting some extremely private and vile samples, Scalpel gave Elias his briefs back, which Elias had back on in under a second. After that, it had been relatively standard as Scalpel poked and prodded at Elias’ numerous scars, as well as his extremely visible ribs. Everything he said was written down, and the questions came again, less personal, and therefore easier to answer. Scalpel asked him about his dietary needs, and while Elias wasn’t an expert on the “perfect” diet, he had a fair grasp of what he needed. As the tests seemed to be winding down, Elias felt like he was in the clear. He had managed to stay relatively calm, and he had only one close call. That was until… “So Elias, let’s talk about the markings on your back.” Scalpel said, gesturing for Elias to take a seat in a stool in the center of the room. Elias sat down, but he did so hunched over, clasping his hands in front of him. His paranoia spiked up. “Which ones?” Elias asked. “Be aware, some of those stories won’t be told.” Scalpel nodded as he sat in a rolling chair and rolled around to Elias’ back, his warm hooves lightly prodding at several different spots. “Only answer what you feel comfortable with Elias. I don’t want you to be unhappy in anyway. This is just so I can begin to get an idea into some of your past traumas. It will help me come up with several therapy strategies that may ease the effects of your night terrors non-magically.” Elias sighed and nodded. Strictly speaking that was something that he wanted. He didn’t know enough about magic yet, and he certainly didn’t trust anything that affected his mental state. “Fine. Pick one and let’s get this done.” “Let’s start with the biggest marking. Not the why, but the what.” Scalpel said, his hoof running down a scar that Elias knew cut the red eagle tattoo in two. “It seems to be in the style of a cutie mark, but of course the location is all wrong and it lacks any magical signature whatsoever. Furthermore, I wouldn’t say it is an Equestrian tattoo, because while weak in magic, they still emit something. The only comparison I can make to this marking would be to an unnaturally abnormal birthmark, or, in likelihood, it is similar to minotaur rune tattoos. If it’s that… I would like to know why you would submit to that kind of physical torment.” Elias looked over his shoulder. “First I need to know what these rune tattoos are. How are they put on?” Scalpel sighed as he prodded the edges of the tattoo. “Minotaurs use a needle, a small hammer, and berry ink to quite literally carve runes into their skin. It is a very painful and permanent process. Equestrian tattoos are much safer, and more importantly, removable. No risk of infection, no regrets if you don’t like it afterwards. Drunk bets can be removed in a flash.” Elias snorted and turned back forward. “It’s not quite as ugly as you described; humans use actual ink, but yes. It is similar to the minotaur rune tattoos. Needle and all. The whole piece took hours to complete.” Scalpel sighed. “I was afraid you would say that. Is there any particular reason you did this to yourself?” “Then? Because it was the reward I gave my legionaries for completing their training. The legion symbol and the names of every single legionnaire. Two hundred names.” Elias smiled for a second, then his eyes fell, and he looked down at his hands. “Now it serves as a reminder. That’s I’ll say about it.” Scalpel nodded, and Elias felt his hoof on a particularly nasty scar near his left hip. “And this one? It appears to be a brand, but I highly doubt that it is self-administered. Hopefully not another reward.” Elias bit his cheek. “Nope. A nasty group, killed three hundred people in four separate settlements. I tracked them down and got captured unfortunately. It was the same group that took a few toes. When I escaped I returned, killed most of them and then b-…” His jaw snapped shut, nearly biting the tip of his tongue off in the process. He rethought the rest of his statement. “I executed the rest as well. Nobody does what they did and gets away with it. There are some lines that you never cross, and they did so and never looked back. They got what they earned.” Elias could feel Scalpel’s frown at his back. The unicorn didn’t press the issue however, merely stood and gestured for Elias to re-dress. He did so swiftly, wincing slightly as his recently healed chest wound pulled, the tender flesh still not entirely mobile. As Elias slipped on his sandals and looped on his sword belt, Scalpel gestured he re-take his seat. Elias sat, this time facing the unicorn. Scalpel sighed as he looked at his clipboard notes. “I really don’t know what to say to you Elias. It's clear that none of this is your fault, I just wish I knew more about your developing years.” He noted Elias’ scowl but continued. “Being unwilling to talk about it tells me enough Elias, I have no more questions for you today. This is my recommendation, however; first, we should bring your physical state back. Nothing about your body appears healthy. I will know specifically what needs remedy when the tests come back, but right now you are sleep deprived, dehydrated, and teetering on the edge of starvation. How you kept going in this state, adding injuries along the way I might add, is a testament to your endurance if nothing else.” Scalpel looked to Nightshade. “He isn’t performing any duties this week, and if he’s still this skinny by the end of the week, he won’t do any next week either.” Elias groaned. “I’m fine. Sitting around doing nothing will make my mental health worse, not better.” Scalpel glared at him. “Tough. Use the time to fulfill your promise to talk with Ms. Sparkle about Earth cultures. Find a hobby, since you seem to lack any other than,” he flipped a few pages on his clipboard up, “reading and combat training.” He looked at Elias. “Those aren’t hobbies. I mean, reading is, but that can’t be your whole day. You need to socialize, find something physically relaxing to do. Keeping mentally occupied is one thing, but you need to be emotionally occupied as well. Otherwise, all we’re doing is putting a band-aid on a broken bone.” Elias looked at the pony for a second, trying and failing to hold his gaze. He looked away as he stood. “Thanks for the checkup Doc, but I’m fine. I just need something to do. Everything fades with time.” Scalpel sighed. “That’s not true and we both know it Elias, just… nothing physically strenuous. If nothing else, we’ll fix your body before it gives out. It won’t last at this pace for long. Make sure to eat something, I know you skipped breakfast.” Nightshade snorted as she pushed her way out of her seat. “Don’t worry Doc, I’ll make sure he gets healthy,” she smiled sadistically at Elias. “Even if I have to hurt him to do it.” The rest of that first day had included four meals, all of which were far too large for one person to eat, after which he was met by Twilight and Luna in the library. Twilight spent the first four hours asking question after question, made worse when Elias went off on one tangent or another about some minuscule aspect of human culture. Each word seemed to spark a dozen new questions, and by the time she simply collapsed from exhaustion around midnight, she had a stack of notes that would fill several books. Elias hadn’t even gotten started, and what he did talk about was primarily ancient cultures, not really his own. He was going to be talking for the rest of eternity before that unicorn was satisfied. After that, he and Luna simply sat and stared at each other as a pair of guards stole the sleeping Twilight away, taking her mountain of notes with her. As an hour rolled by, followed swiftly by another, Elias began to grow irritated. Luna just sat and stared at him, not blinking for minutes at a time. Whenever he opened his mouth to speak, to ask what the purpose of the exercise was, she would merely raise a hoof for silence. And so, Elias brooded, sorting through what he knew and didn’t know, as well as what he still wanted to know. What he knew was slim, but he did have cursory knowledge of ponies now, or at least those that operated around the castle. Professionalism was first for them, though for most friendliness wasn’t far behind. While Elias was a curiosity, he wasn’t treated