Chapter 22: Stroll With The Moon.
“Uhm,” I found myself speechless before Luna; night embodied with all the colors that entailed. It made me question if I was still awake. I had fallen asleep at some point, only to be awoken by an alicorn in the middle of the night stating my name and asking me to come into the stars with her.
It certainly felt a lot more like a dream than reality. I suppose that could be said about the majority of recent events for me.
“Ok?”
“Glorious.” she stated with heavy emphasis, her horn lighting up with powerful magic. “Then let us go with haste; I have much to discuss with thee.”
That gut-sickeningly familiar tingling hit me as I was enshrouded in a bright blue aura, slowly lifting me off the ground. Shadows licked the corners of my vision, threatening to consume it as a whole and drag me into the abyss of the past.
“NO!” I shouted as I grit my teeth, trying to force my body back to the ground.
The magic vanished in an instant; though her horn remained lit. A spike of relief hit me as soon as my feet hit the tiles, sharply followed by a block of dread as I realized I’d just yelled at one of the most powerful things on the planet.
“I’m sorry. I just,” I adjusted my sleeves, then pressed my arms tightly against my sides. “Hate being levitated.”
She raised her chin, peering down at me with a pause of silence. Then hopped off the railing, her magic concentrating itself on the tip of her horn until it compressed into a circle. “Very well. I have another spell that shall suffice.”
The circle detached itself from her horn, turning into a thick bubble that started floating towards me. An irrational fear swelled up in my chest, warning me to not let the danger bubble touch me. However, it was a tiny fear, and easily overshadowed by my naïve curiosity. I extended my arm, poking the bubble with my finger.
Instead of popping, it expanded; going from smaller than Angel to covering my entire body within an instant. It felt strangely solid under my feet, and against my hands as I pressed against the sides. With a little pressure, they broke through the other side; somehow without the entire bubble collapsing.
“Tis been quite a while since I have put someone in a bubble; if memory serves, it should allow thee to float in the sky with us.”
“Should?” I failed to keep the panic out of my voice as it broke. It was an extremely unnerving sensation to walk without actually moving; like the entire world moved around me every time I tried.
“If something goes wrong, I shall catch you.”
I approached the balcony; I peered over the railing and felt the chilly wind as I gandered upon Canterlot Night: practically a beacon with many of the buildings still shining with light, yet it didn’t make the moonlight seem any dimmer. Nor did the city appear any less active, with plenty of ponies still around. Actually, even more so than the day. I could see more pegasi flying around, much more rapidly and some at faster speeds than I could keep up with.
It was breathtaking. For a moment, I deeply wished I could fly.
“Without your magic, right?”
“If that is how th-” she stopped herself, eyes flickering with a hint of frustration. “You wish.”
“Mm,” I grunted, placing my hands on the railing as I leaned over. If I fell, Luna would catch me. Of course, she was a stranger that I had no reason to trust. The other pegasi might catch me, or they might also not be fast enough.
Maybe I’m overthinking it. What’s the worst that’ll happen? I’ll die again?
There was a nauseating sinking feeling in my chest at that thought that made me want to throw up.
“Ok.” I placed my hands on the railings, lifting myself forward as I tried to keep my eyes straight Despite the cold wind, I found myself surprisingly steady. Putting one foot over the edge, contrastingly solid thanks to the bubble. I held my breath as my other foot left, expecting to plummet.
Which was… somewhat what happened.
I did start falling, but only gradually. By placing pressure on the top of the bubble, it brought me back up. While uncomfortable, I could hold my arms above my head and keep it going in a relatively narrow path.
It wasn’t exactly ‘flying’, more like extremely slowed and controlled falling. Being held in the air and not dropping to my death while my hair was blown back by the refreshing breeze was close enough.
It was even freeing. It almost made me dread when I’d have to touch the ground again.
“Wonderful, is it not? I am sorry I can not give you wings so you may experience true aviation; such spells are designed with ponies in mind, so I could not say what would happen to you.”
“Hm.” The few books I’d read about magic, at least the ones I could understand, suggested the same. I think I’d actually read about the wing spell she was referring to, and it seemed like it might work on non-ponies. Not that I wanted to test it. “It’s very pretty up here.”
