Slave of Eternity

by Secrets and Lies


9

(9)

After the two new friends had dinner together, they parted ways, not knowing where the other was going. Supper was well spent with little chat so things weren’t as awkward as expected. Zack persisted to ask Luna about the inter-dimensional affairs she encountered in the past, but she wouldn’t go any further than to say it wasn’t important. Zack had extracted so much information out of Luna already that he felt like he was making some great progress with her. Zack’s mind pieced together that Luna was finally warming up to him, but the fleeting looks she gave him that he only caught in the corner of his eye deemed something entirely different. Not only was she getting comfortable talking with him about whatever, but may also fancy him.
He came back to another thought, a thought which was a strange mentality boys lacked where girls didn’t. What he was thinking of was the fact that it always seemed (to his point-of-view at least) that whenever females were trying to get a male’s attentions, there is always a delayed connection between the two. The male would often overlook the female for quite sometime until she confronted him or even did something drastic to gain his focus. Zack was never good with attracting women or even noticing someone who was attracted to him until it was too late. These moments he thought over seemed cosmically aligned to what might happen in the near future, at least what he predicted to be. He then quickly snapped out of this existential mentality to wonder what he was going to do for the rest of the night. He found himself deep in thought, much too often by himself, and had to keep his mind occupied on other things. This reverse psychology made him a bit dizzy as he headed to his new bedroom.
The rest of the evening was spent quite comfortably for Zack. Dinner was a tad late and the clock in his bedroom read ten past seven. He entered his bathroom and decided to start up the bath. The rushing hot water into the porcelain tub filled quickly as clouds of steam rose up into the corners of the bathing room. He exited the bathroom one last time to grab a book off of his shelf titled: 'Secrets of Farland'. The book was mentioned by Luna during dinner and he took the book from the library before heading off to his chambers. He closed the bathroom door again, sealing himself inside the washroom. He proceeded to remove his clothing and turned the water knob off when it was about full. Zack sank into the basin with the delight of warmth overcoming his senses. He was so glad that Celestia used her magic to increase the size of the tub, bed and other things in his bedroom–for he felt ever so snug in the human-sized tub. He reached over to dry off his hands before taking hold of his new reading material. The early evening was spent wonderfully for Zachary. It was feeble at first, but a loud knocking came upon Zack’s bathroom door. This noise broke into the soothing trance the bathwater placed him in and then he realized how much time he had spent in the tub. He didn’t exactly know how much time, but he had a feeling it was quite some time.
He had feeling it was Luna at the door and called out to her, “Hold on a minute.” He lifted the plunger to let the suds and water spiral downward into the drain. He reached for a nearby towel to dry himself quickly, not to let his guest wait any longer. After thoroughly drying his body and patting down his damp, brown hair, he wrapped the towel around his waist and opened the bathroom door. He found none other than Luna outside. Not particularly waiting right at the door, but staring at a painting in the hall in front of him, more or less passing time.
Zack, not trying to sound agitated, but did so anyway, asked her, “May I help you?” She motioned her head over towards Zack and made eye contact with him. He felt his heart increase in pace as she took a few hoof steps towards him.
She spoke calmly, “I was wondering perhaps that maybe you would like to try Dream Piercing now? I know you said it wouldn’t help, but maybe we could just give it a try, just for the sport of it.”
Zack raised a hand up while keeping the other on the towel around his waist, “I know you are trying to help, but I believe the void tearing inside of me might be too much for you to handle. I don’t think it will be safe.”
“I’m going to risk that then... Get dressed in your bedroom and tell me when you are ready.”
Zack didn’t want to argue with her, she seemed quite confident in herself that she could help. So he did as he was told and went into his bedroom. He closed the door behind him and began to dress himself in his evening attire. As soon as he was ready, he called Luna to enter the room. She told him to lay on his bed and he did so. She stood over him and gave him a wistful, confident look of approval.
