We Remember Everything (Loki X Luna)

Know your place, Brother.

You're my son... I wanted only to protect you from the truth...

Loki, this is madness!

You can't kill an entire race!

...

I could have done it, Father! I could have done it! For you! For all of us!

…

…

No, Loki.

This was a place unfamiliar to even the well-traveled Æsir known for his trickery, lies and mischief. The god had fallen only to find himself in a woods he had not explored before. It was not one he had used to study away from prying, contemptuous eyes, and it was not one journeyed through on some quest his father had assigned he and his brother.

That thought made Loki, the fallen Æsir, to wince as if in pain.

Brother...Father...

In an attempt to shake off the pain associated with those things, Loki moved a hand to his head while he continued to lay uncomfortably stomach down on the ground. The contact on his head would not be what he expected, however. Instead of feeling five fingers massage his temple, he rather felt a rounded and fur covered object make contact with his face.

Surprised by this, the Æsir moved his hand to be in sight of his face.

The fact that it was not indeed a hand took a moment to register. The light green fur took another moment. After some quick thinking, Loki could fully tell that his hand was indeed a horse's hoof, and a quick check revealed the same of the other.

Once realized, Loki the trickster god cast a confused glare upon it. He had seen the same kind of appendage before, and he had even taken the form of a equine before, but his curiosity lay in why he was in such a form at that moment. He had been many animals before, but never had he awoken as one.

That thought too caused Loki some pause; the idea of waking up as something that isn't your true self reopened wounds that had not even stopped bleeding.

He decided to rise, an easy task for the shapeshifter, and look at his surroundings before going about resuming his preferred form of an Æsir, seeing that the woods were as dark as they were deep. Noises were scant and the dark night sky did little to alleviate the mood. Loki was confident in his ability to take care of himself, but even he knew there were beasts not to be confronted, and an unknown forest could contain any amount of said beings.

He had awoken in a small clearing in the area, but the broken branches around him revealed that he had suffered from inertia a bit. A single tree dotted the small clearing in the woods, and the tree itself revealed some minor damage from where a falling god had crashed through it and continued their plummet to the ground.

It took another moment for Loki to realize that the ground directly beneath him had once been a small pond. A now frozen pond, even though the rest of the forest appeared to be of a warmer season. This too caused Loki to wince, and he distanced the happenstance from his mind like the rest of the thoughts that wished to rush to the surface.

Loki took a step forward, not slipping in the slightest on the pond, instead finding that his body would then collapse in pain. It took the younger son of Odin a moment to rise again, his entire body feeling as if it had been hit with Mjolnir...only for him to then remember that it had, in fact, been slammed by one of the strongest weapons in existence.

His fall could not have been kind to his body either, he reasoned as he stood again. He worked his normal sorcery in an attempt to revert back to his Æsir self, a glow appearing above his head and informing him quietly that he was a unicorn of some sort, but after glowing briefly the horn stopped its magic and Loki remained an equine.

The exhaustion he felt because of this attempt at magic was immense, especially given his state of being, and all his bones ached. A feeling of weariness soon set upon him, and Loki's mind spurred him to stumble towards the nearby tree.

When he soon collapsed against it, the prince felt he could not rise right then. His body was too battered, his mind too addled, to care about anything else but sleep. As such it soon found him, for better or worse.

You could have told me what I was from the beginning! Why didn't you?

You're my son...I wanted only to protect you from the truth...

What, because I...I...I am the monster parents tell their children about at night?

No...No...

You know, it all makes sense now, why you favored Thor all these years, because no matter how much you claim to love me, you could never have a Frost Giant sitting on the throne of Asgard!

The memory was painful. Loki winced as he watched his beloved father collapse, his comatose state of being having been brought about by his own tireless work and his younger son's furious diatribe. Loki did not realize it, but he was weeping as it all played out, the tears streaming down his green furred face as he witnessed the moment when his life slipped away from its comfortable place. Around the two Æsir, or rather supposed Æsir, was nothing but darkness, a darkness Loki now found himself in.

