Twilight Sparkle stands still in an empty void of stars, amongst the twinkling life around her she can sense it. That smell that has haunted her for weeks now, the salty scent of ocean tides. Her body begins to move of it’s own accord as she drifts, a monolithic essence that haunts the cosmos, the magic that brings with it the beginning and end of things. Sometimes she dreams of things like this. But in the end it is only a dream, not a nightmare but a dream.
She nears a vibrant world, and a voice echoes through the vastness of space, calling out to her from far amongst the stars.
“Wake up Twilight”
The void was once more vibrant and alive, long ago. But how long ago? Dreams are meant to last only the same amount of time within as outside. Or is that false? Twilight Sparkle muses on this conundrum while the voice continues to sound nearer and nearer. It’s a very familiar voice, though she can’t quite place it.
“Wake up! Twilight now is not the time to sleep in.”
Twilight Sparkle pauses, what could this voice mean? And why does the void feel less real as the voice grows louder? Why must it hamper her progress?
And why did she feel as if she was being shaken for a few moments?
“Twilight I really don’t want to do this but you leave me no choice!”
The monolithic entity suddenly feels a liquid chill coat her body, icy rivulets of water that can’t exist in the void shock her system. With the sound of a gasp the void fades and blurs to nothing, and in its place a blurry image can be seen. She blinks, and the image clears up as lethargy leaves her but only slightly. The blurry outline of a purple and green creature holding a metallic object takes form before her. The creature moves its forelimbs and shakes the object towards her, and it’s contents fly free and splash upon her face and neck.
The very cold very wet contents that smell not of salt or sea, but water all the same. Water than can wash away the world of dreams, and destroy hours of paperwork and research. Twilight’s mind freezes, a deeper chill settling upon her as the ghost of the dream fades entirely and the world around her comes into focus. Along with it comes the memory of what she was doing before the dream, and panic begins to grow within her as she remembers exactly where she fell asleep.
A room surrounds her, one filled with diagrams and documents as well as piles of books and notes. To her left is a large drawing desk, coated in research notes and crumpled paper clumps filled with discarded theories. She had been working on something important before she fell asleep, something that might be gone now thanks to the efforts of one young dragon to wake her.
That young drake stands before her, a worried expression upon his face changing to a relieved smile. In his claws is a bucket, the last remainder of its liquid contents barely covering the bottom of the container.
Before her irritation and morning pre caffeine annoyance can cause her to say something she will surely regret, the dragon drops the bucket and rushes towards her. His arms wrap around her neck as he hugs her, something that Twilight has missed in recent weeks.
“Twilight you finally woke up. I was worried a nightmare had taken you away, or maybe the diabolical dream eater from Fantastic Figments volume number ten. The being that devours all from the depths of the void of darkness. Who knew the answer to waking you was water?” The young drake rambles on as the weary Alicorn regains her waking senses and observes the room closer.
Besides the details from before, Twilight notices she is on the floor and lying on a rug. Not at her desk like she normally would be. Which means that her number one assistant, Spike, must have dragged her here to wake her instead of risking damaging her research. The drake in question has finally calmed down and released her, and is now looking at her with a smile on his face.
“So..” Spike begins in a casual tone, “Did you sleep well Twilight?”
The purple alicorn groans, her lack of caffeine beginning to kick in as withdrawal makes it painfully clear she didn’t sleep for merely one night.
“Spike..”
A plaintive morning voice breaks free from her muzzle.
“Yes Twilight?” The Drake’s grin gets a tad wider as if waiting in anticipation for some great announcement that will change the fate of existence itself.
With a half sigh half groan Twilight gets up and slowly plods, yawning, past the young dragon whose head turns to follow her movements. In a tired voice Twilight grumbles, “No talkie before coffee.”
Spike’s head fins droop a bit, though Twilight doesn’t notice as she leaves the room in her crystal palace dedicated to research and makes her way towards the kitchen and caffeine. The anticipation leaves his body, and as he follows her out he sadly whispers to himself in hidden melancholy; “Of course Twilight. As usual, coffee comes first.”
