//------------------------------// // The natural order // Story: Nightdreams and Daymares // by mareinthemoon //------------------------------// Edited by vs.dubstep Rainbow Dash looked around her. The skies was blue and the grass was green. The sun was brighter than it had ever been. Before her were the best friends she'd ever known. They had smiles on their faces, no sorrows or tears, finally safe from that world of fears. The world was pure and she was free, no longer compelled to run from everything she sees, but the air around them was still as the world and silent. The cyan mare looked side to side as she walked down the familiar road to town; the road suddenly ended as she met a wall of shadows on the edge of her world. This was cruel to do. The figure of the white stallion approached from behind, his yellow eyes that were missing life staring upon the distraught mare. He had done his best to appease her time and time again. She was all alone so he brought her friends. She was afraid of the dark so he made her a patch of grass under the sun. He could not make her town brick for brick. He never saw that far into her sunny world. ------------------------------- Celestia had gotten word that Twilight had gone missing sometime after the funeral as had Fluttershy and Rarity. This entire ordeal reeked of an all too familiar darkness, The shadow lurked upon her wall and then her fears were confirmed. She thought the nightmares were finally over, that it was unable to cross that wall. By chance she had seen it once as it took her parents from behind and pulled them into the dark. That was long ago while she was a filly, but the fears were still intact, the horror fresh within her mind as it would remain for all time. The alicorn turned to see its smile, her eyes narrowing in contempt. She stood her ground and did not scream even though she was crying inside. 'Hello Tia. Looking for me?' It chuckled to her, knowing it had scarred the princess forever in more ways than one. Celestia glared and was unpleased that it had come back to her world again. The last time it reared its ugly head it took away her only family she had left. She had finally gotten her back from the dark but those fears for a thousand years never would fade away. "Leave my world or suffer the consequences." The princess put on a brave face, but it was all an act and he knew it. The shadow walked off of her wall, the darkness fading to reveal the white stallion form he took in this world. It grew tired of her pathetic attempts to be brave. Honestly who did she think she was fooling? 'Silly filly, It's not your world and it never was...' She shuddered in place as the fear began to grip her heart, It was winning this battle and soon would take the war. Then Luna's screams rang out from her room, the sound bringing tears to the white Alicorn's eyes. "I came to take back my property. You were so easy to play Tia..." he mocked as he vanished into the darkness, claiming another soul as its own. The white alicorn rushed upstairs to Luna's room, trembling in fear as she saw the door had already been opened a crack. With her hoof she gently opened the door the rest of the way. The room was filled with blue feathers and the scent of blood. She looked around for her sister as panic swept across her face. The fear was real and her sister had been taken away again. Celestia cried, for every time she tried to protect her family she would fail again and again. Luna was gone again, dragged behind the wall once more. How could she have ever believed it would ever leave her happiness alone. She had gone through so many hopes and fears, so many wasted years before it was gone from her home. But in the end, the results were the same and she only had herself to blame. If only she were strong enough to protect the ones she loved. This time she would reclaim her sister and the ones it took away from their happy lives. She would never again let it ruin the dreams of any other pony. Celestia ran to the restricted section of the library, determined to discover the truth and more importantly, a way to destroy it. She knew it fed on fears that lurked in every living creatures heart, but if there wasn't a way to kill it, was there a way to starve it of its strength? ------------------------ Rainbow was looking for that crack so she could see what was going on for real. At last she found the crack and looked outside, at first only seeing clouds but soon saw a hooded figure that stood before her. The pony was white in a hood of black with a scythe in one hoof. Was this Death? Rainbow asked herself as she looked upon the other, her rose colored eyes pleading for help. "Hush now. I'm going to get you all out of there. It's gone too far this time," the being exclaimed and looked upon her form the other side of the crack. In that moment he instantly knew why it wanted her, and that the actions of himself and the other deities would come back to bite them in the ass for sure. It was loose from its wall and disturbing the natural order again, He had to act quickly before it returned. Death knew if it spotted him, there was no chance he would survive the encounter. Rainbow nodded as her eyes pleaded