Amnesia: Helping You Forgetby TheDarkOne234ChaptersPrologue: NightmaresChapter 1: CuresChapter 2: LucidityChapter 3: The PinkiesChapter 5: A Sorrowful RevelationChapter 6: A Subtle Clue From Another PresenceChapter 7: A Hopeful SolutionChapter 4: Victory, Sadness and then DefeatPrologue: NightmaresHelping You Forget Prologue He was terrified. His breathing was heavy. Beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. His body was scratched and cut from his earlier close escape. Next time, he might not be so lucky. He turned to see a guest room with a once luxurious bed (its sheets now torn and ragged and covered in blood) surrounded by two separate closets. A chest of drawers with its contents pulled out stood against the wall near the bed and underneath a window with a dim light coming through. Daniel moved towards it and flipped one of the drawers. A tinderbox lay underneath it. Quickly, Daniel opened it and lit one of the matches inside. All of the candles in that room were no longer burning, and so the room itself was very dark. Only the dim light in the window allowed him to see anything. Daniel stumbled around, trying to find a candle that he could light. He found one next to an old wooden door. As soon as he lit the candle, he spotted the door and went through. He was then greeted by an empty void, and the only way to pass over it was by a path of floating stones. Cautiously, he began to creep his way across, lightly tapping the stones ahead to make sure they did not fall when touched. As he continued to advance over the empty abyss, he silently told himself: “Don’t look down. Don’t look down.” He did not take heed to his own words and felt light headed. The void he stood above had no end. To fall into it was to fall for eternity. That was a fate Daniel would rather avoid. Unfortunately, Daniel began to lose his balance after peeking into the void and felt himself falling to his side. He struggled to keep balance, but it was no use. Screaming, he fell and fell and fell... Suddenly, something came into view. It rippled throughout his vision and engulfed the whole void as far as the eye could see. Something was splashing nearby and soon he realised that he was falling into water. This water was not uninhabited, however, and the splashing got nearer to his landing point. A loud roar made the water vibrate violently and small waves began to rise. Daniel knew what inhabited these waters. The Kaernk. Suddenly, a large tidal wave formed to Daniels right. It grew higher and higher. Eventually, Daniel came crashing into the water and the Kaernk came splashing after him. It was safe to say Daniel was terribly frightened for his life at this point. He was surrounded. Kaernk to the left of him, tidal wave to the right of him. Daniel waited for the eventual clash of the two forces, with him in the middle. His knees became wobbly and gave way underneath him. He collapsed onto his knees and began to weep. It was over. A small, piranha-like fish jumped at his head and he felt the tidal wave clash with his back. He was gone. Daniel sat up on the couch he slept on with a yell. He was sweating viciously and his eyes were stained with tears. He sat on the couch for a while, trying to catch his breath and calm his nerves. Six days officially in Ponyville. Five nightmares in a row, and all the same one. These nightmares were getting worrying. He looked out of the window. It was still dark and the outside area was only illuminated by the Moon. The sky was clear and the stars in the night sky were shining as bright as ever. Daniel had only got the privilege to see such beautiful and silent nights since he had arrived in Ponyville, since the Everfree’s canopy was too thick for anyone to see the sky. The sky was quite a moving image. Daniel heard hoofsteps coming down the stairs behind him. He looked over the couch to see same the purple unicorn he saw every night at this hour. “Having nightmares again?” She asked tiredly, and somewhat irritated. “Indeed Twilight.” Daniel replied, looking over to the window again so as to avoid eye contact. He knew she was getting irritated with these constant awakenings, but at least she understood somewhat. “The one where you ran from those horrible monsters, ran behind a door, fell off of a floating stone bridge and died to a tidal wave and... the Kaerek was it?” “The Kaernk... and... yes it was.” Daniel replied. “*Sigh* We really must do something about that nightmare. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since you arrived because of them, and neither have you. I insist we do something.” She had persisted like this for the past several nights. Each night was like a scripted loop, the same routine happening every time. Daniel would love to rid himself of these nightmares, but it just wasn’t going to happen. How could he rid himself of these nightmares? “I will try and get rid of these nightmares when you find out how.” He replied a little too sternly. Twilight recoiled slightly at his tone of voice. “Fine, I’ll figure out a way. I just can’t bear to look at you like this anymore.” Daniel realised that he was still crying slightly. “I need you to at least try and fight this fear. I don’t where all this stuff is coming from,” she lied, “But it has to end. I am going to do some research in the morning. In the meantime, try and get some sleep. You have bags under your eyes because you are becoming sleep deprived.” And with that, she went back upstairs to her bed. Beginning of Daniel’s sixth day in Ponyville, and it began like any other. Twilight hadn’t conjured up the courage to tell him that she had seen his memories, in case of his reaction. She didn’t want to lose a friend, especially one she had only made six or seven days ago. Rarity knew of Daniel’s past and her deed, and she thankfully didn’t press any further into the subject. Daniel couldn’t sleep. He was scared that the same nightmare would repeat itself. He looked to see if Twilight had returned to her bed yet, but a familiar light snore confirmed that she was asleep again. He silently lifted himself off of the couch and crept over to a small table stool near a window. He picked up a quill off of the table stool and dipped it in some ink. He then reached underneath and grabbed onto a small diary he had kept. Twilight had given it to him and told him to write absolutely anything he wanted into it as it would help him release his inside thoughts. Daniel knew that Twilight was reading the diary and coming up with solutions for his obvious Post Traumatic Stress, as he would see her every day hiding a book behind her back and denying that she had one. Why else would she have a reason to hide a book? Did she honestly think he felt that this was like a diary? If anything, he would appreciate some life counselling right about now. He flipped through his past entries. Day 1 in Ponyville: Today was an interesting day to say the least. After my ‘welcoming party’ last night, the inhabitants in Ponyville seem to enjoy my company. I had a stroll down the streets to stretch my legs and clear my mind. All around me, ponies were smiling at me. Some even greeted me by name. When I returned to the library, Pinkie was there having a conversation with Twilight and Spike. The conversation itself was too trivial and possibly personal for me to bother listening to. Pinkie acknowledged my presence, and I found out in that very moment that she had given me a pet name: Danny-man. Pinkie also demonstrated what Twilight and the others call ‘Pinkie being Pinkie’ later on as she jumped out of a window, only to return seconds later with a strange contraption that was very similar to Leonardo da Vinci’s designs. It had a strange spiralling propeller on the top and a seating area with many small cogs and other mechanical parts beneath it. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I was not hallucinating again whereas Twilight merely rolled her eyes. I assumed the event had some sort of connection to the conversation they were having. Day 2 Last night was awful. I had a terrifying nightmare. This nightmare was not like the ones I had in Brennenburg (curse its name). I was running from Alexander’s deformed servants when I came across the guest room. I stepped through the side door and entered a dark and miserable area. There was a floating bridge of stones as a path. I could not see the other side, but I walked onwards cautiously anyway. I lost my balance and fell into the empty abyss below. I fell into the clutches of that awful water monster, the Kaernk. A tidal wave also assisted my death. At that point, I wake up sweating and crying, not unlike when I had nightmares in Brennenburg. The day went on normally, and I told Twilight of my nightmares. She tells me that I need to rid myself of these nightmares, and that she can help me. I told her that last time someone offered me help with nightmares, I committed awful crimes against humanity, but she insisted. I refused her help. Day 3 It happened again. Same nightmare, same conclusion. I am beginning to dread and fear the night, or anytime I might be asleep. I know it isn’t the Shadow; it forgave me and accepted me. I am thinking of looking towards Agrippa and Weyer for help. The day was spent on helping Applejack at her farm. It turns out that hands can be more useful than hooves at times as they are more dexterous and flexible. I have seen ponies grip things with their hooves, which leaves me in great confusion. I do not see the logic behind some of the ponies’ antics, but I have decided that thinking about it will only cause me to perceive all this as a dream. Who knows, maybe this is a dream. I certainly hope it isn’t. Day 4 The nightmare happened again. Twilight has been visiting me in the night. She is always being awoken by my screams after waking up. She knows I am sorry, and I don’t need to tell her again. I fear I am troubling her. She continues to persist in helping me with my nightmares. It is not that I do not appreciate the assistance, only that I do not see how she could help me. I cannot stand the nightmares anymore and I feel that I may soon give in to her. The day went by with me reading on Equestria’s history. I was fascinated by the small act of peace that caused the three pony tribes to decide to cooperate. It would never have worked back on Earth. Humans are too stubborn and full of pride to ever listen to someone else with an opposite opinion. At the rate we are at, we will end up killing ourselves with war. Day 5 I can’t take it... the nightmares are becoming more vivid and I remember them even more. Every little detail is a memory in my mind and it hurts to think of them. There is nothing supernatural following me (I confirmed this after a small chat with Agrippa and Weyer); I am simply my own burden. My memories are terrorising me, torturing me. Much like when I tortured those innocent people in Brennenburg. I cannot forget their screams of pure agony or the images of burnt, defiled and broken bodies that I killed. I will simply have to pull through and be the stronger man. I can’t remember what happened today. My mind is still filled with images of the nightmare, and it takes up the space of my memory that was supposed to hold today’s events. Daniel put his quill against the new page and wrote a few words. His writing was messy and illegible. His tears fell onto the page, staining it with large splashes of water. Daniel put the book underneath the stool again rather loudly and put the quill in the ink pot. He looked up towards the sleeping Unicorn and Dragon to make sure he hadn’t awoken them. Satisfied, he crept back over to the couch. He was dreading it, but he had to sleep. Even if the nightmare troubled him, he would get a good night’s sleep if it killed him. As he lowered himself onto the couch he began to try and think happy thoughts. He thought of Hazel. He hoped that she was still alive and well. He thought of the day to come and what Twilight has in store for him. He pondered on the subject of his nightmare before falling asleep. Thinking about the nightmare caused it to happen, and Daniel fell once more into a troubled sleep. Twilight had awoken. She had been awoken by the sound of his book slamming against the table stool. She looked over the railings of the upper level to check if Daniel was asleep again. She knew Daniel had written in his journal. The sound of book against wood gave that away. She had been reading his entries in the journal so she could see what he felt each day. Since the nightmares began, she felt her heart fall a little each time she read the entries. A light snore confirmed that Daniel was asleep. Twilight sneakily trotted over to the table stool and reached for the journal. She put it onto the table stool and looked over each page. She could tell that Daniel wanted help, but his doubts made him refuse help. She knew what Daniel meant by ‘crimes against humanity’ and she understood why Daniel might be hesitant to ask for help. He had only known her and her friends for five or six days. That wasn’t long enough for them to gain his trust. She opened the new entry and her heart crashed into an empty abyss inside of her. The new entry consisted of two sorrowful words with tear stains surrounding them. Day 6 Help me Twilight felt tears welling up. Unable to look at the entry anymore, she slipped it hastily under the table stool and rapidly made her way up to her bed. Unwittingly, she had awoken Spike in her haste. “Twilight? Are you alright? You look troubled.” He said tiredly. “Nope. Fine. I’m... I am... fine I guess.” She said quickly through her tears. Spike wasn’t buying it. “C’mon Twilight! You always have that look when you are upset or scared. What’s wrong?” He stated. Sighing, she told him. “Daniel is... he can’t take it anymore. I just read his di- a note he left me. He needs my help Spike. I can’t bear to see a friend like this...” She said. Spike nodded and returned to his sleep. He understood Twilight’s need to help anypony with anything they have troubles with. It always seemed to help her friendship studies (and sometimes her general studies on just about everything else in the world). It confused Spike as to how she was still able to think of anything more lessons regarding her friendship studies. Twilight was still thinking up ways to help Daniel with his memories. Telling somepony secrets is a sure-fire way to get a burden off of their shoulders. Since she already knew what happened in his past, she wouldn’t be effect by it as much as a pony who didn’t know would. She also knew a way to help with the nightmares, but it might take several days to kick in if it didn’t kill the nightmare straight away. She would have to do more research in order to find other ways of helping him, but for now, these ideas would have to do. Silently, she fell asleep. Chapter 1: CuresHelping You Forget Chapter 1 Daniel woke up and found himself lying on the floor next to the couch. ‘I must have been rolling about in my sleep. Perhaps my unrest has something to do with my nightmare?’ he thought. After lying on the floor for a few minutes, savouring the strange comfort of wood, he rose from the ground clumsily. He checked outside through the window. It was possibly midday and ponies were trotting casually outside, going about their daily lives. Daniel heard hoofsteps behind him. He turned to see Twilight looking quite dishevelled. Her mane had hairs sticking out in all directions and she generally looked quite sleep deprived. Daniel chuckled slightly inside at the sight. It seems as if she was having a worse time at getting to sleep than he was. “Morning Twilight, or should I say afternoon?” Daniel said wittily. “Yes, yes. Ha-ha indeed. I couldn’t sleep last night. I woke up at least five times. You’re getting me very worried, and I stayed up most of the night thinking of ways to cure you of your nightmares.” She stated. “Oh? And what solutions do you have in mind?” He asked. “Well I was thinking maybe you could share your past with somepony. Talking about something you may regret can help release you of it.” “I already told you Twilight, my past is much too graphic to be heard by such innocent creatures as yourselves.” “Oh, I’m sure I have seen worse things than your past,” she lied, “I insist you tell me about your past.” “Trust me, you have seen nothing compared to what I did.” “I know.” She mouthed to herself. “Do you have any other alternatives?” Daniel asked. “Yes as a matter of fact. Have you ever heard of lucid dreaming?” She questioned. “I am afraid not. I was an archaeologist, not an Oneirologist.” “I understand. Lucid dreaming is where you are conscious inside a dream.” She began. “I can be achieved through meditation and through consuming special herbs. Literally, all there is to lucid dreaming is realising you are dreaming.” “Have you undergone this experience?” Daniel asked doubtfully. He could not see how you can be conscious whilst unconscious. “Why yes, once or twice. While it will happen to everypony naturally at least once, they may not remember it as their dream recall may be poor. Some ponies can have lucid dreams at will, even entering the dream world and initiating a lucid dream while they are conscious. It can be a difficult art to learn, but once you have at least one, you can start having them more frequently.” “What do they feel like?” Daniel asked curiously. “A lucid dream is a very surreal experience. Some ponies use lucid dreams to enlighten themselves as you can talk to your sub-conscious mind while in one. You can shape your dream world at will through lucid dreaming and you can practice musical instruments, problem solving, even mathematics while lucid dreaming. After waking from a lucid dream, you will feel warm and happy inside as the experience itself is very cleansing.” “Where are you going with this?” Daniel asked impatiently. He wanted to get to the point. “I am getting to that!” She snapped back. “Now, in lucid dreams, you can learn valuable lessons from your sub-conscious as well as experiment with music, writing and practice tasks that require muscle movements. While in the dream, your brain will remember the muscle movements you perform in the dream, because the dream feels and looks like real life. While in the dream, you can forget you are dreaming. This usually happens when something frustrating, exciting or frightening happens. Say for example, your nightmare. If you begin to lucid dream in your nightmare, and then get chased by the monster again, the experience of panic can cause you to forget you are dreaming. The trick is to remind yourself you are dreaming every few minutes.” “So what do you want me to do?” Daniel asked, even more impatiently than the last time. “There is a way to induce lucid dreaming through remembering the nightmare and realising you are dreaming when you see the nightmare again. I will take you through the exercise, but not now. Right now, I am too tired to do anything that involves much more concentration. I am also quite hungry. I haven’t eaten anything all morning.” “I thought you might say that.” Spike’s voice came from the kitchen. He walked out with a tray holding two plates of eggs and toast. “I heard you both wake up so I made this while you were giving Daniel your exciting little lecture.” He put the tray down on a table. Daniel and Twilight both got up from sitting on the floor and walked over to their brunch. “Wow! You got out on the wrong side of the bed.” Spike remarked when he saw Twilight’s state before scurrying off to avoid hearing a harsh comeback. As he hurried off, he could feel Twilight’s death glare burning into the back of his head. “Hmm... how rude.” Daniel stated. He did not appreciate Spike’s cheeky behaviour towards the others. Spike and Daniel got along just fine, but each of them held nasty thoughts at bay while around each other. Daniel hated Spike’s cheekiness, as mentioned above. Spike hated how Daniel was always complaining about his memories and dreams. It was irritating to constantly hear “I can’t take it” or “I can’t go to sleep”. It’s not as the nightmares could have been too scarring and life threatening right? Of course, Spike didn’t know the scale of disturbing which Daniel’s memories hit. “Just ignore him. I have to put up with him every day. Of course, he is still my number one assistant, he can just be a bit on the rude side now and then.” Twilight informed Daniel, for at least the thousandth time. After they finished their breakfast, Daniel told Twilight that he needed to stretch his legs before they began to try and rid Daniel of his nightmares. Daniel would do this every morning. He had a quick stroll through Ponyville, usually finding Lyra along the way, and then went about what he was to do for the day. He had adjusted surprisingly fast. He headed towards the park for today, taking in all the bright and happy scenes around him. Birds every colour of the rainbow were chirping lightly in the trees and bushes. Small animals, squirrels, chipmunks and the like were running around on the grass and climbing up the trunks of tall trees quite happily. It was a sudden change from Daniel’s past surroundings. The sun was beating down on Daniel’s back giving him a warm feeling. He had not yet seen Princess Celestia in person, but he had heard of her magnificence and power. She was doing a very good job with the sun indeed. As Daniel walked through the park, he heard chattering amongst the ponies. Stormy weather had apparently been scheduled. Daniel was not entirely certain on how the Pegasi controlled the weather, but he decided not to dwell on the subject. He should be enjoying this life, not questioning it after all. “Hey! Daniel!” A familiar voice cried. Daniel turned to see the mint unicorn running towards him with a smile plastered on her face. “What’cha up to?” “Having a morning stroll as usual Lyra. How do you keep finding me?” While he wasn’t going to admit it, he chose a different route each day in hopes of not being spotted by Lyra. She tended to get a tad irritating after a while. “You don’t exactly blend in well. I can see you miles off.” She stated. “I hear you’re having a hard time with your memories?” “Indeed.” He confirmed. “Ah. That’s a bummer. Sometimes memories can be hard to get over. You just have to ignore them and move on.” “I’m afraid I have tried. Sometimes I experience visual hallucinations.” He truthfully stated. “Sounds like some pretty rough memories.” “Trust me. You haven’t seen anything like them.” “Oh come on, they can’t be that bad can they? I have seen some pretty messed up stuff in my life.” “Like what?” He asked. He knew nothing she said could even match with his memories on the scale of ‘messed up’, but he thought it would be amusing to see her try. “Well, the other day, Bon Bon messed up some cupcakes pretty bad. They looked like piles of-” “I see.” Daniel interrupted. He was familiar enough with Equestrian slang to know what she was going to say. Of course, now he knew what she meant by ‘messed up’. It was not the type of ‘messed up’ he was thinking of. “So what are your memories like? I’m pretty sure they don’t even come close to my story.” She stated confidently. Daniel actually thought she was joking until now. “I am not going to tell you about my memories. Your reaction if I told you them may be slightly varied to my reaction to your story.” “Are you sure? It’s always good to tell somepony about your troubles. It helps make you feel better about them.” “I don’t think I will ever feel better about the things I did.” Daniel stated, sounding quite depressed all of a sudden. “What do you mean? You have regrets? Is that it?” “I suppose you can call them regrets.” “What did you do?” She asked. “I already told you. I am not telling anyone. My lips are sealed I’m afraid.” “Humph! Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you when you are reduced to tears because of some overly-dramatic hallucination.” And with that, she headed off, possibly in the direction of home. Deciding that this walk was over, he headed back to the library. Daniel vaguely remembered Twilight’s mini-lecture she gave him on this ‘Lucid Dreaming’ concept, but he remembered enough to know that he was going to have to face his fears in the dream while he knew he was dreaming. If it was his dream world, could he morph it and change the scene completely? Yes. He did not feel like running from Gatherers again. When he became lucid, he would simply morph the dream into something peaceful and beautiful, a meadow perhaps. When he finally arrived at Twilight’s library, he noticed Pinkie had arrived again. Curious as to what they were talking about, he picked a random book and sat at the couch. He was allowed to eavesdrop. What could be so personal in a world of talking ponies that he couldn’t listen in? “How are you gonna get rid of them?” Pinkie asked. “I have an idea or two. One is to try and eliminate them with a peaceful nightmare recognition exercise. This will hopefully allow him to recognise when he is having a nightmare and stand up to his fears.” ‘Oh. That’s what this is about.’ “I don’t get it.” Pinkie stated. “Basically, I am going to run him through a short exercise which will hopefully induce lucid dreams mnemonically. That means that by setting an intention in your brain, you will carry out the intention. In this case, the intention is to have a lucid dream.” “What’s that?” Twilight sighed. “Basically, it’s when you know your dreaming.” “Oh! I do that all the time. It just kinda happens you know. I do some real strange stuff in my dreams. Like once, I imagined I had wings and I flew into space and saw a giant space worm! He was a real nice guy. Oh, and there was this other time-” “Pinkie. I really don’t have time.” “Oh! If - I mean when – you get rid of his nightmares, I can throw him a surprise you-got-cured-of-your-nightmares-party!” She shouted. Daniel guessed that he wasn’t meant to hear that, because Pinkie gasped when she saw him. “You didn’t hear that did you!” She practically screamed in his face. “No Pinkie, I was simply too entranced by this book to hear you.” “Hey! Twilight does that sometimes. Don’t you Twilight?” Twilight merely shook her head slowly, getting a bit of a headache. “Well, anyway. Gotta go Danny-man! See ya!” And with that she sped out of the window. Daniel scrunched his face in irritation at his pet name. “So, you heard every word didn’t you?” Daniel looked up from his book and smiled cheekily. “I have no idea what you are talking about Twilight.” Twilight sighed in irritation. “I don’t have time for jokes; I have to practice for your mnemonic induction tonight.” “I apologise Twilight. You know you don’t have to do this?” “But I do! I won’t sit by and watch you go insane because of these nightmares. I will help you if it’s the last thing I do.” She insisted whilst looking for a book. “I think you are exaggerating a little bit. I have not heard of anyone who has been driven to insanity by dreams.” “But you aren’t just having dreams. I know you can hear voices that aren’t there and see things that don’t exist, and I know you know I am reading your diary and have refused to put all the details in there. Your attitude towards this isn’t helping me help you.” Daniel didn’t quite catch everything she said since she insisted on making everything sound like a loop, but he got the general message. “Very well. I will allow you to assist me.” “Excellent!” Twilight beamed. “Now then,” Daniel began, “I will write in today’s events in my diary. Please excuse me.” He strode over to the table stool and whipped out the diary. He picked up the quill and dipped it in the ink once before writing on a new page. Day 6 (Early Afternoon) It seems I awoke late today. It is already the afternoon after my morning stroll. The nightmares did not relent and I was troubled again last night. Twilight has promised me assistance (although I was reluctant to accept that I need help). I do not want to trouble these ponies with my petty problems, but they seem persistent in strengthening our friendship by helping. A trait I admire and respect. Since it is only the afternoon, I do not have much to write about. I will continue this entry after Twilight uses this ‘lucid dreaming’ to cure me. He put the quill back in the pot. He decided to take a quick nap as he was still rather tired. He hoped that he would sleep most of the day away and awaken when Twilight was ready. Chapter 2: LucidityHelping You Forget Chapter 2 Daniel’s head was throbbing. He felt like someone had taken a tiny hammer and constantly hit it against his cranium. He could hardly feel the rest of his body, like it wasn’t even there anymore. Groaning, he tried to stand up again. He was constantly collapsing under his own weight, as if his legs were made of twigs. When he finally was able to stand on his own two legs, he looked around him. The world was broken and fuzzy. The ground was split and floating in a purple void. Small bridges of dirt led from one island in reality to another. The cracks in reality allowed Daniel to see outside of the library, which was also split into three islands. Ponies were still playing and trotting around Ponyville, carefree of the huge cracks around them. The ponies luckily seemed to notice the huge holes in the world and avoided them. When Twilight walked near a crack, however, a bridge appeared and allowed her to walk across the gap. Cautiously, Daniel unnecessarily walked through the library door, despite the huge crack in the wall next to it. He spotted the three fillies that he had seen earlier in the week in the Everfree. They were trotting casually towards him, huge smiles plastered on their faces, not unlike Lyra. They seemed very happy to see them. “Well hey there mister Daniel!” Greeted Applebloom. “Ya’ look mighty troubled ‘bout somethin’. Care ta share it?” She asked. “If you feel you can answer, I will.” He replied. “Why are there holes in the world everywhere? It wasn’t like this earlier.” “Well sure it was. You just didn’t notice probably.” Answered Sweetie Belle. "Excuse me, but I think I would have notice if there were holes in reality itself.” He snapped back. “But this isn’t reality, this is your life.” Scootaloo answered back. “I beg your pardon?” “Your life is full of holes, simply put. You always feel the need to keep things hidden and always choosing to forget things. Your past is a mystery that needs to be solved, in our perspective anyway. You choose to look only to the future and fail to learn from the past. You always expect the future to be grim and dark, but fail to realise why your past was so dark.” Sweetie Belle answered. Daniel was dumbfounded. “Hehe, maybe this lucidity thing will help him become more aware of this stuff.” Scootaloo snickered. Then it hit him. This wasn’t reality at all. This was his subconscious trying to speak to him... through a dream. That was it, he was dreaming. Slowly, the world darkened and the noises of the world faded with it. “Wakey, wakey sleepy head.” Daniel slowly sat up after hearing Twilight. He felt rejuvenated, jolly even. Never before had he felt such energy pulsing through his veins. He felt as if he could stand on the roof of the library and jump off, only to soar into the wind like a feather. Rather quickly, Daniel stood up after rolling off of the couch. He lightly jogged on the spot without realising. “What’s up with you? You look like a giddy little filly in the queue at Sugarcube Corner.” Daniel looked at her smugly. “How long did it take for you to have a lucid dream?” He asked curiously. “About a week. Why?” Daniel’s smile grew even larger. “I believe I just broke the record.” At his implications, Twilight’s jaw dropped. “You had a lucid dream?!?” She screamed. “For a few seconds yes. I believe my subconscious was trying to talk to me. One thing I do know is that I feel amazing.” Daniel kept on jogging. “Could you please stop that? It is becoming irritating.” “Huh? Oh of course.” He said after realising he was jogging on the spot. “Excellent,” Twilight began, “Now we can talk about your dream. What happened in it?” “Well, I had just awoken from my sleep, but Ponyville was broken into fragments, like reality just crumbled.” Twilight was beginning to process what this could mean in her mind. “Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom walked up to me and told me that this was my life, and that it had holes in it because my past is so mysterious in your perspective. I think my subconscious is telling me to tell you my past.” Seizing the opportunity whilst Daniel was in this enlightened state, she pressed on. “Then do it! You could stop having nightmares because of this! Tell us about your past and release your pain.” “I have already told you, my past is a graphic one. I will not tell you anything, and nothing in this world or in my head can change that.” Daniel snapped back. “Grr, fine. Despite your little ‘lucid session’ I am going to go through with the mnemonic induction. We can do it now or later.” She growled. “I would rather do it now than later. I feel in the mood to be patient right now and I may not later.” “Very well!” And with that Twilight walked up stairs, beckoning Daniel to follow. When Daniel sat down on a designated chair and closed his eyes, Twilight began, speaking in a very soothing tone. “Now then, I want you to imagine you are in your nightmare.” Daniel’s eyes shot open. “I beg your pardon?!” “Just go along with!” She snapped back. Reluctantly, Daniel closed his eyes. “Right then, imagine you are in the nightmare.” Daniel imagined he was back in the guest room, looking for the tinderbox. “Now find a something out of place in the dream world, something that signifies that you are asleep.” Daniel searched around the room. It was dark, so Daniel did the natural thing and lightened the room up a little. Nothing. Daniel then lit up the candle and went through the door. He noticed the floating bridge of stones. That was it! Stones don’t float in mid air. He checked for strings. None. “Now imagine yourself becoming lucid in your dream. Imagine that you are now aware that you are asleep. Feel yourself becoming clear of confusion or distraction.” Daniel did not know how to show this, so he simply imagined the bridge away. “Imagine what you want to do in your dream-world. Perhaps you want to meet somepony, or do something surreal, like flying without wings. Morph you surroundings to whatever you want them to be.” Daniel changed the dark, gloomy surroundings into a meadow full of bright colours. He was suddenly surrounded by flowers with colours ranging from purple to pink. The grass was luminescent and sparkled with small specks of water vapour, like glitter. The sky was clear of clouds and the sun beamed down onto the grass. Strong, sturdy oak trees stood tall and proud all around the edges of the meadow. This place made Daniel happy. “Now repeat the process over and over again, until you feel you will recognise the dream next time you are dreaming.” Daniel did as he was told. Over and over again, he saw the floating stones, felt clarity and went to the meadow. Eventually, he fell asleep. Twilight recognised he was sleeping as a light snore emitted from him and his breathing pattern became long and steady. Twilight only hoped that this had worked. He was terrified. His breathing was heavy. Beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. His body was scratched and cut from his earlier close escape. Next time, he might not be so lucky. He turned to see a guest room with a once luxurious bed (its sheets now torn and ragged and covered in blood) surrounded by two separate closets. A chest of drawers with its contents pulled out stood against the wall near the bed and underneath a window with a dim light coming through. Daniel moved towards it and flipped one of the drawers. A tinderbox lay underneath it. Quickly, Daniel opened it and lit one of the matches inside. All of the candles in that room were no longer burning, and so the room itself was very dark. Only the dim light in the window allowed him to see anything. Daniel stumbled around, trying to find a candle that he could light. He found one next to an old wooden door. As soon as he lit the candle, he spotted the door and went through. He was then greeted by an empty void, and the only way to pass over it was by a path of floating stones. He swore he recognised it. Cautiously, he began to creep his way across, lightly tapping the stones ahead to make sure they did not fall when touched. As he continued to advance over the empty abyss, he silently told himself: “Don’t look down. Don’t look down.” He did not take heed to his own words and felt light headed. The void he stood above had no end. To fall into it was to fall for eternity. That was a fate Daniel would rather avoid. Unfortunately, Daniel began to lose his balance after peeking into the void and felt himself falling to his side. He struggled to keep balance, but it was no use. Screaming, he fell and fell and fell... Suddenly, something came into view. It rippled throughout his vision and engulfed the whole void as far as the eye could see. Something was splashing nearby and soon he realised that he was falling into water. This water was not uninhabited, however, and the splashing got nearer to his landing point. A loud roar made the water vibrate violently and small waves began to rise. Daniel knew what inhabited these waters. The Kaernk. Suddenly, a large tidal wave formed to Daniels right. It grew higher and higher. Eventually, Daniel came crashing into the water and the Kaernk came splashing after him. It was safe to say Daniel was terribly frightened for his life at this point. He was surrounded. Kaernk to the left of him, tidal wave to the right of him. Daniel waited for the eventual clash of the two forces, with him in the middle. His knees became wobbly and gave way underneath him. He collapsed onto his knees and began to weep. It was over. A small, piranha-like fish jumped at his head and he felt the tidal wave clash with his back. He was gone. Daniel shot up from the couch. He was sweating, shaking and his breathing was rapid. It had not worked. He was still having nightmares. Disappointed, he stood up on his shaking legs and went to find Twilight. He found her upstairs on a chair, reading a book. Upon seeing him, Twilight’s expression saddened. “It didn’t work did it?” She asked. “I am afraid not. The nightmare still persisted, and I did not recognise it.” “Then it must be having a stronger influence over you than I thought. But don’t worry, this sort of thing doesn’t just happen overnight. It may take a few days for you to become fully lucid. Only then will these nightmares dissipate.” Daniel was heartily disappointed. “Whatever you say Twilight...” Chapter 3: The PinkiesHelping You Forget Chapter 3 The sky was dark purple, and the world was split and cracked. Huge stair cases lead from the tops of the islands to the bottom, like some secret military HQ. Three entities stood over a pool of magnificent, rippling water, watching Daniel as he talked with the purple unicorn known as Twilight in the mortal world. The ponies in this world were clueless as to their actual situation; each one was soon going to be a victim of Daniel’s torment. These three entities were the keepers of his fate. “He won’t learn you know.” One entity in the form of Scootaloo said. “I am hoping that he will.” The entity that looked like Sweetie Belle said. “Hope doesn’t get anyone anywhere.” “Are ya’ kiddin’ me? Hope is the most powerful thing in the universe. It drives men to do stuff they usually couldn’t do.” The entity taking form of Applebloom said. “Then why hasn’t he got over his memories yet? He certainly hopes that they he can cure them.” “He hopes that they will just go away. He is hoping for the wrong thing. He doesn’t want to do anything to get rid of them, only hope that his God is kind and will help him.” The fake Sweetie Belle pointed out. “So ha’w are we gonna push him on the right path? Do we even want to? His path ain’t a very pleasant one. I ain’t too sure he would be very gra’eful to us if we made him walk this path.” “His fate is sealed. If we do not push him on this path, he will suffer much worse a fate.” Sweetie Belle said grimly. The pool dried up into a small plughole at the bottom of the basin, and the three entities walked away in different directions, trying to keep this madness under control. Daniel opened the door to the library. As usual, he had nothing to do today and he had woken up relatively late. He breathed in the sweet fresh air and began his stroll through Ponyville. As he walked, he swore he saw a flying orange. Waving it off as simply him seeing things, (although that worried him also) he continued his walk. It was a weekend, and Ponyville was filled with laughter of foals, colts and fillies as they played in the grass, on the streets and in the park. It was a relatively happy day as yesterday’s storm had cleared up all rain that was late earlier in the week. Now the citizens of Ponyville could gallop through the town merrily without a care in the world. Suddenly, Daniel was tackled by Pinkie Pie who seemed to materialise out of nowhere. “Hey Danny! Whatcha doing!” She screamed at him. “Merely taking a stroll Pinkie.” He said whilst dusting himself off. “Oh! That sounds... fun! All my friends are having super-duper fun and I can’t decide who to have fun with! So much fun everywhere!” She said whilst doing some intricate dance. Daniel chuckled to himself. “Well I wish you luck on your dilemma. I should be off now; I shan’t get in your way any longer.” “You weren’t in my way, I coulda just walked around you.” She said blankly. Daniel sighed. “Never mind. Goodbye now Pinkie.” He said while walking off. “But wait!” She said hurriedly whilst bouncing along behind him. “Can I walk with you?” “I suppose I don’t mind-” “Great! This is so much fun! Usually I’m rushing about too much to actually see Ponyville in full detail.” She stated. “You don’t say?” “I DO say!” She said putting emphasis on ‘do’. “It’s such a beautiful place to live and it’s so hard to get around and see everything at once! There was this nursery rhyme that said-” Was Daniel really listening? No. He wasn’t. It was kind of nice to have someone, who didn’t ask you questions, to have as company. Daniel and Pinkie continued through Ponyville with Pinkie still chattering like a set of wind up-false teeth. “*GASP* Oh my gosh! I forgot! I need to check on my other friends and see the fun they are doing! Sorry Danny-man! Gotta go! See ya!” And she sped off in an instant. Daniel merely shook his head and chuckled. He had never seen anything like that mare before. Daniel kept a keen eye out for the mint mare he dreaded finding on his travels as he walked through the market. She was bound to find him here, especially if she was with her friend Bon Bon. In a feeble attempt to blend in, Daniel bent his back slightly before shooting straight up again due to pain. All the running and jumping he did must have absolutely destroyed his back. A relaxing bath would not go amiss. Bathing had become a much more accepted practice since physicians realised its benefits on the human body. If you came from before the 18th century, you would have been considered lower-class. That all changed in 1702 thanks to Queen Anne. Soon Bath was transformed from a country spa to the social capital of England. Daniel was about to embark on a journey to the local spa, before he heard his name being called. ‘Damn’. “Hey Daniel!” ‘Not again’. Daniel turned to see the mare he had been avoiding all along. He didn’t hate her... he just found he irritating. “It’s a little late for a morning walk don’t you think?” She remarked whilst closing the distance between the two of them. Daniel was surprised she had managed to drag Bon Bon along too. Maybe she saw him from a stool? “Please Lyra, don’t you think you are getting a little over obsessive with the human?” She asked her companion. “No. He loves talking to me! Don’t you Daniel?” She said after a short pause. “Of course I do.” Daniel said sarcastically. This caused Lyra to stick her tongue out at Bon Bon. “Anyway, where are you going?” Asked Lyra. “I was on my way to the spa. My back is killing me you see and I haven’t bathed since I got here.” “Huh... how come I don’t die simply from standing next to you then?” She joked. “I have no idea. Perhaps the –” Daniel cut himself off before he mentioned the Shadow. “Perhaps what Daniel?” Lyra persisted. Daniel tried to come up with a good line; he then remembered that Unicorns exist here. “Perhaps there is some magic at work?” He quickly answered. Seemingly satisfied with his answer, Lyra looked onwards without another word. “You know, going to the spa doesn’t sound too bad right about now.” Bon Bon stated whilst rubbing her own back. Realising what this meant, Daniel mentally groaned. ‘Why do I have such a big mouth?’ “I suppose you may join me.” Daniel declared. Bon Bon seemed brighter after that, but Lyra audibly moaned. “Do we have to? I kinda wanna do other stuff.” “Nopony said you had to co –” “Ugh! Fine I’ll come! It won’t be too much trouble I guess.” ‘Odd, she was protesting earlier. She just gave in to a statement that suggested she didn’t have to come. What a strange mare.’ “Well... okay I guess. Anyway, shall we be off?” “Certainly” Daniel replied. Thankfully, the journey there was filled with uneventful chatter between Bon Bon and Lyra. Daniel spent the walk thinking about how he would the awkwardness of being either naked or semi-naked around others. He never really went to public baths, as he had his own one. He preferred the peaceful isolation. Just as the trio was about to enter the spa, a familiar word began to resound throughout the streets. “FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN!! FUN!!!” It got louder and louder and louder. Daniel turned to a truly dreaded sight. Just down the road, twenty or thirty pink mares were bouncing down the street screaming the same word over and over again. They were heading straight for him... Daniel froze. Lyra began to tug on his trouser leg, in a feeble attempt to move him. The Pinkies kept on coming, slowly closing the gap. They were doomed. Eventually, when the Pinkies reached the three beings, they stopped. They stopped and stared onwards. Completely baffled by this turn of events, Daniel began to walk away. The Pinkies followed him in formation. Intrigued, Daniel kept on marching forwards. Again, the Pinkies followed in a square formation. ‘How peculiar!’ Daniel kept on walking with the Pinkies, Lyra and Bon Bon in tow. Eventually, he came across Rainbow Dash who seemed to be searching for something. Probably the Pinkies. When she saw him, she froze in mid air, her mouth agape. “Looking for these?” Rainbow slowly nodded. Daniel, smiling, told the Pinkies to hurry over to Rainbow. Groaning, the Pinkies slowly obliged. Daniel chuckled before turning back to the two mares behind him. “So how about that bath?” Chapter 5: A Sorrowful RevelationHelping You Forget Chapter 5 “Sweet Celestia! Are you alright?” Twilight rushed to Daniel’s aid as he collapsed. His face still had the look of horror etched on it. His eyes were wide open where he had been staring right at the two of them. “Whoa... now that’s creepy.” Spike declared. “Spike! We need to find the others. I think it’s happening again.” Twilight said to him as she heaved Daniel onto the couch. “Wait! What do you mean ‘it’s happening again’?” Spike asked feeling a bit left out. “I mean Daniel might be going crazy again!” Twilight shouted in frustration. “Now come on, we need to find the others and take him to Zecora’s place. She’ll know what to do.” Spike followed closely behind Twilight, barely keeping up as she ran out of the library in search of her friends whilst mumbling something about curing a nightmare. As they ran down the street, Pinkie came into view. “Hi guys! Whatcha doing?” She asked curiously. “We have to get Daniel to Zecora’s place and fast! We need to find the others.” “Okay!” Pinkie said cheerily as she sped off leaving a cloud of dust behind. “One down, four to go.” Twilight mumbled to herself. It was not long before Pinkie found Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Fluttershy went back to the library to make sure Daniel was still there and still breathing. Soon, Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash and Spike found Rarity and Applejack and gathered them back at the library. “Right, I’ll find the map to Zecora’s. Applejack, I want you to carry Daniel along the way. Alright?” Twilight instructed. “Sure thing sugarcube!” Applejack replied. “Good. Rainbow Dash, see if you can spot Zecora’s hut from the sky. If not, then help guide our way.” “Sure thing!” Twilight then searched for the map to Zecora’s and they all headed off into the Everfree. Before that, Twilight had to tell Spike to stay at the library and take care of it till they got back. Daniel rose from a squishy ground in the middle of a forest. The moon shone brightly and highlighted a path that was clear of trees. The bark of the trees was scorched and burnt and the leaves were nonexistent. The mere number of trees blocked any light from entering the thick forest that surrounded Daniel, all but the path. Wolves could be heard in the distance howling at the moon. The sky was a dark hue of purple and dotted with stars. With no other way to go, Daniel followed the path cautiously. Suddenly, the ground underneath his feet shook and rumbled, like an earthquake that threatened to split the Earth in two. Daniel stumbled and landed flat on his face. He rose before spitting large clumps of sod out of his mouth. Not even wondering what had just occurred, Daniel carried on. In the distance, but not in the distance at all, a dragging sound could be heard, as if a large carcass was being dragged along the grass. Daniel could not quite place where the sound was. It seemed so distant, but yet so close. Daniel continued down the long pathway through the thick forest. It seemed to go on for eternity. Voices. Familiar voices at that. He heard Applejack. “Sweet Celestia this one’s heavy.” What was she talking about? Is she the one dragging something? What was she dragging? Suddenly, Daniel was thrust off of his feet and into the air. He spiralled into the sky for several seconds before stopping on a large build up of clouds on his back. The cloud was bliss. It sent a warm sense of relaxation down his spine and up his limbs. Daniel stayed in a lying position on the cloud and watched the stars slowly travel across the sky. Before long, he had noticed several things. The dragging sound had stopped and had instead been replaced by the soft clopping of hooves. There were also trees suddenly growing on the cloud mysteriously. They looked like the trees below, only that they had shot straight up through the cloud. Daniel decided that lying around on a cloud was not a productive way to spend his time in this strange heaven. He began by remembering what had happened earlier. At first his mind was clouded by a thick fog, but then, as if some other power wanted him to know, the image of what had happened appeared besides him. It was in his perspective. He looked up from his writing to see the floating Gatherer with a magical aura around its hands. He then saw the horrifying child-like Gatherer with a hungry look in its eyes. One thought came to Daniel’s mind. ‘Have I died?’ This raised even more questions. ‘Is this heaven? What is happening to my body?’ Daniel felt that he was suddenly depressed. It had not been long since he had finally settled down in Equestria, in Ponyville. Already he has left, and it was too soon. Daniel then felt anger. He cursed his weak mind. He cursed the damned shadow. He cursed himself for being so feeble. He had made it through worse situations with his sanity barely gripping onto him. Daniel clenched his fists and screamed. The world shook, as if it was suddenly surprised by his rage. Daniel jumped up off of the cloud instantly, only to fall through it back into the forested area. He did not scream as he fell, and the fall only seemed to last a split second. As he hit the ground, he felt no force acting against his legs. No force threatened to break him. A low gurgling sound emitted behind him. He turned sharply to see... them. The six Gatherers that had pursued him through the castle. He could tell... he just knew it was them. They felt all too familiar. “Go away! You shan’t have me this day!” He shouted at them and ran off into the thick forest. Already he could hear the Gatherers close on his tail. Daniel was not built for running and dodging and quickly he began to pant heavily. He desperately jumped in between the huge trees that blocked his path to freedom, wherever that was. The six mares were shocked by Daniel’s sudden awakening. They were even more shocked when he told them to go away. Even further shocked when he said that they shan’t have him. By the time Daniel had ran off, their jaws had reached the floor. None of them saw it coming. Daniel had been unconscious until he suddenly screamed and shouted at them. The sudden change in pace had them thunderstruck. None the less, Pinkie suddenly running off after him caused a chain reaction. Soon all of the mares were running off in his direction, calling him to come back. He took no notice and soon, he disappeared in the forest. The five (technically four) earth-bound mares had stopped, but Rainbow Dash wasn’t giving up there. She took to the skies again (she had come down to see all the commotion) and zoomed off in the direction Daniel was running. In his hallucinated state, all Daniel saw was a huge bloodied bird with its feathers torn off heading straight towards him. It didn’t seem to know where he was, so Daniel jumped into a dip underneath a tree’s roots. As he expected, the bird flew over Daniel’s position without a second glance. Daniel, now that he didn’t have the pressure of enemies chasing him (he knew the others had stopped. Gatherer’s don’t follow their prey very far), had noticed that the dip he had jumped in was extremely comfortable. The soil was soft and bouncy. The wood was angled so he could lay back and relax. Everything underneath that tree was splendid. Daniel took his time to consider his situation. He wasn’t dead. Whether he was pleased by that now he did not know. The six Gatherers still lived and they were after him. He recognised this place. It was the Everfree Forest. So he was back here again. Daniel briefly cursed the forest and its horrors. Daniel had to find a way back to Ponyville, or at least find the six mares he knew would probably be searching for him. In his comfortable position, Daniel found it became harder and harder to stay awake. He drowsily let his head droop down and eventually, he fell into a long sleep... Of course to him, it felt like he had just woke up again. He felt rejuvenated. He felt alive and well again. He was not necessarily happy and he still was completely aware of the situation he was in. He stood up, clambered out of the hole underneath the tree and crept off in a random direction. The wolves were howling again. He suddenly feared for his life, as he knew where he was. Knowing that their sense of smell was strong, he ran while kicking up the soft soil, not even bothering to confirm whether he was being chased or not. It was not long before he suddenly fell into a deep ditch that led into a bottomless pit. He fell for what seemed like eternity, screaming in despair of his life all the while. Suddenly, something appeared in the darkness. It was illuminated by the light coming in from the hole. It was more grass. This grass was burnt, embers floated through the open air and a village as burning nearby. The floor came rushing up to meet Daniel. It got closer... and closer... Splat! As he collided with the ground with a sickening splat, a large explosion erupted around him. Smoke was kicked up and waves could clearly be seen in the ground. To his surprise, Daniel was completely unharmed from the fall. As he rose from the ground, he took in the surrounding area. The village he could scarcely recognise, but he certainly had memory of it. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. The village was ablaze, and a small group of men could be seen walking off with prisoners. The prisoners were wailing as they were dragged away. As one of the raiders looked his way, he swore a small glint of red evil flashed at him. When Daniel turned to see what was behind him, he saw a small grave. It was smooth and freshly chipped with words. It was in the shape of a small cross with a circle behind the cross-section. Curiously, Daniel crept up to the grave so as to see who it belonged to. As soon as he came into range of the grave, he regretted ever laying eyes on it. What it said pained him to his heart. R.I.P Hazel Godfrey 1820 – 1839 Died of an incurable disease given to her by the Devil at birth. She was caused much agony from Noon to Dusk. She held her own even when told she would die. May God keep her soul in Heaven. Daniel’s eyes began to tear up. How could this have happened? She was deemed to live against all odds for several more years. Daniel had prayed for her day and night and he had no doubt others were as well. Is this what rewards is given to him and her after extensive years of sorrow and hardship? Was there even a God anymore? As Daniel cursed the God he had faith in from the start, he heard soft footsteps besides him. He slowly turned his head towards the source of the noise. He gasped as he saw her. Next to him, with a white glow radiating off of her body, was his little sister. Hazel. She had a small smile on her face. A smile that told Daniel she was happy... she was safe. Daniel was more than relieved to see his sister once again. He stood up and embraced his now deceased sister joyfully... but she did not return the hug. When Daniel noticed this, he pulled back to see his sister again. This time, she was different. Her face showed anger. He face even showed hatred. All the anger and hate in her was directed straight at Daniel. The white glow had been replaced by a dark red glow. Her features began to contort as she saw Daniel’s face again. Suddenly, she threw Daniel away from her and he landed on his back. Daniel was taken aback by the gesture of hatred. She approached him and screamed at him. “YOU LEFT US! YOU CHOSE TO STAY WITH THOSE PONIES! YOU CHOSE STRANGERS OVER YOUR LOVED ONES! YOU ARE A DEMON AND A TRAITOR! I WANT YOU TO DIE! YOU SELFISH BASTARD! DIE! DIE! DIE!!!!!!” She dragged out the screaming and began to throw crazed punches at Daniel. Daniel desperately tried to crawl backwards away from his bloodthirsty sister. Her voice could turn the undead and even the ghastly Gatherers. The punches that landed hit Daniel hard and caused him pain. Not only physically, but emotionally. Daniel was sobbing as he retreated. His sister only wanted his death and nothing else. Daniel tried to reason with her over her screams. “Please sister. I am sorry, truly. I did not think my actions through. Forgive me!” “YOU ARE A MONSTER! JUST DIE ALREADY!” She took no notice of his pleads. Daniel was now bleeding near enough everywhere. Blood flowed out from his wounds and onto the floor. Daniel was screaming his pleads now, but his sister began speaking differently. Her voice was changing to another familiar tone. “DANIEL! WAKE UP DANIEL! DANIEL! WAKE UP!” Daniel’s wet eyes burst open to see a pink object obscuring the outside view. It was shouting in his face to wake up. “Wakey wakey sleepy head! You’ve been crying for a while now and you wouldn’t wake up. Did you have a bad dream?” Pinkie asked with genuine sincerity. She bore a large sympathetic frown. Daniel’s sobs slowly died down. “Yes. I... I did.” “Boy, you sure gave ‘s a scare when yo jumped ‘ff me back and ran away. You should think twace before runnin’ off like that.” Applejack told him over Pinkie’s shoulder. Daniel felt regret. It was them. The six Gatherers had been them all along. He had run from them in the castle and now in the forest. “You should apologise to us as well! You told us to go away!” Rainbow Dash scowled at him. “Yes... yes. I am sorry but... I could not see what was really there. Hallucinations have been haunting me for some time, even at the castle. I can see it now though. The six monsters I thought were chasing me. They were you. I owe you a lot considering I have been unwittingly avoiding you. I am sorry.” “I’s alright sugarcube. And about them hallucinations, we were just taking ya to a pony who knows how ta fix them right up!” Pinkie pulled Daniel out of the hole, and without any more words, they set off. Daniel still remembered the nightmare he had, and he had taken it to heart. He felt that his sister was right. He did abandon them. He chose stranger people over the ones he knew and loved. He still felt that Equestria was a better place to live, but regret painted his mind red. He knew it wouldn’t make a difference whether he had been there or not, but seeing his sister again for the last time would have been better than just knowing she was gone. Without warning, Daniel sunk to his knees and cried again. Chapter 6: A Subtle Clue From Another PresenceHelping You Forget Chapter 6 “Tree clah’mers?” “Yea! I mean, I don’t think we’ve done it before.” “I’m pretty sure we have Scootaloo. I mean, it is an extremely dull idea.” “So? We’ve tried everything! You come up with something better then!” Sweetie Belle shifted uncomfortably while avoiding eye contact. She remained silent. “So are we gonna do this or what?” “Where can we find the tallest trees ‘round here.” Unfortunately, although they had been told countless times not to go there alone, the same idea struck them all. “We could just... go on the edge of it.” “Yea! Nopony can tell us off for that right? I mean, I’m pretty sure there aren’t any Manticores or Timberwolves near Fluttershy’s, and she’s right on the edge,” Scootaloo pointed out. “Yea!” Applebloom and Sweetie Belle agreed. “Alright, let’s go.” The three fillies moved away from their idea-making-spot and climbed down from their treehouse. Sweetie Belle instructed her friends to wait for her while she went to find some helmets in case they fell down and some rope. Even as she ran off to get necessary items in case of injury, she still felt bad about disobeying rules given by her older sibling. Even so, she was a lot more grown up now. Surely it would be a lot safer and she would be more responsible now? Somehow, she knew her older sibling would disagree. Her friends were thinking exact same thing. After Scootaloo and Applebloom had waited for several minutes more than they had predicted that they would have to wait, Sweetie Belle finally arrived with a small bag of helmets, ropes and first aid. “We really need to store some of this in our treehouse somewhere,” Sweetie Belle declared exhausted. It was not long before the trio headed into the Everfree Forest, the one forest which held monsters and creatures, every one of them deadly, and a weather system that worked without Pegasi. One of the only places, if any others, which did this. They started confidently, looking up high for tall trees while making sure that the edge of the forest was in sight. So far, no trees were anywhere near tall enough for them to even try. They walked in a circular path, so that they could scour entire sections of the forest whilst not wandering too far from the edge. A mass of clouds had gathered above them and droplets of rain began to make pitter-patter sounds on the thick leaves of the Everfree. Then it happened. A high-pitched howling emitted from nearby. The fillies stopped dead in their tracks at the sound of the dreaded wolves. The howling did not cease, and soon it was as if they were surrounded by the howling. A clap of thunder erupted in the clouds above them, and a gigantic lightning bolt parted the sky. Even with the edge of the forest in sight, and the now raging storm, the howling had closed in on them. Scootaloo swore that she saw a wolf walk through her line of vision once or twice. The howling only intensified. There must have been twenty or thirty wolves around them. All of them made of cold, hard wood. The trio hugged each other tightly, their backs pressing against one another. Each felt the blood rushing to their chests in fear, as if the blood itself was cowering from the wolves. A timberwolf jumped from the nearby bushes. The fillies each scrambled away fast enough not to be torn limb from limb underneath the wolf. The each screamed as they ran away from the one wolf into a trap. The wolves had indeed surrounded them and were waiting for them in the trees. The fillies could not see them, as their bodies mixed within the forest well. Scootaloo had run away from the edge of the forest, whereas Sweetie Belle and Applebloom had galloped hard more or less towards it. The unexpected speed of the adrenaline filled foals had dazed the ambushing timberwolves and the fillies managed to break free of the circle. Thinking quickly, the timberwolves saw that two fillies were nearly at the edge, whereas one had foolishly ran into the forest even further, clearly unaware of her surroundings. It was not a challenge to choose which filly to go after. Scootaloo frantically dodged fallen logs and ran across muddy and slippery surfaces hoping not to fall. Her heart had begun to pump at ten times the normal speed and Scootaloo’s adrenaline was beginning to die down slightly. Her speed was decreasing and the timberwolves were catching up. Her breathing became panting and the gap was slowly closing. She couldn’t keep it up for much longer. Eventually, as she tried to leap over a rather wide fallen tree, she caught her hoof and landed face first into the mud. She could almost feel the wooden teeth of the timberwolves tearing into her flesh. She could certainly hear their growling and huffing. At that moment, a lightning bolt somehow found its way through the thick Everfree canopy and struck the very tree she tripped on. The lightning on wood created a blazing fire, just as the timberwolves were about to jump over. One did, and it ran off into the forest ablaze. ‘That’s useful’ Scootaloo thought, ‘They hate fire!’ Scootaloo wasted no time in continuing her escape. She galloped continuously for a good five minutes before she was sure she couldn’t hear the blood-curling howling anymore. She came across a dark, presumably damp, cave where she could rest. It was too small to hold any creatures of any sorts. She only guessed this as the sky was grey and it was too dark to determine anything. As she entered the cave, a horrifying realisation struck her. In her panic to escape, she had retreated from the edge of the forest. Her friend’s fates were unknown to her. Perhaps they had been caught and killed gorily by the timberwolves? And what of her? How was she to get back to Ponyville with the timberwolves in the path to get back.... in fact where even was the path to get back? Scootaloo had made many twists and turns in her fleeing in an attempt to lose the wolves. What of her family? They would worry for her and maybe even search for her! What if they fell to the horrid wolves? What would she be able to live for then? What even was the point of living anymore? Finally, Scootaloo began to weep for herself, and as she did, the storm ceased but a large flash emitted somewhere in the forest near her... Walking slowly this time, he stepped in between the dense woodland once more, this time being more careful not to cut himself. Eventually, he came upon a blackened cave from which the weeping originated. Daniel crouched down and approached the cave. When he entered the mouth of said cave, what he saw shocked him beyond belief. There was an impossibly small equine, barely 2 feet tall, weeping. In the darkness, he could make out that it had an orange coat and purple mane and tail, impossible colours for an equine to bear. More still, it bore wings! Daniel didn’t know what to think of this. There was no way that this could be real. It was just another illusion conjured up by the tormenting forest. On the other hand, if this forest really was throwing his fears at him, this was definitely real. He never really ever remembered being scared of horses. His train of thought was abruptly interrupted as he realised that the crying had stopped and the equine was looking up at him fearfully. He tried to look as compassionate as possible, although this was difficult considering his fresh cuts and scratches. He decided that communication was a pointless effort since horses couldn’t talk, but he decided to go with it anyway. “Hello there. My name is Daniel. Can you... understand me?” He asked in a truly comforting tone. The equine visibly calmed at the sound of his voice but also flinched as he spoke, as if his voice carried the power of a gale behind it. It was obvious that the horse could not understand him considering that it immediately wore a confused face after he finished talking. Scootaloo only heard grunts and coughs as the creature talked. Its dialect was too complicated with too many syllables for pony ears to decipher. She understood immediately that this creature was non-hostile, if it was hostile it would have killed her and been done with it, but was still sceptical as to whether it would enjoy her as an evening snack. She decided letting it out of her sight was not a good idea. She didn’t know what it had said, but it began to repeat one line of its language. ‘Ack mange ickh damgal’ was all she could understand. Its voice was very throaty. She attempted to mimic the sounds, much to the creature’s amusement. After realising that her feeble attempts were a lost cause, she approached the strange critter. She immediately hugged it tightly as she realised that the Everfree Forest was too dense for anypony to have any possibility of finding her and that this creature was her only chance of getting out of here. She had barely escaped some Timberwolves earlier. She was sure her luck wasn’t going to save her anymore. This creature was the only comfort in this forest to her right now. Unbeknownst to her, a dark presence smiled eerily as it watched its handiwork unfold. Scootaloo awoke suddenly from her dream. Usually she didn’t remember dreams, apart from when she had gone camping with Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and their sisters as well as Rainbow Dash. She did remember that Luna told her dreams had meaning. That’s what got her here. What meaning did this dream have? She had dreamt of when she first met Daniel in the Everfree. She had gone through a lot in the Everfree. She was even proud of the things she did in the Everfree. She had saved Daniel from being stoned by a Cockatrice. She had strategically placed a fire in the way of timberwolves so that they couldn’t get to her and Daniel. She had even pulled him up from the edge of a cliff that led to a certain doom. It was possibly the most exhilarating time of her life. She was almost disappointed that it had ended. Scootaloo racked her brains for some sort of explanation for the dream, but only one explanation actually came to her. And the more she thought about it, the more it worried her. Scootaloo checked outside her window. It was indeed morning; in fact it was later than she usually woke up. It was also a weekend luckily, and she had nothing planned for the day. She was going to do something with her two fellow crusaders, but now she had to confirm her suspicions. She jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. She did not stop for breakfast, but instead headed for the door. “Mum! I’m just going to the clubhouse!” she shouted to her mother who she knew would be in the next room. “Okay dear! Just make sure you’re back for lunch time!” her mother replied. Scootaloo was quite surprised that she had been let go that easily at first, then she realised she had mentioned that she was going to see her fellow crusaders yesterday. Her mother had allowed her to leave the home in the morning. Scootaloo galloped quickly to the library in hopes of finding Daniel, or at least Twilight, so she could calm her increasingly worried nerves. She had to avoid running into several ponies she was so rushed. Eventually, she reached the library without tripping over ponies. It only just struck her that she could’ve used her scooter. Now that she thought about it, she was in a way glad she didn’t use it. Usually she created a lot of havoc with that scooter. She rapped on the door to the library and waited for someone to open it. Would it be Twilight? Would it be Daniel? Scootaloo was thunderstruck as Spike opened the door. Actually, she was less shocked that Spike opened the door and more shocked that Daniel wasn’t still asleep on the sofa. “Hey Spike!” she greeted cheerily. “Is Dan around?” Spike’s face visibly changed from weary to nervous. Scootaloo knew something was up. "No, he's not. Twilight had to take him to the Everfree Forest." "What? Why?" "They all went into the Everfree to look for Zecora. Something strange happened to Daniel. He looked terrified as me and Twilight entered the room. He passed out and Twilight had Applejack carry him along with them.” Scootaloo had seen this coming. She knew exactly what the dream was telling her. It had shown her when Daniel came to her rescue when she was alone and helpless. Now Daniel was in trouble, and she needed to rescue him. Chapter 7: A Hopeful SolutionHelping You Forget Chapter 7 It is odd how we find ourselves in recurring nightmares: you would’ve thought we’d have gotten over the fear the first time round, but you can’t rid yourself of a corrupted dream till you confront it and make it disappear, much like I had done very recently. However, this was a nightmare I could never seem to dissipate: the Everfree Forest. Despite once intentionally returning to this forest, its influence over me seems to cling on like Ivy, wrapping itself around my ever fragile mind. I was still wary in the Everfree, even more so now that I knew what lurked in its dark corners. I couldn’t say my accompanying party was too confident either. Everyone was on edge and spying out for any suspicious movement amongst the trees, myself included. Although, I found Fluttershy’s jumping at every howl or growl as terrifying as the forest itself. Twilight had recommended against stopping in the forest, so every time I showed signs of slowing or stopping, someone was behind me to urge me on. It wasn’t physical trauma bringing me down; it was what I had seen just recently. Soon, my feet felt heavy to drag across the forest floor as my mind urged them to stop so I could cope with the revelation I had recently been given. Even whilst walking, I had ample time to consider the harsh greeting I received from my deceased sister, whether that is true or not. I realised in that moment what a selfish decision I had made. I had forgotten about my family; my home; my sister. I only sought to make amends with the natives of this world, to befriend them and live amongst them, but was that the right choice? Should I have cared for their understanding of me or just forgotten about them completely and returned home, never to look back again all the while knowing some beings in another world were judging me? Did I care? Did I just want to gratify myself for my actions, to live in some sort of paradise? Whatever my motives were to stay in Equestria at the time, they were misguided. Fortunately, in accord to my blank stare and glistened eyes near to tears, I felt Fluttershy nudge my leg to break my trance. I could only smile faintly in return. As we trekked along, it became apparent to me that I was in the dark in regards to where we were heading and why. “Twilight,” I enquired, “Might you enlighten me as to where you are planning to take me?” “Certainly,” she replied. “After you collapsed in front of Spike and I, I knew that the method we had used to cure you had indeed not worked. It was then I realised that I knew somepony who might know the solution to your hallucinations. She’s a zebra called Zecora and she specialises in alchemy. She’s setup in the Everfree Forest so she has access to most of the ingredients she needs immediately. I’m certain she will be able to help us at least, if not she might be able to end this once and for all.” I was at that moment intrigued by alchemy and its possible uses in this world. I have seen many new strange anomalies that might not occur within my world, so maybe alchemy, which was usually just used for destructive purposes or medicine, would have my exotic uses here. “Have you taken any notes from her profession that I may observe once we return?” I got a glance of Rainbow Dash rolling her eyes at me. “Come to think of it, not really. There have been several occasions where I have been able to remember certain brews or potions, but nothing too broad. Zecora’s isolated nature makes it more difficult for me to spend an extended amount of time with her, and most of the time I do spend with her isn’t done taking notes.” “Shame,” I simply replied. Nothing more. Not even considering asking Zecora myself about alchemy. All interest in the subject simply dissipated from my mind. Even at the time did I find this interesting; my behaviour that is. Usually I relished the stream of knowledge and commonly sipped from its refreshing waters, but recently I had no care for any sort of profound academic knowledge, even if maybe it