//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5: Of Mares and Nightmares 
// Story: Oathbound 
// by ChronicleStone 
//------------------------------//

Somewhere in Sky’s dream…

You know, just once, I’d like to be able to sleep like a normal pony.
The situation was too familiar (and yet all too alien) to be anything but a dream.  Once again, he was surrounded by the dull, lifeless structures of a mist-filled Canterlot.  The color had been drained from the scene, casting everything into a depressing ashen gray.  There was no wind, no noise, and no one around.
The last time I saw this, the Chimera was threatening my home, Sky thought.  But the Chimera’s gone.  So why am I—
His train of thought was cut short by a conversation from not but a few hours earlier:

 “I believe that you were able to feel the Chimera because you were the object of its animosity.  Its attacks were mostly directed at you, and as a result, you were connected to it, however marginally.”
“Wait.  You think that since you are the only one that can sense this hatred, that you are its target?”
“I do.”
“Oh, nuh-uh, not happening.  Not on my watch.  If anything wants to get at you, it has to get by me first.”
“I don’t think you will have to worry about that, Sky.  I think it has its eyes set on you, too.”

“Ooohhh…” he murmured.
He gazed around at the unsettling scenery.  Everything was exactly the same as it had been in his dream, as far as he could tell.  It could have used at least a little creativity.
He slowly began to stroll along the silent streets of the pseudo-city, looking for any sign of whatever he was supposed to be seeing.  The last time he had seen this, he had been subjected to horrible visions of a future where Equestria was laid to waste, with its proud cities falling into ruin.  And Sky had been an unwilling witness to the Chimera’s designs.  Thankfully, though, none of it had come to pass.
At least, not yet.
He passed by Joe’s Donut Shop, noting that the windows reflected a miserable-looking image of himself back.  The door was slightly ajar, and the squealing of its hinges fell dead as soon as it hit the air.  If depressing was the goal here, then I think they’ve nailed it on the head.
As he continued to walk, he passed glass-roofed conservatory.  Normally, the green foliage of dozens of trees could be seen sprouting into the air.  But now, all that could be seen were the brittle ends of lifeless branches stretched to the sky, as though their efforts to escape this prison were immortalized in the trees’ poses of death.
A shudder rolled down Sky’s spine.  That particular thought had been surprisingly dark…and not at all welcome.  “Okay, I think that’s far enough,” he called out into the darkness.  His voice left his mouth with force, but it only took a moment for it to fade into the fog without so much as a single echo.  “You want me to see something?  Or do you want to talk?  Either way, I’m tired of waiting.”
He sat back on his haunches, not entirely expecting an answer.  So he jumped slightly when a strange, airy voice came back to him.  “Ah, so you do remember this scene?”
Sky snorted.  Whoever was speaking was obviously masking their voice, apparently unwilling to be identified by their speech patterns.  “‘Remember’ seems like the wrong word, since this never actually happened.  I was shown this once before, and I don’t think it’s a stretch to believe that this is related to that.”
“Fair enough,” the voice conceded.
“You know, I’m really eager to meet you,” Sky continued.  For some reason, the sound of the voice was an irritant to his mind, and the thought that its owner could be the source of the hatred within the land just caused his blood to boil.  “I’d like to stick out my hoof and smash your face into the dirt with it.”
“My, my, so violent,” the voice replied in a mocking tone.  “Whatever have I done to deserve such treatment?”
“Well, for starters, you invaded my dream,” Sky returned, voice dripping with frustration.  “I’d really like to just be able to sleep peacefully without having to witness some threatening vision of destruction of the place I call home.  Oh, and there’s the whole thing with the Chimera, and the fact that you want to take out Princess Celestia and cast all of Equestria into darkness…and you know, while we’re at it, if you really were working with the Chimera, you tried to kill not only me, but also my girlfriend, my family, and pretty much every pony I cared about.”  He rolled his head to one side, causing his neck to pop.  “I think that’s good for starters; shall I go on?”
