Bastille of Nightmares LP No.3
The Serenade of Silver Belles
Written By: Your Antagonist
Edited By: Starwind Dood, Aziraphael, TheWattsMan ,and (The Great and Powerful) Plyxe
Chapter 11.5- Bastille of Nightmares Act 3: The Escape.
From the moment she arrived at her homestead, heart still abuzz from the events of a beyond-magnificent evening, Silver Spoon set about her pre-slumber routine with unusual fervor for a pony about to lay idle and unconscious for the next eight or so hours. But her haste wasn’t without purpose. After all, time was the only thing keeping her from the greatest thing to ever happen in her life for a long time, and what better way to rid herself of that tedious wait period than dreaming of the rewards she’d reap with the coming of the morning. In the interest of entering the realm of dreams all the faster, Silver Spoon elected to forego the donning of her nightgown and leapt upon her bed, snuggling into the sheets like a rowdy hound winding down for the night. As soon as she had found a comfortable balance between blanket and pillow, she carefully removed her glasses, reflexively placing them on her nightstand, turning off the small lamp as she went. After snuggling back into her bed, it didn’t take long before Silver Spoon closed her eyes and drifted off into the realm of dreams.
The cloudless afternoon sky stood as if painted upon the backdrop of this warm mid-spring day. The sounds of laughter and foalhood merriment pervaded the quiet, simple atmosphere around Ponyville Elementary School, and beneath the shade of an old oak tree, Silver Spoon watched the gaieties of her peers with envious eyes. While she’d have liked nothing more than to jump up and join them in a thrilling game of hide-and-go-seek or tag, something was stopping her from doing so. She couldn’t put her hoof on what exactly it was, but it felt burdensome, oppressive even. Still, whatever it was, it couldn’t stop her from imagining what it would be like to be down there with them. If only they’d ask her to join.
“Hey, Silver Spoon! Wanna play some baseball?” shouted a young colt, galloping up to greet her.
Silver Spoon blinked in disbelief. Had that actually just happened?
“Silver Spoon! Do you want in? We only need one more to play!” he asked again.
“Yeah, come on, Silver Spoon!” said a blue coated filly next to the colt. “Come play with us! It’ll be fun!”
“Sure, that sounds great!” Silver Spoon leapt up from her spot on the grass, ready to gallop towards the invitation, when she felt something tugging on her left foreleg, impeding her from moving any further. A quick glance down revealed that her left leg was bound by a sturdy-looking cast-iron shackle.
“Ahem,” coughed a voice from Silver Spoon’s side. She looked over to see what it was, and was met with the disapproving glare of Diamond Tiara, who for some odd reason bore a similar shackle and chain around her right foreleg. “Silver Spoon and I were in the middle of a discussion, if you don’t mind,” Diamond Tiara sneered at the group, who returned fire with equally dirty glances.
“Oh, um… maybe next time you guys,” Silver Spoon said, wincing at the disappointment growing across the offering pony’s faces. She didn’t want to decline their offer, but she felt as though she was expected to.
“Awww… well, maybe we can get that weird kid who always just pokes at the dirt to play with us,” said the colt.
“Snails? But he smells like cheese.”
“Honestly, what is wrong with them?” Diamond Tiara scoffed as soon as the group was well out of earshot. “Every day they bother us with the same question. Can’t they see we just want to be left alone? Besides, who’d want to go play in that filthy dirt anyway… right, Silver Spoon?” Diamond Tiara glanced at Silver Spoon, expecting her friend to agree.
“Heh, yeah; that dumb old game doesn’t look like a lot of fun anyway,” Silver Spoon lied through her teeth, hoping that she had appeased her friend’s abnormally high expectations of her. To her relief, Diamond Tiara nodded approvingly before speaking again.
“So, like I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted by those rowdy—”
Crack!
Silver Spoon could only watch in shock as a baseball packing dangerous momentum fell from seemingly nowhere, catching Diamond Tiara square in the cheek. The filly paused for a second to register the fact that she’d been hit, and rubbed the cheek where the ball had impacted as dismissively as one might rub at a mosquito bite. She came back with a hoof bearing only a few light drops of blood that she rubbed on the grass. "They really need to watch where they’re hitting those dumb things… anyway, where were—”
“Diamond, are you alright?” Silver Spoon asked.
Diamond Tiara raised an eyebrow at the sudden display of concern. “Hm? Why wouldn’t I be?”
“That ball sounded like it hit you pretty hard.”
“It was nothing, Silvy.” Diamond Tiara waved off Silver Spoon’s concerns with a hoof.
“I don’t know, maybe we should ask Ms. Cheerilee to get you some ice or—” Silver Spoon attempted to stand, but quickly found how difficult a task that was as the chain attached to the shackles had grown She swore that there had been more slack on the chain just a moment ago, but quickly dropped the thought from her mind as Diamond Tiara resumed speaking.
