Prologue
Dream’s End
~ Prologue ~
Before the Nightmare ~ Equestria
Silence.
The lack of sound gripped the world like a vice, threatening to crack it under the sheer force of emptiness. The thunder outside made no sound, nor did the lightning that struck the same tree again and again in an unending loop. The flames on the walls did not crackle; instead, they merely glowed against the cobblestone in a sort of ethereal, disturbing way with nothing but a soft glimmer of light.
The sound of the mare’s steps as she ran, likewise, did not resonate. It was not as if they were simply muted – it was more as if they just were not. As if the sound had never existed in the first place.
Nonetheless, she ran on, panting as hard as she could while her hooves scraped and crashed down on the threadbare, graying carpet that was only a year or so away from disintegrating completely. She dodged past bookshelves – things that, had the circumstances been different, she would have stopped to at least take a cursory glance at – as her sprint continued.
She could not stop. She did not dare to. It was there – oh, how she could sense it was there, even if it made no sounds – as it continued after her.
Silence.
Her breath was caught in her throat, but she could not hear herself pant. She had not heard sound in… how long had it been? How long had she been running? Even as she continued, even as her lungs felt fit to burst, she still knew that she could not stop.
It was close. She could sense it. Like everything else, it made no sound, but she could still sense it behind her. It was there. She knew it was there.
The walls suddenly closed around her; to her front towered a bookshelf tall enough to dwarf the sun and moon combined; to her left sat a similar bookshelf, although it looked slightly, impossibly crooked; and to her right lay the final bookshelf, which seemed to change size and shape – although only slightly – every time she looked away.
But she was trapped. Her lungs felt ready to give out, her eyes were watering with terrified tears, and her hooves felt ready to burst from exhaustion and overuse. She turned around slowly, horrified to face the thing that was after her.
Silence.
Behind her sat another bookshelf, this one even larger than the one behind her. And, somehow, it looked wider, even though it met the others at the same points. The mare’s heart leapt into her throat and she quickly reared around.
Had the bookshelf changed? No, it could not have, surely… Could it? No… It was impossible, surely. It could not have.
Right?
She whirled around again, and noticed the shelf that had been to her left initially rubbing against her hoof. Had it been so close? No, of course not.
The mare felt something against her back, crushing her wings into her in a horribly painful manner. She struggled to turn around but found herself unable to. Glancing from side to side, she quickly realized the reason: the shelves had converged so closely her body had been crushed between them, leaving her in a position where she could not possibly anything beyond her head and eyes.
A horrible pain lanced through her like lightning as the shelves grew closer and closer, crushing her slowly and horribly as the darkness grew even more prominent. She tried to scream.
Silence.
Silence everywhere. There was nothing but silence. Nothing but endless silence and darkness.
But even as she struggled to free herself, even as the bookshelves crushed her body, bones, and blood into a horribly painful lump, the mare still attempted to scream.
Unfortunately, however, there was no sound inside the library.
Twilight Sparkle gasped as she awoke. Her brow was matted with sweat and her limbs felt heavy. She forced herself up from her bed, letting out a quiet grunt as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
“What a nightmare…” she mumbled. Although she had forgotten most of it by that point, those last few seconds of being crushed to death remained very clearly in her mind.
Twilight took a cursory glance over at the window, only to discover much to her dismay that it was still dark out. Using her magic, she picked up the small clock beside her bed and held it in front of her face. Only 1:37 in the morning? Of course.
Letting out a deliberately low-volume groan in order to avoid waking Spike – who was sleeping quietly not ten feet away –, Twilight grabbed the pillow next to her and placed it over her head. It was too early to get up, and she knew it had just been a dream.
Still, though, those last few seconds of choking, sputtering, and screaming as she had been brutally crushed sent a chill down her spine. And what had she been running from? The memory had quickly left her, leaving Twilight to ponder what had been so terrifying she had fled straight into a death trap.
She listened closely to the sound of the crickets chirping outside as she struggled to fall asleep again. Twilight pulled the pillow around her ears in an effort to block out the sound, but found herself unable to do so as the memories of that silent place struck her again.
If only she could remember more, she could at least try to reason out what she had been so terrified of. Instead, however, her brain simply would not seem to allow it.
Maybe it would come if she waited a little longer, she reasoned. After all, it was always possible that she could reclaim her memories throughout the day. All she had to do was wait.
With that knowledge – or, at the very least, that theory – securely inside her head, Twilight allowed her mind to ease somewhat. As her mind left the matter behind and her heart stopped beating so fast in her chest, Twilight slowly fell back into a deep, uneasy sleep.
The next day came far too early for Twilight’s liking. Within what felt like mere moments of her losing consciousness, Celestia’s sun blazed through her window like a spotlight aimed at her and her alone. She sat up in bed with a quiet groan, rubbing the sleep from her tired eyes with all the speed and effort of Spike on a bad day.
She chuckled a bit at her own joke before taking a glance over at Spike. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully, the rising and falling of his covers being all Twilight needed to know that he was probably still quite a ways from waking up.
Not wanting to disturb him, Twilight slowly crept out of her bed. Her lavender hooves brushed against the wooden floor of her bedroom as she did everything in her power to avoid the creakiest spots.
As she stepped over to the stairwell leading to the ground floor, she took another cursory look back at Spike. Only his purple head stuck out from underneath the blankets. That was good, at least. Twilight may have relied on him for just about everything around the library, but she planned on giving him a break today; not a large break of course, as she still expected him to help her, but she figured Spike could use a bit of extra sleep.
