Chapters 1 -Before the Twilit Dawn
I dont want to go to sleep.
The Watcher found herself floating, formless. Around her stood a small grove, deep within the forest. A tree grew from the center, and from it was shone a sickly yellow light. The Watcher became aware of two figures, one at the edge of the trees, and one standing directly before the great tree in the middle. The one on the outside was of a species the Watcher had seen before, but only in dream. Bipedal, simian in appearance, a shock of darkened hair grew from the top of its head. It was dressed in cloth, covering the majority of its body. Only its head and hands were uncovered, dirt and sweat encrusting them.
In an instant, the Watcher became aware of the other in its entirety. It was similar to the former in size and form, but it was ethereal.
"A soul split from the living flesh," the Watcher uttered, her words soundless and immaterial. Its soul glowed, and indeed the sickly yellew emmenated from its being. Its energy flashed and arced, striking the ground and billowing into a halo of lightning above itself. The image of a dress hung off of its features, and with a start the watcher realized the spirit was in fact a female, and a young one at that. What had happened, to end this young ones life? And why....why....why did it feel so angry, yet so sad?
With earthen crunches, and sounds of stones grinding against each other, spikes of earth and rock started to burst from the rock, all along the ground between the two. With cries of alarm, the living one lept towards the soul, dodging the spikes as it made its way towards the center of the grove, slipping and sliding down a slight incline. It fell to the ground at one point, and hurriedly rolled out of the way of emerging spikes. Righting itself, it flung itself headlong at the barrier of earth the soul had constructed between them, breaking through to the other side.
The soul dissapeared, collapsing into the ground by the tree, before reapearing to hover above the living one.
"I burned the book into dust, now I dont have to listen to that stupid story ANY MORE!" With this, the girl (the Watcher upon hearing the souls voice, was able to discern its gender) Flung her arms towards the living, and hurled a bolt of energy into its chest. The living was staggered, and the girl flung bolt after bolt against him (again, after hearing its cries of pain, the Watcher was able to discern its true gender). He was thrown to the ground, doubled over in obvious pain. The watcher desparately wanted to make her way to the you ones side, but she found her point of view immobile.All she could do was wait, and watch.
"Leave me alone."the girl muttered, turning away from the boy.
"No." the boy said, turning back to the girl. "No I'm not leaving." he stated resolutely, gaining a look of pained surprise from the girl. "Just listen to me!..Uhhh," the boy stammered, looking about and visibly trying to find the words he wanted to say. Walking towards the girl, and in fact causing her to recoil from him, he continued. "Once upon a time, long ago, there was a little girl." His words grew stronger as he continued.
"What?" the girl cried out in confusion, and she gave the room between them yet more space.
"A little girl, who was different, who was different from the other people in her village." As the boy continued, the girls soul shook with anger, the head visibly tearing and blurring from the motion.
"I'm not listening!" With this, she split into four copies of herself. These circled the boy, roughly jostling him from behind when he took his focus off of one. They struck up an echoing chant, attempting to drown out the boys voice.
"She could see, and do things, that no one could understand. And that made them scared of her!"
"I dont like this story!" the girl cried, and it was obvious she was shaken.
"She turned away from everyone, and became sad and lonely... and had no one to turn to!" he yelled into the whirling vortex of energy, so intent was the girl to drown out his words.
With this, the girl caused her vortex to explode, cascading her energy outwards, stripping the trees of their leaves and limbs. She reformed her body, rising from beneath the roots of the great tree to glare at the figure of the boy. He had been flung away, but as far as the Watcher could tell was unharmed. He rose and staggered to his feet, staring once more at the girl.
"The more she turned away from people, the more scared they were of her, and they did something terrible!" The boys voice grew louder to combat the rising wind, echoing to all reaches of the forest. The girl by this point was torn between feelings of rage and confusion, as evidenced by the emotion stamped across her face. "They became so scared, that they took her away, and they killed her!"
The Watcher cried out, this statement sparking a memory deep within her, she could not remember why, just that it felt...the same.
"No..." the girls cry had dropped far below her previous, and the Watcher saw as she was forced to pay attention to the boys story.
"B-but even though she was dead," the girls form contorted with anger and pain, "Something in her came back!"
"STOP!"