The sound of a snort filled the air, though Sky couldn’t tell if it was the sound of frustration of mild amusement.  “You certainly know how to hold a grudge.”
Sky was dimly aware that teeth were clenched together so tightly that his jaw was starting to ache.  “A grudge?  You and your ugly accomplice tried to kill me on four different occasions.  So pardon me if I’m less than cordial with you.”
When the voice returned, there was a distinct unpleasantness to its tone, as though it was frowning as it spoke.  “This devastation all around you…you’ve seen it before, yes?  This is what the Chimera showed you that it would do to Equestria, correct?”
Sky managed to loosen his jaw’s vice-like clamp enough to speak.  “Why ask me?  Go ask the Chimera.  Oh, wait, that’s right, you can’t—we defeated it!  And we’ll do the same to you!”
But the voice seemed to ignore his remark.  “But what the Chimera wanted was not what I wanted.  I do not want to see Equestria like this.  The reason I show this to you again is because this is what will happen if drastic measures are not taken.  Measures that only I can implement.”
For a moment, Sky’s rage was replaced by a wave of confusion that left his brain spinning.  “Whoa, whoa, time out…say what?”
“You heard right,” the voice assured him.  “I desire to protect Equestria as much as you do.  It is my desire to make this land great…greater than it has ever been,” it added in an ominous tone.
His mind was still recovering from the previous remark, but the change in the conversation was already affecting his own emotions.  “Greater than it’s ever been?  By getting rid of its current leadership?”  Suddenly, he realized that his adversary was probably unaware of the conversations he had shared with Princess Celestia.  And that could be used to his advantage.
“What good would it do Equestria to leave it without leadership?  Sorry, but I don’t see the benefit in that,” he said, feigning ignorance.
The voice that returned to him was even and steady, but Sky could have sworn he heard the tiny influence of a smile.  “Ah, you misunderstand me.  I do not desire to leave this land leaderless.  I merely mean to replace its current leadership with someone more…effective.”
Replace Celestia?
He managed to push the foreboding thought aside and focused on the matter at hand.  He forced his face into a smile as he began to laugh—a laugh he didn’t feel.  “What, you?!” he said between chuckles.  “I’m sure the whole of Equestria would welcome you: the pony who unleashed a Chimera onto their lands and staged a coup to overthrow Princess Celestia, as if that would even work.  What a great leader!”
“Perhaps.  But even I can tell when I’m being baited.  And you will gain no information from me.”
Sky’s laughter stopped, but his smile did not fade.  “No?  I think you’ve told me more than you realize.”
“Bluff all you want,” the voice returned, “but our conversation is done.  Just remember: I mean to make Equestria greater than it has ever been.  I am not your enemy.”
With that, Sky’s smile turned into a determined scowl.  “I’ve seen your methods, and I’m not impressed.  If I so much as sense one pegasus feather that falls with ill intent to one of the ponies in Equestria, know that I’ll be on your hooves faster than the Wonderbolts can clear the sky.”
“I do not wish to harm you, Sky Streak,” the voice said, and Sky shivered upon hearing his name spoken in the airy, ghastly voice.  “But if you stand in my way, I will have no choice but to destroy you.  And believe me, I can and will.”
Sky took a breath to fire back his own retort, but before he could utter a sound, the mountain before him suddenly seemed to melt into a massive mudslide of dark fluid, falling in cascades upon the ruins of pseudo-Canterlot and plowing through vacant buildings and empty streets toward where he stood.
“Not bad,” Sky admitted as he watched buildings collapse against the unstoppable force of the suddenly-liquefied mountain.
“My turn.”
He spread his wings, and as he did, a sudden pulsing light painted his surroundings a cold blue hue.  The wind seemed to pick up from behind him, pushing back the gale-force winds riding the front of the mountain-slide.  Streaks of magic floated from his wings to the ground and back.  Small sparks appeared from his hooves, making a small popping sound with each surge of light.  And the bright blue irises of his eyes suddenly filled with electric streaks of light, constantly ringing his dark pupils, making him look more like a terrible apparition of power than a simple pegasus.
