Religion in Equestria Chapter 2 - Rescue

>Canterlot Early Evening
>"Luna where are you?" you whisper to yourself "Why has she not raised the moon yet?"
>You know where she is. She is rash. She is impetuous. She is much more kind than you. She is out looking for who that voice belongs to
>You know the terror you felt in those pleading prayers
>The same terror that gripped your heart when Chrysalis had attacked
>It conquered even you for a bit.
>Luna has never had to feel that kind of fear before
>You have always tried to protect her from that, You can only imagine how she reacted when she heard it
>Luna is not the type that could ignore somepony who was in so desperate need of help
>She would be out there searching even if she did not know where to look
>Moments after the prayers came you felt a surge of power from whoever is on the other end then it slacked off to a fraction of what it was before
>It leaves you feeling empty and sluggish in comparison
>You miss the feel of having that power flowing through you
>You are also scared that you have come to enjoy the power you have been receiving
>At times you relied upon it while you went out to take personal care of threats encroaching on your lands
>Something you have not dared to do since you banished Luna
>Fighting dragons, Slaying wendigos, and you even managed to banish a kraken back into the depths with that power
>It made you feel young
>It-something is coming
>You can feel the power of it, wait...you recognize this power, its "Luna!"
>You turn to the balcony staring into the darkness for some sign of her
>But something is different, her magic does not feel like a cool night breeze tonight. Tonight her power feels like a midnight thunderstorm
>With a crack of thunder Luna appears before you, but she is not her normal self. No tonight she wears the guise of Nightmare Moon. Something she has only done once since her return
>Looking upon her armor and demeanor sends a chill down your spine
>That look could crack stone, sink ships, and send armies fleeing in terror.
>You notice she is carrying something behind her. Cradled in her magic is...something
>She shifts it around in front of her quickly
>It is big and has large patches of fur of different colors and lengths
>And its completely covered in blood
"SISTER!" She almost screams as her form shifts reverting not to the form you are used to, but to that of her as a child.
"Save him." the last comes out as a desperate plea.

>You are angry. No you are beyond angry. You have been this angry only a few times in your very long life.
>You wear the crown of the moon. You are one of the most powerful creatures in Equestria. Few would dare challenge you openly. Less would challenge you behind closed doors
>Yet you stand powerless as a creature who begged you for aid dies in your grasp
>And it drives you mad
>When the voices started coming they scared you at first
>You feared any creature that could force himself into your mind and the mind of your sister
>A creature that gave so much power for no reason but to taunt you
>As the weeks went on however you found yourself wondering if the creature was so powerful why did it ask for help on things anyone could do
>This voice spoke to you of its fears and regrets. It begged protection and peace.
>It begged to go home almost every night. Most of all it begged for company
>Loneliness. Oh you could understand that beyond anyone else.
>You tried to find this creature. You wanted to help it. You wanted to comfort it. You wanted to be its friend.
>Every night it was your constant companion. You loved it and yearned for more.
>The power it gave you was intoxicating but you didn't need it
>Finally when that cry came, that pleading prayer of utmost distress you could not take it
>You had to do something. ANYTHING. You could not wait anymore
>YOU HAD TO SAVE HIM
>Suddenly you knew, you are not sure how but you knew where he was
>You saw what was happening. You did not have time to fly down there. He was going to die.
>You teleported. You have never been very good at blinking. At most you could do it a few thousand feet.
>Not this time. Every single moment you started to fail you focused on that prayer.
>It was not instant but it was faster than you have ever traveled. From the moon and halfway around the world in a few seconds.
>You arrived standing between four gryphon guards armed with spears as one with a commanders crest yelled out "Get him!"
>Unbeknownst to you your form had shifted. Alicorn forms are not permanently set. They can can change them. As can intense emotional stress.
>You slammed them into kneeling positions fast enough to break legs. Their spears flown from their hands fast enough to drive them through the crumbling walls surrounding the fort.
>A prayer echoed in reality catches your intention from inside the tower remains "OH GOD PLEASE HELP ME!"
