Chimera 18: Desert of the Dead
Atalanta sat across from a small round table in a delicate little chair set upon a landing of the castle facing the ocean. The blistering desert sun was shaded by red silk sheets stretched across a frame crafted from the bones of some large beast the changeling princess could not identify. A slight breeze from the ocean brought with it the pleasing smell of sea spray, even offering a respite from the dry heat. This was one of the few things she liked about the Shimmering Beacon, Kahsoon. She hated the heat. She hated there was nothing green! She hated the fact the city and the castle were the most magnificent things compared to the home she knew. Ah, morning in the Topaz Kingdom. Always hot. Always dry. Always predictable.
How utterly boring.
Her tea partner this late morning was none other than Discord, Lord of Chaos. Behind Atalanta was the wingless form of Rosie, who was busy knitting a head scarf for the chilly desert nights with her foal sleeping against her side. She was reclined on a comfortable couch and was also Atalanta's designated nanny while the Topaz Queens attended to their duties as monarchs of their sprawling kingdom. She said little, but did offer a scrutinizing glare at Discord every once in a while as she knitted. Earlier, he had turned her yarn into wet noodles. Oh, he put it to right soon after, but not after he got a good laugh and thanked her for being such a good sport about it.
Discord sipped his tea with his lion arm, holding the saucer with his eagle claws. He wore a top hat, a monocle, and a fine dinner jacket. A brightly colored vest gleamed with golden thread and the chain of a pocket watch was hanging from one of the pockets to the bottom button of his vest. He was delicately eating his tea cup, its contents not spilling one drop. For that matter, they maintained their form in the cup as it was slowly eaten away.
Atalanta simply stared at the draconequus, fascinated and at the same time a little more than impressed at his inane ability to do chaotic things. He seemed to take delight in having one filly delight in his little jokes and other means of amusement. They had fast become friends, especially since Star Journey was in the gilded prison of illusions with his mother, Twilight Sparkle. The twin queens Tappis and Tappaz equally hated and were terrified of Discord, though he did try to entice them into playing in his own twisted way of seeking good old fashioned fun.
It was quiet time right now. It was a time for planning. It was a time for scheming. It was time to figure out how to pass the day without doing anything catastrophic. Discord found, much to his dismay, the folk in this part of the world were even less fond of chocolate rain, roads made of sudsy soap. and floating houses (spinning in midair!). Why, the changelings in these parts were downright conservative! There was a time then Discord thought of swapping the desert and the ocean, but that was discarded soon after he found his magic was restricted here. Father always had some means to inhibit his son, who was not only extremely intelligent, but also as mad as a hatter. Flamespyre had something in his claws that allowed him to control how much magic could be used by any being at any given time within a certain range. To his dismay, he had to be reminded of the inconvenient fact half of the desert was a void to all magic due to his half brother's spectacular refusal to obey Flamespyre thousands of years ago.
Discord wished he had seen it when it had happened. He always missed out on the best moments of Silent Wing's former life. The first steps. The first flight. The first obliteration of a whole army. The first razing of an offending mountain. The likes of that sort of chaotic insanity would never be seen again!
He regarded Atalanta with a pursed lip and an arched brow as he popped the last of his tea cup into his mouth. He chewed, he thought, he tossed the liquid over his shoulder where it fell a thousand feet, screaming the whole way down. It landed in the sound of a squeak toy, followed by the screams of those unfortunate to see it land, splatter, and burst into living flame. The flames were now chasing whoever came near, screaming, "Tell me I'm hot!"
The last part would have happened a thousand years ago. Now, it was just a boring, dull splatter of spilt tea already evaporating beneath the glare of the sun. Discord had promised to use his powers for good. Which meant he wasn't going to use them at all.
Take that, Celestia!
"What shall we do today, my little princess?" he asked her at last, the tone in his voice indicating he had not yet thought of anything worth doing. "Shall we make the waves dance upon the shores below? Shall we make the pigeons poop on the heads of the most expensive of hairdos and the baldest of heads? Shall we play a game of tickle monster?"
