Chapters Prologue. Some Time Ago...
There was hesitation holding my tongue back like a tether. My cold eyes grew intent, unblinking.
"Your endeavors... They must end," those words slipped through my lips, seemingly resonating within the vicinity like a bell eerily. Sweat trickled from my head profusely. Nonetheless of my nervousness, I was seething with ire, my very appearance shaking like a tremor with anger.
My left eye involuntarily twitched in anger. "You... all of you..." I hissed. "All of you are responsible for the disappearance of every single noble of Canterlot? Including my sister?"
"Yes." Nodding, a pony clad in a cloak in front of me spoke up, "Do not fret. They are safe and will be freed as soon as the Dreamscape and Equestria become one. We simply needed no further impediment."
"I will never condone the act of reality and the Dreamscape merging together. There's too many conflicting factors that play in that," I continued.
Before me stood three equines in a triangular formation, standing apart from each other a few feet away from each other. Much like the pigment of the night skies above, their figures were obscured by a mantle. These mantles were of leather dyed black and was laced with silver thread.
The zephyrs of the Dreamscape pervaded around the area, causing my nebulous mane to wave much like a flag to my side. They stood here, the three cloak-clad ponies.
Not only are their appearance foreign here, they seemed to permeate an otherworldly aura that wasn't even originating from Equestria... Whatever power they had attained in order to infiltrate the Dreamscape, the very place entrusted onto me, it must be exceedingly powerful.
I tensed myself, unable to keep my composed demeanor as I bared my teeth at them, my brows furrowed into a scowl.
'Them being not originating here is already a severe crime as it is considering that I'm the only one that isn't a Sweet Dream nor a Nightmare whose presence here is permissible.'
Magic began to grow rampant within me as I loosened my leash on my magic. Cascading, the magic flared around me, shooting off crackling spits of blue fires from my body into the air. My irises reflected off midnight blue tongues of flames, my stare seemingly growing more menacing twofold.
'One that carries the title of sentinel over the night can be the only one allowed here, after all.'
"What has happen to thy formal plans?! Coexistence must be attained by persistence? Mere fallacy was spread within your ranks! Propaganda! I know of your true rationales!" I shouted at them, their only response--if it was any--was being completely immobile, intently listening for whatever I had to say. "You wish to manipulate the Dreamscape's inhabitants so that you can rid everypony in Equestria!"
"Wrong," the one in the middle interjected, his words ghastly hanging like a resonance within the air as he advanced a step. "Our endeavors remain the same over the years. We are fighting for coexistence between the Sweet Dreams, Nightmares, and all of Equine kind. We simply had come to the conclusion that you won't be bringing that ideal to pass, hence we are going with the initiative."
"Slanderous cur..." I muttered out, essentially snarling out those words. "And intend on fulfilling that madpony's objective by not only bringing forth the Dreamscape's residence into the real world, but also by shooting down all those who are adverse against this change?"
"Offenders shall know the price for protesting against the sanctity of peace between our races," the one on the right took an advance towards me as he spoke out, placing himself close towards me.
"In time, normalcy will begin anew once more through this change," the one standing on the left forwarded, speaking almost in tandem with the one on the left.
They now stood still one more time, not even glancing at me, their faces completely eclipsed by the shadow eclipsing their cloaks. Any sense of emotion from them devoid--it's as if there's a lifeless haze permeating around the miasma around them. In the middle of their mantles was a crest depicted by a spiral web of a spider with the moon imprinted in the middle of it.
This insignia was signature to the 'Dreamcatchers'. An organization whose attempts at colliding the Dreamscape and all of Equestria were routed time and time again by none other than me. Not even many knew about their existence. They regarded their clandestine nature very highly.
I stood among the ethereal, alluring grass of the Dreamscape; the greenery below me were somewhat opaque, enshrouded by a misty, faint aura of green. Among the grassland were dots of blue flame--much like ash, they swayed and glided through the air softly, illuminating everything around them.
There was a perpetual gust breezing through the vicinity, causing both my mane and the grass below me to sway in their direction. The chilling atmosphere was complimented by the black canvas filled with the cosmos known as the night sky.
This sky, however, casted no darkness upon the land as visibility was just as fine opposed to daytime. Stars, novas, and solar systems all dotted across the night sky, their ghastly tails of misty stardust pervasive among the pitch black sky's stretch. Below and across me for miles on end was an endless grassland. This prairie was boundless seemingly, patches of flowers of various colors--much like a rainbow, was ubiquitous. For every few feet or so, there would always be a small garden of flora.