He watched as he, in his most used form, called for guards to help. He remembered though the recentness of this event, of how much it pained him to learn of his true heritage. Of how much anger he felt towards his deceitful father, who he believed to have led him on for centuries upon centuries with the belief that Loki truly belonged.

The sound of hooves connecting with the ground brought Loki's attention to a newcomer behind him. As large as he was, and larger than his regular form, the other horse had dark violet fur that covered them and a mane of hair that was not unlike the night sky with its coloration and the stars visible within it. Upon their head lay a large horn, around which sat a blue tiara that had some slight matching apparel across the mare. Around her neck lay a thick blue necklace, and upon her feet lay four shoe-like structures Loki was confused by.

Since when did horses wear clothes?

The newcomer gave Loki a welcoming smile and folded her large wings into their place, having already landed, "Greetings denizen of Equestria. It is I, your Princess of the night. What troubles-?"

It took Loki all of a second to scoff, the scene playing out behind him quickly forgotten at the sight of this creature with the features of both a pegasus and a unicorn, with a laughable way of speaking to add to the pile of oddness, "Denizen of Equestria? What childish nonsense is this, a nation named after horses?"

This 'Luna' quickly changed her smile to a crease, her eyes widening a little and a brow lifted as she questioned the stallion she had come to assist through his nightmare, "Thou...do not know thy nation's name?"

The Asgardian prince let out a scoff, still incredulous that this horse was speaking to him and that it called itself a princess. After all, since when did equines have monarchies? "Why should I bother to know every little everchanging country of every single planet?" he let out a small snort before regaining his outward composure, even if his mind was still taking in the whole situation, "And since when did regular horses speak? You do not appear to be-"

Luna pointed a blue hoof at Loki, her eyes narrowed and face indignant with a tone to match, "We are no regular pony, thou disrespectful wench."

Loki could not help but smirk smugly at her ridiculous speaking pattern, "Pretty sure that word is not applicable to me, horse who butchers language," her response was a huff, but Loki cut her off with a facetious jab before a verbal reprimand could be spoken, "Oh, I'm sorry, I mean Princess Luna. That's your title, isn't it?"

The large blue horse scowled at the stallion she had intended to help, but now could only feel a bit angry at for their complete lack of respect, "Thy rudeness is not becoming of our land. Where dost thou come from?" she inspected the scene of two bipedal beings having an argument, one of which sounded just like the pony she was speaking to, and noticed that this was the dream he was having trouble with. A memory fueled dream, not unlike those she was plagued with herself.

"I suppose you believe that to be your business. Well isn't that nice," the green furred Loki snapped at her, catching Luna off guard because of the change from jovial disrespect to anger. After a moment of silence, Loki glanced behind him to see his father's fall play out again, and something clicked in his mind, "This is a dream, yes? Well, dream-walking horse, why don't you let me rest. I have no time for a pony that looks like it came from the powers of the Bifrost."

Luna's eyes lit up, her mind confused by his words, "You know Bifrost? How dost thou know a citizen if one does not know the land?"

His retort came out slowly and evenly, "An equine named Bifrost. You're kidding me. Who would name-" seeing the odd coloration of the horse in front of him and taking into account his own green fur, Loki sighed as something came to mind, "Let me guess. Rainbow colored mane or fur."

"His mane is the color of a rainbow, yes. His daughter as well. How did thou know?"

He could not believe it. How did these unknown horse creatures know of the Bifrost? If Thor hadn't destroyed it, they would no doubt have used it to grab him and bring him back home despite his fall by now, "Call it a hunch. Now, wilt thou let me rest or wilt thou pester me with thy broken language until I wake in the morning?"

Luna continued to scowl at the green furred pony with a body not unlike her own and her sister's, but she did so silently. She had no idea about how to confront a pony who was so stand-offish and rude, completely refusing to even let her offer her aide in working through his nightmares.

