“Yes, it’s about time you figured it out,” the old man muttered. “The object you seek is at the bottom of this lake, buried somewhere under the weeds. Also, there’s going to be a lot of random stuff that won’t be of any real use to you. You will have to recognize that one object that has importance. You’re going to have to work fast, because since you aren’t totally dead you still have to breathe. You won’t die, per-say, but you just won’t be able to stay under forever.”
I sighed. Of course it couldn’t be easy. That would be too reasonable. “All right, then. Any ideas as to what I’m supposed to be finding down there?”
He shook his head. “Nope. I don’t know what is down there at all except for dead plants and my old fishing pole. The last fish I ever hooked pulled it under. But that doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is you figuring out the way to heal yourself.” His tone of voice had changed, and it was eerie now. He had taken a much creepier turn, and was finally appearing to be the ghostly man/ oracle he was, despite his frequent bouts of lunacy.
Shaking my head, I just put my knife, amulet, and hammers on the ground. Diving into a glowing, unearthly lake wasn’t on my bucket list. I didn’t even know what kind of stuff would be down there. I stepped out onto the dock and looked into the water. Despite its glow, I couldn’t see very far down into the water. Desperately trying to see a little further into the water, I started muttering to myself. “It’s for Luna, it’s for Luna, it’s for Luna… She’s going to owe me so big…” With a deep breath, I jumped into the icy water with both feet.
…
It was an interesting sight down there. I mean, I could see because the water wasn’t salty, there wasn’t a lot of stuff floating around, and the fish didn’t try to eat my eyes and then swim through the sockets and eat my innards. I swear, that was one of my big concerns as I jumped in. It could have been a real issue, because they were spirit fish, and I had spirit eyes now. And spirit innards, come to think of it.
Anyways, the old man was right. There was seaweed. Or kelp. Whichever word you want to use, there was a lot of it, and despite there being no current, it was all moving. As it did, objects could be seen drifting in and out of view. There was a teapot, what looked like a shield, a statue, rings, and other miscellaneous objects. Nothing really stood out as being valuable. It wasn’t a deep lake, so I had only been under for thirty seconds or so. As I looked, though, the weeds seemed to become more active, like they didn’t like being sifted through. I guess I understand that, but the next bit wasn’t at all a civilized approach to the problem.
Like something out of a cheesy movie or a fanfic written by a guy with writers block, the weeds began to gather themselves and form some kind of creature. It wasn’t the kind of huge, ridiculous creature you might think, but a realistically sized pony thing. It was a pegasus, and it was dressed in the armor of a Royal Guard. I couldn’t tell if it was the Night or Day Guard, the weeds didn’t really show very well, but my best guess was it was a Day Guard due to the lack of leathery, bat-like wings. He stood tall and proud, like he was ready to fight his last fight.
“You cannot properly respond to the words I speak, and thus I only ask that you listen.” His voice echoed through the water and stirred something within me. I couldn’t quite pin down what it was, but it was something very deep. “You have been sent here to retrieve one of the necessary spell components to recombine your spirit to your body. But you are still a relatively mortal creature. Return to the surface and renumbered when you are prepared.” Confused for a moment by the unusual allowance for the situation, I swam back up and took a deep breath as my head broke the surface. I was facing shore and could see Legba standing on the dock, walking stick in hand.
“Oh, ho,” he exclaimed. “Back so soon? Have you already forgotten that you can surround yourself with air using your magic?”
Damn it. That’s right. “Uh, yeah. I did forget that.” I waved in thanks quickly and began to focus on casting the spell. It wasn’t the hardest spell ever, but it was more difficult with the constraints of the human body. The dead human body. Even so, I did well enough. The bubble formed around my head and I went back under. The pegasus was still there, patiently waiting. His body didn’t take up a lot of weeds, I guess, because I noticed as I swam that the objects were still pretty well covered by them.
When I was close enough, he spoke again. “Are you prepared to pick out the object of greatest importance to yourself and your life?” I nodded, since I didn’t really think that I could respond. “Then sir, I will only remind you of the fact that this object must have tremendous sentimental value, otherwise its power will not be sufficient to help you. You will be allowed to take one object from the lake. Only one.”
I nodded again and began to sift through the things in the weeds. It almost seemed to be just the rubble of an old castle. Among the seemingly random objects were pieces of stone, rock, and old wood. As I dug, there wasn’t anything that struck as me as important. There was some silverware, crayons, some old food, really just a lot of garbage. Deeper, there were actual objects of importance. Swords, a shield or two, treasure chests, and treasures. As I looked, one thing especially stuck out.
The fishing pole that Legba had spoken of. It was a good pole, undamaged by its years underwater. It was just a simple wooden pole with a strong string tied well to it, but it looked like it had seen a lot of use and a lot of care. It looked smooth and waxed, and it was painted very simply. There were four lines painted on it, the bottom one blue, then red, green, and white, respectively. I reached out and began to pick it up, but the pegasus put a wing out onto the rod.
“Wait,” he said in his ghostly voice. “Is this truly the item here of most importance to you? Are you sure there is no other object you could find down here? There seems to be one of everything down here.”
I nodded and tried actually talking. “Yeah, I’m sure. Can you understand me?” He nodded silently. “Well, then, before I go, just answer me this one thing. Who are you?”
He smiled sadly. “I am a no one. There is no record of my works, there is no song written to me. I had no one in life, and I have no one in death. This is what I am destined for, an existence of loneliness. Even I have forgotten my name after all these years below this lake.”
I smiled at him. “All right then. I’m taking the pole because though it doesn’t mean anything to me specifically, it means a lot to the man up on the dock. This was his lucky fishing pole, and that’s something to be cherished. I guess it’s kind of silly to some, but a good fishing pole is like a sign of peace and contentment in a place that offers little.”
