Undying

I was dreaming.

Dreaming of a time of peace and harmony.

Love and life.

A white unicorn, or maybe a Pegasus, appears before me in a flash of blinding light.

“Bring back the Sun…” She would say, but I never got to ask her what she meant.

Then light around me fades, and the colour vanishes from the world, replaced with a faint silver light as the Moon hangs in the sky.

A shadow with glistening white teeth blacks out my view and descends upon me.

I scream, terror filling every fibre of my being, and then…

I wake up…

Aegis Dare woke with a start, drenched in sweat and panting heavily.  He had been having the same dream for several moonlit days. “Every day, I wake up to see the same dark room and the dreary darkness outside...” He said softly, getting out of bed and stretching. He was an effeminate looking Pegasus with a snow-white coat. The layers of his mane closest to his head were jet black, while the layers on top were a pale strawberry pink. In his younger days, he was often mistaken for a filly.

“Going to the watch, Aegis?” Another pony asked.

“Yeah,” Aegis said. “What will it be today? Shades? Changelings? Maybe a Manticore?”

“Oh gods, don’t mention any of those things. I would like to sleep this time.”

Aegis grinned. “Not my fault if you have nightmares. Why not think of that good-looking mare over in the western wing?”

“Why am I not reassured?”

“It’s your problem, then,” Aegis said, walking out the door into the night air.

It had been five hundred years since a mysterious event devastated Equestria. The Sun vanished from the sky, and an eternal night sprang up in its place. Somehow the crops still grew, and life still flourished. The ponies built a massive fortress where towns and cities were once their home. The old days of great innovation and art were gone. Flights of fantasy were replaced a serious and grim focus on the present and near future. Anyone from those old glory days were either dead or missing, provided they were somehow still alive. And the only reason anyone knew this was because of Spike, the resident Loremaster. He was also a dragon and the one who trained the Captains in swordcraft. And so, on this moonlit day, Aegis paid his old mentor a visit. He slipped in quietly while Spike wasn’t looking and moved his quill from where it was.

“I need to write this down…” Spike said, reaching for the quill. He reached for it, only to find that it wasn’t where he left it. “Put it back, Aegis. Your games got old years ago.”

“Still sharp as ever, Gramps,” Aegis said, grinning to himself.

Spike shook his head. “You are such a child… At least you can still smile, even in this dreary age.”

“Positive thinking. It gets one anywhere.”

Spike grinned. Aegis’ mentality proved infectious sometimes, but he was glad to have the Pegasus around. Being the only one who remembered the Sun was a depressing thought, and nopony knew Spike’s past. Everypony only saw the here and now, focusing on what they could see. Aegis was different. His mind was prone to wandering, and he often wondered what was outside the walls of their fortress home. Spike had raised him from a foal after his parents left the fortress on a scouting run and never came back. Since then, Aegis developed quite an imagination, often listening to stories of brave knights led by the fearless Shining Armor. When he turned 13, Spike began training him in swordcraft, using those stories of Captain Shining Armor to spur the young Pegasus on.

“You ever thought about settling down with a nice mare? It’ll do you some good, hotshot.”

Aegis laughed. “You haven’t called me that in years, Gramps.” His expression turned serious for a moment. “Have you heard the rumors?”

“Of what? From the southern district? It’s so far away, it might as well be its own city…” Spike asked.

Aegis nodded. “They say there’s some kind of curse. A strange mark appearing over ponies’ flanks.”

“That’s not a curse. It’s called a Cutie Mark, and you be sure to tell them that. This is why it pays to listen to a Loremaster, especially one who knows what he’s talkin’ about.”

“No, not their Cutie Marks. Though, they’d probably think that’s unnatural as well, since they don’t have a Loremaster over there. This curse manifests itself as a thin black ring and the victim’s Cutie Mark turns black,” Aeigs said.

Spike grabbed a book and began flicking through the pages. “What happens if the victim’s Cutie Mark was naturally black?”

“It only affects one side, or so the rumors say.”

An hour later, Spike had read through every book he had. “Nothing on this curse. Must’ve manifested recently.”

Aegis yawned, despite having plenty of sleep. “Which means you don’t know.”

Spike nodded. “Exactly. But this is seriously bad. There’s only one being I know of who could make this happen, but he’s been trapped in the ruins of Canterlot for the past four hundred years.”

