//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: The Void // Story: Cracking Dawn // by Didily Winkles //------------------------------// Chapter Fourteen "I wonder how long it has been." "Who cares" "I suppose... No one" "That's right. No one cares for me." "My parents might." "What do they matter." "I guess... They don't." "No one cares for me." "Luna may." "I know that not to be true..." "Do I?" "No one cares for me." ----- "Are you positive she is lost to the void?" Princess Celestia asked as she looked out on the eastern horizon on Dawn's balcony. Luna dropped on her quarters by her sister's side. "It is the only place I can not find a pony that is that close to me." Luna conceded. Tears were still dropping down Luna's emotionless face. "Is she alive?" "Unlikely but there is always that possibility." Luna said. Her voice was not very hopeful. "How do we get her?" "I don't know. The void is a contradiction in of itself. Even I do not fully understand it." Princess Celestia let out a tired sigh. "Why did you set her on this path..." She asked, turning to her sister. "I would gladly take it all back." Luna said before meeting her sister's gaze with her tear filled one. "She is far more important than you realize Luna we 'need' to find her." "What are you not telling me sister?" "I will not say, I am sorry. I made a promise." "Do you think we can get Twilight to help..." "No." Princess Celestia said sternly. "I... I see..." Luna said, turning to the ground below her hooves. "I will study what Dawn has learned and try to figure out what I can do." Luna concluded, getting up off her quarters to turn around. "Be quick, I can not imagine her lasting very long in there." "If she is alive at all..." Luna mourned as she started walking deeper into Dawn's room. "She's alive, Luna." Princess Celestia said with absolute certainty. Luna paused mid-step at the unfounded confidence of her sister's statement. "If there is something you know sister that might help me." "What I know matters little at the matter at hoof. Just know she 'Needs' to be found." Princess Celestia got up and turned to her sister. "Did you tell her parents?" Luna drooped at the fact she forgot to tell them. "No." "I will. You study Dawn's notes. I will cancel our courts for a couple days." She said, turning back to the starry sky that seemed to mourn with Luna. "Tha... Thank you sister." ----- "How long have I been here?" "Forever." "No. I have been to other places." "Why do I hurt?" "I have always hurt." "No, I have felt other things." "But not any more." "I suppose so..." ----- Princess Celestia was standing over a waxing Luna in Dawn's room. "Luna... The ceremony..." She pleaded. "She is not dead." Luna demanded, stomping a hoof as she read a scroll littered with Dawn's calligraphy. "Luna...If not for Dawn for April. For yourself. You will regret not going." Princess Celestia begged, forcing Luna to cringe at the pain in her sister's voice. Luna set down the scroll she was studying. "She is not dead." She repeated calmly. "Is your time really best spent re-reading all of her books and notes? You haven't found anything yet." Celestia said while on her wits end. "I will not mourn some one who is still alive and waiting to be rescued." Luna concluded. "No pony could stay in the void for two weeks." "Dawn said 'The void is realm of which life and death carry no weight' she could be alive. She was...IS so smart Celestia. Three months and she studied so much..." Luna started to bemoan. Tears started to form at her eyes as she buried her face in another book of Dawn's. "Luna, you are holding the top a burning straw. I do not want to see you get burned." Princess Celestia was fed up. She turned around and started for the door. "She is NOT dead." Luna shrilled after her. "Fine. I am going to the ceremony." Celestia said numbly. ----- "I had a name... What was it?" "Why do I care?" "I feel it is... Important." "It isn't" "What am I?" "Nothing..." ----- April walked past the guards by the gate of the castle. They gave a quick salute as she passed. Doors were opened for her as she walked into the throne room. Princess Celestia was talking to some noble, so she waited in the corner of the room until their business was concluded. "Good evening April. How are you today?" Princess Celestia said as the doors closed behind the noble. April looked sleep deprived. Her mane has lost its normal sheen. "I could be better. The sky is rather dull. It's hard to star gaze with the astronomy club." She said plainly in a vain attempt to convince Celestia she was better than she looked. "I am glad you are settling in the school well enough." Princess Celestia said, after giving a knowing yet mournful smile. "It's what she would have wanted..." Celestia gave a nod of agreement. "While I do love seeing you here I must ask, what prompted this visit?" "Your sister asked me to come." April looked at the floor as if dreading the fateful meeting. "I was afraid of that." Princess Celestia gave a heavy sigh as she considered her next words. "She intends well but she has become... obsessed. I have even taken over night court again because she refuses to do anything but..." "I'll talk to her." April said quickly. She knew she would be one of the few who could. "Dawn wouldn't want her to be like this." "I am worried about her... This is all my fault. I told her she was alive... She didn't even go to Ponyville for Nightmare Night." April gave a small sigh as she sympathized with Luna. "I can't say I blame her..." She muttered under her breath as she started to move in the direction of Dawn's tower. "Be careful, she is at a full moon tonight." Princess Celestia called after her. "It's hard to tell now