Sunlight streamed through the blinds of the window near Ryan's head, bathing him in its gloriously incandescent glow. His eyes fluttered open quickly, his pupils dilating rapidly as they were suddenly exposed to bright light. He gasped, sitting up ramrod straight. His chest heaved as he sucked in breath after breath. A hand found its way across his hair, smoothing the closely cropped strands back, only to have them pop back where they were before. As he calmed down a bit, he reached under his pillow and withdrew Lucky.
He ran his fingers over the club in the handle absentmindedly as his adrenaline retreated into the recesses of his mind. The comfortable feeling of his gun in his hand set his mind at ease, and his breathing slowed. Even when he was outside of the Mojave, he never was truly out of it.
Vault 22 was the horror he just had the pleasure reliving. At some point it had been taken over by mutated plant-people, giant acid-spitting venus flytraps, and some other nasty plant-themed monstrosities that he had to deal with when he visited on a mission from the NCR. Despite the enemies he faced there not being terribly difficult to outsmart and kill, the place still terrified him. Perhaps it was the idea of being killed by the flora that had seemed so harmless.
Either way, he had "uprooted" the place when he destroyed all the spores that infect people by igniting a gas leak. The resulting explosion almost killed him, but he was lucky enough to get behind a door before the grenade he threw exploded. He never returned to see if the plants had grown back.
He lifted up his left arm and tabbed over to the Status portion of the screen. He scrolled to S.P.E.C.I.A.L. and let out a soft sigh as he read what it said. A Luck stat of 7 is still above average for everyone he'd met who had a Pip-Boy, but it still concerned him more than anything before. If he didn't have his Luck, then what did he have? His life in the Mojave had been made so easy, how could he go on without what he once had?
He derailed the train of thought quickly. It would do him no good to dwell on things like that. He needed to stay focused and sharpen his skills. He was no demigod, but that didn't mean he couldn't take on a goddess.
He almost let out a laugh at how absurd the notion was. Him, fighting an honest-to-god deity. It sounded like something straight out of Grognak.
As a matter of fact, his entire situation seemed like something out of Grognak. Mysteriously transported from his world to another by a mad goddess, learns new, terrifying powers, and encounters danger around every corner. Well, the third part hadn't happened yet, and he didn't believe it ever would. Ponies don't have the heart to randomly attack another creature, unlike any raider he had even fought.
At the thought of raiders, his head throbbed and he felt the pain of past wounds. He put a hand up to his face, only to have it return cold and damp. Perhaps he should just discontinue his thoughts there and move on with his day.
His Pip-Boy read 9:33 AM. He slid out of bed and into his coat, set on the nightstand beside him. With a quick flourish he holstered Lucky, not having realized that he had been holding it the whole time since he had awoken. It seemed that he would need the reassurance of his gun by his side for the day.
He walked to the small bathroom that came as a part of his room. He stuck his entire head into the sink, turned on the water, and drank deeply of the fresh, clean water that issued forth. It pleased him that 100% pure water came out of the pipes in the town. While the Lucky 38's water supply from the lake was clean enough, he could still feel that lingering tingling sensation that comes from drinking irradiated water. He hypothesized that radiation was leaking underground somewhere along the way to New Vegas, but he hadn't gotten the chance to investigate further.
Eventually he grew tired of stalling his day. He figured he could find his way back to the literal treehouse of Twilight Sparkle just fine, so he just let his legs carry him while his mind wandered. The amount of looks he received this morning was greatly reduced when compared to his first arrival. Perhaps he could be considered old hat now by the general populace? Maybe they deal with oddities all the time? It was a good question to ask later.
With that thought, he left and made for the Friendship Castle.
"Magic and Might"
-Begin your training
-Take a tour [Completed]
-Return to Ponyville [Completed]
In no time he reached his destination. Taking note of the peculiar dual-heart insignia emblazoned on the massive front door, he reached up a hand and rapped on the surface several times. Despite it being a public building (of sorts) he didn't think it would be proper of him to waltz in unannounced.
Spike answered. "Smith!" he exclaimed.
Ryan didn't say anything at first. His mind was too occupied with the little dragon's current outfit; a frilly pink and white apron with a large heart stitched across his chest.
