Beyond the Veil of Sleep

by Starscribe

Chapter 25

"Exactly like this," Mira explained, gesturing at the diagram again. The runes covering it were a team effort—her, and Pixie. But she couldn't tell these ponies that. Her familiar still disagreed with her openness up to that point.

At her order, the pews were all gone from the hall, except for those under the glass ceiling. If she got her way, they would never pack a room full of ponies to stare at somepony asleep ever again. It was time to believe in something real.

The extra space meant there was plenty of room for a stonemason to work. As it turned out, he already had a suitable rock—the statue he'd been building of Mira herself. Once the top half was cut away and the pony features smoothed out, it would make for a decent-enough anchor.

"You can't add decorative elements to any of this," she went on. "All six faces need to be exact, or the magic won't work."

The mason had come with his equipment of course—a whole saddlebag of metal tools, well-worn from a lifetime of use. He wore a magnifier over his eyes, and squinted down it at the diagram.

"Why does the true princess of Equestria want this?" he asked, finally flicking the lenses away. "In my life, I have done many works for the unicorns, enough that I recognize their runes. The marks are familiar, but their usage—it is unknown to me."

There were few witnesses to overhear. Hyacinth had several apprentices to help with the work, and of course Night watched from the open door to the courtyard. There were many ponies outside, behind a wooden barrier they'd made with the pews. Dozens visited, all for the same purpose.

They wanted to catch a glimpse of the Wakeless Mare, returned from her mission to the princess. In some small way, Night's scam had borne positive fruit. If only they could capture that energy into progress for bats.

Even so, Mira had to be cautious. The last time bats had built a sanctuary in the dreaming, its population vanished and its walls came crumbling down. All bats had known about Erebus. Mira had to keep this new home hidden better.

"The true ruler of Equestria is locked in a magical prison," Mira answered. "We need to build the tools to set her free. This is the first tool."

"Oh." He circled the stone block again. It was about the size of a pony's head, or it would be when the work was done. Even so, that would make it so heavy that only the strong could carry it, and flight would be impossible. But any smaller, and the runes would be too small, and might wear away easily. It was an anchor, both physically and magically.

"I can do this thing," he finished. "Precision requires careful work—but I will go quickly. Three days and nights, if my apprentices and I work as often as we can."

Three days. Mira couldn't stay away from her friends in the Dreaming for that long, unless... unless Meridian finished his work, and no longer needed his tools. Then it wouldn’t matter what happened to his house, so long as he wasn't in it for Equestria to find.

"Carve as deep as you can," Mira said. "Knowing that we will fill your runes with metal."

Hyacinth nodded obediently. "Strange as your request is... I've seen the miracles you bring, Wakeless Mare. We know you will keep your promises."

She left him to work. She caught one final glimpse of him passing out wax pencils to his apprentices as she stepped outside to join Night.

Instantly there came a surge of pony voices—dozens of bats were out here in the courtyard. Many simply wanted to assail her with praise—others begged for blessings, or direct word from the moon princess about their lives.

Mira scanned the crowd for the single pony she was looking for. Had he come?

Yes, there was Nacht. He lingered awkwardly near the side. Even so, his broad shoulders and tall frame made it easy for him to see over the crowd, all the way to where Mira stood.

Mira had never seen so many ponies in the temple grounds—not when Kallisto was alive. If Understory cared about us as much back then, I might not be the one doing all this. Maybe Nightmare Moon would have a better pony to bring her back. Somepony smarter and braver than her.

She wouldn't get anypony else. Hopefully Mira could be good enough. "I spoke with Nightmare Moon," Mira said. "She has a plan for us—a plan that will restore us to peace and prosperity under her rule. She gave me instructions to carry out her will, but I can't do it alone. Every pony willing to serve our true princess should be ready to join me."

That was all. She refused most questions, and instead used Night to wave Nacht over to the doorway. He obeyed, flying with Mira past the building, and up to the temple's lone tower.

Once an entire squadron of trained soldiers were housed in that tower, where they could easily take to the air and fly out to defend the temple. Now the building was abandoned, its railing crumbling and windows shattered. Mira landed by the door, then stood aside for him to follow.

He landed in a rough clatter of hooves. He remained on the balcony, and didn't follow her into the empty space. "Mira, Mira..." he said. "When I heard you had been struck by divine slumber, I... I didn't know what to think."

She watched him from the open door. Of course there was nothing special about this location, other than its remoteness. It didn't even connect with the temple directly. "Not everything you've heard is true. From Night, I mean."

The bat laughed, suppressing it with a cough. "No kidding? I couldn't figure that one out myself. I knew you, most ponies in Understory didn't. But some parts—if anypony was going to find some ancient magic of the night, it would be you. You lived here. You listened to that old nag's foal's stories about what used to be."

"True stories," she corrected. "Here's what's true, Nacht. I went looking for our princess. I found her, and she needs our help to get free. That means I need Understory's help. Otherwise, Equestria is gonna be like this forever. Hiding in the jungle, waiting for the Solar Guard to find our town and raze it. Those are the choices."

He followed her in, just a few steps. The old barracks had little to see anymore—it had been looted so long ago it was really just an empty room, except for a few old mattresses that young couples sometimes fled to when they had nowhere else to hide. But those were down a floor. "Why are you telling me? You want me to be religious? Turn me into another pilgrim?"

