Descendant of the Night: Beginnings

“There is a hole in time, one cause by a ponies selfish intent. It is because of that hole we believe that some souls are fractured, and appear before us as young foals. While normal at first, they can become… stranger. How to describe it would take days, and we don’t have that time. Yet I do know that the selected path of history can be changed by this, such is the teachings of the alpha. Once, a pony nearly collapsed the boundary between us and the void, the first paradox. It was only thanks to the duty of the first wolves that the world continued. That day, we realized what had to be done to play our part in patching the holes that come.

With one hole in the fabric of time, others will most differently form. A catastrophe lies on our horizon, and even with it’s solid shadow slowly creeping towards us we must fight back. The destruction of these paradoxes as we’ve been told to call them, are vital to the life of our world. We are taught to think of them not as beings, but as monsters. Some crumble under the idea of taking another's life for a reason they don’t understand, such as I. Yet we can’t forget what they almost caused, and what they can still very much cause.

The very hesitation of my claws - of my fangs - might be the difference between survival and the end. Now I hear news somehow worse than any I ever had, of a paradox with immense power. This paradox is my target, and also that of my mutt of a brother. Though I once hesitated to end the life of a paradox, that was years ago. I see this as a chance to redeem myself, and to finally see my father after all these years. I must remember kindness, respect, and dignity while also showing myself as the vicious predators we are.

This is the duty of a paradox hunter such as myself, and the burdens that come with such a title. We are the hope of these three empires survival, even if they are unaware or refuse to believe it. Yet I have always wonder if there was something more than just the want of destruction these paradox wish for. I got my answer, and it was hard to see this creature as a monster with such an innocent face. Imagine what her mother would think…

Silence filled the air around Ponyville, giving the town it’s feeling of abandonment. Those who wished to live away from Canterlot, Lunar Republic, and Solar Empire faced worse hardship than those inside city walls. What colors should have been vibrant and beautiful came off as dull and faded. Not a single pony would dare idol in the town square, nor did anyone truly know the horror of the outside world. If it wasn’t for the lights for a few buildings, you would have called it a ghost town.

Silvia and Ralf was all too familiar with that cruel glimpse of the outside world. Silvia’s saving grace was the amulet around her neck, a gift from her father. Yet her brother had told her of the creatures, how twisted they appeared and the things can cause. Considering most who venture into the darkness of Equestria, her brother seemed the luckiest wolf alive. At the same time, Silvia had seen the aftermath of these creatures work. If luck had it, you only missed a limb. If unlucky... the thoughts were to gruesome for Silvia to imagine.

The closest building to them was a old looking pub of sorts, and they decided to use it to get a quick breath of relaxation. As the wooden door creaked open, the two wolves were met with few, yet astonished eyes. What chatter there had been seized, a young mare averting a foals eyes to keep them from seeing the new arrivals. This wasn’t Silvia’s first time in Ponyville, but she never had a reason unless there was a job. Anypony in town knew that if a wolf came, something bad had brought them. What should have been the welcome of heroes was overshadowed by the predatory nature of the wolves and their kind.

“Bartender, will take the corner booth,” Silvia said, unfazed by the glances she was getting.

The stallion behind the counter motioned a hoof to an empty booth close to them. Silvia nodded in gratitude before she and Ralf took seats on the opposite ends of the table. She eyed each pony in the bar, checking for somepony she’s never seen. Her eyes laid on the white coated mare with funny glasses on the other end of the pub. She was the one who had been averting the eyes of the foal next to her. The mare, who she knew as Vinyl, was looking right back at her with a stern face. Without a word Silvia looked away, eyes falling on a bored Ralf.

“At least try and look professional,” She scolded her brother, who let out a heavy breath in response. “I know these small towns aren’t your thing but you aren’t doing any good looking out the window.”

“Aren’t you the one who always said there’s more to the world than what we see in front of us?” Ralf responded deadpanned. Silvia nodded to answer her brothers question. “Well I want to ask you what I might be seeing if this darkness wasn’t around. What does the world really look like?”

“I… don’t know,” Silvia replied. “I assume we would see a beautiful town but… how am I supposed to know? No one is alive that remembers what the sun and moon looks like, and most likely no one ever will. We just got to do what we can to make things better than it seems to be.”

