Masks' of the Hunters

by Kamer

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Nightwatch

Luna was bathed in the firelight from the lit scones on the wall. They shined on the dark blues of the room with a red tinge, making them appear a dark purple. With a book floating in her magic, Luna read about the research Celestia had performed on the gates. It was very thorough research, as she suspected, but it did lack some tests that she herself would have run.

Scattered around on her desk lay various notebooks and papers on the crystal cavers beneath Canterlot. Luna stayed up all night trying to make sense of her sister’s lack of worry. The properties of the crystals as derived from experiments, the quality of magic flowing through the crystals, their aptitude and rate for absorbing different kinds of magic. From what she read, she couldn’t reason why her sister was so sure that nothing came out of the portal. The crystals covering every surface in that cave could absorb magic, meaning detection spells of any type were useless. There was no telling how large that cave was. Not even Celestia had mapped out the entire thing. Luna couldn’t even tell whether or not there was another exit to the system.

A bird’s cry, shrill and piercing, came from the side of Luna’s bed. On a dark wood table sat her alarm clock, a bust of Celestia’s phoenix, Philomina. It was screeching loudly with no signs of stopping. Luna was quick to silence its cry. Getting up from her desk, Luna sighed. She did not get any more sleep that day due to her studying, and it was already time for her night shift. She moved to her bathchambers to prepare for the day.

Luna was distracted during her morning preparation. She did not think that Celestia lied to her in the caverns. She knew Celestia wouldn’t do that to her, she was certain. But that did not mean that she could not have made a mistake in judgement, even Celestia was not above that. Luna knew this fact well, from many, many years, and many mistakes that they had both had their fair share of. While it was true that some were greater than others, Luna still had a sore spot, she knew that one of her big sister’s larger flaws was arrogance. She would never call it that, it was more akin to an abnormally large sense of pride, but Luna thought that that term was apropos.

‘I cannot let these thought linger in my mind for any longer,’ Luna thought, giving a few tugs at knots in her mane.

Giving a sigh, she pulled the brush through her mane one last time, taking with it the last, lone knot. Setting the emerald colored brush on the pedestal beside the sink, she looked in her mirror, giving her visage a once-over to check for places where makeup was necessary. Luna, like her sister, did not enjoy having handmaidens performing every task needed for her to be presentable. But unlike her sister, Luna preferred to prepare herself slowly, cherishing the time spent. In many ways, this was her way to get ready for the night. Finishing up her routine, she stepped out of the bath, donning her regalia.

Out on the balcony, she looked toward the sun. Her sister was waiting for her, though hopefully not for long. Raising her horn, Luna began to raise the moon, and Celestia doing likewise, began to lower the sun. Crossing in the sky, they darkened and dimmed the day, turning from sundown, to twilight, to dusk, and finally giving way to the night. Luna gave a moment to look at the stars and moon, making sure they were all in their proper place, and shining pleasingly for those below.

Finding them all satisfactory, she looked toward her sister. Celestia always waited for Luna to give her the OK to sleep, to make sure that everything would transfer over smoothly into the night court. It was her sister’s way of taking care of her younger sister. And Luna, who would never say this out loud, enjoyed the comfort it gave. Tonight however, no such signal of readiness was given. Instead, Luna gave her sister the ‘We need to talk’ look. Celestia looked up with interest, then nodded in agreement. Luna nodded back before turning back to her chambers and heading for the door to the tower proper.

Their usual meeting place was the near the dinning hall. To be more specific, a small private dinning hall where the princess could prepare their own meals and eat them without the prying eyes of the castle’s many servants, as Luna said. It was a not a long walk from the top of her tower, but it was a fair distance, long enough for Luna to think about what she wanted to say, and how to say it. Approaching the door to the small dinning hall, Luna paused momentarily before opening the doors. Celestia was already there, with a pot of tea being prepared in the back kitchen area.

