Temporal Trotters

by wyattpugsley

10. Waking Nightmares

“We’re about to be over the mark Captain. We’ll stop the ship and ring the bell when you’re ready.”

“Aye. I’ll announce the usual garbage and then give the orders. Thank you, Fish Legs.”

“Of course,” the crewmate says before walking away, returning to his usual post.

The captain of the ship moves to the center, grabbing the attention of the passengers on-board, “All right folks, we’re about to be right over Stonefall. My crewmates are stopping the ship. Once we’re all set and stopped, I’ll ring the bell over there,” he points to the moderately sized brass bell he has installed near the captain’s wheel, “and that’ll be the signal to hop off. So basically, get ready. I assume you all have ways of surviving underwater since you got on this boat. That’s all. Hope you had a good trip and good luck.”

The three travelers peered their heads over to the captain, listening to his instructions before gathering near the left side of the boat. “We’re all ready, right?” Posada asks, the other two nodding their heads as they wait for the go ahead.

“Been a while since we were in seapony form, hope you’re ready, Posada,” Skystar remarks.

“Oh please, I spent most of my time as a seapony back home. You should be the one worrying about readiness!”

Skystar playfully sticks her tongue out at Posada, “Uncalled for, Possy! Even if you’re right.”

As they go back and forth the captain of the ship rings the bell, the ship now stopped dead in the water as it floats above Seaquestria. The left side of the ship’s railing slides off, allowing the passengers to easily disembark into the water. A short line forms, and the trio wait for the other passengers in front of them to disembark before flopping off the ship and into the water themselves. All three transform into their seapony forms after entering the water.

They each get a feel for their new surroundings, looking up towards the surface and ship and then down, spotting the large city of Stonefall a decent dive down on the ocean floor.

Posada swims around a bit. “It feels good to be back in this form! Not that being a hippogriff on land is bad, but this is just what feels natural to me,” she remarks.

“And it’s the opposite for me, although I don’t mind being a seapony. Just… not the form I’m most used to.”

Lucien seems overall neutral on the change, not really showing any change of expression or saying much of anything. Typical of him.

“Anyway,” Posada says. “Stonefall is down there, obviously. The book said the ruins were located to the north of here, but we don’t have an exact location. I don’t think we can really go wrong by just heading north for a bit and seeing what we come across. We will need a map though, don’t wanna get completely lost. So, head into the city, get that, and then start swimming north. Sound good?”

“If that’s what you want to do I’m down, Posada,” Skystar replies.

“That’s fine,” Lucien says.

“Sounds like it’s a plan then, let’s head out.”

Coming to an agreement the trio swim down to the city of Stonefall. Being an underwater city, its architecture and overall layout is vastly different from surface cities. With no real concept of borders or walls. Instead of a gatekeeper there’s only a handful of guards stationed around the general parameter of the city. It also features a much greater deal of verticality; different buildings being built on different levels on account of the varying height of the sea floor. No wood can be found here either, with everything being built from stone or types of corrals. Some buildings are even carved out into the sea floor itself.

After a short and uneventful exchange with a guard the three seaponies find their way to a local map seller. Selling scrolls of maps enchanted with magic to keep them from getting wet. He has everything from a detailed city map to maps of areas hundreds of miles from Stonefall. They easily purchase a map for just north of Stonefall. It details a rough path to the next major city, and a few major landmarks, but not much else. Regardless, it should be enough for them to find their way back if they were to get lost.

The trio start the slow swim north. Going at a moderate pace to avoid exerting themselves needlessly. Posada stays close to Skystar, holding her fin as they swim together while Lucien stays on his own over to the side. The landscape of the ocean floor in this part of Seaquestria primarily consists of coral and various natural landmarks, such as large rocks or odd formations in the sea floor.

“Sky, I’m gonna go talk to Lucien again. I know I didn’t have luck last time but I really am curious about him,” Posada says, looking over to her partner while they slowly swim forward.

“Okay, I think he’ll be more receptive this time. Just… try to be careful with your tone.”