"I want my mommy," Atalanta said to him simply.
He smiled awkwardly, not really sure how to answer her statement. "All in good time, my dear," grinned Discord reassuringly. "We simply must wait for your brother to get here! Did I tell you he's my brother, too?"
"Really?" She blinked up at him in disbelief.
"Well, half-brother, really. But that makes you and I practically family!" He sniffled, wiping away a tear. Discord ate his saucer in one gulp. Rosie rolled her eyes at him, pausing in her knitting. "Can I call you Ata? Please tell me I can call you Ata!" Discord stretched his long body over the table, hanging his head upside down as his pleading eyes met the little princess inches from her own. He quivered his lower lip with exaggerated emphasis.
"Why is all of this happening?" she asked him, avoiding the question. "Why can't I be with my mommy and my brother? Why are all these bad things happening? Why aren't you helping me if you're powerful and wonderful?"
Discord pulled himself around and behind the little princess, eyes darting about as he sought a way to answer such awkward questions. "Well, you see, my father Flamespyre was asleep for a very long time. He hates magic, but uses it because it's there to be used. He hates me because I love using my magic in the most chaotic of ways! I use it because it's fun and I can do all sorts of wonderful things by just thinking about it. I can do anything I want!" He sighed, beginning to sing as a kazoo played out of nothing. "But Daddy, dear, dear Daddy is such a party pooper. Every party needs a pooper that's why we invited Daddy. Party pooper. Party pooper." Balloons fell out of the sky, deflating as they drifted towards the ground. They made rather rude sounds in tune with the odd instrument playing.
Atalanta giggled. "You're silly!" she accused Discord, her melancholy forgotten for the moment. Discord did do one thing; he ended the mental manipulation the Topaz Queens had over her, but they would on occasion want to spend time with her. They needed her presence for reasons the little princess could not explain. The thought became a question on her small mouth. "Why do the Queens always want to treat me like they're my mommies?"
The Lord of Chaos arched a brow at her, rolling his mouth to one corner and puckering. "Do you really want to know?" he asked skeptically. "I'd much rather tell you how I can make clouds pink and make it rain chocolate!"
"Yes. Because chaos. I get that."
"You're no fun."
She gave him large, innocent liquid eyes. "Please?" A quivering lower matched her expression. Her mimicry was spot on of the Lord of Chaos' earlier pout.
Discord sighed, giving in. "Oh, you're good. You're very good, my little princess. Well, you remember that Prophet fellow, yes? Big alicorn. Always drunk. Lives in a cave with lots of old, musty things. Plays doctor."
"Yes. I'm forbidden from seeing him again. Tappis and Tappaz said so."
"Oh they did, did they?" He stood, went over to the princess and knelt down, his face next to hers, side by side. "Let's go pay him a visit, then. Come, Rosie! You and the little one, too. Don't need to give the meanie queenies a reason to rip off your legs now, do we?"
He twisted his neck grotesquely towards the governess and her little foal, her eyes suddenly wide as she stopped in the middle of her knitting. A huge rake appeared behind her and yanked the seat she was in along with her foal smoothly towards the draconequus and Atalanta.
"We'll go and you'll know everything! I'll bring the popcorn, too!"
Discord's laughter was all that was left as a flash of white light flared, leaving a very empty balcony.
Luna awoke from the dream, sensing immediately her surroundings had been altered. For one thing, she felt cushions beneath her, a blanket covering her. It felt soft, wondrous. The scent of rose petals filled her nostrils as she felt silk pillows beneath her head. She felt sluggish, but rested as the fog slowly began to clear from her mind. A blue eye slowly opened. She realized she was in a low ceiling tent, supported by stout poles, and made from various colors of woven cloth. Most of the colors were warm and bright, clashing with dark trim and stripes. Most everything was stripes, she noted, still trying to pull herself together. The memory of the dream walk troubled her deeply. Waking up in a tent and not in the open air dawned as something was missing from all the unexpected additions around her.
