private Pony Mystery Theater: Act II, Exit Trixie, Stage Right.

[Flow 1,628]

Flow ran to Key as she managed to wiggle out of the feline pile, she was glad to see that she was alright with just some minor scratches, yet this particular scene acted as fuel for her anger.

Vengeance was what started filling in Flow's mind, she had a strong desire to make the dark colored felines pay for what they had done to Key, who was one of the few ponies in the train she could ever consider a friend. The desire to protect Key was so intense, it was as if she was her sister. Flow stood there in front of Key making sure that not a single one would ever touch her, it was then that the blue filly whispered.
 

"I think that something's wrong..."

With that, Flow thought that there might be more to this odd occurance, something was indeed wrong. The talking cat, along with the pile of felines in one place were both unnatural things to see, "She's right, there's maybe something more than this mess, this doesn't look good," She thought, before a voice replied to Key's statement,
 

"Nothing's wrong, though I am somewhat disappointed. A proper fear of the dark is something that everypony and bird should have. Don't you think? Mmmm... Well. I think so. And, that's all that matters isn't it? I mean, who's really in control over this situation?" The voice grew louder. "For the love of all that's good. Wait, no... That would be pointless. So little is actually good in the world. Instead. for the love of the darkness... Maybe..." The voice was cut off by Key Gear's frustrated voice. "What do you want! Where are Asteria and Magicon? How about..."

This particular voice disturbed Flow as it spoke with a sinister tone, and without further warning the room turned even darker and Flow herself felt the feeling of falling "W-What the? What's this?!? Aaaaaaa! K-Key! Bolt! Alex! Wind! Help meeeeeee!!!!!!!!" She screamed with such tone as if she knew she was about to die.

But she didn't,

Flow felt her body lying on a cold surface, and she was awoken by a bright flash, and the strobe of light hurt her eyes after spending quite sometime in a small dark space. She took some time to familiarize her sight in the dark, gloomy place. "What in the world...Where...am I?" She thought. After a second she heard a faint voice echo "Hey!" She regconized it as Key's voice, so she looked around to find them being held up in a holding places surrounded by uneven cylinders, their presence relived her of fears that they were lost, but Flow herself was in a holding cell too. "Key!! I'm here!!" She called out, hoping that the filly would find her. Next the cream colored pegasus got up and put her hooves on the cylinders surrounding her, only to yelp away as they were awfully cold.

She took another look at her companions to find out that Key and Electrobolt had some kind of companion with them in their cells, upon a closer look at the creature behind Electrobolt, she nearly flinched because it bore a distinct resemblance to Trixe, "W-what?!? T-....Trixie? Is it....is it really....her?" Flow moved back slowly before hearing a voice.
 

Behind Key, she heard her own voice again. "Don't mind her. She's the scribe for this place. Don't mind the room. It makes no sense. You'll never find your way out. Not without help. Don't mind me. I'm just here because you told me that you had a deal for me. But... You never said what it was." Key span around and, lying on the ground was the blue furred cat from earlier. "Okay, here's a deal, why don't you let me and my friends out of here?"

She managed to trace the voice back to the cell of Key, specifically her comapnion, that same blue furred cat."...What? Y-....you're still at this deal? Oh no...I'm not sure how this will turn out..."
 

"Lots of birds here." The cat mentioned, continuing in a funny voice. "One of them can't fly, which might be a problem..."

"Birds? What?" She looked around for any flying animal other than pegasai but found nothing, then her sights stopped at her wings "Y..You mean..Me Alex and...Wind? But one of them can't fly? Err...what? Who could that be? I mean...I can fly, and Alex too! But Wind can't fly? No...that's absurd! She can fly right?!?" Flow just sat there in her cell thinking about it.

Edited July 14, 2013 by Flow

[Arcanel 3,041]

When Arcanel finished speaking, he saw Dawn right next to him and seeming to try and prepare a spell, but before he could ask her to stay behind him, Bringer spoke.

 

 

 

He shook his head before speaking. "Dawn, that won't be necessary..." The unicorn shook her head and spoke calmly, her eyes a strange mixture of confusion, epiphany, and anger. "It will be necessary. I think that you've lied to me. I think that you've used me. I think that Arcanel is right. I think that you're evil. I won't let you hurt anypony..." Her voice trailed off, and he shook his head again.

 

At this point, Arcanel was smiling at Dawn. *I was able to help her see who was the bad pony here... er... cat... and now I was able to help her gather confidence in what she's thinking...* he pondered, happy to see the blue mare stand up for herself, especially considering what she had gone through recently, and now that she might have learned what was wrong with her as well.

 

 

 

"Let me speak, please? Arcanel... You lose the game. I do not appreciate your changing of the rules. I'm afraid that this demands penalty, but I can't quite deny that your game was interesting on its own merits. I think that I shall, despite my own thoughts, humor you on some modest level. With regards to your proposed reality... Yes. And, no. I am and I am not a cat. Obviously, this is the case."

 

By Bringer's next words, Arcanel found himself frowning again. He also saw that the cat's smile had not weavered a single bit since he saw him. *I don't like that smile... I'm not liking it at all... what is he planning?* the white pegasus thought, trying to see if he could decipher the cat's face, but finding he could not. While now he knew that he had moderately impressed Wraith, he knew better than to trust his words by now.

 

 

 

He shrugged and looked away before continuing. "No, you are not the only bird. I mean, that should be obvious as well, right? Look at my size. A pegasus like you? Mmmm... You would hardly feed me for a single day. I have quite the appetite. Now, a griffon, maybe? And a pegasus? That's a much better meal. A griffon, a pegasus, an alicorn? Even better. I think that, with such a meal, I might be good for a week. Delicious, plainly. Mmm... Let me see... I can answer more questions, but I'm beginning to become bored."

 

The mailpony was by now, starting to get very worried in his mind about the what the cat's words were meaning, but his face showed as little emotion as he could manage, his seriousness still being its main trait. *A griffon... a pegasus... and... AN ALICORN?! What the... what in the world is he? I knew he had meant me... and I knew he had meant others but... why a griffon and how in Equestria an alicorn? He doesn't seem to be planning to eat a princess... no that would be outrageous... or is it?... Just... what the Tartarus is he planning?* his mind raced, the words of the cat having done a number on his head by trying to figure out what they had meant, or how they were possible.

 

 

 

The big cat slowly began to pace, away from the ponies. His voice grew calm and became more distant than his few steps seemed to suggest it should be. "I am getting bored. Bored and annoyed. You know, you're the first one to completely disregard my game and propose another. That's not very courteous of you. Now, see, I've played by your rules even when you didn't play by mine. And, you called me the liar? Ah, well... That's often how things are, isn't it? The honorable have no honor. The dishonorable are noble and just. In the end, nothing really matters. Does it? Or, maybe it does. It's hard to know for sure..."

 

As the cat paced away from them, Arcanel slowly flared his wings in preparation to jump and fly at the black being if he needed to. *I don't like what he's saying... I don't like how he's moving... I better be prepared just in-what the?!* and just as he was planning what to do in case Bringer attacked, he felt a shadow starting to envelope him. "What is this?! How is he doing this?!" he yelled, the surprise shadow catching him completely off guard. "Dawn! Ambrosia! Vim!  RU-" he was unable to finish the word as the shadow quickly consumed him. As he was surrounded in darkness, he tried speaking, but he felt like he couldn't speak either. Moving seemed to be slowed down by the shadow which felt like a strange substance, and he also felt like he was falling. However, just as a few seconds that seemed that lasted longer passed, he crashed into something and passed out.

 

When Arcanel opened his eyes again, he felt a headache grow in his mind. "Augh... headaches... the last thing I want to have right now..." he groaned and blinked a few times before opening his eyes fully. *Augh... my he-wait a minute, Bringer... Dawn! And Vim! And Ambrosia!* he is head throught frantically and quickly looked around only to see all 3 ponies in sight range, making him exhale in relief. *Oh thank Celestia they're ok... now... let's see if-* At that moment, another voice interrupted his head thoughts, one that was familiar to him.

 

 

 

"Arcanel! Dawn! Dawn!" Her hooves scrambled to cover the distance. "Vim!"

 

As he heard the shouts, the white pony quickly recognized the voice as Ambrosia's and tried to look for her direction, only to see her running towards one point, and as he watched where it was, he understood why. He could see a red blur where Ambrosia was headed. He recognized the tone of red as of Vim's. "Oh no... Vim!" he yelled and quickly struggled to lift himself, as he was still a bit groggy before running towards Ambrosia's location, reaching Vim's body fairly fast, and seeing the conductor unconscious. "Oh no..."

 

 

 

"This place... It has to be my fault... What have I done?!"

 

He looked at Ambrosia in a slightly concerned way, as he saw the poor mare cradle Vim's head. "Ambrosia... what do you-" And yet again his thoughts, this time his voice, was interrupted as he heard another familiar voice.

 

 

 

"You know, I blame the cat."

 

At that moment, he looked around to see if somepony else was there, only to look down and see Vim conscious, his eyes half-open, and with it, Ambrosia dropping his head. *...... Vim... that wasn't nice...* he thought wanting to slap the stallion in his face for making them thought he was dead, but on the outside he let out a smell sigh of relief. *At least he's ok.* he thought.

 

 

 

"That was too easy." His voice rumbled with laughter. Ambrosia was shivering with her frustration. "Easy? Easy!" Her green eyes blazed with anger.

 

*Uh oh...* was all Arcanel could think as he saw Ambrosia starting to get very angry at Vim's remark, which in his mind was perfectly understandable, but he thought that now was not the time. *I also get the slight feel that this is not exactly uncommon for him to do...* he determined. While he thought that Vim looked to be carefree enough, he would have never expected him to be a prankster.

 

 

 

"Vim, this is not some joke or a game... This is the place... It's my dream! The same dream that I've had for years. We're here... All of us... There's a dragon here. There's other things... Darkness. This place... It isn't safe. It isn't a place for joking or playing around. I thought you were dead or badly hurt! I didn't know if Dawn could help you, I..."

 

While he understood the last part of concern as he was almost as equally concerned as the lemon colored mare was, he was confused at what Ambrosia was saying. *Her... dreams? But... hwo could that even be possible? Is she saying that this is similar to a dream of hers? Or is she saying that we're in her dream...?* he tried to think it, by this point, things that were as surprising as this starting to be get a little to common for his own comfort. And at Vim's acknowledgement, he understood that this was not some common dream. 

 

 

 

"I know I'm just an earth pony, but I've seen some things, and I've heard some tales during my time. I've always kept good humor throughout it all, though. Besides, really? You know, that cat brought us here. That means he probably has a plan, and that plan probably involves us doing what he expects. Panic and worry are probably exactly what he expects. That won't do us any good. We need to think. Now... Errr... That's not something that I'm really good at, so feel free to take a swing at it."

 

As Vim finished speaking, Arcanel gave a small chuckle, still wanting to slap the conductor for what happened before, but restraining to do so, and took what he said with humor. *Well, at least he's calmer than either of us are.... Wait a moment... Dawn...* as he the name suddenly ringed in his head, he looked around, looking for the mare before finding her, seemingly curled up and trembling. *Oh Dawn...* a sad face coming to his face. Before he started walking towards her however, he heard another voice speak up.

 

 

 

“Vim! Ambrosia! Arcanel!

 

 

He instantly recognized the voice as Magicon's, and as he looked around to locate it, he saw the crimson unicorn running towards where they were. *Magicon! I'm so glad that he is ok!* he thought happily as he remembered that he had gone missing along with Asteria as Vim had announced so. But then he realized, that he wasn't with Asteria. Before he could think through more, Magicon spoke again.

 

 

 

You don’t know how happy I am to see you all! I’ve been literally dying to get back on the train and out of this place. But…how did you guys get here? What’s happened on the train?”

 

Arcanel couldn't resist, and gave the stallion a quick and small hug before smiling and speaking. "Magicon! You're ok! I'm so hapy to see you! We were worried as Tartarus when we found out that you were missing!" He spoke, his joy escaping through his voice. "And... to answer your question... well... long story short, we found out who's behind all this. A cat, who's more than just a normal cat named Bringer or Wraith or whatever. He's the one who's planning all of what's happening. We feel that he had something to do with what happened with Trixie, what happened to Springer, and he also manipulated Dawn so he could get in the train to be hidden in plain sight, which explains also why she was so nervous and so unstable, and it also explains how she knew things she should not have known. The cats were that were around were like Bringer's eyes and ears, and while I don't know how, I think he somehow controlled Dawn to help him get in." He continued.

 

"He revealed himself after I was speaking with Dawn with Vim and Ambrosia in the dining car, he confronted us and forced me to play riddle in order to get him to take us where Asteria was, threatening to hurt her if we did not or if we even bothered him at all. When I confronted him back about that, he sent us here." He finished explaining taking a deep breath before speaking again. "I'm glad that you're ok but... how are you here yourself? And..." he took a deep breath before asking the next question. "Vim said that you were with Asteria when you went missing... where is she?" he asked, fearing the worst since the filly was not with anypony that they knew so far. However, when he looked behind Magicon, he also saw a silver mare with red mane behind. *Wait a minute... isn't that...?* he asked in his head, as he recognized the mare as awfully familiar to Luminescence, the silver filly that was with Summer. *She looks so similar but... she can't be the same... she is a grown mare and Luminescence was a filly...* he pondered.