Posada nods and swims her ways over to Lucien, swimming up beside him before speaking. “Hey Lucien…”

“Hello, Posada.”

“I know I already bugged you today but… I’m just so curious what your background is like. I mean, how’d you get into magic and all that? I’m just interested, as a friend, ya know?”

Lucien looks at her with his usual blank face, his eyes screaming that he has little interest in actually talking about this with Posada. But thinking back to his conversation with Skystar, he decides to humor her. “I’ll tell you a bit. Maybe then you’ll see why I’m so hesitant to talk about myself, Posada.”

Her eyes turn to his and her ears perk up, putting her full attention towards Lucien.

“I was born into a peasant family. We worked on the farms of a fairly well-known noble landowner who was, frankly, a monster. It wasn’t unusual for unruly creatures to suddenly come up… missing. And it just so happens that my family was often the target of his punishments. Probably because they couldn’t work the fields as fast as he wanted.” He looks out to the ocean landscape before turning his attention back to Posada. “One day he ended up beating my dad so hard he broke both his legs. He couldn’t walk. My mom freaked out and… tried to attack him. He drew his sword and killed both of them. I wasn’t there beside them when it happened, I was out in the field. But I saw everything. I swear all I saw was his face, and before I knew it, I was driving a pitchfork directly into his chest. I killed him.”

Posada looks at him with shock, her mouth slightly agape as she takes in his story.

“Fucker bled like the pig he was. I had his blood all over me. It was over if I stayed, so I ran. As far as I could. And I didn’t stop until night fell. From there on out, I was on my own.” He looks down at his fins and then back to Posada, “I eventually learned magic as a way to protect myself after finding my staff. But that’s a whole other story. So I think that’s enough for now,” he speeds up slightly, moving away from Posada and taking the lead.

Posada takes a moment to fully process the story. Swimming back over to Skystar and holding her fin as she stares Lucien down in front of her.

“You get Lucien to speak to you, Possy?”

“Yeah… You won’t believe what he told me. I feel like we both have more in common with him then we thought.”

Posada tells Skystar the story, her face looking like Posada’s upon first hearing it.

“Woah! That’s insane! So he’s technically a wanted criminal! I’m shocked the guard didn’t say anything when we entered Stonefall!”

“I don’t think there was much communication between cities when it came to wanted criminals back during these times. He’s lucky.”

“No Kidding…” The conversation gradually dies off. All three seaponies focusing on searching for any signs of the ruins.

***

After close to an hour of swimming, Skystar suddenly stops. Noticing something that sticks out a bit in the distance. Something that just so happens to look like a set of buildings.

“Hold on guys!” she yells. “Look over there, you see those buildings?” she points slightly to the right of where they are. “Could be what we’re looking for!”

“Good eye, Sky! We’ll check it out, could be nothing but you never know. Let’s head out!”
The three swim quite quickly to the buildings. Staying close to the sea floor to try and avoid being spotted, just in case. Getting closer and closer, they can’t help but feel something changing… Their bodies feel heavier, the water looks… darker. An ominous feeling overcomes each of them. A feeling of dread, like something is about to go wrong.

Lucien immediately notices this, “It’s magic,” he remarks. “Probably an old parameter spell to keep nosy creatures out. I think we have the right place but be on guard.”

The trio slowly move forward, their eyes slowly scanning all around for any movement. Doing their best to ignore the constant feeling of fear looming over them. Lucien holds his staff at the ready, Posada and Skystar both with their daggers in their fins.

“Welcome…” a ghastly voice echoes through their heads as they suddenly stop. Their backs to each other as they look around.

“I’m afraid that won’t do you much good…” the voice echoes again. Before they can even react, they feel the full force of a current hitting their bodies, dragging them off towards the ruins and knocking them out.

***

An unknown amount of time passes, but Posada eventually awakes on a wooden floor, seemingly unharmed. She quickly picks herself up. Looking around and noticing the presence of boxes all throughout the room she’s been taken to. As well as metal beams and… a red curtain? She hastily pulls the curtain aside and looks behind it, being washed over by bright stage lights. As her eyes adjust, she sees someone on stage doing a comedy routine… In fact she even recognizes the creature on the stage. It’s herself, dressed in the exact same outfit she has on. She’s shocked, but watches as the other Posada talks on stage.

