Chapters I set down my toolbox and backpack as I enter my home, a box of matches in my hands. I sigh as I look around, not much has changed in the time I’ve been gone, everything was as I left it except for the fact that everything had a fine layer of dust coating it. I didn’t have much, a small bed is pushed up against one of the corners, and a circular table dominates the center of the room. A few chairs were sown around the room and a closet door occupied one of the other walls. Several pictures adorned every wall, although with the only light coming from the moon filtering through a window I can’t make out a lot of them besides the outline of their frames.
I walk over to the closet and open it. Inside I see three shelves stocked with almost everything I need for my stay in this town I’m in. On the top shelf I see several journals and scrolls of various sizes and colors, on the middle shelf I see three candles with different colored flames, one white, one black, and one that wasn’t lit. On the bottom shelf there is a single large book, the cover shrouded in shadows along with several quills and inkwells.
I bring out a match and strike it, green flames jump to life as I use it to light the last candle. Extinguishing the match, I place the matches on the bottom shelf as I stare at the candles for a few minutes. They’re gifts from two very close friends, each one having a special and unique property.
I shake my head to dispel the memories as I grab a journal from the top shelf along with an inkwell and quill in my left hand, I then grab the candle with the white flame and close my eyes before bringing it out of the closet. I slowly open my eyes and blink a few times to adjust to the light. Looking around I’m pleasantly surprised to see the candle still works, and is now illuminating the entire room.
I walk over to the table and place the candle on the center of it. After setting the inkwell, quill, and journal on the table the way I like them, I pull up a chair and sit down. I dip the quill in the ink and open the journal. I stare at the blank page for a few moments before I look down at myself, lost in thought.
I’m around six feet tall and I’m wearing an old yellow and grey muscle shirt along with a pair of brown jeans, my body is similar to a body builder’s except with a lot more hair. I rub my chin, scratching my grey beard as I think of something to write about. I pause for a moment before I lean back in the chair. I run my free hand through my grey hair as I lock my eyes on my blue backpack, my thoughts briefly flashing towards what I keep at the bottom.
“...Screw it.” I mutter under my breath as I start writing.
June 20, Day before the Summer Sun Celebration. Year 1264 AA
Nothing worth noting happened today, except that Marelantis apparently doesn’t need our services… So I’m going to write about something I haven’t thought of in hundreds of years… I’m writing about how I got here.
It all started on a bright and sunny day…
It was Halloween and my girlfriend was going to meet me at a costume party she guilt tripped me into going to. She was going as Storm from the X-Men series, and she was very insistent on making my costume. Today, I finally got to see my costume and I was thoroughly confused. It was just a muscle shirt, a pair of brown jeans, and a pair of gloves with claws glued on, after putting them on I asked her who I was supposed to be. “Old Man Logan,” she replied with a smile. I laughed and gave her props for coming up with a costume for a character I shared a name with, but told her that it would take more than a little work to make me look old. “Just give me an hour,” she told me with a wicked grin.
An hour and lot of arm twisting later, I actually looked like an old man complete with grey hair and a beard. Although if everything went as planned I was going to have the last laugh. I had a present in the trunk of my car that I was going to give her, I spent a lot of time making it, and I’m sure she was going to love it, but before that I had to pick up something I had ordered a while ago.
We said goodbye and promised to meet at the party later. After she drove off, I got into my car and drove to a run-down shop. Once there, I popped the trunk of my car and took out my toolbox and backpack. My girlfriend’s present was in a large black suitcase which I ignored.
I walked into the store, noticing the shelves were empty. There was only one person in there besides me, and he was dressed as a warlock complete with a ‘Laughter’ theater mask behind the counter. I walked up to him and got right to business.
“Order for Logan?” I asked.
“It’s in the back, I need to confirm you have everything first.” I nodded and set the toolbox and backpack on the counter. He promptly opened them up and looked at their contents.
