24 - Aiko - Return of Tambelon
Sunset groaned. Opening her eyes, she looked out at an upside down darkened alleyway. She was lying inverted against a trash bin overflowing with spoiling refuse that was tumbled down over her. The dent in the bin was probably the match for the throbbing ache in her withers where she likely slammed into it after ejecting from the portal. Her saddle bag was several lengths down the alley, no doubt ripped from her by the impact.
“Ouch,” she hissed, rising to her hoofs. She shook the refuse off, stopping suddenly with a bitten off yelp. “Yeah, no shaking. Too sore,” she grunted, trotting gingerly over to her bags. Lifting them in her magic she noticed the cinch torn where the buckle poked through the belt. Putting it on, she tightened it to the next hole, a little tight but bearable and better than carrying it around in her magic.
Looking back down the alleyway there was no sign of the portal. “Crab nuggets! It couldn’t be easy, could it,” she grumbled. Trotting slowly she exited the alley, trying to get her bearings and stretch out her cramped muscles.
She was only a half block down the street when a flash and a crack echoed from the alley followed by a string of Japonies curses. Sunset turned, heading back towards the alley as she called out, “Aiko?”
She’d only taken two steps when a guard rounded the corner before her. Startled, he quickly pulled out a horn and gave a loud blast. “Intruder!” he yelled at the top of his voice while running towards her, his spear outstretched, the tip glowing with an eerie amber haze. Before he could hit her Sunset wheeled, shooting a teal bolt of magic that blasted him across the street cracking the shop wall where he impacted.
Sunset wheeled back to the alley just as several guards raced around the corner, immediately shooting her, bolts of magic from their lances knocking her off her hooves to tumble down the street. She rolled, leaping up to face them as a shadow passed over her. With a deafening screech a dragon clutched her tightly in its claws, springing back into the skies with its prize. Dazed, Sunset hung limply from its claws as it flew over the buildings back towards the castle on the hill in the center of the city.
In the alley, Aiko rolled to her paws, slinking to the alley entrance in time to see Sunset’s brief battle on the street. Sunset was knocked from her hooves by several blasts of magic just as a draconic beast dropped down from the skies, grasping her in its claws with a shriek as it sprang back up and away.
“Damn it!” Aiko hissed, leaping up onto the roof of the shop beside her. She sprinted quickly across the roof launching over an alley to next as she followed the path of the receding beast. She quickly crossed the city rooftops, leaping and flashing from roof to roof in pursuit of the beast that had taken her friend.
Sunset hung limply from the dragon's claws looking out over the city as the dragon flew towards the castle at the city's center. Her eyes barely open, she feigned unconsciousness, observing and categorizing what passed below.
The town was filled with the oddly draconic creatures, many going about their lives, looking up in passing as the dragon flew over. Everywhere among them were the draconic guards, mostly just observing but occasionally directing the activities of others. Her head hung limp, tossed side to side by the powerful beat of the dragon’s wings, allowing her the occasional glance at the city behind her.
A smile briefly crossed her muzzle. In the distance behind she saw her pupil, her beloved battle sister Aiko, sprinting, launching, and flashing across the city rooftops in pursuit, always out of sight from those below but keeping pace as they closed on the city center.
The dragon reached the castle, passing over the parapets and into the keep with a final beat of its powerful wings. As the dragon dropped to the ground, Sunset still firmly in its grasp, she saw Aiko flash to one of the parapets overlooking the courtyard, holding tightly to its spire.
The beast tossed Sunset to the ground where she rolled to a stop before a large Ram, his horns glowing with arcane power. Using the rolls' momentum Sunset sprang up into full battle stance, her horn alight blasting a shock of teal lightening at the Ram with the full force of her magic.
Instead of blasting the creature across the courtyard as she intended, to her surprise the blast’s magic was funneled by a swirling green glow into a bell worn around the Rams neck. As the last of the blast was sucked into the bell the glow shot across to her, enveloping her in its sickly glow. Teal arcs of her magic were torn from her body as her magical energies were sucked and channeled into the bell. Weakened, she dropped to her side, her head turned toward the smiling Ram as he trotted over.