"Silent!" She struggled to rise, rolling from her side to her belly, her muscles feeling like rubber and her head still swimming in a sea of sweet thick bliss. Luna shook her head, a hoof to her temples, closing her eyes and focusing.
"Silent?" wondered a dry, strange voice near the corner of the tent. "Do you speak of your companion we found with you, Dark Lady?" The words were ancient, accented thickly as the Alicorn turned her attention towards the speaker.
A camel cow watched her. She was a living example of wrinkles upon wrinkles, leathery skin covered in course, short hair, ancient face creased from years under the sun. Dressed in black silk robes, her head was uncovered and adorned with jewelry, mostly sapphires and rubies. Each ear bore half a dozen golden hoops, the bottom ones bearing delicate golden chains leading to the nostrils where a single large nose ring dominated her muzzle. Bright brown eyes from beneath bushy brows regarded the princess curiously as she smoked from a stem carved from ivory, its other end attached by a flexible tube to a hooka. Smoke drifted lazily from both nostrils as she peered through them at Luna, impassive and withholding judgement. Behind her rose a single impressive hump from her back, wooly at the top and adorned with more golden chains and was the only part of her back uncovered by her robes. She was quite clearly the larger of the two figures in the tent.
"I do," replied Luna, aware she had been staring. "My apologies for my rudeness. I have never seen one of your kind before, save for pictures in books."
"I do not mind your curious eyes," replied the camel. She puffed lightly at her stem. "I have had a day and a night to stare upon your body. I have never seen a pony with both a horn and wings. This means you are an Alicorn." A smile was offered as more smoke trailed up. It sped forward in fading rolls as she exhaled. "My name is Moonstar. I am the Old Mother among my people. I provide wisdom and insight to my tribe and my son, the chief."
"My name is Princess Luna of Equestria." She inclined her head politely, shifting her thoughts to diplomacy. "Forgive me if I know not your customs. Please enlighten me should I fall off the path and prevent any insult on my part to happen. You have my thanks for providing comfort."
Moonstar gave her a nod, polite and low. "I am honored to know your name, Princess Luna of Equestria. Your country is not unknown to us. It is knowledge of little significance, but a country half way around the world is of little interest to us, yes?" She puffed again, averting her long lashes towards what Luna assumed was the closed flaps of the tent entrance. "Your companion is in another tent as we do not allow males to be in the same tent as females. Not without proper escorts from family members or selected representatives."
"How is he?"
Moonstar frowned. "He fares poorly. His injuries are great, but he lives. Our healers were able to slow the advance of death, but it comes still, I fear. The spirits thirst for his life."
"I must go to him!" Luna struggled to her hooves. She fell a few times as she still did not have complete control of her facilities or motor functions. As she did so, her voice uttered, "Spirits?"
Moonstar watched, impassive as she rose majestically from her resting position, rising front first upon long, sinewy legs before her rear legs came up. As awkward as it might have seemed to Luna, the old camel managed to do it with unthinking ease. She did not offer to help the princess, setting aside her stem and blowing the last of the smoke from her mouth.
"The spirits watch him for now. This is a sacred place you found. They are strong here. We will wait until proper help arrives." The Old Mother then went forward and offered a steadying leg to the disoriented princess.
"Where is Silent? Please, let me go to him," Luna urged.
"He is safe within the circle for now. Your night was troubled. A great scorpion came in the night while you dreamed. The spirits of the oasis would not allow you to awaken."
The Alicorn blurted suddenly, "The dream! I saw them in my dream! Strange figures, spiteful and vengeful." Circle? She was very confused and groggy.
Moonstar grunted in acknowledgement. "You saw the dead. This is the largest battlefield in the world, encompassing a third of the land. Even now, the land remembers the battle and holds those fallen in between life and death. In its agony, it cannot let go of those who fell upon it." She indicated a tray on a short legged round table made of dark lacquered wood and bearing intricate carvings of leaves and flowers along its edges. Upon it lay a pitcher of water and a bowl of what appeared to be exotic fruits. "Come. You must be hungry. Sit. Eat. Gather yourself. Then I will take you to the chimera."
