While Daring and I had been wandering about the cellar, the clear blue sky had become marred with the appearance of a sizable thunderhead on the horizon. There was still some time before the downpour reached the cottage—an hour or two by my reckoning—but I could already hear the soft rumble of distant thunder.
We'd both made ourselves comfortable within the confines of the cottage long before then; though I worried at the thought of what may happen to this dwelling should an especially horrendous thunderstorm occur. Daring Do however, assured me that I had nothing to worry about, as the entire cottage itself had been warded against lightning strikes through the use of a lightning rod spell.
I did very little to mask the relief and bemusement in my voice when I asked why she hadn't simply maintained the weather over her own home. Her answer had been simple and altogether not that unexpected given her reputation. She told me that, in her many travels outside of Equestria, there were many places similar to the Everfree Forest in that pegasus magic did not affect the weather.
Over time, she'd grown used to such a phenomenon, and had even grown to enjoy the weather as it naturally occurred. I did not entirely share her sentiment, but decided not to speak anymore on the matter—not when there were far more pressing matters to discuss.
Though the strange and ominous grimoire still weighed heavily on my mind, I did my best to set that aside as Daring Do and I moved onto the next order of business. Now that she'd shown me that dreadful tome in the cellar below, Daring took the opportunity to help me step by step, piece together what the events could possibly mean.
I wanted to discuss in detail why the Tree of Harmony had acted the way it did upon my initial arrival; I had suspected it was due to some kind of future event that would doubtless occur very soon. Daring Do—though equally as troubled by what I'd seen in the Cave of Harmony—was far more concerned with what had recently happened on the train.
Of particular interest to Daring was my interaction with the mysterious stallion in black. Sound Mind had mentioned that I would be the one to set these future events into motion, so it would stand to reason that if I simply did nothing, nothing would happen. This was in part why Daring had decided not to allow me access to that ancient grimoire, her fear that somehow, such a thing would lead me down that very path to ultimate ruin.
While it made sense from a purely logical standpoint, there was still the issue of the self-fulfilling prophecy to consider. There was every possibility that the stallion in black had been lying, but if I took his word as immutable fact, then there was no measure that would prevent me from accomplishing the inevitable.
Still, it was far too early to give up now; even if the words of the self proclaimed doctor were true and I was to bring about some horrible darkness, there was still the matter of the truth within that darkness that he spoke of. What truth could have possibly been gained? What truth was worth risking the release of some maddeningly terrifying beast from an impossibly ancient era?
I posited that there was no truth worth putting the world in such peril. Despite this firm belief, the mystery still needed to be resolved and there was my altered sight to consider as well. I knew with every fiber of my being that probing deeper into this madness was a move of profound stupidity, but at this point I felt I had no choice.
I could only hope Daring Do would be able to rein me in before whatever dark forces at work led me astray, as I was beginning to suspect they might. Upon voicing this concern to Daring, she assured me she would do all in her power to make sure a total descent into insanity did not come to pass.
Regarding these malignant forces, Daring was all but certain Sound Mind was at the very least among them, if not the outright cause. Given what had transpired between myself and the stallion, I was quick to agree and prayed fervently that we wouldn't meet again, despite the doctor's confident claim of the opposite.
We soon put the subject of Sound Mind behind us for the moment to discuss the possible connection between my dreams and what they could mean. I thought back to that first night in the Cave of Harmony; to the night of the horrible display of power that the Tree showed. I remembered the burst of energy that had sent me flying head over hooves into the wall and the vision that had resulted upon impact.
That initial vision at least, did have some plausible explanations. The most plausible explanation that I could think of was that the Tree was warning me of some imminent danger that needed to be stopped. It was the easiest and most simple explanation to accept; it was the explanation that I desperately hoped was correct, for if not, then I dreaded to even think on the other possibilities.
There was also the issue of my unsettling look alike and what its role had been in all of this madness. That creature alone gave rise to countless questions that cost me many nights of proper sleep. The magical fabrication that Chrysalis created had been just that—a fabrication born of dark magic.
That eerie smiling thing, that horrible ethereal mockery of my likeness... that was something altogether different. It had haunted me like some malevolent spectre, and yet, I couldn't shake the feeling that it had some kind of purpose beyond driving me insane.
Daring and I had set my journal down on the table between us and occasionally referenced its pages when appropriate. We poured over the content within, searching for clues in my writing, searching for answers hidden within the questions and seeking possible explanations regarding the nightmares, or visions as they might've been.
From her cellar, as well as from her own collection within her cottage, Daring had produced a few books for reference. Some tomes I recognized, such as Predictions and Prophecies, Mysterious Magical Maladies, Ghosts, Goblins and Ghoulish Figures, and even Somnium, a work written by Princess Luna herself on oneirology.
Other texts were more obscure; rare, foreign and older works I'd either never seen before or had only heard of in passing and hadn't had a chance to read myself. These books were more or less the same as the ones I recognized, though most of the information written in these tomes were of a more archaic and somewhat sinister nature.
Together Daring and I spent a good deal of time studying these tomes and discussing ideas and theories. We hadn't even noticed the downpour outside had finally descended upon us, at least not until a mighty clap of thunder shook the entire cottage. Even then we continued our tireless pursuit of answers without so much as a flinch.
In the end, little progress was made where orthodox research was concerned. I hadn't learned very much more than when I'd attempted to study this horrifying phenomena on my own; even with Daring's help all we'd gained were either unfounded, unprovable, or sometimes even downright nonsensical theories—none of which I hadn't already thought of myself.
