I

Twilight

Year 1004 Present Day, Equestria

Twilight Sparkle was just finishing dusting her book shelves and Spike had went out on errands. She was running out of ink and spare quills so had Spike offered to go get some, probably to get out of rearranging the shelves from alphabetical order into alphabetical by genre. Twilight smiled a little as she finished the job. It’s just like him to do something like that. She had to open soon, not that she was expecting anypony to come in today. But, living in Ponyville for as long as she had, Twilight knew that even she wasn’t prone to the ironic tendencies that events seemed follow. Right on cue, somepony entered the room from the outside.

“Hold on, I’ll be with you in a second!” She teleported down from the ladder she was on to see who was would come so early.

“About time, Twilight! I was waiting for almost twelve seconds!” It was the only unicorn in Equestria who would walk on her hind hooves, Lyra Heartstrings. Twilight sighed.

What does she want now? She thought to herself as she forced a smile to her face. “What can I do for you, Lyra? Need to check something out?” Lyra then got close and put a forehoof around Twilight’s neck. Here we go...

“You see, I’ve heard at Canterlot Archives there might be some logs on humans. Regular ponies like me couldn't possibly access those archives. But with your help...” Lyra trailed off, smiling innocently.

Twilight gave another deep sigh. “Now Lyra, you know I can’t do that.” Lyra, refusing defeat, continued on unperturbed.

“Come on, don’t you want to know what happened to humans? There is barely anything about them here! You do believe that they exist right?” Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Well, there is no evidence suggesting that they existed or that they do exist. Trust me, I've read every bestiary at least three times over," Twilight stated, pointing to a rather large collection of field guides and the entire Monsters of the Everfree 15 volume set on a shelf. "Even if they ever did exist, they did a really good job disappearing off the face of Equestria.” Lyra groaned obnoxiously and jumped in front of Twilight.

“Come on, Twilight, you gotta be more logical than that. Nothing, especially another sapient species, can just simply disappear!”

Rentus

Sometimes I wish I could disappear. Ren was walking down the crowded streets of New Florence. He was wearing a simple shirt and long pants and his hair now reaching his back was in a ponytail. He didn’t exactly know what a “pony” was, but its tail must've looked like his hair. Ren was severely pissed off because both Luxie and Faust left for a mission and he got stuck taking care of the hotel room, and they had probably set the record for messiest hotel room in the Terra. They could have told me they were leaving instead of just leaving a note behind. The note simply said,

Dear Rentus,

We are leaving. Kay, thanks, bye.

Your dear, dear friend,

Faust.

P.S. Clean this shit hole up.

It took half the day, but he finally got it back into order and now he was on his way to meet with Bacchus for lunch. He always went there when he had nothing to do, and he always had small jobs that he could do to earn some extra Denarius. He continued down the streets as the monorails buzzed past until he reached a big marble building on the corner of a street. Above the tinted glass doors was a big neon sign which read “Bacchus’ Place”. Ren walked toward the door. As the doors opened, there was a ding. Ren walked in to see that the bar was surprisingly empty. The only person besides him was the bartender. The bartender turned to see who entered. It was a woman, in her mid-twenties, and had long blonde hair. Ren groaned. “Aww, I thought Bacchus would be here. Did he get the day off or something, Dae?” Dae gave a playful frown.

“Why, would you rather have him here instead of me, Rentus? You really know how to make a girl feel bad,” she laughed as Ren took a seat. Dae was a new Caesar assigned to the New Age Caesars about two years back. Caesars are managed in complete secret from the rest of New Florentine populace. If you saw a Caesar on the streets, you wouldn’t know it. Caesars disguise their powers in public and are completely unaware of who other Caesars are unless they are assigned to a group. When they are assigned to a unit, they stay with their team until they die. She cocked her head when Ren looked at her.

“What’s up, Ren? You’re not usually this glum.” Ren was startled that she could always read him so well. Her ability stems into her ear lobes and partially into the brain, the cerebral cortex to be specific. She could tell if what you say or even write is true or false, a fairly unique ability among the rest of the NAC. The Triumvirate said Dae could be a key factor in gathering intelligence, but Ren was always confused with her placement in New Age. Luxie and Faust were mercenaries, often sent out to finish jobs "quick and clean" as it were. As far as he saw it, they had no need for an intelligence specialist, but then again what did he know about strategy? He sighed and looked into Dae’s eyes. For some reason, every time she stared into his eyes the memories always came flooding in.