After a while he closed them and nodded at me. “Alright, let me go get your order.” He turned and opened one of the lower cabinets before turning back and placing a tiny black box on the counter… and pushing my stuff back to me. “Keep your stuff, this one’s on the house.”
I blinked before shouldering the backpack and grabbing the toolbox. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah, you’ll need that more than I will,” he told me as he tossed me the black box.
I caught it in my free hand, and the next thing I knew, I was falling.
I must have passed out after that, because the next thing I remembered was waking up in a forest completely alone with nothing but my backpack, my toolbox, and the black box…
I pause as I look at what I’ve written, wondering if I should even continue. Before I can decide, I feel a spike of magic come from somewhere in the city. I sigh, knowing that it is probably some drunk buffoon trying to impress a mare. I dip my quill in ink one more time and put the point to paper.
It seems like the bars have closed for the night, so I will continue this later.
-Logan
I stand up after finishing the entry, grabbing everything off the table. I turn to the closet and put everything but the journal back where it was originally. I’m enjoying the cool night breeze on my back, but I pause as I’m reaching for the candle with a black flame.
‘When did I open the window?’
“Do not move, unless thou want a hole in thy head, old man,” a feminine voice told me in a cold tone.
“...Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?” I ask the voice, taking her threat seriously.
“Really? Thou dost not remember Us, old man? We are hurt, after all thou art one of the main reasons We were banished for so long.”
I sigh as I realize who it is. “Hello Luna, it’s been a long time.”
“Indeed, a thousand years if We are not mistaken.”
“...Why are you here?”
“Oh don’t worry, old man, We are just checking to make sure that our sister will not have any back up when We confront her. While she might be a weak willed fool, We know that if given the chance, thou will take it.”
“You shouldn’t have bothered, I’ve given up the fight a long time ago.” Silence greeted my statement, and several seconds passed before I heard the familiar hum of magic.
“Say it again.”
“I’ve given up fighting, Luna...” I hear the hum fade, and I could feel her scowling at me.
“...So thou hast become like Celestia, thou no longer hast a backbone. Thou art pathetic.”
I hang my head as I hear her walk towards the window. “If thou grows a new backbone We shall be in Ponyville.”
“...Luna?... I guess you’re gone, huh?” The silence that replied was deafening.
I stare into my closet for a while before I reach for the large book on the bottom shelf. I pause as I pick it up and glance behind me, my house is shrouded in shadows and the window is closed. I glance down at the book in my hands and then to the candle with the black flame. I finally place the book back on the bottom shelf and take the candle.
The noise coming from outside immediately fell silent as I placed the candle on the table. I then drag myself over to my bed and collapse upon it. “...I’m sorry, Luna,” I whisper as I close my eyes.
I think I had too much to drink last night, because anyone with an ounce of common sense would have known to not sleep when the “Mistress of Dreams” considers you a threat. In the waking world, I could declare myself her equal in terms of combat and make her take me seriously. Even if I never raised a hand against her, if I just met with her face to face, I might have been able to talk some sense into her.
Instead, I made the stupid mistake of going to sleep and entering her domain, where she is a goddess in all but name. This is the primary reason for my current predicament.
‘Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!’ I repeated in my head over and over again, as I ran through the seemingly endless maze of trees. After days of wandering these woods, I thought my situation couldn’t get any worse, after all I was lost in a forest, and running low on jerky and water.
I should have known that my situation would get worse before it got better.
Today marked the fifth day of my journey through these trees, and my food finally ran out. I was looking for some fruit as I walked when I came across a clearing with a few shrubs. Taking a closer look, I found that they had some bright blue berries on them and picked a few. I had just got done harvesting the first two bushes and putting the berries in my bag when a feeling of dread hit me like a truck. I dropped to the ground a second before something sailed over my head. Looking over, I saw a spear embedded in the ground a few feet away.
I’d been sprinting through the trees ever since, my legs and lungs burning from the extended use. The feeling of dread filled me again and I threw myself forward, a loud bang sending my ears ringing. Looking up, my fear skyrocketed as I saw a large hole through a tree that was almost wider than I am, and another spear embedded in the tree behind it.
