Episode 1: Nightmares and Lunascapes

by mr lovecolt

Tiller

Tiller shivered in the corner of one of the barn’s numerous anterooms. When he had originally helped build it, he was told that these rooms were to be used for storage of the multitude of crops that his village raised. Looking back on it, he realized he should have asked why rooms built for that purpose required extra stud beams. Obviously, that question was now moot, because he knew now that the real purpose of these rooms was to keep certain ponies inside, not plants. Without windows, the only light that managed to enter the anteroom did so through the chinks in the barn roof. Slivers of evening light cascaded down onto the hay at his feet and sliced at the floor beneath him.

Tiller looked up and saw a piece of moon through one of the chinks; tonight, Luna’s moon had taken on an orange hue. It was the moon that preceeded what he had learned was the Summer Sun Celebration. From what few outside ponies he had met, the Summer Sun Celebration was an occasion for revelries and games played between the mares and stallions. The ponies would stay awake all night and bask in what was the shortest night of the year as they waited for the moment that Celestia’s sun would rise. For the elders of Flatts, however, the occasion was met with candle-lit vigils and chants. According to this small village that lay a few miles outside of Dodge Junction, Tiller had come to learn that all such celebrations were merely opportunities to engage in vice and worship of usurpation. Nopony had ever come to Flatts for visits; the few outsiders he had met had come by accident. Tiller thought back and wondered whether any of the ponies of Flatts had ever actually left Flatts, either. He searched his memories and tried to think of one example, but his mind came back as empty as the room in which he now resided.

Tiller pressed his ear to the wall. Maybe if he listened hard enough, he could hear the sounds of the elders in the main section of the barn. The wooden planks were so cold they bit at his ear. Tiller shivered and wondered how, in the midst of Summer, in an area of Equestria he knew to be well to the south, this barn wall could feel so cold. He still pressed his ear to the wood and strained to hear just one sound. He wanted sound, even if it was only the sound of the elders.

There was nothing.

Tiller rose to his hooves. He winced and turned his head as he put weight on his hind hoof. Even in this light, Tiller could make out the shape of a round bruise that discolored his green fur; a gift from Ag, one of the elder’s enforcers. He shook his head and made his way toward the other side of the room. He knew that he had been placed in the anteroom situated closest toward the center of the village. If he strained enough, perhaps he could at least hear the soft chanting from the other villagers as they awaited the coming of the sun. He pressed his ear against the wall, only to pull back the moment he felt something stick to his fur. He reached up to touch where his ear had come into contact with the sticky substance and shuddered as he realized he had blood on his hoof. It was still wet, which meant that somepony had been taken out of here only moments before he was thrown in.

“F-Forge.”

Tiller gasped at how strained his voiced sounded. His body began to shake at the realization that he held his best friend’s blood in his hoof. He leaned forward to steady himself on the wall and felt a small indentation on it. Forge must have attempted to break through the wall with his hooves, and then finally with his own head. If only Forge had known that Tiller had helped build that barn, he would have known how pointless it was to try to escape. And now, he was probably somewhere semi-unconscious after giving up, or perhaps the elders had finally gotten tired of his stubborn refusal to give up and so they went ahead and took him to the main room to commence his punishment. The second one sounds more likely, Tiller thought, allowing himself to snicker at the thought of his best friend’s inability to give up. His snicker went away moments later as the sound of a latch clicked and broke the silence.

Torch fire bathed the room in light, and Tiller fought the urge to turn towards the door to find out which enforcer had come to deliver him to the elders. Please, just don’t let it be Ag, Tiller thought as he turned to face the stallion in the doorway. The stallion’s sides almost touched the edges of the doorframe, and Tiller knew that it had to be Ag. Though Tiller was smaller than most of the other stallions and it made all of the others look larger, very few stallions rivaled Ag in size and strength. As though it recognized the stallion that did this, the bruise on Tiller’s leg grew sore again. He winced and tried to sit back down. The stallion made his way into the room and Tiller tried to shrink back into the corner. Each step the larger stallion took only made Tiller’s heart beat faster and his breath intake shallower. Tiller knew from experience that showing any sign of aggression or defiance against Ag would only provoke his already cruel demeanor, and so he tried to remain as still as possible so that Ag come gather him and take him away; he did not want to give Ag a reason to add more bruises to his body.

“Till?”

Tiller’s eyes shot up and he looked into eyes that were blue as ice. These are not Ag’s eyes, Tiller thought as he tried to move. He looked up and saw brown tufts of mane and a small bloodied scratch on his forehead. This is not Ag’s mane, Tiller’s train of logic continued, but his body still refused to move. He looked over the stallion’s body and saw the golden fur that looked as though it was permanently covered in dust and the anvil and tongs that made his cutie mark. This is not Ag, Tiller’s mind pleaded as it begged for him to move.

“Forge?” Tiller asked.

“We have to run, now.” Forge replied in a voice much lower than Tiller’s, “The other enforcers are on their way. I can’t fight them all off.”

