The LUNA Project

by The Equestrian Gentlecolt

Chapter 7 - Exploration

Luna trotted purposefully through the halls of her home, but her head was elsewhere. Thoughts of a whole new world swam in her mind. A world existed beyond her own... a world which she intended to find. Celestia and the humans must have gone somewhere, after all. Luna very much wanted to continue to learn things, and what better source of knowledge could there be than speaking with a living creature?

She paused in an intersection and inspected her shiny, once again back around her neck. She had almost forgotten the last computer's mention of containing "books" in her hurry to begin her search, but when she went to shut it off, it had offered to copy everything it had stored onto the key, her shiny. It was then that she realized that the books in the computer weren't actually books at all. The computer was only holding the words, not the books themselves, which she had to admit made a lot more sense. Apparently her shiny could hold a lot of words, because the computer told her that it was only 1% full at the end of the process. She made a mental note to go back to the first computer and get the words from that, too, in case she needed them for something later.

For now, though, she had a new goal. She turned to the right and cantered down the hallway. She was nearing her destination, if the map the computer had provided her was to believed. Another minute of travel, another right turn, and a set of stairs brought her to her destination.

A pair of thick pieces of metal served as a door in the huge gateway before her. The edges of the metal looked like they had been melted together, no doubt the permanent sealing that the messages had mentioned. Some electronics looked to have once been connected to the door, but they were broken now, wires hanging loosely from the metal boxes. Even if they had been connected, Luna was sure that they would have been able to do nothing to open the doors in their current condition.

Luna, however, was more than capable of opening them. She planted her hooves firmly to either side of her and lowered her head, aiming her horn at the melted spot between the two metal slabs. She closed her eyes, focused her mind, and pushed. Nothing happened at first, as the magic inside her strained against the weight of reality. Finally, and with a crack that echoed through every hallway of the abandoned facility, the doors split apart and slammed open.

The first thing that Luna noticed was the cold. A chill wind blew over her as the air of the outside world rushed to rejoin its long-separated counterpart, making her eyes water and getting in under her feathers. She quickly ruffled her wings and puffed them up as much as she could, trying to wrap them around herself to keep warm, then pressed on through the wind.

The second thing she noticed was the ceiling. It was dotted with tiny lights, and it seemed to go on forever. The walls were nowhere to be seen. She craned her neck, peering past the light of her shiny and into the distance, but the outside world stretched on for miles without any sign of walls.

That was when Luna realized what "outside" really meant.

There were no walls. There was no ceiling.

Luna fainted.

---

Michael pushed open the great doors of Celestia's throne room with some trepidation. He already knew what he would find there, but some part of him still clung to the hope that this morning would be different, that this morning he would find the throne empty. It was a Saturday, and there would be no court today, so perhaps she had finally retired to her room. No such sight greeted him, though, and he let out a long sigh.

"Celestia, it's time to wake up," the human said gently as he approached the queen. She gave no indication of having heard him, but in her current state, it was hard to tell. "Celestia," he tried again, touching her gently on the shoulder. "The sun is coming up, and there's a visitor waiting for you in the gardens."

Still, his queen gave no response. Her eyes remained fixed straight ahead, the corners of her lips remained turned slightly upwards in the serene smile that she always put on when she held court. She could as easily have been a statue as a living goddess. Michael didn't know if she was unaware of him or purposefully ignoring him, but he had one more ace up his sleeve.

"It's Megan."

The alicorn's eyes widened and she shot to attention, a genuine smile replacing the serene mask for the brief moment before she disappeared in a flash. Michael shook his head with another sigh. It had been the latter, then.

Celestia reappeared in the palace gardens just as the sun began its climb up over the horizon. She looked around the grounds, quickly spotting her visitor and rushing to her in an excited canter. Megan looked up with a smile as she heard the goddess approaching, and patted a spot on the ground next to where she sat against one of the larger trees. Celestia immediately laid down in the grass by the human.

"Hello, Celestia," Megan greeted the alicorn. The sun's early light washed over them as she put an arm over her friend's withers. Celestia responded in kind, slipping one of her great white wings around the human.

"Hello, Megan." A genuine smile graced Celestia's face now, and she leaned into the embrace. Her ears raised as she noticed Megan reaching into small pack beside her, and the human laughed lightly at the reaction.