“So anyway, I started exercising recently because they said it’s supposed to help with depression. Yeah, like everything else, didn’t help much. But I can at least feel good knowing that I’ll be leaving a better looking corpse behind for when I finally kick the literal bucket!” she smiles and looks out to the crowd, no one responds. Her face frowns and she moves on.

“They say you die twice, once when your breathing stops and again when everyone forgets your name. I’m probably going to knock both out at the same time since the only person who even knows my name anymore is the clerk who checks my ID at the local liquor store.”

She smirks at the crowd. There is no response. An uncertain look hits her face as goes to tell another joke.

“You know whenever someone asks me why I look so dead inside I always just respond with ‘I’m tired’. Which hey, isn’t entirely wrong! After all I am tired — of living!”

Nothing. A closer inspection shows that the audience is in fact nothing but cardboard cutouts of people Posada knows. Tears fall from the other Posada’s eyes. The lights cut off and then back on, the stage and curtains disappear and instead Posada finds herself facing a mirror.

“Your cries do not fall on deaf ears. They hear you; they just don’t care.”

“I know. But it’s not their job to deal with my problems. I can deal with my issues myself.”

“But they don’t even care enough to check in with you. They see the signs. They hear the things that you say. It’s been said before, they know you’re unstable but just ignore it for their own good.”

“Stop trying to bring me down. It’s not going to work.”

“I’m only telling you the truth that you repress. A manifestation of the things you hide away. Denial only goes so far. The more lies you tell yourself, the bigger your emotional debt becomes.”

“A good thing I don’t believe in debt, then.”

“There you go again, throwing it under the rug. Trying to keep your facade up with jokes and smiles.”

“Yes. It works so who cares?”

“If it works, why do you spend so many nights with an endless barrage of emotions and thoughts in your head, like last night? Why do you feel unfulfilled even when the love of your life is right by your side?”

She stays silent.

“That’s what I thought. You’re not impressing anyone. It’s only you here.”

“It’s… all I’ve ever known. I’ll keep the facade up until it kills me. For Hippogriffia, for Skystar, for myself.”

“And when they find your charred and radioactive corpse on an island how do you think they’ll feel? What will Skystar think?”

“I don’t want to think about it.”

“She will be devastated. You think she won’t blame herself? After everything you two have been through?”

“Stop.”

“She’ll watch everything the two of you built be torn down. Your history will be erased from the books as the reactionaries you’ve let fester around you tear it apart. Not a day will go by where she won’t think about you and your death-”

“STOP! I don’t want to think about this! It’s too much! I can’t do it! I question everything I do, every decision I make. I have the weight of a whole country on my back. The expectations of my friends, of Skystar. I can’t handle it. I have these never-ending what-ifs in my head. Visions and dreams of horrible things I don’t want to do. Just make it stop!” she yells, “make it over, make it go away…” tears fill her eyes. Her stomach drops, body shaking as she covers her eyes with her fins and cries.

***

Skystar opens her eyes and finds herself in a park. Standing directly next to two hippogriffs carrying on a conversation.

“Did you hear who Secretary Posada was seen going on a date? With Crack Lightning! I guess they’ve been pretty close for a while.”

“What are they talking about? Am I back in modern day Hippogriffia?” Skystar thinks to herself.

“Yeah, surprised she’s managed to keep her private life out of public eyes until now honestly. Also, wasn’t Crack Lightning one of the creatures who really pushed for the public execution of the former queen and princess? Seemed a bit ruthless to me honestly but I guess he had his reasons. Best to not question the state too much… especially out in the open.”

“Wha-what? Queen and princess? Are they talking about me and Mom? Executed?” Skystar thinks to herself before yelling out, “Hey! I’m right here! Princess Skystar in the flesh! What are you talking about?!”

