//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 - Dreams and Prophecies // Story: The Lost Ones // by Arceaion //------------------------------// Luna calmly stood watching the dream of her subjects till she felt a ripple and she turned to see a massive set of double doors marked with the symbol she had seen on Eris's eye, calmly she approached the doors and paused before opening them and stepping into the dream of her newest charge. As she stepped through she found herself on top of a massive hill and splayed out before her was a battle field. Luna watched in shock as explosions ripped the ground apart and soldiers seemed to fall to the ground from weapons that shot farther than any she had seen before. "Wind speed eight miles per hour coming north by north-west." A voice said beside her causing Lona to turn and see a woman lying on her stomach. The woman wore a camouflaged like attire with a helmet and in her hands laying on the ground on a stand was one of the long slender weapons however it was vastly different from the ones held by the other soldiers. "Let's see..." She muttered quietly as she seemed to look over the filed with a small telescope mounted on the weapon. "Target located." She muttered as she stopped and repositioned her weapon and then pulled back a pin causing a sound to come from the weapon. As the woman lined up the shot Luna sensed magic building around her and she saw two runes glowing through her clothes, one was carved into her left arm and the second was on her hand. As Luna squinted at the runes she noticed they were the runes for focus and accuracy. "And you’re dead." She whispered as her finger moved and the weapon kicked back with a bang. Luna watched in shock as she saw a small piece of metal flu from the pipe like end of the weapon and fly through the air before finally striking a man dressed in a different colored uniform resulting in him falling back with blood coming from a hole in his head. Luna watched for watched felt like hours as the woman repeated this process several more times till she packed up her equipment and moved to another location and continued. Luna sat and watched as the woman casually took the lives of soldiers for hours by the time the battle had ended the night had passed and the days light had already shone on the battlefield of countless dead for hours. "Hey Angel, if you're still there command said to pack it up and return to base." Came a voice over a radio the woman had set up. "I'm on my way." The woman said as she sat up and packed her gear up. "You know you are really weird Luna." She said as he turned to the Alicorn who jumped in surprise. "You're aware of me?" She asked receiving a nod from the woman. "Yeah, I'm a bit of a lucid dreamer, been one for years so I knew you were here since the start." She said as she began to walk away. "Sleep never came easy to me, maybe it's because if how I grew up and had to always be looking over my shoulder, maybe it's because of my time in the military and all the wars fought in; either way I don't sleep that much anymore but when I do I eventually become aware I'm dreaming." Luna nodded a she followed the woman. "So who are you?" She asked as she examined the woman. "Oh Luna we met only a few hours ago, I'm Eris." She said as she turned and booped the mares nose. "This is what I looked like before I became a Homunculus, though I will admit I like my hair longer she said as it shifted reaching the small of her back like it did in the waking world. "What is that black suit you were wearing when we met; it doesn't seem you are wearing it now." Luna asked as she eyed the woman beside her. "Homunculus wear that, it's like built in clothing." Eris explained. "I could change it from the skintight wet suit I have it as now to anything I want but I can’t exactly remove it since it’s a part of me." She said and Luna nodded. "So tell me, how did you come to have runes carved into your flesh?" Luna asked causing Eris to stop and frown and she looked down at her marred hands. "Believe me it wasn't by choice." She said in a colder tone. "My birth parents were a bit... crazed. They carved them on me when I was about seven. The symbol carved around my right eye is the Eye of Horus, it's said to be the 'all seeing eye', there is an Enhance rune on my neck, on my upper back is an Shield rune and my lower back has a Endurance Rune carved into it." She said calmly before looking at her arms. "There is a rune of Will on my left shoulder, a rune of Focus on my left forearm and my hand has a rune for accuracy. My right shoulder has a rune of Energy, my right forearm has a rune of Revenge and my right hand has a guard rune on it. Then I have a rune of Swift on both my legs." Luna looked at Eris in shock and disgust. "And all this when thou were seven!?" She asked in horror. Eris nodded. "Yup, and that was just the start, my parents were into a lot of occult and supernatural however when we were born they thought me and my brother would be the embodiments of Karma and Murphy’s Law. They did a lot of horrible things to us but I made sure I took