Chapters [This is a sequel to Rainbow Dash's Nightmare. I recommend reading that on my page first so you understand the new characters that have been introduced and exactly what is going on. That was my first fanfic this is my second. If you don't like it tell me how I can improve, k thanks =]
Alphion was defeated in his nightmare when Sonic Spark, Alphion's former agent, fused with his soul and banished him into Oblivion. However, his actions had left a permanent scar in the fabric of time. He erased Rainbow Dash from history, in order to keep her in his nightmare and keep his actions hidden. But Alphion did not have the power to alter time. Instead, he went to Temporaz, the spirit of time. He tricked Temporaz into removing Rainbow Dash from history in exchange for a chunk of Alphion's power. The spirit of darkness had deceived Temporaz, he knew that changing the timeline would make Temporaz's power fade anyway, so giving him power didn't matter.
When Angealla, the spirit of light and heaven resurrected Blitz and Rainbow Dash, the timeline became even more unstable. A pony that had been removed from the timeline was then re-inputted back into the timeline, without altering time, she was simply resurrected by Angealla. Temporaz noticed this, but was too weak to remove Rainbow Dash and Blitz from the timeline again. As his power faded, the Equestrian timeline began to merge with Earth's.
While the change was unnoticed by citizens of either world, the merging timeline's dragged one person, Anne Halavan a freshmen in college into Equestria.
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"Anne!"
Anne Halavan had been a freshmen in college for 3 months. She was still having trouble getting used to the new lifestyle. But at least she had her friend Kathy who was a lot more organized than she was.
"Yea sorry Kathy, I'm just really tired. Didn't get a lot of sleep last night."
"Well, maybe because you were watching My Little Pony or whatever it is until 3 am."
Anne was probably one of the most obsessive bronies ever. Her room was filled with pictures of ponies, mostly Rainbow Dash since she was her favorite. Besides, she had a lot in common with the cyan pegasus. They were both reckless, unorganized and never really listened to anyone else.
"Yea sure." Anne said sarcastically, even though she knew Kathy was right.
The later she stayed up watching the show the worse she would be in school. She didn't want to get kicked out of college but she was so used to watching the show all the time.
"Maybe you should go to rehab for it? Haha."
"Ha."
Anne let out a weak laugh at her friends joke, still too tired to actually laugh.
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"Ugh....this can't be happening..."
Temporaz stood in his realm, staring at a vision from Equestria, watching Rainbow Dash and Blitz flying around and playing.
"Their.... their existence is doing this to me. If this continues, I'll fade away with no hope of returning. If I had my power I could simply re-add them to the timeline but it's too late. Alphion planned this perfectly, and now as time spirals out of control, darkness grows and Alphion will return...."
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"............"
Angealla stood above the clouds of the spirit world watching all the spirits move on with their daily lives. It wasn't any different than Ponyville. It was a life after death for every pony."
"I knew that this would happen...... with Temporaz's power fading and darkness rising, my power fades as well. And if I'm gone, the souls of dead ponies will have no refuge. And Alphion will return, and finally accomplish his goal. I shouldn't have resurrected them, but it's too late now."
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"Dashie, I know you. What's wrong?"
"You really wanna know Blitz?"
"Yes Rainbow, please. Tell me whats bothering you."
"Well, when Alphion took Sweetie Belle into the nightmare I couldn't sleep the night before for no apparent reason. When he first enveloped Equestria to capture me, Fluttershy couldn't sleep the night before, again for no reason.
"What's your point?"
"After we were revived by Angealla, the day you told me, well you know what."
It was the day Blitz admitted that she liked Rainbow Dash. The cyan Pegasus felt awkward about it at first, but she began to shake the thought.
"What happened that day?"
"Right before you told me that, Pinkie Pie said the same thing. She couldn't sleep the night before."
Blitz was speechless. She thought Alphion was gone forever.
"But nothing happened that day, so it could have just been a coincidence."
"I guess so, bit it's still bothering me."
"Well, if you're stressed, I can help you out."
Normally Dash would avoid Blitz's show of affection, but she was too lost in thought to care.
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Deep in the dark remains of what used to be Alphion's nightmare a small black clouds began to form in the center of the void. The cloud grew bigger and it began to swirl.
The clouds burst, filling the already dead air with a thick gray fog. As it cleared, a figure stood where the black cloud was. Standing there was the spirit of darkness.... Alphion.
"Hmph. Seems like this world just can't get enough of me."
He raised his arms and up from the ground rose the illusions of Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack and Twilight. Behind them however, was a sixth figure. It had a faded cyan color. It stepped forward towards Alphion. It was an illusion of Rainbow Dash.
"Come girls, we have planning to do."
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"Temporaz."
"Yes Angealla, I know."
"The world has grown unstable. With both of us weakened there is nothing we can do except hold back Alphion as long as we can. We will slowly die out, we might as well die defending what we were created to defend."
"I'm afraid it's too late Angealla. We can not travel to Alphion's nightmare, simply being in his realm will destroy us. And I'm afraid we have another issue."
"What?"
"With the timeline growing more unstable, Equestria and Earth are beginning to merge. If the worlds combine and the timeline's merge, it will cause a temporal catastrophe, ultimately destroying time."
"Damnit, this is all happening so fast. I wish we had more time to take action."
"I'm afraid there is no time, the worlds have already slightly dipped into each other. I'm afraid that soon ponies in Equestria will become humans on earth and humans on earth will be turned into ponies here in Equestria."
Angealla's head dropped. All hope was lost for the future of both worlds and Alphion had not even struck yet. Maybe he wouldn't even have to, the world was being destroyed anyway. Then Alphion would step in and take the souls of every dead pony and maybe even the humans as well."
"All I know is what human will change first."
"Who?"
"A young teen by the name of Anne Halavan."
"When?"
"By tomorrow at least. And by next week, time will have collapsed."
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Anne walked into her dorm room.
"Good night Kathy."
"Good night. Don't stay up too late Anne, ha."
Anne shut the door and looked at her computer. For awhile she just looked at it, wondering if she should watch My Little Pony or not. She shook her head and changed into her night clothes and laid down in her bed. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.
She awoke the next morning in an unfamiliar place. She was in a grassy field, laying down on the ground. She stood up and looked into the distance and saw a small town. She began to walk toward it when she looked at her hands. Except, she didn't see her hands, she saw something different. Hooves.
"Ok. What the hell is going on here!?"
Anne Halavan had went to sleep one night in her dorm room, she awoke on a large grassy plain. The skies were a bright blue, there were absolutely no clouds whatsoever. There was a large colorful rainbow in the distance standing tall over a small town. This was the least of Anne's concerns. She awoke that morning, and looked down at her hands. Well, where her hands should have been for that matter. She looked down and was staring at hooves, she had been transformed, somehow into a pony.
"Ok, ok this isn't happening. I'm dreaming, yes that's all this is. I can't be a pony, that's impossible."
She took small steps heading towards the town. Her hooves touching the ground were the only sound in the area. She slowly walked with her head slumped down. She wasn't focused on where exactly she was going, she was to busy thinking.
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"Angealla..."
The spirit of light turned around and saw Temporaz. His body was becoming transparent, he was fading away as time spun out of control. He moved very slowly towards Angealla.
"What is it Temporaz?"
"It is done. The human has transformed into a pony... In 2 days, 3 days if we're lucky half of Equestria and Earth's population will have been transformed."
Angealla was speechless. There was nothing to say, it was over. Time had spiraled out of control, beyond the point of being repaired by Temporaz, well at least in his current state.
"The only thing we can do now Angealla, is use whatever power we have left to hold off Alphion."
"I'm afraid that won't be necessary."
Angealla's cloud began to turn a dark color. The clouds began to swirl around, creating a vortex. The ground of the spirit world began to turn gray as a beam swept across it. Plants began to die and wilt, while the souls of the ponies began to scatter in every direction.
The spirits of time and light turned around. Alphion was rising up out of the cloud right behind them.
"Do whatever you please to try and stop me. Whatever you do wouldn't even leave a mark on me, and it's pointless to stop me anyway. The world is destroying itself, I am here to step in and take over once it has done so. And when the world has offically shattered, neither of you will be here to see it."
Temporaz groaned as he fell to the ground. Angealla was doing her best to look strong, but even looking at Alphion's white soulless eyes hurt. It gave her a glimpse into his pure evil mind and extreme power. She flinched at the sight of him.
"I'm waiting."
Alphion stood there, arms crossed with an evil grin on his face. He wanted them to attack him. He was teasing them. Temporaz didn't move, he just laid there on the ground, limp and pale. Angealla backed away from the spirit of darkness.
"I thought so."
Alphion descended back through the cloud back into his lair. Angealla turned her head and looked at Temporaz.
"Temporaz... go back to your realm. There is only one chance left for this world, I'm going to Equestria. I'll be back later."
Temporaz slowly picked himself up. He then faded away back into his realm.
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It was a regular morning in Equestria. Life had returned to normal since Alphion was banished about 6 months ago. Rainbow Dash was on her way to meet Blitz at Ponyville Park.
"Hi Dash!"
Blitz said as she saw her friend in the distance. The cyan pegasus raised one hoof and waved at her red maned friend. She landed next to Blitz and they began to talk.
After about 2 hours of the two Pegasi talking and flying around in the park, Rainbow Dash was getting ready to leave. She was supposed to meet Pinkie Pie at Sugarcube Corner.