“Nothing really,” He thought maybe that he could avoid the conversation. But, the thoughts flooded in anyway. It had been five years since he met Faust and Luxie in that facility, blood covered and broken. He remembered in excruciating detail how he killed every single person in that place. The image of his mother, the words she said to him, played back in his mind repeatedly like a broken record.

“You were a mistake! A creation of science and crystal, you are nothing! DO YOU HEAR ME? NOTH-” It was that point she dropped down into a hole in the ground that formed instantaneously and she fell in screaming. There was a loud cracking, which was probably her legs, then the hole closed itself as fast as it appeared. She didn’t even have time to scream. His father stared in horror as he tried to fight back. He picked up a spear with his telekinesis that was with a suit of armor, but Ren used the same power his father had, except he picked his father's head from his neck. Blood sprayed throughout the room, and Ren’s face was unchanging, an expression as cold as the stone walls surrounding him.

They treated him as if he was an animal, not a son. They were not his parents, they were the Octavians. Ren, the true weight of what he done hitting him, rolled up on the floor and began to cry. That’s when he noticed a man standing in the doorway, staring at him with glowing red eyes and a cigarette in his mouth. That man was Faust. Ren had joined them as the New Age Caesars’ unofficial member ever since then. He looked at Dae who was now giving him a worried look. He silently cursed himself, knowing she always could read him like a book.

“Ren, you’re hurt aren't you? Something tells me that you’re more than just an errand boy for Bacchus. Am I right?” Ren turned his head and sighed. “Ren, you have to talk to me. I want to help you. You seem to be going through a severe case of PTSD. I can help, but you have to talk to me.” Ren shook his head.

“I don’t need help. What I need is someone who really understands.” He looked her straight in her eyes. "I don't need someone’s sympathy. No one can possibly understand. I know that I sound like some whiny kid, but it’s true.” Some customers came in the door and began to walk toward the bar. “I’ll leave you to your work.” When Ren started to get up Dae’s hand met his on the bar. He looked at her eyes, soul piercing as always and she had a sincere look on her face.

“I’ll come by later and maybe we can talk then, alright?” A small smile went across her face, he couldn't help but blush a little. He nodded and went out the door. He walked back to his hotel, all along the way staring at the crystal ceiling above him. When he got to the hotel named the Pitti Hotel he went on the elevator and went to floor twenty two, room four twenty nine, a number he has had memorized like the back of his hand. The room itself was plain. Well, after he cleaned it that is. He fell on the bed Faust usually used. The room had two beds, one for Faust and the other for Luxie, and Ren was forced to sleep on the floor. He wasn't exactly supposed to be there after all. But luckily, when they are out on their operations for the Triumvirate, Ren finally got to sleep on a bed. He fell onto it and stared at the ceiling, losing himself to his thoughts. Can anyone truly understand someone that isn’t even human? I’ve lost my humanity not by choice, but for “science”. His thoughts faded into dreams. But these dreams escalated into nightmares, like every night.

Luna

The Princess of the Night was standing on her spire of Canterlot Castle, the faint glow of her moon now washing over the capital city of Canterlot and the valleys below. She smiled as her duty was completed, now free to add her own spice to the blank canvas of the sky. Grabbing individual stars with her magic, Luna's imagination went wild as she conjured up another one of her masterpieces. After about five minutes of tinkering and perfection, she was satisfied, beaming at her work. Her smile quickly vanished when she remembered the cruel schedule of other less enjoyable royal duties that called for her attention. She began to make her way down to the courtroom for Night Court, descending the winding staircase of her spire. She sighed deeply on her descent. “I don’t know why I must do this when nopony even attends the Night Court anymore. Why my dear sister insists this is necessary, I do not know.”

When she finally reached the courtroom and sat on her throne, she scanned the room to find that her guess had been correct. The room was completely empty, even Luna's ever-loyal night guards missing. “I find it awfully ironic how we always have a lack of guards when we most need them. Perhaps my sister should put the draft back in order.” She imagined the guards had gone off to the barracks after finding the empty court schedule, no doubt making merry and binging on cider. In the past, Luna would have been furious with them, but at this point she didn't blame them. It had been months since a pony had come to the Night Court and that was just a dispute between two mares over a muffin. She sighed yet again and her posture slowly turned into a slumping one.

