Bill twirled the revolver in a proper gun-slinging fashion, then handed it back to me. Then, he drew Celestia's rapier, which he had belted onto himself. I myself took out my battle sword, which was a long, thin, and triangular shaped blade made for punching through armour, and Luna drew her rapier as well. We readied for battle, though Bill stood about seven feet in front of us.
Moments later, several hellhounds and diamond dogs burst through the treeline. They each made a beeline for Bill, being the closest. Not fazed by this at all, Bill simply stood calmly. When the first hellhound reached him, he stepped aside as it jumped and flicked his blade up to stab its heart. It fell instantly, but another was on the way.
Not that it mattered much. Bill swung his left arm and clocked the oncoming hellhound on the side of the head. By that time, his sword was free of the first and poised to attack. The hellhounds continued their assault. At this point, however, Luna and I had already moved up to support Bill, and the hounds went down pretty quickly. The diamond dogs held back a bit, possessing a gram more intelligence than a hound.
I called out to them, knowing they spoke Equestrenglish. "Dogs, if you value your lives, and I'm sure you do, you will leave now, in peace, and go back to the hole from whence you came!"
The dogs laughed, then took a step forward. I guess they figured numbers were better than training. Luna looked at me, and said, "Let me handle this, Will." She spoke to the dogs. "YOU WILL RETURN TO THE HELLHOLE FROM WHENCE YOU CAME, MUTTS, OR WE WILL SLAY YOU ALL WHERE YOU STAND!" That cut off the dogs' laughter, and several broke ranks, high-tailing, heehee, it out of the area.
The rest, however, were the dumbest of the bunch. "FORWARD!" The lead dog barked in a gravelly, scratchy voice. They all drew knives. 'Just knives?' I thought. 'Seriously? We're outnumbered two to one, yes, but honestly? We have three magic users, three well-trained swordsmen, three agile and strong warriors. What did they have?'
I took a moment to look them over, and I'm glad I did. These dogs were different. They looked bigger, but splendid. They were wearing armour suits lavished with expensive jewels and metals. They looked fair, but felt foul. I meant they literally felt foul; a chill went up my spine.
Bill didn't give them a chance to get real close. With his free hand, his made a fist and brought it to his shoulder. He then swept it in an arc, unfolding it into a hand with fingers outstretched and palm down. What did this accomplish? A wave of fire shot out from his hand, burning every dog in its path to a crisp. It sailed harmlessly by the trees and the grass, making it the most controlled bit of destructive magic I'd ever seen. Granted, I hadn't seen that much, but still. Point stands.
"Get Fluttershy inside," Bill told me.
I turned to find that she was, in fact, still with us, but cowering in terror. I slowly walked over to her, trying not to startle her. I knelt down beside her, her head buried in her hooves. "Fluttershy," I said softly. "Fluttershy, it's okay, you can get up now. It's alright, they're gone now. They can't hurt you. The monsters can't hurt you."
"But... there are still... three monsters here!" She yelled, raising her head to look at me with tear-filled eyes, racked with fear.
I looked around. I didn't see anything. "I don't see any monsters, Fluttershy. They're all gone. It's okay."
"You don't get it? It's you! You, Bill, and Luna!"
A severe pain shot through my heart. Without Bill to regulate the Wall, I felt it crack to the point of breaking. "W... what? Fluttershy..." I felt my eyes water. "How... how could you say that?"
"You just killed them! You didn't even give them a chance to run away!"
"Yes, we did. Luna and I both gave them a chance to run away. Thankfully, most of them took it. These... they were the ones that were either to proud for their own good, or, well, too dumb... but..."
"You don't even care, do you?! You just killed them, and you don't even feel bad for it!" She screamed, getting closer to my face.
I'd heard stories of her "Stare" that could apparently scare away even a cockatrice. So, I stared directly at her nose, ignoring her eyes... her beautiful eyes... "Fluttershy, they attacked first! And, and, you know what else we were doing?" I leaned my forehead against hers, not only hoping this would calm her, but also to avoid her eyes better. "We were protecting you," I said in a low voice, so that no one but her could hear me. "Ask them. They'll say you were in their minds."
