Darkness. Complete Darkness. No way out. Its presence brings an overwhelming amount of dread and restlessness, leaving those in its grasp to fight their way through. In this case it is a young stallion that has struggled through the darkness for what has felt like centuries. The feel of this place has brought chills to the stallion's spine and paranoia to his mind.
"H-hello?" trembled the stallion as he proceeded down nothingness. His ears perched and his eyes scanned for any sign of life in the darkness but he was unsuccessful. The brown earth pony has been sweating ever since the feeling of dread has swept in and since then he hasn't stopped.
"Can anyone hear me? Please I-I don't know where I am". Still no answer to his pleas. Just as the stallion was ready to call again, he heard a faint whisper. His ears perched up and a feeling of joy enlightened him even through the dread of the darkness. "Hello? Please can you help me? I'm over here!". The stallion waited for a response but nothing. Just the beating of the stalllion's heart was heard in the silence. "Enough jokes, this is not funny" he exclaimed. The amount of dread was overwhelming.
He continued walking aimlessly until he could find the owner of the voice. His body was beginning to suffer from exhaustion and fatigue but he refused to allow his body to give up on him until he found a way out.
"Alright, now where can you be. You couldn't have gone fa-" he muttered but stopped when he heard the whisper once again, faintly louder this time. The stallion, filled with eagerness and excitement, ran to the source of the voice, ignoring the signs of his body beginning to belt under his weight. He was just too eager to get out of here, or at the least experience this hell-hole with someone else.
As he ran straight through the void of darkness the voice kept growing louder. "Yes this is it!" screamed the stallion in joy. The whisper was getting louder, but the stallion still couldn't see who was calling him. They're probably hidden by the thickness of the darkness he thought. But it wasn't adding up. The voice was getting louder, but as the stallion actually stopped to listen he could not make out with what the voice was saying. It only sounded like...Gibberish.
He stopped running now, and cautiously jogged through the fog. "What in Celestia is going on?" wondered the stallion. The voice was still growing louder, which was peculiar for it seemed as if the voice was coming closer even though he was moving at a slower pace. It seemed as though, the slower he moved, the louder the voice became. The stallion couldn't move any longer through this darkness and oxygen deprivation eventually caught up with him, leaving him to collapse and wallow on the floor of the void.
Panting heavily, the pony begin to experience the dread creep back into his heart, while the voice grew louder this time containing screeches and howling of inaudible context. The pony began to tear up, covering his eyes and ears, while mumbling repeatedly "Please, make it stop, make it stop, make it stop...". The voices stopped suddenly. It was too quick so the stallion waited for quite some time, still balled up on the floor and expecting the worst. When the worst didn't come the pony opened his eyes and removed his hooves from his ears stifling muffled sobs in the darkness.
"This...just doesn't add up..." he mumbled to himself as he began to stand on his four hooves. As he began to regain control of himself, he felt a change in the atmosphere almost as if the air was being sucked right from it. "Oh no please I just started.." but he quickly stopped as felt his trachea began tightening. The pony began to grasp for air, slowly losing consciousness, and mind racing. The panic then set forth and he tried struggling through this feeling almost as if he stood a chance against it. As the stallion started losing consciousness, he felt that the darkness around him was beginning to sweep in as well, creeping its way into his eyes, ears, and mouth, trying to tear down the walls of emotion to reach into his soul. Tears welled in his dry eyes knowing it was the end of him and he knew he will never be found in this realm of nothingness. With what felt like his final gasp of air, he closed his eyes to slip from this hell, allowing himself to be taken into the afterlife.
An eerie feeling of peace descended into his body and soon the stallion found himself in a tunnel, which radiated bright light at the end." Bright Light!", Cried the stunned stallion. The pony began to run closer to the light, suddenly feeling a burst of energy in his body. As he got closer to the light, it radiated of his skin and he felt it piercing past his skin, cleansing him of his sins. As he ascended closer to the light, the feeling of peace was almost imminent...Until he saw the shadow.
It outlined what looked like a female earth pony but very tall and menacing. It blocked the young one's path and made no attempt to move. This shadow gave him an odd feeling, almost as if it was trying to communicate to him without speaking. He couldnt ponder on this thought though and The young stallion tried to move from the shadow's path to the light but to no avail. He started to struggle but the Shadow only chuckled at his feeble attempts. The stallion knew it was a hopeless cause and with a sigh of defeat he let the shadow envelope him. It hurt every inch of his body and he tried to stay strong but could not.
The shadow laughed and stated wickedly,"Your Mine".
The stallion started feeling weak, his eyes rolling to the back of his head, letting the darkness consume his body. The last words to pierce his mind before his end were "Alan, wake up"...
The brown stallion's eyes quickly shot open, rising from his bed, sweat beading down his head and his heart pounding heavily against his chest. He quickly and alertly looked around his surroundings, cautiously surveying his room. His room was vaguely small, but was a descent size for a single occupant. Alan quickly looked to the left of his bed, managing to make out the vision of his desk, which held a laptop along with some documents scattered upon the desk. He then looked to his right, only to see his wardrobe, shut securely, which helped ease his suspicions.
Alan slowly lifted his hooves up to his head, soothing his headache, wiping the dry tears from his face, and assuring himself he was no longer in that realm of sorrow. After bringing his breathing to a steady rate, Alan noticed the peak of the sun glowing through the window that resided behind his desk and felt secure with the rays of the sun enveloping his room, dropping his hooves from his face. "Never thought I would be glad to see you Mr. Sun" he said sarcastically, admiring the rays at the same time. He looked at the lamp table residing to the right and groggily opened the compartment of the table to pull out two painkiller pills. Another night of nightmares, another set of pills, he told himself, and doused the two pills in his mouth. He simply swallowed the pills, too tired to leave his bed for a glass of water. The effect of the pills did little to ease his headache but it did leave him to continue his day a little more comfortably. After sitting in his bed for quite some time, he eventually rose, still traumatized by the events of his dream, and descended down the hall to the kichen,to make himself a fine cup of coffee. He knew he couldn't rely on pills alone.
That cup of coffee hit the spot, for Alan felt much greater, letting the warmth and creaminess give him a sense of ease. He felt safer in his kitchen which had many windows, allowing light to flow in from all directions. That was a good benefit that came with having a four room apartment on the thirtieth floor in Manehatten. He let down his coffee on the table which stood in the middle of the kitchen, and walked down the hall to the entrance of his apartment. He opened the front door to glance around, only to notice that the weekly newspaper lay on his doorstep. He glanced around seeing if anyone else had received there newspaper in such a manner, for he usually needed to head down to the lobby to pick it up himself. The hall was not so narrow, containing with doors parallel to each other until it reached the elevator.
He lifted the newspaper, glanced around, and opened it seeing what was knew in Equestria. He scanned the paper looking at the politics section, business section, but what he really wanted was the comics section. "I may be a bit too old for comics but they cheer me up in times like this" he chuckled to himself.
"It's not that immature to have a laugh every so often" said a voice flirtatiously.
