‘Help…’

I struggled, arms and legs thrashing wildly. Water churned around me. It was everywhere: in my eyes, clouding my vision; in my mouth, making me gag at the taste; up my nose, causing me to cough; rushing in my ears, blotting out all noise.

I had no clue where I was, only that dark murky water surrounded me on all sides. Long tendrils of seaweed loomed out of the gloom like giant tentacles. They swayed around me, tangling my limbs and hindering my movement. Any attempt to free myself from their grip only resulted in me getting more and more trapped.

In this strange, dark place, deep beneath the waves, I strained to hold my breath. All I could do was stare up through the blur of water above me and hope. The world above was now only a hazy patch of light, barely visible through the leaves of the seaweed.

My lungs burned, what little air I had managed to grab before pulling pulled under slowly being used up. I fought back the urge to exhale, knowing that the minute I did so would spell my doom.

Pulling on a particularly thick piece of seaweed that had wrapped around my leg, I attempted to work myself free. I froze though, as the water behind me shifted. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and a shiver ran down my back as something large slithered through the weeds behind me. I whirled around quickly, but whatever it was had already vanished back into the veil of murky water.

Taking several seconds to try and see through the gloom, I was distracted from my predicament until my chest gave a few heaves and a stream of bubbles escaped my lips. Eyes widening in alarm, I grabbed the seaweed wrapped around my leg and back to pull on it with renewed vigor.

After a few good tugs, I managed to pull my leg free, only to have a clump of weeds begin to wrap around my arm. Shaking them off, I began to kick my feet frantically, trying to make for the surface. Leaves tugged at my clothing while weeds wrapped around my feet. Still, I struggled on and managed to make some headway. After one last, desperate kick, I freed myself from the algae's grasp.

My lungs were screaming at my, pleading for air. Darkness crept in around the edges of my vision. As I fought to remain conscious, I clawed my way towards the light far above.

I had just about reached the surface when something long and slippery suddenly wrapped around my leg. With a strong pull, it tugged my back down towards the bottom of the lough. I tried to pull my leg free, but the grip was too powerful. My chest was twitching, my lungs calling for relief. Relief that I could not give them.

As the unknown force continued to pull me down into the murky depths of the lough, a pair of blank, milky eyes appeared in front of me. From all around, a bubbly laugh echoed through the water.

With that, the moment had come.

My lungs, having been fighting to hold in what little air they could, finally forced out their contents. I could only watch in despair as my breath streamed from my mouth, gurgling heavenwards in a burst of bubbles. Still I held out for a moment longer, hoping against all hope that I could somehow escape my fate. However, I was just delaying the inevitable.

Reflex overruled instinct.

My lips parted.

My lungs expanded.

And water came pouring in.

The pain that erupted inside my chest was greater than any I could have imagined. The water burned as it rushed into my lungs, filling them completely. Icy daggers dug into my sides. The feeling shot upwards, and I felt like my head was crushing in upon itself. The pain lasted but only for a few seconds.

Then there was a blinding flash of light.

I gasped.

~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~

I jerked awake in a flurry of movement. Sitting up hurriedly, I leaned over my bucket and immediately voided my stomach contents into said bucket. Luckily, I hadn’t had anything to eat today, so all that came out was some disgusting tasting bile. Heaving once more, I spat before sitting back and resting the back of my head against the window with a groan.

“Ugh, that’s vile,” I grimaced. “Why does it… there’s nothing in there to throw up!” I grimaced as I fought back another heave. “It doesn’t make sense.” Grumbling to myself, I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand. Beneath me, the train continued to vibrate as it rumbled along.

It was Thursday evening, and I was currently on my way to Canterlot for my date with Celestia. The plan was to show up in Canterlot the night before so that way I had all day to hang out with Celestia tomorrow. The only issue I had with the plan was the obvious.

“Feck you,” I growled as the train lurched slightly to the left and my stomach flipped again. The wind outside was causing the train to rock back and forth. Despite the fact I had taken my sickness medication, the movement of the train car was making me sick. I had hoped that a nap would help my stomach relax, but apparently that had been a lost cause. Luckily, there was no one else in the compartment with me to witness my discomfort.