“Now,” she started, “lay perfectly still. Arms by your side and close your eyes.” Zack began to do what she informed him and trusted her completely.
“Clear your mind. Let nothing invade it. Go to a place where you feel safe. Slow your heartbeat, and listen to it. Steady your breathing and relax.” He heard a strange noise from where Luna was standing, but didn’t open his eyes to witness it. He couldn’t quite put it into words what he heard, but if he was ever to describe it, he would say if smoke had a noise when it moved about, this was that noise. The whirring of the odd sound hovered over Zack and soon as he took his first deep breath of relaxation, it stopped. Luna spoke no more and thought that he was now alone.
It took some time, but Zack’s mind was easing up. The muscles in his body, even his face, were slowly getting looser and soon he found himself in what he felt was the epitome of comfort. Lost in his own mind, he found himself in darkness. When he thought about a place that was ‘safe’, he thought of home. Not his own apartment or his parent’s home, but what he felt was home to him. Down by the creek bend on a late Summer’s afternoon. He could soon hear the sounds of his home slowly enveloping his sense of hearing, drowning out the real world he had left behind. Birds singing in the far off meadow, the gentle stream of water swimming between the river stones, the leaves of the trees above him rustling faintly, the grasshoppers chirping and flying about. He felt his sense of touch now overcoming him. The evening sun’s rays dancing across his body in patches of warmth, the grass against his bare skin, the wind blowing over his body hair. He had no difficulty whatsoever when trying to visualize what he now felt. He opened his mental eyes to find himself looking upward at the tree tops, beyond which a peach-colored sky with trickles of distant and long clouds opened up to him. Glimpses of fireflies ebbed above him, twirling in the wind and silently floating about. Leaves fell around him gently and took part in the invisible movements of the wind. It soon came to him that he didn’t know how he returned to this place, but it didn’t worry him too much. He enjoyed where he was at and soon, and once again, lost himself.
A sudden spark of vigor overcame him, which jolted his body with life. It wasn’t a painful feeling, more pleasurable than anything he had ever felt–yet it only lasted for a split second and soon enough he arose quickly. He knew he was at the creek bend, yet it didn’t feel so surreal anymore. It felt very much alive and real, almost as if he was teleported back to Earth. In fact, it was almost the identical feeling he had when he came to Equestria, laying in that grassy field beyond the Everfree Forest. He began to look around, seeing if he was truly alone. With a turn of the head, he spotted Luna on the far side of the creek looking at him from afar; but she didn’t seem to surprise him as he placed his hands firmly in the grass and pushed himself upward onto his bare feet. He stood there for a moment, letting the wind flow through his hair. No longer did he feel like he was in the castle lying down or that he had his eyes closed. Zack felt that he had woken up from a long and dreadful dream about ponies, beasts and continuous trials. He felt good, he felt cured. He was still looking over at Luna, who appeared to be studying him rather than just peering over at him like he was to her.
He took his first, small step in the world he called home. As soon as his left foot met the ground again, he knew something terrible had happened. A stabbing pain struck his mind and he flinched with sudden agony. The grass beneath his feet felt like embers as he fell to the ground, now lying on his side holding his throbbing head. The world around him began to tear apart and Luna disappeared into a thick, black cloud of smoke. The sky turned dark and the trees withered around him. The creek dried up and the birds stopped singing. A growing, distressing bass and high pitch screeching entered his ear drums. Before he could give in to the madness, he heard a quiet voice through the blasting noises and insanity.
The voice whispered, “No.”
He flung his body upward from the bed and violently shook his head. The pain had left him, but the feelings that had past still shook him a bit. His body quivered as sweat dripped from his skin. He removed his night shirt and patted it against his burning flesh, trying his hardest to sooth himself. He found that Luna did not move at all and was looking over him with fright. She bent over and grabbed hold of him, trying her best to calm Zack down. She placed her hoof behind his head and gently rubbed him, not worrying about the perspiration he was giving off. Zack leaned into her shoulder, not knowing what to do.