>One step and you blinked into the room. There he was. The creature that begged for your help. The one who wanted comfort more than anything
>And he was about to be killed by these gryphons
>Darkness. Blacker then a moonless starless night expanded from you. A blackness that is best defined by nothingness.
>As it passes over the gryphons they are slammed against the walls so hard you hear a sternum crack from the pressure
>"NO!" You command. Rage seething out from inside of you "YOU WILL NOT KILL THIS ONE!" you scream this time
>He looks up at you. His brown eyes filled with awe. You say quietly with utter sincerity "He is mine."
>"Lu-na?" he asks. As you start to smile you see his eyes roll up in the back of his head. And then you notice the blood poring from his wounds
>You throw your magic at them in a wordless scream of rage commanding them to close and heal
>They did not obey
>Healing magic was never your power. You could heal bruises at best. No if anyone could save him it would be Celestia.
>You seal him in a cocoon of your magic trying to staunch the bleeding as much as possible
>You try to Once again blink like you did before but you only get about 1000 feet from the tower
>This wont do. NO THIS WONT DO AT ALL!
>Your form as well as that of your bundle takes on a smoke-like state. You start flying as fast as possible to Canterlot blinking Every few seconds to speed it up.
>It takes maybe an hour to arrive at the castle you are not sure,
>An hour he didn't have
>One last blink and you are standing in front of her sister
>You see shock, worry, and fear, cross her face followed shortly by curiosity as she looks at your bundle
>"SISTER!" You release your anger in that single word. Immediately guilt and fear washes over you as you realize what you just did.
>You bring the magic bundle in front of you and show it to her as your form shifts. "Save him" you whisper less of a command and more a of a desperate plea as your anger is replaced by worry.

>Quickly you throw your magic over him. A white light that envelops him and then passes through.
>He has lost too much blood. You have never seen anything like him but anyone could see how much has fled him.
>A quick examination shows that his body is similar to that of a minotaur, it also shows the damage
>He is dieing. He has a broken collarbone, a cracked hip bone several torn muscles and he has lost a lot of blood
>First you seal his wounds with your magic. Luna did a good job but she was by no means an expert. >Next you try to knit the veins and muscle tissue that were damaged.
>This was difficult. Much more difficult than it should have been. Next you withdrew your magic and forced his skin to grow over the wounds
>While you are working you take glances over at Luna. She is quietly crying.
>Why would she be so attached to a creature she has never seen before. Sure he had spoken to us lately but it was mostly requests or thanks for things we did not do.
>You go to start replenishing his blood when you run into a problem
>Your magic has run dry, healing takes quite a bit. Mostly its used to set bones or in case of emergencies...
>"Luna..." you say calmly trying not to scare her "It seems. I have run out of magic."
>Her eyes go wide and her color starts to flicker a bit
>She must be getting mad again, extremely mad
>"Luna its alright. How are you on magic?" you ask softly
"I...feel like I hath not used any" she responds moving over to you.
>"Good" you say happily "Do you think you could perhaps let me borrow me some?"
>She quickly makes her way over to you and places her horn on yours
>The power floods you. Your horn aches from the amount of power being placed into you. Where did it all come from? The creature of course!
>How could Luna handle all that Magic she was holding.
>You look hard at the creature in front of you. How can something so small and fragile posses that much pure magic to just give away
>You focus and get back to fixing your patient. You replicate the blood in his body until he has what you would consider a healthy level. Next you set his collarbone and force it to heal solid
>You have done almost everything you can do. You feel through his body and burn out the minor infections and parasites that were inhabiting him.
>You hold onto her power for a bit longer then you needed to not wanting to let that feel fade.
>Finally when you can hold it no longer without her realizing you were done you let the beautiful magic flow back out of you.
>"It is done Luna." you exclaim exhausted.