was not appropriately timed considering the current situation - though Twilight's lecture on lucid dreaming certainly was appropriate. True I was drawn more towards archaeology and history, but I should have been a little more enthusiastic about this. I also noted at the time that my response was quite rude. I could see that Twilight was hardly more than amused by my single-worded, disinterested remark. The rest of the group were giving me a similar look of slight repulse. Thankfully, we had finally stumbled across a house built into a hollowed tree in the middle of this damp and dreary forest. I found it more than a coincidence that two of the most intelligent individuals I knew of so far were residing in a tree. I also was dumbfounded by the light the treehouse gave off considering the usually pitch black state of the forest. I questioned myself on how I did not see this house both of the times I had been in this forest. It certainly would’ve made things a lot easier. As we knocked and entered, we were greeted by a zebra wearing ceremonial rings from the more exotic African and Asian countries. I had not even conceived that such a racial stereotype from my world would arise in this one. Incidentally, there were such Africans who wore rings around their wrists and necks near the excavation in which I found the orb. We did not interact, but I caught sight of them doing odd chanting and dancing once around a blazing fire. I never asked Professor Herbert what they were doing because I was more terrified by what the answer might imply than curious. Despite the rings and the particular species that graced my sight, I did not prepare myself for the alternate accent that came with it. Constantly hearing the same, higher pitched voice everywhere in Ponyville – even if just for over a week – was enough to tune my ears to that dialect perfectly, with the exception of the Apple family who had a distinctive accent from the rest. So when Zecora began talking, I almost found it difficult to understand her. “Salutations, my dear friend Twilight. A visit from you is always a delight. Your friends of five I recognise, but this strange being is new to my eyes.” “Hello, Zecora. This here is Daniel,” she said turning to me as if to either point me out or check I was still here. “He’s... not from around here.” “A human is a rare sight to see,” Zecora began nodding knowingly, “Since they exist in Zebra Mythology.” “You know he’s a human?” Twilight asked puzzled. “Indeed, a wild creature of the hunt, apparently taking one down was quite a stunt.” I barely had time to register what Zecora was saying in between her rhythmic chanting, but I was still able to read between the lines. As soon as she had finished her verse, she turned her attention to me with untrusting eyes, almost waiting for me to make a move of some sort. I wasn’t sure if I should pick up one of my compadres and use them as a shield. I certainly had a good mind to be cautious around her; her mystical rhyming gave my subconscious an even greater reason to be wary. “Well,” Twilight somewhat nervously chuckled, “There won’t be any violent ‘stunts’ here today, will there?” Zecora seemed only to respond by relaxing slightly. I could see I wasn’t the only one to notice the zebra’s odd behaviour. My worried expression became contagious within the entire group. Even though Zecora had calmed, her death glare did not avert. It was a glare that would’ve struck fear into the heart of the most courageous of Cossacks, the most experienced of Napoleon’s Old Guard, and the most accurate of the Green Jackets. In pierced the deepest caverns of my heart and made my blood run cold. It was very clear to me that whatever these ‘mythological’ humans were renowned for, it put a wedge between me and the stripped equine before me. When we had been welcomed in and offered a wide array of specially prepared brews that sounded far from tasteful, Twilight began to explain what was occurring as of this moment. I too perked my ears eagerly in hope that I could finally understand what was happening. “Well,” Twilight began, “Daniel here has been living in Ponyville for barely over a week after he saved Scootaloo in the Everfree and then went back in to apprehend another human called Alexander. As it turns out, he was using an orb to power a portal to let his world through into ours in order to enslave us. Luckily, Daniel destroyed the orb which he claims is also the reason a dark shadow has been tormenting him. The following days have been torture for Daniel. He has been experiencing hallucinations and recurring nightmares which we have so far been unsuccessful in dissipating. I believe I have cured the nightmares, even if temporarily, but the hallucinations have twice since proven to be problematic. I believe there something about his past that must be causing the traumatic events, but he refuses to tell us the details of his past.” Whilst Twilight continued to explain about my ghastly run-ins of the nostalgic kind, I had a sudden epiphany. I was unsure of how something so simple could actually even come to fruition, however, considering the necessary ingredients might not even exist in this world. Nonetheless, it was worth a shot. In the brief moments that I contemplated this, I must have given an emotion away that Zecora easily interpreted. “To solve this riddle you must answer, no further than your human you should gander.” All eyes suddenly diverted to me. “Y’all knew how ta cure ye’self all along?” Applejack questioned in an almost interrogative fashion. I remained silent, constructing my answer and panoramically glancing at all of the eyes surrounding me. “I have only just fathomed how we might rid me of this cursed guilt-ridden torment I have suffered,” I carefully replied, “Though I am not entirely sure if we can actually accomplish such a task.” “Why not?” Pinkie piped. “We’ve probably done harder.” “Because it may be impossible for us to attain the necessary resources.” Zecora seemed to consider this before beckoning me away from the group momentarily. “And what ingredients are those you require that of a nature that I can’t acquire?” “Fortis Aqua... Vitae, and a Damascus Rose.” “There is a way these things you can acquire, but first there is information I desire.” I nodded firmly in response. “The orb you destroyed to make your revenge exact, where can I find this sacred artefact?” I admit I was taken aback by this request for the location of the orb. I suspected that Zecora might have had an interest in it when I had mentioned it, but only through a vision did I know how to repair it. Even if she found the orb, two things would occur. She would either be unable to repair it, or she would succumb to the guardian of the orb that stalked me relentlessly. After telling her that the orb was probably still in the throne room of the castle, she nodded and led me back to the group. “So?” Rainbow Dash immediately asked. “There are three ingredients we need: Fortis Aqua, Vitae, and a Damascus Rose.” “What are trying to make with them anyway?” Twilight enquired. “An amnesia potion. We used them in Brennenburg. If I can make myself forget about Brennenburg and the preceding events, then I should be cured.” “But wait,” Rarity interrupted, “If you drink this potion, surely you will forget everything after as well?” “Fear not, by adjusting the level of vitae, I can accurately determine what I remember and what I forget.” “What are these ingredients anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Fortis Aqua is an adhesive which will hold the other two ingredients together, Vitae is a harvested energy,” I narrowly avoided saying how it was harvested, “And a Damascus Rose is a plant that, when combined with Vitae, will haze over the minds of the drinker, covering their memories.” “You said we couldn’t find them though,” Pinkie pointed out, “How are we gonna get them?” “I’m not sure.” “What did you use the amnesia potion for?” Fluttershy innocently asked. I froze there, dreading the answer they might squeeze out of me. Zecora’s arrival after an unnoticed departure thankfully moved on the conversation. Zecora was bearing seven vials on a tray. They had a purple liquid, with the exception of one pink one, that were calm without bubbles or fizzing, suggesting to me that she had made them a while ago. “What’s that?” Twilight asked. “A potion I made to get into one’s head, to put one’s troubles to bed. Once Daniel drinks his pink vial, you must connect yours through magic to his all the while. Then you will enter his mind to begin your quest to put his nightmares and hallucinations to rest.” “Are you implying we can make the potion inside my memories? But surely that would mean there are dangers as well? I wasn’t precisely alone in that castle.” “Anything that could kill you physically will be able to slaughter you psychologically.” A unison of worried gulps ensued before everyone took a single vial with the coloured liquid, me taking the pink one. We all knew that anything could happen from here, though I was much more worried. I needed vitae for the potion, but how was I to harvest it? I wasn’t going to let them see me do it, it is a gruesome process which would likely shatter our relationship and any trust we had between each other. How could I hide my past endeavours like I have for the past few days? I dismissed these thoughts temporarily, convincing myself that I would figure these predicaments later. Wasting no more time, I drank. Chapter 4: Victory, Sadness and then DefeatHelping You Forget Chapter 4 Daniel heard the low grumbling of the grotesque monster that was surely after him. He rounded a corner in the corridor and found himself in a dark, empty room, lit only by a small candle in the middle of the darkness. Daniel advanced towards it, with his own shadow looming over him. A loud roar came from the darkness behind him and he span quickly to face it. Big, fleshy webs were consuming the area behind him. He froze in fear as the disgusting anomalies surrounded his position. As if it a guardian angel in hell, Daniel drew closer to the candle light, comforted by it. He averted his gaze towards the candle light, not wanting to witness the all consuming Shadow circle his position. He soon came to realise that the candle’s flame was that of a small girl. Her face was worried and upset, and tears became clearly visible as Daniel observed the flame at a closer distance. The girl was crying. He recognised the girl’s blonde hair and soil-covered face. As his memory opened, so did his sense of dread. Suddenly, the eyes of the girl turned viciously towards Daniel’s own. She was no longer worried or upset. Her pupils filled with fire and rage. She was dreadfully angry. Daniel began to withdraw at the new expression of the little girl. She dug her way into his very soul and was biting out huge chunks of it. As Daniel began to retreat into the darkness, the face let out an ear-piercing screech, causing Daniel to throw his hands over his ears. The familiar ringing sound filled his ears... ... and so did the familiar screeching sound of the Gatherers. Daniel turned to face the torso and dislodged lower jaw of the Gatherer. Instantly, his expression went from worried to deeply terrified. Without a second thought, Daniel ran into the darkness, ripping at the huge webs of the Shadow. You need to wake up... Daniel heard that. He briefly stopped in his retreat, but soon forgot all about the incident and continued running. He was terrified. His breathing was heavy. Beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. His body was sticky from the web and the pint of sweat dripping off of him. He turned to see a guest room with a once luxurious bed (its sheets now torn and ragged and covered in blood) surrounded by two separate closets. A chest of drawers with its contents pulled out stood against the wall near the bed and underneath a window with a dim light coming through. A strangely familiar setup. Daniel moved towards it and flipped one of the drawers. A tinderbox lay underneath it. Quickly, Daniel opened it and lit one of the matches inside. All of the candles in that room were no longer burning, and so the room itself was very dark. Only the dim light in the window allowed him to see anything. Daniel stumbled around, trying to find a candle that he could light. He found one next to an old wooden door. As soon as he lit the candle, he spotted the door and went through. He was then greeted by an empty void, and the only way to pass over it was by a path of floating stones. Cautiously, he began to creep his way across, lightly tapping the stones ahead to make sure they did not fall when touched. As he continued to advance over the empty abyss, he silently told himself: “Don’t look down. Don’t look down.” He did not take heed to his own words and felt light headed. The void he stood above had no end. To fall into it was to fall for eternity. That was a fate Daniel would rather avoid. Unfortunately, Daniel began to lose his balance after peeking into the void and felt himself falling to his side. He struggled to keep balance, but it was no use. The sensation was definitely familiar. Screaming, he fell and fell and fell... Suddenly, something came into view. It rippled throughout his vision and engulfed the whole void as far as the eye could see. Something was splashing nearby and soon he realised that he was falling into water. This water was not uninhabited, however, and the splashing got nearer to his landing point. A loud roar made the water vibrate violently and small waves began to rise. Daniel knew what inhabited these waters. The Kaernk. Suddenly, a large tidal wave formed to Daniels right. It grew higher and higher. Eventually, Daniel came crashing into the water and the Kaernk came splashing after him. It was safe to say Daniel was terribly frightened for his life at this point. He was surrounded. Kaernk to the left of him, tidal wave to the right of him. Daniel waited for the eventual clash of the two forces, with him in the middle. His knees became wobbly and gave way underneath him. He collapsed onto his knees and began to weep. It was over. A small, piranha-like fish jumped at his head and he felt the tidal wave clash with his back. He was gone, but this has happened before. “It is no use.” Daniel told Twilight after he had awoken and calmed down. Any hope of eliminating this nightmare he had before had died now. “Yes it is!” She claimed. “In fact, this is the perfect time to try again!” That confused Daniel. He didn’t exactly feel tired now. “What are you talking about? I have failed for today.” “No! You are aware that you are awake now, so why not remind yourself that? When you are asleep again, you should remember that you reminded yourself that you are asleep now.” “I do not follow Twilight.” Daniel bluntly stated. “Basically, remind yourself that you are going to fall asleep again and that you must recognise that being out of bed means you are asleep.” Twilight looked very hopeful that this was going to work. “Ok... I’ll try Twilight.” Daniel declared reluctantly. “Good!” She replied, gently laying him back down. “Now sleep.” Screaming, he fell and fell and fell... Suddenly, something came into view. It rippled throughout his vision and engulfed the whole void as far as the eye could see. Something was splashing nearby and soon he realised that he was falling into water. Hold on. Water? Where did this come from? Last he remembered he was lying on Twilight’s couch. Daniel stopped mid fall. Suddenly, everything became clear. He wasn’t awake at all, this was all a dream. The Gatherers, the Kaernk, the nightmare itself. Even the Shadow. Daniel could very well forget all about it. None of it was going to harm him anymore. The Shadow had accepted him. The Gatherers and the Kaernk were dead. Brennenburg was gone. The nightmare could bugger off. Daniel gently touched down onto the floor. The floor was no longer covered in water, but in glistening grass and vibrantly coloured Damascus roses. Daniel had always liked them. Sure they reminded him of the potion, but with this “Lucid dreaming” he could forget about using that silly potion. Daniel turned to see three familiar fillies trotting up to him with smiles painted onto their faces. “We knew you could do it Daniel!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “Not a doubt in tha’ world!” Applebloom declared. “Now go on big guy, live your life like you wanted!” Scootaloo instructed. Daniel happily obliged. As he jogged off into his dream ecstatically, the three entities sighed. “I feel bad.” The entity disguised as Applebloom admitted. “I don’ wanna do this to ‘em. Look at ‘em all jolly and such. It just don’t seem right.” “It is the only way. His very presence is corrupting the world these ponies live in. He must be removed or purified before it is too late.” The entity posing as Sweetie Belle informed her comrade. “I don’t mind, but I kinda feel bad about that whole ‘live your life’ thing. It’s just giving him false joy.” “Agreed. There is nothing to be jolly about now. Apart from one thing. His success has assisted our progress in keeping his mind-world under control. If he keeps this up, we won’t have to permanently remove him from Equestria.” “Then le’s hope he keeps this up then shall we?” And with that, the three nodded in agreement and ripped a curtain out of their way, revealing the same purple, cracked world as before, only less cracked. “It was a wonderful experience!” Daniel claimed to Twilight. “I have never experienced such joy in all my life! I could do absolutely anything! I could fly, make wonderful structures by touching a tree and create life at the click of my fingers!” “I know Daniel. I have done it before.” “Even when I woke up I felt reinvigorated. I felt ready to take the day on by storm.” “Daniel...” Twilight was getting irritated. It was joy to her ears at first, but his constant ramblings were getting a bit annoying. “I must inform everyone of my happiness immediately!” Twilight didn’t quite register what he had said. She was very near to blacking out at the concept of having two chatterboxes to deal with (the other being Pinkie. How Daniel managed to keep all of the Pinkies yesterday under his control all at once confused her still). Whilst Twilight stared into space, Daniel joyfully jogged, arms swinging strongly with his legs, out of the door, ready to burst out with joy in the form of speech to everyone he met. All Twilight heard was silence after that. When the quite unfamiliar noise reached her eyes, she perked up and searched the area for Daniel. He was nowhere to be found. Where had he got to? She suddenly locked her eyes on the open door of the library. ‘Oh no...’ Daniel practically ran throughout the town, calling out to everyone familiar he met, telling them of his absolute joy (much to their displeasure. Each and every one of them became flushed with embarrassment). Daniel was being rather awkward as he jogged throughout Ponyville and his motion was extremely camp. But he cared not, for he was still in his own little world of joy caused by the enlightening dream. Then he came across Lyra. The sight of Daniel waving to her and jogging happily towards her was an unusual sight indeed. It even scared her a bit. “Why hello Lyra! How are you this fine day?!” He screamed in her direction as he closed the gap between them. Lyra slowly began to back off. “Uh... fine I guess.” “Fine? What cause is there to be fine rather than ecstatic? The sun shines and the birds chirp their hearts out and you claim to be fine? I believe you not!” Lyra was baffled. His speech was all weird. “Uh... ok. Can you speak Equestrian please? Or English, or whatever you called it?” “But I am my good friend! This is the very same language you speak! You seem unsure this morning. Are you certain you are fine? You seem quite unnerved to me.” This was the truth. Lyra was shaking with fear slightly. Daniel was speaking quite loud you see, and everypony in Ponyville was watching the conversation unfold. “She's scared ‘cause of you human! Leave her alone!” Somepony called from the crowd. Daniel was unsure of what to think of this. He had upset one of friends, and now his emotions were kicking him for it. Gently, he knelt down and put and hand on Lyra’s head. “I am terribly sorry Lyra. Can you please accept my apologies?” He asked hopefully. “I guess...” Lyra answered, still shaking. “You shake still; my apology has not been accepted. Please, do not follow me, I will take my leave now.” And with that, he walked off into the distance to sulk somewhere. Meanwhile, Twilight was frantically searching for the very same human. She eventually came across somepony who had been in the crowd. “He just scared Lyra half to death and walked off somewhere. That’s all I know.” Is what they had said. Twilight knew what lucid dreaming could do to you. You start the day off nice and happy, but even the slightest hitch could cause a rapid emotion change. All Twilight had to do was find Daniel and make him happy again. That was going to be a bit more difficult for her to do than it would for Pinkie. Immediately, she searched for Daniel in isolated places, where he was likely rethinking on his own actions, cursing himself for them. And that is exactly what he was doing. He had found a small hill on the outskirts of town to sit upon and reflect on his earlier actions, cursing himself for every small action. He expected to sit there forever till he forgave himself, but what he didn't expect was a pink blur zoom in from the side and stop in front of him. This pink blur, of course, revealed itself to be Pinkie, frowning slightly at Daniel. “Why are you upset?” She asked him after a short pause. “How did you find me all the way out here... in fact why were you looking for me?” “My Pinkie Sense told me one of my friends was upset! I had to find out who! So I found you.” She said proudly, suddenly with a huge smile on her face. “I see.” “So,” She started, the frown returning, “Why are you upset?” “I would rather not say.” He stated. “Ooh! A guessing game I sense! Ok then, you can’t get rid of your nightmares? You miss somepony? You’re depressed for some unfathomable reason? You upset a friend?” Daniel’s head twitched slightly. “Oh! So that’s what it is huh?” “Yes,” Daniel said suddenly as his head shot up and stared at Pinkie, “How did you know?” “You twitched.” She stated bluntly. Daniel didn’t press on further. “So!” She said, “I’m gonna make you happy again!” “Oh really?” He replied. “How do intend to do that exactly? I cannot see how anyone can redeem my happiness again. I was happy at first because I had rid myself of the troubling nightmare and had an enlightening lucid dream as a result. I woke up feeling jolly, but then the incident caused me to switch to a gloomier feeling.” “What happened?” She pressed on. “I scared Lyra with my jolly expression. Shouting I was. Queer I acted. I cannot forgive myself. Is it that happiness brings sadness to others?” “Don’t worry Danny-man! Someponies think I’m weird, but I don’t care about that. I’m just happy that I have friends to care for! I’m sure Lyra still likes you, she was just a bit shocked that’s all.” “Are you entirely sure?” Daniel asked. “Could never be more certain!” She declared. Daniel’s eyes lit up. “Then it is settled!” He began. “I shall not care of such trivial matters ever again! I am happy once more!” He shot up onto his feet again. “Thank you Pinkie!” He said as he turned to her a picked her up in a rib-crushing hug. “You are a most enlightening speaker! I feel as if I could sing!” “Really?” Pinkie beamed. “Most certainly! Let this hill be our stage and we be the actors!” Meanwhile, Twilight had watched the whole event. She had got there just after Pinkie, and she was most amused when she heard Daniel’s singing. It was only later on when Daniel wrote in his journal about the day’s events. Day 8 What a fool I have been today. While I had crushed my nightmare, I began sharing my joy with everyone else in Ponyville. It was not long before I began to scare ponies with my joy, and upon becoming aware of this, I grew upset and enraged with myself. But Pinkie told me to not worry about the whole thing and to instead put it behind me. Lyra is still my friend after all and I consulted her on the matter aft Daniel dropped the quill as he looked up. What he saw was not what he expected. The world had changed. The wood work was rotten and dark, the light was non-existent and cobwebs could be seen everywhere. It was an eerie sight. Daniel could see the ghosts of the walls on the floor and dust consuming the air. That wasn’t the only thing consuming the room. A macabre web of flesh leaked its way into the room through the door and it began to cover the walls and replace the homes of spiders. With the web, in floated a Gatherer with blue auras around its hands. It turned to him and made a strange gurgling sound. A chill found a path down Daniel’s spine. He turned to the stairs to see a small, child that resembled a young Gatherer. Its jaw was still intact, but its teeth were daggers and the claw was bigger than its coconut shaped head. Both abominations advanced slowly towards him, and Daniel felt his heart drop deeper and his head felt fainter with each step he took backwards. Soon enough, the Gatherers were practically on top of him, and their foul stench filled his nostrils. Sweat dripped off of him and his legs grew too heavy to move. Soon enough, he fell to the floor with a crash as he knocked his head on a Bookcase and a table. Author's Note Let the Darkfic begin! I know this chapter was a bit awkward (it pained me almost to write it and its the only one I have had to come back and edit to a more major degree to my liking because it was such a weird chapter), but I feel most of the silly stuff has been put behind us for now.