Reaching up, I unlatched the window above me and let it fall open. Fresh air rushed into the compartment, and I inhaled deeply. While not enough to make me feel better, it did calm my stomach slightly. The smell of the mountain air, as well as a familiar tinge in the air, wafted through the car. With all these cues, I didn’t need the weather report to tell me that it was going to rain later. Still, some eejit in Canterlot had scheduled a light rainstorm for Friday. I had stopped in the library to ask Twilight to send a letter to Celestia asking if she wanted to reschedule. She had responded saying that it wouldn’t be a problem, so here I was.

A soft knocking from the compartment door drew my attention. The door slid partly open and a unicorn mare stuck her head through the opening. She glanced around before catching sight of me sitting in the corner. A small smile touched her lips.

“Do you want anything from the trolley, dearie?” she asked, her voice soft. Her calm demeanor confused me for a second, since most ponies shied away upon seeing me for the first time. Then I remembered that she had encountered me before during my many trips to Canterlot.

She continued to stare at me for a few seconds more before I realized that I had been asked a question. The thought of food caused my stomach to clench, and I groaned. “Naw, tanks.”

“Alright,” she said with a nod, shooting me a sympathetic look. “Well, if you change your mind or feel better, don’t be afraid to come find me.” I grunted something that could have been ‘okay’ as she closed the door again.

As I pressed my head against the window again, my thoughts drifted back to the dream. Or rather, the nightmare, as the case may be. It wasn’t the first time I had dreamt of drowning. In fact, I’d been having the exact same nightmare on and off since I had first arrived in Equestria. It was always the same: drowning, trapped in the weeds as something large swam around me. For three months I had suffered silently through the nightmares until Luna had stumbled upon me one night. It had been completely by accident too. While Luna was the Mistress of Dreams, it appeared that since I had come from a different world, she could enter my dreams, but was not alerted to any nightmares that I might have.

After talking to her about the nightmare next time I was in Canterlot, she told me that the most likely cause was something in my past creating the fear, thus creating the nightmare. Which was strange, because I had never been one to be afraid of water. As a child, most of my summers were spent swimming in the nearby loughs with my sisters.

Unable to determine the cause of my nightly terrors, Luna had promised to try and keep an eye out for anymore nightmares I might have, and alleviate them if she could. Luckily, they didn’t happen all that often, so even if Luna missed a few, it wasn’t that big of a deal to me. They were an inconvenience at best, yet still annoying.

“What’s goin’ on in there?” I muttered, hitting my forehead softly with the heel of my hand. While my brain didn’t give me an answer, my stomach took that exact moment to remind me that I hadn’t had anything to eat all day in preparation for the train ride, and it was currently hungry.

Unfortunately, the feeling of hunger also brought on some queasiness, the thought of eating causing my stomach to flip.

Fighting back the urge to dry heave again, I glanced out the window in an attempt to see how much longer it was until we reached Canterlot. To my surprised, I could see the lights from the train station in the distance. It was small, barely the size of my thumb, but it was slowly growing larger as the train continued to rumble down the track. At this rate, we’d arrive in Canterlot in around fifteen minutes or so.

I didn’t realize that I was asleep that long, I mused. Staring at the approaching station for a few more seconds, I sighed before getting slowly to my feet. As the train shifted beneath me, I swayed slightly before managing to find my balance. Reaching up, I pulled my backpack out of the overhead rack and threw it carefully over my shoulder. Doing a quick double-check to make sure that I had everything, I slid the door open and stepped out into the corridor. First order of business was finding the trolley pony.

I might not be able to eat now, but I could at least get something for the road.

~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~

The streetlights were just beginning to turn on when I arrived outside the palace. Munching contently upon a blueberry muffin, I gazed up at the lit windows that dotted the castle. Every so often a shadow would pass in front of one, temporarily blocking the light as a member of the staff went about their business.

Even with the lights on, I could still see that the stars had come out, the sky behind them taking on an almost purple-ish hue now that the sun had sunk below the horizon. A soft glow coming from behind one of the many clouds that were beginning to dot the skies of Canterlot indicated where the moon was. At the rate the clouds were gathering though, it looked like I wasn’t going to be able to see the night sky for much longer.

