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// Chapter XL: Luna 
// Story: Distorted Fate 
// by Silvak 
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	"Where a—oh... this place again," I said to myself as I looked at my surroundings, finding myself in the empty dream world version of Ponyville. After the last two dreams I had of this place, I knew what would happen as I lay down on the ground, using one of my forelegs to support my head. Time passed as I awaited for whatever it was that my mind had to throw at me, until it felt like an eternity passed.

Standing back up, I said, "Well, this is surprising. Maybe things won't be quite so unpl—and here we go," as I heard some the noise of some large things falling from the sky. Looking up, I beheld the sight of meteors crashing down on the houses around me. Are all my dreams going to involve the destruction of Ponyville?

So I just sat on my rump and watched Ponyville get torn to bits by the meteors as a fire began to swarm over the ruined homes until I heard the sound of somepony flapping their wings. Turning my head around, I soon spotted Princess Luna flying towards me, her face having a somewhat concerned expression.

As she landed in front of me, I started to bow before remembering her words in regards to that, so I instead just said, "Hello, Princess Luna."

Raising an eyebrow at me, Luna replied, "We take it that thou art not having another nightmare?" After replying with a nod, she then said, "Is this meteor shower thy work?"

"Sorry, princess, but it isn't. I don't have control over my dreams, even if I know it's a dream."

"Still... this is a disturbing scene for us to behold. Though, it is preferable than nightmares filled with those horrendous beasts. Too many ponies bear those this night, so thy 'dream' is a short reprieve for us," Luna said before she turned around as her wings began to unfold.

"Yeah, it—wait a minute!" I said, my eyes widening as I looked at Luna, who in turn looked at me in surprised as she was about to take off. "Did you just said that there are other ponies that are dreaming of horrendous beasts? Are they similar to the ones that from the nightmare I had over a month ago?"

"Thou art correct. Why art thou asking?" Luna said as she folded her wings.

After she said that question, my head was suddenly filled with many questions and realizations. If I revealed that I knew about the Venanites, Luna would press me for proof or for how I knew about them. This would eventually lead to her learning about my origins, which would cause a plethora of issues. These scenarios ranged from ones where she would hunt me down to ones where she kept me as a lab subject after the crisis is over to ones where she let me live a normal life. As tempting as preserving my own hide was to me, I remembered that if these nightmares were just the forewarning of a Venanite invasion, then we would all be doomed.

Taking a deep breath, I said, "I don't know whether or not you'll believe me, but I know what those monsters are."

Tilting her head at me, Luna gave me a small smile as she said, "Thou are't so cute at trying to help us and other ponies, but w-"

"Oh, stop already, I had enough of the ‘adults know better than foals do’ setup. You may be a princess, and you may be older than me, but you have no idea what these monsters are capable of."

Frowning at me, Luna said, "Oh? And what makes thou certain about this matter? Does thou hath any proof to thy claims?"

Staring at her, I said, "Well... since I'm in a dream... I can't really present you wi-"

"Hold thy tongue for a moment, knave. For in thy dreams, thou can rely on thy memories to present the truth. Beware, for thy memories will not be tainted by thy own perspective."

"...Really? How does that work?"

"Thou just hath to recall the specific memory thou needs, if thy memory exists," Luna answered as her face became more annoyed. Seemed like she doesn't have much patience for such a slim chance to find an answer.

I almost paused in surprise, but I shook my head clear of that as I tried to recall a memory that would convince Luna that I was speaking the truth. Though I knew that I hadn't ever gotten close enough to a Venanite to provide direct proof, I knew of something else that would certainly make Luna take me seriously. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on my most vivid memories... the memories of where I used to live. At first, I heard nothing, which caused me to wonder if memories before I became a pony could even be summoned to this dream world. However, my doubts were dashed as I heard Luna gasping in surprise, causing me to open my eyes.

Before me stood a familiar sight, as I saw the tall metal buildings of the city I once called home. Around us, various species roamed about, a good hooffull of them being taller than even Luna. They roamed through the narrow walkways, as small scale flying ships dart in between the buildings. "This... this is amazing. We have never seen a sight like this in our entire lifetime... it... this cannot possibly be a figure of your imagination..." Luna gasped out, causing me to raise an eyebrow at her slip of speech.

Clearing my throat, I raised a hoof as if I was presenting something as I said, "Princess Luna, welcome to the fringe city of Jilkiax." Luna continued to stare at all that was before her, enraptured by the sights. I, on the other hoof, knew the reality of this city, for as glorious as it looked to Luna, this city was actually one of many cities that filled a sad role in the societies of inter-dimensional nations.

After a few more moments of gasping in wonder, Luna finally returned her attention to me as she asked, "What... what are thou? Surely thou aren't just a pony..." before she narrowed her eyes at me. "Are't thou responsible for the nightmarish creatures?"

