Chapters The end of an infinite tale
Chapter 2: Back to reality
“She seems dressed in all the rings of past fatalities, so fragile yet so devious, a Dahlia bathed in possession. But she’s unable to see past her own volition, her own choicer will bring only misery and the false illusion of hope. How will she ever be freed by the voluntary imposition of a slave that believes itself a master? How will she realize where the immensity of the ocean is taking her?”
Pain and the taste of blood and dust flooded Moonlight’s senses, overwhelming her own thoughts; when she finally regained consciousness she looked around in dizziness and confusion. What exactly happened? Where was she? All she could see was some debris around her, and her ears could catch some voices coming from nearby. Little by little, the voices grew stronger, and as they did, so did the little light seeping through the debris.
“There is one here too! Hurry, she seems badly hurt!”
“Lift that wooden beam, that should release her!”
And as soon as the beam was lifted, everything became black again.
Strange dreams haunted the sleep of Moonlight, visions of sweet past, long gone, sorrow in the present, attacking its inhabitants, and the uncertainty of the future yet to come; a streamline of though, relentless, vicious, and terribly real. Nightmares begun about losing someone dear to her, filling every corner of her now troubled mind, doubt and despair preyed on her thoughts and her very essence. The only light that shined in that terrible slumber was so tiny and so far away an immense sea of darkness rose in her way, but Moonlight gathered all of her strength and made a run for it. And she ran. Ran for what felt to be days, until finally, she reached the light, and as she reached the light, she opened her eyes.
“Where am I? What happened?”, Moonlight lifted her head to see the room she was in. It was an unknown roof, with unknown walls; it looked an awful lot like a hospital, and there was a stallion in a white coat right next to a white mare besides him, bearing a curious red-cross as a cutiemark. Yes, it was a hospital.
“Whoa nelly! Easy now lady, don’t do any abrupt movement, you don’t want to hurt yourself again. You’ve been out cold for a couple of days now. You were found in the ruins of a small house in the outskirts of town; you’re very lucky”, said the doctor as he helped Moonlight to slowly sit on the bed.
“I… I was with Silver, in his house. We were trying to protect his dad, and Rosie Buns. But suddenly the house came crashing down over us; Silver pushed me away into the main room, and then… I can’t remember anything else. What happened to them? Are they ok? Are they here, in this hospital?”, Moonlight claimed agitated, clearly demanding for an explanation of whatever happened to Silver and his family.
“I’m afraid I do not possess all the details. Tirek went over the house, destroying it, and you most likely lost consciousness when he drained your magic from your horn and your cutiemark from your flank. Don’t worry, the danger is over now, but you did get hurt really bad, luckily that room was really sturdy and stood still even when the rest of the house was crumbling. As far as I know, other survivors were found, and were in better conditions than you, but I wasn’t informed if they took them here or somewhere else”.
“Oh! I see… Thanks doc. I’d Like to take a few steps to stretch my hooves, if that’s ok”, said Moonlight, hoping to escape the bed for as long as possible.
“Sure, just take it easy, and don’t overdo it”.
Once again, Silver saves the day, thought Moonlight. Well, it was his cutiemark after all, and he managed to save them before Tirek could seize his cutiemark from him. She planned on thanking him as soon as she laid eyes on him, but first things first, a little walk and some food, perhaps a hay burger would be nice; being out could for a few days definitely had gotten her hunger levels to an alarming scale. Even though the doctor didn’t say much about the other survivors, the simple fact of knowing they were relatively unharmed gave some relief to her heart and mind. Right now she needed to clear her mind of all the terrible nightmares; after all, it was just a bad dream. Or was it? Even though a little splinter in her mind remained, reminding her of her dreams, she convinced herself that everyone was just fine.
Soon Moonlight had left the hospital walking, hoping to find something tasty to eat, and even when she hadn’t eaten any food from the hospital, she didn’t feel like taking the risk of consuming a disgraceful meal after such a long time of having nothing. Outside it was a very beautiful day, it was hard to believe a couple of days ago the city was panicking in fear, and yet again, it was all true. As Moonlight walked through a nearby park, clearly disobeying the doctor’s orders, she spotted a little stand, selling daisy and dandelion sandwiches, which actually sounded tempting considering no better options were around. The city was practically undamaged, so the usual activities were retaken as soon as the threat was eliminated, and by the rumors Moonlight heard, that was just a couple of hours after the attack. Everything was returning back to its natural state. At any rate, she couldn’t just escape from the hospital, so a trip back was in order, and maybe the doctor could see she was feeling a lot better and discharge her that same day.
