Revelation
I could hardly believe it.
This time, she didn't interrupt, as she had during my own life's story. She didn't say the plot was cloying and sentimental, she didn't complain that the events were contrived, or that the villain was a caricature or anything of the sort. Other than a remark early on about the dancing traditions of buffalo, Nightmare Moon had just sat there, listening raptly as I stumbled through the odd Terran names as best I could.
After a while, my voice grew raw, so I paused to get a drink and rest my throat. As she was still sitting in pensive silence when I returned with the bowl, I asked the princess whether she was enjoying the story.
The abyss-black creature started and blinked when I spoke to her, so lost had she been in the tale. Even after she had fully returned to herself, she seemed to struggle to find the words to answer me. "It is... misleadingly titled." she said at last. "What is so 'wonderful' about this Bay Leaf fool constantly sacrificing his dreams only to be passed over and ignored? He will never get what he wants unless he rears up and seizes it!"
I took another sip of water and pointed out that we were still in the middle of the story. Much could change before the conclusion.
"Hmph. That spineless jellyfish is the sort who just gets abused and taken advantage of forever. Anyway, we still haven't caught up with the archons in the prologue. They've already set up a forced happy ending where one of those cosmic spirits floats down to fix everything and make everypony happy again. That sort of thing always happens in stories and never in real life."
Did she not wish to hear more? There were other stories in this collection, or we could finally get around to that vitally-important recording...
"Oh no, you're not weaseling your way out of this, Pangolin. Keep reading," she said, betraying her eagerness, or maybe just her wish to avoid confronting the real problem.
So I set the bowl aside and resumed the tale.
Not much further in, I glanced up from the page to discover that Nightmare Moon had quietly drifted back into that intensely focused, almost trancelike state. After all the commentary and critiques she'd been spouting (in the rare moments she wasn't talking about herself) until now, I found her silence and interest unnerving.
Nightmare Moon's prediction of the ending was only partially correct. The supernatural forces played a role, yes, but "Bay Leaf's" happy ending ultimately came from mundane sources. The tale closed with the hero's brother toasting him, and the reception of a final message from the blessed revenant driving home the story's theme. Also he presumably gained wings somehow; it sounded painful.
I set down the tablet and exhaled without speaking for the first time since my break. The story had been physically and emotionally exhausting. I myself had been so engrossed, I had even forgotten I had an audience. I looked up to check on her.
Nightmare Moon was still lying on the tent and pillow. Her back was turned to me, but her ears were folded back and every few seconds her wings and body would jolt and quiver.
Uncertain what this meant, I tried to engage the princess in conversation. Had she liked the story? I thought it quite good for what it was. No wonder Terrans were so jealous of their literature.
Her ears twitched at my voice, but she said nothing. Had she fallen asleep?
Trying again, I noted that the protagonist's problems were far from over; his fortunes were still in jeopardy, the villain was still at large and all Bay Leaf had really gained was a bit of assurance. Wasn't that an odd place for the story to end?
She stood abruptly, keeping her head turned away from me and hidden behind her restless mane.
Was something the matter?
My guest sniffed noisily before replying. "It was a... good story." she said. Her voice sounded raw.
Had she been... ? No, it wasn't possible.
Did she have any questions? I admitted much of the Terran culture was opaque to me, but I'd be happy to try and explain whatever I could.
She sniffed loudly again. "How could I misunderstand? They all cared for him, all along, but he just... he thought he was alone and ruined and he nearly—" she gulped. "—And earning wings like the other one did; it means—" A half-choked sob escaped from her before she could close her mouth.
When she found her voice again, the usual anger had returned.
"Pat yourself on the back, Pangolin. That was your best trick yet."
I didn't understand. What did she think I had done? I hadn't even read that story before. What about it bothered her so much?
She moved briskly toward the door. "I'm through talking to you. You just try to manipulate me!"
Perhaps, I thought, but I must be doing a rather poor job if the one time I wasn't trying to sway her had an effect like this! I awkwardly repeated that I didn't know the contents of the story before I read it. Why did it move her? Was it because part of it was about the protagonist's relationship with a sibling?