"No, though I have suspicions of what may be causing them to appear in the dreams of ponies. As for what I was before I became a pony... it is irrelevant." Luna was about to make a retort before I hurriedly added, "We need to focus on the matter on hoof, the nightmares. For I believe they are just a sign of what is to come."

Eyeing me with suspicion, Luna asked, "What dost thou mean? And how does this memory apply to the creatures?"

"This memory doesn't, for I never had a true first-hoof encounter with them. However, they are well known throughout all known dimensions that ha-"

"You're from another dimension!" Luna yelled at the top of her voice, once again slipping in her decorum as the sheer volume sent me flying for a bit before crashing into a wall. Before I could say or do anything, Luna instantly came to me, pinning me against the wall with a hoof as she screamed, "Do you have any idea how reckle-"

"Oh shut it already! I know more about dimensional travel than you do! I know even more than Discord does!" I screamed.

This caused Luna to blink in surprise, her hoof letting go of me as she asked, "Thou... thou hast met Discord? What dost thou mean that thou knows more than us about the ways of traveling between dimensions?"

As I landed on my rump, I rubbed a hoof against the spot where Luna pinned me with hers as I said, "Yes, I have, and it wasn't an enjoyable meeting. But he also confronted me about the dangers of it, though it only told me that this world has only dabbled in the most basic of travel."

"The... most basic of travel?"

"Yes, for inter-dimensional nations have grouped the kinds of travel into three categories. The risks you believe could occur from dimensional traveling are linked to dimensional breaches, where one simply punches a hole between the natural dimensional barriers of both the destination and the point of origin. However, the accepted form of travel is through dimensional rifts, which creates a kind of safe wormhole that doesn't cause any damage to the barriers."

"We... see. However, what brought thou to our world?" Luna asked with a look of suspicion.

"I was on a job. Don't ask about the job. It's a long story that I can tell you another time. For now, I'll just tell you that this world was not my destination. Something caused me to end up in this world and in this form."

"Thou did not intend to appear as a pony?"

"No, this wasn't some infiltration mission. I just somehow ended up with a full species change. Originally I thought it was a fluke... but with the probe explosions and the nigh-"

"Explosions? Art thou linked to them? How does thou know they are mere probes?"

"Not really... though I suspect that whatever caused me to land on your world caused some, if not all, of them to appear in this world as well. Regardless, I saw some debris from the first explosion, and I was able to... get word of how many occurred later, which all fits in with the nature of a species trying to get first readings on some anomaly they encountered."

"Anomaly? This sounds like this is not the norm for a... interdimensional species to experience."

"You are correct, though it might be linked to the existence of magic on this world."

"We take it that other species does not possess magic?"

Nodding in reply, I continued. "Since magic isn't something that any species have yet to encounter, it may have a role in recent events, but by the sounds of things this should have happened much sooner than it did. This leads to the conclusion that there must be a single event that may have potentially affected the natural dimensional barriers of your world."

Oddly enough, my last words caused Luna to avert her eyes for a short moment, but that was enough for me to announce, "You... you know what might have done that... don't you?"

"We... may perhaps know a potential cause... but for now, we must attend to the problems on hoof. Thou explain your presence and the explosions, but not of the monsters."

"...Well, the creatures are known as the Venanites, a highly dangerous species that invade other worlds. Little is known about them beyond that they seem to be able to propagate their species through a highly infectious virus, which no species have yet been able to find a cure or even a vaccine to. Nopony knows where they originated from or what their true intentions are, just that they are somehow capable of interdimensional travel and have never opened communications with any species. "

"So the nightmares..." Luna started to say, leaving the words hanging at the horror what they could mean.

"Could be just a warning of what is to come. However, if we could fix whatever is causing stuff to leak into your world, then maybe this will not only end the nightmares but also prevent a possible invasion."

"This is dire news indeed... so art thou willing to aid us?"

"...Yes... though I have to ask... will there be any consequences for not being of this world?" I asked, a tone of apparent fear in my voice.

"Worry not. We will guarantee that no pony will harm thee. Though, we are curious, why didst thou hide thy identity?"

"Simple. Either I'll be harmed for being an alien or they will just think that I'm being a highly imaginative foal," I deadpanned.

"Ah... that is true. We will need to confer with our sister, but we will need thy physical presence. Where doest thou reside?"

"I live in Ponyville, at the Sugarcube Corner. My foster parent is... Pinkie Pie."

"The Element of Laughter? This makes things more convenient. However, we must continue our discussion another time, for we have many ponies suffering from these nightmares that we must attend to. We will meet thou..." Luna said, apparently waiting for me to give her my name.

"You can call me Aether Aura. That's the name I adopted when I became a pony as I was learning your language."

"Ah, it hath been a great relief to met you, Aether. We will meet thee in the morning, but for now we must take our leave," Luna said as she spread her wings, taking off into the air to disappear from my dream. This left me to my own thoughts, as I thought of what could be wrong with this world's barriers, and what I could do to fix it.