On her way back to the hospital, Moonlight heard somepony calling her.
“Moonlight! Moonlight Dust! Is that you?” yelled a familiar voice.
When Moonlight turned to see who was calling her, her surprise was big to find that it was no other than Rosie Buns, Silver’s wife.
“Well”, thought Moonlight as Rosie came trotting to her, “that is convenient!”
“Oh Moonlight! Where have you been? We’ve been worried sick about you! We couldn’t find you anywhere, we thought you were taken, or worse!” said Rosie, with tears in her eyes.
“I’m fine! Just a little bruised, that’s all. Apparently somepony found me and took me to this hospital, where I was unconscious for a couple of days. I bet the check is going to be outrageous!” joked Moonlight, thinking that it was probably true.
Rosie grinned a little in return.
“It’s so good to see you’re well, after all that happened I’m so glad!” Rosie was poking at the ground.
“How’s everyone? Where is Silver? I can’t wait to thank him! I’ll treat him some apples from Sweet Apple Acres! I know he doesn’t like them as much as I do, but I’m sure he’ll appreciate it!”
Rosie’s eyes were flooded with tears once more.
“What happened? Is Silver all right?” inquired Moonlight, worried about Rosie’s reaction to her so-called brother’s name.
“Silver… you were unconscious, so it’s only natural you don’t know…” That little splinter that had remained in the back of Moonlight’s mind began to hurt, an awful lot.
“Silver didn’t make it out of the house” stated Rosie, solemnly.
The end of an infinite tale
“And so, the breaking point has come at last, a milestone in time. The reckoning of life, and the emptiness by those who are left behind, an unbreakable cycle, bound to each living creature, and the other way around. The expectators cannot hope to interfere, as we are not bound to the cycle, we are not alive. Oh, poor creature, tormented by her own choice, I know it’s hard to tell how troubled you feel, hoping what you need is behind every door, but the loss of someone close is inevitable, you’re just locking your own shackles”.
Moonlight’s head was spinning, memories rushing relentlessly to her mind. Laughter and sorrow, joy and sadness. Was it really true Silver was gone? How was it possible? He was with her not so long ago, and now he was no more. “Help me, Moon, please”. Those words echoed endlessly in her mind.
“I couldn’t help you Silver, I’m so very sorry. I was so panicked I couldn’t react fast enough, but you were always so sharp, so ready for anything…” Moonlight broke in tears before his grave.
Right after the Rosie broke the news to her, she walked into the hospital and demanded to be discharged immediately. She was confused, agitated, and disoriented; the doctor didn’t agree at first, but after the insistence of Moonlight, the improvement of her bruises and her clearly altered state of mind, he agreed to discharge her that same day, but on the condition she had to go for a checkup soon. Moonlight didn’t even took notice of the doctor’s demands, she didn’t even notice the whole journey to Silver’s grave; Rosie Buns had offered to go with Moonlight where Silver was buried, but Moonlight refused politely the offering without thinking about it.
“Oh Silver, I’m so sorry, it’s because of me that this happened. I loved you like a brother, I really did, but I failed to protect you. I will find a way to make things right Silver, I promise. I’m sure they have been here before, but your dad, Rosie and your son are fine, they just miss you, just like I do. Just look at me, I’m a mess; I’m sure if you could see me, you would probably make one of your jokes, like, ‘Hey, who let this hideous pony out the madhouse’” Moonlight laughed at the idea of Silver making such comment, it was perfectly visible in her mind, although she continued to shed tears as she laughed. Moonlight took a deep breath and wiped her tears. Rosie had told her that the grave was just a decoration, given that Silver’s body was never found, only one of his wings, and this brought back the memories of Silver and his signature pose.
“I have to go now Silver, but I’ll come back, I promise, and I will find a way to make things right” quickly said in a grave, solemn note, and as soon as she finished, she turned around and started to walk home.
Days went by, and as routine started to reestablish in the life of everypony, Moonlight’s restlessness grew stronger. It was obvious that Rosie Buns and Silver’s dad were saddened by the loss of Silver, but Moonlight’s feel of loss was beyond words, like something was violently and suddenly snatched from her, but there was nothing to do about it. Whenever she could, Moonlight tried to help Rosie with her chores and taking care of her newborn, Copper Rust; she felt that even with the promise that she made to Silver, it was all that was within her power to help, and therefore, a feeling of being powerless started to grow in her chest, right next to the sadness she felt. Even Rosie could tell that the most affected of Silver’s death was Moonlight, no doubt about it, and everypony else could reach the same conclusion, even so, her mood hardly went down, and she kept cheering those around her.
