Truthseeker

by RB_

Waning Gibbous

“Look, all I’m saying is that it’s really not that big of a deal!”

The Ponyville market was about as busy as it usually was, ponies crowding around the stalls and bustling between them, bags full or carts in tow.

And, strolling through everything were two ponies. One was Lyra, and the other was not a pony at all.

“What,” Sea Swirl said, “the fact that I’ve been,” she lowered her voice so it fell beneath the murmur of the crowd, “lying to everypony for years? I think that’s kind of a big deal!”

“They’d forgive you.”

“Yeah, sure.” She sighed. “Look, I know you’re right, it’s just… I have a good thing going here, you know? I don’t want to jeopardize that.”

“I understand.” Lyra said. “But, if you ever decide you are ready, you can—”

She stopped mid-sentence as something caught her eye, and dropped to the dirt.

“Uh… Lyra? What are you doing?”

“Bowing,” she hissed.

“…Why?”

Lyra gave her a look. “Princess Luna is right there!” she said, gesturing into the crowd where the princess was, in fact, standing, and was, in fact, starting to hurry towards them.

“I don’t see her.”

“What are you talking about? She’s right there!”

The princess of the night was now about halfway to them. She seemed to be speeding up.

“Yeah… Look, Lyra, I’m just going to go…”

Luna reached her just as Sea Swirl departed, running at full gallop as she snagged Lyra in her magic. Everything flashed white, and Lyra found herself in an alley, the princess glaring at her.

“How did you know?” Luna demanded.

“Know what?”

“That it was me? I have checked my illusion several times, it did not waver. What was it that gave me away?”

“Illus—oh!” Lyra clamped her eyes shut, then opened them again. As she’d expected, a different dark-coated mare took the princess’ place for just a moment before dissolving under the power of her blessing. “Oh, okay.”

“Yes?”

“I can see through illusions, your majesty.”

“…Oh.” Luna backed off a bit. “Why is that?”

Should I? Eh, why not.

“The conceptual god of Truth blessed me in my dreams. I can tell when ponies are lying, too.”

Luna’s eyebrows raised. “A god, meddling with the lives of mortal ponies, in this day and age? I suppose some things do never change.”

“Still,” she continued, “this does leave me in a bit of a predicament, Lyra Heartstrings. I was counting on nopony recognizing me today.”

Lyra considered asking how the princess knew her name, but decided against it.

“Why, Your Highness?”

Luna sighed. “You may call me ‘Luna’, you know. I have given you and everypony else in this town that privilege in the past.”

“Oh, uh, sorry Your—Luna. But yeah, what are you doing here? And why in disguise?”

She sighed again. “Celestia wished for me to take a… vacation. My niece, Cadenza, suggested I mingle amongst the populace in disguise, and as this village has shown me kindness in the past, I decided I would come here.”

Lyra took a good look at the princess. She was without her regalia, her head and hooves unadorned and her chest missing its peytral, but that wasn’t what caught Lyra’s attention. It was Luna’s face, and the red that had crept into her eyes, and the bags that hung under them, and the way her flowing mane seemed to sag rather than billow.

Lyra had seen the princess of the night before in all her glory, and this was not it.

“Unfortunately,” Luna kept talking, “it doesn’t seem to be helping. And now, I’ve been recognized! T’was a foolish plan to begin with!”

“Luna…” Lyra reached out a hoof to lay on the princess’ shoulder, thought better of it, then did it anyway. “Are you feeling alright?”

Luna’s head snapped around at the contact. “We are fine. Why would’st thou ask—why would you ask—I’m not fooling anypony, am I?”

Lyra gave her a gentle smile. “No, not really. Here, would you like to get something to eat? There’s a nice little restaurant just around the corner, they do a fantastic daisy sandwich.”

Luna considered it for a moment. “It certainly cannot hurt. Lead the way, Lyra Heartstrings.”

“You can just call me Lyra,” she said, stepping forward.

“Lyra it is, then. Lead the way, Lyra.”

A thought occurred to her as she stepped out of the alley, the disguised Princess Luna following behind.

I’m on a first-name basis with Princess Luna.

I’m about to have lunch with Princess Luna!

Just wait ‘till Bonnie hears about this one!

─────

“You are having trouble sleeping?”

Luna scoffed. “Of course not! I am the most powerful somnimancer in existence, falling asleep is a trivial matter.”

She took a bite of her sandwich.

“The problem is not that I am having trouble falling asleep; the problem is that my sleep is troubled.”

The two were seated outside Lyra’s favorite café, off to the side and away from the majority of the other patrons.

“Troubled how?”

“You are no doubt aware of the recent murders, in Manehatten?”

Lyra shivered slightly at the memory. “Y-yes, of course. I don’t think there’s anypony left in Equestria who isn’t.”

“That is exactly the problem. That monster has been the subject of every pony in Equestria’s nightmares ever since the name ‘Soft Stitch’ first hit the newspapers. It is exhausting, Lyra. And even worse, he’s started creeping into my own subconscious as well. I try to rest and recover my strength, and there he is, smiling at me like in that picture they love to put on the front page.”