The scent of said flora permeated around the chilling miasma around me, the mishmash of lavender, tulips, roses, and whatever plant was present interlaced with each other, forming an overwhelming scent in the air.
"The beings here in the Dreamscape," one of the cloaked figures--the one on the right, specifically, began to talk, "from this day, shall be freed and will be given liberty to roam the real world."
"You don't understand." I snarled, my posture dampening as I reared myself a bit down, my teeth visibly gnashed. "That will only-"
"Bring dissonance?" The cloaked figure on the left took a step forward, raising his head a bit, but not enough for me to glance a fine look on him. "I may be one of you, a pony, but I will not neglect the fact that we are afraid of other beings. We should learn to embrace those that are foreign to us; through this, we shall transcend."
"We, the Dreamcatchers," the one in the middle began, igniting his horn as a faint purplish aura began to flicker around him, "shall bestow upon them freedom." He began to emit a vehement radiance of blinding light of purple hue.
His radiance soon turned into a flash as a sickening burning sound played out as I was stricken by accosting rays of spectral purple seeping into my eyes hot, causing me to stagger back, forcing both eyes closed as I placed my hooves in front of them to act as a form of barrier. s
Soon enough, the light dissipated in a mere second, still, I was left hissing and muttering out curses as my eyes still let out burning tears. I was stricken by somewhat of a daze as a feeling of dizziness blotted my reasoning.
Rubbing my eyes as the stinging pain still resided within them, I growled back. shrugging off the feeling of disorientation as I steeled my footing.
My sight was blurry--everything seemingly distorted and warped like liquid. Blinking fervently, I shook my head further. Finally, opening my eyes once more, I glared at them, my vision having returned to me.
I stared a them, my glower giving them no quarter. Much to my dismay, however, I found that there were things having been displaced.
Within my sight, the ones that were formerly present to the left and right of me had vanished, leaving only the one in the middle to remain. There was a ghastly eerie atmosphere complimenting the dead silence.
The cloaked pony stood there alone, beside him was a bow that I had not seen being carried on him before. It came fitted with a black, metal frame that was glossy and reflected even my own reflection seamlessly. Spiral-like spines protruded from it as its bowstring was seemingly crafted out of chain links.
In the base of it, however, came a gemstone of azure blue. The gem's surface was as smooth as a mirror, but despite it giving off a distinct luster, it gave no reflection as its color ran deeply within it.
"What... what is that?" I muttered out, taking a few cautious steps backwards. Like a dissonant maelstrom, magic was rampant around the bow, constantly shifting and whirling--yet, the bow did not wane nor shatter; it somehow managed to maintain all that energy residing within it.
"This?" He reared it above head's length, gripping it tight with his magical aura as a consistent aura of purple originated from his horn. "This is the Dreamcatcher. As of the current," he cleared his throat, "we are mass-producing these." He tilted his head upwards, revealing his mouth. Adorned on it was a sly smirk that emanated malice. "These send anypony that have been struck by an arrow shot out from this into a specifically constructed prison that, many thanks to the local inhabitants here, we've constructed."
"Even without a horn--even without magic," he brandished it around, spiraling it within the air with a flick of his head from left to right, "one can operate this with ease. Arrows, you might ask?" he brought forth the bow beside his head, keeping it hovering beside him. Suddenly, light crackled and molded, forming an arrow across the bow. "That is also supplied by the Dreamcatcher's integrated magic circuitry."
Drawing the arrow into the Dreamcatcher, he pointed it upwards as he reared the arrow back. Letting it go, the arrow of magic went bolting skywards, soon becoming imperceptible as it pierced through the clouds, disappearing in the midst of the cosmos above.
"Don't you even dare..." I no longer faltered. Rising my chest, I took fervent steps towards him. "Your conquest for whatever purpose will end before it even begins." I shone my horn, channeling it with magic as I hung it high.
He shook his head as he scoffed a laugh. "Well now. I do wish to talk further but I, much like my two colleagues that have also left for business reasons, have things to do." He channeled his horn in preparation for what I presume was a teleporation spell.
"No!" I roared out as I rapidly arced myself downwards, flinging the magic that I've accumulated within my horn. My magic crackled and spat out embers of it as it glided through the air, heading its way towards the cloaked pony. "You won't be doing any of that!"
Suddenly, I could briefly glimpse a devious smile as the wind blew his cloak a bit back. As my magical orb closed the distance between it and the cloaked figure, it dispersed into flames around him, revealing what it struck instead--a magical barrier.