with outright fear or disgust. Evidently a bipedal, largely hairless creature wasn’t the strangest thing that they had seen. He couldn’t tell if that was a positive thing or not. Did it tell him that they were numb to oddities, and were therefore prepared, or did the friendliness demonstrate weakness that indicated they were completely unprepared if a real threat appeared? Elias zoned back in, his eyes still staring into Luna’s as she stared back. The princesses at least seemed cautious enough. If anything, that bit of paranoia on her part was comforting, if at the same time it was irritating as they kept him trapped here. If it was an attempt at reconditioning him, it was the strangest form he had seen. He had been beaten, burned, starved, cut, drowned, beaten some more, but brainwashing by… friendship? Was that the game here? Elias slid out the handy pocket watch he had been given and checked the time. Fifteen till six. They had been sitting and doing nothing for nearly six hours. Elias sighed and replaced the watch before he looked back to Luna, who had watched the action with disinterest. “Princess, if I may, what is the purpose of this?” he asked, for once uninterrupted. “This time could have been spent doing something useful.” Luna tilted her head. “Such as?” Elias gestured to the books surrounding them. “Reading? Or getting started on whatever,” he pulled out the schedule he had been given and read the last entry on the list, “emotional dream therapy is. I won’t pretend to understand what that is and will just assume that thrown together sentences like it are magic speak that I don’t and will never understand.” Luna tilted her head. “Dream magic is accessible to all sentient creatures Guardsman. With careful practice, even you could access it with ease. As for the therapy session, that is what we have been doing. You have stated previously that you require action to keep your darkest thoughts at bay, and yet we have sat in silence for hours without a major negative reaction. I must say I am impressed Guardsman. I thought you would speak up sooner than this.” She looked to the bookcases. “Or at the very least find something to read. Doing nothing can be quite dull if one does not know how to do it properly. Elias raised a finger and opened his mouth, then closed it. He ran a hand through his stubble a few times as he tried to suppress his anger. She was mocking him, as was the voice at the back of his head. He wanted to stab it. Instead of committing bodily harm to a piece of his psyche, Elias dropped his hand and straightened in his seat. “With your permission, can I go back to my room now?” Elias asked. Luna nodded calmly. “Of course, Guardsman. I shall see you again tomorrow night.” So had ended the first day. Elias entered his room, stuck halfway between overwhelming frustration and confusion. On one hand, it hadn’t gone poorly, and he had kept control of himself. On the other hand, he had accomplished nothing. Idling about and talking brought him no satisfaction, no sense of accomplishment. Even scavenging had its ups, but everything he had done was just pointless. At least Elias felt so. Regardless, he removed the covers from his bed and curled up on the floor, feeling more comfortable without the support of the feathery mattress. The second day began much the same as the first, with Elias awake before noon due to his night terrors. Instead of going to the library (since it appeared Twilight had delivered the library to him), Elias decided to do some physical training. After dropping off the Roman military book with Anyon, he collected his old armor and made his way to the practice field. Being the middle of the day, it was empty, so Elias was free to do as he wished. He began with laps around the track, trying to get strength back into his healed legs. After sweating through his tunic in the afternoon sun, Elias stripped the cloth garment off, keeping only his sword belt, sandals, and briefs on as he ran through stance drills. While unpractical for a solitary fighter, Elias enjoyed the familiarity the maneuvers gave him. At the very least he got his muscles working as he swung his sword and blocked with an imaginary shield at invisible foes. As it became near to the time that Nightshade would come looking for him, Elias began to pack up his equipment when Anyon had flown down from the castle, a thick bundle in his arms. “Ah youngblood, thought ah might find ya here!” the gryphon squawked excitedly as he landed. Elias watched as Anyon held the bundle in one arm while he hobbled about quickly on the other three. Despite the obvious impediment, the gryphon moved quickly, likely well practiced at the maneuver. The old bird smiled widely as he let the bundle flop onto the table next to Elias’ armor. Undoing a length of rope, Anyon quickly spread the bundle apart, revealing Elias’ shield, as well as half a dozen brand new pilla. Elias carefully eyed the shield as he picked it up, inspecting it with both hands. Anyon grinned proudly. “Ah made sure to get that done first. Ah’ll have yer armor done by tomorrow, no doubt. Just had to make a few extra improvements to make it like yer sword. How’s the little Feather handling by the way?” Elias tilted his head as ran his thumb along the shields edge. “She hasn’t had to kill anyone yet, so I would say pretty good.” Anyon grinned. “Aye that’s good.” The gryphon remained silent while Elias looked over his shield. Elias flipped it over, looking at the steel boss on the front. He could faintly see runic outlines embedded in the steel, glowing slightly when he got close. When Anyon noticed Elias’ focus he said; “Standard hardening enchantment. That boss should never tarnish or dent. It would take a mighty big swing to even scratch it.” Elias nodded silently, holding the shield out at arm’s length so he could look at the full picture. The bright red and yellow was gone, replaced by a mixture of dark purple, blue, and some accents of silver. The designs, however, remained intact. Elias looked to Anyon. “Are the legion lightning bolts a Lunar Guard standard?” The gryphon scoffed. “Nah, but none of the ponies are holdin' shields either. Ah got permission from the Princess to make yer gear special, so ah’m gonna make it special. Besides, it’s a bit o’ home ain't it?” Elias nodded as he thumbed the lightning bolts that ran diagonally across the scutum. He was unused to seeing the shield unmarred. He had gotten scratches on it the day it was made. Now though, it positively gleamed in the sun as it sat ready for use. Anyon scoffed and motioned for him to hurry up. “Come on now. Shields ain’t for gawking, they’re for wearing, try it on.” Elias smirked and flipped the shield back over, gripping the steel horizontal handle. “Actually, this shield is for holding. The straps are for carrying it.” Anyon came around Elias and looked at how held it from behind. Anyon cocked his head. “But yer bracin’ it with yer wrist. That ain’t a very sturdy grip.” Elias nodded. “Not alone, but when you hold it like this,” he turned his body, so his left side was facing out. The edges of the shield laid against his shoulder and his knee, “your whole-body acts as a brace. In formation it makes it an incredibly strong form.” Elias turned again, centering his grip on the scutum handle. “When you’re in single combat, the shield can be punched with,” he said, swinging the shield through the air. Elias grimaced as the motion sent a flash of pain up his left arm, but he ignored it as he reset his stance. Elias looked to Anyon, who was regarding him with curiosity. “Does that make sense?” Anyon frowned and stroked his chin. “Ah guess. Ya seem to know what yer talkin’ about, it just looks a bit odd for me. Maybe ah’m just old.” Elias shrugged. His eyes quickly fell to the pilla, and he set the shield down, carefully picking up one of the long javelins as he inspected it. He looked down the shaft, making sure it was perfectly straight. The weight felt right, perfectly balanced with weighted steel on both ends. Anyon looked cautiously at Elias as he ran his hands up and down the javelin, feeling for any inconsistencies in the wood. “Ah tried followin' yer book as best ah could. The design ya wanted was easy to recreate, didn’t take me more than