Mirror: Book I - Mind

Visions of stars swirling about a black-blue canvas on an infinite plain of nothingness and everything swam about in his mind for what felt like minutes, hours, days and weeks even. The bright twinkles on the galactic canvas were all he could see, and for a very long time it was all that he knew. Slowly, those bright and brilliant twinkles upon the infinite reaches of space spun and twirled, and along with them a single note led on for the eternity it took to reach said stars. The single note was but a single sound, and that single sound was divided amongst many sounds. In the infinite vision his senses were now given an infinite variety of sound, and among the many sounds there were but six tones in particular that reached his ears.

Dazzling diamonds and jewels filled his gaze.

“Darling, has anypony ever told you to have confidence? No matter who you are or what you are doing, never let anypony or anything discourage you so…”

The scent of cupcakes and the soft feeling of cotton.

“Some things in life aren’t meant to be understood, you just have to accept them as they are. If you can’t do even that, then maybe that’s the lesson meant to be learned.”

Butterflies fluttered by.

“We’re all built different, but deep down we all deserve a little kindness.”

The rush of wind.

“Step up, or step down. I know you can do either one, so make a decision!”

A disgruntled snort and a pair of green, glaring eyes, accompanied by a rude thump.

Yep, that one was Applejack…

But there was something more, something calm and caring, and at the same time intuitive and searching. Her voice was hushed, yet the hurt within it could be heard as clear as ever.

“You're going to have to trust me when I say this,” her bright, pink aura filled the void. “Everything your eyes and ears are telling you right now, it's only fake because you don't believe in it.”

David sensed her presence, yet Twilight was nowhere to be found.

“Even if you don't trust me, then trust yourself. Believe in yourself.”

And he looked down in his open palm. There in his hand laid the locket. The once dull, gray, heart-shaped locket, was now a bright and brimming red. He stared on at the locket for ages, wondering what it meant, searching for that familiar feeling in the depths of his mind, the deepness of his heart, and the core of his soul.

Another sound had invited its way in, a voice, this one as stoic and familiar as ever.

“The pieces to the puzzle still seem faint, do they not?” Princess Luna asked him. “Like a winding maze they obscure your vision at each and every turn, yet you know the answer rests somewhere deep within.”

He took a slow and cautious peek over his shoulder, finding the very Guardian of the Night looming about her own vessel of soft blue light, gazing down at the boy with a heavenly field of warmth surrounding her. Luna’s gaze turned to the stars, and within them an image formed as she spoke on.

“If only…” she began. “If only one were to look upon the maze as a whole, to gain a perspective upon the grand scheme. Only then might they find the answers they are looking for.”

And upon the stars did an image form, the hundreds of thousands and millions of billions little white dots in the sky aligning themselves to a series of symbols, plain as they were. They all depicted circles, in some sense, some complete and others at a mere crescent or semi-circle. Slowly the images winded around and formed one giant circle, eight of the smaller circles in total.

Quickly then, David took a mighty step or two back whilst fumbling his free hand beneath his shirt and stretching his fingers upon his chest, scraping at the spot where his wound might be. Alas, it was not there, and many of his other features lacked their entirety as he knew them last, or lacked any sort of visual existence whatsoever. Things which were not there, which should be, could mean one possibility among many.

“Another dream…” The boy muttered. “You’ve summoned me again?”

“Neigh, the dream summons the dreamer.” Luna affirmed. “Just as the stars summon the searcher.”

“And what are we searching for this night?” He proposed.

“’Search’ indeed.” She nodded to the boy. “The amalgamation of your dreams lay not in my hooves. Always know this, young oneironaut, that it is you who summons you when among the stars of the sleeping.”

No words came in reply as the boy was only left to wonder upon the nightly Alicorn’s speech, and subconsciously his sights climbed their way back up to the eight figures in the night sky. The larger circle in the center of them all began to descend, and its smallers along with it, down to the invisible, ethereal plain which the boy and the Princess stood. The large center circle placed itself beneath the boy’s feet, a light blue glow emanating from the figure as etchings of landmarks, shorelines and waters shone within. It was a planet, but not his own.

“Is this…Equis?” He recalled the name, looking down.

“And the phases of the Moon.” The Alicorn furthered, watching as the eight circles in question began their orbit around Equis. Slowly they spun about the planet in a quiet rhythm, Luna following suit in the opposite direction, as though she were a cog turning the great wheel of the eight in a perfect, harmonious pattern.

“You said something about a maze.” David looked to her. “Something about finding answers to the puzzle?”

“A dream you still chase after?” The pony questioned.

“And one I mean to accomplish.” He looked to barter. “That being said, I should know…What do the phases have to do with any of it?”

His question hovered about the speckled air as the Princess weighed time upon a response. Quietly, the boy waited, knowing well now already that with the very Alicorn whom governed the dream realm and sought after the night was one to practice patience with, whether it be for her good or, more likely, his own. Luna strode carefully across the ethereal plane before coming to a stop and gazing into the boy’s returning stare.