"What?" Spike asked when Ryan made no sound. He followed the man's gaze downward and chuckled awkwardly, a small blush rising beneath his cheeks. "Oh, yeah... It was a gift..." He opened the door a bit wider. "We just finished breakfast, wanna come in?"
Ryan nodded, wondering how a cold-blooded dragon could blush so fiercely. He stepped inside the crystal aboda and was greeted by the smell of cooked food, along with a faint hint of... something flowery. Spike led him into the adjoining kitchen.
Twilight Sparkle sat on a chair, pressed up against the table. She had an open book in front of her, and looked to be completely engrossed in it. Spike waddled up to her, removing his frilly apron in the process. Upon reaching her, he poked her in the side, causing her to flinch wildly and nearly fall out of her chair. "Wah! Spike! Why did you do that!?"
Instead of answering, he merely jerked a thumb in Ryan's direction, then walked away, presumably back to the kitchen.
Ryan made to remove his hat, but quickly realized that he wasn't wearing one. He let his hand fall back to his side without ceremony or explanation to Twilight for his surely odd-looking action. "Good morning, Twilight."
"Good morning, Smith. Are you ready to begin your lessons?" she asked.
"As ready as I can be," he replied, a smile on his face. Saying he was excited could be a bit of an understatement. Magic fascinated him.
"That's good, because we have a lot to get through today." She gave a genuine smile, then lit up her horn. A scroll materialized with a loud pop, and she unfurled it to read the contents. Ryan's jaw nearly dropped when the bottom of the parchment touched the ground and rolled off to the side.
"I was informed that you have a limited amount of time in Equestria, so I made a checklist of what you need to know to safely and responsibly cast spells. I also had the time to fit in a quick session to explain what magic is, so you have a proper understanding of both the properties and limitations of magic and magic theory." Twilight's scroll snapped back up sharply, and Ryan couldn't help but shudder at the wide grin on Twilight's face. "So before we get started with performing magic, a lecture!"
A chair flew up behind Ryan and took out his legs, forcing him to sit. With a soft exclamation of surprise, he was carried off into the main library, where a blackboard and podium was suddenly waiting for him. Twilight teleported in behind the podium, now wearing a tutor's cap and levitating a pointer stick.
Ryan gave her a blank stare. Being forced around wasn't one of his favorite things.
Twilight smiled sheepishly and made sure her hat was on straight. She then cleared her throat and readied her pointer stick. "The first part of understanding magic is that imagination is key. You can accomplish just about anything if you set your mind to it and be creative." A marker flew up to the board and quickly drew a picture of a brain with two large thought bubbles protruding from it.
"There are currently two divisions of magic known to ponykind. Void magic," a purple circle with several smaller circles inside it was drawn into one thought bubble, "and Solar magic." A small, orange flame was drawn into the other bubble. "Void magic," the pointer stick snapped to the purple circles, "contains teleportation, summon spells, conjuration spells, shield, or otherwise defensive or supportive spells. Solar magic," the stick snapped to the little flame, "contains destructive spells, healing spells, enchantments, spells that alter the caster's physical form, and any other generally offensive spells."
"Most unicorns learn how to use Void magic exclusively, due to the fact that it has more everyday uses and it is easier to master. Those who wish to know more about the applications of magic or have a reason to learn offensive spells attend school to learn Solar magic. All schools offer training in Void magic, but only a few high-expectation colleges offer training in Solar magic, as it is only for the dedicated."
Ryan raised his hand.
"Yes?"
"What about the other types of ponies?"
"What do you mean?"
"So far you've only been talking about unicorns. What about pegasi and earth ponies?"
"I'm glad you asked, my pupil." Ryan's quick glare let her know to never call him that again. "Both pegasi and earth ponies have internal magic that aids their physique and physical performance. The wings of pegasi contain magic that allows them to catch not just normal wind, but a secondary Voidal wind that constantly flows. Without that magic, their wings wouldn't be able to hold their bodies up.
"Earth ponies have an internal magic that manifests all around their bodies, giving them extra stamina and a connection to the earth. Equestria's top magical scientists are still working on it, but it's a widely accepted belief that earth ponies can grow crops faster and healthier than unicorns and pegasi."