"W- what?" I stammered out.
"I foresaw that," he dully stated as he drew the Dreamcatcher at me. With a flick of his horn, he conjured an arrow seemingly made out of his own magic as its texture was comprised entirely out of some sort of glowing, purple material. "Well, with you being a liability, I can't have you being free."
I directed magic around me, forming a barrier encompassing me as frantically as I could. The barrier took shape, panels of hexagon-shaped magic of my own forming around myself in a spherical fashion.
I saw him disregarding the barrier as he drew his arrow, placing it upon the string of the Dreamcatcher. With the restraint of his magic having its vice with both the bow and the arrow, it begun pulling back the projectile as it held the frame with utmost grip. The Dreamcatcher shook as the arrow reached the limit of its chain string, a resonant sound of chains rattling playing in the surroundings.
He let the arrow go, the chain links blinked into place, sending the arrow spiraling towards me. The arrow cleaved through the air at such speed that its magical composition made it seem like a beam of light bolting towards me instead.
Suddenly, my perception of time seemingly slowed down sevenfold as the arrow pierced through my aegis, crumbling and shattering the panels of magic that I've set up as it continued heading towards me.
"How?" I muttered out. "Even my... barrier... couldn't fend off one measly arrow?"
"Technology intermingling with arcane arts." I bit my lip, feeling myself being chipped away of my essence, staring into him as he walked further towards me. "Unwise to underestimate it."
Suddenly... everything went dark as I felt myself being enveloped in magic, the feeling of lightness devouring my body as I suddenly felt the feeling of falling. I started to flail, but my limbs went numb, paralyzed by some unforeseen magic. I opened my voice, but only my hoarse breaths came out.
The last thing that I saw, which have seared itself into my mind, was his grimly dark grin.
Chapter 1. I Will (Not) Save You
I stood upon brown pavement, my hooves feeling uncomfortable as the abrasive surface of roughened cinder blocks, I glowered at what was before me--a flowerbed seemingly integrated beside the road that I was upon.
I grew weary; this was evident through my deadened look apparent on my face. My eyes were heavy, as were my legs as I was barely able to keep up with my own pace.
I was upon a road; it was straight and narrow, its cement being flourished with red paint. It was modern, much like that of the many back alleys of Manehattan.
Parallel from both sides were tall buildings cutting me off from going either left or right--they seemed rather modern as they were twofold the length of usual buildings in Equestria and instead of wood, they seemed to be comprised mostly out of cinder blocks of pallid gray.
'Another... one. Another place for me to be confined in... ?' I thought to myself halfheartedly.
These mysterious structures were pristine, not a single chip upon their cold stone walls. Their windows were of glass panes. As I tried to peer into these windows, they promised nothing but darkness as I couldn't see through their pitch black tint.
I looked upon to my left once more, just beside the side of a building. There stood the bed of flowers that I was previously glowering upon. Their flowers have bloomed, their petals ranging from a variety of colors. A menagerie of red to the left, a miscellany of blue flowers on the middle, and a collection of yellow-petaled flowers on the right side. I glanced swiftly towards the left--and there too, almost an exact imitation, was another flowerbed containing the same arrangement of flowers.
Ire began to swell up in my head, causing me to furrow my brows sharply as I shut my eyes. Sighing out a calming breath, I shrugged off the anger.
"I am stuck in a loop. They trapped me... in a loop." I began walking towards the end of the alley. It was eclipsed with a darkening shroud as there was a form of archway suspending over on top of it. "I... don't know how to get out of here." I was now close towards the darkness cast upon by the suspension above, having moved several feet away from the alleyway. "But I shall get out of here, and succumbing to ire will not allow me to achieve that goal."
Submersing myself in the darkness, I began passing by the alley. A few seconds passed in walking, my dull hoofsteps resounding in the darkness as I made my way through the tunnel-like construct. Finally, just a few feet away, rays of light seeped into an entrance.
I carried on my pace, looking forwards for the change in scenery. Trotting my way through the pitch black, I made it towards the exit, my figure being swathed in light.
I was greeted with a miasma of age--rust, pallid grey dirt, and mildew all pervaded around the air, striking a rather off, but nostalgic sort of scent into my nostrils.
Like prior, I was in an alleyway--nay, I daresay that I'm still in the same alleway as before. This time, however, there were some alterations made.
