Chapter 3: What is Real? What is Fake?
Chapter 3: What is Real? What is Fake?
“Hello?!” Dawn Light called out into the void, his voice echoing in the nothingness. “No, I can’t be back here, not again!” He started to panic. “HELLO!” He called again, only to be answered with the sound of his voice echoing in the darkness. “PLEASE, SOME PONY ANSWER ME!” He called again as he started to weep. “No, I can’t be back here. It all was just an illusion.” He curled up into a ball and cried. “Please, I don’t care anymore if it was fake, it seemed so real, I just want to be home, please. Take me back there.” Tears streamed down his face. “Please, *sob* please send me back *sob*.” Dawn Light felt a hoof touch his shoulder, at which his head shot up.
Dawn Light quickly sat up in the bed as his eyes shot open. He was panting heavily and his cheeks were wet with tears. “Dawn?” A familiar voice asked. Dawn Light turned his head to the right and saw Luna standing there looking at him with worry. “Dawn Light, are you all right?” She asked with concern as she stepped closer.
“Luna!” Dawn cried as he lunged for her. He wrapped his hooves around her neck and pressed his head to her barrel as he cried. “Luna, please don’t make me go back there again, I don’t care if this isn’t real, I don’t want to be alone anymore!” Dawn cried and sobbed in Luna’s chest.
Luna hugged Dawn Light back and wrapped both her wings around him as she nuzzled him. “It’s all right Dawn, it was just a nightmare, I promise you this is real, you were just dreaming.”
“B-but it s-seemed so real, like this does. I-I don’t want to go back to that!”
“Dawn Light, I promise you it was just a nightmare, this is real.” Luna tried to reassure him.
Dawn light pulled back a bit and looked up at Luna with tears in his eyes. “I don’t even know anymore, I can’t tell the difference between what is real or not. Am I going crazy?”
Luna wiped a stray tear from Dawn’s cheek. “No little brother, I’d say that you’ve been gone for so long that you just aren’t used to being home anymore, and you were in that nightmarish place for so long that it’s hard to forget.”
“So-so it really was just a nightmare then?”
“It was, I promise.” Luna gave a reassuring smile.
Dawn buried his head back into Luna’s chest and closed his eyes.
“Luna, is Dawn Light up?….Dawn, what’s wrong.” Celestia’s voice sounded as she walked in. She saw Luna and Dawn Light in their hug.
Dawn Light looked back and saw Celestia on the other side of the bed. He quickly released Luna and ran across the bed then leapt at Celestia. “Celly!” He cried as he wrapped his legs around her neck.
Upon Impact, Celestia staggered back a bit. “Dawn Light, what’s wrong?” She asked as she returned the hug.
“Please don’t leave me alone again!” He cried out again as he buried his muzzle in Celestia’s chest.
Celestia looked down at Dawn Light and saw him crying. She looked up to Luna as she made her way around the bed to her. “Luna, what’s wrong, why is Dawn so upset?”
“He had a nightmare that he was back in that void. I came in to check on him and saw him crying in his sleep, tossing about and whimpering.”
Celestia looked back down to Dawn Light. “Oh Dawn, I’m sorry, but it was just a dream, you really are home.”
“H-how lo-long was I asleep?”
“Four hours, it’s eleven in in the morning. I imagine you must be hungry, so why don’t we all get an early lunch.” Celestia gave a smile.
Dawn Looked up at Celestia and gave a sad nod. The two sisters each took a side of Dawn Light as Celestia kept a wing on Dawn Light’s back. There were two new guards now following Dawn Light as he walked with his sisters, one from Celestia’s guards, the other from Luna’s. Both were pegasai.
As they walked, Dawn happened to look back at them and noticed that the guard from Luna’s branch looked different. There was a tuft of fur sticking up from his ears, plus his ears looked a bit pointier than a normal pony. The guard also had slitted irises and his wings were like that of a bat instead of having feathers like the guard from Celestia’s branch.
Dawn Light looked up at Luna. “Sister, how come that guard from your branch looks different from the guard from Celestia’s branch?”