Zachary stammered, “W-what di-did you d-d-do to me?”
She whispered in a soothing tone, “That wasn’t me. Your mind, Zachary, it’s so unstable. I tried Zachary, I tried.” She pressed him tighter to herself, he then felt the warmth of the Princess’ body. He slowly moved one of his hands over and grasped her around her waist. He felt calmer already, feeling that Luna was a pillar of strength to him. Zack did something the Princess didn’t expect and lightly pushed her away, he turned to the other side of his bed and looked elsewhere from her.
Before Luna could speak out, Zack stated, “I don’t think I can do this. Not this time, Luna. This quest, this... going to Equadeus Arx. From what everyone has told me... this is the first time I believe I can’t do this. Even with the Prevailer and what you have taught me and what you have given me. Even from past experiences with Ray Sunshine, to Starswirl, to Sheol, to–well–I just cannot do it!” He fell silent, looking towards the floor in defeat. Luna made her way steadily over to the other side of the bed, Zack didn’t acknowledge her and continued to stare at the floor. He knew she was there, but said nothing. As soon as she stopped in front of him, he looked up towards her finally and revealed to her that he was tearing up. His face was red with sadness and she pitied Zack greatly for what he was going to do and what he was going through.
His voice quivered, “I don’t want to die. I... I want to go home... for the first time in six years... I want to go home.” He looked away from her and continued, “I don’t belong here... I wish I would have never sat still. I wish I could have ran from that light in my apartment. I wish I could have ran and never looked back... Oh God...” He cupped his hands over his face and still held back the sorrow from Luna. Luna placed her hooves around his shoulders.
“Look at me... Look at me, Zachary.” Zack removed his hands from his face and looked into Luna’s eyes once more. “You will not die. You can do this. You are Zachary. No one is like you.”
In a sudden, rapid movement, she leaned her head over and kissed Zachary. He let his lips welcome hers and the two were locked into each other's embrace. Passion overcame Zachary and it was too much, but he let it continue. He then finally prevailed over her and broke from Luna gently. The emotions he was feeling clashed with one another and he no longer knew which he wanted to express. Fear, sadness, affection; it was too much for him to handle.
“I...” he didn’t know what to say. Luna moved closer, preparing to kiss him again, but he stopped her. He started again, “I... can’t...”
Luna backed off and asked, “W-why? Did I do someth–”
“No, you did nothing wrong. I’m just... not ready, I guess.”
“I see...” The two fell silent and Zachary and Luna looked away from each other.
She looked back at him and wondered aloud, “Is it because you are young and I am... one-thousand, six-hundred and sixteen years old?”
Zack broke into a quiet, brief chuckle and replied, “Oh no! Definitely not.” His pressing emotions came over him again and his tone changed back to a more somber sound. “I’m just... confused and worried...” He looked back over to her and now said with slight confidence, “But... but you have given me hope, Luna... I will complete this task or die trying.” The two looked at each other and only smiled for one another, not saying another word for the rest of the night. Luna departed and gave Zack space to think.

        Dust, echoes, and stones; these were the only remnants left of the great castle Celestia walked through. Her journey through the broken monument left the Princess feeling shadowed by something greater, but wherever her eyes fell to, she could not see or sense another presence except her own. The interior of the massive building was crumbled and desolate, lacking any sort of life. Emptiness and loneliness filled the rust-colored chamber; broken down pillars with faded markings and hieroglyphics encompassed rows of these tall balusters. Not even the tiniest of desert bugs or mammals entered this place. Celestia began to think to herself that maybe they knew something about this temple that she didn’t, and maybe that’s why they avoided it.
As she looked up and examined the towering ceiling, she realized how grand the palace really was. The ceiling stretched on like a hollow steeple. This building could easily fit Canterlot Castle in its insides and even have room to fit Cloudsdale above her own castle. Holes were cracked through in its highest reaches of the stone spire by time, letting in the burning sun from the outside. Rays shot though and onto the broken, sand-laden floors of the castle. This castle, if it was even a castle, was still a beautiful and breathtaking sight, even after all of the destruction time had assaulted it with.
