Chapter 6 – Dreambane
Chapter 6 – Dreambane
Princess Luna trotted briskly ahead, her eyes scanning everything passing her by as she searched for something out of the ordinary. She snorted, irritation beginning to take hold. She had been searching for awhile already, spurred by the recent events involving the strange UFO plaguing a large portion of Equestria. It may have just been loud and alien, but the stress and anxiety it caused had sent the Dream Realm, her current hunting grounds, into a frenzy of nightmares. Only now was she finally able to get the ethereal plane back to a sense of normalcy, the last of the major nightmares having been either exercised or banished into the depths of the mystical landscape that housed her ancient domain.
Her hunt had thus far proven fruitless as yet another series of ethereal portals, each different from the last, continued to rush past her. Celestia, her beloved but also sometimes lazy flank sister, was often too quick to allow the comforts of peace to dull her sense of urgency, something the two would need to talk about at length when she was finished with this task. Seriously just how many times had her student sent such a detailed and rather cumbersome tone of information in order for it to be seen as “normal”?!
At first Twilight Sparkle's letter detailing the discovery of the UFO was a welcome sight for her, that is until she had read about the encounter in the Everfree. It was one thing to deal with ponies who simply feared a hunk of metal and magic. Such nightmares were easily dispelled by her after years of consoling her subjects, even if it took time to get to them all. But to encounter a creature that not only wielded strange magic, but could also return from death?The thought gave her pause, even while the ”world” around here continued to move.
She watched from her peripheral vision as the familiar entryways of her most recently visited dreams continued to zip past her, some of them had still been gripped with fear not too long ago. She hoped that they would not have any more nightmares for a little while longer. As she stood there her mind wandered to her own fears.
Luna and her sister were familiar with the many different ancient spells and magics that once gave rise to mages of great power, such as Starswirl the Bearded or Clover the Clever and many more whose names were now lost to time. But those days were also plagued by many sorcerers and witches that used Dark and Chaotic power to perform truly abominable offences against both magic and nature. If the young alicorn truly witnessed this… creature being resurrected, then they may be dealing with a truly dangerous foe. Even if he had proven harmless to the Bearers thus far.
Slowly Luna beganto let her mind focus on the reports description of the strange alien, formulating a new plan to find the creatures own dream. While most ponies knew her only as the Princess of the Night, there were those who had been lucky enough to learn of her more recent and compassionate role: the Dream Watcher.
The name had changed over the centuries leading up to her… fall, but the concept remained. Her duty was to watch and protect this ethereal realm of dreams and hopes from the nightmares that slunk and slithered in from the deepest pits of depravity and darkness. Sometimes they were merely bad thoughts or worried emotions, sometimes they were something more nefarious and “alive” After feeding off the host's emotions. The latter, she was ashamed to say, were quite familiar to her.
Luna shook her head and began to refocus on how Twilight had described the creature’s appearance and its “ship” within her mind. It was tall, and seemed to have no issue standing on two legs like a Diamond Dog or Minotaur. The strange technology it commanded was also quite unique, having a complexity even her sister was surprised by. It seemed to favor black and white for its armor, but it’s ship was more of a metallic red, with glossy black accents. Then there was it’s strange… familiar? Luna was not quite sure what the little companion mentioned in the report truly was, though it’s abilities made it clear it was powerful. Luna began to visualize all this, and channeled her magic as she attempted to find his dream.
To the untrained eye the Dream Realm might seem similar to the Plane of Ascension in appearance, both realms seeming to be vast and empty planes of ever shifting color. But that wasn’t the case for the Dream Realm as a whole. Like reality it had various biomes of a kind, and on occasion even a kind of spiritual wildlife. Here thoughts and emotions could quickly earn a life of their own, usually as a result of escaping the many pockets that contained the sleeping dreams of all living things. It was for this very reason that nightmares had to be dealt with swiftly, lest they begin to overwhelm the entire Realm and sow chaos in the minds all. Luna had even made use of some of these beings to help ensure that what nightmares did escape were driven off into the dark corners of the plane.
Luna slowly felt the natural magic of the Dream Realm encompass her as she continued her search. It had been jarring at first to be met with a completely new kind of magic when she first stumbled here, but she had long since mastered it like she had many other obscure Magic’s before. She even found new ways to wield it during her banishment, though the way she used it then was… something she regretted to this day, but now she could put her prowess towards helping Equestria, not plaguing it with horrid nightmares.
She weaves the magic through her horn, building it up before in a flash, she released her spell and watched as the realm shifted around her, objects of various size and color danced past her at blistering speed, the ethereal colors that permeated the sky and ground if the realm churned like an angry sea all around her as she seat he’d for her quarry. Soon everything came to an abrupt halt, and the Dream Realm was calm once again, but this time Luna saw something new.