 

"Umm... also... Magicon... who's that mare behind you?" he asked, hoping that the unicorn would be able to answer all of his questions.

[Alex Night 870]

Alex was able to get Key Gear off the attacking felines and put her on the ground, ready to buck some more furballs back.  That was until a loud voice rang out towards them from the dark room.  He stood his ground with his wings fully extended.  

 

 

 

The cats, all of them, had ceased the attack and they were now staring at the ponies, motionless. They answered Flow's challenge with silence. Key stared back at them, before she whispered to the others. "I think that something's wrong..." A voice answered back from the darkness. "Nothing's wrong, though I am somewhat disappointed. A proper fear of the dark is something that everypony and bird should have. Don't you think? Mmmm... Well. I think so. And, that's all that matters isn't it? I mean, who's really in control over this situation?"   The voice grew louder. "For the love of all that's good. Wait, no... That would be pointless. So little is actually good in the world. Instead. for the love of the darkness... Maybe..." The voice was cut off by Key Gear's frustrated voice. "What do you want! Where are Asteria and Magicon? How about..." The voice hissed in anger and the darkness from the room swept over all of the ponies within it. In an instant, they were gone.

 

Alex eyed each one of the felines as they stood looking at each of them like statues.  For some reason, it seemed as if the room that they were blocking just got even darker, as if it were possible.  Alex raised an eyebrow at the mention of birds.  "Uhhh, okay.  There's no bird here, hairballs.  Unless you're seeing birds from all the kicks we gave you."  Alex said to them with a chuckle.

 

However, it seemed their little talk had ended with the darkness sweeping from the room and all around them.  For a second, he could see Key and the others and they were gone in the next second.  "What the?  Key?  Bolt?"  Alex called out in the bleak dark, but then he felt a strange sensation that cut him off.  He felt like he got hit by a cart and expected to hit the ground on his back, but the impact didn't come.  Instead, he was just floating on his back without the use of his wings.

 

After what felt like hours, his senses came around to find himself lying in some damp cobblestone dungeon that looked it was ripped straight out of a Daring Do book.  "What the hay?  How did I get here?"  Alex asked himself as he moved to get to his hooves.  He accidentally hit his head hard on something and looked to see it was a collection of iron bars all around him, like he was a caged animal.  "Okay, who's the pony I gotta hit for sticking me in this thing like a housecat?"  Alex asked out loud as his eyes surveyed the area.  The sound of a quill scratching brought his attention to a pony that looked remarkably like Trixie with Electrobolt next to her.  "What in Equestria is she doing here?..."  Alex asked with a bit of resentment in his voice.

 

 

 

"Don't mind her. She's the scribe for this place. Don't mind the room. It makes no sense. You'll never find your way out. Not without help. Don't mind me. I'm just here because you told me that you had a deal for me. But... You never said what it was." Key span around and, lying on the ground was the blue furred cat from earlier. "Okay, here's a deal, why don't you let me and my friends out of here?"

 

Alex looked around to see that Key Gear was speaking to a cat that held the same color as her, which seemed strange to Alex....  Even though he did find himself in a strange dungeon like place when he was just at the train.  Alex turned around and tried to break through the cage with his hind hooves.  He bucked, but they did no good.  In fact, he found his entire body was shaking with vibration from the impact before falling down to the ground on his belly.  He shook his head a bit before getting back up.  "I...  I saw that going differently in my mind...."  Alex said to himself begrudgingly before his eyes fell to Flow and Wind Dancer in the cell with him.  "What the?  Why is Wind here?  She didn't do anything to them."  Alex thought to himself as his eyes fell back to the blue coated cat.

 

 

 

The cat shook her head and strolled away from Key, climbing some invisible surface and effortlessly stepping through the bars and into the area wear the pegasus ponies were being held. "Lots of birds here." The cat mentioned, continuing in a funny voice. "One of them can't fly, which might be a problem..."

 

Alex narrowed his eyes at the blue cat as he just realized what the cats were talking about when they mentioned birds on the train.  He felt a tinge of anger to the cat as it called them birds.  "Very funny coming from an oversized carpet."  Alex said to the blue cat, intentionally looking to sting the cat that seemed to capture them.  However the cat just passed out of the bars and proceeded to Electrobolt.

 

"Wait a minute...  It mentioned that one cannot fly...  That makes no sense...  I can fly, Flow says that she is a flying teacher for young pegasi...  Then that leaves..."  Alex thought to himself as he looked over to the two Pegasus mares until his eyes were fixed on Wind's lying form.  In all of this, he forgot to check on the two of them.  Alex walked over to Flow and Wind, kneeling next to them.  "Hey, Flow.  Wind, are you two okay?  Can you move?"  Alex asked them with a hint of concern in his voice.  Alex couldn't honestly think of what it's like to be a Pegasus who couldn't fly.  He found the idea to be so cruel and couldn't help but sympathize with her.  But for now, he needed to help them and others find a way out of this mess...  Which didn't seem apparent to Alex.

[Ice Storm 1,020]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

The fact that Ice Storm still couldn't see anything was a bit unnerving, but if this was how it had to be, then she would have to make due. While what Dusky said may hold true about the fact that no pony should gaze freely into this environment, she couldn't help but feel an aching suspicion that something wasn't right. The first and most obvious thing that she noticed was the ground. Based on what she had been told by Dusky, the realm that they were going to was that of the Frozen North. It was an arctic wasteland with the small exception of the Crystal Empire, and even it was surrounded by what most would call a frozen hell. However, the one odd point that Ice noticed was the ground beneath her.

 

Because of the constant barrage of subzero temperatures, any type of soil that could be found in the rare patches that it had, minus the Empire once again, should be in a permanently frozen state, and thick layers of ice over the ground and large glaciers would be prominent. While she couldn't look around to check for the glaciers, the ground was what had her most concerned. It was thick, soupy and muddy. It was everything that permafrost wasn't, and that shouldn't be at all in a frozen tundra. In fact, based on her knowledge of Ice and tundras, there shouldn't be any give in the land at all unless it had just freshly snowed. Whatever she was walking in, it wasn't snow. She could tell that much at least by the texture under her hooves. She had no idea what this substance was and she honestly wasn't sure if she actually wanted to.

 

When Dusky stopped walking she likewise did so, as to not send them tumbling into Luna knows what could be in front of them. When he started speaking up to her, she listened. He told her that in front of them was an ocean of nightmares. That it was the very essence that made them up so that wondering into them or just touching them would likely lead to a not very good situation. That most would lose themselves even just looking in it. She shivered at the thought and it was definitely something that she didn't want to experience. She had enough nightmares from reliving her past. She didn't need any new ones coming from everypony else.

 

What he said next surprised her a bit as he made mention about her diaper. The comment naturally triggered a blush on her, but it faded rather quickly after she reminded herself that he wasn't judging. He just simply stated that they were not needed here. This confused her a small bit before he mentioned that in this realm, she was whatever she made herself to be. So, while she was still a pony yes, all physical problems were left in the real realm and she didn't have to worry about them here. "If it's all the same, I'd rather leave it on... I may be what I make of myself here, but if these lands are as treacherous as you say they are, and whatever is putting this foal in danger is from this place, it probably already knows everything about me and I'd rather reveal my issues that I have myself rather than a creature of nightmares forces me to reveal it in a method I'd rather not have expressed," she commented. While she may not have needed it, at this point with all the weirdness that was occurring around her, the diaper was the only thing that actually felt normal, and she liked at least a small amount of normal with her weird things.

 

She then listened as he continued. He stated that they were basically in a world of shadow. That it was an artificial place that he created a long time ago with the help of another. He created this place? she thought to herself "Could have made it a little less gloomy and horrifying to visitors, but to each their own," she giggled inwardly at her light humor on the situation.

 

She then paused again and listened as he continued. He stated that he had many plans of trying to do this in the past but most of the time they would end up with him standing here looking over the darkness. There had been times when he'd thought about mustering his strength and trying to muster through it and harness it's power as his own, or failing and receiving destruction. He never really said what kept him from doing so, but Ice chalked it up to the internal will to survive and protect. After all, his goal was to be re-seated as a guardian. That can't realistically happen if he's dead.

 

He then told her something that caught her attention deeply. He told her that magic did in fact exist in this place. That he himself had made it possible for the magic to feed through the very fabric of the world here. He further added that they could use a short cut because he existed in many places at once. That when he said he inhabited nightmares, he meant in the literal sense.

 

When he then stated that there was a mountain off in the distance, Ice caught on that ti was probably the place that they needed to be heading towards, and sure enough Dusky confirmed this only a few moments later, stating that it was where he attempted to seal the creature away. That it existed here, and everywhere else that he occupied.he then stated that he had an idea. That it was a simple idea, and it was much simpler than any he had before. He also added that it would bring the added benefit of saving the life of the young filly and any others that are here.

 

He then told her that her magic was amplified, and that things could be done that couldn't normally be done. He then suggested that with his help they could possibly freeze the ocean and give them a surface to walk on without worrying about what's beneath it. As soon as he suggested it she raised a hoof. "That, won't be an issue. I freeze the entire pond behind my shop by myself every winter for my skating rink. While it's no wear near the size of an ocean, that just means it will take me longer. That pond took me about thirtyish minutes to freeze to the bottom with a layer on top sturdy enough for an entire group of ponies in about fifteen. The only thing I need to know is how thick you want the ice to be. I can have this done in about an hour, or about four depending on how thick you want it," Ice told him very confident in her ability to freeze things, especially if it was amplified. The thought of her magic being stronger than it already was, was making her shiver.

 