The drake hurries to catch up to his sister/mother figure and friend, that moment of melancholy fading quickly from him as his smile returns.
The door to the room closes behind him, and the draft from the outside causes loose papers within to flutter in the air. One in particular drifts across the space before landing by the puddle of water that is quickly drying to nothing. The words scrawled across it are rapid and messy, and a series of image can be seen. Drawn in detail with great care, is the image of a small pony next to a large shadow form. Next to it, is the picture of a great grey shadow unicorn fiend of old. Next to that, is another picture. This one of a gate and pool of darkness, and something beyond it. The notes beside this drawing are barely legible, as if made in haste. Smudges of dirt hide some words, but what can be made out seems to be naught but madness.
Power_________relates_____corruption_____inherent talents______chooses_______not coincidence_________coming here________needs_________ warning_______smell of salt_________the gate________ter.
Like a wisp in the morning, the edge of the page turns over as a final gust of air makes its contents invisible yet again. From the hallways the voices of Twilight Sparkle and her assistant can be heard. Speaking like everything is fine, a normal day like all the others.
——-
A warm mug of coffee is lifted by magenta magic towards the waiting caffeine starved muzzle of the alicorn of magic and friendship. Imbibing of the brew, Twilight Sparkle sighs in relief as the effects of the caffeine slowly kick in. That dream of hers may have been disturbingly real, but this delightful flavor and feeling is all that is needed to remind her it was just a dream. The nutty earthy flavor of the roast settles upon her tongue as she takes in the royal breakfast spread. Pancakes and fruit with apple syrup, the perfect way to start her day. A cough brings her attention to the figure sitting beside her, Spike. The drake has already finished his breakfast of gemstones and is currently looking at her attentively as if waiting for something.
Lifting a slice of pancake in her magic, Twilight tries to ignore the drake and his raised eyebrow as she scarfs down her meal in a most un-princess like manner. Swallowing the last of the fruit, the purple alicorn does her best to try to daintily wipe her syrup coated muzzle with a napkin. With a sigh she turns to her dragon friend, something seeming off about the castle that her sleepy caffeine deprived mind hadn’t noticed before now.
“Spike where is Starlight?”
The drake looks at her curiously, before responding. “Don’t you remember Twilight? You sent her on a friendship mission after the Pony of Shadows, well Stygian, was returned to normal. Something about studying under Starswirl for awhile so you could research something you found in the ancient ruins.”
Twilight nods her head, the memory of the friendship mission coming back to her. She had entrusted Starlight to go study under Starswirl and possibly help him understand friendship and it’s connection to magic. Of course the other reason for sending her on the mission was so that Starlight would not disturb her research into what happened to Stygian. Which was what she was doing before she fell asleep and had that dream that seemed so real. How long had she been researching that? Days? Months? Time seemed to disappear when Twilight was working on solving something so important.
Curious, she asks Spike, “How long has it been since we stopped the Shadow Pony, I mean Pony of Shadows? “
The drake looks pensive for a moment, and conveniently finds something fascinating about his left talon as he responds.
“Four months, six days.”
Twilight Sparkle feels her jaw hang loose as she stutters. “Wh..wha.What?”
Spike turns his attention to her, bemusement in his eyes as he repeats himself.
“Four months, six days ago Stygian was saved and the Pony of Shadows defeated. Four months ago exactly, you started researching something you found in the ruins. Then two months ago you sent Starlight away on a friendship mission, and asked her to bring along Fizzlepop Berrytwist, to help Starswirl understand the magic of friendship. That same week Fantastic Figments volume ten came out.”
Twilight Sparkle stares, slack-jaw returning to normal, as she slowly realizes that she has been locked in her research room for almost four months seven days. During that time, her assistant and friend Spike has been maintaining her palace. Alone. Likely managing all her princess duties alongside her friends; while she has hidden away researching something she can’t even remember researching. Time may not matter for an alicorn, but losing that much time to her research and possibly hurting her friends and Spike in the process was so unlike her. Maybe before she came to Ponyville so long ago she would have been like that. But not now.
“Spike, do you think everyone is mad at me?” Twilight Sparkle whispers, her deep lavender eyes reflecting in the dark murk of the coffee within her mug.