“Sister,” Luna spoke with a bit of authority, “we need to talk about the crystal caverns.”

Celestia looked at her with a moments confusion, but relaxed, “What troubles you?” she asked, the motherlike quality still in her voice.

“We cannot be certain that nothing was able to come out of the portal.”

“Luna, I have had this situation happen before. I know what to look for when something comes through.”

“But thou hast not covered all of thy bases, as thee say,” Luna spoke shortly, slightly annoyed at the quality of her sister’s voice.

“The gates that thou did’st described were different than the one we saw today. This one was less defined and did not give a clear indication of where the portal stopped and crystal began.”

Celestia gave a moment to ponder what Luna said, “Sister, you are true, but the magical makeup of the portal was the same, it would have been different if something did come through.”

“That magical rule only holds for those with physical bodies.” Luna said back.

“I had a spell to detect life active the moment I entered the caverns. And another at the entrance. Nothing could have gotten past without triggering either of those spells.”

A pause was shared between the sisters.

“Luna,” Celestia said after worried gazes, " I understand your concern, but I had everything covered. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you”

“We understand sister. But what about other exits in the cave? Thou did’st not map the entire system.”

“Do you remember that toxic cloud I mentioned?”

“Verily...”

“In order to stop it, I placed a sealing spell on the entrance to the cave, I was trapped their for almost a day before I pulled it all back in the portal. During that time, none of the toxic fume or hazardous warning spells in the city triggered. Being smoke, it could have left through even the smallest crack.”

Luna stared at her sister, before sighing, “True sister. But We still have qualms. We feel that thou defenses are still inadequate.”

“Alright Luna, I agree with you. I see some errors in my defense,” She chuckled, “You always had a more detailed picture in your mind’s eye than I did.”

Luna snorted at that, “True sister, thou has missed much in hindsight.”

Both laughing, Celestia got up to grab the kettle. “Would you like tea, Luna?”

“Nay, sister, We must get to Night Court. Our petitioners are waiting for us.” Luna turned to leave.

“I trust you sister.” Celestia spoke, turning back to Luna, “I want you to do whatever you feel necessary with that cave system.”

“Thank thee sister,” Luna replied with a smile, “I shall see you on the morrow.” and continued to Night Court.

The Night Court was over, and Luna let out a sigh. She always forgot how trying these sessions were, with the bickering nobles and the laughable requests they had. ‘Make the moon dimmer’, ‘Let me open my Night Club’, ‘Come to my party’. Admittedly, Luna had considered that last one, but it was none the less running her patience thin. But she welcomed, problems and all. She felt like she was connecting with her little ponies again. And after so long, it felt good to talk. Now she just needed to work on the archaic speech here sister teases her about.

It was time for her ‘lunch’ as it were, and she moved swiftly to the private dinning hall. She did not much care to wake the chefs for a single meal, so she preferred to make it herself. And unlike Celestia’s attempts at cooking, Luna was more than adequate. She was still thinking about what to do about the cave system, running possible ideas through in her head. Ideas ranging from simple and easy, to complex and difficult. She needed to find a good mix of both.

‘I could fill the guard barracks with mayonnaise’ Luna thought.

She stopped, looking a bit perplexed at the thought she had, then started looking a bit annoyed.

“Discord!” she called, “Come before us with thy miss-matched self!”

A hearty laugh came from Luna’s shoes. She kicked one of them off and sent it flying to the back wall of the dinning hall.

“Ow!,” Discord said, “That hurt you know!” The shoe transformed into Discord’s lower half. Luna promptly kicked off the other three shoes, scoring two direct hits on Discords posterior.

“Yeaoch!” Discord cried, two arms and a torso and head popping into existence.”That really hurt!” One of his disconnected arms was rubbing his behind.

“What do you want, Discord?” Luna said, only slightly amused.

“What?” he said sadly, doing a poor job at masking his amusement , “I only wanted to visit a friend! And you are the only one in the whole castle that likes my mischief!”