 

~~~Wind Dancer~~~

 

 

When Flow told Wind Dancer that she didn't really know what was going on she began to look around. Why would a bunch of cats bee attacking a pony? It didn't make any sense! She watched as Flow went over and stood in front of Key proclaiming that she wouldn't let them hurt her. Then one of the cats actually began speaking. This was almost enough to make Wind bolt of of the car right there. Cat's didn't speak! Or at least that's what she was taught anyways.

 

Before she could do anything though a wave of darkness enveloped her and it felt as if she was getting hit with a torrent of water, yet completely different. It wasn't something she could actually place a licking to with any rational thought as fear engulfed her. Soon the darkness began to fade around her and she was still curled up, but now she found herself trapped in a cage, in a room that was... indescribable at best. She couldn't even make out anything other than the bars. Nothing really made any sense to her and there was no logical path or way of entry for anything.

 

She then heard Flow begin yelling for Key. She then heard the cat mention the unicorn in the back and not to mind her, that she was the scry and to not try to make any sense of the room. That they never would and they'd never get out. "Gee, as if it wasn't obvious..." she mouthed under her breath. The way that cat spoke irritated her. She then spotted Key Gear and another cat that she was trying to follow. Wind would have followed but first she'd need to find a way out of this cage.

 

Then Alex approached her and Flow and asked if they was okay. "I'd be better if I had a bit more space. I can't really fly for any length of time, but if I had more space, I could use the wind to our advantage. That's one thing that's always set my dance act above others is the fact that my dancing can control the winds around me to flow with me. The only issue is, these bars," she said moving up to them and inspecting them. "I have no idea what these are made out of, and considering that nothing else in this room makes sense, I'm doubting these are what they seem as well.... I think that's the trick to getting out of here. Find the path that makes sense, and then do the opposite," she spoke aloud.

Edited July 9, 2013 by Ice Storm

[Key Gear 6,663]

(OOC: This is a wall of text. It is a... Rather... Massive one. This is also the most important post in this RP on several points. Before you respond, please take time to consider your response very carefully. Read, and then sleep on it. Take your time, please. Of course, don't delay too much. I want to see what happens next. Also, I couldn't bring myself to proofread this as thoroughly as I normally do. It was late, and I am a bit surprised by some things in here. It disturbs my ability to concentrate. If you see obvious flaws, let me know on Skype.)

 

 

“I'm not really sure where the words I wrote came from. I'm not sure of much things in regards to the book. You see, it was an almost empty book. It.... It called to me. Midnight, I've never told anyone this, but I feel I need to if I am to explain properly. My cutie mark. It is a closed book. It is closed because there are no words on its pages.” Lapis tried to stop himself, but holding it in for all this time was wearing away at him.

 

Midnight carefully observed the earth pony while he talked. She was attentively listening to his words, but she was also watching him for any reaction or hesitation that would contribute unspoken meaning to them. In this situation, what was said and what was not said were of equal importance. Omissions and actions... She was always good at picking them up. It was her gift to be able to form a more detailed understanding of her surroundings than the normal pony.

 

His first statements concluded. She showed no reaction, but on the inside, she was both pleased and perplexed. As he continued to speak, she pored over his words at a frenzied pace, tossing and turning them over in her own mind. His words were all that she had to go by, because his actions were few. It was something that she found reassuring. If he had been what she thought, then she was sure that he would have certainly taken some step, any step, to repay her rashness.

 

 

 

“I am much like an empty book. And as I wrote in this book with so few words, the pictures came to me. I just wrote, the pencil guided by some sort of half dream. So, beyond the two ponies I recognize, Asteria and Magicon, it makes very little sense indeed. Of course, I perfectly understood the first chapter I had wrote. That had actually happened to me. I was there, at least. If I may ask, who do I remind you of? And I know little of dreams. I think they're just simple images that come to mind while asleep. From much of the nightmares I've had, I'd say they're unhelpful.” Lapis said thoughtfully. The presence of the sword was making him a little shaky. He tried to act casual, though. Worrying about it would only make it harder to speak.

 

Her eyes widened, just slightly. His words were familiar to her, but he uttered them with the absolute ignorance of a child. She held the sword steady, but she felt the immediate urge to lower it and put it away. This pony was nothing like she had believed him to be. As if reading her thoughts, the stallion asked her a question the he had, at this point, every right to ask. Who did he remind her of? It was a valid inquiry, indeed. But, she didn't answer. She continued to listen intently.

 

 

 

“I also know little about dragons. I fled from one once, and that's about it. Unless you mean scholarly. I've read a few books on them, if only to prepare myself in case of an unfortunate encounter. I'm not a dragonologist, though, so please don't quiz me.” Lapis said in a failed attempt at humor. He felt a bit of heat on his cheeks and hoped Midnight wouldn't notice.

 

The humor was so horrible that she actually winced, and she stifled the urge to groan. She thanked Celestia that her hooves were remarkably steady. It was a sharp blade. Just a simple wince might have been enough to cause the blade to slip against his neck. She noticed his slight blush, and her haze cleared nearly completely. This was the same stallion that she had caught a glimpse of back in the room, weeping over the loss of his filly. He was real, and he was not without some kind of heart. She moved the blade some inches away from him.

 

 

 

“Although, I was told a story about a dragon. And a guardian of some sort as well. It was only yesterday, so I shouldn't have too hard a time relating it if you wish.” He took a deep breath and summarized Dusky's story for Midnight. He felt as though she might know it, though. “Other than that, I really don't know much else.” Just like Midnight's eyes, Lapis' were a swirl of emotions. Except his were a mixture of fear, confusion, curiosity, and admiration. But his expression might have been described as one of embarrassment.

 

She listened patiently as Lapis continued to talk. She allowed him to continue and to finish without interruption. Finally, she took a deep breath and watched the stallion in silence for a moment, while she thought. She ignored his discomfort. The turmoil in her eyes quieted completely to a certain contemplative dullness, her normal expression. When she finished her thoughts, she lowered the blade. She turned her back to the stallion and trotted back to where the blade had originally laid. There, she returned it to its sheath.

 

Still facing away from him, she spoke. "I'm at ease again, and I apologize for my action. To you, it must have seemed rash, but trust me, I am not a hasty or foolish pony. My actions have reasons, intelligent reasons." She smiled pleasantly, and she collected her saddlebag and replaced some of its contents - preparing to depart. "We're on even ground, Lapis. I owe you some answers, but I would prefer to provide them while we move. This incident has wasted enough time. I am certain that your filly is well, but I am also certain that a number of other things are not. Unless I am mistaken, we have some distance to cover, and not much time in which to do it."

 

She trotted to her desk and carefully opened a weathered drawer. Inside of the desk, there was a sheathed dagger. She tossed the strap over her neck and spoke simply, looking away from Lapis. "I actually prefer daggers to swords. I collect them. I just like them. No real reason. My sword? I only have the one, and I only keep it because it is not a simple weapon." She trotted to the sword, examined it for a bit, and then tossed it to the stallion. "You may need this today. Make sure you give it back though, and don't cut yourself in the meantime. It's sharp. I'm not the best medic. Excessive injury might end poorly. By the way, I hope you aren't a sluggish pony..."

 

She smiled broadly and her eyes sparkled, then the expression was gone, replaced by seriousness. For the time though, she said nothing further. Instead, her actions spoke for her. She trotted to the door and opened it, revealing a rather empty hallway. Without a word, she entered the hall and trotted speedily down its length, moving with a certain vibrancy and silent grace. As she did so, other rooms could be seen to the left and right. Most of the rooms were completely empty, but there were a library and a kitchen present. She opened another door and the remnants of a destroyed village stretched out ominously in front of her. She hesitated for a moment as she took in the sight.

 

"Something has happened. This is what we are supposed to see, but it is not as it should be seen. We do have some distance to travel. This place has grown larger." She stepped outside and began to cautiously find her way. At each intersection, she would stop, rapidly examine the destroyed structures, and then choose a direction, moving swiftly to the next point of interest. While she travelled, she spoke in an even tone. She was careful to not allow her voice to carry too far.

 

"I have been thinking about your questions and how I should answer them. You present me with a problem, Lapis. You are able and intelligent. Yet, you are so remarkably ignorant. Like a young colt given honors in his classes, you have the ability to reason but you lack the maturity to know what is prudent to reason about. You lack discretion, focus. Your attention wanders. You are not an empty book. You are a book filled with many words but lacking a table of contents or an index. You have accumulated knowledge, but you lack the wisdom to know what to do with it or even if anything can be done with it at all. You are, despite your most noble intentions, a foolish pony." As she finished speaking, a strange passion could be heard in her words.

 

"I cannot answer your questions fully. Without guidance, so much knowledge could endanger everypony that you come into contact with, including me. I trust you will appreciate that I am at least somewhat self-interested." She reached a portion of the town that was nearly completely destroyed. Carefully, she began to make her way through the rubble. "Follow me, exactly. Do exactly as I do." She carefully navigated the virtual maze as she continued to talk. "You'll just have to trust me. Not just in finding our way but trusting that I know what you should and shouldn't know."

 

She hopped across a small gap. "But, I will not leave you in the dark." She suddenly span around to face him; it was a single motion, both electric and strangely graceful. She was trotting backwards, watching him with wildly twinkling eyes. She spoke at a faster rate, with a whimsical voice. "Not that there is anything wrong with darkness. It is where knowledge is found, you see. I like the dark, Lapis. Don't you?" She turned back around and continued normally. "You reminded me of a pony like me. A scribe. In the beginning, we were close. We grew apart. I am currently in the process of betraying him. I doubt he would care even if he knew, but when I saw you and your demeanor... It was unexpected. You see, he is a shapeshifter. I preferred to take no chances. It's better to be upfront when presented with possible deception."

 

She sniffed dismissively. "I was like you once, Lapis. A book that didn't know my own contents, but thankfully, neither of us were ever like him. He is a cold pony. His heart bleeds for nothing. His passions are all mechanical. His intelligence is marred by a lack of ability to see the obvious. He is neither good nor evil. He simply is, and that means that he is nothing. He should exist, I think, to serve some narrow purpose and nothing further." She smirked. "I trust you, it seems. I've told you all this. You'd be a fool to not know of whom I speak. Though, again, I doubt he would care. He is so far above us that it really is a marvel. He can't see things. He can't see the obvious, despite all of his ability. He lacks wisdom and presence of mind, despite his many years."

 

They had reached a massive ruined building. Her voice lowered to a whisper that carried surprisingly well. "Stay close. I'm not stopping, not slowing down. Pacing is important here. This is not a normal structure." She stepped inside without hesitation, carefully finding her way through the shadows. She continued. "I don't fear him. Not really. I fear nothing. With study, all things can be understood, and a prudent course of action can be made. That is what we pursue now... A prudent course. But, I fear you are behind in your studies. You said that dreams were simple images. That's a cute thing to say, like a young foal that has just learned to speak and misspeaks his mother's name. Sadly, your words are also untrue... Well, at least you talk. This means that I can teach."

 

A vibrancy crept into her whisper as she continued to talk. "Dreams are more than simple images. There are cases when multiple ponies share the same dream. There are moments when a dream presages a future event. There are ponies that can manipulate and control dreams as they walk in them, living out abstract fantasies. Dreams carry emotion. It is not uncommon to awaken with joy, fear, expectation, tears - all from dreams. You are an intelligent pony, Lapis. It should be obvious now that there is more to a dream than a sequence of simple images. They speak, directly, to our hopes, fears, passions... They pull their nature from our own essences. They are beautiful, complex, impressive. They demand proper study. Proper study from you, I think?"

 

"We do not have the time for proper study here, so maybe a just some snippets of knowledge." She reached a door, opened it and carefully stepped down into a tunnel. The tunnel was dimly lit, by a strange shadowy iridescence. A strange liquid, denser than water and clear, flowed around her hooves. She froze and stared straight ahead. "I see. Follow me, quickly please, and don't look behind us. Don't splash, please." She trotted at a quick place, stepping carefully to avoid making too much noise. Her whisper dropped in volume. "The place we began. That was a place between worlds. Like the scribe that I mentioned, that world is comprised of a certain formlessness."

 

She allowed herself a bitter, silent laugh. "Right now, we're supposed to still be there. We aren't. We are walking in a diluted form of the substance of nightmare. This explains your filly's predicament. Apparently, I was not the only one with my own plans, but at least my plans made sense and limited damage..." She picked up her pace. "An oblivious guardian is a sorry guardian, filled with weaknesses, and ripe for challenges. No amount of strength can render anyone immune to failure. Strength is just one attribute of many. Too much strength can be a weakness... If this liquid is here, then this means that other things will follow. I think that's enough to know for now. This way. Don't fall behind."

 

She darted to the left, down a nearly unseen passage. The ground beneath her hooves was dry on the slightly higher ground. She galloped until she skid to a stop at the edge of the passage and trotted up a small flight of stairs to a door. She continued speaking in her earlier tone. "Well. You should know about scribes. Earlier, you described how you wrote, guided by a half dream. That is exactly how a scribe sees things. Maybe you have the ability to some degree? We can see things but not with perfect clarity. We can also write things. We can write what is, what we wish to be, and what was. If we choose to, we can influence all three to a limited degree... It depends on the scribe."

 

She opened the door without moving. It was another tunnel. An oddly rhythmic scratching sound could be heard. She placed a hoof on her dagger and stepped forward, calmly. To her left was the source of the sound, another door. It was closed and locked, apparently, but there was a rhythmic, sporadic noise behind it. She visibly bristled with anger for a moment, her eyes burning with a wild fury, before returning to calm. "Well. I know another way." Her words were steely. She continued directly down the tunnel, making a right at an intersection halfway down. She continued. "Some scribes do more than influence. They are powerful enough to create things. Things like this place..."

 