Luan smiled as she answered. “He’s a thestral Dawn Light, a bat pony. Most of the Pegasus guards under me are such.”
Dawn took another glance back at the bat pony, then looked back to Luna. “I’ve never seen one of those before, where did they come from?”
“I’d be Surprised if you had. They are another race of ponies that was discovered some time after your disappearance. They came from an island far off from the shores of our country, and some wanted to take up residence here in Equestria. I’m not sure why, but some of them that came here wanted to be in my personal guard. The one behind us is Night Wing, he is another of my best guards, he and Wind Feather here,” She motioned to the guard from Celestia’s branch, “will be watching over you for the day.”
Celestia continued. “Though we know what happened to you, we still want to make sure you stay safe, so we will make sure our best guards are with you at all times so you won’t have to worry about being alone.”
Dawn Light looked up to Celestia. “But what if I need you two, what then?”
Luna answered. “Then come find us. We will always be available to you, but we can’t BE with you all the time. We only have enough time with you for a quick lunch today, then we must get back to our duties. Feel free to explore the castle a bit, just don’t go outside the castle boundaries and into the city, we still haven’t decided on the safest way to introduce you to our subjects.”
Dawn responded sadly. “Ok.”
They soon reached the dining hall and sat together to start eating. Dawn Light sat between his older sisters. He raised his head and saw Discord sitting across from him. Discord Smiled and said “Hello” happily as he twiddled his lion paw fingers.
Dawn Still wasn’t sure about Discord, and hid halfway behind Celestia, half his head and one eye still cautiously looking at the Former God of Chaos.
Discord narrowed his eyes in dissapointment. “I see. Let me guess, you still think I’m evil don’t you?”
Dawn peeked out from behind Celestia and looked at Discord. “W-well, it is k-kind of hard for me to think otherwise, you did send me into a void of nothingness.”
Discord’s look softened. “I suppose your right, I don’t suppose ‘I’m sorry’ will be enough? I’ll just take my leave then.”
“Wait!” Dawn Light called out. This surprised every pony and god. Discord raised an eyebrow as Dawn slowly came out from behind Celestia. “Discord……I…..well…..”
“Yes?”
“It may not be enough, but it is a good start…..and….if it means anything, I’m sorry too for accusing you of being evil still.”
Celestia and Luna smiled down at Dawn Light. Discord grew a small smile of his own. “Really, well that’s encouraging to hear.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m still wary around you after what you did to me. But my sisters explained that you may have done what you did for attention because you were lonely and just wanted a friend. That’s what I got out of the explanation anyway.”
Discord raised his head and closed his eyes as he placed an eagle claw on his chest. “I suppose I did, I didn’t have a friend in the world until Fluttershy came along. Now, thanks to her, I have two wonderful friends.”
“Fluttershy?” Dawn Light questioned.
“Why yes, didn’t your sisters tell you who it was that helped reform me?”
Dawn Light looked to the side as he put a hoof to his chin. “They said it was the bearers of the elements of harmony, specifically the bearer of the element of kindness. So this Fluttershy is the one that helped you change your ways and is the bearer of the element of Kindness?”
“Indeed she is, and the other friend I mentioned is Pinkie Pie, who happens to be the bearer of the element of laughter. But sadly, they’re the only friends I have, the other bearers don’t really like me so much after what I did.”
Dawn hung his head a bit. “So you really just want friends huh?”
“Indeed, I do so enjoy having friends, but because of my new duties here, I hardly ever get to visit and see them.”
Dawn Light looked back up at Discord. “I’m sorry. Well, after talking with you, I guess I was wrong about you.” Dawn light paused before saying, “I guess you and I could be friends. It might take some time for me to not be afraid of you though.”
Discord had a big smile on his face now. “Really, you mean it? How wonderful. Well in that case, let me start by offering you my sincerest apologies for sending you to that horrible void you were in.”
Dawn lowered his head again. “I’m still not sure I’m out of it, I don’t know if this is real or not. While I was sleeping earlier, I dreamt I was back in that void again. It felt so real, like I was back there, but when I’m here, this feels real too.”