“So pony, what have we here?” gloated the Ram. “Quite the pony mage, aren’t you? Even clearly ringed, still bristling with power! I’m going to enjoy the time we’ll spend together in my dungeon as I probe your secrets and drain you of your very essence!” He rang the bell on his neck. Miasma drifted from it, surrounding her, draining her of her magic and life's essence. She cried out in agony as her energies were consumed, writhing in pain while the bell absorbed her essence. As her strength left her color faded until she was unable to even lift her head from the courtyard’s flagstones.
The Ram gloated, leaning down over her prostate form. “Come, little mage! Time to enjoy my hospitality!” He wheeled and entered the castle behind him. Two of the draconic guards rushed forward, bound her then carried her insensate form, marching into the castle behind their master.
From her vantage on the castle’s spire, Aiko watched her dear sister taken captive into the castle. Releasing the spire she slid down the roof, dropping over the edge to catch hold of a window ledge below. She quickly pulled herself up and into the window disappearing into the castle’s depths.
Sunset woke in a dark room, a single sliver of light lancing overhead illuminating the dusty stale air and a small patch on the wall beside her.
She felt an inhibitor ring fixed to her horn. Surrounding her were mildewed walls, the seeping moisture from them filling the room with a fetid stench. A chain was bolted to the wall, stretching down to her bindings where it was padlocked to another set of chains entwined with rope wrapping her so tightly she was barely even able to turn her head let alone rise.
Surprisingly, she felt her magic as it pushed back against the inhibitor ring, almost completely recharged from her earlier painful experience. ‘How long was I out?’ she wondered in surprise at it returning so quickly. Through her hooves she reached out, spreading her magical senses down into the floor beneath her, then from there into the walls and out into the surrounding dungeon.
She felt familiar magic. Several unicorn foals laid in the cell across the hall all bound like herself. Stretching further, she sensed only empty cells, storage rooms, and halfway surrounding a circular stairwell that rose back up into the castle. Following the stairway she continued her search.
Aiko glanced quickly around the room, observing what appeared to be a small armory. By the light from the room’s four windows she saw racks of the guards' wretched lances and a small ballista, just large enough to hurl what she assumed were its armaments, small spheres of iron or some other metal, piled all throughout the room. The ballista itself was wheeled allowing it to be positioned in any of the room's four windows.
In the center of the room, down through the floor a circular staircase descended in a spiral down to the rest of the castle. Quickly loping over to it Aiko craned her neck, her ears pivoting to catch any sounds coming from the castle below. Hearing nothing, she cautiously slunk down the stairs, alert and listening for any sign of Sunset, the Ram, or any of the draconic creatures that seemed to populate this city.
Encountering no one, she reached the bottom of the tower. To her right another pit opened with another circular staircase descending into the castle's bowels. To her left an archway opened into the castle proper. Recalling the Ram’s crowing he would keep Sunset in his dungeons she sprang to the right, cautiously descending the stairs into the dank pits of the castle's dungeons.
Sunset reflected on her finds while scanning the castle. Ancient dark magic permeated every stone of this castle and seeped deeply into the very earth itself, radiating up through the rocks beneath her.
‘Where am I?’ she wondered. Tartarus itself couldn’t have been more profane. Nowhere else could she imagine such a strong stench of old dark magic.
A glow from her hoof traveled up her leg, across her withers, then down to the small of her back where the chains were all locked together, but before she could use her magic to unlock her bindings the cell door above her rattled with the sound of keys being inserted and turning in the door's lock.
Quickly dispelling her magic she lidded her eyes and laid still, peering through only the tiniest sliver as she pretended to be still insensate. The door finally unlocked and opened fully, and the Ram from earlier trotted down the stairs. Standing over her he leered down. “I sense you’ve recovered. Most unexpected! You really are full of wonderful surprises, pony. You may become one of my favorite pastimes!” He laughed. “Tell me, are you enjoying my hospitality?” he grinned.
