Wilted

Omen was not quite sure how she got there, but she knew the moment her consciousness came back to her that she was at the outer limits of Ponyville. On either side of her, she could pick on the presences of both Pinkie Pie and Applejack. She wasn't exactly sure what they were doing, but then after a minute, Pinkie suddenly grabbed onto her and started to pretty much drag her forward.

At that moment, the world was once more opened up to her. Ponyville was laid out before her, though this time, she was with within the town itself, in the area which appeared to be the town center. Also, it was daytime, meaning the beautiful light of the moon, which had bathed the streets in shimmering silver, was now replaced with the light of the sun. It beamed off the tops of the buildings, much like the moon, but with far more intensity, and with it came warmth and a feeling of liveliness.

Marveling at the sight before her once more, Omen almost didn't notice it until it was too late. It started with such a small thing. The petals which had fallen from the flowers of the orchard were being swept up by a large gust of wind and descending upon the town. At first, it only added to the splendor of the small village. But then the wilting began. It was much like that of the flower she had seen earlier. All the petals, every single one, began to die away. As they did, the world around Omen started to darken. For no apparent reason, the sun dimmed, and its light and warmth was drained from the very air.

As the sun withdrew its relaxing rays, shadows began to form on the ground in a most unnatural way, seeming to almost be alive. Wait, they were alive. And they were all beginning to gather together, getting bigger and bigger, until they seemed to swallow the sun whole. When they did, darkness fell. Not just normal darkness. No, it was something so entirely different, even Omen, a pony who had only ever seen darkness except for the rarest of moments, knew it was a new kind of darkness, one which was completely, utterly evil.

Watching in frozen horror, Omen saw the shadows call the stars to it, and suddenly, the shadows were no longer shadows, but the night itself personified. And the night was angry. Very angry. It raised a giant hoof, and then brought it down upon the Earth, shaking the planet to the very core. Everything around Omen crumbled into dust, until all that was left was ruins. Ruins of a place which had been so happy and free, so innocent.

With nothing left to take its rage out on, the night turned to Omen. It seemed to have known she was there the entire time, watching in utter shock. Descending upon the Earth, it began to circle around Omen, creating a tornado of darkness and stars as it roared its fury at the helpless pony.

At this point, Omen felt like the tiniest of creatures. An ant would not even begin to describe how small she felt. This was something beyond her. Far beyond. There was nothing she could do to stop this thing. Absolutely nothing.

Standing there, taking the brunt of night's eternal wrath, Omen thought she spotted something through the inky blackness. It was a figure of some sort. Their color contrasted greatly with the ebony color of the night, their coat seeming to consist of a dark yellow, while their mane and tail were so dark pink, they could almost be mistaken for violet. The figure was tall, standing well above any pony she had ever encountered, and had impressively large wings. Omen could almost mistake the figure for an alicorn, except for the fact they had no horn.

Seeing no other option, Omen opened her mouth to call out to the pony, but then the night suddenly shifted around her again, hiding the pony from sight. Then it reared up, crashing down on her with the force of a thousand tidal waves. It smothered her, squeezed her, refused to let her escape its grasp as it tried to invade her body and mind, tried to take all free will from her.

Omen wanted to scream, but every time she started to open her mouth, the night pressed closer, eager to get in her head and transform her into their tool. So she kept her jaw firmly in place, working through the agony as the night began to become more and more restless, more impatient, and tried harder. It sliced at her side, wrapped her in a grip so tight she thought all her bones may break, slammed her into invisible walls and floors, anything to get her to open her mouth so they could invade, so they could take her and use her.

Trapped, Omen could only wish for rescue as the night continued its torture. Suddenly, though, there was a bright flash, and another figure appeared in the light. Omen could not properly see who it was, but she didn't care. She was just grateful about the fact that the night seemed to be afraid of her or his presence, releasing Omen and shying away from the light.

Omen would have thanked the pony, but then she woke up.

