Falling Temperatures

“Darkness, loving calming darkness” I thought as I looked around the void. I had always had uneventful nights ever since I had reached adulthood. But nowadays my dreams were plagued with memories and thoughts of the vilest nature.

I often see myself slaughtering the ones I care for. My mind fully lost to the beast that lurks inside my subconscious. However tonight felt different, it felt wrong. The void that met my vision was a welcome one as I began to meditate.

“Hello young one,”

The voice was warm; almost motherly. I pushed farther into my meditation in hope of pushing the voice from my thoughts.

“You are so beautiful my child, yet you refuse the gifts I have bestowed upon you and your brethren,”

I had begun to shake. Not with fear mind you, but with rage. The last pony to call me “son” met a cold bloody fate.

“Yet you are different. You have powers beyond your brethren, powers that even I don’t fully understand. Powers that will push your mind and body to its limits,” the voices tone had become flat almost scolding, yet remained even.

“Just who do you think y…” I said I as I raised myself of the ground. I fell silent in shock as I found myself eye to eye with the former Princess Celestia. She was as I had seen her before the “Day the Sun Set” as it was called.

“Hello my child,” her voice felt like sunlight, warm and welcoming.

“No, I am not your child and I never will be,” Ice and cold followed my every word.

“Ahh, but you are one of my children. I can see it in your eyes,” her eyes changed from there violet to a deep crimson as I had seen from all the other vamponies up to now.  I readied for a fight, the shadowy ice that made up my transformation crawled over my form as I flashed my own crimson irises at the former Regent of the Sun.

“My child, I don’t wish to fight you, merely to show you your potential,” she called softly.

“My potential as this is only as high as I wish it to be. Nothing more, nothing less,” I said calmly. No matter what she is now she was still, at a time, royalty and still deserved some respect.

“That is not true my child, your potential is as great as my former student… if only she had accepted my gift,” she sounded almost sad at the fact that her student hadn’t accepted her “gift” as she had called it.

“I work for your sister now, hunting those of our kind that would do these ponies harm, and I will not allow anymore of my friends to fall at the hands of our kind,” the last word I spat like venom towards the former Princess of the Sun.

We stood there, our auras of cold and warmth fighting over dominance of my dreamscape.

“Ram I just want you to know,” she began, “even if your friends abandon you, you will always have a place as one of my favorite children,” the emphasis on the last two words threw me for a loop. I stood in stunned silence for a moment before responding.

“I can’t…they would never abandon me! No matter what I become, my friends love me and care for me. Unlike your children," I spat "who took two of my friends from me,” she almost looked appalled at that, “Thanks to your children I lost the love of my life, and one of my best friends, so excuse me Princess if I don’t feel quite to welcome amongst our…kind,” I spoke with no remorse, no regard for her feelings or stance on the matter.

“That…is why I like you,” she said calmly.

I locked eyes with the alicorn. Her smile was as sincere as her words, as much as I wanted to deny it.

“Now let me show you your paths,” she said as her horn reached for mine.

“Wait,” she stopped and looked at me like a mother would look at a hurt child, “If I let you do this will you please at least try to keep my friends away from the rest of my brethren,” it almost hurt to say that but she responded with a simple nod and our horns met, sending me into an incredible downpour of pain.

I awoke sometime later in the middle of Ponyvile. I had started to panic, Who, What, When, Where, and Why ran through my head over and over again as I surveyed my surroundings.  I felt a solid hand come down on my shoulder. I turned back to see Celestia standing there giving me a reassuring smile.

“This is just a vision my child, do not worry about being seen or heard for we are just observers,” I nodded at her as she began to walk towards the center of town. She motioned for me to follow.

“Where are you going?” I asked as I caught up with her.

“To watch your execution,” she said with a smile on her face.

I stopped mid stride as she aid those words.

“Execution? What did I do to warrant that?” I thought to myself. I looked you at Celestia with a curious look.

She simply chuckled and said, “Don’t worry the Mayor will explain everything,”

We approached town hall I noticed a crowd surrounding a dimly lit stage. Upon the stage I saw a figure shackled and broken. The figure was visibly wounded, lacerations covered the figure’s chest and arms and bruising covered most the figures body. We continued to approach the stage passing through those who were standing around the stage. It was a weird feeling being ethereal.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts! We are here to see the execution of a most dreaded pony,” the Mayor called to the crowd.

“One who has taken so many from us. The deaths of the Elements cannot go unpunished!” the mayor spoke forcefully and truthfully that it even began to ring true in my ears.

“Let us begin!” she motioned to white unicorn standing on the stage.

“Gladly ma’am,” said Shining as he walked towards the shackled figure. The axe raised above the figures head as I saw a smile cross the figures face.  The legs of Shining Armor froze solid and a blinding light engulfed the stage. Standing there were five mares, all bearing their teeth.

