//------------------------------// // Prologue Dreaming of the Moon (Revised) // Story: Dreaming of the Moon // by BeardedRedMane //------------------------------// You no longer have a place in this world. Hell… It's probably safe to say that you never really belonged in the first place. It was just a tiny lie that you kept telling yourself. One that helped you get through the days. However with that lie gone you just couldn't live in reality anymore, it was too painful. Too cruel and unforgiving… However one day, by mere chance, you stumbled upon it. On some strange site under one of its' many boards you discovered it. Lucid Dreaming. Hell, the board even boasted that with enough training one could truly leave this world behind, surfing the plains of the universe for worlds yet touched by the hand of man. Bullshit. You weren't an idiot. Things like magic, spirits and the like were simply delusions of the mind-- but this? This was golden! Your very own retreat from such an undesirable reality! As you lie back into your bed with your eyes closed and breathing steady you prepare to leave the waking world behind. Opening your eyes you are met with a starry night sky and breathe in deeply. This scene was completely new to you and you slowly let your eyes wander around marveling at the evergreen field before you, lit by the moons soft glow. Peace and Solitude. Something that the other world completely lacked, you would gladly spend the rest of your night just gazing up at the sky with no other sound than the wind lightly passing through the field. However a small sound carried by the wind grabs your attention and you lazily prop yourself up on your elbows and turn your head toward the direction of the sound. Behind you is a massive tree that you would not have noticed had the sound not caught your attention. Now with your attention focused on the sound you can just barely make it out. Someones…. crying? With your curiosity peaked you decide to slowly rise and follow the sounds, whomever is crying is most likely just on the other side of the tree. Ever so carefully you make your way around the tree, trying to be silent as possible, as not to scare whomever is on the other side. The crying grows ever so clearer and one final step brings you face with--- …. …… ……… Words fail you, your body freezes and try as you might the only thing you are able to do is gaze awkwardly at what is front of you. Sitting at the base of the large tree, staring up at the night sky was something that you could only describe as the personification of the night itself. A mare whose coat was as dark as the night sky, a mane shining with the brilliance of the stars themselves! And her eyes…. Why were they marred by tears? Something this beautiful should never cry. You don't really know why you did what you did next, it just kind of happened. With a hand you slowly reach out toward the mare but before you are able to touch her she takes notice of your presence. She flinches away from your hand and eyes that were filled with sadness moments ago now quake in fear, surprise and confusion. "It's lonely isn't it? With no one to share such a beautiful night with?" You really don't know if what you said was the right thing… You were really never the type of person who was able to do or say the right thing when it mattered. All you knew was that the fear slowly melted from her face and with a tiny voice that wavered in the wind she replied, "You would sit by me in my night?" • • • How much time had passed since that first night you had met her? Did it even matter? No… all that mattered was that wordless promise to stand by her at night. With time she began to open up to you, at first your mere presence was enough to comfort her but soon enough words were exchanged. You talked of numerous things from your everyday life to epic tales of history, regaling tales of knights and honor. She seemed to really take to those stories. You also talked about your family and personal things that you thought you would take to the grave. One day in particular Luna finally opened up to you. She rarely talked about herself or her world, merely saying that nopony had ever cared to listen. "A long time ago… we committed a sin." She began, her voice wavering slightly, "Because of this sin we were banished from our people… to be locked in eternal darkness with only the cold and silence to accompany us." She was gazing up at the moon again, with… Sadness? Hatred? Remorse? I… I've never been able to read people well or their feelings. Maybe… Maybe it was a mix of all three. After a moment she finally broke her gaze with the moon and locked a new one upon you, her eyes boring into yours searching for… something. A Response? You never really were good at this… People often called you an unempathetic person and even as a child you had trouble relating with others. But… regardless of that fact seeing her cry again was something that you didn't want. Reaching up you wrapped your hands around her, bringing her head to rest against your chest. "Even if your sin meant the end of the world, I would stand by your side till my last breath." Under a tree in a grassy field, lit by the moons soft glow the only sounds carried by the wind were those that had made you reach out to her in the first place. But this kind of crying you was something that you could allow. • • • Recently you've become a master at Lucid Dreaming, going so far as to be able to force yourself to sleep at will and even attaining a sudo sleep while still conscious of the real world around you. With all of your work done for the day at the office you decide to spend your lunch break with Luna. No longer needing to close your eyes you slow your breathing and concentrate. Your body numbs and seconds later you suddenly break away from reality. The surroundings speed past you in a blur of magnificent light until you are met with a grassy field under a moonlit sky. In the distance you see her, as always staring at the moon. "Luna!" Her left ear swivels toward the direction of your voice as she turns your way, trotting over before throwing her forelegs into the air. "Anon! We demand that thou relinquish the hug of welcome!" she boomed in a cute sort of 'I can't control the volume of my voice' way. For some reason she seemed to have trouble with that, probably the isolation but you didn't have the heart to say anything about it. Obliging the little princess you wrap your arms around her and hug her tightly. "We also demand the use of your hooves--- uhm.. Hands. To exercise the most enjoyed mane