“So by taking down paradoxes, were simply sugarcoating how bad the situation really is?” Ralf said, getting a look from his sister that told him he had spoken to loudly. “Sis-”

“Earth ponies are a rare sight in this day in age,” Silvia whispered, glancing back at Vinyl. “Heard they disappeared many years ago, but I look in this bar and I see something rather odd.” Ralf followed her glance, looking to the filly sitting behind Vinyl. “We can’t go completely on race, but doesn’t it seem weird that an earth pony now of all times decides to appear.”

Before Ralf could reply, the sound of hoofs drew his attention to Vinyl. The mare whispered something to the filly, keeping an eye on the two wolves as they started making there way out of the pub. Before Vinyl reached the door, Silvia walked in front of her and locked eyes with the pony. Everything was silent, and neither one of them moved. Finally, Silvia spoke up.

“Who's the lucky stallion?” Silvia said deadpanned, knowing exactly what the response would be.

Vinyl circled Silvia, the filly following behind her trying to hide the pain she was feeling. Silvia knew full well though that she was hurting, and moved away watching as the filly miraculously got better. Ralf didn’t need to know any more, he had seen this before. The amulet around his sister's neck was meant to repel paradoxes, and the way the filly got when she was close to Silvia said everything. That filly was a paradox, but the question still remained if she was a threat or not.

“Let's wait a little before following, don’t want to act like stalkers,” Silvia told Ralf as she sat back down. “I know where Vinyl lives anyways, so there really isn’t much hurry. Hey bartender, I’ll have a drink, and Ralf will have a lemonade!”

“Are you sure that you should be going Thunder?” Moondancer said to the fully armored pony next to her as they walked through the streets of Canterlot. “I thought you would be more scared of leaving the city.”

“You can’t really tell but… I’m shivering inside the armor,” Thunder replied as he readjusted some saddlebags on his waste. “What am I going to tell Luminous? It won’t be a problem explain to her something's wrong with Neon but how do I explain her own existence.”

Moondancer couldn’t answer that. She had no idea how she was going to explain it herself, yet she would likely have to when they find her. They knew one thing, Luminous was still alive. That was the only comfort Moondancer had, and something she could only assure Thunder was true. Even with all the preparations they had, the real threat reminded them just how little hope they had of both getting out alive.

“You remember how I reacted when I found out I’m-”

“Thunder stop!” Moondancer commanded, the order coming sharp. “This isn’t the place or time to be reflecting on the past. You want Luminous alive, and there are others who want her dead. We’ll worry about the explanation at the moment it becomes relevant, understand?”

“Right,” Thunder nodded in reply. The two stood quietly in the middle of the busy streets, Thunder quickly making sure they had everything. “Food, water, armor, map…” Than it hit him. “Moondancer, please tell me you remembered to by the spell book.”

Moondancer’s eyes went wide, and in seconds she back the way they had came from. Thunder facehooved, the sound of metal vibrating as everyone turned to him.

“Sweet cheese and crackers.”

Silvia and Ralf walked through the quiet, ghost-like streets of Ponyville to the destination. To Ralf, who has never seen some quiet like this, was disturbed at the lifelessness of the town. He remember stories from the elder of what it should have been, and who it had become something it should never had. He could feel it, and almost smell the fear of everypony through the windows and doors of their houses. The very air seemed like a wandering spirit unable to rest. Nothing was happy, and he finally could see what life for ponies outside of the empires was like.

“We’re here,” Silvia told him as they approached the door to a house.

As the two came within an inch of the door, Silvia hesitated. This always happened, and was the reason she was stuck out here instead of living with her pack. No matter how many times she brought herself to do this, it didn’t make it less obvious what she was about to do. Luckily, she didn’t have to open it as a unusually serious Vinyl Scratch opened it for her. That glare in the usually chill unicorn’s eyes, it was something a paradox hunter was familiar with seeing. Silvia opened her muzzle to speak, only to get the coldest response she had ever her the unicorn say.

“Don’t. Say. A thing,” Vinyl commanded, each word feeling like an arrow in Silvia’s heart. “Melody is not dangerous, and I know that. You have NO reason to be here, paradox hunter.”

“You know it’s a title I bare with a burden greater than any wolf,” Silvia reminded the unicorn. “Part of me was happy to see you at the pub, it reminded me of the time when we use to be friends. Vinyl, I told you how dangerous paradoxes are.”