"You are very kind." The dark mare smiled at her hostess, who simply nodded and smiled, urging her towards the table like a stern grandmother. She found herself feeling ravenous as the camel cow sat down on the opposite side of the table and began to fill up a wide simple silver goblet. She drank, finding the water as sweet and cool as what she had drawn from the oasis, finding some trouble using her hooves as her magic failed her.
Luna was not used to having her magic be utterly useless.
Moonstar said nothing to mock to princess, but observed with a nod, "You use magic where you are from?"
Luna was using her hooves carefully to lift her cup to her lips. She managed somehow, concentrating as she stared a challenge at her drink. "I do. I had always thought it to be my greatest strength. This is rather... embarrassing." Flushing cheeks enhanced her words as she set her drink down.
"The other one is filled with magic, though he does not seem to be capable of using it." The food was pushed towards the Alicorn.
Luna stared at it, hoof hovering as her eyes slowly came up. "He cannot use magic. Of this, I am certain. Something happened, hurling the both of us across the sky. Silent Wing was hurt by the explosion and some of the magic was absorbed by his body when he tried to protect me from it." She didn't want to give too much away, not at all trusting her hostess, though she was grateful for the food and water.
Moonstar considered the story as it was being told to her. "From which direction were you thrown from?"
"From the south, I think. We were spun through the air for a goodly distance and the disorientation was great for me. I honestly do not know."
"I see. Try the dates, child. They are good for invigorating the digestion."
Luna did so, managing to pick up a dark red dried fruit in the bowl the camel had indicated. She tried it, taking an experimental nibble. It was surprisingly firm and full of flavor. "What did you mean when you said proper help?"
"Friends bring remedies that may be of help. Soon they come. The boy is special. He means something to you. This is quite apparent. One gave his life to preserve the both of you. He was a dear friend of mine." An emotional quiver rode with the ancient voice. "When we discovered the two of you, a circle had been drawn about the both of you."
"A circle?" Luna tried to ignore the flush to her cheeks. She felt like a filly before this venerable cow. "What sort of circle? Who died?"
"It was a simple warding circle to keep the spirits at bay. To us, he was simply Blind Calm. You knew him as Tseng Tzu." The pain was clear, lingering, a hovering shadow yet to pass on. "His mark is upon the colt. We have met his student at long last."
"Master Tseng Tzu?" Luna stopped eating, lifting her chin sharply at the mention of his name, her eyes round. Her appetite fell away. There was shocked silence as she tried to comprehend this terrible news. Finally, she gathered her diplomatic fascade and intoned numbly, "Oh, I am so sorry to hear that. Silent Wing looked up to him like a father. He will be missed." What else could she say?
"He lived a long life and died protecting someone he loved," Moonstar said sagely, her stare a thousand miles away. "He is with his wife, now."
"He was a widower?" Luna thought the old griffin a hermit. Married?
She was answered with a nod. "Died while laying their first egg. The chick was stillborn in the shell. It is a tragic tale. Perhaps I will tell you when you have gained my trust. He was a very special teacher, as patient as the stone and as wise as the past."
"I didn't know." This was a horrible clarification to hear in regards to someone she had once considered a friend and having enough wisdom to turn to for advice. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know!" Luna bit her lower lip.
"It matters not, young one." Moonstar apparently did not know Luna had many centuries behind her, having almost no knowledge of Alicorns. "What you knew about him was what he allowed you to know, nothing more. What matters now is his journey has reached its next chapter. What matters is he is now with his family and is at last at peace."
The old cow rose to her feet, seeing Luna was not eating. She made her way stiffly to the entrance of the tent. As she moved, her gold jewelry jingled and jangled lightly, a soft and lively sound full of life. There, she waited, patiently. Her long face was impassive, lower jaw moving back and forth slowly as if she was chewing cud.
"Come. Let us go see to your heart."
"Why am I so groggy?" complained Luna as she came to her hooves. It was like there was a delay in what she wanted to do and what actually happened. The delay wasn't as bad now as it was when she first woke up at least.