It had been a year since that dream had occurred, and for Omen, it was a distant memory. Ever since she had officially moved to Ponyville, she had found the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. Life had gotten much, much better for Omen since she got here. Everypony here was much nicer to her than any town she had gone to before. For the first time in a long time, Omen was happy.

And then Twilight was made into an alicorn.

Omen had been just as shocked as everypony when the unicorn bookworm had ascended, but she had been happy for her. Since moving here, Omen went to the library as much as possible, where she would sometimes run into the unicorn and chat.

At least, until Tirek destroyed it. While his appearance had not been a great shock to Omen due to a small vision she had in front of the library, she was still angry. While she may not have been able to read, there were special types of books made for ponies like her, and she had enjoyed flipping through them.

Oh well. It was in the past, and now Twilight had turned the castle library into a local library. At least she could go there now. It was a magnificent place, the castle. She had seen it in a dream once, though only for a second. Then she had ended up in Canterlot for some reason, wandering empty streets. The dream had weirded her out a little, but she had shrugged it off.

Until the day it happened. Until the day Equestria learned things they were never supposed to. Until the princessdom fell. And it was all Omen's fault.

Omen yawned as she settled down against the apple tree, her thoughts content and calm. She could feel the light of the setting sun warm her as she let out a relaxed sigh.

She loved coming to the orchard to 'watch' the sunset. She may not be able to see it, but she still figured it must be a magnificent sight. Or at least, she wasn't supposed to be able to see it.

Once more, though, the world opened up to her, and she could see the sun sinking below the distant Crystal Mountains. Letting a smile overtake her face, she wondered why her sixth sense was showing her this. Maybe it was a sign that her troubles were finally over.

That thought was dashed the instant after she had it. As she watched the sun set, she was suddenly gripped in an uneasy feeling, something which put her on edge and made her become wary of her surroundings. While the last of the sun's light went away and the stars began to come out, an image flashed in front of her. It was that of a tall dark yellow pegasus. Their face was hidden in shadow, so Omen could not see who they were, but the aura coming off this pony was dark. Very dark.

Leaping to her hooves, she braced herself for attack. Instead, the world went completely dark once more, cutting off the vision. Knowing that it was over, Omen relaxed once more, though was quick to leave the orchard. She knew who that pony had been. Kinda. It was the same from her dream a year ago. Exactly who it was though? No idea. And why show them to her after all this time? Sometimes, Omen's sixth sense irritated her. It may help her through normal, everyday life, but the way it sometimes showed the future was extremely cryptic. It personally made Omen want to strangle whatever force was giving her this sixth sense.

Sighing again, Omen decided to head home. Skirting the town square, for she felt little want to be in the company of anypony right now, she made her way out of town and towards the Everfree. Halfway between Ponyville and Fluttershy's cottage, Omen's home sat in an overgrown field. It was a rather humble abode, made of wood from the Everfree and was just barely big enough for two ponies. Fitting, for Omen at least, just in case somepony came over.

Pushing her way through the barley that grew in the field, Omen stepped up the stairs to the front door and opened it, walking inside and shutting the door behind her.

Directly in front of her, the living lay spread out, with a small reclining chair and nightstand. There was also a coffee table at the other end of the room, which held an incense burner. Going over to the table, Omen carefully lit up her horn and touched it to the tip of the incense. The heat radiating from her horn made it start to smoke slightly, then it burst into flame. Pulling back, Omen waited a few seconds, then blew out the flame. Immediately, the enticing aroma of sugar cookies filled the air as smoke wafted up from the long, thin stick.

Breathing it in, Omen allowed the enticing scent to lull her into a more calm state. Heading over to the door, she locked it, then trotted to the chair.

Getting on it, Omen got comfortable and closed her eyes. Maybe all she needed was a little sleep. Then things might go back to normal, at least for a little while.

With that, Omen drifted off into unconsciousness, unaware of what was about to happen.

