//------------------------------// // Chapter XL: Clair de Lune // Story: As I'm Falling to Pieces // by Pinkamena Diane Pie //------------------------------// Chapter XL: Clair de Lune His eyes flashed open, instantly aware of his surroundings. A dark, grey ceiling was above him, lights not turned on. Lightning propped himself up in the bed, looking around the room. A dresser stood next to the bed, with photos on top. He turned to his left and smiled. Applejack was curled up next to him. Her eyelids were closed, but he could see her eyes move through them. A small smile touched the corners of her mouth, but then disappeared. The sheets rose and fell with every breath she took. Her blonde mane was braided down her back, with her tail pulled in next to her body. Lightning bent down and planted a small kiss on her forehead, then got out of the bed. He stretched out his legs, trying not to make too much noise. He walked over to the door, opening it as quiet as possible. It was in the middle of the night, so no pony was in the hallway. He decided to go to the surface to see the sunrise. It had been almost eight months since he had seen one. On the way, he saw the workers cleaning up the Bunker. He waved at them as he passed by, but they didn’t respond. He took the elevator, and was at the surface in a few seconds. The lobby was ponied by only a mare, sitting behind the desk. She nodded at him as he passed, and he did the same. He opened the door, stepping out into the night air. The first thing he noticed was the moon. Bright white, hanging in the sky. It cast a soft blue glow over the lands beyond, and making the plants like seem to stand out from the ground. The second thing he noticed, was a white unicorn sitting on the ground a few feet away from the door. The moon made her fur glow brighter than usual. However, it made her scars stand out garishly from the white. Rarity was watching the moon set, her fore-legs crossed over her chest. Hind legs pulled in close to her body. She rested her head against the Bunker wall. When she heard the sound of the door opening, she looked up. “Oh, hello Lightning.” she said, her voice far away. “Good to see somepony else awake.” She moved to the right slightly, patting the ground next to her. Lightning took the invitation, sitting down next to her. She turned back to the moon as it slowly dropped out of the sky. “What are you doing up?” Lightning asked, his eyes on the moon as well. It would be another hour before it set. He heard Rarity sigh. “Ever since..” she paused, looking for the words. “I..woke up...I haven’t been able to sleep. Every night, I wake up. Every night, I dream about what I did. Every night I see Sweetie Belle....” her voice broke off, the moon reflecting off her eyes. “I just want to be able to sleep without having to re-live that.” She dropped her head onto her knees. Lightning didn’t know what to say. “I can’t say that I know what you are going through, but I can say this. It will get better.” he said with confidence. “You just have to forgive yourself.” Rarity sniffed, bringing her head off her knees. The three scars across her eye shown, black against white. Lightning had to pry his eyes away from them. “I know you are right, but I just can’t bring myself to do it.” she said, not looking at him. “I should have protected her. I don’t know how, but I should have.” Her gaze was fixed on a point next to the moon. Lightning followed her gaze and found a constellation. From what he could remember, it was Ursa Minor. “We used to look at the stars.” she said, her voice filled with pain. “Every night, we would come outside, just so that she could see the stars. I don’t know why, but she loved to look at them.” She turned back to Lightning, standing up at the same time. “When I am out here, I feel closer to her.” She started walking back towards the Bunker door. A couple bandages still clung to her hips and sides. The scars must have been the worst there. When she reached the door, she turned back to him. “I hope that you do not judge me to hard. I didn’t want any of this.” Then she was gone, leaving Lightning alone with his thoughts. He looked out over the Wastes. Life was returning, at least around the Bunker. Rainbow Dash had wanted to start to expand the weather team’s reach, so that they could slowly bring life back to the world. Lightning didn’t know how long that would take, but it would be amazing when it happened. His thoughts stopped when he saw the moon hit the top of the mountains. He got up and walked to