> Bloodborne: Before Dawn > by StardustSprinkle > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > A New Dream > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "No!" Sunset sit bolt upright from her bed: "Wha..." She looks around her room, but everything is normal. Ever since her expedition in the Castle of the Two Sister, Sunset starts to suffer insomnia. After each sleepless night, she would see tiny beings of light at the corner of her eyes. However, just before she catches a glimpse of them, the beings would vanish as if there were never there. Even in the dreamland, she would see terrible creatures with mutated features. Sometimes, she would suffer injuries in the dream and wake up only to find the wounds. "Celestia..." It's another nightmare. In her dream, Sunset saw little creatures with pale skin all over her body. Perhaps she shouldn't go on the trip after all. As moonlight shines brilliantly on the floor, a faint, blue light catches her eyes: It emits from a relic she obtained from Luna's chamber. Maybe, it's the source of her nightmares? Sunset turns the light on, but the relic shines even brighter. It's a sword named the Holy Moonlight Blade. Millenniums ago, it was used by Princess Luna to access the dream realm. As time passed, Luna learned to enter the dreamland by herself, and the relic became nothing but an ornament. "I should have left it to Twilight," Sunset mumbles. Upon discovering the sword, they wrote a letter to Luna. The reply they received indicated that it's useless now and they can keep it. After days of researching, Twilight concluded that it's indeed powerless now and asked Sunset whether she wants to keep it. Sunset, attracted by its' mysterious aura, gladly took the offer. Ever since then, her nights were plagued by nightmares and sleeplessness. After a moment of consideration, Sunset decides to take tomorrow off and return it to Twilight. However, the glowing blade draws her attention away from that thought. At this moment, the once outworn blade, wrapped in bandages, now doubled in size and emits a calming cerulean light. Infatuated by its' strange property, Sunset decides to get out of bed and take a closer look. The esoteric light draws her ever closer as a candle would to a moth. Finally, no longer able to resist the attraction, Sunset takes the blade in her own hands and carefully examines it. The once thin blade is now wide and appears to be crafted out of moonlight itself. Upon closer inspection, Sunset discovered that the sword's engravings has changed and appears to be talking to her. No! I can't give in! Sunset shakes her head: I must resist! I can't give in! Sunset throws the sword on the ground and heads out for a stroll. It's 3 am, but she can't sleep after it just happened. "Who is it?" Sunset shouts after hearing a strange whisper next to her ears: "Show yourself." There's no one in her room. Yet, the swords glow ever brighter as Sunset can't help but lie her eyes upon it. Sunset shakes her head violently as the whisper gets louder and louder. Perhaps it's a good idea to take a nap. A bad decision, really. But what else could she do? It's another nightmare. Only this time, she is trapped in a place full of humanoid figures melted to the ground and soaked with blood. They are skinny, hairless, and lacks eyes. They look like corpses but can still move and talk. "Ah, have mercy," a voice whispers: "She's disgusting. Sunset, the Accursed. Have mercy, have mercy..." "Hello?" Sunset calls out as her voice quivers: "I am here to hurt you." Before she figures where the voice came from, a terrible scream cut through the sky. Only moments later, a giant beast crushes into the yard. It looks like a fusion between a human and a horse: its' head looks like that of a human but stretched into ungodly portions. Its' body is like that of a centaur, covered by rotten orangish skin and extra limbs. The only human feature is the Holy Moonlight Blade on its' back, ragged clothing covering its' upped body, and strings of crimson hair on its' head. It looks like...me...Sunset thinks to herself: No...but why? I am a changed person...why? The beast lets out an unholy crying before charging towards Sunset. With little time to react, Sunset reaches for her Blade of Moonlight. As the beast gets closer by the seconds, a brilliant blueish light starts to glow on the blade. As the two collides, a burst of magic energy illuminated night as the beast frantically swings its' claw. "Ah!" Again, Sunset wakes up from her ordeal while panting for air. What a horrible dream, but thankfully it's all a dream. Or is it? A sharp pain shoots from her shoulder as her bed sheets are now soaked in blood. It's enough, she decides. It's time to put an end to it all. She must visit Twilight's castle and find out what is going