Every night I will save your life
And every night I will be with you.
'Cause every night I still lay awake
And I dream of an absolution.
Chapter 12: Back and Forth
---
There wasn't a whole lot for her to look back on. But what she could recall, she remembered fondly. It felt like she had been with these two friends of hers since time began. Snow Sleeve, or Shirayuki, was just like them. They could fly, bend matter with magic, and share a good fitful of laughter. With Sunny Skies, or Celestia and Lu Lu, or Luna, happiness was sure to be found.
"Sunny Skies?" Snow Sleeve had asked off-hoof one day, "What's your favorite season?"
"I'd have to say autumn," answered Sunny, "I just love the pretty colors the leaves can make as they cover the ground."
"Hm," understood Snow, "And you, Lu Lu?"
"Well," said Lu having to pause and rub her chin, "My favorite season would have to be winter. It reminds me of you, Snow. The white blanket is just beautiful to look at."
"How about you?" asked the sisters in unison.
"Actually," said Snow holding up a hoof, "I would say summer is my favorite."
"Yeah, I bet it's because Sunny's your best friend, right?" joked Lu.
"Mm-mm," responded Snow shaking her head, "A long summer day does feel wonderful, but it's the summer nights that are the clearest. So in a way, I get the best of you both." She smiled as her friends took this in. Soon, happy giggles erupted from all three little ponies.
---
"Come on, you two!" shouted Sunny, "You gotta keep up!" She galloped through the snow-covered field as Lu and Snow struggled to keep up. Despite the cold temperature, the two younger fillies were sweating as they panted for breath.
"Wait up," Lu said as loud as her tired throat would let her. Snow Sleeve stopped in her tracks to recuperate.
"You can catch her Lu," Snow encouraged in between breaths, "I'll... I'll catch up... eventually." With a firm nod, Lu Lu continued in pursuit of her sister.
"You'll do perfectly," whispered an unfamiliar voice from behind Snow. She gasped and turned to see a creature unlike anything she had ever seen before. It stood on its long, hind legs and was currently reaching out with a short-clawed paw. She was unsure of what to do. By the time she decided getting away was a good idea, it was too late. The creature already had her horn in its grasp.
In that moment, Snow's entire body was filled with a pain and despair stronger than any she had ever felt before. She tried to scream, but the air no longer existed in her lungs. Her vision started clouding over as black and white mists covered her eyes. Soon, she was completely gaseous and her thoughts of her friendships were diluted by feelings of anger and hatred. The white mist floated up into the sky before disappearing into thin air. Only the black mist remained in front of the bipedal creature. Said biped was distinctly male.
"Empty creature from Shirayuki's vessel," he decreed, "I dub thee Nightmare. You will join my cause to recreate this world."
"Yes, master David," said the monotonous black cloud.
---
---
My recovery was quicker than I had expected. After a few examinations, I was released from the hospital at the end of the first week. Apparently, my natural talent for melody plus the "Song of Healing" helped speed up the process. Outside the doors, I was greeted first by the sight of Twilight Sparkle.
"I am so sorry," she said as she pulled me closer for a hug, "I couldn't do more for you."
"Twilight," I said, "you visited me every other day. I'd say that's plenty."
"But, if I had just studied up a healing spell sooner instead of getting caught up in the more advanced inmanipulon manipulation..."
"Hey," I pushed her hooves off my neck and looked her straight in the eyes, "You're a good friend. You don't need to perform miracles every day to prove that."
"That's what I said," interjected Spike.
Not helping, Spike, I thought as the librarian and I stared at the dragon in annoyance.
"By the way," said Twilight, "I was wondering if you could tell me what happened on... that day."
That day. It was kind of easy to pick out the day to which she was referring. Pinkie Parties, Fluttershy brave-face, Rainbow Dash tricks, and Rarity drama happened all the time. Climactic battles that ends in a fatal attack were not so common. Specifically, what were uncommon were the style of battles that belonged in an anime, not a kid-friendly cartoon. As we started walking away from the hospital, I gave all two of my audience members the 411 of that day.
I told them about the reunion between my other half and the Princesses. It was a heartwarming event that ended abruptly as they teleported out to evacuate the town. What they needed the evacuation for was a certain Lupus Major attack. Twilight wasn't as taken aback as I thought she would be at my description of swinging around an ice sword and performing what would probably be the equivalent of black magic here. Though, she did hold a bit of a sorrowful look on her face when I finished up with the death of the big, bad wolf (no pun intended).
"Having to accept the fact that some creatures need to be... dealt with... never gets easier," lamented Twilight.
"Yeah," I agreed. I'd never actually killed before. Sure, I've practically danced in my seat watching zombies and aliens die in video games. But I never thought I would have to get involved in a real fight to the death. I suppose the only reason I wasn't mourning the fact was because I knew I had protected several innocent lives that should never have to expose themselves to a world of destruction.
"Humans find it to be a necessary evil, don't they?" asked the librarian.
"Sometimes," I nodded. There really wasn't any point in arguing about her vocalized thoughts.
But I just thought I'd give her another point saying, "Although, a large majority of our species try their best to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen." She didn't respond and Spike had decided to take a nap on Twilight's back, so he couldn't reply if he wanted to. Before I knew it, we had arrived at their humble abode.
"In any case," said Twilight in her pre-lecture mode, "You should probably go easy on that rib."
"No worries, Twi," I said back, "Look!" I shook around and bended in makeshift stretches as if to prove I was fine. I immediately halted the action when I started feeling a bit of a warm sting in my left side.
"As I was saying," Twilight followed up. She had a small frown, but I could see the smugness in her eyes that were practically saying, "I told you so."
---
---
"Hey! Watch this!" urged Lu Lu. With a few flashes from her horn, a few stars in the night sky responded and and formed arcing motions.
