Asriel Dreemurr, Prince of the Night

by Rainbow Sparkle

Chapter 2

Author's Note:

Another chapter down, and going to try and keep working on these when I can~

It had been a full three minutes since the strange entity had vanished, leaving her to hold in her hoof a child of unknown species and origin. One whom, if she was to trust the words of the entity in question, shared a desire for a second chance and to redeem themselves for a past mistake.

Were it not for the fact she could very much feel the weight of the creature in her arms, light as they were, she thought she imagined the whole thing.

She was snapped out of her stupor when she felt the child shift a bit in her grip, followed by an exhausted groan. She glanced down at the creature, reminded now of what the strange entity had said.

Fusing of Souls and the trip here have left him drained… let’s see what it meant by that.

Even if she had missed over a thousand years of magical research and progress, Luna still had a veritable array of spells at her disposal. She settled on a basic diagnosis spell, figuring it would tell her enough to start.

And it did. But once more, she was taken by surprise.

All creatures in Equinica possessed magic in some shape or form, be it active or passive. Magic was innate to all life, intrinsic even.

But for most creatures, their bodies were made up of matter for the most part. At the furthest extremes, like herself and her Sister, their bodies were made up of equal parts matter and magic.

But this child… Unless her magic was failing her, this child was made up primarily of magic. Physical matter made up only about a tenth of his form. If they were to cease to exist, they might very well crumble to naught but dust!

And, judging by how low their magic reserves were, such a fate was a very real possibility!

Luna’s mind raced, endless questions forming in her mind. But she knew they had to wait. For now, she needed to act, and act fast!

As little as she knew about this creature, she did know what the simple answer to extreme magical fatigue or drain was. The infusion of magic from one creature to another. And it was something she could easily do, but she needed to be careful. Given the vast power and magical reserves she had, if she didn’t maintain enough control, the child’s own mana pool could get overwhelmed.

I have not done something like this in a long time. Not since the campaign against Sombra in the Frozen North. A part of her was worried, and wondered if she should not just take the child to the infirmary first. But…

I don’t know how long they can stay like this, nor do I know how they’d fare with a teleport spell in this weakened state. With that in mind, she brought her horn to his chest, where what little magic they had left was clinging to. After gathering a sufficient amount, she let it seep out of her horn and into the child's mana pool.

Luna did this a few more times, running the scan over them each time to see how she was doing. Their magic hadn’t tried to latch onto and suck a great deal more down, which was good. But the magic she had given seemed to have remained more centered around the core of their magic.

She was still worried about the child's condition, but she got the impression that her efforts had staved off the absolute worst. Which meant at the very least, she should be able to fly him to the infirmary.

“Wish you’d wake up enough to ride on my back…” Luna murmured aloud, shaking her head as she lifted off the ground with a flap of her wings. She felt the child shift a bit in her arms, not enough to fall loose, but noticeable. With a slight hum, she moved both her hooves a bit so she could cradle the child as she flew, ensuring that short of her taking a tumble, she wasn’t going to drop them.

“Hang on.” She whispered to the child. Whether they could hear her or not, or understand her mattered little as she took flight, soaring up and out of the cave that sheltered their private retreat before banking right and racing through the skies towards the Royal Palace.

Luna had only been free of her banishment for the better part of a month, but already she had made a point of memorizing the layout of the Palace, and much of the city of Canterlot beyond its walls. While she wasn’t as intimately familiar with both as she had been in their old palace, she knew where everything important was in the former, and large chunks of the latter.

Royal Infirmary is in the Eastern tower near the Palace Core. There should be somepony there who can help. And if not, well, somepony who’ll know who to go fetch.

It was a straight flight over the skies of Canterlot, and before long she was drifting through one of the large windows of the Infirmary. The lights in the ward were all off, as nopony was here being tended to. But light was coming from an office nearby, which Luna promptly beelined for after setting the child on one of the available beds.

This of course, earned a startled yelp from the Unicorn mare who was seated at the desk as Luna practically slammed the door open with her magic.

“P-Princess Luna!” The mare quickly rushed from behind the desk and bowed low. To her credit, she was only shaking a little bit in her presence. Normally, that would have bothered her, but at the moment, she had more pressing concerns.

“Pray forgive this sudden intrusion Dr…” Luna glanced at the name currently on the desk plaque, “Mendheart is it?” At the mare’s nod, she smiled.

“Good. I’ve got an emergency case of magical exhaustion from a young creature I’ve no knowledge of, and could use your assistance tending to them while I go rouse my Sister. Think you could do that?”

