Lunarium

by Tramper

Chapter 15 ~ All Dreams Die Once You Wake Up (V2)

The room she sat in was made of purple stone and the windows to both her sides had images in stained glass.

These pictures that presented themselves before her were manyfold. Some were of a blue sky, others of a golden sun. The bright rays of the sun’s light were broken so wonderfully by them and dyed the hall in many colors.

A red carpet went from one end of the room to the other, flanked by many columns. They were lean and tall, with quadratic bases. The silhouettes of flowers were painted on them. Them there were the shafts, perfected in their simplicity and only the paintings of clouds and sunrays marked them and the capitals.

Above these there was the ceiling, a checkered pattern marking it and reflecting on a floor clean as a mirror.

She sat before a stairway that lead up to a beautiful throne and behind it hung two banners. One showed an apple tree under the sun, the other of sea and wind and fire.

The sight was the most gorgeous Twilight had ever seen, for this room appeared like out of a storybook. She had no words to express herself with, only a lingering question.

“Where am I?” Twilight asked quietly.

She didn't even notice the stranger moving up to her and seating herself beside her.

Do you like it?, the whisper asked.

She answered, “Yes.”

It is the most wonderful of places, We found. Never did We think that We'd gaze upon it again. To think that We might be brought back here to bask in the glorious blaze of our own light, that is a gift We never thought to be bestowed upon Us ever again.

"It's a ruin where I come from,” Twilight answered truthfully.

She turned her head a bit, to look at the wall to her right. There were many glass windows, depicting events of a distant past. She recognized the defeat of Discord, as well as the Shattering of the capital of the Crystal Empire with the corrupted Crystal Heart in the center of the picture. There were others as well, one of an old mare, sitting in a cage of light, one of a strange figure with a six-colored mane standing in the darkness.

She did not know the majority of the stories, Twilight noticed. A smart filly was what she called herself, one who had read many books and tales. Did the legends on these windows not exist in the place she came from? The place where she was born, the place where she had struggled everyday.

A place without magic.

It is a ruin because time alone only knows the decay of all things born. Everything falls to dust as time passes, and dusk falls on all of us. We know of that better than you, Twilight Sparkle. There once was a time where we walked the earthly realm and sought to bring happiness to all, be they touched by the light above or not.

The whisper sighed and Twilight looked at the walls. They had not crumbled and time had left them untouched. Somehow, that was comforting to know.

All knew that and we all lived for harmony’s sake. Some would say that the dream we followed was an utopia, but we would have denied that, because it was a feasible dream. Yet, here We stand, and We did stop to believe in it. Ponies are forgetting what they once were, what they lived for. Even our beloved cousin was unable to change that, in the end.

She looked at the throne. At its feet grew flowers with leaves of indigo and white petals.

There, to the sides of the carpet the entire first step was a pond, with life brimming in it. There swam several fish in it, but the most apparent one was a starfish close to the surface.

On its second step stood the throne itself. A majestic, golden seat emblazoned with leaves and swirls, cushioned with the most softest of pillows. There was a small candle stood at its side, the light dimmed by shadows. Atop it was a mural painting of the starry night and the sigil of the sun itself.

It was one thing to read about it, but a whole other to actually see it. The royal throne of Equestria was a piece of art, albeit one lost to time. Where she came from, this place held no more splendor.

The thought of walking up to it occurred to her, but this wasn’t really the palace. She knew that, of course, and walking up those stairs? It appeared like the road to the throne would be too long, anyhow. She didn’t feel like trying, she was just a weak little filly, after all.

Yet, she didn’t leave the silence hanging above their heads, because the whisper had said something and Twilight wanted an answer.

“Your ... cousin?” she asked the whisper.

We are nearly all gone from the world, your world. So our burdens will fall unto the last of us. When she dies, so does the last piece of harmony that clings to the earthly realm.

One of us? Twilight wondered, but only listened, hoping to get an answer anyhow.

All that has happened to you would have happened much sooner and the world would never had become like this had she appeared a bit later. A part of me believed that, despite my sister’s insistence that causality does not equal a promise of a happy ending. Yes, even Cadance had waited for her knight, yet she had arrived too soon for him to be born and the elements have yet to appear, either. Time may flow, but the heart always was too far away for them to find physical bodies.

“The Elements of Harmony? The Wise Goat said that I was one of them…”

For the many lies the beast likes to tell, that is a true statement. You are a most wondrous apparition, Twilight Sparkle, to even visit me in this place not even my sister could find. You being here means something, is what I believe. So, do you know what you did, Twilight?

What had she done? Did the whisper mean to ask how she’d gotten here? Twilight had to think.