She opened a door and started to step in, but she froze. "Ah." In front of them was a vast, cavernous room. Even from where they stood, it was easily apparent that the ceiling was filled with thousands and thousands of tiny cracks. From the cracks, something was seeping. It was a mixture of what seemed like ordinary water and something else - something that moved independently of the water itself. There was a raised path around the perimeter of the wall, providing a dry route. She whispered, extremely softly. "Well. This is a problem. I don't know a third way. Follow me. Don't stare. Don't say anything unless I say something."

 

She took a step into the room, and a purring voice spoke, seemingly from the liquid that was gathering in the center of the room. "No. You should stare. It's perfectly safe. Actually, jump in. Relax. Take a load off. It's like a day at a beach. I would like one of those. Hey... Let's make conversation. You seem like a couple of serious ponies. Too serious. No fun at all. I can help you. Hey, green pony. Do you like what I've done here? Mmm?" Midnight ignored the voice and continued walking. There was a splash. A large cat began to take shape from the dark, swirling fluid. It was the same panther that Lapis had seen in the room, but slightly larger. It spoke, hissing strangely. "Mmm... Don't leave me. I won't let you leave." The gathering form of the cat took a step towards them.

 

Midnight stopped trotting but said nothing, still. The voice continued to speak. "Why didn't you fly? Wings clipped? You could have reached them sooner. Too bad. Now they're dead, but I may be lying. You'll never know at this rate. They're fine though. Not my target. Asteria is a smart pony. Very smart. Are you looking for her? You're going the right way. Too bad you didn't go the other way. Much more fun. It's pointless, though. You should dive in here, with me. You'll never find her. Not at this rate. Might as well make the most of your time. Anyway, I think I'll keep her. She named me, you know? I'm Bringer now. I bet you want to know what I'm bringing... Ah, but wait... Mmm.... Maybe you already do?" The cat took another step, then another. He had stopped talking.

 

Midnight took a look at Lapis and then chanced a glance at the cat, as if measuring them both. The cat grew closer. Rippling muscles and fiercely glowing eyes could now be seen plainly. Midnight's voice broke the silence. "We want to play a game. Riddles, maybe a joke. My friend is good at both. Quite skilled. He will amuse you." She pointed at Lapis. Her face was an unreadable mask. The cat's yellow eyes twinkled unstably. "Oh yes? Well. That sounds fun! I was getting so terribly bored for a bit. I'm happy you decided to play with me." He pointed at Lapis. "Tell me something funny? Or, maybe, tell me a lie? I like those. Are you really any good at that though? I hope you are..." While the cat spoke, Midnight had taken out some paper, and she began to write carefully, completely unnoticed by the big cat.

 

---

 

 

 

"Yes, I do have something for you... Some questions that I hope you would be able to answer for me. But first, I will answer your question. That sounds like a fair deal, doesn't it? An answer for an answer?"

 

The small cat squeaked with delight, but she contained her expression of joy immediately. She began to slowly circle him, giving the appearance of being completely nonchalant. She listened to Electrobolt's answers, nodding when he described their earlier encounter and his reasons for not striking her. She stopped and hissed softly with laughter when he mentioned her resemblance to his sister.

 

 

 

Electrobolt then took this opportunity to stand and stretch before sitting back down and looking at the cat. "Anyways, now that I answered your question, hopefully you can answer some of my questions. First off, you mentioned that those cats were nightmares...? What exactly do you mean by that...? And this place... I was watching you walk around, as if you knew how to get around... I was wondering if you knew where this place was...? I mean, if we're no longer on the train, then are we in an entirely different realm...?"

 

The cat stopped, right in front of him. She surveyed him appraisingly as he continued to speak. She smiled, slightly. It was an unusual expression for a cat. She purred, but eyed the scribe curiously. Her own eyes betraying a clearly perceptible uncertainty. She rolled over a few times and idly swatted at the air, before glancing at the scribe again. The scribe continued to write as she watched, showing no reaction to or acknowledgement of the cat's stare.

 

 

 

Looking away for a moment, Electrobolt closed his eyes and sighed. "And that darkness... It was just like the other night in room 8... The shadow had taken me and Key, and I was taken to this one place... Completely in the darkness, yet I could also barely see something in the distance... A creature of sorts, but I am unable to exactly recall what I saw... I wonder if that place I got taken to has any relation to this place if at all..." With a sigh, he shook his head before putting a hoof to his forehead. "I'm sorry, I had spoken what was on my mind there without meaning to... You can disregard that if you wish. Also, before I forget... What is your name, if I may ask?" He then pulled his hoof away as he looked at the cat, hoping for some answers.

 

The cat's eyes grew large and alarmed at the mention of a creature in the similar room. The scribe stopped writing and stood, still facing away from the rest of them. Hissing softly, the small cat spoke, and her eyes darted to the scribe and then back towards Electrobolt. She hoped that he would see her meaning. "Don't mention the creature." Her neutral demeanor returned. "I don't have a name, but you're welcome to call me something. Something pleasant, I would hope."

 

She coughed slightly before continuing. "Yeah, well. I don't know exactly what a nightmare is. I just live here. Right here. This place is my home. That's how I know my way around. As to where this place is... Well. That's complicated. Technically, I think it's nowhere. That's the whole point to this place. I get sick of the other nightmares. I like to be alone. Eh... Thinking about things. Yeah. That's what I do. I think about things." The cat hissed with laughter and glanced at the scribe before continuing. "I just lied to you. About something. So, I guess that means that this deal doesn't count? We'll need another one."

 

The cat's ears twitched, and when she spoke again, her voice seemed to come from several places in the room, including by Key Gear and the pegasus ponies. In her own area, Key Gear jumped at the sound of the voice behind her. She had been watching the cat with increasing tenseness. The repeated glances at the Trixie look-alike were not lost on Key Gear, and when the "scribe" stood, Key nearly stopped breathing. She was concerned, greatly concerned for Electrobolt's safety, he was in the same cell with the cat and the "scribe". Key didn't believe that this pony was a scribe, really, whatever that was.

 

The pony seemed odd looking. When Key squinted, she could see that there was just a faint glow around her. When the mare stood, the motion had been completely odd. This Trixie, she had moved almost like a puppet. Key watched the small blue cat. Mercifully, its own movements were fluid. As the cat continued to speak, Key listened intently. "I have a new deal for you. I want something that I think you can give me. Give me a name. Something that I would like. Yeah, but... Don't name me Key. I look like your sister, but I'm not. That's a lame name anyway." The cat snickered at the sound of a soft growl behind her, coming from Key's direction. "I'm joking. I like the name, really. But, it wouldn't be my name..."

 

She turned away from Electrobolt, and her voice became unreadable. "I want a name, Bolt. I want a name for me, for me alone, you see. I want one, badly. Here in this place... A name... It means something. It means something important. You have to have a name to be a scribe... Then, with a name, scribes can do things... Expressive stuff, you know? Writing, singing, dancing... Anything... They can tell a story... Change things. Make things happen. Errr... Not that this is what I want. I don't. I don't care for that. But, I do want a name. A lot. Anyways... Think me up one, will yah? ... Mmmm. Oh yeah, while you do that... Heya... I heard your birds talking about this place, Bolt. Yeah, I hear everything in here. They want to leave the cage. They don't understand."

 

The sound of her voice dropped to a near whisper, but it could be heard throughout the room. "This is not a normal place. You cannot simply fly out. You would have more luck dancing your way out of here than flying out. Dancing and thinking about something. Freedom maybe? The freedom of flight? I think, you know. I wish I could dance and think about flying. I can't, though. I've never flown anywhere. I don't dance. Well. Not any good at it anyway. I just go places. Instantly. Like how you all got here. Can't move more than myself, though. I leave a lot behind, everywhere I go... But, if I could dance and think about flying, then I bet I could take things from here. Like my lunch. I left it somewhere. Birds or something. I wasn't hungry, so I didn't eat them."

 

---

 

 

 

Summerfall slightly tensed when the last word left Luminescence tongue. It seemed that the filly was about to share her the secret that once traumatized her of cats. Either way, there was something she would have to address before answering the question. "Luminescence, before I answer your question, I want to ask you for something. After this you will have to tell me the name of these ponies who... adopted you," Summerfall seethed. She didn't make any attempt to hide her disgust at the word 'adopt.' She sighed and closed her eyes for a second to calm herself down before continuing. There would be no use to stay upset at front of Luminescence. "If it is a job you are looking for, I can give you something to do under me. We can talk about it later when we arrived in Los Pegasus. I would recommend you to follow me for a while. After I finished my business in Los Pegasus, I would have to go back to Ponyville to fetch my brother, and then after that we would pick a train to Baltimare, and then after that... I promised my brother that he would be the one who would pick our last destination, but knowing him it would be a lake resort or tourist attraction."

 

The filly blinked, and her red eyes seemed to show a strange emotion for just a moment. It was a single emotion prompted by Summer's request for the name of her adoptive parents. It was a strange mixture of amusement, anger, sadness, and curiosity. It lingered in her eyes only, and a single tear started to form. Luminescence quickly wiped it away, and blanked her expression completely, as best as she could. It was futile. Summer's offer shocked her completely, and Luminescence's red eyes shot open wide and glimmered enchantingly. She contained the surprise in jut a few seconds though, while Summer continued to speak.

 

 

 

"While for your question, I believe darkness is a rather subjective term," Summerfall momentarily scrunched her face in thought. "Some might say that dark is merely the lack of light and nothing to be afraid of, while others might say that the suffocating darkness is terrifying in its own terms. I personally had no problem with the darkness. One of my favorite pastime activities is to read books alone in my apartment while all lights are off, but I guess that was not the kind of darkness you're talking about."

 

A small smile graced the filly's face. It was not the same smile that she had worn earlier, though. This one was different. It was not a cold smile; it was distant, tinged with sadness. Her head nodded slightly, but it was not in agreement with Summerfall. Instead, it was rhythmic, to some sound, heard only to her. She stopped almost as soon as she had started. It was becoming slightly harder to concentrate. She knew the feeling well, all too well. She felt a tightness in her stomach.

 

 

 

Summerfall tapped her chin. She was not the one who would normally spend her time thinking about such abstract concept. "If I have to be honest, I'm not afraid of the darkness. It is the uncertainty and the unknown factor that the dark might hide behind it that would worry me. If the darkness would be in an enclosed space, on which I have a control of what's inside it, then I would not be scared of it. If the darkness is vast and unexplored, but I have somepony capable with me, then I would not be scared. But if I am to be alone in the middle of nothingness, then I'll have to say that such premise terrify me."

 

Luminescence stared at Summer. She was certain, now, that she had never met a pony that could think as well as Summer did. The answer was reassuring. Summer was able to articulate, so plainly, what she herself had struggled to understand for so long. Now, she wondered... Her mind went back to Summer's earlier answers... All of them. This latest one was merely the last in an unplanned sequence that painted a picture. It was a picture that she would have to use to guide her now. In reflection, it seemed odd that no other pony could have told her all of these things before this very moment. There was nothing that she could do, now, but to think and do her best. It might be a game.

 

 

 

Summerfall looked behind her, just to make sure that the door was still locked. She then turned back to Luminescence and spoke, "do you have something that disturbs you? If you want to share it with me, then I would be happy to hear it. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe." She smiled. It might sounded like a promise that she wouldn't be able to keep if things went to the worst, but at least she would make sure that she wouldn't be so quick to neglect Luminescence.

 

The moment had arrived. Luminescence took a deep breath and steadied herself against the increasing feeling of dread within her. She spoke calmly, but her eyes betrayed her strain. "Summer. First... I will tell you about the ponies that adopted me. I will tell you this because it is connected with what disturbs me, and it is important. Their names. They no longer have names. They were taken away from them, and they are no longer with us." She took another deep breath and closed her eyes, when she opened them, she continued calmly. "Something happened..."

 

"I will start where this began. It was the day that they abandoned me. I was there, Summer, in the forest. I was completely alone, and they had carried me some distance into the forest. It was... Unpleasant. You see, as I said, I wasn't quite in a normal state at that time. My imaginary game, it was real in my head. I could see what was happening, but I was powerless to do anything. I couldn't talk to them. I... I would have begged for my life, but I didn't have the opportunity. They simply left me there, and there I remained, delusional."

 

"I think that I was dying. I had used too much of my magic, and... Well, I think that something happened to me. I know this sounds strange, but..." Luminescence looked away and an expression of shame came over her face. "I am not a normal unicorn. You may have noticed that my coat looks somewhat odd sometimes. Well, it is because I am glowing. In total darkness, you would see. The source of the glow is my magic. I waste it, constantly. I can't stop, and it hurts me. In fact, I feel some pain even now. I ignore it."

 

"I was... Then... In so much pain. I had so little magic left. I believe that it was leaving me faster than I could regain it, somehow. Because of this, something was happening to me. I am not sure what... But, I was dying. I am certain of this. I could feel myself... Leaving." She looked back and stared straight ahead as she continued. "They left me there in the early hours of the morning. I remained there until the late hours of the night. When nightfall came, I was finally beginning to realize the nature of my situation."

 

"I forced myself to my hooves. I was terrified. I tried to move forward, but my delusions... They were still just as bad. I knew they weren't real, but they were there. I could hear voices as well, telling me to just rest some more. Help would come for me in the daylight hours. They were lying to me. I tried to ignore them, but it was like they were real. The pain that I felt... It felt like they were grabbing me, forcing me back down. I fell and I stood several more times. My coat... The glow wasn't dim then, it was bright, Summer, but it was some kind of dark light. I hated it."

 