Celestia reached the destination she was striving for. A cube like chamber in the middle of the room. The rectangular door she went through shielded her from the sunlight as she entered the darkened room. In this room lay an artificial shaft, more like a well than anything. It was circular and its bottom could not be seen. Shadows of black and navy fog filled the hole in the ground as Celestia looked deep into it. She had never ventured down into the shaft, she had only explored the massive complex outside of the chasm chamber; but today was different, she desired to go down this hole to find what was inside of it. This building housed many secrets of the ancient world she had told Zack of, and she knew that the further she traveled into it, the more answers she would discover. She only feared the unknown; her mind had plagued her with such dangers before in the past.
Using her magic, she created a very powerful illumination spell. A great ball of light roughly the size of a basketball grew from her horn and floated in front of her. The sheer power it gave off was so bright, that even she could not look at it directly. Celestia then lowered the ball into the center of the pit and watched it descend. Lower and lower it traveled, deep into the hole it fell. The light was decreasing the further it traveled downward. From a bright spot light, to a full moon, to now a dim and distant star, then she could no longer see it. She sensed the magic still working in her spell, but could no longer see the light’s output.
She took a deep sigh and released the spell, making the ball dissipate. She had hoped that the pit wouldn’t be this deep, but she couldn’t turn back now. She had forced herself into this, now she must travel downward. She must know what lies down there. She spread her wings and jumped. The darkness swallowed her.

        Zack awoke a few minutes past the crack of dawn. A pale morning sky shown through his window as the light of a new day crept through the glass and onto the bedroom floor. He wasted no time getting dressed. He figured that this time around, he would try out some of Rarity’s newer designs in apparel she made for him, but had never worn until now.
He threw on a rather light, white button up shirt in appearance, but was made durable enough to withstand the toughest weather conditions. He was a little hesitant about his trousers she gave him, but decided to put them on anyways. Once on, they were quite comfortable; khaki jeans with black suspender straps he threw over his shoulders and tightened up. He buttoned his shirt and tucked it in, putting on his belt as well. Over this, he put on a thick traveling coat which had many pockets and what appeared to be wrist laces on the ends, which were buttoned to the ends of the arms. Lastly, he tied up the original shoes he wore to Equestria, his navy blue Chucks which had recently been repaired by Rarity. As he became comfortable in his attire, he looked over himself in the bedroom mirror and thought that he looked quite nice; a little old-fashioned, but still quite nice. The color of the chucks really clashed with the other colors he wore, but he didn’t really care as he grabbed for his other things. He sheathed the Prevailer and fastened it behind his back with the strap wrapped around his shoulder to his waist.
He exited the castle and was met by a cool, morning breeze. He could tell it was going to be quite a windy day from the looks of the high cumuli rolling above Canterlot. The garden was quite lively this morning rather than yesterday. The bloomed flowers of all types from common roses and tulips, to strange and bizarre Equestrian breeds gave the garden a plentiful array of colors. Sunlight sprinkled dew drops on the petals of the plants shimmered about as he strolled through the moist grass. He made his way over to the Panexus and decided to sit cross-legged atop the stone platform. Strangely, no dew was present on artifact as Zack got himself comfortable, preparing to meditate. He thought that it would be best to leave quietly without warning Pinkie, Valiant, or any other pony of his current mission.
“Going so soon,” a voice called out over the garden. Zack turned to see that Luna was standing on the garden porch overlooking Zack. He didn’t know how long she had been standing there, but he surely didn’t see her when he walked from that same porch to the Panexus.
He replied, “You’re up early, aren’t you?”
