//------------------------------// // Chapter 22: Bad Dreams // Story: Past, Present, and Future // by Bpkyle777 //------------------------------// The guards I called out gathered around me as the rest cleared out. “Alright,” I said, “We are investigating what could be a potential threat to Equestria, near the border of the Everfree.” Everypony saluted, except Smith, who was shifting on his hooves. “Are you alright, Smith?” “Well, it’s just…” He paused to think about it. “If what we are investigating is a possible threat, why did you send away the rest of the guards?” “You sure you’re not just scared of the Everfree?” I prodded him. He just scoffed. “Like anything could scare me.” I just laughed. “Well, truthfully, we don’t know what this could be. It could very well be nothing at all! Besides, after so long of nothing bad happening, why would something happen now?” Smith glared angrily at me. “Thanks for jinxing us, idiot!” I turned around, laughing, and started for the jungle’s edge, the rest of the team trailing behind, except for Smith and the Lieutenant, who were by my sides. “You’re so superstitious!” I mocked. “Says the guy that jinxed us right before Discord showed up!” Smith rebutted. “He would have shown up anyways,” I explained. “Just because earlier that day I said ‘What could possibly go wrong’ doesn’t mean that was what caused it!” Smith rolled his eyes and looked forward again. “Whatever dude. Your funeral.” After walking for a few more quiet minutes, we arrived near the outskirts of the Everfree. I had never been this close to the Jungle since I’ve been here and I can now confirm, without a shred of doubt… it looked like any other thick forest back on Earth. Seriously? It looks nothing like a jungle up close! Sure, the canopy is extra thick to prevent light from getting through, but that’s it! No vines, no excess moss… I sighed at the thought of ponies only fearing it because it’s weather and animals were untamed. We all approached the Everfree, the guards a little more reluctantly, especially Smith. Well, he has been through a lot in there… Shaking my head, I turned back to the guards. “Alright, according to the girls, I was found somewhere around here. I want all of you to form a perimeter about ten meters in diameter around me. Smith, since you two know the most about the Jungle out of all of us, I want you and Flare to be the ones closest to its edge.” Fear flicked across Smith’s face for a brief moment before he quickly shook his head and saluted me with the rest of the team. The guards panned out, giving me some extra space. I sat in the center of our little pony circle, and took a few deep breaths, clearing my mind and focusing on the task at hoof. After a few quiet moments, I put my two forehooves together and summoned my magic to my horn. Once I was sure I had built up enough, I reached out with the scanning spell Celestia taught me about a month ago, scanning the entire area in one quick sweep. The purpose of this spell wasn’t to give me any specifics, but just to let me know if there was indeed some kind of anomaly nearby. I opened my eyes when the spell returned positive and looked around. Standing up, I charged a newer, more in-depth scanning spell and slowly walked around. This spell can only cover so large of an area, hence the previous spell to ensure I wasn’t just wasting my time. I stepped through the knee-high grass, scanning both magically and visually, until my eye caught a strange patch of grass that looked slightly shorter than the rest. Using my magic to scan it, I was unable to find anything strange about it until I raised my magic skyward. About three meters in the air, there was some kind of odd magic. I instantly knew it wasn’t any of the normal magics, so that only left Chaos and Dark magic as possibilities, since I had the least experience with those. *Growl* Before I could decipher it any further, my attention was brought to the Everfree, where my ears caught the sound of some kind of animal. Judging by Smith’s shaking, I knew exactly what it was. “Stallions, line up!” I ordered. “We’ve got company.” The guards nodded and did as told, forming a small arc between me and the Everfree. Each of the Unicorns charged their horns and the Pegasi, except for Smith, lightly flapped their wings, preparing to take flight. “Smith, I want you back here with me.” Without a word, Smith quickly ran backward, stopping by my side. I could see him instantly settle down a little and take a few deep breaths, before a determined gleam appeared I his eye. We all stood there, waiting for something to happen. The Jungle remained unnaturally silent for a few minutes. Before too long, I could just barely make out a single pair of yellow eyes, followed closely by a low growl. The guards stood their ground, waiting to see if it would attack. Is it only one? After a few moment, another pair of yellow eyes appeared a couple meters to the left. Guess not. I charged my horn and gave myself a thicker shield, in case things got rough. I didn’t have the benefit of armor the guards had, so I needed to be prepared. A couple more growls sounded and I could see at least six new pairs of eyes staring at us. “This is not good,” I mumbled. “Heh, what’d I tell you?” Smith quipped. Rolling my eyes, I looked back at the Everfree, just in time to see the first set of eyes exit the Jungle, attached to the face of a huge Timberwolf. I really mean huge. The Timberwolves in the show may have been around pony size, if not slightly bigger, but these guys were over twice as large. Lieutenant Light was the closest at the front of the arc from the Timberwolf, about six meters away. The Lieutenant may have been one of the few Earth ponies in our group, but I knew he could tousle when it came down to it. The Timberwolf in front took another slow