“If I cannot do one duty, then I must go onto the next.” This one was more enjoyable, and in her opinion, more helpful to the ponies of Equestria. Dreamscaping. She loved going into ponies dreams and overseeing what makes everypony tick. This had been especially useful for Luna, especially while getting used to modern Equestrian mannerisms after her return. Her most important job was also her favorite one; the task of helping ponies all over Equestria face their nightmares and overcome their fears. She took one final look around the courtroom, making sure nopony was around. Luna nodded after a second, confident that nothing would disturb her focus. She closed her eyes and began to drift away.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself suspended in a familiar empty space filled with rows of picture frames in the form of a hallway with transparent floors and ceiling. The frames, which Luna had named dream portals, drifted around the hallway in an organized manner. She began to walk looking among all the dreams, some happy, some sad, as well as other things that she would have rather not seen.

“Now, what must take priority...” She scanned the rows of dreams and none really seemed to demand her attention. But then she heard a distant scream echo across the dreamscape. Alerted, she turned about to see where it came from. Only happy dreams surrounded her immediate vicinity. “Perhaps that was just a scream of joy.” A second scream reverberated across, but this one sounded like a cry of help from a small colt. She had no doubt in her mind at that point. It was a night terror. Her face shifted to one of absolute seriousness. Somepony needed her help.

She began to search for the right entryway, the hallway forking out into several wings which Luna had organized to represent the cities of Equestria. She poked her head into each one, trying to pinpoint the sound. Manehattan? Fillydelphia? Appleoosa? After several minutes of searching, she concluded that the dream wasn't coming from a normal part of the dreamscape. She looked everywhere, except. Her gaze shot down into the dark void beneath her and she saw a small shimmer of white light. Luna's brow rose as the pinpoint of light glowed, radiating out from the all-encompassing blackness. “Why would it be down there?” She flapped her majestic wings and dove down through the floor of the hallway to make her way to the shimmer of light.

As Luna reached the dream portal, she noticed something odd about the inside of it. The portal displayed an image of a large building, marked with big white letters on the side, "MEDICAL RESEARCH FACILITY." It didn't look too different from a normal hospital, except for the fact that the building was made entirely out of some sort of metal and it seemed as if it was in a cave, or perhaps underground. She had a sudden sinking feeling about doing this, but curiosity of the building overtook Luna's judgement as she entered the portal.

There were strange beings in medical uniforms, what she assumed to be doctors going in and out of the building. She followed behind a group of them. The door opened without any of them touching it. They were preoccupied looking at clipboards and talking among themselves.

Interesting… They have automagic doors here too. She thought as she followed the group through the doors. The interior walls were made from marble and the floor of marble tiles. The room was buzzing with assorted doctors running and speaking into small boxes. There were a couple of them at the counter. Luna guessed they were female, guessing the longer hair and the higher pitched voices. Then as she was walking with the group, two individuals stopped them.

Humans? How in Equestria did humans get here? They have been gone for thousands of years! One of her earliest memories was a human holding her as a foal. What the human looked like, she could not remember. It was just a blank face, and she didn't remember ever seeing it again.

One was a male whose hair was short cut and had piercing gold eyes. His attire was that of a business stallion, a suit with a blood red tie. He wore something on his forelegs that reminded Luna of the socks that were popular in Equestria, but there were slits where there were appendages were coming out. What were they called? Hands? Next to him was a woman with brown hair and silver eyes. She wore stiletto heels on her feet and leather pants with a button-up shirt that was slightly open near the chest. The talking slowly died down when the man in the suit raised his hand.

“This is a red letter day, my brothers. With the stunning progress of subject seventeen, Project Tirek will soon be close to completion.” He stuck his arms out toward the doctors. “What will determine the time in which it will take however, hinges on you.” His hands closed into fists. “The dream that our fathers were striving for, and their fathers before them, will so be made real.” He stepped closer and put one hand on one doctor’s shoulder and one on another doctor’s. “You all are the most trusted and most talented physicians of the Magi, and so I trust that you will complete the operation with the utmost care and haste.” He stepped away from them. “The patient is waiting in operating room N-93. Me and my darling wife will be personally observing, so if you please,” He began to walk away from the doctors and he took wife’s hand. “Try not to kill the child.” As the couple walked away the doctors were moving down a hallway toward the left of them. Luna’s eyes widened, taking in the scene with complete disbelief.

