Just Blink
Digital_Hex
Chapter Eight
"Princess... Luna?"
"Yes, it is us."
"How are you... in my dream?"
Luna looked as though she suddenly remembered something very important.
"Ah, our sister allows us to use our dreamwalker spell. We wander the dreams of ponies, learning what we can from their ambitions and their fears."
"And how is that of any importance to you two?" I asked.
"It is unknown to us exactly what our sister wishes to learn from our adventures, but as for ourself, we wish to learn how others confront their fears in their own dreams."
It took me a few seconds to connect the drops.
"So... you have nightmares as well?"
"Yes, we do," Luna sighed. "We have had them quite frequently since we returned from our banishment."
"Oh right, I'm sorry about that. It must have sucked, being trapped up there for a thousand years."
"It is in the past," Luna said, finishing the conversation. "But as for you..."
I shuffled uncomfortably. I didn't like talking about my past with anypony. I lied to keep all of it bottled up, or at least away from people who didn't care either way.
"How do you plan provide security to the Princess Twilight Sparkle if you are plagued by these nightmares?"
I was actually rather surprised by her question.
"Come again?"
"We said-"
"No, I get what you were saying," I interrupted her, "but you aren't going to go off about how everything is going to be okay, baby me and victimize me about what happened?"
"As we said," Luna said, "it is in the past. Why do you wish to relive it?"
"I don't," I said, growling at myself. I realized it looked as though I was growling at Luna herself.
"Sorry," I apologized. "It's just, everypony always wanted to keep apologizing that everything was going to be okay, that it wasn't my fault. But it was. It was all my fault." I felt a tear break through my eyelids. Stupid dream tears.
Luna looked on.
"Tell us, do you feel this way about all of the griffons that you have killed, about the enemies to the Equestria that have died by your hoof?"
I look at her, shocked.
"Wha- no! They had it coming! I feel nothing for their lives," I growled.
Luna sighed.
"Perhaps you would relieve yourself of these nightmares if you learned to confront your own fears."
"Fears? Ha! I have none," I laughed bitterly.
"Then why are you so afraid to admit that you aren't truthful to yourself?"
I gave her a look.
"Excuse me?"
"Our sister has explained your history to us, especially on how dependable a soldier you are. You seem to dislike killing, but when it comes down to it, you have absolutely no problem with it. Why are you afraid to admit that you enjoy it?"
"I don't enjoy it!" I countered. "They have it coming!"
"Oh, so if they deserve to die then you are to be their executioner?"
"If it so be," I muttered.
"We understand where your hatred for the griffons comes from, and we understand that you are upset with yourself for holding such rage against another species, but you must accept that the rage is there and grow from there instead of trying to distance yourself from every event that goes by."
"But I don't care!" I shouted. "If they must die, then I am doing my job by finishing them!"
"Then why show hesitation beforehand? Why do you try to refrain from killing in the first place?"
"That's because-" I started, but I stopped myself. Why did I try and refrain from killing if I was so convinced it was necessary? Why was I so bothered by the thought of it, but had absolutely no problem with actually doing it.
"It's because you enjoy it. Because you feel as though you are making up for that night."
I sighed, hanging my head limply.
"... Isn't that right?"
I nodded shamefully. It all made sense. I'd always tried to push it away from my mind, and now was the first time I actually let myself stop and think about it. I was trying to run away, trying to take out my anger for that night on the griffons and anypony that stood in my path.
"It is alright."
I looked up, cocking an eyebrow at Luna.
"How is it alright?"
"Because you are admitting it now."
And with that, I woke up
. . . . . . . . . .
I blinked as I woke up, rubbing my eyes. My internal clock said it was some time after eight. Groaning, I threw myself out of bed, stretching my stiff legs as I stumbled up the stairs. I spent too long in the spa with Twilight.
Heading into the kitchen, I found Spike reading a cook book.
"What'cha making, squirt?" I asked Spike as I grabbed an apple from a fruit basket, sitting down at the table.
"Twilight was feeling really sore from her flying practice with Rainbow Dash yesterday, so I'm making her some soup."
"Why soup?" I asked him.
"I don't know, she just said she wanted soup!" he said, suddenly extremely jittery, almost as if he was scared Twilight was going to barge down and question why it was taking too long.