“You mean a filly,” Vinyl pointed out, outraged. “The nicest, cutest, and most musically talent filly I have ever seen, and you just so happen as to walk into town two days after I find her?” Silvia hid the guilt she felt inside, looking at the gloom present in grass under her. “You betrayed me, just like you did that paradox you told me about long ago. What was the name you gave her? Thunder Shield?”

“I’m sorry Vinyl, that’s all I can say,” Silvia blurted out, not thinking as every word came out. “I want to see my father again, I want to see the pack. I don’t want to kill anypony, but what do I get for acting more like a pony? Exiled. I showed friendship to Thunder Shield and to you and I paid for it. I have a job, and that job has lead me here, so Vinyl could please just step out of the way and-”

“Vinyl?” A small, foal-like voice came from behind the white mare. She looked back to see Melody, the filly Silvia had seen before holding her head. “My head hurts.”

“Melody go upstairs, please,” Vinyl pleaded, crouching down to the fillies height. “I know your head hurts but I have something else I have to deal with, and it involves your safety. Go upstairs, looks the door, and do not come back down until I get you.”

Melody took one glance behind Vinyl, locking eyes with Silvia. It was that moment Silvia saw something she had never seen before from a paradox, fear. She never saw what the older paradox hunters did to Thunder Shield when they took him away, and she had never seen a paradox truly understand what was going on. This was different; Melody triggered a feeling she hadn’t seen in a long time. It was a glance brought back memories of times long since past.

“Thunder!” A young wolf pup called out to the forest air, carrying bread on her back. “Thunder! It’s me, Silvia!”

“Over here,” She heard a voice call from the bushes, watching as a head popped out from them. “You weren’t followed, were you?”

“Don’t worry,” She reassured the young paradox. “My dads out hunting far away right now, and no one from our pack ever comes here. You’ll be perfectly safe.”

“You… you sure?”

“Of course I am!” Silvia shouted raising a paw in the air. “Listen, I’m your friend. I’m not like the other wolves, and I never will be. Just remember, if anything happen I’ll come save you. That’s what friends do.”

Some friend she turned out to be. Here she was, staring at terrified filly who’s half-formed soul she was told would destroy the world. This little filly had made her realize that she had become the exact thing she said she wasn’t, one of the other wolves. A predator searching for their prey with nothing but instinct, claws, fangs, and a love for meat. Maybe if she just turned back now, Vinyl will act like this never happen and the elder would give her something else.

No, of course that wouldn’t happen. This was her chance to be with her father, one of only two wolves she had left which truly loved her. Not only that but Ralf was watching her, and if she went soft on a filly when she had been nagging to him about taking the job more seriously, that would make her a hypocrite. She barely knew this filly and already they have made her judge everything she has done.

“Vinyl, I know what you think of my work,” Silvia began, contemplating the options at hand. “I understand that this filly feels important to you, but this is my last chance to be with my family again. I should be thinking of that, but instead I’m think of how many mistakes I’ve manage to make. I… think I need your side of the argument, the whole thing.”

Vinyl simply smiled upon hearing this.

The two ponies and two wolves sat at a medium size table with both species at each end. It was at that moment Silvia finally took the time to examine the filly Vinyl had introduced as Melody. She was much older than most paradoxes when they form, and given her body she believed the filly was seven years old. She had a dark brown coat and solid black mane and tail which held a degree of natural elegance in them. Silvia didn’t pay attention to the looks of those deemed as paradoxes (she wasn’t suppose to) but she couldn’t help but realize how normal Melody looked compared to others she has seen. If it wasn't for the broken aura, which she felt through her father's amulet, it would have been impossible to tell even with the amulets effect on a paradoxes brain.

Ralf, on the other hand, didn’t understand any of what was going on. Though he had been working with Silvia for some time now, this was the first time he had seen what a paradox truly looked like. The results made him less sure about what he had been brought into. She couldn't sense the aura like his sister could, but everything he saw made him feel like this pony was normal. If it hadn’t been for the fillies reaction around the amulet (which they left in a separate room to keep Melody comfortable), it would have been impossible for him to tell whether Melody was a paradox or not. That was the part that might have disturbed him the most, thinking they would be killing her if whatever his sister had planned didn’t work.

“You absolutely sure no one else is listening?” Vinyl said, making quick glances at the windows. “It’s just the two of you?”

“Ralf was kind enough to leave the pack to help an exile. If anything they would be coming here for us,” Silvia replied, getting a look of discontent from Vinyl. “You’ve changed a lot. You use to be such a lively filly.”

