Dreamwalker's Tale: Project Greenwood

“Dawn, what the fuck…?!” Those words simply slipped past my usually more restrained mouth once Spike lifted the blindfold. My eyes quickly adjusted to the bright daylight again and I saw an impressively transformed Greenwood. Those words circled around in my head like annoying little birdies while I took in the scenery.

Everyone from our camp, including Dawn, was present. They all held their breath and waited for a more refined reaction than my initial outburst. But goodness me, what was I supposed to tell them? I drew blank after blank. It was so… impressive.

The entire camp was now surrounded by a massive palisade. Entire tree trunks had been sharpened to a point and rammed into the ground. One next to the other, to form a barricade around us. The wall of logs was ten feet high, maybe even thirteen. Several small ramps led up to walkways of thick and sturdy looking planks. The walkways were just high enough up so that the palisade could still offer some protection against projectiles if the one up on the wall ducked behind it.

And I noticed a few torches had been placed on the wall as well. Regular ones, interspersed with a few of my enchanted sapphire torches. They must have rearranged the torches along the roads to free up a few. But I had not noticed any issues when I walked here either. Careful planning had been going into this, as well as a swift and decisive execution.

And the wall was not even the only thing that caught my eye. They had erected not one, but several new houses. All in the same lovely, homey style as the ones in Ponyville.

And to finish it all off, there were these things now. They floated. And moved. “What are those?” I asked nopony in particular.

A few glances were shot in Dawn's direction, but the apparent crafter behind these things remained shy about it, so Hefty of all ponies was the one to speak up first. “He called them ‘golems’. As far as I understand it, they’re basically animated stones with no will or sentience of their own. They’ve been mighty useful these few days already. What you see around you would not have been possible without their help, even though I have to say, they can be denser than the trees.” A few of the others chimed in with Hefty's chuckle. Apparently there had been some amusing little incidents.

At that point, Dawn cleared his throat and took the laughter with a good-natured smile while he commanded one of these golems to the forefront. They looked rough. As if somepony had just taken a really good pickaxe, swung it at solid stone and took the first few larger pieces that fell out. They were vaguely humanoid in shape. In my mind, I compared them to Spike. Though they had neither tail nor wings. Or legs, for that matter. They did not walk. They floated around. Hovered. Their torso, arms, hands, even fingers — all pieces of rough stone of varying sizes and lengths. I shot Dawn a questioning glance and he merely nodded, so I stepped closer to the golem and put a hoof against his lower torso. It actually offered resistance. Which was… honestly, I had no idea what I had been expecting. It floated. So maybe I expected it to behave like a balloon. As if an invisible string tied it to the ground and if I gave it a tap, it would just float away until the string pulled it back. But no. That thing stood there. Hovered there. Whatever.

The arms were not connected to the shoulders. Its hands were not connected to its arms. Nothing was connected. It made sense to me — rock being a less than ideal substance for joints and all that. It was just a floating mass of stone, capable of moving in recognizable patterns. It was fascinating.

And atop its torso, past the missing neck, sat one of my enchanted sapphires.

“So that’s what you were working on,” I mumbled. The stone seemed different. It took me a moment to realize that teeny-tiny glyphs were carved into the smooth surface of the gemstone. These things probably gave these golems their life. Or whatever animating force they had.

“I don’t want to disappoint anypony here,” I started with an awkward chuckle. “But would it be alright if I asked a few more questions about these? I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Some of the others snickered as well and Dawn once more took it in stride. He smiled wryly and nodded. “I am sure that there will be no question I have not heard in the past few days already. So maybe let me start?” I quickly granted his request with a nod. “Yes, these creatures are indeed called ‘golems’. Graphite was so kind as to help me gather the pieces that make up their bodies. The sapphires you provided for my research were of great value and I used them as best as I could. These four golems are the result of said research.”

“What happened to the fifth stone?” I cut in. It was rude and I was about to apologize, but Dawn did not seem to mind at all.

“As much as I would like to pretend otherwise, I am not infallible,” he replied with a dry chuckle. “There is always some wear and tear one has to account for. Especially in quickened research. That said, I am quite satisfied with the result of this endeavor. These golems will be operational for as long as their gemstones remain intact and undamaged. That does make their ‘heads’ a prime target for attack and sabotage, but their inherent enchantment should discourage any wild animals and seeing as we all work together and pull on the same rope here, sabotage should be out of the question as well. In addition, they are not designed as warriors and make for terrible defenders, I assure you. They were constructed as an additional workforce. They do not drink, eat or sleep, they do not tire, experience pain or complain, they are strictly non-sentient. Or, as your draconic friend here called it: mindless. Apparently that is a more widespread term used by a rule system you and him are intricately familiar with? That said, seeing how the village progressed in that short amount of time, I again see a need to emphasize how satisfied I am with the result of my work.”

“We get it, you’re proud,” Graphite cut in with a chuckle.

“And they were incredibly helpful!” Hefty added.

“And you have every reason to be proud,” I agreed. Dawn lowered his head in gratitude and a modest smile graced his lips. With that, I turned my attention to the golem once again. They were animated by magic. They moved via magic, they kept their bodies together via magic. It was hard to gauge how strong such a being was.

“Very,” Honey suddenly spoke up.

I blinked. “Come again?”

She chuckled and nodded towards the golem. “You were asking yourself: How strong is that thing? Right? Because I did that when I saw them the first time. Let me put it like this: You see these tree trunks that make up the palisade? We sure didn’t have the strength to ram a whole log into the ground like that. Aurora already had plans and such. Digging lots of holes or trenches to lower them in, then fill up the spaces in between. The point became mute when Dawn ensured us that this would be an unnecessary step. These things are scary strong. That said, they aren’t the brightest, as mentioned. They fulfill whatever task you give them. Without thinking or stopping.”

Graphite sighed. “I can attest to that. They need constant supervision and clear and simple instructions, otherwise their non-existent brain gets itself tied in a knot.”

“Which is exactly what I told you about their handling,” Dawn defended his creations.

Both Honey and Graphite exchanged short glances accompanied by smiles and the former shook her head. “Don’t worry, Dawn. We’re very grateful for the help. Nitpicks don’t change anything. I just thought it might make sense telling him about their limitations as well.”

It was the first time that my rampant euphoria took a nosedive and I considered what could go wrong with these… well, toys, basically. Tools. “There haven’t been any accidents, right? No injuries?” I asked in worry.

Honey was the one to answer me. “Nothing serious. Hefty told them to pile up tree trunks according to a sample he left out for them. He forgot to tell them to stop over night. They built up a large heap of them and then gravity said: Nope. The trunks rolled away. No one was hurt, but a part of the newly erected palisade was demolished. It was quick and easy to fix and we all learned a valuable lesson, but it did postpone our work for the next house and the well.”

I nodded absentmindedly. I imagined these golems carrying entire trees around. I had to wonder why Dawn was so convinced they would make for poor defenders. Maybe because of their lack of intelligence, but that would be counterbalanced with precise instructions, as they had all said. Ideally by someone who was experienced with these things. Maybe it would be a smart idea to give one of these golems to Spike, so that he could train using them in a defensive way?

“Stop scheming, we ain’t done showing off yet!” Graphite barged into my thoughts with a grin.

I chuckled and raised a hoof. “Alright, alright! Please, continue.”

She nodded in satisfaction. “Follow me, then.” The entire group moved with us as Graphite led me to a spot close to the backend of our camp. And since the borders of our camp were now so well-defined, it was a lot easier to tell where the backend even was.