Prologue: NightmaresHelping You Forget Prologue He was terrified. His breathing was heavy. Beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. His body was scratched and cut from his earlier close escape. Next time, he might not be so lucky. He turned to see a guest room with a once luxurious bed (its sheets now torn and ragged and covered in blood) surrounded by two separate closets. A chest of drawers with its contents pulled out stood against the wall near the bed and underneath a window with a dim light coming through. Daniel moved towards it and flipped one of the drawers. A tinderbox lay underneath it. Quickly, Daniel opened it and lit one of the matches inside. All of the candles in that room were no longer burning, and so the room itself was very dark. Only the dim light in the window allowed him to see anything. Daniel stumbled around, trying to find a candle that he could light. He found one next to an old wooden door. As soon as he lit the candle, he spotted the door and went through. He was then greeted by an empty void, and the only way to pass over it was by a path of floating stones. Cautiously, he began to creep his way across, lightly tapping the stones ahead to make sure they did not fall when touched. As he continued to advance over the empty abyss, he silently told himself: “Don’t look down. Don’t look down.” He did not take heed to his own words and felt light headed. The void he stood above had no end. To fall into it was to fall for eternity. That was a fate Daniel would rather avoid. Unfortunately, Daniel began to lose his balance after peeking into the void and felt himself falling to his side. He struggled to keep balance, but it was no use. Screaming, he fell and fell and fell... Suddenly, something came into view. It rippled throughout his vision and engulfed the whole void as far as the eye could see. Something was splashing nearby and soon he realised that he was falling into water. This water was not uninhabited, however, and the splashing got nearer to his landing point. A loud roar made the water vibrate violently and small waves began to rise. Daniel knew what inhabited these waters. The Kaernk. Suddenly, a large tidal wave formed to Daniels right. It grew higher and higher. Eventually, Daniel came crashing into the water and the Kaernk came splashing after him. It was safe to say Daniel was terribly frightened for his life at this point. He was surrounded. Kaernk to the left of him, tidal wave to the right of him. Daniel waited for the eventual clash of the two forces, with him in the middle. His knees became wobbly and gave way underneath him. He collapsed onto his knees and began to weep. It was over. A small, piranha-like fish jumped at his head and he felt the tidal wave clash with his back. He was gone. Daniel sat up on the couch he slept on with a yell. He was sweating viciously and his eyes were stained with tears. He sat on the couch for a while, trying to catch his breath and calm his nerves. Six days officially in Ponyville. Five nightmares in a row, and all the same one. These nightmares were getting worrying. He looked out of the window. It was still dark and the outside area was only illuminated by the Moon. The sky was clear and the stars in the night sky were shining as bright as ever. Daniel had only got the privilege to see such beautiful and silent nights since he had arrived in Ponyville, since the Everfree’s canopy was too thick for anyone to see the sky. The sky was quite a moving image. Daniel heard hoofsteps coming down the stairs behind him. He looked over the couch to see same the purple unicorn he saw every night at this hour. “Having nightmares again?” She asked tiredly, and somewhat irritated. “Indeed Twilight.” Daniel replied, looking over to the window again so as to avoid eye contact. He knew she was getting irritated with these constant awakenings, but at least she understood somewhat. “The one where you ran from those horrible monsters, ran behind a door, fell off of a floating stone bridge and died to a tidal wave and... the Kaerek was it?” “The Kaernk... and... yes it was.” Daniel replied. “*Sigh* We really must do something about that nightmare. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since you arrived because of them, and neither have you. I insist we do something.” She had persisted like this for the past several nights. Each night was like a scripted loop, the same routine happening every time. Daniel would love to rid himself of these nightmares, but it just wasn’t going to happen. How could he rid himself of these nightmares? “I will try and get rid of these nightmares when you find out how.” He replied a little too sternly. Twilight recoiled slightly at his tone of voice. “Fine, I’ll figure out a way. I just can’t bear to look at you like this anymore.” Daniel realised that he was still crying slightly. “I need you to at least try and fight this fear. I don’t where all this stuff is coming from,” she lied, “But it has to end. I am going to do some research in the morning. In the meantime, try and get some sleep. You have bags under your eyes because you are becoming sleep deprived.” And with that, she went back upstairs to her bed. Beginning of Daniel’s sixth day in Ponyville, and it began like any other. Twilight hadn’t conjured up the courage to tell him that she had seen his memories, in case of his reaction. She didn’t want to lose a friend, especially one she had only made six or seven days ago. Rarity knew of Daniel’s past and her deed, and she thankfully didn’t press any further into the subject. Daniel couldn’t sleep. He was scared that the same nightmare would repeat itself. He looked to see if Twilight had returned to her bed yet, but a familiar light snore confirmed that she was asleep again. He silently lifted himself off of the couch and crept over to a small table stool near a window. He picked up a quill off of the table stool and dipped it in some ink. He then reached underneath and grabbed onto a small diary he had kept. Twilight had given it to him and told him to write absolutely anything he wanted into it as it would help him release his inside thoughts. Daniel knew that Twilight was reading the diary and coming up with solutions for his obvious Post Traumatic Stress, as he would see her every day hiding a book behind her back and denying that she had one. Why else would she have a reason to hide a book? Did she honestly think he felt that this was like a diary? If anything, he would appreciate some life counselling right about now. He flipped through his past entries. Day 1 in Ponyville: Today was an interesting day to say the least. After my ‘welcoming party’ last night, the inhabitants in Ponyville seem to enjoy my company. I had a stroll down the streets to stretch my legs and clear my mind. All around me, ponies were smiling at me. Some even greeted me by name. When I returned to the library, Pinkie was there having a conversation with Twilight and Spike. The conversation itself was too trivial and possibly personal for me to bother listening to. Pinkie acknowledged my presence, and I found out in that very moment that she had given me a pet name: Danny-man. Pinkie also demonstrated what Twilight and the others call ‘Pinkie being Pinkie’ later on as she jumped out of a window, only to return seconds later with a strange contraption that was very similar to Leonardo da Vinci’s designs. It had a strange spiralling propeller on the top and a seating area with many small cogs and other mechanical parts beneath it. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I was not hallucinating again whereas Twilight merely rolled her eyes. I assumed the event had some sort of connection to the conversation they were having. Day 2 Last night was awful. I had a terrifying nightmare. This nightmare was not like the ones I had in Brennenburg (curse its name). I was running from Alexander’s deformed servants when I came across the guest room. I stepped through the side door and entered a dark and miserable area. There was a floating bridge of stones as a path. I could not see the other side, but I walked onwards cautiously anyway. I lost my balance and fell into the empty abyss below. I fell into the clutches of that awful water monster, the Kaernk. A tidal wave also assisted my death. At that point, I wake up sweating and crying, not unlike when I had nightmares in Brennenburg. The day went on normally, and I told Twilight of my nightmares. She tells me that I need to rid myself of these nightmares, and that she can help me. I told her that last time someone offered me help with nightmares, I committed awful crimes against humanity, but she insisted. I refused her help. Day 3 It happened again. Same nightmare, same conclusion. I am beginning to dread and fear the night, or anytime I might be asleep. I know it isn’t the Shadow; it forgave me and accepted me. I am thinking of looking towards Agrippa and Weyer for help. The day was spent on helping Applejack at her farm. It turns out that hands can be more useful than hooves at times as they are more dexterous and flexible. I have seen ponies grip things with their hooves, which leaves me in great confusion. I do not see the logic behind some of the ponies’ antics, but I have decided that thinking about it will only cause me to perceive all this as a dream. Who knows, maybe this is a dream. I certainly hope it isn’t. Day 4 The nightmare happened again. Twilight has been visiting me in the night. She is always being awoken by my screams after waking up. She knows I am sorry, and I don’t need to tell her again. I fear I am troubling her. She continues to persist in helping me with my nightmares. It is not that I do not appreciate the assistance, only that I do not see how she could help me. I cannot stand the nightmares anymore and I feel that I may soon give in to her. The day went by with me reading on Equestria’s history. I was fascinated by the small act of peace that caused the three pony tribes to decide to cooperate. It would never have worked back on Earth. Humans are too stubborn and full of pride to ever listen to someone else with an opposite opinion. At the rate we are at, we will end up killing ourselves with war. Day 5 I can’t take it... the nightmares are becoming more vivid and I remember them even more. Every little detail is a memory in my mind and it hurts to think of them. There is nothing supernatural following me (I confirmed this after a small chat with Agrippa and Weyer); I am simply my own burden. My memories are terrorising me, torturing me. Much like when I tortured those innocent people in Brennenburg. I cannot forget their screams of pure agony or the images of burnt, defiled and broken bodies that I killed. I will simply have to pull through and be the stronger man. I can’t remember what happened today. My mind is still filled with images of the nightmare, and it takes up the space of my memory that was supposed to hold today’s events. Daniel put his quill against the new page and wrote a few words. His writing was messy and illegible. His tears fell onto the page, staining it with large splashes of water. Daniel put the book underneath the stool again rather loudly and put the quill in the ink pot. He looked up towards the sleeping Unicorn and Dragon to make sure he hadn’t awoken them. Satisfied, he crept back over to the couch. He was dreading it, but he had to sleep. Even if the nightmare troubled him, he would get a good night’s sleep if it killed him. As he lowered himself onto the couch he began to try and think happy thoughts. He thought of Hazel. He hoped that she was still alive and well. He thought of the day to come and what Twilight has in store for him. He pondered on the subject of his nightmare before falling asleep. Thinking about the nightmare caused it to happen, and Daniel fell once more into a troubled sleep. Twilight had awoken. She had been awoken by the sound of his book slamming against the table stool. She looked over the railings of the upper level to check if Daniel was asleep again. She knew Daniel had written in his journal. The sound of book against wood gave that away. She had been reading his entries in the journal so she could see what he felt each day. Since the nightmares began, she felt her heart fall a little each time she read the entries. A light snore confirmed that Daniel was asleep. Twilight sneakily trotted over to the table stool and reached for the journal. She put it onto the table stool and looked over each page. She could tell that Daniel wanted help, but his doubts made him refuse help. She knew what Daniel meant by ‘crimes against humanity’ and she understood why Daniel might be hesitant to ask for help. He had only known her and her friends for five or six days. That wasn’t long enough for them to gain his trust. She opened the new entry and her heart crashed into an empty abyss inside of her. The new entry consisted of two sorrowful words with tear stains surrounding them. Day 6 Help me Twilight felt tears welling up. Unable to look at the entry anymore, she slipped it hastily under the table stool and rapidly made her way up to her bed. Unwittingly, she had awoken Spike in her haste. “Twilight? Are you alright? You look troubled.” He said tiredly. “Nope. Fine. I’m... I am... fine I guess.” She said quickly through her tears. Spike wasn’t buying it. “C’mon Twilight! You always have that look when you are upset or scared. What’s wrong?” He stated. Sighing, she told him. “Daniel is... he can’t take it anymore. I just read his di- a note he left me. He needs my help Spike. I can’t bear to see a friend like this...” She said. Spike nodded and returned to his sleep. He understood Twilight’s need to help anypony with anything they have troubles with. It always seemed to help her friendship studies (and sometimes her general studies on just about everything else in the world). It confused Spike as to how she was still able to think of anything more lessons regarding her friendship studies. Twilight was still thinking up ways to help Daniel with his memories. Telling somepony secrets is a sure-fire way to get a burden off of their shoulders. Since she already knew what happened in his past, she wouldn’t be effect by it as much as a pony who didn’t know would. She also knew a way to help with the nightmares, but it might take several days to kick in if it didn’t kill the nightmare straight away. She would have to do more research in order to find other ways of helping him, but for now, these ideas would have to do. Silently, she fell asleep.
Chapter 1: CuresHelping You Forget Chapter 1 Daniel woke up and found himself lying on the floor next to the couch. ‘I must have been rolling about in my sleep. Perhaps my unrest has something to do with my nightmare?’ he thought. After lying on the floor for a few minutes, savouring the strange comfort of wood, he rose from the ground clumsily. He checked outside through the window. It was possibly midday and ponies were trotting casually outside, going about their daily lives. Daniel heard hoofsteps behind him. He turned to see Twilight looking quite dishevelled. Her mane had hairs sticking out in all directions and she generally looked quite sleep deprived. Daniel chuckled slightly inside at the sight. It seems as if she was having a worse time at getting to sleep than he was. “Morning Twilight, or should I say afternoon?” Daniel said wittily. “Yes, yes. Ha-ha indeed. I couldn’t sleep last night. I woke up at least five times. You’re getting me very worried, and I stayed up most of the night thinking of ways to cure you of your nightmares.” She stated. “Oh? And what solutions do you have in mind?” He asked. “Well I was thinking maybe you could share your past with somepony. Talking about something you may regret can help release you of it.” “I already told you Twilight, my past is much too graphic to be heard by such innocent creatures as yourselves.” “Oh, I’m sure I have seen worse things than your past,” she lied, “I insist you tell me about your past.” “Trust me, you have seen nothing compared to what I did.” “I know.” She mouthed to herself. “Do you have any other alternatives?” Daniel asked. “Yes as a matter of fact. Have you ever heard of lucid dreaming?” She questioned. “I am afraid not. I was an archaeologist, not an Oneirologist.” “I understand. Lucid dreaming is where you are conscious inside a dream.” She began. “I can be achieved through meditation and through consuming special herbs. Literally, all there is to lucid dreaming is realising you are dreaming.” “Have you undergone this experience?” Daniel asked doubtfully. He could not see how you can be conscious whilst unconscious. “Why yes, once or twice. While it will happen to everypony naturally at least once, they may not remember it as their dream recall may be poor. Some ponies can have lucid dreams at will, even entering the dream world and initiating a lucid dream while they are conscious. It can be a difficult art to learn, but once you have at least one, you can start having them more frequently.” “What do they feel like?” Daniel asked curiously. “A lucid dream is a very surreal experience. Some ponies use lucid dreams to enlighten themselves as you can talk to your sub-conscious mind while in one. You can shape your dream world at will through lucid dreaming and you can practice musical instruments, problem solving, even mathematics while lucid dreaming. After waking from a lucid dream, you will feel warm and happy inside as the experience itself is very cleansing.” “Where are you going with this?” Daniel asked impatiently. He wanted to get to the point. “I am getting to that!” She snapped back. “Now, in lucid dreams, you can learn valuable lessons from your sub-conscious as well as experiment with music, writing and practice tasks that require muscle movements. While in the dream, your brain will remember the muscle movements you perform in the dream, because the dream feels and looks like real life. While in the dream, you can forget you are dreaming. This usually happens when something frustrating, exciting or frightening happens. Say for example, your nightmare. If you begin to lucid dream in your nightmare, and then get chased by the monster again, the experience of panic can cause you to forget you are dreaming. The trick is to remind yourself you are dreaming every few minutes.” “So what do you want me to do?” Daniel asked, even more impatiently than the last time. “There is a way to induce lucid dreaming through remembering the nightmare and realising you are dreaming when you see the nightmare again. I will take you through the exercise, but not now. Right now, I am too tired to do anything that involves much more concentration. I am also quite hungry. I haven’t eaten anything all morning.” “I thought you might say that.” Spike’s voice came from the kitchen. He walked out with a tray holding two plates of eggs and toast. “I heard you both wake up so I made this while you were giving Daniel your exciting little lecture.” He put the tray down on a table. Daniel and Twilight both got up from sitting on the floor and walked over to their brunch. “Wow! You got out on the wrong side of the bed.” Spike remarked when he saw Twilight’s state before scurrying off to avoid hearing a harsh comeback. As he hurried off, he could feel Twilight’s death glare burning into the back of his head. “Hmm... how rude.” Daniel stated. He did not appreciate Spike’s cheeky behaviour towards the others. Spike and Daniel got along just fine, but each of them held nasty thoughts at bay while around each other. Daniel hated Spike’s cheekiness, as mentioned above. Spike hated how Daniel was always complaining about his memories and dreams. It was irritating to constantly hear “I can’t take it” or “I can’t go to sleep”. It’s not as the nightmares could have been too scarring and life threatening right? Of course, Spike didn’t know the scale of disturbing which Daniel’s memories hit. “Just ignore him. I have to put up with him every day. Of course, he is still my number one assistant, he can just be a bit on the rude side now and then.” Twilight informed Daniel, for at least the thousandth time. After they finished their breakfast, Daniel told Twilight that he needed to stretch his legs before they began to try and rid Daniel of his nightmares. Daniel would do this every morning. He had a quick stroll through Ponyville, usually finding Lyra along the way, and then went about what he was to do for the day. He had adjusted surprisingly fast. He headed towards the park for today, taking in all the bright and happy scenes around him. Birds every colour of the rainbow were chirping lightly in the trees and bushes. Small animals, squirrels, chipmunks and the like were running around on the grass and climbing up the trunks of tall trees quite happily. It was a sudden change from Daniel’s past surroundings. The sun was beating down on Daniel’s back giving him a warm feeling. He had not yet seen Princess Celestia in person, but he had heard of her magnificence and power. She was doing a very good job with the sun indeed. As Daniel walked through the park, he heard chattering amongst the ponies. Stormy weather had apparently been scheduled. Daniel was not entirely certain on how the Pegasi controlled the weather, but he decided not to dwell on the subject. He should be enjoying this life, not questioning it after all. “Hey! Daniel!” A familiar voice cried. Daniel turned to see the mint unicorn running towards him with a smile plastered on her face. “What’cha up to?” “Having a morning stroll as usual Lyra. How do you keep finding me?” While he wasn’t going to admit it, he chose a different route each day in hopes of not being spotted by Lyra. She tended to get a tad irritating after a while. “You don’t exactly blend in well. I can see you miles off.” She stated. “I hear you’re having a hard time with your memories?” “Indeed.” He confirmed. “Ah. That’s a bummer. Sometimes memories can be hard to get over. You just have to ignore them and move on.” “I’m afraid I have tried. Sometimes I experience visual hallucinations.” He truthfully stated. “Sounds like some pretty rough memories.” “Trust me. You haven’t seen anything like them.” “Oh come on, they can’t be that bad can they? I have seen some pretty messed up stuff in my life.” “Like what?” He asked. He knew nothing she said could even match with his memories on the scale of ‘messed up’, but he thought it would be amusing to see her try. “Well, the other day, Bon Bon messed up some cupcakes pretty bad. They looked like piles of-” “I see.” Daniel interrupted. He was familiar enough with Equestrian slang to know what she was going to say. Of course, now he knew what she meant by ‘messed up’. It was not the type of ‘messed up’ he was thinking of. “So what are your memories like? I’m pretty sure they don’t even come close to my story.” She stated confidently. Daniel actually thought she was joking until now. “I am not going to tell you about my memories. Your reaction if I told you them may be slightly varied to my reaction to your story.” “Are you sure? It’s always good to tell somepony about your troubles. It helps make you feel better about them.” “I don’t think I will ever feel better about the things I did.” Daniel stated, sounding quite depressed all of a sudden. “What do you mean? You have regrets? Is that it?” “I suppose you can call them regrets.” “What did you do?” She asked. “I already told you. I am not telling anyone. My lips are sealed I’m afraid.” “Humph! Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you when you are reduced to tears because of some overly-dramatic hallucination.” And with that, she headed off, possibly in the direction of home. Deciding that this walk was over, he headed back to the library. Daniel vaguely remembered Twilight’s mini-lecture she gave him on this ‘Lucid Dreaming’ concept, but he remembered enough to know that he was going to have to face his fears in the dream while he knew he was dreaming. If it was his dream world, could he morph it and change the scene completely? Yes. He did not feel like running from Gatherers again. When he became lucid, he would simply morph the dream into something peaceful and beautiful, a meadow perhaps. When he finally arrived at Twilight’s library, he noticed Pinkie had arrived again. Curious as to what they were talking about, he picked a random book and sat at the couch. He was allowed to eavesdrop. What could be so personal in a world of talking ponies that he couldn’t listen in? “How are you gonna get rid of them?” Pinkie asked. “I have an idea or two. One is to try and eliminate them with a peaceful nightmare recognition exercise. This will hopefully allow him to recognise when he is having a nightmare and stand up to his fears.” ‘Oh. That’s what this is about.’ “I don’t get it.” Pinkie stated. “Basically, I am going to run him through a short exercise which will hopefully induce lucid dreams mnemonically. That means that by setting an intention in your brain, you will carry out the intention. In this case, the intention is to have a lucid dream.” “What’s that?” Twilight sighed. “Basically, it’s when you know your dreaming.” “Oh! I do that all the time. It just kinda happens you know. I do some real strange stuff in my dreams. Like once, I imagined I had wings and I flew into space and saw a giant space worm! He was a real nice guy. Oh, and there was this other time-” “Pinkie. I really don’t have time.” “Oh! If - I mean when – you get rid of his nightmares, I can throw him a surprise you-got-cured-of-your-nightmares-party!” She shouted. Daniel guessed that he wasn’t meant to hear that, because Pinkie gasped when she saw him. “You didn’t hear that did you!” She practically screamed in his face. “No Pinkie, I was simply too entranced by this book to hear you.” “Hey! Twilight does that sometimes. Don’t you Twilight?” Twilight merely shook her head slowly, getting a bit of a headache. “Well, anyway. Gotta go Danny-man! See ya!” And with that she sped out of the window. Daniel scrunched his face in irritation at his pet name. “So, you heard every word didn’t you?” Daniel looked up from his book and smiled cheekily. “I have no idea what you are talking about Twilight.” Twilight sighed in irritation. “I don’t have time for jokes; I have to practice for your mnemonic induction tonight.” “I apologise Twilight. You know you don’t have to do this?” “But I do! I won’t sit by and watch you go insane because of these nightmares. I will help you if it’s the last thing I do.” She insisted whilst looking for a book. “I think you are exaggerating a little bit. I have not heard of anyone who has been driven to insanity by dreams.” “But you aren’t just having dreams. I know you can hear voices that aren’t there and see things that don’t exist, and I know you know I am reading your diary and have refused to put all the details in there. Your attitude towards this isn’t helping me help you.” Daniel didn’t quite catch everything she said since she insisted on making everything sound like a loop, but he got the general message. “Very well. I will allow you to assist me.” “Excellent!” Twilight beamed. “Now then,” Daniel began, “I will write in today’s events in my diary. Please excuse me.” He strode over to the table stool and whipped out the diary. He picked up the quill and dipped it in the ink once before writing on a new page. Day 6 (Early Afternoon) It seems I awoke late today. It is already the afternoon after my morning stroll. The nightmares did not relent and I was troubled again last night. Twilight has promised me assistance (although I was reluctant to accept that I need help). I do not want to trouble these ponies with my petty problems, but they seem persistent in strengthening our friendship by helping. A trait I admire and respect. Since it is only the afternoon, I do not have much to write about. I will continue this entry after Twilight uses this ‘lucid dreaming’ to cure me. He put the quill back in the pot. He decided to take a quick nap as he was still rather tired. He hoped that he would sleep most of the day away and awaken when Twilight was ready.
