Beyond the Veil of Sleep

by Starscribe

Chapter 33

Hours later, little of that energy had subsided. Mira stood beside the tunnel where her commissioned stone was now buried, inspecting the quality of the concealing rock. The bats had done good work with this creation, covering the entire section with thickly-packed dirt blending together some of the larger rock sections.

Passing along the temple corridor, she almost wouldn't guess that something had been there before.

The ponies who had donated to help her craft that stone would be disappointed not to see it emerge from Understory. Hopefully they would all be so distracted with the evacuation itself that they didn't think to ask. The city was certainly energetic enough about it—bats flew left and right, tearing apart the valuable canvas they used to form their homes. Lanterns now burned in the streets at all hours, where all those with the ability to sew or craft worked to make the tools they would need.

Mira could offer little help with any of that. She shouldn't be helping with anything, not when the important half of her labor was in another world. The Astral Sea and the dreams of ancient ponies all waited for her, promising an escape for their princess and ultimate salvation for their kind.

But she couldn't leave yet, not until she knew for sure that there would still be a town ready to evacuate when she returned. If she left too soon, if she wasn't there when some important member of the town came asking for her reassurance about the evacuation—bats might not leave when they had to. If they stayed, it could only mean death.

But now it was Night who followed her, stomping furiously. There was probably a knife hidden in that robe somewhere—Mira could picture it now, the bat waiting for a perfect moment to kill her.

But if she thought about it, she would probably realize the futility of that task. There was no simple way to murder her, just as there was no easy way to stick her back in her dreams. "This is... the worst possible idea, Mira. Everything about it is impossible. I can't believe you even convinced the city to go along with it."

Mira continued past the fully-buried section. The spell within was complete, ready and waiting to be activated. But when she did, it wouldn't be from this side. She had to recreate that stone somewhere in the dreaming, and decide what kind of bastion to build it into.

But that fell far down her priority list, so far she barely even thought about it right now. That was what happened when one barely-grown mare had to do the work of a whole kingdom. "You think we can't make it away from here," she prompted. "The Solar Army will hunt us in the open. Once we get out, we'll be begging them to do it."

The mare answered with scornful laughter. "Nopony had to know we were here! We could seal up tight, wait for this all to blow over. It always does... Equestria is lazy and complacent. They just want to sip their tea and collect their taxes. Nopony really wants to get out there hunting us down."

Mira tucked her clipboard away, turning to glare at the bat tracing after her. "That's not possible here, Night. Maybe it was, a long time ago. But not now. Celestia is trying to exterminate thestrals off Equestria. She thinks we have a... that we're a magical threat to Equestria. Obviously she's wrong, but that doesn't matter. She believes it, and she's going to carry it out."

She closed the distance between them in a rush, shoving Night up against the wall. She didn't have the strength to hold her there, but the shock of her speed was still enough to make her freeze. "She knows we're using dream magic. Instead of letting us die slowly, she wants to erase anyone and everyone who might use the magic. Anypony who has even heard of Dreamwalking."

She let go, then turned her back on the bat. Let her just try to attack her then. Her familiar was there, watching her back for any possible attack. Not that she really expected one anymore. Killing her would not stop the evacuation now.

"We had something good here, Mira!" Night called after her, furious and frustrated. "You just had to stay asleep! You could've popped up when no one was around, eaten some luxury saturniids, then lay down again. Easiest job in the world with the biggest paycheck you could imagine. Now we're... do you even know where we'll go? Do you know how we'll get past the Solar Army? No, because you're a stupid filly who should've been happy with what fate gave her."

Mira said nothing, leaving the temple behind. She wouldn't go back to her own room—she'd already packed what few belongings she cared about, most of which were actually runic dream-spells crafted since Nightmare's involvement. If there was one advantage to a life of poverty and deprivation, it was that she had so little to lose.

She spent a little while longer out on the streets, staying where ponies could find her and express their concerns. Only when she was sure she had answered all those who needed her did she finally retreat to the heights and her secret shelter, where she could return to the other mission.

Nacht was waiting for her, along with a packed set of saddlebags, and his battle-ready armor. "You sure this is wise, Mira? Most ponies wouldn't try to sleep at a time like this. Equestria's coming for us. Every bat in the city has to prepare to evacuate. They could get here at any second. What if we don't have a day?"

"We couldn't get out sooner," she answered, hurrying past him. She brushed her markings on the floor away with a cloth, then took her grease pencil to draw some new ones. She scribbled quickly, or as quickly as she could without smearing them and ruining the outcome. "There are too many old, and too many young. They need time."

He paced back and forth beside her circle, watching her work in silence for a time. She had nearly finished before he finally spoke again, and she kept her concentration long enough to finish the last few marks. "Even if we somehow make it out before the army gets here—big if, by the way—there's still an army trying to kill us. How will so many ponies keep them from following? If they catch us during the day, out in the trees..."

Mira settled down inside the diagram. Thankfully she wouldn't need to wait for herself to fall asleep naturally—she would never be able to, not with her body overflowing with so much unreleased, desperate energy. "If we had to erase our own tracks," she agreed. "Yeah, we'd be doomed. But there are other tools open to us now. Nightmare Moon showed me all her powers, Nacht. I'll use all of them to get us out of here."