Loki, however, was fond of speaking if it came at someone else's expense, "Seriously, pick a century to speak from," he let out another laugh, amused by this whole situation "Who am I kidding, a horse speaking? Don't see that every day, so I have to give credit where it is due. Not to mention invading someone's dreams. Impressive, equine, impressive."

Luna rolled her eyes and turned around, spreading out her wings so she could take her leave, speaking as she took off, "I will leave thou to thy sleep, but know stranger that we will keep an eye on thy disrespectful self."

Loki noticed that once she reached a certain distance in the sky of his dream that the night blue mare disappeared completely, confirming to him his hypothesis that this was a dream when coupled with his father falling comatose over and over behind him while around him lay only darkness.

The scene played out until he awoke the next day, the lost prince having no respite from the moment he reviled most in his life.

When he awoke the next day it was not a peaceful wakening, but rather a forced one in reaction to a loud howl. Loki scrambled up upon his four legs, confused and still reeling from the night of torment he had just been through.

The forest remained as still as it had the night before, but this time it was not the silence associated with the night but rather an uneasy one. Loki looked around himself, the still frozen pond, and even up the tree to see what had made the howling noise. After half a minute of anxious looking, Loki let his guard down. No animals were in sight, only more wood and brush, and he doubted highly that there were invisible wolves in this strange land. The existence of talking horses did raise an interesting point though that this was no ordinary land...if his vivid dream was any indication.

Could they all dreamwalk? What was their society like? Would they all be as well-meaning as the verbally addled one that spoke with him? Loki had many a question in regards to the creatures, and fully intended to satiate this curiosity the moment he had the chance. To do that, however, he first had to leave these woods and find actual civilization, if he could call animal tribes with the capability of speech that.

He was knocked off of his feet before he could even tell there was an assailant, and Loki soon found himself crashing into the tree he had rested under the night before. After the initial mental realization hit that something was assaulting him, Loki looked to see what it was.

In front of the pony prince was none other than a wolf with a body comprised of wood and branches, currently leaping at him with vicious teeth wide open. Loki reacted by instinct, activating the magical powers that had made him an outcast in Asgard. The wolf did catch its teeth on him, but it soon crashed through his doppelganger and right into the tree.

Having maneuvered himself to be behind the now dazed beast, Loki called upon one of his simpler spells and sent hastily summoned daggers right into the wooden construct. The knives sliced the wood and the wolf fell apart, crumbling as the knives embedded themselves in the tree.

Loki smirked to himself, pleased that even in a body he was not fully accustomed to that he could still draw upon his latent magical abilities. A hoof to the head confirmed that he was indeed a unicorn, and a pain in his side revealed to him that he had green wings as well in this body. The sound of leaves rustling stopped him from further examining himself, and this attentiveness paid off by how he cast another set of knives right in the direction of a leaping second wolf.

This wolf shred too, the pieces from it all crashing into him and the once animated creature falling to the ground. That was not the end though, as Loki could see two other wolves in the area, both circling and watching him carefully. They were using the trees as camouflage he realized, the reason the first two had been so hard to catch in their acts. The small clearing was the only gift the former frost giant had in the situation, for the wolves circling him would have to leave their cover to come assault him.

A sharp pain in his lower leg made Loki howl in pain, quickly glancing down to see what had assaulted him this time. To his surprise the twigs and sticks had comprised one of the 'slain' wolves had rearranged themselves to form the creature once more, and it contained the same instinct as the original: to kill its prey.

A buck of the leg shattered the wolf again, but Loki realized that the other one was reforming too. Whatever sorcery this was, he did not know, but he knew he must put distance between himself and the creatures before they caused him further harm.

His attention diverted from them, the two other wolves decided to rush forth and seize the opportunity to assault the large pony. Loki managed to react and cut down one with a summoned blade, but the other soon bore its fangs into his back. The prince yelled in pain as he dashed forward and tossed his body about, attempting to dislodge the creature. Made up of wood, the wolf was not able to hold on all that well and soon found itself tossed from its prey.