Even from a good distance away, I had already managed to make out the stone structure. It was a specific and distinct shape. Hard to mix up with something else. The outer ashlar shell was probably supported by an inner wall of rubble stone. Thick, sturdy walls to keep the heat in.

“This… is our attempt to help you help us,” Graphite proudly announced as we stopped close to the small building. “Spike told us you feel useless sometimes.” I shot him a death glare, but he merely shrugged it off with a happy grin. “And you told us that when it came to the creation of these enchanted torches, you were responsible for the smithing part, right? So we built you a smithy. Or, well, we tried. It’s quite an amateurish thing as far as I know. More like an outside furnace. You won’t be able to do fancy work in here. But it should be good enough to get us started on a couple of minor things, right?”

I chuckled and walked around the forge. “No reason to put down your hard work. I have no idea what I will be able to do with this, but we’ll find out in time.” They really had outdone themselves. Neither of these ponies — or dragons or griffons — were smiths. Aurora told me she had quick-studied architecture to help out with building houses, but I doubted that her reference literature offered any advice on building forges.

It was small. It would be difficult to generate enough heat, despite how stout the walls looked. The inside of the furnace was tiny, compared to the exterior shell of the build. The front opening was small and secured with a metal door. A thin chimney rose from the main chamber. And I noticed a few crates nearby. Their nods encouraged me to open them up and much to my surprise, one was half-filled with coal and the other with metal scraps. The latter especially looked vaguely familiar, like the waste material from that hardware store in Ponyville where I used to buy metal for our smithy in the castle. “Did you already find a deposit?” I asked Graphite anyway. After all, it was possible, right?

She giggled and shook her head. “I wish. I tried, but the ground doesn’t want to play ball yet. We went to Ponyville and bought a bunch of supplies to get you started. We hope that by the time you burn through all of that, we will have an alternate source. And yes, Aurora calculated prices and such to make sure that buying the things we want you to craft would not be cheaper.”

“Niiice,” I replied and closed the crates again. “Then let me quickly say: Firstly, Spike, I will never forgive you for your insolent betrayal!” I walked over to him and hugged the big dumb lizard. My buddy. I felt his muscles tense as he quietly laughed, then he replied with a crushing hug of his own. Once we pulled apart again, I turned around to face Graphite. “Secondly, thank you. All of you!” I looked around one. “This is… this is great. I would not have mentioned it myself. Because frankly, me feeling useless shouldn’t be any of your business or worries. But I’m sure this will help and I’m immensely grateful!”

There was a brief lull of silence, suddenly broken by Derpy as she failed to contain her excitement any longer. “Can we show him our house now?”

“Houses,” Roseluck corrected with a wry smile. “But I see no reason why we would postpone it any longer. After all… how did Graphite put it? ‘We ain’t done showing off yet’.” Roseluck winked in my direction. I chuckled and was about to answer when Derpy suddenly appeared beside me, put her wing over my withers and ushered me forward, towards the new houses.

There were four of them. Four and a half technically, as one seemed to be half-finished. The framework stood, the foundation walls were in place, but the entire rest was missing. The other four were finished and from what I could tell after a quick glance, already inhabited. They stood a decent chuck away from the carpentry, probably so that the noise of Hefty’s and Honey’s work would not bother the residents too much. And all four stood in a row.

The first true road of Greenwood.

Of course there had been a road prior to our efforts of colonizing the Everfree. The road that led from Ponyville straight to the ruins of the castle. But we started to branch off now. The carpentry was to the left. The houses branched off to the right. My smithy was along the old main road, near the exit to the castle ruins, but I also spotted that half-finished well Honey had mentioned in what I remembered Aurora planned as our central meeting spot and future market square.

A well. A smithy. A carpentry. Four houses. A warehouse. It was not much, sure. But in my head, it certainly qualified to be called a village rather than just a camp. We had a proper village now. The thought made me smile so wide that my cheeks ached. Greenwood was a village now.

“What do you think?” Derpy asked.

Her question pulled me back from my reverie. I leaned a little into her, enjoyed her close proximity, the warm, soft embrace of her gentle feathery wings. And I took my time to take in every detail I could spot. The timber-framed houses sported the same thatched roofs we had in Ponyville. Even the slightly overhanging upper floors were just perfect — as if somepony had taken a bunch of houses from home and planted them out here in the forest. They had even painted the window frames, door frames and flower boxes in a modest pink. On one hoof, it made me yearn to be home so, so much. On the other hoof, it made me feel at home ever so slightly. It was a weird mixture.

Following a random idea, I made a little game out of my answer. “The first one is Roseluck’s house,” I divined.

“I wonder what gave it away,” came Roselucks deadpan voice before most of them laughed quietly. All the flower boxes on the ground floor sported roses. There was no way they had grown so fast, so I assumed Roseluck had gone back to Ponyville to fetch some of her roses from her old home.

“Who else?” asked Aurora with a mischievous grin.

I studied the house closer. Compared them to the other houses. The upper story windows were a tiny bit larger. With reinforced frames. And they were the only windows with shutters. In case the glass breaks. I snickered. “Derpy.” As if I had caught her with her hoof in the cookie jar, she tensed up a little and therefore squeezed me with her wing. “And if Derpy and Roseluck live there, so do Kaleb and Doctor Whooves.”

“Quite right, my friend,” the Doctor admitted. “Good observation and good deduction.”

Wasn’t that hard, I mentally objected, but I remained silent and simply smiled happily. I expected Derpy to usher me forward again, into the house to proudly show me what they had done with the place, but much to my surprise, she instead pushed me over and we awkwardly stepped sideways until we landed in front of the second house.

I quickly scanned for telltale signs and snorted once I found them. “Spike and Gabby.” The crowd cheered again.

“I wonder how he could tell so quickly,” Gabby murmured in the background.

I heard Spike snicker in reply. My eyes trailed up the building once more, to the rather impressively sized nest that sat square on the roof. Yeah. I wonder. I chuckled, shook my head and was quickly moved down the line once more.

“Wow, it’s getting harder and harder,” I commented with a wry grin.

“Nopony likes a smartass,” Graphite hissed. After a few tense seconds, we both giggled briefly. The lower foundation walls of her home were reinforced. The stone was thicker, the walls reached higher and the whole building just seemed… buff, somehow? It was a really weird association for a building. It was not that much different from the other three houses, but somehow it just had this aura of ‘don’t mess with me!’ I had noticed something similar in years past when I accompanied Pinkie to a visit of her sister Maud. Her home, albeit a normal residence like any other, had instilled that very same feeling. Maybe that was some kind of earth pony magic. Or it was a trait of the Pie family. Either way, their homes always gave off the impression of being a fortress, built to endure the ages.

That left the fourth house.

With Hefty and Honey living in the upper story of their carpentry, that left only two members of our current group homeless. Aurora and Dawn. And I suspected that the latter would have politely declined any invitation to have a home in the midst of all of us and much preferred the ruins as his lonesome shelter. Aurora on the other hoof came after me. She was not as much an avid hater of camping as I was, but she very much preferred a decent bed if she could have one. Plus: Up until now, she had worked under open sky, more or less. A table and a few paperweights were far from ideal conditions for her work.

I looked around until I spotted my little sunshine in the small crowd. “Yours?” The flower boxes around the house were empty for now. No nests on top, no reinforced parts, nothing that made this house stand out from all the others in Ponyville. And it made sense. Seeing how similar we sometimes were, Aurora too had difficulties placing roots down. She was slow to acclimate to a new environment. I had no doubts that she would make this hers in time. Even if she had no intentions of staying here forever.

“Ours,” she corrected with a smile.

