//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: One Hell of a Dream, Huh? // Story: From the Other Side // by Trivium //------------------------------// Chapter 2: One Hell of a Dream, Huh? "He must have had some form of... Nightmare... A partially lucid nightmare, is what it seems like." I heard Twilight Sparkle speaking. Leave it to Twilight for diagnosis... "Lucid?" I asked, looking around the room. It was a small room in Twilight's library/house combo, with three chairs and a small table. Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and I all sat around the table as if we were about to preform some sort of evil chant or something like that. "I wasn't in control of what I was doing..." "Lucid can also mean hyper-realistic. Lucid dreams can be extremely realistic but not controlled rarely." Twilight sat forward. "Studies have shown recently that there is a one-to-eight lucid dream ratio among ponies, so you could have been that one out of the eight." "But he didn't get hurt at all. Struck by lightning and fell straight out of the sky, right onto a rock. No scratches, burns, mental damage, broken bones..." Rainbow Dash's voice dragged off. "That's the part I still don't quite understand." Twilight said, shuffling through a thick stack of books relative to dreams, and such. *** "Just one hell of a dream, I guess!" Rainbow Dash said, slapping me on the back. We were sitting on a cloud far above PonyVille, watching as the town went about it's day. "Twilight's gonna be reading for months trying to find an answer, I bet." I said. "Pinkie Pie will probably throw a party." "Applejack would bring some apples," "What would Fluttershy do?" Rainbow Dash questioned. "Something so insane that it will work." I said, chuckling. Just randomly listing what some of our friends would do about this was just... Fun... Fun?! Entertaining...?! Something positive, but not crazy sounding... "Triv?" Rainbow Dash's voice pierced my mental war I was having. "I'm okay." I said suddenly. "Just thinking..." "About what?" "Life... And stuff..." I said. How could I be going insane? Insane ponies don't KNOW they're crazy! "The city really triggers your mind, doesn't it?" "Apparently." I said. "Come on, we've got stuff to do." *** "So, was it really just one crazy dream?" Rainbow Dash asked. We walked down the market road, once again talking to Twilight. "It seems a little too... extreme... To be just a dream..." "I've never heard of a case like this ever before," Twilight said, sounding skeptical as normal. "But it does share some similar properties of a lucid dream... The other option is the starting stage of insanity, but, that doesn't seem likely." So you're telling me there's a chance? I said in my mind. A chance that I'm going insane? *** I lazily flopped onto the bed, sighing. The sky was getting dark out, and Rainbow was still out somewhere. What if she never comes back? What?! That's crazy! Why in the world would she NOT come back?! I shook my head, sitting up. Maybe a drink of water will help... I thought as I shuffled to the kitchen. I grabbed out a mug and filled it with water, then headed out to the front balcony. I sat there for a while, sipping water, even though I wasn't thirsty. I looked down over the edge. That's a long fall... I sighed, looking up at the sky instead. The moon was barely in the sky (metaphorically), but it seemed so dark out. So... Foggy... "Oh... Shit!" I swore under my breath, realizing the mug had slipped from my grip and fallen. I listened intently, waiting for that crash. It was satisfying, hearing something shatter like that. That'll be fun to explain. I sighed, going back inside. Go find the mug... I gasped. No. What if it hit somepony? They would have made a sound. Not if it knocked them out. Why would anyone be under our house? Go check. I complied, letting the voice in my head get the better of me. I stepped out onto the balcony and dove, pushing my wings against my back so I could gain speed as I rushed towards the ground. With one slow movement, I gradually extended my wings, landing smoothly on the ground. Where'd it go?! I looked around. There was no trace that a mug had ever fallen from the sky here. Check behind you... I took a deep breath. What's behind me? Check. I gulped, turning around. "Rainbow Dash!" I cried. She lay on