Of Dreams and Nightmares

by Saatchi

From good to bad...

"Are you sure Twilight?" asked Celestia "I only ask because you had me worried when you ran outside without giving any sort of reason."

Twilight nodded.
"I am ready to hear what we need to do Princess. I apologise for running out earlier, I just got a little bit…overwhelmed…"

Celestia nodded and began to inform Twilight what was needed of her.
"As I've explained to your friends, I need you all to complete the task that I set my guards." Celestia levitated a pair of saddlebags emblazoned with Celestia's and Luna's cutie marks entwined together on the front. These saddlebags were usually reserved for the castle couriers, but Celestia thought it saved Twilight going and getting her own. "In here is the map they were detailing, if you opened it up you'd notice a surprisingly large gap, a location they failed to document. We need you to go and fill in this spot with a detailed representation of what's there. Then you are to return to me as soon as possible.

"Understood Princess, we'll get it done right away!" exclaimed Twilight.
Twilight and her friends then began to turn away.

"Aren't you forgetting something Twilight? Celestia reminded her.

Twilight whirled around and looked at the saddlebags that Celestia was still levitating.
"Oh right, can't forget those...said Twilight as she levitated them onto her back, slipping the journal in with the map. The ponies then bid farewell to Princesses and made their way to the chariot that had brought them so far.

As the chariot took of and disappeared into the sea of clouds, Celestia muttered something under her breath.
"Stay safe ponies, stay safe…"

****

As the chariot sailed through the bright blue sky, Twilight took a moment to read more from the journal. She skimmed through the pages until she arrived at a part she hadn't read.

Since my first vivid nightmare, I've been getting worse and worse visions each night. Except now it's not confined to the dream world. I hear that voice wherever I go. It's following me, taunting me. I keep asking my colleagues if they can hear it too, but they keep denying it. As each day passes its calls grow louder, it's starting to become unbearable. Others doubt my leadership ability; some are even questioning my sanity. I don't know why this is happening to me, but I'm starting to fear for what is still to come…"

Twilight was intrigued, she too was hearing voices, well she'd heard it once, but she was certain she'd hear it again. She glanced up from reading to see that they were coming in too land, realising that she wasn't going to get to read much more, she packed the journal away. The chariot touched down, just on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. Twilight and her friends exited the chariot, standing just outside the first row of trees. The chariot took off again, leaving the ponies alone. Twilight stared at the ominous forest laid out before them and turned to her friends.
"Are we all ready for this?" she quizzed.

"O' course we are! Ah mean we've taken on worse things than this an' won each time! Replied Applejack enthusiastically.

"Yeah! I mean come on Twilight, all we have to do is go in there, and draw a little picture. Nothing too it! Replied Rainbow Dash, sharing Applejack's enthusiasm.

"Twilight darling, I just want to get this out of the way with as little mess as possible" answered Rarity in her signature ladylike tone.

"And then we can parrrrrrty!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.

Fluttershy tried to answer, but her friends exclamations drowned her out.

Twilight smiled, her friends enthusiastic attitude only served to boost her own confidence. She turned back around to face the forest and took her first steps inside, with her friends following suit. She levitated the map out of the saddlebags, and brought it in front of her face. She worked out that their current position was directly west of their destination. She looked at the distance between them, then, using a simple mathematical conversion calculation, she worked out how long it would take to reach it.
"Girls, we're not going to get where we need too tonight."

"So will we be returning home for good nights sleep and try again in the morning?" asked Rarity.

"No Rarity, we're goin' t' make camp right Twi?" responded Applejack.

"That's correct AJ. Keep your eyes open for a good place to settle down, should we not be able to continue." Replied Twilight.

"Camp…ing…here?" replied Rarity, slightly worried.

"What's the matter Rarity? You're not scared are ya?" queried Rainbow Dash.

"On the contrary my dear, I assumed that we would have this task completed by the end of the day. So as you can imagine, I am completely unprepared for night of 'camping' " replied Rarity.

"Well what would you need for camping Rarity?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"Well Pinkie, besides the obvious, I would need…" Rarity then began to rattle off a long list of items she would need to make camping more enjoyable.

Twilight glanced at her friends talking amongst themselves; blissfully unaware of the possible danger she was leading them into. The four of them seemed to think that this was just going to be some simple task…

Wait a minute… four of them? Thought Twilight.
The sudden realisation that one of her friends was missing washed over Twilight, like an ice cold wave of dread.

"Where's Fluttershy?" asked Twilight worriedly.

Everyone looked around, their eyes darting back and forth for any sign of the shy Pegasus. Twilight barged past her friends and started to retrace her steps.

"We have to go back the way we came, maybe she just lost sight of us!" yelled Twilight optimistically as she disappeared into the foliage, not waiting around for her friends. The Everfree forest wasn't a place you wanted to get lost in, especially if you were Fluttershy. As Twilight neared the midway point, her eyes came to rest on a clearing to her left. There, sprawled out on the floor was Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy!" exclaimed Twilight.

Fluttershy stirred, lifting her head off the floor.
"Twilight?" she replied, in a noticeably deeper tone.

Twilight's pace slowed; suddenly she didn't want to rescue her friend so eagerly.
"Fluttershy? What's wrong with your voice?" asked Twilight, as she approached more precociously.

