Failure, Eternally Retold, Part One: The Human Element

by Kiernan

Epilogue: Assistance

Spike trembled as he entered the throne room. Usually, he was following Twilight in, being here on her business. Now that he was here for himself, he was a bit nervous. It wasn't too late yet. He could still slip out unnoticed and write her a letter instead.

"Good afternoon, Spike."

Now it was too late. She'd seen him.

"G-good morning, Princess," he stuttered. Realizing his mistake, he shook his head. "I-I mean, good afternoon. Heh heh..."

Celestia waved him over. "Is Twilight with you? I asked her to come see me."

Spike shuffled his feet. "Right. About that..."

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong, Spike?"

Spike looked up at the princess. "Twilight's unable to come to Canterlot right now. She left on important friendship business two weeks ago."

"Important friendship business?"

"She wouldn't tell me exactly what it entailed. All she told me was that Fluttershy was in danger, and she needed to help."

Celestia's brow furrowed. "You say this was two weeks ago?"

Spike nodded. "Around that, yes. She hasn't been back at the library since. Not even Applejack would tell me where she went."

Celestia stood up. "I could have sworn I gave Fluttershy the protection she needed. I sent a contingent of guards to protect her and her new animal friend. A hoo-man, if I remember correctly?"

Spike shook his head. "The only ponies that go to Fluttershy's cottage right now are Pinkie and Applejack. There aren't any guards stationed there."

Celestia scowled and started for the door. "Come with me, Spike. We're going to find out why my orders have been ignored."

The two went from one guard station to the next, descending the chain of command until they could find out where the orders went. At every step, the wording seemed to change, and this eventually lead to a change in meaning.

"My apologies, Princess," bowed Spirit Tracks, a lower-ranking guard. "I didn't mean to cause any harm. I was just following your orders." He opened a small file box that he carried with him. "I hold onto them for three months, just in case I forget what I'm supposed to be doing. Here we are." He pulled out a small scroll and held it out in front of him. Spike took it and read it aloud.

"By order of Princess Celestia, the bearer of this document is authorized and obligated to take into custody Fluttershy of Ponyville and her human compatriot. The duo can be found at... yadda yadda... They are to be considered a danger to those around them. Proceed with caution."

"Those are the orders I received," nodded Spirit. "So I gathered up a few other guards and we set out to Ponyville to collect them. We took them to the dungeon."

Celestia nodded. "I can't fault you for following your orders, but these are not the ones I issued. Are they still in the dungeon?"

Spirit shook his head. "Some guards from Belicos came by and had them extradited."

"That explains it," nodded Celestia. "That's why Twilight said they were in danger. She must have gone after them."

"The odd thing was, none of the guards that took her had a Belican accent, and their airship was Coursian in design. I even asked my cousin in the Court of Raids how long it would be until we saw her return, and he said that they never sent for her. I don't think they ever went to Belicos."

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "A jailbreak?"

"That does explain a little bit," added Spike. "After all, just before Twilight left, she sent me to the royal archives to do research for her, and it only lightly touched on Belicos."

Celestia turned back to Spike. "What did she have you researching?"

"Some civilization before Equestria's existence. Belfan, it was called. I could only find so much."

Celestia brought her hoof up to her chin. "I've heard that name before." She puzzled for a few moments before coming to a conclusion. "If Twilight had you looking into this, then it must be important. Perhaps it will even help us find her."

Spike's eyes lit up. "Do you think so?"

Celestia nodded and smiled. "Come, Spike. We have research to do."

---

Princess Luna closed her eyes and slipped into the world of dreams. On most nights, she was tasked with keeping the dreams of the foals safe from nightmares. Tonight, she had a different goal in mind. Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy had gone missing, along with their human friend. She didn't know how to locate a human, nor if she was even capable of stepping into its dreams, but if she could find the two mares, she could ask them where they were.

She sifted through the countless dreams of her subjects, removing them from her focus if they didn't show Twilight or Fluttershy. After hours of searching, she found just a sliver of Twilight. She rushed to it, leaping to enter the dream, only to be tossed aside by some unknown force.

This was unheard of. There was no dream Luna couldn't enter. She tried again, only to be tossed aside. She knew Twilight was in there, she just had to go inside. After her fifth attempt, she found herself blocked not by an invisible wall, but a very visible young colt. He had a long, raggedly cut, oily mane.

"Stand aside, child," bellowed Luna. "I must enter this dream."

"No," growled the colt. "I can't let you in. Nopony is allowed in."

Luna puffed out her chest. "I am the princess of the night! I watch over the dreams of all of Equestria, and sometimes beyond. I am their protector, and you are to let me in at once!"

The colt stood up on his hind legs. An extra pair of legs capped with claws emerged from his middle. His eyes glowed red, and his teeth grew long and sharp. "I find that very hard to believe. If you were watching over and protecting dreams, I never would have existed! I spent my life in agonizing, crippling fear! If you were around to protect us, you failed!"

Luna's horn began to glow. "I offer my apologies to you. I may have failed you, but if you continue to stand in my way, more ponies will be in greater danger! Let me protect them!"

"Nopony is allowed inside!" shouted the colt, bursting with energy and growing into a six-legged nightmare beast. "I am Siegfried, ruler of nightmares! If you refuse to leave in peace, then I must awaken you!"

Siegfried's claws ripped through the air, only barely missing Luna. She let loose her spell, which was powerful enough to knock him off balance. She readied her second spell, but her head was pulled to the side by a third dreamwalker, this one a fully grown, admittedly attractive stallion.

"Nopony is allowed inside!" he yelled, echoing Siegfried's words. "If anypony goes in there, my life is forfeit!"

Before Luna could ask him what he meant, Siegfried's claws pierced through her body, waking her so quickly that she was thrown out of her bed and onto the castle floor. She picked herself up and looked herself over. She found only minimal damage, but what hurt most of all was her pride. Never before had she been bested on her own field, and she wasn't going to give up just yet. If Twilight and Fluttershy were in danger, she'd fight a thousand battles to return them to safety.

Author's Note:

This is the end of Part One. When I write Part Two, I will link it here, as well as in the description.

I'll be taking a break on this story for a bit, let the fire die down. Between the first and second parts, there's a side project planned.

I hope you've enjoyed thus far, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy in the future.