/PJ2023/ Guardian

 

"When will you just accept it? We're always here. We've always been watching. That weight on your chest... that is us. Reminding you."

 

That voice. Princess Luna did not recognize it. The closer she flew, the more violently the candle's flame flickered. The light would never go out, of course. It was an icon of her power, and proof of her prescience. But the winds that chopped at it... those were powerful. Nothing to gawk at, or considering insignificant.

 

"You fear leaving? That is fine. We will never leave either. Every 'ᵈᵉˡᶦᵍʰᵗᶠᵘˡ' nap you take, we will remind you."

 

The reticent princess approached the human's house. The only human in Equestria. He insisted that his name was something silly like "Anonymous", but anyone could tell that the way he laughs off any further questions that he is uncomfortable revealing his true self. He was a lonesome man, though his days were spent helping in any way he could. She had heard from the successor, Twilight Sparkle, that he did not particularly excel at any form of labor but he helped out her friends, their friends, and even their friends further.

 

And yet he still chose to live alone, an hour's walk away from Ponyville.

 

In his bed, the human thrashed. The night was silent, beyond his whimpers and some home-made contraption that insistently made a low series of clicking noises. The princess entered through the near open window and watched him twitch. There was a new scratch on his face. And on his shoulder. They were fresh cuts from his nails, no doubt. She had heard of jokes he would tell about having a "spirit wife". Whatever that meant, back in his own world

 

"We will give you to the count of ten... if you can run, and hide. We will let you live. Tonight."

 

The inhuman voice echoed in the princess's head. They were coming from his nightmare. The candle had been reduced to a smoldering wick. Had his terrors always been so strong? Not every night was she attuned to such horrors... it was possible she allowed it to continue through simple negligence.

 

"𝔗𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔢𝔫𝔡𝔰 𝔱𝔬𝔫𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱."

 

She spoke aloud. It would not awaken the human, not in his current state. It was for the night terror. The "spirit wife" that resided over the human's soul, weighing it down and causing such torturous nights. Whether or not it existed, she would see to it that he would be rid of such a sin.

 

As she entered the man's dreams, the candle changed shape. It became some fashion of lantern, not unlike the sort she had seen in pictures of old miners and excavators. She was in some form of wooden cabin. The main room was well furnished, even if it carried an... inexpensive feeling. A dark figure ran, nearly on four limbs, out from a room and behind the sofa. Was that the creature?

 

"G-get down!"

 

The figure gave a panicked cry. Princess Luna crouched down, bringing the lantern close. As dim as it was, it still revealed the figure. It was the human! A far... smaller... version of the human. Was this a childhood nightmare? Or merely something that had been with him since his youngest nights? The panic on his face was heartbreaking. He had already sustained multiple cuts on his face by something fine and sharp.

 

Rather than speak, she huddled against the human and brought her wing over him. It was not her place to disrupt and destroy the nightmare, but to help him vanquish it. The wing, and the rest of her body, turned invisible. With her help, he would hide from the source of his terror. Then, she would help him conquer it.

 

"Ready or ᶠᵘᶜᵏᶦⁿᵍ NOT. ℍ𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕀 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 ! ¡"

 

Something from the room the human came from skittered out. It sounded like a dozen hooves falling all out of sync with each other. The movement was loud and chaotic, as if an entire herd were out for the human's blood. Beneath her wing, Princess Luna could hear the human. He was hyperventilating and did his best to cover his ears. What in the world would cause such primordial terror?

 

The skittering stopped, on the other side of the sofa. The room was dead quiet, save for the human's gasps. She lowered her head and nudged his face in an attempt to sooth him. It did not work, as it only made him breathe faster and deeper.

 

"It S O U N D S L I K E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' '

 

Her magic might keep him invisible bu

 

"🅷🅴🆁🅴"

 

The sofa was launched to the side, instantly shredded into pieces of fabric, cotton and wood. The human went deathly still, his lungs frozen. The figure was... a human. Mostly. The arms and fingers were far too long. The neck was no less than thrice that of a human's. The head had an almost serpentine form to it. The eyes in the dark glowed a bright red.

 

"You... ʇɥᴉuʞ you can hide...?"

 

The creature's head darted down. The eyes locked onto where the human was. This could not be! There was no way the nightmare could see through her magic. As much as the human was frozen, Princess Luna did not release her hold over him. There was no way it could see him.

 

"NOCOMMAQUESTIONMARK"

 

The nightmare's head whipped right to Luna's.

 

For that split second.

 

That ephemeral moment.

 

Luna felt like she had been reduced to a shrinking filly.

 

"DO NOT FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFEARMEIWILLSHOWYOUNEXT"

 

The inconsistent speech of the nightmare had Luna shaken. It was something so abstract, yet it pierced her regal visage. She remained steadfast, though the red orbs that could generously be called eyes refused to leave her own.

 

"Give me...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................thechild. And I will let this world SLEEP innnnnnnnnnnnnnnn relative peace."

 

The horror was speaking to her. How could this be? The lantern was raised up between them. Despite her efforts, the light refused to ignite further than a meager ambient glow. It hissed some form of a laugh that sounded similar to the static of an old television.

