//------------------------------// // Chapter 13 - Cry for the night - Truth // Story: Heart Plus - Dawn Arc // by SparkStone //------------------------------// -Twilight's POV- -The History of Unity- Me along with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Spike, and Kasin were at Canterlot. We arrived according to the letter Princess Celestia has sent, finally telling us it's time for us to know the truth. I never felt so nervous in the castle, seeing how this is urgent business we must know about. When we entered the throne room, Princess Celestia was on her throne with a pair of guards standing by. Princess Celestia noticed us and dismissed the guards, letting us begin. "Girls…I'm glad you made it on short notice…I'm glad you're here too Spike." Princess Celestia greeted. "I'm glad to see you too Princess." I said happily. "So what, are we here to talk about Unity or what?" Rainbow questioned rudely. I glared at her letting her know that was talking too much. "I will, I was hoping to tell Kasin this too though…" The Princess commented. We were all a bit confused, Applejack even said, "Kasin? What are you talking about? He's right…" With the seven of us turning around, we saw that our tall human friend is nowhere to be seen. We were shocked to see this. "What the!? Where is he!? He was with us a minute ago!" Rainbow stated. "He might have gotten lost…" Fluttershy guessed. "Oh! I know! I'll go find him!" Pinkie declared, only for me to stop her. "No! We have to know about Unity right now! Kasin can find out about it later." I said to her. I then turned to Princess and said, "Okay Princess…Please continue." She nodded and began her story. "As you may have heard, Unity was under the rule of a tyrant king. I dare not speak his name, but he was one truly abnormal, a creature we have only seen once. Fighting him was no easy task either, the armies of mine and he were constantly clashing, and it was inevitable that if it were to continue, the number casualties would rise. So Luna and I wielded the elements to stop him. It took a lot out of us, but we finally ended the war. The king was overthrown, giving me the chance to claim Unity and help it rebuild." A pause in the room started like a spark starting a fire. With such a happy ending, why did it stop there? "I don't get it." Rainbow commented. "If you beat the guy and everything, then why didn't you rule Unity or something?" The Princess lowered her head in shame as she continued the story. "The reason why is because…do you remember anypony saying it was Luna and I who saved Unity? Or just me?" We all gave a blank stare, it simply said the obvious answer. "Ever since the war on Unity, my sister was behind my shadow once more. I realized it too late, and with the equal effort on Unity to free it, all credit going to me, it was unbearable for her. It was the last straw for her, and not much later, that's when she became…Nightmare Moon…" We were all shocked! Unity was the reason why Luna's rage became so unbearable!? It wasn't even the end though. "I wanted to help Unity, I did, but with my sister gone, Equestria itself went into chaos without the night for 36 hours, as well as nopony to protect the dreams of our citizens. It took years to rebuild after the banishment of my sister, and even when things looked better again, I struggled to make sure Luna would return with open hearts, encouraging everypony on friendship and acceptance. But even that was difficult. I was so stuck on all of this, I had easily forgotten the needs of Unity for a thousand years, the same time Luna was banished. The hatred of Unity grew from father to child, down to the last grandchild to take the place for the revolution. It was only a matter of time before even the Attribute masters joined them too after they dismissed themselves from my kingdom." "Wait, but that was about a thousand years." Rarity pointed out. "How old are those attribute heathens?" "Their life span has been multiplied thanks to the training taught to them, going through many procedures to make them the perfect weapon." She explained. "A weapon…I created…" The princess looked down, obviously ashamed of all of this. She was clearly in pain of recalling the past. I began to apologize, "P-Princess…I-I'm sorry to bring all this up…I shouldn't have-" "No, it's alright Twilight." She assured me. "I just…wanted to tell you that I don't want you fighting against the revolutionaries ever again." All of us were beyond belief. We of course felt the need to object, but the only one who did was Rainbow Dash. "What are you talking about!? You gotta let us help! We're THE elements of harmony after all!" "All the more reason why you shouldn't enter in this dispute." The Princess stated. "The elements are a defense against those with evil hearts. This is a war of monarchy, there is no true evil here. If any of you were to go into battle and die, then Equestria would be in even more trouble, a responsibility I must take control of. To prevent that from ever happening, I