The Book of Nightmares

by A Green Notebook

8: The Ministry Of Lost Souls

Chapter 8: The Ministry of Lost Souls

“Living in a world without love
(a burden to my soul)
Is living in a worthless world
So I will call on you...”

“How are we going to do this?” I questioned Sage. After what seemed like hours of traversing the desolate building, we had managed to make our way to the top, but there was only one problem in our way. The debris bridge.

It was a more menacing sight up close. It constantly shook, and pieces of rock and debris fell off and onto the ground. The iron bars that acted as supports into both our building and the other lower one, but I had a feeling that too much weight would make it tumble down to the war on the ground. Cultists were having an epic duel with the seemingly indestructible shades. The bridge creaked and was obviously on the verge of stopping the battle down below.

“Well,” Sage finally spoke up. “We can go one at a time. I mean, the distance from here to there isn’t that far if you think about it. Just slide down, and stop yourself every once in awhile.”

“Who’s going first then?” I asked. Instantly, Sage’s gaze fell upon me, and I was just able to feel Breeze’s. I let out a sigh, and let Breeze get off of me, and watched her rush over to Sage. I looked down at the bridge, knowing that the slope would require me to slide from one piece of still debris to another. I knew that somehow, I’d fuck it up. Again, I looked over at Sage, full of worry, but the mare only smiled and gestured for me to proceed.

Without the proper motivation, I felt helpless. Sage’s smiles and good looks always helped me through the short time I had been in this realm, but nothing was going to help me with my phobias. I took a single step onto the scrap metal bridge, and felt a sudden jolt go through my body. I flew back, thinking that the whole thing was about to collapse. Of course, it wasn’t going to do any such thing, but I had my suspicions. Another go at it, and I was standing on a perch of debris, looking down at the massive slope ahead of me. The amount of cracks and even some of the small holes on the concrete and metal bridge didn’t fortify my courage at all.

“Here we go!”

I jumped off of the perch and met with the concrete slope, sliding at a moderate pace. Pieces of debris seemed to make a path for me, letting me slide through with ease, aside from the constant burning of my hooves against the concrete.

“Peacekeeper Watch out!” Sage called out.

“Argh!” I yelped in pain. “Gah, fuck, my fucking knee!”

My leg had smashed into a broken piece of rubble, only damaging my knee though. I was starting to lose my balance, and was on the verge of falling on my side. Considering how much my hooves were burning from the drag along the concrete and the small pebbles, I could only imagine what my sides would look like should I land on them.

A lengthy piece of rebar stood from the bridge, and to stop myself, I wrapped my hooves around it, inertia making the rest of my body thrust itself forward, but I maintained my grip on the rebar. A disgusting feeling rose up in my stomach, and suddenly I became overwhelmed with nausea. My body remained on the piece of rebar, trying to keep hold, and the creaking of the rusted iron didn’t help fortify my faith in the support of the structure. How did a scrap bridge even form in between the news building and the neighboring apartment beside it? Must’ve been a Nightmare Moon placing thing for this realm, trying to make this place look as destroyed and deserted as possible. It almost worked for me, but then there was Sage, Breeze, and a shitload of monsters and cultists that wanted to do nothing more except for kill.

I glanced down at the slope, the damn thing appearing steeper and longer than it really was. Sweat began to form the longer I stared at the slope, but I managed to reassure myself that I was (hopefully) only a quarter of the way to the apartment’s roof. Just a little further and I wouldn’t need to endure anything as terrifying as this again, or anytime soon. I looked up to Sage and Breeze, who were both looking at me with confidence. I may have been the only way for them to get out of this realm, but right now, as a Royal Guard, I needed to protect the innocent and Equestrian youth.

“Sage!” I yelled. “Do you think you can get Breeze down here?”

The filly’s ears twitched and her eyes seemed to sink deeper into her skull.

“Why?” Sage asked for Breeze.

“I might be able to get her onto the roof of the apartment here. Just trust me!”

Uncertainty spread across the mare’s face. Obviously she doubted my arcane prowess, but I didn’t blame her. It was a pretty straightforward request I had just made for her. And I was asking for a lot of Breeze; trying to test her courage and faith in me. Honestly, I wanted what was best for Breeze, since she was a filly, traumatized to the point that she couldn’t speak, but even I was beginning to doubt myself, although just moments ago I was ready to go with the plan.