Opening one lidded eye Sunset looked up. “Oh clearly, horned one,” she grumbled. “One of the finest establishments I’ve ever stayed in. Tell me, do you fête all your guests with such lavish accommodations?”
The Ram laughed. “You have spunk, pony! I admire that.” He grinned, leaning closely down in her face. “But I cannot have such a powerful adversary wandering around, undoing the work I’ve set in motion so long ago and labored so hard to accomplish. So I’ll just have to drain you completely.” He leaned back, his cloven forehoof reaching for the bell around his neck.
“One moment,” called out Sunset, looking up at him. “You think I’m your enemy. I admit you have me at a disadvantage. I don’t even know you let alone why I would want or need to stop you from anything. Who are you? Where am I? And what’s going on here?” she asked.
“Really? Has it been so long that ponies have forgotten me?” he mocked. “So busy enjoying your pathetic lives you can’t recall Tambelon or Grogar, the father of monsters? Well then, your loss pony, the time for introductions just passed. As for what is going on? I’ll leave that for you to find out in the fullness of time as my plans unfold.” He rang the bell, miasma issuing forth again to surround Sunset. With a wracking scream her magic and essence were rung from her until she faded collapsing and shaking on the stone floor of her cell. Satisfied, Grogar nodded, leaving her once again nearly insensate as he climbed the stairs locking the cell behind him.
“Buck me,” groaned Sunset in agony.
Halfway down the long spiraling staircase Aiko heard Sunset cry out in anguish. Redoubling her efforts she sprinted to the bottom of the staircase.
Looking around the catacomb of arches surrounding the landing she listened for any sound to guide her to her sister’s side. A door slammed shut, followed by a clopping trot heading towards her from a passageway across from her.
Darting over into a nearby passage, she looked out from its shadows towards the hall the sound came from. The Ram exited the hall, crossing before her into another. As he passed from view she darted across the landing, standing off from the edge of the hallway to watch as the Ram reached the end of the hall. He pushed on one of the facing stones, and a hidden door opened with another dimly lit hall behind it. The Ram entered, the door swinging slowly shut behind him.
Seeing the door about to shut, Aiko sprang from her hiding spot, darting quickly through the door just before it snapped shut. The Ram was already halfway down the hall, still oblivious to her intrusion. She quickly scurried into the shadows of an nearby alcove, watching as he stopped before a door near the end of the hall. Pulling a set of keys from his belt, he jiggled a key in the door’s lock, unlocking and opening the door. Removing the keys he returned them to his belt, then trotted into the room shutting the door behind him.
Aiko quietly loped over to the door, crouching down to peer through the keyhole. She saw the Ram before a workbench, and was about to return to find Sunset when she saw him pull Sunset’s saddlebag from beneath his robes. She watched him open it, pouring out the rocks Sunset gathered across his table. He reached for one, quickly pulling back his cloven hoof with a hiss.
“Well pony! You really are one for surprises,” he grumbled. He gently turned the rock over as he bent over it, examining it closely.
‘Damn it!’ thought Aiko. ‘I can’t let him have those. Sorry Soni, I have to take care of this first.’
She looked up and down the hall, spying a half open door in one of the alcoves. She loped over. Peering in she saw racks of the guard’s lances. Quickly grabbing one she returned to the door, stooping down to peer again through the keyhole. The Ram was still examining the rock, his back to the door.
Stepping back Aiko held the lance out before her, channeling her magic. With an amber flash she teleported through the door and directly behind the Ram, who was turning at the sound of her pop. She thrust the lance into him, arcing magic spasming him as he dropped to the floor, his eyes rolled back.
Throwing the lance aside Aiko grabbed the bag, sweeping the rocks from the desk into it then teleporting back out of the room. Unnoticed one of the rocks had fallen with the Ram, now hidden by his form on the floor beside him.
Sprinting quickly down the hall, Aiko popped through the closed door then sprinted back down that hall and across the landing into the hall the Ram emerged from.
At the end of the hall there were two doors on opposite sides. She loped to the door on the right. Peering through the bared viewport into the darkened room she called out.
“Sunset?” she whispered.