“And you were such a naive, kind pup,” Vinyl retorted back. “I’m not the only one around here who has changed, and you never told me you had a brother.”

“I didn’t really know her that well before exile, but I was willing to a family member,” Ralf said, hoping what he said made any sense. “I’m not sure what to think right now. This is my first time seeing a… paradox.”

“How old are you Ralf?”

“Seventeen, six years younger than Silvia.”

“The more time we waste the latter we get an idea on who Melody is,” Silvia said, trying her best to keep the two from idle chatter. “I really have no idea how to handle this, but I think if we get an overall idea on what Melody once was than we might know if she’s dangerous or not. Doing that by itself is dangerous however.”

“You're talking about a mind search!” Ralf’s eyes widened as he realized what his was going to do. “I thought it was banned from teaching.”

“I was exiled for more than just Thunder Shield,” Silvia told his brother. “It’s an old equine spell, but dangerous at that especially when used through objects. We wolves found out the hard way just how dangerous a mind search could be, but with proper execution I should be fine.”

“I know how smart you are from when I was a foal Silvia but what will this ‘mind search’ do when Melody doesn’t remember anything?” Vinyl asked.

“It’s not so much reading her memories but her dreams,” Silvia explained. “You’ve said she’s been her more than a day, which means that she had to dream. If she dreamt, no doubt she has lived small moments of it in her own dreams,” The two ponies and her brother tilted their head is confusion. “What I’m trying to say is that while most pony dreams are due to a part of their brain, a paradox for some reason can see through the eyes of their past self. It’s not very long, and if Melody explained a dream she remembered I would have no idea what kinda soul it is. However, by me entering a dream I see it through my own eyes, which means I should be able to see exactly who it is Melody once was.”

“Miss… Silvia,” Melody hesitated. As the wolf looked to her, she looked to Vinyl with a strange feeling of comfort. “Who can a wolf do magic when they have… uh-”

“I’m sorry you're afraid of me, Melody. I guess you were told what I am,” She looked to Vinyl holding the filly close to her in protection. “It’s our howl. We can channel our inner magic into a howl, but it’s more restricted than that of a unicorn. Wolves have created spells in the past, but known have ever been marked as highly as those of the unicorns.”

“If you're going to see her dreams, than no doubt you’ll need her asleep,” Vinyl spoke up. “Don’t think that I want to help you, but if it will show you that Melody is harmless than I’ll do it.”

Vinyl was acting almost… motherly. Compared to the wild, high energy filly Silvia had known Vinyl was completely different. She was glad that Vinyl was willing to help Melody, even if she didn’t true the wolf that had been her friend. If things went well, perhaps she could show the elder another way. That was all dreaming though, as she was using a forbidden spell among all races save for the long extinct alicorns. It was the reason she was exiled - having used it on Thunder - and the reason she might stay exiled.

That said, even with the memories of Thunder revived in her head, there was a bigger reason she was doing this. It was Ralf’s words back at the pub; he had asked what Equestria might look like under the darkness. This was her chance to see it, or at least what she thought Equestria should have been. She would be able to see the sun and the life of ponies without the darkness. Perhaps… she would learn of why the paradoxes truly appeared. These weren’t blurry, strange dreams that she was going to see. These were memories created by some sort of phenomenon long ago, where she would truly learn what caused the world she knows to exist.

“You promise this won’t hurt?” Melody asked as she got comfy in Vinyl’s bed.

“I promise,” Silvia said with a smile, though she didn’t really remember Thunder’s reaction when she did it on him. “Once Vinyl casts the sleep spell, I’ll chant the mind search through my howl,” Seeing that the filly was a little less tense she turned her head right to the mentioned unicorn. “Shall we began?”

Vinyl nodded her head before kneeling next to the bed and Melody. Her horn lit up as she channeled the spell, and touched the tip against Melody’s temple. A ripple effect occurred where the horn had made contact, and spread across Melody’s body as she started to fall asleep. As the ripples stopped, Silvia found Melody was asleep soundly with a smile on her face. Taking a deep breath and a quick hum to make sure she was in key, Silvia howled. Though she spoke no words directly, lyrics sounded in the ears of Ralf and Vinyl like telepathy.

