//------------------------------// // 010 - Eruption // Story: Welcome to Distopia // by LucidDreamer //------------------------------// Breakfast was… Breakfast. Nothing out of the ordinary, which probably should have been the first clue that today was going to be a weird day. Spike and Garble cooked a breakfast consisting of eggs and potatoes. (Which was actually pretty good.) Everyone was sitting around the table. Lorraine was flanked by John and Alastor, and was looking rather tired. Spike sat down next to John and Garble sat next to Alastor. Pinkie had scooted over a bit closer to Garble, because Twilight had taken up a chunk of the table with various books. Trixie had taken her food and sat in the nearest chair to the table. The noodle dragon sat quietly while the others ate and listened to Twilight drone on about what she’d stayed up all night researching. “So, back to my main point.” Twilight continued her lecture. “There was a canid species, formerly believed to be a type of Diamond Dog that served The Nightmare, the Primordial God of Darkness. While serving The Nightmare was correct, any species could become this Shadow-infused entity, however the most common form is this previously mentioned canid species.” It appeared that most everyone was spacing out, or only half-listening at the very least. “I’m sorry Twilight, but is there a point you’re getting to in some very roundabout way?” John asked with a yawn as he stared at his empty coffee cup. “-Huh?” Twilight blinked and looked at the smol bug. “Of course. Lorraine could feasibly ask The Nightmare to turn her into one of her servants.” This got everyone’s attention. A mixture of “What/What now/Huh?” was stated or gasped from the other members of the table who weren’t in on last night’s conversation. “Lorraine doesn’t want to be a luck dragon?” Trixie asked. “Why?” Spike looked at Lorraine with more than a hint of concern. There was the sound of a ~wumph~ which was accompanied by a blue flash of light. When everyone got their sight and hearing back, there was a new pony in the room. Princess Luna rushed over to Lorraine. “Lorraine, my friend, please tell me thou art not planning on using the Nightmare to change yourself!” “How do you even know that?” Lorraine asked while leaning away a little. “Thou left your notebooks in plain sight. I was quite perturbed when I went to your house and found Gilda crying while watching The Princess Bride.” Luna said with a frown. “Lorraine, how long have you been researching this stuff?” Twilight asked. “A few weeks now. I just haven’t found anything concrete because ponies.” Lorraine looked over at Twilight. “I for one support her in this, because I just want my girlfriend to be comfortable.” John raised a hoof. “If I had my powers back, I would gladly help you with this.” Alastor spoke up. “However, I don’t. So we have to rely on her.” He pointed a hoof at Luna. “Absolutely not!” Luna almost shouted. “The Nightmare is not to be trusted!” “Why?” John asked while raising a hoof. The room went quiet for a moment. Luna slowly turned her head and looked at John. “The Nightmare possessed me.” “And why’d she do that?” John asked. “You know what, nevermind. Let’s just forget all of this. I’m sorry to upset everybody.” Lorraine spoke up, trying to calm the situation, while looking almost on the verge of tears. “No, no, we are going to Canterlot.” Luna looked back to Lorraine. “If anything can fix this problem, it’s Solaire.” “Oooo!” Twilight perked up. “I need to grab some books for the train. I haven’t seen Solaire since I was a filly.” “Train?” Luna looked at Twilight while backing away from the noodle dragon. Said noodle dragon was leaning into Alastor and was still looking somewhat afraid and apologetic. “Why would we take the train?” “Because… Canterlot?” Twilight blinked. “Twilight Sparkle, how do you think I got here?” Luna’s horn lit. “I can simply teleport all of us.” The light increased and Twilight, John, Lorraine, and the Princess all disappeared in a bright blue flash. There was a moment of silence as Trixie, Spike, and Garble all blinked at where their friends had just been. Then a buzz of static filled the room. With a loud buzzing noise, Alastor disappeared. John blinked at the sudden teleport. Only to put his hooves over his eyes at what felt like blinding light coming from a very white room. Once his eyes adjusted, he realised that he was in, quite obviously, the throne room in Canterlot Castle. He was sitting on a violet velvet carpet, the sun was shining through the large windows to his right, which in turn lit the rest of the quite spartanly decorated room. All the white stone made the room feel much brighter than it actually was. He shook his head and looked up at a small set of stairs, which led to a gold-trimmed red throne. A throne which