Beyond the Veil of Sleep

by Starscribe

Chapter 28

"It's everything I imagined," Mira said. She circled slowly around the ritual stone, inspecting every facet of the runes on its surface. Let nopony say that all the craft of thestrals was dead. Master stonemasons and jewelers remained, carrying their expertise forward just like Kallisto had at the monastery.

Granted, nopony ever executed a jeweler for teaching how to make a ring. But Celestia might now, if she ever saw this masterpiece.

Occasionally she held out the sketch of her original runes with one wing, comparing it to the object in front of her. It wasn't enough for the runes to look intricate and beautiful—they had to be physically perfect as well.

She wasn't the only pony in the room, of course. Night was here, still wearing the robes of her stolen office. That air of constant resentment followed her like a cloud whenever she looked at Mira.

But she hadn't threatened her again, or defied her authority. She didn't now, in front of the masons, jewelers, and all their many assistants. At least a dozen ponies surrounded the relic. Some were just confused, others looked visibly awed at what was before them.

"Can't imagine what the purpose of such an object could be," Hyacinth finally said, interrupting her inspection. "So many corrections, such exacting detail, all for a monument that nopony can read?"

The jeweler spoke before she could, his old voice shaky and unsteady with age. "Some can. Those are the runes of unicorn magic—though no spell I've ever seen. What does it do?"

Mira almost told him. These ponies had slaved away on her project for weeks, and asked for little in return. It was enough that she was chosen of the moon, destined to save her kind. But the more ponies knew about it, the more possible avenues of failure there were.

She no longer trusted all bats implicitly. They could betray her too.

"This is Oneiromancy," she explained. "It will help me rescue our princess from her prison."

That seemed to satisfy them. Ponies pressed in close, getting their final look at the object. She dismissed them one by one, thanking each for their role, and offering some of the wealth of the monastery in payment.

Eventually they had all gone, leaving only two thestrals in the little antechamber. Night smacked one hoof against the stone block, resting on its heavy wooden platform. "Do you have any idea how much could be bought for this much wealth? With this much gold, a mare could pick any city in Equestria and live like a princess for the rest of her days."

Mira glared back at the mare, defiant. "The bats who came to visit the Wakeless Mare gave offerings because they believed I was the pony who would save them. I've turned your lie into a truth."

The bat grunted. "You keep saying these things. Maybe you believe them—but you can't retire with a promise. You can't eat one in winter. You can't bribe a guard with one when he notices your wings."

Mira wasn't going to waste time arguing with her. She bent down, scooping up a sheet of heavy canvas, and settling it over the anchor. "You'll be happy to hear that I don't have any other expensive projects planned. I'll recruit a few miners, and laborers to help me move this. Then I'm done."

"Miners," she repeated, frustrated. "Of course. You'll want to dig a grand gallery to display this ugly thing. Why not? Should I have glassblowers report as well? It wouldn't be complete without a few chandeliers. Maybe you'll want them lit with lantern oil all winter."

Mira rolled her eyes. "Don't tell them that. I only need them for a few days. More importantly, I don't want ponies talking about it. Make it sound like we need a little extra room in the cellar. Nopony who hears about it should think twice."

"We already have a vault..." she muttered. But she left too, either to follow Mira's instructions or just find a way to sequester a little more money for herself.

"That's the easy part taken care of," Mira said. She trimmed the candle, casting the little room in shadow. "Now to make the other half."

A kitten poked out from around her hoof, looking up with her huge green eyes. "Why? You have a map, you have a crew. Getting things done in the waking world is the hard part."

Mira slipped out the door, then locked it with a heavy iron key from her ring. Not that it would do much good—if somepony got into the monastery to loot, they would just have to wait until she was asleep. Nacht couldn't watch the place all the time, and she couldn’t count on Night's loyalty.

"I hope you're right," she said, bending down to help Pixie up onto her back. The cat never liked walking through the lower levels of the monastery on her own paws. The ground here was never quite dry, which meant she always got a little dirty.

"We're looking for a lost dream, belonging to a pony who's probably dead by now. I don't remember exactly what they're like, but my gut tells me it will be dangerous. It's a dream about the strongest prison ever built."

She descended the old halls, until she came to her own unremarkable bedroom beside a dozen other identical spaces. There was nothing to mark this room as any different from the others. Mira didn't particularly want ponies to know where to find her.

She opened the door slowly, then settled the new latch firmly into place behind her. It was no invincible security—but she still felt much safer with anything to slow down a possible attack.

Anyone who saw inside would identify the room as no mere apprentice's quarters anymore. She had a bookshelf of her own covered with scrolls and diagrams, an incredible wealth of paper for one pony to own. Most of the space was occupied by her desk, where she kept drafts of her work.

She deposited the final spell diagram onto the pile, then settled down onto her bed. "I know you can't just wait here during something this important," Mira began. "But it would be nice if you could check on things when you get a chance."

