Chapter 53: Under the Moonlight.
Chapter 53: Under the Moonlight.
Eyes. Piercing. Green. Cutting through endless blackness. Etching themselves against my soul.
The world slowly comes into focus. The floor and ceiling are stone, stretching endlessly high, barely perceivable through the darkness. I step forward, into the depths, right hand clenching the hilt of the Buster Sword as it rests against my shoulder. I breathe sharply as I progress, the atmosphere becoming as oppressive on my breathing as the blackness is on my sight. Those eyes cut through all, their presence felt even if not seen.
A single glint breaks through the void ahead... followed by a second, and a third. Soon, its the tiniest bits of glistening green, wisps reflecting themselves to wrestle against the dark. Lifestream, pressed against the floor by the black above. It's not alone, however, in its defiance of the dark. Colorful spires rise from the ground, reflecting the light of the Lifestream in their crystalline forms. At first, they're no larger than twinkling pebbles, but as I journey deeper, they rise higher, eventually matching the crystals of the Crystal Caves in height as the Lifestream clings and flows around them.
I continue forward, but soon, the sight of a second mist stops me in my tracks.
Purple, gaseous in form, weaving through the crystals, only a speck at first, it wrestles against the Lifestream for prominence. Tendrils soon reach out, thick and unyielding as they slowly choke out the gentle green. The cave descends again into near-total darkness, only the reflection of the dim purple from the crystals permits any sight at all.
And then, the light of green returns.
Not the green light of the Lifestream, however, but the piercing, intense green of eyes, reflecting in one crystal, then the next. Soon, every crystal in the cave reflects the ethereal eyes, bathing everything in its stark green, the purple haze swirling into a crescendo around them. My cloak billows against a sudden wind, whistling through the paths between the crystals and sending the purple mist flowing past at my feet. A single, white speck passes under the hood of my cloak as others begin to appear, traveling along the winds. The lone speck is cold as it presses against my skin... snow.
The ceiling of the cave dissolves, dispersing into sheet after sheet of snow as the winds only become more intense. I brace myself, pulling my cloak over my face with my left arm as my right digs the Buster Sword into the ground to brace myself against the ensuing blizzard. The greens of the eyes are blurred by waves of white, but even so, one by one, I can see each set of eyes disappear from their crystal homes.
Clouds of purple ascend from between the crystal spires, resisting the winds as they coalesce into a single point above them. From them appear a single, massive set of green eyes, outlined in purple and encased in a swirl of darkness. Inside the green eyes' framings are striking red irises, colder than the blizzard and twinkling in their malice.
I pull the Buster Sword from the ground, gripping it in both hands as I pull it in front of me, feet digging in as I resist the intensifying blizzard around me. The winds carry a sneering chuckle as I ready myself, muscles tensing, ready to-
“Dusk! Come on, wake up already!” Trixie's voice floods my ears as reality is jerked out from under me, heart racing. I can feel her hooves pressed against my side, shaking me as my eyes flutter open. “Geez! Finally! You were freaking out enough to wake me out of the best sleep I've had in ages!”
A dream...? Yeah, that makes sense. I had a nightmare last night, too, didn't I? Was it similar to this one?
“Sorry...” I apologize as I place a hand to my forehead. I'm sweating, and my pulse is racing. Wait... when had I fallen asleep?
Trixie and I had come back from seeing Luna's little lockup with Cadance, and Trixie followed through on her plan of getting unnecessarily pampered by the castle staff pretty much to the letter. She even somehow sussed out that the castle keeps a supply of fish on-hand in case it has to house dignitaries from the Griffon Kingdom. It made for quite an appreciated surprise for me when the first food cart had been delivered. After that, she had set off to explore the castle, complaining about how she'd not gotten to the last time we were here, while I'd decided to stay behind and take advantage of the quiet to try and sort through all the ideas that'd been swirling through my head these last couple days. It'd been... more effective than I'd expected. Maybe Trixie had a point, Cadance's treatment having some effect had taken enough stress off my shoulders to help me put the other thoughts in my head and figure out which bits of paranoia might have some credence.