“The Elements live!” cried a mare in the crowd. However the Elements were not there to alleviate fears of their demise but to instill more. The sun set beyond the horizon and crunching of bones was heard as the remaining elements adopted the forms of Vamponies.

Yet Twilight remained the same it seemed. However the rising temperature said otherwise. Soon Twilights mane and tail began to combust, the fires an eerie black. Her wings became leathery as they adopted the form of a bat’s wings.

The vision cut out, but not before I realized what it had meant

“I turned them, I can’t believe that. I couldn’t have turned the people who trusted me to take care of them, to protect them. Could I?”

“That is just one possibility,” came Celestia’s voice.

“WHY WOULD YOU SHOW ME THAT!” I shouted at her.

“Don’t fret my little one for there is another possibility,” her horn glowed again as I was sucked under into another ocean of pain.

This time a much brighter scene met my vision. I was standing in my home, the place looked immaculate which it rarely was. Then I noticed a tree in the corner of the living room.

“Hearths Warming? But why?” I asked Celestia.

“Because my child, this is a future in which you proved something wonderful to the town and the nation,”

I cocked my head to the side as I heard a small explosion come from outside. From the direction of the library a column of smoke had erupted. I watched myself run as fast as he could towards the library. When we arrived the impact of the blast hit me, one side of the tree was completely gone while the rest had been set ablaze from the blast. My future self began to tear through the ruble and soon came across the broken form of Twilight.

“No don’t leave me, PLEASE!” he cried as he assessed the damage done to her body. Several bones were visible as the broke through her skin leaving terrible gashes across her form. Her wings were slightly burnt and broken as well. Hoping to save the young alicorn he teleported her to the hospital and proceeded to round up all of her friends.

The vision moved to a few days after the accident. Twilight was in a hospital bed with her friends surrounding her. Her wings and legs were in casts, bandages covered her arms. The only sound in the room was the high pitch beeping of a heart monitor.

“Girls could you get Ram for me?” she asked weakly.

“Sure Twilight, but why?” asked Applejack

“I need to discuss something with him,” her tone was firm but not demanding. The others went to find him; Twilight began to talk to herself,

“Can I really ask him to do this? I want to stay and help my friends but I can’t ask him to…”

A knock at the door brought her mumbling to a stop. He entered the room slowly as if not to attract any attention from the alicorn.

“Please I need to talk to you,” she called softly.

“O.k. about what,” his voice was dodgy as if he didn’t want to be here.

“I don’t want to die, but my internal injuries were too severe. I have about a week to live, I…I want you to…” she trailed off.

“Twilight you know I can’t do…that not in good consonance anyway,” he said sadly.

“I understand but…” she trailed off again.

Sighing in defeat he simply told her, “I will only do this if you are absolutely sure you are willing to deal with the consequences of such a burden,” he said quietly.

“I am…I just don’t want to abandon my friends,” she said as a tear ran down her face. He moved his jaw into place above her right shoulder.

“You’re absolutely sure,” he said again.

“Yes, I am,”

The vision fast forwarded again, this time it revealed a sight I could not believe; Canterlot… in the midst of a celebration. As I let my eyes wander around the scene a booming voice tore through the air,

“CITEZENSOF CANTERLOT, I HERBY CALL THE WAR WITH THE VAMPONIES…OVER!”

“Luna what are you saying?” was all I could until I looked up. There stood Twilight, alive and well, along with Luna and…me?

This time Twilight spoke up, “All that I ask is that you give us a chance to prove ourselves trustworthy, and with us leading this charge, it will only be a matter of time before we can live in peace!”

He placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled.  He opened up his hand, producing a small ball of swirling ice. He then threw it up into the air were it exploded, producing a small gentle snowfall on the courtyard.

The void returned to my eyes as I turned to Celestia,

“This…this is what you wanted to happen wasn’t it?” I questioned gently.

“Yes it is, I had always hoped that that would be the response to introducing my children. However on the Day the Sun set, my plans for letting my children know it was safe backfired. The reaction of my sister and student where…unexpected,”

I recalled the form she took on that day and cringed.

“That is what caused that panic,” I thought.

“Princess I wish that I could see that future of yours happening, but in light of what has happened to myself and the Elements I can’t help but think that it will never come to pass,”

“Yes…I know what has happened to you, and poor Fluttershy,” sorrow filled her voice

I looked up at my “mother” and smiled. I couldn’t help but fell for her situation. Seeing her “children” thrust into a shadow war she never intended to happen.

“I feel truly sorry for what your brethren have done to you and your friends, but for now, make the best of your gifts. And please wake up,”

I bolted upright, sweat pouring down my face.

“Today is goanna suck, isn’t it?” I asked myself as I grabbed my files again.