Chapter 2: LucidityHelping You Forget Chapter 2 Daniel’s head was throbbing. He felt like someone had taken a tiny hammer and constantly hit it against his cranium. He could hardly feel the rest of his body, like it wasn’t even there anymore. Groaning, he tried to stand up again. He was constantly collapsing under his own weight, as if his legs were made of twigs. When he finally was able to stand on his own two legs, he looked around him. The world was broken and fuzzy. The ground was split and floating in a purple void. Small bridges of dirt led from one island in reality to another. The cracks in reality allowed Daniel to see outside of the library, which was also split into three islands. Ponies were still playing and trotting around Ponyville, carefree of the huge cracks around them. The ponies luckily seemed to notice the huge holes in the world and avoided them. When Twilight walked near a crack, however, a bridge appeared and allowed her to walk across the gap. Cautiously, Daniel unnecessarily walked through the library door, despite the huge crack in the wall next to it. He spotted the three fillies that he had seen earlier in the week in the Everfree. They were trotting casually towards him, huge smiles plastered on their faces, not unlike Lyra. They seemed very happy to see them. “Well hey there mister Daniel!” Greeted Applebloom. “Ya’ look mighty troubled ‘bout somethin’. Care ta share it?” She asked. “If you feel you can answer, I will.” He replied. “Why are there holes in the world everywhere? It wasn’t like this earlier.” “Well sure it was. You just didn’t notice probably.” Answered Sweetie Belle. "Excuse me, but I think I would have notice if there were holes in reality itself.” He snapped back. “But this isn’t reality, this is your life.” Scootaloo answered back. “I beg your pardon?” “Your life is full of holes, simply put. You always feel the need to keep things hidden and always choosing to forget things. Your past is a mystery that needs to be solved, in our perspective anyway. You choose to look only to the future and fail to learn from the past. You always expect the future to be grim and dark, but fail to realise why your past was so dark.” Sweetie Belle answered. Daniel was dumbfounded. “Hehe, maybe this lucidity thing will help him become more aware of this stuff.” Scootaloo snickered. Then it hit him. This wasn’t reality at all. This was his subconscious trying to speak to him... through a dream. That was it, he was dreaming. Slowly, the world darkened and the noises of the world faded with it. “Wakey, wakey sleepy head.” Daniel slowly sat up after hearing Twilight. He felt rejuvenated, jolly even. Never before had he felt such energy pulsing through his veins. He felt as if he could stand on the roof of the library and jump off, only to soar into the wind like a feather. Rather quickly, Daniel stood up after rolling off of the couch. He lightly jogged on the spot without realising. “What’s up with you? You look like a giddy little filly in the queue at Sugarcube Corner.” Daniel looked at her smugly. “How long did it take for you to have a lucid dream?” He asked curiously. “About a week. Why?” Daniel’s smile grew even larger. “I believe I just broke the record.” At his implications, Twilight’s jaw dropped. “You had a lucid dream?!?” She screamed. “For a few seconds yes. I believe my subconscious was trying to talk to me. One thing I do know is that I feel amazing.” Daniel kept on jogging. “Could you please stop that? It is becoming irritating.” “Huh? Oh of course.” He said after realising he was jogging on the spot. “Excellent,” Twilight began, “Now we can talk about your dream. What happened in it?” “Well, I had just awoken from my sleep, but Ponyville was broken into fragments, like reality just crumbled.” Twilight was beginning to process what this could mean in her mind. “Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom walked up to me and told me that this was my life, and that it had holes in it because my past is so mysterious in your perspective. I think my subconscious is telling me to tell you my past.” Seizing the opportunity whilst Daniel was in this enlightened state, she pressed on. “Then do it! You could stop having nightmares because of this! Tell us about your past and release your pain.” “I have already told you, my past is a graphic one. I will not tell you anything, and nothing in this world or in my head can change that.” Daniel snapped back. “Grr, fine. Despite your little ‘lucid session’ I am going to go through with the mnemonic induction. We can do it now or later.” She growled. “I would rather do it now than later. I feel in the mood to be patient right now and I may not later.” “Very well!” And with that Twilight walked up stairs, beckoning Daniel to follow. When Daniel sat down on a designated chair and closed his eyes, Twilight began, speaking in a very soothing tone. “Now then, I want you to imagine you are in your nightmare.” Daniel’s eyes shot open. “I beg your pardon?!” “Just go along with!” She snapped back. Reluctantly, Daniel closed his eyes. “Right then, imagine you are in the nightmare.” Daniel imagined he was back in the guest room, looking for the tinderbox. “Now find a something out of place in the dream world, something that signifies that you are asleep.” Daniel searched around the room. It was dark, so Daniel did the natural thing and lightened the room up a little. Nothing. Daniel then lit up the candle and went through the door. He noticed the floating bridge of stones. That was it! Stones don’t float in mid air. He checked for strings. None. “Now imagine yourself becoming lucid in your dream. Imagine that you are now aware that you are asleep. Feel yourself becoming clear of confusion or distraction.” Daniel did not know how to show this, so he simply imagined the bridge away. “Imagine what you want to do in your dream-world. Perhaps you want to meet somepony, or do something surreal, like flying without wings. Morph you surroundings to whatever you want them to be.” Daniel changed the dark, gloomy surroundings into a meadow full of bright colours. He was suddenly surrounded by flowers with colours ranging from purple to pink. The grass was luminescent and sparkled with small specks of water vapour, like glitter. The sky was clear of clouds and the sun beamed down onto the grass. Strong, sturdy oak trees stood tall and proud all around the edges of the meadow. This place made Daniel happy. “Now repeat the process over and over again, until you feel you will recognise the dream next time you are dreaming.” Daniel did as he was told. Over and over again, he saw the floating stones, felt clarity and went to the meadow. Eventually, he fell asleep. Twilight recognised he was sleeping as a light snore emitted from him and his breathing pattern became long and steady. Twilight only hoped that this had worked. He was terrified. His breathing was heavy. Beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. His body was scratched and cut from his earlier close escape. Next time, he might not be so lucky. He turned to see a guest room with a once luxurious bed (its sheets now torn and ragged and covered in blood) surrounded by two separate closets. A chest of drawers with its contents pulled out stood against the wall near the bed and underneath a window with a dim light coming through. Daniel moved towards it and flipped one of the drawers. A tinderbox lay underneath it. Quickly, Daniel opened it and lit one of the matches inside. All of the candles in that room were no longer burning, and so the room itself was very dark. Only the dim light in the window allowed him to see anything. Daniel stumbled around, trying to find a candle that he could light. He found one next to an old wooden door. As soon as he lit the candle, he spotted the door and went through. He was then greeted by an empty void, and the only way to pass over it was by a path of floating stones. He swore he recognised it. Cautiously, he began to creep his way across, lightly tapping the stones ahead to make sure they did not fall when touched. As he continued to advance over the empty abyss, he silently told himself: “Don’t look down. Don’t look down.” He did not take heed to his own words and felt light headed. The void he stood above had no end. To fall into it was to fall for eternity. That was a fate Daniel would rather avoid. Unfortunately, Daniel began to lose his balance after peeking into the void and felt himself falling to his side. He struggled to keep balance, but it was no use. Screaming, he fell and fell and fell... Suddenly, something came into view. It rippled throughout his vision and engulfed the whole void as far as the eye could see. Something was splashing nearby and soon he realised that he was falling into water. This water was not uninhabited, however, and the splashing got nearer to his landing point. A loud roar made the water vibrate violently and small waves began to rise. Daniel knew what inhabited these waters. The Kaernk. Suddenly, a large tidal wave formed to Daniels right. It grew higher and higher. Eventually, Daniel came crashing into the water and the Kaernk came splashing after him. It was safe to say Daniel was terribly frightened for his life at this point. He was surrounded. Kaernk to the left of him, tidal wave to the right of him. Daniel waited for the eventual clash of the two forces, with him in the middle. His knees became wobbly and gave way underneath him. He collapsed onto his knees and began to weep. It was over. A small, piranha-like fish jumped at his head and he felt the tidal wave clash with his back. He was gone. Daniel shot up from the couch. He was sweating, shaking and his breathing was rapid. It had not worked. He was still having nightmares. Disappointed, he stood up on his shaking legs and went to find Twilight. He found her upstairs on a chair, reading a book. Upon seeing him, Twilight’s expression saddened. “It didn’t work did it?” She asked. “I am afraid not. The nightmare still persisted, and I did not recognise it.” “Then it must be having a stronger influence over you than I thought. But don’t worry, this sort of thing doesn’t just happen overnight. It may take a few days for you to become fully lucid. Only then will these nightmares dissipate.” Daniel was heartily disappointed. “Whatever you say Twilight...”
Chapter 3: The PinkiesHelping You Forget Chapter 3 The sky was dark purple, and the world was split and cracked. Huge stair cases lead from the tops of the islands to the bottom, like some secret military HQ. Three entities stood over a pool of magnificent, rippling water, watching Daniel as he talked with the purple unicorn known as Twilight in the mortal world. The ponies in this world were clueless as to their actual situation; each one was soon going to be a victim of Daniel’s torment. These three entities were the keepers of his fate. “He won’t learn you know.” One entity in the form of Scootaloo said. “I am hoping that he will.” The entity that looked like Sweetie Belle said. “Hope doesn’t get anyone anywhere.” “Are ya’ kiddin’ me? Hope is the most powerful thing in the universe. It drives men to do stuff they usually couldn’t do.” The entity taking form of Applebloom said. “Then why hasn’t he got over his memories yet? He certainly hopes that they he can cure them.” “He hopes that they will just go away. He is hoping for the wrong thing. He doesn’t want to do anything to get rid of them, only hope that his God is kind and will help him.” The fake Sweetie Belle pointed out. “So ha’w are we gonna push him on the right path? Do we even want to? His path ain’t a very pleasant one. I ain’t too sure he would be very gra’eful to us if we made him walk this path.” “His fate is sealed. If we do not push him on this path, he will suffer much worse a fate.” Sweetie Belle said grimly. The pool dried up into a small plughole at the bottom of the basin, and the three entities walked away in different directions, trying to keep this madness under control. Daniel opened the door to the library. As usual, he had nothing to do today and he had woken up relatively late. He breathed in the sweet fresh air and began his stroll through Ponyville. As he walked, he swore he saw a flying orange. Waving it off as simply him seeing things, (although that worried him also) he continued his walk. It was a weekend, and Ponyville was filled with laughter of foals, colts and fillies as they played in the grass, on the streets and in the park. It was a relatively happy day as yesterday’s storm had cleared up all rain that was late earlier in the week. Now the citizens of Ponyville could gallop through the town merrily without a care in the world. Suddenly, Daniel was tackled by Pinkie Pie who seemed to materialise out of nowhere. “Hey Danny! Whatcha doing!” She screamed at him. “Merely taking a stroll Pinkie.” He said whilst dusting himself off. “Oh! That sounds... fun! All my friends are having super-duper fun and I can’t decide who to have fun with! So much fun everywhere!” She said whilst doing some intricate dance. Daniel chuckled to himself. “Well I wish you luck on your dilemma. I should be off now; I shan’t get in your way any longer.” “You weren’t in my way, I coulda just walked around you.” She said blankly. Daniel sighed. “Never mind. Goodbye now Pinkie.” He said while walking off. “But wait!” She said hurriedly whilst bouncing along behind him. “Can I walk with you?” “I suppose I don’t mind-” “Great! This is so much fun! Usually I’m rushing about too much to actually see Ponyville in full detail.” She stated. “You don’t say?” “I DO say!” She said putting emphasis on ‘do’. “It’s such a beautiful place to live and it’s so hard to get around and see everything at once! There was this nursery rhyme that said-” Was Daniel really listening? No. He wasn’t. It was kind of nice to have someone, who didn’t ask you questions, to have as company. Daniel and Pinkie continued through Ponyville with Pinkie still chattering like a set of wind up-false teeth. “*GASP* Oh my gosh! I forgot! I need to check on my other friends and see the fun they are doing! Sorry Danny-man! Gotta go! See ya!” And she sped off in an instant. Daniel merely shook his head and chuckled. He had never seen anything like that mare before. Daniel kept a keen eye out for the mint mare he dreaded finding on his travels as he walked through the market. She was bound to find him here, especially if she was with her friend Bon Bon. In a feeble attempt to blend in, Daniel bent his back slightly before shooting straight up again due to pain. All the running and jumping he did must have absolutely destroyed his back. A relaxing bath would not go amiss. Bathing had become a much more accepted practice since physicians realised its benefits on the human body. If you came from before the 18th century, you would have been considered lower-class. That all changed in 1702 thanks to Queen Anne. Soon Bath was transformed from a country spa to the social capital of England. Daniel was about to embark on a journey to the local spa, before he heard his name being called. ‘Damn’. “Hey Daniel!” ‘Not again’. Daniel turned to see the mare he had been avoiding all along. He didn’t hate her... he just found he irritating. “It’s a little late for a morning walk don’t you think?” She remarked whilst closing the distance between the two of them. Daniel was surprised she had managed to drag Bon Bon along too. Maybe she saw him from a stool? “Please Lyra, don’t you think you are getting a little over obsessive with the human?” She asked her companion. “No. He loves talking to me! Don’t you Daniel?” She said after a short pause. “Of course I do.” Daniel said sarcastically. This caused Lyra to stick her tongue out at Bon Bon. “Anyway, where are you going?” Asked Lyra. “I was on my way to the spa. My back is killing me you see and I haven’t bathed since I got here.” “Huh... how come I don’t die simply from standing next to you then?” She joked. “I have no idea. Perhaps the –” Daniel cut himself off before he mentioned the Shadow. “Perhaps what Daniel?” Lyra persisted. Daniel tried to come up with a good line; he then remembered that Unicorns exist here. “Perhaps there is some magic at work?” He quickly answered. Seemingly satisfied with his answer, Lyra looked onwards without another word. “You know, going to the spa doesn’t sound too bad right about now.” Bon Bon stated whilst rubbing her own back. Realising what this meant, Daniel mentally groaned. ‘Why do I have such a big mouth?’ “I suppose you may join me.” Daniel declared. Bon Bon seemed brighter after that, but Lyra audibly moaned. “Do we have to? I kinda wanna do other stuff.” “Nopony said you had to co –” “Ugh! Fine I’ll come! It won’t be too much trouble I guess.” ‘Odd, she was protesting earlier. She just gave in to a statement that suggested she didn’t have to come. What a strange mare.’ “Well... okay I guess. Anyway, shall we be off?” “Certainly” Daniel replied. Thankfully, the journey there was filled with uneventful chatter between Bon Bon and Lyra. Daniel spent the walk thinking about how he would the awkwardness of being either naked or semi-naked around others. He never really went to public baths, as he had his own one. He preferred the peaceful isolation. Just as the trio was about to enter the spa, a familiar word began to resound throughout the streets. “FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN! FUN!! FUN!!!” It got louder and louder and louder. Daniel turned to a truly dreaded sight. Just down the road, twenty or thirty pink mares were bouncing down the street screaming the same word over and over again. They were heading straight for him... Daniel froze. Lyra began to tug on his trouser leg, in a feeble attempt to move him. The Pinkies kept on coming, slowly closing the gap. They were doomed. Eventually, when the Pinkies reached the three beings, they stopped. They stopped and stared onwards. Completely baffled by this turn of events, Daniel began to walk away. The Pinkies followed him in formation. Intrigued, Daniel kept on marching forwards. Again, the Pinkies followed in a square formation. ‘How peculiar!’ Daniel kept on walking with the Pinkies, Lyra and Bon Bon in tow. Eventually, he came across Rainbow Dash who seemed to be searching for something. Probably the Pinkies. When she saw him, she froze in mid air, her mouth agape. “Looking for these?” Rainbow slowly nodded. Daniel, smiling, told the Pinkies to hurry over to Rainbow. Groaning, the Pinkies slowly obliged. Daniel chuckled before turning back to the two mares behind him. “So how about that bath?”