I must have drifted to sleep at some point during that, as I don't remember Trixie ever coming back into the room, and I can still feel my feet dangling off the side of the bed from laying back on it perpendicularly.
“Dusk, I think your nightmares are getting worse.” Trixie says, pulling me back to the present.
My breathing and pulse have returned to normal, so I use my arms to prop myself up, wincing. A quick glance at my forearms shows Cadance's warning coming to pass – while they've not returned to pure black, the splotches are far darker than they were the last time I checked them.
“I remember it this time.”
Trixie pulls herself up onto my bed, sitting next to me. “The nightmare?”
“Yeah.” I nod, clenching a hand to my chest. Something deep inside is stirring, not unlike...
“Wanna talk about it?”
“Yes, do tell us about it.” A third voice breaks into our conversation, pulling both our attentions to the doorway. The room is lit by a mere sliver of moonlight from the window and adorned in midnight blue hues, leaving the Princess of the Night deceptively camouflaged from us were it not for the sparkling in her ethereal mane.
I pull myself up into a proper sitting position. “You know, you could try knocking.”
“Something has come over the creatures in holding.” She says, ignoring me as she closes the distance between her and us. “We felt it ripple across your dream as well.”
“Come over them?” I ask, gripping my chest tighter. Were they feeling it as well? The tugging reminds me of the tugging from my last stay in Canterlot, and the tugging Sephiroth would use to control Jenova's cells. Its... different, though. Imprecise. The feeling is better described as being drawn by a magnet than it is by being summoned.
“Yes.” She confirms. “We've had to more than double the allocated Night Guard because they're exhibiting uncharacteristic aggressiveness.”
“...I feel it, too.” I confirm to her after a moment. “Jenova's cells are resonating.”
Trixie looks between the Princess and myself, flashing between a number of emotions before settling on disbelief. “There is no way that thing is still alive. We vaporized it with rainbows and dragonfire!”
“It's not Jenova, Trixie.” I assure her, causing her to let out a relieved sigh. “It's... something else.”
“Any hypotheses, dreamer?” Princess Luna asks, reaching the bed and sitting on the opposite side of me from Trixie. “We failed at reaching your dream before you woke, so your insight would be much appreciated on this matter.”
“I don't know.” I answer. “The dream itself didn't really mean anything to me.” I stop a moment, thinking. The yearning in my body soon pulls my mind to a single conclusion. “I think the reason it didn't mean anything to me was because it wasn't meant for me.” Princess Luna merely nods, and I continue. “I can't pretend to know that much about how Jenova works, honestly, but based on what I'm feeling, my guess is that the remaining cells are reaching out, confused, trying to find the main body...”
I trail off, and Princess Luna picks my train of thought up. “And since the creature is dead, they instead react to whatever powerful psychic impulses they can discern.”
“Maybe.” I nod. “In my world, Sephiroth was able to basically have full control over Jenova and all its cells... including the cells that were in my body. It's possible that someone else could gain control over any remaining remnants of Jenova for their own purposes if such a person ever discovered them.”
“That's... a troublesome thought.” She replies.
“Yeah.” I turn my head to make eye contact with her. “It's why I keep telling you to just destroy all those things you've captured and be done with it. Even if they're not dangerous individually, there's no telling what someone with access to magic like what exists here in Equestria can do if they gained control of enough of Jenova's remaining cells.”
“Dreamer... it is not that simple.” Princess Luna argues, returning to her hooves, stepping out in front of the bed to face me. “Even beyond your own infection, there is no method of knowing of how deep the tendrils of the creature's influence dug before it was defeated. We hunt as We are able, but yet, We must have a solution that does not involve killing. If We uncover a pony that has its touch but yet lives, should We just extinguish it as well?”
I stand as well, my temper rising. I can understand her concern, but... “If it's so important, then test your methods of killing off only the pieces of Jenova on me, then!”
Her eyes narrow, clearly ready to give a biting reply of her own, but instead she sighs, tension visibly releasing from her body as she meets my eyes again. “Do you wish me to speak frankly?”