Time slowed down.  The wave of darkness, shrapnel, and debris slowed to a crawl, suspended in the air, towering above the remnants of the city.  Gradually, Sky became a beacon of light against the encroaching darkness; a brilliant flame defiant against the imminent storm.
Then, with a blaze of glory, the radiant pegasus rocketed ahead, blue and white streaks of lightning left in his wake.  A crack of thunder shook the city as he split the air with his speed.  The dark wave grew ever closer as it loomed above him, and Sky smiled grimly.
I’ve faced the darkness before.  I’m not afraid of it.
His hooves collided with the wave, and everything went white.

The light gradually faded into a clear blue sky above the familiar green landscape of Equestria.  The transition from the dim light of his dream to the brightly-lit afternoon was still drastic enough to cause Sky to squint as his eyes worked to adjust.  Out in front of him, his legs were stretched to full extension, much like they would be if he were in the act of flying.  Which I had been, in a manner of speaking, he thought to himself.
He went to stretch his wings, only to find that they were already extended.  Arching his eyebrows in surprise, Sky suddenly became aware that the Crown of the Mountain seemed a bit…angry.  Its normally white sheen had been replaced by an increasingly-ominous gray.  And only then did he sense not only the familiar static tingling of an oncoming storm pulsing within the cloud, but also the light that seemed to be emanating from just above him.
Craning his head around, he saw that his wings were aglow with a glaringly bright magic, which he had apparently summoned while still locked in his dream.  Quickly, he pulled his wings against his body and withdrew his active magic.  Instantly, he felt the storm within the Crown begin to subside as it gradually returned to its natural white.  Boy, that would have been great, he thought to himself, sighing in relief.  Every weatherpony in Canterlot would have been scratching their heads, trying to figure out how an unscheduled thunderstorm hit the city, from the Crown of all places!
Turning his thoughts again to his dream, Sky’s typically lighthearted mood was swallowed by worry and concern.  “I think I need to see Princess Celestia.”

Observation Tower, Canterlot Palace
April 15, 4:38 PM

“This is hardly unexpected,” Celestia said gravely, “but the message that you were given is disturbing.”
“No kidding,” Sky nodded in agreement.  Celestia was facing away from him, intently gazing into the eyepiece of an archaic-looking telescope.  The scene was eerily similar to a vision he had experienced in his first dream from the Chimera, over a year ago.  But now, in the presence of Celestia and in the bright sun, he wasn’t as disturbed as he had been then.
“Could you tell anything about the speaker?  Like gender or any kind of accent?” Celestia asked, still staring into the telescope.
“That’s the thing, Your Majesty,” Sky replied.  “There was nothing.  It was like it knew that I would be listening for something like that, and intentionally masked itself.  No accent, no vocal tones…everything it said was airy and thin, like a whisper.  The only thing I could really notice was whenever they put emotion into their voice.  You know, like how when you smile, you can hear it in your speech?”
Celestia hummed her assent, slowly swiveling the telescope to the west, where the sun was beginning its slow descent toward the horizon.  “Well, aside from that, there wasn’t a lot I could tell.  It was just…eerie.  Creepy, how it seemed so sure of itself.”  He snorted in mild amusement.  “Just goes to show how deluded it must be.”
Sky watched as Celestia finally withdrew her eye from the lens of the telescope, but continuing to stare towards the western horizon.  He thought he heard the softest of sighs, though he couldn’t be sure.
A painfully awkward silence ensued.  Celestia’s back remained turned to him, but the longer the silence lasted, the more Sky wished that she would do something.  So far, it had been a rather one-sided conversation, with the princess occasionally muttering something to indicate she was listening.  But now…Celestia seemed totally focused on lowering the sun over the next few hours, as though nothing else mattered.
Or perhaps, she merely wanted a few moments to escape from reality.
