The Dream is the same. The land burning, the Seer facing down the Lover. The Seer has been pushed to her limits, for there are few things that can stand in the face of anger fueled by grief. She feels the rage of the Lover, feeling it as surely as a Heartmender would, but she is unable to release it. Her wings shredded, tears falling unending, she too will fall.
And that is how the world ends.
— Silverleaf, Cervyderian Shaman
***
Pain was a familiar sensation to me. Emotional from the magic of the Elements of Harmony forcing me to face my own shortcomings and then burning the blackness from me. Mental from the aftermath of a certain trio of girls implicating me in a MyStable scandal. Physical from the talons of a harpy or the breaking of my horn more recently.
But the pain of losing friends was something I had hoped to never face.
The invaders had shown up as a simple envoy, just a few ponies seeking an alliance.
They had approached Applejack first. Her own beliefs and convictions caused her to rebuff them. They made a few additional entreaties but she refused each one.
They razed Sweet Apple Acres to the ground in the night. Rainbow had led the attempt to extinguish the flames but even the fastest flyer in Equestria had been too slow. She took to wearing the singed and battered Stetson as she led a group of resistance fighters.
Of Fluttershy and Pinkie, nopony knew what had happened after they had gone to try and reason with their leader. Rarity had gone to Canterlot to help organize a reugee centre for those lucky enough to reach the capitol.
That felt so long ago.
I now stood my ground upon a hill, head lowered in order to aim my horn at the general of the invading force. I could barely see straight, pain hazing my vision. But I knew that behind me Ponyville was evacuating as swiftly as possible and I was going to stall the enemy as long as I possibly could.
I watched as the Alicorn stalked forward, horn glimmering in the gloaming with barely restrained power. Behind the impassiveness gaze, I could see pain, grief, and remorse. But there was no other sign of the mare I had befriended all those years ago. Behind her, the School of Friendship was a just a pile of burning rubble.
“Please, Twilight,” I pleaded as I felt blood oozing down my sides from the torn remains of my wings. “Stop this.”
Her slit-pupiled eyes blinked as though she had just realized I was still standing in front of her. The intensity of her horn began to grow as shadows converged around her wings, melding with her mane and tail.
“Twi, you’ve got to stop!” I cried, pushing power into my horn.
She vanished in a blink, teleporting away. I spun to face her, knowing where she’d show up.
I was a split second too slow, and her magic gripped me like a vice. The pressure against my sides was unbearable, and I felt my ribs begin to protest, then creak...
Then shattered just before I was thrown to the side, discarded like a bit of refuse. Twilight turned to continue into the village, her pitch black mane snapping in the breeze like a pennant.
“Twilight, please…”
Breathing was difficult, but I still reached out and used my magic to transpose us, struggling to my hooves as we adjusted to the sudden difference in position.
Her formerly emotionless demeanor changed immediately, anger flaring in her eyes. I felt myself lifted in her magic, and all the pain in my body flared to new heights. I screamed as agony wracked me and I felt pressure growing on my neck. Pain mounted and I screamed again, thrashing to free myself as blackness began to close in at the edges of my vision.
And landing on the floor of Twilight’s guest room, blankets twisted around my legs. Sunshine was leaning over the edge, worriedly looking down upon me.
“Are you ok?” she asked.
I had trouble catching my breath, and I felt sweat matting my mane and coat. The visceral fear I had felt in the dream still gripped my heart, and it took a few moments to fade. It had felt so real, like it was actually happening.
“Sunny?”
“I think…” I swallowed, taking a few deep breaths. “I’m fine. It was just a really horrible nightmare.”
“But isn’t Princess Luna supposed to step in and help with nightmares?”
“She’s not able to stop every nightmare in Equestria,” I said, sitting up. “There’s just too many ponies dreaming, not to mention all the other creatures wandering the paths now that Twilight has opened for her school. It’s just too massive a dreamscape to patrol every night. That’s why she’s started to restrict her court appearances.”
She hrmmed as I lit my horn, using my magic to detangle my legs from the blanket. I had been given the ok for slightly increased magic use and the crystal cast was no longer needed. It proved to have been more useful for healing my horn than regrowing Tempest’s missing fragments. It seemed that the years of forcing mana through the fractures had caused a kind of scar tissue to grow. Her horn would grow back, but not likely to the full length it should be for a mare her age and stature.
“Are you sure it was just a dream?” she asked as I went and splashed water on my face. Her worry was strong in the bond we shared. “It wouldn’t be the first time you had a prophetic dream, and some of the things that leaked through didn’t look all that good.
“Honey, I’m fine,” I said. “Besides, what I saw could never happen. Too many things would have to go pear shaped, and we’d never let it. We have a pretty good track record of redeeming folk before they go too far. Me, you, Starlight, Tempest, need I go on?”
She shook her head and I felt her anxiety ease, or at least as much as it could with her always worrying about being pregnant and dealing with morning sickness.
I kissed her forehead as I returned.
“Everything is perfectly fine,” I repeated, climbing into bed. “I promise.”