"This part of her wouldn't go away, not for three hundred years!"
"SHUT UP!!!"
"The longer it stayed, the less there was of the little girl."
At this, the girl screamed in rage. Her soul bent and threw its energy outwards, deep into the ground. The ground cracked and lurched, the energy beneath glowing like magma. The ground fell away, in immense chunks, and the Watcher felt the area...twist, gravity and otherwise being bent to the girls whim.
"I'LL MAKE YOU SUFFER!" The girl cried out, her face contorting and changing into something...inhuman.
"Why?!?" The boy called out, the ground crumbling beneath his feet. The Watcher watched as he turned from the girl, and grabbed the remainder of the rockface behind him. It twisted and turned, and soon the boy found his feet beneath him once more.
"Because....because..." the girl trailed off, and the Watcher could hear the pain in her words. Again the Watcher felt a pang of memory, as if this in fact meant something to her, something she couldnt...remember.
"Because you want everyone to hurt, just as much as you are. So whenever you wake up, you play this mean game, but you dont play fair!" With this, the boy ran across the floating rock, and hurled himself onto one closer to the girl.
"They HURT me..."
"So you hurt them back?"
"I wanted EVERYONE to see how ROTTEN they were."
The boy lept once more, throwing himself onto the outstretched roots beneath the grizled tree by which she hovered. "You're just like them Agitha!"
"No I'm not!" Agitha denied, drawing back from the encroaching boy.
"You're a bully!
"NO...I'M..."
"They did something awful, but that doesnt mean you should too! All thats left of you now is mean and horrible!"
"Thats not true!"
"Then stop! This is wrong and you know it! You spent so long remembering the bad people, that you've forgotten the good ones!" The boy closed the distance between them, shielding his face against the now tidal force winds around them. "There must have been someone that loved you, and cared for you. You dont remember them?" the boy stretched out his hand towards the girl.
"Leave me alone!" Agitha sobbed, turning away from the boy.
"But you're not alone, You have to remember!"
"Keep away from me!"
"REMEMBER!" the boy leaped forward and grasped Agithas hand within his own. The Watcher was subjected to a roaring wind, which tore at everything and deafened her. And then...
Silence.
The Watcher looked around, and found herself in the same grove she had started in. But...it was peaceful...tranquil...it seemed almost, friendly. Agitha and the boy stood near the tree in the center of the grove, but Agitha was different now. She more resembled the boy, skin of flesh and darkened hair that spilled out from her crown and down past her shoulders. She looked...cleansed. Was this the strength of the boy, which had reached her tortured soul?
"Aggie." the girl stated, staring down at her hands. "My name was Aggie..." The boy smiled at this, and gave her a knowing grin. "I...I remember, my mommy brought me here once," she said plainly, looking towards the tree and then walking towards it. "We sat under the tree, and she told me stories." her face lit up at the memory, and the Watcher could feel the underlying saddness. "they all had happy endings. And then...those HORRIBLE men came and took me away, and I never saw her again!" with this, Agithas eyes burned with rage, sending a halo of sickly yellow light before they abbated. She ran towards the tree with stuttering steps, openely crying with tears streaming down her face.
"Sometimes when people get scared, they say and do terrible things." the boy said, drawing closer to Agitha. "I think you got so scared that you forgot who you are. But I dont think you're a witch, not really."
"You dont? Agitha asked, wiping a tear from her face.
"I think you're just a little kid with a really special gift, who only ever wanted people to understand her. So we're not all that different at all."
"But what about the people that hurt you?" she asked, "Dont you ever want to make them suffer?"
"Well, yeah," the boy replied with a shrug, " but what good would that do? You think just because theres bad people out there, that theres no good ones either? I thought the same thing for a while, but theres always someone out there for you. Somewhere."
Agitha turned away from the boy, sorrow clear upon her features. "I just want my mommy."
"I'm sorry Aggie. She's gone."
"That story you were telling, how does it end?" Agitha asked,turning to the boy.
The boy stared at the ground for a few secends, then looked up to Agitha with a smile. "I think thats up to you."
Agitha walked up to the tree, placed a small hand upon the trunk. "Is this where they buried me?"
"Its...a pretty good place to sleep..." The boy said dully, "The you can be with your mom again."
