Aslumber (Sanquil Version)

by Sanquil

The Rogue and the Softspoken

The sun dawned, even without the help of the princess of the sun, Celestia, to bring it up. It was delayed by several hours, but it came nevertheless. Only the magic of a great unicorn, or alicorn for that matter, could keep such a magnificent, divine object at bay.

Peaking over the crest of the Canterlot Mountains, the sun gave light to the western side of Equestria, but with no pony to greet it's arrival, except for two. Luna waited. She waited for her only companion in this world of slumber to awake. Fluttershy lay on the ground, her chest rising and falling periodically.

She should be up soon. Luna thought to herself. Stifling a yawn, Luna continued to wait for the king's magic to wear off the yellow pony in front of her.

After what seemed like ages, Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes, blinking at the harsh, sudden light that assaulted her face as the sun came over and cast the shadows away. She sat up, weary from her extended slumber in the Dream King's realm. She looked around, expecting to see the familiar townhouses of Ponyville, and the Everfree Forest looming in the distance, but was surprised to see the Canterlot Castle, perched on the mountain side, like a bird of prey waiting to strike. Her eyes continued to wander, and eventually found the princess of the night's gaze bore into her.

"Fluttershy," Princess Luna spoke, trying to keep her voice down, as if somepony might overheard, "are you alright?"

Fluttershy blinked. Once. Twice. She rubbed her eyes with her hooves, and met Luna's gaze once more.

"Huh?" Her voice was soft. The drowsiness the surrounded her clouded her senses, and impaired her hearing.

"Are you alright?" Luna repeated, this time louder.

Fluttershy shook her head to clear her mind, and gazed down the steps into the city of Canterlot. "Ye-yeah." She continued to peer down into the streets, and noticed something very strange. Ponies were scattered around the streets, laying as if they all unanimously decided to just take a nap where they stood. "What happen?"

Luna followed Fluttershy's gaze, and frowned. "They are under the influence of a pony by the name of the Dream King. I'll tell you the story later, for it is long, and there are things that must be done." Luna started trotting down the steps of stone and granite to enter the city Canterlot, that normally would be bustling and full of excitement, but on this day, was quiet and undisturbed.

Fluttershy had to run to catch up, her mind full of questions, and her face clouded with concerns for her friends and the little critters she cared for. As if reading her thoughts, Luna spoke up.

"Angel and all your animal friends are safe." Luna reassured Fluttershy. "His magic only affects ponies, luckily."

Fluttershy thought on this for a moment. She came to two conclusions on this: she couldn't see how that was lucky and; she was scared. All of Equestria had been put asleep by a mad pony, and only Princess Luna and she made it out.

"What are you going t-to do?" Fluttershy worked up the courage to ask. Normally, her soft demeanor would make it near impossible to hear her, but in the silence of the sleeping city, her voice carried farther than she wanted, as if she were afraid she would awake somepony.

"Bring your friends back from the Dream King's realm of slumber," Luna stated, "and then use the Elements of Harmony to bring all of Equestria back."

The king trotted around his room. He just COULDN'T believe that this happened. A pony escaped from HIS realm? This was unheard of. Not just anypony, though. It was the pony Fluttershy, Bearer of the Element of Kindness. This was bad.

What do you make of this? He spoke to his subconscious once more, pacing around, trying to figure out how this could've happened. Well? Don't leave me in the dark here.

His subconscious was silent, as if it hadn't existed. This, too, worried the Dream King. Everything went along smoothly. Nothing that could mess up his plan. Then, all of a sudden, one of the Bearers escapes his kingdom back into the waking world, and his subconscious seemed to have followed them out. How could all this happen all at once?

It doesn't seem as if it all happened by chance. He thought. This was all planned, but who could have done all this? Fluttershy isn't a unicorn, so she couldn't have pulled off such a magical feat. The only unicorns powerful enough to do it are Twilight Sparkle and Celestia, both of which are under my control, completely unaware of my deceit and treason.

Luna and Fluttershy trot down the streets, making their way through the city. It was quite eerie, all the silence. Several attempts at conversation were made, but ended quickly. Now, the two ponies walked in silence. Finally, Fluttershy broke the silence that was holding a strong grip on the entire country.

"Where are we going?" She asked, timidly.

"We are heading back to Ponyville, to locate your friends. It will be easiest to locate them in the Dream King's realm of sleep if we are near the physical body of the pony." Luna spoke so regally, and with so much confidence, you couldn't help but believe her. They continued south for a few more miles before Fluttershy decided to ask another question.

"Who is the Dream King?" She asked, not sure what to think of the tyrannical ruler that was holding all her friends hostage in his realm.

"As I've told you before, the story is a long one," Luna repeated. "and I would rather tell the story once to all of you, rather than six times to each of you individually. Before you ask, we will be getting Rarity first. She is low of the king's 'radar', and bringing her out will be easy."

The king kept pacing. Several hours passed, and his subconscious still was missing. After all this time, he was no closer to finding out who had done it than when he started. For some reason, and name he couldn't recall came to mind several times. He felt as if knowing this name would solve everything, but he couldn't get it out, no matter how hard he tried. It was like some kind of mental block formed over his mind, keeping him from getting it.

Who is this elusive pony, and why didn't I sense their presence before? He continued to pace. His maid, Celestia trotted in, carrying a cup of coffee with her. Seeing the king pace back and forth so ferociously made her uneasy.

"S-sir?" Celestia trotted forward, trying to get his attention.

"Wha?" He turned. "I'm fine. Just put the cup there." He gestured with his hoof to a nightstand next to his bed, with covers that resembled the night sky. Celestia floated the cup to where he specified, and left the room. While she left, he enveloped his magic around the door, and closed it.

He resumed his thought. As he thought, he occasionally took sips from his coffee. This was really starting to bother him.

Who? Who? Who? He kept repeating in his mind. Who is this pony?

Suddenly, something came to him. He remembered an old mare tale.

Could the Mare in the Moon myth have truth to it? He thought. If so, then the sister of the night would possess such a power. Now what was her name? he continued to think, and abruptly, one thing came to him. The letter L stood out to him. He was one step closer to stopping this rogue pony, and ruling Equestria for all eternity.

Comments

[fluttershywriter]

Yay!! Luna appearance!

[Sanquil]

2526214 Totes.