Discord then gave a sad look. “Dawn Light, what I did was meant to last roughly one thousand years. That time is up, you are no longer in that void, you really are home with your sisters. The nightmares feeling real may be a side effect from being in that void for so long.”
Dawn Looked back at Discord. “Will it ever go away?”
“Eventually, over time the feeling will fade and it will just feel like any other bad dream, assuming it keeps recurring.” Discord gave a smile.
“You see little brother, it’s just like what we’ve been telling you, this is real and you are home.” Celestia pointed out.
“And Discord has changed.” Luna added.
Dawn Light smiled up at his older siblings. “I guess you’re right.” He frowned again. “But now I’m just afraid to go to sleep again because of that nightmare. I just can’t tell if it’s real or not.”
Luna put a hoof to his shoulder. “Dawn Light, how about this, tonight, while you sleep, I will come to you in your dreams and keep that nightmare away, would that help?” She offered with a warm smile.
Dawn’s smile returned a little bigger. “It would help a lot Luna, thank you.”
“Your majesties?” A unicorn maid walked in levitating some adornments around her. It was Dawn Light’s royal garments, and they looked as good as new. All gold, a crown with a white diamond at the center, a gold necklace like Celestia’s but also with a white diamond at the center, and four gold shoes. “I have the young prince’s adornment’s ready.”
“Thank you for you service.” Celestia thanked.
The maid walked over to the princesses and prince as they stood. Dawn Light separated himself from his sisters and approached the maid. She gave a bow before him. “Your majesty, your crown, necklace and shoes are ready.”
Dawn Light gave a smile to the maid. “Thank you, they look great, good as new even, you did a wonderful job.”
“Thank you your highness.” The maid said as she rose from her bow.
Dawn Light took hold of the jewelry with his own yellow magic aura and levitated them over to himself. He first placed the shoes down and stepped into them. Then put his necklace on, and finally lowered his crown onto his head. “Nice, it all still fits. Then again, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at that.” He faced the maid again. “Thank you again for your services miss.”
The maid gave another bow. “Of course young prince.” She then turned and left.
Dawn Light turned and faced his sisters. “So, how do I look?”
Celestia answered first with a smile. “Like a prince.”
“Indeed, you look most handsome. It is good to see you in those again after so long.” Luna added.
Dawn Light turned to Discord. “What do you think Discord?”
Discord was surprised by this. “You’re asking for my opinion?”
“Well, yes. As I said, I would like to work on us being friends. I figured this would be a good start, so what do you think?”
Discord gave another smile. “If you want my honest opinion, I think gold is overused. It looks fine on Celestia, but on you, I don’t know, I think you need something more personal, like what Luna has going on. She wears colors more suited to her position as princess of the night, while Celestia wears colors suited to her position as princess of the sun. As for you well…”
“But, I’m not a prince of anything like Celestia and Luna, I haven’t even discovered my special talent yet.”
“Good point. Hmmm…….” Discord thought for a moment. “AHA, I’ve got it! How about this?” Discord snapped his eagle claw and Dawn Light’s jewelry changed colors and look. His gold jewelry was now white and the gems that were there were changed to black. His shoes had three perfectly round red gems embedded in them as well. “What do you think?”
“Whoa, not bad.” Dawn Light raised a hoof to look at one of his shoes.
“I do have an eye for flare.”
Dawn turned to Luna and Celestia. “Sisters look, what do you think now? I like it.”
“Well, that’s an interesting look Discord. Not bad.” Celestia complimented.
Dawn turned back to Discord with a smile. “Thanks Discord, I like this look.”
Discord returned the smile. “Anything for a friend.”
The four sat down and enjoyed a meal. Dawn Light was starting to warm up to Discord after he pulled a few harmless funny pranks on the kitchen staff that came to serve their food, as well as made some of the table decorations come to life and dance about.
Sadly, their time together had to come to an end. “Well Dawn Light, I’m afraid we must take our leave, we have things that need to be taken care of.” Celestia said as she and Luna stood up.
“As do I I’m afraid, I did enjoy our time, but duty calls and all that.” Discord said with a stretch. “How boring that will be. I’ll see you around the castle Dawn Light.” Discord disappeared in a flash.