Our house. The ever so slightly painful grin returned. A small, almost imperceptible tremble ran up my legs, a slight shiver went down my spine as a mild flash brought forth memories from other cycles. It was not the overwhelming onslaught of sensory input I was used to by now, but rather a mild trickle of fond memories.

Our house. It had been different in each and every cycle. Sometimes it was a massive three-story-house mostly crafted from stone. Sometimes it was the rebuilt castle itself. Sometimes it was an enormous hollow tree. Or a bakery. Or a workshop. Or this. A half-timber house with pink framework and a thatched roof.

“Are you alright?”

Derpy's voice was so quiet. For a brief moment, it even seemed far, far away. I opened my eyes again, surprised how I had failed to notice them closing in the first place. Derpy wore a warm, genuine smile. I lowered my head. She understood without a word and met me halfway. Forehead against forehead, I breathed a deep sigh. “It’s perfect,” I mumbled.

She giggled quietly. We pulled apart and I raised my head again. I wanted to thank them. So, so much. But I had already done so. Multiple times. I would do it again in time, until they would tell me to stop, to shut up, that it was enough already. And knowing myself, I would continue for a while after that point. Because I was grateful. More than words could ever convey.

They helped me build Greenwood. They helped me set things right. Greenwood needed to be there. It always existed, it needed to exist. It was my home. My safe harbor. My focal point. Even if Greenwood's role might have unexpectedly changed this time around, it was still massively important to me.

And they had done so much work. For me. For this. They had made it possible.

“Right, so, are we going to show him the slight caveat now or are we still trying to keep that hidden?” Graphite burst the bubble with a cheery tone I would rather have expected from her aunt.

“Caveat?” I echoed.

A few of them chuckled awkwardly and Spike took it upon himself to enlighten me. “You’ve probably already seen the well. It’s not done yet. We hoped to get it done in time, buuut… we underestimated how long digging a really deep hole takes. We also hoped to get the last house ready. In our defense, though: It would have been ready just in time were it not for a freak storm we had two days ago. Derpy and Kaleb had their hooves full and work wasn’t really possible while lightning strikes occurred with such a ridiculous frequency. And then the rain came. And—“

I chuckled and put a hoof to his chest. “It’s alright. You don’t have to explain. You guys already did so much more than I ever expected! Your surprise is more than successful! All of you should be proud of what you managed to accomplish in such a short time! I mean, just look around you! You transformed our awful camping trip into the dangerous woods into a little fort, with a village inside. An actual village! This isn’t just Camp Greenwood anymore. It’s Greenwood. The actual town. It’s just… there’s no words for this. No words to describe how proud I am of all of you. How grateful I am.”

I was rambling. Worse, I spun in circles. Grateful, grateful, grateful. They got the message the first time. But my head was stuck on that part and failed time and time again to move past it. Lucky for me, they realized that and Spike gave me a little nudge towards the door. With Derpy still holding her wing over me and Aurora on my other side, I stepped up to the door, took a deep breath and opened it.

Behind the entrance door was a small staircase leading up. A couple of other doors led away to other rooms and Aurora quickly explained the layout to me. The bathroom, she explicitly emphasized, was not to be used yet. None of them were. They had yet to establish a sewer system, so the toilets did not lead anywhere yet. And for the time being, they were of a rather simple design.

That said, she was hopeful to make them functional within a few weeks, as the golems could burrow through the underground a lot easier and it would be less dangerous for them than it was for any pony.

While I tried to listen well, it was difficult not to get distracted by the thick smell of cut wood. I loved that smell. I remembered those first days after my arrival, when Spike and I conspired to refurnish the castle with bookshelves and such. Stonewood had done such a lovely job, especially considering how quickly he and his stallions worked. And in the days after, I found myself milling around the hallways just to breathe in the marvelous scent.

Now I stood in my own house and felt that sensation again. I just wanted to stand here, close my eyes and breathe in. And the wooden planks of the floor felt new as well. Their texture was a little rougher than the wooden floors in Ponyville, which had seen use for decades already. Every imperfection was already polished or blunted or grinded away. I doubted that I would be able to get a splinter in my hoof. Neither Hefty nor Honey were perfectionists, not in the same manner Rarity was, but they still had high standards for their work and would never allow for such an occurrence.

But just standing on these new, fresh floorboards felt awesome. And I giggled silently as I imagined Rainbow giving me a hoofbump for my eloquent way of expressing my current experience.

“Dad?” I snapped out of it and stared at my daughter with wide eyes. She sighed, albeit with a indulgent smile. “Right. I’m going to repeat that later.”

I grinned sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I mean, we are all glad that you like it so much!” she assured me.

I looked back and indeed saw all of the others smiling and grinning. And they were strangely close to the entrance. “Are we… all going in?” I asked.

“Of course. We have prepared a little ‘welcome back’-party,” Aurora revealed. “And we decided to host it in our living room.”

She opened one of the doors leading out of the staircase and trotted inside. I followed and noticed another ‘feature’ of our home. It was very… spacious. Due to a lack of furniture. That said, the living room had three tables in it, one of which I recognized immediately as the one Aurora had been working on so far. Which led me to believe that these were all the tables we currently had. In Greenwood.

And on top of them was a grandiose display of sweets.

“Ehrm… is that…?” I asked and pointed towards the tables while all the others slowly filtered into the living room as well.

“That’s the other half!” Gabby excitedly chirped.

“The… other half?”

She nodded enthusiastically. “Yepp. Remember when you went to Ponyville with the cart and came back with waaay too many pies and cookies? You told us you bought half of Sugarcube Corner’s stock. So we went back and bought the other half.”

I stared at the massive heap of future diabetes reasons. Three tables full of exactly what Gabby had announced: All the various delights one could find at Sugarcube Corner. I could not help but laugh. It was such a silly notion. We bought two halves of Sugarcube Corner, therefore, we bought Sugarcube Corner. “Maybe we could ask Pound and Pumpkin if they want to extend the reach of their bakery? They could split up, one of them could move here and open up a second Sugarcube Corner…”

I noticed how several eyes immediately lit up due to what had initially been a stupid, silly idea. But they took that idea and ran with it. “We could coax them in with a good pitch, I bet!” Spike said.

“The camp is stable for now, we have the torches and now a decent wall to keep us safe,” Hefty added.

“The village will probably grow quickly. If they invest early, they get prime real estate. And it would be such a huge boost for morale to have an actual bakery!” Aurora chimed in.

I tried to get a word in once or twice, but quickly gave up. They developed that random funny thought into an actual plan within minutes. It was astounding to witness. They even managed to make it sound reasonable. And if successful, we would have a bakery. Our own Sugarcube Corner.

It reminded me of something else.

“Oh, shoot! I was so preoccupied with all the things you did that I completely failed to tell you guys what I did!” I sputtered.

“Well we didn’t leave you much room to say anything, to be fair,” Derpy offered with a giggle.

They fell quiet, their plans put on hold for the moment, and I slipped into the center of attention again. Gosh, I hate that spot. “So uh… the mission was a success,” I started and immediately received a round of cheers and applause. “I managed to secure funding for your project. There are a few caveats on my front as well though. I will explain the minute details later, but the long and short of it is that Pristine, Rarity’s daughter and co-owner of Carousel Boutique, invested in us. She wants us to build a shop for her. And keep the competition in check for a while. And Periwinkle Lulamoon invested as well. Her parents are some hotshots from Las Pegasus. She wants us to build a proper tavern for her — sorry, an inn! — and she intends to move here as well. That said, she wants to work closely with you, Aurora. She has her own ideas about what her tavern should look like or something. And Doctor Caballeron — yes, that one — invested as well. He would like to be our intermediary when it comes to import and export. And finally, the crown itself invested. Princess Celestia argued that the development of Greenwood is in the best interests of Equestria as a whole and as far as I can tell, Princess Luna just thinks we’re a bunch of lunatics and wants to support that.”