I grasped her head in my hands and held it out to look directly at it. I didn't care if I got "stared." "Fluttershy, I love you. I love you so much, I would do anything for you. I want you to be happy. I want you to be safe. And to be safe, monsters that come so close to your house, and attack us, need to go. Peaceably or no, they need to go. And, I'm sorry, but they just won't go without a fight. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for scaring you. I'm sorry for making you go through this.
"But most of all," I said, fighting back the ready tears. "I'm sorry for me. I kill things, it's what I've been doing for eight years. I'm sorry. I've lost all emotion when I do my job. I'm sorry. The monsters are everywhere. I'm sorry. I want to protect you. I'm sorry. I have to... kill the monsters to do that. I'm sorry. I know you aren't a violent pony. I shouldn't put you through this. I'm sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry." I couldn't hold back the flood anymore.
"Oh... Will... I'm..." Fluttershy stuttered, starting to cry herself. I picked her up, which elicited a gasp from her. I ran back to the house, doing my best not to jostle her. I beat my wings a bit to boost my hop over the fence, and opened the door, walking hurriedly inside. I set Fluttershy on the couch next to Celestia. I walked right up the front door and walked outside, taking a single step out. I left the door open.
I began crying. I'd just been called a monster to the mare I'd promised my life to. I'd been called a monster by the one mare in the world, nay, the universe that matters to me. Already I was assailed by thoughts of... bad things I shouldn't do to myself. I looked towards the moon, which was to my right. Anyone inside would see my profile. That's when I pulled out the revolver.
I stared at it for a few seconds. I knew that, under the circumstances, I was overreacting. But then, how could I not? Every solution to this problem that crossed my mind ended in this. Forgiveness didn't enter my mind at all. To me, Fluttershy was too mad at me to forgive me. I sighed deeply, exasperatedly. My hand trembling, I put the barrel underneath my chin. My finger slowly inched from its "safe spot" on the side of the gun to the trigger guard, then finally to the trigger itself.
I took one last deep breath, then gulped. This was it. Everything: the pain, the hardships, the war, it would all stop. No more sleepless nights. No more looking over my shoulder every time I left my shelter. No more getting yelled at. My finger slowly pulled back on the trigger. Three pounds of pressure, that's all it would take. No more wounds. I heard a faint click; just a little further and it'd be over. No more death.
No more Fluttershy.
My eyes widened. I tried to stop myself, but I was too late. "Will!" I heard a male, Bill, shout out. I heard heavy footfalls coming in my direction, from inside the house. Right before Bill hit me, I heard a second click. Bill heard it too, yelling, "No! Will, don't!" My finger and the trigger hit the back of the guard. It was then I realised the problem with my process.
The gun was still empty.
Bill barreled into me, knocking me to the ground. He wrested the gun from me and tossed it aside. I tried to break free, blinded by a rage that I was interrupted, but he had me pinned. He rolled me onto my stomach, placed a knee on my back, and twisted my right arm around and pinned my hand between my shoulder blades, immobilizing me. "What were you thinking?!" He yelled.
"Get off of me, Bill!" I shouted back, harshly.
He pressed my arm harder. "No can do, Will! My purpose is to keep you safe. I would be failing at my job if you killed yourself! Now snap out of it!"
"I said, get OFF!" I shouted, then twisted and rolled at the same time, while also kicking my leg up. As strong as Bill was, he still weighed nothing and lacked proper training. After all, he hadn't experienced the trainings in person. I knocked Bill to my left. He rolled into a crouch, but I was already on him. I backhanded him across the face. His head recoiled, but something else happened then.
My own cheek started stinging furiously, as if I had slapped myself. I stopped myself from continuing the slap with a punch to stare into space in shock. Bill knew what had happened, apparently. "Yeah. You feel that?" He said, wiping away the nonexistent blood from his lips. "It happens. It will always happen. I am tied to you, Will. My arm?" He flopped his right arm. "Hurts. It started hurting at exactly the same time that I pinned yours behind your back."
I had no words to counter this. "Don't you see, Will?" Bill said, as if knowing I was speechless. "Everything that happens to you happens to me. Right now, I am almost loathing Fluttershy for what she said. You are as well."
"I... no..." I stammered, still unable to form coherent speech.