She crept quietly down the stairway leading to the first floor, still doing everything in her power to make sure Spike stayed asleep – although, to be fair, part of that was due to her own fear of last night’s dream. If Twilight was having difficulty sleeping, she could at least make sure Spike got a good night’s rest. At least one of them would be able to function properly.
Twilight stepped down to the first floor and took a look around the library. The bookshelves seemed normal enough, she supposed; none of them were moving towards her, so that was a plus. She let out a quiet laugh at her own joke before sighing.
No wonder she’d had that particular nightmare, Twilight was thinking. Spending so much time inside a library probably had a pretty funny effect on ponies. Even if she loved books to death, she could hardly pretend such a thing was not distressingly common. Ponies who played chess often would sometimes dream about strategies, Applejack had had that one dream about the killer apple monster, and so on.
Granted, Twilight had never had such a vivid dream before – at least, she had not had one so horrifying –, but she knew a case of obsession when she saw one. She figured a day out in Ponyville would probably help to clear her head.
As she stepped over to the door, though, Twilight noticed a small scroll on the nearby coffee table. “Did Spike get this last night?” she asked aloud as she began to undo the string holding it closed.
The scroll spilled open, revealing a fairly short letter. Twilight squinted slightly as she read the small, printed, yet oddly messy letters.
My former student, Princess Twilight Sparkle,
I am afraid there is a matter that I must discuss with you. I do not wish to alarm you, but this is a matter of utmost secrecy and urgency. As such, I must ask you to gather the other five Elements of Harmony and come to the Royal Palace at once. I cannot fully explain why in this message, as I fear the damage it could cause if this information is made public, so I must speak to you personally. Please come as soon as you can.
Signed,
Princess CelestiaPS: In case you are wondering, Discord was the one who delivered this particular letter; this matter concerns him, as well. Perhaps moreso than anypony else.
Twilight stared at the letter for several seconds in a mixture of exasperation and surprise. Something was wrong with Equestria? Something that required the Elements of Harmony? Yes, that was to be expected – it happened every day, it seemed.
But Celestia seemed almost panicked when she had written this particular letter. The writing was sloppier than it normally was, made even more obvious by a rather large ink stain in the lower left corner. Almost every letter Twilight had ever received from Celestia was meticulously neat, clean, and seemed planned down to the last word. This one seemed rushed, and the aforementioned sloppiness told Twilight that Celestia had clearly written it in a hurry.
Twilight slowly wrapped the letter back up and let out a low, unsteady breath. This was not normal. None of this was normal. Something terrible had happened, but what was it?
She leaned back against a nearby bookshelf, breathing heavily. Had somepony gotten injured? Had another ultimate evil broken free? Was Celestia dying?
Her breaths became quick and shallow, especially at the thought of the last one. Was that why Celestia had been so quick to make Twilight ascend? Because she was going to have to take over the kingdom soon? But she had never ruled a kingdom or commanded its subjects! How could she possibly know what to do?
Twilight paused for a moment as she let reality come back. “Calm down, Twilight,” she muttered. “Just… Just calm down, okay? You’re overreacting. You’re overreacting.”
Sweet Celestia, she hoped she was just overreacting.
She undid the string again and reread the letter. Get the other Elements of Harmony? Then Celestia probably was okay. She had no reason to be so terrified. She had to calm down.
Twilight took another, deeper breath – in through her nose, out through her mouth – and sighed. Celestia wanted to see her, that much she knew. She knew nothing else, and she would know even less if she did not go find her friends.
So with that thought in mind, Twilight opened the front door slowly, and, after taking yet another deep breath, she set off to do just that.
Six mares stood in front of the door to the Canterlot throne room. Two earth ponies, two unicorns, and two pegasi simply stood there, staring at the massive door leading to their destination.
“So,” Rainbow Dash asked casually, hovering just a few inches off the ground, “you think Princess Celestia wants us to go after a monster or somethin’?”
Applejack shrugged, causing her hat to shift a bit on her mane. “Eh, probably.” She reached up and readjusted the hat before turning back to Rainbow Dash. “Knowin’ our luck, we’re gonna wind up fightin’ some kinda evil overlord.”
Rainbow Dash stretched out her legs. “Ten bits says it’s changelings.”
“I’ll take that bet,” Applejack replied. She glanced over at Twilight. “So,” she said, “whaddaya think we’re dealin’ with here, Twi? Changelings? Diamond dogs? Demon gods?”
Twilight shuddered. “Hopefully not the last one.”
Pinkie Pie giggled. “Yep, but I betcha it’ll be pretty fun either way.” She grinned. “C’mon, Twilight! Let’s go in and see what Princess Celestia wants from us!”
Twilight looked between the other five before letting out a sigh. “Alright,” she said, and she glanced up at the massive door. “Let’s see what Princess Celestia has to tell us.”
She stepped forward tentatively, the dream from last night still echoing in her ears. That horrific silence still terrified her even now, and she swallowed in order to force herself to concentrate on the door. Her horn began to glow with magical energy as she pointed it forward.
And then – as was to be expected, perhaps – the door slowly swung inward.
And so again, Fate’s wheel begins its wretched turn. Let us see, then, which way it spins. This wretchedness – Despair's curse – verifies this act in its entirety.
But now it shall be fulfilled. I shall not allow any more interferences. Until the promised day arrives, I shall ensure they cannot intrude. And then, Fate’s wheel shall come to a single, harsh stop.
Forever.
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Ah, I thought it was a Bloodborne crossover for a second judging by the title... but well, it looks like it's gonna be a pretty good one if the Epic for Gilgamesh is anything to go by.
Let's find out who the long forgotten myth is this time, shall we?