The trees became closer with each other as we approached the house that Mike had told us about. The night had taken all over the forest, so we had gotten closer to avoid getting separated. We didn't know what dangers could offer the forest apart from manticores, so getting divided could mean a certain death.

Mike and I walked in front while Nicholas and Fernando covered our backs in case we found more of those mythological monsters.

“Are we getting any nearer?” asked Fernando. “This forest creeps me out.”

A chilling howl broke the silence of the forest and the four of us stopped dead.

“T-There are wolves in this forest too?” said Nicholas starting sweat.

“Hmm… not too long ago I saw something that looked like a wolf rounding in another section of this forest…” said Mike a little bit to himself.

“What do you mean ‘it looked like a wolf’?” I asked worried about the fact that maybe manticores wouldn’t be the only mythological creatures that we’d find after all.

“Well… It was dark so I couldn’t see well… What I do know is that it was bigger… and its eyes were glowing.”

“Glowing?” asked Nicholas.

“Yeah… they were glowing bright green.”

“We should speed up,” said Fernando holding tighter his shotgun. “You, how much long?”

Mike took off his glasses to clean them and then he put them on, talking with himself.

“Okay… I turned right… and then I saw that wolf…”

“Don’t tell me you are lost?!” asked Nicholas starting to hyperventilate.

“Shhht! Be quiet!” I said whispering.

“Sorry.”

“I think I know the way.”

We all stared at Mike, who took the lead again with a grin on his face. We followed him to a new section of the forest and as we advanced, it started to get foggy. “Get closer.” I heard Fernando say, and then it appeared in front of us. An enormous house about the size of the mansion I had awoken in, only this house looked less grim than the other one. It had another characteristic: the house had a garden, filled with lots of broken musical instruments; shattered violins, wrecked pianos, harps bent in a pile of useless metal, and other instruments I hadn't heard of. On top of the house there was the musical note Mike had told us about. On front of the house it read with golden letters: ‘Triumph awaits for the worthy musicians, their souls will become music’. Before I could prevent him, Mike opened the door of the house, which was surprisingly unlocked. As we followed him into the house, the sound of a melody came to our ears. But it wasn't a sweet melody. The music was dark and it sounded like desperation, hopelessness and pain. The music bored into our ears and I started to get shivers.

“Pierrot Lunaire…” muttered Nicholas, “composed by Arnold Shoenberg…”

“W-What? Who is playing this?” said Fernando examining the interior of the house.

We were standing in a hall, on our left side and our right side there were a pair of stairs leading to a second floor. In front of us there was a big wooden door. The walls were decorated with all sorts of paintings, with all sorts of people carrying instruments. Only they weren't people. The beings in the paintings looked like some sort of horses, but they were more little and multicolored.

“What are these creatures…? Horses?” I asked with a certain amount of curiosity.

“They seem more like some type of cartoonish ponies, if you ask me…” said Nicholas. He continued studying the paintings. “They have expressive faces… They almost seem like human expressions,” he turned back to us, “and they all have one expression on their faces… sorrow.”

“Great, let’s sleep in the house with the creepy music and the disturbing paintings Mike!”

“Heh, well Eddie, I-”

“Don’t worry, I was just joking. It’s better than sleeping outside, with the monsters.”

“I don’t get it,” said Fernando still examining the place, “Why does this place seem abandoned if there is someone playing music in some part of the house?”

“Bites me,” I said. Sleepiness started to take over me, and I gave a large yawn, which was followed with a bunch of collective yawns. We all looked at each other for a moment and then we started to laugh, all of us except Fernando. I didn't know if he had yawned because he still had that mask on his face, but he sure didn't laugh.

“I think that we’re all tired,” he said, and we nodded. “I think that we should get some rest before doing some exploration. I’ll stay on guard just in case something happens.”

“Really?” said Nicholas with another yawn. “Aren't you tired?”

“Just a little bit. Now, come on, you have to rest.”

I did feel really tired, so I took a spot in the hall and I lied down there. Mike and Nicholas did the same thing, while Fernando just sat in a corner, near of us. Tired as I was, it didn't take too much time before I fell into a deep sleep, the music still sounding in my ears…

I walked across a corridor, not knowing where I was exactly. The walls and the color of the ceiling, which was blue, seemed too familiar, but I couldn't recognize where had I seen it.