Just as she prepared to take off a beam of light shot down in between the two Pegasi. They covered their eyes with their hooves, the light was blinding. The only time they had seen anything like it was when... it was when they defeated Alphion Angealla descended. But what would she could she possibly be doing here. The light began to fade, and sure enough, the spirit of light was in their presence.
"Rainbow Dash, Blitz. I'm afraid there is something I must tell you. It is crucial that you listen."
"Angealla slow down. What's going on here?"
Angealla sighed.
"When i resurrected you Rainbow Dash, I put you into a timeline where you did not exist. And you Blitz, you were dead, removed from the world, and again you were re-inputted into time."
The two Pegasi looked confused, what did this have to do with anything?
"You're reappearance has caused time to shatter and darkness to expand."
Rainbow Dash gulped, she knew where this was going. She looked at Blitz. She had the same depressed look on her face. She knew too.
"Alphion is back..."
The words echoed in the cyan Pegasus's head. If Alphion was back, was he targeting her again? Would she again be forced to live in the nightmare? She flinched at the thought of it.
Blitz began to speak up.
"So. What's his plan this time?"
"Hang on Blitz. Angealla, if he just came back he should be weak right? Can't you stop him?"
The spirit of light shook her head.
"The shattering of time has caused Temporaz to become weakened."
"Who's Temporaz?"
"He is a spirit, just like me and Alphion, but he is the spirit of time. He makes sure everything is in check. But now he is weak. Normally he would be able to fix the timeline himself and re-input you two, with my help. But with darkness spreading, I am too weak as well."
Blitz's head slumped down. This was too much for her to take in. Angealla let out another deep sigh.
"Now, you two. I have to ask of your help, you're the only ponies in Equestria who can do anything about this."
"Why us? And what do we have to do?"
"Only you two can do it, because you are not of this timeline, you are unaffected by this worlds time. Since time spirals out of control time will eventually stop, making every pony freeze in time, except for you two and..."
"And what?"
"With time being shattered, Equestria is merging with Earth. Earth is another world where humans are the dominate species, with worlds merging, humans are being transformed into ponies, who are again, unaffected by Equestria's time. What I want you two to do, is round up every pony who doesn't freeze in time when it shatters. I want you to keep them all safe and find a way to stop Alphion."
The two Pegasi were speechless.
"Wait, what's going to happen to you?"
"I'm afraid when time has fully shattered, and darkness has overpowered, me and Temporaz will fade away. Making Alphion the only spirit left. He will step in and dominate Equestria effortlessly. I'm afraid I must go. The first human has already transformed. Search for her, her name is Anne. Good luck."
Angealla began to ascend back into the spirit world. Blitz looked at Rainbow Dash. The cyan Pegasus saw tears swelling up inside the red maned Pegasus's eyes. She began to burst into tears. Dash didn't realize it, but tears were slowly rolling down her face as well.
How were they supposed to stop Alphion? The only way they did it before was using Alphion's own power against him when Sonic Spark sacrificed herself. Surely they could somehow do that again, but Alphion no longer had an agent. Sonic Spark was gone and Black Flare had been killed in the nightmare.
They would have to take this step by step. The first thing they should do is search for Anne.
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"Ponyville?"
Anne tilted her head in confusion. She looked at the sign on the outskirts of the town. She was actually in Ponyville.
"Ok this is just insane. I have to be dreaming."
She continued walking through the town. She recognized every pony in Ponyville. Lyra, Bon-Bon, Colgate, Derpy, Twilight, Fluttershy, The CMC's. They were all here, everything seemed so real she began to think that this wasn't a dream.
"Hey you!"
Anne turned around and saw two Pegasi flying towards her. She recognized one of them, it was Rainbow Dash. There was another pegasus next to her but she didn't recognize her. She hadn't been in any of the episodes of Friendship is Magic.
"Excuse me, we're looking for a pony by the name of Anne. Do you know her?"
Dash looked exhausted. Was she referring to her? Were they looking for her? But how could Rainbow Dash know who Anne was, she hadn't been in Ponyville for more than 10 minutes.
"Uhm. I'm Anne."
"What! You're Anne?"
As a human Anne was about 5;6, skinny, had light blue eyes and light blonde hair. As a pony she was similar, she had blue eyes, a white coat and a yellow and light red mane. She didn't have a cutie mark, likely because she wasn't a real pony.
"Wait, that means. You're actually a human right?"
"Ye..."
Anne was cut off when a large lightning bolt struck the ground near them. They jumped away in fright. Thunder began to roar and it began to rain hard. Every pony looked up at the sky. It had gone from a clear sunny day into a huge thunder storm. Every pony else thought this was just a coincidence.
Blitz looked at Rainbow Dash, they knew what was happening. Time was beginning to shatter, soon all they knew would freeze, not to move again unless the world was healed.
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"Master Alphion."
The spirit of darkness turned around. His illusion of Rainbow Dash stood before him.
"What is it?"
"Time is beginning to shattering Equestria. We already have record of a human turning into a pony. Slowly more will transform, accelerating the process."
"Good. Once the world has frozen in time, the only thing stopping me is Rainbow Dash."
"Oh and one more thing Master Alphion. There is something I wish to show you."
The grueling illusion of Rainbow Dash turned around and motioned Alphion to follow. She showed him to a small dark room, in the center was a small white counter. There was something tied to it. A pony, and alicorn to be exact.
It had a white coat and a pitch black mane. Blood was dripping out of the many gashes on its body, turning its white coat a dark red. It would make sudden movements at times, trying to get free. Alphion began to smile.
"Welcome back."
Alphion's Return (Part 1)
"Angealla. Today's the day... Equestria and Earth have merged insanely fast. Time has accelerated out of control."
"I know Temporaz. There's nothing we can do anymore. We have to put our faith in Rainbow Dash and Blitz."
Temporaz didn't say a word. Angealla turned around and saw the spirit of time slowly fading.
"Goodbye Angealla..."
Temporaz's body disappeared, his soul never to find any peace. When ponies died they were sent to Angealla's realm. Spirits were not supposed to die, because light and darkness was supposed to be balanced. But no longer, time had shattered and darkness ruled over light. Angealla's body began to shimmer.
"Guess it's time for me to go."
She looked down at the souls of the ponies of the spirit world. Unless Alphion was defeated and the world was healed they would wander oblivion for eternity.
"Blitz, Rainbow Dash.. please don't give up."
The spirit of light's body shimmered one last time. Then there was a small flash of light, and Angealla was gone.
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"Rainbow Dash!"
The cyan Pegasus turned around and saw her friend Blitz next to her.
"What is it Blitz?"
"I've searched all around Equestria, I can't find any other human ponies, I think we've found them all."
"Only 50? I thought that there would be a lot more."
"Yea but how are we supposed to hide all of them? I mean, its not an easy task and then we still have to do something about Alphion."
"I don't know Blitz, I don't know. Lets take this one step at a time."
The two Pegasi began to think hard for a few minutes. Then a human pony walked over to them, it was Anne. Out of all the human ponies, Anne understood what was actually going on. She had seen the show before and already knew just about everything about Equestria.
"Rainbow Dash."
"What is it Anne?"
"I wish I could help you stop Alphion ,but I know nothing about him. But I do know where we can hide everyone else."
The two Pegasi knew what she meant when she said anyone, humans spoke a lot differently than ponies.
"Where?" Blitz replied quickly.
"Follow me."
Rainbow Dash flew up a few feet. She gathered all the human ponies and explained to them what exactly was going on. She told them about Alphion, and how time was freezing. She told them that Angealla and Temporaz had likely faded away and Alphion was free to do as he pleased. After every pony was calm, Anne began to lead them to the hiding place.
"Wait a minute! The Elements of Harmony, we might need them."
"Wait, Dash." Bltiz said.
"What's the point? Without Twilight and the others the elements are useless."
"Not necessarily."
The two Pegasi turned around. Behind them stood Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.
"Look, when we freeze in time we will be incapable of performing any actions. However, our souls still contain the elements. If you could somehow transport our bodies, the elements could be used."
Rainbow Dash fetched the Elements of Harmony, while Blitz looked for a carriage to transport Twilight and the others bodies.
Every pony was ready to set out. It was still pouring rain and the thunder was booming. Lightning occasionally struck the ground near the ponies but no pony was hit. Then, the sky darkened even more, making it nearly impossible to see more than 10 feet in front of you. Rainbow Dash felt a wave of dread flow over her. Lightning struck the ground again near her, she jumped away. There was a loud cracking noise beneath her. She put one hoof forward and nearly fell forward. The thunder roared once again and the rain came down even harder.
"BLITZ!"
There was no reply. Rainbow's voice was quickly drowned out by more cracking and thunder. The ground beneath her began to shake vigorously, throwing her off balance. Then suddenly, everything stopped. The thunder, the rain, the cracking. Light slowly began to shine and sight was restored. Rainbow Dash flew up. The ground was shattered, with huge canyons that seemed bottomless all around. She looked around, all of the human ponies were ok, scared out of their minds, but ok. She looked at Twilight. Twilight's body had turned gray and she was stiff. The same for Rarity, Applejack and the others.