Dawn Light turned to his sisters. “Celly, Lulu, are you sure I can’t come with you while you take care of things?”
Luna gave a sad smile as she answered. “I’m sorry Dawn Light, but it is best you be on your own for a while, look around the castle or something. Trust me, you won’t like being with us while we take care of things, it’s all just boring stuff.”
“All right.” Dawn frowned.
The two sisters nuzzled Dawn. “Don’t worry Little brother, if you should need us for anything, we will be there for you. Now you go and see if you can find something to do.” Celestia and Luna got up and left Dawn on his own with the two guards.
Once his sisters were gone, he gave out a sigh. He turned to face the two guards now with him in the dining hall. “So, any idea what there is to do for fun around here?”
The two guards looked at each other, then back to the young prince. “Sorry your highness, but we tend to stay busy while here at the castle, I’m afraid we can’t help you with that.” The bat pony responded.
“I see, maybe I’ll just go to the garden then and look around.” Dawn light then made for the exit of the dining hall and left with the two guards behind him.
As he walked, he grew a bit more curious about the bat pony guard, Night Wing. “So….Night Wing was it?” He asked as he looked at the thestral.
“Yes your highness?” Night Wing responded.
“Luna said your kind came from an island far off from the shores of Equestria, may I ask what that island is called?”
“You may sire. The island my kind came from is known as Moon Star island. It is a large mass of land surrounded by the ocean, it is home to all thestrals.”
“And why did your kind decide to come to Equestria?”
“I believe each had a personal reason for coming here, no specific reason for all our kind. I suppose it could be a sense of adventure that compels some, Others might think that the island seems confining. Though it can be difficult sometimes for a thestral to have a life for themselves here in Equestria.”
Dawn Light looked back at Night Wing with a curious expression. “Why is that?”
“Our…..appearance is a little unsettling to some ponies in Equestria. Most are accepting of us, but there are some who find us…..intimidating.”
Dawn Light gave a smile. “Well I think it’s cool, I like the look.”
Night Wing gave a small bow. “Thank you your majesty.”
The trio soon arrived at the garden outside. Dawn Light paused and took in a deep breath through his nose, then exhaled. “Aaaaahhh, fresh air, it feels real nice out here, the sun is so warm out today.” He turned to Feather Wind. “Feather Wind, what season is it?”
“Summer, your majesty.”
“Nice, one of my favorite seasons. While we’re out here, my wings could use a stretch.” Dawn started spreading out his wings and moving them about to loosen them up. “Oh yeah, that feels better.” It had been years since he had actually flown, for he could not while he was in the void. He had tried near the beginning of his internment there, but to no avail, and so he had given up on it. He started flapping them and slowly rose up from the ground as he faced the two guards.
“Uh, sire, what are you doing?” Night Wing asked.
“What, I’m just stretching out my wings.” Dawn responded with an innocent smile as he slowly rose up more.
Feather Wind looked up to Dawn Light. “Sire, I must advise against any flying, the citizens of Canterlot may see you. Your sisters said that they did not want you revealing yourself to the public until they said so.”
“Relax, I’m just going to fly around the castle a bit. If any of them see me, they’ll just think I’m one of the Pegasus guards, I doubt they could see my horn from a distance.”
“Even so, it is still too risky, please return to the ground.” Night wing stated.
“If you want me, you’re going to have to catch me. SEE YA!” Dawn Light then took off like a shot.
The two guards quickly took to the air and chased after him. “Your majesty, please come back!” Feather Wind called out.
“Come and get me!” Dawn called out playfully.
“What have we gotten ourselves into?” Night Wing asked himself as he and Feather Wind Launched into the air.
Dawn Light flew about around the spires and under bridges with the two guards chasing him. “WOO HOO, now this is more like it, I really missed this!” Dawn cried out as he flew.
As he flew about, he saw Luna’s window open, he could see her sitting at a table writing out something on a scroll. Dawn flew past at such a speed. “Hi Lulu!” He said as he flew past. It was so quick that was all he could say.