The dragon pauses, taking a deep breathe before replying with a chuckle.
“Come on Twilight, you know better. They are your friends and would never hate you or get mad at you for getting caught up in research. Have they ever gotten upset before when you were working on something important?”
The alicorn thinks back on all the times she has gotten engrossed in experiments, research, and theories. Sometimes for weeks on end being holed up in her old library or new research room. Even when she was gone for prolonged periods of time, her friends were always understanding and happy to see her. The thought reminds her that she hasn’t visited Sugarcube Corner or seen Pinkie Pie in months. Rainbow Dash is likely away at Wonderbolts training, Rarity mentioned a large fashion order that would be taking all her time for five months. Applejack was likely selling apples in the market, and Fluttershy was likely in her cabin treating her animals and having tea with Discord.
Twilight Sparkle gets up from the table, and makes her way towards the door that leads to the balcony. Spike follows her, his talons making barely a sound on the magical crystal floor. Clearing her throat the purple alicorn says, “Spike, clear my schedule, today I’m spending time with my friends starting with Pinkie Pie. Research can wait for later, it’s been far too long since I’ve seen them.”
Spike smiles, shaking his head at the determination of his sister figure and friend. “Roger that Twilight, consider it done, over.”
Twilight smiles, mirth in her eyes at the Space Trek comic inspired antics of the drake. Playing along she responds, “ Wonderful number one, now I will head to commence operation Friendship Fun. And boldly go where no alicorn has gone before.”
With that she opens the door, and with a running leap opens her lavender wings and takes off into the sky; veering towards Sugarcube corner in Ponyville far below. Her flying skills are rusty from all those months spent researching and not using her wings, but the air currents are still the same ones she remembers. As she flaps her wings and lazily makes her way to the large cupcake shaped bakery, a smell floats in the air that she doesn’t remember from her last trip to Ponyville proper.
The smell of salty seawater, light and lingering upon the air, unusual and yet not out of place. Perhaps the winds over the mountains are coming from the ocean today, bringing with them that scent that toys with her mind. Twilight can’t help but feel like this smell is familiar, important, and something else.
All thoughts related to this are driven from her mind as a squee can be heard from below. Adjusting her flight angle, Twilight Sparkle makes out the familiar pink on pink form of her friend Pinkie Pie pronking in circles excitedly outside the bakery below. A smile graces the alicorn’s lips, curious scents can wait. Today is for her to spend with her friends in as normal a way as possible for Ponyville. She adjusts her wings and moves to make a landing, her smile and joy wiping away all lingering worry about dreams and sea salt.
————-
Spike the dragon watches as Twilight Sparkle flies over Ponyville, his smile has long since left his face. The short lived joy of his friend and sister playing along with his comic inspired sendoff routine has been replaced by worry and concern as the smell of sea and salt floats about in the air like a fickle fairy on the breeze. He reaches one hand over to touch his arm, the now familiar feeling of leathery textured skin etched with scale patterns reminding him of the stakes at play. Memories playing behind haunted eyes, tired eyes that should not be on the face of one so young.
With a sigh, and a single salty teardrop falling from his eye, he whispers softly into the wind words that won’t be heard by the one who needs them.
“You really need to wake up before it’s too late, this world needs you to wake. Twilight, just open your eyes...”
End part one
Author's Note
What is reality?
Who are we to say what is and is not real?
Perhaps this perfectly normal day, could be what she needs to wake from.
This infinite fantasy that toys with and hides the truth within the confines of memory.
Day one of countdown to treatment day story.
Glen Gorewood
As Twilight Sparkle makes her usual awkward landing, the pink party pony gleefully giggles and bounces around her friend. Not in front of, but around in a semi circular somewhat oval shape that seems to change with every movement. Dizzy, the princess of friendship swears her eyes must be crossed when for a moment she sees two Pinkie Pie’s. Shaking her head and blinking her eyes, her vision readjusts and confirms there is merely one very excited pink poof maned party pony now standing front of her shuddering with barely constrained excitement. Her fur almost seems to be rippling from the repressed energy.