Everything around her was the same, the buildings. Even the raindrops were suspended in mid air. Did time just stop? Probably, since it seemed that that was the only explanation, I mean, the world was just ripping itself apart and then it all stopped. The cyan Pegasus flew over to the group of human ponies. They put Twilight and the others frozen bodies onto the cart, and set off.
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The thunder no longer roared and the rain no longer soaked the coats of the ponies. The wind no longer blew, causing all of the ponies to remain soaking wet. The air was dry, even though suspended raindrops floated everywhere. The moving group of human ponies trembled in fear as they saw the creatures of Equestria frozen in place. Everything pony or animal that lived in Equestria was frozen in time. Most of these human ponies had no idea what Equestria was either, only around 3 or 4 of them, including Anne were bronies. This was their dream to be able to be in Equestria, but not under these circumstances.
"This is it."
Anne came to a halt. Every other pony stopped behind her.
"I know this place..." Rainbow Dash said softly.
She remembered this was where all the animals used to hibernate, Fluttershy would wake them all up for the Winter Wrap Up. The cyan Pegasus let out a small chuckle. She remembered that one time when Fluttershy and Applejack were arguing because Applejack needed the snow melted fast so she could plant her seeds. Then Fluttershy needed it melted snow so she had time to wake up all the animals.
"This is a perfect spot."
Dash turned her head, Blitz was looking around at the open animal hollows.
"If we break away a little of the bark on some of the trees we can fit in them. I'm sure with some minor adjustments they would make good temporary homes."
"Then it's settled, Anne, Blitz, every pony else, lets get to work. We have little time before Alphion begins to march upon Equestria. Remember, he thinks we're all frozen in time, so if he doesn't see us in Ponyville, he will come looking, so don't stray too far from the clearing."
Every pony nodded their heads and began chipping away at the trees.
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Alphion stood in his domain, gazing through his portal to Equestria.
"Perfect. Equestria's timeline has officially shattered and Angealla and Temporaz are gone. And I didn't have to do a thing."
The spirit of darkness turned around and looked at his new army. His army was composed of the illusions of Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rarity. Standing next to them were the black shadows, which were the creatures that were used to drag ponies into Alphion's nightmare during his second attempt to envelop Equestria. They were primarily used to simply hit ponies and instantly drag them to the nightmare, but now using Alphion's powers, they had a different purpose. Their primary goal now was to simply slaughter any living thing that stood in their way.
Alphion no longer wanted ponies to suffer in his nightmare, that plan was ruined twice by Rainbow Dash. Now, he just wanted the soul of every living creature incinerated. He had gone completely insane, he didn't realize that Equestria without temporal control, would eventually collapse. The entire planet would shatter, leaving nothing but a large cloud of smoke.
The deranged spirit turned his head to the left. There was one more pony standing there, it took a step forward into the small shimmer of light in the room. Alphion looked first at its head, noticing it's cracked horn and dark black mane, which was turned a dark red in places due to bloodstains. He looked down a bit more at his white mane and dark black soulless eyes. It's left eye had a long scar running through it, which was still oozing blood slightly. It's front right leg had no skin, exposing the bones. Around it's body was small but deep gashes, with dried blood surrounding them. The ends of it's wings were charred and it's port wing was slashed open near the end.
"It's good to have you back, Black Flare."
Black Flare began to breath heavily, slightly limping as he walked towards Alphion.
"It's....good...to be back."
His voice was almost silent, but his words echoed in the room.
Alphion must have brainwashed him, because before he was knocked out in the nightmare, he struck back against Alphion, and gave the Amulet of Screaming Agony back to Rainbow Dash.
"I hope that you won't fail me this time."
"No master.......I..... won't fail again......"
"Good, now go!"
Alphion's voice thundered as he commanded the alicorn. Black Flare led the illusions and the black shadows through the portal, and into Equestria.
Alphion's Return (Part 2)
Time had stopped in Equestria. Temporaz and Angealla had faded away leaving Alphion as the only spirit left to govern the elements of the world. His original plan was to separate Rainbow Dash from the rest of the Elements of Harmony and drown every pony of Equestria in a nightmare. But after being defeated by his old minion, Sonic Spark he was done letting anyone survive... Black Flare and his army would merciless slaughter any living thing in Equestria. After time collapsed everything in the Equestrian timeline was frozen still. There would be no resistance... no survivors... no hope...
Black Flare and his army slowly wandered the open plains of Equestria. Everything was gray, the trees, the grass, the sky, the suspended raindrops. Whenever or wherever they saw another living creature, its body would be taken back to Alphion's lair, where its soul would be used to empower him. The only surviving ponies left were Rainbow Dash, Blitz, and the rest of the human ponies. Hopefully they could hide long enough to come up with a plan to stop the dark lord and end his reign. But how?
Rainbow Dash awoke in her hollow. She slowly stood up, her legs were sore, these hollows weren't very comfortable for a pony. It was fine for the woodland creatures that used to inhabit them, but they were to small for a grown mare. She stepped out of her hollow. No pony else was awake yet.
"This makes day 3." she said silently to herself.
Angealla had instructed Rainbow Dash and Blitz to round up any humans that had turned into ponies cause by the merging timelines and hide them. Well, they were hidden, but what could she do to stop Alphion? The Elements of Harmony could only temporarily banish him, as they did before. He was defeated before when he absorbed Sonic Sparks soul and she used his own power against him. But time began to accelerate out of control and he came back again. Was it possible to defeat him? A better question would be, did he know where they were?
Questions flooded the mares head and she began to feel dizzy. She began to hear voices in her head, screaming at her. It sounded like ponies screaming in pain calling for help. The cyan Pegasus jammed her hooves over he ears and collapsed to the floor.
She opened her eyes, only to find herself lying down back in her hollow. She lifted her head and saw Blitz enter.
"Hey you're awake. What happened out there? I woke up and saw you on the ground. You were shaking vigorously as if you had just had a nightmare."
"I, I don't know I went outside and I guess I just kind of got lost in thought. Then I heard voices and screaming in my head and I just passed out..."
Blitz began to frown, she hated seeing her friend in such a state of torture. Even after leaving Alphion's nightmare, any thoughts of him just made her go insane.
"You'd better get some rest, I'll make sure everything stays under control until then."
The cyan Pegasus didn't respond, her eyelids closed and she drifted off to sleep.
Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, she didn't see the bark ceiling of her hollow. Instead she saw nothing but an endless void of dark purple. She stood up, in every direction she saw the same thing, the same purple void. She could see small bright white lights twinkling in the distance. Was this a dream? It had to be. The rainbow maned Pegasus slammed her eyes shut and opened them again, normally this would wake her up from a dream, but it didn't work.
She began walking straight ahead. It seemed that no matter how far she walked the scenery didn't change and she didn't grow any closer to the lights.
"What is this place?" she said quietly.
The confused Pegasus heard a small noise behind her, it sounded like a hoof hitting the ground. She jerked her head around.
"Hello. Is any pony there?"
Her voice echoed throughout the dream. She heard a faint menacing laugh in the distance, it sounded very familiar. She knew she had heard it before, but where? and when?
The laugh echoed once again and Rainbow Dash froze. Her body turned cold and she turned stiff, her heart race began to increase. She knew this echoing menacing voice, it was one of Alphion's illusions, Fluttershy.
"Hi Rainbow Dash.... did you miss me?"
The petrified Pegasus whirled around, she saw the shadow of the illusion run away. She heard the illusions voice again, this time behind her. She turned around again and still nothing.
"Behind you!"
Rainbow Dash turned around, still nothing. Fluttershy was, taunting her. Just then, the Pegasus felt a cold hoof on her shoulder. She spun around to see the illusion of Fluttershy standing completely still behind her. She was just as terrifying as the first time Rainbow Dash had seen her. The rainbow maned Pegasus gulped.
"Wh, what do you want from me?"
"Relax Rainbow Dash, I'm not here for you. This is just a, warning. From Alphion. While he cannot tell where you are in the physical world, he can still reach you here."
Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. Did this mean she would be stuck in this dream to be tortured? The illusion let out a soft maniacal laugh.
"I know what you're thinking, no it is not true. This is a dream, not Alphion's Nightmare, he has no influence over your body or soul. I'm just here to deliver a message."
The cyan Pegasus began to sweat and slowly backed away from the abomination of her friend.
"Well what is it?"
The illusion cleared her throat.
"My dear Rainbow Dash, looks like you've managed to survive even under conditions such as these. While I have no idea how or why you and these other ponies remain in MY world, I will no longer stand for your meddling. Run and hide as much as you like, but my army is sweeping across Equestria as we speak. You and any other living creature will be mercilessly slaughtered. Live the remainder of your life making peace with whatever demons you have left. Because soon, I will paint the ground of Equestria with you're blood."
The illusion of Fluttershy backed away, and faded away. Rainbow Dash began to scream.
"AHHHH!"
She jammed her hooves over her ears, she was freaking out, going insane. She just wanted all this to end, why couldn't it all end? Even in death she wouldn't escape Alphion, Angealla's spirit world was gone and Alphion's minions would capture her soul in a second.
The cyan Pegasus opened her eyes and sat up with a freak movement in her hollow. Blitz, who was sitting next to her jumped back in fright.
"Jeez, Rainbow. You scared me! What happened."
"......................................Come. We need to talk."
The two Pegasi exited the hollow.
"Blitz!"
The red maned Pegasus turned around.
"What is it Anne?"
"We have bad news. Look..."
