Chapter 6: Duty and sacrifice
>>>The world will act against you. The universe will no longer turn in your favor. You will be isolated. Frustration, anger, despise, jealously. Those will be your tools and your fuel. They will give you strength, and all you must do is harness them.<<<
Burning.
Spring Mist awoke with a start. Breathing heavily, he gripped his head in pain. Nightmares, he thought to himself. He lifted himself up and looked around. It was still quite dark, and there was not a sound.
Mist stood and stretched. Despite the pain, which was thankfully subsiding, he felt better than he had in ages. It had been little over a week since he first entered Ponyville. And in that time he had become as much a part of the town as anypony.
He walked to his window and looked out at the stars, remembering all of the events in his past week. Pinkie Pie, that crazy mare, had thrown a party. Of course. Applejack had planned a dinner with the family for Mist to enjoy; Fluttershy was still nervous around him, but Mist suspected it was for similar reasons why Rarity shied away slightly – the heavy scarring, though healing well, did nothing to encourage a welcoming atmosphere. Rainbow Dash, her first comment being ‘Spring Mist sounds like a mare’s name’ had remained her unruly, garish self… Though she had taken to creating fantastical ideas around the origins of Mist’s scars. And Twilight Sparkle, with her assistant Spike – a dragon of all things – had been kind enough to arrange living space in Ponyville. In return, Twilight would run tests on Mist, trying to unlock his mind.
Mist sighed to himself. It had been an interesting week. But… it still felt… empty. Something was missing, and his accursed mind prevented him from remembering most of his past without serious pain. He turned to his bedside table, opening a drawer. Out floated a small book and a pencil.
“Well, I’m up. May as well make the most of it,” he said to himself.
He put the pencil to paper, and began his new ritual.
My name is Spring Mist.
I am a unicorn pony from the city of Everfree. I currently reside in Ponyville. Everfree is gone, consumed by the torrents of time. How much time, I do not know. And how I came to be here is beyond my understanding.
My memory is mostly intact, but upon recalling the events of my past, my body is overcome by sheer physical pain. The unicorn Twilight Sparkle has been investigating my troubles, and has devised an effective, albeit torturous system of regaining my mental faculties. Forcing myself through the pain, slowly unlocking each memory as it comes.
I still have nightmares. Of betrayal, of hatred, of a love long lost. A black cloud of nothing, a dark mare, another of white. I have told nopony about the nightmares. They plague me each night, and I receive little sleep. But I seem not to need it. I am never tired. Only weary.
But there are still parts of my mind that are closed. No memories, no pain. Just emptiness. Twilight was most intrigued by that discovery.
My life in Ponyville is like that of its other citizens. Simple, and calm. Though apparently Ponyville is the epicenter of almost every catastrophe to have befallen Equestria in the last few years, so I await the next one.
Friends, I have few. But the definition of friendship in Ponyville is very different than that of Everfree – it seems that just by knowing another pony, one could be considered their friend. In that case, I have an entire town of friends. But those close, personal friends that I used to have? None. With the exception of Twilight, Pinkie Pie and Applejack, there are few ponies that I spend time with enough to call them ‘friends’. Oh, and Zecora. I will always be indebted to her for saving my life. And I do so enjoy her visits to the town. I dare not go into the forest alone just yet, though, so I see her only when she comes in.
I miss my friends. Or at least the parts of them that I can recall without pain. I remember Caramel Tart, Brilliant Bloom, and Rainy Shores. Garlic Clove, who became a father-figure. I wonder what ever happened to his soup recipe… Then there was Honey Sweetroll. I remember arguing with her. And I recall some sort of relationship, though I think it was between her and Bloom. I hope it lasted. And what of their descendants? Will I ever meet them?
I am a pony in the wrong time. Lost everything that makes me who I was. Empty in places that should be filled. But I am slowly healing, and perhaps one day I will fill in the rest of the gaps and be whole again. And maybe I’ll finally figure out who is in my dreams, and why I am here.
Spring Mist put down the pencil and looked out of the window, into the night. He found some peace in the reach of stars. A calm washed over him. An old connection, he thought.
