Silence filled the small guest room as Twilight stared at me unblinkingly and in a bit of shock. I had just told her what I had learned earlier from Celestia. I was not fully human. I was a hybrid of a human and some kind of pony. Celestia did not specify what kind of pony my father was, and when I saw him, he was in a human form, so I was also in the dark about it.
As we stared at each other, Twilight finally shifted her weight before letting out a sigh. Her horn started to glow again as she picked up the quill back in her magic, hovering it above the scroll before finally speaking.
"Tell. Me. Everything." Twilight said in a low and slightly menacing voice as she narrowed her eyes.
I sighed, knowing what I was getting myself into, as I started to speak, " Like I said a moment ago, I'm half pony."
"I know you just said that. What I want to know is how long you've known. Which of your parents is the pony? Is that why you look like that? What kind of pony? Was this the secret…" was all Twilight could say before I cut her off.
"Twilight, please, only one question at a time," I said as I held up my hand.
"Okay, fine. how long have you known?" Twilight asked.
"Well, I just learned about it when speaking to Princess Celestia. I had no idea until she told me," I responded.
"How did Celestia know?" Twilight asked.
"She knew my father. And before you ask, I have no idea what the relationship is. All I know was that she knew him," I said.
"She knew Revontulia?" Twilight asked as she continued to write down what I was saying.
"Revontulia is not his name. Or at least not his pony name. His real name is Arora," I said.
"I have heard that name before. I just can't remember where," Twilight said as she rubbed her head.
"You have heard of him?" I asked.
"I think. I saw that name in an old book back home. I just can't remember what book, though," Twilight said as the memory eluded her.
"I see," I said as I rubbed the back of my head.
"Okay, back on topic. It's because your father is a pony. The reason why you look like that?" Twilight asked.
"Yes and no. Celestia said that the magic in both the world and me is slowly making me turn into a cross-between," I said as I rubbed the skin of my arms.
"What do you mean by a cross between?" Twilight asked.
"Celestia said that I'll have somewhat of the same body structure, but I will develop stuff like fur and other stuff, but she said that it is too early to tell," I said.
"Do you know what type of pony your father was? Was he an earth pony, pegasus, or unicorn?" Twilight asked.
"I was never told, but I did see him use magic, and I can use magic, so I would go with a unicorn," I responded.
"Wait, you saw him? Where?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, I saw him. He was in a dream-like realm of the forest that I wandered before arriving. He did not tell me who he was until he broke character, but not before lying to me," I said, a little upset that Arora had done all that.
"That is weird. Why would he lie to you, especially about something like this?" Twilight asked.
"I have no idea. The closest I got was from Celestia. She said, 'There are many reasons to lie, whether to cause harm or to protect oneself or those they care about," I said.
"To be fair, you did the same thing when you lied about your magic," Twilight said.
"Hey, I didn't lie. I just didn't tell you," I said.
"Sure," Twilight said with a slightly sarcastic tone. "Anyways, does being half pony affect your… secret?"
"Kind of," I said as I signed to myself.
"Do you still not want to talk about it?" Twilight asked, a little worried in her voice.
"I want to, I really do, but I'm still not ready. It does not change what I went through," I said before putting my hands to my face to rub my eyes.
"I won't push it, Jack, but do know that you can always talk to me," Twilight said.
"I know Twilight, and I will. You'll be the first to know," I said as I lowered my hand from my face to look into Twilight's purple eyes.
We sat there just staring into each other's eyes for a moment before Twilight looked down at her scroll, rolling it up and putting it and the quill back into her saddle bag. As I watched, I heard a loud grumble from my stomach, letting me know it was requesting food.
"Well, from the sounds of that, you must be hungry," Twilight said as she looked back at me.
"Yeah, we didn't eat today, remember," I said as I leaned back on the couch.
"Well, maybe…" Twilight said before another loud grumble came from her stomach. "… we should get some food."
"Yeah. Do you know where we can get food?" I asked as I stood up from the couch.
"I sure do. The mess hall shouldn't be too far away," Twilight said as she slid off the bed.
I walked over to the wooden door and pulled on the handle, opening it for Twilight to pass through. With a smile, Twilight trotted through the door as I followed her, closing the door behind me.
"Thank you, Jack," Twilight said as she started to lead the way like always.
"No need to thank me. It's just proper manners. Also, do you know what they serve in the mess hall?" I asked as Twilight shook her head.