"Mmm, I see." I said, not really seeing anything but at the same time letting him return to making the simple soup. I don't know why he needed a cook book for it, but oh well. He was a baby dragon, after all.
A sudden knocking on the front door grabbed my attention.
"Can you get that?" Spike asked. "I need to finish this!"
I slid from my chair and trotted over to the door, opening it up to reveal a rather skinny black stallion, with a wispy head of transparent-silver mane and almost white eyes. He had on a slight smirk until he saw me, in which it changed into a quick frown. I didn't like him instantly.
"Is Twilight Sparkle home?" he asked me. "And more importantly, who are you?"
"I'm her cousin," I started, "And she'd busy at the moment." I leaned against the door frame as he scowled at me. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"I suppose I could leave it with you, if you're just her cousin." He reached back and removed a small envelope from some black saddlebags that I hadn't even noticed he was wearing. He was that skinny. Dang son, eat some food!
He passed the envelope to me, which I flicked up with a quick burst of magic, catching it neatly in my teeth.
"Haff a nife day," I said before promptly closing the door in his face. I enjoyed that part.
Tossing the letter onto the table, I took a glance at it. A simple yellow envelope, with Twilight's name written carefully on the front. Interestingly bland.
"What's that?" Spike asked me, coming out of the kitchen with the bowl of soup on a tray. I had to say, the soup looked... picture perfect?
"An envelope for Twilight, some guy just dropped it off."
"Ahuh," he said, eying it curiously before shrugging it off and beginning to climb the stairs. "I'll let her know she has a letter."
I nodded and prepared to return to the kitchen when there was another knock on the door.
Sighing, I answered it to find Rainbow Dash hovering outside.
"Twi- oh, Blink. Uh, hi?" she said, trying to look past me into the library, avoiding eye contact with me.
"Hey Rainbow Dash, what's up?"
"Nothing, but where's Twilight?" she asked, sounding somewhat nervous yet aggressive at the same time.
I eyed her suspiciously. "She's upstairs, in bed. Apparently you were rather relentless with her yesterday, so she doesn't feel well."
"Oh," she stated bluntly. "And here I was thinking she could handle it!"
"Guess you were wrong," I said, chastising her. Suddenly, Spike ran down the stairs.
"Blink! You've got to help me!" he plead desperately, literally throwing himself at my hooves.
"Oh?" I asked as I raised the leg he was grasping, holding him aloft and dangling from my appendage.
"Yes! Twilight needs some things from town, but she needs me to do all of the chores around the library at the SAME TIME! Something about being more efficient! I don't even know how it makes sense!"
"So..."
"Can you get the stuff she needs from town while I clean the library? Pleeeaaase?" he begged.
I sighed in immediate defeat. I hate kids, especially sad, begging kids.
"Fine. Give me the list."
He quickly shoved the list towards me and pushed me out the door, into Rainbow Dash.
"Okaythanksbye!" he said quickly before slamming the door shut.
"... What just happened?" Rainbow Dash asked, still body-to-body with me.
"I don't know," I said as I teleported a short distance away from her. "But I might as well get everything on the list. It wouldn't hurt to do a little shopping, right?"
I took the list and snapped it out, expecting a relatively compact scroll to unfurl. Instead, I was surprised to see a couple paces of parchment roll out, all scrawled on in small font.
"... This might take a while."
Rainbow Dash dropped to the ground, looking over the middle of the list.
"I know where some of the stuff here is," she said. "I could show you around, if you want. Point you where you can find the stuff."
"I don't know," I said, thinking.
"Hey, it's a simple question," she said, suddenly rather aggressive. "Either take my help or leave it, I'm just trying to be nice."
I grinned. Short and to the point, I liked her already.
"Well if you're offering, then sure thing."
She lit up, returning to the sky before dropping down to hover next to me.
"Alright, first place to stop is..." she said as she scanned the top of the list.
"Sugar Cube Corner!"
Her smile suddenly dropped.
"Oh no."
"Oh no?" I asked, suddenly very worried. "Why oh no?"
"Because Sugar Cube Corner means..."
She looked around dramatically, as if she was looking for somepony.
"Pinkie Pie."
She paused for dramatic effect before cracking into a grin.
"Is that supposed to mean something?" I asked her.
"You'll see," she said before taking the lead in front of me, heading further into town.
"You'll see..."