It was...night? Of course it was night. She knew that. She'd gone to see the sunset, after all. So why did this feel wrong?

Looking up at the sky, Omen shuddered at the black emptiness. The moon hung low, but that was the only thing in the inky darkness of space. No stars twinkled up above, and that made the moon seem far less friendly than it normally did. Wait. Hold on a minute. She could see. That means this must be a dream. Unless she was having another vision.

But no. She remembered heading home and going to bed. That meant Omen was asleep again. Letting out a slight sigh of relief, she glanced around. What exactly was going on this time? What was this empty field and sky supposed to show her?

Suddenly, the sky was no longer empty. Instead, the same creature from last year descended. The night personified. Stars once more glittered in its shadowy form, and it still towered over the whole of Equestria.

Staring up at it in fear, she expected for it to attack her again. Instead, the night simply just stood there, looking down at her. After a minute, Omen began to think that it was playing a game. After several more minutes, she began to realize the night was not going to do anything. But why? It had been so eager to try and take her over the first time. What had changed?

Omen did not receive an answer. At least, not at first. After another ten minutes of being watched, Omen was actually beginning to get bored. By this point, she had started moving around the area she was in, and surmised that it was the place where Fluttershy's cottage rested, oddly enough. Except without the beautiful home.

Curious, Omen tried to piece together this dream that was no doubt courteous of her sixth sense. First, an angry night which had destroyed Equestria and tortured her. Then one who simply stared at her like it was waiting for something. Finally, there was the yellow pegasus and Fluttershy's home.

The dots initially connected to Fluttershy being the yellow pegasus, but there was no way. Fluttershy was not that tall, and her fur, mane, and tail definitely were not as dark as the pegasus in her dreams and vision. Plus, her aura wasn't as dark as the one coming from the pegasus. Actually, her aura wasn't dark at all.

Maybe it was a relative of Fluttershy. Did Fluttershy even have relatives? Now that Omen thought about it, she had never heard even one word about the family of the Element of Kindness. It kinda puzzled her, actually. She knew a little bit about each Element, and their families was one of them. Twilight Sparkle obviously had her parents and a brother. Rarity also had her parents and a little sister. Pinkie had told her about her family back on the rock farm. Applejack...well, everypony knew how many family members she had. As for Rainbow Dash...actually, she didn't know anything about the weather pegasus's family either. What was it with the two pegasai of the Elements of Harmony having no family?

As she mulled this over, Omen didn't notice that the night was shifting its attention away from her. Lifting its colossal head, the night stared off into the distance, like it was seeing something. Just as Omen glanced up at her companion once more and realized this, there was a bright flash of light, and then Omen found herself back within the town of Ponyville.

Startled, Omen glanced around rapidly and noticed all of Ponyville was present. There was Carrot Top, Filthy Rich, Derpy, the Elements, and...Princess Luna!

The minute Omen saw her and what she was doing, the truth came crashing down on her. She was in an interconnected dream, shared by everyone in Ponyville. That also meant they were in her dream too. This was bad. Very, very bad.

Nopony should ever be in her head at night.

As if to confirm this, the creature from before reared its ugly head once more. Night personified. The thing which the sixth sense had been warning her about. She had let it loose upon every pony in Ponyville.

"Luna! How do we stop it?!"

Omen's head snapped to Twilight, and she had the second, and perhaps most terrible, epiphany tonight. This wasn't her fault. This thing was the real night. The one in her dreams had been a vision of the future, one which could come true if she screwed this up.

Setting her eyes on her opponent, Omen narrowed her navy blue orbs as she glared at the creature. The sixth sense had warned her about this, and now she needed to be ready to act.

While the Elements managed to rally the town and begin attacking the monster, Omen joined in of her own accord. Floating up into the air, she summoned her magic. As she did, a great glow of light came from behind her, blinding anypony who dared to look, and making the night shrink back in fear.