“I said it was nothing, Silvy.” Diamond Tiara scowled intently as she motioned for Silver Spoon to lie back down.
Not wanting to anger her friend any further, Silver Spoon followed the silent instruction and settled back on the grass, casting concerned glances at Diamond Tiara’s cheek. Surprisingly it hadn’t begun to bruise or swell and thankfully there wasn’t any blood, but something still bothered Silver Spoon about Diamond Tiara’s face. She just couldn’t figure out what it was. Something was off about it.
“Hey, Silver Spoon.” Diamond Tiara nudged her shackle-mate, effectively snapping Silver Spoon out of her trance. “Check it out, it’s the Cutie Mark Catastrophes,” she said, gesturing to three giggling fillies trotting out of the schoolhouse. “Come on, I want to see how long it’ll take Blanky Belle to cry today!” Diamond Tiara sprang forth from her resting place, a malicious grin on her smug face. She didn’t get too far however as the shackle chain held taut, sweeping her leg from beneath her, resulting in a faceplant that was just painful to watch. However, despite the amount of pain she should have been in, Diamond Tiara merely stood up and wiped another small trickle of blood from her face which was screwed into a scowl directed at her hindrance of a crony. “Hurry up, Silver Spoon.”
Silver Spoon winced at the scrutiny before regaining her senses. “Oh, right, sorry!” Silver Spoon apologized, chancing a discreet glance at the ever impatient Diamond Tiara’s cheek. She had a split second, maybe longer, to figure out what exactly was off about this whole situation before Diamond Tiara would chastise her again. No blood. No bruising. Not even a cut. There was one thing Silver Spoon noticed, but she wrote it off as a trick of the light, after all there was no way she could have logically entertained that observation.
“Silver Spoon!” Diamond Tiara stomped a hoof down in frustration.
“Sorry! Sorry!” Silver Spoon began trotting ahead of her ward.
“I swear, what is wrong with you some days?” Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes as she and Silver Spoon began galloping towards the schoolhouse entrance, the weight of their bonds impeding their movement only slightly.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Cutie Mark Klutzs,” Diamond Tiara said upon her arrival, smiling diminutively down on the soon-to-be frustrated blank flanks.
“What do you want Diamond Tiara?” said Apple Bloom, stepping in front of a particularly vulnerable looking Sweetie Belle.
“Yeah, don’t you have anything else to do besides make fun of us and pick on Sweetie Belle when we’re not looking? Don’t think we don’t know about that,” growled Scootaloo, following Apple Bloom’s lead.
“Aww, did you tell your big, scary friends on me, Blanky Belle?” Diamond Tiara cackled, turning to Silver Spoon, assumably expecting her to chortle in as well. Instead, Silver Spoon forced a chuckle and took this opportunity to once again study Diamond Tiara’s face. There still wasn’t a clear mark on her face, but Silver Spoon observed something so minute that it would have gone unnoticed by anyone else who wasn’t intently looking for it. There were a collection of small scars— no, that didn’t describe it quite right, they were more along the lines of fractures running through the majority of her cheek. With movement of her jaw however, Silver Spoon could see the fractures slowly spreading along her face, becoming more and more noticeable.
“Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, let’s just go,” Sweetie Belle urged, pulling on her friend’s tails with her teeth in an attempt to dissuade them from getting into it with Diamond Tiara, to no avail.
“No,” said Scootaloo. “I’m sick of all this, we need to teach her a lesson.”
“I’m with Scoots on this one,” said Apple Bloom. “There’s only so much a pony can take, and I’ve taken all I can stand from that big mouthed brat!”
“Oooh, big talk for a four legged dodo bird and a bumpkin,” said Diamond Tiara, oblivious to the fractures that continued to expand along her face.
“That’s it! If she says one more thing I swear I’ll… I’ll—”
“Well, we certainly know who isn’t getting their cutie mark in clever threats, now don’t we?” The fissures in Diamond Tiara’s face had grown almost hairline in their appearance. Silver Spoon couldn’t help but wince at them and hold her tongue. She knew how nasty Diamond Tiara could get and didn’t want to see the argument reach that critical point, yet she felt powerless to stop it, obligated to do nothing even.
“Oooohh! I’ve had it!” Scootaloo screamed.
“Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said, stepping in front of the pegasus, effectively blocking her view of Diamond Tiara. “There’s no reason to fight. We can just go back inside and tell Ms. Cheerlilee—”
“Don’t you get it?” asked Apple Bloom. “That’s just what she wants! If we tell on her, then she’ll only tease us harder!”
“We’re settling this now!” Scootaloo stomped her hoof to further drive her point home.
“But if you touch her, then you’ll be the ones to get in trouble!”
“I don’t care anymore! Anything is better than just letting her rip on us for not having our cutie marks. What makes her so special?” said Scootaloo.
“Kyahaha! Isn’t this rich, Silvy? We poke them a little, and look how defensive they get! Good thing they have the class crybaby to keep them in check!”