‘NOPE!’ my mind yelled at me before I took off in a dead run.
My vision blurred as panic took hold of me. I ran, not registering where I was going until I felt a sense of falling. My face contorted in horror once I realized…
I just ran off a cliff.
My forward momentum flipped me around to where I was looking at the cliff, my thoughts freezing as I saw what chased me.
‘...I was run off a cliff, by bipedal cats… with spears…’
The world went white as pain erupted throughout my body.
I stumble backwards, gulping down air as the mare beside me tilted her head in thought. She’s in a full set of bulky black armor with only her head and wings exposed. Her mane is a mass of moving stars and the color of her fur so dark that it seems to suck the light from the surrounding void.
“I really don’t like you right now, Luna,” I grumble as I steady myself.
“We care not for whom thou favor old man, only that thou continue thine tale,” the mare replies before glancing back at me. “Now, resume said tale, or must we force thee to comply?”
I glare at her as she looks back with a bored expression; after what seems like hours I close my eyes and sigh. “...Running off the mountain knocked me unconscious, when I woke up I found myself in a room made of stone…”
There wasn’t much in the room. Glancing around I saw a torch lighting the room in a dim glow, a closed stone door on one of the walls, a jar filled with liquid, a dead bunny that had been there for a while if the smell was any indication, and… my bag and toolbox?
“What the hell,” I whispered as I sat up, my entire body yelled in protest to the action causing me to wince in pain and lay back down, a burning sensation filling my entire being. ‘Okay, so moving is not a good idea… Where am I anyways?’
I don’t know how long I stared at the stone ceiling, but my mind was at war with itself, conjuring up scenarios and just as quickly shooting them down.
‘Is this a prison? No, if I was in prison then why would they give me my stuff? Who saved me? It couldn’t be those cats, I’d be dead if they caught me. What were those cats anyways? How am I still alive? Why was I saved? Whoever saved me doesn’t want me dead, if they did they would have just left me. Do I have something they want?.. Maybe, but then why didn’t they just take what they wanted from my bag? Unless they need to know something. Wh-’
My thoughts were interrupted when the stone door screeched open. Lifting my head I saw a… large grey bipedal dog… wearing what looked like a white toga, with small jars tied around its body… enter the room.
‘Well… That’s a thing,’ I thought as I stared at the canine. My mouth opening as I saw it slather a bitter smelling liquid on its paws from one of its many jars.
“Uhh…”
The dog’s head snapped up as it looked at me with its abnormally large eyes, and then chuckled. At least I think it chuckled, it was kind of hard to tell, but considering the grin on its face I assumed it was a pretty safe bet. The canine then proceeded to coat whatever was on its paws on my arms, the steady burning sensation I’d been feeling in them dulling as it went. After finishing my arms the dog pulled up my jeans and shirt and slathered the rest of my body in the ointment as well.
Once the dog was finished it stepped back and shook its head before asking something. Well, I assumed it was asking something, as I couldn’t understand it, and it repeated itself as it started gesturing with its paws the second time.
I continued to stare at the dog with wide eyes, only opening my mouth once the dog facepalmed. “You do realize I can’t understand you right?”
That seemed to do the trick as the dog got this look in its eyes before walking out the door yelling something. Blinking at the sudden turn of events, I started staring at the ceiling again. Before I could start freaking out, the dog came back with a companion, this one wearing a suit of crude armor. The dog in the white toga opened its mouth…
And an unearthly screech tore through the air.
My eyes snap open as I lunge into a sitting position, my gaze darting around the room while I gulp in air. Once my eyes adjust I find myself sitting on my bed in the little shack I call a house. Everything is just the way I left it, and once I’m sure of it, I collapse back on my bed.
“Damn it Luna, why won’t you listen?”
My eyes are drawn to the single window in my house, or more specifically the light filtering through it, signaling the start of a new day. Sighing, I get up off my bed and stretch before walking over to the table. I pick up the candle with the black flame and return it to the closet, extinguishing the candle with the green flame as I close it. Grabbing my backpack and toolbox I take one last look around the house before walking out the door.
