//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Into Hell, and out to where? // by DarkAscension //------------------------------// Canterlot Throne Room, 0230 hours. Princess Luna let out a long sigh. Still a little disappointed that her sister forbid her to see the strange creature sleeping in the dungeon. The conversation played in her head over and over again. - "But sister! Why can I not visit the creature?" She shouted. "I do not fully understand it yet. Until I do, I will be the only Pony to speak with it." Celestia calmly said. "That's not fair Tia! I could help you too...." "Too? Nopony is helping me with this-" "You let Princess Sparkle talk with it! And now you have her looking for a language spell! Though one does not exists, you still let her do more than me..." "Look at you, using modern terms. I'm impressed you-" "Don't change the subject Tia!" - Luna let out another deep sigh. It wasn't fair, ever since her return four years ago, Celestia has always babied her. And now that Twilight became a Princess...Lunas face scrunched up in anger. 'She's only been a Princess for less then a year, and already she has more duties then I do! Buck you Tia! I'm not a Foal!' Luna started to visibly shake with anger. Something the Guards took notice of. With faces of concern, they asked if she was alright. "I'm fine!" Luna snapped back. The guards quickly shifted back forward, one slightly shivering in fear. Luna sighed, "Apologies. I'm not in a good mood tonight, thank you for your concern." The guard nodded and returned to his stoic silence they were known for. It was a slow night for Princess Luna. There were no Royal documents to go over and sign thanks to Twilight. She took a lot of paper work out of both Luna and Celestias hooves. No Diplomats to entertain, and no subjects coming in to the Night Court. Luna was almost begging for something to happen. Just when she was about to give up hope, the Throne room doors opened to reveal a lone guard. He trotted up to her and bowed. "Princess, the creature requests your presence." Lunas eyes widened. Did Celestia not tell the guard she wasn't 'allowed' to see the creature? Luna stood up smiling brightly. "Very well, Take me there at once." With that, she followed the guard through the halls of the castle, all the way to the dungeon. Luna was so excited, she gets to see the creature! And more importantly, she can show Celestia she wasn't a helpless foal. With a short little dance, she rounded the corner and walked up to the cell door. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Canterlot Dungeon, 0235 hours. I sat in my cell, waiting for the guard to return with Princess Celestia. When she said that she would be back, I thought maybe she had some things to take care of and she'd be back in a few hours. But I slept all day. I wonder if she was even up? Would she just put sleep off to learn more about me? 'Wait. I got more pressing issues than that. Like where the Hell I am?' I looked over to the door as I hear a faint...squee? And the sound of someone bouncing? What was going on? The door opened and a Pony walked in. The Pony was dark blue, with a mane like the star-y night sky. Like Celestias, it seemed to dance in a unknown tune of wind. It had both wings and a horn, and the most beautiful teal eyes. And by the looks of it, a foot or so shorter then Celestia. My gaze was broken when she cleared her throat. She had a faint look of irritation on her her. I wonder how long I was starring for? "I'm Princess Luna." She said. Of course, the only thing I understood was Princess and...wait, wasn't Luna Latin for Moon? That's when my gaze fell upon her flank. A crescent moon on a black drop. I tried to sit up, only to wince in pain as my right leg flared in pain. 'The fuck is up with this? I've had worse injuries, why does this hurt so Goddamn much? Did they do something to me?' "Shhh..." Luna walked over to me and looked at my poorly bandaged leg. My eyes widened as her horn started to glow. Luna looked at me with a reassuring smile. Slowly, she brought her horn to my leg and held the tip just above the wound. As soon as the tip touched me, a surge of pain shot through me causing me to grunt. But just as fast as it came, it diapered. And a cool feelings tarted to spread around my leg. It soon found its way to my shoulder. The feeling stayed for a few seconds after her horn stopped glowing. Luna smiled up at me and nodded towards my leg. "I healed what I could. But I'm afraid it will still be sore." I gave her a confused look and gave my leg a test move. Sure enough, I was able to bend it all the way. It was still sore, but it was better none the less. "Thank you, Luna." I said with a smile. Now it was her turn to give me a confused look. " You don't speak Equestrian? I wonder if..." She turned away and bit her bottom lip as if in deep thought. We sat like that for a few moments before she gave a sharp nod. she wore a mischievous grin. But that didn't scare me as much as the look on her face. A look of determination, and defiance. What was she planning? Her grin grew as she leaned forward, horn glowing once more. We were face of face. I could feel her warm breath wash over me as she stared into my eyes. 