One Way

by jroddie

63: Hello Blue Monday

Chapter 63

I lunged up. I gasped, gulping air into lungs that weren’t there a second ago. I opened eyes that I didn’t have and looked up at the sky that wasn’t there. I felt the ground under me that didn’t exist a moment ago. I looked around. I felt overwhelmed by the extreme visual stimulus after being dead for so long. Was this some kind of memory? It couldn’t be. Everything was far too detailed compared to the memories. It was like someone turned up the volume on my senses. I inhaled through my nose, smelling all kinds of different smells. Pine needles, dirt, the smell of summer heat. I sniffed again, fascinated. I could hear everything too. Animals scurrying away, wind blowing through the trees. I looked around. I was in a forest, with scattered deciduous and evergreens all around me. I was about to look at the ground when I saw it.

Actually, it was when I saw me.

“Holy shit.” I whispered. It was my body. It was a pure, snow white. I was sitting in a puddle of long black hair. My legs didn’t have feet. They had hooves. I couldn’t believe it. I put my arms in front of my face. They were a perfect white, capped with hard hooves. I stared at them in awe. It was such a shock I couldn’t even believe it. I had to be sure. I twisted my body so my bottom half was lying on my side. I looked down at my flank. There was an ornate, calligraphic five there in a perfect inky black. I grinned to myself. I shot up to my hooves and looked around me. I was back. Back home. I rushed up to the nearest tree and punched it, making the forest quake and the leaves all around shake. With a huge snap, it splintered and cracked in half. The decapitated half of the tree fell over with a huge thud, its branches snapping down through the canopy. I looked back to the decimated tree for a minute. The stump sat in the ground, just a bunch of splinters sticking out of the ground. The trunk was a few feet opposite me, lying there in the forest like it was there the whole time. I heard something behind me. I turned quickly, looking at the Doctor sitting in front of the Tardis, wings spread and clapping. It sounded like two wooden bricks getting slammed together. I turned to face him fully, flicking my tail in annoyance. I had to quickly look back at it to see what it looked like.

“Well done, Edwin.” The Doctor said, dropping his hooves to place them on the ground. I frowned.

“You knew. You knew the whole time.” I said, filling my voice with venom. I could feel the anger rush through my insanely fast, making my legs wobble with rage. The reaction instantly confused me, and I tried to calm myself down. The Doctor shrugged and smiled weakly.

“I sure did. You’ve got me in a corner there.” The Doctor admitted. I thought about it for a while.

“Is there something that you’re keeping from me now?” I asked.

“You know that I can’t tell you about the future.” The Doctor said, somber. I didn’t even pause. My brain was running through all of the different ways that I could get an answer out of him.

“Are you sure? There wasn’t ever one time that you told someone about their future?” I tried to trip him up. The Doctor shook his head.

“Not once.” He said, absolute in his resolve. I thought about it for a moment.

“Fine. If you won’t help me then I’ll just go find out myself.” I spat back. I turned and walked away from him.

“Edwin! Wait, just one thing.” The Doctor said. I paused and turned behind me. The Doctor looked slightly sad. “Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end. That’s all I can tell you.” The Doctor said after a moment. I mulled it over for a second.

“Thanks, Doctor.” I replied, running off into the forest.

I forgot all of the things I could do. I could fly. I could run so very fast. I could see everything. I leapt through the trees, bounding off of branches and soaring through the forest. I leapt straight up, rocketing through the trees and breaching the canopy of trees. I watched all of the bare expanse, enraptured with the green leafy trees under me. I could see the faraway mountains and see some distant cliffs. With my sharp vision, I saw the beautiful fortress of Canterlot in the distance.

Canterlot.

Luna!