Chapter 5: A Sorrowful RevelationHelping You Forget Chapter 5 “Sweet Celestia! Are you alright?” Twilight rushed to Daniel’s aid as he collapsed. His face still had the look of horror etched on it. His eyes were wide open where he had been staring right at the two of them. “Whoa... now that’s creepy.” Spike declared. “Spike! We need to find the others. I think it’s happening again.” Twilight said to him as she heaved Daniel onto the couch. “Wait! What do you mean ‘it’s happening again’?” Spike asked feeling a bit left out. “I mean Daniel might be going crazy again!” Twilight shouted in frustration. “Now come on, we need to find the others and take him to Zecora’s place. She’ll know what to do.” Spike followed closely behind Twilight, barely keeping up as she ran out of the library in search of her friends whilst mumbling something about curing a nightmare. As they ran down the street, Pinkie came into view. “Hi guys! Whatcha doing?” She asked curiously. “We have to get Daniel to Zecora’s place and fast! We need to find the others.” “Okay!” Pinkie said cheerily as she sped off leaving a cloud of dust behind. “One down, four to go.” Twilight mumbled to herself. It was not long before Pinkie found Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Fluttershy went back to the library to make sure Daniel was still there and still breathing. Soon, Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash and Spike found Rarity and Applejack and gathered them back at the library. “Right, I’ll find the map to Zecora’s. Applejack, I want you to carry Daniel along the way. Alright?” Twilight instructed. “Sure thing sugarcube!” Applejack replied. “Good. Rainbow Dash, see if you can spot Zecora’s hut from the sky. If not, then help guide our way.” “Sure thing!” Twilight then searched for the map to Zecora’s and they all headed off into the Everfree. Before that, Twilight had to tell Spike to stay at the library and take care of it till they got back. Daniel rose from a squishy ground in the middle of a forest. The moon shone brightly and highlighted a path that was clear of trees. The bark of the trees was scorched and burnt and the leaves were nonexistent. The mere number of trees blocked any light from entering the thick forest that surrounded Daniel, all but the path. Wolves could be heard in the distance howling at the moon. The sky was a dark hue of purple and dotted with stars. With no other way to go, Daniel followed the path cautiously. Suddenly, the ground underneath his feet shook and rumbled, like an earthquake that threatened to split the Earth in two. Daniel stumbled and landed flat on his face. He rose before spitting large clumps of sod out of his mouth. Not even wondering what had just occurred, Daniel carried on. In the distance, but not in the distance at all, a dragging sound could be heard, as if a large carcass was being dragged along the grass. Daniel could not quite place where the sound was. It seemed so distant, but yet so close. Daniel continued down the long pathway through the thick forest. It seemed to go on for eternity. Voices. Familiar voices at that. He heard Applejack. “Sweet Celestia this one’s heavy.” What was she talking about? Is she the one dragging something? What was she dragging? Suddenly, Daniel was thrust off of his feet and into the air. He spiralled into the sky for several seconds before stopping on a large build up of clouds on his back. The cloud was bliss. It sent a warm sense of relaxation down his spine and up his limbs. Daniel stayed in a lying position on the cloud and watched the stars slowly travel across the sky. Before long, he had noticed several things. The dragging sound had stopped and had instead been replaced by the soft clopping of hooves. There were also trees suddenly growing on the cloud mysteriously. They looked like the trees below, only that they had shot straight up through the cloud. Daniel decided that lying around on a cloud was not a productive way to spend his time in this strange heaven. He began by remembering what had happened earlier. At first his mind was clouded by a thick fog, but then, as if some other power wanted him to know, the image of what had happened appeared besides him. It was in his perspective. He looked up from his writing to see the floating Gatherer with a magical aura around its hands. He then saw the horrifying child-like Gatherer with a hungry look in its eyes. One thought came to Daniel’s mind. ‘Have I died?’ This raised even more questions. ‘Is this heaven? What is happening to my body?’ Daniel felt that he was suddenly depressed. It had not been long since he had finally settled down in Equestria, in Ponyville. Already he has left, and it was too soon. Daniel then felt anger. He cursed his weak mind. He cursed the damned shadow. He cursed himself for being so feeble. He had made it through worse situations with his sanity barely gripping onto him. Daniel clenched his fists and screamed. The world shook, as if it was suddenly surprised by his rage. Daniel jumped up off of the cloud instantly, only to fall through it back into the forested area. He did not scream as he fell, and the fall only seemed to last a split second. As he hit the ground, he felt no force acting against his legs. No force threatened to break him. A low gurgling sound emitted behind him. He turned sharply to see... them. The six Gatherers that had pursued him through the castle. He could tell... he just knew it was them. They felt all too familiar. “Go away! You shan’t have me this day!” He shouted at them and ran off into the thick forest. Already he could hear the Gatherers close on his tail. Daniel was not built for running and dodging and quickly he began to pant heavily. He desperately jumped in between the huge trees that blocked his path to freedom, wherever that was. The six mares were shocked by Daniel’s sudden awakening. They were even more shocked when he told them to go away. Even further shocked when he said that they shan’t have him. By the time Daniel had ran off, their jaws had reached the floor. None of them saw it coming. Daniel had been unconscious until he suddenly screamed and shouted at them. The sudden change in pace had them thunderstruck. None the less, Pinkie suddenly running off after him caused a chain reaction. Soon all of the mares were running off in his direction, calling him to come back. He took no notice and soon, he disappeared in the forest. The five (technically four) earth-bound mares had stopped, but Rainbow Dash wasn’t giving up there. She took to the skies again (she had come down to see all the commotion) and zoomed off in the direction Daniel was running. In his hallucinated state, all Daniel saw was a huge bloodied bird with its feathers torn off heading straight towards him. It didn’t seem to know where he was, so Daniel jumped into a dip underneath a tree’s roots. As he expected, the bird flew over Daniel’s position without a second glance. Daniel, now that he didn’t have the pressure of enemies chasing him (he knew the others had stopped. Gatherer’s don’t follow their prey very far), had noticed that the dip he had jumped in was extremely comfortable. The soil was soft and bouncy. The wood was angled so he could lay back and relax. Everything underneath that tree was splendid. Daniel took his time to consider his situation. He wasn’t dead. Whether he was pleased by that now he did not know. The six Gatherers still lived and they were after him. He recognised this place. It was the Everfree Forest. So he was back here again. Daniel briefly cursed the forest and its horrors. Daniel had to find a way back to Ponyville, or at least find the six mares he knew would probably be searching for him. In his comfortable position, Daniel found it became harder and harder to stay awake. He drowsily let his head droop down and eventually, he fell into a long sleep... Of course to him, it felt like he had just woke up again. He felt rejuvenated. He felt alive and well again. He was not necessarily happy and he still was completely aware of the situation he was in. He stood up, clambered out of the hole underneath the tree and crept off in a random direction. The wolves were howling again. He suddenly feared for his life, as he knew where he was. Knowing that their sense of smell was strong, he ran while kicking up the soft soil, not even bothering to confirm whether he was being chased or not. It was not long before he suddenly fell into a deep ditch that led into a bottomless pit. He fell for what seemed like eternity, screaming in despair of his life all the while. Suddenly, something appeared in the darkness. It was illuminated by the light coming in from the hole. It was more grass. This grass was burnt, embers floated through the open air and a village as burning nearby. The floor came rushing up to meet Daniel. It got closer... and closer... Splat! As he collided with the ground with a sickening splat, a large explosion erupted around him. Smoke was kicked up and waves could clearly be seen in the ground. To his surprise, Daniel was completely unharmed from the fall. As he rose from the ground, he took in the surrounding area. The village he could scarcely recognise, but he certainly had memory of it. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. The village was ablaze, and a small group of men could be seen walking off with prisoners. The prisoners were wailing as they were dragged away. As one of the raiders looked his way, he swore a small glint of red evil flashed at him. When Daniel turned to see what was behind him, he saw a small grave. It was smooth and freshly chipped with words. It was in the shape of a small cross with a circle behind the cross-section. Curiously, Daniel crept up to the grave so as to see who it belonged to. As soon as he came into range of the grave, he regretted ever laying eyes on it. What it said pained him to his heart. R.I.P Hazel Godfrey 1820 – 1839 Died of an incurable disease given to her by the Devil at birth. She was caused much agony from Noon to Dusk. She held her own even when told she would die. May God keep her soul in Heaven. Daniel’s eyes began to tear up. How could this have happened? She was deemed to live against all odds for several more years. Daniel had prayed for her day and night and he had no doubt others were as well. Is this what rewards is given to him and her after extensive years of sorrow and hardship? Was there even a God anymore? As Daniel cursed the God he had faith in from the start, he heard soft footsteps besides him. He slowly turned his head towards the source of the noise. He gasped as he saw her. Next to him, with a white glow radiating off of her body, was his little sister. Hazel. She had a small smile on her face. A smile that told Daniel she was happy... she was safe. Daniel was more than relieved to see his sister once again. He stood up and embraced his now deceased sister joyfully... but she did not return the hug. When Daniel noticed this, he pulled back to see his sister again. This time, she was different. Her face showed anger. He face even showed hatred. All the anger and hate in her was directed straight at Daniel. The white glow had been replaced by a dark red glow. Her features began to contort as she saw Daniel’s face again. Suddenly, she threw Daniel away from her and he landed on his back. Daniel was taken aback by the gesture of hatred. She approached him and screamed at him. “YOU LEFT US! YOU CHOSE TO STAY WITH THOSE PONIES! YOU CHOSE STRANGERS OVER YOUR LOVED ONES! YOU ARE A DEMON AND A TRAITOR! I WANT YOU TO DIE! YOU SELFISH BASTARD! DIE! DIE! DIE!!!!!!” She dragged out the screaming and began to throw crazed punches at Daniel. Daniel desperately tried to crawl backwards away from his bloodthirsty sister. Her voice could turn the undead and even the ghastly Gatherers. The punches that landed hit Daniel hard and caused him pain. Not only physically, but emotionally. Daniel was sobbing as he retreated. His sister only wanted his death and nothing else. Daniel tried to reason with her over her screams. “Please sister. I am sorry, truly. I did not think my actions through. Forgive me!” “YOU ARE A MONSTER! JUST DIE ALREADY!” She took no notice of his pleads. Daniel was now bleeding near enough everywhere. Blood flowed out from his wounds and onto the floor. Daniel was screaming his pleads now, but his sister began speaking differently. Her voice was changing to another familiar tone. “DANIEL! WAKE UP DANIEL! DANIEL! WAKE UP!” Daniel’s wet eyes burst open to see a pink object obscuring the outside view. It was shouting in his face to wake up. “Wakey wakey sleepy head! You’ve been crying for a while now and you wouldn’t wake up. Did you have a bad dream?” Pinkie asked with genuine sincerity. She bore a large sympathetic frown. Daniel’s sobs slowly died down. “Yes. I... I did.” “Boy, you sure gave ‘s a scare when yo jumped ‘ff me back and ran away. You should think twace before runnin’ off like that.” Applejack told him over Pinkie’s shoulder. Daniel felt regret. It was them. The six Gatherers had been them all along. He had run from them in the castle and now in the forest. “You should apologise to us as well! You told us to go away!” Rainbow Dash scowled at him. “Yes... yes. I am sorry but... I could not see what was really there. Hallucinations have been haunting me for some time, even at the castle. I can see it now though. The six monsters I thought were chasing me. They were you. I owe you a lot considering I have been unwittingly avoiding you. I am sorry.” “I’s alright sugarcube. And about them hallucinations, we were just taking ya to a pony who knows how ta fix them right up!” Pinkie pulled Daniel out of the hole, and without any more words, they set off. Daniel still remembered the nightmare he had, and he had taken it to heart. He felt that his sister was right. He did abandon them. He chose stranger people over the ones he knew and loved. He still felt that Equestria was a better place to live, but regret painted his mind red. He knew it wouldn’t make a difference whether he had been there or not, but seeing his sister again for the last time would have been better than just knowing she was gone. Without warning, Daniel sunk to his knees and cried again.
Chapter 6: A Subtle Clue From Another PresenceHelping You Forget Chapter 6 “Tree clah’mers?” “Yea! I mean, I don’t think we’ve done it before.” “I’m pretty sure we have Scootaloo. I mean, it is an extremely dull idea.” “So? We’ve tried everything! You come up with something better then!” Sweetie Belle shifted uncomfortably while avoiding eye contact. She remained silent. “So are we gonna do this or what?” “Where can we find the tallest trees ‘round here.” Unfortunately, although they had been told countless times not to go there alone, the same idea struck them all. “We could just... go on the edge of it.” “Yea! Nopony can tell us off for that right? I mean, I’m pretty sure there aren’t any Manticores or Timberwolves near Fluttershy’s, and she’s right on the edge,” Scootaloo pointed out. “Yea!” Applebloom and Sweetie Belle agreed. “Alright, let’s go.” The three fillies moved away from their idea-making-spot and climbed down from their treehouse. Sweetie Belle instructed her friends to wait for her while she went to find some helmets in case they fell down and some rope. Even as she ran off to get necessary items in case of injury, she still felt bad about disobeying rules given by her older sibling. Even so, she was a lot more grown up now. Surely it would be a lot safer and she would be more responsible now? Somehow, she knew her older sibling would disagree. Her friends were thinking exact same thing. After Scootaloo and Applebloom had waited for several minutes more than they had predicted that they would have to wait, Sweetie Belle finally arrived with a small bag of helmets, ropes and first aid. “We really need to store some of this in our treehouse somewhere,” Sweetie Belle declared exhausted. It was not long before the trio headed into the Everfree Forest, the one forest which held monsters and creatures, every one of them deadly, and a weather system that worked without Pegasi. One of the only places, if any others, which did this. They started confidently, looking up high for tall trees while making sure that the edge of the forest was in sight. So far, no trees were anywhere near tall enough for them to even try. They walked in a circular path, so that they could scour entire sections of the forest whilst not wandering too far from the edge. A mass of clouds had gathered above them and droplets of rain began to make pitter-patter sounds on the thick leaves of the Everfree. Then it happened. A high-pitched howling emitted from nearby. The fillies stopped dead in their tracks at the sound of the dreaded wolves. The howling did not cease, and soon it was as if they were surrounded by the howling. A clap of thunder erupted in the clouds above them, and a gigantic lightning bolt parted the sky. Even with the edge of the forest in sight, and the now raging storm, the howling had closed in on them. Scootaloo swore that she saw a wolf walk through her line of vision once or twice. The howling only intensified. There must have been twenty or thirty wolves around them. All of them made of cold, hard wood. The trio hugged each other tightly, their backs pressing against one another. Each felt the blood rushing to their chests in fear, as if the blood itself was cowering from the wolves. A timberwolf jumped from the nearby bushes. The fillies each scrambled away fast enough not to be torn limb from limb underneath the wolf. The each screamed as they ran away from the one wolf into a trap. The wolves had indeed surrounded them and were waiting for them in the trees. The fillies could not see them, as their bodies mixed within the forest well. Scootaloo had run away from the edge of the forest, whereas Sweetie Belle and Applebloom had galloped hard more or less towards it. The unexpected speed of the adrenaline filled foals had dazed the ambushing timberwolves and the fillies managed to break free of the circle. Thinking quickly, the timberwolves saw that two fillies were nearly at the edge, whereas one had foolishly ran into the forest even further, clearly unaware of her surroundings. It was not a challenge to choose which filly to go after. Scootaloo frantically dodged fallen logs and ran across muddy and slippery surfaces hoping not to fall. Her heart had begun to pump at ten times the normal speed and Scootaloo’s adrenaline was beginning to die down slightly. Her speed was decreasing and the timberwolves were catching up. Her breathing became panting and the gap was slowly closing. She couldn’t keep it up for much longer. Eventually, as she tried to leap over a rather wide fallen tree, she caught her hoof and landed face first into the mud. She could almost feel the wooden teeth of the timberwolves tearing into her flesh. She could certainly hear their growling and huffing. At that moment, a lightning bolt somehow found its way through the thick Everfree canopy and struck the very tree she tripped on. The lightning on wood created a blazing fire, just as the timberwolves were about to jump over. One did, and it ran off into the forest ablaze. ‘That’s useful’ Scootaloo thought, ‘They hate fire!’ Scootaloo wasted no time in continuing her escape. She galloped continuously for a good five minutes before she was sure she couldn’t hear the blood-curling howling anymore. She came across a dark, presumably damp, cave where she could rest. It was too small to hold any creatures of any sorts. She only guessed this as the sky was grey and it was too dark to determine anything. As she entered the cave, a horrifying realisation struck her. In her panic to escape, she had retreated from the edge of the forest. Her friend’s fates were unknown to her. Perhaps they had been caught and killed gorily by the timberwolves? And what of her? How was she to get back to Ponyville with the timberwolves in the path to get back.... in fact where even was the path to get back? Scootaloo had made many twists and turns in her fleeing in an attempt to lose the wolves. What of her family? They would worry for her and maybe even search for her! What if they fell to the horrid wolves? What would she be able to live for then? What even was the point of living anymore? Finally, Scootaloo began to weep for herself, and as she did, the storm ceased but a large flash emitted somewhere in the forest near her... Walking slowly this time, he stepped in between the dense woodland once more, this time being more careful not to cut himself. Eventually, he came upon a blackened cave from which the weeping originated. Daniel crouched down and approached the cave. When he entered the mouth of said cave, what he saw shocked him beyond belief. There was an impossibly small equine, barely 2 feet tall, weeping. In the darkness, he could make out that it had an orange coat and purple mane and tail, impossible colours for an equine to bear. More still, it bore wings! Daniel didn’t know what to think of this. There was no way that this could be real. It was just another illusion conjured up by the tormenting forest. On the other hand, if this forest really was throwing his fears at him, this was definitely real. He never really ever remembered being scared of horses. His train of thought was abruptly interrupted as he realised that the crying had stopped and the equine was looking up at him fearfully. He tried to look as compassionate as possible, although this was difficult considering his fresh cuts and scratches. He decided that communication was a pointless effort since horses couldn’t talk, but he decided to go with it anyway. “Hello there. My name is Daniel. Can you... understand me?” He asked in a truly comforting tone. The equine visibly calmed at the sound of his voice but also flinched as he spoke, as if his voice carried the power of a gale behind it. It was obvious that the horse could not understand him considering that it immediately wore a confused face after he finished talking. Scootaloo only heard grunts and coughs as the creature talked. Its dialect was too complicated with too many syllables for pony ears to decipher. She understood immediately that this creature was non-hostile, if it was hostile it would have killed her and been done with it, but was still sceptical as to whether it would enjoy her as an evening snack. She decided letting it out of her sight was not a good idea. She didn’t know what it had said, but it began to repeat one line of its language. ‘Ack mange ickh damgal’ was all she could understand. Its voice was very throaty. She attempted to mimic the sounds, much to the creature’s amusement. After realising that her feeble attempts were a lost cause, she approached the strange critter. She immediately hugged it tightly as she realised that the Everfree Forest was too dense for anypony to have any possibility of finding her and that this creature was her only chance of getting out of here. She had barely escaped some Timberwolves earlier. She was sure her luck wasn’t going to save her anymore. This creature was the only comfort in this forest to her right now. Unbeknownst to her, a dark presence smiled eerily as it watched its handiwork unfold. Scootaloo awoke suddenly from her dream. Usually she didn’t remember dreams, apart from when she had gone camping with Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and their sisters as well as Rainbow Dash. She did remember that Luna told her dreams had meaning. That’s what got her here. What meaning did this dream have? She had dreamt of when she first met Daniel in the Everfree. She had gone through a lot in the Everfree. She was even proud of the things she did in the Everfree. She had saved Daniel from being stoned by a Cockatrice. She had strategically placed a fire in the way of timberwolves so that they couldn’t get to her and Daniel. She had even pulled him up from the edge of a cliff that led to a certain doom. It was possibly the most exhilarating time of her life. She was almost disappointed that it had ended. Scootaloo racked her brains for some sort of explanation for the dream, but only one explanation actually came to her. And the more she thought about it, the more it worried her. Scootaloo checked outside her window. It was indeed morning; in fact it was later than she usually woke up. It was also a weekend luckily, and she had nothing planned for the day. She was going to do something with her two fellow crusaders, but now she had to confirm her suspicions. She jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. She did not stop for breakfast, but instead headed for the door. “Mum! I’m just going to the clubhouse!” she shouted to her mother who she knew would be in the next room. “Okay dear! Just make sure you’re back for lunch time!” her mother replied. Scootaloo was quite surprised that she had been let go that easily at first, then she realised she had mentioned that she was going to see her fellow crusaders yesterday. Her mother had allowed her to leave the home in the morning. Scootaloo galloped quickly to the library in hopes of finding Daniel, or at least Twilight, so she could calm her increasingly worried nerves. She had to avoid running into several ponies she was so rushed. Eventually, she reached the library without tripping over ponies. It only just struck her that she could’ve used her scooter. Now that she thought about it, she was in a way glad she didn’t use it. Usually she created a lot of havoc with that scooter. She rapped on the door to the library and waited for someone to open it. Would it be Twilight? Would it be Daniel? Scootaloo was thunderstruck as Spike opened the door. Actually, she was less shocked that Spike opened the door and more shocked that Daniel wasn’t still asleep on the sofa. “Hey Spike!” she greeted cheerily. “Is Dan around?” Spike’s face visibly changed from weary to nervous. Scootaloo knew something was up. "No, he's not. Twilight had to take him to the Everfree Forest." "What? Why?" "They all went into the Everfree to look for Zecora. Something strange happened to Daniel. He looked terrified as me and Twilight entered the room. He passed out and Twilight had Applejack carry him along with them.” Scootaloo had seen this coming. She knew exactly what the dream was telling her. It had shown her when Daniel came to her rescue when she was alone and helpless. Now Daniel was in trouble, and she needed to rescue him.