want you to stay out of anymore battles of the revolutionaries unless you're cornered or have no choice. Do I make myself clear?" We all exchanged unsure looks, but we all said, "Yes princess." Rainbow was still edgy on the idea, still grumbled, "Fine, alright Princess." -Kasin's POV- -Castle Confusion- I was lost in the Canterlot Castle. I don't know how, I was following the girls for one minute, and looked the other way for about five seconds, and the next thing you knew, poof! They were gone! This was bad, because never in my life have I ever went to Canterlot nor visited the castle until now. So with my best guesses, I ventured deeper in and crossed my fingers that I'd find them soon. It had been some time now however, and I became impatient. Luckily, I wasn't in a deserted ruin, so I managed to find a few guards around, so I decided to ask for directions. "Excuse me sir?" I said. "Can you show me the way to the throne room?" "Oh, it's just down the hall on the-" The guard trailed off after he turned and saw me. Suddenly, he pulled out a spear using his magic and yelled, "MONSTER!!!" "What!? W-What are you talking about!?" I screamed. "D-Don't get any closer! Uh…just…stay where you are!" I hesitated to follow that command as he stepped closer and closer towards me. Before I knew it, I found myself running from the guy as he kept flailing that spear at me. Now, I was lost AND hunted! "Leave me alone! I just wanted to see Celestia!" I told them. "What!? He wants to attack the princess! Somepony stop him!!" Someone roared. "You are the most dense warriors ever!" I ran as fast as I could, but soon, other guards noticed and aided the lone guard to capture me. I didn't want to end up being captured on my first visit! And I do not even want to spend a second in some old dungeon either! I continued my attempt to escape from my pursuers, and as I ran, I looked up to see something convenient. Flags, each with various symbols were streaming from the ceiling down to a considerable height. I went ahead and jumped to the flags and hung from there. I thought they couldn't chase me anymore since I was so high up, but that was short lived as I saw them flying towards me while others simply shot magic bolts. I started to swing from flag to flag getting away from the crowd, but sue me for not looking, because I ended up swinging to a window, specifically, stained glass. "Aw fudge-" CRASH! And out I came through the shattering of glass. I managed to get away though and receive no scars. I fell upon however on top of a very high tower, clenching onto the ledge of the battlements of the lone tower. Climbing up, I saw something looming over me, someone observing me. It was a pony, one most similar to Celestia, only she had a dark blue coat and her flowing mane depicted of the night sky. Her light blue eyes and eye shadow matched well with her looks, and the jewelry she wore had made it obvious that she was royal. I never saw someone who looked so beautiful. She reminded me of the night, and that was enough for me to have my face blushing for a moment. It was short lived however as she said, "ALIEN!!!" "Wha?" BONK! -Celestia's POV- -Unfaithful to oneself- I sat on my throne still able to hear the conversation outside. Mostly Rainbow Dash, complaining about my order to them. I have always questioned my role ever since my many failures. My failure to save my sister when she needed me the most, my failure to aid Unity only to let it endure starvation and anger, and my failure to…him. I still recall to my beloved, Crimson. Though he had only been with me for a short time, we both knew we were ready to be a family. Ah, the memories of it all, and it was just before the fight with Discord and his reign of chaos. I remember when Luna would often tease me, Crimson always was kind to me, and in all, he was one of my most treasured ponies. But after he left without a trace, especially with our son…I felt as if he left me for I had failed. Maybe I wasn't fit to be a parent…nor a ruler…for if one cannot even keep her family intact, how should she be able to rule Equestria? Before I even laid a hoof on my crown, my sister ran into the room like an excited little filly. She seemed ecstatic about something. "Sister! Sister! You'll never believe what I just found!" Luna spoke to me. "What is it?" "I found an alien! A real life alien! It has these…things coming out of the hooves of the forelegs and wears clothes, and…and…Oh! You just have to see for yourself!" "Sounds fascinating." We walked to her room and she slowly opened the door for dramatic effect. I found it amusing until I saw what the alien she was talking about was. It was Kasin! Lying on her bed and from the look at the size of the bump on his head, I predicted my sister had lodged him on the head with something. "Isn't it fascinating sister!? A real life alien in my room! I think it spoke before I panicked and attacked it with one of one of my books, but I'm sure it's fine." Luna said to me with such glee. "Luna…do