"That doesn't seem very fair," interjected Ryan.
Twilight broke out of lecture-mode. "Huh?"
"Unicorns can use powerful spells and control their magic, but the other races can't? It seems like unicorns would have overpowered the other races long ago."
"Well, technically all the types of ponies can use magic, it's just that it comes more naturally to unicorns because their horn is a conductor for magic. As a matter of fact, one of my professors back at Canterlot U was an earth pony that specialized in Void magic. He taught me everything I know about advanced conjuration spells."
"Um... Alright," was all Ryan responded with.
"Now, as I was saying..."
An hour or so later, Twilight had finished lecturing Ryan on the properties of magic, and basic laws about using it, both the physical kind and the legal kind.
"So, now that we're done, it's time we got to work on refining your technique. Celestia told me that you've excelled in Void magic, being able to form high-level shields and layer magic on your body to multiply force."
Ryan nodded. "Yeah, she and Luna 'experimented' on me yesterday. I broke a couple windows by accident and caused Luna to get hit by her own bolt of magic."
Twilight gave him a look. "That's... pretty impressive."
Ryan shrugged. "It didn't seem very impressive, considering how I technically attacked a monarch."
Twilight looked at him oddly, but didn't comment further. "Alright, I think it's about time we go and see what I can teach you. We're relocating to an open field between Whitetail Woods and Ponyville. It should be the perfect place for us to be a little more practical with spellcasting." Her horn lit up, then flashed suddenly, blinding Ryan.
His vision was white for a few moments. When it cleared up, he noticed he was outside, in the clearing that Twilight had just described. He could see the quaint houses of Ponyville just in the distance, and trees made up a border on his other side. His Pip-Boy made a sound, and he instinctively looked at his wrist. Tabbing over to the map, he noticed that a marker appeared for his new location, its title being "The Clearing."
He stumbled a bit, vertigo suddenly overtaking him. "Smith? Are you alright?" he heard Twilight say, concern coloring her tone.
She gasped suddenly. "Oh my gosh! I forgot that you're not used to teleportation, I'm so sorry!"
He didn't give a reply as his head cleared. After a few seconds spent hunched over, one hand to his head attempting to steady its spinning, he stood straight again. "It's alright, Twilight, I'm made of sterner stuff. It's not the first time I've been violently ripped from one place to another instantaneously."
"I... It isn't?" Twilight asked, confused.
"Yeah, back home there was an incident with this machine called the Transportalponder! and it teleported me into a mountain. Long story," Ryan said, not wanting to go on.
A small pad of paper and a pencil materialized next to Twilight. It quickly jotted down a note, then paused. "Transportalponder?" she asked.
"Transportalponder! The exclamation point makes the whole thing."
"But that-" she cut herself off. "Got it." The pencil and paper disappeared. "Now, onto your actual lesson..."
"Again! But with more feeling!"
A few sparks and a little gout of flames issued forth from Ryan's palms. He grunted with the effort, his sweat-slicked face contorting. "It's just not happening, Twilight," he spoke through clenched teeth.
She had been trying to teach him some basic Solar combat spells, as he requested. She had gotten to see just how strong he already was with Void magic, especially his shields, and she wanted to work with it more. But Ryan decided that it would be more useful to him to know combat magic. The only explanation she got as to why he favored combat spells over defensive ones was a vague statement about his home.
She could tell that he had a lot of potential though, if his strangely immediate talent for Void magic was any indication. He grasped magic just as fast as she did, and, by her judgement, he was a natural. But what she couldn't understand is why he had been having such difficulty with Solar magic. He was able to follow any spell she gave him from the Void class, save a few of the more complicated ones, but anything Solar just wouldn't happen. They had been working on basic pyromancy for the past two hours, and he could barely produce a flame.
"Focus more, really channel your energy!" Twilight coached from a few feet away.
"What do you think I'm doing?" Ryan asked, returning to a resting position again.
"I don't know, but it's not working! You can do this, you just have to figure out how!"