The human pony turned around and pointed her hoof at the horizon.
"Oh no."
Blitz's eyes turned dark. She stood in awe as the ravaged Black Flare and his army of shadows slowly walked towards the encampment.
"They don't know were here yet, we can still hide!"
Anne and Blitz gathered up all the human ponies and rushed them into their hollows. Then they both ran into Rainbow Dash's hollow to hide.
The three sat in complete silence as Alphion's army passed through the camp. Just as they thought everything was going to be ok, they heard a noise from outside.
"Hello? Anybody here?"
Rainbow Dash peered out. One of the human ponies had stumbled out of the woods into the camp. Black Flare turned around and gazed into the helpless human pony's eyes.
"Hi there." He said with a grim smile on his face.
The human pony backed away slowly, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. She knew what was about to happen. Blitz began to cry as well and she turned her head away. Rainbow Dash and Anne followed. They heard a sharp, ear shattering scream from outside. Tears began to run down the red maned Pegasus's eyes.
"Search the area. There may be more of them."
Rainbow Dash's heart stopped. Surely they would check the hollows. They needed to get out of there now. But how? They were surrounded, Black Flare had an army and all they had was a few human ponies. Rainbow Dash looked at the frozen bodies of her friends to the right. She turned to the left and saw Blitz sobbing quietly and Anne holding back tears. She didn't what she had to do, but she had to get her friends out of here.
Alphion was back... unless she did something, the last hope for Earth and Equestria and every human and pony who inhabited them was gone.
"Search the area. There may be more of them!"
Black Flare's army was passing through the safe zone of the human ponies, until a lone one stumbled out of the woods. She was almost immediately slaughtered by Alphion's shadows and the area was now being patrolled. Rainbow Dash knew they would check the hollows eventually. But when? How much time did the even have to plan an escape? Was it even possible to escape? And if they did, would she have to leave the bodies of her friends behind?
Blitz was still sobbing in the corner of the hollow, her mouth was being covered by Anne. If not Blitz's sobs would have been loud enough to alert Alphion's minions.
"Blitz!" Rainbow Dash said quietly but angrily.
The hysterical Pegasus looked up, surprised at her friends tone.
"I'm trying to think right now and your crying isn't helping! If you don't shut up you're going to get us all killed!"
Blitz's crying stopped and the hollow became dead silent. Rainbow Dash had never spoken to her in such an angry tone. Anne removed her hoof from Blitz's mouth. The red maned Pegasus slowly nodded her head.
Suddenly, a sharp scream of pain came from outside the hollow. Rainbow Dash jumped up in surprise and banged her head on the wooden ceiling. She let out a small screech of pain. Everything then turned silent. The sounds from outside were gone, complete, udder, dead silence.
"No... no.. this is it. I screwed up, we're all going to die right here, because of me." Rainbow Dash thought to herself.
Rainbow Dash needed a plan, and she needed a plan now. She had to get her and her friends out of here. She raised her right hoof and motioned Blitz to stand on the right side of the doorway. She motioned Anne to stand on the left side. Both of them looked confused, but they were confident that Rainbow Dash had a plan.
The hollow became dark and something began to enter. Likely one of Black Flare's minions. Hopefully it was just one, if it wasn't they were done for. Sure enough, one of Alphion's shadows stepped into the dim light of the hollow.
Rainbow Dash rose up into the air, and like a bullet, fired herself at the shadow. The shadow flew back out of the hollow, dazed by the impact.
"NOW! Blitz, grab Anne!"
Since Anne wasn't a Pegasus she wouldn't be able to fly away. Blitz and Rainbow Dash picked her up and dashed off, flying faster then they could have ever hoped to.
Back at the clearing Black Flare stared at the horizon as the 3 ponies flew away. He began to laugh menacingly.
"Black Flare. Do we give chase to the Pegasi and the human pony."
"No. They'll be back."
Far away from the clearing Rainbow Dash and Blitz landed, setting Anne down as well. Blitz was exhausted, she wasn't used to flying fast, or carrying another pony.
"Blitz, go now. Take Anne and run, I have to go back and see how many other human ponies I can get out of there."
"Rainbow Dash, you can't. There's too many of them, you'll die. We barely made it out of there."
For a moment the trio just stood in silence looking at each other. Rainbow Dash didn't speak, but the look in her eyes told Blitz that she was going back, and that nothing would change that.
"Good luck..." Blitz said softly.
"Don't worry about me, just stay focused on getting away from here, I'll meet with you later."
The cyan Pegasus dashed of, back into the clearing.
Black Flare slowly walked through the clearing, firing a dark beam at any human pony who escaped the grasp of the shadows. Their bodies covered the floor and blood stained the cold hard ground. He turned around and looked straight ahead at the sky. He began to smile and let out a small hiss.
Rainbow Dash was flying back towards them.
"So, she came alone. That I did not expect. Oh well, this will be fun."
Rainbow Dash hovered high directly above the clearing.
"Here we go!"
She plunged directly at the ground, picking up massive speed.
"What is she doing?"
Suddenly, as she nearly reached the ground, a huge rainbow pulse shot out from her body, striking all of Black Flare's minions in the vicinity. They all retreated back into Alphion's Nightmare, phased by the blast. Black Flare however stood string, he wasn't even dazed by the pulse. It was as if a small breeze had hit him.
The remaining human ponies stopped and stared at Rainbow Dash.
"Go now!"
The cyan Pegasus pointed her hoof in the direction she had taken Blitz and Anne.
"Nah uh uh. I don't think so."
The deranged alicorn's horn began to glow, and all of the human ponies were brought back next to him.
"How about we play a little game Rainbow Dash?"
The cyan Pegasus didn't speak. She stood there with her, front hooves bent forward, her teeth clenched and her eyes were completely fixated on Black Flare.
"All of these, helpless, innocent, worthless human ponies can go, and survive for maybe an extra day. Or you can watch me slaughter them all and you can go free. Make your choice."
Black Flare slowly backed up, giving Rainbow Dash and evil smile. The cyan Pegasus thought long and hard, was it worth it to save them?
"Think Rainbow Dash. They're all going to die anyway, you don't know any of them. You on the other hand are useful, strong, you serve a purpose."
Thoughts raced through Rainbow Dash's mind. Blitz and Anne needed her, but then... the only surviving human ponies would be killed. They didn't do anything wrong, this wasn't their fault, why should they suffer? But they couldn't stop this, the only one who had a chance was Rainbow Dash. She jammed her hooves over her ears, She began to get a bad headache.
"Time's running out, here this will make you think faster."
Black Flare turned toe the remaining 12 human ponies. His horn began to glow and he raised one up into the air. The human pony grabbed it's throat, Black Flare was choking it. The human pony began to squirm and began to make horrible bloodcurdling sounds. The dark alicorn dropped the human pony to the floor. He didn't even kill it, he was going to leave it there to die slowly, and painfully.
The cyan Pegasus still didn't move. She had taken her eyes off Black Flare and was now staring at the body of the paralyzed human pony. Blood slowly flowed out of his mouth, staining the cold dark ground. He occasionally began to shiver vigorously for a second or two, but it would he would soon settle down again. She took a step towards him.
"No no no."
Black Flare shook his head and raised up yet another human pony. This one, a filly. As a human she must have just been a little girl.
"No! Wait."
The dark alicorn picked up his head and lowered the little human filly.
"Have you made a decision?"
Rainbow Dash looked at the nearly lifeless body of the human pony. Then at the little human filly, she began to remember herself as a filly. She was so bold, so stubborn, and still so brave. She stood up for Fluttershy against those 3 bullies, and she beat them all in the race. She always did what had to be done, she always did the right thing. But what was the right thing to do here?
The dark alicorn's horn began to glow again, and the little human filly was yet again raised into the air.
"No." Rainbow Dash thought to herself. She knew what she was going to do, it was risky, but it had to be done.
She flapped her wings once hard and shot up into the air, she charged with all her might at Black Flare. The dark alicorn wasn't paying attention to her, as he looked in front of him, all he saw was Rainbow Dash, and then the cold gray ground.
When she struck Black Flare he went flying backwards and landed face first on the hard time frozen ground. He slowly stood up, his magic powers were great, but physically, he was a wreck. The damages from Alphion's strike couldn't be undone, he was weak.
Rainbow Dash let out a weak smile. There was still hope, a few more hard hits and she could cripple him.
"You guys, go!"
The rest of the human ponies ran off in the direction Blitz had gone. Black Flare hissed at Rainbow Dash.
"Foolish Pegasus, feel my real power! May the aura of death surround you!"
A dark pulse shot out of Black Flare, Rainbow Dash began to fly in the opposite direction but it was useless, it was too fast. She became enveloped by the pulse, and disappeared within it's darkness. The darkness faded and Black Flare looked down at the floor. Rainbow Dash was being held to the ground by four shadows, whose arms extended out of the ground and held her legs down. Two more then shot up out of the ground and held on tightly to her wings.
"That was a stupid move of you Rainbow Dash. By not obeying the rules of our game, I'm afraid there will be consequences."
The cyan Pegasus stopped resisting the shadow's hold. She raised her head and looked into Black Flare's soulless eyes.
"You stay away from them, or I swear I'll get you."
She spoke quietly and softly. Rainbow Dash was exhausted, the shadows were draining her energy, until she eventually collapsed to the ground, incapable of resisting. She closed her eyes and drifted off.