“Sweetie Belle, get out of my way!” Scootaloo tried in vain to push past the unicorn, but Sweetie Belle held her back, albeit with great difficulty.
“No! I won’t let you fight with her!”
“Ha, if somepony like Blanky Belle can hold you back, then you’re not even worth my time!” said Diamond Tiara.
“Diamond, just stop it!” Silver Spoon shouted, finally breaking free of whatever force had been forcing her to hold her tongue and clearly surprising both of the warring parties. She’d heard enough of this pointless squabbling.
“Silver Spoon?” Apple Bloom asked, her mouth agape in disbelief.
“What do you think you’re doing Silver Spoon?” Diamond Tiara growled.
“Please, just this once, let it go,” said Silver Spoon.
“What?” Diamond Tiara rose an eyebrow at her lackey’s behavior.
“Well, don’t you think you’re being a little hard on them?”
“Don’t tell me you’re actually taking their side.” Diamond Tiara scoffed.
“What if I am?” Silver Spoon stepped between the factions, turning her head to face the now livid Diamond Tiara. Silver Spoon could see her friend’s jaw clenching up, a response that only served to increase the number of cracks that had spread to her chin now.
“Don’t forget your place, Silver Spoon.” The fissures in her were spreading even faster and wider as a silent rage began to overtake her features. It was at this point that Silver Spoon noticed that tiny sections of Diamond Tiara’s cracked skin began to flake off, revealing an abysmal black surface underneath. “Now, get back over here!”
“Hey, you don’t own her!” Apple Bloom said, marching forth to stand with Silver Spoon.
“This doesn’t concern you, blank flank!”
“Like hay it doesn’t!” Scootaloo finally pushed past Sweetie Belle, stumbling to the other side of Silver Spoon. “We’re not just going to stand by and let you make somepony else’s life miserable!”
“Silver Spoon belongs to me!” Diamond Tiara gripped the shackle chain in her teeth, and pulled with all the might she could muster. She managed to force Silver Spoon a foot or so before she was met with firm resistance from none other than the very pony she was trying to pull. “Get over here now, Silver Spoon!”
“No!” Silver Spoon jerked her hoof back, forcing Diamond Tiara to stumble forward, though it did nothing to lessen the tenacity of the possessive filly’s grip. “This stops now! I’m done listening to you!”
“You get over here right now, or I’ll make you sorry, Silver Spoon!” Diamond Tiara yelled.
“I’m not anypony’s property, least of all yours!”
“I said come here!” Diamond Tiara put all of her weight behind her next tug, causing several flakes to peel away, revealing even more of the inky blackness that lay beneath. From the strength of that pull, Silver Spoon could already tell that Diamond Tiara would inevitably win this little back and forth of theirs in a one on one tussle. What she hadn’t anticipated however was the sudden accompaniment of Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, as the pair seized a sizable portion of the chain each, and gave a mighty yank. Still, even with the combined power of the three fillies, Diamond Tiara proved to be more than a match. Amazingly, she managed to pull all three as though they weighed no more than a single pony.
“I’ve got you, Silver Spoon!” Sweetie Belle threw her forelegs around Silver Spoon’s waist, digging her hind hooves into the ground as deeply as she could. But even with her added weight, she proved nothing more than a slight hindrance to Diamond Tiara’s monsterlike strength.
“Let… me… go!” Silver Spoon and the Cutie Mark Crusaders threw everything they had behind one final tug, and were rewarded with the loud metallic snap of the chain as it broke in two, sending the four resisting fillies flying backwards into a heap on the ground. Silver Spoon was the first to recover, rubbing and shaking her head to regain her senses as she struggled to a stand, when she saw something that made her heart stop. Despite the fact that the Crusaders had been sent sprawling, Diamond Tiara hadn’t so much as budged an inch. Yet, that wasn’t what had shocked Silver Spoon so thoroughly to her core.
Where the right side of Diamond Tiara’s face had terribly large spiderweb-like cracks racing through it, the entire left side had completely crumbled away, leaving nothing but a blank black surface where the face should have been, save for her mouth, which was nothing more than a hellish chasm filled with razor-like fangs. The creature bearing what was essentially a half a mask of her former best friend, grinned an arrogant grin on both of its faces, causing even more of what had been Diamond Tiara’s face to chip off. “I warned you, Silver Spoon,” the abomination said as it stalked forward. With each step it took, even more of its pink facade began to peel from its neck down to the rest of its body like ancient paint on a dilapidated wall.
Frightened, Silver Spoon unconsciously backed away from the demon as it liberated itself from the remains of its former shell and slowly began to grow larger in size. Without warning, the sky darkened and the grass began to wither and die with every step the monster took, each blade first turning gray before wasting away into dust. Vines riddled with thorns erupted from the ground, wriggling and dancing like snakes, grasping towards the sky, winding together into painfully gnarled trees. Strange mushrooms and fungi bearing patterns that resembled eyes began to sprout up as well, seemingly watching the fillies as they stumbled throughout the woodland. It didn’t take long before the surrounding area was encased by a wicked pulsing hollow. Despite the radical changes in her environment, Silver Spoon could not avert her eyes from that gluttonous smile advancing towards her.