My heart asks for dreams, not nightmares once told
A curse upon this, time has grasped ahold
Sadness fills this one's heart, which I wish to end
Brighten this ponies dreams, like the princess before
And all she become, a garden full of rose.

What happened next, was something only Silvia only saw as her soul enter Melody’s dream.

Something was off, Silvia knew that. Before she even opened her eyes it was clear as daylight, which now fell upon her. She didn’t open her eyes as she felt wind in her fur in a way she had never seen. A strange feeling of warmth came to her, one not that of a pony or wolf hugging her. Lastly, she heard the sound of music. Beautiful music from the likes of an instrument she had never heard before.

If it was real that was one thing, but as she opened her eyes to a blinded natural light it was clear this should be wrong. There was a sun, which meant her spell had succeeded, though four of her five sense said otherwise. She shouldn’t be feeling the wind, hearing music, smelling what must have been flowers, and seeing even a memory this sharp. She expected it to look clear, but this was too much detail for even a normal memory.

“How is this possible?” She asked to herself, realizing only after she finished speaking how clear her voice was.

“Your guess is as good as mine, dear hunter,” A voice responded unexpectedly from behind her. She looked to the owner of it and was put in awe at who was the owner. It was Princess Luna, looking straight at her with a look of authority. “What I truly wonder, however, is why this is the length you would go to when so many other like you won’t.”

“I see you sense me disturbing the dreams of another,” Silvia replied, no formality in the wolves voice. “Though perhaps I should be the one disturbed at just how real this is. For once, I know this isn’t the effects of my use of forbidden magic.” She took a step forward, feeling each strand of grass crash under her paw and the rocky soil underneath it. “After all these years, you’ve finally decided to pay another visit. Surely it isn’t just to lecture me on misusing magic.”

“Indeed it is not,” Luna answered turning to the direction the music was coming from. “I have been meaning to reminded you of the penalties for a long time, but for some reason I haven’t been able to connect to you dreams like others when nightmares arise. When you entered this dream, I took the chance to do the same only to realize the exact anomaly you had. Though I can’t be certain what is the cause is, I believe the most plausible answer is the mare’s dream which you entered.”

Following her gaze Silvia looked to a large outdoor stage with at least four dozen or so ponies in front of it. On that stage stood a grey mare with a straight black mane playing a large wooden instrument. It was easily one and half times larger than that of the mare's body, with four strings made of what Silvia believed was called catgut. She looked to Luna, was watching the pony playing on stage. Silvia looked back and forth between the mare and Luna, until finally it clicked inside of her.

“That’s Melody?” She shouted at the top of her lungs. “I don’t understand! She looks so different from the filly I saw. I would have assumed that she was still a filly, she has to be. Melody’s full self was never born due to the actions of the first paradox, like every other paradox. So why does she look like that? And why does it even make sense for it to be her?”

“I believe it’s something you wolves call ‘natural instinct’,” Luna replied. “Hunting, playing, boundary marki-” She stopped when she realized exact how wrong her theory was, giving Silvia a quick laugh as she thought about the last subject. “What I mean is that when you look at this mare, you must have had the same feeling you did when you first saw her. Maybe the smell, of perhaps it’s something else.”

“It’s… her soul,” Silvia said, somehow able to naturally see the half-formed soul of the mare on the stage. “I… I shouldn’t be able to see her soul without my dad's amulet, let alone in a dream. This doesn’t make sense.”

Clapping hooves sounded through the air as Silvia watched Melody bow in respect. She spoke some words to far off in the distance to hear before the crowd dispersed from the seats, save for one. A flash of white fur jumped at the full grown Melody, twirling her round and round till she finally stopped to give Melody a hug. It was than Silvia with wide eyes made out the white pony as Vinyl. If this was a memory liked the hunter believed, than somehow it had managed to make a perfect representation of Vinyl. Yet Silvia knew that wasn’t true, as Vinyl and Melody weren’t alive back before the catastrophe all those years ago. Eager to get a better idea of what this Melody looked like, Silvia walked towards the stage.

“You rocked it Octy! Everypony loved it, I’m sure!” Dream Vinyl said, Silvia stopping in her tracks as she heard what she referred to Melody as. “Still think you need a little more ‘umf’ in your music though. You need a sick beat that will get all those ponies dancing.”

“Not all music is for dancing Vinyl,” Silvia was brought back by the strong accent in Melody - or Octavia as Dream Vinyl referred to her as - voice. She had heard a similar one from Melody in the real world, but not as noticeable as she did here. “Though if you would think of something a little less wild for these sorts of occasions I would love to have you with me.”