As the strong, independent mare that Moonlight Dust supposedly was, she lived by herself in a cottage near the woods, at the very edge of Horsetown, were she could get some peace a quiet after a long day in the city. A few days after Silver’s passing, a certain day Moonlight received a very peculiar envelope, addressed specifically to her.
“Sweet Celestia! This banker ponies don’t know when to give up! I’m becoming a professional in turning them down!” exclaimed ironically while she used her magic to open the letter.
As soon as she started reading the letter, she felt goosebumps.
“I know who you are, and I know how much you’re suffering. You put a strong façade trying to fool everypony, but you’re only fooling yourself. What would you do if I told you there is a way to go back in time and prevent certain events from happening, at the expense of your own welfare? Would you be willing to sacrifice everything for a possibility to change things? If you do, you must embark in a great journey that may not end well; your first destination will be the Everfree Forest, in the very heart of the forest. There you will find some of the answers you seek. D.E.”
“Well, that was no bank offer, all right!” said Moonlight to herself out loud. As soon as she finished reading the letter, she started to wonder how much of it was true, if any.
“There are some ill-intentioned ponies out there that might want to take advantage of me” reflected while she read the letter again, “but if what this pony says it’s true, I can save Silver!”
The slightest ray of hope seemed like a whole promise of salvation to her. Even though the letter warned her about sacrificing her own welfare, she put no attention to it. It was known by everypony that the Everfree Forest was a savage place were beasts and old magic roamed free, a place where many entered, but only a few came out; the sole act of going there by herself was a life threat of its own. Even the possibility of it being a scam was completely erased from her mind.
It was not incredible to think that in the forest there could be some kind of magic that could help Moonlight, as she had heard about the mirror pond, a mystical little lake where your reflection came alive, or the magic used by the deers, unknown to any unicorn in Equestria, even the old castle of the princess sisters was said to be haunted by the shadow lurkers. When she thought of that, the idea of an unknown mystical time traveling magic was not so unthinkable. That moment her eyes burst with the flames of determination and her mind was set with the sole purpose of recovering his dearest Silver, no matter what it took.
“Well, I guess it’s time for me to do a little road-trip to the Everfree Forest” exclaimed as she walked out of the front door, defiant of the world.
The end of an infinite tale
Preamble As time flows, creatures are not aware of its flow; like being stranded in a small boat in the immensity of the ocean, you know it will take you somewhere, but you will never know once you’re there. Sentient beings assume it’s like a river, flowing towards a certain direction, and they might be right. However, the nature of time prevents its comprehension, rendering its secrets a mystery. But what if the secret is something so small, it can be contained in a glass of water? What if it can be obtained and mingled with? What if this story tells you about it and a love that transcends the very essence of time?
Chapter 1: Two friends
Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there was a little filly, a unicorn, called Moonlight Dust, in a little town in the vicinity of Ponyville, called Horsetown. Even though Horsetown was nowhere close as big as Manehattan or Canterlot, it was bigger than Ponyville, to the point that it was practically impossible to get to know everypony in town. Even so, the ponies of Horsetown were always very friendly to each other, and when disputes arose, they were always solved in a civilized manner.
As many young fillies and colts, Moonlight Dust had many friends, but among her friends, one particular colt was especially close to her, and his name was Silver Lining, a pegasus. Silver had lost his mom when he was born, but that didn’t sadden him at all, ever. His father was very careful not to talk about her, so Silver didn’t even know her name.
“She’s always with me”, said Silver whenever the topic came up, “I can feel it in my heart, and that’s all I need”.
Moonlight and Silver were inseparable, wherever one of them were, you could assume the other would be around, and they had so much fun together, they only were apart when it was late and they had to return home. Every single day was a new adventure, the sky was the limit; if it started to rain, they pretended the street was a fierce river to conquer, or if the day was too hot, they were traversing the unforgiving desert, or some days they just played plain, old-fashioned hide-and-seek with other ponies from school, even though Moonlight always had the upper hand at night because her dark blue coat, compared to Silver’s white coat.
“Hey, Moon, it’s getting late, I should go back home”, said Silver after having a particular hard time locating Moonlight.
“Oh! C’mon! It’s not that late, there is still light! Don’t be such a sore looser!”, replied Moonlight, pointing at the sunset.
“I know, but I forfeit, you’re just too good playing hide-and-seek. Besides, you know how my dad gets if I’m not home before nightfall”, Silver was poking the ground with his hoof.
