The two left the hospital in silence, speaking only to arrange transport to Dodge City. Starswirl would have been elated at the idea of riding in a royal carriage, had the circumstances been different. As they took off from Canterlot, the uneasy silence between the two grew ever stronger. Starswirl’s mind was swimming with all that had been revealed to him. He had heard of spells that caused artificial sleep, but those were usually solved by a quick jolt or a bucket of water. And the word Luna used to describe those that were affected – the “afflicted” – only continued to worry him. If this truly was a disease of some sort, how did it spread? Were the two of them at risk of falling prey to it now? There was just so much he didn’t know, and it all left a very bad impression on him.
Before he knew it, the carriage touched down on the outskirts of the dusty town, Luna requesting that they avoid arriving any closer to avoid making a scene. Almost immediately after disembarking, the Princess of the Night made her way toward the Everfree Forest that loomed in the distance, much to Starswirl's displeasure.
"It seems everything bad happens in that place..." Starswirl murmured as he trotted after her.
"We do not know for sure that the disease originates there," Luna retorted, looking down at Starswirl. "But, we are inclined to agree. The accursed place is the source of many problems."
Starswirl wanted to explain himself, but knowing the Princess as he did, decided against it. Even as they made their way across the plains and into the dank jungle, Starswirl knew their search was in vain. Undoubtedly, the Princess knew this as well, but still they went. With no magical presence in the waking world, the chances of finding whatever stood at the heart of this epidemic in the dark recesses of the Everfree were astronomically small. Their theory about the condition and its proximity to Ponyville had been a good start, but now-
"Princess, do you think you could send me back to the dream world?" Starswirl asked suddenly.
"Nay. At least, not from here. The dream world exists in the mind of the afflicted. We need access to one of them if you wish to return there, and we cannot guarantee consistency of details between worlds," Luna explained with a frown. "The regions you roam in the dream world may be ones from the distant past, or even some uncertain future."
Starswirl nodded, staring absently at the ground as he thought. "We have to go back to the city."
"You still wish to return? For what purpose, Starswirl of Canterlot?"
"If the sick ponies get worse the closer they get to the source, maybe there's a visual change in the dream world? That way, I can get closer to the source in the dream world, and tell you where it is for you to find in the real one."
After a moment's thought, the Princess nodded. "Our sister is right to place her trust in you. Let us make haste!"
The two galloped their way back to Dodge City, their journey short and uneventful; thankfully, the idea had struck the unicorn before the two had ventured too deep into the swamp. The Princess tried to make their arrival as unassuming as possible, but as imposing as she was, this was not an easy feat.
“Please, citizens of Dodge! We work in matters of life and death!” the Princess explained in a dramatic tone, catching the denizens of the small town off guard with the severity of what she spoke of. At once, the crowd parted, allowing them to move at brisker pace.
It was soon clear the Princess had a particular place in mind as she lead Starswirl through the dusty town. Venturing to a house that lay on the outskirts of town, Luna pounded on the door of the structure with clear urgency. A moment later, an aging mare opened the door , looking concerned.
"What is the meaning of-" the unicorn began, her frustration melting away as she recognized the towering form before her. "Pri-Princess Luna!" she stammered, bowing deeply. The mare stepped aside and the two hurried inside.
"Where is your son?" The Princess demanded, staring down at the mare.
"I-in the bedroom, sleeping. He is ill, ma'am," the mare explained with a frightened gulp.
"We need to see him. We might be able to help him," Starswirl said gently, trying to offset Luna's brash approach with a more understanding one. Hesitantly, the mare nodded, showing them to one of the back rooms where a young colt lay sleeping, trembling from some unseen terror. Without a word, the Princess' horn began to glow, and soon Starswirl was greeted with the same sickening darkness he had encountered before.
The feeling faded almost as quickly as it had come, and the unicorn once again found himself standing in the town square of the nightmarish version of Dodge City. This experience was noticeably different from his previous expedition into the dream world, however, the most obvious change being the density of the fog around him. If it had been hard to see before, it was almost impossible now.
A most unwelcome confirmation of their theory.
"HELP! Someone, please help me! Anyone!" a voice screamed as a small pony tore its way through the darkness. Starswirl was almost knocked off his hooves as the young pony scrambled fearfully behind him. "Please, mister, make them go away! Please!"
"Make what go away?" Starswirl said, trying to see something – anything – through the haze.
"Please, don’t make me go back! Please, mister, please!” the little colt cried, practically wrapping itself around his hooves.
“Calm down, son,” Starswirl said, trying to help the poor creature into some semblance of sanity. “What is going on?”
Before the colt could reply, they found themselves under siege. Blinded by the oppressive dark, only the rush of movement warned Starswirl of the coming attack. The unicorn – his charge scooped up in his hooves – threw himself to the ground in time to avoid three dark spears, sickly claws of some demented creature of the abyss, stabbing from the cold dark to his left. Vaguely, Starswirl could make out hideous shapes hiding in the mist, their jagged maws gaping ominously. The unicorn snorted, his horn glowing brightly as he sought to reveal his enemy.
Instead of shredding what hid them from his prying eyes, the blinding light of his horn tore at their ghostly bodies. The shadowy creatures shrieked and hissed, their bodies melting before his eyes before the spell finally faded. As soon as their bastion of light disappeared, his phantom foes reformed and continued their eerie advance.
Getting to his hooves, Starswirl conjured another light and focused it into a gleaming beam. The unicorn swept it across the foremost enemy, watching as it disappeared in a puff of pitch black smoke; this time, the phantom did not rise again. But even as he found a more permanent solution to what besieged him, Starswirl noticed that the sickly creatures were only growing in number. In seconds, the unicorn found himself completely surrounded by ghostly eyes and gaping maws.