“No bass cannon?” Octavia shook her head, causing Vinyl’s ears to droop before springing back to life. “Aw. That sucks, but if you lay the melody I’ll do the best to lay down the beat.”

“I would love that. A waltz, or minuette maybe?” Octavia asked herself, more as an afterthought than as a full on question. “We could decide latter.”

Silvia didn’t hear the end of the conversation, instead working her way back to Luna’s side. Somehow, she was in some sort of weird dream or memory from a time that doesn’t exist. Along with that, Vinyl seemed to have some sort of relationship with Octavia - which Silvia concluded was the full form of Melody’s soul. Even weirder was the fact that she could smell, hear, feel, and even taste the wind. It was as if it wasn’t a dream at all…

… Like this was real.

“That’s impossible,” Silvia stuttered, working on to the of something more sensible. “This can’t be real, Luna being here proves it. Luna can only enter dreams, and it’s impossible to open a portal through… what the heck this would be. This-” She looked out to the distance, spotting a giant crystal tower. “What is this?!”

“Perhaps that is something worth saving her for,” Luna replied, having heard every word out. “Even I am unsure what this truly is. Perhaps an alternate reality, or a vision of what there life she have otherwise been. Or maybe it’s some even stranger than I can describe.”

Silvia looked out a little longer, an anger sleeping inside her. She didn’t know why it had found a place in her, but something about this strange place made her feel… lied to. What had been lied about she truly had no idea, but this world gave her the feeling someone she knew had told her wrong. She wanted to know what this was. Not for knowledge like others would have, but because she felt rage at this not being her world.

“If I go far enough away, to the town in the distance, the dream shouldn’t be fully developed,” She theorized. “If this really is just some strange dream, I want to make absolutely sure.”

“Than I’ll fly you over,” Luna offered, “That way if you fall through the dream like predicted I can catch you. We must also make haste, she might wake soon.”

“Agreed,” Silvia said, jumping onto Luna’s back without warning.

As the alicorn and wolf reached the town, Silvia found herself in utter dismay. What should have been an abyss of nothingness was instead a town full of pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies. It look real, as if the ground was just as solid as the field Octavia had played in. Luna could help but think of this all as solid ground, it being long since she had been able to fully enter a ponies dream. Silvia was more skeptical, and knew there was only one way to find out just how solid the ground felt. They were only inches off the ground, but it wouldn’t matter if it was all just meaningless background.

“If I fall through the earth, catch me,” She told Luna, who didn’t even have time to register what she meant before Silvia jumped off her back.

Silvia closed her eyes, not expecting to feel anything after jumping. Instead, only seconds after she jumped off Luna she felt pebbles between her paw pads, and the shuffling of dirt. As this came to realization she opened her eyes to see she was standing in the middle of a normal street, the shadow of a building keeping the sun's warmth from falling on her. What astonishment there had been in the hunter had left before touching the ground. Instead, she thought about the abnormality of the situation. There was something more to this. There was more to the paradoxes than just being the product of a thousand year old phenomenon.

“What do you think about this all, paradox hunter?” Luna asked as she joined the wolf on the ground.

“This shouldn’t be happening a dream or a memory,” Silvia said as she watched ponies past by them completely unfazed by the figures of a wolf and alicorn. “Memories only show what the creature who lived them saw, so there wouldn’t be this town when that field was to far away for the length of a memory,” She next look to her fur coat, which was blowing in the wind. “A dream shouldn’t have touch, smell, or even taste. Even hearing is abnormal in most forms of dreaming.”

“In other words, what we are seeing is something that should be impossible, yet at the same time must have some connection to this Melody pony,” Luna summed up, walking in front of Silvia with her wings looking ready to fly. “You've used this spell before. How else would you know such things only I, the princess of the night, should know.” She furled her feathers back up and turned to Silvia. “I know this won’t stop you from hunting paradoxes, but that might be best. Some paradoxes are more dangerous than others, and another catastrophe might be prevented due to your efforts.”

“However,” Luna and Silvia’s muzzles touched, a stern glare in the alicorn's eyes. “Though I will allow you to continue using the mind search spell to see the dreams of paradoxes, you are collapsing your grips on your own life. Please take better care in the future with banned spells, especially when one may cost you to howl a song of death instead. Only use it to find a possible truth behind the mystery of these… false realms we shall call them, and to seek out paradoxes with power that might destroy our future.”