 

Why did the image of an old CRT appear in her mind? What did CRT stand for?

 

"Yourrrrrrrrrrr LIGHT. You think. It effects ﾶ乇 ? Your ponies. Your-your DREAMS? He. Is mine. MY world, MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMINE."

 

"𝕴 𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖓𝖔𝖙 𝖆𝖇𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖔𝖓 𝖍𝖎𝖒."

 

With her royal voice, the entire cabin shook. The creature was thrown back, crashing against the wall. The lantern ignited, the fire roaring with dignified fury. Ceasing the illusion, Princess Luna rose to her full height. In doing so, she revealed the human, who had focused on her with a stunning sense of bewilderment.

 

"ℌ𝔢 𝔪𝔞𝔶 𝔟𝔢 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔞𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔩𝔡, 𝔟𝔲𝔱 𝔥𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔞𝔫 𝔈𝔮𝔲𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔞𝔫 𝔫𝔬𝔴. ℑ 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔣𝔢𝔞𝔯 𝔬𝔣 𝔞𝔩𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔬 𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔱𝔞𝔨𝔢 𝔥𝔦𝔪 𝔞𝔫𝔶 𝔣𝔲𝔯𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯."

 

Princess Luna stepped toward the beast. The blinding, bending light burned at the figure's form, melting it in some aspects. When she stood before it, it had melted into a murky puddle of shadow. Inside the shadow was another human. A malformed, pitiful creature.

 

"Hhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee will NO┴ belong! Thissssssss careless, colorful, cheery world. He will bring with it his ails. Hisssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssshurts?! He will remain a monster. Cursed. Damned! By his own sins... his own f a i l u r e s . . . . "

 

The shadow mumbled to her, hands scraping down it's own face. The red orbs were replaced with fearful white eyes. Bloodshot and wild.

 

"You will come to regret this. A human... a beast. A ᶜʳᵉᵃᵗᵘʳᵉ that has caused death through apathy. Who ᶠˡᵉᵈ when his family laid on their deathbeds. That is, is is is is is is is IS A WELCOME?!"

 

Were these the true fears of the human? Or were they things that he was told before, from another? She had no recollection of such negativity in tales regarding him. A number of ponies had quite pleasant dreams of him... albeit, they viewed him as a friendly giant, or some omniscient problem solver that always knew just enough to make a difference.

 

"ℌ𝔢 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔲𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢 𝔞 𝔟𝔬𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔭𝔬𝔫𝔦𝔢𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔈𝔮𝔲𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔞. 𝔜𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔥𝔬𝔩𝔡 𝔬𝔫 𝔥𝔦𝔪 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔲𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔤𝔯𝔬𝔴 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔣𝔢𝔢𝔟𝔩𝔢 𝔞𝔰 𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔞𝔨𝔢𝔰 𝔫𝔢𝔴 𝔣𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔡𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔰 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔱𝔯𝔲𝔢 𝔳𝔞𝔩𝔲𝔢."

 

The lantern ignited once more. It burned away more of the stuttering monster until... only the human remained. Princess Luna looked behind her. The human she protected was still there. He stood and, with an unusual calmness that did not seem likely, walked until he sat down next to the once-monster human.

 

There they sat. Perfectly mirrored to each other. The one with the scratches rubbed his eyes. The one still spattered with darkness did the same.

 

"They'll find out about you, you know."

 

"...I know."

 

"They value friendship so much... do you remember to you said to who used to be your "friend"?"

 

"Which one?"

 

The scratched human sounded so defeated. The one stained in shadow scoffed.

 

"Exactly. They all used to be your friends. But, because of who you are, they no longer are. Or... are no longer living."

 

Princess Luna knelt down near the scratched human. What she was feeling through him, what the entire cabin reeked of... it was guilt. With the light of her magic cleansing his dream of terror, all that remained was a deeply dug sense of guilt.

 

"𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔫𝔢𝔢𝔡 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔣𝔢𝔢𝔩 𝔤𝔲𝔦𝔩𝔱 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔭𝔞𝔰𝔱... 𝔄𝔫𝔬𝔫𝔶𝔪𝔬𝔲𝔰. 𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔫𝔢𝔢𝔡 𝔬𝔫𝔩𝔶 𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔫 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢 𝔞 𝔟𝔢𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔣𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔡. 𝔄𝔫𝔡 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢. ℑ 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔬𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔡 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔣𝔞𝔦𝔩 𝔦𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔢𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔞𝔳𝔬𝔯𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔭𝔬𝔫𝔶𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔡. 𝔐𝔞𝔫𝔶 𝔬𝔴𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔞 𝔡𝔢𝔟𝔱, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔯𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔠𝔦𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔶𝔬𝔲."

 

Both of the little humans looked at her

 

"But is it enough?"

 

They spoke in unison, once more resembling a mirrored image.

 

"If I hurt one... or do something wrong. They will never forgive me. This is my second chance at being someone other than... what I was. If I ruin that, what's the point?"