At the end of the corridor, a blue door opened, showing a place that I didn't recognize either. It was a big room that had a blue tone in it, but the light coming from the ceiling of the room was too bright for me to see anything clearly.

“Eddie!”

I heard a voice calling me, but it didn't sound like it was inside the room.

“Eddie!”

The second time I heard the voice, I recognized it, it was my brother the one who was calling me. I tried to call his name, but I couldn't speak.

“Eddie!”

I decided to follow the voice, walking across the room blindly with an arm covering my eyes. Strangely, I didn’t collide against anything until I reached the brown door from where the voice of my brother was calling me. I stared at the door hesitantly, I didn't know what I would find when I opened it. Slowly, I opened the door, and then I gave a jump, walking a few steps back and regretting my decision instantly. Inside the door was what it looked like a big, empty grey room, with red spots in the walls. But it wasn't empty. There was someone laying at the end of the room, looking at me.

“Eddie…”

Terrified of what I could see, I looked at any direction but at the laying person on the ground and my glance ended up on a broken mirror. But the reflection of the mirror didn't show me. It was a deformed face, but before I could see any more details, someone tapped me on my shoulder.

“Sister, are you awake!?”

After a hard day of work dealing with nobleponies and unhappy citizens that talked about the ‘horrendous’ problems that they had to deal with, Princess Celestia had gone to sleep early. She had almost entered the state of slumber when her sister, Princess Luna, had burst into her room.

“I was almost going to bed, Lulu. What is your concern?” she asked with an irritated tone in her voice.

“There is no time for such things as sleep,” said Princess Luna with an urgent tone on her voice. “I was watching over the dreams of our subjects, as always, when I found out a quite disturbing dream!”

Princess Luna explained quickly the dream and its contents, remarking on the grey room with the red spots of what she had assumed it was blood.

“And who of our subjects could have such a disturbing dream?” asked Princess Celestia, now worried.

“That is the thing, my sister; it was not one of our subjects,” responded Luna.

“What do you mean, ‘not one of our subjects’?”

“It is an enemy, long before our time, which was believed to be extinct.”

“What kind of enemy?” asked Princess Celestia now intrigued.

“I believe they were called… the Homo species,” said Luna with a hint of doubt.

“The Homo species? They are here? We need to find them before it is too late! Where was this creature dreaming?”

“It was inside a house, at the north of Everfree. The house was big and had broken instruments laying on the gardens,” said Princess Luna thoughtfully.

“I see… I think I know where that place is… Luna, gather your guard, and-”

“But Celly,” interrupted Princess Luna, “There is another thing. Your student sent you a letter, but it seems that you were too busy to notice it.”

Princess Luna gave the letter to her sister, who opened it with a curiosity that turned to shock as she kept reading. When she finished reading, she threw the letter away and galloped to the exit of her room.

‘The Bearers of the Elements … Twilight and her friends… They don’t know what they are dealing with!’

I woke up gasping and sweating, slowly getting used with my surroundings. It took me some time to realize that the last few moments had been a nightmare, but I was still shocked. I hadn't had such a realistic dream ever in my life. I stayed a few moments sitting on the cold floor, thinking about the dream. The music was still sounding so at first I didn't notice the sobbing coming out of someone a few meters away from me. I turned my head and I saw Fernando sleeping, and beside him, Nicholas was crying.

“Hey, are you okay?” I asked quietly.

Nicholas turned his head at me quickly stopping his sobbing instantly.

“No, I’m fine, I guess I just feel a little bit homesick,”- he looked at Fernando- who was now sleeping-“The big guy was pretty tired, so I told him to take a nap, that I wasn't tired anyways…” he then stared at me, talking with a restored calm. “And I am still not tired… Why are you awake?”

“A nightmare… involving my brother… and in that dream… he was…”

I couldn't finish the sentence, not knowing what I would do if I found out that he was dead.

“Don’t worry… I’m sure he’s fine…” He didn't look too convinced. “By the way, you can call me Nick if you want. That’s what my friends call me.”

I nodded and the he continued talking.

“Tell me about your brother… and about your friend there too…” He pointed a finger at Mike, who was sleeping in one corner of the room.