He chuckled quietly, which was strange to hear echoing through the water. “You’ve chosen very well. This is not an item of one’s self. I told you to choose an item of sentimental value, but didn’t specify of your own. This is an item of peace. You realize that peace is a great gift that should be valued when it can be found.”
“Yeah, either that or I just like fishing with my wife. She gets pissed whenever I use her pole.” I said, shrugging.
“Wait, no way, your wife fishes with you?!” he yelled suddenly. “I don’t believe you.”
“Well, she pretends to for a bit and then gets distracted by birds,” I admitted. “But regardless, your right. This means something to someone, and it just means peace and quiet to me. And an old man deserves that.”
“Well, you’re a lucky man. And very wise, especially for your age.”
I nodded. “Thank you very much. When this journey is over, you can expect me to visit. No man should have to just be a Forgotten Guard.”
He saluted without saying anything and dissolved back into the weeds he came from. I swam back to the surface and climbed back onto the docks. I handed the pole to him and just grinned. “Congratulations. You’ve got your lucky fishing pole back.”
He laughed his creepy, coughing, dead old guy laugh for a moment. “Yes, I suppose I do. But you need it more than I do right now. You take it, and then bring it back. I’m going to need it at some point. And just know that it stand for honor as well. To really know peace, you have to have earned it and be able to live it honorably.”
I kind of knew that, so I just accepted it graciously and picked up my gear. As I began to walk to the road again, I could hear strong wing beats coming from the sky. I kept walking as I felt the winds of Nightmare Moon’s landing behind me. “Nice fishing pole,” she said.
“Thanks. It means a lot to Legba back there, so I’ve got to bring it back in good condition,” I muttered.
She tilted her head and looked at me like she was trying to understand me. “You don’t sound like you’re very happy to have made progress. Isn’t this what you wanted? To make it back to Luna?”
I gave a complacent grunt. “Yeah, I want to be back with her more than anything, but I’m just so tired. I don’t know if you realize this, but it takes a lot for a guy to keep this up. And I admit, it’s kind of sad that I’m tired after two fights, but I’ve been killed both times and put under extreme physical pain outside of just the regular death. And did you know I almost died again from pure exertion after our fight?”
“Gosh, no, I didn’t know that,” she said quietly. “And I really do feel like our whole skirmish was a bad thing all around. You realize that?”
“Yeah, I get that. Although it was mostly you and Luna’s fault. But getting killed takes it out of a guy. And being torn apart at the spiritual level kind of sucks too. As does tunneling through a mountain, despite using magical weapons. I just… I just want to live out my life with Luna happily and quietly. She deserves some peace. Like you have here.”
“Yeah…” She suddenly became very sad. “It’s not all the peace you think. It’s lonely down here. Either no one remembers me or everyone remembers me as a danger to everything and everyone they loved. Even here no one likes me.” I looked at her and I could see a tear in her eye. “That’s why I wanted to come with you to Equestria. To show that I can do good.” She began to sniffle. This is where I began to become physically frightened. Nightmare Moon does not cry. This was like watching a dark version of Luna crying. I didn’t know what to do.
“Um, ok. Well, don’t cry. Seriously, please don’t cry. I mean, if you cry, then I’ll cry, because I do that, I’m a sympathetic crier. It’s unmanly, but when women cry, it’s sad, and it just gets weird.” I was babbling now, and needed to say something right. “Listen, we’re going to go to Equestria together. I mean, honestly, I was going to bring you anyways, because I know you’ve changed, but really, I want you to come back with me. Ponies deserve to see what you’ve become. I just… I’m sorry, I’m just worried about my wife and friends. I don’t know how long we’ve been down here, and I need to get to work. And I need your help. You’re one of the few friends I have down here. I mean, as far as real friends go, it’s you and Ben down here. Legba is just the old guy who shares a name with an old voodoo god of the Crossroads. John is family, and I’ve only just met him besides. And I only just met the Forgotten Guard, too. So really, you’re my best friend here. And even in the other worlds, your one of my better friends. Kind of sad huh?”
She smiled a little bit and said, “Yeah, it is. Well, you showed a lot of courage and honor by fighting me. Really, you were right when you said that it was the fault of Luna and I. It was our pettiness that turned us against the world. You put me back in my place, and you’ve done wonders with her confidence as well. You need to take this.” She reached underneath her wing and pulled out a gleaming piece of metal. It sparkled with what looked like stars that had fallen from the heavens and landed in a mystic night. A crescent moon hung suspended among the stars like it was waiting for a chance. It was the breastplate that she had worn during our last battle.
I looked up into her eyes. “You really mean it? I mean, I know this must have some pretty strong value to you.” Just looking at it brought the memories of our fight back to me. I could smell the charred stone on the walls and the flaming bedspread. I heard the pools of melted floor bubbling next to me as I lay half dead at the end.
She nodded and smiled again. “Yeah. You have a memento of peace, now you have a memento of courage and honor.”
I was a little confused by her choice of words. “Courage and honor? Aren’t those the same things?”
“No, see, you showed courage by simply facing me. You stood against me when so few would. And then you displayed honor several times, actually. First by fighting for a world you accidentally fell into and probably wouldn’t accept you. Then by having the others defend themselves when they were the more experienced fighters. You deserve this. You need to use it to get back to your loved ones.”
I sighed and smiled a little. “Thanks. This means a lot.”
She smiled back and wrapped a wing around me. “You’re welcome. Now, let’s go find your wife and seamstress.”
I threw the portal into the air in front of us and we walked through into a different Equestria than I had left.