Chapter 10
The Truth
Pip floated through the dreamscape. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the Nightmare Forces he knew were out there.
Nothing.
No matter how hard he tried, he still got nothing. What was wrong? Why couldn’t he do it? Why could Phantom Shade, of all ponies, somehow do it, but he couldn’t? I’m supposed to be the Captain of the Star Guard, for Celestia’s sake… If anypony should be able to do it, it's me.
With a heavy heart, Pip turned his attention to the sky. Using his dream magic, Pip crafted a glorious vision of the moon and stars. He wanted to see them, even if he knew they were just figments of his imagination. They had always been there when he needed them most.
The others had been traveling through the dreams of the bat ponies, but it was taking a lot longer than Pip had imagined. They needed to counsel the ponies through their fears and then defeat a weakened monster. Sometimes it took days just for a single pony…
I should assign pairs to work together, he thought. Perhaps teamwork will win the day.
Thinking of teamwork caused Pip to pause. Equinox… Of all the ponies on his team, he'd thought he would have to worry about her the least. He had been wrong.
Locating her in a dream not far from his location, Pip sailed through the gray dreamworld until he came upon the bubble of light that represented a sleeping pony. Pip burst into the dream and immediately concealed himself, not wanting to disturb whatever was happening.
Much to his surprise, he was in a school room, complete with a teacher’s desk and a sitting rug for foals. At the far end of the room was a full grown bat pony stallion sitting on the foal rug. He slumped over, soaked in depression.
Equinox was standing next to him, but Pip immediately noticed she looked different. In this dreamscape her scars were gone and her skeletal wing was back to normal. She was altering the dream to appear as she once did…
“Where did this come from, Brick?” Equinox asked the mopey stallion. “You hated school when we were foals. I remember you skipping out on it as often as possible.”
The stallion, Brick, sighed. “I’m just afraid all the other guys at work are secretly making fun of me behind my back, ya know? Thinkin’ I’m stupid or something. I’m not stupid, right?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why was PE and recess the only two things I was good at? Doesn’t that mean I’m stupid?”
Equinox opened her mouth to continue talking but stopped when she spotted Pip. Taking a step away from the stallion, she avoided eye contact. “Um, maybe we can talk about this some other time… Right now I gotta go.” She turned and quickly trotted out of the schoolhouse.
Pip galloped across the room in an attempt to meet up with her, but Brick got up and stood in his way.
“You botherin’ Equinox?” he grunted.
“Me? No. I’m her captain. We work together.” Pip stepped around the confused stallion.
“Wait!” Brick shouted after him. “Aren’t you guys going to help me?”
“Go back to school if you’re worried about it! You’re still capable of learning!” Pip yelled over his shoulder and he exited that building. It was advice equivalent to just do it, but he didn’t have time right now. If matters became worse, he could always come back.
“Equinox!” he yelled. “Where are you?!”
Pip exited the dream at the edge and came to a halt. Equinox was waiting for him just beyond the light barrier, a stern look upon her face.
“What are you doing?” she asked. “Just checking up on me? Making sure I was doing my job?”
“Uh,” Pip nervously began. “I just wanted to talk to you. Make sure you were okay.”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay?” she snapped.
“You’ve been acting differently lately. Do you need to talk about it?
Equinox sneered. “I can handle anything,” she proclaimed. “I don’t need help from others. I have everything under control. You saw! I was helping that pony.”
Pip shook his head. “I wasn’t talking about that. I was talking about your wing. Maybe you felt-”
“I’m fine!” she cut him off, stamping her hoof on the gray dust of the open dreamscape. “I can barely even tell the difference! It didn’t matter, okay?!”
“No need to get so defensive,” Pip said, holding up a hoof.
“Maybe I wouldn’t be if ponies would stop asking me about it!”
“I just thought, because you altered your appearance here in the dreamscape, that-”
She turned away and unfurled her wings. “You’re reading too much into it! I said I was fine, so I’m fine! Nothing is wrong! Just let me do my job!” Without a glance back, Equinox took off into the dreamscape, flapping her wings, though it wasn't required. Pip watched her go, unsure of what he would say to someone who had lost their ability to fly.
He had never flown before. At least, not outside of dreams…
“Is everything okay?”
Pip quickly turned around. A smile came over him when he realized who had come to speak with him. “Luna! I’m so happy to see you!” Like a little school foal, Pip happily galloped to her side.