“Help! Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, somepony, help me!” Apple Bloom cried as her hind legs were ensnared by a pack of the vicious tendrils. She bucked and struggled against the vines in vain as they proceeded to drag her into the dark of a nearby thicket.
“Hang on, Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo recklessly charged to the aid of her friend, only to trip over the root of a newly emerged tree. Scootaloo picked herself up as quickly as she could and tried to run after Apple Bloom, who had managed to delay her abduction by wrapping her forelegs around a nearby tree trunk, but the pegasus found herself unable to even move her legs.
Looking down, Scootaloo was horrified to find her legs entangled by a thicket of vines protruding straight from the ground. More and more vines began to emerge from the ground, wrapping themselves around Scootaloo’s small body, forcing her down into the dirt. She could only watch helplessly as Apple Bloom was dragged into the darkness. The vines didn’t even grant Scootaloo a moment to grieve as they tightened around her small body, forcing her even deeper into the dirt. She could feel the ground beneath her sifting, giving way, and a moment later she was being pulled into the soil, unable to fight or scream.
“Apple Bloom, Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle cried as her best friends were abducted by the abysmal forest before her very eyes. The unicorn could do nothing more but break down and sob pitifully at the loss of her friends as she curled into a ball, hoping it would at least be over quickly.
“Two down, one to go before you’re all mine, Silvy,” the creature said as it stomped towards its remaining victim, baring its fangs in anticipation. “Don’t worry, Blanky Belle, you’ll be with your friends soon enough,” it cackled.
Silver Spoon hesitated. She already knew that running away from that horrible thing was pointless. No matter how fast or how far she galloped, it would catch her in the in the end and do Celestia knows what with her. She was already resigned to that fate, and she knew by association, Sweetie Belle was doomed as well. There was nothing she could do. Silver Spoon froze, watching in horror as the beast stepped before Sweetie Belle and opened its jaws wide, as though it were going to swallow the filly whole. Silver Spoon, unable to watch, clenched her eyes, silently cursing her cowardice as she awaited the inevitable screams that would only serve as a prelude to her own demise. But, those screams never came, or at least they hadn’t come yet.
“Silver Spoon,” spoke a new voice from her side.
“Huh?” Silver Spoon cautiously opened her eyes to find that, while she was still in the same hellish setting, everything had stopped, as if frozen in time. The monster, Sweetie Belle, the vines, everything just stood motionless. Everything save for the shimmering night-sky mane of none other than Princess Luna. “Princess Luna?” Silver Spoon asked, confused about the diarch’s sudden appearance. “Why are you here?”
“I should like to ask you the same question, Silver Spoon. Of all the dreams I’ve watched in the past three lunar phases, yours have been among the most troubling as of late. Most young ones dream of pleasant and joyous ventures, yet every time I’ve peered into your slumbering mind, I’ve seen nothing but havoc, helplessness and despair. What troubles you so deeply, my little pony?”
Silver Spoon scuffed the ground nervously as she struggled to make eye contact with Luna. “Well, it’s…” Her eyes wandered to the pitch-black behemoth standing over Sweetie Belle before flitting back to the dark-coated matriarch.
“I see,” said Luna. “She was your friend once upon a fortnight, was she not?”
Silver Spoon nodded. “I was the first friend she ever made. For the longest time, nopony would ever talk to her because of her upbringing and who her father was, not to mention she was kind of a brat,” Silver Spoon chuckled, before going quiet and solemn again. “But I was the first one to ever look past all of that. I guess that’s why she sort of… grew dependent on me. She’d never talk to or play with anypony else, just me. If I went to play with anyone else, she’d get jealous and lash out at them. I never told her how much it bothered me; I just felt so bad for her that I let her get away with it.” Silver Spoon sighed, sinking to her haunches. “The years went on and on, and before I knew it, I had lost all of my friends to her overbearing possessiveness. Every time I went to make a new friend, she was always there, ready to put them down for something or another, and I guess I just got swept up in it. I never wanted to be a bully, but I really had no other choice: it was deal with her and let her do as she pleased as she got worse and worse, or have no friends at all. I guess you can see which I chose, huh?” Silver Spoon glanced sadly at the monster that she’d once called a friend.
“I can. I can also see that you’re allowing this ‘friend’s’ influence to affect your well-being.”
“We aren’t friends anymore, Princess. I made that clear to her a few days ago,” Silver Spoon said.
“Oh?” Luna rose an eyebrow. “Then why does she continue to dwell on your thoughts? That seems like an awful lot of influence to grant one you’ve stricken from your heart.”