The buildings were still here, standing erect and firm. However, their walls and frames have decayed, withered stone and moss hanging loosely from their forms. The windows have shattered, leaving only jagged fragments on their sills. Once more, nothing but an abysmal black were present through those windows.
The sun was settled in the skies, casting an orange illumination which indicates that it was noon as opposed to morning back in the previous alley. The sunrays gleamed yonder ahead of me, catching a haze of dust in their warming radiance.
I walked forwards, expecting something else to have changed--the flowerbeds. The glower ever present on my face still being... well, present.
Setting myself in the middle of the alleyway, I looked to both sides. Accordingly, it seemed, the miniature gardens have withered, the wall of bricks encompassing them being incomplete and partially grated. The flowers hung loosely on the dirt, their stems shriveled and darkened. Their petals and leaves, of course, have long since degraded into an unsightly ashen black.
I sighed, walking towards the end of the alleyway once more, slipping into the entrance.
"Hello darkness," I greeted as the shades began to consume me, walking below the crumbling archway above, "my old friend..." I muttered out finally as I once more found the light piercing through the darkness just ahead of me.
As I approached the exit of that darkened place, I was accosted by an overwhelming scent of flora as light flecks of water began to rebound of me, a particularly annoying droplet stinging my left eye as it splashed against my face.
"Ow..." Rubbing my face, I regained my vision. I seemed to be still on a lane of some sort, albeit, there were no longer any buildings preventing me from going to far to the left or right. Instead, however, there were expanses of water that seemed to stretch for as far my eye could see into the horizon.
Ahead of me was, oddly enough, a pathway secluded with trees, the canopies of bushy leaves eclipsing a dark shadow below it. More or less, this forest acted the same as the archway-tunnels.
I sighed as I moved myself further. Glancing both left and right, I found myself at a loss for words at the two expansive overgrowths of foliage beside me that were, in pretense, replacing the flowerbeds.
"Alright," I felt something in the back of my head snap, "I've had enough of this cycle." I ignited my horn, flaring it with magic as I summoned forth blazes of midnight blue fire upon my horn. Flinging my head downwards, the flame lingering from the tip of my horn was flicked towards the miscellany of plants to the left side of me.
The greenery soon turned scarlet red and black as the fires began to devour it, cackling out and spitting out embers. The stifling smoke arose from the burning heap of flowers, boring it into my nose. I choked and grimace as I staggered towards the forest.
That was well worth it for blowing off steam, however.
I took a step forward, preparing myself to enter the presumably identical gateway to what I assume to be is another variation of this lane. Suddenly, a blinding trail of blue smoke came from nowhere in particular, materializing itself around my legs.
I wobbled backwards, a feeling of shock and dismay striking me as I widened my eyes, clearly startled. "What- what is the meaning of this?!" I managed to yelp out helplessly as the misty wave of blue continued to slither around me, coiling itself against me like a serpent.
Choking, I found myself being placed into some sort of trance like state, a feeling of disorientation and confusion instilling itself into my head as I began to slump down, my head feeling as if it was spinning.
I felt as if I was going to fall to the ground, convulsing. Everything around me began to crack and shatter like glass--even the ground below me was replaced by an abysmal blackness.
As if pitying me, however, the trail of smoke left me, seemingly dissipating into nothingness. Still, I remained sickened and left staggering on my hooves as I shambled back and forth feebly. Fortunately, however, as the blue mist disappeared, so did the nausea as well.
I looked around my environment, my head swiveling back and forth, desperate to discern anything from the darkness. Absolutely nothing was apparent; I stood upon a realm of ink black and nothingness. I was forsaken into some sort of abyss where nothing existed, save for the exception of myself.
"W- what?" I muttered out feebly as the colors began to visualize themselves once more, the darkness fading away as faint light began to bask the space I was in.
The colors finally settled. I was no longer in the abyss; the flooring before me began to appear as the darkness faded--I was apparently standing upon black glass tiles. The shadowy tiles of mirror-like surface was seamless, seemingly letting out a luster of blue as light refracted upon them from the ceiling.
An eerie glow of azure was casting down upon me, enveloping the room in an eerie glow of blue lighting. The reflection from the tiles revealed what was responsible for the peculiar illumination; there hanging suspended by the ceiling was a chandelier whose metal was pitch black and whose wicks harbored blue flames.
My eyes grew more keen as time gradually passed. My vision normalizing, I look ahead of me--only for my sight to be blocked by what I could only identify was a resident of the Dreamscape.
