Chapter 17
Well, at least I hadn’t lied about one thing - I did need sleep.
After more than a week of restless nights and grueling days spent toiling over a hot forge, I was worn out. Thunderhorn had escorted me back to my room, with a series of hand gestures promising to bring me some food soon. I didn’t care about the food too much - I wasn’t all that hungry, anyway. Instead, I threw myself onto the bed and buried myself under the blankets, losing myself in sleep.
At least it was a good way to take my mind off of what had happened. Of what I’d allowed to happen.
But even this rest would not go undisturbed. It couldn’t have been more than an hour before the first disturbance. A beam of sunlight entered my room through the windows at just the right angle to land directly over my eyes. I drew the covers over my head to shield myself, but the damage was already done. I’d been drawn from my sleep, and it was nearly half an hour before I could return to my slumber.
The second interruption came a couple of hours later. A sharp knock at the door informed me that I had a visitor, while the sound of creaking hinges informed me that they weren’t going to wait for my permission before entering. I heard a few clinking sounds, and I grumbled and buried myself deeper in the covers. Whoever was in my room needed to leave. I wasn’t in the mood for guests.
It was only after I heard the door close, as well as the faint sound of fading hoofsteps, that I untangled myself from my sheets. Whoever had paid me a visit had left a tray on an empty bookshelf next to the door, filled with all sorts of food and drink. The tantalizing aroma of bacon filled the room, and I felt my stomach grumble. Despite my desire to remain holed up in the fortress that I had constructed out of sheets and blankets, I slowly left my shelter to fetch some food.
In amongst all the food and water (as well as what looked to be two large goblets of wine) was a small card. I raised an eyebrow as the bit of paper caught my eye, and I reached out to grab it. It was a simple card - little more than two short phrases and a signature - but it was enough.
Enjoy this sample of our banquet. You have earned your share.
-Adamant Will
Suddenly, I wasn’t hungry anymore.
Instead, I merely reached for the two glasses of wine and drank them both. The tart liquid made me purse up my lips as the goblets were drained dry. It was a dry wine, not nearly as sweet as I would have liked, but it would have to do. It had to have been at least four normal-sized glasses from back home, and while it wouldn’t be as effective as a few shots of bourbon, I was hopeful that the wine might at least help take the edge off. With that thought in mind, I took the glass of water and retreated back to the safety of my bed.
But it seemed that the world had conspired against me to prevent me from sleeping. I slowly felt the buzz from the wine kick in, and my hope that it would help me relax a bit was realized. But even as I tried to sleep, it quickly became apparent that I wasn’t the only one that had indulged. Throughout the rest of the day, it seemed that everyone in the castle wanted to walk past my door. Loudly. While laughing. Loudly. I even heard a few bumps against the wall, where I could only assume some drunk Minotaur had fallen to the ground - a theory that was only bolstered by the raucous laughter that followed each fall.
Three hours later, and my buzz was already beginning to fade. By now I’d given up getting any more rest before nighttime fell. I’d forced myself to eat some of the food brought to me - even cold, the bacon was good - and had curled myself up under the covers with my phone. Music played out from the speakers, loud enough for me to hear but too soft to pierce the walls of the room. I went through my favorites - Brantley Gilbert, The Weekend, Florida Georgia Line, a little Drake, Jason Aldean, Maroon Five…
It was enough to keep me occupied. For now, anyway.
I heard something slam nearby, and cold breeze blew through the room, even piercing into the warm blanket fortress that I’d made. I poked my head out from under the blankets to see that the window had been flung open, allowing the cold wind to enter the room. I raised an eyebrow as I noticed how dark it was outside. A quick check of my phone told me that it was almost 7:00 PM - I’d successfully spent nearly all day huddled under my blankets.
The breeze blew across my face again, colder this time. I snorted in annoyance and hopped out of the bed, walking over towards the window and slamming it shut. I made sure that the window was properly latched this time before turning to return to the warmth of my bed.
Except it was already occupied.
I froze. A dark shape had appeared on my bed. It wasn’t Sombra, of that I was certain - it was far too large to be a Pony. Shadows clung to the shape, revealing only the most basic details of its form - a snake-like head, serpentine body, a single claw laid out upon the covers.
The beast from my dreams.
“Well done,” The creature hissed, dark amusement dripping from its voice. My voice. The head rose from where it was resting on the bed and stretched out a bit. The shadows still clung to the beast like a shroud, dripping away from its head and floating away like smoke. “Well done indeed.”
“W-w-what?” Was all I could stammer out.
The beast began uncoiling its body. A second appendage became available - a thick claw or a thin paw, I couldn’t tell which - and landed upon the floorboards next to the bed, along with the taloned claw. “You survived,” The creature replied. “Against all odds, you - weak, magic-less, powerless you - survived. And all you had to do was sell out those who had placed all their faith in you.”