“Because I know her. She isn’t just going to take what I said sitting down, and I’m aware of that, but… I’m still afraid.”
“Afraid of what, Silver Spoon?” Concerned, Luna laid down next to Silver Spoon, draping a wing over her in a motherly way, only to sense immense fright-wrought trembling emanating from the filly.
Silver Spoon weakly glanced at Luna and sighed. It was better for to get this out in the open and come to terms with her fears once and for all. It wouldn’t do much to relieve her of the burdens she bore, but at the very least she could have a concrete understanding of what it was she was so afraid of. “Diamond Tiara’s ruthless. She doesn’t know how to hold back, and she doesn’t care who she has to hurt to get her way. It’s not me that I’m afraid for, it’s… it’s her.” Silver Spoon pointed to Sweetie Belle, still frozen in a moment of helplessness before the beast.
“Is she important to you?” asked Luna.
“Is she ever…” Silver Spoon said in a contented daze without realizing it. That is until Luna flashed a knowing grin at her amorous subject. “I-I mean, uh, yes, Princess Luna.”
“There is no need to be so flustered, my little pony. This is your dream after all. I am merely an observer, thus I harbor no right to an opinion.”
“Thanks, Princess.” Silver Spoon nuzzled closer to Luna, who only offered her a stern look and some less-than-comforting words.
“This does not change your situation, Silver Spoon. Your fear still holds you captive, slowly consuming you from the inside, and if nothing is done, then she may end up paying a terrible price for it.” Luna used her wingtip to guide Silver Spoon’s sight to Sweetie Belle, in order to further drive her point home.
“I know that, but… what should I do? What can I do?” Silver Spoon turned to face Luna, looking upon the wise matriarch who seemed to hold all the answers, with hope in her eyes. A hope that would soon find itself crushed beneath a lead weight of disappointment.
“I do not know, Silver Spoon.” Luna said simply, removing her wing from the filly’s shoulders as she rose to a stand. “But, the one thing I do know, is that you must first stand up and step forward in order to face your fears. Once you have done this, the rest will make itself clear to you.”
“But, Princess, I can’t—”
“I fear this is where we must part company, fair Silver Spoon. It would seem my time here has ended. I wish you the best of luck.” Luna’s wings spread wide, her majestic hued plumage flexing with her wings as she brought them down in the first powerful flaps of takeoff.
“Princess Luna, please don’t leave me here!” Silver Spoon plead as she watched the Princess of the night fly into her namesake, and out of her self-imposed bastille of a nightmare. She was on her own in this time-frozen hollow now, and what frightened her more than her toxic surroundings was knowing that any moment now, everything would pick up right where it left off, with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo devoured by this awful forest, and Sweetie Belle about to follow in the pair’s hoofsteps while all she could do herself was stew in her fear and watch. She dreaded each second of stillness that held the forest still as it gave her time to ponder what horrible fate awaited her after the vindictive fiend’s judgement had been passed on Sweetie Belle.
She shuddered as she recalled the darkness it had enveloped her in once before, the helplessness and the despair it wrought upon her. She didn’t want to face that void again and she didn’t want Sweetie Belle to be subjected to that same fate. The thought of running during this period of inactivity crossed her mind. Perhaps she’d be able to outrun the thing with a decent head start, but then again the dream could have started progressing forward at any second. Aside from that, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself for abandoning Sweetie Belle like that. Swallowing back a massive lump in her throat, Silver Spoon struggled against her fear-jacked body to stand up on shaky legs. Her every instinct told her to run, to escape and get as far away as she possibly could before time started to flow forward again, yet despite her fear and trepidation, she reluctantly took a single step forward, recalling and chanting what Luna had told her earlier under her breath. “Step forward, you’ll figure something out.”
“Step forward, you’ll figure something out,” she told herself as the vines protruding from the ground, slowly began to writhe in their usual agonizing way.
“Step forward, you’ll figure something out,” she said as the trees began to pulse and twist ever higher, ever tighter.
“Step forward, you’ll figure something out,” she said as she trotted past a pit full of shifting, sinking black soil.
“I’m going to figure something out,” she said as she stepped beside Sweetie Belle, who gradually began quivering and whimpering
“I’ll figure something out,” she almost sobbed, hooves trembling as the monstrous shadow’s jaws resumed their horrendous elongation.
“I’ll get through this,” she said, not believing half of the words coming out of her mouth anymore as the creature’s vile breath washed over her, filling her nostrils with a scent as loathsome as its source. “I’ll get through this,” she said looking into the abomination’s abhorrent, featureless face knowing full well what the pony behind the beast had taken from her, the sobbing unicorn at her side reminding her what it would continue to take if she didn’t make a stand. “I have to get through this. I can’t keep letting this ruin my life.”