you remember that boy I told you about? Kasin?" "Yes? Why, what about him?" "And do you remember that I told you he wasn't a pony?" "Again, I don't see what you're trying to tell-" She stopped and looked back at her 'alien'. I only chuckled as she then panicked, "Oh my! Oh my! What have I done!?" "I'm sure it's alright sister." I assured her. "He's as kind as they come." "A-Are you sure? You told me he was strong enough to take on an attribute master! And you know how difficult it was to fight them!" "Trust me, just give him some time and everything will be fine." I left my sister alone to tend to Kasin while I went back to the others. Entering the room, they were awaiting patiently for something. "Is there something troubling you?" I asked them. "We looked all over the castle, but we couldn't find Kasin." Twilight explained. "Is it alright if we stay here a little longer until we can find him?" "Do not worry, Kasin is with my sister." "He is?!" Rainbow questioned. "Why would he go see her?" "Is he alright?" Fluttershy asked. "He…well, is asleep at the moment." I told them. "Luna was a bit surprised when she saw him, so she accidentally hit him on the head. Luckily, he didn't seem to have gained any serious injuries, just asleep is the word to describe his current state." "Well, I don't know about you, but I think I should stay." Applejack said to the others. "Wouldn't be right to just ditch Kasin here while we head back home." "It doesn't bother me at all to have all of you stay over for the night." I informed them. "Come, we will get your accommodations ready." I headed for the guest quarters to find my guards prowling around for something. "Princess Celestia!" They addressed me as they bowed before me. "We have urgent news to tell you!" "What is it?" "We've spotted a monster let loose in here a while ago!" I was unsure how to respond to the news. "What can you tell me about it?" "Well, it was uh, fast! It jumped really high, and it was looking for you!" The girls behind me overheard the news. I turned to the guards and said, "Be sure to check around the castle. This might be an attack from the revolutionaries." They nodded, understanding their orders. The left while I lead the girls to their rooms. "Is everything alright Princess?" Twilight asked. I could easily see she too was worried. "It'll be fine, just remember what I said." I assured her. I let them be as I closed the door and went back to my quarters. I feared if what the guards said was true, we may have an attack coming upon us. -Luna's POV- -Venturing minds- I awaited for the young Kasin to awaken. In my mind, I was worried that he may have rage dwindling inside for what I have done. Maybe he might even try to strike back in defense. who knows what he might do! I fear of this destructive force as much as the fear of Nightmare Moon ever returning. As the hours passed, I grew somewhat impatient. I know I hit him on the head and all, but the time to wake up was much too long! By now, I could have entered his dreams and give him my apologies there. That's when I got the idea! Why not enter his dreams? Saying sorry there will surely make him less hostile when he awakens. With my brilliant plan, I went ahead to fall asleep as well and enter the dreams of this Kasin. With just a blink in the real world, I open my eyes to see the world of Kasins. It was something…many words would take to describe. I entered his dreaming realm starting out on a valley under the cool moon and many stars above. no clouds at all, and no daylight in sight. I traveled around this strange world to find the conscious or may I say, the dreamer himself. Kasin. He turned to me with a curious and frightened gaze. He took a few steps back before asking, "W-Who are you?" "I am princess Luna." I told him. "A princess? Wow…that's really cool." He commended me. "You look really pretty by the way. your mane and coat really matches the night." "You…like the night?" "More than anything!" Kasin exclaimed before he lied on the grassy floor and gazed at the stars. "It's really peaceful and beautiful. Gazing at stars and the moon is always fun too." I smiled in delight to meet somepony who carries as much love as the night as I do. "I'm glad to hear that Kasin." Immediately, he jumped away from me and hid behind a bush that grew right beside him. "H-How do you know my name?" His mind was very defensive. He made the bush out of fear so he could hide behind it. "I met you in the real world Kasin. I have yet to introduce myself formally in the material plane however, so I decided to say sorry for what I did to you earlier today." "Today?" He repeated. "What did you do to me?" "I uh…well, attacked you when I saw you and knocked you out." Suddenly, a castle wall grew between me and Kasin. The wall was made out of steel and seemed to have entrapped Kasin inside. "W-Why would you do that!?" He questioned. "Very defensive indeed…" I muttered to myself. "Listen! I just wanted to apologize for that! I didn't mean to hurt you!" "Lies! If you