“I don’t think she want’s to go down by herself. I’m coming down with her.”

“Wait, just wait,” I spoke looking back down at the slope. “I-I want to get off this thing now.”

Almost out of fear, eagerness or both, I released my grip of the rebar, and slipped on down the scrap bridge. I screamed like a little pegasus filly falling off of a cloud and to her impending doom. I fell on my back, and began kicking, as if I were going to actually hit something. Once the land beneath me disappeared, I had practically strained my vocal cords; screaming, fearing that I would end up breaking a few bones and I would be unable to carry on with this journey.

“Umph!”

“Well.” I groaned. “That wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

“Peacekeeper?” Sage called. “Are you alright?”

I opened my eyes, glancing up at the vortex in the sky. I sat up, my rear end and back throbbing with pain from the impact. “I’m still alive! You coming down?”

There was a brief silence.

“A-alright! We’re coming down!”

I backed up along the roof, making sure that I didn’t stumble over the edge of the rusted railings, and obtained a visual of the mare and filly. Shaking as she approached the edge, Sage almost dropped Breeze from her back numerous times, but the filly managed to cling on. I braced myself to catch them from the seemingly long slope. In truth, the slope was pretty short. The only reason I took so long going down, was because I was falling at such a painfully slow rate that everything seemed longer.

Sage took one step on the small slope, but instantly lost her balance and fell, dropping Breeze onto the ground. They both didn’t gain much speed coming down, mainly since Breeze was using her wings to try and fly back up to the top of the slope, and Sage was trying to grip onto the various objects around her, but her shaky hooves wouldn’t allow it. Now that I thought about it, the scrap path down to me was moderately long.

Breeze’s wings gave out and suddenly, she found herself zipping past Sage, managed to dodge one of the holes on the bridge, and came down like a highly energized pony on drugs. I barely had enough time to use magic to catch the filly, which resulted in us tumbling over, though I only staggered, while Breeze fell flat on her face.

“You okay there?” I asked the filly, then repeating the question to Sage when Breeze didn’t answer. The emerald earth pony was hanging on to a piece of rebar--the same one I was hanging onto.

“A-a-am I a-almost down?”

“Just let go,” I suggested, bracing myself again. “I’ll catch you. Magic, remember?”

“Right.”

I heard the mare speak to herself, and suddenly, she came down to me, at half the rate of Breeze, but she still managed to catch me off guard.

“Oof!”

Again, my shattered form lay on the ground, beaten by two of the most clumsiest ponies I’d ever come across. Upon returning to my hooves, I was drawn to the edge of the rooftop by the tormented screams of the cultists below. Sage and I glanced over the edge of the roof, and down towards the battle raging below.

The battle wasn’t really that far down from us. Just a couple of floors down and that was it. Thankfully, Sage, Breeze and I could easily pass through the battle, by jumping from roof to roof. We could literally jump around, and exit the town completely unnoticed. It was a slightly ingenious plan.

The monsters, amazingly, were beginning to retreat from the cultists’ attacks, but only the tall skinny shades stayed and tore the cultists apart. Literally. Ripping limbs off of their bodies and using the dismembered limbs as weapons to kill the ones who were too stupid to realize that the more you bothered the shades, the more pissed off it got.

I could care less about the ponies getting killed. As long as it was no one that I knew, then I was almost alright with it. These ponies were cultists and deserved no mercy for doing what they’re doing. If somepony just joined their organization, then it was their fault for believing that Nightmare Moon had the better way, and Celestia wasn’t the rightful ruler of this land. If they died, they only had themselves to blame.

“Let’s get moving.” I suggested to the Sage and Breeze, both still watching the battle down below.

“Let’s move it!” I yelled.

Both Sage and Breeze were snapped out of their trance and trotted behind me, ready to journey through the whole neighborhood by the roofs. Just jump over the small gaps. Piece of cake right?

I glanced back at the emerald mare and grey filly, and back at the other roof, littered with trash and debris, probably due to the events with the trash bridge that connected the news building with this small apartment complex. It was time to finally get out of here and get into Canterlot. If we managed to get out of this town, then we could sneak into Canterlot through the city’s sewage system. As disgusting as it sounds, there was a catwalk around in there that overlooked all the liquids, and hopefully Nightmare Moon didn’t destroy that. Trekking through all that mucky waters... ugh. Fucking disgusting. A total nightmare for me.