‘Well, it was relaxing while it lasted. Next stop, Canterlot.’
Author's Note
Well, here's the second chapter. Hope it lives up to a lot of your expectations.
If you have a minute and don't mind sharing, I'd like to know what you liked or what you didn't like.
Until next time readers, have a nice day!
I stare out the window at the barren terrain as it passes by. It will still be several hours before I get to my destination despite the time that I left, and that is far too long in my opinion. To make it worse, I don’t know what the situation concerning Luna is. I know Celestia likes to play her cards close to her chest, but the five of us are supposed to be a team damn it!
I sigh and grab my backpack from the overhead compartment of my little room on the train. Digging around in one of the larger pockets, I blindly grab a large rough object before yanking it out. Inspecting my prize, I nod once I’m satisfied with the piece of wood and start fishing out a switchblade from one of the side pockets. Replacing my backpack where it was before, I bring the blade edge to the wood and start whittling away at it.
I’ve learned that everyone has a hobby that they fall back on when they are troubled. This could be anything from playing an instrument to picking flowers, but every single individual has one. Whittling has been a hobby of mine for quite a while now, it helps me think when something is bothering me. Considering what happened last night, along with the last few months, I have a lot to think about.
Four months of nonstop activity and possibilities, yet the only one who meets the current standards is Luna. Although to say the results of the last few months are interesting is an understatement. Nine, now ten, possible candidates, and two have the potential to become more.
I pause as the train screeches to a stop, looking out the window I see a large sign proclaiming, “Welcome to Stalliongrad!” in large, bold, letters, although it is clear that no one tends to it by the way several of the letters are falling off. The small town doesn’t even have a proper station, just worn down stepping stools for getting on and off the train along with a ticket stand that looks similar in size to a storage shed.
I sigh and return to my whittling, trying to tune out the world to the best of my ability. After a while the sound of hooves on wood dies down and the train eventually starts moving again. A shape is just starting to emerge from the wood when the door to my compartment opens.
“Well, this is a surprise. I didn’t expect to see you until tomorrow, Mr. Logan. Tell me, is this bench taken?”
I look at the pony in the doorway with a raised eyebrow before gesturing for him to take a seat. The white unicorn stallion sits across from me before fussing with his blond mane to make sure it’s perfect. His clothes seem more appropriate for a high class party than a run down town like Stalliongrad.
“Blueblood,” I grunt. “I could say the exact same thing, what were you doing in Stalliongrad?”
Blueblood looks at me with a deadpan expression. “How are you doing Blueblood? Oh, I’m doing just fine thank you for asking… Honestly Logan, would it kill you to show some tact outside of Canterlot from time to time?”
“...Yes, it would.”
“Oh, ha ha,” he sighs before casting a spell on the walls of the room. “If you must know, I was raising funds. Our organization doesn’t run on sunshine and rainbows Logan, and these last few months have put a noticeable drain on our expenses,” I pause and raise an eyebrow at that, while I don’t know the exact numbers I know that our organization is well funded.
“...Just how much of a drain are we talking here?”
“We’ve spent more in the last four months than in the last one hundred years combined… Then again, we’ve never had more than one or two of us appear in a single year.” I nod and put my whittling tools back in my backpack, “...What’s on your mind Logan?”
I sit back down and stare out the window, contemplating my answer before opening my mouth. “Luna returned last night, Blueblood, just like Clover said she would...”
“...Hmmm… Well, this is certainly interesting. It also explains why Celestia called me back.”
“She called you back to Canterlot?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, she sent a letter several hours ago saying that one of us has returned. To be honest I didn’t understand what she was talking about, but if Luna returned last night, well… Celestia’s plan must have worked.”
“...Celestia had a plan?”
“Oh, like we didn’t? Tartarus Logan, we are a team, but every one of us probably has different opinions about how this should be handled. Celestia’s plan was just the first to work, and I can tell you now that if I had to put my plan into motion… we would be holding a wake. Not to mention what your daughter would do if she got her hands on Luna.”