the brunt of the torture, I'm the older sister even if it's just by a few years and I wouldn't let those psychos touch my brother." She said angrily. "Did no one notice, or even care?" Luna asked in concern. "Someone finally did, I was sixteen and my brother was almost fourteen when social services managed to get us away from them but the damage was done, at least for me." Eris sighed. "When we were taken we were determined to be in need of special care due to the trauma we had so we were placed with a family that was trained to help us. My brother recovered quickly since he got less of the punishment from those psychos but I... never really recovered. As soon as I was old enough I join the military to get away from all the pain." "And this is how you fight?" Luna asked as she pointed to the corpses behind them. "I was a Sniper, we specialize in long range combat but that doesn't mean I can't fight with other weapons. I'm good with swords and other melee weapons but in our world such tools have long since fell out of style for more effective ones." Luna sighed. "Are those weapons you mentioned but did not show like the ones you used?" She asked calmly receiving a nod from Eris. "Luna, whatever you may think of me, be I a threat or simply something to be weary of, do not let fear cloud you and your sisters judgement." Eris said calmly. "While I do not wish conflict between us I will not hesitate to defend myself and if you try to attack me I won't hold back." Eris warned before sitting down and looking at the field before her. "We Humans are such destructive and contradictory creatures. Primitive, chaotic and violent; but there is still good in us, even if it's not much." As Eris said this as the dream world seemed to shake and Eris sighed. "Looks like I'm waking up, I'll be out of the hospital today, I'm looking forward to looking around this world." "If you ever need to speak to somepony you may come to my sister or I, we will help you as best we can." Luna said kindly. Eris nodded. "Same to you Princess, I know a lot about your past and if you ever need someone to listen to you or to simply vent to come to me." She replied with a smile as the world shattered and Eris woke up. Eris stood at the window in her room watching the ponies moving to and fro in the morning light. As she watched she heard a knock coming from the door and took a deep breath before turning to the door. "Enter." She said calmly as a stallion in a lab coat entered. "Good morning Ms. Helsing, are you ready to get out of here?" He asked with a kind smile. Eris chuckled. "Indeed, never was a fan of hospitals." She replied receiving a nod from the stallion. "The princesses filled out the necessary paperwork yesterday; still with the condition you came in, I'm surprised you can even move let alone leave. I know you will most likely not approve but I recommend you take a few weeks before any strenuous activities however I doubt you'll follow my advice." Eris smiled. "Thanks doc but we both know I'm right as rain." The doctor sighed. "Indeed and that is what I find most peculiar, you are completely healed." Eris frowned. "Let's just say that I'm... special and leave it at that." She said quietly. "Can I get my armor and equipment back?" She asked. The doctor nodded. "It's in the next room, the princesses looked at it and seemed rather concerned but told us to not touch it and to return it as soon as possible." Eris nodded. "Thanks doc, I guess I'll be seeing ya." She said as she exited the room with a smile and quickly entered the next room seeing it was a small storage room and her items were sitting on a table. "Right, let's get you back in place you annoying armor." She muttered as she picked up the armor and began to put it on. Once this was done Eris looked at the other items at the table. The first was Caliburn which was still in its scabbard Avalon, Eris quickly took the scabbard and fastened it to her belt with a small smile before turning to the other items. "Where did you come from?" She asked as she picked up a satchel that had a very interesting design on it. "New California Republic?" She asked as she opened it and found a note. Hello Eris, how's your stay in Pony Land so far; assuming you haven't been stoned yet. Anyway, even though you're already there I wanted to give you a final gift. I'm sure you know the myth surrounding your name and a certain item that’s tied to it. Within this bag is your most powerful item, perhaps even more than EA. With this Item I also give you a prophecy, one you will fulfill even if you don't want to. When the Warden of Sin is felled by the greed of Lust the Apple of Temptation shall consume the World in fire. The seven Sins shall rise as the virtues of mortals are corrupted. The Sun shall consume the Moon as the Moon drowns the Sun, and the Immortal shall fall to their Darkness. As Eris finished reading the letter she reach into the bag and froze as she felt the item inside, with a great amount of hesitation she pulled the item out and her eyes widened in fear at what she now held; it was a Golden Apple of the Hesperides.