“Alright, let’s get out of here.” I stepped back, and got a running start, though it was unnecessary. I jumped, and felt as if it were a big leap of faith. I found that the roof I landed on was closer than expected. I turned back to Sage and Breeze, both of which snickering at me. Well there goes my self-esteem.

A simple trot over the short gap and the earth pony and pegasus made it over the roof and next to me. Now it was time to repeat the process about thirty more times.

And that was exactly what we did. Well, I jumped around. Breeze and Sage kept walking over the gaps, and sometimes Breeze even glided over some of the gaps that actually required effort to go over. Again, what remained of my self esteem was now gone, as a filly was able to jump the roofs of this town with more courage than I; a Royal Guard. It was a little heartwarming to see the once depressed Breeze seemingly having fun just by jumping around.

Although I had endured a rigorous training routine as a colt who just joined the Royal Guard, all of this roof jumping was taking a lot out of me. My breaths came in short pants, and my jumps became short skips over each gap. My phobia of heights didn’t exactly help me with this either. Once the sounds of pain and death had stopped ringing in my ears, I slowed my pace.

“Damn this is one hell of a workout.” I sighed upon jumping on the tiled slanted roof of somepony’s house.

“Well it is for you,” Sage remarked. “You’re jumping from one rooftop to the next. You didn’t even need to jump the whole time, you could have just walked over the small gaps.”

“Where’s Breeze?”

Sage opened her mouth to speak, but the small grey pegasus appeared, seemingly out of thin air, right behind Sage, grinning at me. Probably laughing to herself that she had more balls than I did when it came to heights. Hell, she was a pegasus after all.

“Are we almost out of the town?” Sage questioned.

I glanced over the gentle slope of the roof to see how long we had to go in order to leave this town. The borders weren’t far off. Just two more buildings in front of us, and then we’d have to make a descent onto the streets below and continue from there. There were more homes ahead, but to jump from our height down there would break our legs.

“Just a little more and we’ll-”

“Ah, Peacekeeper!” A disturbingly majestic voice called.

Fuck me.

Sage and Breeze both ran over the slope of the roof, leaving me with the stallion clad in his nightmarish armor.

“I had hoped that I hadn’t been...” The stallion pondered as he hovered in the air, using his magic to create a platform in the air. “Too rough with you.”

“What do you want?” I kept a stern tone in my voice, trying to mask my fear.

“Nightmare Moon has a plan for you. She-no, we know what you’re doing, and I’m going to make sure you don’t achieve your goal. You two are coming with me.”

Illusion glanced at Sage, and recoiled in surprise at the sight of Breeze. “Ah, and who is this?”

Illusion’s arcane grip wrapped around Breeze and he lifted her up off the ground and closer to him, examining the little filly. “Hmm. And what might your name be hmm?”

The filly shook her head, not saying a word to the stallion. Illusion said nothing, and plopped her back down next to Sage. He fixed his gaze back onto me.

“This is between us, and us only is it not?” Illusion lowered himself so he was at my level. “Let’s keep it just between us shall we?”

His horn flared and everything went black.

My eyes opened, but I wasn’t in any place I’d ever seen before.

In front of me was a grand structure, one that rivals the size of Canterlot Royal Palace. Columns supported the structure, and about a thousand steps lead to the base of the columns. I hate stairs. The obsidian building had statues perched on top of the stairs, both of a different species--a pegasus and a griffon. The edges of the building and the stairs were trimmed with a golden material, and a violet aura emanated from the whole structure.

Illusion was nowhere in sight. Neither was Sage or Breeze. It was just a forest with dead trees. And cracks in the ground, some wide enough to practically be considered a natural moat around the grand building. The sky still had the twisted faces of ponies and the vortex in the center. Still, nopony in sight.

I turned my body back to the grand structure, recoiling when it happened. I never wanted my body to make the movement, but instead, something made me move.

“Magnificent isn’t it?” Illusion’s smug tone spoke.

The stallion appeared beside me. “I found this out here not too long ago. Come, walk with me.”

My hooves moved on their own, going up the steps with Illusion by my side.

“You see,” The crimson stallion spoke. “When Nightmare Moon came and possessed the Princess a thousand years ago, she wanted to have, not only eternal night, but to rule in a perfect society without any opposition. Of course, her sister opposed the idea, and well, Celestia tried to make a compromise. you know about that right?”