Twilight smiles and in a calm yet jovial voice says, “Hi Pinkie, long time no see.”
The pink party pony defies gravity for a moment as the pent up energy seems to cause her to levitate, a mock shock expression on her face.
“Long time! Twilight it’s been months since I’ve seen you! How have you survived without cake, or cupcakes, or sugar, or sweet rolls, or donuts, or candy, or chocolate cake, or anything tasty and sweet at all! All you have in that room is boring bland food with no flavor! How do you survive on raisin bagels and coffee alone?!”
Twilight’s eye twitches as her friend continues on, speaking of lacking sweets and sugar as if it’s the end of the world. Coughing to grab her attention, and bring her pink friend literally back down to earth, Twilight calmly interjects.
“Pinkie, I have more than just raisin bagels in my castle.”
Pinkie Pie, in a rather good impression of a certain mad god, smiles widely.
“Really? Like what?”
Twilight, adjusting her mane, chuckles, “Well Spike made me pancakes this morning.”
The pink pony tilts her head into a most awkward position. Then in a voice like one asking for some salacious information she speaks
“Oh...so did they have syrup on them?”
The princess of friendship grins, almost preening, “Of course they did.”
Pinkie pie looks thoughtful for one moment, then pulls a detectives cap, mustache, monocle, and magnifying glass from her mane. Putting on the cap, mustache, and monocle and placing the magnifying glass to her eyes, she begins to question her friend. “So Twilight, how long has it been since, prior to those pancakes this morning, you had sweets?”
Twilight looks about nervously, a nervous chuckle escaping her lips.
“Well um, I don’t know Pinkie maybe a month?”
Pinkie, points an accusatory hoof in an exaggerated fashion at her purple friend, then in a obvious parody of detective series she shouts.
“Ah ha! Twilight Sparkle you are lying! How many months has it really been? And don’t try to lie, I may not be AJ but I am”.
The party pony strikes a dramatic pose.
“The Sugar Detective!”
Sparkles and confetti explode behind the element of laughter right on cue, emphasizing her pose and statement. Rarity would be proud.
Twilight gives a nervous smile, before replying to her enthusiastic friend whose antics seem more over the top than usual.
“Pinkie, I honestly don’t know. Maybe it’s been three months or so..”
With a flourish the detective outfit is thrown into the air as Pinkie Pie rushes to her friend’s side grabbing her by the shoulder.
“At least three months! Twilight how are you alive. Quickly, with me, we must get you some tasty sugary treats right now!”
As her pink friend jabbers on about an sugar to magic power ratio that makes no sense, Twilight Sparkle let’s herself be dragged into sugar cube corner. As the door to the pastry shaped shop opens, she notices something a little off about it. It’s not much, nor that large of an amount, but there is what looks like salt buildup in the door frame. Two piles of it to be precise, one on the upper left edge and one in the lower right corner.
Ignoring it for the time being, she instead takes in the sights and smells of the store. Ponies of all ages gather in Sugar-cube corner. However today there seem to be quite a few new faces. And the bakery seems slightly bigger. Did they renovate recently?
Pinkie Pie stops dragging her and gestures to a seat by the window, Twilight Sparkle, lost in thought; sits down as her friend rushes off to get sweets and undoubtedly a few ice cream shakes to cure her supposed sugar deficiency. Such a thing is ridiculous, after all ponies don’t need sugar as a dietary requirement. Too much sugar, like too much salt, is bad for anypony.
Twilight pauses mid thought, why is she thinking of salt again?
Glancing around the store to try to get her mind off of that topic again, she notices that the new ponies are all rather odd. The one seems to be missing a leg, perhaps due to a wild animal. Three little colts are just sitting and staring at their food, not touching it, as if they see not the delicious cake before the, but something else entirely. Or perhaps they just don’t like cake. The young couple is sipping at their drinks, but holding the cups as if their lives depend on it. In fact, all of the new ponies seem to be acting very strangely. Almost as if their being here wasn’t by choice.
But that’s silly, who wouldn’t want to be in this perfectly scrumptious bakery in Ponyville. After all, it is one of Twilight’s favorite places and home to one of her best friends. Not to mention between the Cakes and Pinkie Pie the selection is one of the best in Equestria.