“I don't know what happened. I don't remember anything. We were before the crack and suddenly a giant pony came out. I didn't know, but the feeling of it was off-putting. It was happy and sad, angry and mellow. I didn't know what to do and then-”

You did something that would have been impossible to most, you stared into the eyes of the first Nightmare. Do you remember that?

Twilight did remember and with the realization, her legs started to shake and her eyes were wide open in shock.

“There were claws and teeth, they were hacking and biting and they–I. …”

Oh, little Twilight Sparkle. I see the look in your face, but you need to listen. This is important, so I need you to tread carefully. This tale may still end bad for you and all you hold dear.

She hated stories with bad endings, she loved the hero to win, to triumph and everypony to be happy. That was the sort of story she wanted to be in. She shook her head. “No, no. This can’t be. I can’t die, I’m the hero. I’m … I’m …”

I’m what? She wondered.

A brown filly, sick and frowned upon by everypony around her. She was a pony pitied and easily thrown aside. Above all else, she was not a hero.

Twilight felt how the tears welled up from her eyes and the strength waned from her. The filly just let herself fall to the ground.

The walls cracked and flowers turned brown and black. The gold on the throne covered itself in rust while the water grew darker and muddier.

As the fish died and their bodies drifted lifelessly on, the starfish swam on.

Magic is not as wonderful as your stories made it out to be, the whisper explained with both warmth and sadness in her voice.

As modern history understands it, magic in and of itself came from the Crystal Empire. Unicorns had control over magical energies to the same extent as pegasi used it to walk on clouds and earth ponies used it on their fields, but none knew any spells. At least until two wise ponies appeared in the field: Star Swirl and Sombra. Brothers they had been and each had their own vision of how magic could be used on a grander scale.

Twilight listened, but not really then. She didn’t understand what the whisper told her, and why, but she hoped she would get to the point. It was over, so there wasn’t really any point to it anymore.

Star Swirl saw the potential to help ponies, Sombra sought to use it as a weapon. They never understood each other, but Sombra made a deal with Star Swirl that they'd both teach unicorns of the empire all the things they themselves had learned. While Star Swirl thought it a good idea to work in harmony, Sombra still only intended the worst. His lessons taught the ponies to seek out power and that strength was the only means of survival in this world.

She found herself listening to the tale as it went on and tried to figure out what it meant. It seemed like something an old pony would tell, a story for the sake of a story. Her eyes lifted themselves up, and she looked at the broken throne. It was almost completely gone, she thought.

There was nothing left in this room but the whisper and its story.

Sombra and his students betrayed the Empire and he murdered the royal family. Of course, Starswirl faced him and asked him why. Sombra explained to him that this was the nature of things, that it was a necessity for the weak to fall. In my time, they said that he regretted his following decision, but made it consciously, nonetheless. He killed Starswirl. Only a single apprentice of the wise mage survived the massacre and fled south.

She thought of her, the pony of that story. Twilight knew of her, she knew the story of Clover the Clever, one of the founders of the nation of Equestria. Her ears perked up, her interest was piqued.

She was a bright filly, yes, but she never quite accepted her master’s fate. The filly decided to follow the recently united unicorn tribes and their Princess, Platinum, farther to the south. Yet she never opened up to them. At least, until a certain night where she was trapped in the cave.

You know the story of Hearth’s Warming Eve, everypony does. The filly became a side character, but it was her that ended most of the resentment between the tribes. Because she learned not from Sombra to seek out power for revenge’s sake. No, she did not care for the one who only cared for power. He betrayed and enslaved to achieve more greatness than before and in the end, he paid dearly for it and his empire shattered to pieces while the ponies in the south prospered. Do you get it, Twilight?

A question was poised and Twilight’s brain immediately started to work. She was a smart filly, she could solve anything. Was all of this a riddle, then? To seek out power no matter the cost, or to lose everything over showing kindness? No, it wasn’t Sombra who had prevailed, but Starswirl and his kind teachings. The stronger one hadn’t prevailed.

"Magic is more than just being able to cast spells,“ she finally answered.

She heard the whisper laugh, That is the first half, my dear Twilight. I think that the rest will come to you soon enough. For now it will do just fine.

A hoof touched her head and ruffled through that mess she called her mane. The feeling was strange, it made her all warm and fuzzy and was all too familiar. Yet she did not recognize the whisper's voice, or maybe she did? Twilight couldn't say.

“I really wanted to save the ponies. I didn’t do it for the power, I didn’t do it for–”

We know, Our little pony. You are a weird little spot in the this grey world, every single day waking up and finding yourself in the wrong room. Your very existence is bound to magic and only you can bring it back to the world, therefore it searches for you and you search for it. Those are the rules and We all have to abide them.

She didn't understand, so she just looked at the flowers. There was one remaining in bloom had a blossom of maroon and golden leaves.

