//------------------------------// // Millstone // Story: The Abduction of Luna // by 97xxfastbike //------------------------------// “You are supposed to whisper whenever Luna can hear you,” Tiara scolded Thunder once they were outside the cave, “That way she wouldn’t know for certain your gender. You need to do that for your protection.” “Yeah, I know,” Thunder rolled his eyes and continued his canter up the mountain’s side, “but I was in a hurry to show you.” It was Tiara’s turn to roll her eyes. Thunder had from the beginning shown his impulsive nature. In truth, she never expected him to be able to follow her guidelines for behavior around Princess Luna. Thus she had planned on keeping his exposure to a minimum. But the fact that he had violated them so soon still surprised her. When they had come near to the crest they slowed to a walk and kept their heads low. Thunder had stressed the need to stay below the ridge-line to avoid silhouetting themselves against the sky. Doing so greatly increased their chances of avoiding detection by any ground spotters. Thunder motioned with his hoof to a bush where Tiara could just make out Brass’ form in the fading twilight. Tiara made her way there in a crouch. Finally beside him, she whispered. “Okay, B, what’s the big deal?” Brass glanced at her like she was being exceptionally thickheaded. “Don’t you see it?” he pointed with the hoof holding the sextant. Tiara looked and saw the full circle of the moon over the east horizon. “Surely you didn’t call me up here just to see the moon rise?” “I did,” Brass said through clenched teeth and rubbed a hoof over his eyes. “As far as I can tell, the moon rose right on time and is in the exact place it should be.” “And why does this bother you?” “Because we have the Princess of the Moon locked-up in a cave, remember?” Brass shout-whispered in frustration at her making him spell-out his observations. “Listen, B,” Tiara said conciliatorily, “This does not surprise me. Princess Celestia governed the movements of the moon for a millennium without Princess Luna. It serves to reason that she would do the same now to prevent widespread panic. I take this as a good sign.” “What?” “Think about it, if the moon rose late, then that would be a sign that Luna was just now discovered to be missing. But because it rose right on schedule means either Luna was already known to be missing, and that our ransom note was found and relayed to Celestia. Either way, we know that the palace knows that Luna was unable to raise the moon.” “I still don’t see how this is a ‘good’ sign and not just a sign that Celestia isn’t bothered in the slightest that her sister is missing.” “Because if Celestia didn’t care about her sister’s whereabouts, she wouldn’t be missed until the moon failed to rise.” Tiara explained, “I admit, it isn’t solid proof that Princess Celestia is going to pay the ransom for her sister, but it is evidence that Princess Luna has been missed. And if she has been missed, then somepony cares about her. “Tomorrow, I want you and T to go into Canterlot to observe the Palace’s activity.” Tiara whispered and started to back out of their spot in the bushes. “Now come back into the cave. I want all of us to sleep inside tonight. I am most afraid of being found by the Lunar Guard. The night is their domain, and we will never see nor hear them coming.” “You doused and buried the fire, right?” Tiara asked Millstone as he came into the cave. She was trying to be the even-tempered, rock-steady influence on the group as they collectively became increasingly jumpy and insecure, but she could hear the nervous excitement in her voice, and the way she was micromanaging her teammates betrayed her own apprehensions. Millstone, however, didn’t seem bothered by her questions as much as he was troubled by being inside the cave with everypony. His breaths grew rapid and he backed up into the entrance only a few seconds after entering. “M, look at me,” Tiara said to stave off the panic attack. “I need you to stay here with me tonight, okay?” She stroked his head with her hoof and kissed his cheek. She had learned that these simple affections were the most effective in combating his claustrophobia. “Do you think you can sleep here with me?” Millstone closed his eyes and nodded his head in short jerks. “Good,” Tiara smiled and laid down on her mat near the cave mouth. “Come lie down next to me.” Tiara directed as she took another quick look around the cave. Everypony was present and lying in their bedrolls. Only Luna had her head up and pointed sightlessly in her direction. “That’s it,” Tiara coaxed Millstone as he slowly laid down, never opening his eyes. “Good for you. I’m right here. Right next to you.” She whispered into his ear and nuzzled his neck. “You’re