Suddenly, the pressure around the unicorn’s foot vanished. Before any words could reach his lips, his terrified, whimpering charge was dragged into the darkness.
"NO!" Starswirl cried, eyes burning with fury as he blasted the area with intense light, carving a wound in the advancing darkness. In the brief moment of clarity in wake of the attack, Starswirl found, to his horror, nothing but empty grass.
The colt was gone.
"This one...is mine...as they all will be...soon..." a chilling voice whispered, as if an icy arctic wind was speaking to him. Horrified and lost, Starswirl turned and charged through the gap he had created. Using what little concentration he had left, the unicorn created a thin veil of light with his shining horn, hoping it would be enough to give his enemy pause. With only a few feet visible in all directions, the unicorn could only pray he was heading in the direction of the Everfree Forest.
A near-collision with a tree marked the start of the forest. Although he paused for but a moment, one of the shadowy monsters lunged from the darkness, only to shrink back with a pained shriek upon coming in contact with the light. The strain on Starswirl increased as a result, and the light flickered as he ran further into the forest. The darkness that choked the area only continued to grow deeper the further he traveled, and the previously hesitant fiends lurking within were now openly hostile, throwing themselves to their demise in an attempt to stop the unicorn's advance. The trees around him seemed to grow in number, lining up with others in some sort of wall as he continued.
The bizarre maze of trees suddenly veered off to the left, sending the unicorn on a collision course with those ahead of him. Trusting his instincts, Starswirl made no effort to divert his path. Eyes clenched to brace for the coming impact, the unicorn’s hunch paid off, and he passed harmlessly through the illusion. A frustrated growl seemed emanate from the very forest itself, and the strange pattern of trees abruptly vanished before his eyes. The darkness only continued to grow worse, however, and soon he could only see a foot or two in front of him, narrowly dodging the trees that appeared in his path with only seconds to react.
The phantoms trailing behind him abruptly receded, and, without warning, the fiendish beings lunged out from the abyss ahead of him with deadly intent. With only a moment to react, Starswirl focused all his remaining energy into his horn, filling the entire forest with light as he charged headlong into his unholy foes. The dark met the light in a shrieking, hissing impact, sheering away the ghostly bodies of his enemies in a blaze of energy. The moment his foes fell away, the light disappeared with a fierce discharge, throwing Starswirl, still in mid-gallop, skidding to the muddy ground.
Slowing to a stop at the base of a tree, the unicorn panted heavily in the dark for several moments before he came to his senses. Eyes opening, Starswirl found himself surrounded by an abyss darker than he thought possible. Any hope of seeing was a laughable one indeed; the stallion was practically blind. Gradually the sounds of hissing reached his ears, signaling the return of his ghastly foes. Gathering what little remained of his strength, the unicorn's horn slowly began lit up, giving him a few inches of sight.
He felt more comfortable in blindness. All around him, more numerous than they had ever been, waited his ghostly enemies. Standing as still as statues in the oppressive dark, he could only see their blank gaze and gaping mouths – turned up, as if in some ghastly smile. At the very edge of his vision, only partially illuminated by what remained of his light, a statue lay half buried in the mud. It depicted a grotesque creature that appeared to be made of many different animals.
"You…found me...and now…you join me..." the voice he had heard at the start of his flight hissed ominously. As if in response, the unicorn's horn began to dim, the little light he had gradually fading until he was again plunged into the unrelenting void. Starswirl could see the slow, ominous advance of his foes. Trying to keep track of them all at once, he found their dark features closer each time they reentered his vision. The air around him began to grow very cold, and the unicorn found feel his end approaching.
At the far edge of Starswirl’s failing vision, he saw a light. Not the white light of his own making, but rather a pale blue. It danced at the threshold of darkness, and the unicorn found himself smiling at it. He clung to it, like a raft in a raging sea, content in its presence, thankful for in its small mercy. As Starswirl’s consciousness faded, he saw the light grow brighter. As his eyes shut, the light grew so bright he could sense its presence beneath his eyelids. And as he lost touch with reality, he heard the pained cries of that which wished to end him.
Starswirl awoke slowly, his head throbbing as he squinted in the morning light. He could feel the dry grass around him, and that told him at least something. He was out of the forest, and for that he was grateful. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the light, Starswirl took in his surroundings. He had returned to the site of his meeting with Luna; how exactly he had done so evaded him completely.
"You were out for quite a while, Starswirl."
The voice was calm and oddly comforting, though Starswirl still jolted at the sound. Pushing himself into an upright position, the unicorn noted a checkered blanket draped across the verdant green not far away. Princess Celestia, esteemed co-ruler of Equestria, lay in the warmth of the morning sun, a tiny cup of tea raised to her lips by her magic. Starswirl, in a stumbling delirium, made his way to the blanket and sat across from her.
"Princess Luna-" he said suddenly after a few moments, remembering vaguely what he had last seen.
"Sends her apologies," Celestia concluded with a soft smile. "She is busy cleaning up that little problem you two worked so hard to sort out."
Starswirl nodded slowly, noticing a cup in front of him, prepared for him before he sat down. Lifting the cup with a dull glow of his horn, the unicorn sipped the tea slowly, trying to make sense of what had happened.
"The statue-"
"Is being taken care of. We have everything under control, Starswirl, I assure you. There is no need to worry," Celestia explained, still giving the battered unicorn a comforting smile. "You have done more than enough for us already. On behalf of Equestria, I thank you."
Starswirl found it difficult to find comfort in the Princess’s words. As much as he wanted to put everything behind him, the nature of the things he had seen refused to accept such a lowly resolution. But…he was tired. He was still so tired. He would try to decipher what he had seen – and what it meant for Equestria – some other time.
Now…now he would enjoy some tea.