Still, there was more Sombra's tale than just the lust for power. Now, Twilight, Magic is at its base a force of chaos, led by emotions. Sombra utilized the darkness of his heart, the hatred and the fears he held within him and it turned him darker with every spell he cast, while Star Swirl helped others and felt better for it. Magic is linked to emotion, and it is a bond. Do not, under any circumstances, use the power you feel near Magia ever again. It is the very source of what you use and it is the most powerful of and most vile magic. Even Discord became afraid of it. It will eat at you, tear you apart and forever cripple you. With every time you use this power, the worse you will end up. There aren't many chances left for you.

The last sentence almost echoed through Twilight’s head. Wasn’t it over?

She wanted to turn around, but found she couldn't. She was fixated on the throne. The only things she could do was listen to the whisper and answer its faint warmth.

“Why me? Trixie loves magic more than any other pony I know. She seems more fit than me.”

We cannot tell you about the tiny Lulamoon, for her story is one that she needs to see to an end with her own strength. But you? Why you, indeed? We asked Ourselves that question a long time ago. Who would bear the element of magic and how would it show? Everypony is bound to the fabrics of magic, for it is everything we are. From the color of our coats to the nature of our cutie marks, magic defines how we look and it defines how we look at ourselves. Did you know? Everypony has a special talent. The talent of Our sister was to rule the night, while Ours was to rule the day. Others could do such simple things like stand on one hoof and We once knew a pegasus who could fly through any weather with his eyes closed ... We believe it might have been Wonderbolt himself.

Your talent is magic itself and because of that you were always connected to it. Even if you would not want to believe it yourself, it still is the truth. You looked for it, dreamed of it, longed for it. But, it is sad to say, this talk is coming to an end, We feel, and all dreams die once you wake up. You will remember little, if anything from this conversation We fear, but also hope that you take the one important thing with you.

Twilight turned her head to her left and looked into the alicorn's magenta eyes. Her coat was white and the mane moved in an ethereal wind. The little unicorn's mouth opened and closed, but she couldn't get a word out.

We may not see each other again, for of Us, too, there is little left. But if there is one thing I still wish to do, it is to wish you good luck, my faithful friend, Celestia said and Twilight felt the feeling in her body returning.

---

The scenery blurred out as she opened her eyes again.

There was grey stone above her and her body felt weak again. She was shivering and her heart was pounding violently. A part of her wanted to go back to sleep again, to just let it end.

Yet there had been a dream and she still felt like somepony had praised her. She didn’t remember much else, but only the claws and the teeth and violent red orbs that had looked at her.

A smile appeared on her face and she let out a giggle.

Her heart was pounding against her chest and her body was hurting all over. Yes, she understood this perfectly. Her body was in pain and she was feeling it. The filly broke out in a laughter, ignoring the pain, ignoring her heart, and ignoring how much she wanted to go back to sleep again.

She understood it all too perfectly.

The Wise Goat had called it Magia, the king of nightmares. It was a beast able to smash through dimensions and its shape was far beyond the comprehension of a little filly. It had only looked at her for a second, only shifted its entire attention on her for one moment, but wherever she was, her heart was still beating. It had tried to kill her and she lived!

She heard somepony else’s giggle and her laughter broke down a little as she took a look to her left side. Trixie sat there, still holding her hoof. Her eyes were teary, but she had a smile on her face. How ugly her face looked when her missing teeth were exposed.

Lyra jumped into her field of vision, positioning herself direct to Trixie’s right, looking worried and also very green, with even the marks of the fire erased. “Ohmigosh, you’re alive. Derpy! She’s alive!”

The grey pegasus appeared between the two, and started to smile brightly. “I knew you wouldn’t just go away and leave us.”

Twilight coughed. She felt utterly terrible, hungry and she probably didn’t want to see how she looked. However, the filly was alive and she would continue to do so.

Dying wasn’t an option anymore.

"You’re right. I wouldn’t. Just one thing, are there possibly any muffins we could eat? I'm starving.“

Comments

[Fire_Starter]

Ohmigoshohmigoshohmigosh! *Squees like a filly seeing something so utterly adorable that they can't help but hug it* This is brilliant! I canNOT wait for the next chapter!

[Cedric Bale]

Oh man, I was really hoping at least Celestia and Luna would be 'back' by the epilogue, but that scene seemed to imply that they're pretty much gone for good. But hey, this Twilight has a penchant for doing impossible things, so I'll just go ahead and keep my hopes up.

[ferret]

OK... admittedly... finding someone using magical powers you have always dreamed of having but never will, with a color more vibrant than you will ever have, and all her teeth in one place, but still sucking it up and trying to help her, is pretty damn generous.

[The Cynical One]

A resounding tranquility envelopes this chapter... you need to get up though so as inevitably the sun rises we move onwards!