Once I ended my summary, they all cheered and hollered yet again. Maybe because of the joke there at the end, I could not tell for sure. I blushed heavily as they all moved in for a massive group hug. At this point, we were not just the plucky adventurers anymore. Not just a bunch of thick-headed settlers. We were successful pioneers. Frontliners, conquering the chaotic land of the Everfree Forest for the betterment of Equestria.

A solid minute after everyone got clumped together, we parted again. “So, uh… the house seems nice. Albeit a little empty,” I commented.

A round of laughter followed. Hefty actually confirmed that these three tables were almost all furniture that currently existed in Greenwood. “Well, we do have beds,” Aurora remarked with a teasing glint in her eyes. “It is just the rest that was deemed unnecessary luxury for now.”

She knew me well. She knew what buttons to push. “Wait, we have beds?!” I blurted out. And here I thought the day could not get any better. “Oh my gosh, I love every single one of you!” Another round of laughter exploded and we finally decided to eat something before the cookies got a chance to get stale. There was probably some tummy-ache incoming, but I couldn't care less. We drank the water they had hauled in buckets from the river all the way over here as a replacement for the usual punch Pinkie offered at her parties. We gorged ourselves on delectable sweets. And we talked and were merry for hours.

It was a good day.

Later that evening, I stood outside my house. It was still a strange thought. Alien.

The sun had set more than an hour ago and one after another, all the party guests trickled away. Much to my surprise, Dawn was the last to go. I had expected he would take the first opportunity to excuse himself, but no. Here he was, mingling with the rest of us. He kept to himself every now and then, preferring to stand aside and watch the party unfold, but after a couple of minutes, he threw himself back into the social interactions.

It seemed like a small miracle all on its own to me.

“Thank you again,” I said quietly.

Dawn lifted his right front hoof and shielded his stifled yawn further. “You are quite welcome, my friend. I assume that you are going to be busy now, are you not? With all the new required buildings and the well, the sewer construction and your smithy.”

Without another hint, I knew what he was getting at. And I would have none of that. So I shook my head and smiled. “No, no, no. Don’t you worry your silly little head. It’s Cunning Can after all, not Cunning Can’t, right?” Dawn rolled his eyes, but ultimately chimed in with my silly chuckle. His gaze drifted upwards, towards another beautiful night sky. Luna always put on the best spectacles. And since we both shared this appreciation, I stepped up to his side and we both sat down on our haunches. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Marvelous indeed,” he agreed. “The night sky has changed so much over the many, many years of its existence. Sometimes I look up and see these constellations and I do not even recognize this world as my own. Yet I do not feel lost or scared by it either. It is the beauty of art that keeps me enthralled and soothes my nerves whenever these moments come by. This up there, it is her canvas. And with light alone, she paints works of beauty and awe. She tells stories for those willing to watch.”

“Have you ever met Luna?” I asked and lowered my gaze towards him. His admiration went deeper than I had expected. Maybe it even had something to do with his lost love?

“I have not,” he answered, but kept his gaze up there.

“Would you want to change that?” I offered.

His shoulders rose in silence. His deep sigh escaped without any noise. “I am deeply grateful for that offer. Your… friendship and generosity humble me. But I do not think it wise to arrange for such a meeting.” Dawn finally lowered his gaze as well. And truly, there was warmth in his eyes. For the first time it seemed, there was actual, genuine warmth. Not his cool brilliance, his rational, vast intellect, his calculating mind. No. Friendship. He seemed a lot less guarded than usual. “I am looking forward to tomorrow's reading session, friend.”

I grinned and poked his shoulder with my hoof. “Are you now, eh?”

Dawn rolled his eyes dramatically and stood up. He quickly dusted himself off. “Have a good night, Dreamwalker.”

I chuckled in reply. “Good night, Dawn. See you tomorrow.”

I remained outside for a few more minutes and watched him go. He left through the backdoor of the wall. So far, we had two gates. One out front, towards Ponyville, and one out the back, towards the ruins. Both were sturdy enough to halt an assault for a while. Heavy wooden bolts locked them from the inside at night. And since Dawn had to open the gate to get out, it fell to me to close it again after him.

Then I went back inside. The house was silent and dark. Aurora had gone to sleep already. I walked around the ground floor for a while. Walked through empty rooms. The tables were still there, of course. I tried to imagine what could be. What could have been. A few shelves. Cupboards. Closets. A couch. Chairs. A fully stocked pantry. Some carpets. Curtains for the windows.

And bric-a-brac of course. So much of it. It was usually those small pieces of memorabilia that transformed a house into a home.

What could I use here? The first ever photo of Stardust maybe? Framed of course. On that wall over there. But why keep it at one? Why not all the photos? Why not an entire wall dedicated to my family? I had dozens of framed photographs. Stardust, Aurora, Arcana, Sunny, Luna, Twilight. The Inner Circle. If I were to decide to hang every family photo, I could easily run out of walls. In this entire house. Twilight Velvet and Night Light, Cadance and Shining Armor, the extended family. And it was so easy to extend it even further. Including Applejack in my family felt natural. Rainbow. Pinkie. Fluttershy. Derpy. And if I picked one Apple, I picked all the Apples.

Depending on perspective, my family was huuuge. And fifty years was a long, long time.

However, my children were… old. Not old-old. But certainly old enough to live their own lives. They had jobs and families and responsibilities and were not those cute little foals that puked all over my back. Well, less cute in those precise moments. But still.

I put a hoof to the wall. To the spot where I imagined hanging that very first one.

I remembered what Roseluck had told me. Ever since that day, it seemed this conversation kept haunting me. We would bear witness. We would watch them grow old and die. We would suffer until… until what? I still refused to believe that we would grow accustomed to it at some point. I still hoped that we never would.

But the thought of Stardust stung. My little colt. He had been such an adventurous foal. Always curious. Always up for another exciting trip. I still saw that very colt in his eyes sometimes. Would I still see him when his muzzle was wrinkled and his mane grayed? When his eyes were hazed and his mind clouded?

I shuddered.

It had been inevitable, to a certain degree. After every party, there was a choice. Either go to bed before the crash hits, or live through it. I had not been fast enough to do the former, so I was damned to do the latter.

The adrenaline receded. The exhaustion hit. And with the tiredness came the flood of unwelcome, nagging thoughts and doubts. I walked through an empty house. I was supposed to call it mine. Just a few minutes ago, I did just that. But I knew better. It was a house. It was not even Aurora’s, since she did not intend to stay here forever either.

At some point, Greenwood was done. We already reached the stage where we could call it a village. All I had to do now was… what, exactly? What else was required of me? I had secured the town's funding. I had brought together a bunch of ponies — and others — to establish the foundation. And as far as I could tell, it was a solid one. Greenwood would thrive, given time.

What else was there for me to do?

At which point was I allowed to go back home? Where I truly belonged in this cycle? Home to Ponyville, to the castle, to Twilight and Sunny and Luna and my families?

The answer was obvious to me, but uncomfortable. I would have loved nothing more than to shy away from it. But I was granted no such luxury. I had to face whatever would try to destroy this town. Because there would be something. Or somepony. Or someone.

Greenwood faced trials and tribulations. Always. It was as much a constant of all cycles as the existence of this town itself. Something would happen.

I sighed, lowered my hoof and walked to and then up the stairs. I tried to be sneaky as to not wake up Aurora as I moved past the door leading to her bedroom. Even in the dark house I still noticed that she had already decorated her door somewhat. Without any light, it was just a dark gray image on an even darker gray door. Maybe she used the pink paint they had bought for all the frames.