“Indeed. Among the many things that have changed in my absence, this is not one of them. The night is, in essence, eternal.” Luna hovered beside me with ease, only moving as I did. I had no doubt she could fly a lot faster if she truly wanted to.
“Absence?” I don’t recall any mention of Luna being absent in the books I read. Although, there’s about a millennia gap in the books where she’s not mentioned at all. I just chalked that up to very little happening in that time, but that wouldn’t explain Celestia still being talked about frequently. I think Fluttershy also mentioned that she was gone for a while, though I never asked where she actually went. “Did you go somewhere?”
“Yes,” she hung her head, holding a pained expression as she glanced up at the moon. All the sounds coming from the city dulled, muted by the gentle beats of her wings. “Somewhere very far away, nevertheless just as beautiful. So much has changed, maybe just as much has remained the same. Many of those who used to revere me have long since passed, and their generations of children have forgotten me like many. It is,” she paused, slowing down for a moment as her wings pulled inward. “Unsettling.”
“I,” It wasn’t hard to tell she was more bothered by it than she’d revealed; not that I should expect her to be open with a total stranger. Still, there was something about what she said that felt disturbingly familiar. It was never clear to me how much time had passed between my death and Frisk’s arrival, but long enough to where I had been forgotten by almost all but a handful. Toriel and Asgore rarely, if ever, spoke of me. Asriel had become nothing more than a husk with memories; maybe they were trying to forget me- the source of their strife. I’m sure, eventually, they would have succeeded.
“Think I understand a little.”
Her eyes narrowed, nostrils flaring as she scowled. “I deeply doubt that.” Luna glowered, the outside air getting noticeably colder. Her leer stabbed me like a sharpened blade, forcing me to choke on anything I wanted to say and hesitate to breathe.
The inside of the bubble suddenly felt like it had no space at all.
“We,” Luna sucked on her teeth, her expression calming as soon as she looked at me. “I am sorry; snapping at you was not our intention. Nigh with such a grave subject. It is a prepossessing night, and such tranquility should be followed with fitting dialogue.”
“What,” I tripped over my words, struggling just to keep my voice steady. The tips of my fingers poked out of the side, brushing against clouds and the cool night air. It was equally pleasant and terrifying. “Did you have in mind?”
“Your dreams.”
I froze, my arms dropping to my chest. The bubble began descending, though only by a few inches as I brought them back up just as quickly. The shaking made it hard to apply just the right amount of force to stay steady, but I managed.
Luna noticed, of course; raising an eyebrow at my sudden shift. “Are you alright?”
“Mhm,” I murmured, randomly focusing on two passersby on the street below us. If she’d really seen my dreams, then she knew everything about me before I came to Equestria: Mt. Ebott, Asriel, the resets. More than enough to hold nothing but scorn for me.
It gradually dawned on me how easy it would be for her to kill me. This bubble was made entirely out of her magic, just one flick of her horn, and I’d-
“I can not see into them.”
“Oh.” I exhaled. “Is that bad?”
“Truly? I do not know.” my heart skipped a beat as a wave of magic washed over her horn, shooting out at me and hitting the bubble. Once more, it expanded; spacing out with enough room to lay down if I liked. I also didn’t need to press my hands against the top to prevent it from sinking, as it started to do that itself. “I have always been able to enter the dreams of any who sleep, although rarely do those outside of ponies accept my help. I knew of you the moment you first closed your eyes, yet all of my efforts somehow proved more fruitless than the last with every attempt. No matter the various methods, each time I tried I always found myself somewhere else: a room devoid of all but shadows with no end.”
I was still trying to calm myself down as she explained, letting my arms rest as I kept walking in place. “And,” I rubbed my pendant, the void coming to mind at her description. “Did you want to ask me if I knew why?”
“No, I did not think you would know. There is, however, something familiar about the sensation I get about your dreams; something I intend to investigate when the mistress of time allows. Regardless,” she stopped flying, hovering in a spot right above the center of Canterlot. “I can tell what you wish to talk about; I see no point in gallivanting around the inevitable.”