It was true, Luna was the only one that even showed a hint of joy at Discord’s pranks. The castle staff ranged from too terrified to laugh to to apathetic to care. Even Celestia hardly cracked a smile. Which unfortunately meant that Discord was around Luna often, when he was not with the bearers in Ponyville.

“Please Luna, just for a bit? I’m so bored and your my only friend here!” Discord said assembling himself while looking pitiful.

Luna sighed, ‘Of course he played the friendship card...’

“Alright Discord, thou may’st join us for lunch, but no funny business.” Luna said as she walked into the kitchen. “And We shant be cooking anything for thee!” she shouted back through the door.

“Right’O!” Discord said in mock salute. His harm was still on the ground, saluting his kneecap.

After a bit of time, Luna emerged from the kitchen with a salad in magic. Discord was already busy munching on what looked like a miniature tree. She swore she even saw a squirrel. The rest of his plate was piled high with paper, which he was eating like the griffons ate stake. He even was seasoning with their steak sauce. He also had a glass of what looked like salt, which he slurped loudly. He appeared almost done.

Luna, deciding not to comment, or think about it any longer, set down her food and began eating.

“Ya know,” Discord said after a minutes silence, “I was thinking of naming this meal Noctch”

Luna stared.

“It doesn’t make sense to call it lunch, its not noon! Its midnight!”

Luna continued to stare, unblinking.

“You know, lunch at night! Night ‘noct’, lunch ‘ch’. Noctch!”

Luna’s gaze had transcended a mere stare, it was judgement.

“Oh come on! It makes sense!” Discord said incredulously.

“That is precisely it, Discord. It made sense. From thee nonethyless!”

Discord and Luna both laughed. “Of course! I have to do somethings that make sense. Then the chaos is more fun! I probably earned a couple of hours for that one.” Discord said taking out a pencil and notepad, “Fluttershy has me on a worm system.” Discord wrote some things on the pencil.

Luna chuckled. “Thou surely has’t earned some, Discord.”

Luna finished her meal, glancing at discord. His plate was piled high with tiny trees, paper and steak sauce. He apparently did the opposite of eating his food.

Shuddering, Luna walked into the kitchen to put away her plate. She came out to a clean table and Discord curled up like a cat on top.

“Luna,” He said, “If a tell you something, will you laugh?”

“Discord, that sentence already makes Us want to laugh.”

Discord chuckled, “Yea... Ponies always say that,”

There was a pause.

“I feel something that I haven’t felt for a while.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “And what feeling would’st that be?”

“I think its uncertainty. I’m not entirely sure, but I think that’s it.” Discord said.

Luna was unsure of her friends sudden outpouring of his feelings. He only has done this once before, when he accidentally got sick and needed to rely on the help from both princesses Twilight and Cadence. This occurred right after he pretended to be sick to play a prank. Other’s do not know this, but Discord felt quite terrible about the whole incident. Bad enough that he felt the need to talk to Luna about it. This time, Luna felt far worse about his feelings. Something else had happened, and the spirit of chaos was not so easily dismayed. This, Luna knew, was a problem.

Lifting up to his full height, Discord laughed. “I don’t even know what I’m uncertain about.”

“If thee feel anything else, do not wait to tell Us.”

“Sure. Thanks, Moonbutt,” Discord said with a grin.

“Then get thee hence! Thy feet are ruining the finish on this table!” Luna said with a hint of sarcasm.

Discord laugh was boisterous and genuine. “Tata then!” He said with a large grin, snapping his paw.

He was gone in a flash. And a rain of paper shreddings. Luna noted she had her shoes back. She turned, smiling, towards the door to go back to work.