A stylized sun high up in the sky. Two clouds left and right. A few waves, probably symbolizing wind. I traced one of those waves with the edge of my hoof and smiled. “Have a good night, sunshine,” I quietly whispered.

And with that, I went to bed.

The next couple of days were a blur. With the golems in tow, our workforce was doubled for almost all tasks. Aurora sometimes complained that she barely managed to keep up with the blueprints. And we all agreed that that was a good problem to have.

I found back to my routine as my mood swings subsided and evened out. I got up in the morning and even managed to not scold myself for getting out of bed so late again. Most of our group were morning creatures. I decidedly was not.

I prepared breakfast, ate with Spike for company as his job mostly involved sitting around and watching the others and eventually I fired up the smithy and got to work. It really did help a lot with my strange feeling of detachment. Smelting down the iron scraps into nuggets, bars and poles was the first order of business. To get more refined material. And something that had less danger of getting a splinter. Metal splinters really were nasty.

In the afternoon hours, I went to the river, took a dip to clean myself, went back home to grab the books and then met up with Dawn to continue our adventurous journey with Cunning Can, unwilling adventurer and scholarly wizard extraordinaire.

As soon as sunset came around, we finished our reading for the day. At that point, we had options. We could spend another evening marveling at the stars, trading stories about constellations and finding new and exciting ways to express how pretty everything up there was, or we just went down to the village and mingled. That was what the evenings were for. Everyone was tired and spent, so we gathered for dinner and talked and mingled. But it was optional, of course. Sometimes someone was just too tired and went straight to bed after eating something. Because no matter how far we got already, it was still very much a construction site. Greenwood was still in its infancy.

Late midday. Less than an hour until I would finish up work for today. I worked out in the open, the forge emitted a lot of heat. A light gray blanket of clouds blocked out the entire sunlight. Maybe it would rain later on.

I thought about nothing in particular. With hammer, chisel and telekinesis, I toiled away at my to-do-list. It was a finicky task to craft all the fines required for various other parts. Locks and hinges and doorknobs and whatnot. But my routine was suddenly disrupted by a rather unwelcome warning.

Something changed. We’re in danger.

And no matter how much I despised hearing from him, how it irked me that this voice in the back of my head made itself known again after what felt like weeks of silence: He had a point. Despite my grudge with him, he usually had a point. I could feel it. My hair stood on end. I shivered slightly. A really, really bad feeling washed over me like a wave and made my stomach queasy.

I immediately looked around, frantically. The smithy? No. The building was stable, decidedly not on fire. I quickly scanned the walls surrounding the village. But no timberwolves currently scaled them. The two gates stood wide open, but that made perfect sense throughout the day when work required many of us to walk in and out all the time.

Spike was missing. Not a particularly alarming revelation, he sometimes flew circles over the village to ensure safety of everyone even if they went further out. Or maybe he was currently helping out Hefty again. It happened.

Actually, Greenwood seemed pretty quiet. Hefty was working outside. Honey was in the carpentry and I heard the occasional knock when her hammer met wood. She was busy building more furniture out of the wood her companion gathered. Graphite was probably at her quarry, with Gabby as escort. Aurora was at home, drawing up the next iteration of blueprints for the sewers. I saw Kaleb hovering over the fields, but no sign of Roseluck, Doctor Whooves or Derpy.

Behind us!

I quickly turned around. Nothing was immediately behind me, but I trusted his instincts more than mine. He had always wanted to keep us safe. And it was usually his part to ensure our survival. And right when I was about to ask him what he noticed, I saw it.

A figure emerged from the ruins. I saw it through the wide open backdoor. Dull scarlet skin on his arms. dark gray coat and mane, a light gray beard. Black eyes and a nose ring. Blood rushed in my ears, louder and louder. My rushing heart kept pumping more adrenaline into my brain. I shook my head lightly, tried to deny reality, but within fractions of a second, I just…

I snapped.

The very same moment massive tremors ran through my body as my mind was flooded with images and sounds, I lit my horn and in a dazed panic, I grabbed everything. Everything that was not nailed down. Everything within reach. Everything I was aware of.

Before my mind's eye, I saw the destruction. I heard pleas for mercy and hard, callous laughter. I saw blasts of raw energy stream towards buildings and creatures alike. I heard a power-mad cackle. I felt tremors in the earth under my hooves as something enormous moved at a lazy pace towards its next target. I saw ruins. Felt ashes land on my muzzle like snowflakes in winter. I smelled the pungent odor of burned hair and skin, of singed flesh underneath. I saw friends cry out and vanish in the violent explosions of fireballs. I saw swaths of blackened earth through green woods where a path had been cleared without regards to anything or anyone.

It was too much.

Just too much.

Wide open eyes, trembling in fear, my eyes full of free-flowing tears, my vision a blurry mess and yet I could still make out his form. A black-red splotch somewhere over there. It was enough. It was all I needed. It was the epicenter of my universe in that moment, the focal point of all my terrible dread.

And I flung it all.

I had no idea what I held in my telekinesis. It was a lot. I felt the strain on my horn due to the sheer weight of my weaponry. But I flung it. With as much power as I could muster, I flung every single piece. Only to grab more and throw it as well. And to grab more and throw that, too.

I pelted this figure with everything I got my telekinesis on. I accidentally even tried to lift the anvil itself, but that quickly proved too heavy.

Blood rushed in my ears. A loud stream that drowned out any and all other noises. The strain of my magic only added to the chaos in my mind and it took him forever to break through that heavy curtain.

Stop!

I stopped. Mostly because there was nothing left to grab and throw in my immediate vicinity.

I stood rooted to the spot, my shoulders rose and sagged with each heavy, labored breath. I felt strangely light-headed, but at the same time all my senses were sharp, alert, my muscles ready to burst. And so I remained for seconds. They trickled by with the speed of running molasses. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

My mind finally came to a screeching halt. Everything stopped. Not just my attempts to throw more stuff, but even the chaos in my mind subsided and left a void in its wake. Finally I became aware of that thread he wanted me to grab so desperately. I pulled at the familiar magic and not a second later, I felt the heavy weight of my night guard armor settle on my back and my head. The transformative illusion magic washed over me. My telekinesis grabbed the called sword. Now armed and armored… I still trembled, frozen in place.

Move!

I hated how he could command me. I hated even more that he was successful where I failed. That his input was necessary. I lifted one front hoof. And that was enough. The spell was broken, the paralysis overcome. I slowly walked, then quickly trotted, cantered, and ran.

Within moments I stood by the entrance to the castle ruins, in the massive courtyard. Apple trees sprung from the ground, Bruno among them. Old friends. Despite my own efforts to distract myself from my work, I looked at the bleeding mess on the ground. And I saw my fears confirmed.

The one. The only. Lord Tirek himself.

Although he was a shadow of his former self. Shredded by a violent shower of metal shrapnel. Run through with several metal poles. He bled from so, so many wounds. He coughed blood. Parts of his sickeningly twisted body twitched. How was he even still alive?! “I-I’m s-so sorry…! I-I didn’t know what came over me!” I muttered quietly.

I grimaced. Because deep down, I knew that I lied. Even now I could feel the uncomfortable shiver run up and down my spine, I could still hear the screams of his victims, my friends, even my own cries of pain. I could still smell the burning ruins of the library, my home, you bast—

I firmly shut my eyes. Tried to breathe. Tried to regain control. A modicum of composure. And I failed horribly. My next breath was a shuddering mess. I opened my eyes again, my vision blurry. And I was horrified. I had done this.