Alan picked his head up to see a pretty mare smiling at him with grey toned skin and green eyes with a black toned mane but suited her perfectly. It was his neighbor of two years but Alan did not process that fact though for she scared the wits out of him, dropping his newspaper at the sudden appearance of the pony, which startled him. She giggled and bent down to pick up the newspaper which was now scattered in sections. She picked up a section and handed it to Alan who felt silly for his sudden spasm. He was blushing.
"Don't be embarrassed, it was my fault I should not have startled you like that" she said not breaking eye contact the whole time.
Alan suddenly regained his wits and quickly said "Please, no, it was my fault for jumping up like a little foal. I just have not been getting much sleep lately and it's been getting to me".
"Well I hope you get better then Alan" she said with a hint of worriedness. He wished the same for himself. She quickly continued speaking.
"So how is your story coming along, writer? She asked giving him a playful wink.
He laughed and said "Not so good Jane. I'm just having troubles trying to organize the ideas and put them on paper. These dreams aren't helping either".
She frowned and approached the stallion. "Oh you poor thing, is there anything I can do?", still approaching with a smirk in her face. Alan always fancied the mare but could not muster up the courage to seize the moment.
"Maybe later…" he said dryly. The grey mare began to walk away from the stallion slowly.
He felt as if he offended the poor mare but she glanced at him and said "well if you're ever looking for 'a good time', you'll know where I'll be". She glanced over to her room and with a wink, galloped to her home.
Alan felt stupid for not taking the chance, but he didn't feel like 'having a good time' at the moment. As he bent down to retrieve the rest of the fallen papers he glance to see the section his neighbor handed to him. Comics Section. He laughed and proceeded to pick up the rest and went back into his apartment.
As he walked down the hall, he entered the kitchen to put the newspaper(s) down on the table. He picked up his cup of coffee and began to drink what was left of it. His face contorted though as the once warm creamy coffee, entered his body as a cold sugary stream. He sighed, placed the cup down and began to walk down the hall again which at the far end contained Alan's room and to the right was an empty bedroom. Alan never wish to acknowledge that room always passing by it without glancing at it, but it was virtually impossible considering it was right next to his room. Glancing at the room gave him a sense of sadness.emptiness.loneliness. But Alan, despite these feelings, was never fond of company. He would label himself anti-social, but he could indeed socialize. Possibly his hatred of company came from his sudden burst of fame, due to his 'Best-Selling' Novels. He did not want to be so cynical but that's what he thought. The neighbor probably only found an interest in Alan because he was a successful writer, and that stung him a bit. He felt that people were never interested in him, because of, well, him but instead, because of his fame and fortune.
"What Fortune? It's not like I'm planning to exploit all that money on things that I have no purpose of having" he mumbled to himself as the thought entered his mind, and stepped through the door to his room.
He made his bed, shaking of the sheets of dead skin and other contents, and plastered himself in front of his desk. He admired the pages scattered on the desk, fiddling through them with his hooves. There has to be one blank sheet of paper here, he thought to himself, still rummaging through the sheets. At last he found a sheet of paper and opened the compartment of his desk to find a pen. There was no pen. "It's a never ending cycle of messiness" he sighed, looking for a pen in the small compartment. Finally after what felt like hours he found the pen and begin to think of new ideas for his new story. His last novel, Darkness Falls, centered around a Protagonist who was trapped in a forest consumed by darkness. Alan knew about the connection to his dreams and novels, and at first he thought it was just his mind acting out the scenarios of his work. But the dreams continued onward, and began to get more fearful, personal, and terrifying. It started off with just darkness but a feeling of evil, almost as if the darkness was out to get something. Or someone.
The dreams started to get more vivid though, with memories beginning to play into his mind, but with the darkness present as well. It changed the original memories into much more sinister plots, keeping Alan awake, not wanting to endure these nightmares anymore. Then it hit Alan. He grew up here all his life, from when he was a little foal up until now. This is where most of his memories resided.
"..and the darkness attacks my memories" he thought aloud. A smile stretched across Alan's face and he felt a sudden rush of joy. "If I leave this place I could probably clear up my head, stop having these nightmares, and start getting back on track!" he exclaimed with joy. But then reality hit him. How could he leave? He couldn't just leave the very place he grew up in. and where would he go? Finding houses is not so easy now, and he wouldn't know of a place to look. He decided to weigh his options. "If I stay..." but he stopped. "What options? I have no reason to stay in Manehatten" he said. It was overpopulated and Alan wanted a place away from people, especially as rude as the inhabitants are here. With questions like these burning in his skull, he could only call one friend he knew could help him organize. He glanced to the side of the desk and saw a phone. He grabbed the phone and dialed a number and placed the phone on his ear.
"Hello?" Said the voice from the other line.
"Yes, Jerry", Asked Alan.
"Hey, Alan! How've you been man, been getting worried sick about you"
"Glad to hear from you to buddy".
"So whats going on, how is my moneymaker doing?"
"I told you Jerry if you ever…" scowled Alan but was cut short.
"Just kidding my man haha I remember the day we were still messing with little fillies how can I betray our friendship" exclaimed Jerry.
"You rascal. Well I have a question to ask you… about the nightmares. I'm going to need you to bear with me".
"No problem, say what you need to say".
Alan felt uneasy at first telling Jerry, but he knew he had to. He proceeded to tell him everything about his plan and how it may help him clear his mind. Jerry was quiet towards the end but eventually spoke up.
"You sure this is what you want to do?" questioned Jerry.
"As sure as I can be"
"hmm…fine then you S.O.B. but stay in touch alright? I don't want you dropping off the face of the map".
"I'll be sure to do so" chuckled Alan.
"well you want a quiet re mote place and that isn't too hard to find, but you want to find a place where friendlies reside yes?"
"Mhmm"
"Well I know of a place where the inhabitants are as friendly as they can be and oh would you look at that there is a nice little cabin that resides right by the area"
"That's perfect.'
"hold on I'll text you on the details tomorrow, my computer is running a bit slow. Damn thing wont start…"
"You do what you got to do jerry, talk to you later"
"Three hundred down the drai-"
Alan just laughed and hung up the phone. He felt much more at ease now that this plan was at a go, especially in such a small time-lapse. He questioned what he should do before he leaves Manehatten to restart himself anew. Then his eyes lit up and a smirk shined on his face. Around this time the sun was now beginning to retreat from the world to the other side, and Alan decided to tie some strings.
He walked out from his room turning on the lights in his house, and prepped the kitchen for a meal. He couldn't decide what to make so he mustered up whatever skills he could to batch up a secret salad recipe he learned from a friend a while back. After admiring his work, he saw that the salad was too much for one pony to eat so he decided to invite another friend. He then readied himself up, putting on his best attire and cologne and walked out his front door. He surveyed the area for any sign of life but the only thing there were the lights shining the hall. He walked out from his door and approached the door to the left.
As he stood in front he gave himself a little shake and when he finally felt ready he knocked on the door with his hoof. After a couple of seconds Jane appeared at the door. She was stunned at the stallion in good attire, but then smiled and sighed playfully, "Thought about my offer?". She was smiling. The stallion didn't falter. "Actually I came to invite you over for dinner, that is, if you haven't already had any" he replied smiling back. The mare smiled and said "Let me put on MY good attire now."