"I started to say things back to the voices. Horrible things... Things that a young pony should never say. But, I was angry and scared. I think... That all of this noise was what attracted the predators to me. Timberwolves. When the first one appeared, my visions were silenced, but my strength was gone again. I fell. More timberwolves arrived. I think that my light both scared them and intrigued them. They didn't attack, but finally one of them approached me. I was just lying there. I had no defense. I closed my eyes. I thought I would be killed, right then."

 

"But, nothing happened. Instead, something flashed and there was the smell of something horrible. When I opened my eyes, there was something right there in front of them. It had destroyed the timberwolf that had come towards me, and the other timberwolves were frozen in place. This thing... It was some type of... Well. I don't know. It had many wings, it glowed from the inside, and... It was covered in eyes, all staring in many different directions. It was small, just my size. I know it sounds horrible, but... I thought it was such a pretty thing..."

 

"In the darkness, it spoke to me. The voice was... Normal, friendly, a little happy. I didn't really understand it, but I felt that it would help me. I felt that it was making a deal of some kind with me. I spoke with it, and I didn't even understand my own words. We were speaking some kind of different language; one that I didn't know that I knew. It wanted a name. Well... I thought about how I was... Dying. I named it Wraith, because it came to me then. Then, I reached out to it. I touched it, and it wanted something else. It wanted a form."

 

"I love dogs. That was the first thing that came to me. But, I was surrounded by wolves, and they were no longer stunned. They were moving now, circling. They were afraid of the creature, but it was so small. They were so big, and they were angry. The circle was growing smaller. I wanted something. I wanted an enemy to dogs. I wanted a cat. I spoke in that strange language, and I made it a cat, a big one. It became a massive panther with a coat as dark as the night and that glowed like mine. Her eyes were blazing yellow, like a strong panther's should be."

 

"The timberwolves had, I think, seen enough. They attacked, but they were no match. My cat destroyed them all. She protected me from them all, and when they were gone, she carried me to safety... Eventually, I fell asleep. Summer. That cat. The one in the dining car. It resembles my cat exactly. Not only this, but... I know it is her. I can feel it even now. She saved me that day, but... Only to try to use me, just like those other ponies had... You see... When I awakened, I was there. I was in my world. The one that I had created. It was real. The whole thing."

 

"All of my characters, the ones that I had imagined... They were all there, and I was able to control them. At first, I was certain that I had died, and that, somehow, to be in my own world was my punishment and reward for the fool that I had been. But, it wasn't true, Summer. I saw evidence that someone other that me was controlling the world. Eventually I found her. She looked like me, but she wasn't. I think she was my cat. She challenged me to some games. They were all my own games though. Of course, I won. I won... I think it had to have been thousands of games."

 

"But, the games didn't end, and I began to feel weaker. It was just like what those other ponies had done to me. I was being used... Drained... In this case... I think it was for amusement. She was using me to keep herself entertained. She claimed to be my friend. She wasn't. Eventually, I made a trap for her. I was able to escape. Finally, I woke up. I was in a hospital. I had, apparently, been unconscious for some time. The cat was there. Next to my bed. I had the nurses to take it away from me. I hated her."

 

"The next day, I was released. I... Was still weak, but I went in search of the ponies that had harmed me. I wanted to hurt them. I had something planned. I was going to teleport them 30 feet down. Straight down. No one would ever know. No one would ever hear from them, again. They would become dirt. I never had the chance. When I reached the place where they had been. They were gone. The door was unlocked. I went in. There was no trace. I went around, asking about their fate. They had wandered into the forest and been eaten by timberwolves. But... It had happened before the day that they had even harmed me. It made no sense."

 

"But... It made sense later... When I visited my imaginary world. You know... The one that I keep in my head. I had missed it. Well. The cat... She was there. In my thoughts. She told me what she had done to those ponies. She had taken their names. Changed their very existences somehow. She was bored. She wanted me to take her back, she wanted a reward. She wanted to be free of something... I didn't understand, and she attacked me. I was able to beat her because I control the world. But, I was tired afterwards. Very tired. I had to rest. This has happened to me many times since that time. But... It is worth it."

 

The filly suddenly shuddered and stared intensely at Summer. "It isn't in my head, you see. The world is still real... Just like it was when I was unconscious in the hospital..." She looked away, catching herself. "But... It was only mine, I thought. I didn't know that... It could appear out here, outside of my control... This isn't my world, this is the real world... That cat is here. My cat is here, and I am just a normal filly in this place. I have no power to create things, to change things. How will I fight her... Summer... You may not be able to keep me safe... Nor I you. And. She is here, you know. Right here."

 

Luminescence caught her breath, suddenly, and covered her face with her hooves. Her voice remained steady, but it was plainly strained. "You should open the door, Summer. It was her in the room across from this one. It was my panther... My cat... She's different though, I can feel it. That was why I couldn't recognize her. Something is wrong with her. She is no longer my cat, she never was. But, now she is even less so. Let her in. We may have to play a game. It is the only way. It is the best way, I think..." Outside of the door, a gentle purring could be heard.

 

The filly uncovered her eyes, and the red was tinted, increasingly, by yellow. Her voice seemed to vary as she spoke, between a strange androgynous tone and her normal voice. "I should teleport you away from here... Summer... I feel bored, quite bored. You should go. Leave me here. I can teleport you away. Is this what I should do? Maybe, this is how it was always meant to be for me? My own world, I become a victim of my refuge. It is poetic, if somewhat mundane... Poetic? I'm just a filly... I haven't lived yet... Why should I die now... I can fight. Summer... Help me... If you can... Don't leave me... But, I want you to be safe. You've been so nice to me. I'm so confused..."

 

She put her hooves to her head, and her horn glowed somewhat. Outside of the door, the purring turned into an earsplitting hiss and then was silent for a moment. Then, the sound of a scratching at the door. Luminescence's eyes blazed with a bright crimson, her horn blazed with a brighter silver light. The sound was silenced. She spoke with her normal voice, focused and concentrated. "Summer, I apologize for that. As I said earlier, I think that something bad about to happen. I... The cat... I think she is trying to control me somehow. I guess it makes sense... Because... We are not entirely separate. I should never have touched that creature... But, I can resist it. Just... Do not open that door, under any circumstances."

 

She breathed steadily, but she began to sweat from the effort. "We have a moment to think of a step to take. I... I can teleport you away. But, I do not know if I can get you to a safe place. For this to be happening... It may already be too late. But, if you wish me to, I can try for you. If not, then... Maybe you can help me to fix whatever has happened? I think that you would be saving my life. This cat. It needs me for some purpose, and I believe that this purpose... Involves my death. I heard your words. I know what you think about this. That is why I am giving you a chance. Would you save me? Now? If not, then I will have to do my best to save you."

 

She smiled despite the increasing strain. "You see. When I asked the question... How much are you willing to give... I meant for the both of us. Which of us will save the other? For you, Summerfall... I would give my life. You have... Been far kinder to me than even my own parents... I have learned more from you in these brief moments that we have been together than I have from many other ponies. I thank you. To me, you are not a stranger. I love you... Perhaps I love too easily... I have always suspected this, but it doesn't matter. I can try to save you? Or, if you care for me... Perhaps, you would like to try to save me? I guess... Try is all we can do. There is no certainty in this. The probabilities are unknown."

 

---

 

 

 

"If it's all the same, I'd rather leave it on... I may be what I make of myself here, but if these lands are as treacherous as you say they are, and whatever is putting this foal in danger is from this place, it probably already knows everything about me and I'd rather reveal my issues that I have myself rather than a creature of nightmares forces me to reveal it in a method I'd rather not have expressed," she commented. While she may not have needed it, at this point with all the weirdness that was occurring around her, the diaper was the only thing that actually felt normal, and she liked at least a small amount of normal with her weird things.

 

Dusky blinked when she finished her first sentence, and he looked from Ice Storm the the vast ocean and back again. He repeated this process several times, even as she continued to speak. Somehow, he knew what she meant before she even said it, and the momentary thought confused him because it was accompanied by a feeling. It was a feeling that he had not felt in what seemed like ages. He closed his eyes and searched his memory for its meaning. It only took a few seconds, but the time that he searched went far beyond the lifespans of most normal ponies.

 

It was fear, and the moment he recognized it, he searched, just as quickly, for why he felt it. Why now? After all that he had been though, after all that he had done. There was a day when he could clearly remember that he had stood on the edge and stepped into the stuff of nightmares. He had stared, defiantly out into it, daring it. It had responded, of course, but eventually it quieted. He had felt no fear. Yet, now, even with the help of another strong unicorn and a sound plan, he felt fear. It made no sense.

 

There had to be some reason for the feeling that he felt. There must have been some reason for his unsteadiness. As he continued to think, he realized that it wasn't only fear that was affecting him. There was another emotional impulse, and this was the one, more powerful feeling, that had distracted him when he first met Ice Storm. It was hope. He had never come so close to freedom. Now, he was here, with another, facing the strongest opponent that he had ever met. What if his hopes turned out to be in vain? What if he could not save Asteria?

 

Of course, he had bested the Ocean of Nightmare when he only needed to match its influence in the world of dreams, but this was different. He would be using magic, powerful magic, on it. A thought occurred to him that only served to magnify the seed of fear into a small sapling. What if, the first time he faced it and subsequent times, the Ocean had merely let him win? What if it had been toying with him? What if it had treated him as nothing more than a small component of its own plans? Dusky licked his lips as the thought settled, the possibility of failure.

 

 

 

He then told her that her magic was amplified, and that things could be done that couldn't normally be done. He then suggested that with his help they could possibly freeze the ocean and give them a surface to walk on without worrying about what's beneath it. As soon as he suggested it she raised a hoof. "That, won't be an issue. I freeze the entire pond behind my shop by myself every winter for my skating rink. While it's no wear near the size of an ocean, that just means it will take me longer. That pond took me about thirtyish minutes to freeze to the bottom with a layer on top sturdy enough for an entire group of ponies in about fifteen. The only thing I need to know is how thick you want the ice to be. I can have this done in about an hour, or about four depending on how thick you want it," Ice told him very confident in her ability to freeze things, especially if it was amplified. The thought of her magic being stronger than it already was, was making her shiver.

 

He glanced towards Ice Storm. There was, he now realized, another reason that he felt fear. This moment would mark only the second time in his life that he had used magic and not his influence over the world to fight a thing of nightmare. The first time... It had been in the defense of his village, which was so long ago and against a vastly small opponent. Even then, in the company of so many unicorns, there had been casualties. It was another thing that he had not considered. Ice Storm was, despite her strength, not invulnerable.

 

Stronger unicorns than her had fallen against the creature that he had encountered. Of course, he was stronger now and wiser, but he had not been weak or a fool at that time. If she died, then he would be left alone, to face something that had a level of power that, he now realized, was unknown. His thoughts froze as they took in a horrible, bitter irony. He turned his head to see the village that was some distance behind him. It was one village, but it represented two histories. Both, had ended in darkness.

 

He had created this place, ultimately, as a memorial to his own failures as a guardian. The first village had been his own, it was a smaller one. The second village had been that of the unicorns that had taken him in, it was a larger one. They were both merged here, as one tribute to his own weaknesses. Unicorns had died in the battle with the creature. He had failed to protect them. Unicorns had died at his own claws when he attacked the second village. He had become a monster. He held up a hoof and looked at it, contemplating it.

 

A strange sing song voice emerged in his memory. It was from the other day, when he had ventured into the market in Ponyville. It was asking a question. What was he? Was he a monster or was he a pony? If he was a monster, then why was he even doing this, now. Why care? It would mean that he was nothing more than an embodiment of mindless power, just like the ocean in front of them. If he was a pony, then... He would need to be careful, far more careful than he had originally planned on being. He blinked. It was a second chance. He could succeed where he had once failed. He could be a guardian, a guardian of ponies, just one pony for now. He glanced at Ice Storm.

 

She had finished speaking. He started to calculate, quickly and in silence, drawing from what knowledge he had on the size and depth of the ocean. With the amplification, his objective was certainly possible. He smiled grimly before speaking. "Hmmm... Ice Storm... I would like to freeze the entire ocean, not just some measure of the surface. Every last bit of its contents. It is the only way to make the rest of the plan possible. This ocean is not the pond behind your shop, but with amplification and working together, it could be possible to freeze it within a comparable amount of time... In addition, you were right... We need to be careful, and I..."

 

He caught himself before finished the sentence. He was unwilling to explain to her that he had not quite fully pondered the extent of the danger that they now faced. After a split second, he continued normally. "I will be taking a few basic precautions, such as a durable shield and a magical 'net' over the surface of the water. The shield would protect against the possibility of any unexpected basic attacks. The net would provide some early warning if anything makes its way out of this... Ocean. Hmmm..."

 

A gentle ripple, not far from where they were had caught his eye. It was the only disturbance on the near surface. "I strongly suggest that we freeze the entirety of the surface first. This water... It is all both sentient and interconnected. It is not normal water. Because of this, I suspect that it freezes more easily, but... Ah... It can also think, in its own way. And... Hmmm." He stared at where the ripple had occurred, there were others. "I suspect that it has heard us... I'm starting now."

 