And the worst part?

Lord Tirek did not even look angry. Neither did he look sad. He did not even look like he was in pain, despite his body telling a whole different story.

No. He mostly looked… confused.

I took an involuntary half-step back as the puddle of blood beneath him grew larger. Seeing it seep out of him, seeing him became paler, weaker, it scared me even more. And with a desperate urgency, I told myself: He could still be saved! I could rescue him. I could do something. Anything. But as soon as I tried, I realized that I was frozen in place once again.

This time though, it was not by my own volition. It was not my failure. It was not any choice, consciously or otherwise. “Void! We need to get help! Let me go! Spike!” I yelled my buddy’s name two more times before the voice in the back of my head deigned to answer. And when he did, he did so with a single, cold, devastating word.

No.

And once again, I just… stopped. I stopped struggling. Because there was no sense in it. I would not be able to win. Not under these conditions. Not in my current state. My own blade, meant to defend, wobbled in my magic as said magic threatened to lose its grip any second. My armor felt constricting, breathing became harder and he was in full control and he made me stand there and do nothing.

So I watched. It was the only thing I could do. The only thing I was allowed to do. I watched as Tirek bled. I cried again for Spike, my voice broke off halfway through, into a strangled sob. And the light in Tirek’s eyes slowly faded, dimmed and ultimately, vanished. One last time his chest rose in an unsteady breath, then fell… and never rose again.

And seconds later, with a heavy thud, Spike landed in the courtyard.

“… what?!” He quickly came over. “What in Tartarus’ name happened here?! Where did he come from? Dream? Dreamwalker, are you okay?” He grabbed my shoulder and shook me. The contact felt strangely cold. My skin tingled where he touched me. Of course he was worried. About me. I was his buddy after all.

I slowly shook my head. No. I was not okay.

I was grateful. For the void in my head that relentlessly devoured every single thought that dared to pop up. I was grateful to not have to think for a while. Not now especially. Spike pulled me a few steps away and then ushered me out of the courtyard, away from the ruins and back to my house. Once we were past the gate, he called for Gabby and quickly told her to ‘take care of the body’. I shuddered.

She would not eat him, would she? No. No, of course not. This was Gabby. No sane griffon would do something like that. Right?

The void swallowed those thoughts, too. And I was grateful.

“Aurora! Help!” Spike yelled as soon as we entered the house.

My little sunshine looked out of the living room. She took a single glance at him, at me, and immediately realized that something dire was up. “What happened?” she asked, her warm smile replaced with urgency. And worry.

“I’m trying to find out,” Spike replied.

They brought me upstairs. Set me down on my own bed. With a towel beneath me. Because my front hooves were dripping red. Most of it I had left behind when we walked home. But some color still clung to my hooves. And now the towel. What a sickening shade!

Spike tried to question me. Tried to get a full picture. And for my part, I tried. I really tried hard to cooperate to the best of my abilities. It was just a shame that right now, these abilities were rather limited. I gave curt answers at best. Sometimes just a head shake or a nod. But he was nothing if not patient. And smart. Twilight had raised him well, rubbed off on him.

“You just killed Tirek. The Lord Tirek,” he reiterated not for the first time and pulled a claw across his face.

“He was weak,” I managed to string a couple of words together. The first whole sentence in a while. “He barely has the strength of a stallion in that state…” No superior physique. No magic lasers to shoot around. Certainly no fireballs. Just a single ‘snack’ and I would not have been able to hold my ground against him. But in the state he had been in? Even a simple pony, even a weak unicorn like myself, was more than enough to bring him down. To… kill him.

“I don’t know what went wrong,” I murmured. “I just… I don’t… know what went wrong.”

Spike and Aurora exchanged glances. They excused themselves, walked a little over to the side and in hushed voices agreed that I must be in shock. Spike assured that he would search the ruins immediately, for any clues as to where Tirek had even come from. He should have been locked up in Tartarus, after all.

And then my buddy left. And my little sunshine remained.

She sat down beside me. Pulled me closer, so I would lean against her. I did not resist. I did not care. I could not shake that image from my head. No anger. No remorse. No indignation. Just confusion. The void stopped working properly. It did not devour that image. Or the lingering thought of: What was he so confused about? That this was the reaction he garnered when he showed his unchained mug around ponies? That an unassuming unicorn like me would dare oppose him? That any pony would draw blood in such an unrestrained manner? That he could be hurt? That he was capable of bleeding, like all the other fallible creatures of this world? What, I wondered. What was his last thought? What was going on in his last moments. Minutes.

It took Spike at least an hour until he returned, maybe even more. Judging by the commotion outside, I assumed that the entire village had been informed about the incident. But nopony else showed up. I was glad about that. I did not feel like yelling at friendly and worried faces, but I very much dreaded that that would have been the reaction. My reaction. And I could not even tell why.

When Spike returned, he had made up his mind. He had crafted a theory. That Tirek had somehow escaped his chains in Tartarus. Again. After all, he had done so in the past. Several times, in fact. There was precedent for it. And he was getting good at escaping. He most likely hid in the woods beyond the ruins. The Everfree Forest had always been a hotspot for trouble. And troublemakers. Because of its wild and dangerous nature, many fled here to escape from prosecution. Many of those escapees then faced timberwolves and manticores and decided that the inside of a cell with two regular meals per day was still better than the insides of a belly while being a meal.

But Tirek was cut from a different cloth. He must have heard the commotion of our various workforces. Those golems were not exactly stealthy. Hefty chopping down trees was not quiet. Or Graphite breaking solid stone. He noticed us. Studied us. Made an educated guess about the size of our camp, the resistance he had to expect. An easy target. A good and proper headstart for his upcoming, next attack on Equestria. Because in all those years, throughout all his escape attempts, this was the one silver lining. He had never given up on his ambition to conquer Equestria. Surely this had been his latest foiled attempt.

Surely.

I stayed silent.

Spike stayed with me for a while. It was impossible for me to tell how long exactly. Eventually though, Gabby came by and after a brief discussion with Aurora, they decided that my little sunshine would look after me and Gabby would take her gentledrake home. It was fine, really. I even mustered my strengths and managed to mutter a quiet “Thank you” when he bid his farewell and left.

I was grateful, after all. Always grateful.

Aurora herself remained with me for another hour or so. Long into the night, I assumed. However, even with her now working in an enclosed space, without being battered around by the elements and without the wind constantly playfully trying to steal her blueprints, it was still a taxing day. They all were. She was tired. She yawned. And I sent her off to bed.

“Would you tell me a story?” she asked.

That undertone of hope hurt. “I’m sorry,” I croaked. My voice felt strained. As if I had not spoken in years. “Not today, little sunshine.” She accepted it without complaint and hugged me as a good-night. Her body was soft, warm. Her fur brushed against mine. And for a brief moment, her closeness stirred my frozen spirit. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled. Sorry for so, so many different things. But right now, most importantly, I was sorry that I could not hold myself together all that well. That I could not offer her the father she knew. “I love you, my little princess.” I kissed her cheek.

“I know, dad. I love you too.” She squeezed me for emphasis and then pulled away. And a part of me wanted to lunge for her. Wanted to keep her close. Keep her pressed against me. As if her proximity was a shield, keeping a tidal wave at bay. What a silly notion.

Yet as soon as the door closed and I was left in an empty room with nothing but my bed and myself in it, that dreaded tidal wave picked me up with ease and flung me around like a toy. The walls cracked and crumbled and the chaos resumed. A headache quickly rose to prominence. All those thoughts and doubts and accusations flung every which way, it was too much to bear. I wanted to scream so badly. I wanted to scream until my voice would give out. And even further than that. Until my lungs burned and my throat became numb from pain.