'What's going on?' She started to move closer, ever so slowly closing her eyes. I felt a slight tickle as her fur brushed over my lips. I started to panic. Was I really about to be kissed by a Pony?! What the hell is she doing?! My answer came quickly as her head shifted so her horn hit my forehead. There was a bright flash, and then, everything was dark. ------------------------- My vision started to return to me. Blinking a few time to adjust to the new light, I notice I wasn't in the dungeon anymore. "Where the Hell..." I look at the landscape in front of me. I'm standing on top of a building, a Helipad behind me. It was night, clear star filled sky. Yet, it seemed bright like the middle of the day. I walked to the edge and peered over. Small little lights littered the ground. Moving back and forth all over the place. Smaller buildings dotted my view in all directions. And the Space Needle stood tall and proud....Was I in Seattle? "Can you understand me?" I span around to meet the voice behind me. Reaching for a none existent gun. I relaxed once I saw Princess Luna. She trotted up to me and asked again. "Can you understand me?" Surprisingly, I did. "Where are we?" I asked. She smiled and looked up at the sky. "In your mind." "What?" "we're in your mind. This is a place from your memory that you felt most at peace. And, I can see why. The sky is quite stunning. Where are we?" Looking up at the sky, I see my 'oh so familiar' stars. "Seattle. A city where I spent a lot of time at." "Is this where you are from?" She turned to me. "No, I'm from a smaller city close by. More importantly though, how can I understand you?" "We are in your mind. To me, I'm speaking normal Equestrian. But to you-" "Your speaking English." She only nodded. "My name is Princess Luna. Co ruler of Equestria. What's your name?" "My names Matt Hewson. Small time Mercenary." "'Tis very nice to meet you Matt Hewson. What sort of creature are you?" I gave a small chuckle. "Matt is just fine, I'm Human. You some kind of Horse, or Pony?" Luna smiled and nodded softly. "Indeed. Like my sister, I am an Alicorn. Gifted with both flight, and magic." "Magic? That stuff's for real?" I looked at her questionably. She nodded again, still looking at the stars. "Correct. It is how we are in your mind right now. We can also levitate objects, and teleport. 'Tis basic though. Magic has almost unlimited possibilities." "Sounds more like advanced psychic abilities to me....But, whatever." Things went quiet after that. Luna just looked up at the stars. Studying them, almost like she was memorizing the constellations or something. Every once and a while she'd gasp or let out a low 'oh'. And every time she did, her smile got bigger. My eyes traveled her body once more. She stood at about four and a half feet tall. A good foot shorter then Celestia. She had strong looking wings that molded perfectly with her sides. Her dark blue fur looked as soft as silk the way it shined in the moon light. I looked up at the moon. It was a full moon here, really close too. A truly beautiful sight to behold. My admiration was cut short by Lunas soft voice breaking the silence. "Tell me. What is this Planets name?" I turned, finding her looking up at me. "Why?" "I wish to paint my night sky with these constellations tomorrow evening. I only want to give credit where credit is due." She smiled at me reassuringly. I starred at her for a few moments. Not really thinking of my answer. Just reading her face. Her eyes spoke truth, and her face gave no signs of deceit. "Earth, or if you want to get all scientific, Gaia, Terra, or my favorite, Tellus." She shook her head in confusion. "Why so many names?" "Hell if I know. I just blame science and get on with my day. No use trying to figure out why someone did something in the past." "Uh huh...Well, thank you for entrusting me with this information Matt." "I don't trust anybody." I said coldly. "I just respect you enough." "Well...thank you none the less..." She looked hurt by my comment. The way she looked, ears back, eyes shifting away from me, the slight frown on her face. It...it got to me. I felt really bad, and I got the urge to just hug her. Sighing, I put a hand on top of her head. To my surprise, her mane was really soft. I couldn't help but stroke it softly. At first she tensed up to my touch, but quickly relaxed when I started to run my hand through her mane. "Come on, lets get back. I'm starving for a good meal." I say with a smile. She looked up at me with a relaxed face and nodded. The area went black, and I soon found myself in my bed with Luna starring at me. She slowly pulled back and stood up. Her once long, free flowing Star-y Night Sky mane, was now a short, light blue color. "I'll get you some food." She walked out with the door closing behind her. I put my hands behind my head and closed my eyes to wait. And that's when I realized...My eyes shot open. "I understood her..."