"Take your time" he said.
She winked and closed the door. Alan retreated back to his home, tidying up things and cleaning whatever mess he could find. As he approached his room to clean the documents on his desk, the phone rang. He looked at the phone and then answered, while still cleaning.
"Hello?" Alan answered.
"Hey sorry Alan about my bucking computer the thing is just a mess. Anyways I found the info about the house" Explained Jerry
"Alright give me the details."
"Well it is a two story cabin, two rooms a kitchen, living room, and there is a lovely surprise for you as well."
"I'm expecting a surprise right now" Alan chuckled.
"I'm not going to ask buddy."
Alan Laughed.
"Oh yeah one more thing about the place it is."
"Oh darn I forgot. Alright where is it located!?" exclaimed Alan
"Hold your reigns. Its located in a town named Ponyville"
"Ponyville? Why does that place sound familiar"
"Something about these holder of the elements of harmony, blah blah, forget that so you still in?"
Alan thought for a while.
"If it makes you feel better you not knowing it that much shows it's a humble place" said Jerry, who seemed to be reading Alan's thoughts.
"…Fine I'll do it"
"Alright great talk to you later man. Oh and Alan? Try not to hurt the mare"
"I'll try" retorted Alan, laughing, and he hung up.
Then there was a knock on the door. Alan quickly sprung from his room, forgetting about any mess, and galloped to the entrance door. He opened the door and was instantly stunned by the grey toned mare.
She wore a black short dress that only added to her black styled mane. Her green eyes twinkled at him with adorned affection. She stood outside waiting for the stallion to regain his wits, but she enjoyed his reaction. He eventually broke free of her charm and stammered "Co-come in-ma-mad'am". Stupid he thought to himself. "My, what a gentlepony" she replied and walked in. she wandered into the kitchen and Alan accompanied her shortly after. He went to the cabinet to retrieve a bottle of wine and place it on the table. "Never knew you fancied wine" she said smiling. That's not the only thing I fancy he thought. "Oh well it suits the moment" he said. Alan sat himself on one end of the table and expected Jane to do the same. Instead she sat right next to him and looked up at Alan as if she expected his reaction. "I'm sorry if this strikes you a bit odd" she explained, "I just never felt right doing something like that with someone I feel comfortable with". Alan became astonished, and began having second thoughts about this particular mare. Maybe he has misjudged her all along, and she wasn't like the rest.
After a long night of talking and joking the two ponies were done with their meals. "Oh stop Alan im sure those are lies!" exclaimed Jane. "Cross my heart, college was not a place to lay about, especially when your friends were around", Alan replied. Jane laughed and stopped to look up at Alan who was smiling at her. "So Alan a fine stallion like you has to have some sort of origin, am I right?" Jane asked. Alan now began to glance around a little nervous by the question. Jane saw this and she placed her hoof on his. "Alan if it bothers you, you don't have to tell me" explained Jane. Alan looked up at the mare into her green eyes. He sighed, and said "It's no trouble really". He began to feel uncomftorable but finally broke from his shell.
"Well after I got my major in English, my greatest enemy was finding a job." They both laughed. "I looked in alot of places, and even though I came up in the top of my class, it was only a class of 20 students. What I really wanted to do was become a news editor".
Jane glanced away, feeling embarassed about giving him a newspaper in the morning. "I'm sorry" she said.
"Dont be" he said reassuringly. "It was so long ago, I can care less about that occupation".
Jane gave him a quick smile, but she still felt bad none-the-less.
"Anyways I eventually found a job doing editing for a magazine instead and well...it didn't appeal to me. At all. The pay was great but I didn't feel free, I felt bounded down, unable to flap my wings" The Earth pony said flapping his forearms in a wing formation. Jane giggled at the charade. "My imagination was not getting any freedom, so I quit and for that I ended up jobless. I tried writing and I loved it but it was getting me no where. I tried to publish my work to big publishing companies, but they simply tossed my work aside" he said shaking his head at the memories of his hard times.
"I felt my spirit breaking, the feeling of defeat eating at my dreams, and eventually I knew I had to find a job but by then I lost everything". Tears began to well in his eyes. "I was homeless, living on the street, forced to sleep with the animals. I felt no different from them. I felt like an animal and i wanted to be put down like one".
"Dont say that!" Jane snapped as she stared head on at the stallion who was on the verge of tears. Alan still continued on.
"Luckily my friend of many years found me on the street. Her face when she saw me. It was not disgust. It was...it was sadness. It was the first human look I got from anypony in a long time". He layed his head on her shoulder. "My friend allowed me to stay in her house and as long as i helped around i could stay. I thanked Celestia for this oppurtunity. My First book, Shadows, was my first successful Novel and I would not have been able to publish or even write it, if it was not for my friend. She negotiated with many publishing companies and eventually found the right one that gave the righ amount of respect and money. She's the reason I'm still here. Sadly shes not.." Jane was just about to gasp, but she couldn't give him another worry. Instead she picked up the stallions head and looked at him straight in the eyes.
"Your friend did a great deed and you have many reasons to thank her. You know deep down that you base all your hard work on your friend even though you may not exploit it." Jane said.
There was a silence between the two and Alan was now beginning to manage a smirk.
"Now i have something to thank her for Alan" Jane said, breaking the silence.
"What would that be?" Alan asked quizedly.
"Meeting you" she muttered. Alan then smiled and let her hug embrace him. He felt broken and he was in need of fixing. Eventually he had to free himself from her comforing grasp and said "let me get this stuff off the table". He then grabbed both plates, washing them in the sink. He scrubbed the plates clean and placed them down and turned to his side admiring the beautiful mare still standing by the table.
"So how did a lovely mare such as yourself end up here?" Alan asked. Smooth move he thought to himself.
"My, a gentle stallion who has a way with words" Jane said smiling."Well it is a really long story..."
"If it is any trouble you dont have to tell" Alan said quickly.
"..BUT..." emphasized Jane. "I could shorten it up for you to make it a bit more bearable".
Alan felt a little ashamed of his outburst but simply said "okay".
Jane smiled and started speaking of her past. "Well, ever since i was a little filly, i always tried my best to be the best. It just was the way I was. I always tried to succeed in what I did and that resulted in me always being in the top of all my classes". Jane started to lower her gaze now. "Well, even though I always worked hard, I never had a role model nor did i get any support".
Alan perched up a brow, looking at the mare, eager to hear more.
"My family was never really there for me" Jane explained. "They were always to busy bickering with one another. Pretty soon, I ended down the wrong path. I met the wrong kind of people, and that resulted in everything I've worked for going down the drain."
Alan was silent still gazing at the mare. He saw her voice begin to give a hint of sorrow.
"My parents were never there to support me, but they were there to punish me when i was not doing good" she said, laughing dryly. "I didn't like that and I told them how I felt". She was now lowering her head. "That resulted in me and my father getting into an argument and he kicked me out of his house. I was alone with no one to care for me."