"You know, for a magic instructor you sure are doing a poor job at instructing. All I'm hearing from you are weird metaphorical pieces of advice." He attempted the spell again and was again met with naught but a few sparks. "At least I'd be able to light my own cigarettes," he said sarcastically.
He dropped his arms and took a stiff steps backward. "Alright, I need a break. We've been going at this nonstop for, what, two hours now?" he checked his Pip-Boy for the time. "Yeah, something like that. Isn't magic supposed to run out or something when you use too much of it too quickly?"
"Yes, but what you're doing shouldn't be taking up much energy at all! You can't quit now, not when you're so close!" Twilight rushed forward.
"Twilight, I've been 'so close' for the past hour-and-a-half."
"All the more reason to keep going!"
"No, I need to take a break, this can't be good for me." As he spoke the words, he felt a slight tugging sensation in his gut. It made a croaking sound, and Twilight's ears perked up.
"See, you're fine on energy, you're just hungry!" She sat down in the grass. "I know! I'll go get us some food while you keep practicing! I'm sure you'll get it eventually!" Her horn lit up and she flashed away before Ryan could say something else.
"Ugh..." He set a hand on his empty stomach. He listened to it growl once more, then shook his head, deciding that some more practice might be alright, despite his hunger...
Just then he heard a pinging noise. His mind switched onto alert and his head whipped around, looking for the source. Another ping reached his ears, and he looked down at his wrist. He opened his Pip-Boy to see that it was on the World Map screen. But wait... something was wrong. The light for Stats was flickering, the first sign of internal damage he had ever seen on a Pip-Boy.
He clicked on the button hard, thinking it was just loose and he could push it back in. The screen flicked as he expected, and it tabbed onto his status menu. He saw the familiar outline of the Vault Boy, and all his limbs were at 100%, also as expected.
There was a flicker on the screen. "Hmm?" It flicked again, the display shifting oddly. "What is...?" Little lines of static appeared on the screen, distracting his attention from the stats. It flickered more and more, some of the data seeming to corrupt. The picture of the Vault Boy kept seeming to change into some sort of humanoid monster, its mouth gaping and full of teeth. But the image was changing too fast for him to get a good look at it.
His heart beat faster as he clicked at his Items button. The screen wouldn't change from the static-filled, ever-changing Status menu. He frantically scrolled the wheel and hit other buttons. He even beat on the screen a few times, the images shown there starting to do a little more than just freak him out.
Just when he thought something was going to happen, it stopped. The screen returned to normal, and the static stopped. But there was something new. In the bottom right-hand corner, just above the boxes for Perks and General, there was a new stat. A bar that was partway colored in.
"Sanity?"
"That's right, man. Sanity."
Ryan's head whipped around and he had Lucky pointing at the voice. But what he saw, he couldn't comprehend.
He was leaning against a tree on the edge of the clearing. Not him, but something that looked exactly like him. It was wearing the hat he lost in the portal, and his shades were perched on its face. A malevolent grin was tied on its face, and it was looking right at Ryan expectantly. "Oh, yes! Please, shoot me! I know you want to." It stood up and began walking towards Ryan. "Just like how you shoot. everything. else." Each word was punctuated by another step closer.
Suddenly he was directly in front of Ryan. He tried to jerk back in surprise and defense, but it grabbed Lucky before he could, jabbing Lucky into its chest. "Come on, come one. Just one good shot, right here, here, here!"
Ryan couldn't say a word. He was completely bewildered. Regaining his senses slightly, he yanked Lucky out of its grip and quickly hopped back. "What the hell are you!"
Its eyes widened in surprise and his mouth dropped into an "O" of mock surprise. "Oh! he wants to know 'what' I am!" It threw its arms up and spun around backward, retreating back to the bed. "What the hell do you think I am! I'm you, you blithering idiot! Now come on and shoot me!" It pounded its chest once.
"Why do you keep telling me to do that?" Ryan asked, Lucky still pointed at it.
"Because it's what you want! I know exactly what you want, and that it definitely it. You want to shoot me more than you've ever wanted to shoot anything before!"
Ryan opened his mouth to respond, but was quickly cut off.
"Now don't you go denying it! I'm you, remember! I know exactly what you're thinking! Really, it's like I'm talking to an idiot over here," he said to a taller patch of grass.