I forgot what it was like. Soaring through the air with nothing but determination holding you up. I tried to figure out how far away I was from Canterlot. I was looking at Canterlot at an angle of about three degrees. I knew Canterlot was about fifteen hundred feet off of the ground. My mind assembled the equation and presented the answer to me before I realized it was a math problem. It really shocked me. But I pushed it aside and flew even faster to get to Canterlot. The wind battered my body, trying to keep me from going faster. I pushed on, straining against the air in front of me. It finally stopped, letting go with an audible snap. I could feel the air pressing down on me for a moment, nearly crushing me, but finally letting go and letting me rocket forward. The pressure behind me was almost pushing me forward, and the roaring in my ears blocked out everything else. In almost no time at all, I was rushing up the steep crag of Canterlot, rapidly approaching the castle. I ducked and dove through spires, reaching higher and higher. I finally reached the castle walls. I set myself down on the ground and leapt up to the roof of the wall. I sprinted, going further into the castle. I navigated my way until I found myself on a roof overlooking the courtyard. I looked down to see a group of ponies gathered around some kind of long box. Princess Celestia and Luna were sitting close to the box, with a bunch of other ponies. Armored guards were peppered all throughout the courtyard. I looked closely at the scene. Celestia looked normal, but Luna, next to her, was shaking. I recognized her starry mane and darker navy coat. She was shaking. I realized that she was sobbing, with a hoof up to her face. I realized that that box was my casket. There was a picture of me on top of the casket, along with a bundle of roses. I was at my own funeral. It was kinda weird to see it. I was about to interrupt the scene when I heard a rumble behind me. I looked back and saw a huge black storm cloud flying my way. It was going to be right on me in a second. It was really loud, and people down in the courtyard heard it. I could hear the mumbling.

Pegasi cleared the sky-

Shame that she has to be reminded-

What’s that?

By this time, almost everyone decided to go look up at the rapidly approaching storm. Pointing and whispering were the norm, but I could only look at Luna. Somepony finally managed to tap on her shoulder. Luna looked at the pony, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. The pony pointed up at me. I recognized him. It was Antony, dressed up in a sharp black suit and tie. Luna turned and looked up at me. She looked at me for a moment, unblinking. I could feel the bitter happiness well up in me, and I tried not to cry. We were finally together.

The storm cloud decided at that moment to come right above Canterlot and dump all of its rain. It was pouring down, drenching everypony there. Antony summoned a black umbrella and held it over Luna, shielding her from the rain. Magical umbrellas popped up everywhere in the crowd, hovering over ponies. Luna’s umbrella blocked her view of me. She pushed it out of the way with a hoof, covering herself with rain in the process. She looked up at me, not believing what she saw. I smiled and walked to the edge of the roof and hopped off, letting myself float down gently to the courtyard. My hooves splashed down in the mud. I walked over to Luna, not taking my eyes off of her. I walked through the confused ponies that parted like water over a rock as I walked past. I walked right up to Luna. We didn’t say anything. We just stared at each other. I finally had to break the silence.

“I’m home.” I said. Luna suppressed a giggle, but then the tears started flowing.

“I missed you so-” She started, but a sob cut her off. She rushed up to me and flung her muddy forelegs around my neck, squeezing me. She started to cry in earnest now, and I reached a hoof up to hold her.

“It’s alright, Luna. I’m back.” I whispered into her ear. She shook, sobbing into my shoulder. I looked past her to see Celestia, pointedly not looking at me. She was looking down at her hooves. “Psst!” I said, looking at her. She turned an eye to look at me, but she quickly looked away. I understood. This must be before Othello came back. I patted Luna’s back. She pulled away from me, keeping a hold on my neck. She pressed her muzzle against mine.

“Thank you.” She whispered. I smiled.

“I couldn’t stay away.” I whispered back. She laughed. She let her hooves drop from my neck. She kissed me on the nose. I smiled even wider, if that was at all possible.

“Let’s go inside. Inclement weather.” She said, her ethereal mane flowing. I nodded.

“Let’s.” I said, and followed Luna inside.

We were sitting in her room. I was huddled in front of a fireplace, warming my hooves up. Luna was right beside me, holding me with one of her wings. She was nuzzling up against my shoulder. I couldn’t actually enjoy her presence because the worries about Angelics and Equestria came back to me. A scowl was set into my face that I couldn’t get rid of.

“What happened while I was dead?” I asked Luna. She sighed, pulling away from my shoulder.

“Oh please, Edwin. We don’t have to start that now. Let’s wait until the morning.” Luna said. It was tempting. I turned to Luna and looked down at her. She was looking back up to me with her bright teal eyes. My scowl relaxed into a normal face. I looked away from her to the window outside.

“I wish I could, Luna. I really do. But the sooner this is over the sooner we can have a normal life.” I told her. She frowned.