Not a single noise crossed my lips.

I simply flopped down onto my side, closed my eyes and lit my horn.

One of the reasons they did not send for Twilight, Luna or Celestia immediately was this moment. Gabby, flying at top speed, might have been able to reach Ponyville before I went to sleep. Spike could have sent a message to Twilight. Heck, maybe he even did. But other than that, dreamwalking was the fastest way to spread the news.

Luna was already waiting. Fair enough — I was late. And similar to Aurora before, she only needed a single glance to realize that something was amiss.

All my life, everypony and their granny had been able to easily read me like an open book. Never had I grown angry because of it. And why would I? It was a fact of life. A fact of my life, at least. But every couple of years, a situation arose when that fact irked me. When it just rubbed me the wrong way. Tonight was one of those days, it seemed.

Despite this, I tried my best. I sat down and recounted to the best of my ability what had transpired. And to my own credit — my ability to tell a story had recovered significantly in those last few hours.

And what was my precious kitten’s judgment?

“You are exempt from your duties for the time being.”

I stared at her blankly. I blinked, continued to stare for a moment and then slowly shook my head. “Luna, don’t. I just… I really don’t want to deal with that right now. I could use the distraction. Le me work.”

She sat down in front of me and pulled me against her form with her wing. It was easy for her. It would have been even in the waking world. And I nestled into her chest, almost instinctively searched for safety at her side. I hated how pathetic it must have looked as I almost tried to crawl into her. But she said nothing to that extent. She embraced me. Held me. And closed her wings around me like a cocoon. A safety shelter.

“I know that you do not want to,” she started and already I could tell that I did not like the direction this was going in. Because her tone implied a ‘but’. “Rare is the instance that we wish to face our fears, is it not? You know that as much as I do. Remember what we keep telling these dreamers each and every night.”

“This is different,” I claimed, even though I could not say if it was, or how it differed. But what she suggested frightened me.

“’Tis not,” she disagreed. “You will need to properly process these events. I will speak with my sister and Twilight and we will start our own investigation into this matter, but right now, it is important that you give yourself space and time for your mind to process what has happened. You know where it will lead if you do not. And I am utterly unwilling to lose you this way, or any other.”

“You won’t lose me,” I quickly assured. And too late I realized that I had involuntarily stepped into her trap.

“Then listen to me. Please.”

I looked up at her. I was dissatisfied with her dirty tricks. Luring me into that position where I could not argue any further. I sighed deeply. “You want me to sleep.” She nodded. “I won’t sleep for long.”

“I know. You will face a couple of… rough nights,” she estimated. “I am sorry about that. I will aid you as much as I can, but stopping these nightmares entirely will not benefit you.”

Because they ate fear. And anger and sadness and whatever else I had an excess of as a result of these events. Nightmares were nasty creatures, but not without merit. Every ecosystem featured lots of ugly critters doing nauseating things, but they were still essential parts of that system, required for it to run smoothly.

I buried my muzzle on her chest again. With flared nostrils, I drew her scent as deep into my lungs as I could. It was the dreamscape however. So everything I heard and saw and smelled was still only as real as my imagination. And hers. Still — it was better than nothing.

“Are you ready?” she asked quietly. And in response, I shook my head. Almost violently. No, I was not. I would not be. Ever. And she understood. “Shall I do it anyway?” she asked. Her voice was so gentle. Soothing. I wished I could take her with me. How many times had we bested nightmares, side by side? How many times had we laughed in the face of danger and overwhelming odds? But it was different when I was an unconscious dreamer. I would be helpless. A plaything for the violent, rampant elements in my mind. I would be unaware of her presence. Of her guiding light.

I was scared. Yet I still nodded. I did it quickly, before this lapse in thinking faded.

I felt her magic. Cool like a night breeze. It caressed my body, sent nice, welcome shivers down my back. And then I was plunged into darkness.

I woke up in a silent scream as I jerked up. My coat was matted with cold sweat. My heart raced in my chest, my breaths came in quick, shallow bursts and my eyes immediately scanned an empty room for danger. Every shadow seemed threatening.

What a lucky coincidence then that my room contained nothing.

I collapsed back down onto my bed. The sheets had become a tangled mess, the blanket was a bundle at the end of my bed, the pillow was on the floor beside it. It took half a dozen conscious, deep breaths to steady my nerves and calm down.

Cool moonlight filtered in through the window. It was soothing and pretty and familiar.

I looked out of it. Watched the night sky. The many twinkling stars shone as if nothing of note had happened. And truly, what did they care? Nothing down here was of significance to them. There was a certain peace to be had, thinking about their ignorance. Or maybe it was less ignorance and more… acceptance. Because no matter what happened down here, they could not influence it at all. They could only bear witness to it.

I crossed my front legs, closed my eyes and tried to focus my mind.

“Guiding Light, Lady Luck, Matron of the Arts and whoever else might listen. Please, I… I could use some…” Could use some what? Answers? Decent sleep? Aid against nightmares? Redemption? “… help.”

It was silly of me to pray to Luna. I knew her. I had talked to her a few moments ago. It had been her idea to send me to sleep, to face my inner demons and nightmares. It was because of her that I was wide awake, soaked and sticky. Yet I still felt compelled to seek out aid from a higher authority. A higher power. Anypony. Anyone. Anything.

I just felt so… lost.

I continued my prayer in silence for several minutes. I felt like I got caught up in a tangled web of thoughts as time passed by. But that mess was cut short when after an almost inaudible knock my bedroom door opened and Aurora entered. She carried a candlestick in her telekinesis. “Dad? Are you still awake?”

The light of her own magic aura and her candle illuminating the path for her hooves interfered with the moonlight. It was no wonder she had difficulties seeing me on the bed. I was torn between answering and remaining silent, and once her candle quickly floated over to me, the decision was made for me. She entered without another word, closed the door and sat down next to me.

“I’m sweaty,” I warned with a voice I initially did not even recognize as my own. It was hoarse and sounded like a dying croak. Maybe my wakeup scream had not been as silent as I remembered?

“Don’t care,” Aurora curtly replied and leaned against me.

We both stared out of my bedroom window. We watched the stars twinkle the night away and how the moon followed an invisible path across the nightly sea. And somewhere along those hours, I finally dared to utter the question I had been dreading this entire time. “What have I done…?”

I did not know initially if she had heard me. For all I knew, Aurora could have fallen asleep at my side a good while ago. But she simply stayed quiet for a moment. Maybe she had difficulties finding the right words. I knew that issue well enough myself. “It’s okay, dad,” she assured me. How? How could she sound so sure of it? How could she know? How could she be convinced of it? “Everything is going to be alright.”

It was the task of the parents to comfort their children. To provide safety and shelter and nourishment for body, mind and soul. So I failed in yet another critical area as the walls broke down, as tears silently streamed across my face and I leaned into her. And she just held me. My own daughter was there and she carried that burden I failed to lift. Until exhaustion claimed my consciousness once more.

The rest of the night was a dreamless void.

When morning came, I still slept. And I continued to do so until the midday hours. I woke up groggy and alone and I could not fault anypony for it. After all, Greenwood was still there and needed attention. Work needed to be done. The initial grogginess quickly faded and I actually felt a clarity of mind that made me hopeful that maybe, just maybe, I would be able to bury myself in my work today.

Those hopes were quickly dashed when I left the house.

I had not heard Aurora downstairs and I had not dared to disturb her. Somehow, the events of last night filled me with a strange sense of embarrassment. Not that I went out of my way to avoid seeing her, but I was not keen on doing so sooner than later either. Even though I was determined to properly thank her for her backup. Somehow.