“Since Celestia took a little unexpected vacation, it is my duty to raise both sun and moon. I am very weary from staying up all last night and am more of a night pony than a morning one. I thought since you were going to leave, I would send you off.” Zack began to think about last night and what had happened. He was surprised to see Luna acting and appearing so nonchalant before him even from what occurred the previous night. That kiss made him think that things from now on would be difficult and cumbersome between the two, but here she stood, unmoved and quite happy to see him off.
Before Zack could speak, Luna added, “I also invited a friend of yours to send you off as well.” At that prompt she gave, Valiant Steed entered onto the porch, followed by two Royal Guards. He gave a relaxed grin towards Zack; he knew that Valiant had wanted another excuse out of Canterlot, but the stallion hid his envious feelings in front of Zack. He looked towards the Princess of the Night and bowed before her in respect. He then took flight and landed in front of Zack. The two, without hesitation, gave each a friendly hug.
“Leaving so soon? Without even spending some quality time with me or anypony else? When I heard you were staying at the castle for a while, I was sure that there would be some dragon attack or zombie invasion of the sort; but you just had to make things peaceful, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t want to make your job any harder than it is, pal,” Zack said while giving a playful shrug.
“Princess Luna told me all about your mission–well, for the most part. Something about taking the Panexus somewhere far away and you might not come back alive. Normally, that would frighten anypony off, but I know that this is just going to be another walk in the park for you.” Luna flapped down beside Valiant and the stallion stepped back a little to give her some space.
The Princess noted, “I see that from closer inspection that you have prepared yourself for your quest. Yet, I believe you are missing a few things.” Luna then materialized a brown, travel tote bag and floated it over to Zack. He opened the bag to find not only the three magical artifacts Luna owned, but a lantern, a water sack, two extra daggers and some blank parchment.
He slipped the bag onto his back and replied with gratitude, “Thank you. Now I believe it is time to depart. Luna, watch over Nox while I’m gone, and V, have a nice day.”
Before Zack could turn back towards the Panexus, a sudden ruckus could be heard coming from the far end of the gardens. Luna, Zachary and Valiant turned to see that something had hopped over the castle walls and was being chased by two pegasi guards. The object couldn’t clearly be seen because of the rate at which it was traveling. What Zack didn’t realize until it was too late was that this thing was running directly towards him. Before he could evade it, the object crashed into him and threw him into a nearby flower bed. When he came to, after being hit, he realized the object that hit him was still atop his chest. He shook the leaves and dirt from his head and looked towards the object to discover two bulging, blue eyes staring directly into his own.
Hi,” Pinkie yelled and then hopped off of him. The two pegasi guards quickly grabbed her by the front hooves and lifted her in the air. She squirmed vigorously, trying to break away from their tight hold on her.
“Hey,” she hollered at the guards, “Let me go or I’ll give you a one, two, buckle my shoe!”
Valiant took hold of the situation and ordered, “Guards! At ease! Release Pinkie Pie, she doesn’t mean any harm.” The two did so and the pink pony fell back down. Valiant approached the guards and demeaned the two, “I’m surprised at how easily our defenses are kept unattended! If that was an assassin, it could have been a threat to both Master Zack and Princess Luna!”
“Oh, please,” Luna added with a hint of irritation. “The Princess of the Night could handle anything this folly land of ponies can dish out.”
Valiant then commanded the two, “Now, back to your stations! Don’t let this happen again!” The two pegasi saluted and flew back over the wall to their posts.
Zack asked the pink mare, “Pinkie? What are you even doing here? How did you know abou–”
She interrupted in a spastically, “Valiant told me, via telegram I got from Spike and I just had to come and see you!” Zack gave Valiant an annoyed look; he only responded with a plastic smile and shrug.
The pink mare continued, “I was having the most awesome day an awesome day can have until I got his letter last night, and that made me sad–but then I remembered I could come to Canterlot anytime I wanted, so that made me happy! So now I’m here to see you off. Even though I don’t want to and it’ll make me cry in bed tonight when I realize you’ll be gone again, but I must! And before I came, I made you a parting gift! My Super-Sticky, Double-Bubble, Bubble-Gum, Gummy Cake, To-Go!” She then shoved a large, white bag into Zack’s hands, which was dripping with pink frosting and batter. He slowly placed it in the tote bag and smiled at the pink mare, awaiting a response from him.