“I would, if I knew your dad! How come I can’t go to your house and play? Was it something I said?”. Silver’s dad had never liked Moonlight, and she couldn’t remember any single time she did or said anything to anger him.
“It’s just… he doesn’t… he doesn’t like you. That’s all there is to it, try not to think about it. He’s great and loving, but he’s very strict time to time. Perhaps he’s just preventing you to demolish our house, like that time you broke some barrels at the market!” Silver burst into laughter.
“Hey! That was an accident and you know it! I was trying to reach one of the apples on the barrel, and the whole tower came down! I just couldn’t resist, those were apples from Sweet Apple Acres, and you know how fast they run up!”
“I know, I know! Anyway, I’ll better get going. See you tomorrow, Moon!” said Silver as he walked away, without looking back. He just lifted his right wing, a sign Moonlight knew very well, as his classic “cool ponies don’t look back farewell” pose.
As time went by, both of them got their respective cutie-mark. Moonlight received a small pile of glowing silver dust, which contrasted very much against her rather dark coat, and represented her ability to shine even in the darkest and direst situations, and spread that positive vibe to all around them. On the other hand, Silver got a dark cloud sliced in half that was sparkling on the inside, which represented his ability to overcome the hardest situations.
Both cutiemarks were very similar, yet different somehow. It’s because of this that ponies started to think those two were a lot closer than just friends, but they were wrong in a certain way. Even though Moonlight and Solver did feel like they were more than friends, their relationship was closer to siblings, as they felt like brother and sister, like a family; each one represented to the other somepony to put their trust, being good or bad times. And so, both foals spread their cheer across Horsetown through the years, and they grew to become a fair mare and a great stallion.
“Silver, did you hear about that incident in Ponyville?”
“You mean the supposedly return of Nightmare Moon and her defeat by just a bunch of simple ponies?”, Silver rolled his eyes in disbelief. “Please Moon, Nightmare Moon is just an old pony legend! A mare in the moon, yeah right!”
“But Princess Luna has come back to the castle in Carnterlot, and she has resumed her duties of protecting the night! There’s no way you can deny that!”, reclaimed Moonlight, angry at Silver’s reaction.
“Well, perhaps it’s true, perhaps it’s not, let’s not dwell on it, ok? Now help me carry this apples”.
Every now and then, stories of great events came flying from Ponyvile, along with the sweet temptation of the daily produce of Sweet Apple Acres. The Ursa Minor incident, the escape of Cerberus from Tartarus, the total chaos unleashed by Discord, the spirit of pandemonium; the stories were so fantastical, sometimes it was hard to believe it happened so close, and yet all of it was nothing but true. Meanwhile in Horsetown life carried on as any other day, except that time a sleeping dragon obscured the skies, that got them involved and worried too. Word of the great doings of Twilight Sparkle quickly spread across Equestria, and Horsetown was no exception. The day of her coronation nopony went to work. It was amazing that such a remarkable pony lived so close to them, but little did Moonlight know that very soon she’ll embark on an epic quest of her own, that may be retold countless times.
The news of Tyrant Tirek came to Horsetown, and how little by little he was regaining power by draining ponies, leaving them in a near death state. At first, it seemed very far away, but before they knew it, Tirek was destroying Canterlot and banishing the princesses to Tartarus, were he once was imprisoned by them.
“Silver! Silver, where are you?!” yelled Moonlight, agitated and clearly scared.
“I’m here! I’m sorry Moon, but I’m not going anywhere, I’m staying here with dad and Rosie Buns”. The passing of years had taken their toll on Silver’s dad, and Rosie Buns, Silver’s wife, was carrying their child.
“What are you talking about?! Tirek is coming this way, right now! We need to get to safety before he drains us, or worse, destroys the town with us still in it!”
“I can’t go, I must protect dad and Rosie!”, said Silver gallantly, “Help me, Moon, please”.
She couldn’t possibly say no to that plead. It was from Silver, for crying out loud, they had shared so much, friendship, good memories, they even shared the same birthday, he was truly her brother.
Moonlight used her magic and levitated some of the furniture around the door and piled it tightly against the only means of entry in the house.
“This is crazy. You know this is not going to work, right?”, said Moonlight, while she put a small table atop the improvised barricade.
“I guess I’m really scared, I hope yours will get us out of this”.
“I hope that too Moon, I really hope that too”.
And then Silver saw something in her eyes, that somehow she knew deep within what was going to happen. She turned to face him, and fear showed in her face.
“Silver, I’m scared”, whispered Moonligt, just before the house crumbled over them.