“The phases are no simple enigma, as many have learned that the very light which shines down upon the waking world every night does in fact emanate from the sun. Sunlight constantly reflects off of the Moon’s surface, only its orbital stance in respect to our planet may tell its sign, whether it be from ‘full light’ to ‘shadowed night.’” She named. “There are eight phases in total. You may better know them as new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter, and waning crescent. Although the satellite of your world may follow a path solely dedicated to its orbit, it is here on Equis that it is within my power to alter the path of our own moon for the benefit of ponykind.” There was a pause. “Or, in rather unfortunate cases, for their certain demise.”

“So, aside from a crash course on elementary level moon science, what exactly makes your moon phases any different from Earth’s?”

“It is not the very planet alone that we seek to benefit,” The pony informed. “but the ponies themselves, most especially in this case, unicorns.” Luna looked on longingly at the stars surrounding them as she blinked heavily, almost as though she were reminiscing on memories of old. Perhaps it was because she in fact was. “You might not have imagined it being so, but long ago, long before I had been transformed into the Alicorn you see now…I was once a unicorn.”

The boy blinked in answer. Luna provided a brief glance his way and revealed a small smile before continuing.

“Unicorns are grand creatures, and though there are many I will never grow fond of, many more have proven themselves quite the sorcerers when it comes to the realm of magic. The most important and notable aspect of a unicorn is undoubtedly their horn, and a unicorn’s horn is the key to their mind. It is not the whole of magic that unicorns dominate, which many have been misguided to believe, but rather they are masters of the mind. It is through the mind that they may tap into their metaphysical potential, and that can very well be aided through the power of the eight phases.” Luna turned back to the boy, facing forward as the eight circles were lifted from the floor and flew around him with each mention to their name. “Dawn’s shadow, first crescent, half shadow, first gibbous, full light, last gibbous, half light, and last crescent. These are the names of the phases of our Moon, and with each phase does the power of a unicorn’s abilities vary.”

“Are you saying every unicorn’s magic is completely dependent on the moon phases?”

“Neigh, a pony’s magic is their own, coursing through them by which the strange energies this universe provides.” Luna explained. “The Moon is that of which one might interpret as a tool of sorts, to manipulate and resonate with the unicorns. As you might come to understand, the brighter the phase of the Moon, the more power any unicorn adept at sorcery might come to achieve. This is why over the course of time, scholars, alchemists, sorcerers and manipulators alike have watched the phases in tandem with their experiments. They have predicted signs, formed prophecies, practiced entire followings from its herrings.”

David turned and led a hand to his chin as he looked back carefully on his memories with the Princess of the Night and her words of the past. Whether it had been many times over or only a few subtle notations, the recalling of signs from the moon itself had quickly entered his process of thought. Never would he think so much as to look upon the moon in the waking world, not unless only a single stem of self-induced intrigue were to bring his sights up to the starry night sky one particular evening. Yes, a certain calling it seemed, one that brought his eyes up to simply gaze upon the stars was one he could not explain, and he feared he might never be able to.

“So you want me to look for a sign? Something from the moon phases?” He supposed.

“By sight, the signs may not come, but by feeling and thought they are certain.” Luna answered.

“Meaning…?”

“Do you deem yourself so apart from these equines that surround you in your day-to-day life in Equestria?” Luna quizzed him. “I know how you fare. You feel as though recent tribulations have torn you further from the ponyfolk, even your friends. But I promise you, David, you are closer to the likeness of ponykind than you have ever been in your entire life thus far.”

“Ponykind…” He muttered back. “You mean ponies as a whole? Not just unicorns?”

“Do you begin to see the pieces to the puzzle…?” Luna furthered.

“You mean to say that I am like the ponies?”

“Or, are the ponies alike to you?”

And with her words it grew all the more puzzling, all the more tribulating. “In what way?” David shook his head. “If the ponies are like me, and I’m like the ponies, what does this mean in the grand scheme of my conscious? How can I know whether or not this is all still a…a dream?”

“These are abilities not even I have tapped into, not because of fear or a lack of motive, but rather because of inability.” Luna deemed. “Traits akin to your kind alone, young human, are something special to behold…and not to be taken lightly. As I had stated before, the dream is within your hands, and it is within this dream that you have made yourself aware.”

“I truly am in Equestria, aren’t I?” He mumbled softly as ever, quivering as his legs grew shaky and fell to his knees. The boy had looked to bargain again, but nothing more was presented upon the table. To the world he looked to offer his acceptance, but still in the midst of the feeble searching no answer of any kind showed itself to him. Even when the search grew fervent and savage, like tearing through a jungle with jagged machete edges, it was the same story over and over again. A puzzle he might never solve, a maze he may never find his way out of. Painfully more, he felt as though the exit were right in front of him, that the answer had been staring him in the face the entire time and he didn’t even know it.