It stood mere few feet away from me. It was somewhat gaseous, permeating a thick haze of dark smoke, but through it, could see a physical form. It had the physique of a pony... but its lower torso was that of a snake. Clad in black miasma, I could see nothing of his physical features other than his red, glowing eyes and... what seemed to be a recorder.
I stood steeled, but I still took a few wary steps back, my gaze still fixated on the Nightmare. A Nightmare is a part of the beings who resides within the Dreamscape. They're manifestations of unpleasant dreams of ponies. Their appearance, a shade bearing red gleaming eyes with ethereal, seemingly intangible but physical bodies whose skin are as black as a shade.
Like us ponies, they too come in three specializations. The one in front of me is of the serpent variant, a Deceit, a Nightmare whose presence was forged from somepony's dream of paranoia and deceit. One other species of Nightmare are the Overgrowths; they are beings crafted from a dream whose nature was overwhelming. Normally, said dream was based around a pony's many stresses and problems. The last type of Nightmare I can recall is the Spite. Spites are constantly immolated, engulfed in dark flames; these flames are said to be fueled from the dream of a pony who was victim to unjust cruelty.
I snapped out of my train of thought, returning my gaze towards the Deceit who was staring at me.
It tilted its head at me and was also wagging the end of its tail left to right, almost as if it was curious. Oddly enough, it looked somewhat... cute.
Suddenly, the speaker tied upon its neck suddenly buzzed out static as it whirred to life. Suddenly, words were emitted from it, the static present behind it almost making them almost unintelligible. "Hiya, Loony."
"I know that voice..." A cocktail of emotions began to whirl up in the back of my mind. "Listen here, Nightmare Moon..."
"Wow," Nightmare Moon chided as the speaker continued on relaying her words, "Recognized me even through this damning buzzing noise? Wow, Loony. You must really-"
"Not the best time for your jests, Nightmare Moon," I stated as I frowned, leaning myself over towards the speaker, inadvertently causing the Deceit to slant backwards uncomfortably. "You must be rejoicing this, aren't you? You are without a doubt taking advantage over the Dreamcatchers' attempts to merge Equestria with the Dreamscape-"
"The Dreamcatchers are dead," the words of Nightmare Moon listlessly resounded from the speakers, causing me to cease my tongue immediately as I was caught off guard.
'They're dead... ?' I thought to myself defiantly.
Clenching my teeth against each other for a bit, I spoke out, "Really... they're dead?"
"Yeah," Nightmare Moon responded absentmindedly somewhat, an eerie silence following her voice. "Anyways, thanks to them, we're also having a civil war."
My eyes widened as my jaw dropped slightly, my breaths becoming faint as my heart's rhythm turned frantic, my chest constricting. "A civil war?"
"Yes, yes." Nightmare Moon cleared her throat. "You see, after the Dreamcatchers promised us that the entirety of Equestria would be ours to reign--with the simple rule of not having any dispute with the locals there of course, some controversy went along with us Dreamscape ponies. Basically, the Sweet Dreams and the Nightmares whispered among themselves that the Dreamcatchers are actually planning to actually manipulate us into giving them what they want, which was presumed to be rule over both the Dreamscape and the whole of Equestria."
"And..." Nightmare Moon drawled out, humming to herself as if she was trying to recall something.
"Just... just how long was I stuck in that cycling dream?" I muttered, my voice filled with disbelief.
"About almost two years."
My mind went blank as I simply stared at the audio device. "N- no. It can't- What about my sister? What about the others who fell victim to the Dreamcatchers? Are they hurt?!" I slammed my hooves at the ground, causing a resounding thump to play out through the room.
"No worries about that," Nightmare Moon spoke laxly. "They're still, up until now, sealed within this place that you're in."
"They're here?"" I repeated once more, a bit dazedly. "What are you waiting for then? Free them as well! They need to realize what is currently happening-"
"Can't do that," Nightmare Moon briskly stated. "You see, I already expended a lot of magic freeing just you from that cycling dream. If I were to free every single one that is currently trapped here... Well, I won't be seeing tomorrow's light as I'd pretty much exhaust all of my magic, leaving me open to attacks. After all, I am quite a significant character here in this war of ours."
"N- no..." I slumped myself over, feeling the dread loneliness once more as the realization struck me like a cascade of water. "Very well then... you speak of a civil war. I take it that the Dreamscape's inhabitants are contesting themselves over territory in Equestria?"