From the room she heard stirrings, then a voice. “Ribbons, did you hear that?” Aiko backed away from the door, trying the other.
“Sunset?” she whispered again.
“Aiko?” she heard the feeble reply. Teleporting through the door she saw Sunset bound and chained on the floor below her. She leapt down from the landing, crouching down by her side.
“Sunset!” she whispered. “What happened?”
Sunset opened one eye. “Hospitality happened,” she snorted then groaned. Noticing her saddlebag looped over Aiko’s withers she grinned. “Thank the Maker! I was wondering where that went. Don’t want anyone finding those.”
“I liberated them from an old goat,” snorted Aiko as she worked to free Sunset from her bindings. “You really need to take better care of your stuff, Soni,” she admonished. Sunset rolled her eyes.
Aiko sprung the padlock in her magic then unraveled the chains and ropes binding her sister. Now free of her restraints, Aiko helped her to her hooves.
“I see you picked up more exotic jewelry,” Aiko smirked at the inhibitor ring screwed into her friend's horn.
“Yeah, buckers,” she snarled. “Just when I was almost healed from the last time.” She gently ran her frog over the ring and horn. “They better not have cracked anything or there will be Tartarus to pay.” She took her bag from Aiko, fastening it back around her barrel.
She followed Aiko up the stairs. Pulling Sunset into her, Aiko teleported them both back through the door just as the alarm sounded throughout the castle.
“Damn it,” grumbled Aiko. “I guess the bucker woke up.” There was the clattering of guards running down the stairs, yelling out in alarm as they approached. Aiko quickly cast an invisibility spell over them both then teleported them into the cell across the hall.
In the dim light they saw several little unicorns looking up in concern at the door and calling out to each other in fear, no doubt alarmed by the pop and flash of their entrance and the sound of the guards' cries as they grew closer. Aiko quickly teleported her and Sunset again, popping over to the furthest dark corner of the cell, the pops causing even more distress to the frightened ponies. Outside they heard the guards unlocking the door across the hall, then their panicked cries.
“She’s escaped! The unicorn mage has escaped! Search everywhere! Alert the master!” the guards called out. Keys rattled in their door then it was thrown open by a pair of guards who stormed into the room looking around frantically. Seeing nothing but the chained and terrified ponies they exited, shutting and locking the door behind them.
“She’s not in there! Search the rest of the cells! Find her!” they called out.
Aiko listened as they moved off, waiting until she no longer heard them shouting in the hall outside to release her spell. She and Sunset appeared before the little ponies.
“Well that happened,” Sunset grumbled.
Sunset turned to the foals, their eyes wide in fright. “Okay, would one of you mind telling us just where the buck we are and what the buck is going on?” she demanded.
Seeing the angry mage and a fox before them was too much for their young minds. They started crying, and one opened her muzzle to scream.
“Nope!” hissed Sunset, lunging for the little one with her hoof outstretched. She dropped the filly into slumber before the scream came, the other foals watching in speechless terror.
“Smooth, Soni,” hissed Aiko. She loped over and tapped out the remaining unicorn foals. As Sunset entered their shared dreamscape, Aiko stood guard over their forms watching the door and listening for the guards return.
Sunset trotted up to the confused foals. They stood in billowing banks of clouds, staring in wonder at each other and the pony mage before them.
One of them found her voice. “Are we free? Does this mean we’re free now?” she asked. She turned to her friends. Confused, they shook their heads, turning to face Sunset.
“Did you rescue us? Are we free now?” they asked.
“No, not yet. We’re in a shared dream I cast so we can talk, and maybe calm you all down. Seriously, you were about to scream out and call the guards back in. Not what we needed, so I thought we should share some time here, figure out what’s going on, then plan what we need to do next,” Sunset answered.
One of the fillies still looked around in concern. “Where is the fox?” she asked fearfully. “Is she going to eat us?”
Sunset snorted. “What? Whatever gave you that idea?” she asked incredulously.
“Foxes eat chickens, and every pony always tells me I’m a big chicken. I don’t want to be eaten!” the filly cried.