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Instead Illusion continued to speak.

“Oh! What am I saying, of course you know! Princess Celestia suggested to have both of their celestial objects in the sky at the same time. You know what that created? The infamous eclipse. Nightmare Moon relished the idea for a time, but as greed returned to her, she decided that it would be night forever, up until Celestia banished her. That’s the short version. Luna, now, not then, can’t watch everypony’s dreams and protect them. With her own battle waging inside her head, there’s less focus on Equestria’s civilians. Eventually Nightmare Moon finds them instead of Luna, and the Princess of Nightmares recruits them into the cult, If she deems them worthy.”

“I don’t get it,” I managed. “What does the eclipse have to do with any of this?”

“I guess I did skip over that didn’t I? Well, it’s quite simple you see, when the eclipse occurs, both Celestia and Luna are at their weakest state. You see, they both have to raise their celestial bodies, but also have to part them too. When Luna is at her weakest... well, I’m sure you can piece this together.”

And that I did. When Nightmare Moon senses the weakness in Princess Luna, that’s when she’ll unleash her powers and try and take over Luna, this time erasing any opposition within. Shit, Nightmare Moon was going to take her own form... permanently! I have to warn the Princess!

We reached the top of the stairs, and continued into the building. There were no walls, just a perfect view of the environment around us, with the occasional columns blocking the view. It was as black as night, and the only light sources were from the torches that were lit on the columns and the outside.

I felt like a burden has been taken off of my back, and was able to move freely again. A sword appeared in front of me, a golden hilt and silver blade. The symbol of the sun was inscribed into the blade. A polar opposite version of this blade appeared in Illusion’s arcane grip. He levitated a black bag in front of me, the one that was a part of his armor.

“I’m sure that this is what you’re looking for. You can have it, if you can best me in the field of battle. If I beat you, then you’ll spend the rest of your days here in the Canterlot Dungeon.”

I shivered. I knew that my chances of winning were slim, but I needed to take this chance. “Deal.”

“Well then, shall we?”

Illusion dropped the bag, and raised his blade. I raised mine, and got ready for the stallion’s furious blows. My gut told me that this whole ordeal wasn’t going to end very well.

“Whenever you’re ready friend.” Illusion gave me another one of his smug smirks, which honestly pissed me off every time he did it. “No holding back.”

I attacked without warning, shocking the stallion, although he still blocked the attack, just barely. I cursed under my breath, and tried for another attack, but it was blocked again. Illusion’s blade came for another attack, but luckily, I managed to deflect the blow, and land a slick slice on his armor, but he seemed to have shrugged it off. I shot a blast of magic at Illusion, slightly disorienting him, and I jabbed my blade into the stallion’s side.

Finally! I’d managed to draw blood from this rouge! His armor was stained with dripping blood, but Illusion seemed unfazed by the stab wound, A blinding light flashed in my eyes, followed by what seemed like fire engulfing my body.

Shit, I was getting sliced and stabbed to death! A sudden heavy steel force slammed into my face, and I soared into the air, and upon impact, I squeaked along the floor. My body was on fire, full of pain from whatever damage had been done to me.

The blinding light was gone, and I regained my vision. Blood seeped through numerous little wounds and slices. It took all my strength to stand up on my hooves, and when I did, Illusion didn’t hold back.

His blade’s hilt slammed into my head, and a blast of magic burned into my back, shoving me back onto the ground, and a kick from Illusion made me slide across the slick ground. I tried to stand, only to be gripped by Illusion’s powerful magic, and lifted up off the ground. An arcane force smashed into my ribs, the familiar broken pain back in them, and another force into my chest, with the same pain returning. I dropped to the ground with a loud thud.

My breaths came in short pants, and my magic was weak. I tried to raise myself again, but the broken bones in my body wouldn’t allow it. Was there anyway to get luck and hit a weak spot on this pony? Maybe I could do what I did before, and try to disorient him, and attack with a barrage of my own attacks. Or maybe I could just stick to my regular arcane attacks and use the blade when he would least expect it. Damnit, why did the best battlemage in the Royal Guard have to be recruited in such a brutal cult? Why was it Illusion, my mentor and my superior, had to be a fucking idiot and join the wrong side at the wrong time?