As if on queue a pink blur zooms out of the kitchen and screeches to a stop at the table. In a flurry of motion the pink party pony sets up a dazzling delectable display of a sugary feast. Complete with chocolate strawberry milkshake, with whipped creams and a cherry on top. Next to which is what looks like something Twilight would never expect to see in the store.
“Is that chocolate covered coffee beans?” She says, her voice nearly dripping with excitement.
Pinkie Pie pronks to the other side of the table, and sits down before smiling and replying. “Yes yes yes, Twilight I knew after seeing you earlier that you not only lacked sugar but also,” taking a deep breathe the pink pony says the final word in an exaggerated drone “caffeine!”
Popping one into her mouth, and enjoying the combination of caffeine, coffee bean, and chocolate, Twilight smiles and nods in agreement. One sip of a milkshake later to wash it down, and she decides it’s time to ask her friend a question. Her friend who is of course, devouring a mountain of cupcakes.
“So Pinkie, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” Twilight Sparkle begins to say.
The pink party pony swallows an enormous, nearly impossible amount of cupcakes before replying.
“It’s about the sugar to salt ratio isn’t it?”
Twilight just gawks in shock.
“How..how did you know I was going to ask about that?”
Pinkie pie shrugs, a soft smile on her muzzle.
“Because yours is off silly.”
Twilight Sparkle tilts her head confused. Her salt to sugar ratio is off? Why would that be important? After all such a ratio doesn’t really exist.
“Um Pinkie Pie, how do you know my ratio that makes no scientific sense is off?”
The pink pony pauses mid milkshake sip, then discarding the straw she hurriedly ingests the beverage of sugar and sweets as if her life depends on it. Or as if she hasn’t had any in a long time, which is impossible since Pinkie Pie lives on sugar and caffeine. Letting free a satisfied sigh, Pinkie Pie stares at Twilight with a serious look on her face. A face whose eyes are, now that the alicorn looks closer at them, quite somber.
In a quiet voice, tinged with sadness, Pinkie Pie responds.
“Because, it’s why you are here. You only come here when your sugar to salt ratio is off Twilight.”
Twilight stares, the look on her friend’s face isn’t right. Pinkie Pie isn’t supposed to be sad, after all she came to see her so they could have a perfectly normal day. Not a happy day tinged with sorrow like salty tears.
The pink earthpony grabs a slice of rainbow colored cake and takes a bite of it. Chewing it with a distant look on her face she continues.
“You are wondering why I’m sad right Twilight? Well I’m not sad, not really. But I’m also not okie dokie lokie happy. I am really happy to see you again, after so long. But I’m not happy that things are, like this.”
She chews the cake furiously before stuffing her face completely full
like a chipmunk. Grabbing another piece, she continues to eat and talk interchangeably.
“You probably noticed it earlier, the salt?”
This gets Twilight’s full attention. She leans forward over the table eagerly, barely missing treats and sweets.
“You mean the salt on the door frame at the store’s entry?”
Pinkie stops chewing, swallows, and looks down at the plate of goodies before her. “You really haven’t noticed it have you?” She says in a soft voice.
Twilight moves back to her seat, looking quizzically at her normally outgoing friend. A friend whose mane is still poofy, whose store has so many new faces, whose food tastes as amazing as ever. Everything seems perfect, after all the Cakes are happily baking and the twins are silent.
The twins.
Panning her eyes Twilight notices something very strange, and a quick check with her ears verifies it. The sounds and signs of the twins are missing, no they are completely gone. Normally, with so many new faces, they would be running about causing a ruckus and giggling in glee. The lack of their presence in the bakery causes a chill to go down Twilight’s spine.
“Pinkie...” Her voice quavering, Twilight gulps down the remnants of the milkshake with an unidentifiable aftertaste and asks a question that she doesn’t want to ask but must.
“Where are Pumpkin and Pound?”
Her normally jovial friend says something under her breath, something Twilight doesn’t quite catch.