“I’m so sorry, Forge, I’m sorry.”

Tiller felt the large hooves of the stallion wrap around his chest to pull him up. Tiller’s muzzle came to rest in Forge’s chest. Tiller inhaled deeply as the scent of metal shavings and forest trees invaded his nostrils. Now that the door was open, Tiller could hear the sound of hooves in the distance.

“Don’t ever say that, Till. Do you understand me?”

Tiller looked back up into Forge’s eyes. He nodded as Forge let go of him and made his way to the door. Tiller immediately followed him, but as they reached the hall between the anterooms and the main room, he could hear one of the elders yell at the top of his lungs.

“Iron! Ag! Get them!”

There was now only one thought in Tiller’s mind, and that was to run. And that was what he did. He ran behind Forge as they made their way through the barn and leaped over the two enforcers that Forge had knocked unconscious. Tiller could hear the hooves of Iron and Ag behind him, and the hooves of Forge ahead. They turned a corner of the hall that led towards one of the side exits, and Tiller breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was open just a crack and that they wouldn’t have to waste precious seconds fiddling with the latch.

A moment later, Tiller and Forge were outside. The final colors of evening had disappeared. It left only the blackness of night, as well as Luna’s moon and stars. In the distance, Tiller could make out the forms of the other ponies of Flatts as they surrounded a small fire in the center of town. The sound of chanting filled the air.

Helioselene

Enas alithinos theos

Perimenoume

ankalia sas eikosi oples

“We have to get to the Everfree Forest, Forge.” Tiller said as he pointed towards the darkened wood.

They were soon within the first rows of trees, and as the brambles bit at their hooves branches swung back and forth to swat at their eyes. Tiller tried to run as straight as he could, but being smaller than Forge, he had to find other ways around the large trunks of dead trees that littered the forest floor. Occasionally, Forge would turn around and help lift him above the trunks, and they would continue on their way. Tiller was more or less familiar with this area of the Everfree Forest; he and Forge would sometimes spend hours here on their free days to get away from the other stallions’ prying eyes.

Tiller scoffed. If it hadn’t been for that one pony, Tiller thought, that one naïve pony. All of the memories of the past twenty four hours compressed into moments: the kiss they shared, the promise they made, the confrontation with the elders when they returned, the trial, the judgment, and the detainment. We should have run the moment we knew how we felt, Tiller thought as he stumbled on yet another tangle of branches. He turned to Forge and noticed the fresh lines of blood that ran through his fur. The fresh cuts were from the branches to be sure, but beneath them, Tiller could make out numerous other bruises that must have been obtained by one of the enforcers. Tears rolled down Tiller’s cheeks. I should never have said anything.

The darkness ahead of them parted to reveal a small clearing. There, a large tree stood alone, its branches reached towards the sky and its roots lifted just above the ground. Forge immediately grabbed Tiller, dragged him towards the tree, and slid with him under the roots. The moon had moved a bit since they had escaped the barn, and Tiller calculated that they had been running for nearly an hour, judging by how hard they were both breathing. Tiller felt Forge’s chest rise and fall as he himself struggled to keep from crying.

“Sh-h, Till, it’s going to be okay. Please don’t cry.”

“I’m s-sorry, Forge. It’s just… this is my fault. I never should have told you how I felt.”

Tiller felt two hooves push him up into a sitting position, and then he turn to see Forge’s blue eyes staring directly into his.

“Do you not feel that way, Till?” Forge asked as his eyes pleaded.

“Of course I feel that way. I’ve felt this way for ages.”

“Then that’s all I care about, Till. I was so happy when you told me how you felt about me. I never would have been able to say it first.”

“But now look at us, Forge.” Tiller said, “You know what will happen to us if we get caught again. And look at me. I’m so much smaller than all of the other stallions, and weaker, too. I’m sorry that you had to save me and I couldn’t save myself.”

“Well yeah, you were born as a unicorn, so you are supposed to be smaller than us earth ponies.” Forge said, “Besides, I like that you’re smaller than I am. It means I get to do this.”

Before Tiller could say anything, Forge leaned forward and wrapped his hooves around Tiller’s entire body. Forge leaned his head forward under his chin came to rest near the back of Tiller’s head. Tiller’s muzzle was once again in Forge’s chest, his smaller body almost consumed by Forge’s. Tiller smiled for a moment, but the smile faded as he felt something cold and wet fall onto his horn. Tiller slowly pushed back.

“You could have saved yourself, you know?” Tiller said, “You could have said that I was using magic to trick you into kissing me. I told you to say that I was using my magic to tempt you, but you didn’t say anything in your defense.”

“Till, you know I couldn’t have done that.”

“But now they’re going to punish you, too.”

“If I had lied to save myself, then my punishment would have been worse.”

“What do you mean?”

“If I had lied to save myself, I wouldn’t have been worthy of the feelings you said you had for me.”

“Forge…” Tiller began, his voice halting.

“Wait.”

