Author's Note

I realize this chapter might be short compared to the others but this was to focus more on Cory's past and show he is why he is. Any questions you have regarding this, Night Shadow, my co writer will adress as Cory is his character. Thank you all for the support of this fic.

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Another peaceful night had fallen over Equestria. It was a clear sky with a full moon. A light wind was blowing and rustling the trees. The stars twinkled brightly in the night sky. The citizens of Equestria, and all other beings under the night sky had retired for the night to rest until morning. Luna, having accomplished setting the scene for the night, began her next task. To ensure the citizens were not having terrible dreams. She entered the realm of dreams and began scanning the realm for any pony having a nightmare. For now, nothing seemed out of the ordinary and no nightmares were to be found...until she came across a door that led to unknown territory. A black mist was emitting from it, a sign a nightmare was in progress.

“Oh dear. This seems particularly strong.” Luna commented. She approached the door and opened to enter the dream.

The dream was in a desert at night, but not one she had seen before. She spotted what appeared to be a small camp not too far from her with a fire going. Luna flew over and spotted, to her surprise, humans. It was a group of seven humans of varying ages, though the youngest she spotted looked to be barely fifteen at the least. None were recognizable at a glance, but it was clear one of these humans was one of the humans she had met from the Hive. She heard the humans speak.

“So Sarge, are you gonna tell us what the hell we’re doing in the ass end of the most hostile grounds in the world?” One human asked, a tag on his chest showing his name as Sven.

The Sarge, who was a seasoned man with a stone look in his eyes and a name tag of Jackson, sighed. “All I know is that there is a village not too far from here. There’s a special VIP we need to extract before the Iraqis come and snatch them up.”

Another human perked up, a young woman with the name tag of Byers. “Sir, isn’t that village known to be against the Taliban?”

Jackson smirked lightly. “Been reading up the maps I take it.”

Byers nodded. “Yes sir.”

“Well, you’re right about that. They are. So finding our target will be easy.”

“But if the Taliban come in looking for the VIP…..”

Jackson nodded. “They would burn the village to the ground.”

Silence rang throughout the group before the youngest, the young boywho looked like he should be in school still, spoke up. “Couldn’t we defend them?”

The Sarge sighed. “You have a good heart boy, but as a soldier, you shouldn’t let that get in the way of the mission.”

“But sir, aren’t we trying to end this war? Wouldn’t leaving these people to die only allow the enemy to use them as Martyrs? There would be no one to question them if they did so.”

Another human, this one another male and by the name of Doyle, grinned. “Kid’s got a point Sarge. Our orders, despite the more detailed bits, IS to help end this war. Think how much support those towel wearing crazies would lose if word spread of Americans protecting a village from them when they didn’t have to.”

“I agree.” An older japanese man said, the name Yanagi on his chest. “And aren’t you the one that always tells each of us to never allow civilians to come to harm?”

Sarge groaned before feeling a hand on his shoulder. Looking, he saw the last human of the group. Another older man, this one named Johns. “Well, you heard them. It seems to be a majority vote.”

Jackson sighed while rubbing his face. “Just once I want to go on a mission without morality kicking in.”

Doyle shrugged. “Hey, we might not be good soldiers for that, but I’d rather be a better human.” The others all agreed.

Sarge smiled tiredly before standing. “Alright, get some rest. We move out in two hours. If we’re gonna defend that town, we’re gonna need time to set up defenses.”

“Sir, yes sir!” The group said as one before they went to their own tents. The dream then shifted and Luna found herself outside a village with the houses looking to be made of hardened sand.

“What sort of memory is this?” Luna questioned. “Where is this taking place?”

She decided to go into the village, hoping for some answers. Luna wasn’t sure how she would find answers in such a place but it seemed as good a place as any to start. Upon entering though, it seemed the nightmare truly began. She could hear loud bangs in rapid succession along with explosions. She soon found the source and instantly wished she didn’t.

Through a narrow pathway, bodies littered the ground like so much litter. They all had weapons she never seen before while also wearing some form of cloth like armor and robes here and there. More of them were pouring in, trying to get through, only to be killed in a hail of bullet fire. At the end of the pathway, Luna would spot the humans she saw before, however, it seemed they too had suffered.