"Wow," said Sunny Skies and Snow Sleeve with eyes wide.
"Like it?" smirked Lu, "I call them 'shooting stars'. They 'shoot' through the sky."
"Why not call it a 'meteor shower'?" wondered Sunny.
"That's silly, Sunny," retorted Snow, "That would never catch on."
"Heh heh, of course not," said Sunny returning her gaze to Lu's little project.
---
---
"Princess Celestia?" yelped Twilight after opening the door. None of us had expected to see her so soon.
"Forgive me for entering unannounced," said Celestia in with a slow, solemn nod, "But, may I speak with Tundra privately?"
"Uh, sure," said Twilight who turned and looked at me before asking, "Is that okay with you?"
"Y-yeah, no problem," I stammered, not sure what to make of the situation.
"I'll be downstairs," declared the librarian who, still carrying Spike on her back, made her way to a doorway that led to what I assumed was her basement. With the resident of the house out of the scene, the Princess of Equestria slowly approached me.
"Actually, I'd like to talk to both of you," she said gently and flatly.
"Wait, should I get Twilight back in here?" I asked.
"No, Tundra," stated the princess, "I mean both of you." Needless to say, I wasn't sure how to oblige.
"Uh..." I filled the silence with the overused sound effect of all speeches.
Hey, Shirayuki, I directed my thoughts toward my other self.
Yes? queried the soft-spoken mind.
Any chance you can make yourself visible? I asked half-jokingly.
One moment, she replied. I didn't even feel a tingle as I watched a white, translucent ghost move out of me and to my right.
"Woah!" I jumped where I stood. I was looking at Shirayuki's white, blue-maned form. But at the same time, it was like she wasn't all there. I guess you had to be there to understand what I was looking at.
"What is the matter?" asked the projection with a wry smile, "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Ah-ugh, really, Shirayuki?" I asked with an eyebrow raised. She really did steal a piece of my sense of humor.
"Now that we're all present," interrupted Celestia, "Shall we get started?"
"O...kay," I paused between the first two syllables, "Started with what?"
---
A long pause followed the exposition that would have been cut out of an official episode.
"Let me just run over this one more time," I started, "You and Princess Luna have been having the same dreams that I've been having and now Shirayuki and I need to find these ponies from the dreams in order to unlock their power."
"Yes," affirmed Princess Celestia.
"Also, various reports from around the kingdom suggest that David has somehow been conjuring creatures of varying degrees of shadow magic."
"Yes."
"And all of us, the ponies from the dreams, need to face these creatures and prevent another apocalypse."
"Well, I didn't say it like that but... yes."
I had to fight against the urge to perform a face hoof. I lost the fight.
"No offense, your majesty, but I think this whole thing sounds like the plot of a very poorly written story," I said while somehow holding a deadpan expression through the whole sentence.
"I must admit, I find this difficult to take seriously," agreed Shirayuki equally deadpan.
"A wise pony once said, 'Reality is stranger than fiction'," offered Celestia.
"A poetic excuse," I countered.
"Well, I suppose it's your choice," said Celestia as she started trotting toward the door. She came to a stop just in front of it before adding, "But can you really deny the possibility? You've both seen one of the conjurations in your most recent battle." The Lupus Major, I assumed.
"But why us?" asked the ghostly alicorn.
"Because I need a friend that I can trust with this task," responded the princess.
"Couldn't you just get Twilight and her friends to fire the Elements of Harmony at everything and be done with it?" I asked hoping to produce a loophole.
"Even the Elements have their limits," said Celestia closing her eyes, "I realize that now. This enemy we now face is one that requires bonds much stronger than six friendships."
She opened her eyes again before continuing, "And... I'm not invincible. One day, I too will pass on from the living world. I hope that when that happens, the Equestria that I leave is in capable hooves."
"Gee, Sunny, don't get all dark on us now," smirked Shirayuki.
"Sunny?" I turned to the translucent figure, "Where did that name come from?"
Celestia chuckled, "I've missed you too, Snow Sleeve."
"Snow Sleeve?" I turned this time to the princess as she opened the door and walked out of the library.
"Those are nicknames we used for each other in our younger years," explained Shirayuki.
"Oh," I said, "So... what do you think about the whole spiel?"
"I will not claim that I fully understand the gravity of the task that has been requested," she responded, "But, I do believe that we are capable of a greater potential. Perhaps this request of Celestia's will lead us to answers."
"Meh, all right," I said, "I didn't have anything better to do."
In a flash of light, the translucent image of the snowy alicorn was gone and my mind felt fuller.
"Oh!" I said clapping my hooves together once, "I almost forgot." I walked over to the door that was at the back of the first floor. I knocked on it three times.
"Twilight, the princess left," I called through the wood. The door opened as the unicorn entered the room.
"So what did you two talk about?" she asked upfront. I noticed Spike was standing next to her, albeit sleepy.
"Oh, you know," I replied nonchalantly, "Just catching me up to a few current events and the whole David war going on. The usual." Twilight looked a bit confused about that answer. What was she expecting? In any case, she didn't push the issue.
"Anyway," she said, "While you were in the hospital, I had a chat with Applejack. Since you're currently unemployed, we figured maybe you could work part-time on the farm until a more solid occupation presents itself. What do you think?"
Man, Twilight, I didn't know you were a control freak, I thought barely hiding my slightly miffed feelings.
"Sounds good," I confirmed.
"Great!" she replied, "It's going to be another early morning for you so it'd be a good idea to get to bed early tonight."
"Sir, yes ma'am!" I responded with a mock salute.
After a dinner salad (I was really starting to miss meat), I headed upstairs to the guest bed. Sleep came easily that night.