really mean that, then prove it!" I sighed, unsure what to say. "I was really hoping we could be friends…" Silence staled the air before the steel walls crumbled like aging stone, and before me was a Kasin that was utterly shocked. "Y-You…want to…be my friend?" "Yes…You obviously share a love for the night. And just to let you know, I control the night in my world as well." "WHOA!!!" He yelled out excitingly. "Are you serious!? That's so cool! Oh my gosh! I wish I was you!" He hugged me with such happiness. I could tell we got along just fine. We spent the time in the dream realm with some stargazing and conversations. The dream Kasin remembered the wielders of the elements well and recalled his times in Ponyville. What surprised me was he wasn't at all the natural born fighter I thought of him to be, but nonetheless, he was a pleasant friend to be around. After that, I decided to take another step into getting to know Kasin better. "You want to go where with me?" Kasin questioned. "I want to delve deeper into your dream world Kasin." I explained. "Just to get to know you better." Kasin dug his foot into the ground as he said, "To be honest with you…I don't know much about myself either." This was new. Kasin doesn't know much about himself? "Whatever do you mean?" "Well…I…um…" He stuttered to find the right words. "I don’t know. I just…don't know myself completely." "Well, how about the two of us get to know Kasin better?" He gave me a small smile and held onto my leg as we walked forward. It wasn't long before I saw something even greater than the night valley I was in. Separating from where we were and what was on the other side was a massive gorge, with no bridge or any passage way of any kind to let the other pass unless they had the ability to fly. Kasin was frightened of the sight. Whatever was down below, it represented his fear. Of course, if either of us were to fall, the dream would turn into a nightmare with who knows how long we'll be asleep? If that were to happen while I was linked with Kasin's dream, the link would break, not allowing me to enter Kasin's mind again until the next time he sleeps. "U-Um, are you sure this is a good idea?" Kasin questioned nervously. "I assure you, I'll make sure you don't fall down there." I said while lowering myself to Kasin. "Now climb on, I want us to see the other side together." "C-Climb!? W-What if I weigh you down? Or what if-" I rolled my eyes before scooping up Kasin onto my back and went ahead to flying. At first, he was so scared, he held onto my neck tightly. Soon after however, he began to lighten up and enjoyed the flight. We were about halfway over the gorge when suddenly, a barrier of energy glowed before me. I went passed it almost as if it wasn't even there. I was mystified until I saw Kasin was no longer on my back! Looking down, he fell off and down towards the abyss of nightmares! I quickly flew and rescued him, bringing him back to the night valley. "Are you okay?" I asked. "…I-I'm fine…" He whimpered. Poor little boy. "That wall of energy prevents you from getting any further…but why?" "I never went to that side before. I think over there is the opposite of this side. On that side, the sun is always up." "Ah, so you have a love for day too?" I mused. "Not really." He said while looking away. "I actually don't like the day very much…" I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "You like the night, and don't like the day?" He nodded yes. I replied, "I see." "You can go over there if you want. I kinda wondered what was on the other side, so maybe you can tell me about it." "I think I'll do that." I said while rubbing his mane. "Well, I'll be off then! I'll tell you about it soon!" I left Kasin and headed to the other side of the barrier. Entering the next area of his dream world, I saw it was like he said. The land was flourished with sunshine, but looking at the lands below, I saw something terrifying. "I-Is that a…house with…people!?" The building before me was on fire. I could see the land had buildings of many things. I had a feeling each and every building in the area represented a memory of something, seeing how they replayed the same disaster over and over again. Truly beyond the words of terror. I walked around a little more to find somepony I didn't expect to see again. Kasin was before me, only he had a focused look as his expression. "Kasin! I didn't expect to see you here!" I called out. He simply stared at me before saying, "I don't know you." I was a bit surprised to hear that. "What are you talking about? We met only a little while ago over on the other side." "Oh, him." he retorted before walking away. "So you met with that coward, huh?" "Wait…you're not him?" "Oh no, I'm Kasin alright." He claimed. "You see, you met the Kasin he shows. I'm the Kasin he needs. I'm Pride Kasin." "Pride Kasin?" I repeated. "Dumb name, right? That Rainbow girl dubbed me that, now I have to stick with it." "You…you're an alter ego…" "Correct." "Does that mean…?" "Kasin? Yeah, he