My feet dragged against the bottom of the bubble, slowing down until it floated right in front of her. Luna turned to me, her face expressionless as she waited for me to speak. I glanced at the ponies of Canterlot, wondering what would happen if any of them noticed us. Would they stare at us? Ask one of the pegasi to fly up and try to hear what we’re talking about?
“You,” her eyes cautiously followed my hands, tensing up as I tried to find somewhere to put them that didn’t look as awkward as it felt. “Know what I did, right? Cadance too?”
She lowered her chin, eyebrows furrowing into a half scowl. “We do; Tia explained things to us prior to you coming here. I am certain she explained to you the agreement we came to.”
“Yes, but,” I scrunched my nose, gulping loud enough for her to hear. “Why are you being so lenient with me? I don’t understand.”
“A thousand years ago, I would not have been.” She hesitated to continue, her lip curling as she weighed her words. “I had attempted something much worse, and fortunately failed. My punishment was to be all but despised; horror stories taught to untold amounts of little ponies, sowing the seeds of terror that prove bountiful to this very day. Nevertheless, I was given a second chance: Offered my throne back, control over dreams once more, and those who defeated me have attempted friendship. If I judged you as many have judged me, then I’d have truly learned nothing.”
“Wait,” the pieces, with a little force, began to click together in my mind. “Are you Nightmare Moon?”
Luna visibly flinched, briefly baring her teeth before shaking her head. “I am not that anymore!” she snarled through a clenched jaw, holding her chin high as she stretched her neck. “Nor will I ever be again. The transgression I committed will pervert me for the rest of my days, but I will not be referred to as if I am not repenting every night.”
I tried to back away from her, only finding the wind blowing against the nape of my neck as I nearly fell right out of the bubble. My knees gave out, sitting on the bottom which luckily held out.
“Sorry,” I offered, unable to meet her hardened stare. “I didn’t know, until now.”
“The others did not tell you?”
I paused, trying to think of any time Nightmare Moon was mentioned outside the books I’d read, only to come short. “No.”
“Then, I apologize once more.” Luna said with a bow, failing to hide her light scowl. “Sincerely, this is not how I wanted things to go; I assured Celestia you would be given fair treatment.” She turned up to the night sky, eyes slowly scanning it as her lips gradually curled into a smile. “Twilight mentioned that you have an interest in my night sky; I would be happy to discuss this with you another time.”
“Uhm, ok.” I whispered, getting to my feet and trying not to think about how easy it would be to lose my balance. “Did Twilight mention anything else?”
“Many things. She often included you in her letters to Celestia, if only as a small update. Her interest for you was initially born out of curiosity, snowballing into concern the longer you stayed.” she grew still, pressing her lips together in a minor grimace. “You made friends with some of them, Kindness in particular. Fluttershy wanted to help you, but did not know how, and so asked Twilight to assist in any way she could. However,” she trailed off, half-lidded eyelids as she turned back to me.
“The Rock Farm.”
“Indeed. We agreed that, whatever happened there, did not make sense to anything before. My sister believes you did it because you truly thought it was the right thing. Often, her assumptions are correct. There are those in Ponyville whom care for you, many are also afraid of you; your caretaker has been experiencing nightmares since, regardless of my attempts at betterment.”
Fluttershy having nightmares was a punch to the gut I saw coming, nevertheless it settled in my stomach like spoiled food. “You’re helping her?”
“I am trying to. Tis not easy. What she witnessed is something no pony ever should, especially not one so aware of how valuable life can be.”
“Thank you.” I gripped the end of my shirt, twisting the fabric so it dug into my fingers. “Then, what, you’re giving me a chance because Twilight did? Because Fluttershy cares about me?”
“That is part of it, yes.” Luna narrowed her eyes at me, then widening like she recognized something. “You doubt that you deserve one; I can see it.”
“Can you blame me?” I asked with a sardonic chuckle. Awkwardly squeezing my shoulder where the scar was. “It wasn’t quick, you know. Not for all of them. Some of them suffered, and were left without their families ever knowing. I promised Fluttershy I’d stay near her, and then I lied to her face. All of their faces. S-so,” I placed my hand over my mouth, trying to ignore the tingling in my chest as my lips trembled. “Why?”
