She had the dream again.
In her dreams, it was always the same images, the same theme. She was running, as fast as she could, as a beam of light followed behind her. Angel Grace wasn't sure what it was, but somehow, she knew, if it touched her...she couldn't let it touch her. She would run and run, her eyes fixed on the silver arch ahead. There was safety.
There was...everything.
As always, right before she reached it, the dream ended, and she awoke in her own bed, the sun shining on her face. She sighed and rolled out of bed, beginning her morning rituals. She didn't bother making her bed, because what was the point when no one would see it? It was much more efficient to simply let it be, ready for her the next evening. Rather, she merely brushed her mane back and prepared her morning meal.
Angel Grace was not given to excess, or to fancy. While some ponies enjoyed making breakfast a real treat, she found it rather a waste of time. Most days, it was a bowl of hot oats and cold milk. Sometimes, if she was feeling adventurous, she would have a bowl of hot rice cereal and cold milk. Easy to prepare, contained the nutrition she needed, inexpensive. Efficiency.
After breakfast she would go out to the yard, to check the fence. Her own design; she'd reinforced the posts and laid in extra slats. While it wasn't quite as dangerous as living near Everfree, living at the base of the mountains had it's own dangers, and she was not eager to invite trouble. This morning, everything seemed to be in place, and so she returned inside to begin what took up the majority of her day: her work.
Most ponies choose to forsake mechanical works, to live in Harmony with the land. Angel did not begrudge them that, but there were enough ponies who wanted, or needed, a well put together machine, that she had enough work to support herself on. Ponies would come to her, the one thing in her life that she did not control, and ask her to repair or improve some trinket or the other. She was possessed of the ability to look at the inner workings of a machine, to see how the parts fit together, and perceive when one part was not acting as it should, or how to redesign it to operate better. Thanks to this, ponies came from several towns over when their mechanics could not find the problem with their possessions. Angel was able to repair them quickly, and the ponies were often thankful.
In their words, at least. She didn't venture to town often, because she could hear them.
"Can't fly, I hear."
"Always cooped up in the little hut, playing with gears, no wonder."
"She should find somepony to share her life...as if anypony would be interested."
It ceased to bother her a few years back. They needed services. Angel Grace could provide that service. Besides, they were right. Since she was a small filly, she'd been one of the few pegasi who were earthbound. She couldn't explain her block, only that when she tried to fly, it wouldn't happen. Teachers, tutors, experts, all had tried and failed to educate her in the finer points of what should come natural. Perhaps one day she'd build a machine that could fly, and experience what every other pegasus experienced.
For now, though, she was content to tinker and continue to improve her mechanical skill. Today, she was working on a machine that would spread water over great distances. Hopefully, it would save farmers time, and even better, take some of the load off the weather ponies. She was intent on her work for hours, and soon enough, the moon was rising in the sky. She looked up at the glowing orb with a nod, and went to prepare her supper. It was as light as her breakfast was; perhaps at some point in her youth she'd gotten it into her head that she was too heavy to fly, but she never ate all that much.
After dinner, she walked over to her bookshelf and pulled down a book gently.
"Legendary Beasts. That sounds interesting." she said to herself, settling down in her work chair and beginning to read. Her collection of books was her greatest pride; on her rare trips to other cities, she always had to visit a bookstore and find a book to bring home. She wasn't quite as well read as the unicorn scholars, but the pursuit of knowledge was one of the joys in her life.
An hour later, she yawned and retired to bed. It was a simple life. Sometimes, she felt like she should be doing more; that a part of her was just sleeping, waiting for some hidden signal to wake up. Of course, that was absurd; her destiny was already laid out for her, and there was no point in dreaming of being some hero or famous pony. She was Angel Grace. She should be content with that.
She had the dream again.
She was running, as fast as she could, towards the silver arch. There was safety...the beam of light inched closer to her...then began to vanish, eaten away by a black disk.
For the first time, she looked to the sky. The moon was hanging there, but it seemed closer. Brighter. She turned back to the arch and took a step back.
"Hello, Angel Grace. I've been waiting for this day for so long."
A mare was before her. Wings and a horn. A mane that flowed like starlight. A pelt as black as a moonless night. The mare smiled, lowered her head.
"It's very nearly time to gather my family...nearly time for you to come to me, my daughter."
Author's Note
Ah, thank you for reading the preview of Cult of the Nightmare. It's an idea that I've had rattling around in my head for awhile, and I hoped by actually getting it down, I'd manage to get it ironed out. I'm trying to make it more than the standard "Nightmare Moon gathers followers and takes on Celestia" ideal, so hopefully it all works out~