“Pinkie, I didn’t hear you speak up” the purple princess’s voice is dry, like baked sand in the desert.
The pink pony raises her voice and repeats herself.
“Gone.”
Twilight’s heart feels like it might just stop. Voice cracking even more, she asks. “Gone what do you mean gone? Pinkie the twins can’t just be gone.”
Pinkie Pie lifts her head, her eyes meet Twilight’s. And the alicorn feels her mind might break. Solid blue orbs are receding into a pink leathery face that is slowly losing all but it’s most prominent features. Familiar blue orbs that stare out from what was her friend’s face. Her limbs are shrinking. Shriveling into her sides. Even so Pinkie Pie’s voice leaves the slowly disappearing muzzle.
“The salt to sugar ratio was off, and they couldn’t hold on. They are gone Twilight. They were too young, too innocent, they couldn’t hold onto themselves after such a long time.”
Twilight slowly backs out of her chair, and wishes immediately that she hadn’t. Her friend’s body, though still pink, has elongated. It now resembles a large, leather, worm more than anything. A worm with her friends face, mane, tail, and cutie mark. And as she backs away towards the door, like a worm sensing vibrations in the earth, her friend, or the thing that has her mark; turns and stares directly at her.
As do all the others in the shop. Every last of one of which has become a distorted version of themselves, though few features remain to distinguish them besides their cutie marks. However as her fear rises, Twilight notices something horrible about the cylindrical forms many of these things possess. Most of them, even the former couple, have no cutie mark to identify them. Her eyes pass over each of them, terror rising with each moment as she inches closer to the door.
Finally, she is almost to the door, the gateway that will allow her to escape this nightmare. Hoof on the doorknob, eyes on the mass of monsters, her mane stands on end as Twilight hears a voice whispering right by her ear.
A very familiar disturbingly happy voice.
“Twilight, the sugar to salt ratio is off. You are waking up now, aren’t you?”
Keeping her head still but shifting her eyes, Twilight can’t help but scream. For right by her cheek, millimeters from her face, is a monstrous abomination with a pink body and bright blue eyes. With a poofy leathery dark pink something where a mane should be, and its impossibly large cylindrical form reaching over from where its almost completely gone lower legs are, or were. The chair at the table opposite where she was a minute ago, where Pinkie Pie was. Shivering in fear that she knows will cause her to bolt any moment, Twilight notices something that makes this creature somehow worse. By its sides, near the mid frontal ridge, are what look like tiny shriveled vestigial limbs that are grasping the top of a chair, holding the thing steady as it stares at her. A pair of tiny ears remain above the blue eyes. As she watches, terrified, a long single line under the eyes opens up revealing a massive cavernous mouth and jagged sharp teeth.
And from this fiend comes the voice of her friend, the element of laughter, and as tears roll from its eyes the smell of salt hits the purple alicorn’s nostrils. Yet the voice, oh the voice is what makes her bolt. And as she flees out the door what it said rings in her ears.
“Wake up Twilight, can you see us yet? Do you remember? Do you remember the ratio? Do you remember the real world outside the dream?”
The words echo in her mind as she runs, the smell of salt overpowering her like a vacuum of an empty void. Screams full her ears as ponies change into those monstrous things all around her, buildings collapse and the air grows thick with that horrible sea salt smell that is almost brine. It’s suffocating, and Twilight finds it hard to breathe. For a moment she stops, her wings by her sides as she catches her breath as her lungs heave gasping for fresh air. Her wings lay limp, she can’t feel them. Maybe they were damaged in her panicked flight. Yet that shouldn’t be possible, she is an alicorn she should be able to fly regardless.
Twilight focuses on her wings, tries to lift them, goes through all the training Rainbow Dash has given her over the months, or years, since she ascended. Visualizing herself flying in the sky, Twilight Sparkle makes the mistake of closing her eyes.
And behind her eyelids she sees stars in a void, and a single bright shape drawing nearer. She can feel the vacuum, sense her hunger, and then she hears the thunder rumble.
