The Susurrations of a Pale Star

by the7Saviors

Royal Records #1 – Dreamwalker Logs

6/27

The atmosphere within the Dream Realm has been rather strange recently. I am unsure of the cause or what it is that I am feeling exactly, but I believe this odd shift in dreamspace bodes ill tidings to come somehow. This ominous atmosphere has yet to infect any of the dreams within the Dream Realm, but it would be remiss of me not to investigate further if possible. If I leave this be, I may be too late to stop a disaster I could have easily prevented.

I initially feared the possible return of the Tantabus, but, while certainly vile, this is not the same breed of malevolence. This feels far more ancient. Far more alien. The weight that has settled upon this Realm feels oppressive and warm, oddly enough, but not malevolent. Not like the Tantabus. In fact, I don't sense any kind of intent whatsoever. If this is some kind of presence, it is a strange and disturbing one. It wants for nothing. It simply is, and nothing more.

Whatever this is, it carries weight, but it's still too faint within the Dream Realm to be of dire concern. Still, I fear it will grow stronger if left alone, so I will uphold my duties as Princess of the Night and Dreamwalker and seek out the source of this anomaly. I just pray that this is not the Tantabus given some horrible new form.

6/28

The ominous shift within the Dream Realm is almost certainly the work of something that doesn't belong there. Its presence is getting stronger, just as I feared, but I still have yet to find the source. The unsettling presence is still relatively weak compared to my own, but it somehow manages to blanket the dreamscape like a tyrannical veil. Worse still is that I was unable to breach the dreams of several of mine and my sister's subjects during the previous night's dreamwalking session.

It was as if their dreams were shrouded in a deep, impenetrable fog, through which I could not find my way. This worries me, especially because, of those whose dreams I could not access, three of the Elements of Harmony were among them—and of those three, one of them was missing from the dreamscape entirely. Disturbingly, the rest of those whom I was unable to reach were foals. I do not know what this means, but the implications worry me greatly.

One other oddity that worries me is that the Dream Realm seems to be getting warmer, almost as if to reflect the summer heat of the waking world. As I reflect upon my own thoughts on the matter, I find myself musing on my sister's unusual behavior as of late. Celestia is distant. Distracted. Something is bothering her, and when I think about what it could be, I'm reminded of the brief discussion we had following her belated sunrise. I have not confronted her on the issue, but perhaps I think it's time we talked—both about the Dream Realm, and about her concerns.

6/29

The presence is stronger now. Much stronger. In the Dream Realm, I can feel it pressing down on me like the weight of a mountain. I know not what it is, but I can hear its foul whispers permeating the entire dreamscape, incomprehensible and otherworldly. I'm all but certain this alien presence is the cause of the inexplicable heat plaguing the dreamscape, and I fear it may be the same for the irregular rise in temperature in the waking world as well.

More and more dreams are being hidden from me, and I assume that this too is the elusive presence at work. I have yet to find the source in the Dream Realm, but I have reason to believe that the forces at work may be external in nature. I've begun to notice strange occurrences in the waking world as well. It is as if a pall of ennui has fallen over the castle staff, and upon further investigation, it appears to be affecting the rest of Canterlot as well.

It is not every citizen, but it is enough to give me pause. Even more concerning is my sister and her actions. Celestia is shirking her duties outright, refusing to open Day Court in favor of locking herself away in her private study for who knows what purpose. I attempted to consult her regarding the Dream Realm and her behavior, but was swiftly rebuffed. I am beginning to suspect that she not only hasn't a care for the potential threat facing Equestria, but, in fact, may be part of the problem.

When I spoke to her, Celestia was uncharacteristically irritable—treating me and anypony else who approached her as if they were nothing more than bothersome flies. Her distance and distraction seemed to have turned to obsession, but over what I do not know. When she isn't hidden away in her study, she is scouring the Royal Archives. The only duty she hasn't abandoned is pushing the sun upon its intended course—though she seems hesitant to do even that.

Even now, so late at night, I can hear her in her study, speaking hushed words to seemingly nopony at all. Try as I might, I cannot make out what she says, and though it may be the stress of the situation, her intelligible words sound eerily close to the unsettling whispers I've started to hear within the Dream Realm.

6/30

There's something in the Dream Realm.

More than just some malicious presence, there is something in there, and it burns like the sun. Upon entering the dreamscape, I caught but a glimpse, and that was enough to force me back out. There are no words for what I saw in the Dream Realm. It was a mere glimpse and yet, the simple memory of it haunts me. Too bright. Too hot. And the screams. The screams. There was no peace. There were no dreams.

There was only fire and the agonized screams of the young thrown upon the pyre of something that does not belong in this world. Little ones, consumed in eldritch flames and yet unable to die or cry out for help, and there is nothing I can do. In the waking world, those same foals lie in their beds in a deep slumber that is not slumber. Their bodies are at peace but their minds—nay, their very souls burn endlessly in unearthly flames wrought by some fathomless entity.

The sun burns brighter in the sky, my dear sister, and your little ponies have taken notice. But it is not the sun, is it? It is not your sun. Not anymore. When I look to the sky, I see not your beautiful, radiant star, but a pale imitation. A brittle facade that hides within a hungry beast that burns the minds and souls of the young, and likely soon to be all the rest, to fuel its foul existence.

7/1

Tell me why, dear sister.

What do you know of this alien monstrosity? Why, when you were so hesitant to raise the sun before, do you now do so with eyes so hollow and a smile so wide? Why have you sealed yourself away from the rest of the world? Have you no care for the fate of your subjects? Does this thing have you in its thrall, like everypony else? What am I meant to do? Would you have me play the role of Nightmare Moon once more? Am I to attempt to cast the false sun down myself? Drown the world in night eternal?

I wonder, sister, what would you do?

How would you respond?

How would it respond?

7/2

Not enough.

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Comments

[Bones_]

Oh lord this is scary.

[Wild Stallion]

I figured this would happen. Poor Luna.

[TheAncientPolitzanian]

11568090
Of course Twilight finally decided to fly for Canterlot the moment her primary ally succumbed to the sunlight. Now all she's set is a collision course for the newly pyromaniacal Luna. Fireworks inbound.

Also, the revelation of what's happening to the comatose foals is genuinely fucking me up. Even if they're (somehow) saved from that fate worse than death, that's still an entire generation scarred by unfathomable trauma. Nope, nope, nope, so much goddamned nope, and I don't have a "yes" of optimism in sight.

[Blood Rarity]