Luna looked up from her scroll and out the window. She looked out just in time to see the two guards fly past. “Your majesty, please slow down!” Night Wing called.
Luna smiled and chuckled at the sight.
Dawn soon spotted Celestia walking with a gryphon over one of the bridges that connect the spires. He flew in front of them. “Hey Celly!”
“Your highness, please!” Feather Wind called as they flew past in front of Celestia.
“Princess, what was that?” the gryphon asked.
Celestia smiled as she watched her little brother lead the guards on a chase. “That was my little brother.”
The grypnon cocked an eyebrow. “Your brother, since when did you and Luna have a brother?”
Celestia looked back to the grypnon. “I’ll explain later, please excuse me a moment won’t you.” Celestia spread her wings and flew off after Dawn Light.
Dawn Light was whooping it up in the clouds now as he did barrel rolls and loop de loops as the guards continued fruitlessly to get him to come back down. Dawn Light even let his wing drag along the top of a cloud as he flew over it. “This feels great, I really missed flying.”
“Did you now, I couldn’t tell.” Celesita’s voice asked from next to him.
Dawn Light looked to his left and saw Celestia flying next to him. “Hey there big sis, what’s up?” He asked with a smile.
“I see you’re enjoying yourself.” Celesita wore a smile of her own.
“You bet, I missed the feel of the wind in my mane. It’s been so long since I’ve done this.”
“I know, but perhaps you could do it with a little less noise, you are supposed to be keeping a low profile after all.”
“I know, but I just wanted to have a bit of fun.”
“Can we talk on the ground please?”
“All right.” He answered with disappointment clear in his voice.
The two soon came to the ground back in the gardens where the chase began. “Now Dawn Light, I understand you were just trying to have fun…”
“And succeeding.” Dawn cut in.
Celestia chuckled. “Hm hm, yes, and succeeding. But you need to keep a low profile until we can figure out how best to introduce you to the kingdom, remember?”
Dawn Light hung his head. “I know, I’m sorry sister Celestia. But I couldn’t find anything else to do here so I figured a fly around the castle would be good, besides, I really needed to stretch out my wings.”
Celestia nuzzled Dawn. “It’s fine, just try not to be so noisy when flying around and be sure to stay close to the castle all right?”
Dawn Light smiled brightly at Celestia. “Ok, I’ll try to be less noisy and stay near the castle.”
“That’s good, now if you’ll excuse me, I left a gryphon ambassador alone and I must get back to him. You behave now Dawn.” Celestia spread out her wings and flew off back to the gryphon.
He turned to the two guards huffing and puffing in exhaustion. “So what do you want to do next?”
“Could we…..take a….break please…..sire?” Feather wind asked.
“Tch, fine, I guess I could go for relaxing a bit under a tree for a while.”
“Oh thank Celestia.” Night Wing commented quietly.
The sun was starting to set as Dawn Light enjoyed dinner with his sisters and Discord. Dawn was still a little apprehensive, but he kept thinking about what he had learned about Discord. He really just wanted a friend. But what was really getting him antsy was that soon it would be time for bed. Dawn was afraid to go to sleep because of his nightmare. He was afraid that the world he was in now was still just an illusion created by his mind and that if he fell asleep here, he would wake up in the cold dark reality of the void.
“Sister, are you sure it’s getting late, maybe you’re wrong. What if the sun was moving a bit fast today, it could still be a few more hours before bed time.” Dawn Light tried to argue as his sisters led him to his room.
“Dawn, you know that can’t be true, the sun never runs fast.” Celestia pointed out. “I know you’re scared to go to sleep, but you are home, I promise when you wake up, you’ll be in your own room on your own bed and we will be here for you.”
“Besides, I will come to you in your dreams tonight to assure you that the void you dream about is just that, a dream.” Luna added.
Dawn wasn’t convinced but he couldn’t argue with his sisters. “All right.” He agreed reluctantly.
The two sisters followed him into his room, Dawn Light removed his jewelry and shoes and placed them on his vanity mirror. His room was now spotless and clean, with no sign of dust anywhere.
Luna used her magic to pull the covers back for Dawn Light. He climbed in to his bed and Celestia covered him up. “Sleep well little brother, we’ll see you in the morning.” Celestia gave him a kiss on the forehead.