Kill a child? What kind of procedure are they talking about? And what of this Project Tirek? Questions flowed throughout her head, but she knew that she couldn't get answers from standing there. She had to go further down the rabbit hole. She followed the doctors, until her surroundings began to shake violently, the building around melting around her.

The hallway had turned into a operating room, one that was bustling with activity. The doctors in their scrubs were surrounding a operating table and were commencing a surgery. Then there was a shriek of pure terror, it sounded as if it were a child. One of the doctors, stepping away from the table, cursed at the doctors around him.

“Damn it, the sedative wore off! This is the fifth time already!” One of the other doctor’s grunted in response, trying to hold the child down.

“Then up the dosage!” another doctor spoke up. The other rolled his eyes.

“We don’t have any left in here, dumb ass!” Then a voice boomed from the observing room that had tinted glass blocking her from seeing the people inside.

“You must be really squeamish around blood, ‘cus this isn't even the worst part. You should have seen it when they stuck the big crystal in my chest. Now that was scary.” At the sound of that voice the world seemed to freeze in place, the screaming ceased, the doctors froze in place, and everything was still. She turned slowly to see a creature sitting with its back against the wall of the dreamscape. She had assumed it to be male, based upon its voice. He had long hair that was hanging down and was covering sad silver eyes.

“Is this your dream?” Luna asked the man. He smiled.

“It’s not a dream, it’s more like a memory that is being replayed in my sleep.” Then the scene resumed and the screaming continued. Luna went toward the table as everything continued.

“Damn it, stop squirming!” One screamed trying to hold the boy down as they bound the child to the table. The child's screams formed from incoherent sputtering to words.

“STOP! PLEASE!” Despite the wails of the child, they kept digging into his marrow and inserting small crystals into each individual bone. Luna watched in horror and felt a presence beside her, she was shocked to see that the man was standing there. They were roughly the same height, he seemed to be, not all there, like he was half in this world, and half awake. He walked closer to the boy and turned to her and everything paused again. He turned to her.

“You not see it yet?” He waved her toward him, as she walked closer to examine the boy she studied every inch of his body. His arms were opened up, skin and muscle spread apart by small hooks, and the bone was open by very small slits. From these slits through further examination seemed to be sprouting strange shining wisps. They slowly wrapped themselves around the bone and quickly enveloped it. She was amazed, yet horrified. Her eyes shifted to the man and he was squeezing his arms tightly as he hugged himself. She understood immediately.

“That’s you, is it not?” The man smiled weakly and nodded. His eyes drifted toward her from his younger self as everything suddenly stopped.

“Took you that long to figure it out?” He walked around the table and turning his eyes back toward his younger self. He tried to touch the child’s head but his hand fazed right through. He quickly took it back and sighed. In dreams, especially, memory dreams, you cannot touch or interact with the surroundings, but it can be created. Then everything went back into motion. One of the doctors went to where the wisp enveloped the bone, and gasped.

“The Crystallization has already began to form!” He looked up at a room which was above them that seemed to be a viewing room, Luna didn't even notice it until a voice came booming from it.

“It does not matter until the surgery is complete. Continue, and try not to kill the child.” He said nonchalantly. She remembered the voice, it was the voice of the suited man. The doctor nodded and continued. The child continued to scream though, this time with all of his strength. They didn't notice that the room had gotten significantly colder.

“STOP IT NOW!” At that moment the boy started to glow and a radiant silver aura went around the boy. Suddenly, a huge icicle shot out of the boy’s left hand and went straight through one of the doctors into the wall. The doctor screamed and squirmed until the icicle exploded out of the doctor, ripping him to shreds and immediately silencing him. The other doctors stood silently and continued to work as non-surgery personnel carried away the remains of the dead doctor. Luna gasped as she saw the spectacle.

“Was that magic?” Luna was able to draw the parallels almost immediately, specifically the aura which radiated from his body. The aura of his magic even matched his eye color, just like an Equestrian unicorn. The man looked at her oddly.

“Magic?” He laughed. “Well, I wouldn’t say that.” The scene then froze again a new doctor came to replace the other, even the blood dripping from the body that was strung. “Well, we draw powers through the crystal that is in our bodies.” He pointed to where the icicle spear originated. “If you look closely, the crystal is using my blood as a catalyst and shot it out. Although—” he scratched his head “—I didn’t do it on purpose, when you are young you can’t control your powers very well.” Luna began,

“Well, where I come from, the use of powers like this usually can only be harnessed by two species called unicorns and alicorns.” She spread her wings and put one of her front hooves on her chest. “I am an alicorn. Alicorns have the magical abilities of all of Equestria’s pony races. All alicorns are princesses of Equestria. There are four in total, including myself.” The man nodded and tilted his head. He noticed looked at Luna deeply and his eyes widened.