Ryan hesitated, it was right, sort of. He wanted to shoot it, but only because it might be dangerous.
"Please don't bullshit yourself, we both know that's a total lie," it said, reacting to his thoughts. "Well, actually, I might be dangerous. Maybe you should just shoot me!"
Ryan began lowering Lucky and started to consider his other options. Hand-to-hand combat seemed like his best option, or perhaps he could improvise a weapon—
"Whoa, hey now! Focus, focus, focus, I'm right here." It jumped into his line of vision. "Just shoot me, it's the easiest solution. Come on, just do it."
Ryan holstered Lucky defiantly, his mind rapidly searching for other options.
He didn't know how it got so close to him, but suddenly he heard its voice whispering in his ear. "You can't get rid of me so easily, I'm gonna be hanging around for a good while unless you do something about it." His head moved inhumanly, wrenching around grotesquely. Ryan could hear bones crackling in his neck he moved.
Suddenly he stopped and looked back at Ryan, and he was House. Mr. House, back when he had a respectable body. He removed Ryan's courier uniform to reveal an urban suit and tie underneath. "Does this work better for you? Maybe I should give you some motivation."
He breathed in and righted his posture. "I tell you to bring me the chip and what do you bring me? Betrayal. Hatred. Empty promises to be my vestige for a new beginning for New Vegas." House put a hand up and fixed his tie.
"You're not real... I'm not listening to this," he said, but how could he know that this House wasn't real? What he was saying was true so far, why wouldn't this be true?
House ignored him and continued. "Perhaps I was wrong about you being the turning point of my little country. I thought you to be un-killable, incorruptible, unyielding, but you fell so quickly when you lost your 'friends.'"
That hit home with Ryan. "They left because they had to take care of their own business! I helped them when they needed it, and they helped me when I was weak! And maybe I did go through a dark period when they left the Mojave, but that doesn't mean anything anymore!" He lost sense of where he was and what he was doing.
"No, you're still as weak as you were back then. You don't even realize what became of you during that time, do you? Locked up in the Lucky 38, staying in my penthouse, sleeping in my bed." A cigarette was suddenly resting in his hand, and he took a quick drag on it. "You're worse than I was, you know. Sure, I had my moments of greed or selfishness, but at least I was sane-"
"That's enough!" Ryan roared, his hand snapping to Lucky. He redrew it in the blink of an eye and had its sights level with House's head. "You don't know anything about me! You tried to manipulate me, make me your pawn! Just like the rest of New Vegas and the NCR, you wanted me under your thumb or placed on a shelf somewhere like those stupid snow globes you collected! Well I'll tell you, I'm nobody's pawn!"
Ryan pulled the trigger once, sending a bullet flying through House's skull. The sudden sensation brought him back to where he was. He remembered Ponyville and the talks with Celestia, and the magic lessons, and... Discord. "I gave you my warning, you sadistic son-of-a-bitch!"
Bam! A bullet whizzed through House's chest.
Bam! A bullet went through House's cheek.
Bam! Bam! Bam! House was perforated all over its upper body and head. Ryan kept pulling the trigger, but no more bullets came out. After he realized he was no longer causing any damage, his arm fell to his side, Lucky still held tightly.
House stood calmly, having not flinched a single time, despite all the bullet wounds perforating his body. Blood streamed down his face and began creating massive stains on his suit. He put his cigarette in his mouth and pursed his lips on it, sucking in the smoke. He lingered like that for a moment, then exhaled, letting out a cloud as he did so. "You were better at destroying things than you were at building them. Your 'grand dream' for New Vegas isn't going to happen, it isn't ever going to happen. You will die here, or you will die back on Earth. Everyone's mortal. Even I turned out to be mortal." He dropped his cigarette in the grass and ground it down. "Just one more thing we have in common." He took a few steps forward and clapped a blood-soaked hand on Ryan's shoulder.
Then he was gone.