“Good night Celestia, good night Luna.” He said with a bit of worry as he pulled the covers up to cover his muzzle.
Celestia picked up on this. “Dawn Light, would you like us to sing you a song to help you sleep?”
“I guess that would be nice.” Dawn said as he removed the covers from his muzzle again.
The two sisters looked at each other with a smile. They looked back to Dawn and began to sing a song.
As they sang, Dawn let out a yawn as his eyes started to close. By the end, he had fallen asleep. “Sleep well little brother, I will see you soon in your dreams.” Luna whispered in his ear before the two sisters left his room and went to their own.
“Oh no, not again. HELLO?!” Dawn called out as he found himself once again in the dark void. His voice just echoed with no response. “So I’m back here.” He curled up and was about to cry until his eyes were assaulted with a bright white light. “What, what is this?” He held a hoof over his eyes. Eventually the light faded and Dawn found himself in a starry field. “What, where am I? This isn’t the void.”
“Of course not little brother.” Luna’s voice sounded from everywhere.
“Luna, where are you?” he called, followed by “Where am I?” He asked as he looked around.
The moon faded in before him shining brightly. Dawn Light once again had to put a hoof over his eyes. A tall figure emerged from the moon. The light dimmed down and Dawn saw Luna standing there before him. “Luna? Is that you?”
Luna greeted him with a smile. “Of course it is little brother, I told you I would come visit you in your dreams.”
Dawn ran over to Luna with a smile on his face. “Luna, I’m so glad to see you.” He wrapped his hooves around her neck in a hug. Luna happily returned it. He pushed back a moment. “But wait, is this real, or was what happened before real where I was in the castle, and what about that void I was just in?”
“Dawn Light calm down. As we have told you, that void you were in just now was a dream, and you are still dreaming, you being back at the castle with me and Celestia was real.”
“So then I’m just dreaming right now, and when I wake up I’ll be home for real?”
“Yes little brother, I promise until you stop dreaming about that void, I will be right here with you to keep that nightmare away.”
Dawn Light smiled. “Thank you Luna.” He pressed his head into Luna’s chest.
Luna just returned the hug and wrapped her wings around him. “I swear to you, Dawn Light, you will never be alone again. I will always be there for you, just as Celestia will.”
“*Sniff* I know you will, I think I can finally accept that I really have returned home now, you being here is the last bit of proof I need, thank you big sister.”
“You’re welcome little brother.”
They shared a moment of silence together, before dawn broke it with “Sister?”
“Yes Dawn?”
“That lullaby helped, but it was kind of corny.”
Luna couldn’t help but chuckle. “Sorry, we’ll try to come up with something better if you want.”
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Will he get to meet the Element Bearers soon? And is Twilight a unicorn or an alicorn by the time this happened? Other than that great chapter.
3461917 guess I should have made this clear, this story is taking place after the season three finale of the show.
3462168 Ah okay. Thanks for clearing that up.
I prefer Mordred's lullaby.
Anyway, the only problem I see with this fic is that all the characters seem two dimensional.
So he might get advice from Luna about void, since she was on the moon, but unlikely either of them want to remember now.
Just out of curiosity: Did he do real Barrel Rolls or Starfox Barrel Rolls (AKA Aileron Rolls)?
Listening to lullaby while finishing the chapter.
Great chapter. I gotta read the rest of this. You really pulled me in.
you can't leave void. it well come for you.
I like this a lot.
What's a grypnon?
I’m trying to joke here
I can't read this story anymore because of how grammatically deficient it is. I'll just leave you with the biggest thing that you and/or your pre-readers aren't catching.
Always add a comma when someone is being addressed. Seeing how much you've written before this story, I really don't understand how something so basic escaped you for so long, because this alone nearly destroyed the dialog. There's tons of material around on the internet teaching proper punctuation, I suggest reading up on it.
I imagine when he leapt up an audible YEET is heard.
Boring stuff yaaaaaay
Than he would be back and Luna on the MOOOON!
Celestia
How old is that Colt actually?