“Um, you want to get out of this place? I don’t really want to be here anymore, and I can tell you don’t either.” He looked around the room and stared at the observation room above that was splattered with blood. “There is nothing but sad memories…” Then a door sprung out of the ground and the man opened it. “This way.” He held the door open for her and she walked through she noticed that she was in some kind of bar, and that the man was staring at her flank with a curious look on his face. She blushed.

“And what are you looking at?” The man answered bluntly and closed the door behind him, the door then sank back into the ground where it appeared from.

“That tattoo on your ass. What is it?” She went up to him and gave him a hoof to the face, a little too hard. The man launched into the wall, which caused the stone to crack. He slumped when he hit the ground and grunted. Luna’s eyes went wide. Oops. Guess I really don’t know my own strength. She started to run toward him to help, but he grunted and stood up unfazed. As he was dusting himself off he went toward her with a frown on his face.

“What did you do that for?” He then went and sat at the bar. “Here I am just asking questions any normal person would, and you go and hit me.” He spun in his chair to face her. “You must really have a hard time making friends if you punch people into walls every time someone asks you a question.” She was hurt by this, as she had been reminded of that most of the ponies of Ponyville still thought her as a monster, even those who knew she had changed. It was saddening to know that half of the populace still had a hard time adjusting to her. She tried to show that she wasn't affected, but the man took notice. He patted her lightly on the back.

“Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it.” He waved his hand and a bottle from the counter began to glow a silver and float toward him, when it reached him he tried to grab it but it went right through his hands. He gave a laugh. “Well, I’d offer you a drink but,” He made his hands go through the bottle. “As you can see my hands aren't working.”

“I am a princess of Equestria. Even if you could make drinks, alcohol would cloud the mind and make it much more difficult to make important decisions.” The man scoffed and started to pour the clear liquid into the glasses.

“I could tell that you weren't used to seeing blood, and I don’t know what a ‘princess’ is it sounds like a really important job, and with that job you will be making decisions so you need to keep a level head. But I suppose what you saw would leave an impact on anyone.” He was right. Princess Luna had seen a lot of tragedy and even war throughout Equestrian history. In all of her years however, she had never seen magic used in such a grotesque way.

"But enough with all the depressing stuff." He pointed at the seat next to him. “Since you are in my head,” he said as he waved to a chair beside him. “Sit and take a load off, I command you!” He said as he raised a finger up waving it.

She made her way to the bar and sat with the man. She pulled out the chair by using her magic. The man gave a whistle. “So you can do abilities like Caesars.” He smiled. “Well, does this make us friends?” Luna looked at him questioningly. “Well -” The man began as he stared at his thumbs “- I know a guy named Bacchus and he said that friends sit and drink together here all the time. Soooo, are we?” He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. She shrugged.

“I would suppose it would by that logic.” Then the man gave a smile and a whoop, and then he began. “So, as your friend I would like to ask you something.” He turned to her and pointed at her flank and laughed. “I’m sorry, what’s the tattoo for? Please don't punch in my face.” She sighed. What is his obsession with the mark? Is it really that interesting?

“It is called a cutie mark. It is a symbol that ponies acquire when they find their special talent.” She gestured to her cutie mark, a stark white moon over a black background. “Mine is the power of the night and all that it brings, hence the shape of the moon.” The man had a thoughtful look as he processed what she said.

“I’m sorry but, what’s the moon and night for that matter?” Luna was shocked and she slammed a hoof on the bar.

“How do you not know what night AND THE MOON are?” He sighed and scratched his head.

“You and I must be apart of two different worlds, princess.” Luna then stood up.

“Come. The moon should be out and and it is bright, so there must be no clouds. You should see the moon perfectly.” She stood quickly and trotted toward the door with the man following behind her. But when she went outside the bar she was utterly stunned. Instead of a night sky there was a solid wall of crystal that lit the city. Under the crystal sky there were towering buildings, larger than any building she has ever seen in Manehattan or even Canterlot, save the castle. Her jaw went to the ground. The man stood in the doorway and spoke.

“You really aren't from here, are you?” Luna looked at the man with a worrying gaze.