****************
Princess Luna trotted briskly through the halls of the Canterlot Castle. She wore a stern expression, a mix of anger and irritation. She rounded the corners sharply, nearly knocking aside servant ponies several times.
She finally reached her destination: the observatory. She pushed open the door, seeing her sister standing in wait for her.
“Luna,” Princess Celestia began, “what is this all about?”
“Sister, something very strange is going on, and I feel you may know a fair bit about it,” Luna said harshly.
“Whatever do you mean? What’s happened?” Celestia inquired.
“The star. The star you put into the sky as remembrance. The star I created for-” she faltered slightly, “-Spring Mist a thousand years ago. You put it in the sky. When I returned I could feel it. Feel him in that star. Did you know he was bound to it?”
“I- I did not. But what happened?”
“It’s gone. It is no longer in the sky. And I can’t feel him anymore. He’s gone.” She rounded on her sister, the dark alicorn bearing an expression of fury and pain.
“Luna… he’s been gone for a thousand years…”
“No, he was attached to that star. What was left of him is now gone.” Tears began to flow freely and in abundance.
“Be that as it may – and it is something I’m sorry for – what do I have to do with it?”
“I think you are lying to me. About what happened after my banishment. What happened to Mist?” The tears stopped as suddenly as they had started, the face they stained froze in a stern and almost harsh manner.
“Lying? Why would I do such a thing?”
“Ever since I came back, you have obsessively protected me, terrified that the Nightmare will return and take me away again. It is hard enough missing one thousand years from your life. It is another to be told false information. What really happened to Mist?”
“I told you - he disappeared. Said his goodbyes and vanished.” Celestia struggled to maintain eye contact with Luna, finding interest in every part of the room.
“No, there’s more to it than that.”
“I- I assure you there is not.”
“Then tell me of what happened soon after my banishment. There are records of sounds and lights coming from our castle in Everfree, mere nights after. Old tomes, even an old diary, saying something about a catastrophe that rendered the Elements inert, allowing the forest to take over the city. I even found an ancient report from one of Mist’s friends, saying he was being sent away on a mission. By you.”
Celestia looked down, running the information through her mind. She sighed, now resigned. “You seem to have really looked into it. Really done the work to find the truth.”
“Of course. He was the only pony to actually love me, and the pony I loved dearly. He became my life, and now I want answers.”
“Luna, you may not like the answers you receive.”
“Just... tell me, Celestia. I do not wish to hear any more of your nonsense. No more lies, no more hiding, no more protecting ‘little Luna’. What. Happened. To. Spring. Mist?”
Celestia let out another sigh, turning away from her sister. “Alright, Luna… You deserve to know what happened. But you must understand just how much he loved you. Just remember that in everything you hear about him, he loved you.”
“Just… tell me.”
“The night you were overcome by the Nightmare, as you know, I had to use the Elements of Harmony to subdue you. That night, in front of the citizens of Everfree, Spring Mist rushed to your side, openly challenging me, defending you.”
“I recall that… vaguely.”
“Yes, he defended you valiantly, if foolishly. But just before the Elements finally activated, you reached out and used him as a sort of… vessel. He issued the prophecy of your return, and soon after you were banished.”
“And, what happened after that?”
“Well, Mist made another challenge, so I temporarily subdued him. He awoke that night, very bitter. He hated me for what I did to you. And I encouraged him to move on, that lingering on something unchangeable would only bring heartbreak.”
“But he didn’t did he?”
“No. He returned to the castle later in the evening. I found him with the Elements. He was so… dark. So angry. So powerful.”
“Powerful?”
“It seemed as though the Nightmare had taken him, too.”
“No, but the Nightmare was banished with me! How could it have taken him?”
“I do not know, sister. But it was the same power I saw in Nightmare Moon. We fought and…” Tears began to well up in Celestia’s eyes as she faltered.
“And what? What did you do?” challenged Luna, dangerously close to tears herself.
“I used the Elements again.”
“YOU WHAT?” yelled Luna. “How could you do that?! The Elements may not be a magic of destruction, but they are definitely powerful enough to harm a mortal! Celestia, you killed him!”