Luna listened patiently to my rant, her etched expression spoke nothing of the thoughts beneath. She glanced down at those beneath us, then back at the moon. “There is no answer I could give you, as I have yet to reach one myself. Until the end, I still attempted to overthrow my sister like a petulant child. I made no effort to improve, to fix my wrongdoings, or to even apologize until I was already defeated. Because Tia cared about me so deeply, I was accepted back: Every night still I wonder if that was truly the right thing to do. I hope, for both of our sakes, it was.”
I wanted to say some excuse, some counterpoint that made sense to me. Each time I came up with something, it died before I even opened my mouth. We stayed in silence, watching the ponies below go about their night. Well, I was at least.
“I believe that’s enough for tonight.” she broke the silence with an empty statement, turning back towards the castle that had seemed so far away. “There is much we have yet to discuss; I will make time for you every night if it can be done.”
The constellations Dark showed me were still there, most of them I didn’t know the story behind. Whatever I managed to get through of the books he lent me didn’t go into constellations, mostly just comets and a page or two about whoever named them. None of them carried the passion he did with every astronomy related word.
“Alright.” I shrugged, putting the tip of my finger against the bubble as it moved alongside her. Returning to the castle was much quicker than leaving it, making it to the balcony without a word spoken between us. With a flash of her horn, the bubble loudly popped and was gone. The ground was satisfyingly solid against my feet, and I actually moved when I tried to walk.
“There is one thing I should tell you before we depart.”
As she spoke, I entered my room, freezing as I turned to my bed. Laying on top was…me. Same clothes and tightly hugging one of the pillows. While I’d seen my own reflection before, this was surreal. I took a few steps forward, standing over myself. It was tempting to reach out and touch her- or me I guess- but I couldn’t bring myself to do so. Nagging doubt warned me that something would go wrong.
“As you can see, you didn’t really leave. Well, you did, but your body did not.”
“So, I’m dreaming?” As I asked, my body dissipated: My clothes and skin faded into a magic essence, leaving a white, translucent outline. I started resembling a sketch that hadn’t been filled yet, except for my bright red heart; the same color red as my eyes. It would beat every few seconds, though without the actual sensation of my heartbeat.
It was just like being in the void again.
“In a way. As I said before: I can not enter your dreams. I can take you out of your dreams. Without interrupting your rest, of course.” she explained as gestured to my body. “Jarring, I know. Do not fret, I have done this on numerous occasions. The moment you touch your body, you will awake whenever there is no fatigue left.”
I watched my lips move, murmuring something too quiet for me to hear. “Just wake me up next time, please.”
“Very well. Then I bid you farewell.”
With a dull exit compared to her entrance, Luna departed. Closing the balcony doors behind her and leaving me with myself. The me on the bed was still, steadily breathing, and I’d even say peaceful.
I couldn’t feel the temperature in the room anymore, or how the ground felt beneath me. In fact, I lacked any physical sensation at all. Somehow, I still felt a stickiness between my fingers that wouldn’t go away.
It was hard not to notice my hair had started growing out again. Not as long as when I came here, but it was reaching my neck. Should I cut again? Or let it get long? It would without a doubt start getting in my face, which was a problem I could solve by tying it up in a bun or something.
Whatever the case, that was an issue for future Chara. Right now, that wasn’t me.
With a single touch, a jolt went through my body, then a flicker of nothingness before finding myself staring up at the ceiling of the canopy. My arms still held the pillow as I lurched forward, coughing as I started to breathe again. It felt like no time had passed at all, sun rising in the blink of an eye as it shined through the windows. I spent far too long just sitting in my bed, staring at the balcony doors like I expected someone to enter at any moment.
“Hello? Chara?” one of the guards asked after knocking on my door. “Are you up yet? Princess Celestia asked us to check on you in the mornings, so we have to come in now if you are.”
I gripped my blankets, struggling to convince myself getting out of bed was worth it. As tantalizing as it would be to stay in bed for the entire day and do nothing but finish the books in my backpack, I had a feeling Celestia would strongly disapprove.
“Yes, I’m awake.”
“Great!”
Brash and Luster entered and immediately began searching: the drawers, cabinet, wardrobe, even under my bed. They weren’t thorough, as most of it was nothing more than a glance, but nothing went unchecked.