n'days." April replied in kind as the two doors closed behind her. She found herself weak kneed as she approached the spiral stair case she had only walked once. "I can be strong for her." She said, challenging the stair case. Once reaching the end, the guards at the door knocked for her. "Come." Welcomed an eerily happy Luna. The voice caught her so off guard that she hadn't noticed the door was opened for her. She trudged in to see that the entire room was covered in papers, some Dawn's some Luna's. She couldn't help but crumble some papers as she walked in, which made her cringe with the thought she might be crunching on something Dawn had spent time making. She walked up stairs to where she found Luna. The amount of magic a full moon Luna radiated reminded her of Dawn's grand spells meant for the sky. Luna's starry mane was as dull as her face and coat. Luna's feathers were ruffled as if she hasn't flown in months. As soon as she made it close enough to smell Luna she concluded she likely hasn't taken a bath in the same amount of time. Luna perked her head up at her guest. "I am so glad you could come. Time is short. This spell will only work when the moon is at its fullest." Luna chirped as she sprang forth, pushing April to the desk full of papers she was working at. "What are you talking about?" April asked, as she dug her hooves into the hundreds of papers that littered the floor to resist Luna's indomitable push to what seemed to be the epicenter of it all. "Dawn of course!" Luna said, beaming at the answer. "Dawn is dead." It hurt April to say such words but she had practiced them many times to herself. "She's been gone for almost five months Luna." "That is the thing you and my sister are failing to understand. Time has..." Luna started to correct "...no meaning. Yes, yes, yes. We understand it fine. Luna it is 'time' to let her go." A familiar pain started to grow in the back in her throat as she looked at Luna, who was still full of hope. "How could I do that? She is still in the void." Luna said with unshaken resoluteness. "Luna, I beg you... This is not healthy." April said, referencing with her hoof the room around her. "I am immortal. I am invulnerable." Luna said, still unshaken, posing a little like a pegasus of pride. "Your mind is not invulnerable." April chided. "You and my sister worry too much." Luna dismissed with a waving hoof. She turned her attention to the desk ahead of them, willing her magic to pull up a few scrolls. "I need you to help me with this spell..." "I've let go of Dawn..." April cut in before Luna could finish her sentence. "You need to too." Unphased by April's interruption she went on to say, "But this can bring her back! I want to send you into the void to find her. It has taken months to figure out how to get a loved one with no magical prowess to navigate the void but I think I have finally done it." Luna said hastily, ending her sentences in a slur. April closed her eyes. This was harder than she had thought it would be. "Luna..." She opened her eyes to look into Luna's. "I am not going to help you." She paused to let her words sink in. "I've let her go..." "SO YOU ARE JUST GOING TO LET HER DIE?" Luna screamed franticly. "She is already dead." April said calmly. "NO SHE ISN'T." Luna shrieked. "Luna..." "I THOUGHT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE HER AGAIN!" "I would do almost anything to... but she is gone..." April was choking on her words as they came out. Tears started to form in her eyes. She shook her head hard to shake the pain welling up. "I promised her I wouldn't shed more tears." She whispered to herself. "I AM RIGHT HERE, OFFERING YOU SOMETHING THAT CAN SA..." Luna started to yell again but stopped when she saw the tears forming in April's eyes. "This will save Dawn. She 'Is' alive. We can save her if you just do this one spell with me." April took a deep breath to clear her head. The stagnant air was nothing if not foul but it relaxed the pain that resided in her. Thinking this will give Luna some closure she bowed her head in defeat. "Is it dangerous?" She asked. She rose her head to meet Luna's eyes. "Dawn wouldn't want me to risk my life for hers." She asked. New life was born into Luna. Her tail whipped side to side. "It isn't." She quickly answered. "At least for your body." She recanted. "Your spirit has to be set to the goal of finding and extracting Dawn. That is why we are doing this on the full moon." "Fine. What do you need me to do?" April played along. Dark smoke poured around the two, dropping them outside. The moon was dull, barely providing any light what so ever but the fresh air and gentle breeze welcomed April with open arms. April looked around. She was in a field where she could see Canterlot off in a distance. The ground was littered with symbols similar to the ones Dawn had in her spell book that graced her bookshelf in her apartment. "I need you to just stand right here. I will pull your mind into the void and leave it there. With the enchantments I will put on you. I will be able to guide you through the void like normal." Luna said as her horn glowed ferociously. April could feel shapes scratching onto her coat around her body. "But what do you need 'Me' to do?" April asked, letting some uncertainty slip in her voice. "Nothing, it is the void. It will just happen, you need to just think of Dawn." "If I find her than what?" April asked, tired of getting cryptic answers. "Nothing it is the void." Luna repeated as her horn started to glow blindingly bright. "We will just have to hope. Your presence should be enough to pull her out. That is why I needed you." Luna added. Dark smoke slithered around April. It wrapped around her