Twilight, what's wrong with me? I can hear someone whispering to me, talking about you…" said Fluttershy in her distorted tone.

Fluttershy fell silent as she stood up and faced her. She smiled at Twilight, this is of course, universally known as a polite thing to do, yet Twilight couldn't help but feel like something was off. The moment Fluttershy spoke, it confirmed her suspicions.

"This one is weak, easily manipulated. Not like you Twilight, nothing like you. You have such promise and yet you don't seem to realise it. Except I realise it, I know what you are capable of, and how your power can bring me into the mortal plain." Continued the seemingly possessed Fluttershy.

"What have you done to Fluttershy!" yelled Twilight, looking around for her friends, but she had left them behind when she raced off to find Fluttershy.

"Just a simple takeover of her mind, she's still in here of course. Locked away inside an internal nightmare, scared, frightened and alone. However I decided that I needed some leverage, just to make sure that you would meet with me, rather than just complete the task set by your pathetic excuse for a princess. So here's my proposition Twilight, meet with me, and I'll free your friend from her eternal torture. Deal?" answered Fluttershy.

Then the yellow Pegasus fell silent and suddenly dropped to the floor. Twilight approached her friend and knelt down beside her. Suddenly Fluttershy jerked to life, screaming and thrashing about.

"Help me, somebody please!" bawled the distressed Fluttershy.

Twilight felt a sudden surge of emotion, a combination of rage, and pity. She had been able to deal with this unknown menace when it was just affecting her. Except now it was messing with Fluttershy, forcing her to live moments of pure horror and terror. Twilight had to end this, and she had to end it soon. Even as her friends finally caught up with her, she was formulating a plan to bring this to a close. Her friends could only watch as Fluttershy's body twisted and writhed on the floor. A quiet voice whispered in Twilight's ear.

"The longer you delay, the more I'll increase poor Fluttershy's pain…and you wouldn't want that would you?"

Twilight's friends turned to face her, their eyes wide with worry. Their expressions expressed their concerns, instead of the use of spoken words. They were all looking to her as if to say "What do we do?" and the unfortunate truth of the matter was that Twilight didn't know, and it showed in her response.

"We…we make camp, until we think of something better." Spoke Twilight softly.

Are ya sure 'bout that Twi? Fluttershy could do with some serious help about now…" replied a concerned Applejack.

"We make camp, now." Replied Twilight, who was starting to get a little agitated.

"Alright Twi. Rainbow an' I will go an' look fer suitable materials. Rarity, Pinkie, y'all can go an' look fer somethin' t' eat" continued Applejack.

"Actually Applejack, I was thinking that I could stay here and think up designs for out…ahem…accommodation" interjected Rarity.

It was then that every pony present, barring Fluttershy, gave Rarity a disapproving glare. Rarity quickly picked up on the groups' collective thoughts, and agreed to go to with Pinkie, even though she really didn't want to. This left Twilight as the only pony present, who didn't have a task to carry out, but she was quick to rectify this.

"I'll stay here with Fluttershy, keep her safe" answered Twilight.

The others nodded and set about their separate ways. Twilight settled down a safe distance away from the flailing Pegasus, and pulled out the guards' journal. She figured she could fit in a bit of light reading before her friends returned. She turned the page from where she had previously left off, and began to read.

The voice in my head has been silent for nearly a day now, and things don't seem right without it. My nightmares have been getting worse, and my sanity is being called into question, time and time again. Some of my colleagues are claiming that I've been 'infecting' them, as they too have been exhibiting strange behaviour. I've shut myself away from them, and continue to keep my distance; I know they're up to something. They just want to get rid of me, trying to make me paranoid, waiting for me to slip up. I know their game. When the voice speaks to me again, then I'll exact my revenge on them. Those that doubt me, and those that want to get rid of me, they'll see what I can do, what we can do. Night's coming in, got to stay on guard…

Twilight paused for a second; she then flipped through the previous journal pages. One thing struck her as she skimmed through the words. The guards' handwriting had been in a constant state of flux. At points it was aesthetically pleasing, and well written, and at others it seemed more sketchy and erratic. It was almost like it was being written by two different ponies. The close she got to the backend of the journal, the more the sketchy writing became more prominent. She turned over the most recently read page and was met with quite a shock.

The pages were littered with sketchy quill strokes; small pictures adorned with anecdotes covered every available space. Twilight's eyes flitted over the pages, taking in all that she could. She paid special attention to the drawings of what she assumed to be some of the guards' colleagues. A few of them had thick X's through them, leaving Twilight wondering what had happened to them. At the centre of the second page, there was the sentence "I did it, exactly as he told me". Something about this sentence chilled her to the core, when it was combined with the other graffiti it painted quite a sinister picture. Twilight breathed a slightly relieved sigh; it was a good thing that he had been locked in Canterlot's dungeon. She turned over the next page, to find it was blank, same for the next page, and the next. Twilight sighed and levitated the journal back into her saddlebags. She then laid her head on the ground, overcome by a sudden feeling of tiredness. Her eyelids felt heavy, and she would've questioned these sudden feelings, but her brain was hell bent on sending her to sleep. She decided not to fight it, and soon enough, she had dozed off, right next to Fluttershy.

Welcome to my domain, Twilight…

You're going to be here for a while…

Comments

[Saatchi]

14384

Is that because of what I made happen to Fluttershy?