No Rest with the Wicked
The trip was thankfully easier with Star Swirl by my side, but going was slow on account of sleep was much less restful with the nightly nightmares. A week of poor sleep had left me getting looks from Star Swirl as we stopped on the side of the road to rest.
“I haven’t been, it’s been pressing the offensive pretty hard when I dream.”
“Oh? And have you been defending yourself?” He spoke in that sagely manner that reminded me of Ian McKellen's Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings.
“I kill it. Every night, I kill it.” Star Swirl looked at me in shock.
“Well, I can certainly see why that would be stressful. You’ve spent time in your dreams with Luna, have you ever practiced anyway to set up a kind of default dreamscape?” I continued looking at the ground as I thought about better times when Luna and I could meet in my dreams.
“I wasn’t great at it, but it isn't an angle I’ve tried yet. Thank you Star Swirl.” Star Swirl cleared his throat as I turned to look in his direction.
“Perhaps getting back among friends will also serve to strengthen your defenses. I do remember you saying it tends to try to possess its host through loneliness.” I nodded my head and stood back up.
“Don’t discount yourself, Star Swirl. I’d like to think I can count you among my friends or at least among my allies.”
“Well, I am certainly flattered you feel that way after our short time working together. Shall we continue along our way to Ponyville?” Star Swirl rose back up onto his hooves and we continued along the road until nightfall as I rose a small one room hut of magically packed dirt just off the road.
Star Swirl left to gather food as I removed my armor and sat down looking at its silvery color thinking back to my time in the Crystal Empire only a month ago and how Shining Armor had shown me how to maintain my gear. I grabbed my polishing rag from my backpack and buffed the breastplate focusing around the shoulder plates to clean the dirt and grit that would get stuck in the joints as my eyes grew too heavy to keep open. I slumped back against the hut so I wouldn’t fall over as my world once again went black.
There I was once again standing face to face with the strange female form both familiar and alien, her sickly green serpentine eyes staring into mine.
“Back again so soon? Quite a stroke of good luck for me, I have a bit of information I’m sure you could find very helpful. Interesting choice of dreamscape by the way.” I looked around and noticed we were standing in the room I was in before waking up in Equestria.
“What do you have to say?” The Nightmare Force quirked an eyebrow at me and sat down on the mattress with box-spring left on the floor that I called my bed.
“Not the response I was expecting from you after the week we’ve been having. Why the sudden change of heart?” She crossed her legs and smiled up at me from her spot on my bed.
“Why don’t you tell me and I’ll be the judge of its merit.” I brought my eyes to meet back with her’s. She shifted a bit before laying back on my bed.
“Why don’t you come down here and I’ll tell you.” She replied with a coy giggle followed by a gasp of surprise as I laid down on my back beside her. The bed was just as I remembered it, bringing back memories of lonely nights spent coasting along what I called life. I miss my friends that I would play weekly D&D with, family too, but the strange feeling that my actions meant something in Equestria is what really kept me in the world I knew my body was in now.
“Are you ready to tell me now?” I turned to face her and gently pulled her into a hug as I felt her tense at my touch before relaxing.
“F-fine, there’s a powerful dark aura a few days East of where we are right now. It’s powerful enough to threaten Equestria. Now release me.” I let her go and sat up to hide the smug look on my face.
“Any idea as to the source?” I felt her weight shift on the bed.
“You believe me?” She said in an incredulous tone as I tried to put on a neutral expression before turning back to face her.
“To be honest, you could be lying to stall for time, but I wouldn’t see the point in just a few days out of our way. But you haven’t answered my question.” She had turned to lay on her side as she looked back up at me with those serpentine eyes.
“Hmm, well it seems to be a being, magical but not a unicorn or pony dark mage. A powerful surge of greed for wealth, hmm I’d go with dragon as the source. May I ask why you are willing to trust me on this subject?” I gave her a flash of a smile and turned so as to be easier to face her.
“Because I know you want to rule and if there is something that could threaten that, you’d want it removed. Evil rarely plays nice with others unless forced to or it’s to its benefit.” The Nightmare Force sat up and smiled at me with her jagged teeth that reminded me of a bear trap.
“You make a fair point, Onyxian. As a show of respect, while you deal with this would be usurper, I shall let you rest in peace, but I think it’s time to wake up.” She lunged at me jaws first and I jumped from where I was slumped down looking over to see Star Swirl cooking as I was back in the hut with my hands shaking.
“Hmm pity, you looked to be resting well if a bit uncomfortably until just now. Is everything alright, Onyxian?” I felt groggy as I picked my armor up and put it away while I told Star Swirl of my latest encounter with The Nightmare Force as he listened intently while making sure dinner didn’t burn. “Well now, you wanted adventure and it seems to be close at hoof it’s your choice what we do.”
“not much of a choice really. We’re gonna check it out and hope it’s just a lie but expect an evil dragon.” Star Swirl chuckled as we sat down to eat.
“Never a dull moment with you so far is there?”
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5928350
TRUST ME, IT GETS BETTER.
more pleas.
At start i wasnt sure about this story. But its getting more and more interesting. Keep it up.
This is a pretty good story. Love it so far, especially acting as a prison for dark forces. I believe I did something similar in one of mine. I'll have to get back to it sometime.
I wish for more! Too bad there isn't...
9604062
Wouldn't count on it, seeing as the author's been last seen Feb 2017.
10055264
I keep those in some of my shelves, though I make it a point to also add them to "Possibly won't be finished" and "Author gone", so that I immediately know not to get my hopes up. I'll be notified if it ever gets updated, though.
So I’ll be honest. I had like two or three chapters not posted and have recently lost them. A certain someone got me looking over this again and as what is posted is now all there is. Would anyone actually be interested in me trying to finish it or just give an overview of what I had planned?