the ground, motionless. Her head was bleeding, shards of glass covering her. "No..." I gently pressed my hoof against her chest, my mind racing. No pulse. She wasn't breathing. I felt sadness overcome me in a wave of self-hatred. This sparks the beginning... Equestria will fall in front of your eyes... I shook Rainbow Dash, my hearing drowning out everything except my voice and thoughts. "Dash... Don't leave me... I'm sorry..." No response. "This... This can't be true..." I felt the cold wind stinging my skin, I could feel the sickening realization of reality sinking in. I killed her... I heard screams in the distance. I turned, to see a giant cloud of smoke rising into the air. I could see pegasi flying in and out, occasionally carrying what appeared to be unconscious, or dead ponies. Town square of PonyVille was burning to the ground. She never loved you anyways... I collapsed. This can't be happening... It's not true... I coughed, a draft of heavy smoke reaching me. I could hear the voices, but I didn't want to listen. *** "Trivium! Wake up!" I felt somepony shaking me. "Trivium!" "Rainbow Dash...?" I opened my eyes, seeing Rainbow Dash standing by the bed. I could tell she was troubled. "You're ali-" "Not now, something's happened..." Rainbow Dash yanked me out of bed, practically dragging me to the door. This sparks the beginning... "It's Twilight... Her... Her house... It..." I could see tears welling up in Rainbow Dash's eyes. I could hear the panic in her voice rising. "It... Caught on fire..." She took off, flying in the direction of where Twilight lived. I was startled, but able to fly. I quickly followed her. *** Sirens wailed as we arrived. Her library/house combo was now in smoldering ashes. I could tell everything was not alright. I heard the rushed voices of ponies as they moved large piles of burnt house, evidently searching for someone. "Over here!" I heard someone cry out. The other groups quickly rushed over, swiftly pulling out an unconscious Twilight Sparkle. She was quickly loaded onto a stretcher, and flown off by two pegasi. "Dash..." I said, putting a hoof on Rainbow Dash's shoulder. She sat, staring at the wreckage, completely frozen. "You alright?" "It's all gone..." She mused. "Where's she going to live?" "We'll get that figured out." "Is she going to be okay?" "We can visit her in the hospital tomorrow... Come on," I shook her lightly. "Let's just go home for now, get some rest." *** You're in control now... "What?" I said, startled. I opened my eyes, realizing I was in bed, Rainbow Dash sleeping next to me. You control everything... I took a deep breath, fear creeping into me. I slowly got out of bed, stepping onto the floor. "Who's there?!" I called, hoping Rainbow Dash would wake up. She didn't even stir. I carried on, still fearsome. I tried to push open the door, only to find my hoof go through the door, as if it wasn't even there. Control... I tried to imagine the door opening as I pushed again, this time finding it to open as normal. I wandered around the house, checking things, and everything seemed normal. I walked out to the front balcony, where things always seemed to happen. It's your dream... I shivered, hearing the words as if they were coming from right behind me. Oh... Buck... I reluctantly turned around, seeing a changeling. a mother bucking changeling! "Chrysalis?" I found myself suddenly blurting. "I prefer the term "princess", but, Chrysalis shall work, considering yourself." She spoke, her voice sounding like a thing that was flowing around me, all over me, like water. I stuttered uselessly. "W-what's happening?!" "You should know by now," Chrysalis's voice creeped around me again. "Equestria is falling, Trivium." "W-wha? E-eque-Falling?!" I felt my heart race. "Wwhhaaaa...." "There's no stopping it now, save who you can." "Why..." I felt a sudden dread over-come me. "We won't get to talk often, but I am watching your progress. You're getting closer." "To what?!" "To... insani....t.....y..... "TRIVIUM!" I heard Rainbow Dash yell. I cried out, waking up... Again...? "Are you okay?" She asked. "You started rambling in your sleep... Saying that something was falling, there was no stopping it... Then you... Made this... sound..." That's when I realized Rainbow Dash had tears running down her face. "It was awful..."