Alan could not think of anything to say. Questions were blaring in his mind, but if held them off, he was sure his questions would be answered when she continues.
"That didn't stop me though" she said now highering her head, a bit more prideful. "I continued going to school, staying at my friends house in and out until i got my high school diploma. After that I was on my own. Luckily, I made some friends over that course of time, and a friend of mine got me a job to be an accountant for a modeling agency".
Alan couldn't believe this. He couldn't imagine a mare as gorgous as her, being so strong and determined. It left him stupified.
"They probably only hired me because they needed another pretty face in the office," Jane said laughing. "But the pay was good and I loved what I was doing, so after a couple of months, I was able to get back on my hooves, and put my life back together".
Alan saw her smiling, but he knew she was still hurting inside. After all, He knew from experience, events like that aren't easy to get over. He couldn't stay quiet, due to fear of creating an akward silence.
"Jane, I am shocked you got back on your hooves and got everything back in place. Too many ponies now a days fall victim to the darkness in their lives. What some ponies don't realize though, is whenever there is light there is darkness, for without one, there can not be the other".
Jane tilted her head, laughed, and said "Taking quotes from you book, I see?".
Alan thought about what she said and then about what he said. Then the bulb in his head went off. Alan laughed as well and replied " Actually that's a new one, I may put that one in my next novel".
"You do that" Jane said, looking up at Alan with daunting eyes. Alan looked back at her, and the two looked at each other for quite some time. He had to break eye contact though when he placed the dishes he washed up into the cabinets, stacking one on top of the other.
"Hey Alan?" Jane asked.
"Yes?" he replied, closing the cabinet.
"You are different. I mean you're different from other stallions. I don't know why, but, you seem like a real nice guy who hides a lot". Jane began to approach Alan who turned towards her.
"Thanks Jane" Alan mustered with a smile.
"No, Alan, thank you for being a caring stallion. I use to think the world was a vicious cruel place filled with mean uncaring people, who are simply out to use others for their own personal gain. You showed me that not everyone is like that though and I thank you for that."
She was now close to him now, forelegs wrapped around Alan's shoulders and his wrapped around Jane's waist. She brought herself closer to him, and Alan prepared for a kiss, closing his eyes. It never came though instead a whisper came to his ear saying "I hope you didn't get full on dinner, because there's still dessert". Alan widened his eyes, and Jane looked back at him with a wink and a smile. Alan simply returned the smile, bringing his head closer to hers and the two passionately kissed closing their eyes. Alan felt at peace for once again. It was a strong feeling because it was the kind of feeling he use to have before the start of the nightmares. Or maybe because he truly felt he was not alone...
"Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody." -Mark Twain
A thin fog lay about, accompanied by low temperature, along with the work of Princess Luna. The moon lit the night, as Alan descended down the woods which resided right along a mountain side road, so carriages usually passed by, giving the area a sign of life. There has been no sign of any carriages though. This fact did not help ease Alan’s tensions. His instincts told him to turn back for it was dangerous for a lone pony to walk into the woods alone but he felt like there was a reason he was here. Plus, he did not know where to turn back to, and with no carriages passing by he felt turning back would be just as worse. He did not know exactly where he was, but he had a strange feeling in his gut that he has been here before.
But how? It looked just like any other road that had a couple of trees next to it, it probably was just a case of déjà vu, He thought to himself. “That still wouldn’t explain how I can’t recall me getting here”.
Cautiously analyzing his surroundings, he trudged onwards through the woods, his hooves stepping on the dry leaves below him, feeling the perspiration of the grass, and leaving a crunching sound whenever he moved. As Alan descended further he began to notice an odd event. He would feel a cold rush of wind gust past him every so often, but oddly enough the tree’s leaves or branches did not rustle any time. He would stop at times, examining that event, trying to find a reasonable explanation for why it would happen. He couldn’t though; it just defied the laws of science and nature.
Alan kept walking through the woods, keeping his guard up in case anypony around tried to sneak up on him, but then again, in this silence, surrounded by dead leaves, he was sure he’ll hear someone coming. He tried to reassure himself by thinking it was highly unlikely for a lone pony to be out here in the woo-
Suddenly, Alan felt something seize the side of his flank. With a yelp, Alan spun around to see who his attacker. Nothing. Alan was heavily breathing; the sudden grasp of his flank left him on surveillance (just in case there was a perverse pony following him), and began to trot backwards, not willing to leave what was his backside unguarded. He was scared now. If there was anyone out there he would’ve been able to outline the retreating figure, if not that, would have heard them coming from a good three yards away. No one was out there though, just him and the woods. Along with my paranoia, he noted to himself.
He finally turned his body around, still looking to his backside. He decided to examine his flank for he started to feel a tingling sensation around the affected region. He glanced at it, trying to find any abnormalities amongst his sides and found only one oddity. It turns out there was a cut along his cutie mark, consisting of a quill on top of a paper. The wound lay on the portion of the cutie mark, particularly on the paper. It wasn’t bleeding a lot, so Alan did not think much of the wound, except for the fact that his wound was inflicted by an unknown assailant. Alan also found the fact of the wound leaving blood on the paper, a little bit ominous, but he tried not to think of it. This place was starting to get to his head and the last thing he needed to do was panic. He left the cut unattended since he had nothing to patch it up with, and spun his head to the front of his body which he left unattended. Alan gasped and took a step back defensively as he found himself staring into a Dark Figure, which stared back at him with blood red eyes. Its eyes were slanted and stared at him with an immensely heavy gaze.
Alan turned abruptly and ran back out the way he came. What the buck was that? He thought to himself as he ran past trees, his hooves heavily thumping on the ground below him. He couldn’t get the horrific image of the creature he saw out of his head even though he only saw what he believed to be its face. He wanted to look back and catch a glimpse of the creature one more time, but he didn’t want to risk another spook if he saw the figure following him, or worse, right in front of his path if he turned back around. His lungs were burning in his chest now but he refused to falter.
“ I’ll be out in a bit just a little while longer”…Alan was passing by tree after tree, which only added to his panic. “What if I’ve been running in circles, it seems as if this forest repeats itself”, he remarked, panting heavily as his eyes began to sting from carried dirt. His flank burned for his wound on his flank was widening with every stride he took, which only added pressure to his body.
When Alan felt like giving up and collapsing, that’s when he caught a glimpse of the open region ahead of him. He saw no trees outlined in the fog, so he knew that’s where he started. With another burst of energy he quickly rushed to the end. As Alan vastly approached the exit, he got hit by a sudden sense of Déjà vu. He still didn’t stop, but his mind began to wonder. “Wait hasn’t this happen before in another…”. He stopped short as he saw the exit begin to seal itself with a dark wall.
“Crap, this is all a dream…”
No a nightmare more so. What the Buck? Alan thought to himself. The nightmares have stopped ever since the night he met his beloved marefriend Jane. “This can’t be real, no it just can’t. I-it was over, that was it!”
“Did you really believe so?” retorted a sweet yet dreadful voice.