the other side of the Bunker. A soft glow was touching the land. It would only be a matter of time. He watched, and waited.. The glow grew until the entire sky was a bright pink. What few clouds were around had turned orange or yellow. Finally it broke free of the horizon. Light poured through the valley, flowing across his fur, warming him. The orb of fire slowly rose from the horizon. The pink glow disappeared as it rose higher. He smiled, enjoying the feeling. It had been too long since he had seen it. A faint beeping broke though his thoughts. Looking down at his wrist, he could see a red light flashing on his W.I.C. He brought it up to his hear, saying ‘Hello’ as he did. Applejack’s voice flowed through the speaker. “Lighting, where are you, Sugarcube?” she asked, her voice slightly worried. Lightning smiled when he heard it. “I’m outside. Be back down in a couple minutes.” his voice broke off as he looked over the horizon. “And I have something to ask you.” ***** Two minutes later, he was entering the mess hall. Looking around, he spotted Applejack sitting with Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Cora, Phoenix, and the rest. Walking over, he tried to think of how to phrase this to Applejack. He sat down next to her, putting his fore-leg on her belly. It had grown a little, but it was slowing down. She smiled up at him, but then saw his expression. “What is it?” she asked, worried now. Lightning looked around at the ponies at the table. Phoenix was watching him curiously. Fluttershy was pretending not to. He leaned in next to Applejack ear. “I don’t know how to say it, so I am just going to.” He took a deep breath. “I want leave the Bunker, and take a small trip.” He sat back, waiting for it to sink in. Applejack just looked at him for a few moments,then nodded. “Yeah, that would probably be a good idea.” “I know you don’t want me to-” Lightning started. “Wait, what?” Applejack laughed, Lightning’s favorite sound. “Ah think it would be good for you. Ah have lived down here for ten years, and Ah am fine with it. But you...” she kissed his lips. “You need to be outside. The last eight months must have been torture for you.” Now it was Lightning’s turn to laugh. It was never torture with Applejack. But he had been wanting to go to the surface, and STAY there for a while, for a long time. There just hadn’t been a good time. Lightning looked over at Phoenix. “Is the Buggy fixed up?” Phoenix nodded, his mouth full of oats and apple. He swallowed, then cleared his throat. “This would be a trip by yourself. I want to stay here this time.” he looked to his left at Celia. “Can’t afford to die, can I?” Lightning nodded. “I just want to drive around, nothing major. Can I leave today?” Phoenix nodded. “Just let me get supplies for a couple weeks, then you can go.” Lightning nodded, smiling. He was finally going. It had been forever since her had been out of sight of the Bunker. Applejack stood up. “Can Ah talk to you in the hall?” Lightning nodded, confused. Phoenix started to laugh. “Busted.” he said, smiling. Lightning punched him in the shoulder, then followed Applejack out of the mess hall. When the sound of ponies eating and talking faded, she stopped. “Ah only have one thing to ask.” she said, her face serious. Lightning was still confused. “Just, don’t die this time, OK? Ah don’t want to have that happen again.” Lightning sighed. He walked over and hugged Applejack. “I wont die.” he said into her mane. “I am just going out for a few days, nothing dangerous. I promise.” He let Applejack go. “Anything else?” “No, just be careful.” she said, eyes worried. Lightning snorted. “I always am.” he said pointing at the scar on his shoulders and sides. ***** The rest of the day passed in a blur. By the time lunch rolled around, the car was ready. and Lightning had said goodbye to everypony. He practically jumped into the car when he saw it. Phoenix snorted, then pulled the lever on the wall, raising the car. “Come back in one piece this time, OK?” he said, smiling. “I’ll try.” Lightning replied, then phoenix was gone, and Lightning was facing the Wastes. He pressed the accelerator, and took off. ***** Several hours, and about a twenty miles later, it was getting dark. He had decided to go south, as that was one direction they had never travelled. He was hoping that something might be hidden away there, but it was still the same Wastes. He pulled over next to a grove of trees. The sun was setting, causing the shadows to grow longer and longer. Getting out of the Buggy