"No. They make a random assortment of food depending on the day," Twilight said.
"Hopefully, they have something good to eat," I whimpered, holding my hand to my stomach.
Twilight and I made our way down the hall past the guard who was stationed at the corner of the hallway. We continued down the next hall before we had to make another turn. As we went down the next hall, I noticed a cart on the left side of the hall with a very familiar-looking blue mare pushing it. Looking closer, my heart rose and sank as this was the mare I had saved when we crashed out the window.
Twilight and I continued to walk. I did not think the mare had noticed that I was approaching as she was looking down at her cart. As we walked closer, she looked up, and I could see her pupils visibly shrinking as her mouth opened in surprise. She looked at me for a moment before she turned away from me and looked down at her cart with her eyes closed.
Twilight and I walked by her, and Twilight looked at her before looking at me and shrugging. As Twilight continued to walk, I stopped and looked down at the blue mare, who opened her eyes again and looked up. She looked at me before I gave her a smile and a wave before I walked away to catch up with Twilight. As I caught up with Twilight, she turned to me and started to speak.
"That was weird," Twilight said.
"Yeah, it was, but to be fair, I've noticed that all of you are a bit weird," I responded.
"You're one of us now, and so are you, too. But that's not what I mean. It looks like she saw a ghost," Twilight said.
"I don't know. Maybe she gets like that around humans," I lied as I shrugged my shoulders.
"Maybe still a bit weird, though," Twilight said.
"What can you do?" I asked.
Twilight and I continued our walk to the mess hall without any more weirdness, save for the occasional look from one of the guards. The sun looked even lower than it was when I had seen it on the way to the room. As we turned the final corner, we came face to face with large wooden doors in the middle of the hallways. The doors were smaller than the throne room doors but still larger than a normal door.
"we're here," Twilight said as she walked towards the doors.
"Thank goodness," I said as I followed Twilight.
Twilight and I pushed on the doors with some force, allowing them to open. As the doors opened, we saw a quite large dining hall with many tables and benches lining the middle and many groups of ponies sitting, talking with others, and eating various types of food.
On the left side of the dining hall was an area with food and plates and a small line of ponies waiting to get the food. If I had to compare it to anything, it would be something you would see in a fancy school. A few ponies wearing chef's hats were finishing putting what looked to be pies in a small dessert area before they went through a pair of double doors leading into a kitchen area.
"Oh hey, look, the line is small. Let's grab a plate and get in line," Twilight said as she started walking toward the mini buffet.
I followed Twilight toward the little buffet as she grabbed a plate in her magic and mine in my hands. I looked over the food laid out by the chefs. There was a build-your-own salad area, a bunch of fruits, the soup of the day, which was carrot ginger soup, and other desserts, and there were a bunch of sandwiches. Most of the sandwiches I couldn't eat due to them being, I assumed, inedible to me, like daffodil and wheatgrass.
I grabbed the soup, some toast, an orange, two grilled cheese sandwiches, and a chocolate chip cookie. Twilight grabbed two daffodil sandwiches, an apple, and a muffin. As we finished grabbing our food, we walked over to one of the tables that didn't have many ponies nearby, placed our plates down, sat next to each other, and began to eat.
Twilight took a deep breath after taking a bite from one of her sandwiches and whispered," I still can't believe what you told me."
"Like I said, that's what Celestia told me, and I can see it. I mean the magic, the white skin, I don't know," I responded as I dipped one of my sandwiches in the soup.
"Yeah," Twilight said as she took another bite.
"Hey, if Celestia is having you announce the guards, should you have a speech ready?" I asked.
"Yes, I should. Shouldn't I? I'll work on it when we get back to the room. It shouldn't take too long," Twilight responded.
"What will you say?" I asked.
"Oh, something simple. I should probably just announce it properly. Most probably won't have much issue with it as it comes from Celestia, and with some of the weird things that happen in Ponyville, some will be relieved," Twilight responded.
"What of those that will have an issue?" I asked.
"Well, I can't think of many. Most will just be ponies resistant to change, and even then, they will come around in time," Twilight replied.
"here's hoping," I said as I took the second bite of my soup-covered sandwich.