Agitha sat down, her back to the bark. The boy joined her, and she lay her head across his shoulder.
The Watcher gazed on as the girl, once known as Agitha, became as aether, her soul passing on between the realm of life, death, dream and hereafter. the entire dream started to collapse, and the last thing she saw before blinding white...the young boy, looking on with a sorrowful smile.
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With a frightful gasp, the Watcher of Dreams, Ruler of the night, Crowned Princess Luna of Equestria awoke.
"Sister, are you all right?!!?" looking to the side of her bed, she saw her sister perched with a worried look across face, her wings skewed out in agitation. Luna became aware that her coat was covered in a cold sweat, and her eyes were still brimming with tears. "You were screaming in your sleep, the entire castle was worried about you!" looking past her sister to the doorway, Luna could see several heads of the staff vying for position to see inside.
"My...my apologies for worrying everyone, twas not mine intent. I was...trapped, in a vision." Luna shuddered, the memory of the dream still fresh with her.
Her sister let out a thankful sigh, and turned towards the door, shooing those gathered. "She's fine, and she doesnt need the lot of you gawking about her doorway, go on, shoo!" They scattered and fled, leaving Luna alone with her sister once more. "Sister, dearest. Please, tell me what happened." Celestia, Ruler of the day, sat down beside her sisters bed to try to console her.
"I was...I was in a forest. A forest I'd never seen before. There were two foals, but they werent pony foals... and one of them was dead." Celestia gasped at her sisters description, but didnt inturrupt. "The dead one was a little filly named Agitha, she was very angry, and very sad. She felt...she felt just like me. When I was...alone." She nuzzled her sisters cheek for comfort, and they sat like this for a time. "The other one...it was a young colt...I never did find out his name. He talked to Agitha, and no matter what she did, he never stopped. He reached out, and he grabbed her SOUL, sister." Luna stated, looking at her sisters wide eyes. Her own eyes matched her sisters, the thought of one having the ability to interact with anothers soul one both awesome and terrifying. "He FORCED her to remember, to remember one instant of peace she had had. He helped her pass on from this life, to let go of her regret and pain."
"Was this truly a vision? Are you sure?" Celestia looked deep within her sisters eyes.
"Twas more, I'm afraid dear sister." Luna grasped the sheet ontop of her with an aura of deep night blue. Throwing it to the side, they both gasped, for curled against her sister was a small figure...
Author's Note
again, I started a story by pretty much writing word for word the ending of a movie. I thought it made a good start.
The streets of the town are mostly empty, save for a young boy walking alone.
"Good morning!" he calls to a seemingly empty allyway.
"Hey Bruce, any luck with that...yeah? Well thanks, I'll keep that in mind." He says to a barren sidewalk. His sneaker ladden feet carry him yet closer to his destination, his school. And still he stops occassionally to talk to...seemingly no one.
"Did you ever find Beatrice? Well I'm sure she'll turn up, just keep looking, right?" He says to the empty space slightly left of a stopsign.
"Oops, sorry, didnt mean to...actually, I'm a bit late, maybe later?"
His actions garner him stares from those few that were to be had. They couldnt see those that he talked to, but these were no longer stares of fear or confusion. The people that saw him gave him a curt smile, or a knowing nod. Just because they couldnt see them, it didnt change the fact that the souls of the dead roamed the streets, and that Norman was the only one who could see, and speak to them.
"Hey little man, peace, ya hear?" A floating ghost, a hippie with a tie-died shirt whose name he still had been unable to learn (some ghosts were more distant, less connected than others.) said in greetings to Norman.
"Totally." Norman replied with a smile, as was his customary greeting to this particular ghost.
"Ey, Norman! Didjoo see that dame with the fiery hair? I think mah heart started beating again, man." A teen ghost with greasy slicked back hair and a leather jacket proclaimed, floating to a stop beside Norman.
"I...think her hair was actually on fire, but yeah, I saw her."
"Fer real? Man, woulddit be wrong of me to call her smoking hot then?" He said with a laugh.
Norman laughed, and continued on his way, greeting the myraid of colorful individuals as was his morning tradition.
"Hey Norman, didja hear? Clarice moved on!" A ghostly soldier -his chest and jacket torn by bullets holes, and to top it off a shell helmet with a large pronounced hole burst through it- proclaimed, drifting alongside him.