"Not exactly," Nightmare Moon stated. "It's actually against those that wishes to remain in the Dreamscape and those who wish to expand their dominion to Equestria. The details are even blotchy to me."
"I see..."
"Well, you don't. You don't see anything." Nightmare Moon sighed. "Things are much more complicated than they seem. Anyways... you must be worried about everypony you know, right? Well, thing is, they're all sealed where you're at--the prison those damned Dreamcatchers have built."
I shot up, my eyes lighting up with hope. "So, does that mean you can-"
"Save them? Not really." Nightmare Moon grumbled under her breath, her mutterings being undecipherable to me. "It already tolled me quite a fair amount of energy to save you. No worries, though. You don't want them to go back to Equestria in its current state."
I arched my eyebrow as I stepped a tad closer. "Equestria? What has happened to it?"
"Oh- nothing, really..." Nightmare Moon trailed off. "It's just that it's absolutely brimming with Sweet Dreams and Nightmares fighting against themselves over dominion over area."
"That- that is..." I stammered out, my words falling flat as my eyes faltered.
"Unbelievable?" Nightmare Moon finished for me. "Well, you'll have to see it. After all, seeing is believing."
I gulped down, nervousness--something that I haven't quite felt for some time now--began to well up within my head. "I take it that I'll have to drive them off back here then?"
"That's the spirit!" Nightmare Moon exclaimed. "And here I thought you'd be tired and a bit famished after being trapped inside your own dream for two years."
"I cannot feel hunger nor fatigue as it is signature to alicorn physiology. The only thing I can feel right now, is anger however," I answered darkly, my visage becoming into a frown. "I'm afraid that I'll have to question you, however; why are you helping me?"
"Easy enough to answer; in here, the Dreamscape, I'm much more powerful." Nightmare Moon let out a breath of air. "If the majority, if not entirety, of the Dreamscape were to migrate all the way to Equestria, I'd have to be deposed of my position of leading power."
"A selfish reason... but a valid one nonetheless," I responded in a mutter. "Very well then. I'll be off to Equestria now." I began channeling magic into my horn, causing it to alight with bluish embers.
"Hold it," Nightmare Moon interrupted, causing me to cease the torrents of magic whirling in my horn. "Let me choose where you should go... Trust me on this. You're gonna thank me for it later."
"Alright then," I complied.
"Good. Thanks... for listening to me, I guess." Nightmare Moon signed off from the speaker, an all too familiar of static sounding off as the speaker went dead silent.
Suddenly, blue mist began to envelop me. Engulfing me whole, my figure became a mere silhouette as sparks of magic began to emit from the bluish mist.
"I'll retake Equestria..." I whispered to myself. "That... or I'll die trying."
Author's Note
Hiya, guys. Sorry if there's a glaring lack of quality or if there are too many jarring errors. My pre-readers were unable to go through this story.
So... yeah.
If you're not busy, I'd be thankful if you decided to become a pre-reader for this story. ^w^"
Noxious and disorientated by the sudden mist of blue enveloping me, I wobbled and staggered side to side, a feeling of daze instilled within my head irritatingly. Stilling my footing, I felt a portion of my composure returning as I dazedly stood.
I bit my lip softly, the distasteful migraine still plaguing the corner of my skull.
"Ugh," I muttered out, cursing out words under my breath, my eyes clenched shut as a migraine-like pain drilled itself into my head. Shrugging it off, I opened my eyes.
Hazy, for as far as my vision went, everything was obscured in the bluish mist. As vapor, however, the midnight blue mist, glittering with cinders of magic, began to dissipate. Soon enough, everything became clear... however, one particular entity struck me as off.
It was the Nightmare who was with me prior. He stood, motionless and stilled, his head tilted curiously towards me. Still, suspending loosely with a chain-like necklace, was the audio device hanging just below his neck.
With the nausea dimming down, I spoke up to him, "Why... are you still here?"
He adjusted himself, setting his head upright as he glared at me. "I shall be your guide for now. Her majesty, Nightmare Moon, personally instructed me to do so as Equestria has changed drastically over the past several months."
I widened my eyes a bit. "Oh... is that so?"
He nodded simply. "I take it that you're somewhat astonished that I could talk?"
"You were awfully quiet during my talk with Nightmare Moon," I answered. "I presumed you to be mute, actually."
"I'd prefer not to interfere with her majesty." He slithered about, circling around the area, his tail slithering and bolting side to side in an almost entrancing pattern.
"Has... Equestria really changed this much?" A bit pensive, I loosened my wariness, my head shooting glances left to right, my eyes calculative and striving to catch even the slightest of details.
