>>> I want you to feel the pain of loss. I want you to hate your life. And I want you to help others do the same. Take to them the lessons you have learned, teach them, spread the fear, the anger, the hatred. We will take Equestria, one sad pony at a time.<<<
Memory.
Spring Mist wandered back and forth aimlessly. There wasn’t much to fill his time. He had finished all of the books provided, and that was really all there was. Letters from Celestia and Luna, and occasional visits from some scholar were the only breaks from the isolation.
Mist moved to the window, looking at the castle in the distance. He sighed, wishing that Luna would come to visit. The only pony of interest was the latest evaluating scholar, Radiant Bloom.
Mist smiled, remembering their first talk. And every talk after. Mist found a sense of solace in talking with Radiant Bloom, perhaps because of her connection to the past. In their discussion, Mist learned that she was, in fact, a descendant of Brilliant Bloom and Honey Sweetroll. It was actually surprising to Mist at just how much Radiant knew about her family history.
And it was Mist’s knowledge of the past and her family that kept her coming back. In fact, she had visited every week for a month and a half. Mist groaned, actually irritated by it. He had made a new friend, a regular visitor, but he still felt… isolated. Luna had kept none of her promises, only making more. Her letters were becoming more vague, more formal. Less… personal.
Mist grew increasingly concerned. Even the encouragement in the Princesses’ letters was diminished. There was nothing for Mist to grasp to for hope. So Mist did the only thing he could for the time being. He fell onto his bed. He landed softly, the air slowly forced out of him. He exhaled loudly, finding anything to entertain himself.
After a few torturous minutes, Mist heard the door open. He didn’t bother looking up or even moving from his bed. He did however, speak.
“I have nothing for you. I’m done,” he spoke into his bedding.
“Come now, it can’t be that bad,” replied a familiar voice, growing closer.
Mist felt a weight added to the bed. He looked up, and his vision was filled with deep blue. He recoiled, taking in more of the sight before him. But were elation should have been, he felt... not anger, but a desire to find answers. He removed himself from the bed, walking his desk.
Luna sat on the bed, looking concerned. She watched as Mist looked over a large pile of scrolls. She remained silent as he unfurled one from the bottom of the pile. He began reading:
“My dearest Mist… I will have you out soon.”
He moved on to another.
“My darling… Progress is slow, but I will have you back in the castle with me soon.”
And another.
“Dearest… I miss you greatly… I will come to visit you soon.”
Another scroll unrolled as the previous fell to the floor.
“Dearest Mist… I am making arrangements to have you moved to the castle… until then, I promise I will visit.”
He picked up yet another.
“Mist… I hope you are well. Your letters are concerning me. I must come see you.”
And the final letter.
“Mist… the scholars are making little headway. I will keep you informed.”
Calmly, Mist looked at Luna, who wore the worst expression of guilt he had ever seen. She looked only downwards, trying desperately to avoid Mist’s eyes. She said nothing, hardly moving.
“So, exactly when could I expect anything to come to fruition, Luna? Months, I have sat in this tiny room. Tiny, I can handle, but being poked and prodded, cut off from seeing the night sky, questioned, suspected, treated like a test subject. Abandoned. So when in those months should I have expected you? What does ‘soon’ mean to an immortal pony?”
Luna kept her gaze away. She spoke softly, almost as if her words would break something if uttered too loudly, “I’m sorry, Mist.”
“Sorry?” Mist challenged. “You’re sorry? Well then I suppose everything is just fine, then! No harm done! You’re ‘sorry’!”
“Mist, I-”
“No. When, Luna? When? We spoke for one day before I was put in here. You insisted that I would be here for a short time, or if it ended up being longer, that you would come to visit.”
“Mist, just… listen. Please.” Luna’s eyes finally met Mist’s. Filling with tears, they stopped Mist in his angry tracks. His face softened as she continued, “I wanted to come see you. I did. Every day. But the royal court has put an exorbitant amount of pressure on my sister and I. It took me this long just to find a way to escape the castle. All correspondence to and from here was monitored heavily. As soon as word made its way to the court that you were here, everything became harder. I spent more time than I would have liked to just convincing the magistrates and councilors not to have you executed.”
Mist walked towards a now-crying Luna. She croaked out more, “Mist, they wanted you dead. ‘Too much of a threat to Equestria’, they said. And other, horrible things in Canterlot.”
“What’s happening out there, Luna?”
“Ponies are getting paranoid. Talks of shared nightmares. The crime rate in Canterlot has doubled, with violent occurrences going from almost nonexistent to the most common crimes. There hasn’t been this much violence since the last great wars ended ages ago.”
“Nightmares? Can I guess? A set of six? All fairly violent and disturbing?”
“How did you know?”
“They’re the same nightmares I’ve been having since I came back.”
“So the Nightmare is connected?”
“I think it’s safe to assume so.”
“Well that makes things far more urgent. But first… Mist, how are you? Really?”
“It finally hit me. All of the years. The scope of time, and the friends I lost. I mean, I tossed them all away, never giving them an explanation. And now I live in a time that is foreign to me, with no anchor to hold me here.”
