The Sound of Madness

“Yes, I understand, but I can’t just-” The noble stopped Celestia, and continued rambling on about how she should arrest some poor fillies who accidentally made him trip into a mud puddle, ruining his new suit. Sighing, she looked outside, noticing that the sun was nearing sunset.

“Look,” she cut off the noble pony, “the day is almost over, you can come in tomorrow, okay?” The noble looked angry, but just angrily sighed and walked towards the massive doors of Celestia’s palace. Standing up, she stretched, yawning. Stepping down from her throne, she rubbed her eyes with her hoof, and heard clopping coming from down from Luna’s hallway. Looking up, she noticed Luna, looking tired and had a serious case of bedhead.

“Evening Luna, how was your sleep?” All she got was mumble about wanting coffee. Snickering, Celestia made a cup of coffee, levitating it in front of Luna. Luna snatched it from her grasp with speed she has never seen, and chugged it down. Afterwards, she seemed ready, magically fixing her hair.

“Evening Sister, sorry about ignoring thee, it’s just we didn’t get much sleep last night… well, day, I suppose.” Celestia laughed softly.

“No need to worry, but why didn’t you get much sleep last night?” Celestia asked, her horn glowing as she started lowering the sun. Luna was about to answer when she stopped, rubbing her chin.

“We… we cannot remember. Strange, it was right there and now I can’t remember. No matter, how was day court?” She asked, raising the moon.

“Boring, as always. Nobles complaining, ponies asking for bits, I was about to fall asleep right there,” Celestia yawned again, holding a hoof over her mouth, “pardon me. I think I should get to bed, see you in the morning sister.” She nuzzled Luna, and departed to her bedroom.

“Sleep well sister!” Luna yelled a bit too loud down the hallway, making a nearby guard jump from his sleepy state.

“Who, what? Are we under attack!?” Readying his spear, he noticed Luna’s angry stare. “Oh… hehe… whoops?”

Closing her chamber door behind her, Celestia sighed. Craning her neck, she heard it pop a few times, and twisted it the other way, hearing it crack more. Yawning, she took off her royal regalia, putting it on the dresser next to her bed. Walking over to her bathroom, she turned on the bath water, and looked at herself in the mirror. Noticing bags under her eyes, she realized she was more tired than she thought. Yawning again, she slipped into the bathtub, feeling the warm water caress her body.

“It’s been too long since I’ve relaxed. Maybe I should I take a day off and ask if Luna could handle it… or maybe not even worry about it, just say I’m out for the day.” She mulled it over before remembering what her sister said, and how she wasn’t able to remember why she couldn’t get sleep. “She seem really confused on why she couldn’t remember, almost, worried. Maybe a bad dream, but she hasn’t had any of those since she returned from being Nightmare Moon. Strange… I’ll have to ask her to see if she can remember anything, maybe she just lost it then.”

Finishing her bath, she dried herself with a towel and walked out. Seeing a scroll drop in front of her, she opened it, seeing another friendship report from Twilight. Smiling, she opened a nearby chest, and dropped it into, along with the others Twilight had sent her. Taking off the towel, she slid into bed, and blew out the candle on the nightstand next to her.

Celestia opened her eyes, and noticed it was incredibly dark outside. She then noticed she was standing up, and was in wet grass, which smelled of mildew and broken stone. Lighting up her horn, she shot a flare into the sky and gasped. She was standing in front of her old castle. Walking slowly towards it, she stopped in front of the door. She looked at the black doors and… wait, black? Celestia looked again, the doors were far larger then she remember, and pitch black. Putting a hoof to them, it was smooth and incredibly cold. Stepping back, she saw that the castle had transformed into a nightmarish fortress, spikes adorning the rooftops. Suddenly, a massive booming was behind her, and she saw the face of someone who shouldn’t be here. He smiled, his grin sending shivers down her spine.

Then, he started singing. His voice slammed into her, sending her crashing through the doors. Tumbling, she used her magic to teleport herself up. He threw a red stick through the door, and it had a burning fuse, she looked at it, before rolling out of the way, the explosion making a small crater, and causing her to go slightly deaf for a few moments. Shaking her head, she noticed him stepping through the broken rubble of the door, eyes glazed with rage. She noticed the room get brighter when he did, almost like his music was capable of creating light. He walked towards her, and she flew up, but a hand sprouted from the ground, grabbing her and slamming her into the ground. The hand dissipated, letting her shakily stand up. Looking up, she stared into those methodical, blue eyes. Teleporting behind him, she tried using her hind legs to buck him, but they seems to faze through him. Eyes widening, she sprinted forward, leaping through the broken doors and noticed a massive wall surrounding the edge of the castle. Flying up, the walls just kept growing taller and taller, before she realized there was no way to escape. Flying down, she noticed him waiting for her.

Deciding to fight, she summoned a massive sword, using her magic to hold it. Shooting the sword forward, it went straight through him, but he did seem to wince slightly. Stomping her hoof down, hundreds of swords appeared, possibly a thousand. They all shot forward, slicing right through, but he did seem to stop walking. But he wasn't wincing anymore, instead, he was smiling.  He then jumped, before slamming his fist into the hard ground. Nothing seemed to happened, then a massive shockwave appeared, the power of it visible through the air.  All the swords slammed against the shockwave, falling to the ground, inert. Creating a shield, Celestia felt the power of it meet her shield, shocking her how much power was there. The shock wave passed, and she lowered her shield, and was suddenly kicked in her back, crashing into the ground. Wincing, she stood up, before hearing a rush of air behind her, and she met his blow with a hoof. Except, there was no blow. Turning around, a fist slammed into her muzzle, causing her to stumble backwards. He stepped forward, before a beam of magic slammed into him.

"BEGONE FOUL CUR," Celestia winced at the Royal Canterlot Voice, but she saw Luna, using her magic to stop the assault. "YOU WILL NOT DEFILE HER DREAMS ANY LONGER, OR MINE!" Her magic flared greater, the beam glowing into an intense white, before he exploded. Celestia was preparing for a shockwave , but it never happened. Looking back, she noticed she was in the Canterlot Gardens, with Luna beside her, breathing heavily. But the music didn't stop. Looking forward, he was still there, in front of a statue... his statue. Laughing, he stepped into the same pose as the statue. Closing his eyes, he was smiling as he continued the song. He then opened his eyes.

Celestia awoke, the massive explosion rocking Canterlot Palace. Teleporting, she appeared in front of his statue, to see he was there, alive. He looked at her, before jumping on top of the palace. He ripped down a flag from a nearby flagpole, before burning it with his magic. Teleporting into her room, she grabbed a nearby scroll and hastily wrote for Twilight to get the Elements and get to Canterlot. Hearing a guard yelp in pain, she looked at her door, before it exploded inwards, and he was there, holding Shining Armor by the throat.

"Thank you Shining, to leading me to my prize. So, Celestia... missed me?"