“Are you looking for something?” I asked as I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, placing the pillow back with the others and trying to put the blanket back how I first saw it.
“Nah, standard procedure. Well, kinda; things got wonky after the wedding, and all the royal guards had to undergo a new training regimen along with more procedures; one hundred and thirty seven pages wasn’t enough, apparently.” Brash offered with an exaggerated groan.
“Wedding? Why would a wedding cause that?”
“What? Don’t tell me you don’t know about what happened with the changelings?” Luster asked as she walked out of the second room, which was indeed a bathroom like I assumed.
“Changelings?” That part sounded familiar; more than just because of the myth my world had about them. Rainbow mentioned something about launching them out of Canterlot; I really should have asked them more about the stuff they’ve done as Elements of Harmony. “Vaguely?”
“Well, to sum it up: the changelings tried to invade Canterlot and got their flanks kicked. Our Captain Shining Armor was mind controlled, meaning we took all the blame and responsibility to toughen up security. Every room now has its own section for inventory, and we’re required to memorize everything in each of them and report anything new.”
“They can mind control?”
“The queen can, as far as we know. Changelings and ponies aren’t exactly on ‘how do you work’ terms. We know a few ways to spot one, and that’s about it.”
“Hm.” It’d been a long while since I’d heard about changelings in my village, even still every harrowing detail was stapled to my memory; fairies that replaced human children with their own, usually identified by odd behavior and acting a lot older than they were. Apparently, you could also look into the eyes of one and find your reflection had been flipped upside down.
It was one of the many tales told to keep us from leaving and venturing too far into the forest. Not that I was ever told such stories. More often, the other children believed I was them; changeling being the most common.
“And how would I know if someone was a changeling?”
“Uh,” Brash paused, thoughtfully furrowing her eyebrows as she pursed her lips. “Their eyes always show the world upside down, so they avoid eye contact, and usually keep their distance if they can. They also sometimes have trouble with names and are more forgetful than usual, assuming they just took over somepony’s place and didn’t learn everything about them they could. And,” she stretched her wings, tapping the tip of it against her chin. “There was something else, but I keep forgetting it. Luster, do you-”
“Foals.” Luster stated as she walked over. “If they’re young enough, foals can just know if somepony’s a changeling; they can feel it. Changelings will stay as far away from foals of any kind or age if they can.”
“Yeah! Thanks, Lust.”
“Mhm.”
A lot of that I already knew, which meant that they worked pretty much identically to the changelings from my world; if they were ever real.
“Welp, we’re done with our daily search; You’re free to brush your teeth or whatever your morning routine is. The Princess has requested you at least attend breakfast, which will be taking place in an hour. Afterwards, there’s nothing left on our side, so you can explore the castle if you want.”
“Only the castle, right?” I inquired as I grabbed my backpack, setting my second set of clothes on the bed. I saw a shower in the bathroom with a multi-colored towel rack, and that sounded exactly like what I needed today. “I can’t go out even for a little while?”
“Unfortunately not. You could ask The Princess, the worst she can say is no!”
“I’m sure there are a lot worse things she can say.” I muttered under my breath. Luster gave me a sideways glance, but didn’t say anything.
I couldn’t leave to check on Dark’s family like I said I would, so I’d have to find some other way to do so. First, I’d have to find their address, or even just an article or two about them would suffice. I didn’t even have their names, either. Dark must have forgotten to tell me, or just didn’t mention them because they share the same last name? Which was odd as ponies didn’t always have the same last names, family or not.
“Then can you take me to the library? Or the closest thing to it.”
“You mean The Royal Canterlot Archives? We could, the only problem is,” Brash and Luster exchanged a look. Without a word, Luster opened her saddlebag and pulled out the scroll, eyes darting back and forth as she skimmed it. “I’m not sure if we’re allowed to.”
“Well, it does say access to the entirety of the castle.” Luster remarked as she read the scroll.
“The Royal Canterlot Archives are a part of the castle.”
“Right, but it's also the most restricted part of the castle; only Princess Celestia’s students and anyone else she gives a pass to are allowed.”