The inner airlock door flung open at her magic and she stepped inside. "As if you didn't know," she said over her shoulder. "Don't try to follow me."
The door shut behind her with a clang. A minute later, the airlock finished cycling and Nightmare Moon was gone.
I slumped against a wall and stared at the tablet in my hand and the final lines of the story. It was just an old song about friends asking whether they'd remember each other when they were separated. A grim song for celebrating a new year, but one fitted to the mortal condition.
Finding solitude again after being joined at the tail to Nightmare Moon for so long should have been a relief. Instead, I felt only apprehension. What was she doing out there? Would her tormentor strike at her again? Or at me?
I admit the idea of my having somehow offended Nightmare Moon so much that she simply refused to have anything further to do with me was a pleasant one. Still, it wouldn't last. If nothing else she would return when the ship arrived to make good her escape. That was the condition of my continued survival, after all. Hadn't the thing controlling the image of her sister said something about the princess 'returning to her proper state of mind' if I had taken its deal to keep us separate? Unless I was decieved, what the fiend considered 'proper' seemed to be something along the lines of a remorseless genocidal psychotic. Letting her go meant that it had a free claw to continue twisting that unhappy pony to its will! Could I afford it this time to act?
I lurched to my feet, feeling weak and unsteady, and hunted around the cell until I found where she'd discarded my helmet. There was still a white star-shaped pattern of fractures from the minute hole in the faceplate. The rest of the protective garment, which I was still wearing, doubtless needed a thorough inspection after the ordeals it had been through today. Both it and my other suit had been receiving far more abuse than I'd planned for; I was already down to my last spare faceplate, and my supply of insulating vacuum- and radiation-rated patching material was far from limitless.
Still, the other suit was maintained and ready to go. I had only to change into it, install a fresh air supply and I could be off doing my duty. Yes, I could leap fearlessly into the breach once more, and stride outside...
The memory of lying on the sand in the depressurizing suit flashed back into my mind. The tug of the hungry void against my face, the stabbing pain in my soft tissues, the waning hiss of the last bits of air escaping....
I stared at the window by the outer airlock door and swallowed with a dry throat. Then again, maybe I ought to stay here and recuperate from my injuries instead. Didn't I deserve some respite after my latest and closest near-death experience? Anyway, who could tell how far Nightmare Moon had gone? With her magic, she could be on the far side of this world before I could go a thousand ells! Yes, surely she'd done that. Most likely she was sulking in 'her' night on the dark side. It would be a useless, dangerous waste of time to try and follow her. Nobody would blame me for remaining right where I was and doing nothing!
So resolved to the path of least resistance, I placed the helmet on a crate, sat back down and dismissed the story from the tablet's screen, returning to the library's main page. Listed near the top were my latest unfinished readings. Below the scriptures and the survey report was Encyclopedia of the Wonders of All Worlds, still waiting at the 'Unicorn' entry.
My eyes narrowed. This was one of the things the tormentor was so sure would change my mind about stopping Nightmare Moon, what it had demanded I read before nearly killing me.
Then there was something productive I could do after all. If this silly little agglomeration of myths and superstitions would somehow turn me into a co-conspirator, I would just get rid of it! I opened the options menu for the document, scrolled down until I found "delete permanently" at the bottom and pressed the button. A window appeared asking me to confirm my decision.
I raised a claw to do so, but a thought made me pause. There was something wrong about this. It was too easy. Hadn't that thing claimed to have been manipulating Nightmare Moon into doing its bidding? What if it was doing the same to me? What if there was something in here that would help me frustrate its plans that it wished me to discard without reading?
I withdrew my claw and weighed my options. Did our mutual foe actually want me to read further, or was it reverse psychology? It might even be double reverse psychology to ensure I'd get curious and take a second, closer look at the book! How well could a powerful supernatural entity predict my own thought processes?
But this was all nonsense! How could Wonders possibly contain pertinent information? Why should I take it seriously? It had said the thing alternately beating me up and talking my ear off was a Terran myth born from misunderstanding. The bit about cleansing poison with the horn could just be coincidence. There was no mention of the horn doing anything else, and if Nightmare Moon's actions were any indication, surely someone would have noted....
