Tether Of The Soul

Berath fell asleep from Amber’s warm embrace and their soft kiss of reassurance. It made him feel different. It was not a bad kind of difference but a foreign sense of difference.

Berath felt weightless as if he were to be a feather, slowly drifting through the air. He pictured himself as such and saw that he was slowly descending to what he could see was a dream. He was never able to dream before, or there ever was a dream he could ever remember. It felt like dreams were a mystery to attain, a curse to dull his ever-sharpened mind. The simple idea of a dream repulsed him at the thought but for this very moment, he felt his feelings change. From one of disgust to one of excitement. He could not wait to smell, taste, touch, hear, and feel what this dream had in store for him.

When he floated down to the ground, he looked around his surroundings and saw that he was on a dirt path, just outside of his mother's castle. He also managed to spot a unicorn that was mixed in with a pegasus, standing just by the tree line next to him. The pony was the perfect shade of midnight blue and their mane and tail were almost the embodiment of a starlight-rich galaxy, and their eyes shone with the most pure shade of aqua. Berath was never a believer of angels but standing there and looking onward toward her, he began to think that maybe angles do indeed exist. Without hesitation, he quickly reached where the pony was standing and bowed slightly. ‘I am Berath, It is an honor and a pleasure to make your acquaintance’.

The pony giggled ‘That is quite a formal greeting, Prince Berath. But I shall repay in kind what you have bestowed upon me. I am Luna, Princess of the night, of the Dreamlands, and of Equestria.’ Princess Luna offered a bow to finalize the formality being exchanged. Berath was shocked. He didn’t know that there was another family ruling over Equestria in his own absence. ‘Princess of Equestria? How can this be? My family has been ruling this land since its creation. Equestria Is mine by right!’ Princess Luna gestured to join her as she started to walk towards the castle. ‘Well, Prince Berath! Your family has been missing for over a thousand years. A lot has changed since your family’s disappearance. The ponies of Equestria have evolved and nurtured a fundamental way of living. Yes, I am a princess, but that is because of your family. I and my sister Princess Celestia, are your great-grandchildren. Please I say this in the most earnest of compassion.’ Berath pondered ‘Would you be assured of the words you speak, Princess Luna? Have, say you, been smeared by lies? Spoken from the lips of pretenders to the throne?.’

Luna struggled to find answers to quell Berath’s inquiries in time before they reached the castle's main entrance. Both of them stopped dead in their tracks when they came across the molten door in front of them. Silence save for the sound of shifting magma in the door could be heard. For Luna, this was an entryway to secrets that she and her sister have only dreamed of finding. Who was the Molten Queen? Was their lineage alive during this era of Equestria? Luna’s mind was spinning with questions she never dared to ask, she always kept her mind in check when she was with others, including her sister. But for Berath, this molten door was a reminder of his past, present, and future. He began to slowly back away from Luna and the door shaking all the while. ‘I abhor this dream!’ Berath said timidly. Luna placed a wing softly onto his back, trying to calm a scared foal. ‘My Prince Berath, I am here to help guide you through your past. I am not only the Princess of Dreams, but I am also a guide to those lost souls, ever stuck in Limbo. You are safe here with me, my prince.’ Berath took a step or two forward, lining back up with Luna. ‘I do not wish to cross the threshold of this door, for it has provided nothing but abject horror, ever-freezing conditions of the heart, and subjugation of the psyche. Please I beg of you, relinquish me to the depths of Tartarus! For I welcome the stench of brimstone and the scorch of fire as my resting place.’ Tears began to crash against the dirt below him. Luna pulled Berath closer to her. He noticed the warmth her body displaced with his and his mind snapped out of his delusional crying. He looked up to see that Princess Luna was looking down upon him with a fervorous smile. Berath nodded and the two began to set past the doors ominous gateway and into the castle's main courtyard.

Upon entrance, the main courtyard was a verdant green paradise, all the way from the grass at their hooves, to the vineyard hanging overhead them. There were plenty of apple trees bearing ripe fruit, bean stalks protruding skyward from the soil beneath, and megafauna covering park benches with shade and protection from the sun. Luna’s mouth fell agape when she saw how big the apples were, hanging from a tree. Berath pulled an apple from the tree with his magic and brought it to himself and Luna before cutting it in half. ‘Please princess, eat it. It will taste like golden water, sweet from the sky. After all, Gildahara taught the Molten Queen how to farm with volcanic ash.’ he said before taking a bite, as did Luna. When Luna bit into the apple, her taste buds shot through the roof. The slice of apple did indeed taste sweet, sweeter than usual but that was never a bad thing. ‘Oh my, how do they taste this good?’ She asked in shock. ‘I do not know, well I do not know the exact origin of such a thing. Though it has been said that the Molten Queen was gifted with knowledge of the holy realm, she did use it to better her people. Then again, my history is your mythos! I shall take the lead from here on out with the politics of this castle’ He said while finishing his slice of apple. Luna nodded and followed close behind, whilst enjoying her slice of apple. While they were walking down the volcanic-bricked path, a guard noticed Berath and rushed over toward him. ‘MY LORD! Our Queen is seeking your counsel. We must make haste.’ Berath nodded in stern acknowledgment ‘Take me to her then!’

