Chapter 10
Noah had packed away the Laptop and Tablet, stowing them deep into the chest of drawers. He sighed at the final items of his bag that lay resting on the bed. A clear plastic container that had been divided into two internally, in one half lay a miniature vehicle, the other a number of microcontrollers and similar components.
His trip back down memory lane had gleaned information on what these items were, his hobby, and subsequently, his final year project. A small quadrotor drone to be controlled autonomously was his grand idea for a final year project, his hobby with robotics and electronics meant he had purchased a number of microcontrollers and add-ons for general tinkering and spare parts.
Useless now, he thought to himself, with no readily viable way of charging the batteries in any of his devices they would be of limited use, Better to live without them, he concluded. He packed the box up and slid it into the wardrobe behind his cloak, out of sight and out of mind. He turned back to the bed where one final object remained, a black silk pouch, which he carefully opened. He drew the contents of the pouch onto the bed, a small rock, a shooting star that had fallen, one last gift of good luck from his family.
He recalled the memory fondly, not the faces, nor the names, but the feelings and emotions that lay behind the gift. He drew the rock to his chest and held it there for a moment, a solitary tear rolled down his face, the thought that he might never again see that family that had loved him so much was unbearable.
Ditzy stopped by Noah’s room again with the pillows and blankets, noticing that he stood still, one hoof clasping an object to his chest. “Are you alright?” she asked, concern hinting in her voice.
“Just remembering my family,” Noah replied, a sniffle escaped him, and another tear joined the first.
Ditzy moved towards Noah once more and embraced him in a motherly hug, “It’ll be alright,” she said softly. “I’m sure you’ll find your family one day.”
Noah leaned into the embrace, not speaking for a moment, just glad for the shoulder, “This was the last gift they gave me,” he unclasped his hoof from his chest, revealing the stone he held, “It’s a shooting star, they gave it to me to bring me luck in my tests.”
Ditzy looked at the stone, and stood thoughtful for a moment, “I’m sure that this gift they gave you will bring you all the luck you will ever need,” she dropped the blankets and pillows on the floor by the bed, “Dinky and I are heading off to sleep, I would suggest you do the same, a good night sleep might help clear your mind.”
Noah nodded to her and mumbled his thanks as she left the room. He gingerly placed the stone back inside its pouch and stowed the gift with the money he had received in the nightstand. As carefully as he could he grabbed the corner of the mattress and began to drag it off the bed. Once that task had been completed he nudged the bed, lifting it up onto its side, creating more floor space in the room and set about constructing his bed for the night.
Ten minutes later Dinky popped her head in to say goodnight, at the sound of the filly’s voice Noah poked his head out of the bedding now turned pillow fort. Halfway through the construction his childish side had taken over, revelling in the chance to put away his sorrow for the time being and bring out the inner child to play. He replied to the filly’s good night, wishing her sweet dreams in return, and withdrew into his little sanctum, laying his head down and quickly drifting off into slumber.
It felt as though no time had passed between Noah’s head hitting the pillow and him finding himself within a dreaming realm. Noah found himself waking in an endless void, not used to such a level of dreaming, he spun around a number of times, trying to get his bearings, his voice calling out for help, echoing around against the nothingness.
A lucid dream, he thought to himself finally, Let’s see what I can do with this. In a flash the scenery changed from an endless void to a hospital setting. With another thought the dream changed again to spa he had visited earlier that day, a third thought followed and two ponies popped into existence, the lovely Aloe and Lotus who worked at the spa.
An obscure thought occurred to Noah, what if he dreamt of the realm within his own mind. With another thought the dream changed once more, the sun shone bright above, the spherical shells that made it up wafting slowly back and forth. He decided to dig a little deeper into his mind, I’ve got the free time, he reasoned. He began by analysing the day that had passed, he could remember nothing from before waking up, but afterwards everything flowed like a movie.
As he saw the world through his own eyes, a peculiar thought occurred, What if I changed the perspective, with that the scene around him changed, he found himself floating above and looking down upon the scene at the hospital, in the manner of a play. As the scene played out he found he could drift around, looking from different perspectives, in some cases only blackness could be seen, Something I obviously didn’t see then, and in others he found gaps in the scenes slowly filled in from previous and future memories.
