The winding tunnel of gore tossed me into the ground, my limbs smashing into the hard rock below. I rolled over a couple times, biting my teeth as I took the blows. My body ached as I struggled to pull myself up, mixing in with the sickening feeling it was already dealing with after travelling through the jet stream.
My knees screamed in agony as they straightened out, forcing gasps of pain out of my throat. I was sweating horribly from the tremendous heat surrounding me. Damn it, why was it so fucking hot?
I finally managed to open my eyes slowly. As my eyes rendered the scene in front of me, I realized I wasn't in Equestria anymore. Gone was the green fields and blue skies, replaced by dark rock and a lake of lava around me. A gargantuan horned skull was half-emerged in the magma, it's mouth agape, as if it were screaming. The lava spewed out massive chunks of flame, splattering around the rocky shore it ended at.
I forgot about my physical pain as a wave of terror consumed me, forcing my eyes wide open as I stared at the horrifying world I found myself in. The dark surface beneath me led towards a staircase, chipped and worn from age. Parts of the stairway were missing, with bricks scattered around the area. I could see a green light emerging from the top of the staircase, shining brightly through the stone ceiling above me. It attracted me like a moth to the flame, the green pillar of light standing out from the Hellish red that made up the twisted cavern.
A screeching voice slammed into my head, releasing waves of pain within my skull.
"This is the Hell that awaits you and your pony friends! Soon, the Elements of Harmony will be dead, and I will bring this Hell to Equestria!"
I looked around me, trying to find the source of the voice. I couldn't help but tear up as a raging fear took me over. I didn't want to be here, I didn't want voices screaming at me. I started to gallop towards the pillar of light, crying as I climbed the aged staircase. The colossal tower of the glowing light stood in front of me, the beams travelling upwards. I breathed heavily as I studied it, sensing something familiar about my scenario. Everything was recognizable to me, yet I couldn't figure out what it was. With no other options, I walked into the pillar of light, hoping to find salvation.
The beams pulled me in, and I could feel an invisible force tugging at my body. I screamed in unholy agony as I felt my entire body being pulled apart and re-arranged into another location.
I was suddenly falling down into an bottomless hole of red haze, unable to save myself. Metal bars appeared from nowhere and enclosed me, with a circular floor closing the bottom. I was trapped inside a cage, and I struggled against the bars with my hooves, hoping to push them away. Agonizing voices yelled out from the haze, sounding as if they were screams of pain or hopeless crying. I screamed out in fear myself as I begged for mercy.
"WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?" I cried out. "I JUST WANT TO FUCKING GO HOME!"
"There is no escape for you, my little pony! You will never be able to return home, and your soul will burn in Hell forever!"
My floating prison gave away, and I was again falling down screaming and crying into the dark abyss below.
"AHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!"
-/-
I jolted awake from the bed, gasping heavily as I involuntarily clutched my chest with my hoof. My heart was racing, keeping in motion with the beeping beside me. Noticing the sounds, I stretched my head to my left to see a heart monitor beeping away. Still sweaty from the horrible heat, I noticed I was half covered in a blanket. I threw it off me, attempting to cool myself down. I studied the room I was in, realizing that I was inside a hospital.
"Holy shit... just another dream.." I told myself. "No, that's happened too often to be a dream. Someone or something is definitely fucking with me."
There was a bedside table on my right, decorated with get-well cards. There was also a giant mass of pink flowers and balloons, each one having text scribbled out on it.
Get Well Soon Darky!
A roar of thunder made me jump, almost knocking me out of the bed. My eyes met with the window, and I saw dark storm clouds releasing a massive downpour of rain.
"Shit. Guess we didn't get that storm cleared up in time." I stated. My ears perked up as I heard voices from outside the door in front of me.
"What were you thinking Rainbow, forcing an inexperienced flyer into something as dangerous as a jet stream?" a voice bickered, which I recognized as Twilight's. "You could have gotten him killed! He's lucky to have even survived!"
"Hey, what about me?" a voice replied, obviously Rainbow's. Good to know she made it out okay. "I was thrown out of the jet stream too! And if it weren't for my fast reflexes, I wouldn't have caught him midair!"