The sound of the mess hall door shutting behind Twilight and I filled the hallway for a moment before it fell silent again. We had finished our food a while ago, but we were just now leaving the mess hall. The hallways were quieter than I had thought they would have been, but the sun had just started to dip behind the horizon. Each day, it felt like the night was coming earlier and earlier. I shrugged my shoulders and put my hands in my pockets as we walked.
"That was a good meal. I'm so glad they had daffodil sandwiches today. They are my favorite," Twilight said.
"The soup was pretty good. But the real star of the show was the cookie," I said as I closed my eyes to think of the taste of that cookie again.
"Was it really that good?" Twilight asked.
"The only bad cookie is a hard or burnt cookie," I replied as I opened my eyes back up.
Twilight shook her head in amusement as we continued to walk back to our room. We walked back down the same path that we had taken to get to the mess hall. As we walked down the same hall where we had seen the maid, she was no longer there. She had probably moved to a different hall at this point, which was probably good because I didn't want another awkward situation.
We continued on our way before we finally reached the hall, where the guard was stationed on the corner. Walking past the guard, I could see that it was a new one. It was not hard to believe that the last guard had been switched out. As Twilight and I approached our door, I noticed that it was slightly cracked open. This was weird because I had been the one to close the door.
"that's weird," I said as I approached the door.
"What is it?" Twilight asked.
"The door is cracked open. I shut it when we left," I responded.
"Oh, don't be so paranoid. It was probably one of the guards or one of the maids. If it was a guard, they probably noticed that we were gone, and if it was a maid, they probably realized that someone was staying in the room if they saw our bags," Twilight said as she walked past me, pushing open the door.
"Well… fair point. It's still weird to leave the door open and not shut," I said as I walked in and closed the door behind me.
"They probably didn't realize. Not the end of the world," Twilight said.
Twilight walked over to the bed, grabbing her saddlebags in her magic. She took them over to the desk at the side of the room. Once at the desk, Twilight pulled the chair out and sat on it. She pulled out a bunch of scrolls and a quill and neatly organized them before turning to look at me.
"I'm going to work on my speech. Try to keep yourself busy for an hour or two," Twilight said as she turned back to her scrolls.
"Okay, well, I'm going to take a shower," I said.
"Okay, try not to freeze the water," Twilight said with a light chuckle.
I Rolled my eyes before walking over to my bag, taking out the fresh pair of clothes, and then walking over to the bathroom. Entering the bathroom, I closed the door behind me and set my clothes on the sink. As I placed the clothes on the sink, I heard a light thud near my feet. Looking down, I could see that it was an envelope with 'to Human' on it.
Bending down, I reached for the envelope, grabbed it in my hand, and started to look over it. It was a plain white envelope, save for the words on it. The letter looked to be as good as new. Thinking to myself, I realized that whoever had come into our room must have left this for me to find. Sliding my finger, I ripped the envelope open, took out the letter, and started to read it.
~~~~? Letter~~~~
Dear Human.
I am terribly sorry, but I do not know your name. But I must thank you for saving my life. I do not want to write this, but I find it is the only way I can. Seeing you in the hallway earlier today, I realized that I do not have it in me to do so in person, so this is the next best thing I can think of. I know it is a bit cowardly, but this is the only way I can do this.
When you and I fell out the window, my heart sank as I realized that I was dangling from a human. I am confident to say that 97% of the humans in Equestria would have let me fall to save themselves. When you grabbed me, I thought you were just trying to make me let go and I fought before I accepted that I was going to die. But you are one of the different ones. You saved my life and allowed yourself to fall to what I thought at the time was your death. I do not know nor care how you survived, but I am just glad that you did.
Like I said, I want to say from the deepest part of my heart, thank you for saving my life. Because of you, I was able to go back home to my little filly, and because of you, she gets to grow up having a loving mother. Her name is Quills, in case you were wondering. Because of you, I still get to live my life, and although it is not flashy or exciting, I get to live it.
Thank you, human.
-Blue Lavender.
PS I will try to figure out your name.
Tears dripped onto the letter as I finished reading. I wiped my eyes as I set the letter back in its envelope and placed it on my fresh clothes before rubbing the palms of my hands in my eyes. As I pulled my hands down, I looked in the mirror. Inside the mirror, I saw my reflection with my snow-white skin and long, light silver hair. I stared at myself for but a moment before speaking to myself.
"You did good, Jack. You did good," I said as I looked at myself.