For the second time that day, Sky suddenly felt very out-of-place.  He couldn’t help but feel like an intruder upon Celestia’s inmost thoughts; an eavesdropper on her most confidential secrets.  Almost instinctively, he began to retreat towards the stairs descending back into the inviting halls of the palace.  He had nearly reached the first step when the princess’ voice called out to him.
“I’m sorry if I’m making you feel uncomfortable, Sky.  But I would much rather you stay here.  I’d appreciate the company.”
Sky stopped dead in his tracks.  Sure, Celestia had asked him to stick around, but that wasn’t what had stopped him.  There was something in her voice; some curious tone that caught his attention.  To him, he hadn’t heard her say, “I’d appreciate the company;” he had heard, “I’d rather not be alone right now.”
He found himself almost instantly by Celestia’s side, though he didn’t remember how he got there.  He stared up at her anxiously, hunting for the right thing to say…if there was a right thing to say.
“You’ve become so perceptive, Sky,” the princess began softly.  “Sometimes I wonder if your magic isn’t more than it appears to be.”
Sky could feel his cheeks flushing, but he remained silent while the princess spoke again.  “It isn’t all privilege and regality being the ruler of an empire.  There’s quite a weight of responsibility that you carry with you wherever you go.  Any leader will tell you that.
“However,” she continued, “here in Equestria, I think that it is even harder to rule here than in many other places.”
Sky’s eyebrow arched.  “How so?”
“Because of how our civilization is built,” Celestia responded.  “Here in Equestria, we emphasize harmony and unity so much, that it becomes the standard to expect that everypony is perfectly happy.”
“That seems like a lofty goal,” Sky replied.
“Perhaps it is a bit unreasonable,” she admitted, “but a leader should have high aspirations.  Only the best for those that we lead.”  Sky smiled, and he caught the princess looking at him out of the corner of her eye.  “And to think that even one pony is unhappy with the way that I lead weighs heavily on my mind.”
A warm breeze gently blew past Sky’s face as he shook his head in disbelief.  “I can’t understand how anypony could think that you’re an ineffective leader after listening to you talk about how much thought and concern you give to each pony in Equestria.”
“It’s a common saying that if you try to please everypony, somepony won’t like it.”
“That’s ludicrous,” Sky said, furrowing his brow in frustration.  “It doesn’t take a genius to see that you genuinely care about every single pony.  You’ve guided Equestria through countless crises over the last thousand years.”
Celestia smiled sadly, and Sky saw in her eyes the same sadness she had displayed in Princess Luna’s chambers a few hours earlier.  “Some might say that I caused some of them.”
“You did what you thought was best for everypony,” Sky protested.  “And Equestria is a better place because of that.  Nopony is beyond making mistakes, but I like to think that of all the ponies in this land, you’ve done a better job than anyone else could have done.”
He took another step forward, until he stood even with the princess.  The afternoon breeze had begun to pick up slightly, and as it blew past him, small wisps of wind found their way underneath his folded wings.  It was a welcome feeling, and for a split second, Sky’s mind was nearly pulled away with the breeze into the air.
In the distance, the sun’s descent had begun to turn the western sky into a light shade of orange.  And while Celestia’s mane did not naturally display that particular color, Sky became aware of an orange tint reflecting from the lighter shades.  As he stared, he wondered if Celestia had looked anything like this long ago, when Equestria was young and embroiled in the wars for its very survival: her mane a reflection of the fires of war, with her face etched in steadfast determination, but lined with grief and pain from the cares of many generations.
A slight movement in his vision refocused his vision to see that Celestia was now returning his gaze.  Feeling a bit embarrassed for staring, he diverted his eyes and forced the first thought that came to mind out of his mouth.
“So, uh…this pony must really hate freedom and harmony,” he stammered.
A knowing look flashed across Celestia’s face, though she neither chided nor questioned Sky’s intense gaze from before.  “What makes you say that?” she asked, looking once again to the horizon.