Sunset doubled over in laughter. “Okay, stop. Just stop. Wow,” she gasped, catching her breath. “No, the fox is not going to eat anypony. She’s my sister. We eat fish, not ponies. Sheesh.”
“She’s your sister?” gasped one of the other fillies.
“You eat fish?” gasped another.
“You're a fox too?” gasped a colt.
“Stop! Please stop! You’re going to sprain something leaping to those conclusions,” she groaned. “What is it with you? Seriously, do I look like a vixen?”
“What’s a vixen?” asked a filly.
Sunset sat on her haunches, rubbing her face with a hoof. She took a deep breath, then smiled at the foals. “Okay, reset.
“Let’s start over…
“Hi! Nice to meet you! I’m Sunset Shimmer, a mage and personal student of Princess Celestia, Ruler of Equestria.
“The very nice and not at all hungry fox you saw is my sister Aiko. She’s a mage and a student of Princess Celestia too.
Turning to the filly who asked, she added, “And a vixen is a female fox, just so you know. And no I am not a fox. You can clearly see I’m a pony, just like you, but older.”
Under her breath, she added, “and definitely smarter, sheesh.”
Still smiling, she continued. “So, now that you know who I am and who my sister is, who are you little ones?”
One of the fillies spoke up. “I’m Ribbons. These are my friends.
“We were all caught by those dragon things when we tried to snap. I was with my friends in Dream Valley when I got frightened and decided to snap away. But instead of coming out in my safe spot, I snapped into a weird dark place where two of those things zapped me with glowing sticks, then snapped me here. They chained me up to the wall. A while later they showed up again with one of my friends and chained her up too. Pretty soon there was a whole bunch of us all chained up and not able to snap at all,” finished Ribbons.
Looking at them Sunset could see little inhibitors fastened to their horns.
“Yeah, the reason you can’t snap is because of those rings on your horns,” informed Sunset.
One of the colts started tugging violently at his ring. “Get it off me!” he hollered, trying to rip it off. “I wanna go home!”
Sunset pulled his hooves away from the ring, looking down at him. “Hey, stop that. Never try to rip anything off your horn. You could scratch or break it and then how would your magic work?”
She pulled the colt into a hug. “You have to be careful taking things off your horn. Don’t panic and make things worse by breaking it.”
She looked at the rest of the foals. “So that’s what happened to all of you?” she asked. They all nodded.
A rotund little colt grumbled. “These things are staving us! They haven’t even fed us since we got here, and I’m hungry! We need to get back home to Megan, she’d know how to take these things off and let us snap again! And she would feed us too!”
The others nodded. Ribbons spoke up. “You know though, we’ve only been here a few hours. We really haven’t had a chance to actually starve yet.”
The complaining colt fussed. “Well, it feels like it’s been a lot longer. And I still want to go home.”
Sunset turned back to the fussing colt. “Wait. Dream Valley? Megan?” She thought for a moment. “Is her name Megan Williams by any chance?” Sunset asked the colt.
He nodded excitedly with the others. “Yeah, Megan Williams and her little brother Danny and little sister Molly!”
Sunset facehooved. “Excuse me for a moment,” she sighed. She popped away, leaving them looking at each other in puzzlement.
“Where’d she go?” asked Ribbons, looking all around the cloudscape.
Sunset opened her eyes and turned to Aiko.
“Great! I just found out we’ve been sucked back at least two thousand years into the past! What the buck kind of magic is that portal? These foals are friends of Megan Williams from Dream Valley! What kind of shiitake did we stumble into?” she groused.
Aiko shrugged. “No idea. Who’s Megan Williams? And I’ve never heard of Dream Valley. Is that in Griffonia or something?”
“It’s old ponish folklore. I’m honestly surprised it's real. The stories I heard as a filly were so corny I was certain they were fake,” she replied. “Okay, heading back in. Still not sure what Tambelon is either. I’ll see if they know anything else. At least they’re calming down.
“One of them thought you were going to eat them,” she laughed.
Aiko rolled her eyes. “This Kitsune eats fish,” she replied. “Not ponies.”