Both Luna and Berath were rushed into the throne room. Berath slowly approached his mother's steps and kneeled ‘My Queen! You have sought my counsel?’ Queen Froyen nodded silently ‘Yes my son! A predicament has come to my attention and it requires your sharp intellect.’ Berath bowed lower ‘May I inquire about the issue?’ Froyen breathed out softly ‘Equeen has been challenged by Geldorth. Those lizards have decided to be brave and encroach out of their caves. I would be able to suppress any qualms by this fact, though Geldorth has managed to make a pact with Orogoth, which has made this threat all the more real… lizards and ponys, fighting alongside each other, what an abhorred idea.’ Berath pondered ‘My Queen, we may be able to gain yet another foothold for your kingdom. This does require sending either myself or Sorthath to marry another kingdom.’ The queen leaned ininterested ‘Oh, what say you, where do you place this ideal, my son?’ Berath hesitated ‘The Kingdom of Weolcan, they are bonded to the populace of the Gryphon lands. If you marry your kingdom to their kingdom. You will have control of one of the most terrifying armies in all the land.’
Queen Froyen grinned wide at the proposal ‘You must then go and tame yet another foothold for your Queen, my son!’ Berath stood slowly and bowed stoically ‘Your wish is the will of my own. I shall make haste at once to the kingdom of Weolcan!’ Froyen waved him away as if he were nothing more than a pawn. Berath nodded and exited the throne room with Luna. Once they were both outside, Luna trotted over to Berath ‘Berath, was that Queen Froyen? Your mother?’ Berath nodded ‘Yes, she is both the Molten Queen and my mother. I-.’
A guard saluted ‘My Prince, your escort to Weolcan is ready. We must leave.’ Berath nodded silently and followed the guard with Luna close behind ‘Berath! Please what were you going to say? Berath?’ Silence fell on Luna’s ears.

Luna tried her hardest to try and peel away the brickwork built up by Berath’s silence on his journey to Weolcan. But was stopped when Berath decided to speak. ‘Why must I sacrifice my soul for the will of those that deem me less than them? I am royalty!, am I not? These were the questions I often asked myself when I was away at the behest of my mother, Princess Luna. You speak of being my great-grandchild, I now remember the reason why this is the case.’ Luna tried to open her mouth and try to reply to Berath but he held up a hoof to his mouth, making sure that she let him speak his mind. ‘You will get to speak in time, Princess Luna… If this dream is going the way I think it is going, then you will meet your great-grandmother. Summer Dream, the Princess to the flying ponies of Weolcan. She and I were to marry the night after our honeymoon. All of the time I spent in her presence was the most peace, my soul ever felt. She could make the miasma in my mind and body dissipate under her smile, her touch, and her voice. You have her eyes and smile, Princess Luna.’ Luna sat next to Berath as he continued to recount his memories ‘Ten years, ten years I will never get back. Everything was cut from my very soul by Gilldahara! That monster of a being killed Summer and took Azure Night, my son! Away. There is a reason why Alicorns were never to be known nor allowed to live a normal life… Gilldahara made sure to lock them away from mortal eyes and from the very world, they live in. He stowed them away in the dark recesses of heaven, making sure they never see the light of grace or the heat of damnation.’

Berath placed his head on Luna’s shoulder as began to finally let out all of his frustration, and sorrow. There was a reason why Berath rejected everything in front of Amber. He wanted his newfound friend to witness his rebirth to reclaim what was left of his soul and what was left of his sanity. You see when the demands of your family, friends, and obligations get too hard to bear. It pushes you deep into the crust of the earth, as it made Berath feel that he was made to carry the world on his shoulders. With no one to help bear the brunt of an insurmountable burden, it tends to lead you down a very dark and hollow path. A path that helps you find comfort in the lonely abdication of your personal actions and merits. ‘I loath him. No! I abhor my mother, my brother, myself, and most of all, the King of Heaven himself, Gilldahara! Vengeance is all I have left and I am willing to lose what is left of me to bring back my light, my cosmic body I gravitated towards. My wife, Summer Dream. I miss her oh so much. I miss my baby boy, my moon that shone brightly from the glow of his mother's kind soul… Princess Luna, I do not wish to continue this dream I am in. Please make it stop!?’ Luna could not bear his suffering and did not want to put him through any more sorrow, but she had an obligation as a dream guide to see this dream through with Berath. No matter how agonizing it may be for him. With a heavy heart, she whispered ‘I am very sorry, My Prince but I must see you through this dream. No matter how hard it is for you to trudge through, I will be here! Here to help shoulder this burden you carry on your heart.’ Berath softly snuggled into Princess Luna’s chest fluff and silently wept, all the while Luna wrapped him in her wings embrace. ‘Hush now, my sweet Prince!’