Alan spun around this time and saw the creature that surprised him once more, except this time, her appearance was more feminine and pony-ish, unlike before, where it was just a dark mist with glowing red eyes. The presence of the pony though, resembled the dark mist for she had a smoke black coat with terrifying red eyes, so Alan knew it was the same entity. But the pony now had two new aspects: a pair of wings like a Pegasus and a horn like a Unicorn. By Celestia…
Alan opened his mouth, as he came to realize that this figure was an Alicorn!
Alan mustered up enough courage to respond to the being who simply glared at him hungrily, smiling at the same time. Smiling about the idea, Alan thought.
“Who are you?” Alan asked with authority.
The Alicorn laughed at Alan’s sudden act of bravado. “Alan I can sense your fear. You can’t hide it here. This dream is mine just as much as it is yours”.
“What do you mean!? Who are you!?” Yelled Alan, dropping his act of bravado, and beyond petrified.
The Alicorn approached Alan, walking slowly to him her eyes glinting under the moonlight. “. Oh Alan you ask a lot of questions. You sure had us scared though, I’ll give you that. We’ve been working hard on getting the plans back on track. But you just had to spoil the ride.” She said tilting her head side to side. “I told them you were different” she continued. “I told them they were making a mistake but they insisted, and after I think about it, I was wrong all along”.
Alan’s mind began to race with questions now. What is she? What does she mean by ‘our’ dream? Who were ‘they’?
The Alicorn began to walk around Alan now, who stood focused on these new questions on his mind, not moving from his position, while the alicorn walked around him slowly. Alan quickly broke from the trance of these unanswered questions and began to follow the Alicorn her every movement giving him a sudden case of the chills.
“You aren’t the first to ask these questions Alan” the dark Alicorn said, almost as if she was reading his thoughts. “Although you are the first to carry on this plan for longer than we expected”
Alan glanced a brow at it in curiosity, almost as if to expect the mistress of darkness to continue on with her rambling. But she stopped. This was a chance to finally speak up.
“You’re not real” he muttered ignoring her previous statement.
The Alicorn passed by his left side when he said that, and she looked at him with a curious gaze.
“You are just a figment of my imagination. Pretty soon I’ll wake up once again taking another set of pills, drinking coffee, and continue on with the rest of my day” Alan stated, breathing heavily staring back at the Alicorn.
The Entity looked shocked, almost scared, at what Alan said. Alan gazed back triumphantly but this feeling was cut short as he saw the Alicorn stop circling him and collapse on the ground thrashing her hooves in the air. She was laughing
‘HAHAHAHAHAHA OW MY SIDES”
Alan looked at her with discomfort. What was she laughing at?
She continued on until she couldn’t laugh anymore, rising from the ground and getting on her four legs, glaring at Alan with a smirk. “You are very funny. Ever thought about being a Comedian instead of a writer?”
Alan was furious now and felt a sudden burst of rage. He felt no urge to hold it in. “GET OUT OF MY DREAM!”
The dark figure was not scared by his outburst and walked towards the stallion from his left. Alan looked at her, his eyes like pointed daggers, following her every move. She came face to face with him and their eyes locked on one another.
“Maybe I was wrong, maybe you are a fighter” the Alicorn spat. “But to be truthful, I am not leaving anytime soon. I love a fighter and it would be good to finally have one. Besides after Jane I felt-“
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!” Alan shouted. His voice echoed through the trees in the woods but no soul would be able to hear it deep in these terrains. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?”
“Well, I was just having fun with her, and she wasn’t too fond of my games. She was balling, crying like a little filly, begging me to stop but I couldn’t. I was just having too much fun!” the Alicorn said, smiling.
Alan couldn’t imagine what this creature did to her. It filled him with rage. She took a liking to a pony’s pain, and she was so drawn to it she would do anything to get it. Anything.
“She was cute too” the Alicorn continued. “I thought a beauty like that couldn’t go to waste so I-“
Alan charged at the figure in front of him, fueled by rage, only to find himself slipping through it and stumbling to the ground. Alan regained his hooves, prancing up quickly and looking back at the Alicorn. She was grinning.
Without a second thought, Alan rushed the figure once again, hoping this time he’ll strike her to the ground. Instead he went straight through her once again, a rush of dread hitting him instantly, and smashed his head on the shadowed wall blocking his exit.
Before Alan can regain his wits, he felt himself being pulled up by some force and pinning him to the wall of shadows. He tried thrashing and struggling, using brute force to pull himself off the wall, but to no avail. He was not thinking though, for blind rage was controlling his mind.
“Alan stop struggling you’ll kill yourself before I even get a chance too” the Alicorn snickered. “You are a big stallion, but your strength is no match for that wall”.
Alan, finally regaining his senses, stopped moving. There was only the sound of panting which came from the drained stallion; his head pointed downwards looking at the ground which he was suspended from. He was too tired to try anything anymore. He just wanted to wake up from this dreaded nightmare. But he couldn’t let that demon have the last word before he left.
“You can’t kill me. In this dream you can. But not in reality”
The Alicorn was no longer smiling and her voice was no longer ‘playful’. “We can’t kill you Alan, but we can sure break you. Even now this nightmare will lead you back to more restless nights, popping medications, and drive you closer to madness”. Her wings began to flutter as she flew upwards closer to Alan, still pinned on to the wall. He had the greatest urge to spit on her face, but he knew it will just pass right through her. She placed her face closer to Alan’s, her red eyes piercing into his.
“We can kill you physically Alan, but we can kill your sanity” she whispered, closing her eyes as if she were embracing a kiss. A kiss with his sorrows. She flew back a few paces, the grin returning to her face. “I still find it odd how you don’t recognize me from somewhere else”.
Alan looked at her, contemplating on her features, but could not see anything that would strike her familiar. She rolled her eyes and flew close to him once again.
“If you can recall some life events in this dream, shouldn’t you be able to recognize me?” she asked rhetorically.
“If I ever saw you out of here I’d probably hoof you in the face” Alan retorted. He knew this was not a pony or living thing of any kind. It was much more sinister. Something more…evil.
The Alicorn glared at him for a while, which was really uncomfortable for Alan.
Wait- Alan stared at her for a long time, glancing up and down. He has seen her before, but not in reality. He saw her from-
“You were in my last nightmare!” Alan exclaimed. At least he was assured that his is a dream but he was not hesitant to address the reoccuring figure of his dreams. “WHAT ARE YOU?”
The Alicorn simply smiled. “Well looks like you got the message. My job here is done”. “Shame, I was beginning to actual like this”.
Alan quickly shot the creature a curious look before he felt a sharp pain rupture through his chest. Alan winced, choking and grasping for air as he looked down at his upper torso. The Alicorn punctured his chest with her hoof and it stuck there gleaming with fresh blood. Alan looked up at his murderer who was smiling with delight.
“I may not be able to kill you” she chuckled, staring into his slowly dying eyes. He felt the walls unwrapping around his legs, the weight of his body slowly depending on the hoof through his chest. Copper tainted the taste buds in his mouth.