"I see you haven't forgotten me." Megan produced a small cube of sugar from the pack, which Celestia immediately snapped up.

"How could I forget my big sister?" the alicorn asked after swallowing the mouthful. "How's life on the farm? And Doctor Rogers?"

"Oh, farm life is the same always. It's hard work, but it feels good. It's honest work. And I do enjoy working with the animals. Dad is happy too." Another sugar cube was exchanged. "I've always been surprised by how well he took the change. I guess he really burned himself out, back in the lab..."

Celestia nodded, and the pair remained in a comfortable silence for a few minutes as she worked her way through the remaining sugar cubes. Eventually, Megan spoke again.

"So, the pear tree is new."

Celestia blinked and looked over at the tree, then gave a slight smirk in response. Her horn glowed as she levitated two ripe pears from it and over to them, taking one for herself and giving the other to her companion.

"Even Mr. Jacobson admitted that it was probably fair, given the way they'd been acting," Megan chuckled as she bit into the fruit. "Mmm, I can see why they were fighting over it, though."

"Mmm," Celestia agreed. The comfortable silence returned for a few minutes, filled only with the chirping of the awakening birds and the sounds of eating.

"People are worried about you, Celestia." Megan broke the silence once more. "Michael says you don't even leave your throne anymore. He says you don't even close your eyes. He says it's kind of creepy."

Celestia's ears fell back to the sides of her head guiltily. She sighed inwardly. She should have known that Megan was here for a reason. "I don't need to sleep to take care of my duties..."

"But you aren't taking care of your duties. Animals around the edges of civilized areas are getting restless, and the weather's been unusually harsh. Doctor Harris says the moon is off its proper cycle by eighteen percent. Is what Michael said true, Celestia? Have you been spending all your time searching for... a way back?"

Celestia slumped, laying her head across her companion's lap. "Did Doctor Rogers tell you about her? The other alicorn?"

Megan shook her head. "He told me now, after I asked. He hadn't wanted to get us excited until her progress was further along, and after..." She trailed off.

"After we had to abandon the lab, he didn't want to burden us with what could have been," Celestia finished. "But I have to know what happened to her, Megan. She could still be alive. I know the process that created me. I know it could have finished unattended. She could still be out there, waiting for me to find her..."

---

The first thing that Luna noticed when she regained consciousness was warmth. The cold of the outside world was fading quickly, and it wasn't an entirely unpleasant sensation, so she decided to remain where she was and enjoy it for a moment.

The second thing she noticed, when she did open her eyes, was light. The tiny white pinpoints of light in the sky were fading, being replaced by an all-encompassing glow. She sat up to watch the process with confusion, her wings folding back up as the increasing heat rendered their extra warmth unnecessary. Gradually, the black sky transitioned to a dark but brightening red.

Then a sliver of red fire appeared on the horizon, drawing Luna's attention. The little alicorn turned to stare at it as it grew, eyes widening even as her pupils shrank in response to the quickly increasing brightness. She watched fearfully as it rose, never taking her eyes off of the huge red orb. The heat around her increased until the dust on her body ignited and became smoke, but her gaze remained fixed on the horror before her.

The great sphere of crimson fire hovered in the sky like a conquering destroyer, casting its malevolent gaze down on the tiny creature who defied it. It assured her, by its very presence, that there was nothing for her here. That there was not, and would never again be, life in this terrible outside world. That soon it would consume this world, and her with it, no matter what strength she thought she possessed now.

The spell broke and, with a terrified squeak, Luna bolted back through the doorway. Her horn glowed and the doors slammed behind her even as she tripped on the staircase she had forgotten and tumbled, head over hooves, into a crumpled, panting heap at the bottom of the steps.

She realized, as she lay there trying to catch her breath and calm her rapidly-beating heart, that what she had seen was the sun. That was the sun, and she wanted no part of it, ever again.

Comments

[SembrBrony217]

I have read 11 chapters in one sitting, and I have to say, this is quite the interesting fanfic! This alternate reality really has me hooked. Also, all the science that went into the project must have been beyond imagination. Just think about all the possibilities! I shall continue to read on. This is by far, one of the best alternate reality fanfic I have ever read.