"And now I don't." He said, right after I forgave Fluttershy. Now, I heaped the blame on- "Even better, I hate myself for putting her through all this." -myself.
By this time, my rage and fury had burned out. "Bill," I attempted to speak. "I'm... I'm sorry."
He actually found this a bit funny; he chuckled. "Yeah, I know. It's alright. No harm done." He rubbed his face, where I'd slapped him. "Well, no serious harm done. Come on," he said, getting up. He walked over to me and practically but gently pushed me through the door. I saw him pick up the revolver before entering himself, where he said, "Let's get this whole mess cleared up." He shut the front door.
Luna was inside now, trying to comfort Fluttershy. She wasn't saying anything, but instead was sitting between her and Celestia. She was holding Fluttershy's head close to her chest, stroking her mane. She looked up when I entered, and nodded to me, her own eyes glinting with the wetness of tears.
Fluttershy too looked up to me. Her crying was more evident. The faint lines of dried tears that ran from her eyes to her cheeks from a while ago were darkened with fresh tears. Her eyes had gotten a slightly reddish tint around the rims. Her body was shaking, apparently every time she gasped, blubbered, or wailed. "Will..." she said softly, but didn't add anything.
"Fluttershy," I said, walking to her. I knelt down in front of her, starting to cry again for the whatever'th time today. "I'm sorry. I should have gotten you out of there. You should not have to see these kinds of things. You are too nice to be subjected to the horrors that soldiers face. I'm sorry."
"No, Will." She said, placing a hoof under my chin. "It's my fault. I stayed; I didn't run away." She shook her head. "Don't cry." She wiped away some of the bold tears that started to charge bravely down my cheeks, only to be swept away by the mightiest hoof in all of Equestria. I chuckled at the thought of that. That caused Fluttershy to smile. "Do you see, now? It's my fault. I shouldn't have yelled at you; I shouldn't have gotten mad. I should have remembered that a soldier's job is to... kill things... but I didn't. I was just... so mad that creatures were dying..." She shook her head more violently, as if to clear it instead of deny something. "It's me who should be sorry."
"Well," Luna finally spoke, breaking the awkward silence that had sprung up. "It seems we are at an impasse. I elect myself as moderator. Both Will and Fluttershy claim to be at fault. In keeping with their natures, I will judge: both are at fault. Say you're sorry, both of you, and let's get past this. I don't mean to kill the mood, but there are important matters that require our attention."
I gave her a crooked smile. Turning to Fluttershy, I held her hoof in both my hands and said, "I'm sorry, love. For everything that happened tonight."
She fully smiled, shaming me. "And I'm sorry too."
I hugged her, and she hugged me. All was, more or less, right with the world. I mean, aside from those minor details like the monster war. Those things didn't matter right now. "So," I began. "What needs discussing?"
"For starters," Luna replied. "What are we to do with Celestia?"
To be honest, I already had something in mind. "Well, we could always do this," I said, leaning in to tell everyone in the room my plans. I finished with, "And then I finish with Taps."
Luna and Bill nodded. It was Luna who spoke, though. "It sounds like a plan, Will. I appreciate that you would conduct such an extensive ceremony for my sister... your aunt... thank you." She hugged me. Glad to do so, I hugged her back.
"You're welcome, mother." I grinned over her shoulder at Bill. He simply snorted and slowly shook his head. "Ah," I sighed. "Things are finally being wrapped up."
I felt Luna nod against my shoulder. "They are, and I am ever glad for it."
I released her to sit back next to Fluttershy, who again leaned back into me. I idly stroked her mane with my free hand, while my right hand combed through my own hair. I realized just how tired I was. I hadn't had any real sleep for quite a while. I think it might have been a few days, but I couldn't be quite sure. Before I could voice my opinion, Luna asked a question. "Would you... would you like to hear the story of your father, Will?"
This was it. Ever since Luna hinted that she'd one day tell me who exactly my father was, I'd been waiting to hear it. For a chance to finally get to learn of my past, who had brought me into this universe... I felt ecstatic. "Of course... unless... there was something you wanted to do, Fluttershy?" I asked her.
"Oh, it's okay. I want to hear it to. If that's alright with you..."
"Well, if you want to hear it, you're welcome to stay. Just wanted to be sure I wasn't keeping you from anything."