The cyan Pegasus awoke. The shadows still held a tight grip on her, and there, standing in front of her was Black Flare. Next to him, were the rest of the human ponies.
"Look who I found. Poor things were trying to escape. But that's against the rules."
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth, but no words escaped. She couldn't speak.
"Now Rainbow Dash, since you broke a rule, there will be consequences."
Rainbow Dash thought Black Flare would do what he did to the other human pony, choke it and then leave it to die. But instead, he did something different. He fired a small beam at the shadows grasping onto Rainbow Dash. They released their grip, and let the Pegasus go.
Black Flare's horn began to glow once again, and a small white pulse emanated from it. As they struck Rainbow Dash's head she felt herself moving forward. She tried to make her legs stop but she couldn't. Black Flare was controlling her. She was his puppet. She looked again at the human filly, what was this monster going to make her do. She flinched at the thought of it.
"No. I can't do this." She thought to herself.
The cyan Pegasus began to hear a voice in her head. Alphion's voice...
"Yes, yes you will. Don't fight it, it's over Rainbow Dash. Give in, this world is mine now."
Black Flare began to strain as he struggled to maintain control over Rainbow Dash. While she was physically exhausted, it was nearly impossible to break her will. Black Flare saw now why Alphion had such difficulty with her in the nightmare. The cyan Pegasus lifted one hoof and took at step closer to the human filly.
Rainbow Dash's will wouldn't let her, she pulled herself back and stepped away. Black Flare was growing impatient, was it really worth it at this point to make Rainbow Dash kill her? His instructions were to wipe out the human ponies, not torture Rainbow Dash.
Black Flare's horn stopped glowing and Rainbow Dash regained her will. She stood there, breathing heavily. She looked up, into the black soulless eyes of Black Flare. He smiled at her. The six shadows that restrained her before again reached out of the ground and held on to her hooves and wings.
"Well Rainbow Dash, it appears your will is too strong to be broken. Since you won't harm them, I will have to do it for you."
Black Flare's deep black eyes began to glow a light blood red color. He looked at one of the human ponies, standing on the right side of the line. The human pony looked up in fright into the alicorn's eyes. He tried to look away, but something was forcing him to stare into Black Flare's glowing red eyes. Every other human pony started staring at the other human pony. They watched in horror as blood began to drip from his eyes. His eyes disintegrated, leaving him with blank eye sockets. His skin began to melt away and dissolve. Soon, nothing was left of him other than bones. The skeleton collapsed to the floor and the human ponies shrieked in horror.
Black Flare's eyes stopped glowing. He looked at Rainbow Dash and chuckled. The cyan Pegasus stood there helpless. She wasn't even looking at Black Flare's victim, she was staring at the ground. She was too exhausted to move her head.
Rainbow Dash stood with her head held low. Black Flare would occasionally say something but she wasn't listening. She didn't care about what he had to say. But every time she heard the terrified shriek of a human pony, she knew what he was doing. And it killed her inside to know that these innocent humans were turned into ponies, and were being killed for no good reason. And at this point, there was nothing Rainbow Dash could do to help. She knew she was doomed as well, but she hoped Blitz and Anne would make it out ok.
"Hey Rainbow Dash, look up. There's still one left. Come on, don't be a downer."
"P..p...please don't hurt me."
When Rainbow Dash heard the soft voice of a little girl, her head popped up. Black Flare had saved the little human filly for last. She looked into the light blue eyes of the little filly. She saw tears streaming down the sides of her face, which made Rainbow Dash begin to cry as well.
"I...I'm so sorry."
Black Flare merely chuckled.
"Aww how cute. What kind of monster would hurt such an innocent little filly. Oh that's right! I would."
Black Flare's horn began to glow a sinister purple. There was a bright purple flash, and Rainbow Dash was blinded. Then, everything went silent as a loud screech echoed in the area. But... it wasn't the screech of a filly. The purple flash cleared, and sprawled across the floor, was Blitz.
She had been waiting there, undetected the whole time. And now, she sacrificed herself for this human filly.
"Well it seems as if we have a visitor. Or had a visitor for that matter."
"No! Blitz!"
Rainbow Dash struggled to get free from the shadows gripping her, but it was useless. They had sucked her dry of all her energy.
"Now, lets get back to business."
Black Flare's horn began to glow once again. Rainbow Dash was too busy weeping over the loss of her friend to care.
"Got something to say Rainbow Dash?"
"Be quiet. An just finish it already. You've put me through enough already, just kill me now and we both get what we want."
Black Flare smiled.
"As you wish. She goes first," he said as he pointed to the human filly, "Then you."
Rainbow Dash growled lightly. Just as Black Flare was ready to cast his spell again, suddenly he fell forward and smashed his face on the ground in front of him. Standing behind him was Anne, she had followed Blitz back here and took the perfect opportunity to take out Black Flare.
The alicorn stood up, his right jaw was completely shattered, and it hung off his mouth. He was no longer able to speak. A faint mumbling noise left his mouth.
"Y..ou.... bitch..."
He raised his horn once again, preparing to launch a spell of some sort at Anne. He fired a dark beam at the human pony, who quickly jumped out of the way and dashed towards RD. Black Flare followed her with the beam.
Anne jumped over Rainbow Dash and pulled her away from the shadows. They didn't loosen their grip but they were pulled out of the ground and became exposed to Black Flares attack. The beam struck the shadows and Rainbow Dash was free.
"Ugh. Thanks Anne."
"No problem. Now come one, lets finish this excuse for an alicorn off."
Black Flare lifted his head and paused his attack. He picked up his hoof and put it near his jaw. The two Pegasi looked away in disgust as he cracked his jaw back into place.
"Go get the human filly and get out of here Anne." Rainbow Dash whispered.
"What about you and Blitz?"
"Don't worry about me, he's alone now. I can handle him."
Anne dashed forward and scooped the human filly onto her back. She ran towards the mountains in the north. Hopefully she could hide the human filly there long enough so Rainbow Dash could defeat Black Flare.
Black Flare raised his horn, prepared to attack Anne.
"Hang on there Black Flare. Let's play a game."
Black Flare laughed.
"Hmph. Ok Rainbow Dash."
"I beat you right here right now, me, Blitz and Anne go free. You win, you can kill all of us. No resistance."
"That's not very fun. Do you know how boring it is to kill someone when they don't resist? But I like your style. Lets god, my turn first."
As soon as he closed his mouth Black Flare flapped his wings and launched himself into the air. Rainbow Dash immediately followed. He stopped his ascension high up over the clouds. Rainbow Dash and Black Flare stared at each other for a minute, neither of them saying a word.
Black Flare charged at Rainbow Dash with extreme force. The cyan Pegasus easily dodging his attack, grabbed his by the wings and attempted to throw him to the ground. Black Flare wasn't as experienced at fly as Rainbow Dash, giving her an advantage.
"If I can't fly faster than you, I guess I'll just have to kill you how I do everyone else."
He launched a flurry of dark beams and missiles at Rainbow Dash.
The cyan Pegasus was twirling left and right attempting to dodge the spells. Eventually, her wing power was beginning to fade and her technique became sloppy. A missile struck her port wing, and she spiraled towards the ground.
She landed hard into the cold gray soil.
Black Flare descended to the ground and landed next to the body of the Pegasus.
"You lose." he said softly.
But just then, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes. She quickly jumped up and stuck Black Flare in his jaw, the same spot where he had broken it before. She then hovered above him, and kicked him on the top of the head, ramming his face into the ground.
Blood poured out of the alicorn's mouth, staining the soil. His body faded away, back into Alphion's Nightmare.
Rainbow Dash rushed over to Blitz's body, hoping to find her still alive. She turned her over, and stood in shock. Blitz's eyes were open, unblinking, and her body didn't move the slightest. Rainbow Dash put her hoof over her heart, no heartbeat. Blitz was dead.
"No. No it can't be! Blitz!"
Rainbow Dash sobbed over the corpse of her dead best friend.
"Oh poor Rainbow Dash, left alone yet again."
The cyan Pegasus turned around. Behind her, stood the dark lord Alphion. Simply being in his presence gave Rainbow Dash the chills.
"It's a shame what happened to Blitz. But, it brings me one step closer to my goal. Once I eradicate you, every single pure pony will have been wiped off the face of this damned world. And don't worry about Anne and that other human pony. They'll be joining you in hell soon."
Alphion raised his right hand, preparing an attack to finish off Rainbow Dash forever. But suddenly, the ground began to shake vigorously beneath them. Rainbow Dash was knocked to the ground.
"What's going on here? There should be no earthquakes, time has stopped."
The ground split open, separating Alphion and Rainbow Dash. Angealla's predictions were coming true, with no one governing time, Equestria was going to shatter, until nothing remained. Alphion was never going to have a world to rule, the world was about to end.
This was it. The world began to shatter beneath Alphion, the world he wanted to rule, was about to collapse. Rainbow Dash knew what was happening, at least they would die knowing Alphion did not succeed in taking over Equestria.
An angry look began to grow on Alphion's face. He was still clueless of what was happening.
"Don't you understand Alphion?"
The dark lord raised his head and looked at Rainbow Dash, who was struggling to maintain her footing.