Luna smiled, but even in this dreamscape, Pip could tell she was on the brink of collapsing from exhaustion. “Is Equinox all right?”
“Oh? Uh, I’m sure she will be. It’s just… her wing.”
“Depression and loss can play tricks on a pony’s mind,” Luna said in a very serious tone. “But you cannot rush acceptance. Perhaps it would be best if Equinox stayed home instead of working in her condition.”
Pip slowly nodded. Luna was right, of course, but he didn’t have many ponies in the guard to begin with. Losing one would be hard. “I’ll talk to her about it.”
Luna held her head high and stared down at him. “Pip, I have something important to discuss with you.”
“What is it?” he eagerly asked.
“My sister… she sometimes has visions. Recently she had one about you, Pip.”
Pip caught his breath and waited. The mere mention of visions caused him to think back to his fight with Nightmare Moon. My vision…
“I know you wanted to stay in Hollow Shades longer, but you will need to leave by the end of this moon,” Luna informed him. “You must travel east, to Manehatten. Celestia believes your destiny is waiting for you there.”
“Luna,” Pip gasped the moment she was done talking. “It's going to happen... When Equinox used Celestia’s power, remember the vision I had? Of the dragon in nightmare form? It's going to come true, Luna. I... I have this feeling that is. A terrible feeling.”
Stunned, Luna stared at him for a long moment.
Silence.
Pip nervously shifted in place. “Do, uh, all of Celestia’s visions come true?”
Letting out a long sigh, Luna turned away from him, her gaze vacant. “Sometimes they are metaphors, Pip. Sometimes they are hard to interpret.”
“So that means it might not come true?”
Luna didn’t answer. She continued to stare off into the distance.
“Are you okay?” Pip quietly asked. Had it been something he'd said? “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you earlier…”
“Pip…” her voice trailed off. “I… I cannot see the dreams of dragons. They are resistant to all forms of outside magic. However, before I gave you a piece of my magic, I could pierce their dreams. Now… now I cannot. I thought not to worry about it too much, but this vision… It causes me a great deal of worry. It needs to be dealt with.”
“If you need the fragment, I’ll give it back,” he quickly stated. He would give up anything to help her, especially now, when she was so tired and weak.
She remained unmoving, her eyes searching for something unseen.
Pip took a seat next to her. “What if I traveled to the land of the dragons? The lands outside Equestria’s borders? What if I got close enough to use the fragment? Maybe I could sift through the dreams of dragons and prevent what I saw in the vision!”
Luna turned to him. “The dragons outside Equestria are not like Spike, Pip. They are dangerous and very aggressive toward outsiders.”
“Sounds like bat ponies,” Pip said with a laugh.
Luna was too woebegone to share in his humor.
“Sorry,” Pip muttered. He held his head high. “I know it’ll be dangerous, but I’m up to the task! I’ll get there no matter what!”
“Pip… None of Celestia’s visions have been wrong,” she said in a quiet tone. “They all eventually came true, even if she originally misinterpreted them.”
“Well… It wasn’t Celestia who had the vision, was it?” he rhetorically asked, hoping to lighten Luna’s mood. He didn’t want her to needlessly worry. This would be his burden.
“Pip…”
“But I’ll still go east, just like Celestia wants,” Pip said, standing up and smiling. “At the end of this moon I’ll go to Manehatten. Then I’ll take a boat down to the land of dragons. It’ll be simple. I’ll have it done by the end of the next moon.”
Luna gave him half a smile and nodded. “Thank you, Pip. Now… I should be going. I have much work to do.” She sighed wearily and turned to leave. Even her mane was flowing slowly, as if it were pained to do so.
“Wait!” Pip called after her. She stopped and glanced at him over her shoulder. “Stay,” he breathed. Pip didn’t know if he was doing it for her or for him, but all he knew was that he didn’t want to leave her just yet.
Luna hesitated for a moment before turning around. She trotted back to him and sat down, glancing up at the dreamscape above them. Pip’s stars and moon were still there. He took a seat next to her and stared upward with her. He longed for these moments. A certain nostalgic factor kept them from ever growing dull.
“Do the nightmares bother you?” Luna asked him, her gaze set upon one of the many constellations.