But once I stepped outside and I saw that dark gray blanked in the sky, I wondered how I had failed to notice it upon waking up. A faint drizzle came down. Not enough to stop anypony from working, but enough to be annoying. And getting the forge started would be a challenge in this weather.

It did not get any better when Spike landed next to me and just from his body language alone I could already tell how awkward this would be. He clearly tried to be cautious, but I had not become a glass pony overnight, had I?

“Hey Dreamwalker! How are you doing?” he asked.

I sighed. I had braced myself for his restraint and I had hoped that maybe I would be able to cope with it. But I quickly realized that I simply did not want to just ‘cope with it’. He was my buddy. One of my best friends. “Stop tiptoeing around me, please,” I requested. I stopped walking towards the river and instead turned towards him. “Listen, Spike. I’m—“ I cut myself off. I was quickly growing tired of using the word ‘grateful’. “I appreciate your effort. Your help. You. But come on, buddy. I’m still me, you know?”

Spike quickly looked around to make sure that nopony else was within earshot. Then he lowered his voice. “I know. You are the same you that freaked out because it’s impossible to tell what is real and what isn’t. The same you that had abandonment issues for years. The same you that never felt fully comfortable in his own skin.” With every strike he hit another nail right on the head. And I winced every time. Until he put his claws on my shoulders and stared into my eyes. “I’m your friend. I just… I don’t know what to do. How should I behave?”

The moment he awkwardly fumbled around was the moment I recognized him again. I put my hoof over his claw and managed a genuine smile. Why was it so easy for me to forget how mature he could be? How old he was by now? “Thanks, buddy. But don’t try to invent hoops just so you can jump through. Just… be yourself? Please? It surprisingly doesn’t get any easier if I constantly notice everypony around me changing who they are and how they are in an effort to make it easier for me. Go figure, eh?”

Spike studied me for a good, solid minute. My expression. My sincerity. Eventually, he nodded and let go of me. “Alright. Honestly, that’s such a relief to hear! Gabby said maybe it would be best to—… you know what? Doesn’t matter. If you need me, if you need to talk or just need an open ear, call me.”

I swallowed and briefly hugged him. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind. But right now, I just want to distract myself. From yesterday as much as from this crappy weather. I mean, who ordered that?! Doesn’t Derpy have a weather machine?!”

Spike blinked twice before he suddenly broke out in laughter. “Oh, uhm, so sorry! I completely forgot that no one told you! That is actually ordered weather, yeah. Roseluck said it would be useful to get the planted fields started, but she didn’t want to order a proper rainy day because it would interfere with the others' work. So Derpy used her machine to generate that. It actually surprised just about everyone that it worked and the Everfree weather hasn’t thrown a spanner in the works so far!”

“O-Oh. Huh.” I looked up again. A large, wide blanket of dark gray. More importantly: An evenly distributed cloud cover and rain, without any lightning or weird effects happening so far. With that new information in mind, it truly was astonishing that no rogue clouds had interfered with any of this yet.

Still: Why a drizzle, for Celestia’s sake?

“So what’s your plan for today?” Spike asked.

I looked in the direction of the river. The forge was nearby, but now I somehow did not quite ‘feel’ it anymore. “I don’t know. I think I’ll just go grab the books and maybe bother Dawn a little bit earlier than usual. After I take a bath. As much as I hate cold water, I feel like I need it today.” To properly wake up. And to flush out any remnants of last night. Fractured pieces of unwelcome dreams for example.

We said our goodbyes for now as I went ahead and took a dip in the river. And as expected, it was freezing. I quickly cantered back to my house to fetch a few towels and dry myself off and still managed not to run into Aurora.

I quickly walked up the stairs, retrieved our current book from beneath my bed and snuck out of the house again. I kept the book shielded from the everpresent drizzle outside by literally carrying it below me, pressed against my belly as I walked out of Greenwood and into the ruins. Things got a little bit better once inside, as there were still many parts of the old castle that had some semblance of a roof.

Much to my surprise, I found Dawn already on our balcony, even though I came by considerably earlier than usual. “Can you read the future as well?” I asked in a weak attempt at humor.

He gazed out and across the Everfree Forest. Dawn showed no outward reaction to hearing my hoofsteps, but once I addressed him, he slowly turned his head to face me. His expression was difficult to read. Traces of worry, intermingled with other impulses and emotions I could not pinpoint. He wordlessly offered me a place by his side, as usual.

I quickly glanced upwards to make sure that yes, indeed, the balcony was sheltered. So I stepped outside and sat down. Assuming no sudden gusts of wind decided to be annoying, the book would be safe. I would have to explain myself to Twilight otherwise.

“Divination magic is surprisingly common in some parts of the world and almost all cultures I encountered had dabbled in it to some extent,” he answered with a suave grin. But it was a façade. He was merely playing along. For my sake, probably.

Once I sat down, I opened the book on the page we had last left off. But I did not start reading. And neither did he. We both stared out into the dull gray of the covered sky. We both dwelled on our thoughts. Until eventually Dawn broke the silence. “I misjudged you,” he opened. After a brief silence, he sighed. “I did not think you were capable of ending a life, even on impulse. I am sorry that this weighs on you as much as it does.”

Intentional or not, his words dragged me back to yesterday. Screaming and flailing and twisting in attempts to get away. But ultimately futile attempts. And I saw it before my mind's eye again, clear as day. Tireks face. His bushy gray beard. His scary black eyes. The little protrusions on his forehead, marking where massive horns would spring up if he got even a small amount of power.

“I am so… scared of what I might be capable of,” I quietly mumbled. “You should never end a life. Never. There are certain… limits. Boundaries. Thresholds. Whatever you want to call them. Lines you should never cross. Because if you do… you lose something. Something important. A part of yourself. A part of your decency. Of what makes you a good pony. Or creature. It is frighteningly easy to lose those parts, piece by piece, and so incredibly hard to recover them. If it is possible to begin with.” I still stared out into the gray sky. Somewhere beyond that cloud blanket was a wide blue expanse. And swimming in its midst was the massive fireball of light that was my love’s sun. Warming a world to a degree that made life possible. Bringing creation to an otherwise barren world.

I clung to that mental image. I consciously conjured this memory of my love smiling at me. She told me she would be there if I needed her, and she smiled. A warm, tender, loving smile. It carried a silent promise. And it almost choked me to think of it.

“You did what you had to do,” Dawn defended my indefensible actions.

I almost violently shook my head. I rarely claimed to know anything, but this, this I knew: He was wrong. “When I saw him… I remembered how many times I lost homes and friends and entire families to his blind rampages. Twilight confidently, genuinely believes that every creature is redeemable and I want to believe her, I want to feel that trust she has, that conviction. I want that in my own heart… but I can’t. I saw that light in his eyes falter and I felt… relieved… and empty.” It was a hard admission to make. And it was a strange feeling to make it here, now, with him, when only a couple of minutes earlier Spike had offered to listen to me. But talking to Spike was different. I felt like there were things Dawn could emphasize with, he could understand where Spike could merely listen and maybe pretend. And I did not want him to pretend. Not with me, not ever. “It was the same cold emptiness I felt in… other situations, when changeling drones attacked my home and stole my foals. As a bargaining chip for their queen. I hunted them down in the hallways and while I did not manage to catch them all, I caught some of them. And I ended them without any mercy. Without blinking or thinking twice or even regretting my decisions later. And that scares the shit out of me, Dawn. To think that maybe it’s not just Void who is a monster… but me, too.”