a surprised looking Celestia was sitting in. “Luna, I’m sorry. We can forget about this. I can deal.” John looked over to see a trying-not-to-be-panicky Lorraine and a somewhat irritated-looking Luna. “Obviously not if you are considering going to The Nightmare for help.” Luna frowned. “Luna, lay off.” John got up and rushed over to lean against the noodle dragon. “Do not take that tone with me, Changeling.” Luna turned her gaze towards the smol bug. Lorraine leaned away from the Princess. A low thrum reverberated from the luck dragon, as a soft golden glow started to surround her. “Luna, whatever you’re doing, calm down.” Celetia had gotten up and trotted over to Luna. “Wait-” She paused, sighed, and sat next to her sister. “Lulu, we can talk about whatever’s happening. Please, just talk to me. Why are you so angry at our new friend?” “Lorraine seeks to consort with The Nightmare!” Luna looked at Celestia while pointing a hoof at Lorraine. “And she seeks to throw away the form that Fate has given her!” “Umm, can’t she choose what to do with herself? I mean, she’s not exactly happy right now, what with being harassed by mares almost on a daily basis.” John said, raising a hoof. “She shouldn’t care about what others think! She’s protected! She has access to magic most ponies couldn’t dream of! She should not be so concerned with the thoughts of other ponies!” Luna was almost shouting at the smol bug. Lorriane’s fur began to puff out as static started to snap around her body. She stood a little straighter as her claws dug into the carpet. “I don’t care. The fact that they won’t leave me alone is why I want to go through with this.” She started to pace back and forth, as her voice rose a bit. “I feel like I’m an animal in a God damn zoo exhibit! I’m paranoid leaving the house because it feels like everyone is out to get me! And talking it out does jack shit!” “But Lorraine, you are a luck dragon! A mythical figure! Clearly they should listen to you!” Luna countered. “I’m human!” Lorraine yelled. As the air around her hummed, static rippled up and down her form. Her body was actually starting to shine with the light she was giving off. “They don’t see that! No one sees that! They don’t see us,” she gestured at John, “as people! They see us as a dragon and a bug! They see what we are not who we are!” That actually seemed to make Luna pause. She seemed to finally take a moment to stop and think. However, it was too little too late. Gold light flared brilliantly from Lorraine’s chest. With a ~boom~ the light erupted with a jet of flame from her chest. Said flame quickly engulfed the luck dragon, causing Lorraine to immediately hunch over in pain. Luna looked shocked. Twilight, standing off to the side, looked on in horror. John cried out. “Solaire!” Celestia called out. A feeling of warmth filled the room. The light around Lorraine dimmed as the golden flames went out. Lorraine looked pained. Her chest had a wound in it. A crack seeping a soft gold light, surrounded by red, irritated skin. John rushed over to her and paused just short of her, unsure of what he could do to help. “My goodness, you’ve been quite stressed haven’t you?” The warm, almost fatherly, voice made John perk up. He craned his neck around. There was a pony. At least it looked like a pony. It  was a stallion shorter than Celestia, or Big Mag for that matter. From what he could see from his flank, the stallion’s fur was a deep brown, with a dark green tail. His forelegs were covered in chainmail. Iron shoes covered all four hooves. A white tabard covered his chest and barrel. A yellow sun was printed on the tabard over his chest. A pair of green fur tufts covered his shoulders. Atop his head was a cylindrical helmet with a single slit for his eyes. It bore a single red feather coming out of the right half on the top of the helm. Solaire calmly trotted over to the pair. “Oh dear, that would to take some time to heal. Were it to heal naturally.” Without any warning, the doors to the throne room opened. Beyond was pitch black. Out of the shroud of darkness, stepped Alastor. He was taller and lankier than normal. His antlers had grown a bit and his normally pristine jacket appeared more than a bit tattered. His mouth was twisted into an almost too wide toothy grin, and his eyes looked like the dials on an old radio. The moment The Radio Buck laid eyes on Solaire, he instantly went back to his normal self. He cleared his throat, causing the room’s occupants (sans Lorraine, who saw him immediately.) to finally notice him. “Ahem, intruding her radiance, The Nightmare.” The buck stepped aside as, what looked like a tall alicorn made entirely out of a patch of clear night sky stepped in. Stars shifted, and comets shot across her form as she moved. Her eyes appeared to be a pair of slowly swirling