Title:           Chapter I: Aftermath
Author:          Validus
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/YGNWJw6x
First Edit:      Friday 16th of March 2012 09:21:04 PM CDT
Last Edit:       Friday 16th of March 2012 09:21:04 PM CDT

>>Chapter I:  Aftermath
 
>“fuck….”
>Reoccurring visions of the war plague you still, even though it’s been almost 6 months since the final battle
>You go to check the time
>“0300, huh….?”
>You decide to get an early start on your workout routine, since you’re not going to back to sleep anytime soon
>As you prepare for your jog, you notice a figure outside your window
>knock knock knock
>You haven’t had any visitors since after you were released from the hospital a few months back
>As you open the door, you notice an all too familiar presence in front of you
>“What brings you here, Luna?” you ask nonchalantly
>“Oh…Anon…! We…I-I…just wanted to…check you out…wait…”
>Her brow furrows as she thinks about her sentence
>You chuckle lightly, “I see you’ve been trying to keep up with today’s lingo”
>“We…I have been trying to, yes… Did I say that phrase properly…?” she asks with a sheepish smile
>“Close enough” you say as you invite her in trying to break the awkwardness between the two of you
>“So, what really brings you here?” you ask again as you sit at your table
>Luna opens her mouth and shuts it, and opens it again only to emit a small squeak
>“Please, do go on.” You say chuckling again
>She blushes a little
>After a few moments of doing the same thing, she finally blurted out, “I need you to help me with something important…”
>This gotta be good if she’s getting her jimmies rustled over it
>“Sure, what do you need me to do?”
>She lets out a sigh of relief and heads toward your door
>“Meet us in the Canterlot courtyard in two days, we shall explain everything to you then”
>With that she made her way out of your house and off into the night sky
>“I wonder what this is about….”
>The next two days fly by as you make your way to Canterlot
>As you make your way to the courtyard, you can’t help but notice the eerie fog that has been setting in
>“ANON!”
>Oh god, the caps lock. It could only mean…
>“WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YOUR ARRIVAL”
>That’s cool, but why the caps lock?
>You near Luna as she smiles faintly
>“we are so glad you could make it, anon”
>Ok, now she’s boarder line whispering now
>“What did you need to see me for, Luna?” You say trying to avoid any awkwardness again
>“Follow us” she said with a frown
>You follow her through the courtyard and into the castle and into her private quarters
>You look around to find her quarters in complete disarray, which is shocking because she’s usually OCD about being organized…like a friend you used to know…
>“We miss her too, Anon…I miss all of them” she said, tears welling up in her eyes
>You give her a comforting hug as continues
>“When they sacrificed themselves to slay Judgment, the dragon, both Celetia and I were devastated….but then came more horrifying news that we may have lost you in the explosion as well…We…Celestia and I were broken…”
>Her voice was wavering as she returned your hug, holding you tightly
>“I looked for you day and night until I finally found you unconscious and barely breathing...”
>She squeezes you harder
>“I know, it’s hard on me too Luna,” you reply, “I still have horrible nightmares of that day”
>She finally releases you as you take in a deep breath
>“Sometimes I wish I can turn back time and somehow prevent that damned beast from ever existing”
>“As would I, Anon…” Luna pauses for a bit to regain her composure, “Now, we shall discuss about the matter I have summoned you here for…”
>She tells you about the aftermath and updates you on current affairs for you hid yourself away from the world
>Celestia has hid herself away as you did; only coming out to raise the sun, and pretty much left Luna in charge of everything
>She then goes on to explain how she feels that Celestia is not only acting differently, but her presence (or aura) is different as well
>It turns out the mess you see around you is from her extensive research on finding the locations of the elements of harmony
>“It took me forever and a fortnight to procure the precise locations of the elements, but something struck me odd…”
>You listen intently, knowing what she’s going to ask you to do
>“I know you know what I will ask of you to do…but please listen to me first,” she pleaded, giving you sorrowful eyes
>“While trying to pin point the elements, I picked up on alien waves resonating from their locations”
>She summoned a map from a pile of papers on her desk
>“Here are the locations of the elements, and here is the radius of the alien vibes I was able to pick up on…”
>You chuckle softly at the map seeing how she drew dark colored circles around where the elements were, with lightly colored circles around them for the alien waves she found
>“WHATEVER IS SO FUNNY, ANON?” She said in a demanding voice
>“Oh nothing just continue with what you were saying Luna” You respond innocently
>“Very well, the reason I called you here was to ask you to find the elements and bring them back so we can break Celestia of her depression”
>yes.jpg
>Finally, something exciting to fill your life with
>“Before I send you off to retrieve the elements, there is something I would like to give back to you…
>Her horn glowed as she opened her closet and brought out some things you never thought you would see again
>“Hey, it’s my old gear!” you said happily
>Your sword, shield and armor from the war was set before you
>“I thought these were destroyed?” you ask lifting your brow
>“I….found them not too far away from you after I had rescued you. I thought I would keep it safe for you until the need for it presented itself…and it has!” Luna exclaimed  
>You look at your armor, only being a dented chest plate and helmet now
>“I…was not able to salvage the rest of your armor, regrettably…” She looked down in shame
>“No need to get your jimmies rustled, you can just give me new armor!” You said trying to look on the Brightside
>Luna looks at you with a curiously
>“My what rustled?”
>“Err…nothing” You said hiding a smile
>“Anyhow, I am very sorry Anon, but I cannot change your armor”
>”Wait, why not? It’s not like its special or anything” You mutter
>She explained to you that the armor has some of the elements’ energy imbedded in it, and to an extent, yourself as well
>She goes on to tell you that the elements will only allow themselves to be used and attached to objects and that share their same energy
>Since you were in the blast radius of the elemental powers, you carry the energy all six of the elements
>Don’t you feel like a badass
>“I have made minor adjustment to your chest plate, as you can see”
>You look at it and see six indents where jewels can be placed in right below the neck hole
>“Wait, no offence, but I kinda don’t want to be traveling around with jewels flashing at everybody that sees me. It just looks plain girly” You say bluntly
>“Do not worry yourself, Anon. The elements can manipulate its size, shape, and color to match those who wield them” She said all matter-of-factly
>Before you know it, it’s already time for Luna to do her princess duties of setting up the night
>Luna walked you over to the guest quarters not saying a word
>As she opens the door for you, she finally said something
>“Try to have a good night of rest, Anon. Tomorrow starts your journey to find the elements, and I want you to be fully aware of your surroundings. The last thing I want to hear is that I lost you because you were careless…”
>You can tell she was trying to be sincere, but you spot redness her face as she looked away from you
>“You don’t need to worry about me, Luna. Just take care of yourself and try not to be too overwhelmed here at the castle” You say trying to be playful
>She gives you a weak smile and walks away from the doorway
>“I bid thee a good night, and we shall meet each other in the courtyard at five, before the sun rises”
>She flies away before you can respond
>You couldn’t help but notice a couple wet spots on the floor where she stood