"Take a look for yourself..." He motioned his front legs together, spreading them to each side overhead.
Promptly, I glanced around.
I was currently in some dark room of some sort. A skyline in the form of a large, wide glass pane with a black frame was present, embedded within the ceiling's surface. Moonlight seeped into the room from the large window, partially lighting up the darkened room. Through this skyline, I could see that it was nighttime--the black canvas strewn with brazened stars and the imposing moon apparent within the skyline.
I cast my gaze downwards, observing the things adjacent around me.
A grand oak table was present within the middle of the room--I stood just to the left side of it, eyeing it with a bit of incredulity and amazement; such a table like this? Here in a decrepit place? Still in pristine quality? Impressive.
Chairs, sharing much similarity in their quality and wood with the large table in the table that they're encompassing, stood idly. They too seemed to have been an artisan's masterpiece.
'I ponder... could this have been a meeting room of some sort?' I shut my eyes a bit, indulging myself with my thoughts. 'Could this be Canterlot? No... Can't be.' I motioned myself towards the middle of the room, piercing my gaze upon the sizable, circular window tinted somewhat with black.
Trees.
...and Lava.
Trees for as far as my eyes could see. The ground beyond this building was a pallid, ashen black. Rivers trailed across the ground, but instead of fresh water, the rivers were instead brimming with lava. Cinders were strewed everywhere; heaps of ash and fluttering, glowing cinders decorating this desolate-yet-living place.
I could see no more than glades of trees of charcoal trunks and ashen gray leaves through the distance, blurring everything in the horizon; I felt somewhat claustrophobic even. These myriad trees seemed to have mantled on for miles... Just how expansive is this forest that we're in?
'Where is this even?'
Suddenly, I noticed that the land was basked in purplish radiance. This purple light were eerie and cool, yet it still gave off a faint warmth. Extending my hoof towards the pane of glass of the window, I indeed felt the warm of the purple rays gleaming through the window.
I glanced upwards, spotting the purple, nebulous canvas stretching forth through the entire horizon, masking the natural skies of Equestria.
I glared at this new sky of Equestria, a certain disbelief and aghast feeling evoking in my chest as I continued to behold the purple, glittering skies.
It was as if it was night, but the lighting was just as clear during the daytime as purplish beams of radiance beamed down from the firmament. There was not a meager, lone patch of clouds anywhere--as if all of the nimbi have seemingly dissipated into nothingness. Instead, within the distant void of space, with full clarity, were celestial figures.
Halos of stardust veiled across the purplish space, shining out like carpets within the endless vastness of amethyst. Stars dotted across the canvas, piercing their light into Equestria as they kindled within the celestial abyss. Novas flared and promptly dissipated, forming blinking lights within the spacial curtain.
I reared away from the window, my steps faint and faltering. Inch by inch, the window distanced itself from me as I stood back.
"This is not Equestria..." I muttered out, defiance roaring throughout my tone as I staggered away from the window. I shot a look at the Nightmare mere feet beside me, craning my neck swiftly. "Tell me... please. Tell me that this isn't Equestria!" A well of tears began to brim at the grooves of my eyes, blurring the corner of my vision a bit.
The Deceit simply shook his head, the glow in his eyes fading from view as he closed his eyelids. "I'm afraid that if I told you that, that'd be little more than fallacy."
"What... what had they done to it?" I demanded, affirming my stance still, stiffening my legs. "What have they done to my home?!" Thundering, the magic around me responded to my ire, cascading torrents of crackling, arcane sparks whirring around me.
He leveled his gaze upon my own, opening his burning red eyes once more, casting a collective stare at me. "This is but the process of merging two worlds together. Please secede your wrath before you burn this building to the ground."
I snarled a bit, but nevertheless, the tension ringing throughout my presence began to quell, my anger being sated by my logic. "Fine... I suppose there is no benefit of becoming enraged. If I have to find a way to stop all this, I have to move... quickly."
"Indeed." The snake-like Nightmare slithered towards the table. Slanting his figure, he rested upon it, planting his right frontal leg on its maple surface. "See if you can figure out which part of Equestria we're at." He gestured towards the window that I was just viewing through earlier with his free leg, waving me off.
Disregarding that particular gesture with a shrug, I went to look through the window once more, nothing but caliginous dirt and thorny trees streaking through the land as far as I can see.