“I have seen horrible things in my years, Lyra, but the thought that a normal pony, untouched by evil magics or corrupting artifacts or any other dark influences could be capable of such vile acts…”

“I understand, believe me,” Lyra said. “But he’s gone now. He won’t be hurting anypony ever again.”

Luna nodded as she took a drink.

“I’m surprised you can even have nightmares,” Lyra said. “What with the somnimancer thing, I mean.”

“Asserting control over one’s subconscious is not an easy thing to do, especially when one is not in the most stable of mindsets to begin with. Things will seep through, and most definitely things one is trying to avoid thinking about.”

“Makes sense.” Lyra said. She took a sip from her coffee. “I don’t know if I can help much, though.”

“I don’t expect you to, Lyra. It will pass with time, but for now, it is just something I will have to live with. Though talking with you has eased my nerves somewhat, if only for the moment.”

“Oh. Well, that’s good!”

“Indeed.”

The two returned to their food for a few moments.

“So,” Lyra asked, “What’s it like, dreamwalking?”

“It is… difficult to describe to somepony who has not done it. The dreamscape is a wild and unruly place of constant shift and change, unless one can impose their will upon it. I usually force it into the shape of an endless corridor of doors, each leading to a sleeping mind, so that I may patrol it more easily.”

“Isn’t that a little bit of a… you know, an invasion of privacy? I mean, not to offend—“

“Sayeth the pony who can see through even the most innocent of deceptions?” Luna shot back, eyebrow quirked.

“Touché.”

“In all seriousness, however, no. Dreams that the dreamer would not wish for me to see are locked off to me. I could break inside if I so wished, but not without significant effort, and I have little desire to intrude,” Luna said.

“It pains me greatly when these locked dreams become nightmares—as yours have been these last several months.”

Lyra nearly spit out her coffee. “M-me?”

“Yes, you, Lyra Heartstrings,” Luna said. She leant forward, propping her head on the table with her forelegs and fixing Lyra with a piercing stare. “Your nightmares have been beyond my help ever since the day that mare was found dead under Princess Twilight’s castle and the entirety of Ponyville lost a morning’s memories, and have only grown worse since. Care to explain?”

“I-I have no idea what you’re talking about!” Lyra stammered, putting on as convincing of a smile as she could muster.

“Do not lie to me, Lyra Heartstrings, you are not very good at it.”

The false smile slowly slid from her face.

“I, uh… I’m not really at liberty to say. I’m sorry.”

Luna leaned back, still keeping her eyes narrowed and fixed on Lyra.

“Lyra Heartstrings, you strike me as an honest and trustworthy pony, and so I will respect your privacy,” she began.

“However, as a crown princess of Equestria, I have a duty to my subjects to keep them protected from harm in any way I can. So, Lyra Heartstrings, as a crown princess of Equestria, I order you to answer the following question with absolute sincerity: were you in any way responsible for causing the event known as Ponyville’s Missing Morning, or for the death of the pony known as Hollyleaf?”

“No to the former,” Lyra answered.

The princess’ eyes narrowed further.

“And the latter?”

“…I didn’t stop her in time.”

Luna continued watching her for just a moment more, then abruptly relaxed, smiling.

“That,” she said, “is very good to hear.”

She popped the last of her sandwich into her mouth, swallowed, and stood up. “Thank you for the meal, and the talk. It has been very… informative. Oh, and Lyra?”

“Yes?”

“Your gift could certainly be useful to us. If Celestia or I ever needed your services, would you mind if we called upon you?”

“Oh, not at all!” Lyra said. “Believe me, I’d love to help.”

“Very good. Thank you.” She nodded, turned away, and began walking.

“Keep up the good work, Lyra Heartstrings. You seem to have done a wonderful job so far.”

As Lyra watched her depart, she couldn’t help but wonder if their conversation hadn’t been a bit more ‘informative’ than she had intended.

Comments

[Ragegamer243]

Seems like an interesting concept....let's see if it holds.

[TheStratovarian]

This is a different thing. Lyra makes for an interesting choice as protagonist. Overall, the small snippets work well to things, as they paint a scene for quick grabbing. They don't run on, they get done pretty much as feels natural. So good luck on writing more.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Yeah, the old "god in humble guise" trick doesn't work well when you're in the same town as the champion of Truth. Fortunately, this is Ponyville. If any town can have a pony that will look past the title and see the exhausted pony underneath, it's this one.

Still, the state of the national subconscious is worrying, to say nothing of Lyra's. Here's hoping both get better rather than worse, though I can't say I'm terribly confident about that.

[Timuri]

I find it unlikely that Celestia is unaware of the Vigilant Owl group, and Luna likely is at least aware of its existence.
I will be interesting to see how those two and/or their emissaries play into things.

[EnderHooves]

Wow, this is such a good story. And you're coming up with some sweet names for magic too! Somniamancy!
Shoot, I think I've forgotten the others. Well put together!

[flutterboot]

Luna scoffed. “Of course not! I am the most powerful somnimancer in existence, falling asleep is a trivial matter.”

I always thought it was oneiromancer or something like that, ya learn something new everyday!