“Okay… My little brother…” I took the locket that had a picture of my family in it and I showed it to Nicholas pointing Johnny with a finger. “That’s him. And that one is my friend… Mike. We've been through a lot together, I know him since we were kids…”

“That’s… nice. It reminds me of my own family…”

“Tell me about them,” I asked with an amount of curiosity.

“Well… I have a brother… and a sister… It’s been ages since I last saw them…”

“And what about Fernando? Did you know him?”

“Him? Nah… I met him in that house… But he is a good guy. He even gave me a gun to protect myself from that thing that chased us around the house.”

“Speaking of which,” I said remembering the yellow eyes, “What was that?”

“I don’t know… All I know is that if I didn't run on the weekend I’d be dead for sure.”

“Really? Well we don’t have much with that…”

We stayed a few minutes silent and then I continued the conversation.

“Your accent doesn't sound from Spain… Where are you from?”

“From anywhere really… My family used to travel a lot… I was born in Italy, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“And why did you come to-”

I was interrupted by a sound that came from my back. I turned my back and I found that the wooden door had opened.

“What the hell?” I stood up and Nicholas did the same thing. The door led to a dark corridor, with even more drawings on the walls. Nicholas started to walk towards the corridor; his face looked shocked as he gave a step, and then another step, his eyes fixed at the end of the corridor.

“Nicholas… Nick!” I whispered him to get his attention, unsuccessfully. He still walked towards the end of the corridor. When he reached the end, he opened a door that wasn't easy to see as it was merged with the wall, hidden at the eyes of any man. I decided to follow him before something happened, going through the corridor and entering the room that the camouflaged door led into.

The room was just as grim as the hall of the house, and at the center of the room there was a painting laying aside a grand piano. The painting showed a mint green little horse, but this creature had a horn on its head, meaning that it was a unicorn. The painting wasn't finished though. The color of the eyes and a leg were missing.

Sitting on a seat, someone was playing the piano. Or rather, something.

“It looks like the unicorn of the painting,” muttered Nicholas.

I turned back to Nicholas, who seemed to be himself again.

“Hey! What happened before?” I asked a bit annoyed.

“What? I don’t know…” said Nicholas, feeling lost.

“Never mind…” I looked back at the unicorn; it seemed that we had found who was playing the music. The creature was like Nicholas had been a few moments ago. Its golden eyes were fixated to the piano, and she was playing it without showing any kind of expression, only those golden eyes, wide opened.

“Look at it…” muttered Nicholas. “We have to do something. Look,”-he pointed at the hooves of the creature-“its hooves look terrible.”

“How many long has it been playing it?”

“I don’t know…but she looks ill. We need to do something. Fast.”

Nicholas tried to shake the creature, but it served of no avail. We tried to take the hooves ‘how could it play the piano with hooves?’ off the piano, but they still returned to the keyboard.

“Wait here.”Nicholas left the room and returned with one of the broken instruments, a viola.

“Wait, what are you going to-?”

Nicholas smashed the broken instrument on the piano, and a crack appeared on the black instrument. He continued smashing the viola on the piano until the only remains were a pile of shattered black material.

The unicorn remained looking expressionless, but then its eyes started moving in a groggily way and then she fell to the ground, passing out.

“Hey! What’s going on here?!”

I turned back to see Fernando followed by Mike, who had a sleepy face.

“Why did you explore the house without waking us? And why- what is that?!”

Fernando pointed at the unicorn with his finger, who was still laying on the floor.

“That?” said Nick. “Well, I think that was the creature that was playing the music. But it looked like it was being forced to do so. The poor thing is at a very bad state. She-”

“She?” asked Fernando.

“I think that she is a female. Anyways, I-”

From the corner of the eye, I saw that the female unicorn was regaining consciousness, touching her head with a hoof.

“Ehh… Nick? I think that your unicorn is waking up.”

Nicholas turned back getting closer at the unicorn. “Don’t worry, girl… It’s all over…” he muttered.

The unicorn looked up and her eyes opened wide, staring in shock for a moment. Then she gave a loud scream.

“AHHHHHHH!!!”

“What the-?”

“Get away from me! Get away from me!”

“Wha- It talks?!”

“This is crazy…”

In all the confusion the unicorn tried to get away, but she was blocked by Fernando, who grabbed her by the tail, not letting her go.

“Let me go! Let me go!”

“Not till be get some answers! What are you, and where are we!”

