//------------------------------// // Prologue: Nightmares and a Prophecy // Story: My Final Pony Fantasy III // by Vimtrust5 //------------------------------// Under the starry sky in the town of Ponyville, the citizens slept peacefully as soon as they shut their eyes, dreaming of whatever their hearts desired. However, there were few ponies who didn't get a good night's sleep. One such equine was Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship... As Twilight found herself alone in the darkness, she heard several unfamiliar yet evil voices calling out to her and taunting her... "Twilight Sparkle..." "Who's there?! Show yourselves!" "You will never live a life of peace." "That's not true!" "Friendship is as meaningless as life itself." "TAKE THAT BACK!!" "You and your friends are nothing!" "YOU LIE!!" "It is coming..." "Equestria will fall to the Void." "The end is nigh..." Twilight jolted up from her bed, gasping for air. Panting heavily, the purple alicorn observed her surroundings, realizing it was only a dream. Every moon I've had these nightmares... she thought. Why now? I've got to tell Princess Celestia and Princess Luna... She went back to sleep but continued tossing and turning until the sun rose. Twilight wearily groaned, as she got up from the bed and made her way to the library where she found her dragon assistant and friend Spike writing something in a notebook. "Morning, Spike..." said Twilight, yawning. "Good morning, Twilight," he said, oblivious to Twilight's lack of sleep. Rubbing her eyes and trying to stay awake, she looked for a blank piece of paper to write her mentor about her recent nightmares. She finally found a few and was about to give them to Spike, but when she saw what he writing, her eyes widened. They were various images and descriptions of all the monsters and villains she and her friends had faced since they first stepped into the Chamber of Crystals. "Spike, what are you doing?" she asked. "Just some info about all the creatures we've seen on our quests, no big deal," the dragon replied casually. "But why? And who sent that book?" "Why? Just 'cause. As for the second question, I think this book's been here for quite some time. Just about all the pages were blank, so I thought, 'Why not use this for our,' uh... be... something?" "A bestiary?" "Yeah, that's it!" Twilight flipped the pages from the beginning, and to her surprise, found a drawing of Garland draped in his signature helmet, armor and cape. "Wh-Wh-What the?!" she shouted. "Spike, how were you able to draw Garland in such detail?" "Well, you can thank Rarity and Pinkie Pie for that. When you came back from the Crystal Empire, they told me everything in exquisite detail. And when we got back from... you know..." Twilight knew that Spike was referring to their previous journey but gave him a warm smile and a nod. "You came up with the idea for this bestiary based on our experiences." "Uh-huh," said Spike. "Why didn't you say that before when I asked why you were writing it?" she asked. "Uh... Oops," the dragon replied. "Slipped my mind, I guess..." Twilight sighed. "Never mind, Spike. I want you to write a letter to Princess Celestia and Luna." "O-Okay," said Spike. "What about?" Twilight lowered her head. "It's about these nightmares I've had..." "Nightmares? Shouldn't Princess Luna...?" "I know, Spike, but I think I need to talk with her personally. And I want you to write that so she and Princess Celestia will know." "We're going to Canterlot, then?" Twilight nodded. "Okay, then." Spike wrote the letter as instructed. After finishing it, he sent the message to the two sisters. Five minutes later, the dragon coughed up a letter, indicating the princesses' response. Upon reading the contents, Twilight rolled it back and put it in a saddlebag. And so, the two friends left the castle to head for the train station. Before arriving, they stopped at a familiar place: the ruins of the Golden Oak Library, which they called their home... before Tirek appeared. Twilight trotted over to the remains of the tree with tears streaming down her cheeks. Spike, too, frowned at the sight and embraced his dear friend. Applejack and Rainbow Dash soon arrived at the scene and noticed their friends' expression of sorrow. The former placed her hoof around Twilight and gave a sad smile, reminiscing all the times they had spent in that library. Rainbow placed her hoof on Spike's shoulder as he kept looking. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity observed the display and joined their group hug. "Thank you... everypony," Twilight smiled. *music ends* She smiled at them all and turned to leave. "Where ya goin', Twi?" asked Applejack as she and the others followed.. "Canterlot," she replied. "What for?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Tell us! Tell us!" "Well..." she said reluctantly. The purple alicorn looked over to Spike and sighed, finally deciding to tell her friends about her inability to sleep peacefully thanks to her unpleasant dreams. "Yikes..." "That's one way to put it." "Are we gonna see Princess Luna about this? She is the Princess of the Night after all, and with her powers she can pretty much see into somepony's dreams if they're really, really, really, really, REALLY terrible and--" "We get it, Pinkie," said Rainbow Dash. "All we gotta do is get to Canterlot, solve this little problem and that's that." "I hope so, but I don't think it'll be easy," Twilight responded. "Rainbow Dash, you must know it will take some time to move past such things," Rarity stated. The ponies and Spike then went to the train station and hopped aboard the Friendship Express. Canterlot In the city high above Ponyville, everypony welcomed the Mane 6 and Spike as they disembarked the Friendship Express. The guards cleared the crowd, allowing them to reach the castle. As they approached the throne room, the door opened instantly revealing Princess Celestia sitting on the throne, with her sister Luna at her side. To their surprise, Luna looked exhausted, almost as if she had been in a fight. "Fellow princesses," Twilight spoke formally. "I've come here