Loki seethed at the creature as it landed semi-gracefully, and in a fit of rage he shot forth a chilling gust. The wolf pounced forward as he did this, but its back legs froze to the ground before it could leap fully and the rest froze soon thereafter.

Realizing his natural affinity for such magic could prevent a wolf from reforming, given that it would be encased in ice, Loki let out another burst of ice magic: this time to the entire surrounding area. A wolf that had rebuilt itself and dashed at him found itself encased in ice and being blown back by the harsh wind and cold as it blasted from the large green pony. The currently broken wolves remained in their broken piles, albeit frozen over in their places, and there they would lay until the warmth of summer would free them from their absolute zero prison.

The situation calmed, Loki let out a breath. He was grateful for having learned of his ice abilities, even if he detested his reason for having them. They were powerful, and could directly confront enemies in ways his trickery related spells could not.

He still would never use them if he could so help it.

Bleeding from his back and his leg, Loki limped on into the forest. He knew now that this was no place to let your guard down, even for a moment.

The thought brought back memories of old journeys and adventures with companions he now thought to be traitors. He doubted he would find any creatures from those journeys however in this place, and especially not the dragons, manticores and hydras that had proven profusely difficult to slay.

Silence met the exhausted Loki in his dreams the following night. Within his mind there was naught but him, a blank void for him to suffer in. Alone.

That is, until he once again gains a visitor to his dreams. Luna had come out of concern, knowing that once more the newcomer in Asgard who dreamed of bipedal creatures faced a troublesome night. Not every night would afflict him the same, not every dream was the same, and Luna had experienced just about every kind of nightmare there was.

There was a pause before either of them spoke, Luna standing behind the standoffish stallion as he stared off into the void his mind had made. There was not a sound until the prince broke the silence, his voice cold and fraught with arrogance.

"Before you irk me a second night, I would like to know if all your compatriots speak in language as bastardized as your own. What malady are you faced with to speak so oddly, changing pretenses and manners of speaking?"

Luna was curious about the newcomer to her land. What was going on in the head of the very rude stallion who was plagued by chronic nightmares? She would bare some verbal ridicule if it would answer her questions, and so she decided to answer his crude question truthfully.

Luna cast her gaze down, not that he could see, and spoke in a voice quiet enough to be slight but loud enough to be heard, "We...were out of touch with any company for quite some time. Our citizens changed their form of speaking, even creating new words, and we are doing our best to adapt to their own manners. It takes much effort."

Loki turned to the 'night princess' with a large smirk on his face, his blue eyes looking the alicorn over and studying her sheepish behavior, "I can imagine, going from Shakespeare to modern 'slang'. Tell me talking horse, what new words have you been made to learn?"

The dark colored pony let out an indignant huff, but with a desire to understand and help this lost pony she decided to bite her tongue. Mostly.

"Thou art quite odd in thy moods, but we will tell thee. We have learned the meaning of 'fun' in recent times, and I have also learned to enjoy the activities associated with it."

Waiting a beat, Loki blinked before saying rather than asking flatly, "You didn't know what fun was."

Luna narrowed her eyes at the green pony, who now turned fully to her and laughed in a most sinister manner. With a snicker, the green stallion added, "I must admit that is quite pathetic."

Her response was quick, not to mention curt. Patience may be a virtue, but the princess of Equestria's night did not believe handling an ill-mannered stallion would be a good idea when he obviously wanted to be left alone. As such, her tone became barbed as she decided to use his own terminology against him, "Goodnight, talking green horse."

As she left once again, Loki stood there in his dark void of a dreamworld, silence falling upon him like in the forest before. He was left alone, and in the darkness of his mind he was left to ponder what it meant to be a traitor, a 'monster', and a fool.

Only, no-one was there to give him the answers that might save him from his internal despair.