“Please don’t hurt me! Please don’t-!”

“Then answer!”

Nicholas tried to intervene.

“Fernando I think that you are being too rough… Maybe you could-”

“Shut up boy! I’m handling this the right way!”

“Hey dude, why don’t you try to chill out a little and-”

Fernando, still grabbing the unicorn, turned his head at Mike. “Listen ‘dude’, I’m trying to get us out of here, so why don’t you go to a corner while I do all the work?”

Mike’s expression turned to one of anger, and he gave a few steps towards Fernando, looking him at the face hidden by the mask. “No. I’m not going to go to a corner while you do all the work. And that is because I don’t take orders from you. So why don’t you let go of that poor thing before something bad happens?

“Why you-!”

“Shut up!” Everyone turned their heads to me, and I could almost feel Fernando spitting venom with his eyes from behind the mask. “Just… shut up… They are right, Fernando… You should let Nick handle the questions.”

Fernando stayed silent for a moment and then he let go off the unicorn’s tail. “Alright… You do the interrogation… But if it does something it is all your fault.”

“I’ll live with that,” muttered Mike.

“Alright then…” Nicholas approached the small creature, which was shaking, looking at her tail twitching. When he approached closer to her, she looked up apprehensively.

“Please don’t hurt me…”

She said that while a tear rolled from her eye. Nick stopped a few steps away from her, and then he crouched, putting his head at the level of the unicorn’s. “It’s all right. We are not here to hurt you. We just want to ask you some questions.”
She stared at Nicholas at the eye with those golden eyes of hers. “I-If I answer some questions… Will you let me go?”

“Yes. I promise. Now, first of all, we wanted to know what are you, isn't that right Fernando?” He looked at Fernando, who just nodded.

“W-Well I’m a pony of course! What are you?”

“We are asking the questions here!”

“Fernando… Remember what we said? Stay quiet please.”

Fernando was about to say something, but then he kept it for himself.

“Okay… What’s your name?”

“My name? I don’t know if I should- Wait a moment… How did I get here? Bon Bon… The house… My…”

“We found you playing the piano, over there,” I pointed at the remains of the piano, and the pony stared at them. “You were playing the piano, but I don’t think that you were doing it by your own will, right?”

“I got here… Because I wanted to discover if I would be anything as a musician… If I could get better… But then I stepped into the house… And I couldn't control myself! It was as if someone was controlling me like a marionette… The music… It was the music I think… It forced me to play music… and then… I don’t know… It felt like going to sleep…”

We all stayed a moment silent, and then I gave a glimpse at the painting. But there was not painting. Only a frame and a blank piece of sheet.

“The painting… It’s gone! The drawing is gone!”

“What…?” Nicholas looked at the painting and then at the pony, and then his face illuminated. “Wow… I think that somehow, you were fading into the painting…”

We all looked at Nicholas, confused. “What?” said Fernando “That’s not possible! That’s bullshit!”

“So we are in a place where mythological creatures like manticores and unicorns exist and that is hard to believe?” said Mike.

“That means that you saved me… right?”

We all looked at the unicorn who was now looking us with an amazed expression on her face.

“You were the ones who destroyed that piano… right?”

Nicholas nodded. “Yes, I did that.”

The pony stayed silent another moment and then she stood up, giving Nicholas a hug.

“Thank you so much! If it weren't for you, I would have been trapped here forever for my stupidity!”

Nicholas stayed paralyzed a moment and the he let a smile appear on his face. “Err… You’re welcome. Now… Will you tell us your name?”

“Of course! I’m Lyra! Lyra Heartstrings!”

“Lyra… like the tattoo on your flank.”

“What? Oh, you mean my Cutie Mark! Anyway, who are you?"

“Oh, I’m Nick,” he pointed at us with his finger while he told her our names, “He is Eddie, the one with the glasses is Mike and the grumpy one is Fernando. We are humans.”

We all waved our hand at Lyra except Fernando, who just put his back against the wall with his arms crossed.

“So… Now that that’s out of the way, why don’t you tell us-?"

He was interrupted by the sound of someone opening a door. We all turned our heads to see another pony, this one blue with wings and a rainbow-colored mane, staring at us with its magenta eyes with a menacing glance.

Author's Note

Here is a link to the music that sounds in the house. Beware, you might not like it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veUJxETj7-c