//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Land of Dreams // by JoyceCarleton //------------------------------// Wearily, the purple unicorn felt her consciousness stir. The first thing she felt was the cold stone floor beneath her, followed by a chilling wind blowing through her mane. Still a bit disoriented, she opened her eyes and, as expected, did not find the familiar territory of her bedroom back in Ponyville. Instead, she was in a poorly-lit, subterranean cell, roughly carved into the stone. Before her was a grid of simple iron bars, with some light trickling through the spaces between; there was no door. At first glance, the whole room was mostly barren. Although this was surprising, her most prominent thought was how in Equestria she could have ended up in a room with no doors. The mare tried to get up onto her feet and was faced with much difficulty. Her entire body felt sore and weak. When she finally stood up on her four hooves, her stomach rumbled]. She let out a sigh in exasperation. She looked around the stone hovel once more to see if she had missed something in the darkness. In the very corner of the room, she spied her saddlebag, a mere silhouette in the gloom. She made the decision to see what was inside. Within the confines of the satchel, the mare saw what appeared to be several apples, and her face lit up at the expectation of satisfying her hunger. Unfortunately, upon taking the apples outside of the bag, she found them to be rotten. The useless fruit was tossed aside as the contents of the bag were further examined. First, she uncovered a book, along with a small rectangular box made of white stone, probably marble. Then, much to her delight, she found a couple of unspoiled, frosted cupcakes. The mare ate the first one ravenously and delighted in its delectableness. Despite still feeling hungry, she decided to save the second pastry for later. After returning the snack to the saddlebag, she turned her attention to the box. She paused for a moment, trying to remember how she could have acquired such an expensive-looking box. The unicorn tried opening it and found it to be locked. Upon closer inspection, she noticed a tiny keyhole. The hole was so small that she wasn’t even sure if such a small key could even be properly operated with a pony’s mouth. The mare placed the odd container back into the satchel, and then opened up the book, only to find that many of the pages had been ripped out. The first intact page seemed to indicate that the book was a journal of some sort. Thirtieth Day of the Expedition It has been a long journey, but I feel we are now reaching its end. Deep inside of me, I had actually felt that locating the ruins in the Forest was a maddening idea, but other than the occasional timber wolf and common bear, we had experienced few difficulties. As I write, I and the rest of the group are camping out atop a small hill. From our position, just a couple days trek from here, we can see the great stone structures jutting out from the overgrowth. Who knows what wonders we will find in those ancient ruins? I am positive that the Prince will be most pleased. The unicorn was about to turn to the next page when a sudden rumbling noise from outside startled her. She immediately whipped her head around and peered through the iron bars. Strangely, there were no cells across from hers*. She tried to force her head through the grid, to see if there were rooms any next to her, but her head was far too large to fit. She did not hear any other sounds, so she pulled back from the bars. The sudden noise was quite unnerving, but first things first, she needed to get out of here. The mare secured the journal into the saddlebag and then latched it onto her back. The next task was to get her magic to work. A feeble light was being emitted from her horn, but even this felt draining. There was no way it could produce enough magic to teleport back to Ponyville. Teleportation anywhere always demanded a great amount of magic, so instead, she tried to bend a couple of the iron bars. She grunted and concentrated harder, causing the light from her horn to flash brightly for just an instant, releasing enough magic to warp the bars. She took several deep breaths to recover and then squeezed through the opening. After an uncomfortable effort, she had worked her way outside. She could see that there were more cells next to hers. To the immediate right of each cell was another torch. Looking in one direction, she could see that her cell was fairly close to the end of the corridor. The mare examined the other rooms to see if she was the only prisoner. After finding them vacant, she then turned back around. It was peculiar, there had to be dozens of cells, but all were empty. At the end of the passageway, there was a stone stairwell. She noticed that the steps were much thicker than the ones she remembered back in Ponyville. The unicorn was not completely sure about what this meant, but the larger slabs definitely made the ascent a great deal more difficult. Her fatigue gradually increased as she got closer to the top of the stairwell. She literally collapsed after reaching the final step. She closed her eyes and