"Oh, it's no worry. I didn't have anything planned for tonight except sleep... something you, if I remember correctly," she said with a smile and poked my chest. "Were lacking."
At this provocation, I yawned. It was rather embarrassing. I mean, my mother had just asked me if I wanted to learn who's past I came from, and I yawned. Bad P.R. right there. Oh well. "I think I can hold out until after the tale. I'm really excited."
Luna coughed. "Okay then. Here it goes. Your father was born under a Wizard, the real kind, and a stage magician."
Fluttershy interrupted. "Like that Trixie pony?" Her eyes widened as she realized she'd just interrupted the storytelling. "Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."
Luna laughed. "It's quite alright. But to answer your question, yes, like her. Rotten pony, that one, but I digress. His mother was the Wizard," she continued, undisturbed. "Her name was Margaret Dresden, sometimes called Margaret LeFay. She was a pretty substantial Wizard, if rather... unruly. She did not break any laws by the Wizards' standards, but came very close. Your grandfather, Will, was named Malcolm Dresden. Very nice man, or so I'm told. Your father never spoke of him much, only to say that he cared for him a lot, and was very upset about his death."
She paused to let this sink in. So my father was the son of a stage magician for a father and an honest-to-God Wizard for a mother. It seemed pretty tame compared to what I've been finding and discovering in this universe, but at least I was getting the one history lesson I wanted to hear.
"Your father... he was named after three famous magicians of the time. Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Named after Harry Houdini, Harry Blackstone, and David Copperfield. When his father died, he was eight, and was adopted by his uncle Justin DuMorne. After a while of teaching Harry how to use his magical powers, he tried to enthrall Harry. You do know what enthrallment is, yes?"
I nodded. "It's when someone places you under their complete control. It doesn't necessarily have to be by magical means, as far as I know."
Luna smiled. "Correct, very good. Justin tried to enthrall Harry, after already successfully enthralling his short-time girlfriend Elaine Mallory. Harry reacted violently, killing Justin with fire summoned by magic. That was against the first Law of Magic, as set up by the White Council, the ruling body of Wizards over Wizards. At his trial, and he told me he was lucky to get one in the first place, it was a slim majority that ruled it was self defence, and instead of outright killing him, placed him under what was called the "Doom of Damocles," which was essentially a harsh probation; failure to uphold it resulted in immediate death."
I huffed. "Jesu Christi," I swore. "That sounds freaking harsh. They really had a system like that set up?"
She nodded. "Eventually, it was lifted when he killed an evil sorcerer and in the process started burning down the house. A Warden, basically the cops and soldiers of the White Council, named Morgan rescued him from the fire." Her eyes glinted. "When I'd heard him speak of that Warden Morgan... he told me, 'Lu, Morgan was an ass. If he so much as heard something bad in passing, he'd try to find a way to incriminate you.' But... Harry came back from a meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland on Earth... and told me, 'Lu... Morgan... he's... dead... I mean, sure, he was a grade A dick, but... I mean, he's gone.'" Luna shook her head in obvious sadness. "It was one of the worst days of my life. He was so broken up about it..."
I got up, leaving Fluttershy on the floor. I walked over to Luna, and gave her a big hug. Just to show her that I cared and wanted to make her feel better, I told her, "Not sure how to cheer you up. I was hoping this would work." She chuckled and sniffled once. I grinned over her shoulder. "Mission accomplished, I'd say." I said, then returned to Fluttershy's side, who wasted no time in leaning back into me, nuzzling my chest.
"We could do this another time," I told Luna. "If it's getting too hard to retell it now, I can wait a bit. It's no problem to me."
"Well, it's a problem to me!" She snapped, catching me off guard. Everyone in the room, even Bill, flinched. Realizing this, Luna cupped her hands over mouth and gasped. When she lowered them after a few seconds, she said, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to sound so rude! Please, forgive me!"
I held up my hands defensively. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I forgive you, too, I guess."
"Figures," Bill chortled.
"What?" I asked him, confused.
"Ever heard of being sure of yourself?"
"What do you mean?"
"You only ever guess... you know what, just forget it. It seems my humour has fallen on deaf ears."
Luna snorted. "Whatever. Now," she said, turning to me. "Where was I?"