on. It's not her first nightmare, but it's certainly the most disturbing. Seeing herself as a mutated, mindless beast reminds Sunset of a part of herself that she'd rather forget. This time, the blade saved her. Without it, Sunset would have kissed the world goodbye. Dear Princess Twilight, Sunset writes in her magical journal: I am writing to let you know that the relic we obtained in the castle is still functional and contain power beyond our imagination. It allows me to enter a world where reality and dream overlaps. If I get injured in the dreamland, then I would get injured in the real world. It also glows when moonlight shines on it (or when I am in danger in the dream world). I have been suffering from nightmares ever since you give it to me. I hope we can meet sometime today and conduct more research on it. I think it would be a good idea if we get Princess Luna since this thing belonged to her thousands of years ago. I wonder if she understands how it works. If yes, then we need to do something before something bad happens. Yours, Sunset Shimmer > Frontier of Nightmare > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Shut up!" Sunset shouts as she pulls on her bacon-colored hair violently: "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" "Excuse me," Luna asks: "Are you talking to me?" "Princess Luna!" Sunset turns around, looking like a lunatic from many nights of sleeplessness: "Great to see you!" "Um, ok?" Frightened, Luna backs off: "What are you doing at the portal this hour of the day?" "Going back home!" Sunset replies, wearing a big, twisted smile on her face: "Oh! Look at the time! Gotta go, bye!" "Sunset, wait!" It's too late. Sunset plunged into the mirror without noticing the glow on her blade. "That can't be good." Luna sighs as she bathes in the morning sun. "Fear the old blood..." "Shut up..." Sunset murmurs as she opens her eyes. A cold sensation on her fingers implies that she's either a human in Equestria or the mirror teleports her to another realm. The howling of unholy beasts echoes through the land as Sunset gets back on her feet. This is...definitely different. The only familiar thing in this strange land is the blade she obtained from the ancient castle. Once Luna's possession, the sword emits a comforting blue light. "Sunset..." A voice calls out as footstep approaches the cave she's in "Sunset...". It sounds like Twilight. "Twilight!" A glimmer of hope! Perhaps this is Equestria! "Sunset..." As the footstep gets closer, the voice becomes more distorted: "Sunset, Sunset, Sunset, Sunset..." "T...Twilight?" Sunset reaches for her only friend: The Moonlight Blade. "SUNSET, SUNSET, SUNET, SUNSET!" the footstep grows more rapidly as it gets closer. Finally, the beast reveals itself: It's a tall, furry skinny werewolf-like creature with a vertical mouth in the middle of its' otherwise featureless face. "SUNSET!" The beast screams as it gets on all fours. Stay calm! Sunset thinks while reaching for her sword: Stay calm! Don't panic! Years of facing dangerous creatures in Equestria now paid off. Fortunately for her, the beast was cut down before it has a chance to strike. "Good day to you, madam," the man with long ax bows: "You don't seem like a hunter." "No, I'm not," Sunset replies: "Thank you for saving my life." "Tis' but my duty," the man says before turning the long ax into a one-handed one by folding its' handle: "What is an outsider like yourself doing here? It's quite dangerous." "I don't know anymore," Sunset replies: "I started to see those monsters a while back, and...then here I am. Anyway, I don't even know how to explain this whole situation." "I see," The hunter says, putting his weapon away: "If you don't mind me asking, where did you get that blade?" "Huh? This old thing?" Sunset looks back at her sword: "I found it in the wild." "Of course," the hunter says: "It reminds me of a certain individual." "Anyway," Sunset shifts her attention back to the stranger: "What is a hunter?" "It's easy, really; you get a weapon and slaughter beasts," the man says. "So is there..." Sunset stops before asking another question. Something is wrong with this man. "Madam?" the stranger asks: "Are you alright?" "Wha? Yes, I'm good." "I know of a safe place," The man says: "I can lead you there if you are interested." "Oh, thank you! You are a lifesaver!" Her instinct screams at her as she tries to stay calm. "As the plain is cleansed of beasts," the man bows: "Lady first." "Oh, you are too kind!" Sunset takes a step back: "You first!" "I insist!" "Ok," Sunset swallowed her heart. What's the worst that could happen? As she makes her way out of the cave, passing the hunter, Sunset felt something approaching her. She turned around and was greeted by an ax. The same ax was used to save her