A vial rolled in front of my eyes, cylindrical, with a crimson liquid inside. I glanced up at Illusion. it was obviously he, who gave it to me. I didn’t even care. My body was badly damaged, and I wanted--no. I needed to kill him. Illusion was the only thing standing between a safe and protected world, or a world ruled in a dark eternal night.

“Hmm, back for more?” Illusion spoke.

The wounds were starting to fade away, and my strength--both physical and mental--was starting to return. My vision became less blurred, and I gripped my blade again. It was time to whip his ass.

I lashed out at the stallion, actually catching by surprise this time. He fell from the sudden tackle and I rose my sword up to stab, but it was too slow. Another slice was blocked. Magic bullets rained from my horn, most of which impacting Illusion and his arcane barrier.

The shield broke, and my blade rose, ready and thirsty for blood. It lunged at him, only to crack the marble ground where his head used to be. Again, I rose the blade, but Illusion moved his head to the side. I shot a blast of magic at the stallion, stunning him, and rose my blade up again. A single stab to the head would have killed anypony, but Illusion just... just...

Vanished.

Into thin air.

“What the fuck?”

A force smashed into my back, throwing me across the room. Like a cat, I managed to stick the landing, and slid on the ground. Illusion did exactly what his name implied; create a duplicate and tricked me into thinking I was fighting him.

“Come on! The fun’s just beginning.”

I threw my blade at him, catching him off guard, and while he was busy blocking the tossed blade, my horn shot a barrage of bullets, all of which slamming against, and piercing Illusion’s armor. Blood appeared from the holes in his azure armor, but the stallion still stood, almost unfazed by the deadly attack. I was surprised by all of the blows he was able to take.

“Damn,” Illusion spoke through pants. “I didn’t think you’d be standing still. I’ll give you something to think about though.”

My heart skipped a beat. I remembered the last time he said that to a pony. I swore that I’d get that book back, but if this was only a fraction of Illusion’s abilities, then I don’t think that I would be able to carry out my task.

“Sorry Peacekeeper, but this is over.”

Illusion’s horn flared, and a crimson orb floated in front of him. Electricity flowed through the orb, and it gradually became larger, and seemingly more unstable. When it was about the size of an average colt or filly, Illusion blasted energy towards the orb, and on it came, heading towards me.

“Oh shit!” I yelled, rolling away from the ball that was hurdled towards me. It was just the last second, any moment sooner and I would be blasted and smeared across the ceiling.

I glanced back at where the ball and beam were heading.

BOOM!

My eyes widened once the orb disappeared, and a thick cloud of smoke blanketed the area. The material that made the column was reduced to a white-hot molten state, some even reduced to rubble along the ground.

Illusion shot another orb, and again I almost died. Another orb, and I rolled again. This time when I got up Illusion was no longer charging another attack. Fuck, he was doing the damn disappearing act again.

A sudden strike knocked the wind out of me, and another into my chest. I was on the ground now, still trying to catch my breath. Illusion’s shadow loomed over me,his hoof raised and incoming for a strike to my face.

“Gah,” I yelled in frustration upon waking up in the real world. “Fuck!”

I was in the Royal Palace, in the infirmary for the Royal Guards. The doctors had placed me on a table, steel, with a cushion placed on top. The walls were a beige color, and the windows only reflected so much light, it was amazing that it was actually the middle of the night. The doctors, nurses and even some of the patients were all staring at me, as if I were some kind of madman.

Beside me sat Nocturnal, and Twilight--both of which were covered in bandages and bruises, and were ready to subdue me should they have to. I calmed, trying to gather my thoughts. Illusion did it again: Whipped my ass and sent me back to the real world. I was so close though! If the fake Illusion were real, then I would have the book in my possession. But The battle wasn’t lost yet! Luna could still help me with this! All I had to do was inform her of the trouble we were in and she could probably find her way through the dream world. She could do that... right?

“Calm Rookie,” Nocturnal spoke. “What happened.”

“I need to get to Luna.” I replied. I hopped off the table and onto my hooves. The doctors and nurses came to me, wanting me to go back on the table, but I managed to get them to let me go.

“You didn’t answer the question.” Twilight said, following me out of the room and into the grand halls of the castle. “We need to know what happened.”

“I had the book. Damnit, I had it. Illusion and I fought, but he came out on top. Again!” I stopped in the middle of the hall, trying to figure out where I was, before another thought came to me. “Where are the others? Your friends and the Royal Guards?”