a few minutes to make casts for the heads. If’n you don’t mind me askin’, what were there other types of these…” The gryphon paused before he snapped his claws. “Pilla! That was the word. Feels kinda weird.” Elias nodded in understanding. Latin was by no means an easy language to learn, and if there was a language here that was already nigh identical, he could understand why new words might be difficult. “Well," he started, falling into his lecture mode, "the Romans always worried about their enemies taking their pilla from the dead and then using them against other Romans. So, they put in intentional faults into each pilum. Initially it was just the weakness of the heads, they used soft metals so the tip would bend and break, but eventually they developed designs that had the shaft break on contact, while another had additional weights to encourage an enemy to drop his shield. It was an ingenious move. Worked fairly well too.” Anyon nodded in understanding. “Sounds smart. Hope ya didn’t mind, but these ain’t got no faults.” Elias smiled as he sent the javelin spinning through his fingers. “No issue at all. Nobody knows how to throw these anymore, except me of course. If somebody could throw one of these back at me, then they deserve to kill me.” Anyon scoffed. “Don’t let the princesses catch ya sayin’ that. They’ll try to make ya soft with their friendship and such.” Elias looked at the gryphon. “Says the guy who’s been living under their roof for how long?” Anyon glared at him. “Ya know what ah meant youngblood. Just fer that little remark, ya gotta put on a show now.” Elias looked around, suddenly becoming self-conscious. While they had been speaking, the day guards, as well as a few night guards had begun filtering onto the training grounds. Very few of them were actually training, however. Primarily, they were staring at him and Anyon. Elias grabbed his watch from his sword belt and checked the time. Twenty minutes to six. He turned to Anyon. “Look, I’m going to be late, and Nightshade flipped out last time…” Anyon just laughed. “No excuses youngblood. Ah rushed these pilla of yours out, and now ah wanna see how it’s done. Ya don’t even gotta put yer fancy dress back on, just show me how there used. Ah’m curious.” Elias opened his mouth to protest, then decided against it. It would be faster to just nail a target and be done. Elias grabbed his shield, sliding two pilla into their sheathes. He then grabbed a third in his hand as he turned around, searching for an appropriate target. He quickly spotted a trio of straw dummies. Elias let out a shrill whistle, then pointed to his targets with his pilla. Any ponies near the dummies moved away, while the rest watched intently. As Elias gauged the distance, he leaned over to Anyon. “What would you say that is, two hundred feet?” The gryphon cocked his head, making it so his one eye was facing the dummies. “Ah’m thinkin’ two-fifteen.” Elias rolled his shoulder as he rotated the pilla in his hand, his fingers curling carefully around the shaft. “I was thinking more of two-twelve.” Elias took a single step forward with his left foot as he pulled his right shoulder back. His right foot came down next, and as his body curled over the limb, he let the pilla go, his arm extended fully. Like a bullet, the spear sang through the air, taking the dummy in the head. Its “neck” snapped in two under the force, and the spear carried it off. Elias rolled his shoulder as he drew another pilla from his shield. He winked as he gauged the second target. “Two-eleven.” The second pilla tore through the dummy’s torso, impaling it firmly. The shaft of the spear bounced slightly as the force was distributed throughout the target’s “body”. Elias didn’t notice, he had his eyes already on the third target, and the third pilla sat in his hands, ready to fly. “Two-eleven, minus two inches.” This pilla struck the post that served as the dummy’s neck. Elias suspected that whatever Anyon enchanted the javelins with helped, but the spear cut clean through, and the head rolled away as the spear clattered against the stone wall. Elias winced as he lightly massaged his shoulder. He turned back to a stunned looking Anyon as he set the shield down with the rest of his equipment. “Now imagine charging into a line of soldiers that can all throw like that. A pilum is a nice tool in the right hands.” Elias said. His hand was a bit scraped from gripping the second pilla too tightly. He had meant for that one to take off the target’s head as well, but they didn’t need to know that he had missed. As he rubbed at the minor scrapes on his hand and prepared to go and retrieve his pilla, he heard a shout ring across the training ground. He sighed as he looked at his watch. That little demonstration had cost him. Like a bat out of hell, Nightshade glided down, impacting a few feet from Elias, a look of fury on her face. “Damnit Guardsman! You are on explicit orders not to conduct strenuous activities, and here you are at the training grounds, throwing spears!” the thestral shouted at him. Elias sighed, and he straightened. “Captain, I was just running some standard exercises, I didn’t believe they would be considered strenuous.” Nightshade glared up at him. “I didn’t ask what you believed Guardsman. This is the second time you have not been where you should be. If I hadn’t seen a lot of idle hooves!” she shouted, pointedly looking at all the guards watching the confrontation. When they all scrambled to look busy, Nightshade nodded in satisfaction before turning back to Elias. “If I hadn’t seen all of these guards standing about, I would have sent out another escape alarm. You need to focus Elias. I understand that you may feel bored, but you if you keep pushing yourself like this…” She sighed, her eyes looking down. “Look, you are a few bad days away from being strapped to a bed so that Scalpel can control every aspect of your life until you are deemed healthy.” Nightshade looked up to Elias, and he couldn’t help but see the sympathy that her orange eyes held. “I get it Elias, I really do. You need to move, you need to keep busy, I get it. I am more than sure you have your reasons. But have you considered that maybe all of this is for your benefit? We’re just trying to help you get better, even if you don’t want to admit the problem.” Elias looked away. “I know what the problems are. I don’t sleep. I have anger problems. I got it. I’m an anti-social, potentially sociopathic freak. Too dangerous to be left alone. I’m a risk.” Nightshade glared at him, then just shook her head in disappointment. “Get your gear Guardsman. We have a schedule to keep.” The rest of that day had been a blur. After the “incident” at the training field, another guard had been assigned to watch Elias. If he hadn’t felt like a prisoner before, having a constant shadow sealed it. It didn’t help that the pony seemed to have some animosity toward Elias, though he had no idea what he did to cause it. In truth he didn’t care, and Elias made it painfully obvious that he was ignoring the pony. The rest of the afternoon was spent with Twilight in the library, once again talking about Earth until his face turned blue. Once more the notes piled high, and once more the purple unicorn passed out somewhere around midnight before she quit. Elias rubbed at his eyes when Luna began to silently stare at him once again, repeating her “technique” from the previous day. Except today’s stare was less of a calm gaze, and more of a hardened glare. Elias responded by not even looking at her, instead finding interest in the far wall. It was somewhere around three when Luna spoke. “Why were you at the training grounds today Guardsman?” Elias barely registered the question for a moment, and when he did, he looked at her, tilting his head slightly as he sat up in his chair. “For the same reason I came to the library yesterday. I need to keep myself occupied. Whether it is physical or mental, I have a drive to do something.” He shrugged. “The training grounds was merely a way for me to start getting in shape again. I’m not a very useful guard if I don’t keep my training up.” Luna frowned. “Nor are you a useful guard if you keel over and die. It has been iterated several times that you need rest, and yet you