//------------------------------// // Dreaming of Fate // Story: The Unwilling Command // by KGBCowgirl //------------------------------// A blackout is usually just that, a black-out, where the majority of conscious cognitive processes cease until awakening. I cursed my luck more than a few times in the last two days, so why not keep up the combo, right? I hadn't had a single deep sleep cycle in over ten years and upon that particular instant, my body decided that "advanced recovery mode for shock and overall trauma" would have to come with a new dreaming feature. My dreams were never normal, they consisted of vague images and occasionally full blown events that I would forget until they somehow took place in the real world. I referred to this phenomenon as "trigger-flashing", since it seemed to take a specific moment, or trigger, to allow me to recall an entire small event. I'd resigned myself to this particular curse by the time I was fifteen. Pondering why I was cursed with a nasty case of precognition induced headaches This dream was different, somehow. The colors were less vibrant and more attuned to the hues that I was attuned to during my waking hours. I wandered around a landscape of dusty winds and rocky terrain until I came upon a woman, whose hair seemed to flow like Celestia's, but on a much calmer wind than that of the solar winds. I approached her, identifying the sparkling blue hair that shimmered like the night sky, a dark hued dress that reflected the darker tones of the middle of the nocturnal phase of time. Her face was young and pale, closer to my own age than Celestia's, but her eyes still bespoke of many centuries of experience and pain, despite her near-adolescent appearance. As I approached, I became aware of the raw emotions that seemed to pour off this young lady, who I had finally identified as Luna, Princess of the Moon, and Ruler of the Dream Realm. I figured that it was only fair that I would be faced with the only near-deity whose domain I was almost never a patron to. Being an insomniac was never a comfortable fate, having been placed before me from the age of merely six years old. I rarely slept comfortably, much less entered a cycle that allowed the almost prophetic dreams to plague my mind, resulting in a colossal headache for the rest of the superseding day. But I digress. I won't lie, she was a very pretty young lady, despite the distant look in her eyes. I watched her for a short time, observing the way she gazed out at the Earth's sky, as my own psyche had rendered it. She seemed enamored by the sheer volume of stars and potential constellations that were scattered across the night sky. I approached her slowly, ensuring that my feet were generating at least some sound in my own mental projection of the world. I stood next to the Princess silently, merely choosing to sit next to the humanized pony. She and I gazed out to observe my rendition of the night sky of my own dimension, my own gaze being constantly drawn either to Orion or the impossibly placed Aquarius. both of which normally existed in the night skies of opposing hemispheres. "Thy night is most interesting." She said, regarding me. "'Tis filled with a great multitude of stars and stories. Prithee, what is the name of yon constellation?" She pointed up to the sky, and I followed her gaze. I saw several stars, but made out one shape. "It's called the Big Dipper." I replied, looking back to Luna. "The star at the end of the handle, the brightest one you can see, is called Polaris. It's one of our Northern stars, the other one being Vega." I pointed to each star as I spoke. Luna looked at me, her face a mask of impassive resolve. "Dost thou know of our plight?" She inquired, a flicker of sadness flashing across her face. "Of the invaders that plague our home?" My aggression flared at the reminder of the Changelings. I saw a medium caliber weapon begin to materialize next to me. I identified it as and M280 from Halo. I stood, grabbed the rifle, charged it, and waited until the silhouettes of several Changelings appeared in the sky. "I imagine they make good target practice," I said, raising the rifle and bringing it to bear on the approaching illusions. I squeezed the trigger, unleashing a short burst on my first target. The shots made contact, turning the Changeling into airborne puree. I continued firing until every one of them was blasted out of the sky. "But, knowing you, that isn't the course of action you want to take." I set the weapon down and returned my attention to the Princess. She seemed surprised that I had displayed such violence. "Is thy temperament a result of war? Or might it be linked to something else?" She sat next to me, patting on the grassy terrain next to her. I sat next to her again, keeping an arms length between myself and the Lunar Princess. "Such violence would normally have no place in Equestria, this is true. Despite such, we must ask thee of a favor." I raised an eyebrow at this. "Though our sister has most certainly bereft thee of a choice in thy new abilities, we are not so presuming as to force a decision." I laughed suddenly. "Not giving me a choice is a euphemism if I ever heard one. She slipped me a pill