The Darkness continued speaking this time with a more demented and sinister voice. “But it’s a start” and with a wink, she pulled her hoof out of Alan’s chest, and his body dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. He felt the world go numb around him, his senses falling quickly. The last thought to enter his mind before he entered darkness, was Jane…
“NO”
Jane shot up from her bed, gasping and petrified from the sudden shriek. She looked to her side only to see Alan sitting upright from his side, sweating and eyes bulging.
Alan looked down at his chest, checking to see if the contents of his torso were still in place. When he assured himself they were all there, he put his hooves over his face.
It’s been five months since he’s had any unpleasant dreams wake him in the middle of the night. This new nightmare, though, was tremendously different than the others. This new entity had brought Alan many knew questions that for some reason he didn’t know. Shouldn’t he know the questions to his own answers?
Well then it seems as if the Alicorn wasn’t a part of his imagination. This only added to his theory that this force is not a part of him and is some foreign entity. It seemed as if it dwelled on pain for it seemed to go as far as to threaten-
“Alan?” Jane asked feebly, glancing at him from his left.
Alan dropped his hooves from his face and looked to his left. He saw Jane looking at him, with a worried yet humble expression. She was still tired, for it was two o’clock in the morning, but she managed to give him a smile that was certainly reassuring. Jane has had frequent nights where she’s stood over his house to attend to her new buckfriend and Alan always loved her company. He offered her the vacant room next to his, but she declined the offer, wishing to stay closer to the stallion. Alan was grateful for that. Today he wouldn’t regret her decision. Alan clasped his hooves around her neck, which startled Jane.
“Is everything okay Alan?” she asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
Alan closed his eyes not wanting to let go of her. He tried to clear his mind of the Alicorn but they kept creeping back into his mind. It knew Alan’s weakness was Jane and he didn’t feel any better with the enemy being in his mind.
“Everything’s okay” he said reassuringly.
Jane knew he was lying. She slowly pulled Alan from her grasp and stared at him, a smile on her face, which was another way of saying “Please” for Alan.
“It’s- It’s just...just a nightmare…” Alan said, shaking his head and lowering his gaze.
“There just nightmares Alan it’s okay”, Jane said, grooming Alan’s mane as if he were a little colt.
Alan knew it wasn’t just a normal nightmare. That feeling of dread could not be mistaken. He sensed it. The same presence that was responsible for all his restless nights. If only she knew what was going on in his nightmares.
“Yeah I know, but-“. Alan stopped and turned away from Jane. He couldn’t look at her the same way. He felt that he was putting her in danger by staring at her.
“Alan, they’re just dreams. I understand why you’re afraid, I still remember about the nightmares you’ve told me about, so this is understandable”. She got up from where she was laying and posted herself next to Alan, who was facing his back to her. “Dreams and nightmares are just the result of our mind working ideas together, just like writing”.
Alan looked at her immediately and gave her a slight smile. She returned the smile to as well.
“Hmm, maybe you’re right. Nightmares are common and I just let this one spook me”. Even though it was quite real, he thought to himself.
“Funny, before it was ME doing the lecturing around here” Alan added chuckling.
Jane smiled playfully, lingering her head closer to his head. “Well sometimes people don’t always believe what they lecture, so it’s best to have someone else repeat it for them”. She winked playfully and Alan leaned in for a kiss. Jane did the same, but instead Alan tackled her and the two collapsed on the bed wrestling and laughing. The two were throwing up the sheets, dropping pillows, and laughing early in the morning. Alan was sure they were going to wake the neighbors but he didn’t care.
After tumbling back and forth for quite some time, it ended with Alan on top, clutching his hooves on her, the two still laughing over their ‘dispute’. After a while of laughing, the two stopped and stared into each other’s eyes. Jane’s green eyes gleamed into Alan’s chocolate brown eyes and the two gazed at each other enjoying every moment of it.
“So you got me pinned and I’m helpless” Jane stated playfully, breaking the silence. “What do you plan on doing next?”
Alan smiled. “Well missy, I’ve heard you’ve been robbing many stallions of their hearts”.
“Oh no, you’re mistaken. I have only stolen one poor stallion’s heart and I don’t plan on giving it back anytime soon”, she said gleaming at him.
“Poor?” Alan asked. Jane laughed. “My I say he is a very lucky stallion to have a mare like you take his heart”.
“Oh he doesn’t like to think so” Jane retorted.
“Then he’s a fool!” Alan exclaimed playfully. Jane laughed and tugged his neck closer to hers.
“Well if he won’t appreciate it, will you sheriff?” she asked flirtatiously, blinking her eyes.
Alan smiled and brought his lips closer to hers. The two laid in bed, expressing their romance in such a passion, and the two did not care about what others thought. They cared for each other too much. That morning, Alan expressed his feelings for her, for today was the last day he would be able to do so. Today was the day he was going to restart anew.
A Nice brewed cup of coffee sounded great for Alan in the morning. Today was the big day. He was moving. He looked around his apartment, and nothing was left, except everything that was property of the building. All his belongings were packed away, ready to be transferred out of Manehatten and straight to his new destination: Ponyville.
He poured the fresh coffee into a cup and offered it to Jane who was sitting by the table in the kitchen. She said her thanks and drank her cup of coffee, but avoided eye contact. Alan found her strange behavior a bit saddening. There was a reason she was like this. She didn’t want Alan to leave. Alan has repeatedly offered her to come stay with him but she always staved off the idea, telling him what will she do for a job, and other things like that.
It saddened Alan that he had to go alone. He knew that with her by his side, he’ll be able to overcome most situations, but the reason for him leaving was simply personal. She had her reasons to stay. She has maintained a good relationship with her friends and enjoyed what she did for a living. It was vice versa for Alan.
“Hey sweetie?” Alan asked Jane.
“Hmm?” Jane mumbled turning her face to Alan. He saw the sadness in her eyes.
“You-you sure you don’t want to come with me?” Alan asked. He knew it was a hopeless cause but he really wanted her to come. He couldn’t bear the thought of being away from her.
Jane looked at Alan for a while and turned her gaze slightly to the side. She closed her eyes and simply stated “No”.
“Please I want you to come with me” Alan protested.
“Alan even if I wanted to go, I can’t, I haven’t packed up any of my belongings” Jane retorted. Her eyes were still closed.
“I’ll postpone the movers if I have too, please just come-". Alan was tensing up.
“No Alan!” Jane exclaimed. She was starting to tremble and her eyes were beginning to leak tears.
“Then I’m not moving!” Alan stated. Jane glanced up at him. Alan knew he couldn’t do that. He already signed the documents and paid for the house. It was a hopeless cause but he didn’t want to lose hope.
“Alan, don’t postpone your plans for me, please-“ jane said but was cut short.
“Our”
“What?”
Alan looked at her. “Our plans. Without you, I wouldn’t have the strength to continue on until this day. Sure I’ll still be doing this, but I’d be a depressed stallion, with no motivation to do anything. I may finish that book, but then what will I have to look forward to after. More fame and fortune?”
Jane stared at Alan.
“No, I would be dwindling back in my loneliness, looking for a mare, and trying to find happiness. But I would have passed up the chance to meet the most beautiful mare who I feel truly happy with” Alan said stomping his hoof.
Jane ran to him, grasping to him tightly, tears streaming like a river.