"Really? Thats great!" Norman replied with a wide smile, knowing that this meant the kindly librarian had finally resolved her debts and regrets with the land of the living.
"A good thing Sam saw her go, or else I'da thunk the shadow got her too" He stated, with a slight shiver cascading around his ectoplasm.
"Shadow? Wait, her 'too'? Who else got...wait, how can anything 'get' you, you're ghosts!"
"Didn't cha hear? Beatrice got swallowed by the shadow! Carmine and Fandine aint convinced, they's still looking for her," Norman nodded his head in agreement to Soldiers statement, having talked to both of them earlier. "but I got it on good authority from Gerald, he seened it with his own two eyes!" He enunciated this with with a finger pointed towards his eyes, and continued. "A great big cloud of shadow came outa the ground, and swallowed her up! That aint the only thing, aint you noticed the streets a been...sparser in the last month or so?"
Norman had of course noticed the plethora of ghosts had been thinning since he had lifted the witches curse, but he had assumed that more and more ghosts had passed on. Without the witches curse hanging over the town, less and less of the deceased seemed to have unfinished business.
"Theres something out there man," the soldier proclaimed, dragging his shell helm low on his brow. " And its gettin to be so it aint even safe fer the dead..." With this, he turned and floated away, leaving Norman slightly scared, and deeply confused.
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It had come through the rift with its weakening one month prior. A titanic force had ripped and torn at the fabric of this world. and then with but a whimper was silenced. It had crawled through a crack between this world and the abyss it had called its home for eternity. For that eternity it had existed, starving. This world though, this world was full of food. Most of it was protected, within bodies of flesh. These seemed to be the most abundant, but once the flesh stopped living it released the delicious energy inside. It had started with eating the smallest, slowly gaining strength untill it could safely consume the larger ones it had come to know as "humans". But the true prize was this singular entity within the area, a being with energy ammounting to a hundred of these "humans". The best part was, its energy was open, almost completely unprotected. It had tried to eat it several times now, but to no avail. Now though...It was strong enough. It would consume the entity and hopefully, finally sate its hunger.
It tracked the entity, stalking it through the streets. It concealed its presence, slowly closing the distance. The entity called out in its foreign language, causing It to pause. Regardless of Its efforts to conceal Itself, the entity still managed to sense It. Fine. To hell with stealth. It rushed forward, and attempted to envelope the entity.
PAIN. This new sensation coarsed through it, and the cause was easily enough seen. A ball of light surrounded the entity, and was quickly pulling him through past a tear in the veil. It roared in pain and fury, and redubled Its efforts,to no avail. The entity was gone, the tear closed and imobile to Its prodding. It roared its discontent to the skies above, and settled. Its hunger would be sated. Of this it was certain. It would grow Its strength, and it would follow the entity.
Then it would feast.
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Luna and Celestia gazed at the small form curled up on the opulent bed, a sheet pulled over to prevent chills.
"How?" Came the first word in silent minutes, a question from Celestia directed towards her sister Luna.
"I...I know not, sister." Luna uttered, this situation beyond her realm of understanding.
"This...this colt, is it truly the one you saw in your dream?"Celestia asked, her muzzle nuzzling her sister in an attempt to comfort her.
"Yes. This is the colt, the one who interacted with the dead filly...but how can it be, that he is here?" Luna asked of her sister, placing her weight more evenly across her side.
They remained once more in silence, until Celestia broke from her sisters side hours later. "My apologies, dear sister, but...it is time to raise the moon...perhaps, I could do that, and you could remain in case he wakes?" Luna nodded in confirmation, and parted from her sisters side. She sat down next to the bed, and started her vigilant watch of the young one. Celestia smiled sadly as she left through the door, and made her way to a nearby door leading to a parapet. With a flick of her horn, she opened her wings and rose. She dragged the moon high into the sky, letting the sun rest.
Author's Note
Short chapter. Sorry, but I'm not exactly one to churn out updates, so dont expect this to become a reliable schedule.
Norman woke up slowly, a beam of moonlight falling across his eyes. He found himself in a room he didn't recognize, lain upon a bed with sheets as dark as midnight. There was...a horse lying off to the side of the bed, its coat as dark as the sheets on the bed. What was interesting however, was its mane. It was continuously shifting, reminding him of how a ghosts spectral trail ebbed and flowed. It looked particularly peaceful, a line of drool on the bed where its head lay.