step forward as a second one left the shade of the trees as well. A couple steps later, the wolf stopped, causing the other to stop, and lowered its head, releasing another growl. For a split second I could see his eyes give off some kind of dark purple smoke before he lunged at us, causing the rest of the wolves to leap out of the Everfree as well. Before I could react, the Pegasi were already in the air and the Unicorns were firing into the pack. Light quickly veered around and bucked the first Timberwolf in the face, causing it to instantly shatter. By the time I was finally able to contribute to the fight, six wolves had already been destroyed, but with each one they took out, another leapt from the Jungle to take its place. A few wolves circled around the left side to get to me and I fired a cyan bolt straight into the midst of them, causing all but one to shatter, and the remaining one to catch fire, making him flee back to the forest. I quickly turned around to see another group with the same idea but before I could do anything, a silver blur swooped down and slammed into the first wolf, sending it flying into all the others. “Strike!” I heard Smith yell. Being distracted, I almost missed the wolf that snuck its way past the guards. I barely noticed it in time just to duck under its claw and buck it in the chest. The Timberwolf staggered back a few steps, but was otherwise unfazed by my kick. It leapt at me, claws outstretched, in an attempt to pin me. Out of reflex, I teleported a couple meters to the left and sprinted at the confused wolf, shoulder-checking it and sending it tumbling a couple meters. While it tried to regain its balance, another wolf leapt over it, running straight for me. As I dodged its attacks, I charged my horn and aimed at it. After a flash, the wolf was no longer in front of me, but nearly a kilometer in the air over the Jungle. I smirked and turned my attention to the previous wolf, which Smith was currently keeping busy. Smith may have been terrified of wolves, but he knew when to be brave and was an expert in Pegasus Martial Arts, although did he rarely need to leave the ground. His wings were mostly used to keep him balanced on his hind legs. Dodging a failed swipe from the wolf, Smith jumped up and roundhouse kicked the wolf, but instead of letting the wolf fly, he used his wings to keep his hind leg pressed into the Timberwolf’s face, plowing it into the ground, and instantly smashing it from the force of the impact. Another Timberwolf snuck its way behind Smith, but was smashed to pieces as a cyan bolt flew through it. Smith quickly turned around to see the leftover twigs shower to the ground then turned to me in surprise. I smirked at him, my horn still fading and he chuckled. His eyes suddenly went wide when he looked past me. “Knight, look out!” I quickly turned around in shock to see a Timberwolf in midair, its teeth only a hair’s breadth from my face… Gasping, I quickly sat up, sweat rolling down my face. I quickly looked all around and saw that I was in my bedroom at the castle, the light of a new morning barely shining through my windows. My covers were bunched up and hanging off the bed and my pillow on the left side of the bed was slightly damp from the sweat. I took a few deep breaths to calm down and raised a navy blue hoof to push my black hair out of my face, avoiding my horn. “It… It was just a dream.” I carefully laid back down, trying to slow my heart rate. Of course it was a dream. Why would I be near the Everfree Jungle in the first place? Once I was sure I was feeling fine again, I turned to the side to see a particular pony missing from the bed. Shrugging, I rolled out of bed and my stomach growled. Hehe, time for breakfast with the girls I guess. After I finished my morning stretches, my horn lit up and I levitated my favorite saddlebags on my back. I stepped over to the smaller bookshelf I kept in my room and took down the second of a few small, silver books and opened it. Hmm. Yeah, this one’s all filled up now. I put it back and grabbed the next one in the row and made sure it was empty. Journal number three. It took just under six months to fill the first one and now… I stopped a moment. Two full journals. That must mean… I quickly levitated the mini calendar I had on my nightstand over to me to check today’s date. Yep! August 26th, 10 AD. I’ve been here for nearly a year now! Tomorrow is the anniversary of my arrival. Now giddy with excitement, I replaced the calendar on the nightstand and gathered my new journal, as well as a few miscellaneous supplies, and put them in my saddlebags. I stepped out of my bedroom and started down the long hallway leading past Tia’s old room. She still used it, but it was more for storage than anything else. We both have so much stuff in our studies that we decided to keep separate rooms, but both beds are rarely occupied at the same time, I chuckled. Continuing my pace to the dining room, I waved at a few of the guards and maids that passed me, getting nods and waves in return. A few even greeted with a ‘Morning, Zack!’ I was pretty well known around the castle. I’m not surprised, though, with how many times I’ve saved the day. And dating their Princess doesn’t hurt either. “Coming through!” I stopped and jumped to the side as Starswirl the now-fully-bearded sprinted past me in a hurry. What’s got his bells in a jangle? A few minutes later, I arrived at the dining room, the two beautiful Princesses waiting at the end of the table. “Good morning!” I called as I approached my seat next to Tia. “Ung,” Luna grunted, letting her head fall to rest on the table. Up close I could tell her mane was a mess and she had bags under her eyes. I couldn’t blame her, though. Her now inverted schedule meant that this was technically her late dinner before she would head off to bed. I told her that being the ‘Keeper of Dreams’, as she calls it, is only an optional part of the job, but she insists on it, despite how it's been affecting her. “Good morning, Zack,” Tia said, nuzzling me as I sat down. Luna levitated her mug of hot coffee to her face to take a sip. “Luna, you know you shouldn’t be drinking coffee before bed,” I said. She grumbled irritably a few moments before mumbling, “It’s decaf.” “How did you sleep?” Tia asked. I chuckled. “Pretty good, actually. Although…” I put a hoof to my chin, “towards the end I had this strange dream.” Luna’s ears perked at this and she lifted her head. “What kind of dream?” she asked, most of her funk replaced with curiosity. “I… I can’t seem to remember,” I said after a moment. “It keeps slipping away for some reason.” I shrugged and turned to thank the servant that brought me my pile of pancakes. Luna slowly lowered her head back to the table, giving me an irritated look, and took another sip of coffee. I rolled my eyes. Well, sorry for forgetting! Geez. She sighed and turned to the nearest window, staring outside. I started eating my breakfast but slowed down as I looked at the worn out alicorn across from me. Luna really needs a special somepony, I thought to myself as I took a sip of my orange juice. I thought for sure Silver Smith would be the one, but… I sighed at the thought of what Luna did after he revealed his secret to her. I just can’t believe Luna would do something… like that… -Flash- Wait… I literally cannot believe Luna would do that! She admired him for years! Why would she- -Flash- “Zack, are you alright?” “Huh?” I blinked and looked around to see both sisters staring at me quizzically. “U-uh, yeah. Just zoned out there for a sec,” I said, shaking my head. “Alright then,” Tia gave me a peck on the cheek. I smiled and returned to my meal. What was I just thinking about? After not being able to remember, I decided to just drop it. Probably wasn’t important anyways. ---------------- “Augh! Why, Mondays, Why?!” I yelled in irritation as another botched spell sat smoking in front of me. I’ve never been too fond of Mondays, but recently I’ve noticed that my luck was the absolute worst on those days. Normally, when I mess up a spell, it just harmlessly fizzles out before it could do any damage. But for SOME reason, they always blow up on Mondays! Groaning, I started cleaning up the work area in my study, using the supplies I always had nearby to scrub up the dark smudges and sweep up anything I had destroyed. I learned a long time ago to keep a protective barrier over my books so they wouldn’t get burned… again. Tia sat in the corner of the room near the door, giggling. Every morning before she had to start day court, she would watch me practice my magic, occasionally helping out. After a while she would attend day court, and then when lunch rolled around, we would eat together. Sometimes we ate on her balcony, or out in the gardens. I’ve really come to love our little routine. “Perhaps this is why your first day here was so horrible,” Tia offered. I stopped for a moment and remembered that my first day was indeed a Monday. “I think you’re right,” I chuckled as I finished cleaning. “Oi, I think Mondays are just cursed for me.” She giggled some more before looking at the clock. “Well, it’s time for me to go. I’ll see you at lunch, Zack.” I trotted over to her and gave her a quick kiss before she left. As she stood up and stepped out the door, she flicked my muzzle with her ethereal tail, making me blush and chuckle. Once she was gone, I turned back to my desk and thought about what I could do now. Hmm, I guess I could go visit my friend. I normally try to visit him and hang out at least once a day, whether or not he actually wants me there. Gathering my saddlebags and a couple supplies, I left my room. I trotted down multiple corridors and made my way to the back of the castle. The hallways grew smaller the farther I went, and they weren’t quite as shiny as the rest of the castle. I eventually made it to a small set of wooden double doors. Using the magical key Tia taught me to unlock it, I pushed the door open and descended the circular staircase on the other side. There were no more windows, so the only sources of light were my horn and a few scattered candlesticks on the walls. I grimaced as I approached the bottom and that old musty smell hit my nose. I’ll never get use to that. At the bottom, there was a long hallway made of cobble with various magic and sound proof doors along the sides, each one roughly six to eight meters apart from each other. I grabbed the set of keys near the entrance and trotted to the seventh door down on the right, avoiding the patches of moss that decided to make this their home. Putting in the key, I gave it a twist and pushed the door open with my hoof. Inside was a decently lit room, about ten meters long and eight wide. About halfway in was a row of bars spanning the width of the room, leaving about a five by eight area on each side. The entire room was made up of the same cobblestone that lined the hallway, although there was noticeably less moss. You’d think that someplace as grand as Canterlot could at least improve their dungeons to be somewhat livable. Sitting in the corner of the cell, leaning against the pile of hay and blanket that made up a makeshift bed, was a dark figure, his green eyes following the ball he was repeatedly bouncing of the opposite wall. I smirked as I remembered when I had snuck that in here for him. He stopped the ball with both hooves and turned his green eyes towards me. He always tried to keep a straight face, but I could see a small smile tugging at his lips. “Hey, Zack,” he said, a slight buzz in his voice. I smiled a little more as I approached the bars. “Hey, Smith.”