All that could come out of Zack’s mouth was, “Thank... you?”
“No flak, Zack!”
Valiant commented towards the pink mare, “I don’t think you used that word properly.”
She turned towards the tall stallion and made her case, “I use words I don’t know all that time! Like 'speckledorfed’ and 'nickerbozzled’ and especially 'hackl-spackl wholi-shwang'!” She seemed utterly confident in herself as the three of them gave her the most puzzling looks.
She then drastically looked at Luna and blurted, “Hi! Do you remember me! I was a chicken once!”
Luna replied with apathy, “You’re unforgettable, Element of Laughter.” Pinkie’s hyperactivity was hardly fleeting when she brought her attention back over to Zack, who was simply enjoying watching Pinkie be silly.
“I need to tell you something! But first I got to tell you something first! The first something is that I really miss you, but am making loads of new friends like Purple-Smart! And all these neat-o things have happened since you’ve been gone! Like I met a griffon and she wasn’t very nice, but I threw party for her! And 'A Great or Powerful’ Trixie lady came to town and Purple-Smart made her go away! And then we moved a dragon cause Yellow-Quiet got all mad and stuff when he was playing with us! And then a Zebra came to town, who was really nice and stuff and made Yellow-Quiet sound like Isaac Hayes!”
“Who,” Valiant blurted in.
Pinkie threw a hoof over his snout and replied, “Hush yourself! How rude of you to interrupt a lady while she is talking to her ‘best-est friend’!”
“Well excuse me, Pinkie Pie.”
As Pinkie was about to continue, Zack stated, “Pinkie, what was the second something you were going to tell me?” An astonished look adorned her face. She had completely forgotten about the second something she was going to tell Zachary and started on doing so.
“The second something I need to tell you in private! Quick, follow me!” She hopped over onto the porch and into the castle. Luna and Valiant looked over towards Zack, wondering if he was going to follow her or not.
He sighed and told the two, “This will only take a second.” He entered the castle and wondered where Pinkie had bounced off to. “Pinkie,” he called out, listening out for her response, “where did you go?” As he continued to walk through the corridors of the castle, keeping an eye out for his pink mare, something grabbed the back of his coat and yanked him around the bend. He found that Pinkie had pulled him into a stray room out of the halls and now the two faced each other alone.
“What are you doing back here,” he asked, no visibly vexed. “What do you want t–”
In a swift motion, the pink mare pressed herself up against Zack and forcefully locked lips with him. Zack was astonished and frozen still from what was taking place. He didn’t know what to do for a moment before coming to his senses. He pushed the pink mare off of him and she gave him a baffled look.
“Wha–... What was that all about?” She began to curl her pink mane with her hoof and look away embarrassed. Zack was still waiting for her to respond and took notice that she too was confused to say anything at the moment, but he had no idea why exactly.
She finally responded after an awkward delay, “Well... Zacky... I’ve been thinking about how much I care about you... and you care about me...” She finally worked up the courage to look him in the eyes and continued. “And I’ve come to realize... I don’t just care about you, I really, really, care about you.”
Zachary pointed at himself and stammered, “W-wait. You don’t mean?” She looked at him with a cherubic, faint smile while twirling her hooves in front of her. Zack continued, “You... Wait... Wow...” He let out a slight chuckle, but didn’t know why he did it in the first place. She blushed at his response.
He started again with an actual, thought out response, “I’ve never really... thought of you in that way before, Pinkie.”
“I had never thought of you either like that until you left. Then after that first thought, I kept thinking about it over and over again until all I ever thought about was you. I’m quite good at hiding it... but I don’t want to hide it any longer!”
