//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 - A (Not So) Serene Dream* // Story: Fallen Stars // by Zachurra //------------------------------// (Warning: Somewhat Dark chapter) The newly named Speicher walked silently through the gardens that dotted Canterlot. He kept thinking of Serene Dream and of the words she spoke. For some reason he could not forget a single word she had said. Her song echoed in the back of his mind, filling his body with a sensation he had never felt before. It was not erotic in the least, but something far different. It was both soothing and thrilling at the same time. He just couldn’t place the feeling. The crickets chirped together as they played out their own song. Speicher sat down in front of a tree and put his hoof up to it. What seemed to bother him most of all was that he knew Serene from somewhere… he just couldn’t figure out where. He closed his eyes and tried to access the furthest depths of his mind, but his memories remained locked away. Frustrated, he pushed his body further. He was determined to figure out who he was, and what Serene was to him. Sweat began to slide down his face as he exerted himself. He tried to calm himself down, knowing too well that this was too much. But something held him back. A sound began screaming into his ears. It was like a high-pitched ringing that was blasting in his ears. He tried to cover them to make the sound stop, but his attempts proved useless and the sound only seemed to grow louder. His body was growing increasingly warmer. He undid his cloak and let it drop, revealing a set of wings to accompany his horn and several straps wrapped around his body that held daggers in place. He reared back and slammed his forehead into the ground, hoping to find peace within unconsciousness. But even so, something held him back. Something held him awake. You want to know what happened? You want to know more about your precious Serene? Here… Let me show you… ------------- Speicher pounded with all his might at the glass wall in front of him. He knew not why, but he did so anyways. He pounded until he felt his hand become warm as a red liquid began covering his knuckles. “Serena!” he shouted. Serena? Who was Serena? On the opposite side of the glass wall were two men and a woman who had beautiful, snowy white hair. Her arms were held behind her back by one of the men, and dagger was held to her neck. Speicher pounded harder and harder. There was no way that mere glass could hold up to his strikes, but something held him back. Something growing from the inside of his mind. “No, watch!” it shouted. “This didn’t have to end this way.” The man holding Serena said. "All you had to do, was step aside like a good little boy and let us do what we do. But no. You had to play the hero. And now this,” He slammed Serena’s face into the wall that separated them, “is the price you must pay.” Speicher felt anger boiling inside his body. His rage was ever-growing, expanding, threatening to take hold. Be he refused to let it. “If you touch her, I swear to god I will fucking—“ “Enough!” the second man shouted. “You knew what could happen if you interfered.” Serena looked to him, not with fear or sadness, but with love in her eyes. “Vice, this isn’t your fault… I love—“ The first man took the dagger and plunged it through the back of her skull. Serena’s eyes widened, but she made no noise. He let her go and she slumped over onto the ground, motionless. Speicher fell to his knees to follow her, looking into the eyes of Serena as they stared lifelessly up at him. His vision began to blur. He placed a hand gently against the glass, trying to reach out to her. “How sweet. But she was lying to you Vice. This was all. Your. Fault.” Speicher’s fingers curled up into a bloody fist. He slammed his knuckles into the glass, this time causing it to crack greatly. His vision began to turn red as he rose to his feet. He slammed his fists together on one point and the glass shattered, spraying pieces towards the two men. As they tried to cover their faces, Speicher moved the arms of the first man and grabbed him by his face, only to throw him down, a loud cracking sound echoing through the room as the back of his head made contact with the cement floor. Without missing a beat, he spun around and grabbed the second man by his arm and planted his foot onto his chest and drug him to the ground. Taking care to do so slowly, he snapped the man’s arm back. He cried out in pain, but the sound was muffled by the intensity in which Speicher’s heart was beating. He was about to move and crush the second man's neck under his heel when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. The first man lunged out with his dagger, still bloody after leaving Serena's skull. He dodged back, watching as the adrenaline made the attack move in slow motion. He grabbed the man's wrist and struck him hard in his stomach. Still holding to his wrist, he grabbed his neck and shoved him towards the wall where he pried the dagger from his hand and drove it roughly into the man's neck. He twisted it around as blood poured out, some of it spraying onto the white scarf Serena had given him just a year ago. When he finally stopped moving, Spiecher pried the dagger out and let the man's body fall to the ground. He turned around just in time to catch the second man trying to escape the room only to have the dagger thrown into the back of his own head. He fell to the ground with a thump. He turned back to where Serena’s body lay. His body suddenly felt heavy, and each step closer felt like a mile. When he finally reached her side, he felt exhausted and dropped to his knees. Gently rolling her onto her back, he looked into her blank eyes. He touched her cheek softly, catching the feeling of the warmth leaving her body. He slowly bent down and pressed his forehead into her chest. He longed to hear the beating of her heart, but found no such sound. Her shirt began to dampen as he lay there, sobbing silently for her. When he finally could cry no more, he took one last look into her eyes before closing them. ------------- Speicher’s eyes burst open. He was breathing heavily and he was drenched in sweat. His entire body felt sore as he tried to lift himself off the ground. He was still in the gardens, but upon looking around he noticed every tree within thirty feet of him was either torn down or just simply a pile of splinters. Hearing a soft noise behind him, he spun around found himself face to face with a dark blue pony who’s mane that glittered like the night sky. Luna looked down upon him, sadness in her eyes. Speicher looked away, not wanting to see such an emotion anymore. “I’m sorry about your trees.” He muttered. Luna said nothing, only putting her hoof on his shoulder. “She was very special to thee, wasn’t she?” Speicher looked up at her, eyes slightly widened. How did she know about his dream? Luna saw this and responded, “As Princess of the night, We am able to enter and spectate upon the dreams of our people. Even so, thou's screaming of the name ‘Serena’ was enough for us to put two and two together.” Speicher looked down at the grass. I was screaming…? Luna looked down at him apologetically, “We are sorry. I should not have intruded upon a memory so… personal.” “No, it’s okay… I don’t even know where that came from… I don’t know those men, or that girl. I don’t know who I am, or who ‘Vice’ is, or why I feel so goddamn angry…” Several minutes passed in silence. Speicher could feel his eyes beginning to water again, but closed his eyes and bit his lip to keep them from flowing. With a quiet sigh, Luna turned and began walking off. After a few steps, she turned her head around, “Come. If our intuition is correct, and we like to think it often is, then we may know of somepony who can help you.”