If she was honest, the doorway didn’t look as strange as she had imagined it would. The door had a smooth surface, made from some kind of brilliant white stone like marble or quartz. A thin line split down it’s middle, with gold trim all around its edges and lines of gold on each half in intricate patterns. There was no door knob or button, so she assumed it was similar to those “automatic” doors that her sister had explained were becoming popular. What drew her eye the most however, was the strange golden symbol that was placed perfectly in the center of the door. It was a circular crest that held within it a kind of Shield that was separated into four distinct patterns. The top left held a series of triangles, with the groups of them overlapping each other, almost like a stylized mountain range. Beside it were yet more triangles, but this time they ran up and down the segment tip to end and alternated their direction with each line. The bottom left was filled with hexagons, each with an “x” in the center. The last segment, strangely, held only straight lines that ran sideways across it from top to bottom. Surrounding all of this were yet more thin lines of gold the surface of the doors similar to the way she noticed ponies liked to represent beams of light.
Luna examined the crest briefly, combing through centuries of lessons and memories to see if she could determine what the different segments might mean or represent. The emphasis on shapes and lines overlapping was unique, most species used more recognizable iconography such as crowns or swords. As she studied the strange bit of artistry, she wondered why they chose such angular formals. It would take forever to craft something this large and intricate by hoof! As she studied the segments she then began to wonder which, if any, their newfound alien identified with. Was it separated by function or class? Was it a caste system or was it purely artistic? Were it not for the pressing matters she would have liked to of spent some time studying and theorizing about it. But duty called and her role as Princess demanded she answer.
It was time to see just what this creature was and why it had come.
Cyrell looked around him in horror, never had he feared he would see something like this again. All around him fires raged as explosions ripped across the Last City. The air was thick with smoke, debris and the shrill cries of despair. He watched Guardians and Lightless civilians running everywhere, some to try and organize a response, others to what they believed was safety. Even a few of the House of Light’s own could be seen aiding as much as they could, as hopeless as it was to change anything.
He looked up at the authors of their destruction, and he felt his tears begin to stream with renewed sorrow. The sky that once held the Traveller and all its serene majesty, was now filled with the angular pyramid ships of the Black Fleet. Paracausal power rained down from their sharp forms, cutting the land and causing any unlucky enough to be in the path to be incinerated instantly.
Flames burst forth as the land was rocked by devastating gravity waves. When the attack first began Dead Orbit had attempted to send some of its fighters to distract the fleet, but they were all sent hurtling to the ground the moment they got too close. The rest of the ships soon followed, as the entirety of the city’ socialized gravity was increased to impossible levels. It was clear to everyone that they could not escape to the stars this time. Cyrell heard another screech, but this one wasn’t human or awoken or even exo, it was something dark. Something monstrous. He rushed to the edge of the Tower and was forced to step away just as quickly, he couldn’t believe what he saw. Huge hordes of dark… things were ripping everyone and everything in the City apart, as they wailed their feral war cries. Guardians and Eliksni fought back as hard as they could, but they all soon fell to the bloodthirsty mob, their bodies torn and trampled as the mass of beasts raced toward the fleeing civilians.
The worst however, was what he had seen lying amidst it all. There amongst the rubble and fallen skyscrapers of the Central District, were the shattered remains of the Traveller, its light extinguished and its form shattered. Cyrell stared at its broken form, swarming with Taken and the other creatures, ripping chunks of its surface off so they could devour what little Light might have remained.
Cyrell felt a weight suddenly appear in his left hand. For a minute he stood absolutely still, fear preventing him from looking. He already knew what he would see, but even still… he slowly turned his head to look. In his hand was the broken shell of Selene, her light completely gone and her once bright eye no longer active. His closest friend and companion, dead and lifeless within his own hand.
Cyrell fell to his knees, and felt more tears pour from his eyes. He was surrounded by destruction, death and dismay, and he was the one to blame for it. If he had only been faster, if he had only noticed the signs sooner! If only he hadn’t used that NTL Drive….
But that didn’t matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore.
“Behold salvation, and the return of the one true pattern. Isn’t it glorious?” Said the Darkness, it’s “voice” surrounding him.
Cyrell didn’t answer, he had no hope, or Light. What could he do? He was just a mortal now. So he didn't answer, and instead awaited his fate, clutching Selene to his chest as the last vestiges of strength were crushed and his wail of despair was finally released into the polluted air.
