07 - Between Heaven and Equestria
The world was on fire. The stone burned like a forest and but instead of ashes and dust it went molten and spread along the ground. Lava pooled in craters only to boil over and rush down the mountains toward a village of uncaring ponies. The grass around their homes was green and the inhabitants frolicked gaily as they carried on oblivious to the danger. Blue Shield opened his mouth and tried to shout out a warning to them but there was no sound ... they did not look up. The orange river ran over them, snuffing them out before they could look up and scream. There one moment and gone the next ... and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
"Is this thy greatest nightmare?" a voice spoke and Blue Shield looked beside him. The midnight sky and its stars shone in perfect brilliance in Princess Luna's flowing hair and it blew sideways as if moved by some ethereal wind. Moist sadness reflected in her teal eyes and it took time before she could turn away from the horror of the village to look at him.
"Failure," Blue Shield spoke with a nod. "Failure to my princess ... failure to my soldiers ... the destruction of our people ..." He stopped and took a breath, the fear and weakness of his dream-self causing his will to lay in pieces all around him. The training of his magic schooling knew what to do in these types of situations, though, and he gathered his will to take over his surroundings. A shift of consciousness faded the scene around him and then the two of them were standing in the Canterlot's royal garden. "This is a better place for us to meet."
"Tis true," Princess Luna admitted, and then she turned her hear slightly to one side in a gesture of curiosity, "though thine reaction to our presence in thy dreams is naught ... as if expected."
"I read it in a book once," he half lied, and he began to wonder why he had so foolishly tipped his cards to her.
"Oh?" she blinked at him suspiciously. "Would thy book hath been an intelligence report?"
"A threat assessment," he nodded before he could stop himself.
"And?" she asked expectantly.
Blue Shield threw up a mental barrier to the question and his hesitation drew a raised brow from the princess. A surge of potent will burst through his defenses and his mouth began moving against his orders.
"Nightmare Moon is a category ten threat to Equestria," Blue Shield reported with military precision, "but reports are still inconclusive when it comes to Princess Luna."
"Interesting," the princess said, and her grip on his psyche slipped as she considered his words, "we did not realize our sister was spying on us."
"She is not," Blue Shield told her flatly as his mind twisted in her psychic grip, and then he moved to unbalance her. "I am." The words came out in sharp stabbing motions and hit the princess squarely where she was not expecting it. The lieutenant broke free of her control and he moved away to where she could not harm him ... then her eyes flashed with anger and she glared at him.
"You ... dare ..."
"Yes I dare!" he shouted in defiance as he raised up more barriers between them. "I trust Princess Celestia with my life ... but she is your sister and her emotions compromise her judgment! I've seen your darker self and I know what you are capable of! I will not go forth blindly! I will _not_let you work unobserved!"
Blue Shield glared into Princess Luna's eyes and became acutely aware of her power. The vast expanse of night spread out before them and suddenly he was adrift amongst a sea of stars. Even with the home team advantage he was only able to create a small glowing disc for his hooves to brace against and it took most of his power to do it. Alicorn wings spread out from her body and glittered with the shimmered distortion of her power. The unicorn squad leader knew he was way out of his depth but he did not blink or shy away. Instead he stared head long into her challenge ... and thus he saw the flickering emotions that played out before him.
The surface of the moon rose up beneath them and the two of them were soon standing on its crater marred surface. A darkly beautiful crystal palace jutted out of the ground and towered over them as they continued their staring contest.
"For a thousand years ... this was my home," the princess spoke with a sadness so heavy it nearly pressed the unicorn to his knees. The princess's body seemed to shrink, as if her fire had gone out, and she palled to an almost lavender color. "Anger ... fear ... pain ... all of it was here with me during that time. I was lonely ... afraid of my sister and so jealous that it consumed me. I watched the world she was ruling and grew outraged at much of it ... then I fell into slumber"
The scene around them shifted and they were looking at a coffin made of crystal. The inside of it was lined in soft fabrics and it glowed with the same luminescence of everything else that existed around them. "I drifted through the dreamlands ... not wanting to wake ... knowing that the spells which held me would eventually run their course. There were others in the prison as well but we largely ignored each other. In time we would be released ... in time we would return. Then we did ... and I was shown mercy."
"You were shown more than just mercy!" Blue Shield spat through clenched teeth. "You were shown forgiveness and love! Your sister wanted you back and now ... now what are you?"
"We do not know," she admitted, and Blue Shield could see the truth of it. The whole of her body began to sag and he recognized her pain.
"You ... are like me," he marveled as she took a breath to collect herself. "How can that be?"
"Our hearts are trapped in the moon," the princess spoke with a sad little smile. "Hidden in darkness away from the world ... cast in shadows where no light can see. Thy wounds are different, but thy pain is no less. Jagged thorns tear at our hearts ... you bleed the same crimson rivers."
"No," Blue Shield shook his head, "I'm not like you ... I can't be!"
"We were not born immortal," she told him. "We are not perfect. It is that weakness which calls to thee now ... and though thou are loath to trust ... we ... I would ask thee for a little ... so that we might complete our mission."
"What is our mission?" Blue Shield asked sternly as he tried to draw his focus away from his insecurities. "What are we really here to observe?"
"Corruption," she spoke simply. "The dragons are a savage, selfish, and violent race which could destroy our world if they ever organized. This gathering is the time which they could possibly accomplish such an action. So ... report."
The word straightened Blue Shield's spine and his military demeanor took over as he considered her carefully. Both of them were vulnerable while in dreams, and their manipulation was something that anyone with enough will could accomplish. Princess Luna had gotten the jump on him and extracted a great deal of information out of his surface thoughts before he had stopped himself and then he had returned the favor. Now they were on equal footing and it had come to this moment for him to decide. _Do I trust her ... or do I move against her? _ The breath caught in his throat as he considered his options and then he finally drew it in and found his voice.
"The dragons are as we have always known them," he reported in a military manner. "They can barely stand one another and they fight for dominance on a very primitive level. Since coming here I have witnessed no deaths but they have inflicted an incredible amount of harm upon each other. If left alone I believe they will finish their rituals and then scatter back to whence they came."
"I see," the princess nodded and the calculation became visible in her eyes. "Then I will declare your mission complete ... save for one minor detail."
"Which is?"
"I need you to rescue a damsel in distress," she spoke simply ... and then the details flashed before his eyes. A rush of emotions ... images ... information ... and then ... he opened his eyes and looked up at the concerned expressions of his squad mates.
"Report," his voice finally croaked as it tried to find words for the first time in weeks.
"You've been down for hours," Shade whispered hoarsely. "You were burning with fever and we could not wake you up."
"Princess Luna was in my dreams," he confessed. "She really can dream walk at will." The others all looked nervously at each other and his heart began to accelerate. "What is it?"
"There is ..." Shade began but then he paused.
"A damsel in distress," Green River said with excitement in his voice. "Some poor filly got snatched by the dragons in a raid and is tied to a stake! Can we go rescue her? Please?" The childish gleam in his eyes brought laughter to Blue Shield that he could lessen but not completely suppress. It shook his aching muscles and drew him to his feet where he stretched the kinks out of his frame.
"Alright," Blue Shield spoke with a grin, "gather up your gear. This mission is over ... and we're going to rescue this fair mare before setting off for home."