The Hoof of Destiny

Ghost of a Dream

As Celestia closed her tired eyes, Prince Destiny leaned in and whispered to her, but Dream Catcher politely ignored it. Some things were best kept for those they passed between. His master rose and walked over to the studies enormous empty fireplace. His horn flashed the blue glow of his magic, and a crackling fire appeared in the hearth. Taking a position in front of the fire, Destiny let the silence drag on, staring thoughtfully into the blaze. Dream Catcher waited patiently for the Prince. He had a feeling that his assistance would be needed shortly. After a while the silence was broken, “Butler…”

“Yes my Lord?”

"I will be staying with the Princess until she wakes. Go and retrieve the remains of the Elements of Harmony…" Destiny’s eyes never left the fire as he gave out his instructions.

“At once sire.” Dream Catcher turned to leave, but as he walked out, Destiny spoke up again.

“And Dreamer…” It startled Dream Catcher to hear his nickname. The Prince rarely called him anything but butler. He turned to find that Destiny was looking directly at him. “Take a bucket of water with you.”

“I-I will sir.”

A hooded figure entered the destroyed throne room. Hoof steps echoed back and forth as it moved with purpose through the rubble strewn about the hall. It made its way slowly towards the defiled throne. It spared a glance out towards the ruins of the city, still smoldering against the blood red sunset.

…Beautiful…

As it continued its journey, it passed the now dead elements. The pony let out a derisive snort.

…mmm… a pity, but they were flawed anyway, I will simply rebuild them, from scratch… better…

The cloaked figure finally stopped in front of the throne. What is this… a blue glow surrounded the object which had fallen at the base of the throne, and it levitated itself up towards the figure’s hood.

…what have we here, hmm?

The glow intensified, revealing a tarnished gold crown. A small smile could be seen from the darkened hood. ….It worked... Tucking the crown under its cloak, the figure stepped up and positioned itself upon the throne. Unidentifiable sounds could be heard from the figure. They built up slowly into a chuckle, and then into full-blown laughter, the bass voice seemingly coming from everywhere at once.

“He…Hehe…Hahaha…Bwahahahaha… It’s just me and you now Destiny! Your sisters are dea…” One moment… The voice stopped short. The hooded pony jerked its head back and forth, scanning the hall for a sign, any sign, that would prove its hopes confirmed.

Wh-Where… Where are the bodies! They should be here… Its thoughts froze as it spotted the pool of blood near the elements. The smile vanished, and a growl escaped its lips, “Grrrr… I-I must know what happened here...” Its horn lit up with an intense blue light as the mysterious pony cast a divination spell.

As the divination spell finally winked out, the pony visibly slumped onto the thrown. “I see that I have misjudged.” A brooding silence descended over the throne room, as the figure reassessed it’s plans.

*Booong*

…That sound. He’s returning.NO… HE CAN’T POSSIBLY have discovered me. I made myself invisible to his gaze. The figure rose hastily and ducked behind the throne as a fog formed on the other side of the hall. The mist expanded to reveal a set of ornate wooden doors, suspended just above the top of a pile of rubble, framed by wisps of cloud. Though the figure had never witnessed its appearance before, the pony knew with certainty what it was. It was the entrance to Destiny’s mansion.

Dream Catcher opened the door and entered the ruined throne room, a bucket wrapped in a green glow floating beside him. Spotting the elements near the door to one of the balconies, he made his way down the pile, set the bucket of water at the base, and trotted up to the elements of harmony, carefully avoiding the still congealing pool of blood nearby.

Dreamer had been occupied with the injured princess before, but now that the urgency had passed somewhat, he took the time to survey the damage around him. Piles of rubble littered the floor, fallen from the many jagged gaps in the ceiling and walls. Dreamer did a double-take when he spotted the moon through one of the larger holes. Its surface, once as bright as a mirror, was now marred by a number of dark splotches in the shape of a mares head.

Shattered glass was scattered near the walls, it seemed that no windows had survived, while the tattered remains of banners flapped lazily in the slight breeze. Thankfully, many of the pillars which supported the roof had survived. The throne sported a gaping hole in its upper left corner, and there was a crater like depression beside it. Burn marks, the remnants of magical energy blasts, appeared all over the place.

Behind him the great double doors of the throne room had been blasted inwards. One had come clean off and was now lying halfway beneath a pile of rubble. The other had been torn in two, its upper half still hanging from its twisted hinges, the lower half nowhere to be seen, likely shattered into splinters.

Dreamer sighed. It pained him to look at the utter destruction that surrounded him. In his mind’s eye, he could still see the splendor that the room had once radiated. It was hard to describe the feeling, but if he were to try, he would say that it was like seeing the hopes and dreams of the place itself, the aspirations of what it was meant to be. All of that was gone now, destroyed in less than a day, and left to be forgotten.

It was Dream Catchers special talent which allowed him to see the visions. The ability was initially a curse which he could never escape from, but it had turned out to be a great gift when he had caught the attention of Prince Destiny. But that was a story for another time. It had become his self-appointed mission to help keep the hopes and dreams he saw alive. Casting a glance at his cutie mark, a blank easel surrounded by mist, he took a deep breath and pulled from thin air a pad and pencil.