I cleared my throat. "You, uh... just got finished telling us about... Morgan..."
"Ah, yes," she almost forced those words out. "Harry was so broken up. To make matters worse, and this was before I met him, his special someone, his Captain, Anastasia Luccio, broke up with him the next day. She'd apparently been influenced by a traitor in the White Council into dating Harry to gain information on him. Essentially she became a spy, albeit unbeknownst to her."
So. Harry had a relationship with this Captain Luccio who was essentially his boss. Then he uncovers a plot of a traitor in the White Council. Morgan, essentially Harry's handler, dies somehow, and traitor either dies or escapes. Luccio, no longer under the effects of this traitor, no longer harbours feelings for Harry, and dumps him. Pretty messed up life, it seems.
"He later went on to find out he had a daughter..." Luna looked at my shocked expression. "I know what you're thinking, Will, but sadly, no. You don't have a sister. At least, not as far as I can tell. She was born under a Wizard and a half-vampire. I'm not sure about the rules for that."
"Wait, wait, wait," I interrupted. "You mean to say that it's possible I have a sister?"
"Well," Luna said. "Technically, she'd be your half sister, but to answer your question, yes. It's possible. I don't know how likely it is, but maybe. I doubt she'd know you. I doubt she'd know me. You see, Harry knew he couldn't keep her, what with him getting into trouble all the time. There was a church near his home, Saint Mary of the Angels. The priest there, a Father Forthill, was a great friend of Harry's. Harry handed Maggie... over to Forthill, and told him to find a good home."
Luna smiled. "Harry later told me how he wasn't all too surprised to find that she'd been given to the Carpenter family, another close friendship. Michael Carpenter, the man of the house, used to be a literal Divine Sword, being one of the Knights of the Cross. They were three who were chosen to defend the innocent from evil. Literally: demons, Fallen Angels, faeries, you name it." She shook her head. "Until he was shot. Crippled.
"But I digress. Harry then went on to become the Winter Knight, the right hand man of Winter, Queen of the Winter Fae. Yes," she told me, smiling. "Faeries and faerie queens exist. Anyway, after a long service, Harry found a way to release himself from her. He wandered the United States, looking for somewhere to go, something to do." She chuckled. "That's when I stumbled upon him."
I felt myself, or more accurately, my conscience, being pulled towards Luna. It was Bill. Apparently, something was going on inside her head that I had to see. And I looked. And ho, did I have to see that.
Luna sped through the tall grass; the hellhound would not escape her. It had already eaten two babies and killed five people. This monster deserved a very slow death. How it managed to get here was beyond her, but the fact that it needed to die was at the forefront of her mind. Luna, it probably arrived when that earthquake happened. That was Luna's voice, Helen. She helped Luna out in dire straits. She also provided help in mundane tasks, and essentially was a "co-pilot." 'True. Natural disasters tend to be portals for monsters and other spawn.'
Luna was still running when a tower of flames erupted in front of her. She heard a terrified yelp, that of a hellhound, which then cut off with a whimper, then finally a last sigh of breath. A short while later, Luna burst into a clearing and found out what had caused the death of the hellhound. Standing across from her was a man.
The first thing she noticed was that he was incredibly tall; Luna was sure that if she stood back to back with him, he'd dwarf her by at least a foot. Next, she noticed what he was wearing. He had on a black shirt, blue jeans, and a black duster. He also wore a black, wide-brimmed hat. Around his neck hung an amulet, a pentagram within a circle, with a red pentagon shaped ruby in the center. In his right hand he held a staff. Along the staff were sigils, burning with an orange glow. Indeed, thin smoke wisps were spiraling from the sigils themselves. Powerful magic was at work here.
Luna poised her rapier, ready to strike should the need arise. Instead of reacting with hostility, the man said, "Oh. This wasn't your dog, was it?"
Luna slowly shook her head. "I've been hunting it. It's eaten babies and killed the parents."
The man looked down at the charred remains of the hellhound, then back up to Luna. "Huh. Glad I didn't kill someone's pet. But... what's a hellhound doing out of the Nevernever?" He shook his head. "Can only mean some bozo is running around opening ways."
"I don't think that," Luna replied, a bit cautiously. "There was an earthquake recently; it's possible a way was opened then."
