Soul In the Sword

Chapter Seven: Dreamland

I opened my eyes to see the same field of lush green grass from the last time I had been asleep. Once again, I was sitting underneath a large tree. Looking up towards it and inspecting it closer revealed a detail I had previously missed. It was a maple tree, tall and strong with its uniquely shaped leaves. Feeling a familiar weight on my lap, I looked down to see Sunlight laying her head on my lap again, my hand resting on her head as she appeared to be sleeping. This scene was almost exactly the same as before, bringing on a sense of déjà vu. Shaking Sunlight softly to wake her up caused her to groan softly before furrowing her brows.

"Sunlight, wake up."

Another groan was the only response I got before she sleepily opened her eyes and looked into my eyes. Sighing, she slowly stood and took a step away.

"Liam, why did you wake me up?"

I looked down, feeling guilty for disturbing her.

"Well...I did have a few more questions," I responded while scratching behind my head in embarrassment. Sunlight sighed softly before stepping closer, closing her eyes, and nuzzling my cheek. I used the hand that was scratching behind my head to gently rub her cheek, getting a happy horse sound in response.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel like you did something wrong. Go ahead and ask. I'm already awake, so I may as well answer some questions."

I let my hand fall to my side, and thought about what exactly I wanted to ask first.

"Well...you mentioned training before. What exactly would I be doing to train?"

Sunlight moved to sit next to me, and I lifted my hand from the ground to make room for her. Sitting down, she leaned on my side, and sighed in contentment.

"Well like I said before, you will need to wait a day or two for your magic to recharge. You might have a monstrously large mana pool, but you have no real control of your magic yet. Every spell you cast in that fight yesterday was clumsy, and used much more mana than was needed. In life, I could have destroyed every one of those timberwolves with plenty of mana to spare."

She looked up and into my eyes, noticing my slight sadness. I didn't realize that I had wasted so much mana. I could have avoided passing out entirely if I was better. Sunlight smiled and nuzzled my side, shushing me and leaning more heavily on me.

"It's alright, Liam. For your first time using magic, you did spectacularly. Nopony could have done better in that situation with your current knowledge and control."

I rested my arm on her shoulders, letting my hand hang near her fluffy chest.

"I'm glad to hear that, but...if there were more timberwoles, we could all have died because I was too weak to stop them." I looked down, and frowned softly. It was true, too. We all would have been their lunch if it weren't for how much mana I apparently have. Sunlight didn't seem to like my self deprecating talk, and softly smacked my leg with a frown on her face.

"Don't talk like that. You saved them and survived. There's no point on obsessing over 'what ifs.' That only stresses you out while producing no results. It's completely counterproductive."

I looked into her eyes, and saw the fierce determination that I had come to expect from her burning behind her golden eyes.

"I...suppose so. You're right, there's no point obsessing over what might have happened."

I looked forward and narrowed my eyes.

"It just means I'll need to be better prepared for next time. I won't let something like those overgrown piles of kindling continue to be a threat to me. I need to get stronger."

I looked back down to her and saw the look of approval on her face, the scowl she wore nowhere to be seen with a confident smile taking its place.

"So how do I do that? How do I get stronger, Sunlight?"

Sunlight nuzzled into my side again, enjoying the physical contact that she had been deprived of for hundreds of years, and sighed happily.

"The first step involves learning to control your magic, and being able to call on it at any moment. You will need to spend some time 'feeling' for your magic before you can start to have any measure of control. Then, you'll practice some basic spells like levitation, learning to manipulate your reserve of mana like a precise tool. Those exercises will help you not only develop control, but will also help you grow stronger. Magic is like any other skill. To improve, you must practice."

"Well once I'm rested up and feeling better, we can get star-"

Pain.

All I could feel was pain as the world spun once, then twice, then thrice before I slammed into the ground with considerable force. Even with my ears ringing, I could hear a loud voice yelling at a seemingly impossible volume, making my head hurt more than it already did.

"THOU WILL NOT HARM THIS PONY, DREAMEATER!"

I couldn't hear what Sunlight yelled back at my attacker, but I tried to move my arms to push myself up and found it to be very difficult. My limbs felt numb, and there was pain all over my body.

No...I can't let her...hurt Sunlight...

That feeling again. That determination. That fire in my chest. I felt that power surging through me as I started to stand, despite the numbness and pain. Turning my head revealed my attacker. She was an alicorn like Celestia, but her coat was a dark blue, and her lighter blue mane seemed like entire galaxies were contained inside it. The ringing in my ears began to subside, and I could hear Sunlight shouting at the new arrival.

"You even try to hurt him again and I swear on Celestia's name that I will kill you!"

The blue mare's face changed to one of confusion as she looked towards me. I was ready to fight back if I had to, concentrating what power I could into my body. I wouldn't be able to make any ranged attacks, but I'm positive that a punch given with enough mana to cast the Veil of the Phoenix would hurt more than enough. Noticing what I was doing, her eyes widened before her horn glowed and she shouted in alarm.

"No! Look out!"