Wherever this place was, it was situated in an area with a vastness of greenery, ivy, and trees. I doubt that Canterlot can turn into something like this... Not to mention that Canterlot is situated on the side of a mountain.
I continued idly glancing at the broken earth, my mind still befuddled with thoughts. There's a piercing sorrow crying from the soil... Bit of sadness tugging at my head, I glanced at the pallid dirt, seeing nothing but promising death within their murk. 'And the miasma heralds nothing but solemnity.'
I broke my train of though, sighing as I did. Returning my attention towards the maple-wood table in the middle of the table. I was captivated by its adornments; engravings depicting spirals and bends of ivy amidst the refined wood were capturing my appeal for it.
Running my hooves along its grandiose surface of golden brown emblazoned and glazed with shining varnish, mostly out of enticement, I felt its cold touch searing into my hoof. I retracted back my hoof, a bit of a grimace forming on my face; it wasn't exactly freezing, but it was uncomfortably cold.
Looks can be deceiving, I suppose. I backed off a bit from the table, sighing somewhat disappointed.
I returned to examining the room, furthering my glances around this chamber. Portraits hung around the walls, riddled with dust and their arranging crooked--presumably due to age. I narrowed down my vision onto the ponies of various statures and appearances depicted within the canvases. There was a dreading familiarity within them... but I just can't discern them at all.
I sighed. This inability to name somepony who seemed so familiar just by looking at them was dauntingly annoying. 'Perhaps it's because of the dust obscuring their images?
"You can't recognize these ponies?" Slithering beside me, the Nightmare pointed at these canvases.
"No." I shook my head courtly. "I don't seem to recognize any of them."
"Unsurprising." Hissing, the Nightmare slithered towards the wall. "They all donned cloaks , yes?"
"Cloaks..." My eyes widened a bit out of spite and surprise, but mostly out of spite. "Ah... I see. So these figures are the Dreamcatchers..."
The tailed Nightmare glided throughout the room, edging towards the archway that lead further into this decrepit mansion-like facility. "Not only just Dreamcatchers, but the leading figures of them."
"Yes." The Deceit nodded at me. "Come now. Time is valuable," he began slithering towards the middle corner of the right side of the room, approaching the exit of this room. "We have to find something that lies within these corridors... something in particular that will undoubtedly help you."
"And what is that 'something' to be exact?" I cocked my head slightly to the right as I asked, tailing just behind him as he began to take the lead, descending into the next room.
This room, or more specifically hallway, was dim, but I can vaguely make out discernible objects within this lowly corridor. The barely spaced out walls were streaked with moss, emanating a miasma of pungent mildew. The flooring, made of wood, were creaky and unstable, caving in just due to my weight alone--I'm not heavy, mind you... unlike my cake-addicted sister. The ceiling hung loosely from both my and my friend's heads. Shattered and battered, I could see depressions within the ceiling, giving me a view through cracks within it.
Suddenly, the Deceit ahead of me stopped, coiling himself in place. "Do you smell that?" he asked, his voice hushed and harsh as he turned his head towards me, shooting me a stern glance.
I blinked a bit momentarily, uncertain. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath through my nostrils, drawing in a spacious amount of air as I intently searched for whatever scent has caught the attention of my friend here.
I opened my eyes as I exhaled, arching my eyebrow at him. "No... I smell nothing."
"Figures. After all, I am part-serpentine... Snakes have good sense of smell to make up for our poor eyesight and hearing, you know." he stated as he shrugged. Slithering forwards, he spoke up, "It's oil... by the intensity of the smell, I'd say that it's either near us or are in very large quantities, or possibly both."
I flared my eyes wide as I trotted after him. Catching up to him within this long hallway, I whispered back to him, "Oil? Why do you seem so relaxed about this? Somebody could be attempting to burn this building down--while we're still in it!" I couldn't help but raise the pitch of my voice a tad bit at last bit of that sentence.
"We simply have to locate it, make certain that nopony is around to ignite it, and leave." He concluded, "After that... we may return to our search for that particular 'something'. "
I sighed as I followed him further, this seemingly endless hallway taunting me. "And could you please elaborate on what this 'something' is, exactly?"
"Oh." He uttered out in a deadpan voice, "A Dreamcatcher--not the member of an insane cult, but the weapon manufactured by aforementioned cult. Quite flummoxing that they decided to name their weapon after their organization name, don't you agree?"
I nodded as I stared at him a bit... off-putting. "Yes... I agree. I thought so too of that."
Author's Note
Editors still wanted...
Please help.