Ryan sucked in a breath, unable to move. His mind quickly processed what had happened, and, with an air of sudden and sharp realization, he quickly jerked his head to look at his collar, only to see that it was covered in the blood of whatever that thing was. In a panic, he tried frantically to rub it off, but the stain wouldn't change. He dropped Lucky and fell to his knees in the grass. He grabbed handfuls of the stuff, tearing it up to try to scrub and scrape at the collar of the jacket, hoping against hope that the stain would come ou—
There was nothing there. His hand opened and the grass fell out. He took a closer look at the area, grabbing it and moving it around frantically, checking to make sure it was clean. There was no sign blood had ever touched him there. He checked his Pip-Boy to see that the little bar for Sanity had disappeared, but somehow he felt that it wasn't gone entirely.
What did he just see then? What happened, and why? He sat back in the grass and stared blankly into the distance.
His mind jumped to the conclusion that it was Discord, but he wasn't too sure. Perhaps he could ask Celestia or Twilight about it. But the more he considered the option, the more he realized that might not be a good idea. Considering what he just saw, it might be better just to keep it to himself, because what if it wasn't Discord? They would start considering his mental health, and that might jeopardize his training in magic.
It was too much of a risk to talk about it, he decided. He went to pick up Lucky, then reloaded it with care. With his thoughts reorganized, and the lingering effects of fear and adrenaline wearing off, he stood up shakily. It's not like that whole thing was something he could explain anyway.
A few minutes later, Twilight returned, bearing a small bag, presumably filled with some sorts of food. She wore a bright smile, but it fell quickly when she noticed that Ryan was sitting down in the grass, an absent look on his face. "Smith? Why'd you stop practicing? You almost had it!" she asked as she approached.
"Oh, right, sorry about that Twilight. I got caught up in thinking and took a break," he said, standing up.
Twilight scrutinized his face, not buying it. Her eyes passed over his features carefully, noting the differences in them when compared to the last time she saw him. Ryan could practically see her taking mental notes of his too-stretched smile, his quivering eyebrows, and the suddenly-dimmed lights in his eyes. He tried to keep his expression as bright as possible, but she clearly could see that something was not alright.
"Well alright." She levitated the bag she brought up in front of both of them. "I brought some food. Sandwiches and chips. Can't do magic on an empty stomach!" She said with a smile.
"Uh, sure...!" Ryan responded, trying to match her enthusiasm. "What was that? She totally saw right through me, why didn't she say anything?"
"Okay, here you go!" she said as a small bag of chips and a napkin-wrapped sandwich levitated in front of him. "Let's sit and eat," she suggested, sitting down in the grass.
"Thanks," Ryan said, unwrapping the sandwich.
"So what were you thinking about?" Twilight asked as she took a bite into her sandwich.
"Nothing really, my mind just wandered to home..." He trailed off as he took his first bite.
And then he promptly spit it back out.
"Mmm. Yeah, that's definitely grass," he said matter-of-factly as he stuck his tongue out and removed a few green scraps.
He looked over to see Twilight looking confused and maybe a little offended.
"Oh! Sorry. Humans can't really digest grass so well. Sorry about that," he apologized.
"I-It's fine. My mistake. I should have realized, or maybe remembered, considering how much we talked yesterday about your species..." she trailed off, looking away. But suddenly her eyes snapped back to her. "Let me get you something else, then. Just tell me something you can eat, and I'll run back into town and pick it up!" She stood up and set her sandwich on the bag it had come in.
"Actually Twilight, I think it might be better if I just came into town with you. I need a, uh, change of scenery," he said, looking around at the field they sat in.
"Sure! We can keep practicing later, I suppose. You have been working pretty hard." She stood up, wrapping her sandwich up again as she did so. "What can you eat then?"
"Lots of stuff, really. Humans are omnivores, and I'm guessing that you ponies are sort of too, to a lesser degree, so... How about a sandwich with lettuce and tomato on it?"
"I think that can work. Come on, I know where to go!"
The two walked off towards the town, neither aware of the coated figure watching them from the shade of the lone tree in the clearing.
"Sister?" Luna's head peeked into Celestia's study. The mare of the sun was sitting at a desk pressed up against the wall, stacks of paper stretching up towards the ceiling covered nearly every inch of its surface. Outside the large windows the sun was beginning its descent towards the far-off mountains, bathing the room in a light orange glow.
