Sky Blossom looked around at her surroundings, only to notice that there was none. Her pupils grew larger as she attempted to see into the blackness that surrounded her. Something nagged at the back of her head, but she could not decipher what it was. Tentatively, she reached out a trembling hoof to see if anything even existed around the spot she was on. To her relief, her hoof touched solid ground. Sky Blossom gulped before walking forward. Each hoof echoed forebodingly as if she was walking in a large cave. For a few moments Sky Blossom began to assume that she was in a deep cave.
‘It would explain the darkness.’ Sky Blossom thought as she continued to walk forward.
For some reason she could not explain, Sky Blossom did not feel comfortable speaking out loud. It was not her normal reluctance to make a sound. It was as if she knew that if she did speak, something horrible would happen. So she continued moving forward without even the slightest whisper of noise. Her wings were clutched close to her sides as if the contact would save her if anything went wrong. Her belly felt like a rock as she continued to blindly stumble forward. Licking her lips, Sky Blossom shivered as she felt a cold breeze appear from seemingly nowhere. She did not stop walking, however.
‘I just know something is going to go wrong.’ Sky Blossom thought.
Sky Blossom lurched forward as her hoof contacted with nothing but empty air. Scrambling to prevent herself from falling, her hoofs scraped frantically against the ground. Crumbles of the floor she had been walking on dropped into the black abyss. After a few moments of frantic scrambling, Sky Blossom managed to regain her balance. Trembling and breathless, she slowly looked over the edge. Her eyes struggled to make out any shape or form against the darkness she found herself in. It seemed more like she was stuck in the color black instead of just someplace extraordinarily dark. For some reason, that thought unnerved Sky Blossom even more than almost falling off the edge.
‘Where am I?’ She thought as she sat down. There was no way that she was going to continue moving now. Because she was now sitting still, she had no choice but to contemplate on where she found herself. Closing her eyes, she took comfort in the fact that the darkness she was seeing was from herself and not the strange place she was in. Her pink cheeks were pale with fear as she wondered what she could do next.
‘I wish I was home.’ She thought with sadness as a tear trickled down her smooth cheek.
Suddenly, a patch of light invaded her vision. Sky Blossom opened her eyes slightly to see what had lit up the darkness she had put herself in. It was a street light, old and worn that flickered more than it lit up. The ground beneath her began to change. Instead of the smooth stretch of black she had been on, it began to grow hard and bumpy. Sky Blossom stood up and heard the sound of her hoofs clatter against a stone street. The street was beaten and worn like the street lamp. Some places had whole stones missing, while others had weeds springing up from between the mismatched rocks. Breathing in deeply, Sky Blossom continued to look around. Crumbling building surrounded her and the musty smell of rain assaulted her nose. The rocks underneath her hooves were damp as if there had been a recent shower.
The sky was still dark, but was sprinkled slightly with a few stars. Although, those stars were not nearly as bright as the ones she had seen in Equestria. Sky Blossom dimly remembered stars and a bright moon in the dim purple sky during her walk back to the boutique with Rarity. Rubbing her head, Sky Blossom realized that she did not remember much at all about her walk with Rarity. The moon seemed weathered as much as the place she was in however, and barely gave a dim glow. Softly and quietly, Sky Blossom began to walk down the street. She knew where she was going. She felt like she had been there before in another time. Every hoof step rang out alarmingly to Sky Blossom, although in reality they barely made a sound. Her breathing increased when she realized that not every hoof step she heard belonged to herself.
Turning around slowly, she noticed three figures in the distance. Although they were pony shaped now, like she was, she recognized the leader’s mane cut. A flurry of spikes that looked like they could impale someone and a stark swoop in the front. Yellow, blue, and red eyes looked at her from across the street. Swallowing and slowly backing up, Sky Blossom tried to keep from screaming. She did not want to do anything that could draw their attention. Her hoof suddenly caught on a loose rock in the street and caused her to fall backward. In pain and dazed, she lay there until her head stopped spinning. It was only then that she realized the figures had gotten closer. In a blind panic, Sky Blossom began to race across the street. The black silhouettes seemed to get two steps closer for every step she went forward. The lights continued to flicker, giving the ponies a ghostlike appearance.
Sky Blossom struggled to see through the sea of tears that erupted from her eyes. Her breathing was hindered by the choking sobs that escaped from her throat and made running difficult. She was forced to stop when she ran into a dead end. Surrounded by tall walls on both sides, Sky Blossom realized that she was in an alley. The alley she had been in when the nightmare had happened in the real world. Her eyes shrunk and she turned around. Helpless and afraid, Sky Blossom could only stand there and watch as the three shadows entered the alley. The began to circle around her as if they wanted to engulf her. Trembling, Sky Blossom opened her mouth to talk to them when a beam of light flashed from the distance.
The beam was incredibly bright and caused Sky Blossom to close her eyes for only a few moments. When she opened them she realized that the apparitions were gone and she was no longer in the desolate town. Instead she was simply floating in mid air among the stars that filled the night sky. Smiling with a mixture of joy and relief, she began to frantically look around for her rescuer. She met a pair of eyes… but they were not the eyes she was expecting. Instead of the familiar blend of red and yellow, those eyes were a medium shade of blue with white around them. Long lashes protruded from the top of the elegant eyes.
