She of Gilead

Pinkie Pie dreamt a vivid dream; she dreamt that she was hovering over a small village, watching as its strange two legged inhabitants crowded around a fire. A stage had been set up and the townsfolk danced and sang together under the moon. In the logic Pinkie’s dream, she could not speak or call out. She could make sounds certainly, but not words. The reason why eluded her, although at that moment she did not care. The song of the Calla entranced her, but she could not sing along. She instead merely listened in delight.

Come-come-commala
Rice come a-falla
sissa 'ay a-bralla
Dey come a-folla

Pinkie laughed happily; she knew a party when she saw one, and now she knew that even strange things like these had them too!

Down come a-rivva
Or-i-za we kivva
Rice be a green-o
See all we seen-o
Seen-o the green-o

A spry old man wearing a Stetson hat stood at the front of the stage. Pinkie watched his feet move in time with the song as it began to gather speed.

Come-come-commala!
Come-come-commala
Rice come a-falla
Deep inna walla
Grass come-commala

Pinkie gasped as the old man danced faster and faster; his feet looked like lightning as they flawlessly tapped out the commala.

Under the sky-o
Grass green n high-o
Girl n her fella
Lie down togetha
They slippy 'ay slide-o
Under 'ay sky-o
Come-come-commala
Rice come a-falla!

The song gained even more speed, along with the incredible dancer at the front; his feet disappeared into a blur as he tapped his heels and toes to the rhythm. The old man started breathing heavily as he danced, still going faster and faster despite the strain. Just as soon as Pinkie would have sworn he would faint, on some unknown cue, the whole town lifted their arms into the air and screamed one word:

COMMALA!

The old man pitched forwards into the crowd causing Pinkie to cry out in surprise, but the crowd caught him handily. The elderly should not over-exert themselves, and nor should you surprise them as she had learned. This old dancer seemed to be an exception.

The crowd held him aloft, bearing him to three bemused people: a lady with dark skin and no lower legs, who sat in a wheel-chair, a man who grinned at the spectacle, and a boy who looked on in wonder. The crowd deposited the dancer between the three who all burst into laughter; the grinning man leant down and placed an arm over the shoulder of the dark skinned woman.

The dream changed without any warning, and Pinkie found herself flying at a great speed over a new place, one she did not like at all. The scorched land sprawled underneath her, almost featureless; its one notable aspect a huge decaying train-track that ran on endlessly. Milling around the tracks were creatures even stranger than the dancers of the commala. They looked like the animals that lived around Ponyville, rabbits, deer and others of that kind; although these things looked misshapen, like the badly made first attempts of an artist to create the inhabitants of a forest.

She soared over the train track leading onwards, catching a glimpse of a sign on the side of the rails as she shot past. The sign declared “Welcome to LUD” to any poor souls unlucky enough to pass by, as if those unfortunates would want the greetings of the creatures of Lud.

Faint drums that kept a constant beat sounded out, thumping out a steady rhythm that grew louder and louder, powerful and oppressing. Pinkie knew she had never heard them before, yet still the drums seemed all too familiar, almost like they were from a song that she should know the name of. A thought sprung to her mind unbidden, voicing itself in an odd faltering manner.

Velcro Fly! ZZ Top! Hear the God Drums!

Pinkie didn't know what a Velcro fly or a ZZ top was, but she knew of the God drums now.

Pinkie’s flight slowed, and then stopped. She found herself staring open-mouthed at impossibly tall skyscrapers in a once incredible city. The city itself seemed to pulse with the constant beat of the god drums. She saw the scarring results of an endless war between the Pubes and the Grays, as well as the results of hundreds of years neglect. Though she did not understand war, nor why what had happened had done so, the near complete devastation of the place began to overwhelm her. Another unwanted thought invaded her mind.

Blaine the Train is a pain.

As she watched her dream began to shift again. Lud faded into non existence. Just before she completely lost sight of the broken city, she glimpsed strange clouds rising from the ground, and heard snatches of the unholy cacophony of long abandoned technology suddenly forced back to life and faintly, much worse. Screams of terror. Then Lud was gone; its god drums faded into silence. Pinkie felt as if she could still hear the drums deep in the back of her mind, thumping away quietly.

Lud was replaced with another scene that played out underneath Pinkie. A vast desert sprawled out underneath her, with no end in sight. Dotted around were unhealthy looking shrubs and some unpleasant looking tufts of grass here and there. Alone the old dancer of the Commala walked, step by step along the unforgiving track of land between him and his destination. Pinkie got the impression he was searching for something.

Or someone; quipped the wavering voice. A moment later it added Hile gunslinger Roland, last of the line of Eld.

Roland crouched over a burnt out campfire, running his fingers through the ashes and muck left behind. He looked away from the camp fire, and using the devil grass of the desert; he started a fire of his own, preparing for the chill that the night would bring.

Pinkie found herself traveling through her dreamscape again at an unimaginable pace, this time with some of the most beautiful, but painful chimes she had ever heard ringing in her ears. They rose in volume until Pinkie couldn’t take any more. She squeezed her eyes shut and bit down on her tongue in a mixture of agony and ecstasy.

The flight stopped and the chimes gradually faded into silence. Once again the dream had changed while she had been distracted by the painful, wondrous chimes. Pinkie opened her eyes to see a room with no windows or doors, lit by a chandelier and filled with tables holding one of the biggest arrays of food she had ever seen.

A man dressed in black robes leaned against the furthest of the walls, smirking at Pinkie. The smile seemed out of place on his pallid face. When Pinkie looked back the smirk grew wider, and the man in black pushed himself off the wall, starting a slow, arrogant walk towards Pinkie.

A new conviction filled Pinkie. This one meant to harm Equestria; to hurt those she cared about, to destroy everything. Pinkie glared at him. The man threw back his head and burst into laughter. Long, raven-black hair spilled down and hung over his shoulders. The dream changed once more, as the laughter of the man in black echoed madly, then stopped altogether.