Pixie hopped down off her shoulders and onto the bed. She circled in place for a few seconds, apparently looking for a comfortable place to rest.

"You say that like you aren't putting my talents to waste. A shame the dreamwalker with so much vision also had to be so inexperienced."

Mira remained still, letting her mind drift. But this time she had a purpose—preparing to step directly into the Dreaming. She couldn't afford to wait until she felt tired, then invite the steps of deeper slumber the way apprentices were taught.

"Inexperienced, maybe. But I have the princess's knowledge. In a way I’m the best dreamwalker alive."

The cat sneezed in response, the closest thing she could manage to a laugh. "You're the only one, Mira. Of course you're the best."

Mira closed her eyes, then opened them in Meridian's basement. She broke into a trot as soon as her hooves were under her, quickly ascending through an open hatch.

Meridian's living room was transformed again, now that his work was complete. The repaired telescope was covered with a cloth, along with most of the furniture. The various maps and scrolls they'd checked out from the city library were all returned, and the windows were shuttered.

The bat was out on his balcony. The doors were both open, and he relaxed in a little metal chair, with a tray of tea beside him. A heavy saddlebag rested on the empty chair next to him. He looked back as Mira approached, then turned around just as quickly, pretending not to notice her.

"Wondered when you would be here," he said, lifting his cup to his lips. There was a second one waiting for her.

Mira didn't sit down, but she did step out onto the balcony beside him. She sniffed at the glass, then lifted it to her lips. Shame that Understory had nothing quite like the otherworldly food that bats ate in the Dreaming. The food here made her less willing to eat out there.

"I never should've let you into my home. Whatever happens now, the world is about to be upended. Whether mine, or all the Dreaming—I guess we'll see."

"Yours?" Mira glanced at the saddlebags, then back to him. "Wait a minute. You're coming with us?"

He set the cup down, hard enough to startle the kitten riding her shoulder. Mira felt claws dig into her skin, if only briefly. "This place isn't safe for me anymore. You brought the power of a dreamer, clearly the equal of any sorcerer that Equestria could send after me. But you're leaving, that means it's my time to go too."

She drained her cup, then returned it carefully to its place. "You've done a great service for the thestrals still living in Equestria, Meridian. When we succeed, they'll have you to thank for their survival."

He nodded slowly. "If. I'm not saying you'll fail—Captain Yi is not a stallion to be easily tricked. But don't speak as though the task is already done. Even if every part of these next few hours goes exactly as you imagine, the princess will still be trapped on the moon. You have to understand her prison, and find a way to break it. That task remains."

"You're not wrong. But I can't think of the whole mission at once. It's too much for one pony to understand. I've got one goal in front of me right now." She spread her wings, preparing to take off. Even from here she could see the Diaspora, resting at anchor some distance from the shore. Its metal sides glittered like the tin roofs of Hope.

"Still feels strange that you would choose to come with me. After all the inconvenience I’ve put you through…”

The bat scoffed. He stood up, then shrugged his saddlebags over his shoulders. "There were two places worth living in the sleeping world, Mira. This one isn't safe for me anymore—the other is dead. But maybe with your help, it might return one day."

He yanked the strap tight, then opened both wings. "I'm coming with you. Even waiting this long could give our island a chance to drift. I may need to make corrections during the voyage. Besides—the Diaspora is the closest thing to Erebus left now. I'd like to see an Equestrian assassin reach me on that ship."

Mira sniffed, wiping away a few tears from her face. After all this time, after all his doubts—Meridian was coming with. She didn't even know how to react. "I thought you hated me."

Meridian didn't meet her eyes. "I didn't ask to be dragged into this. I'm still not sure it's even possible to do what you're suggesting. But I don't want to be the last bat left in the world. There wouldn't be anypony left to appreciate my maps."

Mira hugged him with a wing. She held on for a few seconds, until he started to squirm. Then she let go, looking away. "Sorry."

He grunted again, gesturing out over the balcony with a wing. "You're keeping a ghost ship from outside of time waiting on us, Mira. Let's go."

"Right." Mira checked to see that Pixie was secure in her pocket, then heaved herself out over the balcony and into the air. She glided low over the streets of Hope, before flying out over the bay, letting her hooves skim the water's surface beneath her.

Then she was on the deck. Her hooves touched lightly on the soft black surface. There was no furniture up here anymore, just a few bats standing sentry, and a familiar moth.

Sandy hurried over to her. "You really got Meridian to sail with us?"

The stallion landed on the deck beside her a few seconds later.

Sandy made a high-pitched buzzing sound in response, almost like a purr. "I thought you were going to hide!"

"I am hiding," he answered, flicking his tail towards the open door beyond. "On the most powerful ship in the Astral Sea. Now don't make me second-guess my decision. Let's go find that spell."

Comments

[redmar]

I wonder what information Mira wants to get from that dream.