body like a snake would its prey. It soon wrapped around April's neck only to slither in her ears and nostrils. April coughed by reflex but the smoke wasn't normal or a gas for that matter. Soon she felt her mind slip away from her body. ---- What's that? Don't know. It's... Grey? Yah... grey. "Dawn." What's a dawn? Don't know... Seems important. April? April? What's that? Don't know... When...I? I? What's that? I think Dawn, I think April. What are they? Something? Must be... I feel pain. I feel something else... What is it? Grey? No. White? What's a White? I don't know. "Dawn!" Dawn? April? What is that? Dawn? It hurts. I think... It is a good thing. The pain... ------ Luna was pouring over a book in Dawn's quarters. She was a waxing figure of the of the night goddess to be. Her mane, a dull light celestial blue with light curls, bounced with her head as she turned from page to page. "What could have gone wrong?" She whispered to herself. A flash of light queued the arrival of her sister. "I am glad to see you have finally finished cleaning up." Princess Celestia said graciously. Luna let out a heavy sigh behind her book. "Yes sister." "It is for the best you put this all behind you sister..." Princess Celestia said, now cautiously walking up to Luna. "I know." Luna closed the book she was hiding in. "I just... Don't know what went wro..." Luna started to say but tears started running down her face again. She buried her face in her hooves in futile attempt to stop them from coming. Princess Celestia walked up to the side of the weeping night princess, her sister, and wrapped a wing of comfort around her. "You did your best. You would've made her proud." "She would have figured it out." Luna cried into her hooves. "Without a doubt." Celestia agreed while nuzzling her sister out from her hooves. Giving Luna a minute to compose herself, Celestia held the little figure of her sister tightly in her wing. "I was thinking. In a couple of months I will hold a magical competition..." Luna felt a pain in her that screamed at her to stop. She plunged through the tears and pain to finish. "...to find her successor." "I think she would've liked that idea." "It was April's idea." Luna admitted. ----- Why is Grey important? I don't know but it is. Sky blue too. Sky? The thing that used to stay above my head. That's right! It used to have... Stars. April. Grey... It must be important too. How could I forget something so important? Try to remember. ----- April stretched, hitting the mare next to her. Slowly realizing her surroundings, she slipped out of bed. "What was her name..." She asked under her breath. "Buck it..." She looked around the unfamiliar apartment and spotted the exit. She quietly closed the door behind her. Her hooves crunched the freshly laid early winter snow as she exited the building. She looked down each side of the streets, they were empty. She choose a direction and took it. She passed a cafe that had no earthly business being in Canterlot. It was an eye sore compared to its alabaster surroundings. She coughed in hopes to dislodge that ever consistent pain her throat but it was all fruitless. She trudged along through the snow to her apartment just down the ways only to stop when she spotted dark smoke forming in front of her. The smoke kept on gathering and gathering until it towered high above the buildings. She recognized the smoke as the kind byproduct Dawn and Luna's magic had. "Luna?" She asked skeptically. This was too much smoke for Luna. The smoke started to clear revealing a collapsed pink, orange and purple pony figure in the snow. ---- Light started to surround her. It burned to the touch. She cracked open her eyes to take in the white of it all. Everything was white and cold... the light burned. This is a strange place. Sounds came pouring in through the mare's ears... Wind, snow crunching. "Oh Celestia! DAWN!" Dawn? "April." A voice said. Was that me? "Dawn!" Somepony cried out in response. Dawn felt this somepony hold her broken figure in their hooves. Her voice sounded like she was on the verge of tears. "Ward, Marti!" A fragile voice cried out. Dawn watched two agile pegasi touch ground next to her. "I need the princesses!" The fragile voice ordered with urgency. Dawn watched as the pegasi in armor flew away at blurring speeds. How strange... Dawn closed her eyes to the more comfortable darkness that her eye lids offered. Much to her dismay, however, light shot right through them. "Dawn." April whispered into her ear. "April." Dawn responded. Those are names... Dawn felt drops of moister on her face. She opened her eyes to a sight of... Grey... Dawn looked into April's eyes only receive more tears and a wide smile. As much as Dawn would have liked to watch those eyes, hers wanted to close. ---- "April! What's the matter?" Princess Celestia asked quickly, after teleporting next to two pony figures on the ground. She stepped closer to see the urgent situation. The sky blue pegasus was holding a limp pink unicorn in her arms. Luna teleported next to her sister. As soon as she saw the orange and purple tail jettisoning from April's bent figure, she ran up past the stunned sun princess to stand by the side of the two mares in the snow. "What happened?" Luna asked. "She just appeared. She's alive! She said my name twice!" April said, shock littering her voice. As if on queue, Dawn started to throw up all the food she had eaten the morning of the summer sun celebration on to the ground next to her. "We need to get her to a Hospital." Luna said, taking charge where her shocked sister was not. ------ My name is Dawn... April is the most important thing to me. But I hurt her. Why would I do that? I don't remember...