"With no one governing time, time cannot exist. This world cannot exist. There will be no Equestria for you to rule. The same goes for Earth as well, you are going to be left alone with no purpose, it's over!"
"It's not over, not yet!"
Alphion raised his hand and cuffed them together. He levitated above the shattering earth below him. Suddenly, he raised both of his arms and let out a loud echoing roar. A black pulse fired out from where his hands had been cuffed. The blast hit Rainbow Dash, sending her flying back. The cyan Pegasus shook her head to recover from the dizziness from the blast. She looked down, at saw Blitz's body falling down, into the earth.
She began to dash down, to catch Blitz.
"You're not going anywhere!"
Alphion began unleashing a flurry of attacks aimed at Rainbow Dash. Every single one missed, striking a piece of land instead. Alphion dove down, in pursuit of Rainbow Dash.
The cyan Pegasus flew at intense speed, staying focused on her surroundings and making sure to avoid any obstacles. She stuck out her hoof as she increased her speed and prepared to grab Blitz's body.
Just as she was within reach, a small purple ball struck Blitz, and she faded away. Rainbow Dash stopped her descent into the underground layers of Equestria. She looked up and saw Alphion, slowly lowering himself to Rainbow Dash's level.
"I don't care, if Equestria is destroyed. I will still rule all of you for eternity."
Rainbow Dash tilted her head, she had no idea what the deranged spirit meant.
"I've slaughtered every living thing in Equestria, their souls wander the plane of death as we speak. All I need to do is recapture their souls and bring them to my nightmare, where they will all suffer the same fate you did previously."
The cyan Pegasus flinched. Even with Equestria crumbling, Alphion was still going to win. He grabbed Rainbow Dash by the throat, giving her no time to fly away. But where could she fly anyways, they were far underground.
"Come."
He dashed towards the surface, holding Rainbow Dash out in front of him, making her collide with any of the shattered ground. Alphion pierced the top layer of soil, and rose up into the dead air of the collapsing Equestria.
He threw Rainbow Dash on the ground like a rag doll.
"Get up. Come on, you were so brave and strong before. What happened?"
The rainbow maned Pegasus stood up.
"There we go. I want you to see something."
Alphion"s eyes flashed a bright white, blinding Rainbow Dash temporarily. When she could see again, she saw two ponies running, one a grown mare and the other a filly. She looked closer, it was Anne and the human filly. Behind them she saw the ground shattering. They were still alive! But, as they continued to run, Rainbow Dash noticed something ahead in the distance, two purple figures. It was two of Alphion's minions. The two human ponies ran right into the arms of the minions. Both of them struggled to get free, but it was useless and the minions faded away with them in their arms.
"Like what you see?"
Another light flashed and the vision disappeared. Rainbow Dash was now staring into the deep black eyes of the spirit of darkness. The cyan Pegasus was speechless, Alphion grinned.
Just then, the earth beneath the two began to crumble, Alphion flew away slowly, while Rainbow Dash was caught off guard and fell. Alphion peered over the edge of the platform he was on. He laughed as Rainbow Dash plummeted to the bottom of the dark hole. He raised his arm and using his powers, raised the Pegasus out of the pit.
Rainbow Dash was confused, why would Alphion save her? Was there something else he wanted?
Alphion grabbed Rainbow Dash by the throat yet again.
"You, you have no idea how much I want to crush your throat now. I wish I could, but I can't. Not yet I can't."
Why couldn't he? Why couldn't he just end it now?
"Rainbow Dash, I'm going to put you down, and you're going to listen to me, and you're going to answer any questions I ask you. Or I will personally decimate the soul of every living creature in Equestria."
The dark lord dropped Rainbow Dash to the ground yet again. The earth was crumbling all around them, but Alphion no longer seemed to care.
"Now Rainbow Dash."
The cyan Pegasus looked up.
"Why. Why are you here? Why did you not freeze in time like every other worthless being on this planet. I am aware that the human ponies were unaffected but you and Blitz could still roam free."
Rainbow Dash was hesitant to answer, but finally she said,
"After we were resurrected by Angealla, time began to spiral out of control as two beings that didn't belong in time were existing. Temporaz became weak, and didn't have enough power to fix it, so he faded and when time shattered and darkness began to rule, Angealla faded as well. We were not of the Equestrian timeline anymore, so we were unaffected by any changes."
"So it was just you and Blitz? There's no one else out there?"
"No. Me and Blitz were the only ones."
Alphion stood silent for a moment. Suddenly, a large chunk of land flew by and struck Alphion, knocking him to the ground. Rainbow Dash took the opportunity to escape and she flew away.
Alphion stood up and saw the Pegasus flying away in the distance.
"Hmph. That bitch never seems to sit still. No matter."
Alphion descended into the ground and faded away back into his realm.
Rainbow Dash set herself down in a spot far away form where she had abandoned Alphion. It was incredibly luck for her that Alphion was struck by that piece of land. If he was more aware of the situation he could have captured her.
She knew she couldn't stay here very long. Alphion wouldn't rest until Rainbow Dash was captured, she was the only living creature in Equestria. He was going to go all out to capture her.
"Wow, I'm alone and being chased by Alphion"s minions, doesn't this seem familiar..."
Memories of being trapped in the nightmare seeped into Rainbow Dash's head. She remembered the constant torture, like when the illusions attempted to cut her eyes out. Or when they blasted her with frigid air. She remembered the constant fear she had when she rested, hoping that she wouldn't fall asleep and get caught.
The more she thought the more hopeless she became. What could she even do at this point? She couldn't stop Alphion by herself, he wasn't going to dominate Equestria, but if he lived he could continue to cause destruction in other worlds. Rainbow Dash was ready to die, but if she did, she wanted to take Alphion down with her, and avenge all of her friends that had perished because of him.
"Time to do some planning."
"Master Alphion, there is no need to continue chasing Rainbow Dash. She will die out there, it's a waste of time, and she already managed to kill Black Flare."
The dark lord turned around and stared into the empty eye sockets of his Fluttershy illusion. Normally Alphion was so calm and collected because he always had a carefully deviated plan. But he was slowly becoming insane, he wanted to rule Equestria, but it was about to fade away. He wanted, no he needed the satisfaction of killing Rainbow Dash more than anything now.
"No. Gather up every minion we can spare, we are going into Equestria to end this now."
"Lord Alph...."
"I SAID NOW!"
Fluttershy's illusion cowered in fear as Alphion's voice thundered throughout the room. She turned around and exited Alphion's lair.
He turned around and faced his portal to Equestria. He looked at the world slowly cracking apart and fading away into dust.
"Before this is over Rainbow Dash, I will find you. And I will make you feel pain that will make everything else that was done to you seem like a paper cut."
Alphion raised his fist and smashed it into the wall next to him, leaving a large hole in it. He turned around and faded away into the shadows.
"Master Alphion. Your minions have been readied as you requested."
Alphion turned around as Fluttershy's illusion entered his domain. As intimidating as the illusion looked, when in the presence of Alphion, even she cowered in fear. Especially with Alphion's current state. He was completely insane, gone beyond the point of recovery. He no longer cared for anything, except the satisfaction of tearing Rainbow Dash apart. He would give every one of his soldiers and every element of his being to destroy the final element of harmony.
"Good. Prepare for entrance into Equestria."
Fluttershy reluctantly nodded her head and walked away. Even she knew entering Equestria at it's current instability would destroy them all. But Alphion need to kill Rainbow Dash himself, he couldn't let her die from Equestria's shattering.
Rainbow Dash continued to fly throughout the ruins of Equestria. She watched in horror as pieces of the land shattered and simply faded away into darkness. The air was so thin it was getting hard for her to even breathe. She could feel her lungs slowly closing up. It could only mean that not just the land was fading, the oxygen and any other gases were fading as well.
The cyan Pegasus continued to think and hope that Alphion would return to Equestria. She couldn't let Alphion continue to live, and if he was foolish enough to comeback to Equestria, she could hold him here long enough until he faded away, just as everything else in this world would.
She landed on a large piece of land, hoping for a quick rest. She had been flying for hours, if she didn't rest she could wear herself out and just collapse from exhaustion, and the lack of oxygen didn't help. The Pegasus felt dizzy at times, as if she had just been kicked in the stomach, everything would become blurry and she would collapse to the floor. As time went on, well time wasn't going on, but as she continued her flight, the dizziness became more frequent.
As she rested, she became more and more tired. She decided to lay down just for a minute so that the dizziness would wear off. She closed her eyes just for a moment, and she was out like a light. She passed out from the exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep.
The cyan Pegasus continued her nap, as she was woken up by a loud cracking noise. She opened her eyes and looked below her. The ground she was sleeping on was beginning to fade away. She instantly shot up into the air just before the last spec of soil disappeared from view.
"I need to stay focused. If Alphion comes I need to be ready for him."
As Equestria was slowly ripped from it's dimension, near the ruins of Ponyville, a dark shadow descended upon the torn land. Alphion and his army had stepped through their portal and entered Equestria, and if Rainbow Dash stopped them, it would be the last time they would ever do so. Alphion slowly moved his heard around as he looked at his army of soulless mindless minions. They would slaughter anyone or anything at his command.
"Spread out. Find Rainbow Dash. We do not leave Equestria until she is brought to me. GO!"
The shadows scattered in every direction, heeding their master's call.
"I know you're out there. You can't escape me this time."