No 'Royal We'? I have enough experience with certain other ponies dropping certain other speaking eccentricities to know this is a terrible sign. “Go ahead.”
“We've considered your idea before. However...” She turns away, taking a few steps toward the door before finally turning back to me. “The reality is, your body does not heal of its own accord. Your infection spreads and you grow weaker as days pass. Am I wrong?”
“What are you getting at?”
“What I am 'getting at',” she replies, without hesitating, “is that we do not truly know how long you can survive in this state, especially as a subject of a constant magical probing that may agitate your infection further.”
“So you're saying he might die, then?” Trixie asks, her voice quiet and drained.
“It is not what any of us wish to see, but it is the reality we must be aware of.” The Princess replies as I sit back down on the bed next to Trixie. “If there are no other subjects in such an event, we will be helpless in our ability to develop a magic that can directly counter the spread of the creature's presence.”
It's my turn to sigh, now. On one hand, especially after tonight, with the current tug in my chest, I can't accept that the risk of keeping so many remnants of Jenova in one place is acceptable. On the other, its hard to think of a compelling counterargument to Luna's case. She's thinking further ahead, more worried about the ability to help others while I'm more concerned with essentially cutting off a gangrenous limb. Cadance's concerns yesterday were pretty similar. Are they too being too compassionate, or maybe, have I just become too cold-hearted?
“I still don't like it.” I break the silence that'd settled over us during my moment of mental self-sparring, still feeling compelled to protest but still having no better reply.
“Do not worry,” Princess Luna says reassuringly, “with the discovery that another presence in Equestria is now agitating the cells of the creature, I will not hesitate to be rid of them if I deem the threat beyond acceptable limits. I am not so foolhardy as to not understand the risk of such creatures free again upon the world, and under another's organized control.”
“I hope so.”
“However, you've yet to tell Us the contents of your dream itself, dreamer.”
I shrug. “You technically never asked.”
“Now is not the time for coyness.” She replies tersely.
“Right...” I take a moment, setting aside all our talks of Jenova to try and recall my dream again. “I remember these... eyes. They were striking and green. Glowing with magic, maybe, with these slit-like, red irises. Everything was cold, and dark. There were also lots of crystals, like from the Crystal Caves, but there was also a blizzard of some kind.”
“That's all?” She asks after a moment.
“Yeah.” I confirm for her. “It was all really vivid, but that was all that happened during it.”
She nods, turning for the door, looking back at us over her shoulder. “Get some rest. We will do Our part to see your dream is not intruded on again tonight. Goodnight.” With that, the door handle clicks in her magical grasp, the door cracking open enough for her to walk through, before gently closing itself again.
I flop back onto the bed, letting my arms sprawl out on either side of me. “What a mess...”
“Dusk...” Trixie says from beside me, her voice still quiet.
“Hm?” I turn my head to face her, to find she's looking out the window, face framed in moonlight.
“It's... I don't know.”
“You're letting what Princess Luna was talking about bother you, aren't you?”
She breaks her gaze away from the window, her eyes meeting mine. “...Maybe.”
“Don't.” I say, turning my eyes from her to the ceiling. “She didn't say anything we weren't already aware of. Besides, Princess Cadance's treatment seems to at least slow it down some. As long as we can keep up with those, things should be okay, Trixie.”
“Even so...” I feel her weight flop against the bed as well.
“Hey. I'm supposed to be the one who worries over everything.” I turn my head to her with a playful smirk. “I don't appreciate this role-reversal.”
“Sorry.” She replies, forgoing her usual sarcasm. “I just feel so helpless. Princess Cadance and Princess Luna are doing what they can, but now that you're the one who needs help, I can't do anything.” She sighs wistfully, eyes turning to look back out the window. “If I still had my horn, maybe I could help them somehow.”
“Trixie...” Her horn... it's the first time she's mentioned it since the night she filed the jagged pieces away.