Maybe my entire collection of memories can recreate a scene, and objects outside of the scene, he reasoned. He tested the hypothesis, recalling the memory of the spa, the guards barging in and demanding he leave with them. He paused the scene halfway through, and changed location, finding himself back at the hospital. Instead of the nurse he recalled who had greeted him before the reception remained bare, not a pony in sight, no sound, and no movement.
I wasn’t there, he thought to himself, So I can’t know what happened.
<Correct>, the orb from before had returned, separate from the memory as though another entity altogether. It had startled Noah with its appearance, the scene before him jumping and dissolving back into nothingness. <May I watch your memories?>, the question was clearer, almost like words and not just the usual feelings.
Noah thought once more and the scene changed, back into the realm of his mind, the endless hallway stationed bellow, the blazing sun of shells in its stationary position at the zenith. Together they analysed the memories, storing the information into more shells for the sun to hold.
High up in her tower and deep within her own tranced slumber the Princess of the Night had almost finished soothing the dreams of the residents of Ponyville. As her mind began to wander to the next town over the dreams of a small filly caught her attention, the small figure reminiscing about the events that day.
Of particular interest was the shadowy figure that had emerged in a flash of lightning, at first the filly’s perception was of a monster, straight from the depths of Tartarus, but as the scene unfolded and the figure remained motionless on the ground the filly’s curiosity go the better of her.
Luna sat and watched as the dream skipped about, fragments of memories polluting a nonsensical adventure, as the filly and the shadow continued on their day. Luna withdrew from the filly’s dream sure of herself that the memories would not falter into nightmares, and she began to search through Ponyville’s dreams again, looking for one last sign of the shadow-pony that had surfaced in so many dreams.
As she continued her search, she found no trace of the pony she sought. She expanded her view, thinking that maybe this pony’s dreams might be held outside her normal range of sense. Much to her pleasure she found an anomaly, a lucid dream, alien in origin. Normally she avoided lucid dreams, as not only could the content shift rapidly, but she held a weakened power over these dreams.
She bit into her mental hoof, having trouble deciding whether or not to investigate. She was still filled with much apprehension, yet her curiosity got the better of her, she took a deep mental breath and dove into the dream.
Within she found a scene most strange a bright sun hung at the zenith of the realm, composed of the shells of memories, each lazily listing through the air in a weak sphere. Its light both penetrated and did not penetrate the atmosphere as the blackened sky of realm was still starkly visible. The only other feature of the realm was an endless hallway with sconces on the wall flickering with light off into infinity.
There in the supposed centre of the realm sat two figures, a large shadow, matching the description of the pony she had seen in so many dreams, and a magenta orb, radiating an unknown energy. As Luna watched the pair a window appeared before them, the scene playing out was an embrace between the shadow and the enamoured mare she had previously seen. As the memory played on it changed, as if a filter had been placed over the window, in addition to the original scene wisps and tendrils of energy could be seen emanating from the mare, similar to the orb that accompanied the shadow.
Within his realm of dreaming Noah and his compatriot, the magenta orb, sat in silence reviewing the scenes of the day. All of a sudden curiosity spiked in the orb as Noah’s memory of town hall began its conclusion. The memory before them that was playing out, the embrace he had shared with Secret.
As the scene ended the orb piped up <May I?> it asked. Noah was confused for a moment, not sure of how to proceed, he wasn’t exactly sure what the orb wanted to do but it hadn’t lead him wrong so far, he gave a shallow nod in consent, and the scene reset itself to when Nah was about to leave.
This time as the scene began the orb pulsed with a flash of energy and the sight before Noah changed. The exact same scene was playing out but it was as though a filter had been applied. From the ponies in the memory an unknown energy could be seen emanating from them, wafting about and hanging in the air. Noah posed a simple question to the orb, What is that?.
<Emotions>, the orb answered, <Directed emotions,> the scene changed flicking to Noah’s encounter with Tiger Lily, in particular the energy she exuded when she had fled was directed straight towards Noah. <Radiated emotions>, the scene changed once again, Dinky, happily enjoying her massage, the energy flowing off her and drifting around her.
Noah took control over the memories, flicking back to the frozen picture of his embrace with Secret, These are emotions? The orb radiated confirmation, And what is this emotion in particular?
The orb was silent a moment, as if debating whether or not to let Noah in on an untold secret. <Love>. The single worded answer struck Noah as odd he hadn’t known the mare more than half a day, how could she have fallen in love with him. Noah let the rest of the scene play out, the orb beside him radiating contentment mixed with hope.