“And the scroll says Chara has access to the entirety of the castle, which would include that.”
“Or,” Luster put the scroll back in with her magic, not breaking eye contact with Brash for a moment. “The Princess trusts us enough to know that doesn’t include The Archives, and didn’t feel like she needed to state it.”
“Then,” I draped my clothes over my arm, leaving my backpack on the edge of the bed. “What if I ask? I know next to nothing about where I’m allowed to go here aside from what’s on that scroll; so she wouldn’t expect me to understand that it’s restricted.”
“Hmmm,” Luster hummed thoughtfully, briefly looking at me and then Brash. “I suppose you could. However, you’d have to come up with where you heard it from.”
“What about just from a guard? That’d work, right?” Brash offered.”
“Yeah, except we’re the only guards she’s really been around. The Princess would be smart enough to deduce that.”
“Uhhhh,” Brash scratched her head with her wing. “What about from one of her students? Well, no. They don’t really walk around the halls other than Twilight.”
“Twilight?” I interrupted, trying to keep the last conversation we had buried in the farthest crevice of my mind. “We spent a lot of time together. I think she actually did mention The Royal Archives once or twice.”
“Wait, you know Twilight?” Brash asked as she gestured to me with her other wing. “Twilight, The Element of Magic who’s saved Equestria at least twice now? And you’re her friend?”
“I,” I froze, biting the inside of my cheek as I stood in front of the bathroom door. “Don’t think we’re friends; not anymore. But I do know her.”
“Huh.” Luster narrowed her eyes, moving her lips as she mumbled something to herself. “Alright, then. As long as Princess Celestia allows it, we will take you there after breakfast. If that’s all, we’ll leave you to your business.”
She began making her way to the door, followed by Brash who spread her wings and hovered her way out instead of walking. “Have a nice shower!”
Like that, I was alone. The inside of the bathroom was much bigger than Fluttershy’s; assorted with a rack of towels colored every shade of the rainbow, and then some. Along with a toilet with a cover for the lid that resembled a carpet.
As I undressed, I hesitated to take off the bandage around my wrist; of course, I knew I had to change it. There was a similar first aid kit in the cabinet above the sink, so it should be relatively easy. Yet my breathing gradually became more uneasy as I placed my hand on the bandage.
Eventually, I grit my teeth and slowly began pulling it off; flinching more from how it had healed than the actual pain. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, fortunately. Having just started scabbing over, not green or yellow meaning it wasn’t infected or anything. Soon enough, it’d grow into a scar indistinguishable from the ones on my back and shoulder.
Something about that thought filled me with a sickening chill.
_____________________
The shower ended up much shorter than I expected; I found that the longer I was in there, the more I dreaded what will happen when I get out. The clothes Rarity made for me, as I guessed, fit me perfectly. I put the rest of them in my backpack to be cleaned whenever I found a way to, the castle had to have some way to clean them.
This time, there was no Cadance at the table. Only Celestia, who held the same gentle smile as last time. Instead of another pumpkin roll, there were pancakes; decorated with various fruits and berries to resemble a smiling face, with whipped cream as the hair and sliced strawberries as the little ears.
Quite frankly, it was adorable.
I couldn’t bring myself to glance away from it, knowing her patient eyes were watching me-even if she didn’t show it. My hands remained relatively steady as I cut into the pancake, which was extremely soft and warm.
“Is there,” I swallowed, tasting dark chocolate amidst the doughiness. “Chocolate in these?”
“Indeed. I was speaking with the head chief earlier about recipes, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that chocolate pancakes are something she was more than happy to make. Do you like them?”
“They’re good. Just,” There were more pancakes in the center, much more than I could eat even at my hungriest. “You don’t have to include chocolate in everything I eat.”
“Is that right?” she raised her chin, eyes widening so slightly I barely noticed. “Why so? Wouldn’t you enjoy having one of your favorite things for every meal?”
“Once in a while, sure. If I have it all the time though, I won’t like it that much anymore.” The same thing happened when Toriel first introduced me to sour candy; I ate it until it burned my tongue. Now the thought of even one piece of it makes my stomach churn.
“I see.” she took a silent sip of her tea, not even having touched her pancakes yet. “Very well. However, if you’d like some chocolate, or anything at all, simply ask.”