What drew Norman's complete attention, was the one standing at the foot of the bed.
The one he could tell just by looking at its sad smile that it was dead.
It was even darker than the sleeping one, its entire body a mass of shifting stars and starlight. It floated above the ground, its wings outstreched and flowing. And then it spoke.
"Greetings, necromancer."
"I'm...I'm not a necromancer, sir." Norman shifted slightly under the sheets, eliciting a sleep laden snort from the sleeping horse.
"Am I not dead, necromancer?"
"Umm... yes sir?"
"Then the very fact that you can see me makes your existance clear. Only a necromancer walks among the dead. Only a necromancer talks with the dead. Only a necromancer may touch the souls of the dead." The ghost horse gave a slight smile, his horn shifting and reforming above his brow.
"But...I thought a necromancer was a person who brought the dead to life?"
"Is that not what you do even now? You commune with me, and bring to me life, the ability to interact with the living. Such a crass generalization is what most believe of a necromancer, but that is their fault, not yours. Never forget. You are crucial to the balance of the worlds, you are important to the balance of harmony. Do you understand?"
"I... I think so..." Norman absently rubbed his brow, not really understanding.
"Is she not peaceful, whilst she travels the realm of dreams?" He waved a wing towards the sleeping...female. Said female let out an unfeminine snore, causing Norman to let out a snort of laughter.
"...She is, isn't she?" Norman took a couple seconds to collect his thoughts, "Who is she, anyway? And... do you know how I got here?"
"She is my daughter. But sadly, I do not know how you arrived. My apologies, necromancer. If I but had the information, surely I would grant it upon you. I...it is to my utmost shame I must ask a boon of you, with no recompensense." The ghost rippled, his agitation easily seen. "Never can my daughter hear mine words. Never can she feel my gaze as I look on her in admiration and in pride." The area around the spectres eyes grew wavy and watery, the sadness plainly seen upon his face. "I never stay for long, I do not have the luxury of such hubris. But... to know that she would know...Please, necromancer. I beg of thee. Will you simply let my daughters know... I am proud of them? From my utmost to the end, I am and will ever be proud of them."
Norman was struck speachless. This was a father, one who had watched over his own and never once faltered. One who had stood beside them, and never abandonded them, even in death. This was, regardless of the form or species, an exemplory individual, one who had shown nothing but compassion. And Norman decided, he would show him that in kind.
"Whats her name?"
The ghost gave him a sorrowful smile. "This one, my youngest daughter. I named her Luna, such was her coat, that so perfectly matched the pale moonlight." He gave Luna a small stroke over her head, but was unable to move even a single strand of hair. Norman saw this, and was saddened. To be so close...yet so far....
Norman reached out a hand, and softly ran his fingers through her hair. With a slight moan, she shifted in her sleep and leaned into his hand. The ghost gave a smile at this, and spoke one final time...
"Thank you..."
With a burst of shadows, and a shimmer of moonlight, Norman was left with a softly snoring Luna. Norman raised himself off the bed, and lowered himself to the floor. There was one thing missing from this scene...
With a short jerking of his arms, Norman tore the sheet from the bed and wrapped it around her.
Author's Note
Short chapter, just to let you guys know this story aint dead...
Luna awoke, a furious ache in her neck. Groaning with the force of a thousand exploding moons, she managed to heave herself into a semi upright position. How the hay did she fall asleep sitting upright? why wasn't she in her bed? Why-
Luna looked down, suddenly consious of a warm weight pressed against her barrel. She shifted, dislodging the sheet from around her wings. When had the colt done that? She must have been deep deep asleep if he was able to do all this without her waking up and noticing. He had apparently also decided to use her as a cushion, abanding the bed and leaving it all to it's lonesome.
"Awake, sister?"
Luna jerked towards doorway, her gaze allighting on her sister standing there. "Tia. How long have you been standing-"
"Only for the last few minutes. You must have sensed me walk in. How is our little guest?"