As the memories played on, filtered to show the emotions present he spied a new figure within his dream realm. Far away behind the window showing the memories of the day sat a midnight blue pony, larger than any other he had seen that day, sitting still and watching the pair with intrigue.
I don’t remember dreaming of that, Noah thought offhandedly, his emanating words drew the attention of the orb, it searched around until finding the pony sitting and watching. With the notice of the pony the demeanour of the orb suddenly changes, no longer emanating calm radiance it began to exude what Noah could only describe as apprehension mixed with fear.
Luna, having found herself been discovered, began to walk forward towards the pair. As she did she maintained a composed atmosphere, regal in all its forms attempting, not to startle the beings before her, but to project an aura of control and convey the immense forces she wielded.
As she drew closer still she raised her wings into the air, splaying her primary and secondary flight feathers to their furthest extent. Her impressive wingspan obstructed the light from the pseudo sun, casting a fearsome darkness over the pair before her. She charged her horn, not with any particular spell but simply as a show of strength, her power was not to be laughed at.
Finally she closed her eyes, focussing on the power she tapped into when controlling the moon. When she finally opened her eyes again, they shone with the raw power that would bring ponies to their knees, she reasoned that anypony would know these signs of a Princess, one that would shield them from any danger, and any terror.
As they were not regular ponies, to Noah and his partner this display of power invoked a primal fear, a feeling to hide from the awe. The orb drew backwards slightly, attempting to hide itself behind Noah, feelings of apprehension growing stronger.
Luna, seeing this reaction, spoke first, “DO NOT BE AFRAID,” she bellowed in the royal Canterlot voice, “THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT HATH ARRIVED.”
To Noah the intruder’s words did not match her actions. As the trespasser of his dream wandered closer still he began to shake, frightened beyond belief, Run, he thought to himself, the thought echoing around the realm, For god’s sake just run. He fled, the orb close behind him, as he ran he fell from the space he occupied, landing roughly on his hooves in the hallway. He continued onwards, the ever present orb close behind him.
In Luna’s mind her entrance had been picture perfect, she had displayed her power and introduced herself to her subject as one normally would, the reaction from the two entities now fleeing should have been of reverence and much bowing and scraping. Confused at the response se had received she gave chase, her thunderous hooves echoing down the hall in pursuit. “STOP,” she bellowed after the figures.
For Noah his mind had begun to play tricks on him, his perception of reality slipped as the midnight princess took chase. Lucid dream, he thought to himself, Let’s control it. He projected a thought and suddenly the hallway ended, yielding to a maze of rose bushes. In his mind he thought up the path that would hopefully lead them away, and proceeded to follow it.
Luna stopped suddenly, the dream had changed, the endless hallway now shifted into a garden maze of the most beautiful roses. She stopped, re-evaluating her position and whether or not she should stay within the dream. Her curiosity rebelled against her, her power in the dream, while lessened, were nothing to be scoffed at.
The princess too flight, her large wings once again casting a shadow upon the ground. She spun once in the air, gaining the position of her targets. She angled towards them, giving one last flap and diving down towards them.
A shadow fell across Noah and the orb, he gazed upwards, and spied the shape of the Night Mare silhouetted against the sun. He took a breath, seeing the predator above them angle towards and dive down to intercept them. With a single thought the sky went black, the sun blotted out. Noah had reconstructed the maze adding in a roof of roses to hide them.
He began running forward once more towards the exit he had created. All of a sudden Noah and his counterpart found themselves once again in the space between the sun and the hallway. The maze had disappeared, the Princess before them dropped to their level, just meters away, her eyes glowed a vivid white, her horn shrouded in a magical aura.
Luna’s dive had been perfect, her angle and speed faultless, yet her targets eluded her. In this meeting turned game of cat and mouse her targets had created yet another barrier to block her, the maze had shifted, where once she found a pattern of walls stood a sheet of roses, covering all beneath from her sight. Exasperated she focussed, drawing on her power and letting out a bolt of magic. The maze vaporised, her prey materialising right in front of her. She opened her mouth to speak, when the dream changed once more, she found herself face to face with… nothing.
Noah threw one last ditch attempt at disrupting the intruder, in the hopes that she wouldn’t be able to chase them if she couldn’t see them, he materialised a set of glasses. Fashionable and yet still functional, their job, they filtered out Noah and the orb. He hoped that would stop the Princess dead in her tracks. The trick worked the mare before him spun around not knowing where her prey had disappeared to. He allowed himself a moment to rest.