“Looks like the weather team is starting the rain a little early,” I grumbled as I finished off my muffin. Wiping my hand on my skirt, I then started up the steps to the main door of the palace. There was at least a couple dozen or so steps up to the large, rather imposing gate that marked entrance to the towering palace behind it. I had become fairly accustomed to them by now, having had to climb them many times within the past year during my visits. It still didn’t make them easy to climb, and I found myself getting short of breath halfway up.

There were two Royal Guards standing watching just outside the gate, their golden armor glinting in the lamplight. They had bored expressions on their faces, probably waiting for their lunar counterparts to come along to relieve them, but they both perk up as I reached the top of the stairs.

“Do oi need…?” I began, only to have guard on the left hold up her hoof.

“Lady Sparkle sent a letter ahead saying you were on your way” she said. “Princess Celestia passes on her regret to be unable to meet you tonight, and has asked us to inform you that the regular guest room has been made up for you.”

I motioned towards the doors. “So oi can just…?” Both guards nodded, and the doors swung open on oiled hinges. I glanced between the two of them before heading into the castle through the open door.

The main room was empty, the large hall illuminated by various torches that dotted the walls. Shadows clung to the pillars, flickering in time with the flames of the torches. The arches far above were almost completely lost in the darkness.

As I walked down the carpeted path through the room, I felt something breeze by overhead. This normally would have startled me, but having had past experience within the castle, I knew that it was probably just a Lunar Guardspony heading towards their station. Sure enough, upon turning around, I spied a pair of them emerge from the darkness and land near the main entranceway. When she saw I was watching, one of them smiled and waved at me before following her partner outside to relieve the two guards I had just talked to.

As I made my way towards the grand staircase that would lead up to my room, I passed by the throne room doors. One of the doors was opened a crack, and a stream of light shining through the gap. The sound of muffled voices came from the other side, and even though I couldn’t hear what was being said, it was clear from their tones that there was an argument going on. Four Lunar Guards stood outside the doors, each wearing a heavier set of lunar armor. Their helmets hid most of their faces from view, only their slitted eyes visible from slits upon the faceplate. Two of the guards remained motionless as I past, but the other two tracked my motion, their heads turning silently as they remained focused on me.

Shrinking slightly under their scrutiny, I dunked my head down and quickened my pace.

I had just reached the foot of the staircase when a voice called out. “Nora?” Freezing with my foot on the bottom step, I turned, only to blink in surprise when I saw Luna emerging from a side door, followed by two stallions I didn’t recognize. One was a pegasus, the other a unicorn. They weren’t guards, I could tell that much by how they gazed around the palace in wonder.

“Nora, what are you doing here?” Luna asked, giving me a confused look. “Our usual monthly meeting isn’t for another two weeks.” She blinked once before her eyes widened and her ears splayed back. “Not that we’re saying this isn’t a pleasant surprise!” she quickly added.

I pointed towards the ponies who were following her. “Who’s your friends?”

Luna blinked before glancing back at the two stallions. She whistled softly and a batpony suddenly appeared beside her. She whispered something to the stallion, who nodded and then proceed to lead the two gawking ponies off up the staircase.

“Just ignore them,” she said nonchalantly, waving a wing.

I shook my head before smirking. “Well, hi to you too, Luna.”

Luna’s gaze softened, and she laughed softly as she returned the smile. “Yes, hello my dear friend. It is good to see you again after so long.” Her smile turned into a pout. “You rarely write anymore. I was beginning to think you forgot about me.”

“I’m sorry, Luna,” I said with a wince. “I didn’t mean to ignore you. It’s just… not much happens for me to write about. I wake up, go to work, go home, sleep, and do it all again the next day.”

“That may be, but it would still be nice to hear from you from time to time,” Luna grinned. “Boring life aside, I do hope you’re doing well.”

“As well as I can be at the moment,” I answered with a shrug. “The ride up here was a little… bumpy, but I took my medicine before I left, so that helped some.”