“I know. Based on what everypony's said, I wouldn't actually be able to do much of anything even if I had it, but I'd at least be able to try.” She looks down to her hooves, drawing one of them across the blanket in idle circles. She goes silent for a time, but I don't know what to say. I should tell her not to let herself feel so guilty, but for some reason, the words won't form. It feels like my own guilt over her condition is a weight against my throat. Mercifully, she breaks the silence after a while. “I should have just asked Twilight Sparkle to help me.”
“What?” I ask, confused.
“At the Ghastly Gorge,” she clarifies, “Twilight Sparkle saw what was going to happen with my horn. She tried to stop me. If I'd asked, I'm sure she probably already had a plan in mind to help. We both know that's how Twilight is.”
“I can't argue that.”
“But... I didn't want her help. I didn't want to stop.” She turns her head to face me again. “I know that probably doesn't sound all that surprising in itself, but it's not how you think, either.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, turning my own head to meet hers.
“Everyone thinks I did some big, noble thing, but the truth is a lot more petty than that.” She swallows and takes a steadying breath. “...Really, I was just running away from myself. You know how my state of mind was back then, by this point. I'll be surprised if you never suspected it yourself.”
“I... what do you mean, Trixie?”
“Ah... alright, Dusk. Just don't be too disappointed in me.” She says, turning back to the window. “The real reason I didn't ask Twilight Sparkle for help back then had nothing to do with my pride or anything else. When I felt that first crack in my horn, a lot of thoughts went through my mind at once, too many for me to really describe here. I was scared, as well as many other things, sure, but... in the end, one thought stuck in my mind.
“If my horn shattered, I'd never be able to perform again. It'd be the death of The Great and Powerful Trixie.”
She falls silent after that, but there's nothing more that needs to be said. Between the talk we had in Canterlot all those days ago, and what she confessed in the chariot ride, I know more than enough to put the rest together for myself. Even so...
“Trixie...” Even with her confession, I still feel that weight on my throat over this topic, unable to shake myself free. No matter how hard I try, I can't get a single question past my lips – Why? Why did she think that was a good idea?
“But, even still, I don't regret it, you know?” She continues, pulling me back from my thoughts. “It was stupid... more than stupid, I know, but I wouldn't change how things have played out since then for anything.” She looks at me, eyes misty, and grins. “Except maybe the part at the end where you're too hardheaded to listen to Princess Luna and get stabbed in the chest. Again. That part's sucked so far.”
I place a hand to my chest, pressing down, biting my lip against the ensuing discomfort. “Yeah, you're telling me.” I return her grin with one of my own. “Then again, without it, you probably wouldn't be so forthcoming, would you?”
She flops onto her side again, looking back out the window. “Who's to say?”
“...Right.”
“Good night, Dusk.”
“...Don't you have your own bed to sleep on?”
She groans. “Its all the way over there and I'm tired.” She yawns. “Too much self-reflection leads to an exhausted Trixie.”
I shake my head, resigning myself. “Good night, Trixie.”
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Its.. different, though
again upon the world, and other another's organized control
1. Forgot one more fullstop to make an ellipses.
2. Under.
Welp, this calls for a trip to the soon to emerge Crystal Empire. Where's Sid and his airship when you need him?
On a more serious note, it's understandable what Trixie did, she was so scared of possibly relapsing into something she doesn't want to be so when the opportunity to close that door forever came she took it. Fear does many things really.
Hmm... now I'm wondering about blood transfusions in Equestria if they might help. Inject Cloud with pony blood maybe or something compatible. Imagine the irony if it was a manticore that was the most compatible.
7783914
>Two typos in 3200 words
GG me.
I'm left wondering why you started thinking about blood transfusions to begin with.
And yes, fear underpins a lot of what happens with Trixie up until that point in the story. I tried to make that plot point in particular discernible from the start. Not sure how well I succeeded at that, though.
7783949 Well my line of thought went like this:
Remove the infected parts -> me asking why not just the blood -> comment -> profit
Green eyes, red irises and purple mist. Is King Sombra trying to pull a fast one, now that Jenova is gone.
And disturbing confession from Trixie here. She's confessing she commit suicide in a certain way.
7778597
What 7784886 said.
It's not Final Fantasy VII without a few of those floating around, after all!