I blink as I think about what she would do, “...We probably wouldn’t find the body.”
“Indeed...”
“...What was Celestia’s plan anyways?” I ask as the question crosses my mind.
Blueblood opens his muzzle and promptly closes it a second later, a confused look on his face. “...I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I don’t know Logan, but it must have worked. If it didn’t the sun wouldn’t be shining outside right now.”
“True, I guess we could always ask her when we get to Canterlot,” I mumble as my attention shifts back to the window, the landscape gradually changing to a grassy plains as it speeds by. We fall into silence for a time, each of us lost in our own thoughts.
Time passes, and the train eventually pulls up to the next station on our journey. This one is rather large with an impressive city behind it… Well, impressive compared to Stalliongrad at least. The city couldn’t hold a candle to the richer districts in Canterlot.
A large white metal sign is arching over the four railways. Tilting my head to the side a little I can make out the words “Welcome to Amareica” in bold blue letters… and that some teenagers in this city have way too much time on their hands judging by the “Amareica! Buck Yeah!” In red right under it.
“...Teenagers…” I mumble under my breath as I shake my head. ‘I feel like there’s a joke in there, but I can’t see it.’
“Logan,” I turn to Blueblood as he sighs. “As much as I would like to put this off, we need to get ready for our arrival in Canterlot. If Luna has really returned as we think she has, then this is going to be a political nightmare.”
I snort. “I know that Blueblood. Tartarus, the other nations were up in arms when Cadance ascended, and their solution was insane. Although, I will admit that she is an excellent ambassador.”
“Indeed, but now we have an alicorn that is just as old as Celestia, and just as powerful as well. The other nations will most likely be unreasonable, and to top it all off the noble houses will likely try to capitalize on her ignorance of modern customs and laws.”
I close my eyes as I lean back on the bench, “At least we won’t have nobles demanding to be turned into alicorns this time around.”
“True... but this also calls our history into question…” My eyes snap open as Blueblood starts talking again. “It’s inevitable really, it’s one thing for a pony to ascend to what basically amounts to a demigod, but a demigod that lived a thousand plus years ago that no one remembers? Ponies are going to question how history forgot that Celestia had a sister, Logan.”
I close my eyes again and rub the bridge of my nose, but before I can reply our compartment door slides open again.
“Do you mind? My companion and… I…”
Looking over to the doorway my eyes widen as I see who it is.
The pegasus mare in the entrance of our compartment has a grey coat and a blond mane. She’s wearing a pair of cargo shorts, a worn out tie-dye shirt, and a suitcase is rolling along the floor behind her, but the detail that really has my attention is that she has one eye trained on both of us.
“Oh! Ms. D-” Blueblood starts. Only to close his mouth as the mare raises a hand and closes her eyes. Once she’s sure there aren’t going to be anymore responses, she opens her eyes. They’re focused now with a laser like intensity as she stares at Blueblood.
“...Move over,” the mare states in a monotone voice. Pushing down the handle on her suitcase, she slings the bag into the overhead compartment as Blueblood shifts over. The mare collapses on the bench, leaning forward until her muzzle is resting in her crossed arms, her eyes returning to their unfocused state after a moment.
I silently look at Blueblood with wide eyes as he stares back at me.
‘...Well, Blueblood… We might be holding that wake after all…’
This just got a lot more complicated.
Author's Note
Well here's chapter 3. I hope you readers enjoyed it. If you're wondering why it takes so long for me to pump out a 1.5k chapter the answer is quite simple... Writing is hard.
Anyways! If you have five minutes I would like to know what you liked and/or disliked about this chapter. Until next time readers. Have a nice day!
Author's Note
Alright, a few things before you start reading this chapter:
1) I know this chapter is very short in comparison to the others, but after rewriting this over 15 times I feel like I have to just take what I write and stick with it, so I'm sorry if there is a slight decline in quality.