Sunset grinned. “Right? Me too! Fish, not friends.” Grinning, she returned to the dreamscape.
Megan and the ponies were very concerned. Together with Danny and Molly, they were scouting all over Dream Valley searching for the missing foals. They looked in all their favorite hiding and safe places. They even asked the bushwoolies and other creatures, but no one had seen any of the missing foals.
Buttons was with them, looking for her friends. She was the last of the unicorn foals. Every other one in Dream Valley had gone missing. She was trying very hard not to panic, asking every creature she could find if they had seen any sign of her friends.
As they were searching through one of the small ravines that ran through the valley a small rockside spooked her. In a panic, Buttons reacted as she always did, and winked to her safe place, disappearing before her friends eyes as the small pile of rocks rolled over where she was standing.
Megan threw her hands up in frustration. “Darn it Buttons! Now they’re all gone!” she said in exasperation. She raced with her friends to Buttons safe place but there was no sign of her.
Buttons was thoroughly confused, this was not her safe place. All around her was an inky blackness, a void she could feel pulling at her very soul.
“Help!” she called out loudly in panic. “Anypony! Help! Where are you!?”
Her words didn’t even fill the void, drifting off into the inky darkness. “Hello! Anypony?” she called out again.
Two figures appeared out of the inky darkness, wearing armor and holding lances out toward her. A sickly glow of magic danced around the sharp blades of their lances.
“Well well! We have another one!” sneered the nearest one. “Let’s take her out!” Together they thrust their lances at her. Magic shot out from the lances slamming into her small frame, sending her spinning and sliding through the void. The guards laughed as they chased after her. When her slide stopped she was sprawled completely out, barely able to think past the pain coursing through her small body.
Grinning, one of the creatures pulled a length of rope from his belt, tying her legs tightly together. The other took a ring from his pocket, pushing it down firmly over her horn. He pulled something from another pocket putting it up next to the ring. A moment later she felt crushing pressure as something pushed sharply into her horn. She blacked out, hearing herself screaming as her sight faded.
Outside the cell Aiko heard the scuffing of approaching feet. Grabbing Sunset, she quickly cast an invisibility spell over them both as keys grated in the lock. The foals all turned to the door as it swung open, and she teleported them both with twin pops to the furthest dark corner of the cell.
Quickly entering their shared dreamscape, she called out to them. “Soni! The guards have returned. I’ve pulled us both into the corner to hide but you all need to wake up now! Tell no one about us!” she admonished the foals. She and Sunset popped away. The foals all left popping away from the dreamscape as well.
The foals roused as the guards entered, hauling the insensate Buttons into the cell and dropping her on the floor between them. One of the guards pulled a length of chain from the wall and wrapped it around and through her bindings, then padlocked Buttons to the wall just as they had done to the others.
“Taking a nap, ponies?” taunted a guard. He kicked the nearest foal, who flinched and cried. He laughed. “I guess we’ve made you too comfortable. We’ll just see how you like going without dinner then!”
The rotund colt in the corner began to weep piteously.
Hearing the unkind laughter, Buttons raised her head. Seeing herself and her friends bound and tormented she too started crying.
The filly next to her tried to console her. “Buttons! Don’t cry, we’re going to be okay! You’ll see! Megan and our friends will come get us!”
“You don’t have to be scared, Buttons! It’ill be alright,” another filly comforted.
The guard laughed. “Don’t count on that, ponies! Your friends are no match for our master!” he crowed.
Finished, the guards left, locking the door behind them. The foals tried to comfort their two crying friends.
“There’s still no sign of that damnable mare! You two, back to the void, the rest of you, keep searching!” One of the guards called out. Their shuffling footsteps moved off, eventually leaving the foals alone again.
To their surprise, Buttons stopped crying, falling into a deep sleep. Then so did the rotund colt. “What the heck?” said one of the mares, then she two dropped off to sleep. One by one the other foals quickly followed.
The foals all looked at each other, back in the cloud filled dreamscape. Buttons stood among them, her muzzle open in shock.