Without another word, his horn blazed and a dark light shot across the surface of the ocean, causing it to glow beautifully. Simultaneously, a rippling, transparent shield formed around the two unicorns. The shield's strength was easily apparent. The entire atmosphere around them crackled wildly as it interacted with the magical force. He was acting quickly, carefully. The fear had focused his thoughts in a way that was unexpected. A blast of his magic hit the ocean and it began to freeze. Despite his distraction, he spoke. "Ice Storm. Regardless of the circumstances that may arise from this action... I will protect you."

 

---

 

 

 

He overheard Scarlet ask him if these ponies could be trusted. Magicon whipped around, a wide smile on his face. “Absolutely, they can be trusted. I know all of them. Only…just keep your distance with Dawn. She’s not to be trusted at all. The other three can be trusted with your life. The older stallion is the conductor, Vim. The mare is Ambrosia, the cook. The stallion is Arcanel, a passenger and the filly is Dawn. Follow me.”

 

Scarlet watched Magicon carefully as he spoke. She nodded her head when he stated that they could be trusted. It was all that she needed to know. It was easy enough to see that they were not directly connected to Bringer, but Bringer was tricky. She could be certain of nothing without checking and rechecking the possibilities. His remarks concerning Dawn did not surprise her. She was like Bringer, and he had proven that he could not be trusted. She was pleased that Magicon's perspective matched her own.

 

 

 

"And... to answer your question... well... long story short, we found out who's behind all this. A cat, who's more than just a normal cat named Bringer or Wraith or whatever. He's the one who's planning all of what's happening. We feel that he had something to do with what happened with Trixie, what happened to Springer, and he also manipulated Dawn so he could get in the train to be hidden in plain sight, which explains also why she was so nervous and so unstable, and it also explains how she knew things she should not have known. The cats were that were around were like Bringer's eyes and ears, and while I don't know how, I think he somehow controlled Dawn to help him get in."

 

Her eyes studied the pegasus pony dispassionately while he spoke, but her thoughts were moving quickly. His words meant that Bringer was active in more than one place. They also meant that he was being bold. He had apparently made no secret behind his actions. She winced when Trixie's name was mentioned, and she looked away when Springer's was as well. But, at the mention of Dawn, she slowly turned back around. Dawn had been on the train? Just now? Her eyes narrowed as Arcanel continued speaking. What had happened... Bringer had remained on the train somehow... Without her? She felt anger.

 

 

 

"He revealed himself after I was speaking with Dawn with Vim and Ambrosia in the dining car, he confronted us and forced me to play riddle in order to get him to take us where Asteria was, threatening to hurt her if we did not or if we even bothered him at all. When I confronted him back about that, he sent us here." He finished explaining taking a deep breath before speaking again.

 

At the mentioned of Bringer's threat, Scarlet's anger flared into a white hot rage, but she carefully revealed none of her increasing intensity. She would not allow Asteria to be harmed, regardless of what steps were necessary to defend her. They could afford to make no mistakes, but maybe they already had made a mistake... She stepped slightly to the side and stared at Dawn. At first, the unicorn patiently avoided her gaze, but before too much longer, Dawn locked eyes with her. Scarlet studied her until the yellow earth pony stepped between them. Scarlet sniffed with annoyance.

 

 

 

"Umm... also... Magicon... who's that mare behind you?" he asked, hoping that the unicorn would be able to answer all of his questions.

 

Scarlet spoke immediately. "I am Scarlet, but my identity is not important. What is important is saving Asteria's life. What is also important is avoiding Bringer's tricks. This unicorn." Scarlet pointed a hoof in the direction of Dawn, ignoring the yellow earth pony that remained between them. The earth pony was facing away from her and towards Dawn. It seemed odd, but Scarlet spoke without hesitation. "She is, as you said, a tool for Bringer. You may not know this, but Bringer can see through her eyes. He can watch and listen to us through her. I suggest we kill her to increase the probability of success in saving the filly. She is an enemy, not a friend."

 

---

 

 

 

“Vim! Ambrosia! Arcanel! You don’t know how happy I am to see you all! I’ve been literally dying to get back on the train and out of this place. But…how did you guys get here? What’s happened on the train?”

 

Ambrosia's head whirled at the sound of the familiar voice, and her eyes locked onto Magicon and his strange friend, a pony that she instantly recognized as an older form of Luminescence. The strong red of her mane, tail, and eyes and the strange silver fur... Even the expression was similar, both the filly and the mare had worn inscrutably serious facial expressions. She even carried herself similarly, trotted towards them with her head held high in a vaguely imperious manner. It was too much to be a coincidence.

 

Vim spoke before she did, "Hey Magicon! Well, that's one half of the search done?" The conductor hesitated as he took in the sight of Scarlet, he seemed to be at something of a loss. Arcanel, on the other hoof, immediately launched into a rambling greeting. She started to approach Magicon and greet him, but she froze. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dawn. The unicorn was staring at the strange mare with Magicon, and the strange mare was staring right back at Dawn.

 

She glanced at Arcanel. He was still talking. She glanced at Vim. The conductor was looking between the two unicorns with a sense of unease. Ambrosia carefully, cautiously stepped between the two unicorns and took a deep breath, choosing to turn to face Dawn. She trusted that Magicon would keep an eye on his own friend. The blue unicorn looked away from the cook's own intense gaze, but before she did, Ambrosia could see just a hint of red in her eyes. She noticed, instantly, that it matched the shade of red in the eyes of Luminescence.

 

 

 

"Umm... also... Magicon... who's that mare behind you?" he asked, hoping that the unicorn would be able to answer all of his questions.

 

Ambrosia frowned. It should have been obvious that the mare was, in some way, Luminescence. At least, it made perfect sense to her. What other pony could it have been, given that they had just seen the filly not too long ago. She supposed that he might have forgotten. Still, the effect on Dawn was instant. The unicorn looked up at the sound of Arcanel's voice and the intensity of Dawn's expression made it seem that she was looking straight through Ambrosia and to the ponies behind her. There was a definite tint of red to them now, but Ambrosia was more concerned with the words that were spoken by the other unicorn, behind her.

 

 

 

"She is, as you said, a tool for Bringer. You may not know this, but Bringer can see through her eyes. He can watch and listen to us through her. I suggest we kill her to increase the probability of success in saving the filly. She is an enemy, not a friend."

 

The cook's eyes opened as wide as saucers. Dawn's horn immediately glowed, and the unicorn was surrounded by a shield. Other than that quick action, Dawn remained motionless, staring in the direction of the red maned unicorn. Ambrosia only watched Dawn for a moment before spinning around to face Scarlet. She wanted to speak first, and she wanted to make herself clear. Like a mother chiding a badly behaved filly, Ambrosia's voice was powerful and her words were to the point. "No. Dawn is a friend, and you should apologize to her. She's free of the cat's influence now, and you should be ashamed of yourself."

 

Scarlet's words came back just as quickly. She was completely undeterred. "You're an earth pony, and you are trustworthy. Why would you want to stop me? Stand aside, please." Ambrosia instantly understood Scarlet's meaning when the unicorn mentioned the type of pony that she was. She also saw the look in the unicorn's eyes. She wanted to kick herself. Arcanel hadn't been so wrong after all... This pony... She was not Luminescence, she was Scarlet. The two were, in Ambrosia's mind, not cut from the same cloth.

 

Off to her side, she was certain that she could hear a muffled profanity from the conductor. Undoubtedly Vim would be agitated. If there was one thing that the conductor hated, it was unstable unicorns. Of course, to Vim, unstable had nothing to do with magic and everything to do with safety. An angry unicorn was an unstable unicorn. If he acted, the situation would only deteriorate. Ambrosia thought quickly, and replied just as quickly.

 

She held her own head high, matching the pose of the unicorn that she faced. When she spoke, she switched to an calm, winsome tone. "Scarlet, don't threaten me. I'm not moving. You may think that I am only an earth pony, and I am. But, this is not Equestria. This is something different. I have been here many times before. I know this is a dream, and I know that I can change things here. I faced a dragon when I was last here. I faced it alone. I am still standing. Do you really want to challenge me? A fight with me. How do you think that would help Asteria?"

 

When the last word left her mouth, she felt like time froze for her. She reflected. On the outside, she reflected perfect, regal confidence. In her heart, she knew that she had said what she needed to say. If nothing else, she had redirected Scarlet's obvious anger to herself rather than Dawn. Behind her, she couldn't hear that Dawn was not doing anything else. She could only assume that her words had stopped something horrible before it had happened.

 

In her mind, she was faced with a certain grim reality and questions circulated doubt. This may or may not be a dream world. It looked familiar, but how could she know for sure. Her ability to control her own dreams was something that she was confident of, but whose dream was this? If it wasn't her dream, could she control it? If she was actually awake, could she control it? What would she do if Scarlet attacked her? She had only made flowers in her own dreams, admittedly millions of them that one time. But, what would Scarlet care about flowers? The dragon... She had never really faced it... If her bluff was called, then what would happen?

 

---

 

 

 

But that didn't matter right now. She had been asked another question. She thought on it for a few moments. “You know, I don't like labels. Why must you use terms like ‘light' or ‘dark'? I feel like they give you less room to be you. I mean, sure, I'm a unicorn filly. Those are labels, but I like to ignore them when possible. Why should any one thing define an individual? To me, Bringer, you are you. Not a shadow, or light, or even darkness.” she said almost triumphantly.

 

As she spoke, Bringer's flickering eyes died down to an even duller look than they had contained earlier, and his face fell into an unreadable, neutral expression. He studied her words carefully as she spoke. He tilted his head slightly to the one side and then the other. He seemed to be thinking, but he said nothing to express his thoughts.

 

 

 

“Say, do you think I could ask a question? Bringer, what do you think of me? Do you like me? Would you like me to be your friend? If you say no, I'll understand.” She watched him now. The cat's eyes were flickering with mischief. What could it mean? She hoped this new question he had asked had not been a trick.

 

Bringer studied her for some moments after she continued talking. His expression remained unreadable, his eyes grew dimmer. The silence in the room was deafening, and the seconds stretched into minutes. The cat was seemingly frozen into place. Finally, he shifted his weight from one side to the other, as if considering an action. He stopped and crouched, facing the filly. He frowned thoughtfully, but as soon as he had done so, it started to change, slowly, into a smile. Then, the smile became a grin. Then, the grin became an even wider grin.

 

He spoke, and his voice sounded odd. This time, unlike earlier, his lips didn't even move. Instead, his voice seemed to come from all around the room at once. "You... What kind of thing are you, exactly? You ask me... What I think of you? Do I like you? What kind of questions... Are these? From you... To me? I don't understand. But, maybe I do, and I am just lying? It wouldn't be the first time. Mmmm... You know, Dreamer, you scared me just now. I thought you were reading me. I mean really reading me." He stopped speaking and stared at her. The eyes glowed from within like embers of flame.

 

When he spoke, he spoke normally. His tone was friendly, playful. "Then, just when I think that... Somehow... You aren't what I think you are... You ask a bunch of questions that tell me that you can't read me at all. Because, if you could... Then, you would already know the answer." He laughed, and it was a cheerful chuckle. When he stopped, the grin was a strange lopsided smile. "You are not a normal pony. I'll answer your questions. Truthfully. Consider it a trade, really... Because, I have questions for you..."

 

He cleared his throat and watched the filly carefully while he spoke. "Yes. You can ask a question." He stopped and snickered softly. "Mmmm... I think that you are like me, because we think alike. Very alike. No wonder Scarlet attached herself to you so quickly. I suppose you are to be my replacement." He laughed again, even softer than before, it was a bitter laugh. "Yes, I would like you to be my friend. No, I don't think that you're a normal pony. Yes, terms like 'light' and 'dark' are constraining. No one thing should define an individual... Yes, I am me... No, I am not shadow, light, or darkness... Yes... No, yes. I think that covers the rest."

 

Bringer attempted a serious expression, but it fell into a grin. "Right, so. A trade. New questions. But not yet... Let me tell you something more... This isn't a game, by the way. I'm past games with you, and... I will call you Asteria now... You may call me Wraith. I don't think that you are what you present yourself to be. I like that. Neither am I. I am a dream, a nightmare, a light, a shadow. Despite what may seem apparent, I am not darkness, in fact. Unless you think that you can mix everything else together and get darkness, which I doubt..."

 

He continued, speaking calmly. "You see, Asteria, I am a thinker. I consider things, but I do it without considering them. I am a creature of instinct. Long ago, my instincts told me what you said. Labels are constraining. But, when I looked around, do you know what I saw? I saw this place... I saw a place that was clearly divided between dreams and nightmares, between what was perceived as light and darkness. For myself... Due to an event in the past... I was broken into many pieces. I was able to see so many things."

 

As he went on, he seemed to be desperately looking for the words to express himself. "Do you know what I saw? When I was in your world... As I have been... So many times... In fact. Well, I saw that there was no real darkness. Asteria, what is darkness but the absence of light? But... Light is not the absence of darkness... Light is something else... Something active. It can create a type of darkness, you know. Shadows are made by the light. Shadows are different though... But, back to darkness. See. I realized that darkness depends on light, on the absence of light, in order to exist."

 

His eyes flared for just one moment, but he spoke on as if nothing had occurred. "Dreams and nightmares. Those are labels are they not? Couldn't the nightmare of one be just a normal dream to another? Aren't all nightmares dreams too? They are just dreams of a different type, are they not? Think about it... Can you see it? This... It is what I want to do... Asteria, I would like to bring them together. The substance of dreams, the substance of nightmare. Why should they be apart? Was it always like this? I doubt it... I think they were together once... I want to bring this back... I think it was a happier time..."

 

His grin faded into a wistful smile. "If I can do that, and if I can protect what I have done... Protect it forever... Against all opposition... If I do this, then my job here is done. I would like to go back to your world. I would like to be free from this place. Scarlet... Doesn't understand what it is like to be me, trapped here when I have seen and can see so many other things. I want to leave this place. I want to leave it completely. Not just partly. I want to never come back."

 