He raised his spear high, glancing out at the concealed entrance. "If you say so, Mira. I'll... wake you when it's time to leave. Or sooner, if they find us first. Hopefully not that."

She closed her eyes, waiting for her magic to take effect. It only took a few more seconds.

Mira woke atop the deck of the Diaspora, surrounded by a crowd of watching bats. They weren't watching her, though—a series of caskets stood before them, three metal boxes wrapped in a strange flag of blue and white. Not Equestria—she'd never even seen that flag before. Lots of little interlocking circles.

"...never known his equal in courage," Abe was saying. "Our captain, who stood before the princess in her fury and held her back. This day we mourn his loss, the return of his soul to the entropy that waits at the end of every dream. One day we may join him, if..." He noticed Mira. They all did, at that moment. Soon they were all looking at her. "The Dreamer returns. Do you have aught to say, Mira?"

She stepped forward, up onto a little stage raised before the waiting coffins. This didn't seem like the sort of situation where she could ask for more time. The Dreaming would already bend the flow of time just by her being here. If she was very lucky, it would speed things up enough for her to complete this mission.

She stood up straight, spreading her wings. "Our princess sent us here to save the lives of all bats. When Celestia attacked this ship, she confirmed her goals to me. She intends to exterminate every living thestral in Equestria. She will do it slowly, starving us across generations. Those who died here—died for all members of our tribe. We have to free Nightmare Moon from her prison, we have to reach the dead dreams that contain the secret. You all have made that possible."

There was silence for a few seconds. Some ponies stared down at the closed caskets; others looked out over the sea. The storm that rocked the Diaspora was gone now—the water was calm, though the sky remained so thick with clouds that she could not see a single star. Finally, Abe took her place in the center of the stage.

"We commit their memory to the sea," he continued. "QFT tells us this ancient truth—that information cannot be destroyed. Though their lives as we know them are over, we may go forward with the hope that something of our dead will endure. Perhaps in us, or somewhere beyond."

"The moon remembers," echoed the deck—every strange bat, standing stiffly in their uniforms. Three advanced past Mira, aiming weapons over the deck. At Abe's word, they fired several volleys, splitting the air with loud cracks and bursts of smoke.

Mira helped them carry the captain’s coffin to a strange, sloped piece of metal. It weighed almost nothing, and made no sound. There was no corpse inside. At most, there might be a little cloth, or a weapon.

There was a splash, then two more. One by one, the other bats returned below. Only Abe remained, along with a few more familiar creatures. Sandy made their way over, touching one soft wing against Mira's back. Kallisto followed behind them. Even Meridian was up here. But without the danger of battle anymore, there was no reason not to.

"I saw what you did, Mira," Abe said. He spoke quietly, eyes fixed on a fancy hat he held in his wings. It had belonged to Captain Yi. Only now, it was stained brown at the edges. The blood of a good stallion, shed by a tyrant. "Protecting us, when you could've run."

She shrugged her wings, following him to the railing of the strange ship. "No. I brought you out here. I'm the reason your crew faced Celestia's wrath. I had to fight."

"More than fight. You won." He laughed, though there was no real joy in it. "Captain Yi thought your cause was worth fighting for—you were Luna's last hope for our tribe in the waking world. I should've seen that—instead I saw a filly, lost and confused. All these lifetimes in the Dreaming should have prepared me to pierce the veil of likeness."

He held the hat towards her, head down. "We've already come so far. We're into the Astral now. Our ship erodes with every moment. The navigator says we must sail onward, or perish."

"I do," Meridian said, annoyed. "Sooner rather than later, by the way. You have no idea what being in here does to a bat without a body. Let's just say we'll need way more than three caskets if we don't get moving."

Mira took the offered hat, resting it on her wings. "This should be yours, Abe," she said. "I can't take it."

He took another step back, then saluted. "You can return it to me when we reach our destination, Captain. If there's any of the Diaspora left by then. We are the last—but I cannot imagine a nobler end than this. With the last breath of the dead, the living have another chance."

Mira reached up, putting the hat carefully on her head. "Get us there, Abe. Fast as the Diaspora can sail. In Nightmare Moon's name."

"No," he snapped, catching her by surprise. "In Luna's name. She lies behind the moonlight, who comforts every nightmare. Long ago, she saved us. Now we return the favor."

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Ah, the distinction between mare and Nightmare. A very important one, and hopefully one Mira will take to heart.

But first, there’s the matter of making sure as many bats, living and dead, survive what she’s roped them into. Hopefully this will go relatively smoothly. Realistically, let’s hope Celestia doesn’t return too soon.

[Gavier]

did this get reuploaded? I swear I've read it before

[EpicGamer10075]

11812998
Yeah, chapter 33 was originally 32, and the contents of 32 got replaced with some more connective tissue.
The comments on 32 have stayed there, which is kind of weird, but hopefully next chapters should be alright.

[Lucerna]

a strange flag of blue and white. Not Equestria—she'd never even seen that flag before. Lots of little interlocking circles.

That’s the proposed flag of earth, is it not?
Seven interlocking white rings on a blue background.