wheezed for a moment before getting back up. After recovering a bit, she saw that she was now at the back of a massive cave. This new environment was actually less interesting than the one she just left, but far in the distance, she could see a dim light. After stretching a bit, she continued on her way and she could hear a very loud rumbling coming from outside the cave, similar to the sound she heard earlier. Exhausted once more, she had reached the entrance to the cavern and across the level stone. Outside was no more appealing than the prison, there was a blackened sky and turbulent winds; the world was in the midst of a vicious thunderstorm. The light she had seen from inside of the cave was apparently the result of periodic lightning bolts. Looking up, she could see that she was near the top of a mountain. Because of the rolling thunder and heavy downpour, she decided to retreat back inside of the cave until the end of the storm. Returning to the dryness of the shelter, the soaked mare attempted to make herself comfortable. However, this was not her biggest concern. She had seen little solid trace of anypony so far, and that was a worrying prospect. Although her memory was fuzzy, thoughts of her friends were still just as vivid. She did not know how they were separated, but her hopeful side was sure they would meet again soon. The storm raged on. Eventually, the drone of rain and lightning blurred to nothing more than white noise. The mare’s eyelids became heavy, her breathing slowed, and her senses became ignorant of her body’s shivering. Soon, she was deep in slumber. ** When the mare awoke the next day, the storm was over, but the skies were still overcast. She walked out of the cave and made her way to the edge of the mountain. She looked down at the forest floor below. Her eyes made their way across the landscape and noted several patches of burnt trees. Her eyes continued further along and she saw the faint line that seemed to indicate a dirt trail. She then trotted along the cliff’s edge to get a full view. Far in the distance, she saw something smouldering. Whatever it was, it was big, and it burned down a while ago. The unicorn had taken in enough of her surroundings, and after making a mental note of the dirt trail and the smouldering mass in the distance, found a safe path down the mountain. Hours had gone by, and the only thing that kept her pace was sheer determination. Every step she took sapped some strength away, but her willpower continued to fuel her. Unfortunately, no amount of willpower can satisfy one’s hunger. Her body could continue to move forward, but the stomach pains increasingly grew worse. After another enduring hour or so, she had finally reached the end of the pathway. But her body then tensed up in a mix of surprise and grief. The path had ended, but there was still a steep section of the mountain face that she would have to climb down. On any other day, this kind of climb would have been no problem, an easy ten minutes. She finally lost her cool and screamed out to the skies. “Oh, come on! I wake up all alone in some dungeon at the top of a huge mountain! And then, I have to climb down this huge mountain! And I do all this with no memory of what happened to me, no idea where my friends are, and I'm so! Darn! Hungry!” She took many quick breaths and her eyes dilated a bit. After her breathing returned to normal, her anger had faded away and was replaced with sadness. “I have no idea where my friends are...” Her body quivered a bit, but not from the cold this time. She sniffled and closed her eyes for a while. In the background, there was only silence. No birds chirping, no wind blowing. It was as if even nature itself had left as well. Then, she slowly reopened her eyes as a quiet calm came over her. This was all the more reason to carry on. She stretched out her body again and backed up to the edge of the mountain face. Slowly, she began her descent and made her way to the very bottom. After stepping onto the ground, she took a few deep breaths, but amazingly, a small part of her fatigue had left her body. She even smiled just a tiny bit before looking down the dirt trail. Then, something suddenly stirred in her mind. It was a memory; this place was familiar. The mountain, the trail, the mare had been there before, she could still remembered the smoke and the dragon, as if it was only yesterday. But something was amiss, things did not add up. There was no dungeon back then, only a cave, so somepony had to have built it recently? But wait, the dungeon certainly did not seem newly built. And who needed a prison there anyways? Perhaps more importantly, why was she there? It was these questions that swirled in her mind, distracting her from the troubles that previously plagued her psyche. It was during this contemplation that she recalled the journal. Just as her mouth closed on its binding, a sudden realization struck her. That smoke in the distance! That location! That’s where Ponyville was! She closed up her bag and sprinted down the dirt trail. The fires had happened a while ago so it wasn’t the thunderstorm that could have done anything to it. No, something else had to have happened to