Pulling myself away from the sink, I turned and walked over to the shower. As I reached the shower, I stepped in, pulled the curtains shut, and turned on the hot water. As hot water washed over me, I looked to the right to see the soap and shampoo. Grabbing the soap, I stepped partially out of the water and lathered up my body, covering it in suds fully before stepping back into the water.
After putting the soap back on the shelf, I grabbed the shampoo. It looked to be honey-infused. I squeezed some into my hand and put the bottle back before rubbing the soap into my scalp. I rubbed the shampoo in for a few minutes before I ran my head under the water, allowing the shampoo to wash out of my hair.
Once the soap was out of my hair, I stood there, allowing the warm water to wash over me as I let my thoughts drift aimlessly and allowed myself to relax. After a good five minutes, I collected my thoughts and turned off the water. Once the water had stopped, I pulled the curtain to the side, grabbed one of two hanging towels, and wrapped it around my body.
I rubbed the towel over my body as I dried myself off before I stepped out of the shower. Once out of the shower, I walked over to the sink and moved the letter to the side, making sure not to get it wet. I grabbed a pair of underwear and stepped into them. Once my underwear was on, I grabbed my pants and did the same before I moved onto my shirt. Sliding my arms through the armholes, I squeezed my head through the top of the shirt as I pulled it on, allowing it to rest comfortably over my torso.
I turned to look at myself in the mirror to make sure that I looked presentable. Pulling myself from the mirror again, I grabbed the letter along with my dirty clothes and stuck the letter in the middle of the dirty clothes before I exited the bathroom.
Walking back into the room, I could see that Twilight was still hard at work on her speech. Not wanting to bother her, I walked over to my bag and placed my dirty clothes and the letter inside. As I began to zip my bag back up, I heard Twilight shift in her chair. Turning to look at her, I could see that she had turned to look at me.
"All done?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, I'm all done. What about you? How is the speech going?" I asked in response as I put my bag back on the couch.
"Well, I'm still working on it. I'd say I'm about one-third of the way done," Twilight replied.
"Well, if you're not done, I'm going to go take a walk and see if I can get some fresh air," I said as I walked towards the door.
"Okay, try not to get lost," Twilight said as she turned back to her speech.
"I won't," I said as I opened the door.
Stepping outside, I closed the door behind me quietly to avoid disturbing Twilight. Turning away from the door, I started to walk down the hallway back to where the guard was stationed. As I approached the guard, I could see that they had been switched out again. Standing there was a dark brown pegasus stallion who turned to look at me. I stopped to ask a question.
"Excuse me," I said as the guard nodded at me before I continued. "Is there anywhere that leads outside? I want to get some fresh air."
"Yes. Walk down that hallway, make a left, continue down, then make a right, and then another left," the guard said as he pointed down the hallway before speaking again. "It should take you to the west side of the royal garden."
"Thanks," I said as I turned away from the guard.
I walked down the path that the guard had given me, making my first left down the hall. Turning down the hallway, I was met with more of the lodging rooms. Most of the doors were cracked open, save for one, which was closed. As I walked by, I could hear some light movement coming from the room.
Guess Twilight and I aren't the only ones staying," I said under my breath as I continued down the hallway.
As I approached the end of the hallway, I made a right and saw that it had changed a bit. There were no longer any room doors, which were replaced with windows on the left and a white wall with paintings and flowerpots on the right.
As I walked down the hallway, I looked out the window. I could see that the sun had completely vanished over the horizon, and a light blue stretched across the sky. Looking slightly down, I could see the garden the guard had been talking about, which was quite large. Looking at what I could see of the garden, I could see a few trees and a small path with lit lanterns and benches lining it. The path led to a small set of stairs, which in turn led to the door I was walking to.
Coming to the end of the hallway, I turned to my left and walked to a set of double glass doors. Pushing open the doors, I stepped out onto a terrace, feeling the cold fresh air wash over me as the door shut behind me.
"Feels good," I said to myself as I started walking down the small stairs.
As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I took a deep breath and stepped out onto the stone pathway. Walking down the path, I looked at some of the trees with little to no leaves and plants before coming to a stop at one of the benches with a lantern next to it. I looked at the bench for a moment before I sat down and allowed myself to take in the peacefulness.
As I sat there, I realized how quiet the garden was. There was no sound of crickets chirping or any life from a pony. The only sound that I was able to hear was the gentle wind blowing past my ear. I closed my eyes, leaned my head back, and enjoyed the air.