“I… I didn’t sell them out!” I protested. “I never -”
“You never what?” the beast asked. The room, already pitch-black, seemed to grow darker still, to the point where the feature of the room began to fade from sight. And yet the beast remained fully visible, silhouetted against the darkness in a way that defied both logic and explanation. The only light came from the beast’s eyes - a golden, feral glow that provided neither comfort nor illumination. “You never told Adamant Will where they were? You didn’t have to. What else did you not do, hm?” A brief pause. The beast grinned - a small, pearl-white strip of jagged teeth that stood out like a beacon against the darkness. “You never did what you promised. You never attacked Adamant Will. You never made a move to get the talisman. You never even tried.”
“I did…”
“Instead, you threw yourself at the Minotaurs’ hooves.” The beast took a step forward. I took a step back. “For the mere promise of a chance to go home, you gave them knowledge. You gave them technology.” My back hit the wall behind me. “You gave them ways to kill creatures that they would have never developed on their own. The ruins of not just Equestria, but all of Gaia will rest at your feet.”
By now, the room had faded completely. I felt the wall behind me give way, and I tumbled backwards to the ground. I scrambled backwards away from the beast, but it was approaching too fast. Feral yellow eyes locked onto mine. Claws reached forward, trying to grab at my flailing legs.
“You’re not real!” I yelled. “This is j-just a dream!”
“Not real?!” The beast cackled. Its talons finally met my right leg, and I hissed as I felt one of the claws scratch my lower leg and draw blood. The beast drew itself to its full height, and I found myself dangling upside-down only a foot or so from its face. “This is no dream.…” The beast laughed. “This is a nightmare. A nightmare from which you will never wake.”
The beast flashed another grin. Twin rows of razor-sharp fangs flashed against the darkness. I felt myself being drawn closer. I closed my eyes and let loose a bloodcurdling scream.
And then, I fell.
I heard a hiss of pain drawn from the beast as it released my leg, and I fell down to the ground. I dared to open one eye, but quickly shut it as a flash of brilliant white light pulsed around me. The flash even pierced through my eyelids. When the pulse did not repeat itself, I cracked the other eye open.
The beast had retreated. Darkness still clung to it, but it was no longer an impenetrable wall. I could make out a few colors past the shroud - whites, browns, a red here and there, all illuminated by a brilliant glow coming from behind me.
“The Nightmare will not take this one. Not today.” I heard a voice echo from behind me. A powerful, familiar, female voice. The beast responded with a hiss, defiant but defeated. Its form sank into the ground, transforming into a pitch-black blob as it slithered away from the light and out of sight.
“Christopher Powell. Are you alright?” I heard the voice ask. I nodded shakily as I opened my other eye. I glanced down towards my leg where the beast had grabbed me. Blood oozed from the wound, and it certainly stung, but it appeared neither long nor deep. I slowly pushed myself back to my feet and turned to face my savior.
Not half a dozen feet away was Serenity.
I blinked as I processed what i was seeing. This was not the Serenity from earlier this morning. Her fur and mane were not matted with dirt, her dress was white as new-fallen snow, and she was no longer emaciated. She appeared perfectly healthy. Strong, even. She radiated a gentle light - no longer pure white, but instead a subdued dark-purple hue. That hue seemed to penetrate everything around us. As I spun to look around, I saw that the black void that i had found myself trapped in, I saw that everything from the horizon to the sky to the floor below me had become tinted with this gentle color. The same shade as the morning, just before the sunrise.
I finally drew my gaze away from my surroundings and turned to fully face Serenity. “Where… where are we?” I asked.
“We are within your dreams, Christoper,” She replied simply. “Yes, you are asleep,” she continued, and I shut my mouth as she answered the question i had been about to ask. “We must be quick. Maintaining a dream-link, even across such a small physical distance between us, is taxing. I do not have long.”
“But… how are you doing this?” I asked. “What about the ring on your horn?”
“Dreamwalking is a special form of magic. It cannot be blocked simply by locking the horn of a Unicorn,” Serenity explained. “Any other questions can be answered later. You must listen carefully. This is not the way you wish things to be, correct?” Serenity asked. I shook my head in response. “Then listen well. The time for subtlety is over, Christopher. I know not what you have done here in Everfree, but it has failed.” Serenity’s image flickered slightly. “You have gotten close to Adamant Will, but not removed his protection over his armies. You have one chance left to succeed. When you come to the execution tomorrow, you must kill Adamant Will. If you do not, then we will die.”