“And why should I listen to you when you didn’t live long enough to see the first paradox?” Silvia asked, not hiding the irritation in her voice.

“Because I can feel something coming,” Luna answered. “My power weakens, and even now I hear the sound of souls being disappeared in the farplane by… something. Yet something even worse lies on the horizon, an evil I don’t know the form of. Don’t take this as you helping me, but as a way to stop the next great catastrophe.”

Silvia nodded, and the world around her flickered. It was a sign that Melody was about to wake up. She wished to have time to explore this place, but she didn’t control how long one sleeps. There was a sudden force pushing against Silvia, which told her she was about to exit the dream and return to her body. Her body started to disappear like stain glass, having only time to say on thing to the princess.

“If a hero is what you ask than I’ll be that hero,” Silvia spoke with confidence.

Luna only looked to the wolf as she opened a portal out of the dream. “After everything you’ve done, and all you become?” Luna asked rhetorically as she stepped through the portal, Silvia gone before she could finish. She sighed, the portal slowly closing behind her “The last thing you are, Silvia, is a hero.”

Silvia felt as if a lightning bolt had run through her body as she woke up, falling backwards in shock. Ralf caught her in time, reacting unusually quick all things considered. Vinyl kept her eyes on Melody, watching as the filly woke up with a groan. Thankful that Silvia didn’t do anything while Melody was dreaming, Vinyl almost collapsed on top of the filly and relief. As Silvia regain her train of thought, she got back on all fours. Turning to Vinyl, she put on an honest smile.

“I shouldn’t be doing this, especially since I’m so close,” She started, pausing briefly to rethink how good of an idea this was. She had to do it, especially since she gave Luna her word. “I’ll let Melody live.”

The faces of the mare and filly opposite of her both lit up like the stars that long ago darted the sky. Vinyl let a tear run down her face before grasping Melody in her hooves and swinging her around, both cheering happily. The happiness in their faces, it was something Silvia never saw from the ponies of Equestria. While her kind loved the darkness, the ponies feared it like they did the creatures that called it home. Ralf couldn’t help but smile, knowing whatever went on in the dream changed his sister's mind.

“Thank you,” Vinyl told Silvia, crying as she gave her old friend a hug. “Thank you so much Silvia. You don’t know how much this means to me. It’s great to know you still have a heart.”

“It was the least I could do, especially after seeing what I did,” Silvia explained, giving a much more gentle hug to Vinyl than she was to the wolf.

“What… did you see?” Ralf asked, coming up to his sister's side as she let go of Vinyl. “What is it like to see a paradoxes dream.”

“I… can’t really say,” Silvia told her brother. “But I saw enough to see just how harmless O- Melody is. Trust me, you two will be very happy together,” Vinyl looked to Melody who was brushing her side as she heard everything. “Now, I’m sorry but I have somewhere else I must stop.”

“Will you be in town the next few days?” Vinyl asked Silvia. “It would be nice to get to talk with you after everything that happened.”

“I’m staying with the Dash’s, like usual,” Silvia explained to Vinyl. “There’s another, more dangerous paradox coming. One odder than any I’ve felt before. Besides, the Dashes still need my help getting their daughter back up and going,” Silvia thought over things a little bit before giving her response. “I should have time to talk with you during that time.”

“Than I’ll see you later, Silvia,” It may not have seen like much to Ralf or Melody, but hearing Vinyl call her by her name gave Silvia the biggest smile she has had in years.

“Wake up your highness,” Rarity said, gently shaking a sleeping Luminous, getting a groan in response.

“Five more minutes?” Luminous asked without even opening her eyes, before something hard hit her back. “AH!” She turned around to see Sweetie Belle standing over her, smiling. “Okay, I’m up. What is so important?”

“We’ve arrived at Arcane’s your majesty,” Rarity answered, removing Sweetie from Luminous’ back.

The pegasus sat up as the fashionista and her sister went to wake up the others, narrowing her eyes to trying and make out the figure of the a house. It was than she realized that the only actual light source was the Lunar String and a lantern. She looked around for any sign of civilization with great confusion. Finally she turn to Rarity, taking time to think up a reasonable question before asking.

“WHERE IN LUNA’S NAME ARE WE?!”