"We burned incense to keep you asleep while we convinced the spirits not to devour your companion. The scent keeps them at bay. It is from Dreadweed. We burn it when the spirits are enraged and come seeking blind vengeance." Moonstar opened the flap and gestured Luna out. "One of the side effects is it induces several hours of sleep. Upon waking up, the affected may feel sluggish, as I am sure you do now. Fear not, the one you call Tseng Tzu was convinced the both of you are precious to our needs."
The princess strode forward, her muscles more responsive. Her thoughts had cleared now, perhaps thanks in part to the water. "Needs?" she asked as she strode into the midday sun. Having the sun blinding her and the dry wind blasting at her body with dry heat. Turning her head away from the rays of her sister's glory, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the brightness.
"We have waited for you for a long time," Moonstar told her as she emerged from the tent.
Brushing past the smaller mare, the cow led her to another tent, smaller and constructed over the spot where Luna had first put Silent Wing down. Apparently they had not moved him. A large burly looking bull covered from head to toe in flowing robes glared at Luna with flat dark eyes. A scimitar was slung around his neck, its hilt gilded with gold and pearls. He bowed to the old cow respectfully, pulling aside the tent flap.
"There is a doctor inside watching over him. Do not mind him as his job is to keep your friend comfortable until help comes and we can decide what to do. For now, the colt rests." The Old Mother was very gentle as she spoke, almost as if she was speaking in reverence for the dead. "Speak to the doctor when you are done. I have other things to attend to. My son shall wish to greet you properly now that you are awake." Without waiting for Luna to respond, the old cow swept away towards a large tent set up on the far side of the oasis.
The fierce looking guard grunted and flipped open the tent flap, tossing his chin bluntly towards the opening for Luna. It was clear he thought little of her. Or maybe he was having a bad day. Perhaps it was something else. The princess matched his flinty glare with an icy stare. He flinched and looked away as she strode proudly past him.
How quaint. Saved by camels.
She flinched as the tent was closed up behind her, allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness and mentally cursing at Oblivion. For an unfeeling weapon, you seem to have an opinion for other species. It was remarkably as easy to speak to it as it was to her sister.
I merely said it was quaint.
She pushed the thoughts from her mind, her attention going to a ring of seven torches set up around a small form nestled between large plush cushions and silken sheets. A mess of red mane could be seen, uncovered as Silent Wing had his back to her. The princess took in a slow, deep breath then exhaled in relief when she saw his side slowly rising and falling from beneath the sheets. Searching the interior of the small tent, it took but a moment to see a very large camel with a pale coat and squinting eyes peering at her blearily.
"Ah, the mare is awake!" he spoke quietly.
The faded muzzle was bearded and weaved into a large singular braid curled like a rope before his chest. It appeared as though he had been mixing a potion, based on the small table filled with all sorts of vials with different colored liquids in them. Each one was carefully labeled. A large flat angled table with a lamp light provided the one source of light other than the sunlight seeping through the small gaps throughout the sides of the tent. The doctor apparently was in the middle of writing something down, using a script of flowing words appearing to Luna more appropriate for a music sheet than a letter.
"How is he?" she asked him with a worried smile.
The doctor waved a forefoot at him. "See for yourself. Sleeping colts do not bite." Huge teeth greeted her as he smiled. They were crooked. "Mind you do not knock over the lamps. The ward allows the living to pass over, but not the dead."
Undead? She still did not understand this sudden talk of such unholy things. They were largely unheard of in Equestria. Ghosts did haunt, but they were rarely dangerous unless encountered in the Everfree Forest. Here she sensed they were indeed dangerous, especially if they were putting up wards - she glanced at the crude seeming torches surrounding Silent Wing - as primitive in appearance as these. Not one to step on the beliefs of other races, she made sure to not only avoid the torches, but minded her hoof steps as she stepped over the line.