“Please Alan, don’t forget me. Please,Please,Please,Please-“
“I won’t. I promise, I won’t” assured Alan.
The two stood in the kitchen, holding on to one another, not wanting to let go, for fear that one might be let go for good. Jane’s tears started to dry on Alan’s shoulders, and she buried her head into the stallion’s chest. Their moment of silence was cut short when the phone rang. Alan glanced at jane who pulled her head out of his chest and she managed a weak smile. Her eyes were puffy but he still could not deny the beauty in her eyes. He slowly walked to the hallway of his apartment and found the phone perched up on the cabinet next to the kitchen. He slowly brought the phone to his head and answered.
“Hello?”
“Alan! It’s me Jerry!”
“Hey Jerry, how’s it going?”
“Well Alan after months of planning today is the day. In fact right now is the moment, the movers are outside your apartment and ready to pick up your things”
Alan glanced over the doorway of the kitchen to see Jane looking outside the kitchen window. He felt a little piece of him die slowly as the time to leave drew closer.
“Alright Jerry, thanks for everything.”
“Hey what are friends for buddy! Hold on, I’ll call you later”
“Always the busy pony aint you?” Alan chuckled.
“You know it man. Alright got to go, see you soon”
Alan hung up and placed the phone back on the cabinet. He walked into the kitchen and found Jane still staring out the window. He walked over to where she was standing and sat by her. He stood and stared out the window as well. He was watching the work of Princess Celestia this time, which felt peaceful.
“Once I’m done, I’ll come back, I promise” Alan said not lowering his eyes from the outside. He felt like crying, but he couldn’t. He didn’t want to end a time with her like that, even though it made him seem like a robot.
Jane said nothing to Alan. Alan stood there in silence. Then he felt something brush his side and that caused him to turn to his left. He saw Jane’s head perched on the side of his neck, her eyes still focused on the outside world. Alan didn’t want to say any words. Words will only ruin this moment. Instead he looked back outside to admire the scenery before him. In the mirror’s reflection, Alan saw what he believed to be a smile stretching across Jane’s face. The smile caused Alan to smile back, enjoying this moment with the one person he ever cared for, one last time.
Then there was a knock on the door. Alan turned his back and looked down at Jane. She looked at him and Alan saw that this time her eyes weren’t sorrowful. Instead she was happy now, and simply told him “I think that’s for you writer”. She was smiling. Alan kissed her and walked to the door. He opened the door to meet the movers, and pointed them in the direction of the room where all the boxes were. They walked into the vacant room next to Alan’s.
As Alan and the movers got the last of the boxes down from his apartment, Alan made his very last trip up to the apartment that was once his to attend to one last thing.
Alan opened the door to find Jane walking around the house, admiring the walls and the furniture. Alan knew she was reminiscing on memories the two had together. Alan walked up to Jane and followed what she was gazing at.
“So this is it?” Jane said sadly. She hasn’t spoken since her promise with Alan.
“No, I’ll come and visit, as often as I can” Alan said.
“In time, I’ll think about your offer of going with you. People do have a tendency to be mean around here” Jane giggled.
Alan chuckled and nodded. “I hope you don’t take long to think about my offer. I know why you don’t want to come Jane”.
Jane glanced over at Alan, her smile slowly fading.
“Jane, don’t feel guilty. I know it is too soon, we’ve only been together for five months.” Alan reassured. “But I hope, in the future, that you will still come to stay with me”.
Jane had a guilty expression plastered on her face. “Alan, you’re a caring guy and I am very happy around you. Almost too happy. I-I just don’t want to feel like rushing into anything”.
Alan nodded and placed his hoof on her shoulder. “I understand. No need to explain Jane. Even then though, I’m still going to come visit. Whether you like it or not”. Alan winked.
Jane began to smile now and hugged Alan. “Come visit anytime writer. I’m going to miss you”. Her grip was getting tighter.
Alan returned the hug, perching his head up and kissing her softly.
“I’m going to be the first to buy your book, and if it sucks, I’m going to beat you up for putting me through this for a story like that” Jane laughed. Alan laughed too and knew time was drawing closer to leaving. He let go of her and looked at her for a while. He just didn’t want to let her out of his sights.
“I’m going to miss you Jane. I promise” he crossed his hoof over his chest. “I will never forget you”. With a smile and a slow walk to the door he walked out only to turn his gaze to the beautiful mare who supported him for so long in his tough times. He waved his hoof up in the air and walked to the elevator which he entered to take him to the bottom of the apartments. As the elevator doors slowly descended he could see Jane walk out of the apartment, staring in his direction and waving her hoof high in the air, smiling with tears in her eyes. Now it was Alan’s time to cry as he felt all his bottled in emotions poor out as he slowly descended to the bottom floor of the building.
Twilight Sparkle has stood up day and night studying in her library a particular spell that she has no clue about. She has spent countless hours nonstop, researching into the contents of the spell, its origin, and even its creator. Ponyville has even questioned if Twilight has disappeared but she didn’t. well not entirely.
And so far, she has come up with virtually nothing.
“You are one pain in the flank, you know that?” Twilight muttered to herself as she stayed on the page of the spell. “I’ve looked everywhere and nothing has come up under Mind Delve.”
The sky had a beautiful sunset, radiating its light darker than usual, leaving a luminous scenery. Twilight though, has not left her house for quite some time. In fact she hasn’t left her library for quite some time.
She jumped up from her desk, which contain stacks and stacks of spell books that she hoped will provide a lead for her on this mysterious spell. Nothing came up.
This spell is helpful yet harmful. Why? Twilight remarked in her head.
“The spell apparently helps cure nightmares but it has a side effect that none of my friends wish to talk about.”
Twilight remembers her friends coming to her about these frequent nightmares and how they left them in…an unpleasant state. The first to suffer from the nightmares was Pinkie Pie. The always joyous pony, which was vigilant and full of life, with her always poufy hair, came to her as a sad, broken, flat haired soul. The second account was Fluttershy. She came and told Fluttershy her experiences with the nightmares as well. In her case though, Pinkie Pie urged Twilight to warp both her and Rainbow Dash into Fluttershy’s mind. That necessity to bring many into that dream was a dead giveaway to her that something was wrong with this spell.
Also, when she ran her head through each of their minds to view these nightmares, they didn’t feel like nightmares. No, they felt much more evil and dreadful. Gruesome, sick, and twisted thoughts ran through her mind and on each account, they left her stunned. She promised her friends that she would never look differently at her friends but those nightmares really shook her.
Lastly, each of her friends experiencing these nightmares, turned out to have a dark past. Pinkie Pie told Twilight what happened with her younger sister (which shocked her tremendously) and Fluttershy who has not spoken about it with anyone other than her marefriend Rainbow Dash.
“Maybe I need to ask my friends what really happened in their mind. I know they’ll be hesitant to tell me but, I need to know more” Twilight said to herself.
After contemplating the thoughts in her mind, levitating books in and out of the shelf, she decided to go with that plan. It was pretty late, but Twilight could not afford to risk anymore time. Being an apprentice of Celestia herself, she had to find a way to make this spell much safer.