Celestia's quill stopped scratching across the paper she was working. She lifted her head up to look at the intruder. "Hello, Luna. Is there something you needed?"
"I... wish to talk to you about the human's dreams," she said, looking down at her hooves.
"Luna," Celestia started, standing up, "I thought we discussed this. As he is only a visitor on our world, I expect you to respect his privacy and not watch his dreams. I'm sure he has his own secrets and matters, and it is not your place, or anypony's place, to meddle in them."
"I know... but I couldn't help but look. In the dreamscape, as I wander looking at the clouds of each of our subject's dreams, his was most... unusual." Luna looked back up to make eye contact with Celestia and hold it firmly.
"What do you mean?" Celestia asked.
"Well, most ponies have dream clouds that are typically soft and calm, aside from the occasional nightmare which would be slightly darker and stormy. This human, his dream signature..." Luna trailed off.
"What is it?" Celestia's eyes softened.
"It was like nothing I had ever seen before. A maelstrom, lightning constantly flashing, winds howling... He's had a nightmare every night since he's been here, and all of them are horrible." Luna's voice grew quiet as she sounded more sympathetic. "Whatever his life was like at his home, it was full of so much suffering and pain..."
Celestia's heart broke at the sight of her sister. She wrapped a wing around her comfortingly. "I've heard about some of it from him, and it certainly doesn't sound like he's had an easy time in this 'New Vegas'."
"But there's more, sister." Luna pushed away Celestia's wing and stepped to the side to look at her directly. "It's been made clear to me that he has a demon inside him. A demon not unlike... the Nightmare."
Celestia's face grew serious, her previous visage of comfort gone. She became all business at the mention of the name. "What do you propose we do about it?"
"For now? Nothing. It's clear that he's had to deal with this monster living inside him for a long time now, and he's gotten used to its presence. And I know what you told me about that 'moment' he had with you back in Ponyville, but that seems like the only outburst he's had in a while, if his mental presence is any indication." Luna looked out at the sunset. "We need to keep a closer eye on him, lest he become dangerous."
"I'll tell Twilight and ask her to send more frequent letters about his actions around her and Ponyville, and I can task the guard with watching him passively." She levitated a blank paper and a quill from her desk and began writing. "Is there anything else that we can do?"
Luna thought for a moment. "Yes, keep Discord away from him. Despite his 'reformation,' I still do not trust him. Especially with something that potentially dangerous near him."
Celestia stopped. "Then would you rather me recall the human back to Canterlot to keep him away?"
"Nay," Luna answered immediately. "If he is to keep his demon at bay, he needs companionship, and I can think of nopony better to provide that than Twilight Sparkle." She turned her head to the side. "Besides, if he does slip, then the Elements are all there to neutralize him, despite how horrible that sounds."
"I could have Twilight stop training his magic," Celestia offered. But before Luna could say anything, she reconsidered. "No, he would suspect something. And if he does fall, it would be better that his magic would be somewhat controlled and applied rationally." She looked off, lost in thought.
"Sister...?"
"Can we consider the option of rehabilitation? Keeping him here until he's defeated what's plaguing him? No... he's too determined to return home, and the fear of losing his Luck only making it more pressing..."
"Sister."
"We could have the Elements use their power preemptively. That might destroy whatever is lurking inside him before it has a chance to—"
"Sister!"
Celestia snapped her attention back to Luna at her outburst.
Luna took a deep breath. "Whatever we do, we have to treat him like he's volatile now, because he is. I believe before coming here he was stable enough, but the magic here combined with the stress of being removed from his home is making his mental state much worse. I think the best thing we can do now is to get him back home with as much magical training as possible so he can face his demons there." She exhaled. "As bad as that sounds, he isn't our problem. Our problem is returning him to where he came." she added.
Celestia was silent. Moments passed as the sun descended until it was barely visible. "I understand Luna. We'll just have to tread carefully. We both saw how powerful he was with all that unconditioned magic. I can only hope that we can get him to where he wants to go."
The sisters lit their horns and completed the cycle of night to day, the moon bathing the land in its glow. This new night, however, brought no rest to the two, only knots of anticipation and worry in their stomachs.