seem both keen to avoid it, as well as unwilling to accept help in finding it.” Elias shrugged. “I get enough rest to get by. As long as I find food, which thanks to you hasn’t been an issue, I’m fine. I can keep going for as long as I need to. My throws at the training ground prove that at least.” “That is what concerns me most Guardsman. Despite clear mental, physical and emotional deterioration, your body seems completely intact, ignoring your injuries and deficiencies. It is most unnatural, and it concerns me to say the least.” “Then why give me this?” Elias said, tapping his gladius. “Why give me any of it? Why the whole guard business? Why the fancy room, and the medical treatment, and the food. Why? I don’t get it. Of everything that has happened since I’ve gotten here, I still haven’t figured that last part out.” His tone shifted, becoming more aggressive as his anger grew. At what, he did not know, but Elias could feel the rage boiling in his gut. “Why? Why do you care? Why does anyone care? What have I done to earn any of this?” he snapped. “Nothing Guardsman,” Luna replied calmly. “You have not earned the treatment you have received.” Elias threw his hands up. “Then why am I receiving it? Why am I the one who gets to sleep safe and sound every night, instead of literally anyone else who is more deserving? Why do I get to go to bed with a full stomach when I know damn well that somewhere on Earth, a hundred go hungry? Why the hell is it me?” he shouted. Elias was on his feet now. He held his angry glare at Luna for only a second before he turned away, holding a hand over his mouth as he mulled. He opened his mouth more than once as he began to say something, then shuttered the thought away, crushing it brutally as his thoughts tried to keep anything important tamped down. Eventually he just grunted in anger. “Princess, if you don’t mind, I’d like to be alone.” Luna nodded. “Of course, Guardsman. I shall see you tomorrow night.” ***** That brought Elias to now. He stared out through the cell bars as he heard a door slam shut. Voices echoed through the dungeon, and he briefly wondered how much of that anger was directed at him. Elias smirked, closing his eyes once more as he sat. Apparently trying to leave the castle with nothing more than a bundle of rope and a knife left a bad, almost suicidal impression on the guards. His flippant disregard for their questions likely didn’t help. He hadn’t made it more than twenty steps outside the gate before he was lifted in a magical aura and lifted back inside, quickly deposited in the cell when he began playing with the knife by tossing it in the air. Maybe it could have been viewed as childish, but Elias didn’t care. If he wanted to act childish in this insane environment of talking ponies and magic, he would do so. It wasn’t like he got to live through most of his childhood anyway. Elias heard a deep sigh and he cracked open his eyes to find Luna standing in the cell doorway, her face covered with a disappointed stare. “Hello Princess,” Elias said cheerfully. “Come to visit the "suicidal" monkey?” Her gaze hardened. “That was a very foolish action Guardsman. You could have been seriously injured.” Elias snorted. “Please tell me you don’t honestly believe what the gate guards said. If I really wanted to die, I had an arrow in my chest less than a week ago. I could have more than solved the issue then.” Luna sighed, the disappointment dripping from her tone. “Elias, is this truly what you want? To sit in a cell? Wasting the rest of your days tortured inside while the world continues around you?” Elias shrugged, giving no verbal answer. Another sigh came from Luna. “What exactly is this supposed to prove Elias? And to who?” she asked. “What do you have to gain from this behavior? I will not pretend to know your tragedies, but whoever you lost, is this the life they would have wanted from you?” Elias smiled; he knew that would be dragged out against him. He looked to Luna; the smile wide on his face. “Yes, I think they would,” he replied smugly. “Because I am still, and will always act as a protector, even if nobody else can know what they are being protected from.” He gestured to the cell walls around him. “This is where I belong Princess. This or a grave. Not because of what I’ve done, but because of what I know.” He chuckled darkly and stared at his legs. “Knowledge is power,” he said mockingly. “And I have knowledge that could bring about the end of your world, just like it did mine. If a cell is what it takes to remain silent, then so be it. Torture and solitude aren’t new to me.” He scratched the back of his head and laughed. “Even if both are willing and of my own design.” He didn’t look back up, didn’t feel like listening to the judgements of Luna. She no doubt had more to say, but Elias didn’t want to hear it. He knew he was right. Some things should never be shared, and for him, that was over half of his life. Elias did look up when he heard the door shut, with the pony princess inside the bars, rather than out. Elias watched the key turn in the lock, before disappearing altogether. He looked at Luna with a sigh. “What are you doing Princess?” he asked. She sat down beside him, far enough away that they weren’t touching, but close enough that he could feel her body heat. She settled until she was comfortable, then she looked at him. “I am waiting with you. Despite your wishes to remain alone in a cage, I shall not let you. This is supposed to be a punishment. So, you shall remain here, with me, until I decide you are fit to be out on your own again.” Elias shook his head and looked away. “You are the ruler of a nation. Is this really the best use of your time?” he asked. Luna laid her head on the stone floor and closed her eyes. “I can perform much of my duties from here. The important ones at least. Captain Nightshade will handle the rest, and if she needs my presence, then she will push off the work until we are free from this place.” Elias smirked. “Your solution to the mentally deranged human that would rather sit in cell than go to therapy, is to lock yourself in with him?” He chuckled as he looked at Luna. “How are we supposed to get out Princess? I don’t have a key, and I have none of the tools I’d need to pick the lock.” “The door is keyed to your magical signature Elias. It shall open when you touch it.” Elias’ grin widened. “And how precisely is that supposed to work when I have no magical signature?” he asked. Luna scoffed. “All living things have a magical signature, from the ponies to the grass. Even a creature from a different realm should have a magical signature.” Elias raised an eyebrow. “Really? How much are you willing to stake on that?” He got to his feet, and walked to the cell door. He reached a hand out, but stopped short, looking back to Luna. “Are you really one hundred percent certain that this door will open? Because I am one hundred percent sure that it won’t.” Luna frowned at him. “I do not appreciate your doubt of my abilities Elias. I can cast a magic detection spell as well as anypony, and I identified your signature as soon as Doctor Scalpel finished his initial healing sessions. That door is keyed to that signature.” Elias didn’t break eye contact as he firmly grasped the bar and tried to rattle it. The steel didn’t so much as budge. The anger in Luna’s eyes turned to disbelief. She shot to her feet. “That’s impossible, I am quite certain I did it right!” She got close to the bars and watched him intently, motioning for him to pull at the sealed door again. So he did, to the same result. Elias wanted to laugh as he saw her eye twitch in disbelief. “B-but I scanned you!” she shouted. “I have used that spell a hundred times! I know the signatures of every pony in Canterlot Castle!” Elias chuckled as he moved away from the bar, resuming his seat on the floor. He threw his hands over his knees as he watched the pony try to figure out where she went wrong. Elias already had a theory, but he wanted to see how long it took her. When she began to mumble to herself and pace, he decided to throw her a bone. “When did you do your scan?” he asked simply. Luna looked at him, her eyes narrowed. “I do not see how that matters. The time does not impact the spell result.” “No, but