The man looked at her, wide-eyed. "You know of the supernatural?"
Luna looked at him with a sidelong glance. "Monsters, demons, faeries, hellhounds, warlocks, Wizards, magic, vampires, and the like? Yes, I know of them. Why?"
"My reasons would depend on whose side you're on."
"What do you mean?"
"Are you doing whatever you're doing for your own gain, or are you standing up for the little guy?"
"If by doing whatever I'm doing you mean roaming around trying to fill in the power vacuum that's arisen now that there is only one Knight of the Cross left, then I'm doing it for the 'little guy.' If you mean hunting monsters, well. There's a certain fame aspect to gain from that."
"So. You're out for glory, and there's nothing that says you can't help people out while doing that?"
Luna shook her head. "I'd reverse that. I'm trying to keep the people safe. Gaining fame on the side is certainly good, but I can't gain fame if there's no one to spread the word."
"So you're saying you're protecting the people because you want people to worship you?"
"No, that's not it," Luna said, a bit impatiently. 'Lord, is this man incredibly slow?' "I want to save this town, hypothetically. It's under attack by a dragon. If I gun for the dragon without taking into account the people of the town, I end up with a dead town and a dead dragon. By a small drive to want to be recognised, I'm saving town after town, city after city, country after country."
The man's eyes widened more. "So... have you actually killed a dragon?"
"Four," Luna said without emotion.
The man whistled. "That's... wow." The man, looking straight into Luna's eyes, took a few cautious steps forward before moving his staff from his right to his left hand, and then stuck out his right. "Harry Dresden."
Luna looked at the stranger carefully, searching for any signs of evil intent. Seeing none, she slowly reached out with her own right hand, after sheathing the rapier, and took this Dresden's hand in her own. "Luna," she told him. "Now, might I ask what you are doing here?"
"Well," Harry said, almost looking embarrassed. In fact, he reached around to scratch the back of his neck. "I give you my word, I honestly don't know. I was, up until recently, the Winter Knight." At this, Luna herself stared at Harry in shock. "I got out of it... I don't remember how. Then I ended up here. Hmph," Harry harrumphed. "Mab didn't have the kindness to drop me off at home... not that I have one anymore."
"What... what do you mean? Do you not own it anymore?"
"No..." Harry looked down. "It was burned down. I mean, I guess I still have the houseboat, and maybe Demonreach... but..."
Luna guessed the latter part of his explanation wasn't meant for her. "That's so sad..." Luna looked down herself, for a different reason than Harry. 'He seems like a nice guy. He seems to work for a noble cause... he's even kind of... cute...' Luna, think about this, first. You've just met him. How do you know he's a good person? How do you know he won't try to kill you? 'Well... for starters, he's given me his word. For magic users, giving your word is pretty binding.' True. 'He also hasn't tried to harm me yet. I've put away my sword, and he still has his staff out, but hasn't tried anything.' True...
Luna carefully stepped up to him, and cautiously put her hand on his shoulder. This caused him to look up at her, but he didn't react in any other way. "You're welcome to come tag along with me," she said. "That is, if you'd like."
Harry looked at her for a few seconds. Finally, he said, "Well, I've got nothing else to do. Why not?" In a lower voice, Luna heard him whisper, "I might even enjoy this. She is kind of cute..."
Moving past Harry, he back to him, Luna smiled to herself. Her heart fluttered for a moment. She'd just fallen in love. Tia would be so proud.
The memory ended, and I found myself back in my own body. I found Luna to be sitting on the couch, crying, but smiling at the same time. She sighed. "It was the start of a long journey," she said. "One I will never regret taking." She looked down. "When it became possible to travel through space, one of the first, I think it was maybe the fourth, planets that could sustain human life was this one. I think it was called New Earth, because of its very similar features. Tia and I..." her voice got softer, more reverent. "Tia and I were the first 'humans,'" she smiled when she said that. "To set foot here. There, we were met with ponies who claimed it to be called 'Equestria.' Not surprising, since they were ponies and all.
"We befriended the leaders. They came to trust us, but told us they would be more comfortable if we looked like them. So Tia and I came up with the idea of the alicorn. We would still have the horn and wings of our Paracorn bodies, but we would look more equine."