The orb relaxed also, radiating calm once more, though apprehension and the fight or flight instinct still hung in the air. <May I try something?> the orb enquired, Noah gave a wordless nod in return, and the orb set to work. Inside his dream a wall materialised, a door its only feature, the orb reflected on its handiwork, <Follow>, it commanded, before disappearing through the door.
Noah opened the door, following through to yet another realm, once again filled with endless nothing. What is this place, Noah thought.
<This is a mind between minds, do not be fooled, it is still dangerous and will not protect you for long>.
How can I understand you better? he queried.
<Your own mind is not accustomed to us, we only have a limited presence>, came the reply, <There is not much time, and I cannot explain everything please listen>. Noah nodded in understanding. <I alone cannot help you, others might but I did not have time to contact them. The Princess roams your dreams and may discover she can access your memories herself. She cannot be allowed to, you have to wake up>.
Noah nodded once more, a questioned still formed in the back of his mind, How?
<You can fall, that alone should wake you, but if you do any in your dream who are not ready may be trapped. You must give the princess a chance to escape, she may be dangerous but she is an innocent, and you must give me the chance to leave>.
But what if I can’t fall, what if I’m not brave enough to do it?
<I will help you, but you must learn to do this on your own, you must find that bravery>.
What do I do?
<Relax>.
Luna was stunned, her targets had disappeared right before her very eyes, she searched madly, turning on the spot several time in an effort to find them. As she turned once more she spied a new construct within the dream, a wall, containing nothing but a solitary door. She tilted her head sideways trying to figure the turn of events out, she scratched her hoof against the bridge of her muzzle, a technique she learnt from her sister when a strange problem emerged.
Her hoof contacted her muzzle, and then an accessory that she didn’t remember putting on. Her magic fixed on the object on her face, picked it up and brought it close for inspection, a simple pair of sunglasses. She hadn’t remembered putting these on at all. She placed the glasses back over her eyes, lifting them up slightly as she looked at the door, testing to see what they did.
On one such test as she dropped the glasses back over her vision she spied a flash of light out of the corner of her eye. Lifting the glasses she immediately spied the shadow-pony and the orb standing in front of the door. Perplexed at this sudden appearance she lowered the glasses once more finding that the pair had disappeared again from sight. Realising the nature of the glasses she took them off for a final time, casting them aside.
Noah stood stoic in front of the Princess as the orb floated beside him. He watched in slight amusement as the mare put on and took off the glasses several times before finally noticing them. As she threw away the glasses he thought one command to her. Leave this dream, for I shall end it soon, I have been told you are innocent and I don’t want you harmed.
Harmed, The princess thought to herself, “THOU CAN’T HARM THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT, NOT IN OUR REALM.”
Noah closed his eyes, the scene changing, the sun and the hallway disappeared, giving way to a cliff, overlooking a featureless desert, lit only by the light of the moon. Last chance, please leave.
Luna’s eyes went wide, she knew from the location what the shadow’s plan was, to fall and to wake up. Such a sudden change might possibly trap her in this dream. “FINE IF THAT IS HOW THOU SHALL BEHAVE, SO BE IT.” The Princess withdrew immediately from the realm, her body hardened, and its colour faded, before it collapsed into a pile of sand.
<Still not brave enough?> the orb asked, Noah shook his head in response, <Then allow me to help you>.
The orb shifted, enveloping Noah’s form in an aura of magenta, the emotions he felt emanating from it intensified. Hope, love, a motherly affection, tinged with hints of sorrow and regret of actions passed, these last emotions not fully felt before. The aura took control over Noah limbs, <Don’t fight it>, the orb commanded softly.
Noah relaxed allowing his limbs to be moved, the edge of the cliff drifted closer and closer. Weightlessness took over Noah, he found himself floating out into the open space above the desert. In an instant the orb relinquished control, one last burst of emotion conveying heartfelt apologies before the orb faded from existence. Noah spun through the air, twisting as he hurtled towards the ground.
The surface he had seen as flat before sharpened into spires of rock, windswept by years of erosion. One particularly large spike drew Noah’s attention, its point ending higher up than the other, and right where he would fall. Fear gripped his mind, doubt clawed its way forward, What if I was wro…