I sat there for some time, enjoying the night air, when, out of the howling of the wind, I could have sworn I heard a voice behind me in the bushes. Standing up, I walked behind the bench and started to push my way through the bushes. As I made my way closer, the voices began to become clearer.
"Hurry the hell up. We can't have anyone see us," a female voice said.
"Fuck off. I don't see you helping," a male voice said.
"I'm on lookout. Also, watch your tone in front of him," the female voice said.
"No one comes out here this late, and like he'll care about language," the male voice said.
Finally, I made my way through the bushes enough to see, and I was shocked at what I saw. I saw two humans in red robes standing in front of a marble statue of, well, I didn't know what. It had two mismatched horns, a thin body, lion and bird arms, lizard and goat legs, and a pair of mismatched wings. It looked like it was trying to block something with a look of mild fear.
The two humans in red robes I had heard speaking were standing in front of the statue. One was on his knees with his arm in the air and a small candle in front of him, while the other had her back to the statue with her arms crossed, holding a lantern and looking around. I watched in curiosity at what they were doing.
"The dagger," the male said as he opened his right hand.
"Fine," the woman said as she pulled a small dagger off her hip and handed it to the man on his knees. "Here you go."
"Good. Just a little blood," the man said as he raised the dagger to his finger.
With a swift flick of his wrist, the man made a cut along the tip of his ring finger. The man did not yell or scream nor try to stop the bleeding as he lowered it to the ground and started to draw on a scroll. As the man drew, the woman watched him, no longer looking out for anyone.
As the man lifted his hand from the scroll, he raised the dagger above his head, and the woman took it from him and placed it on her belt once more. The man then raised the scroll above the candle, illuminating it. The man had drawn a circle with eight arrows pointing out from the center, with three on the left and right and one from the top and bottom.
The man moved the corner of the scroll into the candle fire, allowing it to burn as he began to chant,". nus gnitsal reve ruoy rednu esir ot snamuh dna llaf slamina esoht tel dna erom ecno egami ruoy ni edam eb ot dlrow eht wollA .drol niaga nekawA."
As the man finished talking, the scroll finished burning away, leaving both humans standing there. The man pulled out a white cloth and wrapped it around his finger before picking up the candle and blowing it out. The woman dimmed her lantern before putting it out, leaving them in the dark.
"Come on, let's go before we're seen," the woman said.
"Fine by me," the man said as he rose to his feet.
As they started to walk in the opposite direction, I pulled my head back slightly as a gust of wind blew through the bushes, rustling them. The woman turned back to look at the bush I was under before shrugging her shoulders, and both she and the man disappeared into their own bushes.
I was left alone once again. I took one more quick look at the statue before I pulled myself out of the bushes and back onto the path next to the bench where I had been sitting. Having enough of my 'fresh air,' I walked back down the path toward the west side garden entrance.
Entering the castle into the warmer air, I started to follow my steps back to the room. Walking down the hall with the windows, my mind replayed what I had just seen. Two people in robes, a strange incantation, and a strange statue. It was almost like I had just seen a cult. I was so deep in thought that as I turned the corner, I was abruptly taken out of my train of thought.
CRASH*
I was lying flat on my face as I had tripped over something or someone. As I raised my head, I heard a groan coming from behind me. Turning my head, I turned to see an orange pegasus mare with black hair with a few dark red streaks running down it. Her red eyes were spinning in a daze. I rose to my feet and walked over to her to see if she was okay.
"Are you okay?" I asked as I lowered myself down a bit.
The mare's eyes stopped spinning and locked onto me as she spoke, "Yes, I am quite all right. Why were thou not looking where you were going? Thou humans are usually more perspective."
"I'm so sorry. I had a lot on my mind, and I was heading back to my room, and I didn't see you," I responded as the mare rose to her feet.
"It's quite all right. Wait, thou said you were heading to your lodging. What is a human doing staying in the palace when the human settlement is next to the castle?" the mare asked.
"I don't live in the human part of the city. I live in Ponyville, miss," I responded.
"Oh yes, where are thy manners? Thine name is Crimson Dust," Crimson Dust said as she lowered her head before raising it. "What is thou name, human?"
"Oh, I am Jack Marrow," I responded as I lowered my head in respect.