“That’d be Discord, the spirit of chaos. I remember the stories about him. Do you think he could have got free somehow?” Aegis asked.

Spike frowned as he went back to his writing. “For everypony’s sake, I hope not.”

Aegis left Spike to his writing after that, but he thought about this ‘curse’. What did it mean for his home fortress? And most importantly, how does it spread among the ponies? He kept thinking about, even on his way to the dining hall for breakfast.

“What are ya thinkin’ so hard about, Aegis?” A dark blue, almost black, unicorn asked, taking a seat next to him.

Aegis shrugged. “Just thinking about this curse that’s got our neighbours in the slums so worked up.”

“They get worked up when the midnight frost doesn’t water their gardens for them.”

“What if they’re right this time, Jazz?”

Before the conversation could continue, they heard a call from the doorway. “Aegis Dare, Smooth Jazz! You two are on watch in ten minutes.”

“I hear ya, Captain. C’mon, Aegis. And don’t worry about that curse. Ain’t nothin’ but somepony had a little too much booze.” Smooth Jazz said, slipping her harmonica into her breast pocket as she left. Aegis wolfed down the rest of his breakfast and followed her.

“I’m not convinced, Jazz. We’ve heard of curse scares before but this is new. Why would they make this up?”

Smooth Jazz shook her head as they turned the corner and opened the door to the northern ramparts. “Aegis, I’m gonna say it plain for ya. You think too much, and it’s always about some wild fantasy. Look out there, out beyond this wall. It’s nothing but darkness and misery.”

“And what have we got here, Jazz? Getting through the day just to wonder how we’ll get through the next one? Gramps won’t be here forever. Even Dragons get old and die.” Aegis said, raising his voice.

Jazz frowned. “Then maybe you’ll get your head out of the clouds and down here where we need you. Stories are just stories. There’s nothing out there beyond that wall. From here to the ruins of the old cities there is nothing!”

Aegis shoved past her. “Whatever. It’s not like I can prove you wrong.”

“This is how you end an argument?” Jazz asked incredulously.

“We’re on watch, aren’t we? If you want to keep talking, then walk.”

“Damn it, Aegis.” Jazz said. She sighed and continued. “I’m just tryin’ to look out for you. Ponies already think you’re weird-”

“I already know what they think of me, and if they think that I have no purpose here, they can look up my records and kiss my lily-white flank.” Aegis said angrily. “So what if I’m a dreamer? Is it wrong to dream? Is it wrong to have hope in a world where hope has long since abandoned us?”

“It is when you have a parent who clings to it so much that after three years of hoping the Sun will rise, she jumps off the side of the fortress because she can’t handle the eternal night and living in a world where day and night look the same!” Jazz yelled.

“There we go with your mother again. Jeez, Jazz, let it go.” Aegis said.

“I shoulda known you wouldn’t understand. You never do.”

“Jazz, I understand better than you think. I’m your best friend, and frankly, the only one who puts up with your nonsense. Do you think I would be here arguing with you if I didn’t understand?”

Jazz said nothing. She merely sat by the ramparts, pulled out her harmonica, and began playing.

“Look, Jazz, I’m sorry.” Aegis said as he sat next to Jazz. She put the harmonica down and looked him in the eyes. Into his sparkling sky blue eyes.

“Damn, Aegis. I can’t stay mad at you, can I?” She said, grinning to herself.

Aegis stretched out. “Doesn’t seem that way. If it helps, Gramps often calls me a foal.”

“I’d never guess why…”

Aegis laughed. “You may be right.” He spotted a single individual heading for the gates. “Are we expecting any messengers to come through here?”

“Oh crud.” Jazz said, grabbing a nearby spear. “HALT DOWN THERE!”

The figure stopped moving.

“STATE YOUR BUSINESS, STRANGER! BE WARNED, WE HAVE WEAPONS TRAINED ON YOU!”

The figure said nothing.

Aegis shifted his sword within reach of his right wing. “ANSWER, OR WE WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO ASSUME HOSTILE INTENT!” He turned to Jazz. “I’m gonna go down and see about this joker face to face. If he makes any hostile moves, fry him.”

“Gotcha, Aegis.” Jazz said, not taking her eyes off the figure outside the gates.