life. Luckily, she was able to grab the hand wielding the ax and takes it from the wielder before giving him a heavy head-butt. "Gah!" The man cries out: "What reflex!" "Stay back!" Sunset shouts, unfolding the ax and unleashes its' long-handle. "What reflex!" The man mumbles: "You lied to me, fellow hunter." "Just stay back!" Sunset shouts as her hands shake: "I don't want to hurt you, so just stay back!" "Well, well," the man turns invisible for a second before showing himself before Sunset's face: "Aren't you a special one." "Let go!" Sunset shouts as the man tries to take the ax away. "It's too late, my friend!" The man says before bursting out in laughter: "It's either hunt, hunted!" "I said, let go!" Sunset knocks the man to the ground with another head-butt before taking full control of the weapon, lift it high in the air, and swings down with her full might: "Why won't you listen!" Welp, I'm done for, the man thinks, struggling to stand up: How is she still standing? "Why won't you leave me alone..." The ax stops before touching the man's skin: "Get out of my sight..." "Are you sure of it?" The hunter asks mockingly: "Next time we meet, you won't get this lucky." "Next time we meet," Sunset says with a shaky yet cold voice: "You will regret your birth." The hunter gets on his feet and retreats without his weapon. "Stay away..." Sunset drops her ax: "Just stay away." > A Voice > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The sound of boulders smashing into each other fills the air as Sunset ducks down behind a tombstone-like structure. As the boulders fall like rain, Sunset must stay still and endure the torture of the poisonous lake. "Ah!" Sunset screams as a starfish-like monster with pale skin vomit even more toxins on Sunset. "Why, you little..." Sunset swings out her ax as the blade of moonlight, without her knowledge, starts to glow on her back. However, when she stands up to fight, several boulders smashed her head. "Twi...light..." Her sight fades as her mind goes blank. Her senses dull as the starfish-like creatures slowly move away. Then, just before life exits her body, the Holy Moonlight Sword unleashes a power blast, shocking Sunset back to life. "Go figures!" Sunset says as she spits out the poisons that flowed into her mouth when she was losing her consciousness: "What..." "To your left." A mysterious voice whispers into Sunset's ears. "Who?" Sunset makes a face while panting for air: "Who are you?" "To your left." The voice warns again. "Oof," Sunset rolls to her right before a super-sized boulder smashes to her left. "To the cave." the voice guides. "Agh, whatever," Sunset groans as she charges towards a cavern while dodging boulders. "Left, right, left, left, right..." the voice echoes in Sunset's ears. With its' guide, Sunset traversed the swamp without suffering any injury. "Ok, voice," Sunset holds onto her ax tightly: "Show yourself!" "Proceed." the voice says. "What?" Sunset looks around. "Proceed." the voice repeats. "Whatever," Sunset lets out a sigh of defeat. After all, the voice did guide her to safety. As she moves onto the other side, however, another voice calls out to her. "Sunset!" It's Twilight's voice. "Twilight?" Sunset's mind starts racing: "Hello?" "Sunset! It's me! Twilight!" the voice continues as the sound of footsteps quickens towards Sunset's position: "Sunset!" "Twilight!" Sunset drops her ax: "Twilight!" As she runs towards 'Twilight,' however, Sunset was greeted with a swollen head and dozens of eyes. Then, as two tentacles grab Sunset's head, the monster starts to speak again: "Sunset! How are you? It has certainly been a while!" "Stop!" Sunset screams in a muffled voice as she tries to push the monster away. "Sunset, how are you?" the monster speaks with perfect clarity as it tries to shove Sunset's head into its' mouth. "Away!" Sunset kicks it aside, pulling out her blade of moonlight. "Sunset! How are you?" The monster says as its' eyes glow: "Let's have a reading session." "Enough!" the blade glows, and the light around it gradually forms into an emerald-colored blade with intricate designs. "Sunset! Let's read!" The monster charges at Sunset, spitting put sentences it doesn't understand "Sunset! How are you!" "Stop..." Sunset says through gritted teeth as she suffers a severe headache. Finally, she yields to the light that the monster emits from its' eyes. Sunset drops on her knees as the monster latch onto her. "Sunset! Look out!" The thing says as it tries to. "Away!" with the last of her strength, Sunset penetrated the monster's body with her blade. "Sunset! Let's read!" The monster says as its' body fades into dust. "I...I'm going to puke..." Sunset mumbles. "Down." The voice calls out to Sunset again: "Go down." "Whatever," Sunset sits down, panting for air: "Whatever."