Well, maybe they had. I didn't know. I hadn't read the rest of the entry.
I clacked my jaws and glanced about the room, trying to decide what to do. Situations like this are the bane of my life. Whatever choice I make, it always seems to be the wrong one, but there's seldom any way to truly know what might have been if I had done differently.
Could I simply not make a choice, set the tablet aside and do something else? I ought to be able to. A hermit should have willpower and self-mastery and be able to resist any temptation no matter how—
Before I realized what I was doing, I had dismissed the confirmation window and opened the document to where I'd left off.
Well, no matter, I just wouldn't read it. I'd close the document and finally begin making up the dozens of hours of meditation I'd missed instead. That's what I'd do. Now, where was that exit button? My eyes slid over the screen...
...power to nullify poisons.
The majority of representations in legend and heraldry depict the unicorn as a benevolent creature and a symbol of purity. Most notably, a unicorn would instantly become docile in the presence of a Terran female of unsullied virtue. A comparison between this behavior and certain religious beliefs, encapsulated by a complex wordplay, has cemented the image of the unicorn as a sacred and innately morally upright being to the present day.
I blinked. That wasn't so bad at all! My resolve to protect the unicorns and whatever else down there on the planet was undimmed. Now it was time to set the tablet aside for real and do something else.
But there was more:
This image represents an almost complete reversal of the earliest depictions of the unicorn. As originally imagined by those who knew the aggressive and ill-tempered beast from which they were drawn, unicorns were rapacious, violent, nigh-unstoppable forces of destruction who pursued their own desires with single-minded fervor and gored or trampled anyone or anything in their way. Their powerlessness in the presence of pure maidens, far from being a sign that they reflected this nature, was no more significant than the way other innately evil creatures from Terran folklore are vulnerable to sacred objects or virtuous individuals. (see: Terra: Undead: Vampire)
Oh. Oh yes. That sounded a bit more like what I'd witnessed so far. It was right in line with what that thing had said about unicorns conquering the galaxy once they discovered space travel.
Cursing my weak will, I wanted to chuck the obstreperous brick of hardware across the room, but my deeply-ingrained respect for the written word checked me. Instead, I ended up browsing the rest of the ‘Fantastic Creatures’ section, trying to forget what I'd just read. To my dismay, I stumbled across entries for the 'Griffin', the 'Cynocephalus' and the 'Western Dragon'. Each was clearly the match for one of the monstrous statues we'd encountered on the way back from her arena.
Each awful discovery made me feel weaker and more uncertain. My wounded head ached and strength fled from my body. I let the tablet fall from my claws as my mind reeled. This was entirely beyond coincidence. Someway, somehow, beings too much like those described in this arch little encyclopedia were alive and breathing on the planet below, half a galaxy away from those who'd dreamed them up.
What did it mean? Was the Increate's universe so vast and varied that every tall tale was true somewhere? Did the Ever-Faithful Lovers of my homeworld's legendarium truly wait even now in eternal devotion at worlds on opposite sides of the galactic plane? Could one travel by starship to the hidden island of bliss to which the first Armorer-King had departed in the days of misty pre-history?
It was actually a rather beautiful concept. Most made-up stories had happy endings, didn't they?
...Which was why it couldn't be true. No, far more likely that I had, at last, gone completely insane. I had read large portions of this encyclopedia in the past, and had a most wild and vivid imagination before I'd been stripped of my youthful innocence. Back home, they used this to dismiss my warnings about the powers arrayed against our world; they said I was paranoid and seeing things where there were none. Perhaps they were finally correct.
Yes, yes, that had to be it. It had to be my own head. There was no danger to the world below from an unstoppable magical avenger. The Terran navigator's comment had set it all off. It had awoken some hidden part of my mind, and this lonely solitude caused me to hallucinate all these evil creatures I'd read about so long ago. Nightmare Moon was merely a phantom from a sick psyche; that explained how she could have continuity between my dreams and my waking.
But then again, if none of it was real, only illusion, how was I getting so banged up? Was I hurting myself? I tried to reach for my helmet to check the damage more closely, but I couldn't even stand anymore, I felt so dizzy and weak. I doubted I'd have the strength or the tools to fracture the shatter-resistant material so cleanly even when I was at the peak of health, and then who would drag me back indoors?