The only conclusion I'd come across that I was certain of, was that my dreams and nightmares were anything but. They were indeed far closer to actual visions than dreams, but the visceral, tangible quality of these visions made me think there was something more to what I was experiencing when I closed my eyes.
I often felt as if I was actually being whisked away to another time and place—another domain where madness of an entirely different breed from Discord's lurked. The fear for the loss of my mind and my very life at least, was real, and I strongly believed that this fear wasn't entirely unfounded.
All of my visions contained some manner of unspeakable alien horror seemingly from beyond the stars or perhaps another realm. This may have been the case, but thinking upon it, I realized that aside from that fact, nothing else about these visions seemed to be connected.
The only other real constant had been the look alike; looking back however, I hadn't actually seen the creature since my last baffling expedition into the Cave of Harmony—not in my visions, nor in reality. For some reason I couldn't fathom, that brought me far more anxiety than any actual relief.
In any case, I had the distinct feeling that I hadn't seen the last of that look alike, nor would it be the last time Sound Mind would show his face. Those were problems I would have to deal with at some point in the future, but for now I decided to end our foray into the study of these alien creatures and their purpose.
I'd mentioned the mysterious monument I'd seen to Daring Do, and in that regard, the mare seemed to have some ideas. Unfortunately my recollection was vague at best, much to my frustration. I'd written of it in my journal, but when I tried to describe the monument in any real detail, the particulars always seemed to escape me.
I knew this monument existed somewhere near the mountains in my visions, and I had a feeling I'd been there before. I was all but certain I'd been there before, and indeed, that I should know it intimately, but still I failed to grasp the exact location. Thankfully Daring Do was well experienced in this area and it was to that experience that I deferred.
With what little information I was able to provide, the mare managed to narrow the possibilities down to three locations. The first two were ruins; one located in a remote forested region near the Marewenzi Mountains in Zebrica, and the other in a smaller forest near the Smokey Mountains to the south of where we were.
The third option I knew without a doubt to be the correct choice, for I had indeed been there before. The third location was the ruined monument of Ponehenge in a thick forest at the base of Foal Mountain. A profound sense of both relief and dread washed over me at the mention of that place, and memories of the events that had taken place amidst those stone spires rose to the surface, for better or worse.
In a way, it made a certain sort of sense.
Ponehenge was steeped in Equestrian history, and it was there that the Pillars had made their final bid to seal away the Pony of Shadows—a terrible creature of immense darkness in its own right. Perhaps, in the distant past, Stygian had stumbled across the same knowledge that I had so recently. Perhaps he had embraced the very forces that were now hounding me in this day and age.
Perhaps he'd heard the whispers of the ancient beast that blotted out the sky and drowned the world in an endless sea of black. If so, then there may have been some merit in communicating with the displaced stallion on the matter. It may have also been a prudent move to speak with Starswirl himself.
If anypony could shed some light on this dismal situation, I was sure it was the Element of Sorcery. Yes, I wasn't sure why I hadn't thought of it before, but resolved to seek the old stallion's advice and that of Stygian as well when I next found the opportunity to do so.
Even with all the research we'd done, there were still far too many questions than answers, but at the very least, we now had some manner of lead to go on. There was a possibility that my arrival at Ponehenge might make matters worse, but I still felt it needed to be done. That ancient ruined monument was at the center of this mystery, and I would find my way there one way or another eventually, I could feel it.
I thought it best to at least travel there with somepony who knew their business and could react with the wisdom, confidence and swiftness that came with experience. When it came to delving into the depths of a dark and potentially deadly mystery such as this, I couldn't have asked for a more capable companion than Daring Do.
My friends, those I left behind to trot this perilous path, were better off ignorant as they were. This endeavor promised to be unlike anything I'd ever undertaken, and while my motivations had altered somewhat, I still wished with every fiber of my being for their safety.
Outside the rain refused to die down, and there was little else to do other than research and planning. To that end, we spent the rest of that afternoon and much of the evening planning out our next course of action. I was very much against heading straight for Ponehenge without any prior knowledge of what I was getting myself and Daring into, so my suggestion was to first travel to Saddle Arabia.
I wanted to see for myself this old temple buried in the sands of Saddle Arabia's eastern deserts. Daring Do had initially been against it, but she acquiesced once I mentioned that I knew of a spell that could restore the remainder of the mural painted across the walls of the corridor she'd come across.
That mural alone I felt was worth the journey, but I also believed there may have been other secrets hidden in that ancient temple that Daring may have missed. She assured me otherwise, but something—some kind of hunch told me there was more to see than just old paintings lost beneath the sand.
If all went well, then we would pay a visit to Stygian, then seek out Starswirl wherever he'd disappeared to since his return. We could have spoken to the other Pillars, but I had my doubts as to how useful they'd be in providing us the information we sought.
I finished that day weary, but satisfied that we'd finally carved a path forward. Daring and I spoke of other, more trivial and day to day matters over a warm dinner by the fireplace. She had little to offer in the way of an extra room, but I assured her I was content with sleeping in the main room, so she brought me a blanket and pillow before retreating to her own room for the night.
I took the quiet moment of solitude to write our findings down in my journal. As I listened to the crackling of the slowly dying fire and the soft pattering and dull rumble of a gradually receding rainstorm, I felt at peace. I felt as though it had been far too long since I was truly content; not even the minor yet persistent itch in my eyes was enough to sour my mood in that moment.
For once, the fear, dread, and uncertainty of my situation had receded with the days frustrations and did not reach me. For that I was grateful, and once I'd finished writing in my journal I embraced the siren's call of sleep with open hooves. The memory of that accursed grimoire once more wormed its way into my mind, but I paid it little heed.
Sleep came easily enough, and yet I still failed to dream a proper dream.