“So you want to go before Blanky Belle, huh, Silvy?” Pitch-black tentacles snaked forth from the monster’s body and began wrapping themselves around Silver Spoon’s legs, but instead of succumbing to fear, she could feel a fury rising from deep within herself. A fury that gave way to rage and reason. She realized in that instant that any power this thing had over her had been given to it by her own submissiveness and it was that very submissiveness that would be not only her own downfall, but Sweetie Belle’s as well. She’d already lost Scootaloo and Apple Bloom because of her fears, and she wasn’t about to lose the last and most important of the few friends she had be devoured by some twisted embodiment of jealous wrath.
“No.” Silver Spoon stomped her hoof down on the base of the nearest tentacle, causing it to pop into a black haze.
“What?” The monster snarled.
“I won’t let you do this to me anymore!” Silver Spoon glared at the blank, black face, teeth grit so hard they could chip a diamond as she stomped on another tentacle snaking past her legs to reach Sweetie Belle.
“Watch your mouth, Silver Spoon. This is still my domain, and I won’t be spoken to by some miserable little kiss-flank who stepped out of bounds and had a temper tantrum. Now, if you’re a good little filly, I might let you watch as I gobble up the last of the blank flanks. Doesn’t that sound fa—”
“Enough is enough, I don’t have to take this from you any longer!” To Silver Spoon’s surprise, the behemoth backed away before the raw emotion held by her words. The filly saw what might have been her only chance and enterprised on it. “I don’t have to be afraid of this anymore. I don’t have to be afraid of you anymore.”
“Silver Spoon, I’ll make you sorry for this.”
“Make me regret this? It’ s too late for that! I’m already sorry! Sorry that I let you drive away all of my friends, sorry that I let you control me for so long, sorry that I didn’t put you in your place sooner! There’s so much I wish I could take back about us, but it’s far too late for that. I won’t let you have your way with my life any more, Diamond Tiara! Get out of my head! Get out of my dreams! I’ve already kicked you out of my life, and now I’m kicking you out of my mind! So get out! Get out and take your wretched controlling jealousy with you!”
“Silver Sp—”
“You aren’t welcome here anymore!” With that final unrestrained scream, a vibrant light erupted from the sky, burning away everything that had been touched by or wrought by the darkness. The trees were the first to be burned in the wake of the purifying light, the very vines that they were comprised of burning and unwinding as quickly as they could in a vain attempt to retreat into the soil from whence they came. The remaining growths shared a similar fate to the trees as they were burned away almost immediately, leaving the ground barren, save for the dead grass that had once been a luscious green.
Sensing its demise was imminent and inescapable, the monster made one final desperate lunge towards Silver Spoon as it burned. “Curse you, Silver Spoon! I’ll take you with me for this!” Silver Spoon didn’t so much as blink in the face of the rampaging, burning beast, even as it lashed out at her with a savage slash of its smoldering, eroding claws that turned to dust before they could even make contact. The pitiful beast fell before Silver Spoon, lunging and grabbing at her with whatever tentacles it could produce from the remains of its dwindling, pathetic body. With its final breaths the creature managed, “You’re… you’re supposed to be… mine… and no one else’s… come here!”
“I can’t believe I let something as petty as you ruin my life…” Silver Spoon grimaced as she gave a final look at the empty face of the pitiful creature at her hooves. And yet, despite how much anger she harbored towards the thing on the ground, how much she wanted to scream and stomp on it, she could only sum up her feelings in six simple words. “Jealousy is an ugly thing… aren’t you?” With that, Silver Spoon turned her back on the shriveling demon, leaving it to the mercy of the cleansing light brought forth by her tongue.
“Silver Spoon, you did it! You saved us!” Sweetie Belle cheered as she tackled Silver Spoon into a vice-li
“Yeah… I did, didn’t I?” Silver Spoon smirked, pleased that she had been able to protect the pony who was most important to her.
“Yup!” Sweetie Belle chirped as she hugged Silver Spoon even closer.
“Too… hnn… tight… Sweetie!” Silver Spoon gasped, as the giggling unicorn let her go. “I mean, I’m glad we’re alright, but… Scootaloo and Apple Bloom…”
“What about us?” called a voice oozing with a southern inflection that could have only belonged to Apple Bloom.
“You two are alright! But how did you get out? What happened when after you were dragged into the forest?” Silver Spoon asked.
“I’d rather not talk about it… but it was totally awesome how you just yelled that monster to death! If you didn’t already have a cutie mark, I’m sure that you would’ve gotten one for monster slaying— er, yelling at monsters? Either way that would be an awesome special talent!” With each word of praise to leave her tongue, Scootaloo’s wings buzzed erratically, a clear sign of the pegasus’ enthusiasm. “Hey, that gives me an idea! Apple Bloom, why don’t we go monster hunting? I bet we could get some awesome cutie marks for that!”
“After all that? I dunno ‘bout that, Scootaloo…” said Apple Bloom.
“Bleh! Whatever; I bet Silver Spoon wouldn’t mind giving it another go, would you demon slayer?”