to stretch out his legs, he decided to set up camp here tonight. He went to the back and opened the truck. Inside were three crates of food and water. One crate of ammunition and weapons, and one with a tent inside. After a few minutes, and a few curses, he got the tent up. The sun had set by now, and he needed a fire. Breaking a few branches off the trees, he made a small campfire beside his tent. He found the striker inside the tent, where Phoenix must have left it last time they were out. He lit a small leaf on fire, then tossed into the pile of twigs and The light cast by the fire made the shadows of the trees stand out garishly. Lightning let out a deep breath, letting it take away all of his tension and stress from the last eight months. He was back in his old home, and it felt like he had never left. He pulled a packet of freeze dried oats out of a crate, and settled down for the night. The moon was rising again, bright and clear and huge. It was bigger than it had ever been. He started to wonder how that was possible; How could it be so much bigger than it had last night? He had only travelled thirty miles. But he stopped worrying about it. It didn’t matter. Looking around he felt at ease. He was back in his element. This was something he understood. He stayed and watch the moon until he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore. Finally, when the moon was still rising, he went to bed. ***** Next morning, the sun broke over the horizon, bringing with it the heat and the sounds of animals. Opening his eyes, he saw the seam of light slowly move up his tent. He smiled, knowing he could do anything he wanted today. That’s when he heard the sounds of cursing. Instantly awake, he bolted out of the sleeping bag. He silently yelled at himself for not bringing a gun into the tent. Carefully, he poked his head out of the tent. What waited for him outside surprised him more than it scared him, which was a bad idea. Ten ponies stood around his fire, looking around. All but one was dressed in the same outfit as the one pony they cremated eight months back. A dark blue tunic and helmet, with a black patch and crescent moon on the chest. However, one of the ponies wore no helmet, and he had five small crescent moons emblazoned bellow the main one. That ponies ears pricked up, and he turned to face Lightning. Lightning felt a chill go down his spine. The Stallion had white eyes. Bright white, like the moon. Even his pupils where white. He had a dark blue coat with a lighter blue mane and tail. He was accented across the muzzle and hooves with white fur. When he saw Lightning, his scowl turned to a smirk. “Well, you finally decided to join us.” he said. His voice had a slight drawl to the words, not unlike Applejack, but he had no accent. He waved his hoof in Lightning’s direction. A second later, Lightning’s fore-legs were twisted behind his back, making him stand on his hind legs. He felt a look of shock move across his face. he struggled against the grasp of the pony, but he couldn’t get free. He turned his attention back to the Stallion with the white eyes. “Who the hell are you? What do you want with me?” he asked, still struggling. The Stallion just smiled. He walked up to Lightning and began to circle him. “Who am I?” he repeated. “No pony ever asks that first, so I guess I will grant you an answer.” He stopped in front of Lightning. “I am Lunar Glow, general of the Midnight army.” he said, pride in his voice. “And what do we want with you? Personally, I don’t want to have anything to do with you. But the laws state that any pony found in our territory must be brought back and put into service.” he finished, his smirk returning. Lightning was furious, unable to believe. “Fuck you! I’m not serving in any army!” he yelled directly in Lunar’s face. Lunar took a step back, the smirk fading. It was replaced by a look of disgust. He raised a fore-leg, and back-hoofed Lightning across the face. A metallic taste of blood exploded in his mouth as he bit down on his tongue. The pony holding him released his grip, and Lightning fell to the ground. Lunar walked up and stood over him. “You WILL have a more civil tongue when you speak to the Queen.” he said , resuming his circle around Lightning. “And you WILL behave when you are brought back to the Bastion.” he said forcefully. He stopped his circle and turned back to the other ponies. “Tie him up, we don’t want any trouble from him.” he said, looking back at Lightning, an evil smile playing across his white muzzle.