Her ears lowered slightly as she felt the faint flicker of hope be dimmed. Sky Blossom quickly stepped forward towards the dark blue pony that was floating down to the strange ground Sky Blossom was standing on. The pony’s large wings helped her land softly on the ground. Her mane seemed to be composed of the night sky. It waved and shimmered in front of Sky Blossom’s eyes. Sky Blossom stared for a moment, transfixed in the pony’s beauty. The star pony wore a black crown and a necklace with a crescent moon on it. Although Sky Blossom had only recently found out that Alicorns were princesses, she knew what a crown meant and quickly bowed down the best she could. It felt awkward to be down on one leg when she had three others sticking in the air. It was only when she heard the princess giggle that Sky Blossom realized that she might be bowing down the wrong way.
Blushing and muttering apologies, Sky Blossom quickly rose and looked the princess in the eyes. “Thank you… um… your majesty?” The last part seemed almost like a question as Sky Blossom tried to figure out how to address the royalty in front of her.
“It is quite all right my frightened subject. I trust thou is not injured?” The princess asked.
“I’m not hurt.” Sky Blossom answered. ‘None of the other ponies spoke as regally as her.’
“Thy demeanor shows that thou is frightened. Do not be afraid. I am Princess Luna, protector of dreams and ponies who sleep.” Luna placed a comforting hoof on the tiny pegasus’s shoulder. She smiled as she saw Sky Blossom gaze up at her with moist eyes.
“That was just a nightmare?” The trembling mare asked in surprise. She remembered the feeling that something was nagging in the back of her mind and realized that it was her common sense. She had felt like she should not be in complete darkness. Memories came flooding back as she remembered lying down to sleep on Rarity’s sister’s bed. She blushed and gave Luna a chagrin smile. Her body would not stop trembling.
“You still tremble young one. Be calm and be still.” Luna placed her horn on top of Sky Blossom’s head and emitted a wave of deep, blue magic. The magic covered the yellow pony’s entire body and bathed her in warmth. Luna could see Sky Blossom relax as the magic washed away all of her fear. Without the fear holding her back, she would be able to say what she wanted to without worrying about being reprimanded. ‘So many things can be accomplished without fear.’ Luna thought sadly. ‘But fear is a necessity and this spell is not. When she awakes, it will return.’
Sky Blossom felt amazing. All of her tension had seemed to melt away. Looking up at the princess with a spark in her eyes, Sky Blossom spoke without stumbling over her words. “Thank you so much for helping me.”
“It was my pleasure. Luna replied with a formal bow. She raised her dark eyes to the swirling stars around her and asked gravely. “Who were those stallions?”
Sky Blossom’s eyes clouded for a moment before she answered. “They are figures from my past. I was walking along a dark road when they appeared. They followed me and then… things happened.” She trailed off and looked at the princess with a mixture of regret and defiance.
Luna smiled. If the young mare did not feel comfortable talking about her past experience then she would not pry any further. Her mane swirled around Sky Blossom gently as she stepped closer. For a few moments she did not speak, she just examined the mare. Although her eyes sparked with confidence because of her spell, there was still something lingering in the depths of them. A question that she still dared not ask but desperately wanted to know. Sighing, Luna stared right into her light, blue eyes. She did not want Sky Blossom attempting to avoid eye contact when she asked this question. Forcing her to look at her, Luna spoke.
“What is troubling thee?” Luna asked with a hint of force.
“Princess….” Sky Blossom began uncertainly. Her former ease seemed to slip away from her just as easily as her fear had. “Do you know anything about…”
Suddenly, a bright light began to form all around them. It grew until it engulfed everything from the stars to the ponies themselves. Sky Blossom raised a slender hoof to cover her eyes, hoping to get one last glimpse of the Princess and ask her what she had be about to. She could see nothing in front of her but the light. Instead of being lost in a sea of black she was now lost in a storm of white. Faintly, she could hear wing beats as someone flew away. Sky Blossom winced as she heard Princess Luna call out her name. Unable to answer due to confusion and fear, Sky Blossom remained silent.
“Sky Blossom! Thou awakens!” Luna called out one last time before everything disappeared
The pale mare sat up in the frilly bed abruptly. Her mane was disheveled and her breathing was ragged. Memories of her nightmare came flooding back to her along with her encounter with yet another princess. Moist eyes looked around the room as she checked to make sure she had indeed woken up. Relived to find that she was no longer asleep, she gingerly climbed out of the bed. On a nightstand there was a stack of paper and crayons. It took a few tries and the writing was barely legible, but Sky Blossom was able to leave a note for Rarity. It was written on light blue paper, Sky Blossom’s favorite color, and in green crayon. She notified Rarity that she was going for a walk and would return momentarily. Satisfied that her note would not be missed if she put it on the bed, she snuck out the door.
She walked slowly, to avoid waking the fashionista and opened the front door with great care. Glancing up at the sky, Sky Blossom could tell that it was still early morning and not many pony residents would be awake. Smiling, she continued walking past Ponyville. She did not feel like being around any ponies at the moment. The relaxed Pegasus was content to simply walk and enjoy the crisp morning air. Mornings had always had a calming effect on Sky Blossom. They refreshed her like a cool shower, woke her up like a tasty chocolate bar, and calmed her like a soft blanket. Breathing in deeply with every step, she managed to forget her troubles.
Sky Blossom soon came across a fork in the path. She decided to take the…