Alphion let out a menacing laugh as he watched his shadows fly in every direction, surrounding Equestria.
Rainbow Dash opened her eyes. She looked around her, and found herself on another piece of land. She had collapsed from exhaustion and didn't even notice it.
"This is bad. I can't keep myself awake, here I am falling asleep in midair. Next time I might not be so lucky."
She looked around her, their was open space everywhere, just dead space. She could easily fall asleep in mid-air and just end up in a huge free-fall.
The cyan Pegasus flapped her wings and began to fly yet again. She halted suddenly after hearing a noise to her left.
She flew over to the small platform where she heard the noise. She slowly set herself down and looked around. There was nothing anywhere, but she was sure she heard a noise. Just then, she felt something grab her ankles. She looked down and saw the arms of Alphion's minions gripping her legs.
She struggled to get free, not wanting to be captured. If Alphion captured her and killed her, he could return to his world in safety. It was useless, the shadows pulled Rainbow Dash down, and faded away.
"Rainbow Dash. You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment."
The cyan Pegasus opened her eyes and found herself looking at Alphion, who stood tall in front of her. He turned around, and motioned his minions to go back through the portal.
As the last one exited Alphion rose his hand.
"Wait. Close the portal behind you."
The shadow did as it was told, and the portal to Alphion's nightmare was closed.
"Come on Alphion. Just do it and be done with me."
"Not quite. After the hell I've gone through to get to this moment, I will not just finish you off."
Rainbow Dash growled. She just wanted to be done with this forever, she didn't care about life or death anymore. There was nothing worth living for anymore and she had every reason to die.
"Do you remember Sonic Spark? Black Flare? My two minions, both of them had there powers increased by me..."
Alphion turned around and looked into Rainbow Dash's eyes.
"Yet at one time, you defeated both of them. Now, it would be a huge waste for me to just be rid of you forever. Before, I was completely set on tearing you apart, but I've calmed down. And I see that, why kill you? You are worth so much."
"Why in hell would I ever help you. I would saw my own head off and be done with this."
"I don't know. Maybe because I am the only one left who can still give life to the ones that have lost theirs!"
Alphion raised his arms, and conjured a small illusion in front of Rainbow Dash. The cyan Pegasus looked, and began to cry as she saw Blitz, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy and all of her friends running around and playing.
"Equestria is doomed Rainbow Dash. While I cannot fix it, my realm is still in perfect shape. I could let every innocent pony wander the same world they used to know and love, and all you have to do is join me. Or, I can kill you, and the soul of every innocent pony in Equestria will know the same torture you experienced so long ago in my nightmare."
Rainbow Dash looked helplessly at the dark lord. Would he really spare the soul of every pony? Or was he just trying to trick her?
The cyan Pegasus stood up and looked into Alphion's black soulless eyes.
"Every pony, even Blitz, they will live just as they had before."
"Yes Rainbow Dash. I can even restore poor Sonic Spark to her former state."
Rainbow Dash stood at silence for a moment, still staring at Alphion. She gulped and softly muttered...
"Ok."
"Excellent. I was hoping you would come to your senses."
Alphion turned around and held his palm out. He waved it around in a circle and small portal opened, the portal into his nightmare.
"After you."
Rainbow Dash slowly walked towards the portal. She stopped in front of it.
"Hey, Alphion."
"What?"
"See you in hell."
Rainbow Dash turned around and dashed with all her might at Alphion. She struck him with such intense force that he went flying backwards and landed on the ground. The cyan Pegasus continued her ascent into the sky. She looked at Alphion who was still down on the floor. She charged directly towards him, increasing her speed rapidly. She felt herself getting faster and faster until, a large rainbow pulse shot out from behind her. She charged directly at Alphion, and drove herself straight into the dark lord, shattering the entire platform he was on.
Smoke and dust covered the area, making sight impossible. The dust cleared and two figure could be seen floating through the dead space of Equestria.
Alphion opened his eyes and in total rage grabbed Rainbow Dash by the throat.
"You have no idea what you've just done."
Alphion landed on another platform, still clutching the Pegasus's neck. He dropped her to the floor. She looked up at him. She was barely able to move due to her injuries from the impact. She was spitting out blood and her entire body was bruised and slashed open. Her back right leg had been twisted in an awkward position, the bone had completely snapped.
Just as Alphion opened his mouth to say something, the earth around them began to rumble. The ground began to shake and the small platforms began to split open into even smaller ones. This was it, Equestria was about to fade away for good, and take everything with it.
Alphion let out a soft growl.
"I see what you were trying to do. Hold me here long enough so we would both die from Equestria's shattering. You're smart Rainbow Dash. But you still failed."
Alphion grabbed Rainbow Dash again, and faded away, back into his dimension. Just before they faded away, a soft voice could be heard echoing throughout the land.
"No Alphion, it's not over. Not yet..."
"Wake up Rainbow Dash. Welcome home..."
The cyan Pegasus opened her bloodshot eyes. She looked around her, she saw nothing but darkness. She was back Alphion's Nightmare.
"Great..." She thought to herself.
"So. Rainbow Dash, you know, I find it a disappointment that you declined my offer. But that can't be helped, I see that you will never join me. But, you know the terms of our deal, if you didn't join me, you know what happens next."
Rainbow Dash instantly jumped to her feet. She wasn't going to let Alphion decimate the soul of every pony in Equestria, not unless she fought until she was dead as well.
"Oooh. You still have some energy left I see. Well, I'm too tired to finish you off now. Why don't you, go play with your friends?"
Alphion laughed menacingly. Rainbow Dash felt herself fading away, she looked at the floor. She was being dragged down, by something. Her screams echoed throughout the halls of Alphion's lair.
She awoke, cold and stiff, on a hard blue icy ground. She looked around her, this was, this was where she had suffered in Alphion's Nightmare before. This place would haunt her even in death. The mere thought of being chased by those illusions made her shriek.
If only being chased by those illusion was a mere thought... The cyan Pegasus turned around, and 5 ponies stood behind her. Not just any ponies though, Alphion's forsaken illusion.
"Hi Rainbow Dash. Master Alphion has instructed us to keep you company until he is ready to finish you off once and for all." Fluttershy said.
"What do you say we help him out a bit?" Twilight said.
"Sounds like a good plan to me dear." Rarity said.
The 5 ponies looked at Rainbow Dash. The rainbow maned Pegasus slowly backed away from the damned illusions.
Applejack stomped her hoof on the ground, making the ice crack. Small shards of ice flew through the air. Rainbow Dash looked in confusion at the 5 ponies. Then, Fluttershy jumped into the air and grabbed a shard of ice. She lunged at Rainbow Dash, sticking the ice right into her port wing.
Rainbow Dash shrieked in pain. She attempted to move her wing, but she was in too much pain to budge it. Applejack stepped closer to her. She grabbed the Pegasus by the throat and began to choke her.
Pinkie Pie took a step closer, and pulled a small knife out of the satchel on her back. She raised the knife, and began cutting into the cyan Pegasus. Rainbow Dash stuck out her leg and delivered a hard kick to Pinkie Pie's stomach. The knife flipped wildly into the air. Rainbow Dash jerked herself away from Applejack and move her into the path of the plummeting blade.
The knife struck Applejack in the back of her neck. The earth pony fell to the ground, a pool of blood began to form around her. The 4 illusions stood silent as they looked at the corpse of the battered pony.
"Oh you're in for it now Rainbow Dash."
"What do you want from me Alphion?"
"I have one final request of you."
"No, I got you Rainbow Dash, I have no interest in helping you anymore. Just kill her and leave the ponies alone."
"You will do what I tell you, or you can say goodbye to the rest of the ponies of Equestria."
"..................."
Rainbow Dash backed away from the remaining 4 illusions.
"Come on, who's next."
Fluttershy stopped. She opened her mouth and began to speak.
"All of us."
Just as those words were uttered the four illusions pounced on Rainbow Dash.
"Hold her down."
Fluttershy turned around, and took the knife out of Applejack's corpse. She slowly moved the knife towards Rainbow Dash's left eye.
"I hope you can see fine with one eye."
"I'd prefer not to."
Rainbow Dash then spun around, freeing her legs from the other illusions grip. She then jumped off and knocked Fluttershy off her.
"I've had enough of you."
Fluttershy then raised her hoof and threw the knife at Rainbow Dash.
Just as the knife was inches away from the Pegasus's face, it stopped. The blade stood suspended in mid-air. A black cloud of smoke formed around it, and Alphion appeared, blocked the knife.
"Enough. Rainbow Dash, it's time."
He grabbed the Pegasus by her throat, and dragged her down back into his lair.
"This is the end for you Rainbow Dash. The end for you and every other living creature in Equestria."
"Just get it over with Alphion. Kill us now and be done with it forever. Why risk me resisting and escaping again?"
"Because there is no where for you to escape to now. You're alone here, there is no way for you to leave. So why would I end this quick when I could enjoy it?"
"Of course you would say that."
Rainbow Dash spoke in a very sarcastic tone. She was completely sick and tired of Alphion at this point. She didn't care if she died. She didn't care if her friends died. She just wanted the relief of death.
Alphion raised his right arm. Small orbs of light began filling the room. Rainbow Dash looked around at the lit areas. Under the light, stood all the ponies of Equestria. Their eyes were all fixated on Rainbow Dash. All of their faces held the same expression, "help us." She looked at all these innocent ponies who had lost all hope, and all faith. The only light of hope was Rainbow Dash, who had given up as well. Rainbow Dash looked at the crowd of ponies, and slowly shook her head.