it. Something terrible. She started running as if her life depended on it. Her breathing and heart rate raced as she prayed for the safety of everypony there. She hoped that she had overestimated the extent of the damage. Maybe it was just a small fire? Maybe Derpy just messed around with a few too many storm clouds and they were just about ready to clean up the mess. Oh, what an idiot she would be to be dashing into the town square to find out everything was alright. Rainbow Dash would be so surprised with how fast she could run. Fluttershy would ask if everything was okay, and she could say yes. Rarity would comment on what a mess she looked like. Applejack would give her some fresh apples to eat after hearing her rumbling stomach, and Pinkie Pie would hold a giant party for her return! Oh, what a great party it would be after doing whatever stupid little thing she did! She probably just messed up some spell and was missing for a couple of days. Everyone else in Ponyville would be so happy that she finally came back and then she would write a letter to Princess Celestia about how you should never do something to worry your friends. Yes, that’s how it should be. She finally arrived at the outskirts of the town just as her hunger returned. The pain made it feel like her stomach was clutched in an iron vice, but it was still being mostly ignored. She had stopped running upon seeing what lay before her now. She made her way over a bridge and saw the levelled buildings. Nothing remained standing. Only blackened rubble where the structures once stood. Pockets of green-tinted smoke hovered over the larger piles of devastation. Near the centre of the town was the library that she had housed. Now, it was nothing more than a blackened ring of burnt and crumbling bark. The candy decorations of Sugarcube Corner were now little more than charred debris. Carousel Boutique no longer stood out in any way, looking just as fashionable as the next heap of debris. She made her way near the Everfree Forest and saw that Fluttershy’s cottage was not only destroyed, but completely buried under a mound of earth. Continuing on, the unicorn then reached Sweet Apple Acres. In an orchard that once had hundreds of apple trees, not a single one was now intact. The same green-tinted smoke was here as well. It was no ordinary fire that ravaged both the fields and the barns. All the while, the unicorn had shouted out to anypony. Nopony returned her calls and after verifying the virtual destruction of Ponyville, she returned to the spot of the former library. She entered the ring of burnt bark and settled herself in the centre. She lay down and nestled her head in her fore hooves. She just cried. Her tears flowed and her weeping was the only sound heard in the town that night. After what seemed like hours, her crying finally ceased, perhaps finally realizing her sorrow would bring her no solace. The tears were gone but the sadness remained. The rest of the night was completely silent save for the occasional sniffles and squeaks. Before she fell asleep, she spoke aloud for the only time that night. “Dear Princess Celestia. Today, I learned that losing all of your friends is a terrible, terrible thing. And that there will never be a greater sadness you can every experience in life. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.” A few moments later, as her consciousness waned, she wished with all of her heart that this was just a dream. But if it was not, she hoped that whoever did this to Ponyville would take her away as well. ** Twilight awoke the next day, feeling the cold earthen ground. Before she opened her eyes, she faintly wished to be in the middle of camping with her friends, even pausing to hear one of them tell her to wake up. A moment passed in silence and she opened her eyes; she was still surrounded by the burnt ring of bark that was once her home. Her hunger pains still wracked her stomach but they had been greatly dulled by her depression. However, having nothing else she could think to do, she opened up her bag and took out her last cupcake. She held it delicately in her hooves. She smiled sweetly while tears began to form in her eyes. Of course, her smile almost immediately flipped itself. A part of her now wrestled with either eating the cupcake, or holding onto it as a keepsake from her friend. This dilemma was probably the most difficult one she had ever been given. In the end, her decision was made based on the hope that her friends were still around somewhere. The tears held in her eyes started to flow as she closed her eyes and opened her mouth.]