"Still, what you did was irresponsible! As a weather manager, you should know not to to put inexperienced ponies into that kind of situation!"
The door to my room burst open, and both Twilight and Rainbow Dash continued their heated argument as they trotted inside.
"Darkstar agreed to it anyways! It was pretty cool of him to brave a jet stream and handle a storm cloud at the same time! He knew there would be risks!"
"Ugh! Don't you realize the danger you put yourselves through? You have no idea what- Oh! You're awake!" Twilight stated, finally noticing me.
"What? Oh, finally!" Rainbow blurted in excitement as she flew right next to me. "You completely missed it! After we got separated inside the jet stream, I was able to pull myself out, and then I saw you getting blasted right out of the wind tunnel! It seemed like the extreme pressure knocked you out, since you weren't trying to fly, and I made a speedy dash and caught you right as you were falling! Pretty cool, huh?"
"Yeah," I replied, not having the slightest clue what she had said to me. "Awesome..."
"Hey, you're not looking so good." Rainbow stated, noticing my wide eyes and sweat-soaked coat.
"Who, me? Oh... I'm fine, really." I said, not making the effort to look back at her. And then, using what little fluids were left inside of me, hurled off the side of the bed opposite of Rainbow Dash.
"Oh, gross!" Dash blurted, backing away.
"Ew, ew, ew!" Twilight yelled, backing even further away.
My throat burned as stomach acids settled in my mouth. I spat out whatever drips were left, leaving me with an empty feeling inside.
"I.. I'm going to get the nurse!" Twilight stated as she ran out the door.
"Geez Darkstar, I never got that sick after being in a jet stream!" said Rainbow Dash. "You look like you've seen a Manticore or something."
"I am never doing that again." I told her through my burning throat. "I still expect to be paid for that."
"Don't worry about it, I got you covered! We weren't able to finish up with the storm, but we did get most of it down south. It should be enough for now."
A nurse came running into the room, followed by a custodian pony with a mop for a cutie mark. Wouldn't that be fucking disappointing? Realizing your destiny is to clean up the bodily fluids of ponies? He didn't seem to mind though as he wiped away my mess from the floor.
The nurse began to examine me, feeling my forehead and analyzing the clipboard hanging of the end of my bed. She turned to me and started asking me questions.
"Do you have any medical history we should know about?" she questioned.
"No."
"Have you ingested anything potentially dangerous within the last twenty-four hours?"
"Does a macaroni cupcake count?" I joked.
"I don't think that applies here. One more thing. Are you experiencing any mental or psychological episodes?"
"Wha- NO!" I quickly lied, not wanting to inform them of my haunting nightmares. I didn't need them to think I was crazy, and being locked up inside an Equestrian loony bin wouldn't get me home any faster. It was something I could solve by myself. "Are you done yet? Can I leave now?"
"Are you sure you don't need to lay down for another day?" the nurse asked. "You look awfully pale."
"I'M FINE. If I have any actual problems, I'll come right back. In the meantime, I'm checking out." I stated, forcing myself out of the bed. I felt my empty stomach drop down with me, releasing a gurgle in protest. "And then getting myself a decent meal."
"All right, I'll just need you to sign some forms and we can let you go."
"Finally!"
The stupid bitch of a nurse finally left the room, leaving me with Twilight and Rainbow.
"Darkstar, are you really certain you should be moving around after what happened?" Twilight asked, concerned.
"Like I said earlier, I'm fine. Okay. Perfecto. Healthy. I WANT TO LEAVE. I'm not staying inside a hospital when I don't need to."
"Yeah, laying down all day in the hospital is so boring!" Rainbow agreed. "At least you were able to leave right away!"
"If I remember correctly Rainbow Dash, you spent that time reading Daring Doo and hiding it from us because you were ashamed to be doing such an 'egghead' thing," Twilight corrected. "And then you didn't want to leave the hospital because you wanted to finish the book, and-"
"OKAY. That's enough out of you!" said Rainbow Dash as she shoved her hoof into Twilight's mouth, silencing her. "And I agree with you! Let's go find a place to eat after we get your forms signed!"