“I only seem to have them if I fall asleep while wearing the fragment,” he replied. Pip hated the nightmares, but it made him sad that nopony knew Luna had them every night. If only they knew…
“I’m glad to hear that. I was afraid you would be upset, or that they would haunt your nights.”
Silence settled over them again, but Pip didn’t mind. He was comfortable here, and he almost wished it would never end.
“I really must go, Pip. But…” She turned to him, genuinely smiling and looking less tired than before. “Thank you. I needed this.”
“I think what you’re doing is admirable,” he told her. “I know I’m not anypony special, but I appreciate what you’re doing for all of Equestria.” I only hope I can work as hard as you are.
She gave him a slight bow of her head before turning away and fading from the dreamscape. Pip watched her go and stared at the place where she had disappeared for a long while. He had wanted to tell her about his difficulty sensing the Nightmare Forces, but he just couldn’t bring himself to tell her that the first thing he did as the Captain of the Star Guard was fail miserably.
If I’m going to do right by this guard, I better start clearing the Nightmare Forces. We don’t have much time left in Hollow Shades. Attempting to sense the darkness, Pip closed his eyes.
Nothing.
Frustrated, Pip turned toward the nearest dream and galloped toward it, determined to prove to himself that he wasn’t a failure. The moment he broke through the light barrier, he froze. It was completely black. No light, no objects… just darkness. Pip recognized this… it had been the same nightmare he'd had…
Pip's understanding of nightmares suddenly all came together. The Nightmare Forces used different tactics depending on whom they were trying to convince. For children, it gave them nightmares of monsters and scary things to frighten them. For young and up-and-coming ponies, it tried to trick them by telling them everything they wanted to hear… However, for some ponies, it merely spoke to them. Unmasked, in all its dark glory… the oblivion would speak to them in truths and whispers.
“How pathetic.”
Pip ducked, half expecting the darkness to be speaking directly to him. Glancing around, Pip suddenly spotted a distant figure. He trotted toward it, hesitant.
“Life has been cruel to you.”
The malevolence of the voice caused shivers to run along Pip’s spine. As he drew near, Pip stopped. There was a lone bat pony in this dream… a bat pony Pip had seen before. It was the janitor, the pony that had cleaned the bar and the halfway home he was using as a base. The bat pony janitor was sitting in the darkness, staring straight ahead with glazed eyes.
“First you were given the lowest of the low in terms of cutie marks. Then you met a mare you thought you would love forever… only to have her leave you without a word, saddling you with her unwanted child. Unable to afford your home, you were forced to move into a smaller place, where you have been for years… Truly, a pathetic existence.”
The bat pony didn’t respond; he merely hung his head.
“Doesn’t it infuriate you that some ponies are given everything in life? Born to wealthy families, gifted with extraordinary cutie marks, talented in magic… You were given none of those things. You have been the laughing stock of your school, your community, your ex-lover… When will you face reality and see that your life has no meaning? That your life is simply to provide a punchline for all those who would mock you?”
“T-that’s not true,” the bat pony finally rebutted, his voice cracking. “I have friends…”
“But do they treat you like equals? Or do they jeer and laugh at your station in life?”
Pip gritted his teeth. If what the darkness was saying was true, how would one argue against it? The bat pony sank further downward, his head hung so low it was practically touching his hooves.
“And they should laugh. Life has forsaken you, child. You are nothing but a trash collector and disgusting piece of filth that other ponies wish to avoid. You are nothing.”
“Nothing…?” the bat pony whispered. “Am I really?”
“No,” Pip interjected. “Of course not! Ponies aren’t made up of only one thing! You’re more than just your cutie mark! More than just your job!”
The bat pony slowly glanced over his shoulder to Pip. Confused, the bat pony stared for a long moment.
“What else could you possibly be?” The Darkness taunted. “Do ponies not define themselves by their station in life?”
“N-no… the earth pony is right,” the janitor muttered, turning back to talk to the darkness. “I’m not just a janitor. I’m a father and,” he laughed to himself, “a volunteer coach for the school. And I host games at the local lounge for me and my friends… I’m not just a janitor…”
“A father? You share no blood with the child you keep. He was dumped upon you like the unwanted burden he is. You were duped into watching him, and his mere drain on your life is your punishment for your trust.”
The bat pony stood up, his eyes suddenly hard. Flashing his fanged teeth, he growled, “You won’t talk about my son like that! I was there when he was born! It… It doesn’t matter that he wasn’t mine!”