ruffling." "Hoh ho, as Princess Luna commands it shall be done." Teasing her you begin work with your hands She seemed to be very partial to your hands, although you were sure that she could have achieved the same affect with her magic. Nonetheless she insisted on you doing it, something about a Princess does not something or other and that it was always the servants' duty. Hands! Ponykind is not yet ready for the power bound within these digits!!" After separating you both sit side by side and gaze up at the moon. "Anon…" Luna started, her voice quite low and timid, forcing you to turn toward her to hear her properly. "We--- I.. am really happy… that you.. and.." she began pawing at the grass with a hoof. She really is awkward. But then again aren't I? At least here I can be a little manly. Deciding that a little aid was in order you pull her close and despite her protests you begin to blow raspberries into her belly. You stop after a minute when you think she's just about flustered enough to get the words out on her own. "We are very happy to have met you… Ever since... ever since I was banished from my world my mind has been clouded with rage, hate, revenge…" briefly her gaze drops and for a second you are afraid she might begin to cry, however moments later she raises her head and locks her gaze with yours once again. "But… but even if.. If I am never able to see my precious little ponies again. Staying here.. in this dream with you… might not be so intolerable." Now it was your turn to be at a loss of words. Once again, you were really never good with saying the right thing, especially when it mattered and even if you knew what to say, more often than not you lacked the courage to say it. All you could do was look up at the full moon and in your heart swear that you would always be there for her. • • • You looked like shit. Face unshaven, hair a matted mess and to top things off you hadn't eaten a single thing since then. It had been an entire one hundred and forty two hours since you last saw Luna. No matter what you did or how hard you tried you were unable to cross over to that grassy field under the full moon. Every time you tried your mind felt the heat of a thousand suns. Weeks turned to months and every day without fail you would try to force your way back to that place. Bearing through the pain only to wake up later finding that you had passed out at some point. But you will never stop trying. Because somehow… Somewhere out there… In that grassy field, gazing up at the full moon with tears in her eyes; Luna is waiting for you. • • • "Can you tell me your name, son?" "It's Anon sir." "Alright, now Anon. Can you tell me where you are at the moment?" "Yeah, I'm… in my.." Wait… Where the hell am I? And who the fuck is this guy asking me questions?! Suddenly you become aware of a steadily growing noise and you try to sit up only to find that there are heavy leather straps binding you down to a cold metal table. The noise quickens to an alarming rate. ….. …….. …………. Nope That wasn't good for your racing heart; already there were beads of sweat beginning to pool on your forehead as your eyes dart left and right desperately looking for an escape. The man notices your panic and quickly begins to unstrap you. "Calm yourself Anon. You are currently in St. Marcus Hospital, the reason you were bound is because when you were brought here in an ambulance nothing we did would cease your lashing out. Injections, gas, nerve numbing agents; not a single thing phased you. If you weren't bound you would have caused further harm to yourself and the staff." As expected of a doctor, this man knows the right things to s--OH DEAR GOD. It seemed that now was the time your nerves decided to reconnect to their respective pain receptors. EVERYTHING hurt. It felt like you were bruised all over and since breathing hurt you assumed you also broke a rib or two. AND GOD THE HEADACHE. It felt as if someone had performed a curb stomp on your dome and damn near succeeded. "What.. happened to me..?" Crossing his arms the doctor tried his best to conceal his surprise. After a moment of failing he finally responded, "Well we were honestly hoping that was something that you could tell us. Your mother was the one that called the ambulance. She also said that you were clawing at your head screaming 'Luna'…" The doctor paused for a second to stroke his beard, "Who is Luna, Anon?" "Beats me." The troubled expression on the mans face only grew stronger, "Am I still immune to drugs? Cause if I'm not everything hurts. Put me out please." The doctor lifted a brow, "You're on morphine… We'll have to run a few more tests on you now that we.." the doctor rambled off silently before his face switched to a reassuring grin, "Well for now rest Anon, now that you have finally regained consciousness I'm sure your mother will want to come in to see you. I'll be right back with her." The doctor announces as he exits the room. Crazy… I just bonked out and started beating the shit out of myself? …… ……..Luna.. huh? You don't know what Luna means but for some reason your chest hurts. • • • You were released from the hospital a week later with some nasty claw marks on your head and shoulders. There was one other thing too, the doctors said that a good portion of your brain was--- damn what was it again? All that technical jargon that doctor used wasn't needed. Basically he said a portion of your brain was fried, taking with it all the memories of the past year. Fuck'n crazy. To make matters even weirder apparently you gave all of your friends the cold shoulder and became more of a recluse than you were originally. You didn't even game! It took some talking with your friends but they seemed really happy to have you back to normal, though there was something that they wouldn't tell you about the last time they saw you. Whatever it was it didn't feel like it would have been a fun conversation. Nevertheless you were determined to get back into the swing of things. Sitting down at your PC you pull up Firefox and decide to thumb through your favorite comics, thinking that a few of them would have been updated within the-- Fuck it's been a year hasn't it? That's gonna take some getting used to. Scrolling through your bookmarks you find that it's a bit larger than what you remember. "4chan.org /X/… Lucid Dreamers… A Reference Guide to Tulpas… Dreams and Spectral Projecting…" What the hell is all of this? You wonder before clicking on the 4chan.org /X/ link bringing up an image board. "Lucid Dreaming… huh? Sounds kinda' interesting."