Zack hushed her and said, “I don’t know right now. Things are... complicated at the moment with me going off and... other things happening. I really wish I could make up my mind at the moment, but my mind isn’t really in the right place now. But when I come back,” he then held Pinkie’s hooves in his hands with care, “I’ll make up my mind.” He planted a kiss on her forehead which gave her a smile and the two went back out to the garden.
Zack clasped his hands together and said to Valiant, “Okay! Let’s make it happ’n, Capt’n!”
“That’s General to you, buster!”
Zack approached the Panexus and knelt atop of it on one knee while the three ponies watched at a distance. He placed his left hand firmly in the center of the artifact and withdrew his sword in the right. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate his magic into the Panexus. His hand began to emit a red aura indicating that his own magic was working. Zack began to try and seep his magic into the object and activate it. He could feel his own power begin to slowly merge with the artifact; it felt cold, but vast with power and majesty. Once he was connected with it, himself and the Prevailer, Olrugena runes glowed vibrantly around the platform. Valiant and Pinkie were struck with awe at the foreign sight to them as Luna watched on with interest. In a moment, the Panexus opened up in his mind and he could look into the artifact itself to see where its kin were placed throughout the world. It was surreal and very much overwhelming for Zack, but he kept his focus and continued.
He spoke aloud while keeping his eyes shut and body still, “I... I can see it... the others.” His expression suddenly changed to sorrow when he realized something was off. “But, most of these are broken links... I... I can’t seem to connect with them... Luna, are there any still active that I can connect to?”
Luna spoke up, “Expand your mind’s horizon. Find the eldest and first of the Panexi, that should be one to Firelight Woods.” Zack did so and began to stretch the horizon of his mind. It grew like an expanding circle, seeing more and more of the broken beacons of the Panexi like distant stars in a swirling nebula. Then, at the very edge of his sight he saw it, a visible and accessible Panexus.
“I think I see it! Yes... yes, this has to be it!” He used his magic to try and string the beacon of light to his home Panexus and then felt a surge of energy envelop his body. He opened his eyes and felt his entire form lit by a celestial beam of light which fell from the morning sky above. A faint red ray of light fell only upon the Panexus he was standing on and shimmers of stars twinkled about and around him, spiraling upward. His body and clothes felt light and his hair gently floated in the strange, magical beam. He had connected the two and was on the verge of leaving Equestria.
Luna called out to him one last time, “I shall make the moon as bright and as full as I can for you every night until your return, so you can safely navigate through those lands.”
Pinkie had a feeling that Luna had a 'thing’ for Zack from the way she said that and smiled towards him. So she responded after her, “I’ll make a cupcake as big as the moon when you come back! I Pinkie promise!” Luna turned towards her and wondered what was going on in that pink mare’s mind. Valiant merely waved and smiled at Zack, who returned the favor.
Zack thought to himself, "Man, I hope this doesn’t get out of hand.” He felt the magic grow stronger around him and in a flash he disappeared into thin air. Not a trace of him was left behind and the three ponies were left alone in the windy garden.
“Well,” Valiant spoke aloud, “time to go back to work.” He unfolded his wings and took flight over the castle walls. Now only Princess Luna and Pinkie Pie remained in the garden; both were distraught over Zack’s absence and continued to stare at the Panexus, hoping he would return soon.
Pinkie looked up at the Princess and broke the silence by asking her, “Is there any way anyone can see him or save him if he gets in trouble?”
Luna looked down at her and coldly replied, “The Prevailer guided him there, for it is the same place the Prevailer was found–it knows of its home. Even with my vast magical abilities, I cannot follow him or use the Panexus like he had just wielded it. He is on his own from this point onward.” She digressed and asked Pinkie, “Aren’t you suppose to be running a bakery or something?”
She looked away and responded, “I suppose so,” and began to make her way towards the exit. She sighed and spoke to herself, “I really hope my Zacky comes back... I need a hug...”
While she walked away, Luna, still staring at the empty Panexus, sighed as well and whispered to herself, “I pray that you return safely, my dear, sweet, Zack.”