He waved a paw around. "Look around? Is this a place that you would like to be, forever? By yourself? Looking out into madness that doesn't even have to be? Is that what you would wish on your worst enemy? Yet, here I am... Do you know that you are the first one to ever ask me to be my friend? So many take or receive. So few ask... Mmmm... Now, I ask you... Would you like to help me? Please? But, you must promise... To do so, if you do. A promise that cannot be broken... What do you think of this?"

Edited September 15, 2013 by Luminescence

[Starshine 16,333]

Dread

 

Anguish

 

Stay focused!

 

Summerfall struggled to keep herself reasonable, anchored to the ground the reality, but what she had just heard, everything, made her doubt her own senses. She sensed no lies, no trickery, no underlying motives from Luminescence, but her story, about her parents, her world, and the beast, it all seemed utterly unreal. Impossible. But the everlooming shadow of doom that plagued her mind, the purring behind the door, which caused her coat to stand on its end, was undoubtedly real. A small part of her wanted to believe in Luminescence, wished to help her finish what she had made, but an overwhelming majority of her psyche screamed and begged that it was all but a dream and she was just being under a particularly intricate prank by some sick unicorn somewhere in the train. Summerfall tried to convince herself that there must be a clear, definite, logical explanation for what was happening, but nothing came up. She meticulously rewind everything Luminescence had said to her. A sweat broke through her brows. She looked back to Luminescence.

 

 

 

"I should teleport you away from here... Summer... I feel bored, quite bored. You should go. Leave me here. I can teleport you away. Is this what I should do? Maybe, this is how it was always meant to be for me? My own world, I become a victim of my refuge. It is poetic, if somewhat mundane... Poetic? I'm just a filly... I haven't lived yet... Why should I die now... I can fight. Summer... Help me... If you can... Don't leave me... But, I want you to be safe. You've been so nice to me. I'm so confused..."

 

She was in pain, that much was clear. Multiple times Luminescence didn't look like she was in control of herself. The strangely androgynous tone... Her subtle glow, which some might say a blessing, was a curse that bound her to the beast. She had faced down timberwolves, cat-beast that seemed to glow from the inside-

 

 

 

We were speaking some kind of different language; one that I didn't know that I knew. It wanted a name... It wanted a form."

 

 

She wanted to be free of something

 

Summerfall's mind trailed back. Considering the current circumstances, it was not exactly impossible that Luminescence was actually a kin to this beast, or beasts. The cat-given form, and the one who challenged Luminescence in her games. They were ethereal, and they were trying to use and sap Luminescence of her strength for ends unknown. Summerfall concluded that these thing might be a parasite that left clinging a bit too long, and had grown confident enough to challenge their host. It sounded ridiculous and too far-fetched, it didn't offer any explanation on why Luminescence could create her own world in the first place, but that was the best theory she could think of at this moment with what she had known. At the lowest point of Luminescence's life, these insufferable things had latched onto her and sucked what they could. Summerfall took a deep breath to calm herself down.

 

Luminescence' horn glowed, then the purr turned into an ear-shattering hiss, followed with a moment of silence and a soft, shrieking scratch from behind the door. Summerfall had instinctively scrambled to position herself between Luminescence and the door, a gesture she herself found ultimately useless, if this beast indeed was capable of cleanly deleting Luminescence's adoptive parents from the record.

 

 

 

"We have a moment to think of a step to take. I... I can teleport you away. But, I do not know if I can get you to a safe place. For this to be happening... It may already be too late. But, if you wish me to, I can try for you. If not, then... Maybe you can help me to fix whatever has happened? I think that you would be saving my life. This cat. It needs me for some purpose, and I believe that this purpose... Involves my death. I heard your words. I know what you think about this. That is why I am giving you a chance. Would you save me? Now? If not, then I will have to do my best to save you."

 

To give one's own life to prolong others. While romantics might argue that it was the most honorable goal a pony could strive for, Summerfall despised such notion. If one would be so easily gave up their own life so meaninglessly, then they never had any right to keep it from the beginning. At least that was what she believed. Now, faced with such options, either to be saved and be partially responsible for Luminescence death, or stay and hope for the best. Summerfall gulped. She had never liked such extreme results, so far they were on the end of the spectrum, as if the notion of somewhere inbetween was out of the window. But then again, if she chose to save her own life, there was still that chance that the beast would not be so kind to leave her alone. Unknowingly she pressed herself close to the filly.

 

 

 

She smiled despite the increasing strain. "You see. When I asked the question... How much are you willing to give... I meant for the both of us. Which of us will save the other? For you, Summerfall... I would give my life. You have... Been far kinder to me than even my own parents... I have learned more from you in these brief moments that we have been together than I have from many other ponies. I thank you. To me, you are not a stranger. I love you... Perhaps I love too easily... I have always suspected this, but it doesn't matter. I can try to save you? Or, if you care for me... Perhaps, you would like to try to save me? I guess... Try is all we can do. There is no certainty in this. The probabilities are unknown."

 

"No, don't give me your life. It is yours, and I would never accept it. Your life is not worthy of my kindness, you deserved much more than that." Summerfall nearly stuttered in her words. She fought back the creeping sensation in her spine. She was still standing now, but Celestia knows what would happen once the beast broke through the door. Uncertainties clouded her mind, but for one thing she was resolute. She stroke Luminescence's mane, which she hoped was not for the last time. "I care for you, Luminescence, don't you ever dare imply otherwise. I-I'll stay. I will stay here, with you. I will take the chances. I'm not an unicorn, or a fighter, but I will try to help."

 

Summerfall dashed to her saddlebag and poured the content onto the bed. Books of various subjects, notes, journals, bags of bits, keys and memorabilia. Indeed they were valuable for the Union, but she had prepared a perfect copy for each of them in cases where she couldn't reliably retrieve them again. She bagged the blanket from the bed, a flashlight, two packs of batteries, and a glass from their lunch as quickly as she could and strapped the saddlebag over her. It might be rendered useless in front of whatever it was that was trying to consume Luminescence, but it was always better to prepare for the unexpected. She had also prepared herself to ditch the saddlebag as soon as it was getting in her way. "Luminescence, I might be wrong, but I assume that you can alter the reality to a certain extent in your own world? If so, inside that world might lie our best chances against the cat. Staying here would mean you will have to fight it with your flesh alone. If you can, take us into that world, together. I will do my best to help you in any way necessary."

 

 

 

I apologize for my inability to produce a longer post. Shit be whacked around these parts. If there is any lore mistake or anything just PM me. Skype is darned useless

 

 

[Arcanel 3,041]

 

 

"I am Scarlet, but my identity is not important. What is important is saving Asteria's life. What is also important is avoiding Bringer's tricks. This unicorn." Scarlet pointed a hoof in the direction of Dawn, ignoring the yellow earth pony that remained between them. The earth pony was facing away from her and towards Dawn. It seemed odd, but Scarlet spoke without hesitation. "She is, as you said, a tool for Bringer. You may not know this, but Bringer can see through her eyes. He can watch and listen to us through her. I suggest we kill her to increase the probability of success in saving the filly. She is an enemy, not a friend."

 

At the words of the silver pony, which he now knew was named Scarlet, Arcanel wanted to scream. *WHAT?! Kill Dawn!? But she was just cleared as being controlled by Bringer or Wraith or whatever! And, even if it was true, isn't this Bringer being everywhere? And... how would she even know that Bringer can see through Dawn?* he thought, trying to put some answers at the very blunt statements he just heard. At that moment he saw Ambrosia speak.

 

 

 

"No. Dawn is a friend, and you should apologize to her. She's free of the cat's influence now, and you should be ashamed of yourself."

 

 

When he heard those words, he smiled. *Looks like Ambrosia thinks the same I do.* He pondered.

 

 

 

"You're an earth pony, and you are trustworthy. Why would you want to stop me? Stand aside, please."

 

The white pegasus cringed. *Woah there, did she just threatened Ambrosia AFTER she complimented her? What in the...*

 

 

 

"Scarlet, don't threaten me. I'm not moving. You may think that I am only an earth pony, and I am. But, this is not Equestria. This is something different. I have been here many times before. I know this is a dream, and I know that I can change things here. I faced a dragon when I was last here. I faced it alone. I am still standing. Do you really want to challenge me? A fight with me. How do you think that would help Asteria?"

 

 

This time, Arcanel couldn't help but slightly look at Ambrosia with a look of disbelief. *She faced a DRAGON?! But... how... or more importantly, how can this be a dream? I... I am so confused right now... what the heck is going on...* at this point, the mailpony was completely lost. He didn't know what to think right then, and the more was talked, the more he was lost, even though he knew that Ambrosia was right on the last thing, and she wanted to help Dawn. He couldn't help but voice his thoughts.

 

"Alright, what in Equestria is going on here. We are in dream? How? And... ok, you know what, Ambrosia is right. A fight is not going to help, and me starting to ask questions and rambling on like I always do is not going to help Asteria." He started, now turning his attention at the silver mare. "Scarlet, I don't know how you could even know that Dawn is Bringer's eyes and ears, but even so, we can't just kill her. Even if she was, Bringer seems to be somepony that knows everything, everywhere, so killing someone that MIGHT be a spy seems to be kind of useless. And furthermore, Dawn is a healer. She could greatly help us deal with what is yet to happen, especially since we just freed her from Bringer's control. And I am most defintely NOT going to see Dawn killed in front of my own eyes. You can be certain of that, even if I have to fight you for that." Arcanel continued, determination in his eyes.

 

"So, you also seem to know Bringer enough. And, you seem to know about this place too, as much as you do Ambrosia. So, I'll go straight to the point. Scarlet, what do you know about Bringer that could help us against him? Where do we go? Do you know where Asteria is? And Ambrosia, where are we? Do you know something about this place too?" he finished, rapid firing each of his questions because he knew that time is of the essence, and after his little talk, he knew more time could not be wasted. "Fighting or killing between us, is not going to help anypony."

[Magicon 468]

Each of them immediately responded to his sudden arrival. Ambrosia and Vim immediately recognized Magicon and he could see both of their faces soften at his appearance. Vim mentioned that half of the search was done. Magicon could only figure that he was speaking about him and Asteria. Their disappearance from the train had been noticed, though how long had he been away from the train to garner their attention was beyond his knowledge. Both also took interest in Scarlet, examining her from a distance.

 

Magicon wasn’t able to read their thoughts as Arcanel suddenly jumped towards Magicon and gave him a small hug, raising the hairs on the back of his neck and widening his eyes. Before Magicon  could push Arcanel away from him, the pegasus had already let go, much to Magicon’s relief, and immediately dove into a rambling narrative about the recent events.  Magicon only paid quasi-attention to Arcanel’s words, mostly because he knew most of his speech anyway. He had figured it out for himself; he didn’t a black cat to reveal itself for him to calculate that Bringer was up to no good. He gave small ‘yeahs’ and ‘uh huhs’ occasionally towards Arcanel but his eyes displayed sole interest in Scarlet and Dawn.

 

Something was wrong between the two. He could feel it. The look in their eyes showed it all and each of their gazes was lowering at the other. Attempting to stop the potential feud, Ambrosia inserted herself between the two unicorns, staring at Dawn, away from the rest of the group.  Keeping one eye on her and one eye on Arcanel, Magicon’s attention was only returned fully to the pegasus when he heard his name utter from his lips.

 

 

 

"Umm... also... Magicon... who's that mare behind you?" he asked, hoping that the unicorn would be able to answer all of his questions.

 

Magicon was about to answer Arcanel’s question, when Scarlet introduced herself and immediately took control of the conversation. Magicon watched her in silent observation.

 

 

 

"I am Scarlet, but my identity is not important. What is important is saving Asteria's life. What is also important is avoiding Bringer's tricks. This unicorn." Scarlet pointed a hoof in the direction of Dawn, ignoring the yellow earth pony that remained between them. "She is, as you said, a tool for Bringer. You may not know this, but Bringer can see through her eyes. He can watch and listen to us through her. I suggest we kill her to increase the probability of success in saving the filly. She is an enemy, not a friend."

 

Magicon slowly turned his head towards Scarlet in curiosity. It wasn’t the fact that Dawn was an agent of Bringer that was curious to him; he had already figured that out. It was the drastic idea that Scarlet had proposed to stop Dawn and Bringer, albeit indirectly, that aroused his curiosity. He wasn’t sure what to make of it. On one hoof he disliked Dawn and knew she was dangerous from the moment they had come in contact. Her and those annoying cats had always been suspicious and dangerous and now look what they had done: allowed Bringer to gain advantages on all of the ponies on the train. But was death the necessary punishment for her aid towards Bringer? Magicon didn’t know and as much as he disliked Dawn, he knew such rash actions like forcing death’s hand would not end well. He needed time to think. Ambrosia provided it with her defense of Dawn. With a quick motion she spun around, directly facing Scarlet and uttered her opinion, clear as day.

 

 

 

"No. Dawn is a friend, and you should apologize to her. She's free of the cat's influence now, and you should be ashamed of yourself."

 

Scarlet took the insult coldly and threw one right back at the cook, making Magicon slightly shudder. He was not one for insults, particularly harsh ones like “earth pony”.  Yet Ambrosia took it coolly and remained defiant in the face of Scarlet. Despite her weak head in the dining care this morning, Ambrosia looked like a mountain: immovable and stubborn.

 

 

 

"Scarlet, don't threaten me. I'm not moving. You may think that I am only an earth pony, and I am. But, this is not Equestria. This is something different. I have been here many times before. I know this is a dream, and I know that I can change things here. I faced a dragon when I was last here. I faced it alone. I am still standing. Do you really want to challenge me? A fight with me. How do you think that would help Asteria?"

 

Magicon looked down at the mention of Asteria’s name. Wasn’t that what he was here for anyway? Wasn’t that why he and Scarlet were aiding each other? The goal was not to stop Bringer, but rescue Asteria. Would Dawn help further accomplish that, if she was kept alive? If she was a tool for Bringer, then wouldn’t her death frustrate him? Wouldn’t her death anger him, thereby unleashing his power amongst them all? Magicon didn’t want to know what Bringer could do, but he had the feeling he would learn soon enough.

 

 

 