A blue beam of magic came flying towards me and before I realized what I was doing, my hand rose and blocked the beam of magic, making it harmlessly scatter into blue light. The force of the attack was considerable, though I remained where I stood. Sunlight seemed to vanish for a moment before reappearing next to me with her horn glowing. The blue alicorn didn't do anything but stare at me in shock and surprise.

"A...dreameater stopped our magic!? Impossible!"

Hey eyes narrowed and her horn glowed again.

"Nothing more than a fluke. It will not happen again."

I laughed despite the pain and pointed a finger at her.

"I don't know what the hell a dreameater is, but it's not nice to attack people in their dreams. I don't know who you are, but I doubt you will have an easy time fighting both of us. Leave before you get hurt."

The nameless alicorn snarled at me and lowered her head as if she were preparing to charge.

"Thou dares mock us, foul creature!? Thine lies will not save thou from our judgement!"

I rolled my eyes and walked forward, passing Sunlight as I moved closer to the alicorn.

"Like I said, I don't know who you are. What I do know is that you are in my dream, my mindscape. This is my domain and I won't let some arrogant prick attack me and my friend."

Armor started to form around my body, and I knew what it looked like without seeing it. I did create it after all. A suit of steel plate armor, inspired by what the medieval knights of Europe would wear to battle, the thick steel feeling weightless in the dream. Dawnbreaker formed in my left hand as I glared at the alicorn before pointing the blade at her. Said alicorn's eyes had widened at the armor forming, and seemed more stunned than angry anymore.

"Im-impossible! Thou may be able to change thine form, but thou couldn't manipulate the dreamscape with that kind of control...unless..."

Her eyes widened in realization, and her horn stopped glowing as she straightened her stance, looking at me with a look that screamed 'disbelief.'

"Thou...thou are not a dreameater, are thou?"

I kept my glare and my sword up, not trusting the change in attitude to be genuine.

"Like I said, I don't know what a dreameater is. This is my dream, and you're an unwanted guest. I assume a dreameater is a nasty piece of work, considering how hard you were trying to kill me just a moment ago."

She sighed and sat down, resting her rear on the grass before shooting a sad look my way.

"Indeed. Dreameaters are foul creatures who prey on a pony's mind when they are vulnerable. They manipulate their victim into a state of calm to take down their mental barriers, and devour the dream of the pony when there is no resistance. They have...killed many a pony."

She dipped her head in a kind of bow, her ears flat on her head.

"Apologies, strange creature. We saw the peaceful dream, saw something we didn't recognize next to one of our subjects, and assumed the worst. Can thou forgive us?"

"So you just attack us and think a simple apology is enough? Don't be ridiculo-"

"Sunlight."

I interrupted her, looking towards the seemingly apologetic alicorn. I lowered my arm, and let it hang at my side.

"I can forgive you for the misunderstanding. It's not the first time a pony has assumed the worst and tried to attack me over it. I'm starting to think this will become a regular thing too..."

Sunlight was looking at me with surprise.

"But...she attacked you! In your own mind! She tried to kill you! That's unforgivable!"

I smiled down at her and ruffled her mane with my free hand.

"Clearly not, since I'm forgiving her."

The only response I got was a huff before she folded her fore hooves and looked away with a pout.

"That is way too cute."

Sunlight glared at me as I chuckled. She didn't seem to like being called cute, but I think there's more to it than that. I looked back at the alicorn who was looking at me with a hopeful expression and an unsure smile.

"Thou...forgives us?"

I smiled at her before discarding my armor, making it fade into nothing. Imagining a sheath for Dawnbreaker on my hip caused one to form, and I sheathed the sword at my side.

"Like I said, this isn't the first time. I doubt this will be the last time, especially since Twilight attacked me while I was sitting next to Celestia."

Her eyes widened and she took a step forward, causing Sunlight's ears to twitch in her direction and her body to tense up.

"Thou has met my sister? Why did she not tell us of you?"

My own eyes widened as I realized what that meant.

"Celestia is your sister? So you're...the other ruler of Equestria?"

She smiled widely and took a few steps forward.

"Indeed! We've only just returned recently due to...personal reasons, but we are the second princess of Equestria."

The royal alicorn gasped and held a hood to her muzzle.

"Oh no! We completely forgot to introduce ourselves!"

She bowed with her head low to the ground, the tip of her horn touching the grass beneath her.

"We are Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria, Princess of the Night and of Dreams. Once again, we apologize for our assumptions. Though we must ask, how are thou so familiar with my sister as to be so informal with her name?"

I smiled as Luna raised her head and gave a curious look.

"It's nice to meet you, Princess Luna. My name is Liam. To answer your question, I met Celestia a few hours ago when I was chased into a cave by timberwolves. She didn't know what I was, but was kind to me. We talked for a while before Twilight found us, and she uh...made a similar assumption that you did."

Taking a few more steps closer, Luna had almost completely closed the distance between us. Sunlight tensed even more before I leaned down and gently picked her, making her squeak and blush as I hugged her to my chest. Nuzzling her cheek, I whispered in her ear.

"It's okay, Sunlight. I don't think she will try anything else."

Sunlight huffed softly before nuzzling me back, trusting in my judgement.