“Doesn’t it, though? Your legacy will end with you, your blood lost in the game of life because you were fool enough to settle for some other stallion’s child.”
“No,” the bat pony defiantly snapped. “Not some other stallion’s child. He’s my son. I’ve cared and looked after him this whole time, not because it was forced upon me, but because I love him like my own. I’m not defined by just my cutie mark and job… I’m also a father, and that is more important to me than anything else.”
“Says the fool unwilling to recognize his shortcomings.”
“And what of you?!” the bat pony angrily yelled into the darkness. “What are you?! At least I have something to show for my efforts! What are you but nothingness?!”
“Silly child. Yelling will get you nothing. But, if you sleep, I will take away the pain of life. I will soothe your pathetic existence, and make it something more. Sleep, child. Let eternity embrace you.”
The bat pony turned away with a feh. “What kind of example would I be setting for my son if I accepted your offer? No matter what you say, I will not be the one that fails him. I have a duty, and it has never been a burden. Truth be told, it has made me a better pony. Maybe, if I didn’t have a son, I would have done as you asked.”
“You only value your life because another depends on it. Pathetic.”
“At least I value life!”
The janitor slammed his hooves down and shattered the darkness all around them. Like glass, it fell, revealing the natural dreamscape underneath. It was Hollow Shades, out by the fountain in the park. Pip watched the shattered darkness hit the ground.
“Thank you,” the bat pony said, turning to Pip. “I might have been lost if you hadn’t said anything.”
“I barely did anything,” Pip assured him. “You had the strength yourself.”
“My name is Scrap. I know you’re the Captain of the Star Guard… but I don’t think I ever got your name.”
“It’s Pipsqueak.” Normally, Pip thought his name was the weirdest around, but he had never heard anypony name their child scrap before.
Scrap smiled to him. “You came to help us fight that, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.” Pip nodded. “I was here just in case you needed help.”
Scrap was a lanky bat pony with a dark gray coat and black mane. He smiled and held up his hoof. Pip tapped it with his own hoof and nodded to the other stallion. “I thought the Star Guard was going to consider bat ponies a part of the darkness. I’m glad I was wrong. Now… I really should be getting back to my son, Onyx.”
“Oh, all right,” Pip said, on the verge of informing the bat pony they were actually in a dream. He thought better of it, however, and let Scrap go on his merry way. It was a dream, after all… maybe something wondrous and amazing would happen now that the Nightmare Forces had been purged.
As Pip turned to go, he felt off. Looking around the dream, he realized it was just a little more surreal than it had been before. He was dreaming. His body had fallen asleep while he was dream walking, and now he was within his own dreams.
Suddenly, the shattered darkness rose up and began piecing itself back together, blotting out everything else. Pip galloped to avoid it, but there was no use. It was just darkness, after all. Nothing physical. He stopped and braced himself, attempting to wake. It didn’t work.
“Ah… Dream stalker… You’ve come to me again. And so soon…” The eerie voice almost sounded amused. “Do you think you helped that poor pony in the dream from earlier? Or are you aware that you simply suppress and pacify ponies so that they may better serve your princess?”
“Heh,” Pip turned away, waiting for the others to wake him. Hopefully one of them was done. Or, hopefully they get done soon. “I don’t need to listen to you anymore. I know what you’re trying to do.”
“Oh? You think you know all now? What a clever pony,” it said in a mocking tone.
“You’re evil,” Pip said. “That’s all you are.”
“You do not know evil, child. True evil is inequality. When the first rays of light pierced the darkness, it created evil. Contrast, difference – once there was only oblivion, now the world knows suffering.”
Pip glanced around. Just darkness. He wanted to leave. Desperately wanted to leave… but he was still caught in his sleep. “The light isn’t evil,” he muttered.
“But it brings with it pain and suffering. Don’t you see? For every laugh there are ten sobs. For every smile, a hundred frowns. For every love, a thousand heartaches and grudges. You cling to that tiny amount of light and happiness because you think it justifies the hurt and suffering, but you’re wrong.”
Pip didn’t know why, but now he felt like arguing with the darkness. “Differences aren’t a bad thing!”
“Do you think that Celestia and Luna have ever wondered where their next meal will come from? Of course not. They were born to a life of leisure, whereas ponies like the janitor will never know that luxury.”