“Right? I mean did you hear what Posada and Crack Lightning did to the Thestrals? Mass executions, they burned the entire country to the ground. Definitely want to stay on their good side.”

“That’s not true! What’s going on?!” she screams out, to absolutely zero reaction from the two random Hippogriffia citizens. She even attempts to touch one of them, but simply fades right through. “What the Tartarus is going on? They can’t hear or even feel me… and what are they talking about with Posada? None of those things happened! I was there! I need to find her, now.”

The scene suddenly changes, the previous interaction filed to the side like a slide on a presentation. Skystar now stands in the state house of Hippogriffia, in Posada’s office. Posada herself is sitting at her desk with Crack Lightning standing off to the side.

“Posada! There were some griffs spreading horrible rumors, they said you were massacring thestrals, what’s going on?”

Neither of the other two hippogriff’s even flinch. Posada still attentively reading over paperwork at her desk while Crack Lightning looks out the nearby window.

“Oh no… You can’t hear me or see me either…” Skystar begins to feel lightheaded, her heart racing as she feels the world spin around her. She tries to run towards Posada and hug her but loses her footing, collapsing on the floor as she looks up at Posada to see her kissing Crack Lightning. Her heart breaks, stomach sinking as tears form up in her eyes, “Posada! Listen to me, please!” she yells out yet again to no one.

“Why is this happening? She can’t be ignoring me… Posada, I know I’m not perfect but please at least recognize me… Say something…”

The two hippogriff’s stare each other down after kissing, talking closely to one another and being just quiet enough to prevent Skystar from hearing them. Smiling and then staring directly at her.

“Please… just say something… I’m here, I know I am… Don’t ignore me…” Scenes from her childhood flash in front of her. All the times she was ignored by her mother. The constant belittling. Her “friends” that only stuck around so they could be friends with “the princess”. It was all happening again.

She lays on the floor, head covered by her arms, crying, “don’t forget me, Posada… Don’t abandon me… please…”

***

As Lucien wakes up, he finds himself tied up in a room. His claws and hooves both bound by a tight rope. The room is almost pitch black, save for a faint light coming from the ceiling. A door in front of him slowly opens, a stallion and a mare walking into the room. They untie the back of his hooves and allow him to sit at a desk in the middle of the room. They sit themselves on the other side of it.

The stallion looks at his paperwork before speaking, “Lucien Star. A wanderer with no home. No friends, no family. Just a broken past and a bleak future.”

“A past I killed and a future for me to decide. I made my own path in life, and it’s mine, no matter how lonely or bleak.”

“You’re a powerful creature for being born into such a poor family. Serfs worked to death by their noble landlord. And then you killed him, a pitchfork straight to the chest and your body covered in his blood. Your first taste of blood.”

“I’m a killer, but I’m not a monster. I did what I thought was right and I don’t regret it for a second.”

“But you’re still a killer. Of nobility nonetheless.”

“Nobility means nothing. He was an inbred fuck born into an inbred family like every other royal piece of shit.”

The stallion raises his eyes, “seems we struck a chord, hmm?”

Lucien calms himself somewhat, taking a few deep breaths.

“And so you went on to… dispose of various other minor members of nobility. You just weren’t satisfied with killing one creature, were you? And now we find you together with some no-names, trying to find artifacts in an old cult hideout. Might I ask what artifacts you were hoping to find?”

Lucien stays silent, not saying a word.

“Speak, criminal.”

“No. I already know how this ends. Just hang me up by the rope and get it done and over with. I’m not talking anymore.”

A bright flash hits Lucien’s eyes, as it fades away he finds himself in front of a crowd. A rope around his neck and his hooves standing on a wooden stool. Wings tied and mouth gagged.

“The Royal Court of Hippogriffia finds this criminal, Lucien Star, guilty of multiple counts of murder, as well as the theft of precious state artifacts. He is sentenced to death by hanging,” a well-dressed scribe yells out.

The executioner stands ready, holding the lever in his hands. Lucien can only barely make him out from the corner of his eyes. He tries to turn his head for a better view but when he does- thunk. It’s over.