02-18-2018, 04:25 AM
It was, Celestia thought, a little out of character of herself to ask for company like this. She always strove to be the anchor, keeping collected and holding firm so that others could draw support from her. Showing too much weakness would cost her that capacity, and so she had done before, and so she had planned to continue.
But then, perhaps that itself was the very problem. Celestia had said it herself earlier, this was not her homeland. Earlier, she had said it to mean she didn't have as much responsibility, that her previous role of a figurehead (among others) no longer applied. It also meant, she now realized, that several things she'd grown accustomed to were no longer present. And while ordinarily such things wouldn't affect her this much, the whole group had been through an ordeal, and in a place with next to no sun no less. Perhaps she had earned a moment of weakness, and perhaps it would be better to spend the evening with company rather than alone. Any ramifications that came from it were something that could be addressed later.
Besides, sleep was calling to her. Celestia knew, more than anything else, that she needed the rest. And the bed was awfully comfortable...
Celestia found herself standing above a vast lake. Or perhaps it was an ocean, but she couldn't say for certain. Wherever she was, it was nearly pitch black, with the only thing she could readily make out was water beneath her, stretching out in all directions away from her save for up and down. She was, she saw, the only nearby source of light, reflecting off of the surprisingly choppy water below. She regarded herself for only a moment, noting the steady glow coming off of her coat, though in the dream she could find no part of that out of place.
A little more unusual was the fact that she was standing. A natural act perhaps, but there was no ground for her to stand on. Celestia should have been swimming at least, and yet here she was, several paces above the water itself. She looked down, watching the waves for a moment, though they were not inclined to give up their secrets to mere observation. She did however see a glint to the waves that wasn't explained by the light she was giving off. She looked up.
Now that some time had passed in the blackness, she could make out more details. The blackness above her wasn't as pure as she thought. There were motes of light scattered across it. Celestia's first thought was stars, but when she took an exploratory step she noticed the slightest of shifts in their position. This was no night sky, but the roof of a vast cavern.
She did not however feel the need to investigate just yet. Her improving vision revealed to Celestia soemthing else, a shape still a ways distant but out across the sea rather that above her. She could only see its silhouette, but already it stood out as the most noteworthy thing within her vision. She approached.
As she drew steadily closer to it, she began to hear a noise, sounding faintly like stone, grinding against itself as it shifted around. The noise grew steadily louder the farther she travelled, and the closer she got.
Just as she was almost close enough for her own illumination to shed some light on the structure-
Celestia woke up.
The transition a dream to the waking world was less jarring than she might have feared, although it still took a moment to adjust. Celestia opened her eyes to see that normality, or at least as much as she could find here, reasserted itself. She was back inside the comfort of a building and, she noted, someone else's bed.
That wasn't really somewhere she wanted to be known as staying, but she was in no rush. She took her time, easing herself out of bed. That felt like the best sleep she'd had in ages, if only by virtue of what had preceded it, and said previous adventure was still fresh in her mind. The restful night had done wonders, but she could still feel some lingering affects of the toxins. It was no cause for concern though, they would fade in time.
The three of them woke up at roughly the same time it turned out, meeting each other outside their rooms shortly after waking. Ash suggested food. “A meal would be nice,” Celestia had agreed, “although I think it would be better to make our own. The town will have enough that needs to be done without needing to supply us as well.” A while ago she had discovered that it was fairly easy to conjure things such as food when one had time, and time was something they had in abundance right now. She let her companions make her own choices, but she found a quiet place for herself to work.
When all three had accounted for food they reconvened. Ash was headed back to Darkshire. “I'm not sure where I'm headed,” Celestia eventually replied, “I still know far too little of this place to have a firm destination. However, the gate should be around there as I recall, I will likely need to move that direction regardless. If we're going the same way, at least that far, it would always be nicer to travel with friends.” She smiled, before turning to her other companion. “And you, Revan? Where are you headed after this?”
But then, perhaps that itself was the very problem. Celestia had said it herself earlier, this was not her homeland. Earlier, she had said it to mean she didn't have as much responsibility, that her previous role of a figurehead (among others) no longer applied. It also meant, she now realized, that several things she'd grown accustomed to were no longer present. And while ordinarily such things wouldn't affect her this much, the whole group had been through an ordeal, and in a place with next to no sun no less. Perhaps she had earned a moment of weakness, and perhaps it would be better to spend the evening with company rather than alone. Any ramifications that came from it were something that could be addressed later.
Besides, sleep was calling to her. Celestia knew, more than anything else, that she needed the rest. And the bed was awfully comfortable...
---
Celestia found herself standing above a vast lake. Or perhaps it was an ocean, but she couldn't say for certain. Wherever she was, it was nearly pitch black, with the only thing she could readily make out was water beneath her, stretching out in all directions away from her save for up and down. She was, she saw, the only nearby source of light, reflecting off of the surprisingly choppy water below. She regarded herself for only a moment, noting the steady glow coming off of her coat, though in the dream she could find no part of that out of place.
A little more unusual was the fact that she was standing. A natural act perhaps, but there was no ground for her to stand on. Celestia should have been swimming at least, and yet here she was, several paces above the water itself. She looked down, watching the waves for a moment, though they were not inclined to give up their secrets to mere observation. She did however see a glint to the waves that wasn't explained by the light she was giving off. She looked up.
Now that some time had passed in the blackness, she could make out more details. The blackness above her wasn't as pure as she thought. There were motes of light scattered across it. Celestia's first thought was stars, but when she took an exploratory step she noticed the slightest of shifts in their position. This was no night sky, but the roof of a vast cavern.
She did not however feel the need to investigate just yet. Her improving vision revealed to Celestia soemthing else, a shape still a ways distant but out across the sea rather that above her. She could only see its silhouette, but already it stood out as the most noteworthy thing within her vision. She approached.
As she drew steadily closer to it, she began to hear a noise, sounding faintly like stone, grinding against itself as it shifted around. The noise grew steadily louder the farther she travelled, and the closer she got.
Just as she was almost close enough for her own illumination to shed some light on the structure-
---
Celestia woke up.
The transition a dream to the waking world was less jarring than she might have feared, although it still took a moment to adjust. Celestia opened her eyes to see that normality, or at least as much as she could find here, reasserted itself. She was back inside the comfort of a building and, she noted, someone else's bed.
That wasn't really somewhere she wanted to be known as staying, but she was in no rush. She took her time, easing herself out of bed. That felt like the best sleep she'd had in ages, if only by virtue of what had preceded it, and said previous adventure was still fresh in her mind. The restful night had done wonders, but she could still feel some lingering affects of the toxins. It was no cause for concern though, they would fade in time.
The three of them woke up at roughly the same time it turned out, meeting each other outside their rooms shortly after waking. Ash suggested food. “A meal would be nice,” Celestia had agreed, “although I think it would be better to make our own. The town will have enough that needs to be done without needing to supply us as well.” A while ago she had discovered that it was fairly easy to conjure things such as food when one had time, and time was something they had in abundance right now. She let her companions make her own choices, but she found a quiet place for herself to work.
When all three had accounted for food they reconvened. Ash was headed back to Darkshire. “I'm not sure where I'm headed,” Celestia eventually replied, “I still know far too little of this place to have a firm destination. However, the gate should be around there as I recall, I will likely need to move that direction regardless. If we're going the same way, at least that far, it would always be nicer to travel with friends.” She smiled, before turning to her other companion. “And you, Revan? Where are you headed after this?”