Luna’s duties, outside of night court and the occasional bill signing, was dream patrol. She would wander through the dream realm and police the dreams of her subjects. Luna enjoyed this task of her’s the most. To her, it was freeing. Freeing from court, freeing from politics, freeing from nobles and most importantly, freeing from her own problems. When Luna is patrolling the dreams of ponies, it feels like she is doing something meaningful, something worthwhile for her little ponies. This was her way of connecting with the population on a personal level, not just a wave or a smile to them. There, in the dream world, she could talk to them, with no pretense, no facades, no strained smiles, just her and the ponies she protects.

As Luna entered her room, she started the preparations to enter the dream world. Many thought that it was only mental, that she simply went into a trance whenever she wanted. While that was partially true, the actuality of the matter was far different. In order for Luna to properly enter the dream world, she needed total darkness, total silence and absolutely no movement. When she entered the dream world, the sights sounds and feelings where not imagined, they overpowered her physical senses. Any outside influence contaminated that experience and almost always meant that she was ejected from the dream world. And with preparations complete, the room in total darkness, the requisite silencing spells making a bubble around in the vicinity and finally, an anti-gravity sphere floating in the center, Luna was ready to enter.

She stepped up to the sphere, letting the lack of forces guider her in. Once she found a good position, she channeled her spell, and entered the dream world. It is far different than most ponies think. Some imagine a hall filled with endless doors, some bubbles with easy viewing ports, some even come up with outlandish descriptions trying to quantify space and time into a single point.

In reality, it was a copy of the real world, one in which Luna was a specter, able to travel anywhere in the kingdom at a blink of an eye. It was a world populated and created by everypony, by their dreams. All dreams took place in this realm, occupying different locations in the same space, Luna just needed to travel to them. The best way Luna could describe it was an Equestria that ponies were in the location they where dreaming about. If it was a dream in the Everfree, they where in the Everfree dream world, if in Canterlot, in the Canterlot dream world.

Traversing this world was difficult though. Because many ponies could dream about the same location, that location in the dream world was distorted to contain however many dreamers it needed. For example, the castle ball room had no less than 50 ponies dreaming there. And was four square miles. This sort of spacial property also lent to an ease of observation. Luna could fly over many dreams at once, hundreds in fact, and get a feel all for them at a glance. By looking, she could guess if the dream was pleasant, awkward, feel-good, bad, nightmare-ish or just flat out explicit.

Luna looked out over Canterlot, gazing over all the dreams she could see. None were particularly bad, some worse, but nothing that was an outright nightmare. Except for one. It was alone, in an area of the dream world that was rarely populated. In a dark alleyway near an apartment complex, an earth pony stallion with a grey coat was moving cautiously down, towards the other intersecting alley. Luna flew over to the dream and entered it’s space. The rest of the dreams faded away and Luna was immersed in the sensations of the dreamer.

The first thing that Luna noticed, is that it was not a normal dream, it was far to sharp, far too crisp to be thought up and imagined. The details of everything were perfect, and presented none of the usual signs that the dreamer was replacing portions with thought. No, this was a memory, crisp and fresh in the mind of the dreamer.

‘This is unfortunate, whatever they experienced was terrible.’ Luna thought.

The memory continued, the stallion moving closer and closer to the corner. Suddenly, he jumped and looked straight at Luna with eyes wide with terror. Moments passed, and the still terrified pony was looking up and down the alleyway, right past Luna.

When the stallion turned around, a massive smokey black mass appeared in front of him. Luna only caught a glimpse of the Wolf like head and wooden mask before she noticed the eyes. Like a terrible fire they burned bright, expanding, growing and eventually encompassing the whole dream. Luna could only watch in a mixture of horror and awe. Awe because of the power of the memory, and horror because it was exactly that, a memory.

”Let’s play chase and rip-to-shreds, Marble-thing!” a cruel and harsh voice said.

Then the dream shattered.

Author's Note:

Hoped you liked the chapter!

I will try for a release every Sunday night around this time, I will tell you otherwise if there will be a problem.

Comments

[Eric Longtooth]

Alright, this chapter needs a bit more editing than the others.