 

The fire of the floating lantern dimmed significantly. The princess laid down beside the boys. She had encountered troubles like this before. Guards who upheld their duty. Nurses and even doctors who had made the smallest of slips and caused terrible accidents. From the sound of the nightmare, his weight was just as heavy despite holding no form of official authority.

 

"𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔡𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔞𝔲𝔱𝔦𝔣𝔲𝔩𝔩𝔶, 𝔄𝔫𝔬𝔫𝔶𝔪𝔬𝔲𝔰. 𝔐𝔶 𝔰𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔯'𝔰 𝔭𝔲𝔭𝔦𝔩 𝔥𝔞𝔰 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔫 𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔯𝔢 𝔯𝔢𝔭𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔰 𝔬𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔢𝔣𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔰. 𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔲𝔢𝔡 𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔭𝔦𝔱𝔢 𝔰𝔢𝔱𝔟𝔞𝔠𝔨. 𝔇𝔢𝔰𝔭𝔦𝔱𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔯𝔫𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔭𝔬𝔰𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔬𝔣 𝔟𝔢𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞𝔫 𝔬𝔲𝔱𝔰𝔦𝔡𝔢𝔯. 𝔅𝔲𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔤𝔬𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔫 𝔟𝔢𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯. 𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔲𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔡𝔬 𝔟𝔢𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯. 𝔒𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰, ℑ 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔫𝔬 𝔡𝔬𝔲𝔟𝔱."

 

"I hope so..."

 

The humans were no longer two, but one. And instead of the smaller, immature form, the fully grown adult sat there. Covered in cuts, bruises and dirt.

 

"All I can be is there for the others. I don't know what else I can do. I can't stop breathing yet. Not until I know I've done enough to make it matter."

 

"𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔞𝔩𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔶 𝔥𝔞𝔳𝔢."

 

She sat with the human for what felt like hours. Every now and again, he would look at her and unhook his jaw... but he would retreat and refuse to speak up. She could feel his will to speak up. But she could also feel an even greater will to silence him. It was not some nightmarish beast that held his tongue... it was just him. She remained all the same, until light began to spill through the cabin window.

 

"Is it already morning?"

 

Princess Luna nodded. The human looked down at his hands. She could feel what was emanating from him: shame. Defeat. He believed that he had bothered her by keeping her around him for so long, when the only thing hunting him was himself.

 

"...I'm sorry. I guess..."

 

The human stood up. With a blink of her eyes, he went from being covered in petty injuries and filth to being dressed in an exquisite outfit. It was practical, meant for labor. But it was still an impressive garb by Canterlot standards. He spoke with a cheerful tone and a smile. Though the smile did not reach his eyes.

 

"Well, I've felt sorry enough for myself. And since you wasted your night... that just means I gotta make up for it, right?"

 

The princess nodded with a smile. Though she knew all too well that it was an act, she admired the human's tenacity. It reminded her of when she saw political figures and nobles from when she was merely her big sister's aide. It could wear on the soul but it did considerable good. As long as it was kept up just long enough.

 

"Thanks, Princess Luna. I..."

 

The man who chose to call himself Anonymous sighed.

 

"I'm sorry... but I may need to call on you again. I don't know if I can handle everything on my own. Not after tonight."

 

The princess rose, standing proud. The pride continued as she bowed to him.

 

"ℑ 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔨 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔟𝔲𝔯𝔡𝔢𝔫𝔰 𝔞𝔤𝔞𝔦𝔫. 𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔦𝔫𝔣𝔩𝔲𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔫 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔨𝔫𝔬𝔴, 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔢𝔣𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔱𝔰 𝔢𝔵𝔱𝔢𝔫𝔡 𝔟𝔢𝔶𝔬𝔫𝔡 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔡𝔦𝔯𝔢𝔠𝔱 𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫."

 

The human returned a bow, in his own way. With this, Princess Luna took flight. She left the cabin, exiting the human's home and shooting into the early morning's sky. She had not expected her night to be filled with so few dreams. The lantern had changed back to a candle. The flame was still, unmolested by any gust or distance breeze. It was a good sign. It meant that not a single nightmare had taken place.

 

"ℑ𝔱 𝔦𝔰 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔪𝔶 𝔰𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔱𝔬 𝔴𝔞𝔨𝔢 𝔲𝔭, 𝔦𝔰𝔫'𝔱 𝔦𝔱? 𝔐𝔞𝔶𝔟𝔢 𝔦𝔱 𝔦𝔰 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢 𝔰𝔥𝔢 𝔭𝔞𝔦𝔡 𝔥𝔦𝔪 𝔞 𝔳𝔦𝔰𝔦𝔱... 𝔥𝔢 𝔫𝔢𝔢𝔡𝔰 𝔞 𝔟𝔢𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔥𝔬𝔪𝔢. 𝔓𝔢𝔯𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔰 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔭𝔬𝔫𝔶 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔟𝔢 𝔢𝔵𝔠𝔦𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬𝔬."

 

Princess Luna giggled to herself. There was one particular pony in Ponyville that dreamed of the human. He was not aware, but someone treasured him deeply. She kept that secret to herself and began her flight back to Canterlot. With another night had in service of the creatures of Equestria, she was satisfied. Having no further need of the dream seeker, she blew out the candle.