//------------------------------//
// Recovery Time 
// Story: Land of Equines 
// by Daddy Joe 
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Recovery Time
August 3rd, 2013

So yeah, it has been over two months since I last wrote anything down. As I stated in the title of this entry, I have been recovering over my experience in the arctic north with Night Hunter. Things have not been going good for me over this long timespan, but I have recently gotten better. But you're probably wondering what the heck has been going on with me over the past two months that would make me stop writing.

First, let's go back to the beginning in June. What I remember when Night Hunter and I got back inside the Crystal Empire was how strange I felt. I had a very nauseous feeling, but there was also something else going on with me at the same time that I still can't put my finger on at first. 

When both of us ran inside of the castle and asked for Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, I kept on thinking "Get out! Get out!" for some completely random reason. Although I was thinking that one phrase consciously, it felt more like a voice deep inside my subconscious trying to gnaw at me. Once Night Hunter and I met up with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, these weird feelings seemed to just fade, and I felt just like my normal self again. I instantly realized how extremely odd and abrupt this was, but I was just glad the sensations went away and brushed it off, forgetting about it the best I could.

But on the other hand, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor immediately took great concern to our report and acted without hesitation. After we gave the location of Sombra's horn, Shining Armor took the courtesy to take a fairly large squad of his royal guards and set off into the arctic while Princess Cadance stayed back to ensure that the love and unity of the empire doesn't become compromised in any way. It would make sense, too, since Cadance is the Princess of Love. I mean, it's not like the Crystal Heart can run away from danger, so it had to be protected from any possible bad scenario.

We stayed at the castle for a couple hours before Shining Armor returned with his squad. To make things short, they pretty much destroyed the last remnants of King Sombra. Disintegrated, as a matter of fact, so I give big props to them. Speaking of props, the two rulers showed up their utmost gratitude for our services afterwards. Some may think that getting paid would be expected from a job of such as high magnitude, but knowing that I gained honor feels a lot better than receiving a bunch of coins. And so, we basically left the Crystal Empire as hero's. 





Over the next following seven days, everything was going normal for me. My behavior and personality had not changed, but on June 10th I had three odd dreams that lasted until the 21st of July. Well, maybe not odd, but more like disturbing, for a better word. Another weird detail is that these dreams of some sort were played in, like, sequences of events. Believe me, I was scared out of my mind when the first one happened, but then I learned to be.... interested with them. Here, I'll just do a summary of each and see what you think.

In the first nightmare, I was basically wandering in the frozen arctic all by myself in the dead of night. I had no destination or goal in mind, but I just felt the need to keep walking aimlessly, and this went on for quite some time. But as time went on, I would keep seeing a black mist following me in the distance. Every time I would turn my head to look at it, the mist would vanish in thin air, almost as if the mist didn't want me to fully see it. However, I did know what it was because it's the same mist Night Hunter and I saw while in the arctic. Strange that it didn't try to attack me, but I wasn't complaining.

The second dream was a bit more distressing. I started off inside the Crystal Castle, but something was wrong. The long, narrow hallway I stood in was only illuminated by green fire with a purple outline. As I began to walk forward, the hallway was invaded with terrifying noises. It was mix of warbled voices saying incoherent sentences and abrupt jump-scare sounds that would make me jolt. No matter how much I expected the sound, it always scared me, making me extremely uneasy. I then stopped and refused to proceed further, but a voice of King Sombra came from above and beckoned me to keep moving. I so didn't want to, but I did with a lot of hesitation. That was all I remembered before abruptly waking up.

And for the last dream, that one had to be the most intense. I started out in Crystal Castle's hallway, just like the second, but there was a lot commotion going on outside. I followed the noises through out the hallways until I ended up outside on the balcony. The sky was currently in the dead of night, but it wasn't enough to blend in the two equine figures that darted across, hundreds of feet up and towards the arctic. There was a moment of brief silence before a nearly deafening cracking of ice filled the air, followed by a slam that sent vibrations up the castle. Immediately after, the entire empire, that as far as my eye could see, just stretched out for miles and retracted at the speed of light until the empire seemed to just zip up and vanish, followed by an explosion.  

Again, everything was ever so quiet. As I opened my eyes, I appeared to be in, well, nothing. By nothing, I mean literally standing in nothing but utter blackness. But when I looked to my left, there was twelve drained Crystal Pony free-floating with their eyes closed, almost as if they were in a deep sleep. That's when I soon realized that there were possibly hundreds of Crystal Pony's floating in this empty space. The clopping of hoofs walking on a hard surface then brought my attention behind me. To my surprise, none other than King Sombra steadily made his way to me, but he wasn't corrupted with dark magic of any sorts, he was that same stallion that Night Hunter and I saw in the arctic. Once both of us were face to face, he took in a breath as if he was about to say something, but stopped and his eyes moved upwards. He was looking at something from behind me, but I couldn't turn my head to investigate his distraction. Without an explanation, I started move back from the unicorn without the use of my legs. He then looked at me again, but said nothing at all, only giving me a submissive facial expression. So, after all that, I slowly opened my eyes to reality. I looked over to Twilight and Spike, both asleep in their beds. Contented, I rested my head back on my pillow and went back to sleep.

As I lie on my bed right now, I'm still trying to piece together what all of this was about. What I don't understand is why Sombra, or whatever was causing these dreams, would show me dreams involving the last days of the empire over that took place over a thousand years ago. Is it just to tell me an already told story that needs to be elaborated for some reason, or was there something more to it? And also, why didn't Princess Luna drag me out until the last and final dream I had involving the Crystal Empire, and where did the source of my residual dreams go? The answer I do not have at the moment, but I'll think about it.

Despite all of these weird occurrences, Twilight, Spike, and the girls seem to be doing just fine. Out of all this past time, there has only been three big news flashes. First, Rainbow Dash got her own pet tortoise named Tank. I thought it was hilarious how Rainbow gave Tank a little propeller to help him fly. And it actually works, too. Nearly rammed into me while he was getting used to the flight controls. Damn flying tortoises.

Second, I'm happy to say that the Carrot Cake and Cup Cake are now the parents of two healthy foals. One is a boy named Pound Cake and the other is a girl named Pumpkin Cake. I remember hearing about Cup Cake being due for a couple months ago, but I was probably doing something more important, such as C.A.M.A work, that I just forgot about it, so this was a surprise to me when I received the news. The day the foals were born, I learned something about newborns. For some reason, ponies are not born with the white part of their eyes. Instead, it's just the color of their iris. I guess it's just the way they are. Odd, but very cute at the same time.

And lastly, this one involves Spike. Two days ago, there was this huge migration of dragons that flew over the open plains. Sadly, I wasn't there to witness it with the girls, but I managed to catch a glimpse of the flock in the distance, continuing to where ever they were heading. And so, out of Spike's own curiosity, he left Ponyville to follow the migration and to, surprisingly, find out what dragons are truly like. I wasn't present on the day Spike left because I was too busy at Barnyard Bargains, buying some food that I wanted to get. At the time I got back to the library, Twilight had left Ponyville, as well, along with Rainbow Dash and Rarity to track Spike. The only source of information for me was a lone note that was left on the table. 

I seriously hope they're all right because I have no clue where the dragons migrated to. The only other location I can think of is the volcanic regions on the other side of the Celestial Sea. I really want to go after them, but I know that Twilight is smart and will know what to do in a tense situation... Usually. Either way, she'll think of something.