"Fine, just...be careful."

"Always."

Luna stood less than two feet away from me, looking at us in confusion.

"Forgive us for asking Liam, but if this is your dream, who is she? We doubt that she is a dreameater, but it does not explain why she is here."

I looked back to Luna, and only just now realized how tall she is. Her head came up to my shoulder, with her horn making her taller than me.

"This is Sunlight Spirals, my friend and knight."

I chuckled as Luna's confused expression grew even stronger.

"She was a knight before she was killed about 600 years ago. Her soul was...trapped in her sword by some kind of cult."

Luna's expression changed to one of sadness as she looked to Sunlight, the unicorn mare only hugging me tighter at the sad memories.

"Our condolences, Miss Spirals. That is not a fate we would wish on anypony. If thou would like, we could break the spe-"

"No!"

Both Luna and I stared in shock at the volume that had come from the mare in my arms. Sunlight turned her head to glare at Luna, and I could feel the air heating up.

"Why not? Would you not be happier to pass on peacefully, have your soul freed?"

Sunlight shook her head and placed it back on my shoulder.

"No...I want to stay with Liam! I won't abandon my only friend in a world where everypony just attacks him because he's different! I won't let him suffer that fate! I..."

She hugged me tighter and sniffled softly.

"I won't let him go through what I did...I won't leave him all alone!"

By now Sunlight was openly crying, hugging me tightly and shaking from her silent sobs. I still couldn't believe that this strong mare was so vulnerable, it seemed impossible.

Sunlight...

"We...we see. We will not force anything on you, Miss Spirals. If that is your wish, we will respect it."

Sunlight didn't verbally respond, but she nuzzled my cheek and gave me a soft squeeze.

"We...really are sorry about this. We look forward to meeting thou in pony to properly repay you for our actions. We doubt Celestia will resist the urge to bring you to Canterlot sometime soon. We will take our leave..."

Luna turned away and her horn started to glow a bright blue color.

"Luna."

She looked back to me with a sad look, which brightened a bit when she saw my smile.

"While it may have started off rough, it really was a pleasure to meet you."

A soft smile was returned to me before she simply disappeared. I started walking over to the large maple tree that I had been launched from, and found no damage to the tree or where I was sitting. I sat back down with Sunlight in my arms, and pet her head while she continued to hug me. Her sobs had calmed down considerably, and a small sniffle could be heard every so often as I whispered softly in her ear.

"It's okay, Sunlight. She's not going to hurt us, we're safe."

Sunlight leaned back and looked into my eyes, and...I had never seen anyone so scared before.

"Liam...she terrifies me. Her magic was so...so cold. It was stronger than almost anything I've ever felt before, and she wasn't even trying. I could tell she was holding back because she thought you were a weak dream parasite. If you hadn't managed to convince her that you weren't one, then..."

She hugged me tightly, shaking like a leaf.

"She could have killed us both, and I wouldn't have been able to do a damn thing about it!"

I was silent for a moment before responding, conviction clear in my voice.

"Then the answer is simple, isn't it? We get stronger, strong enough that even she can't hurt us."

Sunlight let go of me and leaned back, placing her fore hooves on my chest.

"Not even...Liam, that's incredibly unlikely. Luna is an alicorn, an immensely powerful creature that can level entire cities. She isn't some unicorn warmage that you can simply surpass."

I gave a cocky grin.

"Well, I might not know much about magic right now, but if what Celestia said is true, then my magic reserves rival her own. If I can learn more about magic, train more with magic, then I doubt there would be much of anything that could hurt us at that point."

"Liam..."

Her expression turned from scared to sad.

"You really do remind me of myself, you know that? I...I thought the same thing, Liam. I thought I was invincible, untouchable. Look where I ended up because of it..."

She looked to the side and a tear ran down her face. I brushed a hand against her cheek, wiping the tear away and getting her to turn back to me.

"It's okay, Sunlight. We have friends we can rely on, and even Celestia is here to help. We won't have to go through any of this alone."

A soft smile graced her face, and she sighed softly before resting her head back on my shoulder.

"Alright, Liam. I see your point. It's not like when I was alive, we can rely on others besides ourselves. It just feels so...odd. I'm not used to relying on anyone for anything. I always kind of just made my own way on my own power."

I chuckled softly and started to pet her mane again.

"Looks like we both have a lot to learn, huh?"

Sunlight giggled and hugged me firmly, but gently.

"Seems like it. Do you mind if I take a nap? I feel exhausted after all that..."

I could feel my own eyelids getting heavy, and I relaxed on the base of the tree as I continued to gently pet Sunlight.

"I think I'll join you, actually. Now that I'm sitting, I feel pretty tired too..."

"Alright...goodnight, Liam..."

I closed my eyes, and fell asleep in moments.

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. Life has been a bit hectic lately, and I've been working on some other side projects, so expect another story or two in the near future!

For those that might be wondering, yes I did change my username. Nonameknight is a username i've used for a long time, but I felt it was time to change things up a bit.

As usual, feel free to point out any errors, typos, or inconsistencies that I may have missed, and enjoy!