"Ah, finally, a human with proper manners. Tell me, Sir Jack, you look different from any human I have seen before. Why do you look as pale as Somepony, who is in shock?" Crimson Dust asked.
"Oh…um… we think it is caused by magic," I half lied.
"My, to think magic could do that," Crimson Dust said as she took a deep breath through her nose. As she took that deep breath, her eyes widened, her pupils shrank, and her ears flapped up and down.
"Are you okay? I asked.
"Yes, I am quite all right," Crimson Dust said as she shook her head.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, Crimson Dust, but I'm going to head back to my room. Sorry for crashing into you. Enjoy your night," I said.
"Yes, Jack Marrow, human of Ponyville, it was quite enjoyable speaking with you as well. I hope we are able to do so again soon. I must leave as well to speak with the princess of the night. Fare thee well, and good day," Crimson Dust said as she started to walk away.
I shrugged my shoulders as I turned around and started to walk down the hallway again. As I walked, my mind again drifted back to the two humans and their weird behavior. I thought to myself that I should tell Twilight or one of the guards. Turning to the right, I could see the guard at the end of the hallway.
Walking to the end of the hall, I walked past the guard who had been changed yet again and walked towards my room. Arriving at the door, I turned the knob and pushed it open. Walking into the room, I did not see Twilight, but I did hear the shower running in the bathroom.
"She must be taking a shower," I said to myself as I walked over the couch.
I took a seat on the couch and laid on my back while I waited for Twilight. I waited for a while before the shower finally stopped. I must have arrived, as she had just gotten in the shower. I waited another few minutes as Twilight dried herself before the doorknob to the bathroom glowed light purple. Twilight exited the bathroom with a towel covering her hair. As she exited the bathroom, she turned to look at me in surprise as she spoke.
"Jack, your back. How long have you been back?" Twilight asked.
"I have been back for a little bit," I responded.
"That's good. How was your walk?" Twilight asked.
"Weird," I replied.
"Weird? What do you mean by weird?" Twilight asked.
"I think I saw a cult," I responded.
Twilight let out a sigh as she walked over to the bed and laid back down at the edge before speaking, "All right. Explain."
I spent the next 40 minutes explaining twice to Twilight what had happened since I had walked into the garden, heard the voices, walked through the bushes, the robed humans, the statue, and finally, the burned drawing. As I explained to Twilight, the moment I mentioned the statue, she had a serious look on her face.
"Jack, are you sure you saw what you saw? Especially that statue," Twilight asked.
"Yes, I'm 100% sure," I said.
Twilight's horn glowed, and a quill and scroll floated toward me, "Can you draw that symbol you saw?"
"Yeah, sure," I said as I took the quill and scroll.
I stood up and walked over to the desk, where I started to draw. I drew the circle in the middle before I moved on to the eight arrows pointing in each direction. Once finished, I lifted the quill and raised the scroll up to Twilight, who took it in her magic and started to look over it.
"I don't think I've seen this before. I'll have to tell Celestia before we leave tomorrow," Twilight said as she set the paper down on the desk and rubbed her eyes." We should probably head to bed."
"Yeah, I'm tired. Can you pass me a blanket?" I asked.
Twilight stepped off the bed as her horn glowed, and one of the many layers of her blankets came floating at me. I grabbed the blanket in one hand as I moved my backpack to the floor and laid on the couch, tucking myself in to ensure I was warm. I turned to look at Twilight, who was already under her covers, ready for slumber.
"You ready? Twilight asked.
"Yeah," I responded as the light turned off, leaving us in the dark.
I lay for a moment before the weight of the day rested upon my eyes, forcing them shut. In a matter of moments, I felt the march of sleep approaching me as my mind drifted off into slumber.
As I lay there, my mind came back to me as the shine of sunlight fell on my face. As I lay, I realized that I was no longer lying on a couch. I was lying in a bed. My eyes immediately shot open as I realized my suspicions were right. I was no longer in a castle. I was back in my old room yet again for the same nightmare.
"Fuck!" I said as I rose from the bed.
I walked over to the window and saw my mother again. That was the only saving grace of this nightmare. As I watched my mother, I looked down to see that I was whiter than what I had been back home. I was not as white as normal but still paler. As I observed my body, something different finally happened than all the other times I experienced this nightmare. There was a knock at my bedroom door.