As she was about to ask what was happening, Sunset and Aiko popped into the dreamscape with them.
Seeing a large fox next to the strange jeweled pony, Buttons immediately shrieked in terror then bolted, racing as fast as her little legs could go, trying to get away from the scary large fox with far too many tails.
But as fast as her little legs could pump, she wasn’t going anywhere. She floated in a teal glow above the drifting mists rolling over the dreamscapes floor. Realizing this, Buttons shrieked again, redoubling her efforts.
Sunset laughed gently, trotting next to the panicked filly. She smoothed her back and rubbed the filly’s mane. The filly stopped screaming and running, looking up at Sunset.
Sunset smiled down at her. “Welcome, little filly.
“I’m Sunset Shimmer, and this fox is my sister, Aiko. We’re mages from Equestria, personal students of our ruler, Princess Celestia. We mean you no harm, we’re here to help you.”
Aiko bowed to the filly with a friendly smile, her four tails swishing behind her.
“A pleasure to meet you, my dear,” Aiko smiled. Turning to Sunset she grinned. “I need to get back. I’ll let you know if anything comes up.” She popped out of the dreamscape to stand guard over her sister and the foals.
Ribbons spoke. “With Buttons here all the unicorn foals in Dream Valley have been captured. We need to talk to Megan now! We have to tell her what’s happening and warn her about these bad creatures!” she insisted.
Sunset nodded. “I think you’re right, Ribbons. Would you be willing to try with me? We can reach her dreams from here if you help me,” she asked the filly.
Buttons watched her friend nod emphatically.
“Alrighty then!” agreed Sunset. Bending down, she gently held Buttons face in both her hooves, muzzling her with a grin. “And who are you, little filly?” Sunset asked.
“I’m Buttons,” she answered.
“Buttons, you’re going to be alright. You’re all going to be alright. Aiko and I are here to protect you. Your friend and I are going to let Megan know what happened, then she’ll protect you too! You’ll see, it’s all going to be fine,” she comforted.
Buttons smiled and nodded.
Sunset turned to the other foals. “You can all stay here, or you can leave and stay in the cell with my sister. Ribbons and I are going to leave for a little bit to try to find Megan.
We’ll be back soon.”
With that she and Ribbons popped out of the dreamscape.
The two of them appeared in Aiko’s mind. “Aiko, we’re off to find Megan!” Sunset called out. Aiko appeared before them.
“Off to warn her? Good luck then sister. I’ll keep everypony safe while you’re gone,” Aiko assured. They embraced, then Sunset and Ribbons popped away while Aiko returned her attention to the waking world.
Together, Sunset and Ribbon sat in the starry void of the dreamscape, looking out at the stars floating around them.
“Where are we?” asked Ribbons, looking around in wonder.
“We’re in the shared realm of dreams,” answered Sunset, pulling the filly close and nuzzling her. “This is a sacred realm created by the shared thoughts and dreams of all sentient creatures. All those stars you see shining around you? Those are your friends and neighbors, their brilliant souls shining like stars in the night sky.”
Ribbons gasped. “All of them? Even the Bushwoolies?” she asked in wonder.
“Even the Bushwoolies,” agreed Sunset with a smile. “And one of these stars is your dear friend Megan. I’ll need your help to find her star. You have to picture her in your thoughts and remember all the happy times you’ve had with her. We’ll follow those happy memories back to her star among the many that surround us.”
Beaming, Ribbons squinted her eyes shut in adorable concentration, thinking hard on all the happy times she and Megan shared.
A violet thread popped out from Ribbons, quickly drifting out and among the stars. Smiling, Sunset picked up the filly and placed her on her withers as they followed the thread on its meandering path.
Eventually it stopped before one star, spooling down into its brightness. “Well done, Ribbons. I think we’ve found our friend.” She placed Ribbons down beside her. Ribbons opened her eyes, beaming in happiness at the praise. “Shall we?” offered Sunset, raising a hoof towards the thread that had pierced the star's brilliance.
With a happy nod, Ribbons agreed. Together they trotted to the star and passed through its shine.