* Right before she forced the cupcake into her mouth, she heard the flapping of wings. Pegasi? She kept the cupcake firm in her hooves and opened her eyes to look up, fully expecting to see a whole flock of them. At the very least, she hoped to see Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Above here were certainly winged creatures, and they were definitely familiar, but they were not pegasi. Their wings were much larger, as well as the rest of their bodies. And instead of hooves, they had arms ending in talons and legs ending with paws. The griffons landed on the ground and surrounded Twilight. Each of them wore a bronze helmet as well as some light armour on the rest of their bodies. They were each equipped with a metal spear. One griffon remained in flight while the others landed in a circle around Twilight. Being unable to back up, Twilight cowered downwards as the griffon still in flight spoke. “What are you doing here?” the griffon asked in a fairly deep voice. Such a simple question that was. Wouldn’t a better question be what they were doing there? “I live here, well, I used to. But what are you doing here?” “I’m the one asking questions here. Who are you?” the griffon asked, placing one of its clawed hands under its chin. “My name is Twilight Sparkle and I want to know what happened here. Where is everypony?!” Twilight did not raise her voice in anger, but in desperation to know the true answer. “Twilight Sparkle? I suppose you do resemble her, but...” The griffon then landed onto the ground right next to Twilight. “But what?” The griffon then removed her helmet. The feathers on her head were fringed and her eyes each had a large, fiery purple mark around them. She looked bigger and older than Twilight remembered, but the flair she had in taking off her helmet had convinced Twilight who this was. Twilight finally found someone she knew. “You are Twilight Sparkle?” the griffon asked again. “Gilda?!” Twilight finally gasped. “It’s Captain Grizelda, but yes, I was also called Gilda back then.” “So you are Gilda; you were Rainbow Dash’s friend.” At this, Gilda looked over to the side a bit and then sighed. Gilda’s expression softened for just an instant before turning to look back at Twilight with a hardened stare. “So, Twilight Sparkle, you have finally revealed yourself.” “What are you talking about?” “Seeing as how you have been hiding out for the past eight years, I assume you are well aware of what you’ve caused. So, was it guilt that brought you back?” “Gilda, what are you going on about? I haven’t been hiding! I was trapped in a cell, and what is this about the last eight years?!” “Has the guilt from your deed broken your mind? Not surprising, those that suffered because of you also found themselves near the edge of insanity.” “I don’t understand anything you’re saying! What did I do?! Where is everypony?!” Gilda continued to ignore Twilight’s questions and she signalled to her troops. “Arrest her!” “What?!” The griffons immediately advanced and brought their spears to Twilight’s neck. Gilda then reached inside of her armour and took out a ring. “Do not struggle, Twilight Sparkle; this is the end.” Even if she wanted to, Twilight did not have enough magic left to escape from this bind. Gilda slipped the ring onto Twilight’s horn and then twisted the ring. It made a clicking sound and Twilight felt a shock go through her horn and then the rest of her body. Twilight let out a cry of pain as she felt what little bit of energy she had left completely disappear. “Why are you doing this?” Twilight asked weakly. “You have been charged for a number of things; the most notable of which would be conspiracy to end the world. That last one was added to the law just for you.” “End the world? Why would I do that?!” Gilda turned her back to Twilight and signalled for her troops to carry her. They withdrew their spears from her neck and two griffons came up to grab her. She quickly tried to think of anything she could to find a way out of this. “Wait, stop! I don’t know what happened earlier! Somepony is up to something and I want to help! Uh, my bag! Yes, in my bag there’s a journal! It might give us some kind of clue!” “Bring the bag with us,” Gilda coldly ordered. “I suppose it is important to understand your motivations. Well, after your execution, of course.” “E-execution! That has never happened even once in Equestrian history!” Gilda then turned around and grabbed at Twilight’s neck. “You!” Gilda began angrily, “You speak to me about Equestria?! You sick and twisted unicorn! It’s because of you that Equestria is no more! You brought forth the great darkness to the world and you try to lecture me on the state of the world?!” Gilda’s grip tightened around Twilight’s neck and she began to choke. “We did all we could to try and defeat it, but it was too much. It destroyed countless towns and killed thousands, if not millions of both of our kind!” Gilda’s breathing quickened a bit but then she relaxed her grip. “You know, I’ve heard a little bit about your history. You were Princess Celestia’s most faithful student. How ironic it is that you were the one who brought about her end.” Gilda let go of Twilight and noticed the cupcake on the ground. She picked it up and rotated it a bit in one of her hands. Twilight was shocked into silence by Gilda’s words. The great darkness? The end of Equestria? The end of Princess Celestia? Gilda popped the cupcake in her mouth and ate it. After that, she told the griffons to proceed with her commands and after one of them picked up her bag, they took to the skies. Twilight looked down as the destroyed town slowly got further and further away from her. As terrible as the situation was, Twilight could not shake the sensation that something much more horrible was drawing near.