safe, and you’re in your bed; so try to go to sleep.” Tiara felt his body relax and grow heavy against her own. Then she heard his breathing gradually become deeper and slower, but she wouldn’t allow herself to relax. Millstone had relaxed and succumbed to sleep much more quickly than in times past. And this time he wasn’t physically spent from drilling out this cave. She cast a suspicious eye toward Luna, who no longer had her head up, but rested her muzzle on her bed. Luna’s horn wasn’t glowing, and she knew that Luna couldn’t see them. Tiara took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. She assured herself that there was no reason to worry. Luna was blind, captive, and unable to work her magic, and nopony knew where they were. It had been a long and stressful day. That must be the reason everypony was so tired. She yawned and laid her head against Millstone’s neck. A familiar scent filled her nose, but it wasn’t the smell of Millstone. In her fading lucid moments she tried to place the scent, but sleep took her before she could identify it. The darkness pressed him on every side. It felt like he was buried alive! Panic shot through him and he began to try to dig his way out. But he was restrained somehow. He could hardly move, and barely breathe. He tried to scream for help, but the meager sound he could produce was muffled into impotence by the heavy burlap sack laid on his head. Nearby, came a mocking laugh. “Heyah, yah! That’s right. Beg for help too! I want you to struggle. Just like this. It’s fun!” He knew that voice. It was his older brother. “Furrow, please!” Millstone somehow forced out intelligible words through the terror that gripped him. “If you don’t let me go, I’ll tell mom!” He coughed out his threat through the dusty air he forced through the burlap seed-bag. “Oh?” his older brother paused, just for a moment, giving Millstone hope of a reprieve. “Are you going to be a taddle-tale?” Millstone didn’t want to get his brother in trouble, but he was so terrified, so scared, that he had to find a way to end this any way he could. “If you don’t get off me right now! I’m gonna tell both Mom and Dad what you did!” “Oh really?” The heavy seed bag rolled off Millstones head, allowing him to suck in a lungful of air his fear had denied him. Then Furrow lifted him up and dragged him out of the barn. “You’re not gonna tell Mom, Dad, or anypony!” “Ow! Let go’a me!” Millstone protested through his tears, “I will too tell Mom! Ya big bully! I’m gonna tell-“ Millstone’s eyes shot open as over the next few steps he figured out his brother’s next course of action. “No! Furrow, stop! Please don’t!” “I’m gonna show you what I’ll do if you taddle! You little snitch!” Millstone struggled in vain to get away, but Furrow was almost four years older than him. He had no chance. They both splashed into the creek and in the next instant, his head was held underwater. The disturbed silt and reeds made the water seem almost as dark as it was back in the barn with the seed bag held over his head. Reeds and cattails felt like they were wrapping around him like constrictors. His fear blossomed into panic yet again, and he screamed. Then, he had to breathe, but his head was still under water! Now he had to fight his own body as well as his older brother. It was another lost cause. His body forced him to suck in the silty water and cold, thick, grainy liquid shot up his throat and entered his lungs. Millstone jerked up suddenly in his bed, wild-eyed and gasping, with his forhooves swatting around his head at an invisible attacker. His terror-wide eyes searched for the way out of this tomb. The faintest light from the cave entrance illuminated his way of escape and he clawed to it and through. Finally, he was outside, alone, breathing air, and realizing that he had only been dreaming. Only then did his panic begin to subside. He collapsed on the ground and wept. A gentle night breeze washed over him and cooled the warm liquid that had soaked through his undertail to wet his belly, thighs, and legs. Humiliation and shame at what he had done filled Millstone and took the place of his dispersing fear. He would have to go and wash himself. He would not go back in the cave reeking of fear and urine. As he walked down to the stream, he remembered doing this very same thing in a different body of water on dozens of occasions many years before. Becoming a stallion hadn’t been enough to purge him of the horrific memories of his past. And now he knew that time had also failed to completely remove his childhood response to those nightmares. He reached the stream, waded in, and knelt down in the bitterly cold flowing water to wash away his fear. As he bathed, a young colt’s tears from long ago fell from his eyes.