“A few things,” he said, surprised that his thoughts were still flowing in spite of his panicked initial response.  “For starters, if it wants to replace you, then it must disapprove of your methods and style, right?  And if this thing really is the nexus of hatred and the Chimera warned me about, then it must thrive on conflict.”  He paused as he began to piece together the logic.  “Which may indicate that it desires a more…aggressive approach to relations with neighboring lands.”
Celestia finally turned her head to look at him straight-on.  “A warlord,” she surmised.
“I was thinking ‘tyrant,’ personally.”
“One could say they’re the same thing.”
“I guess so.”  Sky spread his wings and flapped them a few times, trying to appease his mind’s increasingly strong desire to take to the air.  “But I still don’t understand how it could think that it could challenge you.  You’re the most powerful pony in Equestria.  What does it have that could possibly threaten you?”
A grave expression passed across Celestia’s face.  “There are many potent forms of magic, Sky Streak.  Just because I possess a certain power does not mean that I am invincible.”  She cocked an eyebrow.  “Or have you forgotten about Queen Chrysalis already?”
Sky turned away and bit his lip.  He could feel an embarrassing flush rise to his face as his cheeks grew warm.  “I…I didn’t want to be the one to bring that up,” he explained in a quiet voice.
“It’s all right,” Celestia assured him.  She placed her hoof under Sky’s chin and pulled his gaze back to meet hers.  “It is a fact that Chrysalis outmatched me that day.”
At least she’s not mad about it, Sky thought to himself.  “But even so, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were able to beat her.  And all the royal guards and even Twilight and the others fought, too!  You have tons of ponies that would stand with you!”  He suddenly became aware of how loud his voice had become.  He took a deep breath and tried to re-assert a sense of calm over himself.  “How can one pony, no matter how powerful, stand against all that?”
Celestia’s head drooped a bit, and Sky followed her eyes.  From what he could tell, she was staring out upon Canterlot, as many ponies prepared to get off from work and head home for the day.  “I do not know,” she admitted, “but the simple fact that it believes it can gives me pause.”  She turned to Sky, looking thoughtful.  “Did the Chimera mention if this source of hatred was just one pony, or was it a group of them?”
Sky’s eyes grew wide.  “A group of them?!” he exclaimed.
“Sky, focus,” Celestia said firmly.  “Did the Chimera say anything about it?”
“Uh…”  He forced his mind to process the princess’ request.  “N…no, I don’t think it said anything about that.”  He closed his eyes and, in spite of having no real desire to revisit that event, allowed the images to appear in his mind.  He heard that terrible triple-voice of the Chimera again, and he strained to hear the words afresh.
“And, as a gift for your victory, here’s some advice: there’s quite a source of hatred within Equestria.  Yes, from your own precious ponies.  And if you don’t confront it quickly, you may find yourself facing me again.  Sooner than you’d like, I’d wager.”
“No,” he repeated.  “It didn’t say one way or another.”  He became distinctly aware that the air had become still again, and he said a silent word of thanks.  To a pegasus, the wind was a fantastic distraction, and an equally thrilling temptation.
“Then it is possible that this pony has already begun to gather support for a rebellion,” Celestia concluded.
“But…but that’s just crazy!” Sky blurted.  “Why would somepony want to start a rebellion against you?”
“It would not be the first time,” the princess replied, eyes glinting in the orange sunlight.
“But Luna admitted that she was wrong!  Her rebellion was unjustified!”
“Sky, you must understand,” Celestia replied, turning to him, her face set in a stern visage, “part of being a leader is dealing with those that believe that they could do a better job than you could.  There will always be those who will grumble against leadership and say that it is ineffective.  It is my duty to address these complaints as best I can.”
“But Princess—”
“However,” she continued, cutting him off, “this particular pony has already shown that they are willing to go to drastic measures to see me removed.  And even if they had separate goals from the Chimera, as you told me that it said it did, the truth remains that it used that monster to place hundreds of ponies in harm’s way.  And that exists as a threat to the well-being of the citizens here.  Which forces my hoof in a way I do not wish to move.  Normally, I would take the diplomatic approach of talking with my opponents.  But this has moved beyond that.  Once this traitor is identified, they will need to be dealt with in such a way that they can no longer pose a threat to the good ponies here.”