Jackson was laying dead, a large hole in his neck, right next to Sven, whose chest was riddled with holes. Byers was seen burning Doyle’s stump where his right leg used to be alone with tying it off to stop the bloodflow, Doyle swearing the whole time. Yanagi, Johns, and the young boy were at a heavy barricade, firing down the path at the enemy. Luna was witnessing a battle of what was clearly a war taking place. But that’s not what horrified her. What did was that the young boy, who looked like he should be enjoying school and worrying about if a certain girl likes him, was fighting for his life and killing his own species with a hard look on his face, a look she had only seen on old veterans when reminded of things they wished to forget. It went on for hours, at least for the humans, for Luna it went by in minutes. One by one the defending humans fell, never to get back up again, till only the boy was left. He was wounded heavily, blood pouring out here and there, and yet he still fought, his eyes not once showing fear, only rage.

And then it hit Luna like an Ursa Major. She knew just whose dream this was. After all, there was only two humans she knew of and she also knew only one of them had ever been in any military.

“Cory….I...I had no idea how much suffering he went through.” Luna commented. “How could a young boy go through such horror at such a young age? What was he even doing with those soldiers in the first place?” Luna couldn’t help but wonder that last one. He was just a child after all. Yet here he was with soldiers in the middle of a war he shouldn’t be fighting.

Luna felt she had to look further back in Cory’s memories to get those answers. But this was a dream. She could only try to make the nightmare stop and bring peace to the dreamer. So, she focused her magic and tried to take control of the dream and stop the horror going on.

It wasn’t easy though. Due to it being a memory in dream form, it was closer to a flashback than a dream. However, through effort, and sheer will, she was able to take over and change the dream to something far more pleasant.

Luna created a scene on the moon with a peaceful garden with fluorescent plants and a creek running through the garden. A few bugs that lit up the area fluttered about and a bridge over the creek rested nearby. A clear view of the planet Equestria rested on could be seen above as well. “Cory, Cory.” Luna called out to him.

Cory was changed from the wounded boy into the strong man she had come to know. He looked over to her. “Luna. You saw all that, did you?” He said, his tone dead and holding no emotion.

“Sadly, I did.” Luna replied. “I was patrolling the dream realm to ensure my citizens were all sleeping peacefully. I happened upon the door leading to your dream...or nightmare I should say. And I saw all that. I don’t understand how a young boy could go through that horror and still be as sane as you seem to be. I must know, why were you even with those humans in a war you shouldn’t have been fighting in in the first place with how young you were?”

Cory was silent before he began chuckling. It slowly grew into a laugh that grew louder as time passed. But there was no joy or mirth in this laughter. It was the laugh of a broken man. He slowly calmed down before sighing. “I was never sane to begin with.”

Luna gave a concerned look. “How….can that be? What do you mean you were never sane to begin with?”

Cory looked at Luna with a sorrowful smile. “I suffer from a rare defect. From the moment I was born, I was a two percenter. Do you know what that is?”

“Can’t say I do. What does that mean?” Luna questioned, feeling like she wasn’t going to like the answer.

“It means that out of a human population of 7.8 billion, I am of the two percent…..two percent that can kill without any hesitation.”

Luna was shocked to hear this. “You mean….there are humans who are born with no empathy whatsoever? No sense of guilt or regret for killing another?”

“Not entirely correct. We do have empathy, but…..let’s set a scene. Say you are in front of a stallion who’s holding another pony hostage, a knife to the throat, set in a way that if they jerk the wrong way, the neck is cut open and the hostage dies. You have no magic but you do have a weapon that can kill him to save the hostage. However, you KNOW the stallion is a family stallion, who loves his family and cares for them, and is only in this mess due to one bad thing happening after another. What would you do?”

Luna frowned. “Well, I would try to calm the stallion down and see if there might be any way for him to release the hostage. I’d rather find any other solution that doesn’t involve any death.”

Cory pointed at her. “And there’s the difference. We would feel for the stallion, we would feel sad for his situation. But that doesn’t stop us. We see a chance to end it quickly, we take it. We kill without hesitation, without remorse.”