Before them they saw Megan Williams dancing in a field, the night sky overhead lit by the full moon, shining down on her and lighting her rustic dance floor with its silvery light.
“Call out to her, Ribbons,” Sunset urged the foal with a smile.
Nodding, Ribbons turned towards her dancing friend. “Megan!” she called out. Megan danced on, neither hearing nor noticing her two interlopers.
Ribbons redoubled her efforts. “Megan, it’s me, Ribbons! We need to talk. Megan! We’re in some place called Tambelon! We were captured in the void between when we blinked! We’re all here! There are mages here, a pony unicorn mare and a fox with a bunch of tails, and they’re trying to help us! What is Tambelon, Megan? Megan!” she called out.
Sensing something Megan stopped her dance, looking over to the side of the field. There she saw a dim outline of a little unicorn pony. Walking over she saw it was Ribbons.
“Ribbons!” she called out happily, running over to her friend, pulling her into a happy embrace. Ribbons smiled and spoke again, but all Megan heard was soft static.
“Ribbons, I can’t hear you? Where are you? What are you saying?” asked Megan.
Ribbons spoke again. This time Megan heard one word through the static, “...Tambelon…,” she heard from Ribbons.
“Tambelon? Is that where you are?” asked Megan. Ribbons stopped talking and nodded. “But why? How? Are all of you there?” she asked. Ribbons looked back over her shoulder.
Turning to follow her stair Megan saw a grown unicorn mare standing before her, beautiful gems set in her horn with an ugly inhibitor clamped above it. Her jaw dropped.
“Who are you?” she asked.
Sunset trotted next to her. Reaching out, she gently placed her hoof over the foal she was holding. Megan could suddenly hear everything Ribbons was saying.
“Megan! We’re in Tambelon! We’re all in Tambelon. This mare and her sister are mages who’ve come to protect us. We need to tell you that Grogar stole us from the void when we winked then placed us all in his prison. Can you come get us? Can you come rescue us from his prison?” asked Ribbons looking up into her eyes.
Megan looked back and forth between them. “Tambelon? Grogar? Tambelon sounds kind of familiar, like maybe one of the older ponies told a story about it. I can ask Paradise about it when I wake up, I guess.”
The mare nodded and smiled. “That would be appreciated.”
“Who are you?” Megan asked the mare. “Are you one of the mages she mentioned?”
“I am,” confirmed Sunset. “My name’s Sunset Shimmer. I’m a mage in the service of Princess Celestia, the ruler of Equestria. My sister and I are both mages in her service. And yes, my sister is a Kitsune, a fox with many tails,” she added. “We can help, but we need you to find us. I’m not sure how to bridge to you from where we are.”
“Find you? Okay, I’m not sure how to do that, but I’m sure one of the ponies will have an idea,” she responded. “Wait, I’m still dreaming, right? Is this a dream?” she asked.
“Yes,” confirmed Sunset. “This is the realm of dreams, a sacred place shared by all sentient life. We’re in the part of the realm you share with your friends and all who are dear to you. But yes, this is a dream. We can’t cross over to you completely, only in this shared realm. But we are real, and this is real! And we really need your help,” amended Sunset.
“And you will have it,” agreed Megan, smoothing her friend’s mane. “I'll go talk to Paradise as soon as I wake up,” she promised.
Sunset smiled. “And we’ll be here waiting for you when you find us. And meanwhile, my sister and I will keep these foals safe,” she promised.
“Thank you!” Megan smiled and pulled Sunset into a hug. “I’ll go talk to Paradise right now! I will find a way to reach you all,” she promised.
Sunset hugged them both back. “Thank you,” she smiled. Both her and Ribbons popped away, leaving her once again alone in her dream under the starry sky.
“No time like the present!” said Megan, standing resolutely. “Time to talk to Paradise!” She faded from the dream which dissipated into feathered wisps of darkness, leaving only the starry void of the dreamscape behind.
Stats
Page generated in 0.018 seconds
Total duration
676 users online
819,613 hits today, 2,364,530 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Looking forward to seeing more sis