//------------------------------//
// Prologue: From Dusk 
// Story: Trapped in Slumber 
// by Megabrick 
//------------------------------//

Alone I gallop, dodging flame and bramble alike.  Around one branch, under the next.  Over embers and through flames. Scrapes and burns, my legs nearly buckle. My neck cracks as I look this way and that. My eyes strain against the smoke.

Where is he!? I call out, but all I hear is sizzling, crackling… snapping?!

I jump as a tree falls nearby. The rumbling impact kicks up a plume of ash. I sputter and cough, stumbling. My throat burns and my eyes water. 

Fire engulfs the tree. I feel a sweltering heat as the fire surrounds me.

There’s a figure beyond the fire. I blink several times, my eyes still tearing up. I… I think it’s my brother! I call out to him, despite the dry throat.

He notices me! 
He’s coming!
Finally, I’m not alone anymore!

He approaches the wall of flame, stepping through it unimpeded.

… Why is his horn so broken?

I cry out, and stumble backward, falling into a pile of ash. Cinders cling to my coat, though it doesn't sting.

Intense heat gives-way to a chilly cold. I shiver achingly as my sweat turns to ice. Where my brother once stood, I now see white, glowing eyes staring back at me. They threaten to penetrate my very being. A branching, distorted horn fills me with a sense of urgency. Yet at the same time, like tendrils, I can feel a terror beyond comprehension wrap around my mind, trapping me in place. Fight-or-Flight becomes a distant memory as I shake fervently. My perceptions fade into the background….

My vision returns with a shrill, piercing call. A fireball collides with the monster, throwing it off-balance and cracking its scaly carapace.
The eternal phoenix is my new facade. The end has led to this beginning.
Scrambling to my hooves, I turn to run. I leap over flames. Fire surges across my belly. Burned hair fills my nostrils, but I don’t care anymore.

A growl. The monster’s behind me. It’s undeterred by violet flames in its mane. I keep ahead, barely.

My hooves ache. Scrapes and burns no longer worry me. The monster keeps pace. It stampedes everything in its path.

The surrounding fire contorts like a pair of livid snakes. A winding path is formed ahead. I have no choice but to follow it. Twists and turns.

Behind me, the flames close up. They threaten to consume the monster. It struggles, it loses ground.

Ahead, the trees thin. There’s a glowing orb in the sky. Orange light gives way to a dull white. Icy terror returns to me. The canopy clears as I gain an unimpeded view above: The Moon.

Emblazoned on its surface, the silhouette of a unicorn stares back at me. Unfiltered fear overwhelms my senses and consumes my thoughts. Fire beckons me forward as my eyes remain locked above. A shiver down my spine turns tears to ice. My lungs fill with cold as moonlight stings like frostbite against my coat. 

In my daze, I make a fatal step and soon find myself stumbling down a cliff.

I tumble.
My shoulder hits a rock.
A boulder slams into my back.
My horn cracks against a stone.
I hear a voice.
It’s saying my name.
It wants me to wake up, but I’m not-.