Dr. Mendheart blinked a few times, then gave a nervous nod of her head. “Y-Yes? I-I think I can manage that?”

Luna beamed at that and quickly strode out of the office, leading the still rather surprised Doctor over to the child. Dr. Mendheart blinked when she saw the child, whom Luna had laid on their back and was breathing exceptionally slowly.

“May I presume from your reaction you are not any more familiar with what this child is than I am?”

Dr. Mendheart nodded as she began running a number of medical spells over the child. She blinked again, shaking her head in bewilderment before giving a reply.

“You may presume correctly. I’ve never encountered a creature like this. Just where did you find them?”

“A strange entity appeared from nowhere and bequeathed their well being to me, then vanished.” Luna explained, figuring that with the strangeness of the situation, there was no point to keeping such from the doctor. “Which is at least half the reason I must inform my Sister.”

The only response that could really be given was a shocked look and a brief waggling of her jaw, but Dr. Mendheart quickly returned her attention to the child. “Well, you are right, this creature is suffering from magical exhaustion. Pretty bad case, I’ll need to rouse a few staff so I can ready a treatment for them that won’t make their condition worse.”

“How long will that take?” Luna asked with a frown, and Dr. Mendheart tapped a hoof to her chin.

“Half an hour at most? We’ve got the tools needed here, but I want some second opinions from some of my staff and it’ll be faster to set up with additional hooves. Most of the Infirmary staff have quarters nearby, so it shouldn’t take long.” She smiled as she looked at the Princess, whose attention was on the creature in the bed, his chest still slowly rising and falling.

“There’s usually a member of the guard patrolling nearby. I could send them to fetch Princess Celestia while you remain here to watch over the child.”

Luna nodded. “I would appreciate that. As strange as this all is… I would feel remiss if I did not stay by the child’s side, at least until their condition improved.”

Dr. Mendheart gave an understanding nod, then dashed out into the hall. Luna had to wince a bit when she heard a few shouts from the Mare and some rather loud rappings on nearby doors, but her attention quickly returned to the child now laying on the bed before her. Hesitantly, she trotted over to the side and sat down, gazing at the child as concern and a desire for answers raged in her mind.

Just what, and who are you? And what could have happened to a child for us to share a desire for a second chance?

Luna did not have to wait long for several more nurses and another doctor to come into the room, soon followed by Dr. Mendheart. Gently, they urged her back a bit as they all began casting various medical spells and talking amongst themselves. Luna was able to follow the conversation, at least to a point, but the general consensus she gleaned was that they would be able to stabilize the child’s magic so he could recover and, hopefully, awaken within a day.

She let out a sigh of relief at that news, just as the doors opened and her Sister strode in, a curious and worried look on her face.

Not one to waste time, Luna strode over and quickly explained everything to Celestia. The strange figure, his words, what he had looked like, and what she had felt coming off from his aura.

Celestia directed her gaze to the child for a moment, her brow furrowing. Her gaze lingered, and seemed to grow in intensity, enough so that Luna felt the need to ask,

“Sister? Is something wrong?”

She had to give Celestia a slight nudge, which caused her Sister to shake her head and turn her gaze to Luna.

“I… do not know. There is something strange about this child. Though, if what the entity said is true, perhaps what I sense is tied to that.”

Luna glanced at the child, and quirked an eyebrow up at Celestia’s words. “Are you using a spell to see something I cannot?” Her query stirred a soft nicker out of Celestia before she answered.

“No, it is just my intuition after all these years telling me there is much more to this child then meets the eye.” She smiled and gave Luna a nuzzle as she added, “Have no fear dear Sister, I do not think this child is something to cause us undue worry. And I share your concern for the child’s wellbeing.”

Luna couldn’t deny that. There was already a great deal she wanted to know from this child. Though getting the answers to such would have to wait til they had recovered.

“I can say though, without any doubt- that I have never met a creature like this.” Celestia remarked as she let her gaze drift back to the child, who was now getting the magical equivalent of an IV situated. “And as for the entity, I have no recollection of something like it.”

Luna watched as her Sister stretched and let out a small yawn, her wings fluttering. “But I can begin searching the Royal Archives tomorrow after a good night’s rest.”

“Finally realized you were more tired than you thought?”

Celestia simply shot Luna a bit of a glare, and stuck her tongue out when she was sure nopony else was looking. Luna nickered shortly before her eyes returned to the child on the bed as well.