Luna lowered her head, her mane shadowing her eyes. “I...I see.” A few tears began to fall. “I….I am sorry Cory.” She said before clenching a fist.

Cory chuckled. “You wanted to know why I was with those soldiers. My defect played a part in it. I was twelve when it happened. My mother was being abused by her boyfriend. It got so bad that I took a knife and began cutting and stabbing into him. He fought back, but the fight only lasted a few seconds before it ended. I felt nothing when I killed him, no joy at helping my mother, no satisfaction from ending that bastard, not even disgust that I just killed someone. Nothing. I was put on trial and would have been sent to the Department of Juvenile Justice, or DJJ, which is prison for minors, but a general heard what happened and made me an offer. I join the military and be trained to weaponize my defect, and they will make sure my mother is well cared for and that she never will have to work another day in her life. Needless to say, I took it.”

Luna stood there in silence for a moment. She then rushed forward and hugged Cory tightly in her arms as if to try and comfort him as she cried.

Cory was shocked at this and felt confused. He expected pity at least, which he hated, or sympathy at best and hate at worse, but this caught him off guard. Even Kris didn’t react this way when told of Cory’s past.

“You’re not alone anymore Cory. Listen, I want you to understand that if you ever need anything, you can talk to me. I can’t say I know what it’s like to go through something like that. But it sounds horrible. All I can offer is my ear to listen, and my shoulder to cry on should you feel the need. Please don’t reject this offer. It’s not healthy to keep your emotions bottled up. I can tell while you may not show it, you must be in pain deep down inside.”

Cory frowned before hugging Luna back. “Can’t make any promises, but I can say I do consider you a friend. I’m so used to being seen as a monster that I eventually took pride in it. Outside of Kris, you’re the only one I’ve told this to and not treat me like a rabid beast.”

“You are not a monster!” Lune exclaimed lightly, tightening her hug. “Don’t you ever let anyone tell you different. You may not feel anything when it comes to taking a life, but that doesn’t make you a monster. You are a living being with feelings and thoughts. You can feel sadness, happiness, regret, pain, joy, love. You can feel all those things. You’re not a monster. You are you. Nothing more, nothing less. Don’t let anyone tell you different.”

Cory chuckled. “There are some veterans that would argue. Some say that as long as you feel any sadness, regret or disgust from taking a life, that makes you human. If you start to enjoy killing, but control it by aiming it at other killers, you’re more of a primal human. If you start to love killing and don’t care who you kill, you’re an animal. But when you feel nothing at all when you take a life, that’s when you should be scared. And yet, I feel no fear, just stoicism.”

Luna broke the hug and simply rested her hands on Cory’s shoulders looking him in the eye, her eyes still wet from the tears. “Cory, human or pony, it doesn’t matter. You are a living being who deserves respect and should be given help when it’s needed like everyone else. Life is a precious gift, one that shouldn’t be thrown away or looked down on so easily. Despite you being able to end a life so easily though doesn’t change the value of your own life. You have friends who care about you and want to see you happy. Keep that in mind and try to find happiness in life. Surely you must have found some by now.”

Cory smiled. “I never said I didn’t. Kris was my first friend that I didn’t lose in the military. He showed me how to feel like a normal human. And then we end up here. From there, it’s just more happiness. Some bumps, but it was worth it.”

Luna managed a smile. “I’m glad to hear that. And know you have a friend in me as well now. So don’t hesitate to call on me if there’s something you need that I can do for you. All right?”

Cory nodded. “You got it.” He then leaned in and kissed her, just under her horn. “And thank you.”

Luna’s eyes widened a moment and a blush crossed her face in surprise at the kiss. “Um….no problem. Well, I...I should be going now. I believe it is just about morning.”

As she said that, the dream was turning white. Cory nodded. “See you around, oh ruler of the beautiful night.” He was soon gone, leaving Luna alone in the dream realm, having been removed from the dreamer’s head now that he awoke.

Luna sighed once Cory was gone and returned to her own body before opening her eyes. “That human, hard to believe someone could have gone through so much.” She noticed the sun starting to rise and began lowering the moon in accordance. “I’ll have to pay him a personal visit sometime.” She said before turning back to her room from the balcony and went inside to get ready for the day.