//------------------------------// // The Dreams... // Story: A Timeless Hell // by EternalShadow54 //------------------------------// A Timeless Hell... Chapter 2- The dreams... "For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, 'It might have been.' -John Greenleaf Whittier The stallion stepped out the door, rain beating upon his armour with a slightly mezmerizing rythmic pattern as he looked out upon the fields of grey and brown. A fog had fallen upon the tavern since Davy had arrived, hazing the outside world from his eyes while he looked to the sky. Everything seemed to blend to him now, the lines of the horizon and the earth fusing together during his life, his sight failing ever sense he had broken his glasses that night running from the monstrosities he created. Most of the world was a blur, his other senses keen from his lack of sight, but those images were clear as crystal, the images that dared to tred through his mind with every batter of his eyes. He often times wondered if he deserved this, deserved the eternal punishment he was forced to bear. "I could have prevented this..." Davy always told himself. "I could have saved everypony their misery and suffering... It's all my fault..." The clouds above began to break way, the sparkling beam of sunlight casting down upon Davy Downpour's face as he stared. Light bothered the stallion, the feeling of warmth and happiness sickening him, taunting his feelings of how he felt when he was with her, with Treanie. Turning side, the scared unicorn tred down a dirt path, thoughts consumed by his old life, his days as a foal. How he wanted to go back, to stop himself from ever taking that book, to fix the unfixable, but he knew all to well he couldn't. He couldn't save his family, his friends, his love... not without the death of his younger self in the process. Tears were seldom shed, most of his emotions drained by time. The journey ahead was so unclear to Davy, the quest to destroy the ponynomicon inconceptable with the given circumstances, but he knew there was no other way, no other choice for him. He chose to bury the book, bury his dark creation and hope that it would never arise rather than abolish it, rip apart his life with his own hooves to keep safe his family's. It was his choice, and regret is a powerful thing. The path came to an end, Davy just outside of a small cottage to the left. A sign stood tall outside the the picket fence reading as followed, "Room for Rent". Expression unchanged, the white stallion slowly tred to the door, and knocked. He was welcomed by a happy face, a mare with the most golden of manes, and the perfect light hue of green. Her smile and appearence resembled that of his love's, even she was a pegasus like his beloved Treanie, causing Davy to jerk his head at first glance. She showed her southern hospitality, bidding him to come in and offering him a drink before even exchanging names. Her voice even gave resemblence. Downpour just coldly glared, the mare slightly unsettled by his grim and rough appearence. "The sign says you have a room for rent... Is this correct?" Davy asked, his emerald green eyes setting softly upon those of the pegasus. The mare nodded, telling him the slightly overpriced amount of rent. Davy pulled out his pouch from the armour around him, and gave the pony the twenty bits she had asked for the night, never making eye contact with her again. She told him the room was up the stairs, first door to the right and that she would cook him breakfast in the morning. The unicorn bowed his head and walked towards the stairs. He was stooped only by the mare as she asked for his name. "It won't matter, I'll be gone by tomorrow... don't even bother with breakfast..." The room was small, only ten by twenty hooves at most as Davy laid upon the only object within his accomedations, a tiny bed with only a quilt and no pillow. A window allowed the sunlight to creep into the room, shining down from the bedside and mocking the stallion once more. The wooden ceiling above gave him something to help occupy him, counting planks and making out figures in the wooden seams while his dreams slowly began to take over, gently caressing his eyes as he drifted to sleep, mind ready to withstand what was to be sure another horrible nightmare, and another failed attempt. Davy's eyes opened, the world around complete crimson as he stood. He knew it was a dream, another terrible nightmare plauged upon him by that wretched book. Below him was black, pure darkness, and above was red, glistening with the resemblence of blood. The dark void undernieth grew, consuming the only color around him until it was pitch black. All was silent, only his breath heard while he felt the space around him begin to close in, Davy's body instinctively setting into a crouching state. The stallions chest lay nearly on the ground before the feeling ceased to encase him, his veins frozen as a he turned his head to a low growl at his side. He couldn't make out a feature, make out a form as the growl slowly raised volume, suddenly coming from above and below as well. A ice cold feeling wrapped around the stallion's legs, now immoble as he struggled against the iron grip for freedom. It continued to slowly travel up his body, his breathing becoming a chore as every cold touch nearly left him breathless. He pulled and tugged, fletching his head in several directions with his body slowly becoming engulfed by the chill. All struggle ended when he gazed into the rose red eyes of a serpent, teeth sharp as the edge of a cut diamond, and scales darker than the void of night. Another pair come forth from the darkness, beaming down at the pony who was paralized, if not by being bound, then by sheer fear and terror as it showed off its sinister grin of razor sharp teeth with glee. He was hlafway encased in the freezing darkness that swarmed him, ever more slowly creeping and crawling its way to the top. Growls came from all directions, another head stepping from the void to reveal another set of those terrifying eyes from behind, and another from above. The serpents warped around him, laughing as he was unable to move from his bound position. One ventured right beside the increasingly frantic stallion, the scared unicorn bitting into the creatures neck, causing it to thrash its head upwards as the rest of the heads shieked in accord. The grasp held upon the white stallion was released, his body falling down into the abyss as he closed his eyes, ready for this nightmare to be over. He crashed with a thud, the pain almost too real to be from a dream, but he knew better, knew he had at least one last thing to go through before he could awake. There was a flash around him, a quick flash of white as the screams he knew all too well were heard by his ears. This was the night, the night that haunted every waking moment of his exsistence in this life of his. The world came to form around the unicorn, the bloodstained walls of his home, his very living room becoming visible as the screaming continued, piercing his eardrums. Davy walked over to the front door, slowly turning the knob as he prepared to see what he is cursed with seeing. The house behind him began to crumble into the blackness as he walked forward, his mother begging for mercy to his left as the monster from his dreams ripped he apart limb from limb, and his father crying in anguish as one tore through his midsection with its arms. Their screams faded as he continued through his city, emotion never changing while he approached the center of town. He could hear them, hear his siblings calling his name to help them as they reached for their brother, who only gave a glare as they were dragged away before him, shrieks cut short by the handywork of his creations. The world faded behind him with every step, his journey through this dream almost over as he walked down the path. His house came into vision, the small body of an ignorant foal digging a hole by the family tree outside his yard. Davy watched as the foal patted the dirt and ran into his house, completely unaware of the mare within the bushes who spied on him. Her curiosity was the only thing that still enraged the stallion, watching as she foolishly unearthed the book he had sought, and read the contents within aloud. Shame... regret... guilt... were all things that Davy felt as the ground from benieth the mare gave way, and consumed her body while she let out a muffled yell. This dream played through his head many time, but even though he wasn't there, he can still hear her yell, her call for him as she was swallowed up. The house faded into black as he laid his head to the ground, closing his eyes and ready to embrace the day. There was confusion in the cell as a white unicorn just appeared from nowhere and laid upon the stone floor, the prisoners all backed into the corner with fear as the stallion before them slowly awoke, letting out a yawn as he stretched. Davy took short notice of his surroundings as he turned his attention to the frightened ponies beside him. The stallion cleared his throat before asking the small bunch what time it was. A young mare was pushed from the group in from of him, her sapphire eyes wide as she studdered the date. Davy simply bowed his head in thanks and caught the attention of a guard, explaining to him the situation of why he was there and asking for release. The guard knew he wasn't a prisoner, and did as he was requested, sketchy about his story of how he wound up there, but clearly not that intrested in whether it was true or not. The white unicorn drew in the crisp, fresh air as he stepped outside the jail, gazing happily upon the castle walls that surrounded the quaint, medieval village below...