No more thinking. I needed to rest. Ever since Nightmare Moon's departure I'd been feeling drained. Apparently my injuries were more severe than had first appeared, or perhaps there was something wrong with the atmosphere in here. Had I tampered with the mixer in my madness? Ha. Wouldn't Nightmare Moon be surprised when she got back to find me expired from asphyxiation. Wait, no, she didn't exist so she wouldn't find anything. She'd go poof whenever I did. I tried to climb up to my perch, lost my balance, and tumbled onto the pile Nightmare Moon had made of the tent and her pillow.
My last vaguely coherent thought before I lost consciousness was how that would show her who was in charge around here.
I opened my eyes, both of them, some indefinite period of time later, feeling entirely different. Not only was my body whole and undamaged, I was no longer wearing my excursion suit or the sterile gauze.
I rolled to my feet as easily as could be, wondering at this change. Had I been out long enough to fully heal? But that would take ages; I should be weak, hungry, thirsty and filthy were that the case. Had Nightmare Moon returned and sped my recovery with her ineffable magic powers? But where was she?
No, I'd decided she was a figment of a diseased imagination. Had my injuries been too? Had a good night's sleep brought me back to lucidity? A sensation of unreality nagged at me, or perhaps it was just my natural pessimism, telling me that was too good to be true.
A cold draft from behind caught my attention, and I whirled around to see something I never thought I'd witness.
Both doors of the airlock were standing wide open.
This was impossible. All I felt was a cold breeze coming from without. If anything, the air should have been moving rather violently the opposite direction. The tell-tale blue glow of Nightmare Moon's force fields was nowhere in evidence. Not only that, but the landscape I glimpsed outside the airlock was dim and hazy. At no time of day or night should the moon look like that. The days are harsh and blazing, the nights are pitch dark, there is no gradation between them, and at all times the airless sky is perfectly clear.
I cautiously stepped closer to the doors until I had an angle to look upwards. No stars were visible, instead, something irregular and faintly luminous covered the sky from end to end like a thin blanket, or the roof of an enormous cave.
Or overcast clouds?
It was then that I became aware of tiny objects moving just outside the airlock. Where the light from indoors fell on this strange new moonscape, something was falling steadily from above and sparkling as it fell.
I grasped about for an explanation. Maybe a volcano had erupted nearby, and I was witnessing the gas and ash spewed forth? But the core of this satellite should be cold and dead, and even the most furious geothermal outburst stood no chance of even temporarily creating the atmosphere I was experiencing. Furthermore, the sorts of gas resulting from such an event would be toxic, or at least unbreathable.
Could Nightmare Moon (if she existed) be doing this with her magic? Perhaps using the mixer we'd left in the arena to fill the world with air and dust?
I reached out the airlock with one of my upper claws and caught one of the falling motes. It felt cold, and vanished a moment after I touched it, but I still distinctly saw the six-fold crystal symmetry.
It was a snowflake. It was snowing on the moon. The way it had melted proved it was not one of her creations of dust.
I took a few more steps outside. With a shock of cold, I realized what I had thought was the same arid dust before was instead a blanket of snow. Nightmare Moon's hoofprints left the cell's doorstep and hurried off into the snow-obscured distance.
As I followed them with my eyes, I noticed something large and rectangular standing on the slope just outside the reach of the light. The prints paused next to it, then hurried off with renewed haste. I fetched a lantern from indoors and walked out into the frozen night to see what it was.
The electric light illuminated a large wooden sign covered with characters of an unfamiliar language. Or, I should say, a new language. Despite having never seen these letters before, I was still capable of understanding their meaning.
The sign, half-obscured by snow, read "Welcome to Celestria" next to an arrow and crude pictures of smiling pony heads.
'Celestria'? It sounded like a portmanteau of the name of Nightmare Moon's former kingdom and the name of her hated sister, like how, in the story I just read, the protagonist was shown "Pottersville," a vision how his hometown might have been, named after the piece's villain.