“Jester is fine, with Celestia, informing her of all that’s happened so far. Paladin is with her too.”

“Twilight’s friends? Are they safe?”

“My friends are fine,” Twilight answered, an expression of sorrow spread on her face. “Fluttershy though...”

My heart stopped. “Is she...?”

“She’ll live.” nocturnal answered. “She just needs to... recover. Mentally, I mean.”

I let out a sigh of relief and continued down the halls, looking for the throne room. We were one step closer to ending this mess. With the help of the Elements and Luna, Nightmare Moon could be defeated, but that would take some time, considering that I had to get that damn book back from Illusion.

“Before we fought, Illusion told me when Nightmare Moon planned to attack. Luna needs to know when so we can get the Royal Guards ready for an attack anywhere around Canterlot.”

“When’s the attack?” Asked Nocturnal.

“And will the Royal Guard be enough?” Twilight questioned, stepping ahead of me since I obviously had no clue where I was going.

I pondered the questions. I already know the answer to the first one. The Eclipse Celebration was supposed to be in a few days, maybe four or five. Would that be enough time for us to stop Nightmare Moon’s plans though? I haven’t earned a taste of her powers, but if she managed to give Illusion that much of a power boost, then I could only imagine what an Alicorn was capable of.

As for the Royal guards being enough, I wasn’t exactly sure of that myself. I didn’t even know where Nightmare Moon’s army would begin to attack. Plus if there was any other monster in her realm that she’d release and wreak havoc upon the land. There was a ton of things to think about before we began our attack on Nightmare Moon. Once I got the book, we had control of everything. Hopefully.

I still remember what Nightmare Moon said about the book. It was nothing but a portal to the dream realm--a way to get in and to do whatever you please. If you wanted to get out all you had to do was just sleep in the realm. It was a strange place, literally the same place within a different realm.

“Here we are,” Twilight spoke, gesturing towards the throne room--guarded by two Lunar Guards and two Royal Guards-- taking pride in her ability to navigate through the castle. “We probably shouldn’t interrupt the princess.”

“Jester’s already briefing the princess.” I said, stopping in front of the four guards. Nocturnal came beside me, and the four did a salute before opening the door. I was, in a way, surprised that Nocturnal had managed to ponies to salute her. illusion was able to come and go whenever he wanted, but never earned a salute. Hell, he was at least one rank higher, but never got a salute.

In the center of the room was Jester, beside her Paladin stood, armed to the teeth with a short sword on her hip, a broadsword on her back, and an axe on her right side, wrapped along her hip opposite of her sword. She donned a heavy armor; silver steel that encased most of her hooves and body. Beside her was another pony, a fiery red, with the same armor, but a blade that was forged with a wavy edge.

In front of them were the two princesses themselves. Luna, for the first time in a long time, seemed calm and collected, while Celestia was still trying to take in the information. This was also the first time I’d seen Luna’s hair just like her sister’s; almost misty, but instead of the rainbow colors, it was like a starry night sky had formed.

The room turned and looked at the three of us. Nocturnal and I did our regular bows to the princesses, and so did Twilight, but only for a short moment before trotting to the majestic silver Alicorn.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight whinnied.

“Oh Twilight!” The princess wrapped a wing around the unicorn and nuzzled her mane. “I’m so glad to see that you’re alright. Your friends? Are they okay?”

“Yes, yes, they’re fine! They’re in the public hospital, but the damage wasn’t too severe thankfully.”

The princess broke free from her hug, and turned towards Nocturnal and I, as did Luna. We both stood normally and faced the two Alicorns. Princess Celestia approached me first, smiling slightly. “So you are the one Jester was talking about?”

My mind went blank. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. How do I respond without making myself sounding like an idiot? “Y-yes sir--uh Ma’am!”

A slight chuckle came from the princess, but then she regained her serious composure. “Peacekeeper, is it?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Your friend Jester, fortunately, informed us of what happened in the past few days.” Luna spoke, fear apparent in her voice. “Please, tell us about what happened after you read the book.”

I glanced at Nocturnal, who just nodded and waited for me to speak. I sighed, and then began. I started off from when I woke up in the dilapidated hospital. The memories of the whole event seemed crystal clear, and each time I remembered almost getting caught, I swore that I was literally reliving the moment. The intensity was still there. I continued up to the point when I met Sage. I wasn’t sure if it was wise to tell of my growing feelings for the mare, but I did anyway, seeing it as an important part of my stay in that realm. She was the only ‘normal’ pony at the time of my arrival and my duties as a Royal Guard required me to protect her with my life.