with her savior. The nightmare would be over and they would all be able to go home to their happy lives. "What do you mean by this time?" Rainbow Dash could not help but ask the other. If Death had any insight as to what this thing was then there was a chance for her to use it to her advantage. Death fell silent for a moment. It was a very sore subject but as its target she had every right to know. It would be forgotten soon after the rescue and fixing of its wall. No pony was meant to remember its face or identity. Those who did suffered greatly. It was the natural order. It was meant not to be known or seen by any being. It was more or less a being that operated behind the scenes. Death took a deep breath and looked to her so he could explain. "A long time ago it abused its power and created a life for its own desires. The great moderator and I took the being from this world. It grew then angry and violent, escaping its confinements as it tore a bloody path through the heavens..." ----------------- The white stallion was flying straight upwards into the heavens at a speed that left the Sonic Rainboom in the same league as Tank the Tortoise. He slew any angelic who dared cross his path, the blood falling to the world below as a crimson red rain. He burst through the uppermost layer of clouds, his eyes filled with rage and the ever growing madness. "Where is she?" he bellowed, his voice booming with enough force to knock the many angelic guards onto their rear ends. He charged forward, goring into the ponies before him as if they were meat on a kebab. Then he finally reached the double doors from his dreams, kicking them in to see the ever so displeasing smile upon that pink mares face. ------------------ Death knew they were in the wrong for doing what they did to the dreamer. He dreamed up their world to awake in a world of darkness. But the natural way of things meant no pony went behind the wall, no pony met the dreamer. "He was on a rampage and nearly killed the moderator. His existence outside this realm is disallowed." Death did not want to reveal too much more. It would return soon enough and be angry for sure if he saw him again. "Hold tight. I will return soon with the moderator. We're gonna get you guys out." And with that Death vanished. ---------------- Pinkie was baking cupcakes merrily as she had convinced her self into a delusional state. "These will be perfect for when Dash, Fluttershy, Twi and Rarity get back from vacation." She giggled in a sad sort of way as she began frosting the small cakes. Her mind was gone, all of her friends were dying left and right. It was too much to take for the pink earth pony. 'Poor Pinkie... your soul is already broken.' The voice was almost sympathetic for her situation. He had once gone through the tough denial phase. Reality was cruel and he had come to terms with it, now must the pink mare before him. Instead of fear, her sad smile remained as she looked upon the shadow with red eyes and glimmering white smile. She almost looked as if she wanted to die, or she was about to kill herself. "Did you take my friends too?" the pink mare asked as she began to sob, her blue eyes filled with tears. To this he simply nodded. This one was already dead inside, her laughter all dried up and gone. It was a sad state of things to watch this once happy creature be so defeated. He at least hoped to see that smile. The pink mare simply laid down on the counter before the shadow, her eyes a shell of the lively mare she once was. He shifted to the white stallion. He wanted this one to die as she lived, full of sugary goodness. He began to force feed her all the sweets he could find, her stomach bulging from the food within her. The being then found some chocolate that was used to make fudge, a very rich sweet chocolate. With every cut, her eyes produced more tears but her mouth made no screams. It was hardly a game anymore. It was more like a ritual now. He stuffed the chocolate under the cut skin, making sure to do it as if he were making a delicate dish. In a moment he opened the still on oven and slid her body inside. The mare screamed in pain as she was cooked alive but a smile crept across her pink face as the end drew near. She would be with them soon. She would be with her friends. This kill was far from like the others. The others' sadness only proved to rekindle his own. It had been a long time since thoughts of the past. It was not something he wanted to recall per se but it was a part of him and he would not abandon it. Not as he was. -------- Pinkie smiled as she found herself at the edge of a hill. Before her were her dearest friends. They were all there. They say home is where the heart is, and Pinkie's heart was with her dearest friends. She did not care about the things that lurked at the edge of this fake world. She would make this darkness feel like home. Rainbow Dash ran to her with tears in her eyes. "Pinkie, I-I'm so sorry. If it weren't for me you wouldn't have gotten..." Pinkie raised a hoof to Rainbows mouth and smiled to her. There was no need for such words. "It's okay Dashie, I let it get me. It hurt a lot but the face he made was just as sad as mine." -------------