“No!” Celestia. “Luna, no! You must understand, I would have done nothing to harm him if I had a choice. I welcomed him to the castle, he was just as much a part of life as he was before. I… I didn’t want to do what I did. I had to. And I’ve lived with that choice, with the knowledge that you would have to find out, for a thousand years.”
“You cut short his life. Duty to Equestria or not, I don’t know how I’ll forgive you for what you did.” Luna turned to walk from the room, anger dimming, being replaced by hopelessness. She was nearly out the door when she heard Celestia speak again.
“There might be a chance.”
“What?”
“A chance. The Nightmare is cunning and deceitful. We must know more about it if there is to be a chance.”
“Sister, do not play with me. Don’t encourage unless you are completely willing to do what is necessary.”
“I think we’ve seen that I will always do what is necessary. And if I am to win you back, if only so we can rule in unity, then I will do what I must.”
Luna turned back, smiling at her sister, the usually graceful pony reduced to a weeping and sorrowful mess. Luna draped a wing over Celestia, pulling her into a hug.
“You will never completely lose me, Celestia. I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere for a good long while, okay big sister?”
Celestia sniffed. “Thank you. And again, I am so sorry.” She paused, looking herself over. “Ugh, look at me. Crying like a filly. Not befitting of a Princess and at all, is it?”
“I think we are allowed our moments of weakness.”
“Indeed. But enough of us. Let’s see if we can right this wrong.”
One step closer.
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A Star lands into the Everfree, The star holding her lover's soul is no longer in the sky. And now she learns that it actually was him and not just a small part of him. Why hasn't she put the dots together?!
1369854 I like torturing my characters. And my readers, hehehe.
1369942
Until you've seen what I do to my characters, you don't know torture
1370036 that's... concerning. But intriguing...
1370438
Here's what one MC of a story has/will go through:
Watch the death of his entire family due to his failure to protect them, him and five others will be the only survivors out of a Battalion that was 612 strong, will lead/watch the 606 soldiers in the previously mentioned battalion be killed in some of the goriest ways possible, watch the five other survivors commit suicide one by one, will fall in love twice and discover him being cheated on twice by seeing them in the act, will have a demonic being tied to him that is known for its uncontrollable and unending rage, suffers from PTSD nightmares that force him to relive the deaths of all 611 members of his former battalion, be forced to fight four wars in which he has nothing to do with, be captured by a hostile force and tortured, get tortured for thirty days straight, watch more people that he would eventually label as friends get killed in graphic ways, be betrayed by several people he would call friend/brother, be enslaved and tortured again, and get captured and tortured in a war that he didn't have any idea was happening.
And that's the last I have plotted out for him at the moment. I promise that that this isn't the end for our poor Cadet Eric Johnson. More will soon come
1370482 yeah okay, I'm mean. You are just plain evil.
1370499
The story does end with a happy ending however. I may be cruel, but even I do have some sense of goodness in me. I just make sure my character truly earn their happy ending.
I'll take that as a compliment
1370511 interesting... quite the set of hurdles to get through. I'm still debating the happy ending myself...
1370520
Here's the thing: I like Cadet Johnson. Do you really want to find out what happens to characters/people that I don't like?
1370540 right. actually, I'm kinda curious... but I'm worried I might never be the same...
1371653
That would take me three days of straight writing and 25 MS Word pages to fully write out. You really want me to? We're talking Cupcake-type things going on here. I guarantee it'll give you nightmares for the rest of your life
1371871 wow, I wouldn't want you to waste your time on my account. my primary issue was that cupcakes was arbitrary. there is a time and a place for things like gore, torture, and gratuitous sex. as long as it helps the story move along, I have no problem. the issue comes when it is pointless, overkill, or 'shocking for the sake of being shocking'.
1371915
"Overkill" is the name of the game for the story Cadet Johnson is in. However, there is a point to it all (there is a moral to the story, although it's not too important to the overarching plot). But the stuff that happened in Cupcakes would be the closest equivalent in the MLP world to my "Lost Battalion" story [Johnson's story].
1372039 huh, alright. well, as long as there is a purpose to it, and it is done appropriately, sounds fine to me!