I imagine who is nearby, say, casting healing magic might,” Elias replied smoothly, his smile poking back out. “Now I’m no expert on magic, but I think we can both logically work out where you found my “magic signature”.” Luna stopped, then looked between Elias and the cell door, then back to Elias as the realization dawned on her. Elias could almost see the pieces falling together in her eyes. “I-I scanned Doctor Scalpel!” she cried out at the top of her lungs. “I detected his signature from the healing spells and identified that as your signature! We shall be stuck here for days!” She let off a string of what Elias assumed were expletives in some sort of old pony tongue. Elias let her freak out for a moment before he spoke again. “Can you not send some sort of message out with your magic? Perhaps to whoever is on guard of these cells?” Luna moaned and thumped her head against the wall. “Nay, these dungeons seal off all magics save for the ambient ones, and we haven’t had a permanent guard here for centuries. They were designed specifically to contain my sister and I, as a precaution of course. Being the most powerful beings in Equestria is a threat, and we wanted to never be without a failsafe.” “And yet I’m viewed as insane for trying to isolate myself,” Elias muttered. Luna scoffed as she resumed her pacing. “You might have knowledge that you deem forbidden, but your physical prowess is limited. My sister and I raise and lower the sun and moon. It is hardly comparable.” Luna stopped, then pounced on Elias like a cat, startling him as she got right in his face. “Of course! When I fail to lower the moon, ‘Tia shall come looking! It is the perfect escape plan!” Elias tried to lean away, but found stone blocking his skull. He cleared his throat. “Ah, Princess…?” Luna seemed to come down from her excited high, quickly realizing what she was doing. She hopped back, combing her flowing hair with a hoof as she fell back into her normal, professional demeanor. Elias spotted a tinge of red on her face as she refused to meet his eyes. “My apologies Guardsman, I may have been overenthusiastic.” Elias nodded dumbly. “Right. It’s fine. Sunup shouldn’t be too far off.” Luna settled onto the stone floor once more, huffing as she laid her chin on the floor. “I cannot believe I made such a foolish mistake. A foal should have noticed the similarities in magical signatures.” She gave an exasperated groan at the ceiling. Elias resumed staring at the wall, but found that he had nothing left that he wanted to think about. Boredom was his ultimate enemy, as it allowed dark parts of his mind freedom, so he looked at Luna, who was still pouting on the floor. Elias looked away, didn’t know how to start a conversation. What did he have to talk to a pony princess about? He stared back at the wall, his gaze boring into the smooth grey material. The only thing of note on the wall was the fact the wall itself was featureless., and therefore worthless for occupying his mind. Elias didn’t know why it was suddenly hard to just, not think. He had been fine for hours before Luna had decided to initiate her scheme. Speaking of the devil, she huffed again, and Elias caught her glance at him, though it occurred in less than a second. When Elias began to shift his eyes forward again, she sighed loudly. Elias remained silent. Luna sighed louder, and her wings fluttered slightly. Elias crossed his arms across his chest, confident he could wait the pony out, whatever she was doing. He closed his eyes as he listened to Luna take in a long gulp of air, before loudly exhaling, shifting about as she did so. Elias scratched his head as he tried to tune the pony out. Eventually, once she stopped her squirming and sighing, Luna shot up, glaring at Elias. “Guardsman you are supposed to ask if I am alright!” Elias looked at her with one cracked eye. “Why?” Luna crossed her hooves. “Because this is a lesson to teach you about being a good friend. If nothing else, it is a lesson about checking on your princess.” Elias raised a finger. “First, we aren’t friends, we do not know each other at all.” He raised another finger. “Second, we won’t be friends, because I don’t make friends anymore. I learned that lesson enough times.” He lifted a third finger as he closed his eye and faced forward once more. “Third, I can see you, right next to me, completely safe and sound. You are uninjured, and besides the means of the cell, you aren’t even restrained. You’re fine, and if we want to really be technical, I’m not even a guard yet.” He dropped his hand and exhaled deeply. He could feel Luna staring at him, though he couldn’t tell what emotion was on her face. When he opened his eyes to check, he saw a halfway between anger and sadness. “We are not friends?” she asked. Elias sighed. “No, and for good reason. Besides our names, what do we know about each other?” he looked at the pony. “Do we know each other’s birthdays? Our favorite hobbies? Our deepest fears? No. We know none of that. At best you are my teacher/therapist/boss.” He snorted. “At worst you’re my warden. Though,” he paused and gestured toward the closed cell doors, “I am rather interested in your warden strategies. Locking yourself with a potentially dangerous human seems like a tactical error to me.” The anger evidently won out, because Luna’s next statement was at a furious yell. “I know what I am doing Guardsman! Maybe being locked in here with you was an elaborate part of my strategy to get you to open up so that we can help you!” Elias chuckled. “And how is that strategy working out Princess? Yielding the results, you wanted?” Luna growled at him. “It would be if there wasn’t a stubborn human who refuses aid in the way.” The anger suddenly disappeared from both her tone and posture as she laid back down, scooting closer to Elias. He eyed her carefully, and she flashed a smile in return. “So Guardsman, you have pointed out several faults in my plan, so I shall thank you by getting to know you better that we might be better friends.” “We can’t be better friends if we aren’t friends at all,” Elias said. Luna huffed. “Fine, have it your way Guardsman. Then I am merely inquiring information so that I may be able to understand if you are a safety hazard or not for my subjects. Does that suffice for a reason?” Elias sighed and rubbed at his face. Morning couldn’t come soon enough. “On two conditions. One, if I don’t want to answer a question, I’m not answering it. Second, I’d like to ask some questions in return.” Luna perked up and clapped her hooves together. “Excellent! A marvelous first step Guardsman! We shall be friends before the sun rise!” Elias waited in silence for the first question. When it didn’t come, he cracked open his eyes to find Luna sitting directly in front of him with a wide, creepy smile on her face. Elias really didn’t like that smile. “Princess, what are you doing?” he asked. “I am sitting in front of you Guardsman,” she said back, her voice chipper. “That doesn’t seem like a good first question, but to each their own I suppose.” Elias resisted the urge to smack himself in the face. Luna adjusted as she sat up taller, sitting straight as she looked at the slouched human. “So Guardsman, when is your birthday?” Elias stared at her. “Really?” Luna tutted. “Now Guardsman, you already got a question. It is my turn, and I wish to know your birthday.” “Fine. July 14th.” Luna pouted. “Unfortunate, your birthday has already passed this year. The celebrations are most enthusiastic, and there are wonderful moon pies. A shame.” She looked up, her smile returning. “What is your next question Guardsman?” “You said something about ambient magic? What is it?” Luna pondered the question for a second before answering. “Well, to begin, there are three ambient magics; song, dream, and life. All sentient creatures are capable of accessing the first two at any time, while the third exists in everything. From the stones to the trees to the ponies, everything has life magic, even if only in small amounts.” Elias nodded. “Except me,” he said, pointing a thumb at his chest. Luna frowned and shook her head. “I simply made a mistake when detecting your magical signature Guardsman, that does not mean that you have no signature. As I said everything