“Where am I?” The man walked toward and raised his hand to show the city.

“Welcome the the city of New Florence, second largest city in the Terra.” She then sat on the floor to the ground, awestruck. Ren continued to speak. “This city is, well, built underground. As you can probably tell.” She spoke not averting her gaze from her surroundings.

“How long have humans been down here?” Ren went beside her and sat on the side walk.

“The funny thing is, we don’t know.” He scratched his head. “It’s like everyone just forgot over the years. Not even my older friends know, and they are very well connected.” He looked at Luna intently. “I don’t think I asked where that Equestria place is.” She looked back at the man, his long hair in front of curious eyes.

“Well -” Luna began “- if we are underground, then Equestria must be right above us on the surface.” The man tilted his head in an incredulous expression.

“I know that’s impossible. There is nothing up there. I think Faust told me once that there was nothing but rubble and mist. It’s uninhabitable.” Luna rolled her eyes.

“Well, that is obviously untrue. The fact that I stand here is proof enough.” The human crawled toward her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. She couldn't help but blush again. “Wha-what are you doing?” The man chuckled, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.

“Well, I can touch you, so you are real I guess...” He laughed a little, but for some reason the man’s aura sparked for a second. “You smell good, too!” The man said jokingly as he was sniffing her mane. She then gave him a shove that separated them, but he only laughed harder as he stumbled back. Luna brushed herself off and regained her composure. He looked back at her with a smile, yet there was still a emptiness to his eyes.

“So, I never got your name.” Said the man as he wiped a tear from eye from laughing and smiled at her.

“My name is Princess Luna. What is yours?”

“I never did tell you my name, huh?” He reached his hand to her as if he wanted to shake hands. “My name is Re-” At that moment everything froze and place and Luna's sense were snapped back to the real world. Suddenly she was back in the Canterlot courtroom, shocked at her loss of focus. Her face contorted in an furious glare, before screaming out.

“CELESTIA DAMN IT!” The earth-shaking power of the Royal Canterlot Voice echoed throughout the halls. She looked to the floor in rage, only to notice the shadow of a pony standing over her. It was none other than her sister, Princess Celestia, with the added company of a grey pegasus with wayward eyes and a muffin on top of her head. Celestia’s gaze was infinitely intimidating, and Luna felt a wave of embarrassment throughout her body. “Oh.” Luna laughed nervously. “H-Hi, Cele.”

“Sister, I thought we agreed to not use such profanity in the court. Moreover, you were Dreamscaping when you were supposed to be hearing out the affairs of the Night Court.”

“But sis, you know that nopony even comes to Night Court.” Luna pouted cutely, Celestia smirking devilishly.

“Not so. You happen to have one right now.” She stepped aside from the grey pegasus that she knew all too well, Derpy Hooves. Derpy stepped forward, a chocolate chip muffin somehow perfectly balanced on top of her head.

“Miss Princess Luna, I can’t find my muffin! I think Bon-Bon took it, because I got the last one at Sugarcube Corner and I know she was eyeballing it and-” Luna picked the muffin off of Derpy’s head and put it in front of her face. Luna just looked at the mare with a deadpan stare.

“Is THIS your muffin?” Derpy gasped, eyes going straight in pure shock. Grabbing the muffin in a hoof, she took a large chomp and swallowed the muffin whole.

“How did you do that?” Derpy asked in amazement. “That must be why you’re a princess!” The pegasus then trotted out of the courtroom, a satisfied grin never leaving her face. Luna took another deep sigh and slumped in her chair.

“I do not know why I do this, sister. Nopony ever attends and when they do, it is over the most trivial of matters! Certainly you could have pointed out that she had the muffin on her head!” Celestia nodded and laughed quietly.

“It had to be you that told her, Luna. The court is yours at night and you know that I cannot gather those conclusions when the court is yours.” Luna nodded, grumbling something under her breath about stupid royal technicalities. Celestia said that everything was fine and went back to her chambers. After her sister was out of sight, she tried Dreamscaping to find the man’s dream, but the pinprick of light in the dark void had vanished.

If only I could have heard more from him... she thought to herself as she sat alone in the courtroom waiting forthe ponies that needed her council, yet she knew that they wouldn't come. All that kept her company was the memory of her human friend’s smile and his sad silver eyes.

Author's Note

No chapter preview this time. Ugh... So freakin' tired. Anyway, enjoy the first chapter of Remnants!