Speak of the Devil, the nurse trotted right back inside after that. She held another clipboard in her mouth, telling me where to sign. Using the quill they provided, I messily scribbled my signature onto the paper.
"All right, you're all set to leave Darkstar," the nurse stated. "Funny thing though, I tried to look up your file but I couldn't find it."
"Huh?" I replied. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, we usually perform background checks on new patients, seeing if they have any medical history. However, we were unable to find any paperwork in your name, not even a birth certificate." she answered.
You know what? Fuck you. If I wasn't already sweating, my nervousness might have given me away. I had to think of something that would get me out of this. If I didn't have any identification, I could be an illegal citizen. Not wanting to risk being jailed or thrown out of Equestria, I had to say the first thing that came to mind.
"Huh, that's um, odd. Maybe my files were misplaced. I don't why any pony would lose such important documents, but sometimes these things happen." I quickly replied, holding back a nervous smile.
"Well, something like this to happen is unacceptable. Either way, we've created a temporary file for you until we can uncover your documents."
"Oh... okay. Um, make sure you do find them right away, I don't need strangers looking at my information." Yes! She bought it! Again, my lies saved the day.
"Yeah yeah yeah, they're just pieces of paper. Now let's eat!" Rainbow stated impatiently, forcing both me and Twilight outside.
-/-
She sat quietly, analyzing the latest weather report from Ponyville. Due to complications involving two of the workers, the entire storm was not broken down and moved to the south. An extra storm would be needed to generate enough rainfall for the ponies down in the desert, and luckily Cloudsdale could provide the clouds despite the strange happenings at the Rainbow Factory.
Princess Celestia shuffled the report away, continuing her daily review of recent events. It was her job to make sure everything was running smooth across her country, and to keep it organized and safe. She was busy looking at another report when the door to her royal chamber blasted open from an aura of blue magic.
"Forgive me my sister," Princess Luna apologized. "But I have important information that requires your immediate attention!"
"What bothers you my little sister?" Celestia asked, tucking her stack of reports away. "It's not often you come barging into my chamber without knocking, especially when I'm busy reviewing the current state of Equestria."
Luna's horn lit up, and another wave of blue magic forced the door shut behind her. "Again, I apologize for entering your chamber without notice, but this is far too important for you to wait."
Celestia's eyebrow lifted up in curiosity as she tried to make sense of her younger sister's attitude.
"It's about the dreams of a pony I've been witnessing." Luna stated.
"Lulu, you see the dreams of everypony in Equestria! Why should this one be any different?" Celestia asked.
"Please don't call me that." Luna replied. "And the reason these dreams are different is because this pony bears the mark of evil on his flank."
"The mark of evil?" Celestia said wide-eyed, her tone becoming serious. "Surely you don't mean-"
"Yes my sister. The pentagram. His cutie mark represents the unholy symbol."
"His dreams! What did you see?" Celestia questioned, her eyes shaking with fear.
"Things I thought I would never have to see again." Luna answered, shuddering at the thought. "There was blood, and his voice started speaking to him."
"This pony heard the voice of him? That's not possible Luna. We defeated him many years ago, when we first discovered the Elements of Harmony."
"I heard his voice myself sister. He threatened death to the current bearers of the Elements and swears he'll return Equestria into a state of Hell it once was."
"The only way he can still be alive is if the seal is weakening. As long as Twilight's friendship with the other bearers remains strong, we shouldn't have to worry about him escaping."
"What about the pony himself? Using my magic, I was able to confirm his location from the moon."
"And?"
"He's in Ponyville, where we left the Elements after reforming Discord."
"No... No!" Celestia shouted. "This pony's presence must be weakening the seal! Not only that, but this stallion you speak of must also have knowledge of the demons. That's impossible because no pony alive today remembers the invasion. What's his name?"
"His name is Darkstar, my sister." Luna answered. "And if he truly is weakening the seal, we must leave immediately and apprehend him to avoid another catastrophe."
"I agree. Prepare the royal chariot for departure. We must warn Twilight and her friends. I just hope we aren't too late..."
"You and me both sister..."