has ambient magic within, that includes you.” Elias shook his head. “I’m afraid not. On Earth there is no dream magic, I won’t even ask what song magic is, and there is no life magic. We simply…” he shrugged. “don’t have anything. Human “magic” is just illusions and parlor tricks. Looked like fun, but it’s all sleight of hand.” “That cannot be true,” Luna denied adamantly. “It is a definite rule of existence. The sun and moon require magic for motion, friendship has magical power, and everything has magic within! It is fact.” Elias chuckled. “Then I’m going to put you for a spin when I say that the sun doesn’t move, at least not on Earth. Maybe here it needs to be controlled, but on my world, we rotated around it. It’s what gave us the seasons.” Luna scoffed. “Your world sounds ludicrous. It sounds like the perfect home for Discord, so random and directionless.” She paused, then added, “No offense Guardsman.” Elias shrugged. “None taken. Maybe if things had been more coordinated humanity might not be in its death throes. Let’s move on.” Luna nodded in agreement before smiling again. Elias was beginning to become unnerved by that smile. It seemed like it was trying forcefully to be genuine, but failing miserably. “So Guardsman, what is your favorite hobby?” Elias sighed and ran his hand over his face. It was going to be a long night. ***** Luna watched Elias sleep intently, taking note of every little movement his face and hands made. They had questioned each other back and forth for hours, with her questions focusing on the surface personality of Elias, while his questions tended to focus on historical events, along with minor aspects of pony culture. Eventually, the human began to grow visibly tired, so Luna had stopped, telling the human to sleep while she managed the dream realm. A minor falsehood, since Equestria only very rarely had any nightmares that needed intervention, but it got Elias to lay back and attempt sleep. It was usually obvious when a being started to dream, and Luna intended to find out the mystery of the human’s night terrors. When she had first seen the human in the light of day, writhing in terror on the floor of the infirmary, she had been surprised when she was unable to touch his dreams. She could sense them, could find the emotional turmoil, but she had been completely unable to pierce the barrier around his mind. It had manifested like a hurricane, pushing her magic away with powerful gusts of wind and violent strikes of lightning. Few creatures could force away her magic like that, and all of them were evil or extremely powerful, usually both. Hence her initial… caution regarding the human. Only when he began to show the signs of immense mental trauma did she begin to lower her guard, theorizing that his mind was simply strong against intrusion due to walls he had established within himself. It wasn’t unheard of, just incredibly rare. His hand twitched. Luna watched intently as his face twisted, just a little. His upper lip curled, and his eyes seemed to screw tighter. She settled herself next to the human, keeping her horn pointed directly pointed at his forehead. Luna watched patiently, and the signs grew steadily more aggressive. Both of his hands were twitching constantly now, curling and flexing as if he was holding something. His lips were curled into a snarl, and his body seemed tense, his muscles flexing. His breathing came faster as a low growl issued from his throat. Luna closed her eyes and channeled her dream magic, focusing it through her horn as she targeted the mind of the human in front of her. She quickly opened her eyes, seeing the starry plane of the dreamscape. Finding his nightmare wasn’t hard, the swirling maelstrom of torment standing out like fire in a haystack amongst the peaceful dreams of her subjects. She approached it slowly, studying its tall walls intently. She probed the edges lightly, seeing if minor calming magic would assist in lessening the storm, but then her magic sputtered out, and she remembered that her direct magics were blocked by the cell she resided in. She growled in frustration. She had gotten complacent since her return; she would need more practice for complex situations such as this one. She walked around the perimeter of the dream, trying to see inside. Usually she could force the dream apart, creating a hole to slip inside so that she could either view, or interject herself if it became too serious. The second option usually destroyed the dream, and made her job harder, so she preferred the first option, as it allowed her to integrate herself within the dream to naturally calm the pony in need. Since she didn’t have her normal magic on hoof however, she would be forced to poke a hole with her own manifestation, or let the dream run its course. Luna prodded the wall with her hoof, feeling it bite back in retaliation. The pain was minor, so Luna pushed forward, submerging her entire foreleg into the black cloud. For a moment it seemed to calm, then it struck back violently. With a yelp, Luna jumped back, rubbing her lightly scorched foreleg. She glared at the wall; her eyes tinged with anger now. A single nightmare thought it could defeat her? She would show it, and when she did, it would be crushed beneath her hooves. Luna went headfirst this time, ignoring the minor shocks and jolts she received as she pushed through the cloud. She kept her head down as the wind whipped at her face. She felt a dozen small shocks race across her body as she walked forward, driving to make her quit. She wouldn’t falter, this was her duty as princess! Nopony, nobody had a nightmare that she couldn’t save them from. So, Luna ignored the pain as she trod forward. She covered her eyes and tried to look ahead. Faintly, she saw a small glow, like an ember from a fire. Luna grinned in victory and redoubled her efforts. So too did the maelstrom. Hail and rain joined the wind and lightning, striking her over and over as she pushed onward. She began to hear whispers as well; though she could not make out a single word they said. She did her best to ignore them, and the light grew brighter. Luna roared as she charged forward, ducking through the hail that pelted her from all sides. The maelstrom vanished all at once. The wind, the rain, the lightning, the hail, all of it simply stopped. Luna took a moment to breathe as she looked back. Behind her was featureless, not like the star filled skies of the dreamscape, but simply empty of anything but the faint red light emanating from in front of her. For some reason, Luna felt a twinge of nervousness. This had never happened before, and unlike usual, she did not have a secure method to leave. Should she really be here? Was it safe? She scoffed as she swung her head forward, dismissing the notions. She was Princess Luna, Keeper of the Night. She controlled dreams with the same authority that she controlled the moon. Nothing had the power to stop her here, even without her alicorn magic. Luna walked forward, scanning the featureless landscape for anything of note. Besides the light, it remained empty, another abnormality. When she usually grew close to a nightmare’s source, some features became clear. It allowed her to begin to theorize what the dream was about, as well as determine a way to resolve the hidden issue behind it. The touch of nervousness returned, whispering to Luna that she was out of her element. She scoffed once more and increased her pace to a fast trot. The light was growing closer. When she finally reached the source, Luna was surprised to find it all emanated from a small hole in the dreamscape. No larger than a dinner platter, it showed her a forest on fire, the very treetops aflame. Through the smoke Luna spotted a trio of figures, two featureless, while the third was very clearly Guardsman Bright. She watched in horror as the two featureless humans jumped Bright. She heard a cry of pain, as well as an awful snap as a bat one of the men carried cracked into Bright’s arm. The guardsman roared in rage and pain back at them, and Luna watched as his sword tore through one with savage efficiency, the body disappearing as soon as it hit the ground. The second man swung again, hitting Bright’s now broken arm. Luna flinched at the second cry of pain. Bright didn’t let the agony overwhelm him however, and he quickly turned the tables, impaling the second man through his stomach, leaving him hanging on a tree. Guardsman Bright stumbled away in horror, and Luna noticed that the featureless man suddenly had a distinguishable face, but then it was gone. Bright stumbled away, clutching his arm as he ran through the burning woods. Luna saw no more enemies for the guardsman to fight, and decided that now would be a good time to intervene. She prodded the hole gently, feeling surprise when it suddenly disappeared. The landscape around her became black, with no light emanating from anywhere. She lightly tapped her chest regalia, and the ambient glow from the crescent emblazoned on it gave her something to see with. She frowned when she saw nothing but darkness around her. “You shouldn’t be here.” Luna whirled around. That voice had been right in her ear. She could feel the heat from whoever said it. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to see in the dim light. “Show yourself,” she said into the void. “I am Princess Luna and I intend to help Guardsman Bright with this nightmare!” “You shouldn’t be here.” She whirled around again. Again nothing. She was being mocked. “I demand that you reveal yourself!” she shouted. “This is a nonsensical farce and I will not tolerate it!” “It isn’t safe,” a whisper said. “You shouldn’t be here,” another echoed. Luna felt the twinge of nervousness return, but crushed it. If she lost control of her own emotions, she would not be able to help Bright with his. She picked a direction and walked forward, determined to find another gap in the dream, while at the same time distancing herself from the voices. It didn’t work, they followed her, growing in number. “It isn’t safe, you need to leave.” “You shouldn’t be here.” “He isn’t well, he isn’t safe.” Luna growled as she pressed her ears against her head. “Cease your inane babble,” she said. “I care not about safety; no dream can hurt me.” “It isn’t safe. You're not safe here.” “You shouldn’t be here, it isn’t safe.” “He isn’t well. This isn’t safe.” “Help him.” Luna stopped, her ears flicking up. One of the voices had said something different. She strained as she tried to hear it again. Unfortunately for her, the other voices had other ideas. “You are not safe. Get out.” “He isn’t well. He is a threat.” “Kill him. It’s what he deserves. Kill him.” “You will only be safe once he is dead.” “Save him. He is lost.” “Save him?” Luna called out into the black. “Save Elias? Who is speaking? Is he alone here?” “Die. End yourself. It is the only way.” Luna took a step back, they were targeting her now? “Jump off the bridge. There is nothing left for you.” “Just fall damn you. Quit! You deserve nothing less than agony!” “Do it you failure. Death is the only way, and it’s all you have earned. Collect your reward!” The voices rose to a shout, and Luna felt like they battered her more than the maelstrom ever did. “Look at what you have wrought! Is this what you wanted? All of this pain? All of this blood?” Luna took another step back, her ears pinned to the side of her head. “Take a look damn you!” a voice shouted in her face. “Look at your kingdom of ashes and bones! See the consequences of your actions!” Luna took a third step, her eyes closing as she shook her head. “Stop,” she said quietly. “Don’t you realize you fool? How many? How many are dead because of you?” “You’ve just lost your way. You’ll find it again.” “Look! How many friends are dead? How many will never see another sunrise? Was it all worth it? Open your eyes and look! Look at what you’ve done!” “You’re a monster! Look! Look at the bodies! Look at the blood!” Luna channeled a hidden reserve of rage and spread her wings. “ENOUGH!” she shouted, her voice shocking through the darkness, forcing it, and the voices away. She took deep gulps of air in as she settled her mind. How had they known? This was Bright’s dream, how had they known about… Only when the cries reached her ears did she realize that they didn’t know. They couldn’t. They weren’t talking to her. Luna slowly turned around, seeing a small human child, curled in a ball. He wore unfamiliar clothes, but that hair was unmistakable. Luna crept up to the weeping child, not wanting to startle him. “Guardsman Bright? Elias?” she asked carefully. The child curled up tighter, whimpering softly. “Go away. It isn’t safe here. He isn’t safe.” Luna knelt next to the child. “Who isn’t safe? Elias please, it is Princess Luna, I am trying to help you. This is a nightmare.” The child just shook his head. “Please leave. He isn’t safe. I can’t…” The child sobbed and his face disappeared within his jacket. Luna got close to the child, touching him gently. “It is alright Elias, I am here. I can help.” “No,” the child replied. “Nobody is safe from him. He’s…” The crying stopped instantly, and the child looked out from his jacket with terror written clearly on his face. He stared at Luna. “Leave. He’s coming. I can’t keep you safe. You need to leave.” Luna stood, her eyes scanning the darkness. “There is nothing here that can harm me child. Whatever demon ails you, I shall defeat it, then you will see all is well.” The child grabbed her regalia. His eyes pleaded with her desperately. “Please! You need to leave! He’s an animal, a monster! Nothing can stop him! You aren’t safe!” Luna scoffed and looked away, but then the grip became stronger. Suddenly the child became a much older Elias, almost similar to the one she was familiar with. He was clean shaven however, and his hair was much shorter. “Princess you have to leave! This isn’t something you can fight! Run! Run damn you! It’s for your protection!” Elias paled and looked out into the darkness. His hands slipped from her regalia. “He’s here,” he said softly. Then he vanished. Luna looked around, searching the darkness. “Guardsman Bright? Where have you gone?” she called. A human shape suddenly appeared at the edge of her regalia light. Luna squinted as she tried to make out the face. She took a step forward, recoiling when she felt something warm and wet on her hoof. A quick look showed her thick red blood. A pool spread slowly toward her, and then Luna noticed the bodies. Each had a distinct face, and their vacant eyes seemed to bore into her soul. Luna felt fear, not nervousness, but true fear. She shouldn’t be here. She should have left. Swallowing roughly, she looked at the single standing figure before her. He took a step forward, and Luna was able to clearly see that it was Elias, though much younger than she had seen. His thin limbs were covered in red, as was much of his chest. It dripped off of him, contributing to the steadily growing puddle at her feet. In one hand he held a long knife, while the other held a bloody hatchet. His pants were soaked clear through, and they too were simply red. Only his face was partially visible, though long blood splatters painted that as well. Luna took a step back when she met his eyes. She saw only rage and death there. No recognition, nothing even vaguely intelligent, just hatred. A storm kicked up around them, and lightning flashed behind the human. Luna felt bile rise in her throat as she saw horrifying images of blood and meat. A stack of dripping heads. Piles of burning corpses. She threw up when she saw a human with his back flayed apart. The man before her began to laugh, loudly and cruelly. He took a step forward, and as he approached, Luna saw another flash of lightning behind him, illuminating a red eagle made of bones and blood. Luna heard a cry from behind her and she saw Guardsman Bright, decked out in the full armor she had first found him in, charging the crazed man. Sword in hand, he shouted as he swung at the man’s head. The knife came up, knocking the sword aside, and the crazed man embedded the hatchet in Bright’s chest. He cried out in pain, and he stabbed the crazed man in the thigh, his sword locking against a bone. The crazed man just laughed at the wound and headbutted Bright in the face. As Bright fell back, the man crudely yanked the hatchet from his chest, and Luna saw a gush of blood fall from the wound. Clutching his chest, Bright tried to stagger toward her, but collapsed, his sandaled