has a personality disorder." This was some very surprising news. I know I've entered a mind with that kind of problem before, but this one was so…organized. "I don't understand…then how come you know about all this?" "Let me make it simple." He began to explain as we walked in further. "You see where we are right now? These are the memories Kasin wants to forget. He recently opened up to the fact that his family died, which was a step up for him in the past seven years. He still has a lot of work to do too." "What work?" "Remember that big hole separating the night valley and here? That hole represents the gap between his inner peace and his pride. Apparently, no pride means Kasin is nothing but a shy wimp. There are times however Kasin has brought himself to be courageous. I have those six ponies to thank for that." "So…Kasin is…" "Fighting himself in his mind, yes." "I see…Well, being the princess of dreams, I shall do what I can to-" "Stop." He said angrily. "You may be the princess of dreams or whatever, but you don't know Kasin. Not even I know him all that well anymore, and I'm his other half." "What do you mean? Why doesn't Kasin know himself?" "You really wanna know? Follow me." This darker Kasin showed me the way to what seems to be a foggy forest. We stood before it marveling at what seems to be photos flying out of the forest. However, when one flew by, I saw it's picture was blank. "All of whatever's in there are the rest of his memories. Memories he never even encountered." "I don't understand." "Over there are the memories of stuff like his REAL dad. The dad that he never met." "What…happened to your family?" "They're dead." Kasin said bluntly. "That mansion that was burning? That was the replaying memory of my family's death." "Tell me…why is the sun always shining here?" "Because I HATE THE DAY!!!" He shouted angrily, enough to cause a quake on the dream world. He calmed down as he said, "You ever wonder how useless it was to scream for help? I know…When the worst things happen to me, it was always in the day. And everytime, no one would know about it until it was BEYOND too late! I couldn't count on anyone during the time of light…so I hated the day." "That makes no sense!" I objected, getting attention. "It's the peoples fault for not paying attention, not the time! The day is just as so as the night. You are blinded by hate against the wrong things! The problem was you had nopony to be with to help you when things got tough! But now look at you! When do you play with your friends, Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie, or Rarity?" Kasin widened his eyes as he slowly said, "…During the day…" "Exactly! Open your eyes! The more you try to place blame onto something, the more you'll cloud your mind! You must embrace what is there right now, not what should be there." The pride Kasin gave a small smile. Suddenly, the fog of the forest shrunk, and two trees were now viewable. Kasin and I ran up to them, and quickly took a look. The photos on one tree were the same. A picture of him and his family. He had a mother, a father in this one. He shed a few tears looking at this photo, it was something important. "What is it Kasin?" "That's…my real dad…my birth father." Kasin cried. I looked at the other tree's photos and it was another picture of his family. This one was different. There was another boy and a little girl along with Kasin, and the dad was obviously not the same. Kasin's original father had brown hair, this one was red. "Who's this?" "That's my step father." Kasin said solemnly. "How…what happened?" "My birth father left. We never knew what happened to him, but he was presumed dead after we found his car crashed into the river. I felt my life was incomplete, and so did mom…then they came…" "Who?" "My stepdad and stepbrother. When they came into our lives, I felt beyond happy. We were a whole family again, and soon got a baby sister." He continued to cry as he smiled in great gratitude. "Remembering…never felt so…good…" I patted his shoulder while he leaned to my side. "Thank you…Kasin will love you for everything you've done. Both me and the shy twit will combine memories when we wake up, and he'll recall of what you've done…" -3rd POV- -Something bad- Somewhere nearby Canterlot, a camp of armed ponies with makeshift armor are readying for something drastic. "Soon my brethren!" The yellow pegasus with a flashy blue mane said to all his soldiers. "Our lone strike will be enough to take Equestria! Tomorrow at dawn, we shall attack the castle with full force!" The revolutionaries cheered while one beside the fore mentioned pegasus said, "You better hope this works. Otherwise, the revolutionaries will never listen to us again. They'll drop us from their army and let us rot in Canterlots dungeon. After all, they don't even know you're attacking Canterlot yet." "Oh pish posh! Minor set backs are nothing to be worried about! Just watch! Celestia will lose her crown, and we'll reveal the rightful ruler of Equestria!"