“Actually,” I placed the fork back on the table, gripping the ends of the chair. “There is something I’d like to ask for.”
“Oh?” Celestia leaned forward, casually lifting a pancake and nonchalantly taking a bit out of it. “Go on.”
“May I,” I gulped, rubbing my hand down my pant leg and pressing it on my knee to keep it from bouncing. “Go to The Royal Archives?”
“Hm,” she half-grimaced, rapping her fingers against the table. “How did you hear about that, and what exactly do you intend to do? The kind of knowledge stored there could easily be put to harm; I’m sure you understand why I am tentative to allow someone in your situation access to the same resources I do for my gifted students.”
Her voice hardened, losing that light tone it often carried. Despite how warm the room was, a cold sweat went down my back at just the tightening of her lips.
“I heard it from Twilight, she mentioned it a couple of times about how it had way more detailed books than Golden Oak. And I’d,” what do I tell her? Lying wasn’t an option, she’d see right through it. I couldn’t even entirely say why I wanted to have access to it other than- “just like to read in my free time.”
Celestia peered at me, the silence getting heavier with every passing second. “Very well; of course, under the condition that Luster and Brash be watching you and provide me with a list of everything you read. I assure you, they will not appreciate the extra work. Oh, before it slips my mind,”
A wave of golden aura washed over me, though it wasn’t the kind that tried to lift me or hold me down. In its place was a tingling numbness that spread, taking with it the dull pain in my muscles that I’d more or less learned to ignore. Converging at my chest; causing my pendant to glow in a flicker of magic.
“There. I intended to fix your Manik system yesterday. However, we got sidetracked and I forgot. For that, I apologize. While I cannot say what the symptoms of that may have been for you, they should be gone now.”
“You,” I lowered my shirt around my shoulder, finding that while the scar was still there, it had been noticeably healed. Even my limbs didn’t feel stiff to move, and the pain in my back was completely gone. “Healed me? Just like that?”
“Certainly. Was there a reason I shouldn’t have?”
“I’m a conjurer. The only thing keeping me from using magic again was that it was broken. Now, if I wanted to,” I clenched my hands, trying to keep the picture of that red knife as far in the back of my mind as I could. “I could use it and attack you right now; why would you trust me with that?”
“Simple; because I know you won’t. For example; If I so willed it, I could harness the power of the very sun and heat up this room to the point where everything would melt like butter on a pan.” she took a breath to sip her tea, expression unchanging aside from a very brief closing of her eyes. “Regardless of what I could do, it does not affect what I will do. Just as you believe I will not do such a thing, I have confidence you will not attack me.”
“Oh,” there was a matter of factness to every word she spoke that made it hard to deny. Whether or not I agreed, she had complete conviction that made it hard to even utter a word of argument. “Then, thank you.”
“No need for gratitude. You are my guest for the time being, hospitality is my obligation.”
It didn’t take me long to finish one pancake, or to start on the second one. They were deceptively filling despite how thin they appeared; the glass of chocolate milk didn’t help either. Celestia had no such issue, scarfing down half the stock without a crumb wasted. It shouldn’t have shocked me with them being generally larger than me; but just how much so was still startling.
“Do you have any plans for me today?”
She tapped a napkin against her mouth, pouring more tea into her cup. “Originally, I wanted to take you with me to my cellar and show you something. However, Cadance and I spoke about what happened before and she expressed how much it had bothered her. Unfortunately, she felt that my presence would make things needlessly complicated. So I would ask you to please go talk to her in the gardens; the guards will know where that is.”
“Why does she want to talk to me?” I still didn’t understand why she reacted the way she did, only that she seemed extremely bothered by my just being there.
“From what I understand, there is a reason she responded the way she did to you; although she has no control over it. My niece wanted to apologize and explain it to you.”
“Hm,” I got to my feet, trying to ignore how weak my legs still were. In all honesty, I didn’t want to see Cadance again. Her reaction to me still stuck out in my mind, and it wasn’t something I wanted to see again “And if I said no?” I asked with a stutter.
Just for a moment, Celestia scowled at me; that signature smile faded, her cup being held with her magic in front of her. “I’d prefer you didn’t.”