I shook my head. What a crazy time I'd been having! First I collapsed from my wounds, then I awoke in perfect health in the midst of a snowstorm on the moon, and now this sign in an unknown language I could read inspired by the story I'd just read appeared out of nowhere! Where did she even get the wood? Either my sanity was much, much further gone than I'd first surmised or...
"...We're not really here. You're dreaming, idiot...."
"...There was only our starry dreamlands, all their little friends, and myself...."
"...My dreams should be inviolate! Tell me how you snuck in there...."
...Or it was just that I was somehow psychically joined to this sad, violent alien who could enter and shape dreams at a whim. Madness began to seem appealing by comparison.
I heaved a sigh. Well, either way, I didn't suppose I was in any actual danger here. Dream or delusion, none of it was really happening. Gripping the lantern tighter, I trudged deeper into the snowstorm, following the fading tracks left by Nightmare Moon.
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Snowing on the moon... Yeah, I can see how he'd think it was a dream.
Brilliant title.
It's nice to see this updating. Good stuff. Oh, I haven't upvoted? Let's fix that.
Nice to see it updating. Let's get to messing around in her head!
This is a great story. However, the vague story description almost turned me away, but I am happy I persevered. Read through it all in one sitting.
This story really should have at least ten times the upvotes. I hate it when very well written (and more importantly, interesting) stories go unnoticed by the large mass of what can be generously called 'people'.
Loving the characterizations and the feel of the story.
Keep up the great work!
What a strange and endearing story this has proven to be...
Fascinating. An actually rather well-done story. You'll be seeing a great many more views shortly.
imageshack.com/a/img33/5764/likethischapter.jpg
More please.
This is the most astonishingly underrated story I've ever come across here. Absolutely brilliant!
i'm liking this (both interpretations) and faving
Glad you decided to update this, that's how I found it. Really loving the mix of religion, light science, and magic. Love the themes of possible redemption, humility, and sometimes they aren't what you think. Read the whole thing over a couple days.
Please keep going, if you wish. Thumbs up, following.
4157634 a couple of days?!
i read it all in 6 hours!!
4159890
I didn't measure the time I spent actually reading, but it was probably more than 6 hours. Your unicorn is peeking out of your disguise with such admissions of nerd power, you'd better be careful.
this is a cool story... read through it over the ladt few days. i'm going to recommend this to a few of my friends, see if we can't get you a few more upvotes :)
4159890 Some of us have other things to do... as unfortunate as that is.
4159890 6 hours? This story is only 50k... about the size of an Animorphs book. Those only take two hours to read.
4165350 I was righting an easy between chapters
I wanted to title it. "Evil-inator 5000" (as the theme was evil) but I didn't think my teacher would appreciate that
I believe that once this is done, it will rank among my top five favorite stories that include Fallout: Equestria and Past Sins.
Even now, its getting close to the top five! I can't wait to see how everything continues to unfold, and I'm loving how NMM is being characterized in this, acting like one could only imagine an immortal being would after sending nearly a thousand years in solitude with nothing but hatred stored within your heart. Of course, Filly Luna and the Tyrant Celestia are also wonderfully done and can't wait to see how they effect the story! If this didn't much sense, basically I'm lovin' the
outta this story and want more of it!
*bump*
Any updates in the foreseeable future?
4753640
I am so sorry about leaving this story hanging for so long. I've lost count of the number of times I've written a thousand or two words of the next chapter, decided it was ALL WRONG, scrapped it and started over from scratch.
Right now I'm working on an entry for ED's summer fanfic contest, partially in hopes of breaking this writing slump. After that, I'll get back to work on MD.
If I can just extrude this next chapter somehow, I think the rest will follow much more easily.
4757026 I know that feel bro. Do what you need to do. But remember that the stuff you think is junk, isn't always. Maybe run it by someone else... although that isnt always a good idea
Just follow your gut, I guess. But remember that you may just be second guessing yourself for no reason.
Happens to me all the time.
4757026
I'm eagerly awaiting the next chapter. I know how hard it is to face a slump, but if it helps any, the best you can do is just push through it. Keep writing even if your brain screams that it's all awful and wrong. That's what the second draft is for!
Anyway, I've been loving this story quite a bit. I'm excited to see what more you do with it!