Besides it has been a while since I’ve talked with any of my friends, I should go meet them she assured herself. She began to levitate the books back on the shelf and tidy up her library.
“Even though it’s mostly to bring up disaster”, Twilight muttered to herself.
She finished cleaning up the library (the best she could in such a short time span), dimmed the lights to her house, and left her house.
Next stop: Pinkie’s
Twilight approached the Cupcake Loving Mare’s bakery, slowly approaching it, hesitating to knock.
Maybe this was a bad idea, she thought to herself. I shouldn’t go-
“HEY TWI!”, shrieked a pink earth pony who barged tghe door open with open arms
“Sweet Celestia PINKIE!” Twilight shrieked
“Oh.my.” Pinkie uttered taking in a deep breath.
“Oh no” mumbled Twilight. She knew what that meant.
“Heytwihowareyouwhereveyoubeenivebeenworriedsickaboutyouwhydoyoulooksadcomeoninibetyourstarving!” the pink mare uttered so quickly, prancing up and down, her poufy hair bouncing up and down at the same time.
Twilight laughed dryly. “it’s good to see you too Pinkie”. She forced a smile.
“Are you okay Twi?” Pinkie asked her joy slowly faltering. She saw that twilight wasn't in the best mood.
“Well Pinkie I have to talk with you. About something…personal”
“Umm ok, Make yourself comfortable.”
“Okay thanks Pink-“. Twilight’s voice slowly faded off as she glanced around Pinkie’s bakery.
There was flour, confetti and ballons everywhere! Pinkie loved to throw parties, even on such little occasions. But this, looked like she was creating a party FOR a party!
“What’s with all the party supplies Pinkie?” Twilight asked her mouth still agape.
Pinkie glanced at Twilight curiously. “Don’t you know?” Pinkie asked, looking at her friend like she was a ghost.
“Know what?” Twilight asked with a puzzled look. Twilight’s mind began to spread rumors. Did someone die? Wait, pinkie never threw parties this big for funerals. She only threw small ones to comfort and console the grieving family members.
“There’s a new pony moving into Ponyville!” Pinkie squeed jumping up and down. Twilight looked at her friend with a smile, being grateful that her friend still manages to be this happy, despite what she’s been through.
“That’s great!” Twilight said. “But why throw a party this big for this pony?” she ask quizzedly. This wasn’t new for her friend always threw parties for new neighbors.
“It’s someone famous!” exclaimed Pinkie. Twilight opened her eyes a little shocked to find that someone famous would want to live in Ponyville. Sure there have been visits, but for one to live here…
“Who is it?” Twilight asked, a hint of excitement in her voice. She was actually eager to know.
“Oh you’ll like him Twi he’s a writer!”
Twilight beamed her eyes and had a smile stretching on each side of her face. “What’s his name!?”
“His name is Alan Mane…” started Pinkie.
THUD!
Pinkie looked down at the floor only to see Twilight passed out on the floor. Pinkie was instantly worried and galloped to Twilight’s side.
“Twilight are you okay?” the pink pony asked worried.
Then Twilight’s eyes shot open and she began squeezing and hyperventilating like a little filly.
“Oh my, oh my, oh my Alan Mane is coming to Ponyville…EEEEEE!!!”. Twilight was pouncing up and down.
“You heard of him?”, Pinkie asked admiring Twilight’s joy. Twilight shot her a look like she was just slapped across the face.
“Heard of him? I love his novel, Shadows. It’s so sad and wonderful and…”
Pinkie Pie was expecting her friend to start drooling as she was rambling on about the plot of the story, its morals, and so much more.
“He’s also a handsome stallion, I mean for a writer…” Twilight sighed romantically.
“Aww that’s cute, I can see it now, two book lovers falling in love with one another” Pinkie giggled, winking.
Twilight shot her friend a glance, but was vaguely blushing.
She couldn’t believe it. A writer. And not just any writer. Alan Mane. Here. In Ponyville. With her.
Then reality smacked her in the side, as she shook her head of her fantasies.
She remembered why she really came. Her happiness quickly subdued.
“Uhh Pinkie I- I need to ask you for…a big favor”.
Pinkie studied her friend for her odd behavior. Nonetheless being the good friend, she happily nodded.
Twilight glanced at her. “Cross my heart, hope to die. Stick a cupcake in my eye?”
Pinkie looked at her friend reluctantly now, but she just agreed to her previous promise, so she imitated her friend in the same fashion, a smile plastered across her face.
Twilight sighed and nodded. “Okay you can do this” she grumbled to herself.
Pinkie stood there, her smile still set on her face.
“Pinkie do you remember that one particular spell that helped you with your nightmares?” Twilight blurted out, her eyes closed for fear of pinkie’s reaction.
Pinkie’s smile quickly melted.
“Yes, I do remember” Pinkie said, a little stern now. “Don’t tell me you plan on using it again Twilight?”
Twilight felt bad for her question, but she knew she couldn’t turn back now.
“No I don’t plan on using the spell, well not yet…”
“What do you mean?” Pinkie glared.
“Well the reason I’ve been ‘gone’ for a while is because I’ve been studying the spell and I haven’t found nothing”, Twilight said stomping her foot. “It’s weird. One spell found in only one copy of a widely distributed book it’s just…”
“Twilight”. Pinkie cut her off. “That spell is nothing but trouble. “True it does help stop the nightmares, but that spell is pure evil. In order to stop these nightmares you have to confront them yourself, and it does more harm than good.”
“Well, that’s why I’m here Pinkie. I came here to ask you…what did you witness during the Mind Delve spell. What did it put you through and why is it so dangerous?”
“Twilight I-“
“Pinkie Please,” Twilight protested. “I’m working really hard to unlock the secrets of these spells and I don’t got nothing. Please Pinkie I need to know the spell a little more so I can research more into the spell and help make it safe.”
Twilight was locking her eyes onto Pinkie’s. Pinkie looked at her friend, wishing her friend wasn’t pleading for this. But she couldn’t deny her friend something she should know. Technically Twilight was the one always casting the spell, and she is the only one who does not truly know of the effects.
With a sigh, Pinkie managed a stiff smile, and looked at her friend Twilight.
“Okay Twilight, because you have invested a lot of time onto this”
Twilight was beginning to smile, but Pinkie raised her hoof.
“BUT, I want you to promise me this Twi.”
Twilight nodded. She would do anything to gain extra knowledge on this spell.
“After I tell you this, I want you to put the Mind Delve research a break.”
Twilight shot Pinkie a look, but Pinkie beat her to it. She was frowning and her eyes were gleaming with innocence.
“Please?” Pinkie protested.
Twilight nodded her head, knowing she’ll give into Pinkie’s innocent face.
“Alright I will Pinkie, for you and my friends” Twilight said smiling.
Pinkie smiled back now. “Thanks Twilight. Now though, I recommend turning up all the lights and start batching up a nice plate of cupcakes. What I’m going to tell you is gonna keep you up all night…”
Twilight had to prepare for what was to come and she had to stay strong. Not only for her, but for her friend Pinkie too…