“Mist, just know, that despite me actions these few months, I am still here for you. I had figured that you would finally realize the reality of what happened. That’s why I sent Radiant Bloom.”
“You sent her?”
“Yes. I’ve been tracking down the descendants of your friends. So far, she has been the most accessible. One of the oldest families in Canterlot, actually. I’m still working on the others. I think some connection to your friends is a good idea.”
“Well, you’d be right. She visits me every week.”
“I know. She seems quite taken with you. And she keeps me up-to-date with your state of being. She learns a lot, very quickly.”
“Yes, so I surmised.”
“Other than that, and your justifiable anger with me. How are you?”
“Bored. But, Luna…” Mist approached the Princess, nuzzling her neck gently. “I’m not angry. Not anymore. I understand. Thank you.”
“Mist, you’re too good. Too reasonable.”
“No, I just change myself to fit new information. No sense holding a grudge.”
“You are so wonderful. But again, I’m sorry. I truly am.”
“Hey, it’s alright. I just wish you had provided me with a nice view. And maybe more books. There’s only so much a pony can do here.”
“Sorry, this was the best I could get, without the court having a panic attack. Celestia fought that entire first day to have you not thrown in the actual dungeon. Then I spent the rest of the time trying to fight your execution.”
“Well, I must thank you. And her I guess."
“I think so. She’s sorry too, Mist. More than you know. She beats herself up every day for what she did and is doing to you.”
“Mmm, it can’t be easy. I’ll try to be more appreciative. I just wish I hadn’t been kept out of the loop.”
“I know. But we had to, to avoid conflict of interest. That’s the trouble with royalty. More red tape than anything else.”
“‘Red tape?’”
“Really? Of all of the more modern expressions you are exposed to, that is the one you don’t get?”
“Hey, I think it’s very impressive that I assimilated so well. You still spoke in the 'Royal Canterlot Voice' when you first visited Ponyville.”
“That’s not fair! You had a week of close contact with others and no memory!”
“Yeah, real blessing.”
“You know what I mean. Anyway, ‘red tape’. Just something that prevents somepony from going somewhere or doing something.”
“So, like a naval blockade?”
“Very much so.”
“So, not fun.”
“Not even slightly. Anyway, that’s not a concern anymore.”
“Why? Wait… how are you here?”
“That’s actually something I need to talk to you about. We may have found something.”
“Oh? But you said that there was no real headway…”
“I know. I lied. Nopony knows except me and a hoofful of others.”
“Celestia?”
“Not even her.”
“Why?”
“To protect her. And to make what we need to do easier.”
“What do you mean?”
“Here, let me explain from the beginning. So, Celestia and I have had teams researching everything possible about the Nightmare. We found very little, but what we did find other information. Theories, mostly, but some ancient studies were among the findings.”
“Ancient? How ancient?”
“Some, very. Others were from your time. From an age where spirits and magic were focal points of life. The rise of technology and new social structures shifted the focus away from such mysteries, and most remain unsolved and unstudied. However, there were some… patterns. And some very interesting information.”
“What is it? Some way to help me?”
“That’s the thing – we don’t know.”
“What do you mean? And what exactly doesn’t Celestia know?”
“Well, my team is the one that found everything. And Celestia hasn’t been informed about the more detailed findings. And she won’t know until further into the plan. And as for what we don’t know, it’s pretty self-explanatory. If I want to learn anything more, I need to go to the source. I’m planning a team, and they’ll be ready very soon. You already know Radiant Bloom. There are four others.”
“All scholars?”
“No. Only I know what you’re thinking. I took protection into consideration. Everypony is being trained in basic survival and basic combat. Takes some of them out of their element, but the journey will be long, and it starts in the Badlands.”
“Not a terrific start. And I’m guessing that it’ll only get more dangerous.”
“Yes. We will be travelling and exploring area that few ponies go, if any. We only vaguely know what’s there. The areas aren’t part of any of the established kingdoms. Some are old Equestrian lands, others, potential ancestral lands for various species and cultures.”
“Wait, you’ve been around for how long? How do you not know things like this? I mean, really?”
“Well, if you must know, I… have no clear idea. I’ve done some digging into the nature of both my sister and myself. We fit several theories. The most likely is one that describes a process of ‘rebirth’. I have no recollection of a foalhood simply because It may have never happened, or it happened an infinite amount of time ago, in another lifetime.”
“Wow. That’s… something.”
“Again, just one of the theories. There are more.”
“I bet. Now… wait. You’re going on this voyage… what does it mean for me? Are you just going to leave me here? Writing will be impossible. Not that I don’t appreciate the effort and clear desire to help, especially the ‘grasping desperately to a venture that might not help anything’ part. I think I’d just like to… not be alone. I’d rather have you next to me, not doing anything, than have you an incalculable distance away trying to help.”
“I completely understand. I do.”
“I want in. On the team. I want to come with you. I think I’ve earned that right.”
Luna smiled, pecking Mist on the cheek. “I’d have it no other way.”
Time to prepare.