The Son of infinity

by Krystl_Fae

Chapter 21: SPOOK

Night Of Hallows

<<<Nightmare Night - Canterlot Castle>>>
Andromeda

If there was one day I wish I had school more than any other, it was this one. At the very least it would take my mind off of things.

Every year it comes around, and every year I wish it didn't:
Nightmare Night.

It's a celebration of fright and all things spooky, or... something like that. All I know it for is a reminder of how dangerous life on the streets can be. Shadows lurking in every corner, monsters hiding in every nook and cranny... a horde of ponies turned into a semi-drunken mob wandering aimlessly down the street that don't bother to acknowledge your existence and trample you underhoof as they pass by. That last one really hurt... and it didn't get any better the second time.

The only solace I can seem to find is in mum not exactly liking the festival either. She's been distant all day, a glazed-over look in her eyes... Twilight and Cadance came by at one point and offered for me to go with them in their "trick or treating", but with my distaste of the "holiday" and mum in such a melancholic mood, I just couldn't accept.

Mum was actually rather surprised in my use of the word melancholic. I'd learned it from a book I recently read, where it talked about one of the characters feeling an unending tide of melancholy. Though, it was odd that when she asked me to show her what I'd been reading and I presented the story to her (a book titled "A Tale of Two Sisters") she almost seemed to... melt somewhat, saddened, and she couldn't help but sigh. Maybe the story reminded her of her problems?

I'd originally found the story on a bookshelf filled with old mares' tales, myths, and legends... so maybe it was a tale from her fillyhood? I don't think anything on that shelf was all that realistic though, so it couldn't have been true... I mean, centaurs that can steal all the magic in Equestria? A race of insectoid shapeshifters that drain love from ponies and live in underground hives? A pony made out of shadows? As if.

Though it was interestingly topical that such a tale should be brought up tonight of all nights... the story goes to tell of two rulers, and how one banished the other to the moon for turning evil... like a nightmare, trapped in the moon... a Nightmare Moon.

And as myself- still tired despite how uneasy and skittish I was -and mum tucked into bed after having turned in early for the night, I slowly (and eventually) drifted off to sleep with these thoughts running through my mind; about tales of evil moons and shadowy equines...

<<<??:?? ??/??/?? - ??????>>>
Andromeda?

Run.

Run....

Run...........

RUN!!

My hooves echoed as they slammed against the marble flooring of the castle, every heartbeat reverberating in my chest as I thundered down the hallway.

What was I doing...? I had to stop her. Stop who? Who am I, where is this?

I stopped in place, looking around to get my bearings. It was like the castle in Canterlot, but it was different. The walls were warped, the stained glass windows were all wrong. And the doors led to places that I'd never seen before.

I was suddenly dragged from my thoughts as the floor behind me began to sink, creating a pit of darkness and attempting to draw me in with it.

Right. I was running.

I was off again, heading down the seemingly endless hall towards the door at the end. The dark pool behind me slowly retreating into the distance- though it seemed to be moving away from me at a slower pace than the floor I was running on- as if it were slowly following me as pillars and vases and stained glass windows went flying past, but I knew the darkness wasn't chasing me... maybe it was the hall itself that was moving?

I make it to the door at the end of the hall and run beyond, passing through a throne room that had much the same stylings as the one in Canterlot, but was arranged in an entirely different manner. I galloped past a second throne that was tipped over and had fallen off the raised dais, sitting on the stairs behind and to the side of the other throne, which stood in the middle of the platform. There were flashing visions of beings flittering into and out of existence around me, but they all faded out of sight before I could get a better look, though I could feel the tension between the figures present in them.

I'd already reached the end of the throne room, which was only half the length (if not shorter) of the one in Canterlot Castle, and burst through the great wooden doors that had been slowly opening as I had approached. Beyond them I had seen trees, vines, and numerous plants, though the moment I passed through it felt as though I was immediately in the thick of it- the door I had passed through a moment ago not even registering as existing, though I knew it was no longer an option; I had to keep pressing forward.

Paths and streams occasionally gave me a moment's respite from the dense undergrowth, though I forged onwards still, plunging headfirst into the unknown forest... though perhaps "jungle" might have been more apt. Eventually I came face to face with a bridge, which I crossed without second thought. It crumbled beneath me, the old rotted planks falling into the river below, though I ran faster than the wind could pull me down, making it to the other side in moments, and continued onwards.

Through the clearing on the opposite side I ran, past rubble and stone bricks of a ruined city as I bolted towards a giant wooden door, partially rotted away and hanging open ever so slightly. The door was like that I had come through to reach these woods, but it was the same... or... was it?... I have to run.

There was no time for rational thought, my mind a mess as the dream propelled me onwards. At this point I don't think I could stop if I wanted to, but I didn't stop none the less. I ran through the door and into a ruined throne room, one I recognised from the layout before, but with black ponies of all shapes and sizes milling about in the shadows... a giant shadowy centaur crossed in front of the throne, and I skidded to a halt as I turned, stumbling off through a side door as I continued sprinting towards my goal.

...what was my goal...?

I must keep running.

I all but flew up a flight of spiral staircases before finding myself face-to-face with yet another door in my path. I broke through and came to a stop in an old bedroom of sorts. A desk stood against the wall opposite me as moonlight streamed in through a hole in the wall above it where part of a window once was. I made my way over to the desk, finding an untouched copy of A Tale of Two Sisters, before feeling a presence floating behind me.

"A shame, isn't it? That such glorious walls would fall to ruin..." The voice was smooth, soft... like a gentle breeze on a moonlit night. "My sister did not want to remain here, did not want to remember the painful memories of what had once transpired here..."

It floated over my shoulder and stared at the cover of the book with me, though I remained fixed on the book, not looking at the shadowy figure.

"A pitty... she could have been just like me, just like us. But, she chose her own path..." It shifted in place like a swirling fog, "And now I return, little one, back to haunt your nightmares once more... to rule all that is mine..."

I step back and raised my head as it swirled around to move in front of me; a dark blue cloud, bordering on black, with a toothy grin. And as it opened it's red, reptilian eyes, it spoke...

"...for I am Nightmare Moon."

Andromeda

I immediately woke in a cold sweat, mum sleeping peacefully beside me as the moon shone through the window.

I lay back down as mum snuggled into me, pulling me closer into her comforting embrace.

Maybe Celestia was right... I should stop with the cookies and milk right before bed...

Author's Note:

I'm sorry it's so late...
But, I'm more than happy with how it turned out, so...

Your idiot as always,
Krystl Fae

Comments

[UnamusedWaffle]

Better late than never, right?