Trapped in Slumber

by Megabrick

Prologue: From Dusk

Alone I gallop, dodging flame and bramble alike. Around one branch, under the next. Over embers and through flames. Scrapes and burns, my legs nearly buckle. My neck cracks as I look this way and that. My eyes strain against the smoke.

Where is he!? I call out, but all I hear is sizzling, crackling… snapping?!

I jump as a tree falls nearby. The rumbling impact kicks up a plume of ash. I sputter and cough, stumbling. My throat burns and my eyes water.

Fire engulfs the tree. I feel a sweltering heat as the fire surrounds me.

There’s a figure beyond the fire. I blink several times, my eyes still tearing up. I… I think it’s my brother! I call out to him, despite the dry throat.

He notices me!
He’s coming!
Finally, I’m not alone anymore!

He approaches the wall of flame, stepping through it unimpeded.

… Why is his horn so broken?

I cry out, and stumble backward, falling into a pile of ash. Cinders cling to my coat, though it doesn't sting.

Intense heat gives-way to a chilly cold. I shiver achingly as my sweat turns to ice. Where my brother once stood, I now see white, glowing eyes staring back at me. They threaten to penetrate my very being. A branching, distorted horn fills me with a sense of urgency. Yet at the same time, like tendrils, I can feel a terror beyond comprehension wrap around my mind, trapping me in place. Fight-or-Flight becomes a distant memory as I shake fervently. My perceptions fade into the background….
The eternal phoenix is a facade.
My vision returns with a shrill, piercing call. A fireball collides with the monster, throwing it off-balance and cracking its scaly carapace.

I turn to run. I leap over flames. Fire surges across my belly. Burned hair fills my nostrils, but I don’t care anymore.

A growl. The monster’s behind me. It’s undeterred by violet flames in its mane. I keep ahead, barely.

My hooves ache. Scrapes and burns no longer worry me. The monster keeps pace. It stampedes everything in its path.

The surrounding fire contorts like a pair of livid snakes. A winding path is formed ahead. I have no choice but to follow it. Twists and turns.

Behind me, the flames close-up. They threaten to consume the monster. It struggles, it loses ground.

Ahead, the trees thin. There’s a glowing orb in the sky. Orange light gives way to a dull white. Icy terror returns to me. The canopy clears as I gain an unimpeded view above: The Moon.
Peculiar sight for the uninitiated.
Emblazoned on its surface, the silhouette of a unicorn stares back at me. Unfiltered fear overwhelms my senses and consumes my thoughts. Fire beckons me forward as my eyes remain locked above. A shiver down my spine turns tears to ice. My lungs fill with cold as moonlight stings like frostbite against my coat.

In my daze, I make a fatal step and soon find myself stumbling down a cliff.

I tumble.
My shoulder hits a rock.
A boulder slams into my back.
My horn cracks against a stone.
I hear a voice.
It’s saying my name.
It wants me to wake up, but I’m not-.