Sky’s eyes grew wide.  “…Dealt with?” he asked nervously.
But her eyes softened in response.  “Don’t worry, Sky,” she assured him.  “I mean no harm to anypony.  All I mean is that this pony must be located and isolated in a place where they cannot threaten the peace of Equestria any longer.”
A question formed on Sky’s lips, but a yawn escaped first.  He raised his hoof to cover his mouth.  “You’ve had a long day, it seems,” Celestia said in a sympathetic tone.
He completed his yawn and lowered his hoof.  “It’s something I need to get used to,” he replied.  “I may be called to do more someday.”
Celestia tilted her head in with a contemplating look.  “Perhaps,” she conceded.  “But you also need your rest.”
Sky looked up at the princess in surprise.  “It’s not even five o’clock, Your Highness,” he said, sounding more skeptical than he had intended to.
“You don’t need to go to sleep to get rest, Sky Streak.”  He felt movement on the top of his head, and a quick glance upward revealed that Celestia had stretched her wing over and had gingerly begun to brush his wind-mussed mane back into some semblance of order.  “Why don’t you go get something to eat?”
As if on cue, his stomach immediately rumbled.  Sky blushed slightly, and it suddenly occurred to him that he hadn’t eaten one thing since before he had left his home early that morning.  “Well…maybe I should,” Sky said.  “Seeing as how both you and my stomach agree on that.”
“Oh, before you go, I believe that the guard at the gate has a letter for you.”
Sky looked in confusion at the princess.  “A letter for me?  Here at the palace?  Wonder why they didn’t just send it to my house?”
“I’m afraid I don’t have the answer to that, but it may resolve some of your confusion to know that it is addressed from a certain zebra friend of yours,” Celestia replied.
A sudden excitement grew in Sky’s eyes.  “Zecora!  She must have gotten my letter!  Oh, um, if you’ll excuse me, Your Highness,” Sky said with a hasty bow, “I have some urgent business to attend to!”
As he turned and leapt over the railing, he heard the princess’ voice calling out to him.  “Be sure to eat something!”
Just like mom would say, he thought, spreading his wings and making for the palace gates.  He shot over the gardens and outer courtyard in a flash before descending just behind the gates, where he saw the familiar form of a certain excitable new recruit standing guard.  As he landed, he called out in the most gruff voice he could muster, “Recruit!  At attention!”
The brown unicorn jumped at the command, bringing his spear up to position and quickly turning to face his commanding officer.  The spear rattled as it clanged against his armor, and Sky could see the grimace on his face as the sound reverberated around the courtyard.  It made it even funnier when he saw the guard catch sight of him and audibly groan as he realized that he had been had by the playful pegasus.
“Hahaha, at ease, soldier!” Sky laughed, approaching the embarrassed unicorn.
The recruit was not amused.  “Har har, sir,” he said, obviously unimpressed by Sky's antics.  “Funny prank.  Getting bossed around by an officer in plainclothes.  Hilarious.”
“Aw, take it easy, Redeye,” Sky consoled him, placing a leg around his neck.  “It’s a veteran’s job to make life interesting for the new guards.  You did a fine job; you’re just a bit uptight.  Maybe lay off the coffee a bit?”
“Can’t help it, sir; I’m addicted to the stuff,” Redeye explained.
“Maybe you should try decaf.”
“Ugh, no thanks.”
“Anyway,” Sky continued as he pulled his leg from Redeye's neck, “I hear that you have a letter for me.  Might I have that?”
“Oh, of course!” Redeye exclaimed, pulling an envelope out from under his armor.  “Here you are.”
Sky quickly opened it with a swipe of a wing, and eagerly read the short note within.  As he finished, an excited grin stretched across his face.
“Good news, sir?” Redeye asked.
“Excellent news,” Sky agreed, slipping the letter underneath his wrap.  “I need to go get ready.  Tomorrow, I’ll be making a trip to the Everfree Forest.”