"Aww. How touching. Now Rainbow Dash, there is some pony I want you to meet."
Another light appeared next to Alphion. A pony stood next to him. It stepped into the light.
"....................................................."
"Blitz?"
The red maned Pegasus didn't say anything.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Rainbow Dash looked at Blitz, then at Alphion, who stood there smiling.
It couldn't be, Blitz was, with Alphion!?
Blitz jumped down from her platform and landed a few feet away from Rainbow Dash.
"Why Blitz. What the hell is wrong with you!"
Rainbow Dash felt herself speaking in a very violent tone. The only pony in this world she trusted, was nothing more than one of Alphion's pawns.
"I feel that you should know the whole truth before Alphion sends you to oblivion forever."
Rainbow Dash stood at silence. Now she wanted nothing more than to knock this deranged pony into a coma.
"I was Alphion's original choice as an agent. But, as a new being I had a choice. And I refused to help him. So then he created Sonic Spark as his new agent. Then, you were sent back to Equestria to find Alphion's agent. You assumed it was me, when it was actually Sonic Spark. You know what happened from there."
The cyan Pegasus couldn't believe what she was hearing. Blitz was just another one of Alphion's creations.
"Then, after Angealla resurrected us, that where the problem began. Angealla and Temporaz became weak not because of your resurrection, but because of mine. Angealla had resurrected a dark creation of Alphion, causing her and Temporaz to become weak. I knew what was happening, and I planned to tell you then. But one night, Alphion came to me while you were sleeping. He told me that Black Flare had been resurrected as his new agent. But he knew that he would fail. He asked me, that in exchange for you, he would leave Equestria alone. I couldn't refuse the offer, so I accepted."
"You bitch. Why in hell would you listen to anything he said! He has been deceiving every pony for the longest time, but you trusted him!"
"I am his creation, I could only resist trusting him for so long. So I tried over and over to bring you Alphion. Black Flare discovered our encampment because I told Black Flare where we were hiding. Even though you escaped, your good will made you go back."
"Why Blitz, your responsible for the death of all of those innocent human ponies."
"I'm doing what I was created to do."
"Wait, if you were working with Alphion. That time, when Alphion fired that blast at me, you protected me."
"All part of the plan. Because even if that blast had hit you, you would have gotten up and escaped. I wanted you to believe that I was still helping you and that I was gone. You trusted me, so you attacked Alphion later to avenge me and every pony else."
"Blitz... I don't believe you. After everything we've been through, after all the nice things you've done, you're just another one of Alphion's creations."
Alphion then spoke up.
"How touching. But believe it Rainbow Dash, even if you won't join me, I still have Blitz. Ever since you defeated me before, this has been the plan from the beginning. To have you here, right now. Nothing you did changed that, with Blitz helping me, this went exactly as planned. And now, you get to watch the souls of your friends
burn away into oblivion!"
"No Alphion! We had a deal!"
"Exactly Blitz. We HAD a deal, I'm cutting it short."
Blitz looked helplessly at Rainbow Dash.
"Do you see what you've done."
Alphion then raised both of his arms, and black chains formed around Blitz's legs.
"Rainbow Dash, I'd like to offer you one final deal."
Blitz started to speak, but Alphion raised his arm and chained Blitz's mouth shut.
"Kill Blitz, and I shall grant you and every other pony a swift death. Or instead, I can torture you all one by on until you all fade out of existence."
Rainbow Dash slowly walked towards Blitz. She looked into Blitz's soft light blue eyes. She had the same innocent look she always had on her face. But, didn't hold this expression because she was innocent. It was because she wanted to be forgiven for her betrayal. Rainbow Dash lifted her hoof, and then put it back down. She lowered her head and squeezed her eyes shut. She clenched her teeth and lifted her front hooves. She grabbed Blitz's head, and snapped the Pegasus's neck.
The cyan Pegasus collapsed to the floor, letting out heavy sobs. She looked up and saw Blitz hanging from the chains, with her head twisted to the side. There was blood dripping out of her mouth and neck. The only sound in the room was the blood dripping onto the floor.
Alphion clapped his hands.
"Fantastic Rainbow Dash, you gave a wonderful last memory to the ponies of Equestria."
The cyan Pegasus looked at the ponies surrounding her. They all looked in horror at Rainbow Dash and at Blitz's corpse. The rainbow maned Pegasus flinched as she looked at the faces of the other ponies.
"Well Rainbow Dash, it's time. I'll end you now! End you and every other living thing in Equestria!"
Alphion cuffed his hands together and a purple ball began to form. Alphion's lair began to shake widly. Loud crackling noises could be heard as the orb grew.
"GOODBYE RAINBOW DASH!"
Just as Alphion prepared to fire the orb at her, he dropped his arms and fell to the ground. Rainbow Dash looked behind him. And there, Sonic Spark faded into existence and was floating behind Alphion.
"R---Rainbow Dash. I can hold him back, come on. Go finish him now!"
"But Sonic Spark! You'll fade away with him! I can't lose you too!"
"It's ok. I accepted this fate long ago, I'm prepared to die if it means keep Equestria safe. Do it! You can't let them down! Not after everything we've been through."
Rainbow Dash pulled the ice shard out of her wing. She rose up into the air, and charged full force at Alphion. A rainbow pulse formed behind her, and Rainbow Dash performed the hardest and fastest sonic rainboom she could muster, and crashed straight into Alphion's chest.
"Aggggggggggghhhhh!"
Alphion's bloodcurdling screams could be heard echoing throughout the room. He slowly faded away, screaming in agony as the last piece of the dark lord had faded away into oblivion. Sonic Spark landed in front of Rainbow Dash. She put her hoof on her shoulder.
"Good luck."
Sonic Spark smiled and faded away as well.
Rainbow Dash began to smile.
"It's over. Finally."
The darkness around her began to fade, she closed her eyes and she faded away.
Rainbow Dash opened her eyes. She looked around her, she was standing in Equestria, still frozen in time. Most of the land had shattered but it still existed. She looked around at the gray torn world. Then, a blue figure began appearing in front of her. As the figure became clearer, Rainbow Dash knew who it was. Temporaz.
"Rainbow Dash, you have freed us all from the horrible fate. Alphion is gone, forever."
"But, how. How are your here? What's going on."
"With Alphion gone, darkness no longer rules over light. Angealla returned into existence and used her power to bring me back. She had a message for you before she disappeared again. Dear, Rainbow Dash. Thank you, as the spirit of light I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wish I could live to see you, but without Temporaz, Equestria will be destroyed. I am giving all of my power to Temporaz, to make sure that time continues to move forward. Goodbye Rainbow Dash, I trust that you will keep Equestria safe from any darkness that may enter it from now on."
Rainbow Dash didn't speak. She stood at silence before Temporaz.
"I shall return to my dissension and get time going again. Eventually Equestria will heal itself and the ponies will begin to re-appear.
"Wait, what about the human ponies? What about Anne?"
"They will be returned to Earth as the Equestrian timeline is fixed. Goodbye Rainbow Dash, good luck."
Temporaz faded away back into his dimension.
I never did see Temporaz again, I didn't have to. Without Angealla and Alphion, there were no forces to make light or darkness more powerful. The ponies of Equestria have returned, and life has returned to normal. Every pony looks at me as a here, although I wish I could be treated normally again. I can only dream of being treated like a regular Pegasus again. Every night I lay in my bed and dream of times before Alphion, when I enjoyed being with my friends. I remember the good times I spent with Blitz and Sonic Spark. I only wish that they could be here now. If only Blitz had changed like Sonic Spark. I can only wish these things. I can only dream. I can
only dream, of a time before, The Temporal Shattering.
I opened my eyes... expecting to see nothing. But instead I see myself as human. I look around me. A large group of people were grouped around me. All of them seemed especially confused. Not all of them are still quite sure what had happened the past few days. I can still barely fathom it myself.
I walk around and speak to a few of the people trying to calm them down. After 10 minutes of wandering the bright void that we were currently contained in, I stopped to process my thoughts. What had happened? Alphion prepared an attack to kill us all, but instead, we were still here. Did Rainbow Dash maybe defeat Alphion? I wasn't quite sure of anything at the moment. Then suddenly, a shining blue light formed in the room.
I shield my eyes with my arm and backed away from the blinding beam. A figure began descending to the ground. The light faded and I could see clearly again.
"Anne. My name is Temporaz. I govern time in Equestria."
"I know who you are. Rainbow Dash explained everything to me."
"Ok, so I'll skip the formalities and move forward with what I need to say. Anne, with Alphion's defeat, darkness faded from Equestria. Angealla resurrected me and left me to govern time and fix any loose ends.
The rest of the humans had stopped their conversations and now had their eyes fixated on Temporaz.
"You have all endured Alphion's nightmare, but. Some stories are better left forgotten."
The spirit's eyes grew white, and I felt myself fading away. I closed my eyes as the intensity of the lights around me began to increase.
I opened my eyes, only to find myself in my bed in my dorm. I stood up and walked out of my room. My roomate looked at me strangely.
"Anne? Is something wrong."
"I don't know, I feel as if something just happened, but I just don't know what."
