Guardians

The cool night air felt wonderful after a long day of consciousness. At least it would have if it wasn't the umpteenth time I'd been in this dreamscape, but by now I was used to it.

I was flying over a grassland, dotted with little blinking lights. They were too big to be fireflies, but too sharp to be lanterns. Never mind, I could figure it out later. There were things to do, and ponies to see. I flew impatiently for a few more minutes, waiting for the silvery moon to be blotted out by... something. I didn't know very much about this place, and I didn't really want to stay and learn.

Finally, a huge swath of shadow melted out of the world below. It used to scare me, but I held my pace. After a moment, it shot up and coated over what was left of the moon's light. The entire landscape went dark, until a little beacon on the end of the horizon sputtered to life. Wait, was that the sun?... Yes, it was! How much time had I wasted?

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Melody," said a voice on the now desert-like ground. "You're just going to slow yourself down."

I jumped, or whatever you do when you get scared while flying. "Gah! Domino! Don't sneak up on me like that!" I scolded her. That's my best friend for you: disguising horrible moments with a joke.

She laughed as I wheeled down to earth, falling most of the way. I made a smooth landing, skidded a few feet, and abruptly tripped on a rock. Domino laughed even more.

The earth pony had a short black mane and tail, streaked with gold. Her bangs were pulled back so she could see better, though a few curly wisps always fell out. Her coat was icy blue, so pale it was almost white. Her cutie mark was, of course, a domino. Her current appearance didn't matter, though. We would look entirely different when we woke, and wouldn't remember anything from this life. That is, anything important.

I brushed the dirt from my coat. "Shut up," I said, refusing to face her. "Don't you think they deserve some respect?"

She looked at me, puzzled. "What do ya... Oh. Oh, we're here for their Rising, aren't we..." Her face fell. "I'm sorry, Melody. I... I forgot." She obviously regretted her remarks.

My face twisted even more. "You'd better be," I growled. I knew I was being cruel, but I didn't care. Here we were, on the barrier between Equestria and the spirit dimension, in our last moments of this time loop, in order to watch two of our best friends' souls die. We'd already lost two others, and we even been able to mourn. Even if I'd had a choice, I wouldn't have missed my chance.

And in order to preserve everything, in order to keep our universe intact, I had to wrench them back to life. Deny them the one rest we all receive in the end.

I knew I wouldn't remember when I woke up, but I would have to do it again at the end of the next loop, and again, and again! Couldn't Domino be serious, just once?

I felt tears in my eyes. I tried to hide them, but it was just too much. Domino wrapped me up in a hug, trying to calm me down. It didn't really help, but she tried. She always did. I was going to miss her, even if she was oblivious sometimes.

I suddenly realized I wouldn't be able to miss her. Of course not, she wouldn't have ever been... I shook even harder.

The sobbing continued for a while. I wasn't very good at telling time. She let me cry, knowing that any extra effort would just make me start again. She knew me even better than I did. And now, I would never learn. Nopony ever did, after we left this place...

Eventually, she let go. "Look," she said, pointing to the sky. "They're moving."

Shaking, I followed her gaze. Balls of light, just like the ones in the grass before, circled higher in the sky, miles ahead of the sun. There were hundreds of them, maybe more, but all of them were dim compared to a bright, soothing gold one and another royal purple one. Mayday and Violet, the angel and the genius. Two of my best friends in the world.

She looked at me knowingly. "Good luck."

I didn't allow myself to think; if I did, I would cry again. I shot off the dirt, flying straight towards the balls of light.  The air around me screamed at my speed. Or... was that me screaming?

Never mind. No thoughts would be allowed now. I passed the beacons, yanking them along with my magic. Why does a pegasus like me have magic, you ask? That's... Just about the only mystery I hadn't solved. I would just have to figure it out next time.

Reclaiming my thoughts I aimed back to the ground, into a pit. That was the way into Equestria. I flew by Domino, who had started running in the same direction.

"We're almost there!" I cried. "Just a little farther!"

I didn't get a response. She was just trying to keep her eyes on her hooves.

I ignored my emotions. I ignored the pain. I ignored everything but my goal: breaking through to Equestria, revival, and the time loop.

     I woke up to bouncing and a child's voice.

     I suddenly remembered that I'd promised to make pancakes for my little sister this morning. Even though the stars were still out, she wasn't a pony to wait for the sun. I pushed Trinity Star off of me. I guessed she'd been jumping on me to make me get up. Well, at least I was awake now.

     Trinity frowned. "You're late, sis. I'm hungry!" She pouted.

     I smiled. Even though she was a tough filly, she was still adorable. "Fine, just give me a second." I slid out of bed, surprisingly alert. I yawned as I went to mirror to brush my mane, a red and pink tangle above my head. I shook out my wings, dislodging a few dead feathers. Trinity flew out of my bedroom, probably heading to the kitchen.

     Suddenly, as I looked at my reflection, I had this odd feeling, like something was missing. There was something I'd forgotten. Something important. I ran through a mental checklist, but so far I hadn't missed anything. And yet...

     I shook my head. I probably just had a weird dream that night. Nothing to worry about, until-

"I'm sorry."

     I screamed. What was that? Trinity's head popped into the room. "You okay, sis?" I took a deep breath and nodded. She looked skeptical, but moved on. "Okay...?"

     That was weird, to say the least. I shook my head. Somepony was probably trying to send a thought message and missed, that's all.

     I dismissed it and went back to brushing my mane, but I couldn't shake the feeling I was being watched.

      Somewhere in Ponyville, a little unicorn filly woke up from a nightmare. Once she recovered from the initial shock, she lit her horn and reached over to her dream journal.

     She quickly picked up a pencil in her magic grip and jotted a note on the first blank page. Even though she knew it was just a dream, it sent a chill down her spine.

     "I dreamed I died. - Violet"

     On the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, a teenage alicorn locked the door to her room. The voices in her head asked frantic questions, like: "did we get a concussion or something?" or "is it just me, or did we all just... Die?"

     She cringed and blew a strand of pink hair away from her face. "Shh! You're giving me a headache." They quieted themselves, but there were still occasional whispers pulling her attention.

     She sighed. They really couldn't just shut up, could they?

     She chanted an incantation under her breath, calming her needlessly annoying companions slightly. The whispers stopped, like a song pausing. She knew they would induce a migraine later to punish her for "closing the Gate", whatever that meant, but right now she needed to sleep, and she couldn't do that if they were nagging her all night.

     She sidled back into bed, glad to have some well-earned privacy. Still, she felt bad about casting that weird spell. She knew it hurt the voices' physical form, whatever they were, and the incantation... Every time she said it, it was like having ice water poured down her spine. It was some kind of dark magic, wasn't it?...

You're fine, Mayday, she consoled herself. After all, a princess must be in control of her emotions.  Especially a Chaos Angel.