Afterlife

• Chapter Twelve •

“The dress I made was the exact same as hers?”

     Silence hung in the air like a fog. Celestia’s skin buzzed with anxiety, her ears twitching under Lucille’s harsh stare. “The entire outfit,” she breathed, “except for the bow.” “The bow?” “Yeah,” Celestia smiled to herself, “Viola had a big red bow on the back of her head. That’s the only difference.” “Well, I didn’t make any bows so don’t worry about that. She’s already wearing enough red as it is, especially with her hair.” 

     Lucille sighed, shaking her head. “Evan should be arriving shortly,” the girl back away, hand gesturing for Celestia to follow. “I want to show you something, my gift.” “You said you were the ‘Lady of Dreams’, right? What does that mean exactly?” Lucille reached a door, the middle door in fact, with a smile gracing her lips. “My gift involves dreams, or really, sleeping in general. I can’t sleep myself, my sleeping state is really just me watching over everyone’s dreams. When I spot a nightmare, I’ll go in and stop it. When I spot a good dream, I leave it be. I can also put people to sleep, I have to do that to Aaron a lot.” 

     “You can let me see dreams too?” Celestia asked, her eye glittering with curiosity. “Of course, but, in order to do so, I need your consent. It doesn’t work with an unwilling partner.” The door swung open, and much to Celestia’s surprise, the room was beyond what she was expecting. 

     The floor was littered with an assortment of pillows. The light within the room was low, perfect for taking naps during the day. Along the ceiling were fluffy clouds moving very slowly. Celestia stepped inside, mouth hanging open in awe as she allowed herself to swim in the scenery. “Consent is given…” she whispered, her ear twitching when she heard Lucille giggle. “Is your room not like this?” “Not at all,” Celestia said, “it’s just a basic room filled with plants. So many plants…” Lucille smiled at this. “Your castle did have a lot of plants. Is it just a luna moth thing, or?...” Celestia shrugged, “I don’t know anything about moths. I don’t know anything about anything really.”

     “Come now, they didn’t explain anything to you?” Lucille’s expression morphed into one of shock. Celestia vigorously shook her head, “no, no, they did. I just mean… you know so much about who you are and your gift. But… I don’t know anything, and everyone seems to think I do!” Lucille hummed, her eyes trailing away in thought. “Come over here and lie down.” The girl flopped down in her sea of pillows, her limbs spewed about as she gestured for Celestia to follow. Hesitantly, with rather slow movements, Celestia crawled in next to the girl, looking at her expectantly.

     “Your gift is time, right? When you think about time-related powers, what do you think of?” Celestia thought for a moment, her eye scrunching up. “Well, movies show things like time being slowed down, stopped, time-traveling, things like that. I know I can see into people's memories, well, that didn’t exactly go as planned, but I know I can.” Lucille slipped her hand around Celestia’s, locking their fingers together. “We’ll get into that a bit later, I wanna know what this Viola person did to you that has you all shaken. But for now, I want to show you my world and how gifts work. Can you close your eyes for me?”

     Celestia allowed herself to relax into the pillows and for her eyes to flutter closed. Lucille’s hand tightened around hers for a moment. “You’ll feel a cold breeze,” Lucille’s voice sounded like an echo in the back of her mind. Just as the cat had warned, a rush of air blew along her body, the hairs on her arms rising. Silently her anxiety spiked. The feeling was much too similar to the one she felt when she traveled into Viola’s ‘memories.’ She had to silently remind herself that this wouldn’t be anything like that experience. Well, she hoped it wouldn’t.