There had never been a point in Pip’s life where he thought about such odd and complex things. Was it fair that some ponies were royalty? Was it fair that some ponies got amazing cutie marks? What were cutie marks? Why did some ponies get interesting ones and others did not?
No. It didn’t matter. Life in Ponyville had taught him that ponies could work together. “We can make the world equal one day,” Pip said confidently.
“Do you think there will be a day when you can prevent accidents? Early death? Diseases? If not, there will never be equality. All of your laws and rules are just your attempt to deny the truth.”
“What is the truth?” Pip defiantly asked.
“The only true equality is within oblivion.”
Pip immediately laughed. Of course. “Yeah, I’m not buying it.”
“The truth doesn’t require your comprehension. It just is.” A dark laugh echoed around Pip. “Just imagine. No kings. No queens. No princesses. No serfs or peasants. Everything from the lowly speck of dust to the sun itself is just as equal in oblivion. Before the light created evil, suffering, madness and mayhem – there was the perfect embrace of oblivion. All was equal. All was the same. No strife. No pain. Everything was as it should be.”
“You can’t actually mean that,” Pip said with another half-hearted laugh. “You’re trying to corrupt ponies and create nightmare creatures.”
“Are you so blind that you cannot see my motives? I help my host achieve their innermost desires, whether that desire be an eternal night or unparalleled beauty. Then, once I have completed my end of the bargain, I control their body. With it, I will snuff out the light. I will bring us all back to oblivion.”
Pip didn’t have much to laugh about anymore. The tone of the voice was serious. It wanted to snuff out the light. It wanted to bring about the end of everything. Why? “Doesn’t that mean you’ll stop existing as well? I thought you said you were created by the light?”
“Although you ponies fear oblivion, my cause is the most noble. Oblivion is the only true and perfect equality. Anything else is a delusion.”
Was it true? Was the darkness correct? Was that the only way to have equality? No, I don’t believe it… But then again, had the darkness ever lied to him? It suddenly occurred to Pip that the darkness was ancient and claimed to be all-knowing.
Pip hesitantly shifted his weight from one hoof to the other. “Is that what happens to us when we die? We go back to oblivion?” Again, he had never thought about it before, but…
The darkness began laughing. Its cold, heartless laugh echoed all around Pip.
“Like all weak creatures, you cringe away from the truth. Like a child, you must be sheltered from concepts and realities too complex or frightening for your tiny mind. Like a parent, I will choose for you. I will take responsibility. I will achieve what you can never. I will usher you all into oblivion… and there is nothing you can do to stop me.”
“Squeaks! Squeaks, wake up!”
Pip jerked awake and tumbled from his cot, barely able to comprehend what was happening. Once he calmed down, he saw Mist flying above him, staring at him with wide, concerned eyes.
“Squeaks? Are you okay?”
“Y-yeah…” he mumbled as he got to his hooves. “Yeah. Totally fine.”
“You were talking in your sleep.” She flew over the cot and landed next to him. “It was adorable,” she informed him in her sing-song voice.
“Thank you for waking me,” he breathed.
Mist glanced over her shoulder and looked around the room. While all the other ponies were waking, she quickly turned back to Pip and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “You look like you need some love~!”
Pip flushed. He was a warrior now! Did warriors really need that? Pip couldn’t deny that he liked it. He almost told her about his nightmare, but he decided against it. It was depressing to talk about things like death and oblivion.
Although Pip had never been very afraid of death, the idea that he would cease to be now frightened him. So many ponies were counting on him! How could he let them all down? He couldn’t.
“Everypony, listen up!” Pip shouted to them. He trotted over to the wall where he had taped a piece of paper. Four names were written on it. “This is going to be a worksheet until the end of the moon cycle. We need to help as many ponies as we can until then, because after that we’re leaving! The more names we can get on the list, the better!”
Pip picked up a pen in his mouth and wrote Scrap as the next name on the list.
“That’s only three weeks from now,” Specter said, confused.
“Celestia thinks our destiny is to the east,” Pip informed them. “And I don’t intend to miss out on our destiny. Everypony understand?”
Everypony nodded and agreed. Everypony except Phantom Shade, but he eventually shrugged and nodded. Better than nothing.
Pip stared at the list. They had three weeks to raise that number. We should get well over a hundred by then.