Luna couldn’t believe what she saw, everywhere around her was destruction and death. She imagined this was the creature's home, if the other bipeds she saw were any indication. Of course the landscape was mostly black smoke and fire, so she couldn’t really determine if this was where it lived or somewhere else on its world. She had not expected to be met with such a harrowing nightmare, truly this creature was ina. Great deal of turmoil if this is what plagued its thoughts.
Luna quickly shook herself out of her stupor and composed herself. Now was not the time to sit by and let things be, now was the time for action! She charged her horn, building up more and more magical power. She would banish this nightmare and use more peaceful dreams to extract her answers. As she did, she felt a strange… warmth surround her. The presence was alien but kind, foreign but friendly. Luna began to center her mind, forming her spell before in a brilliant flash of magic and Light the nightmare was no more.
As Luna reopened her eyes, she was meet with a sight that shocked her as much as the previous. Where before she had seen only annihilation, she now saw a sprawling City, its size easily dwarfing Canterlot or any of the other large population centers in Equestria. Large roads of what looked like concrete rose high above the ground, twisting and turning around the various buildings. And oh the buildings! They too were beautiful in their own alien way. Large spires of metal and glass stretching into the sky like great monoliths, each unique in shape and height from the last. She saw more uniform buildings as well, reminiscent of the apartments of Manehatten she saw during her tour of modern Equestria. Around the entire city was a large wall, with its own great Towers spaces around the entire circumference. As her eyes raised to the sky she saw more strange flying machines, each unique in both shape and color from one another, but they pales in comparison to what hung silently over the whole city.
Luna’s eyes widened in wonder at the large Sobere that seemed to encompass so much of the space above the center of the large metropolis. It was stark white, with slight damage present near the bottom. All around it was some sort of… magical field of pure Light, almost reminding her of a star in its brilliance.
To think that such an… Luna paused. Just what was this thing? A machine created to protect them, or perhaps a monument of some kind? How did it hang in the air like this and why was it glowing with such radiant Light? Suddenly she heard a whisper, faintly on the wind.
“Rest now… tomorrow is upon us” it seemed to say.
Luna had indeed begun to feel tired, something had been pushing back as she cast the spell to undo the nightmare. Nothing too uncommon, but it certainly did make her wary to leave right away. Instead she quickly found Cyrell, to see that his mind was safe. She found him in the city, another of his kind in metallic armor accented with purple fabrics walking beside him along with a group of unarmoured bipeds. They looked rather strange to her, though not repulsive like some ponies often had imagined visitors from the stars to be. In fact they were kind of cute, with their little foal eyes and buttony noses. She shook her head, and decided she had seen enough. While she may not have decked down and retrieved all the answers she’d wanted, she had learned at least a little bit more about the creature.
And so Luna soared away, while Cyrell and Saint-14 recalled the citizens of the city with Tales of their adventures across the system, and even across time itself. None of them noticed the retreating alicorn.
In his makeshift tent, Cyrell’s body relaxed for the first time in many weeks, as he slowly slipped into a pleasant and restful night's sleep. Dreaming of his home and friends through the night.
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Me: Looks at the newest chapter
Chapter: Released 22nd Jan 2021
Me: Looks at the calendar on my computer
Calendar: 21st Jan 2021
Me: "What?"
10640254
Well that’s... odd. Huh
10640257
What's this a crossover with? I literally just came across it.
10640269
The game Destiny. It's by Bungie, the guys who were behind Halo CE, 2, 3, and Halo: Reach.
10640269
It's a crossover with Destiny 2
10640301
Thanks
10640269
Specifically it’s a crossover of Destiny 2, taking place during its latest expansion Beyond Light. Equestria meanwhile is somewhere between Season 8 and 9 time wise.
10640341
Thanks for the info. I've never even heard of Destiny......or Destiny 2. I'll check it out and if I like it I'll check out the story.
OH YEAH NEW CHAPTER BABY!
btw, what are you're thoughts in the new Season of the Chosen (?
10664921
It’s even got that new chapter smell! Lol.
I’m pretty excited for Season of the Chosen! I’ve been enjoying the story progression these last few seasons and seeing Empress Caital show up after the hints dropped in Season of the Worthy was a welcome surprise! Can’t wait to see what happens and will definitely be playing on reset! The fact that it’s seasonal activity also has matchmaking is also a big plus.
10665237
Yep, im exited too, but a little sad of the nerf that swords are gonna get and the addition of more recoil for mouse and keyboard, but heeeey, the're buffing Rocket Launchers! :D
And the H.E.L.M social space... im preatty sure that its located at the old re-constructed Tower. Wich makes me even more exited.
10670008
Needs will always be a bit of a bummer, but I’m sure swords will still be pretty meta for a bit longer.
H.E.L.M has me intrigued, we’ll have to wait and see if the rumors are true. Just a few more hours!