feet slipping in the blood beneath him. His blue eyes found her, and she saw such desperation in them. “Please…” he begged weakly. “I can keep him here, but I have to do it alone. You need to run aw-…” His sentence was choked off by the hatchet embedding itself in the back of his skull. Luna watched as the light left his eyes and Bright disappeared, leaving her alone with the demon of a man. She began to channel a spell to return her dream manifestation to her body, but her horn fizzled out. The cell. The man cackled madly as he stepped over the pile of bodies. The hatchet twirled in his grip. Luna felt her fight or flight response kick in, and she growled, lowering her head. She was a princess; she would not back down against a lone foe, no matter how horrifying and brutal. With a cry, she charged, her horn aimed at his chest. The man’s laugh reached a fevered pitch. She never stood a chance. As he sidestepped her charge, the hatchet came down on her wings. Luna cried out in agony. She shot awake, flapping back until her spine hit the cell bars. She quickly began feeling at the base of her wings, making sure that they were still attached and whole. Her pristine blue feathers felt like silk in her hooves, and she sighed with relief. She then looked herself over, seeing no blood, nor any evidence of damage from the maelstrom. Despite what it had felt like, it had all just been a dream. Taking another deep breath to calm her frazzled nerves, she settled into a calm sitting position, finally looking over to Guardsman Bright. Elias had put his hands around his head and scrunched up his eyes as he took long, deep breaths. He rocked back and forth slightly. Luna watched in concern; had he reached a breaking point? Was it something she had done? She didn’t think she affected anything, but had she? Did it have to do with that blood covered Elias she had seen? She had no answer. The man remained silent for nearly a minute before his hands dropped and his eyes opened. He looked past Luna, staring dazedly at the wall. “So, uhm… we were still trading questions, right?” Elias asked. Luna nodded, her eyes trying to catch his. Elias ran his tongue over his dry lips. “Was it your turn or mine?” he asked. “Yours,” Luna responded simply. Elias nodded, his eyes glazing as if in thought. Luna watched him intently. She wasn’t sure if he was still piecing things together, or if he had simply forgotten his dream. Eventually, he seemed to shift slightly, and Luna leaned forward, eager to hear the question he had come up with. “Princess… why do you want to be my friend?” He looked at her, his eyes betraying his exhaustion. Luna felt a bit startled by it. It wasn’t like he hadn’t asked it before, but it was his tone. He sounded… beaten. Like he had just been on the losing end of a duel. And maybe he had. She had seen his other selves disappear, leaving only that horrible Elias behind. She scanned his face, searching for signs of rage or hatred. No longer did she see the intense anger, nor the intentionally flippant disregard for the feelings of others. She didn’t even see that hidden desire to keep other’s safe, even at the cost of his own sanity. All she saw was pain. Suffering. She realized this was the most defenseless she had seen him. Not even screaming in horror at demons only he could see was quite as vulnerable as this. “Because…” she started to reply, then stopped. His eyes waited expectantly, and Luna knew this was an important moment. Saying the wrong thing could set him back, she had succeeded in getting him to open up, if only slightly. He was primed, he just needed something to anchor the right feelings in his mind. But those horrible images… Luna frowned when she came to the realization that she wasn’t that anchor. She was jaded right now, had seen too much that hadn’t been intentionally shared. If anything, she felt like she had violated the privacy of his mind. She needed someone else to form that first friendship, then she could open him fully. After that, she imagined he could heal, but right now, he was right. Those images… That man… He needed to stay isolated until he decided to reach out. She had no doubt that that man was something significant from Bright’s past, could even be a past incarnation of himself, but she knew that he wasn’t truly evil, at least no more so than she was when she was Nightmare Moon. The other Elias’; trying to warn her, trying to help her. One had actually “died” doing so. Clearly it was much more gray than good and evil, and Luna knew that she could figure it out in time and with effort, but forcing him forward would only make things worse, would only drive his walls up higher. To tear them down, Luna had to acknowledge that they worked, that they kept a threat contained. She sighed deeply, looking at the floor before she continued. “I wanted to be your friend because I believed that it would help you. I believed if I could get you to open up to me, or Captain Nightshade, or Doctor Scalpel, then we could quickly and simply fix your issues.” She looked up to Elias, saw him still focused intently on her words. “I have realized however, that forcing friendship upon you, trying to contain you, will only make you shut out others more. There is no simple fix. I apologize that it has taken a lengthy… meditation to realize this. So, I relinquish. You are free to go about your daily life free of interference.” Elias blinked. “Just like that? Does that mean none of this guard business?” Luna scoffed. “Nay. You signed a contract, and you shall fulfill it. Five years of service, as agreed upon. We still need to ensure that you are not a danger to our ponies, and so far, I am not impressed.” She tilted her head. “But, you may start your duties as soon as you wish, and provided you fulfill said duties to the best of your ability, I shall ensure that Captain Nightshade doesn’t try to restrict your wanderings.” Elias nodded, biting his cheek. “That’s fair, I guess. Could I start tonight I wanted?” Luna nodded. “Of course, Guardsman. Check with Captain Nightshade for your posting. She shall see to your duty schedule.” They heard a door slam open, and Luna watched as said pony sprinted into view. “Speak of the devil and he shall appear…” Elias muttered. “Princess I am so sorry; I didn’t realize you got trapped down here!” Nightshade said, glaring pointedly through the bars at Elias. “You really wouldn’t let her out to at least lower the moon? What’s wrong with you?” Luna raised a hoof to silence the thestral. “Do not blame Guardsman Bright, Captain. I mis-synchronized the aura spell. It is keyed to Doctor Scalpel, not Guardsman Bright. Do you still have the spare key I gave you?” Nightshade nodded and she quickly had the key in the lock and the door opened. Luna stood, a little bit too quickly, and she looked back to Elias. The man hadn’t moved. His legs were tucked against his chest, and his eyes seemed to have become vacant again. Nightshade looked to her in question. Luna sighed, nervously approaching the still human. “Guardsman? Are you prepared to leave?” she asked softly. He remained still, his eyes staring into nowhere. Luna prodded his hand lightly with her hoof. The physical contact seemed to jolt him, and he blinked several times before his eyes focused in, focusing on her. Luna saw the pain and exhaustion retreat as he seemed to come alive. He blinked again as his legs untucked and his body relaxed slightly. “Sorry Princess, did you say something?” he asked. “I asked if you are ready to leave Guardsman,” Luna said softly. Elias blinked again, then looked to the open cell door. He nodded and pushed himself to his feet, his joints cracking as he stood. Luna noticed him wince several times, but he put no voice to the pain he was feeling. She wondered if he thought that was for the protection of others as well. Either way, it didn’t matter for now. She made a mental note to write down everything she had seen in the dream. Once he began opening up to other ponies, she would be able to help him further, but right now, he needed to go out on his own. Luna sighed internally as he and Nightshade began to discuss his duties. She had failed, for now. But she would succeed in time. She didn’t want to imagine what would happen if she couldn’t.