2) Chapters after this one will be longer I will promise you all that much.
3) This chapter will touch on a VERY sensitive subject, and it will be further explored later on in the story.
4) I expect this chapter will either grant this story several more readers who want to read more, or turn away a lot of my current readers, so please tell me what you liked and/or disliked about the chapter in the comments below...
Hate
I stand up silently as the train starts moving, grabbing my bag and toolbox from the overhead compartment as I stretch. Neither of my companions say a word as I open the door to our little room and walk out.
‘...Well that was awkward,’ I think silently as I walk over to one of the attendants in the hallway.
“Hello, Miss?” I ask as the brown earth pony mare looks up. “Hi, do you know which way the night car is?”
The mare smiles. “It’s actually the next car down,” she says in a perky voice, pointing to a door right behind her.
I nod my thanks and head for the door. Stepping into the night car, I look at the small slots in the walls, complete with pillows and blankets, before carefully pushing my belongings into the far side of one and crawling in. I twist and turn trying to get comfortable before settling with lying on my stomach with an arm and leg hanging out of the cramped cubbyhole.
‘It’s not like we could talk about Luna with Ditzy in the room with us,’ I think, drifting off to sleep. ‘I learned my lesson after we had to replace the first wall.’
I’m walking in a field of white under a white sky.There is no color except for the black mare from before. Walking up to her, I see that she has grown a few inches and I now have to tilt my head to look her in the eye. She is no longer wearing her armor, and is instead sporting a navy blue dress that accents her figure, and would probably have me ‘pitching a tent’ if I was attracted to ponies.
“...Luna,” I say in greeting, only to be confused when the mare shakes her head.
“Nightmare Moon,” the mare says in response.
“...Well are you here to torture me again, Nightmare Moon?”
“...No.”
“Then why are you here?”
Nightmare Moon steps to one side and slowly gestures with one hand. Taking the silent invitation I start walking again, Nightmare falling into step beside me. I welcome the silence that settles between us as we walk through the empty expanse, knowing I am at the mare’s mercy once again.
“...We would like to apologize for our earlier behavior.” Nightmare Moon tells me, breaking the silence. “We know we have no right to ask forgiveness for our actions last night, but both Luna and I seek it...”
I stay silent as I ponder my response. The landscape changes around us until we are walking through a forest, a beaten path guiding us through the falling gold and red leaves.
I turn my head to look at her as we stop at a split in the path, “...Why did you try to bring eternal night?”
“...I used to be the perfect mask. A wall put between Luna and her emotions when they threatened to overwhelm her. However, even the best armors have weaknesses, and I was no different. I cracked, and when Luna’s emotions started drowning us she did the only thing she could think of… She built a new wall… a new mask.”
“I should have been forgotten after that, but once she gained control of her emotions she tried to recreate herself. Instead of a mask, I was ‘the old Luna,’ the Luna who killed hundreds if not thousands, and who sentenced countless of my own subjects to die for the greater good.”
“...‘The old Luna’ was a monster… that is why our subjects did not love us. ‘The old Luna’ killed and twisted the truth when it suited her… She hated me… Do you know what it’s like to hate yourself, Logan?” I nod my head. “It hurts…”
Nightmare Moon takes a deep breath and closes her eyes for a moment before continuing, “Neither of us remember what caused the break to happen, but after a time I found myself in control… I hated it. We had slipped back to our old self… I broke down as soon as I was alone…”
Nightmare pauses for a moment before looking me in the eyes. “I wanted to die, Logan, but I knew if I tried to kill myself you all would save me, even if I didn’t want to be saved. So I gave you all a choice; you all could kill me... or I would kill everything.”
I jump as someone shakes my shoulder, immediately regretting it as I clutch my head where I banged it against my cubbyhole’s ceiling. “Son-of-a-” Grunting in pain I stop myself before turning my blurry eyes to the culprit that chased away my dream.
“Get up,” Blueblood tells me with an annoyed look on his face. “We have arrived in Canterlot.”