“They’ll be alright. I’m sure of it.” Celestia said, giving a nuzzle before moving to depart. She paused though, and glanced back to Luna as she remarked,

“Why don’t you go fetch your books? No reason you can’t remain to watch over the child and continue your studies at the same time.”

Luna blinked, then smiled. Such would prove a pleasant distraction from her concern and curiosity alike. And she needed to make progress on such at any rate so she could have more time to spend with her Sister, and attend to the duties she longed to take on.

“That’s not a bad idea. I believe I shall.” Luna turned to Dr. Mendheart, who was now overseeing things as they seemed to be finishing up. “I will return shortly. Please take good care of the child until then.”

Dr. Mendheart gave a distracted nod, and Luna popped off to her quarters with a quick teleport. It took all of five minutes to gather up the books and scrolls her Sister had assigned, which she happily placed inside her personal saddlebags. Another minute later, she was back in the Infirmary, which now held only Dr. Mendheart, a Pegasus nurse, and the child.

“Their condition is already improving, and their body is happily taking to the magic we are feeding them.” Dr. Mendheart passed along to Luna as the Princess got herself situated right next to the strange child’s bed.

“We don’t know how long it’ll take for him to recover one hundred percent, given we’ve never seen a creature like him, but if he continues at this rate, he should be stable within a few hours.”

“Good. I’ll be here keeping an eye on him as well. Anything I should alert you for?” Luna asked, but Dr. Mendheart shook her head. The doctor had already cast a spell over them to let her know the instant his condition began to change drastically, and she was going to remain nearby in her office.

Luna gave an appreciative nod. “Thank you, Dr. Mendheart. You have my most sincere gratitude.”

The good doctor smiled pleasantly, giving a bow of her head before making for her office. The nurse likewise gave a bow, then turned and left the infirmary. Aside from a soft smile and an incline of her head however, Luna didn’t pay them much mind.

Instead, she leaned over the bed and gave a soft nuzzle to the child, his breathing now steady and deep.

“Do not fear young one. You are in good hooves.” Luna said with a gentle smile, before picking up one of the scrolls and unfurling it as her eyes began to quickly scan over the lines.

With luck, the child would awaken before it was time for her to turn in for the day.

-*-

The darkness had surrounded him, and every one of his senses had seemed to shut off. There was no way to tell if he was awake or dreaming. No means to know if he was floating, falling, laying on the ground, or if he even still had a physical form. He couldn’t tell if he had returned to being a flower, or if he was now just nothing but an echo of a spirit left in some strange state of limbo.

He was able to think, so that had to mean he was still existing. And he could remember what had happened before the darkness swallowed him up. A rush of energy, a sensation of being torn apart while also having every piece of him shoved together to fuse into a single whole…

But now, there was simply… nothing.

No… there can’t be nothing. Asriel thought to himself as he once again felt a familiar sensation deep within his very being. Even now, after all he had dealt with, the DETERMINATION that coursed through him would deny whatever this was, would scream in defiance at this emptiness surrounding him.

As if in answer to that, Asriel felt something. It was brief, and almost feather-like, but he could feel something. A touch, but then the emptiness returned. He called out, reached out with all that he had left of himself, and again, the young Prince felt something.

A cool breeze, one that brought with it a gleam of silvery light up above that bathed him in a soft warmth. An object was now visible to him in this endless void of nothingness, round and glowing brightly with dimmer spots here and there across its surface.

That’s not the sun, I… I remember what the sun felt like when I… When I took Chara up to the surface. The memory of that day briefly derailed his attempt to discern what the object could be, as phantom feelings of pain rippled through his body and a long faded ring echoed through his ears.

Shaking his head, he pushed that memory aside and focused on the object. It was in the sky, its light was bright and soothing, and it gave off a cool feeling.

The Moon. That’s what it is. I remember Chara telling me about it. And reading it in a few of those astronomy books Alphys had recovered.

Did that mean he was on the surface? He was pretty sure there wasn’t anywhere on the surface that resembled an empty void. Was this then a dream of some kind, or a place between the waking world and dreamland?

Asriel wasn’t sure, but he felt more of that gentle coolness seeping into him, and following in its wake was a warmth that felt familiar and yet different. He couldn’t quite place it, but didn’t have long to ponder it as he felt his paws settle on something.

Were it not for the strange emptiness of this place and the uncertainty of whether he was conscious or asleep, he might have latched onto the fact he could feel his paws and ears. As it was, what had his focus now was a soft tugging sensation that was coming from the moon high above. It almost felt like the moon was calling out to him, enticing him to come closer.