I couldn’t breathe, almost afraid to. I nearly collapsed back into the chair, forcing myself to turn around and drop my head. She said nothing as I stood there and just tried to inhale and exhale, taking steps towards the door. “Alright.”
“One last thing, Chara.” I heard her stand up, lifting the rest of the pancakes and anything else left on the table with little effort. “I’m well aware what kind of wound lies under that bandage you have been poorly hiding; We will speak about this matter at another time. If you truly wish to prevent others from knowing about it, then I would suggest longer sleeves or gloves.”
“...ok.”
There was nothing I could have said to that, not without my voice breaking and every word being meek to the point of inaudible. I told the guards just to take me to the garden, remaining as quiet as I could be with my eyes glued to the floor. Only able to follow them by watching their hooves.
I couldn’t help but keep fidgeting with my sleeves, trying to make sure the bandage was completely covered. Was Celestia the only one that noticed? Did Luna or even one of the guards see it and just not say anything? Did any of the others notice in Ponyville? I wore a considerably larger bandage; they might have just chalked it up to something the diamond dogs did to me.
I rubbed my hands against my eyes, letting out a loud sigh. It was dumb to worry about it now, especially with Twilight being aware of it and likely telling the others sometime after I left. Just like everything else I can’t stop thinking about, there’s nothing I could do.
Maybe I really should have just stayed in bed.
Stats
Page generated in 0.02 seconds
Total duration
673 users online
735,238 hits today, 2,244,100 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
11355232
A lot of the characterization is spread throughout the story.
11355236
I'm only on chapter 2 but I'm going to continue reading this is an interesting concept. But it seems like Chara either is misremembering things or doesn't have full contacts from what's going on. Because it sounds like she was being pulled out the genocide root but she also made mentions of the good end route as well. Because like I mentioned before we have no idea she even exists outside of what people have told us if we do not take the genocide route. But she also made reference to tricking Chris which is odd because she purely said you will not be able to continue the game if you don't choose being bonded with her. But I guess then you can argue mechanics versus story. Because the second attack that killed Sam's was not done by us but her.
But that doesn't matter now this is a good story and I am going to be reading the rest
I would like to warn the Author not to over do the constant terror. Chara is in real danger of being a one dimensional character. She is becoming flat.
Also when you write stories, you have to have a ebb and flow. Everyone knows that, but they don't really know what that means. Stories have to move like a tide. You have to have high points and you have to have low points. You cant have a horror movie that is all tension. You have to balance the tension with scenes of lighter moments, or you either burn out your readers, or they become numb to the tension and those scenes loose the punch you intended them to have. In the last few chapters, you've basically held Caras head constantly under the water. There are no lighter moments that allow the reader to relax or decompress. There are no moments that allow Cara to shine, or to remind the reader why we should like Chara in the first place. Next chapter you intend to have her meet Cadence which implies another looong and painful beating. Without the lighter moments, the story is going to stop being fun to read.
Monk
“On her doorstep was Twilight Sparkle. While Derpy deeply respected the mare, like most in Ponyville, they wished she'd either switch to decaf, or start hitting the harder stuff.” -Dan_s Comments
11331476
You're forgetting that Cadence is an empath. I'm not certain what that means exactly when you're talking about what she is picking up about Cara. She is a very morose character and for good reason. She is also basically dead, if I am understanding things right. I also understand that she may be a demon. So it could be a few things that she is picking up on. There is also the possibility that she isn't picking up anything at all, if Cara is technically dead.
But then, I know very little about the actual game.
Monk
“To say that Twilight Sparkle went bugfuck would be like saying the Incredible Hulk had some mild anger management issues.” -DustTraveller
11355398
you are absolutely correct with this. I need to work on implementing more lighthearted stuff, though I can't say I'm particularly good at it. I'm glad you cared enough to warn me, at least I'm doing something right.
Man I hope to see more soon
11359328
I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. I write as much as college allows.
11359377
Hey this is really good u should be proud of it not many undertale fanfic out there us the story is great love how you doing it
boobas
11366226
):<
11379084
Ah, welp now I know the event of timelines prior Chara's appearance, thanks