“Edwin, I just buried you. I thought I would never ever see you again. It hurt me. Let me have you to myself, at least for one day.” Luna pleaded with me. I frowned, turning back to the fire. The logs popped and crackled in the hearth. The flames danced through the logs, leaping up into the chimney. I watched it for a while.

“I love you, Luna.” I said. Luna hummed.

“Love you too, Ed.” She said. I leaned into her and we watched the fire. The rain pattered against the window.

“Luna?”

“Hm?”

“Do you still have that book?”

“No.” She said immediately. I looked down at her

“You don’t even know what I’m talking about.” I accused.

“You’re right” She admitted, grinning.

“The why would you...” I trailed off. Luna nuzzled up to me a little bit

“I’m not sharing you with anypony. Especially not a book.” She said. I smiled. We both turned and looked at the fire.

I woke up to a banging at the door. I opened my eyes, but Luna was covering me with one of her wings. I crawled out from under it and walked over to the door. The entire room had a blue cast to it, which was most likely the moonlight through the window. I eyed the fire. It was dead. I turned away from it to look at the door. I pushed it open with a snout. Princess Celestia was standing outside the door, looking groggy. My eyes widened.

“I request your presence, Captain Shell. Are you busy?” She asked. I bit my lip and turned back to Luna. She was still sleeping in front of the fireplace, wing spread over the rug. I turned back to the princess that was awake.

“Am I allowed to say-”

“No.” She cut me off.

“I’m not busy at all, Princess.” I said, trying to mask my disappointment.

“Come on out.” She said. I sighed and opened the door a little bit to sneak out. I gave one last glance to Luna before slipping out of the door. I pressed the door closed with a faint click before turning to the Princess.

“I know that you’re content to just spend the weekend locked up with my sister, but there are things that you need to attend to. Your duties as a Royal Guard captain have been taken up by Lieutenant Bladesinger at my request. Asperx doesn’t quite have the energy for such a strenuous position, so I need you to get back to your duty as a guard as soon as possible.”

“I’m sorry?” I asked, not understanding.

“You need to go to a Royal Guards meeting that’s happening right now. Now I’ll expect you to get armored and presentable in ten minutes, and then you’ll be escorting me to-” The Princess explained, but I cut her off.

“I’m sorry, I can’t.” I said. The Princess’ only visible eye bulged.

“I beg your pardon?” She said, visibly taken aback.

“I promised Luna that I wouldn’t leave her today. Frankly, I might not be available until day after next.”

“Edwin, I am ordering you to put on your armor and go to the meeting.” She said, her droopy eye filled with determination. She thought that she wheedled her way into winning this war of wills, but I had something up my sleeve. I thought for a moment of the correct verbiage that I would need.

“You know what? Fine. You win. Princess, I formally resign my position and all honors due to a Captain in Their Majesties Royal Equestrian Guard Corps.” I said, feeling immense satisfaction. Princess Celestia’s mouth dropped open.

“You can’t!” She whispered, her tone grave. I smiled.

“I just did. Excuse me, your Majesty, but meeting Divinity in the flesh is quite the exhausting experience for this lowly common pony. Do excuse me, m’lady.” I said, mocking a curtsy with my front legs. I turned around and opened the door, closing it firmly behind me. I sneaked over to Luna, trying not to wake her up. I crawled under her wing and tucked myself in tight. Luna stirred.

“Ed...” She moaned, half asleep.

“What is it?” I asked quietly

“Whuzzat?” She mumbled. I rolled over and looked right at her. Her eyes were barely open, and her mane was completely still.

“Your sister. She hates me.”

“I know.” She said, giving me a kiss on the tip of my nose. I smiled.

“Love you, Luna.

“Love you too, Ed.”

It was a very good day.

Comments

[Ghost-091]

...I don't know why, but this chapter felt...off.

EDIT: wow, I got first? Huh, don't see what's so great about it...

[Sonicbrony66]

BUENO.

[Fugly Duckling]

1887684 derpyhoovesnews.com/albums/displayimage.php?pid=235

[bordafan]

“Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end. That’s all I can tell you.”
I waited for this sentence for months. Seeing it in such a beautiful chapter was quite exceptional.
Looks like it's finally time for Edwin to set things right.