“That wasn’t what I was asking, but that answer will do,” Luna said with a smirk. “Although, that does bring up my previous question. What brings you to Canterlot this time of night?”

I felt my face begin to heat up, no doubt a blush spreading across my pale cheeks. “Um, oi’m… oi’m actually here ter, ah… hang out with Celestia tomorrow.” For a fleeting moment, I could have sworn I saw a glimmer of glee flash across Luna’s face, but when I looked again, it was gone and she was giving me a surprised look.

“Truly?” she asked. “I did not realize…” She paused before perking up again. “Ah, that must be the reason why the maids were making up the guest room.”

“Yeah,” I said, rubbing the back of my head. “I didn’t want to be coming up in the rain, so I arrived early.”

“That’s quite alright,” Luna smiled. “In fact, allow me to personally escort you to your room.”

“Y-you… you don’t have to do that,” I said quickly.

“Nonsense! It would be our pleasure,” Luna scoffed.

“Well, w-what about Night Court?” I asked.

“We are the one who decides when court starts, not the nobles,” Luna snorted. Draping a wing over my shoulder, she began to steer me towards the stairs. “If I want to take fifteen minutes to help a good friend get settled in for the evening, then I shall do so.” Unable to think of an argument, I allowed Luna to lead me up the stairs.

As we walked, I glanced over at Luna.

“So, um… where is Celestia?” I asked.

Luna raised an eyebrow before pouting. “What? Is my presence not enough for you? We realize that we might not be as good looking as our—”

“N-no! No, it’s not that!” I cried, waving my hands in front of me. “Oi like hangin’ out with you, it’s just… oi thought Celestia would be ‘ere ter greet me.”

“And I think she would have been, if it wasn’t for the fact something came up at the last minute,” Luna said softly.

I stumbled before giving Luna an unsure look. “It’s… it’s nothing bad, right?” As much as I didn’t want to seem selfish, I was silently hoping that nothing had come up that would prevent the date tomorrow. I had finally worked up enough courage to ask Celestia out and things were going fine so far. The last thing I needed was some eldritch abomination ruining that.

Pausing, I scrunched my face up before shaking my head. That was ridiculous. Not only was that very unlikely, but if that was the truly the case, I highly doubted Luna would be so calm about it. Reaching up, I flicked myself in the side of the head with my finger. I have got to get my imagination in check.

“Nothing major, I assure you,” Luna said airily. “Just some last minute confusion in a new trade agreement. The minotaur ambassador asked Celestia to sort it out before he left tomorrow morning. It’s not a serious issue, but one that he felt should be resolved as soon as possible, to prevent further issues. Personally, I didn’t see the problem with it, seeing as it benefited the minotaurs, but that’s besides the… are you alright?”

I had frozen up completely upon Luna’s mention of minotaurs, and she had continued walking for a few more paces before realizing I was no longer beside her. She glanced back at me now, a look of confusion on her face.

“Nora? Are you alright?” Luna asked, backtracking until she stood in front of me. “Your face is looking paler than usually… which is quite a feat, I might add.”

“D-dare’s… dare’s a minotaur?” I stammered. “Dare’s a minotaur… ‘ere? Right now?!”

Luna gave me a blank stare before dawning realization crossed her face. “Ah, yes. If I remember correctly, you’ve had a run in with a minotaur before, correct?” When I nodded, she gave me a gentle smile. “Do not worry, my friend. I highly doubt you’ll have troubles with Ambassador Irontusk.”

“Yer don’t know dat!” I cried, eyes wide. “Yer weren’t dare! It was ‘orrible!”

“Be that as it may, I don’t believe you have any need to worry tonight,” Luna said, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “I highly doubt you and Irontusk will meet while he is here. He’s supposed to be heading out some time this evening.”

“Right,” I said, nodding my head. “Stay in me room al’ evenin’. Got it.”

Luna rolled her eyes before turning and heading down the hall again. She called back over her shoulder as she walked. “Come along, Nora. We’ll get you settled in.”

With a nod I followed after her, glancing behind me every couple of seconds, just to be sure.

Author's Note

Sorry for the dull chapter. The next chapter will contain the date, I swear.