“But how can I get close to him?” I asked. “I mean… if I draw a weapon, then his guards…”
“Do your spells not work?” Serenity interrupted. "Use them to your advantage." Her image flickered again, worse this time, like a static distortion on a TV screen. “We are out of time,” she called out past the distortion. “Please, Chris! You have to stop Adamant Will! Use the sp-”
And like that, she was gone.
---
I awoke with a start.
My heart was racing, my breath was quick and ragged, I was drenched from head to foot in sweat. My phone was still playing music, but I couldn’t listen to it right now. I was buried under my blankets, and the heat was sweltering. I groped at the sheets and finally pulled myself out from under them, gasping at the sudden rush of cold air that washed over me.
The room was still dark, but it was clear that it wouldn’t be for long. The horizon outside was no longer the pitch-black of deep night, but instead slowly turning to purple. The sunrise was coming soon.
I was slowly beginning to calm down from the terror of my dreams. My breathing was under control, the rush of cold air had done wonders to cool me down, and my heartrate had slowed to a reasonable pace. I threw the covered off of me and completely hopped out of the bed. I winced slightly as I felt a mild pain shoot down the inside of my lower right leg, almost as though I had been cut. I glanced down towards the pain, looking for the source. I found nothing, but the ache refused to fade.
I shook my head to clear it and turned my attention towards the noise still coming from the depths of the blanket igloo I had constructed the night before. After rummaging around for a few minutes, I finally found the source and pulled it out. My phone was still playing music from when I’d fallen asleep the night before. It was an older song, one I’d not played in several years - Remember the Name, by Fort Minor. I quickly clicked the song off and checked the battery. 35% left. Not terrible.
Not that it would matter today.
It only took me a few minutes to get ready. I splashed water over my hair to rid it of the sweat, and quickly towel-dried it. I threw on the set of formal clothes that I had been given, choosing them over my normal wear for a number of reasons. Firstly, it was supposed to be a day of celebration for the Minotaurs, and more formal wear would make more sense for such an occasion. Secondly, since the formal wear was too big and a bit baggy on me, I was able to conceal my quiver and bow on my back beneath my dress shirt. There was a small lump on the back, and the leather wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world to have rubbing against my skin, but I’d have to put up with it. I also attached my knife to my belt, making sure the knife was loose in the sheath so that it would be easy to draw.
The final reason for formal wear was also practical. The pants had deeper pockets than my jeans, which allowed me to stuff a number of scrolls into my pockets. I took full advantage of this, pulling a flashbang and concealment scroll, as well as a shielding scroll and the final intimidation scroll. All of these fit easily into my pockets, with room to spare for my phone.
As I reached for the final intimidation spell, I drew another scroll out. It wasn’t the one I was looking for, but it gave me pause nonetheless. It was the mystery scroll - the one that I had no idea what it would do. I closed my eyes, the words the Luna had used to describe the spell flashing before me.
“The spell upon this scroll is by far the most potent of any contained within, and took myself, Celestia, and mother three days to prepare. When all seems lost, when darkness threatens to consume you, you will find the light within. Use it well.”
After a moment’s hesitation, I set it aside and fished out the final intimidation scroll. My pouch was tied around my belt next to my knife. Finally, I grabbed the mystery scroll and stuck it up my sleeve. It wasn’t a perfect fit, but it was hidden from view and easily accessible. As an added benefit, since the cuffs could be tightened around my wrists, there was little risk of the scroll falling out. If things became desperate, I could just loosen the cuff with a flick of my wrist, and the scroll would be in my hand in less than a second.
I finished not a moment too soon. By now, the purple on the horizon had developed into a blood-red hue, tinged at the very bottom by orange. As I had finished tightening my cuffs, a sharp knock came at the door. “Coming!” I called out. My heart started beating faster. A cold sweat broke out on the back of my neck as I made my way to the door and flung it open.
Sure enough, Longhorn was there, waiting. Like me, he had dressed up in formal wear, but underneath the dress clothes I could see a set of chainmail armor. He greeted me with a warm smile, a smile which I attempted to return as I closed the door behind me. “Mornin’” I greeted. He replied with a nod towards me, a point towards my head head, and a tilt of his own head. “I’m feeling a bit better, yeah,” I lied. Longhorn nodded and gave me a pat on the back as he walked past me down the hall. I fell into step right behind, following him towards the execution.
Towards the end, one way or the other.
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While I would complained like usual about the bloody stop at the climax of a story, this pleases me, seeing that he won't be that much of a coward.
I cant wait for the next chapter to come out, this story is so good.
7690532 the build-up will be worth it. Trust me.
7690552 ....I've followed you this far. I'm with ya till the end!
7690295 Yea, when sometning happens that someone didn't plan on, they usually find a way to fix it.
Wow! Really glad I found this story! Your world building, and character development of the main protagonist is amazing. On chapter 6 at this point, can't wait to read more later tonight!