“Sure,” said Silver Spoon. “I’d love to go monster hunting with you all, just let me—”
“Hey, Silvy?” Sweetie Belle interrupted.
“Yes, Sweetie Belle?”
“We’ll go on ahead, but you can’t come with us right now. We’ll see you in a few hours though, okay?”
“What?” Silver Spoon chuckled, unsure of how to take what the unicorn was telling her.
“I promise that I’ll see you in a few hours, but you’ve got to go now.”
“I don’t understand, why can’t I go with you? Where am I going?”
Sweetie Belle giggled and leaned forward, nuzzling Silver Spoon’s neck affectionately before whispering into the earth pony’s ear. “To the waking world you big silly.”
“Wait… the waking world?”
“Yup.” Sweetie Belle nodded.
“But I want to stay here with you! Please don’t send me away!”
Sweetie Belle began to mouth something that Silver Spoon couldn’t make out, as a horribly loud screeching sound began to fill her eardrums. A moment later, she felt herself being pulled away from Sweetie Belle against her will. It wasn’t long before she couldn’t hear her own screams over the sound of the beeping.
Stirred from her restless slumber by the incessant ringing of an alarm clock, that bane to all of the slumbering world, Silver Spoon reluctantly sat up, bringing her hoof down upon the infernally noisy contraption, effectively silencing it. With a groan, she opened her eyes, allowing the dim bluish light of the early morning sky flowing forth from her bay windows to fill her sight. Begrudgingly, she fumbled about for her glasses, and slipped them on her face without a moment’s hesitation. With a sluggish push, Silver Spoon managed to roll out of her bed, landing unceremoniously on all fours, before trudging off to start her morning routine. She had school in two hours and she couldn’t afford to be late. Not so much out of respect for the curriculum—her grades were almost as flawless as her attendance record— but because she had a very special somepony that she couldn’t wait to see, and nopony but nopony was going to get in her way.
As Silver Spoon passed by a nearby window on her way to the washroom, Silver Spoon noticed something odd about the moon which had yet to set, or rather the mare in moon, as the massive lunar shadow was called. It looked as though it was smiling down at her, and for a brief moment she could have sworn that she saw it wink at her.
Bastille of Nightmares, End
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Commence read.
I flinched slightly at that baseball hit.
Luna helps another filly overcome.
Why can I only upvote once?
I rather like the dark chapters; wonderful and cute as ships are, too much sugary sweetness makes it overbearing. Delving deep into the psyche of a tormented filly who is just discovering her real strength is a very welcome reprieve that makes the whole of the story better.
D'aww!
Okay, the chapter doesn't really deserve it, but it was fantastic. I felt not only like I was Silver Spoon, but the adrenaline rush, the fear, the panic. It was all there. Keep writing♥
Whoa. That was creeptastic. And epic. sweetness.
*In his best Nathan Explosion impersonation* Brutal.
*back to normal* Seriously, very awesome. Had tears in my eyes at the sense of righteous fury Silvy displayed facing down her nightmare. I too enjoy these darker chapters, in that they lend weight to the conflict that would otherwise feel a lot more like schoolyard threats. It gives the whole story a more visceral feel because the threat they're up against seems more malign, which makes their successes more rewarding and their challenges more nail-biting. In other words, it gives us the sense that Diamond Tiara is a bad B**** who can cause our heroines some real grief, despite them being only children.
Please keep writing, I'll keep reading!
Seems to be a line missing there but other than that another awesome chapter! Glad to see the resolution of Silvy's nightmares once and for all, and I can't wait to get back to more adorable filly cuteness
you know what they say for all a dimiaonds hardness they are very brittle things
also
the balance is a good thing ,to much sweetness can kill a story
Well that's solved. Now she's just got to deal with the Diamond Tiara in the real world, that should be fun.
Dude, the top of the feature box again. <3
I've become slightly addicted to these adorable foal romances. Also...
Reference?
That's seven words and you're missing a sentence between the paragraphs. Also there's a second 'l' in shrivelling.
2136822>>2137402 Thanks for noticing, I actually lost the line that was supposed to be there uploading from google documents... knighty, unfuck this!
Loathe,
Your Antagonist
I loved this, Hasbro may half given us the most half assed finale ever, but at least they made Dream Luna canon.
2136516
sort of like why you're supposed to use bittersweet chocolate for chocolate chip cookies because the cookie dough is already sweet enough.
2137476 i like your new profile pic. is it from One Piece?
With the frequency that Luna does this in fanfics, she must get really bored. I wonder what Celestia's doing to pass the time, seeing as she (presumably) can't go into ponies' dreams.
I was having trouble getting to sleep. so I thought what the heck ponies never led me wrong. and I find this fic, not not a fic. This Story. this Epic story. I get to reading and I fall in loves half that through the second chapter. and now its 2 am. And I am beyond mad that I cant seem to find chapter 14. I mean is this some sort of sick joke? Where is the next part?