>The magic no longer flowing through you allows the wear from such intricate work to catch up to you
>You also realize that it is probably quite late
>As you look up at her you see that she has regained her normal form and is examining this thing
>"Sister...how did he get injured so badly? What happened to him to him?" you ask quietly
>She explains about the old Equestrian fort and the gryphons. You wince when she tells what she did to them. That will be horrible conversation with their ambassador
>"But, why would the gryphons attack him?" you look him over trying to find the answer. You notice a pelt on his back.
>"Oh dear. He killed one of their lions it seems." you say sadly
Luna looks "Yes sister that would be enough for them to label him as a threat." she says sadly "remember when a pride attacked that filly and the guards killed one to run them off."
>"Remember? I will never forget spending weeks trying to calm them down." you say remembering that horrible event
>Looking over at Luna you see she is much more calm now. "We should get him into a bed. He wont be waking up any time soon." you say
>You motion one of the guards over and say "Can you please send for Shining Armor? Tell him its important." He nods before leaving through a side door
"Shining Armor?" Luna asks "Why do you need him? Should you not have sent for medical ponies?"
>"We know nothing about him, or what he is Luna. We do not even know where he comes from or how he knows our who we are. Also know he eats meat from the prayers." You smile at her trying to cheer her up "Do not worry though. I am just placing guards around his room. Surely you did not think I was having him placed in the dungeons."
>She blushes. That is exactly what she thought.
"I-I am sorry sister. I just want to protect this creature. I have come to..." she seems to look for a word "sympathize with him. His loneliness and fears are well known to me. They resemble my own far to closely."
>"Loneliness and fears? Other than prayers to be returned home when did you hear these? I have heard nothing of that at all." you say perplexed
She looks at you confused. "Did you not hear his sadness? He has spend many days here alone. At night he whispered these things. He told of his fears and of his sadness. Of friends who he will never see again and of family who he never forgave." She looks you in the eyes with that one "Had you not never heard these whispers?"
>That explains it all yet raises more questions. "I had not. However that explains your attachment to him." She blushes again "I find it strange that you heard these and I did not. However these questions are best left for him when he awakes."
>The door opens in and Shining Armor approaches you eying the creature on the floor
>The white unicorn is clad in his purple and gold armor. His mane a bit disheveled as he trots up to you
"Yes Princess you called for me?" He asks apprehensively
>"Yes I did. You see this creature here is our guest. However we have no idea when he will awaken or what he will do when he does. I will need you take him to a minotaur room and have him stripped and bathed. Tomorrow if he is not awake I will send in some tailors to measure him for some real clothes"
>You eye his bloody furs "I want four guards on that door. At least two of them unicorns. I also want a group of four pegasi watching the window should one of them see him awake word is to be sent to both of us. No one but me and Princess Luna are to be allowed in without directly confirming orders from either of us. He is to remain in the room unless sent for by one of us. Should he try to leave the room I want him treated with kindness but keep him there. I do not believe he is dangerous but I do not know how he will act when he awakens."
>You try to think of anything else that you may have forgotten. "Oh yes, can you also send word down to the kitchen to have some meat on hand? The standard gryphon fare will do."
>He nods to you quickly
"Yes Princess is there anything else you need?
>Smiling at him say "When you are done see to it that you get back to Cadance. I doubt she will be happy that I had to call you away at night. Tell her I am dreadfully sorry but it could not wait."
>He smiles at the mention of Cadance's name
"Thank you Princess I will tell her!" He says to you with a tired smile.
>He then turn and uses his magic to pick up the creature carefully and leaves the room with him
>Luna turns to follow him. "Luna!" You say quickly.
>She stops and looks back at you "If you would be kind could you please raise the moon? I feel our subjects might get scared if it is not done"
>Her face turns a deep crimson as her horn starts to glow
"My apologies sister. With everything that has happened tonight. I must have forgotten."
>A sheepish smile slides onto her face and she walks out horn still glowing
>You stand there contemplating her actions tonight for a while before a yawn reminds you that it is late.
>Nodding to the guards you head to your bedroom as they follow.
>A thought pops into your head as you enter the room
>As soon as that creature wakes up everything will be turned on its ear