"He appears to have... fallen asleep on me. Perfectly good bed and he decides to lay on me. Don't know whether I should feel confused, or grateful. And of yourself? How goes the day?" Luna launched into her daily spiel in attempt to regain a semblance of regularity.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. A couple of teachers down at the university reported a slight blip of an earthquake on their seismographs. Nothing else though that would explain, or lend credence as to how the little one arrived ."
"Truly? Not a single clue?" Luna pleaded, shifing her weight slightly while trying not to wake the little one.
"Not a one. I plan on sending a letter to Princess Twilight, but I wanted to wait for your opinion on the matter. How much do you believe we should disclose?"
Luna tapped a hoof to her chin, "... all of it. I wish not to hide this treasure away, and I believe such an act would only serve to hurt him in the long run. If he is to be stuck in our world for any given amount of time, we should do our all to comfort him."
Celestia nodded her head in agreement, walking closer to better see the child. He had his forelimbs wrapped around her sisters midsection, his face burried deep into the soft fur of her sisters neck. Looking closer, she could see a line of wetness tracing down over the curve, Luna was going to throw a fit about that once she found out. She always did when they were younger, anyway. She still wasn't sure that spit could make someponies hair fall out, she hadn't been able to confirm it in her exceptionally long life. Luna had a wing curled around him protectively, like a mother with their foal. Celestia had to stifle a face breaking grin.
She would make a wonderful mother, if only she'd open up and find somepony to have foals with...
"What's that look for?" Luna asked, dragging Celestias mind back to the present.
"Oh nothing... You just look like such a happy mother," Celestia teased. Luna's face became one of shock, and it was all she could do to not leap to her hooves and dislodge the sleeping bundle.
"T-Tia! Bad! Bad sister!" she hissed. "No cake for a month!"
Celestia knew her sister was bluffing, but it really was better not to push her. "Do not jest of such things," she chided.
"Who ever said I was joking?" she cooed back playfuly.
"I did. If I'm not allowed cake, no moon pie for you," Celestia shot back.
"You would never!"
"You're right," Celestia admitted, walking over to her sister and encircling both her and the colt with a wing. "Because if we were both not allowed sweets, the foal would also be as such restricted. And that is simply needlessly cruel towards one of his age."
"Oh, only because of him?" Luna jibed. "So you are unconcerned with being cruel towards me?" Luna asked, a faux shocked tone in her voice. "Forsooth mine sister, how glib thy words can be. Truly, a monster thee hath become."
"You do know you no longer have to speak like that, right?" Celestia asked, nuzzling her sister.
"Oh, but what fun would that be? To leave our attendees with perfect comprehension of all that we say? T'would not do."
"Mr. Geary talks like you do," a new voice added itself to their conversation. "But I think that's just because he was a 'Shakespearean thespian' before he died."
Both alicorns peered downward at the now revealed to be awake youngster. He returned their gaze, sheepishly raising Luna's wing at a vain attempt to hide from thier piercing gazes.
"Why hello there little one," Celestia stated calmly, internally jumping for joy. How exciting this was! To be conversing with an entirely new species, and one that already knew their native language! "It appears you have finally awoken. Did you sleep well?"
"I... the bed was kinda cold... I hope you don't mind," he said in a start stop manner, refusing to look Luna in the eye.
"I mind not, young one," Luna replied. "a friendly warmth was well recieved to pass us through the night. I must apologize though, your first night here being one of confusion."'
The young males eyes flashed with a spark of remembrance, "Oh! There was someone here while you were sleeping!"
Well that was odd. He must have been mistaken, only Luna or Celestia had the power needed to break the seals on their bedrooms. Nopony new the correct sequences, either.
"A pony... one who was dead," he said hesitantly. When he realized they didn't contradict him or outright call him a liar, he continued, "He was really dark, and had a horn and wings like you two," he claimed. "He said he was your dad. He wanted me to let you know... he wanted me to give you a message."
Celestia was on the verge of tears, and it seemed her sister was close behind her.
"Know this," the child started, "Through all I have seen you do, I want you to know that I am proud. Thats all he said before he disappeared."
He need not have said any more. With his last word he found himself embraced yet tighter by two sobbing sisters. Unable to move or even protest, he instead settled in and let himself enjoy the sensation.
There were worse ways to die.
Author's Note
Happy Birthday to me, heres a present for you guys!