to speak with you about these dreams I've had." "What sort of dreams?" asked Princess Luna. "More like... nightmares," Twilight replied. "Nightmares that keep telling me things like, how life is meaningless or the end of Equestria is coming..." "What? What do you mean?" Celestia inquired. "That's just the thing... I've never heard the voices before, and..." She stopped. "Yes...?" The Princess of Friendship sighed. "Princess Luna, as I recall you have the ability to see into ponies' dreams, correct?" *music fades out* "I think I see what you mean... And I think I may have an explanation..." Everypony listened carefully. "It may be that there is a dark influence that prevents me from interfering and offering you guidance while you sleep." "How can that be?" asked Rarity. "I don't know the answers myself, but it is likely that there is a dark and malevolent force at work, as it's actively trying to stop me. I've tried several times to help, but every time they seem to drain me of my powers." Everypony gasped. Just then, Twilight's cutie mark began to glow, as did the rest of her friends' with the exception of Fluttershy. But this was different than when the Cutie Map called her and her friends to solve a friendship problem. Their mark flashed as bright as crystals... This told Twilight they were needed somewhere else... "Um, excuse me, everypony?" asked Fluttershy. They all turned to her. "Since you're all going without me, maybe I'll stay here with the princesses..." "What about showing up for support?" asked Rarity. "Oh, come on, Flutters!" Rainbow cried. "Just because you've been in two other worlds doesn't mean--" "Actually, I believe she's right," Celestia interrupted. "Huh?" "Like Cid of the Lufaine had said, Fluttershy has been through a lot last time. I believe Twilight and Spike would agree." "I do," said the purple alicorn. "And I agree with your decision, Fluttershy." They all came together for another group hug. "Please be careful," said the yellow pegasus. "Will do," said Spike. As they left, Fluttershy let out a sigh and turned to face the princesses. "So, um... Did I tell you about the Chocobo I've adopted?" The alicorn sisters turned to each other and then to Fluttershy with confused expressions. "'Chocobo?'" they asked in unison. The Friendship Express "Hey, Twi," said Applejack. "Yes?" she replied. "Remember when you said that y'all kinda lost your wings and horns when you stepped in the other worlds?" Twilight gave a weary sigh. "I know, A.J. Something tells me that this is going to be a recurring problem every time we get called to the Chamber of Crystals." Rainbow scoffed. "Yeah... What's the point of taking away our most noticeable traits?" "Maybe it's 'cause that would make our adventures easier and the author wouldn't want it that way?" Pinkie inquired. Everypony looked at the pink earth pony with confused looks. "What? It's possibile." The Crystal Empire Our heroes disembarked the train and went straight to the Crystal Palace, where they spoke with the voice of the Crystal Heart once more. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor were already there. "What's going on, Cid?" asked Twilight. "Come," he replied, invited them into the Chamber of Crystals. Before stepping into the portal, the five ponies and Spike all looked around. The rulers of the Crystal Empire gave approving nods and smiled. "Be careful, Twily," said Shining. "We will," she answered. "Spike, are you going in, too?" "Yep," the dragon replied. "Good luck, everyone," said Cadence. "Thank you," Twilight responded. They all turned and stepped into the portal. The Chamber of Crystals Once inside, the ponies observed that the Roman numeral II was now flashing yellow. They went near the crystal labeled under the numeral next to it. The very first thing they saw was the world starting to shake violently. This earthquake had formed an entrance to a cave near a small village. "What just happened?" asked Twilight. "To understand, you must know of a prophecy as foretold by sages called Gulgans." "Huh?" said Spike. "One Gulgan has said this: 'The earthquake was only the beginning. The great tremors that swallowed the crystals, the light of our world, only to spawn monsters from the depths of the scarred land, are nothing but harbingers of what has yet to come.'" "Okay," said Rainbow Dash. "This prophecy tells of something coming... something powerful, ominous, and full of sorrow... And I fear this being would bring great harm to Equestria if not stopped." Twilight recalled Emperor Mateus' words from the battle at the Cyclone. Wanting to make sure that the tyrant's prediction didn't come true, she patiently waited for anything else for Cid to say. "There is still hope, however..." "There is?" asked Twilgiht. "The closing words of the Gulgan's prophecy: 'Four souls shall be blessed with light; six more shall come to aid them, and so it shall begin...'" "'Four souls?'" asked Rarity. "'Blessed with light...?'" asked Twilight. "This sounds... mighty familiar," Applejack added. "It's just like our first adventure since we went in this place!" Pinkie Pie observed. "So... Basically, we're about to head into another world, team up with four humans to save that world by restoring magical Crystals? Again?" "In some ways, you are correct, Rainbow Dash," Cid replied. "Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go!" spoke an eager Rainbow Dash. "Just one moment, Rainbow Dash." "Yeah...?" "Unlike the ones you've seen before, the Crystals you will come into contact with will grant you the ability to change into several... 'classes,' shall we say?" "Classes?" asked Twilight. "What's that mean?" said Spike. "Do you recall the Warriors of Light you have traveled with?" "How could we forget? There's Setro the warrior/knight, Zauver the thief/ninja, Flora the white mage/wizard and Teol the black mage/wizard!" said Pinkie Pie. Twilight instantly realized, "Are you saying that we can be whatever we choose to be?" "Correct," said Cid. The crystal activated and opened the gateway. The Equestrians dived in, hoping to help solve what kept Twilight from having a restful night.