galaxies. The colors of her form shifted between a dark blue to the oranges of a nebula cluster, and back. “Ah Nightmare, it has been too long.” Solaire said happily. “I was wondering if you’d show up, what with what these two have been going through as of late.” “Alastor has been keeping me in the loop as it were.” The Nightmare nodded her nebulous head. Alastor stood a little straighter and puffed out his chest. She looked at him. “Not a difficult task to do, given his situation.” The buck immediately deflated. The Nightmare soundlessly trotted over to Lorraine and John as Solaire spoke up. “We normally don’t intervene. In fact, we’re really not supposed to, with the exception of Nightmare and her Dream Realm. However, our former heralds aren’t exactly… Mmmm… performing the duties we assigned them to.” Celestia visibly winced. Luna just glared at The Nightmare. The Nightmare leaned in to “look” at the wound in Lorraine’s chest. “While the wounds can be healed, the cause will still remain.” “As vague as always.” Solaire said with a soft chuckle. “Would you prefer I be blunt?” The Nightmare raised her head to look at Solaire. “She is Falling.” Both John and Lorraine blinked in confusion at the pair. “Ummm,” John spoke up. “What’s that?” The Nightmare looked down at the pair. “Your mental state does not fit the mental state required to use the magic associated with luck dragons. Initially you were compatible, but, what with the idiocy of the public, among other factors, that is no longer the case.” “So she is incompatible too?” Luna said venomously. “Would you prefer her to live in pain and agony for the rest of her days?” The Nightmare only spared the Night Princess a glance. “This is no longer a simple choice. This is a matter of her safety. I came here because I was asked, not because I had to.” “Well what do we do then?” John asked the pair of gods. “At this point, my son, change may be inevitable.” Solaire nodded. “So, is she on some kind of time limit here?” John was starting to sound more and more panicky. “No, no.” Solaire shook his head. “This can be easily managed. Simply keep her calm and comfortable. The less stress in her life, the better. Once a god’s High Day comes, a ritual can be performed.” “It would not be a painless existence, but until I can properly aid you on All Hallow’s Eve, you must do as best you can.” The Nightmare spoke to Lorraine. Lorraine breathed very slowly as she gave the smallest of nods. “This is all I can do for now.” Solaire said as he took a step forward. His hoof rose and a soft orange light glowed around it. The wound on Lorraine’s chest knit together, as the skin around it turned to a lighter pink. The glow faded and he took a step back. He looked at John. “Should you be in dire need, I would not mind joining you in jolly cooperation. Of a kind of course, the rules of interference and all that. the most I could do is a boon." He chuckled softly. "May my Sun warm both of you.” He gave a nod as he was surrounded by an orange-glowing fog. As the fog began to fade away, so did he. John blinked, then looked at Lorraine. She looked miserable. “And you’re going to leave us again, aren’t you?” Luna asked with a huff as she stepped forward. The Nightmare looked at her. “You are the one keeping me out. I’m almost insulted that you think to use the power I gave you to keep me out of a realm I am supposed to help maintain.” “This power is mine not yours!” Luna snapped. The room seemed to darken, even with the sun shining through the windows. “You forget your station. The Priestess thinks herself a goddess. This is the same reason why I had to possess you a millennia ago. You threatened the Balance. Do not make me take away my gifts again.” “Please.” Celestia stepped forward. “We’re sorry. I’ll talk with her. She’s… still adjusting.” “Tia, I am not still adjusting!” Luna snapped at her sister. The Nightmare snorted a laugh. “You, who took more stock in your friend’s usefulness, over what she actually needed. Would you have even started this campaign of yours were she not a luck dragon?” Luna blinked, looked at Lorraine, then looked back to The Nightmare. “Y- Yes.” “If that is the case, why are you so adamant about her not seeking aid?” The Nightmare asked. “Aid from you.” Luna added. A peal of laughter echoed throughout the room. The Nightmare turned her starry eyes towards Lorraine.  “There is no one else that can help her. Light turns to Shadow. Shadow is my domain, lest you forget that. Oh wait, you already have. Talking with you is like talking to a spoiled child.” A dark aura suddenly rippled to life around the noodle dragon. “Regardless of how far this poor girl falls, I can help her. The Darkness is mine and mine alone, as is everyone who is lost within it. I am not asking to help her Luna.” The Nightmare looked back to the Night Princess. “I am telling you I will. The question is, will you still accept her once I do?” The dark aura faded from the noodle dragon as the room returned to normal light. John leaned against the dragon protectively. Luna snorted. “Lorraine is my friend, I will do whatever I can to prevent you from taking her.” There was a sigh as the starry mass that made up The Nightmare’s head shook. “You stubborn child.” The Nightmare simply looked at Luna. The alicorn’s flowing mane went limp and flat against her back, and lost the sparkling star effect within it. Her coat also became a few shades lighter, as she seemed to shrink a little. With a few thunks, the barding she wore now fell off her smaller frame. “You’re in time out.” The Nightmare said. “The Night will function fine without you for a time. As it did before I made you it’s guardian.” “What- What did you just do?” Luna’s voice sounded a little higher than normal. “You act like a child, so I have made you one. Once you prove to me that you can act responsibly, like an adult and a Princess, then you get your guardianship back.” The Nightmare stated before she turned and soundlessly trotted towards the door. As she passed Alastor, a deep blue-black aura engulfed the buck. He was swiftly levitated and plopped next to Lorraine. “For goodness sake, give that poor girl a hug.” The Nightmare stepped into the wall of blackness. As the last flick of her starry tail disappeared, the wall simply disappeared. Leaving a small group of very nervous looking guards staring into the throne room. Said guards immediately ran for it like roaches under a lit lightbulb. “Sister.” Luna looked at Celestia. “Clearly you can do something about this.” “I’m afraid I can’t Lulu.” Celestia shook her head as she walked towards John and Lorraine. Lorraine was leaning against an awkward-looking Alastor as she used John as a plushie. Twilight… was off to the side furiously writing in a notebook. “Would you four like to stay in Canterlot for a few days?” Celestia asked the three, plus Twilight. “If anything, you’d get to relax and see some sights while you’re here.” “You know, I think we need a day or two after the day we’ve had.” John nodded. “Excellent.” Celestia smiled. “I can’t wait for you to meet Cadence.” John wasn’t used to this. The room they had gotten was actually a small suite, with four bedrooms, a small common area and a small kitchen. “This suite is normally reserved for foreign dignitaries.” The white-coated, blond-maned stallion said as the group lounged in the common area. Lorraine had taken all the pillows and propped herself up with a pillow pile on a couch, Alastor and Twilight had taken a pair of chairs, while John just sat on the oddly comfortable carpeted floor. “Then again, by technicality you are foreign dignitaries, so I guess it counts.” Prince Blueblood said with a chuckle. “And terribly sorry about Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, they will be back from their duties later this evening.” “It’s okay.” Lorraine said, finally starting to feel a little better. Starting being the key word. “So… You’re a prince, yet you act like you’re a butler,” John spoke up, “I know that this is a… different Equestria, but should you be, I don’t know, more snooty?” “Rude.” Lorraine chided the bug. Blueblood simply laughed. “My dear Sir John, I am a Prince as well as a member of the Court, that means I am to be a servant of the people.” He shook his head. “The only day I allow myself to be rude is during the Gala. I am given permission by Cadence herself to be as boorish as possible as to dissuade any noble mare that seeks to add me to her collection.” “I can totally see that.” John nodded. “Now, can I get any of you anything?” Blueblood asked with a small tilt of his head. “Have you had anything for lunch?” “We never did get to finish breakfast.” Twilight commented as she looked up from whatever notes she was looking over. “Ah, and the rest of you?” Blueblood glanced between the others. “I would join you, but something else has my attention, thank you my good stallion.” Alastor said, getting up and heading towards the door. “Of course my good buck, do you know the way?” Blueblood nodded at the buck. “Oh, I can find my way just fine.” Alastor said with a grin before he left, shutting the door behind him. “Ah, well then.” Blueblood started. Lorraine’s stomach growled. “I could probably have something to eat.” “Well, lunch it is then.” Blueblood nodded. “Do not worry, I will bring it to you, I have heard that the poor lady covered in pillows has had quite the day.” He trotted towards the door. “Mmm... perhaps something special to help them relax.” He seemed to talk to himself before he too left. John blinked, before flopping onto the ground. “He’s such a manly gentleman! I can’t even-”