(I could've sworn I answered that when it was asked. I guess I'm going senile. Weee.)
7784103
Ah, well, fair one then. I was just wondering if it was just an idle thought or something I'd unintentionally seeded as some kind of weird expectation.
7784209
Yeah, Trixie's arc over the course of this story is actually quite a bit darker and self-centered than it initially appears. I try my best to hint at it but this is really when the cards are getting laid bare.
As for the other thing... time will tell!
7790556 Eh you got 53 great chapters and still going. I think you are allowed to take risks. That type of response shows that you think about your readers and put heart into the story. You simply cannot make everyone happy. With things like this, it really is a matter of opinion and what you take from them.
The thing I like is how you did this. You didn't change anything about the FF7 world. You literally brought a piece and started a whole new story with it. On top of that, there is still very much FF7 in it. It's great stuff to say the least.
This story made me start playing it again. Just started up Disc 2. Ah the mems. Can't wait for the remake to start rolling out.
7801981
You can't write something this long and with this many words without putting some heart in it! Glad to hear the effort shows.
It's always a good feeling when I hear I pushed another person's nostalgia buttons and got them booting the game up again. To me, it's the best confirmation that everything is captured correctly. Hopefully the remakes are actually good!
As for "53 Chapters and going", I'll be putting out another batch of them Soon(tm) as we near the story's conclusion! I'm just treating a bit of writer's block by working a side project right now. Thanks for reading!
7802006
Just think about all those pep talks you and your FF7 crew would give each other when a party member doubted themselves. Above all else, just remember that major moment on the Highwind. Like Barret always says...
THERE AIN'T NO GETTIN' OFFA THIS TRAIN WE'RE ON, TILL WE GET TO THE END OF THE LINE
I've read through three great FF7 fics including this one. The other two, one for sure is cancelled and the other just hasn't been updated in forever. This one just may be the first FF7 fic to reach completion as far as I know. Keep that Inspiration Materia slotted.
7809030
You don't have to worry about me not finishing it. Look at that gap in post dates from Chapters 4 and 5. I'm a stubborn mule that hates leaving something unfinished!
I'm just putting energy into the other idea I've had stewing in my brain for a while because it passed through all the hoops I put my writing concepts through before committing them to pen. I'll be back around to this story soon enough, unless life happens, as I've already started stitching together a few of the things I needed conceptually to work through the scenes I wasn't satisfied with. I just want to work my current muse through to the point it runs out while the iron is hot, as its rare for my writing concepts to reach this point. After that, this story can come out swinging and finally hit its completion.
7813160 You could always do a Deleted Scenes type deal once the story is done. I've read stories where it has been done that way or were placed in the story as intermission chapters. Either way I can see it being hilarious. Imagine Cloud on Nightmare Night with the others. The awkwardness of Hearts and Hooves day. Just to name some sparks for that fire.
7813491
I considered doing Deleted Scenes once, but the only thing cut that's a scene and not a story concept is one I've described in other comments, where Cloud has a Transform Materia and messes with Trixie by making her a Chocobo for a Chapter. That one got cut mainly because I ended up not giving Cloud a Transform Materia in the end.
7814044 I see what you mean there. Maybe misadventures side story just for the fun of comedy. I think I was crossing over these thoughts when I was typing them in the last comment. Instead of deleted scenes, just misadventures. That way they can be just story related fun for you to throw in more of that witty character banter. Cloud could have all kinds of funny and/or awkward moments with almost anybody in the mlpverse. (Cloud Vs Iron Will in Squats) hah
Anyone who reads the main story to the end should be able to have enough connection to the side action. Like the old jokes making a comeback. Of course I'm just throwing the ideas out there heh. It sounds like it would be fun to write but I'm no writer like you guys here. aeb85937.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/img_7014.gif I'm just a guy who likes comedy.
I miss this story... :(
8082730
I'm just going through a bunch of stuff right now.
Like always, it'll be back once I'm sorted out! Sorry for forcing everyone to deal with my random waits! It's a bit beyond my control, sadly.
8100889
You have responded...!
There is still hope!!!
:D