"So I'll eventually be able to change my appearance?" I asked.
Luna laughed, which made my cheeks redden a bit. "You could do it right now; no technical limitations are stopping you. There's just the problem of focus. You need to be incredibly focused to cast the right spell. After it's done, however, no further effort is needed. It's just a one-time energy expenditure. Cast the transformation spell, and then you're home free."
My eyebrows raised at this. I could fit in now, as opposed to sticking out like a sore thumb. But Luna had one more thing to say on the matter. "I would not attempt to do this now, though. We have more pressing matters than your curiosity to attend to." With that, she lied Celestia's body on the floor by the couch, and lied down on it herself. "See you three in the morning," she said softly. Shortly thereafter very quiet snores could be heard.
I yawned again. "She has the right idea. Come on, Fluttershy, let's get some sleep." I led her by the hoof into her room. There was a smaller guest bed beside her own, so after setting her down on her bed I made my way there.
"Oh," Fluttershy interjected before I could actually get on the bed. "You don't have to sleep there. I could."
"Are you... are you sure, Fluttershy? I don't want to kick you out of your bed." I grinned.
She returned it, saying, "That's fine. You sleep here. You'll need the extra room anyways."
I sighed. "Well, if that's what you want..."
"It is. But... you don't have to if you don't want to..."
I shook my head. 'Heh. Even when she tries to be assertive she lapses into innocence and non-aggressiveness.' "Alright Fluttershy. I'll do as you ask. Thank you."
As she got up to get into the smaller bed, she told me, "You're welcome." She closed her eyes and went to sleep.
Bill stood silent in the doorway for a minute before saying, "I'll keep watch downstairs."
"Good night, Bill."
"Night, Will."
I was sitting at the kitchen table. "So you see one thing and that's who I am?!" I shouted.
"I know what I saw, and I saw a monster!" Fluttershy yelled back.
Bill sat in the chair to my right; Fluttershy's left. He had yet to say anything in this argument, and didn't look like he was going to say anything any time soon. "So by protecting you, I should be classified a monster?! I thought you were a better pony than that!"
"Well," Fluttershy tried to rebut, but I didn't allow it.
"Well, clearly I was wrong! You're just some lonely pet mare, who was desperate enough to want anyone's attention! Unfortunately for you, I don't like that!"
Fluttershy came back hard. "I'LL WALK RIGHT OUT OF HERE IF IT'LL MAKE YOU HAPPY! WOULD YOU BE HAPPY IF THE POOR LONELY MARE JUST LEFT YOU? WOULD IT, WILL?!"
I faltered for but a moment. "FINE! GO, SEE IF I CARE!" I shouted, getting real close to her face. With that, I walked upstairs. I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. Because it wasn't working, I kicked at a dresser and knocked it over. That's when a thought entered my mind. My right hand felt around my hip until it found the metal device it was looking for. I drew it and stared at it for a few moments. I popped the cylinder to check if there were any unspent rounds left. Satisfied that the entire thing was full and ready to go, I closed the cylinder.
"GO ON, FLUTTERSHY! LEAVE, I'M GETTING READY TO MAKE SURE YOU NEVER SEE THE BIG SCARY MONSTER AGAIN!" My voice grew hoarse, and I realized it was because I started crying. "GOODBYE, FLUTTER... Fluttershy..."
I heard footsteps pounding up the stairs; they were Bill's. Behind him I heard a set of hoofsteps; Fluttershy was on his heels. I pressed the gun to my chin. Bill started pounding on the door. "GO AWAY!" I yelled. I began to pull back the trigger, and the pounding increased.
I heard Bill's muffled voice say, "Aw, hell, he's gonna do it." The pounding turned into smashing as Bill threw his whole weight on the door.
I felt the pain it was causing on my left side, not the side I was holding the gun with. I pulled back even further. I faced the door to show the "audience" the whole deal. Finally, Bill managed to bust the door open. "WILL! DON'T!" He shouted.
But he was too late. My finger and the trigger met the rear of the guard. I heard an incredibly loud bang. My head snapped upward before lolling loosely, hanging down from my neck. It wasn't severed, but I could no longer control it; it was dead. With the last of my sight, I saw Bill's head snap upward as well, before following suit of my head and hanging loosely. Inertia prevailed and from the neck down his body continued in the air for a few inches before he fell flat on his back.