"Begone, you evil creature!" Omen yelled and hurled the ball of light at the night. It hit it straight on, making it let out an ear-splitting shriek. It was clear that her blast had weakened it dramatically, and this meant it would be much easier to subdue it.

That is, until, Omen heard this.

"Thou are doing great, my little ponies...but thou would not have had to do this if I had not created this beast. I fail, even when I am attempting to protect my ponies from being subjected to my evil once more."

The minute the sentence was out of Luna's mouth, the night grew tenfold in strength. Aghast, Omen tried to use the light on it once more, but it merely blasted her from the sky. She heard several ponies cry her name in outrage, and could see as Ponyville attacked with renewed vigor. However, the creature was far too powerful at this point. There was no feasible way for them to defeat it.

Seeing this, the night opened up a rift, and Omen knew in the bottom of her heart it was going to escape to the real world and bring ruin to Equestria. Just like her dream had warned. Just like she'd ignored. She should have known that this creature would react with Luna's emotion. It was the night, and Luna was supposed to be its master. But it seemed that Luna's emotions had once more led her astray. She may have had good intentions, but in the end, Luna was once more going to lead Equestria to fear.

Speaking of the princess, something seemed to be going on between her and Twilight. Luna was clearly irritated and confused about something, and Twilight seemed just as puzzled by whatever was bothering them.

Turning her ears so she could hear the conversation, Omen picked up on a half-finished sentence Twilight was saying. "...understand! That should have worked! You've forgiven yourself for what happened, and we've forgiven you! So why is the Tantabus still alive?!"

It was at this moment Omen had another horrible realization. The Tantabus, as it was apparently called, obviously worked in the dreams of ponies . This meant that it had to spread though. How to accomplish that? By invading the dreams of anypony that another pony was dreaming about. Which meant if she saw the Tantabus in her dreams, even if it was just a vision, the creature was still there...and it had been for a year. Even if it seemed impossible, the Tantabus had been feeding off her for almost as long as Luna.

The revelation brought about the unveiling of another thought, one Omen dreaded. If it was tied to her just as strongly as it was tied to Luna, then when Luna finally broke free of her guilt and forgave herself, it must have transferred its main feeding over to her. But what was it feeding off of? What did she have to get over? Would she even be able to do it in time?

As if to answer that question, the rift closed behind the Tantabus, sealing its way into the mortal world. The Tantabus had escaped, and it was all Omen's fault. She had been warned a year ago, but had failed to act. She hadn't told anyone, she hadn't sought out advice. Instead, she had simply shrugged it off.

It was a punch in the gut. Equestria was going to fall. Because of her. Standing up, Omen winced as her wound from the blast made pain radiate across her entire body.

Then she looked up. And was nearly muzzle to muzzle with Princess Luna.

Slightly startled, she locked eyes with the princess. Luna seemed to be pretty pissed at her for some reason. That was never good. "Um, may I help you, your Highn-"

"How. Long. Have. You. Known?"

Omen could see that nearby ponies were beginning to take an interest in the events unfolding next to them, and turning their horror-struck eyes from the spot where the Tantabus had disappeared to Luna and Omen.

Shifting uncomfortably, Omen moved back slightly and let out a deep sigh, closing her eyes. "A year. I knew for a year that thing was coming. I just didn't know what it was or when it would strike."

Luna seemed about to go off on her, but then a grim look crossed her face, and she turned her eyes towards the gathered ponies. She appeared to be searching for something. "It does not matter. We may still stop it, but we have to get back before it finds a proper host."

A sick feeling hit Omen as the last of the puzzle fell into place. Flying up into the sky swiftly, her eyes flashed over the crowd, just like Luna, except she already knew what she was looking for. Or, more importantly, what was missing.

She was right. Her dreams were right. The vision in the orchard was right. "Oh no," Omen muttered as the truth struck her like the Friendship Express at full speed. Going back down to Luna as the princess prepared to wake, Omen laid next to her and whispered in the princess's ear.

"It's already too late."