Chapter 7: A Hopeful SolutionHelping You Forget Chapter 7 It is odd how we find ourselves in recurring nightmares: you would’ve thought we’d have gotten over the fear the first time round, but you can’t rid yourself of a corrupted dream till you confront it and make it disappear, much like I had done very recently. However, this was a nightmare I could never seem to dissipate: the Everfree Forest. Despite once intentionally returning to this forest, its influence over me seems to cling on like Ivy, wrapping itself around my ever fragile mind. I was still wary in the Everfree, even more so now that I knew what lurked in its dark corners. I couldn’t say my accompanying party was too confident either. Everyone was on edge and spying out for any suspicious movement amongst the trees, myself included. Although, I found Fluttershy’s jumping at every howl or growl as terrifying as the forest itself. Twilight had recommended against stopping in the forest, so every time I showed signs of slowing or stopping, someone was behind me to urge me on. It wasn’t physical trauma bringing me down; it was what I had seen just recently. Soon, my feet felt heavy to drag across the forest floor as my mind urged them to stop so I could cope with the revelation I had recently been given. Even whilst walking, I had ample time to consider the harsh greeting I received from my deceased sister, whether that is true or not. I realised in that moment what a selfish decision I had made. I had forgotten about my family; my home; my sister. I only sought to make amends with the natives of this world, to befriend them and live amongst them, but was that the right choice? Should I have cared for their understanding of me or just forgotten about them completely and returned home, never to look back again all the while knowing some beings in another world were judging me? Did I care? Did I just want to gratify myself for my actions, to live in some sort of paradise? Whatever my motives were to stay in Equestria at the time, they were misguided. Fortunately, in accord to my blank stare and glistened eyes near to tears, I felt Fluttershy nudge my leg to break my trance. I could only smile faintly in return. As we trekked along, it became apparent to me that I was in the dark in regards to where we were heading and why. “Twilight,” I enquired, “Might you enlighten me as to where you are planning to take me?” “Certainly,” she replied. “After you collapsed in front of Spike and I, I knew that the method we had used to cure you had indeed not worked. It was then I realised that I knew somepony who might know the solution to your hallucinations. She’s a zebra called Zecora and she specialises in alchemy. She’s setup in the Everfree Forest so she has access to most of the ingredients she needs immediately. I’m certain she will be able to help us at least, if not she might be able to end this once and for all.” I was at that moment intrigued by alchemy and its possible uses in this world. I have seen many new strange anomalies that might not occur within my world, so maybe alchemy, which was usually just used for destructive purposes or medicine, would have my exotic uses here. “Have you taken any notes from her profession that I may observe once we return?” I got a glance of Rainbow Dash rolling her eyes at me. “Come to think of it, not really. There have been several occasions where I have been able to remember certain brews or potions, but nothing too broad. Zecora’s isolated nature makes it more difficult for me to spend an extended amount of time with her, and most of the time I do spend with her isn’t done taking notes.” “Shame,” I simply replied. Nothing more. Not even considering asking Zecora myself about alchemy. All interest in the subject simply dissipated from my mind. Even at the time did I find this interesting; my behaviour that is. Usually I relished the stream of knowledge and commonly sipped from its refreshing waters, but recently I had no care for any sort of profound academic knowledge, even if maybe it was not appropriately timed considering the current situation - though Twilight's lecture on lucid dreaming certainly was appropriate. True I was drawn more towards archaeology and history, but I should have been a little more enthusiastic about this. I also noted at the time that my response was quite rude. I could see that Twilight was hardly more than amused by my single-worded, disinterested remark. The rest of the group were giving me a similar look of slight repulse. Thankfully, we had finally stumbled across a house built into a hollowed tree in the middle of this damp and dreary forest. I found it more than a coincidence that two of the most intelligent individuals I knew of so far were residing in a tree. I also was dumbfounded by the light the treehouse gave off considering the usually pitch black state of the forest. I questioned myself on how I did not see this house both of the times I had been in this forest. It certainly would’ve made things a lot easier. As we knocked and entered, we were greeted by a zebra wearing ceremonial rings from the more exotic African and Asian countries. I had not even conceived that such a racial stereotype from my world would arise in this one. Incidentally, there were such Africans who wore rings around their wrists and necks near the excavation in which I found the orb. We did not interact, but I caught sight of them doing odd chanting and dancing once around a blazing fire. I never asked Professor Herbert what they were doing because I was more terrified by what the answer might imply than curious. Despite the rings and the particular species that graced my sight, I did not prepare myself for the alternate accent that came with it. Constantly hearing the same, higher pitched voice everywhere in Ponyville – even if just for over a week – was enough to tune my ears to that dialect perfectly, with the exception of the Apple family who had a distinctive accent from the rest. So when Zecora began talking, I almost found it difficult to understand her. “Salutations, my dear friend Twilight. A visit from you is always a delight. Your friends of five I recognise, but this strange being is new to my eyes.” “Hello, Zecora. This here is Daniel,” she said turning to me as if to either point me out or check I was still here. “He’s... not from around here.” “A human is a rare sight to see,” Zecora began nodding knowingly, “Since they exist in Zebra Mythology.” “You know he’s a human?” Twilight asked puzzled. “Indeed, a wild creature of the hunt, apparently taking one down was quite a stunt.” I barely had time to register what Zecora was saying in between her rhythmic chanting, but I was still able to read between the lines. As soon as she had finished her verse, she turned her attention to me with untrusting eyes, almost waiting for me to make a move of some sort. I wasn’t sure if I should pick up one of my compadres and use them as a shield. I certainly had a good mind to be cautious around her; her mystical rhyming gave my subconscious an even greater reason to be wary. “Well,” Twilight somewhat nervously chuckled, “There won’t be any violent ‘stunts’ here today, will there?” Zecora seemed only to respond by relaxing slightly. I could see I wasn’t the only one to notice the zebra’s odd behaviour. My worried expression became contagious within the entire group. Even though Zecora had calmed, her death glare did not avert. It was a glare that would’ve struck fear into the heart of the most courageous of Cossacks, the most experienced of Napoleon’s Old Guard, and the most accurate of the Green Jackets. In pierced the deepest caverns of my heart and made my blood run cold. It was very clear to me that whatever these ‘mythological’ humans were renowned for, it put a wedge between me and the stripped equine before me. When we had been welcomed in and offered a wide array of specially prepared brews that sounded far from tasteful, Twilight began to explain what was occurring as of this moment. I too perked my ears eagerly in hope that I could finally understand what was happening. “Well,” Twilight began, “Daniel here has been living in Ponyville for barely over a week after he saved Scootaloo in the Everfree and then went back in to apprehend another human called Alexander. As it turns out, he was using an orb to power a portal to let his world through into ours in order to enslave us. Luckily, Daniel destroyed the orb which he claims is also the reason a dark shadow has been tormenting him. The following days have been torture for Daniel. He has been experiencing hallucinations and recurring nightmares which we have so far been unsuccessful in dissipating. I believe I have cured the nightmares, even if temporarily, but the hallucinations have twice since proven to be problematic. I believe there something about his past that must be causing the traumatic events, but he refuses to tell us the details of his past.” Whilst Twilight continued to explain about my ghastly run-ins of the nostalgic kind, I had a sudden epiphany. I was unsure of how something so simple could actually even come to fruition, however, considering the necessary ingredients might not even exist in this world. Nonetheless, it was worth a shot. In the brief moments that I contemplated this, I must have given an emotion away that Zecora easily interpreted. “To solve this riddle you must answer, no further than your human you should gander.” All eyes suddenly diverted to me. “Y’all knew how ta cure ye’self all along?” Applejack questioned in an almost interrogative fashion. I remained silent, constructing my answer and panoramically glancing at all of the eyes surrounding me. “I have only just fathomed how we might rid me of this cursed guilt-ridden torment I have suffered,” I carefully replied, “Though I am not entirely sure if we can actually accomplish such a task.” “Why not?” Pinkie piped. “We’ve probably done harder.” “Because it may be impossible for us to attain the necessary resources.” Zecora seemed to consider this before beckoning me away from the group momentarily. “And what ingredients are those you require that of a nature that I can’t acquire?” “Fortis Aqua... Vitae, and a Damascus Rose.” “There is a way these things you can acquire, but first there is information I desire.” I nodded firmly in response. “The orb you destroyed to make your revenge exact, where can I find this sacred artefact?” I admit I was taken aback by this request for the location of the orb. I suspected that Zecora might have had an interest in it when I had mentioned it, but only through a vision did I know how to repair it. Even if she found the orb, two things would occur. She would either be unable to repair it, or she would succumb to the guardian of the orb that stalked me relentlessly. After telling her that the orb was probably still in the throne room of the castle, she nodded and led me back to the group. “So?” Rainbow Dash immediately asked. “There are three ingredients we need: Fortis Aqua, Vitae, and a Damascus Rose.” “What are trying to make with them anyway?” Twilight enquired. “An amnesia potion. We used them in Brennenburg. If I can make myself forget about Brennenburg and the preceding events, then I should be cured.” “But wait,” Rarity interrupted, “If you drink this potion, surely you will forget everything after as well?” “Fear not, by adjusting the level of vitae, I can accurately determine what I remember and what I forget.” “What are these ingredients anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Fortis Aqua is an adhesive which will hold the other two ingredients together, Vitae is a harvested energy,” I narrowly avoided saying how it was harvested, “And a Damascus Rose is a plant that, when combined with Vitae, will haze over the minds of the drinker, covering their memories.” “You said we couldn’t find them though,” Pinkie pointed out, “How are we gonna get them?” “I’m not sure.” “What did you use the amnesia potion for?” Fluttershy innocently asked. I froze there, dreading the answer they might squeeze out of me. Zecora’s arrival after an unnoticed departure thankfully moved on the conversation. Zecora was bearing seven vials on a tray. They had a purple liquid, with the exception of one pink one, that were calm without bubbles or fizzing, suggesting to me that she had made them a while ago. “What’s that?” Twilight asked. “A potion I made to get into one’s head, to put one’s troubles to bed. Once Daniel drinks his pink vial, you must connect yours through magic to his all the while. Then you will enter his mind to begin your quest to put his nightmares and hallucinations to rest.” “Are you implying we can make the potion inside my memories? But surely that would mean there are dangers as well? I wasn’t precisely alone in that castle.” “Anything that could kill you physically will be able to slaughter you psychologically.” A unison of worried gulps ensued before everyone took a single vial with the coloured liquid, me taking the pink one. We all knew that anything could happen from here, though I was much more worried. I needed vitae for the potion, but how was I to harvest it? I wasn’t going to let them see me do it, it is a gruesome process which would likely shatter our relationship and any trust we had between each other. How could I hide my past endeavours like I have for the past few days? I dismissed these thoughts temporarily, convincing myself that I would figure these predicaments later. Wasting no more time, I drank.
Chapter 4: Victory, Sadness and then DefeatHelping You Forget Chapter 4 Daniel heard the low grumbling of the grotesque monster that was surely after him. He rounded a corner in the corridor and found himself in a dark, empty room, lit only by a small candle in the middle of the darkness. Daniel advanced towards it, with his own shadow looming over him. A loud roar came from the darkness behind him and he span quickly to face it. Big, fleshy webs were consuming the area behind him. He froze in fear as the disgusting anomalies surrounded his position. As if it a guardian angel in hell, Daniel drew closer to the candle light, comforted by it. He averted his gaze towards the candle light, not wanting to witness the all consuming Shadow circle his position. He soon came to realise that the candle’s flame was that of a small girl. Her face was worried and upset, and tears became clearly visible as Daniel observed the flame at a closer distance. The girl was crying. He recognised the girl’s blonde hair and soil-covered face. As his memory opened, so did his sense of dread. Suddenly, the eyes of the girl turned viciously towards Daniel’s own. She was no longer worried or upset. Her pupils filled with fire and rage. She was dreadfully angry. Daniel began to withdraw at the new expression of the little girl. She dug her way into his very soul and was biting out huge chunks of it. As Daniel began to retreat into the darkness, the face let out an ear-piercing screech, causing Daniel to throw his hands over his ears. The familiar ringing sound filled his ears... ... and so did the familiar screeching sound of the Gatherers. Daniel turned to face the torso and dislodged lower jaw of the Gatherer. Instantly, his expression went from worried to deeply terrified. Without a second thought, Daniel ran into the darkness, ripping at the huge webs of the Shadow. You need to wake up... Daniel heard that. He briefly stopped in his retreat, but soon forgot all about the incident and continued running. He was terrified. His breathing was heavy. Beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. His body was sticky from the web and the pint of sweat dripping off of him. He turned to see a guest room with a once luxurious bed (its sheets now torn and ragged and covered in blood) surrounded by two separate closets. A chest of drawers with its contents pulled out stood against the wall near the bed and underneath a window with a dim light coming through. A strangely familiar setup. Daniel moved towards it and flipped one of the drawers. A tinderbox lay underneath it. Quickly, Daniel opened it and lit one of the matches inside. All of the candles in that room were no longer burning, and so the room itself was very dark. Only the dim light in the window allowed him to see anything. Daniel stumbled around, trying to find a candle that he could light. He found one next to an old wooden door. As soon as he lit the candle, he spotted the door and went through. He was then greeted by an empty void, and the only way to pass over it was by a path of floating stones. Cautiously, he began to creep his way across, lightly tapping the stones ahead to make sure they did not fall when touched. As he continued to advance over the empty abyss, he silently told himself: “Don’t look down. Don’t look down.” He did not take heed to his own words and felt light headed. The void he stood above had no end. To fall into it was to fall for eternity. That was a fate Daniel would rather avoid. Unfortunately, Daniel began to lose his balance after peeking into the void and felt himself falling to his side. He struggled to keep balance, but it was no use. The sensation was definitely familiar. Screaming, he fell and fell and fell... Suddenly, something came into view. It rippled throughout his vision and engulfed the whole void as far as the eye could see. Something was splashing nearby and soon he realised that he was falling into water. This water was not uninhabited, however, and the splashing got nearer to his landing point. A loud roar made the water vibrate violently and small waves began to rise. Daniel knew what inhabited these waters. The Kaernk. Suddenly, a large tidal wave formed to Daniels right. It grew higher and higher. Eventually, Daniel came crashing into the water and the Kaernk came splashing after him. It was safe to say Daniel was terribly frightened for his life at this point. He was surrounded. Kaernk to the left of him, tidal wave to the right of him. Daniel waited for the eventual clash of the two forces, with him in the middle. His knees became wobbly and gave way underneath him. He collapsed onto his knees and began to weep. It was over. A small, piranha-like fish jumped at his head and he felt the tidal wave clash with his back. He was gone, but this has happened before. “It is no use.” Daniel told Twilight after he had awoken and calmed down. Any hope of eliminating this nightmare he had before had died now. “Yes it is!” She claimed. “In fact, this is the perfect time to try again!” That confused Daniel. He didn’t exactly feel tired now. “What are you talking about? I have failed for today.” “No! You are aware that you are awake now, so why not remind yourself that? When you are asleep again, you should remember that you reminded yourself that you are asleep now.” “I do not follow Twilight.” Daniel bluntly stated. “Basically, remind yourself that you are going to fall asleep again and that you must recognise that being out of bed means you are asleep.” Twilight looked very hopeful that this was going to work. “Ok... I’ll try Twilight.” Daniel declared reluctantly. “Good!” She replied, gently laying him back down. “Now sleep.” Screaming, he fell and fell and fell... Suddenly, something came into view. It rippled throughout his vision and engulfed the whole void as far as the eye could see. Something was splashing nearby and soon he realised that he was falling into water. Hold on. Water? Where did this come from? Last he remembered he was lying on Twilight’s couch. Daniel stopped mid fall. Suddenly, everything became clear. He wasn’t awake at all, this was all a dream. The Gatherers, the Kaernk, the nightmare itself. Even the Shadow. Daniel could very well forget all about it. None of it was going to harm him anymore. The Shadow had accepted him. The Gatherers and the Kaernk were dead. Brennenburg was gone. The nightmare could bugger off. Daniel gently touched down onto the floor. The floor was no longer covered in water, but in glistening grass and vibrantly coloured Damascus roses. Daniel had always liked them. Sure they reminded him of the potion, but with this “Lucid dreaming” he could forget about using that silly potion. Daniel turned to see three familiar fillies trotting up to him with smiles painted onto their faces. “We knew you could do it Daniel!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “Not a doubt in tha’ world!” Applebloom declared. “Now go on big guy, live your life like you wanted!” Scootaloo instructed. Daniel happily obliged. As he jogged off into his dream ecstatically, the three entities sighed. “I feel bad.” The entity disguised as Applebloom admitted. “I don’ wanna do this to ‘em. Look at ‘em all jolly and such. It just don’t seem right.” “It is the only way. His very presence is corrupting the world these ponies live in. He must be removed or purified before it is too late.” The entity posing as Sweetie Belle informed her comrade. “I don’t mind, but I kinda feel bad about that whole ‘live your life’ thing. It’s just giving him false joy.” “Agreed. There is nothing to be jolly about now. Apart from one thing. His success has assisted our progress in keeping his mind-world under control. If he keeps this up, we won’t have to permanently remove him from Equestria.” “Then le’s hope he keeps this up then shall we?” And with that, the three nodded in agreement and ripped a curtain out of their way, revealing the same purple, cracked world as before, only less cracked. “It was a wonderful experience!” Daniel claimed to Twilight. “I have never experienced such joy in all my life! I could do absolutely anything! I could fly, make wonderful structures by touching a tree and create life at the click of my fingers!” “I know Daniel. I have done it before.” “Even when I woke up I felt reinvigorated. I felt ready to take the day on by storm.” “Daniel...” Twilight was getting irritated. It was joy to her ears at first, but his constant ramblings were getting a bit annoying. “I must inform everyone of my happiness immediately!” Twilight didn’t quite register what he had said. She was very near to blacking out at the concept of having two chatterboxes to deal with (the other being Pinkie. How Daniel managed to keep all of the Pinkies yesterday under his control all at once confused her still). Whilst Twilight stared into space, Daniel joyfully jogged, arms swinging strongly with his legs, out of the door, ready to burst out with joy in the form of speech to everyone he met. All Twilight heard was silence after that. When the quite unfamiliar noise reached her eyes, she perked up and searched the area for Daniel. He was nowhere to be found. Where had he got to? She suddenly locked her eyes on the open door of the library. ‘Oh no...’ Daniel practically ran throughout the town, calling out to everyone familiar he met, telling them of his absolute joy (much to their displeasure. Each and every one of them became flushed with embarrassment). Daniel was being rather awkward as he jogged throughout Ponyville and his motion was extremely camp. But he cared not, for he was still in his own little world of joy caused by the enlightening dream. Then he came across Lyra. The sight of Daniel waving to her and jogging happily towards her was an unusual sight indeed. It even scared her a bit. “Why hello Lyra! How are you this fine day?!” He screamed in her direction as he closed the gap between them. Lyra slowly began to back off. “Uh... fine I guess.” “Fine? What cause is there to be fine rather than ecstatic? The sun shines and the birds chirp their hearts out and you claim to be fine? I believe you not!” Lyra was baffled. His speech was all weird. “Uh... ok. Can you speak Equestrian please? Or English, or whatever you called it?” “But I am my good friend! This is the very same language you speak! You seem unsure this morning. Are you certain you are fine? You seem quite unnerved to me.” This was the truth. Lyra was shaking with fear slightly. Daniel was speaking quite loud you see, and everypony in Ponyville was watching the conversation unfold. “She's scared ‘cause of you human! Leave her alone!” Somepony called from the crowd. Daniel was unsure of what to think of this. He had upset one of friends, and now his emotions were kicking him for it. Gently, he knelt down and put and hand on Lyra’s head. “I am terribly sorry Lyra. Can you please accept my apologies?” He asked hopefully. “I guess...” Lyra answered, still shaking. “You shake still; my apology has not been accepted. Please, do not follow me, I will take my leave now.” And with that, he walked off into the distance to sulk somewhere. Meanwhile, Twilight was frantically searching for the very same human. She eventually came across somepony who had been in the crowd. “He just scared Lyra half to death and walked off somewhere. That’s all I know.” Is what they had said. Twilight knew what lucid dreaming could do to you. You start the day off nice and happy, but even the slightest hitch could cause a rapid emotion change. All Twilight had to do was find Daniel and make him happy again. That was going to be a bit more difficult for her to do than it would for Pinkie. Immediately, she searched for Daniel in isolated places, where he was likely rethinking on his own actions, cursing himself for them. And that is exactly what he was doing. He had found a small hill on the outskirts of town to sit upon and reflect on his earlier actions, cursing himself for every small action. He expected to sit there forever till he forgave himself, but what he didn't expect was a pink blur zoom in from the side and stop in front of him. This pink blur, of course, revealed itself to be Pinkie, frowning slightly at Daniel. “Why are you upset?” She asked him after a short pause. “How did you find me all the way out here... in fact why were you looking for me?” “My Pinkie Sense told me one of my friends was upset! I had to find out who! So I found you.” She said proudly, suddenly with a huge smile on her face. “I see.” “So,” She started, the frown returning, “Why are you upset?” “I would rather not say.” He stated. “Ooh! A guessing game I sense! Ok then, you can’t get rid of your nightmares? You miss somepony? You’re depressed for some unfathomable reason? You upset a friend?” Daniel’s head twitched slightly. “Oh! So that’s what it is huh?” “Yes,” Daniel said suddenly as his head shot up and stared at Pinkie, “How did you know?” “You twitched.” She stated bluntly. Daniel didn’t press on further. “So!” She said, “I’m gonna make you happy again!” “Oh really?” He replied. “How do intend to do that exactly? I cannot see how anyone can redeem my happiness again. I was happy at first because I had rid myself of the troubling nightmare and had an enlightening lucid dream as a result. I woke up feeling jolly, but then the incident caused me to switch to a gloomier feeling.” “What happened?” She pressed on. “I scared Lyra with my jolly expression. Shouting I was. Queer I acted. I cannot forgive myself. Is it that happiness brings sadness to others?” “Don’t worry Danny-man! Someponies think I’m weird, but I don’t care about that. I’m just happy that I have friends to care for! I’m sure Lyra still likes you, she was just a bit shocked that’s all.” “Are you entirely sure?” Daniel asked. “Could never be more certain!” She declared. Daniel’s eyes lit up. “Then it is settled!” He began. “I shall not care of such trivial matters ever again! I am happy once more!” He shot up onto his feet again. “Thank you Pinkie!” He said as he turned to her a picked her up in a rib-crushing hug. “You are a most enlightening speaker! I feel as if I could sing!” “Really?” Pinkie beamed. “Most certainly! Let this hill be our stage and we be the actors!” Meanwhile, Twilight had watched the whole event. She had got there just after Pinkie, and she was most amused when she heard Daniel’s singing. It was only later on when Daniel wrote in his journal about the day’s events. Day 8 What a fool I have been today. While I had crushed my nightmare, I began sharing my joy with everyone else in Ponyville. It was not long before I began to scare ponies with my joy, and upon becoming aware of this, I grew upset and enraged with myself. But Pinkie told me to not worry about the whole thing and to instead put it behind me. Lyra is still my friend after all and I consulted her on the matter aft Daniel dropped the quill as he looked up. What he saw was not what he expected. The world had changed. The wood work was rotten and dark, the light was non-existent and cobwebs could be seen everywhere. It was an eerie sight. Daniel could see the ghosts of the walls on the floor and dust consuming the air. That wasn’t the only thing consuming the room. A macabre web of flesh leaked its way into the room through the door and it began to cover the walls and replace the homes of spiders. With the web, in floated a Gatherer with blue auras around its hands. It turned to him and made a strange gurgling sound. A chill found a path down Daniel’s spine. He turned to the stairs to see a small, child that resembled a young Gatherer. Its jaw was still intact, but its teeth were daggers and the claw was bigger than its coconut shaped head. Both abominations advanced slowly towards him, and Daniel felt his heart drop deeper and his head felt fainter with each step he took backwards. Soon enough, the Gatherers were practically on top of him, and their foul stench filled his nostrils. Sweat dripped off of him and his legs grew too heavy to move. Soon enough, he fell to the floor with a crash as he knocked his head on a Bookcase and a table. Author's Note Let the Darkfic begin! I know this chapter was a bit awkward (it pained me almost to write it and its the only one I have had to come back and edit to a more major degree to my liking because it was such a weird chapter), but I feel most of the silly stuff has been put behind us for now.