Mira shook her head harshly. "Bats aren't supposed to be a religion. Our tribe has powerful magic the sun princess doesn't want us to have. I'm going to bring all of it back. But I need somepony I can trust on my side, somepony who can fight if they have to."

He raised an eyebrow. "There aren't any other ponies in the watch who will help?"

Most of them probably would. Given the watch could extort bribes from visiting pilgrims, her mysterious appearance was quite popular with that group.

"They're all tied to Night," she said. "You have to know that! Making sure the watch is well-paid meant the temple would be well protected. I know that means you too, but... you know me. I hope that means you'll take my word over hers."

He strode past her into the dark, empty space. Of course the darkness didn't bother him—Nacht was a real bat, not some pretender like Night. The gloom only made it feel safe. "I don't want to have to take anypony at their word, Mira. You know why I liked you? You didn't pray for the moon to take care of that old nag, you went out and brought her food. You did what you believed in. Don't give me promises or stories. If you want my help, show me something real."

Mira couldn't see the fine details of his body in here, of course, couldn't read his ears or tail to see what he might be thinking. But she could still smell him. Confident, defiant, just like he sounded.

"Would you like to see the Dreamlands?" she asked. "I can't take you with me each time—that's kinda the opposite of why I want your help. But I could show you once, so you know why my mission is important."

Nacht relaxed. Had he been waiting for some excuse? Night would probably have all kinds of excuses ready for this moment. But Mira hadn't tried any. "I've been asleep before. A dream won't convince me of anything."

Mira waved him down the steps, towards the place where the barracks had once been. Where plenty of ponies before them had gone, for far less productive reasons. He followed. "You won't confuse it for a regular dream. Besides—if this works, I'm going to bring some people with me. One of them is dead. Just don't call her a nag again, please. Kallisto is my friend."

Nacht followed her downstairs. Mira took them to a room she had waiting, cleared out except for some fresh blankets and sketched charcoal diagrams. Pixie reclined on a cushion near the door, sipping at a tiny bowl of cream.

A single candle burned to light the room—more than bats needed just for getting around, but Mira wasn't about to use dream-magic when she couldn't check her spelling. "Expected me?"

"Night and I have a... tense relationship. I'm giving her a chance to build trust. In the meantime, I don't want to sleep somewhere that's so easy to find." She gestured to the cushions. "Set your spear down, and get comfortable."

He obeyed. Even if he didn't believe her, he showed no fear. But with his size and strength, he could've overpowered her in seconds if he wanted to. If the magic didn't exist, she was no threat to him. "I'm not sleepy."

"Don't have to be." She joined him, not quite touching. Whatever her feelings for this stallion, this arrangement was strictly professional. She could not get distracted right now. "Turns out there are lots of ways in and out of the Dreaming for a bat. If you were another tribe, we'd need all kinds of complex spells, we'd have to wait until the right phase of the moon for your tribe—it's a whole mess.

"Not with bats, though. This is our birthright. This magic comes so naturally that we accidentally use it all through our lives without even realizing. Now close your eyes, and imagine a door."

As she spoke, Mira waved her wing forcefully towards the nearby candle, extinguishing it. "It's an old door, with an arch of stones. There are symbols glowing on each stone. Do you see it?"

He nodded. "I... you're just suggesting it to me."

"Not quite. Those were the marks on the floor, it's a daydream door. Imagine yourself walking over to it, then push it open and step inside."

Mira waited, tense. There was at least a small chance that he had no natural talent for dreamwalking at all. Some bats would just never be very strong flyers. Likewise, if Nacht didn't have very much magic of his own...

He slumped forward in bed, and started to snore. "You know what to do," Mira whispered. "If anypony comes down here—"

The cat yawned. "Because you still haven't figured out how to make your dreams light enough to wake from them when danger comes. Maybe you should be practicing, and not tasking your powerful, world walking familiar to sit here and watch a door."

I can do that? Mira didn't let her surprise show. She couldn't forget that the cat had picked up bits and pieces of the knowledge meant for her. There were holes in her understanding. "But you like laying around."

"In the sun," she said. "I know bats can't help yourselves—you love hiding in the dark. I like that about you, but you need to learn some moderation. The sun can be nice too."

Mira couldn't stay and argue, not with Nacht loose into the dreaming. She closed her eyes, and found the door waiting for her. All she had to do was imagine her way over to it, and shove it open. The steps to deeper slumber waited for her, glowing with trapped potential.

She hurried down into the dark.

Comments

[Raistlin]

Wait, are Mira, Hyacinth and co. crafting the friggin' Elements of Harmony?!

[redmar]

Hopefully Mira will will be able to convince Nacht she needs real living ponies that she can trust unlike Night.

[heirofaniu]

11768623
Don't know how they would be seeing as they were already used to defeat Discord and seal nightmare moon

[Raistlin]

11768871

In this continuity, maybe not. Something tells me Celestia is not above rewriting History.

[Lexiebommel10]

11768623
Perhaps they take what luna knows about them to make the elements of the night or the elements of dreams to counter her banishment :O

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

11768623
The rlements already exist. The sisters needed them to beat Discord