Date: July 25th 4042
Time : 0200 Greenwich time
Location: Equestria, Ponyville

It had been a few days since Gerad had spoken to Luna. He had to admit that even though it had been a short time in terms of knowing her, he appreciated her efforts to give his soldiers a peaceful rest. That's part of why he wanted to thank her today with a small gift and also a sign of goodwill from his people to her own. The other reason was that he hadn't seen her out and about lately like she usually was so this worried him. In a time of war and severe trauma this could mean anything from suicide to depression as things weighed someone down.

What he liked about the diarch was her willingness to be down in the shit with everyone else. She didn't stay in a pretty castle and even refused special treatment. She ate what her people ate and made her own sacrifices to ensure her people were cared for. He would have had a hard time liking or trusting her if she wasn't willing to do these things. To him and many others, a leader would have to understand the needs of the lowest member in society and live their lives. To often on the home world would leaders lose touch with the needs of their people and their suffering because they refused to step off the throne for even a week.

These days even the president was required to get in to the trenches and do the most basic of jobs at least once a year in order to make better choices for the people he/she served. Those who refused were replaced with someone else if they did not have a valid medical or mental reason for their choice.

As Gerad moved through the ponyville outpost now bristling with thousands of soldiers, armored vehicles, and gun emplacements he couldn't help but wonder about Luna's past. Sure they knew a little bit but with how well she was holding it together in the mud he could only assume she had seen some type of action though probably not to this degree. He could also be wrong about that though so he was just guessing at this point.

Continuing to walk, he passed the kitchen that had been set up. The local Baker was in the kitchen assisting the cooks in feeding hundreds of ponies and other refugee species at any time. The pink pony seemed happy to bake and cook which Gerad had to agree that she had a knack for. She made some of the best cupcakes he had tasted in a long time. It was a shame that her best friend had been badly wounded just before they landed. Apparently she was a bright blue pony with a rainbow mane, an extremely loyal friend, and a fighter. Gerad liked to think she would have gotten along well with the pilots when she met them.

This news was also tragic for the nation in terms of it's national defense as she was reported to have been one of the elements of harmony. While she survived, she was still in critical condition and the medics had yet to see her due to security concerns. He didn't fault the white alicorn for being at least cautious with their most powerful counter measure being in a critical state, after all, they were aliens to this world and to the ponies they were protecting.

Arriving to Luna's tent he announced himself and got no answer. He knew she had been to and from Canterlot constantly with reports for her sister and to check on her friends. The lack of an answer concerned him even more as he opened the tent flap to see the dark blue mare curled up on the floor wide eyed. She was mumbling something that he could barely make out but to him it sounded like she was saying "What insanity is this? What are they doing"? This made him slowly make his way to the mare. He knew she hadn't rested her mind after that particularly bad nightmare she had a bit ago with herself. She had told him about the situation and the entire dream.

"Princess Luna, are you alright"? His tone was one with concern, he hadn't seen her in this state. He knew she was a strong mare but with everything happening and her lack of mental rest, she could be having a mental break down.

Luna continued to lay there, petrified by what she had seen in their dreams last night. How was their species not rampantly insane or at the very least unhealthy? Everything she had seen terrified her and outside of her most recent dream, this was the only other thing that had. She could hear a soft voice, a masculine one, a soothing one but she barely registered it. Instead she was resolved to trying to console her mind as image after image flashed through it.

Feeling something touch her shoulder she reacted and reacted violently. With a yell of anger and fear she blasted whatever it was with her magic, sending the offending touch flying away with a yell. She didn't know it was Gerad but with it gone she sprung to her hooves, on the defensive and ready to fight. Luckily for her she had taken a spot where there weren't too many people and where mainly Humans resided.

She began looking around as a pain hit her mind and another terrifying image filled her vision. It was a monster, the entire planet was gone, it rose from the cracked shell of the planet screaming it's triumph. During this she felt herself get wrapped up, unable to see past the blinding pain and the image for a moment. She could tell she was being restrained and screamed, she screamed as loud as she could but felt like nothing was coming out.

She watched stars explode, she watched a great star beast eat entire worlds, she saw entire empires rise and fall. Her heart hammered in her chest as she saw images of Humans being torn apart by some of the most disturbing and grotesque things she had ever witnessed. Some were the twisted forms of those who used to be Human, their strangled cries of finding prey or a cry for mercy, she couldn't tell. She saw holes in the universe that swallowed light itself and entire species. The holes were unholy, giant, unstoppable as they each held their own size.

She could see worlds crack from the inside and explode, she could feel the heat as a planet was burned alive by the star that gave it life. She couldn't breath as ash and toxins filled the air of once living planets. The ruins, the bodies, the husks of once great civilizations that never got the chance to run from their fate. She saw the epic scale of the battles that were fought, the violence of the cosmos, the darkness of the universe.