I slowly turned to look at the door. The knocking had stopped for a moment before it started back up again. Slowly, I walked over to the door, and the knocking continued. When I finally reached the door, I just stood there looking at the knob of the door. I did not know what was on the other side, and I didn't think I had a choice in the matter.
Raising my hand, I slowly grasped the knob of the door and slowly twisted it before I heard a little click. I gently pulled the door open, only to be met with darkness. I stepped back and watched this darkness before a blue hoof stepped through. Next, a long unicorn horn passed through the darkness. Finally, a face passed through the darkness.
"Good evening, young one," the Mare said.
She pulled the rest of her body through the darkness, revealing that she was an alicorn, just like Celestia. Her mane looked like the stars in the night sky, occasionally twinkling. She was not as tall as Celestia. I was even taller than her.
"Who are you," I asked.
"I am Princess Luna, and I am here to help," Luna said.
"Princess Luna? Help?" I questioned before the name finally clicked. "Wait, I have heard of you. Twilight said you're the princess of the night, dreams, and the moon."
"Quite good. I see staying with Twilight Sparkle has broadened your knowledge. That makes this a little easier," Luna said as she started to look around my room.
"What did you mean by here to help," I asked.
"Jack Marrow, thou has been having nightmares almost every night since thou has arrived. I have seen what happened and where thou ended up. That frozen forest," Luna replied as she walked past me to look out the window.
"And you're here to stop them?" I asked as I sat on my old bed.
"No, I cannot do that," Luna replied as she turned to look at me again.
"Wait, what? I thought you said you were going to help," I said, a bit of anger in my voice.
"Thou misunderstands. I am here to help, but I cannot make the nightmares cease. The trauma you hold in your soul prevents it. Only thou can end these nightmares," Luna said as the sky in the wind started to darken and drops of snow began to fall.
"What?" I questioned as I watched the snow fall through the window. "What do you mean my soul prevents it?"
"The mind and soul are intertwined. When one suffers, the other follows," Luna responded.
"But what can I do to stop it?" I asked.
"You take one step at a time and learn to let your soul heal," Luna responded as my door slammed open, revealing that darkness yet again. "Right on, cue."
The darkness shifted and twisted, getting lighter and lighter as trees formed in the background. The ground was covered in snow and stumps. It was the place of my literal nightmares. It was the forest yet again, yet it felt different than all the other times. Luna gestured towards the door for me to walk.
"What if I'm not ready?" I asked, feeling a bit nauseous.
"None are. Yet we all must walk the path eventually," Luna replied as she walked through the door.
I stood there for quite some time, just looking at the doorway to the frozen forest. Time seemed to stand still as I felt the pull of the door and the forest. Eventually, with all the will I could muster, I began to move my feet. Each lift of my legs felt heavier and heavier, like the heels of my feet were made of bricks. Stopping in front of the door, I paused again before I finally walked through the door.
The sound of snow being crushed under my bare feet filled the air, and the chill from the snow covered my feet. Luna was standing to the side, watching as I looked around, feeling the ice-cold wind on my face.
"There, happy?" I asked as I brought my arms to my chest to help preserve heat.
"Tis the first step of many. But what draws you here?" Luna asked.
The moment Luna asked the question, I heard footsteps crushing the snow behind us. Turning to look at the sound, I was horrified at what I saw. Standing before Luna and me were Alex, Jane, and Walter, and behind them was the bald man. All their faces were shrouded in shadows, preventing us from seeing them.
"Luna, I think this is enough," I said as they all started approaching me.
"Jack!" a whispered voice said from the sky.
The ground began to shake as I tried to run away, but I was unable to move. Looking down, I could see that my feet were entirely covered in snow, which prevented me from moving as the four faceless figures continued to walk at me.
"Jack!" the voice said again, sounding more familiar.
The ground shook again as the sky started to turn black, causing Luna to speak, "Seems we are out of time tonight. We will continue again another." Luna said as she unfurled her wings and began to fly.
"Luna, please stop them," I said as I tried to pull my legs free.
The floor and trees around me started to disappear as the earthquakes continued. Alex, Jane, and Walter all disappeared, leaving me and the bald man alone yet again as he managed to outpace the darkness. As he approached me, he dug in his pocket, pulled out that pocketknife, and undid it. As he was a foot away, he raised the knife and started to plunge it down. All I could do was close my eyes and cover my arms in suspense.
"PLEASE NO!" I yelled as I felt my body shake.
"JACK!" Twilight yelled.