Aegis flew down and faced the stranger. He was wearing a long black hooded cloak. “Aegis Dare, candidate to be the next Captain of Fortress Luna. An honour to meet you.” The stranger said in a strange hissing tone.

“The pleasure is mine. Now please, state your business.”

“I’m here to seek some supplies for my journey. You see…” The figure removed the cloak. On his flank was a thin blank ring surrounding his blackened Cutie Mark. “I’m cursed, and I need to go to the western asylum before I…before I… ungh…” He collapsed and started twitching uncontrollably.

“Are you alright? GET MEDICS DOWN HERE NOW!” Aegis yelled. “It’ll be ok. We’ll fix this.”

“You can’t…I need to…aagh…you need to get away…ungh…while you can…”

Aegis tried to keep him calm. “Easy. Uh, breathe. Just-”

“GO!” The stranger yelled, his eyes clouding over. His speech degenerated into babbling.

“SEAL THE GATE! WEAPONS READY!” Aegis yelled. But he took his eyes off the stranger for a moment, and didn’t see him get up again. When he turned back, the stranger leapt at him, knocking him to the ground. “Gah!”

The stranger began swinging his forelegs wildly, slobbering and roaring like a beast. Aegis tried holding him back, but to no avail. He went to fight back, but the stranger proved stronger. The first blow to the head thankfully removed Aegis’ ability to feel pain. All he could do was wait until the world turned black…

I see sunlight.

Does sunlight still exist in this world?

Where can I find it?

No answers come for these questions, but I have to find out.

A cure for my condition?

Life slowly returned to Aegis’ body. He awoke to a dull throbbing and the smell of dried herbs.

“About time you woke up. You gave us quite a scare,” Spike said. In his clawed hand, he held a glass of a dark green mixture. “You’ll want to drink this. It’ll take care of that headache.”

“I feel like I was dead…” Aegis said. Then he saw Spike’s reaction. Half-sorrow, half-intrigue.

“You were. You died three cycles ago. Pretty badly messed up, with your skull caved in and half your bones reduced to gravel. Then your wounds just closed up on their own, leaving healthy skin and flesh behind. After that, you got up and started saying something about the Sun will cure us all, and then you started twitching. I had to knock some sense into you, then I gave you some of that mixture before you passed out again.”

“How am I alive?”

“Check your flank. It’s on the right side,” Spike said. Aegis rolled over onto his left side and threw off his blankets. And sure enough, there it was. A black ring around a blackened Cutie Mark. He seized the glass with both his hooves and downed it in one gulp, coughing and spluttering as it went down. “Take it easy, hotshot,” Spike said, as Aegis finished coughing, “You’ll choke if you drink it too fast.”

Aegis was completely shocked. “I’m cursed? But then, what will happen now? Am I to be sent away? Never to return?”

“Calm down,” Spike said, putting a hand on Aegis’ shoulder, “you’re going to an asylum in the west, to be with others who have that brand. Or, we have an alternative. Say something happened on the way? Like a little…accident?”

“That’s against the law.”

“There’s a chance at a cure. You said so yourself. But it means going into the ruins of Canterlot, and they’re pretty big. And full of nasty things who have more of a temper than me. And there’s more.” Spike said, holding up a mirror. Aegis gazed into it and brushed aside his mane, finding a star-shaped marking on his forehead in the exact spot where a Unicorn’s horn would be. “That marking appeared after you passed out .”

“Why is it there? What is it, anyway?” Aegis asked. He was determined to find out anything he could about his new condition.

“Don’t know,” Spike said, as he began packing a doctor’s bag full of medical  supplies and a few other items that Aegis didn’t recognize, “but we’ll find out.”

“We?”

“Yep. I’m goin’ with you.”

Aegis shook his head, immediately wishing that he hadn’t. “They need you here. They need your stories.”

“The elders wanted to be rid of me and my ‘aged fantasies’ long before you were born,” Spike said.

“Your medicine.”

Spike shot him down again. “There are doctors here.”

“Your experience.”

“Aside from you, who fights the way I taught them to?” Spike asked. “No, they don’t really need me. I left the formula for that mixture with the apothecary, so the only thing I can offer them that they’ll need is already taken care of. Besides… I feel like I’m being called home.”

Aegis seemed puzzled, but he didn’t question it. It was enough that Spike was going with him into the hell that was once Equestria.