Suddenly she felt at ease as everything stopped and she felt a strange sensation on her neck. It was like a massage and it felt like someone was running their hoof through her mane. She felt calm now and relaxed as this went on, the images fading as she slowly forgot the horrors and greatness she had witnessed.

For Gerad on the other hand, he had to give the princess credit, the woman's magic packed a fucking punch. He could hear her screaming in a fit of rage and terror. There were tears streaming from her face but she stood defiantly and ready to engage. Her eyes betrayed terror while her wing showed aggression. He knew exactly what was going on but not the cause.

Picking himself up he made his way towards the mare. Her screams were filled with terror, sorrow, and awe. As he got closer with his armor scorched in several places. Looking around he spotted a medic running towards him, the enhancements to his body moving him at speeds that would have ripped tendons and ruptured blood vessels two thousand years ago. Chances are the medic had registered the sudden and violent change in his vitals with their own suit systems, the spike in heart rate and increased body heat from being hit directly by the energy blast from the mare.

"Get the Therapy Amnestics now, I think she's having an episode of some kind or maybe she saw something our dreams. Either way we need to get her under control before her own people see her or she hurts herself".

The medic nodded and ran off to retrieve the requested item. The Amnestics were used on soldiers during or after military service in order to prevent damage to brain chemistry and also allow the chance for a semi normal life where they didn't wake up every night in a cold sweat. It was designed to limit or stop PTSD episodes in order to let people live life without over stressing their bodies and lower the chances of suicides.

"Even my own stars want to eat me! The darkness will consume us, the entire universe will burn out. My moon is not my own, it desires to crush our world"!

Gerad stopped a short distance away completely taken aback by this. What the Hell had she seen?

"How are they not insane?! How can one see the horrors of the universe we think is so beautiful from our home and not lose their minds?! We stand no chance if this is what awaits us, we're dead and we don't even know it. This war means nothing"!

At that moment it clicked with Gerad what she had seen and with a sad look to the mare he realized she had seen the darkest parts of the universe from the minds of those around him.

He decided to continue his approach as the medic quickly returned with what he asked. Looking at the medic he spoke in a serious tone. "This stays between us understand"?

The medic nodded at those words and made the gesture for his lips being sealed. With silence of the matter ordered and promised Gerad got ahold of the princess. Reacting quickly he nailed her in the shoulder with the small needle. The adaptive chemicals and biodegradable bots worked quickly to form a chemical and reactive chain that would prevent harm from coming to the mare.

It took a few seconds for the amnestic to work in to her nervous system and shut down parts of her memory functions which induced amnesia for anything within the past eight hours. He just hoped he had gotten to her before the eight hour mark, otherwise she could very well be permanently scarred with this knowledge. He still didn't see her as weak for this as even Humanity was still terrified by what could be out there and that one day they might meet their end. The universe was as beautiful as it was dangerous, like a crazy ex girlfriend. She'd give you something beautiful one second and the next she was blowing up a planet in your face.

He could feel her heartrate before she started calming down, the rapid beats indicating near cardiac arrest if they had remained at that level. He held the mare close to him and ran his hand along her back and neck, through her mane, and behind her ears. It worked on the feral equines back on U.S.E worlds so he was hoping it would here too. Thankfully with the amnestic kicking in he felt her heart rate slow.

He pulled the Princess on to his lap, deactivating his armor so she could lay on his legs without hardened Tyranium jabbing in to her. He sheltered her as best he could while he continued to sooth the mare, his softer side revealing itself as he tended to her sweating and heaving form. As she calmed down she looked up at him with pity before closing her eyes and entering a deep sleep brought on by the drugs in her system.

He didn't understand her look of pity but his hand remained on her neck and back. He continued to massage her and sooth her to the best of his ability, humming softly a little lullaby his mother used to sing him as a child. Needless to say, he was stuck there till she woke up. He just really hoped no one would give him shit for this if they saw him in this state or that things wouldn't become awkward between him and her. More diplomatic tension wasn't needed.

Author's Note

There are two theories

either we are entirely alone in this universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.

Sorry for the ungodly long wait. I works nights doing security patrols. It's not me sitting at a mall. I'm usually moving from city to city in a state and checking sites or dealing with a lot of things I won't explain here.

Hopefully you all enjoy this. Sorry if it's not the best.

Don't worry, Luna is going to kickass later but when you have an alien species you know barely anything about that arrives on your doorstep you go digging for information to see if they might hurt you in the end.

Luna just dug a little to deep since Human dreams tend to be our minds processing things that have happened to us.

That and I figured it'd be nice to have a genuinely sweet moment between the two.

Updated chapter.notes: spelling mistakes corrected
Some additional words added for easier transitions.