Forge pressed a hoof to Tiller’s mouth, and a moment later, Tiller heard it. The sound of hooves approached the clearing. There were more of the enforcers, not just Iron and Ag.

“Stupid Everfree Forest.” Tiller heard Ag yell, “Verdant and Apiaris, the elders are upset that you let Forge go.”

“We weren’t expecting him to have that powerful of a kick. You want us to search for him?” Apiaris replied, “We can’t wait to get our hooves on him.”

“No,” Ag replied, “We’re not allowed to administer punishment to them. Besides, I have a feeling they’re together. That coltcuddling unicorn is probably using his magic to make Forge protect his weak hide.”

A shiver ran down Tiller’s spine. The sound of hooves approached the clearing and became louder until he could see them out of the corner of his eye. For a moment, nothing at all moved. Tiller looked at Ag for a moment, and then turned his gaze to Apiaris, Iron, and Verdant; these were the four enforcers of the elders of Flatts. These four stallions were also friends of Forge.

“You really think Tiller is capable of that kind of magic?”

“There’s no telling what kind of power the unicorn has, Apiaris, but I know Forge, and he is not a coltcuddler. He would never allow himself to buck something like Tiller.”

Tiller tried to make himself smaller, but he immediately felt Forge’s hoof rub up and down his back, as though he were silently telling him not to believe anything the others had just said.

“They’re heading north.” Iron said, “I can feel it like a compass.”

“Good, Iron. We have to get them back to the elders to administer punishment.”

Tiller and Forge remained motionless for a few minutes. Even after the sound of hooves disappeared in the distance, they remained still.

“Forge,” Tiller whispered, “We have to get out of here. The ancient ruins are nearby. We can hide there for a bit until we decide where to go.”

“But where will we go, Till?” Forge asked, for the first time showing a hint of fear in his voice, “What if ponies are like this everywhere?”

“They aren’t. I know it. There’s a town called Ponyville just beyond the Everfree-“

“But it’s just going to be another small town, Till.”

“Then we’ll go to Phillydelphia. We’ll go to Manehatten. Come Tartarus, we’ll go to Vanhoover if we have to.”

“You go first, Till.” Forge said, “I’ll be behind you. I remember where the ruins are, but we can’t risk both of us struggling to get out of here at once.”

Tiller felt Forge’s muzzle once again, and he carefully lifted his body out from beneath the tree. He looked back and forth, but a sudden snap of a twig sent him leaping into the air. He took a deep breath, and ran into the thicket. He knew that the ruins of Celestia and Luna’s old castle were up ahead, just a few miles, but he couldn’t risk being caught. Not now. Not when they were this close to freedom. Tiller snuck from tree to tree, glad that his body was a dark green color. He hoped that Forge’s dusty fur wouldn’t give him away.

There was another snap behind him, and a small gasp escaped from Tiller’s mouth. He froze, waiting to hear if the sound was getting closer. There was another snap and Tiller could see the bush next to him tremble. Run, Tiller thought, but this time, all he could do was remain still.

A moment later, the bushes parted and Tiller finally accepted the urge to run, but as his legs moved, he turned to see a small bunny emerge from the bushes.

“Oh hello, little guy,” Tiller said, lowering his body to the creature, “You shouldn’t be out here. It’s too dangerous for a little guy like you.”

Tiller saw the bunny wiggle his nose at him before he scampered off into another part of the forest, and Tiller sighed. He looked around to start to run again, but then he saw a dark pair of eyes staring out of the bush that the bunny had jumped from moments ago.

“Gotcha.” Iron said as he leaped out of the bush.

Tiller screamed and turned to run, only to be met by the side of Ag’s flank. The taste of sweat and dirt filled his mouth and he fought the urge to gag as he fell to the ground.

“Well what do you know, Ag,” Iron laughed, “Looks like he couldn’t wait to taste your flank, too.”

Tiller kept his body as close to the ground as possible as Ag played along.

“What can I say?” Ag preened and puffed out his chest, “If the mares want me so much, it only makes sense that a wannabe mare would want me, too.”

“Ag… Iron… please… don’t do this.”

“You shut up!” Ag yelled as he stomped down on Tiller’s chest. “The one unicorn… yeah right. What have you done to Forge?”

“He was able to escape?” Tiller asked as he tried to not focus on his previous comment.

“We’ll find him. And then once the elders are through with you, whatever magic you used against him will fade, too.”

There was a look in Ag’s eyes that Tiller couldn’t quite make out. It was similar to the look that he had seen once when he accidentally came across a timberwolf. It was the look that a predator gives once he finds his prey. He didn’t get to see Ag’s eyes for long. A strong hoof slammed against the back of Tiller’s head and the last thing he saw was the tip of an old ruined spire as it glistened in the moonlight as everything turned to black.

Author's Note:

Well, let's see what happens, shall we?

Comments

[Khym Chanur]

Hmmm, with all the chanting and such, I thought it was going to be about human, errr, pony sacrifice.