Tseng Tzu was dead? The news of his death stung. Surely the prince would take it hard. As she thought this, Silent stirred, sensing her approach. Her muzzle went to his, touching it lightly. He felt cold to her touch. An eye fluttered open, sought out the source of the touch and found her.
"How are you feeling?" she asked him, masking her fear at his terrible condition. She did not need to see his body to tell he was slowly wasting away. The magic within him was slowly breaking his body apart. She realized with sudden clarity the second reason why her healing was not working. It was a dread realization. He was absorbing her magic. Why has she not seen this earlier? She had made his condition worse!
Silent read her eyes. "Don't. Everything will be okay. You're too beautiful to have a sad face." It took a lot of effort for him to speak in a whisper, but he was smiling.
"Be careful and don't let him expend too much energy," the doctor warned in his thick accent. He went back to his writing after offering Luna a warning through a friendly smile.
I can heal him.
Luna ignored Oblivion, a lump in her throat as her nuzzle hushed her prince. "I have been told help is coming to tend to your injuries," she breathed into his ear. "Do not give up. I will not let you."
"Oblivion still talking to you?"
"Yes." Luna hesitated, not sure if she could tell him.
"What is it? Luna, please tell me."
"I just realized what might be killing you," she told him, hiccupping as she struggled to maintain her composure. "The magic you absorbed was too much at one time for you to take. Your body is trying to contain it, but the forces behind so much energy is slowly destroying you from the inside out. We need a way to let the magic out, but I do not know how to extract it from you without harming you further. If we were in Canterlot, I could find a solution in the Royal Library."
"We'll get the first boat to Equestria then." Silent grinned at her, managing the strength to reach a pockmarked hoof to one of hers and patting it reassuringly. "First class all the way." He might as well been trying to flail at Luna with a ship's anchor.
Despite herself, Luna laughed. She would tell him about Tseng Tzu later. "Have you eaten?" she asked.
"No."
"You should eat something."
"Yes, mother."
"Stop that."
"Why? It annoys you."
She was giggling and it was all his fault. "You are incorrigible."
"I grew up around a pair of idiots in Feidole and Frakas."
"Well, even idiots need to eat and you are no exception."
"Ouch," winced Silent.
Food was brought by servants after the doctor overheard the two chatting. He poked his head outside the tent and growled in a gutteral tongue. The food came in almost immediately. They were left alone within minutes, save for the doctor who observed with casual interest. Luna helped Silent feed himself as he was quite weak. His protests were feeble and Luna was a quick study in not using magic to help feed him. The prince saw the advantages of having a pretty mare dote over him far more positively now than he would have before. The bad part was feeling like a foal. Silent hated that. Overall the experience wasn't too traumatizing and the mess was not too horrible. Both giggled a bit more than they should have, the doctor clearing his throat and glaring at them a few times. It was a messy feeding; Luna not used to using her hooves to handle food and Silent Wing only able to move his jaws and tongue with any efficiency.
Perhaps more because he wanted silence than requiring the quiet for Silent's benefit. He continued his work, measuring out medicine. At one point, he came over to feed Silent a small vile of red liquid, explaining to Luna the root extract was good for the constitution and promoted a strong heart. She was skeptical, but allowed the camel to go about his work.
"Pardon," she interrupted him politely, smiling, "but the Lady Moonstar told me help was coming. What sort of help might that be, if I may be so bold as to ask?"
"The Jades are coming," he replied affably. "They are sworn enemies of the Topaz and have been at war with them for a very long time. I assure you, they are friends to us camels. As for ponies, I am not so sure. Are you familiar with changeling society?"
"I am familiar with some of their culture and customs, yes."
"Good. You'll need it. They love to fight and will choose to fight you because you are not one of them. Think of it as an initiation to gain their trust. Once you get in their good graces, you'll find them tolerable. Just don't go around irritating their queens."
"Tolerable?"
"Don't make the mistake of thinking them friends, missy. If you befriend one matriarch, you'll make an enemy of three more. Be diplomatic and commit to nothing. Make no promises and choose your words carefully." The doctor's face was dead serious as he explained.