The idea of running towards the moon seemed a bit crazy at first thought. But he could feel the DETERMINATION in him urging him towards it. And as its gentle light shone down upon him, he could almost swear he saw a curving path leading up towards it.

What do I have to lose? Asriel found himself thinking as he took a one step forward. The instant he did, he swayed about and nearly stumbled back a few steps. Only his DETERMINATION ensured that his foot simply returned to where it had been but a moment prior.

I feel, so tired. And drained. Just from trying a single step? Was it really worth it to try going forward if just a single step produced that kind of result?

Asriel glanced about the strange emptiness he stood in. Aside from the shimmering moon and the barely there path, there was nothing else about. He took a moment to gaze deep into the empty black void behind him, and hesitantly took a step in that direction.

He didn’t sway, and no feeling of exhaustion or anything else followed it. But there was a different, ominous feeling that was all too familiar to him, and he felt his being tremble as the DETERMINATION within grew brighter.

All that lies that way is oblivion. He knew that in the depths of his being. His past brushes with death easily assured him of such.

Two paths to tread. One would be hard to traverse, but somehow he knew it held what had been offered to him when he accepted that strange figure’s deal. A second chance. The opportunity to be himself, to be better than he had been for so long. The other? It would be easy to traverse it, but there would be no going back.

Without the DETERMINATION inside of him, he honestly wasn’t sure what choice he might have made. But then again, if it weren’t for the DETERMINATION, would he even be here to make such a choice at all?

I’ve come this far. Determination or no, I’ve got a second chance. I’m not going to let that go.

With a confident nod, he turned back towards the moon and took a step forward. He swayed again, but this time, he was better prepared for it. And once the disorientation had faded, he lifted his other paw and took another step. Then another, and another after that.

It was slow going. But as he tread forward, Asrielf felt the exhaustion fading and slipping away. Each step was lighter, easier to make. And with each footfall, the moon drew closer, increasing the intensity of the sensations he felt it giving off.

The young Prince wasn’t sure how long it took him. But after enough time on the trail, he reached its end, the moon dominating the space before him. He felt a soft smile spreading across his face, as he found a feeling of excitement rushing through him.

“Time to get out of this void, and see what awaits on the other side.” He whispered aloud, feeling even giddier as he heard his own voice echo forth from his muzzle. Without any hesitation, Asriel reached out and let his hand rest upon the surface of the silvery, shimmering orb.

His vision was blinded by the brilliant light that came forth, and once again, he felt the world spin. But this time, he felt no fear, discomfort, or confusion as everything twirled and the light enveloped him.

Only hopes and dreams for a brighter tomorrow.

Comments

[NotSuspicious366]

The idea of running towards the moon seemed a bit crazy at first thought. But he could feel the DETERMINATION in him urging him towards it. And as its gentle light shone down upon him, he could almost swear he saw a curving path leading up towards it.

I thought determination was a trait, or perhaps a power. Not something that could make decisions and "urge" one to do something.

This whole dream sequence is confusing.

[Spellflame]

11219263
Asriel literally was filled with raw determination, that would do something

[Yoshifan30]

“You may presume correctly. I’ve never encountered a creature like this. Just where did you find them?”

“A strange entity appeared from nowhere and bequeathed their well being to me, then vanished.” Luna explained, figuring that with the strangeness of the situation, there was no point to keeping such from the doctor. “Which is at least half the reason I must inform my Sister.”

Way to drop the bomb Luna lol but then again how can you explain what kind of creature is asriel is

[Yoshifan30]

Luna nodded. “I would appreciate that. As strange as this all is… I would feel remiss if I did not stay by the child’s side, at least until their condition improved.”

Awww she started to become a mother to him even though she only meet him only a few minutes

[Yoshifan30]

Oh wow again this is getting very interesting so Luna brought asriel to the hospital despite not knowing the area too much but luckily some of the doctors and nurses was still present at the hospital which it should be in case for emergencies tall and Luna asked them to help the child out and apparently they never experience a creature like this but still a kid they will do everything they could to help him and Princess Luna told Celestia about the situation and she understood that and Luna decided to stay with asriel until he recovers somewhere in deep in this self-consciousness he still trapped in the void thinking that this is where he belongs but it looks like the Moon is trying to give him the second chance it was becoming harder for him but it won't let that stop him so he continue on and he really wants to live for another day as asriel and I think he's starting to waking up let's say how this will go

[darklight731]

Ah, very nice.
Love it.