and didn't tell me what it would do until it already hit my gastric acid." I began raising fingers as I counted off the moments where I was being tricked or uninformed. "Then she fails to sufficiently warn me before teleporting almost sixty miles and disappears while I'm puking up my entire stomach. Now I'm unconscious after imbibing in less that ten percent of my former regular consumption of alcohol and talking to a deity from a different dimension." I gave Luna a flat look before saying, "Needless to say, I have a bone to pick with Celestia, tragic invasion and forced migration to a separate dimension be damned." She seemed shocked at my demeanor, which was a bit more sour than usual. "Dost thy opinion come from the unexpected?" She asked, her head tilting to the side a bit. My eye twitched as I tried to choke down my "D'aww" moment. "Art thou well? Thy face is contorting in a most unusual fashion..." I sighed at her continued archaic speech. "Are you speaking that way out of habit, or are you just messing with me?" I rubbed my temples from the headache that sprouted from my attempt to translate her speech to modern English. "I'm quite aware of the fact that you are, in fact, capable of speech in a modern dialect." "If it irks thou such, then perhaps practice is in order?" She giggled, a mischievous smirk appearing on her face. Yeah, she was screwing with me. Fine, she wanted to play? I'd play that game. "If it pleases Her Majesty, I wouldst much prefer to parley in a more modern dialect of our shared language." I thanked the gods for the almost mind-numbing hours that I'd spent reading Shakespeare. "Failing such, our banter shall continue as such until thou art humored by mine plight." I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow at the Princess, entertained by the new expression of shock on her face. We stared at each other for a few minutes, trying to break one another's bearing. I was half tempted to use the same line that I had with Celestia, but opted for something else entirely. "Thy face might remain in that expression if thou fails to change it." I said with a smirk. Luna's face was a priceless mask of disbelief that quickly turned into an extremely amused grin. "I like you, Maximus Cross. You and all of the others that have come into the care of our subjects." Now it was my turn to look shocked. "You did not know there were others, and this is understandable. We have all worked hard to acclimate ourselves to your world." I narrowed my eyes again. "If Princess Fireball-flank had told me about others, I could have started gathering others to our little army..." I fumed at the fact that Celestia had failed to supply necessary information, despite the obvious implications. If she wanted my help, she would have to tell me everything, not withhold key bits and hope that I'd just roll with it. "While your name for my sister is most amusing," Luna giggled a bit at my coining of "Princess Fireball-flank", before turning serious. "It is your duty to learn the rest of your new abilities. Magic is not lost to your kind, merely forgotten as a result of your dependency on technology." She placed a hand on my shoulder, drawing me out of my ire briefly. This was one of the first times I'd been forced to constantly think before I spoke in a long time, since I pondered her words for a moment before speaking again. "You say that I have more abilities, but I only noticed my aura sight never turning itself off. What other nonsense do I get to look forward to, hmm?" The Princess smiled at my curiosity, or so I assumed. "Among other things, your eyes are merely the first of a few abilities afforded by your new-found affinity. The next thing you will need to learn about is something I am sure you have already noticed: your empathy." Luna's gaze softened as she continued. "You will notice that the feelings of others will become more apparent with practice, but you must also learn to control your own emotions. You will be easily influenced by those around you if you are not careful." So that explained some of my attraction to Vinyl... "You will also find that stronger emotions may have the same effects on those around you. As I have noticed, both Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Philharmonica have taken a notably stronger liking to you. Vinyl in the more romantic fashion, Octavia as more of a sibling." Fuck... Luna laughed out loud. "Your face is betraying your thoughts as clearly as if they were inscribed in a book!" Double fuck... At that moment, my dreamscape vibrated. I felt myself being dragged into consciousness from the outside. "Ah, it seems our time is at an end. I do hope you find more time to visit me, Maximus Cross. I smiled before correcting her. "Just call me Max." Luna returned the smile. "Max. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor to find your calling and in acclimating to your new power. It is not easy to be aware and open to emotion, but I am sure you will learn to control it" I felt the pull of consciousness again, stronger this time. I began floating away from Luna. "See you on the flip side, Your Majesty." I waved goodbye. "Call me Luna!" She called back. Then everything turned white.