I landed on my stomach, facing the doorway. My vision was growing darker with every second. I saw Bill's body disintegrate, somehow, and the dust flowed along the ground towards me until it met with my limp head, and a tingling sensation filled the last of my living nerves as the dust "entered" my brain. I also saw Fluttershy run crying and screaming at the top of her lungs... downright terrified by what had just happened in front of her. "WILL!" She shouted, though unlike her previous tone, now hers was filled with terror, anguish, and sorrow.
I bolted upright to find someone hugging me tightly around the neck. "Ack," I managed to sound.
"WILL!" Fluttershy shouted. Due to the volume, I figured it was her who was choking me to death. I also went a little deaf in my right ear. Curses. She did let up, however, and I could finally breathe properly again. "Will, are you okay?" She asked, softer this time.
"I... I don't..." I stammered, but Fluttershy interrupted me.
"I heard you crying, and then you shouted 'goodbye, Fluttershy,' and that's when I called out for Bill."
It was then I noticed that indeed, Bill was standing at the foot of the bed, eyebrows furrowed and a frown on his face. "I saw what you were dreaming, Will."
"How-" I tried, but was interrupted yet again.
"He is a Dreamwalker," a new voice, Luna's, said from the doorway. I looked over and saw her walk up to the bed. "Oracles apparently have the ability to walk in other beings' dreams. He cannot interfere with them, however. And, strangely enough, I've found that Oracles never dream themselves."
"Wait," I said, slightly confused. "So when I saw Bill in my dreams-"
"That was not him. That was your dream. Dreamwalkers cannot be seen when walking in dreams. It is possible that when Bill entered your dream to see what dear Fluttershy was crying about, he may have trailed behind you, or followed you somewhere."
Bill nodded. "I followed you up the stairs, Will. You closed the door right behind you, yes, but Dreamwalkers are insubstantial. Intangible. I just waltzed right through it. Not that doing so lessened the effect of what you did there."
"What do you mean?"
"I saw what you did there, in this very room. And I wish I hadn't. To know that this kind of thing is still on your mind..." He trailed off, so Fluttershy saw it as her opportunity to speak.
"What... what did he do?"
I shook my head. "You don't want to-"
Bill interrupted me. That makes everyone in the room having interrupted me at least once this night. I feel wonderful. "He killed himself."
Fluttershy recoiled in shock. "What?!"
Bill continued. "I did a little digging for the reason this dream existed. You calling him a monster was fresh in his mind. I saw the arguing that he and you had at the beginning of the dream. It was full of shouting because you called him a monster, and before you say anything, Fluttershy, yes. He did apologise last night, but still." He shook his head. "He went upstairs after you threatened to leave him. He pulled out his gun. By that time, dream Bill was upstairs at the door trying to get through. Just as he broke through the door, Will does it. He dies; dream Bill dies. You scream and cry uncontrollably, because you followed dream Bill up."
I hung my head in shame; the truth, the horrible truth, was out. And Bill didn't even have the decency to say it in a soft or caring tone. It was just one monotone all throughout. "That... that's the gist of it..."
Fluttershy hugged me tightly, though around the chest this time, so it was less painful. Heck, I even believed my hearing was returning. "Oh, Will! I'm so sorry I called you a monster, I wasn't thinking!"
I patted her head and returned the hug. "It's okay, Fluttershy. It's alright. No harm done, I just had a nightmare is all. They happen. But I'm still here, alive, with you, and that's all that matters, right?" I said the last word while looking into her lovely eyes.
She smiled at me and nodded. "Right," she said before burying her face in my chest.
Bill, even with featureless eyes, somehow managed to roll them. Not that I knew at first; he had to tell me. "Okay. Now that we've got that taken care of, could we please get outta here? At least let's get to Ponyville; we need to warn the mayor that there are monsters up here in the north as well."
I nodded. "Very well." I swung Fluttershy around until she was on my back before I stood. "Come on, let's go do that hero-y thing that heroes do."
Luna groaned. "Harry would be so proud of you and your awful cliched lines." Then she chuckled, and followed us out.