My first mention of Nightmare Moon made only the stallion with the wavy sword jump. he must have entered around the late stages of Jester’s story. Celestia remained calm on the outside, but her sister shivered at the mention of her evil counterpart.

“...Illusion,” I continued. “Well, he’s part of Nightmare Moon’s regime. I fought him. Twice, and each time he displayed a new kind of power. What Nightmare Moon did to him was just incredible, to amplify his power.”

Princess Celestia turned to Luna. No words were being said, but I could tell that they were speaking with one another, just like when Jester and I used our telepathy spell. From Luna’s reactions, Celestia may have been coming up with a plan that obviously put my life on the line. Again.

The pony who stood next to Paladin trotted over to me quickly, as if to not disturb the two Alicorns. Maybe when this meeting was over he’d tell me who he was.

“Peacekeeper,” Celestia spoke finally. “You have shown great courage and devotion to your mission. It is unfortunate that Illusion has been so easily convinced to join the enemy. Before the Eclipse Celebration, we shall prevail and prevent Nightmare Moon from returning and wreaking havoc on this land. For what you have done and what you have endure, the only gift I can bestow upon you now is that of rank. Instead of private, you shall now be referred to as Sergeant Peacekeeper from now on.

“I suggest that you all get some kind of rest. If we are to try and prevent Nightmare Moon’s return, then we all need to be prepared for anything. Peacekeeper, if you can, do what you can in the Nightmare Realm tonight. If you decide to do so, then I expect a full assessment on your current situation in the realm. Understood?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Good. As for the rest of you, you are all dismissed. I hope for the best for your friends Twilight, but with what has happened recently, I have a lot to think about.”

And with that, the princess of the sun left us all, her sister following. The stallion beside me nudged me, grabbing my attention, and extended his hoof.

“Pleased to meet you sir.” He said.

“Sorry, but who are you?”

“Ah! Apologies. I’m Flamberg, latest addition to your group. So is Paladin, my sister.”

Paladin and Jester joined Flamberg, Nocturnal, Twilight and I.

“Well, that was... interesting.” Paladin remarked.

“How so?” Twilight asked.

“I was expecting a lot more from Luna. Instead she said nothing. Nocturnal, Peacekeeper; you guys should talk with her. Find out what you can from her.”

“Interrogate the princess?” Nocturnal said. “I don’t think that’s very wise. It’s her business and her’s alone. She was quiet for a reason.”

“C’mon Nocturnal,” I spoke up. “Luna obviously has something she’s not telling us, and given the circumstances, we need to know why.”

The Lunar Guard looked uncertain if we were doing the right thing, but I knew deep down, that we were. We had to have been doing the right thing. We’re stopping Nightmare Moon from taking over the land right? I was also saving a mare and a filly from her evil clutches so that had to count for something. I still felt like I was doing something wrong though.

“C’mon,” Nocturnal said, reluctantly starting for Luna’s chambers. “The guards will let us in.”

I followed close behind my superior. Jester and Twilight followed, leaving Paladin and Flamberg by themselves. It was just the four of us. Walking down the mile-long hallway. I don’t know if it were just me, but I wasn’t so eager to speak with the princess. I was practically going to be prying into Luna’s personal life, all just to try and fight Nightmare Moon. This was for the right reason though.

Two mares, both equipped with standard Lunar Guard armor and lances, stepped to the side of the large double doors. Nocturnal gave a stern ‘thank you’ and opened the doors.

Being a princess has its perks. A luxurious bedroom was definitely one of them. Bookshelves were lined with tomes that probably dated back to one of the first sophisticated written texts. Each was categorized in every genre possible, except for a section labelled Oneirology. Lamps were lit up on various tables and podiums around the room, each one with at least three books open. Books were piled on top of one another on Luna’s bed and even on the floors around her mattress.

The princess herself was standing on the balcony ahead of us. Her eyes were glued to another book, and occasionally she moved to a telescope and wrote something down in a journal, and went back to reading. I let out an uneasy sigh, and approached the Princess of The Night. It was time for some answers.

Comments

[-Brutus]

Dun dun dun! Let's see what Luna has to say/answer.