No not thunder, snapping her eyes open Twilight turns her head hoping with all she has left that it’s merely thunder. Thunder that causes the earth to shake like a stampede is coming to trample her to death. And as her eyes catch a glimpse of the tsunami of cylindrical worm like monstrosities of all colors and shapes that is barreling towards her, destroying all in it’s path, her mind breaks.
Reverting to an almost primal state, Twilight Sparkle, Princess if friendship, takes off like a wild animal towards the Everfree. Escaping the place formerly known as Ponyville, her home, she races through the grass, reefs, and alien landscapes unlike any that should be in her world. She races by where Sweet Apple Acres should be, barely noticing that only four apple trees still stand and a single large Annelida with a pair of doglike ears that whines at the base of the largest one. The farm itself is in ruins, yet Twilight barely notices.
She just keeps running, driven by fear more than anything. Hoping beyond hope that this is all a dream, and that something will appear that makes sense. That something turns out to be a familiar cottage at the edge of the Everfree forest, a beacon of sanity for the frantic alicorn.
With a heart that feels about to burst she races up to the cottage door, slamming her lavender hooves against it she cries out.
“Fluttershy, help! Help me!”
Time seems to slow to a crawl, as the traumatized princess of friendship waits, her body nearing its limit and her voice raw. It may only have been a few moments, but to her it feels like a lifetime.
The door creaks and opens, light cascading out from inside lights up a familiar face, attached to a familiar pony body, with a familiar cutie mark. Inside is a familiar Discord, with a familiar bunny. The lack of other animals is lost on Twilight, for all she sees beyond those other two is her dear friend Fluttershy. Whose face is filled with worry, and whose voice says that most desired of statements.
“Oh Twilight..won’t you come in. You..you look terrified.”
Without waiting for another words the princess of friendship, and currently absolutely mortified alicorn, races inside and leaps onto the couch. Grabbing a pillow she holds it like a teddy bear, or a shield to keep what she has witnessed at bay. Shivering she can’t help but keep her eye on her butter yellow friend, hoping that she at least will stay the same. That she isn’t one of those things.
As the purple princess quivers in fear, Fluttershy makes her way towards the kitchen her teapot, having sensed her friend was coming to visit some time ago. As she passes Discord the draconequis whispers to the shy pegasus but a few simple words.
“She is waking up.”
As she pours the water into prepared teacups, with chamomile teabags within, the butter yellow and light pink maned mare responds with a soft knowing and still kind voice.
“I know.”
The lord of chaos snorts, “So are you going to tell her? Or should I?”
The second question comes out with a slightly vengeful hiss added, something that thankfully Twilight is too far in shock to notice.
Fluttershy stirs some sugar into the teacups, and as she picks them up and makes her way back to the living area she responds in the same kind and calm yet knowing voice.
“I will.”
The draconequis snorts again, with a harsh and sorrowful chuckle mixed in.
“You are too kind Fluttershy, far too kind to her after all this time.”
The element of kindness merely smiles, and walks towards her friend with the tea. Yet for all her soft steps, and kindly smile, she carries upon her back a burden greater than can possibly be imagined. The burden of helping her closest friend, face reality. The burden of waking her up.
It is a burden that she chooses to bear, for it is the one true kindness she can still offer after all this time. To a friend who doesn’t even remember what happened, so very long ago. A friend who needs to remember, so she can truly wake.
Not just for her own sake and sanity, but for the sake of an entire world.
Author's Note
What exactly does it mean to wake? Is it the consciousness leaving the realm of dreams, if so how do you know you have truly woken up? Is it possible to trap yourself in a dream, solely to avoid waking up to a cold and horrible reality? And what if that reality, is beyond the sum of your worst fears. And what if the dream you are in, what you see as real, is not one you are dreaming alone?
Beyond the philosophical questions, let me be clear. This chapter is the start of the descent, it gets much worse. In fact, everything you have read so far is actually the happy and upbeat half of this tale. You know, pancakes, friends, cookies, friends transforming into monstrous verme things and your whole world becoming a nightmarish place that I intentionally didn’t describe this chapter because it’s described more in depth later. Yeah, this is the happy half of the story. It’s all downhill and deeper into the abyssal darkness from here.
Enjoy.
Glen Gorewood
