I had a nightmare last night.
A terrible dream so real, I couldn't tell it was only my imagination.
I saw things that shook me to my very core, things that would drive anypony insane.
I was there, and so were you. You were crying.
Your tears glowed like drops of the sun. They slowly trickled down your cheeks and dashed themselves on the rocks below.
When each one hit, I felt the force of your agony. The will you had to have to do what was necessary crumbled in the reflection of your eyes.
I saw the hurt in you, the pain of knowing that there was no other way.
And yet, I only felt anger. I did not care for your tears, your heartache, your misery.
I screamed curses at you that horrified me. I wished death and destruction upon you, my own kin, and felt no remorse.
I vowed revenge when, all along, I had started this. My own selfish action had come full circle, yet I felt cheated.
The darkness that wrapped around us squeezed me. Sheets of black tightened their grip on my form, restricting my movements.
I had lost. I had lost my kingdom, my sister and now I was losing my mind.
As the dark closed around me, I saw your face one last time.
And then he spoke to me.
pLeaSe StaY hERe WiTh mE
The nightmare changed then.
As his words echoed in my ears, I saw us together, you and I. We were smiling, laughing and frolicking about is a field.
You were taller than me, causing me to run faster to keep up. I didn't care, though.
I enjoyed our little game. I loved running about and being free, not knowing how different things would be in the future.
The pain of war, the terrible torment we would undergo as a nation was forged from the ashes of an empire, all of them meant nothing to me at the time.
I didn't know then of the harsh words we would exchange. The terrible cries of anger and agony we would let loose had never crossed my mind.
I didn't know I would make you cry like that.
As we ran together, you neared the forest that appeared in front of us. You laughed and disappeared with a quick spell, leaving me alone to find you.
When I looked into the forest, I thought this was part of our game. I didn't know that exact moment would rend us apart.
I didn't know that moment would twist our fates into the terrible chronicle every colt and filly knows today. I had no idea that the moment I so innocently encountered would turn me into a monster.
Through the trees, I heard his voice for the first time.
wHo aRe yOu?
I froze at his voice, as if some icy wind had struck me. My blood chilled as he spoke again to me.
nO, yOu aRe nOt tHe oNe.
It was then I called out to him. As I dreamed, I could hear my own voice screaming at me to ignore the words. It was pleading with me to turn away, to leave the edge of the forest as fast as I could.
I didn't listen to my voice, though.
Who are you looking for?
In the shade of the ancient trees, I saw him look back at me. His brilliant blue eye looked back into mine from the pitch in the distance.
All the while, I kept watching him, unaware of what he was.
Unaware of what he planned to do.
oNe wHo hAs mAsTeRy oVEr tHe dReaMs oF oThErs.
I should have attacked him then. I should have called to you and had you scare him away.
There were so many things I could have done. An endless stream of possibilities flood my mind now, each one filled with the power to alter what befell us.
But, life was not so kind to me. Life would not allow me a second chance to do what I should have done.
I spoke with him, revealing that I could see the dreams of others.
I was so young then and unaware of the repercussions of what I told him, the dangers of revealing what I could do to this stranger. Yet I told him, and he answered.
I can still see him, his one unblinking eye as he emerged from the shadows. His wispy white mane and those terrible claws on the ends of his arms should have told me to leave.
I saw him reach out to me and felt his claw touch my face. He was so cold, as if the deserts themselves could never warm him.
That was when your wonderful sun faded from my life. Instead of basking in the warmth of day, I sought out the cold of the night.
I was lost into an abyss, an endless chasm of darkness. I had left this world for his twisted one.
And in the abyss, he pleaded with me.
In the dark, I heard his command.
fORgeT aBoUt thE ceLEStiAl oNe
I know not of what happened in that time. I may have appeared as myself on the outside, but within the confinements of my mind, I was screaming for you.
Dad, mom, Celestia...
Where are you...!
I guess he wanted to drive me insane with his torments. The dark void I was tethered to offered little in terms of comfort.
I saw the horrors he had shown me during my nightmare. Twisted vision of what we were doing became visible through the void, often with you expressing how much you cared for me.
I was not there when we discovered the Elements.
I was not there when we challenged Discord.
I was not there when we rejoiced over freeing our kin.
I only watched as you and the vile monster who inhabited my mind did all these things.
I screamed until I could no longer talk. I called out to you, begging for you to hear me, only to see you smile at me and vanish.
I fought against my restraints, but it was all for naught. He was breaking me down, grinding me into a fine powder he could easily manipulate.
It was then I had learned of how short the nights were. He showed me images of the outside, of how our ponies slept during it and rejoiced during your day.
Molding me into what he wanted was easy at that point. I was broken, an endlessly sad husk of what you knew me as. My wails for freedom echoed into the dark abyss I was in and he offered me an escape.
All I had to do was to allow him to use me as his host. Manipulating my mind was only keeping him alive, but to become powerful, he needed to merge with me.
The vast intensity of my want of freedom overwhelmed my judgement. In a desperate attempt to escape my endless abyss, I agreed.
It is not cruel to say I was completely insane at this point. I was unraveling, spouting off nonsense that even I couldn't understand.
And he was there, gently nudging my thoughts to where he wanted them. Making me a zealot for my own night, he told me it was time to force our subjects to accept us.
Us, not I.
uS
nOt
I...