"I shall keep that in mind. Thank you."
He grunted, smiled, and went back to his little makeshift work area, muttering to himself. The pen was lifted, the inkwell invaded, and more scribbling commenced.
Silent listened carefully as Luna absorbed the information. Jade changelings?
"Make sure you address the matriarchs," he reminded her as he tapped her elbow for her attention. "Just be yourself."
"My darling," she chided him sternly with a smile. "I have been conducting diplomacy longer than you have been alive. I know how to handle myself."
"But these are changelings," he insisted, lifting his head from his pillow.
"Trust me." She planted a hoof on his forehead and pressed him back into his pillow. "Give me some credit for having at least an ounce of wisdom within me. Now rest, Silent Wing. I shall watch over you."
He did so, leaving Luna to not ponder over the coming changelings. Instead, she went back to his problem with the magic bottled into his body. She could feel it bubbling like a raging flood behind a dam, unable to escape and destroying everything around it in its frothing rage. As it eroded him from the inside, eventually his organs would begin to shut down one by one.
How could she relieve him of the strain? The power was enormous, like the whole of the sun contained within his body As much as she was not student of study, Luna was still well versed in magic and its many applications. Though she was certain her sister would have identified the problem immediately, Tia was not here to tell her what she must do. This was not to at all suggest the Princess of the Moon could not do it. A thousand years of banishment had deprived her of the years needed to be as proficient in understanding the stranger workings of magic and the more unusual effects it may or may not be capable of. Now, Starswirl the Bearded was perhaps the most knowledgeable sorcerer ever to live, if not the most powerful Unicorn. He would have been able to perhaps offer a solution, Luna knew. It was a bitter pill to swallow a thousand years of banishment had quite possibly deprived her of being able to know exactly how to resolve this problem.
Accept me once again, Luna. Become Nightmare Moon. Save your beloved. Have the power once yours. He will not want me. He will not wield me. He will know what I am capable of, what I can do.
She flinched, noting the change in attitude. I thought you wanted him.
I do. I was made for him. But we have tried twice before to exist as one. I still desire it, but he will not. I am not sure. We have been speaking since you were taken. I understand his hopes and dreams. He does not want the power.
You turned me into a monster. I can see why he would not want you.
Princess Luna, you do not yet understand, do you? I am a weapon. I have a singular purpose and that is to be the extended will of the one who wills me. I am primal instinct made manifest, magnifying those emotions strongest within you. I am indifferent as to how I am wielded, so long as I am used. If I am used, I feel useful.
Her thoughts shifted, thinking of what the old cow had told her of the spirits. Are all the dead here because of you?
Partially. His emotions overflowed as he rebelled against his father. His rage peaked and he unleashed the fury of his power against his father. It was not enough to destroy him, but it ended the war and ended the reign of Flamespyre. The aftermath was tens of thousands of lives gone in an instant, a shattered continent laid waste to this very day. Even now, the dead sense him and come. He does not remember, but they care not. They know the touch of the one who killed them all. The magic within him is a beacon, calling to them. Eventually the wards will not be enough. If the magic does not destroy him, the dead will. The door is closing, Princess Luna.
Eyes shot wide, staring suddenly down upon the fitfully sleeping Silent Wing. "Door! We have to make you a door!" Why didn't she notice this earlier? Why hadn't she seen?
"Quiet please," the doctor growled without looking up from his work.
She flushed, apologized. She had to explain it to him. She had to get into his dreams.
Oblivion sighed in her mind. Now what?
She ignored the presence and closed her eyes.
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You know, I've been thinking. You know how the changelings took Pinkie as prisoner...Isn't that pretty much the worst idea possible?
I mean, if the geneva convention was around, she'd be a walking war crime....I feel no sympathy for anyone caught in her onslaught.
Good chapter though.
3785723 Book three will have lots of fun with that. The members of the M6 may be older, may have kids of their own. They've got roles to play, be they big or small.
Don't worry, Chryssie will drive in on Kaneda's motorcycle and save the day.