No it's not. There's no Ruby, Pipsqueak, Rumble, Spike, Cerulean, etc.
Now if a certain princess could just get an emoticon...
It's interesting what legacy was left behind by Sleepless in Ponyville
Nice I can't wait for the next update
Hopefully the next update will come soon 
Well done I WANT MOAR! 
I have an odd question: have you ever watch Fullmetal Alchemist? Because Diamond Tiara's demise reminded me strongly of when Envy shrivels up. Just a random thought of a random reader.
2140103 It'll be out in maybe a week or two.
2138614 Yup, Rob Lucci of Cipher Pol 9, easily the coolest villain from that series.
2141752 Yes, I have watched the OVA twice and FMA Brotherhood at least three times, but that had nothing to do with DT's demise, but I see the parallels.
That has got to be one of the most creepy pictures I have ever seen!
I like this story, I want to like it more, but the pacing is starting to kill me. There's a reason I limited myself to five chapters in Pipsqueak's Day Off — I knew I'd meander endlessly and put in scenes the story didn't need if I just let myself run away with it. And I think that's what's happened here. There's a great story in here, but it's buried by scenes and events that feel superflous, and I think you could cut the wordcount by 50% without damaging the story, and in fact improving it.
That art at the top. o.o
Interesting read, glad to see someone make use of Luna's dream-related abilities, and looking forward to the next chapter.
Woon.
You wouldn't happen to be referencing an arcade game here, would you?
As much as I like fluff the bittersweet moments make it that much more enjoyable. All in all, a great read so far!
2180926 Applebloom's family settled Ponyville. Zap Apples are the biggest reason the town even exists. And who is the sole proprietor of Applejack Daniels? That's seems interesting to me. Rarity's just sad cause she's not that special YET!
2181573
Alright, maybe Granny Smith isn't boring.
Applebloom was pulled into the trees by vines... My brain is making me think of Evil Dead. Dammit, brain. I hate you. -applies vigorous bleach-
Nice chapter, nice balance of dark-to-sugary. My only complaint is that you used the words 'Silver Spoon' a grand total of 113 times. That's 226 instances in 7000 words, which is 3% of the total words. That means that 3% of the time during the chapter was Silver Spoon this, Silver Spoon that. What would really make the reading seem less dry, is instead of referring to the bespectacled filly by her name, you could mention the grey-coated pony by a trait corresponding to that silver-maned filly. Do you see what I'm trying to say?
“You aren’t welcome here anymore!” With that final unrestrained scream, a vibrant light erupted from the sky, burning away everything that had been touched by or wrought by the darkness. The trees were the first to be burned in the wake of the purifying light, the very vines that they were comprised of burning and unwinding as quickly as they could in a vain attempt to retreat into the soil from whence they came. The remaining growths shared a similar fate to the trees as they were burned away almost immediately, leaving the ground barren save for the dead grass that had once been a luscious green."
Now THAT'S how you win a boss battle!
2276677 That's how I broke up with my last girlfriend.
and that she did
Since nopony commented on it yet I took the opportunity to do so ... although I rarely comment on anything no matter how much I like a story but I'm rambling again ... anyway nice story absolutely worth the lost hours of sleep
"in six simple words. “Jealousy is an ugly thing… aren’t you?”"
Pretty sure that's seven.
"I’m sure that you would’ve gotten one for monster slaying— er, yelling at monsters?"
When I saw this sentence I immediately thought of Skyrim
Fus Ro Dah!
2269233
that made me think of evil dead too! i hated that scene! it made me vomit!!!
So when Princess Luna showed up as was like literally jumping up and down screaming!
(squee-gasm)
DUUUUUUDE I got CHILLS from that totally AWESOME dreamscape battle!
GO SILVER SPOON!
Incomplete paragraph here. Just a heads-up.
I'm going to point this out and assume that the missing word is "shorter" or "tighter" or something to that effect.
Pointless dream sequences are usually annoying filler material, and become painfully frustrating when they are an entire chapter long.
This chapter was no exception. Glad I'm able to move right along to the next chapter.
-ntastic? As the only thing scarier than this interpretation of Diamond Tiara would say?
And why is Luna in the moon again? I mean, after she was freed, there was no Mare in the Moon, because the Mare in the Moon was, in fact, Nightmare Moon! Don't you remember? Unless she has a sweet vacation palace up there...That's totally what I would've done with all that time! I'd have filled it to the brim with training equipment so that I could take down Celestia when the time came if I were her, along with some videogames here and there...
How old are they now? And already at the boyfriend/girlfriend stage? Jeez, they grow up too fast.
I loved how you used the dream as both an important growth moment for Silver Spoon and a means of using Princess Luna's guidance to reflect how she did the same for each of the Crusaders in the show. It's a great way to subliminally signal to the audience that Silver Spoon is aligned with the CMC and willing to stand on her own four hooves as opposed to just being an extension of Diamond Tiara.