"Alright, what in Equestria is going on here. We are in dream? How? And... ok, you know what, Ambrosia is right. A fight is not going to help, and me starting to ask questions and rambling on like I always do is not going to help Asteria." He started, now turning his attention at the silver mare. "Scarlet, I don't know how you could even know that Dawn is Bringer's eyes and ears, but even so, we can't just kill her. Even if she was, Bringer seems to be somepony that knows everything, everywhere, so killing someone that MIGHT be a spy seems to be kind of useless. And furthermore, Dawn is a healer. She could greatly help us deal with what is yet to happen, especially since we just freed her from Bringer's control. And I am most definitely NOT going to see Dawn killed in front of my own eyes. You can be certain of that, even if I have to fight you for that." Arcanel continued, determination in his eyes.

 

Magicon suddenly felt the urge just to walk up to Arcanel and yell ‘Shut up’ right in his face. His stupid questions and ramblings were really getting on his nerves and his patience was wearing thing with the pegasus. Even if his defense of Dawn was valid, Magicon couldn’t stand much more of Arcanel’s mouth.

 

 

 

"So, you also seem to know Bringer enough. And, you seem to know about this place too, as much as you do Ambrosia. So, I'll go straight to the point. Scarlet, what do you know about Bringer that could help us against him? Where do we go? Do you know where Asteria is? And Ambrosia, where are we? Do you know something about this place too? Fighting or killing between us, is not going to help anypony."

 

Magicon couldn’t resist the facehoof and he shook his head as he did so. Arcanel was being the overexcited and overcurious colt with an endless stream of stupid questions and opinions, none of which really mattered. Asteria needed their help this minute. They were wasting time just standing around and asking stupid questions. Magicon knew Scarlet wouldn’t tolerate it, probably even less than he could. He could just kill Dawn right now and be done with it. Though there would be consequences, the positives of her death seemed to outweigh the negatives. Screw the moral feelings; his heart was already dark enough to handle it.

 

But what of the others? Ambrosia, Arcanel, Dawn were most definitely against it while Scarlet was for it. Magicon assumed that Scarlet was more powerful than the three of them. Plus, if a fight did break out between Dawn and Scarlet he would have no trouble choosing a side and aiding them. But why wait until that confrontation? Why not just settle this? It would shut everypony up and allow them to move forward with their mission.

 

But what of his reputation? He had already proven himself a hero on the train. He had beaten Scarlet, at least on the train. If he did choose to spare Dawn Scarlet’s hoof would be forced. Plus, did he really hate Dawn enough to kill her? Did he even hate her? Magicon wasn’t sure and that was when a compromised through entered his mind and he agreed to act upon it.

 

While the group remained focus on the four ponies, Magicon took a few steps sideways, keeping Dawn in his sights. He began charging his magic inside him and aimed for Dawn. In a single loud and rapid shot, he cast a paralysis spell directly at Dawn, hoping it would travel fast enough to hit her before she could react. Magicon wasn’t sure what would happen. Magic was unpredictable and its consequences ever-changing and always uncertain, but it was worth the risk.

[Electrobolt 2,069]

After Electrobolt had finished speaking, he heard something behind him as his heart began to beat rapidly. He wasn't sure why, but the sound had him startled. When the cat had hissed and glanced somewhere, Electrobolt turned his head around to see what it was that the cat looked at. As soon as he did, he gulped as soon as he saw that the pony that resembled Trixie stood up and was just standing there. Quickly looking back at the cat, she then stated to not mention the creature, to which he simply nodded. *Oh geez... That pony is starting to scare me...* he thought to himself, while watching the cat.

 

The cat then seemed to return to her neutral expression as she then mentioned that she didn't have a name before stating that he was free to call her something, hopefully something pleasant. At this, Electrobolt blinked for a second, as he had thought the cat would have had some sort of name. She then continued on, though she began to confuse him with her words. One second, she stated that she doesn't exactly know what a nightmare is, and the next she said she comes here to get away from the other nightmares. *What is she saying...? She doesn't know what a nightmare is, yet she gets away from the nightmares here...?*

 

However, the next thing that she said confused him more. *She lied...? What...?* He didn't get much chance to think before the cat suggested that they would do a new deal. After a bit, she explained what her deal was - that she wanted Electrobolt to give her a name. He could only blink as he wondered why the cat wanted him to name her. She then joked about not being named "Key" before saying that she didn't really want to be named that. But then, as the cat turned away, she began to say something that had caught his interest...

 

She turned away from Electrobolt, and her voice became unreadable. "I want a name, Bolt. I want a name for me, for me alone, you see. I want one, badly. Here in this place... A name... It means something. It means something important. You have to have a name to be a scribe... Then, with a name, scribes can do things... Expressive stuff, you know? Writing, singing, dancing... Anything... They can tell a story... Change things. Make things happen. Errr... Not that this is what I want. I don't. I don't care for that. But, I do want a name. A lot. Anyways... Think me up one, will yah? ... Mmmm. Oh yeah, while you do that... Heya... I heard your birds talking about this place, Bolt. Yeah, I hear everything in here. They want to leave the cage. They don't understand."

 

As Electrobolt listened, he heard the cat bring up the word "scribe" again, saying that you needed a name in order to be one. She then went on, saying some things about what the scribes would be able to do before hearing that they could change things and make things happen. This raised his interest and curiosity, before she began to say that being a scribe isn't what she would want. Although he couldn't help but think that she had something in mind, he shook that thought out of his head. It was then that the cat said that the birds - to which she was referring to the pegasi - were talking about their current whereabouts.

 

The feline said that she can hear everything in the area before saying that they don't understand. *Don't understand...? Don't understand about what...?* Before long, though, the cat started to whisper something, but he was able to hear it. He then heard the cat beginning to say something about this not being a normal place before they couldn't fly out and would have better luck dancing out. She then began saying something about dancing AND flying, which had brought one pony to his attention. *Dancing and think about flying...? That... Sounds like she's referring to Wind... What is she doing, though...*

 

Closing his eyes for a bit, Electrobolt began to ponder to himself. Regardless of what naming her might do, she would need a name. He then began to think to himself, *Just calling her a cat or kitten can get rather old rather quick... So maybe a name would be in order...* Opening his eyes, he looked at the cat, thinking about how much she reminds him of Key. Of course, he wouldn't name her after her sister. But she also seems like a planner of sorts. However, as much as he thought, nothing would come to mind for a name. Well, nothing except one name.

 

*Well... It's all I could really come up with I suppose...* he thought before stretching his hooves out. Recalling how the cat said that she could hear anything, and that the Trixie lookalike is behind him, perhaps she would be able to hear a whisper. So in a hushed whisper, Electrobolt began to talk to the cat. "Hey," he whispered over to her, trying not to draw "Trixie's" attention over to him. "I think I have a name for you. How does 'Kay' sound to you? It's... Kind of the only name that came to me..."

[Bari 7,023]

After he had finished telling Midnight what she wanted to know, Lapis watched the mare and studied her as best he could. It seemed as though the blade had been pulled back a little bit while he had been speaking. This made something in his chest flutter for a second. They both stood there, staring into each other eyes, but then it seemed Midnight had made whatever decision she needed to, and returned the sword back to where it was. The mare announced it was time to move out. Lapis took in her explanation with a quick nod. It made perfect sense to him, somehow.
 
Midnight approached a desk and retrieved from within it a dagger. “Hmm, I don’t suppose you have something for me, do you? Maybe something like what you're carrying?” he said, meaning the saddlebag, not the dagger. But she merely tossed him the sword after explaining why she had it. A bit surprised, Lapis did his best to catch it, almost dropping it on the ground. Doing his best to mimic how Midnight had strapped on her dagger, Lapis took the strap and swung it over his neck and let it rest on his left shoulder. After fiddling with it for a few seconds, it fit snuggly. He doubted he’d be needing it, and he certainly only had the barest idea of how to use it, but Midnight had been kind enough to loan it to him, so he might as well take it.
 
Lapis laughed silently about being a ‘sluggish pony’. Back home, speed was important in case of monsters or cave-ins. So he was fairly certain he could keep up with a brisk pace. The mare smiled at him before quickly switching to a serious expression. Lapis followed her as she made her way to the door to the outside. He glanced briefly from side to side, taking in his hostess’s home. It seemed a simple place, basically what he’d have. As they got to the door, Lapis felt a slight chill run along his spine.
 
Outside the door was the ruins of a village. But not just any ruins. Something didn’t sit right with Lapis. This village almost looked familiar. But not. The buildings were all of a style unfamiliar to him, and yet he recognized them for what they were. This place seemed like the ruins found near Vanhoover. Except, despite the state of this place, it was far more intact than what was found buried deep in the snow and tundra long forgotten. And Midnight’s word did not help to ease his sudden unsureness. He chose to stop thinking about it for a bit. It was best to focus, especially since Midnight felt like filling up the intervening time of their journey with talk.
 
But Midnight decided to start by insulting him. It certainly made him feel bad. Though, the words seemed to hold much truth. He felt he could accept them instead of denying them the way he would have any time before now. “Gee, I didn’t know it was like that. Well, it’s good to know where I need improvement.” he mumble to himself, not knowing if the mare could hear him.
 
He kept up pace with her, following her movement as exactly as he could. His main focus was getting Asteria back. That was it. But Midnight clearly felt he needed to know some things. With a quick twist, she was facing him, and Lapis fought back a startled yelp. Her words spun around in his head, mostly seeming a bit too much for him. He merely took in the information for later study, if at all. At this point, he realized this was too much to study as they went along, so he made himself just follow and listen. As they came to a building and entered it, the cold seemed to subside. The darkness was warm and inviting, like sleep. But he fought the urge to drift. This place was also creepy. Not exactly a place where one is supposed to sleep. Especially the scratching noise that bothered his guide. Midnight kept on talking as they went a different path, and Lapis tried to make sense of it. She was probably telling him all this because it was of some importance.
 
Suddenly, they were at another door, and Midnight seemed uneasy once more. As they made their way through the room, a soft noise talked to them. It urged them to take a dip in the water, which was probably a bad idea. Lapis turned a bit, despite Midnight’s warning, to see the source. It was the cat from earlier. And from when Lapis wrote in the book. Lapis made to turn away, trying not to process what it meant, but Midnight stopped moving completely.
 
As the cat spoke, a few things clicked in his head. The mare beside him hopefully had some sort of plan if she was going to have him deal with the cat. Either way, he needed to do something. “So, I’m not crazy? There really is a large talking cat that has my filly? Say, you, Bringer. What do you need her for, anyway? To make you cupcakes or something? Or write notes for you? I honestly can’t see what you’d want from her. Now, riddles and jokes, right? I don’t know if I can, but let’s just go for it.” Lapis said a tad amused at this situation. After a point, one gives up trying to make things work in their head how they’re supposed to go.
 
Lapis tapped his chin a few times, trying his best to remember the joke book he had read once not too long ago while waiting in line at a bookstore. “What did the cat say when he lost all his bits? I’m paw! What’s more clever than a talking cat? A spelling bee!” he said, feeling incredibly stupid. These jokes were awful... He hoped the riddles he could think up would be at least a little better. “How about a few riddles? I’ll name 3 and see if you can answer them, alright?” He cleared his throat and recited some of the riddles he knew. “What goes around the world but stays in the corner?” he said, realizing this one might be a bit easy. “No sooner spoken than broken. What is it?” This one was probably easy, too. “If you throw me from the window, I will leave a grieving wife. Bring me back, but in the door, and you'll see someone giving life! What am I?” he asked, thinking this one might keep Bringer busy long enough for Midnight to do whatever it was she had planned.
 

---

 
Dreamer watched with patience as to what Bringer was up to. He faced her, grin widening. It was both strange and amusing at the same time. The cat’s voice came from all around her, so she didn’t know if what she faced was really the cat. His words confused her. They didn’t make much sense. It was clear that Bringer wasn’t readable after all. How wasn’t she a normal pony? She was pretty sure was as normal as they came. Or something. What could Bringer mean? And what did he want to trade? Just questions?
 
And then, she was Asteria again. And the cat before her was Wraith. What a strange name. But wasn’t any name strange to those who were unused to it? And Wraith wasn’t darkness. If that was true, then Asteria hadn’t broken her promise to Scarlet yet. She really hoped Wraith wasn’t lying again. She simply nodded along to the cat’s words, absorbing them as they came. Bringing things together, what an odd but interesting idea. All of it sounded lovely, and somehow possible, too. Could she, a little filly, really help someone like Wraith?
 
“Well, okay.” she said, as though she hadn’t even given it a thought. Was she being reckless? Was this really the best course of action? Were there other options she was unable to see? But she couldn’t answer any of them. No one else was here with her to provide an answer, either. So she simply had to accept. “We are friends. Friends help friends when they need it. What kind of friend would I be to refuse? It’s nothing dangerous, right? And nopony will get hurt at any point? If you can guarantee that, I will promise to help you, Wraith.” Asteria said, heart swirling with uncertainty. What could she do that Wraith could not do himself? Edited July 27, 2013 by Bari

[Ice Storm 1,020]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

When Dusky told her that it would be in their best interests that they froze the entire thing, she nodded. He then proceeded to tell her that what they were freezing wasn't normal water. That the water itself was both sentient and interconnected. He added that with him helping and because of the amplification, they should be able to get everything frozen within a comparable amount of time. Hopefully that wouldn't take too long.

 

That being said though, Ice thought of something, if this was a dream state, and she was what she wanted to be in this state, then she could make herself capable of doing a lot more than what she was originally capable off. Just as Dusky said that he was going to be take precautions to protect the two of them, Ice was going to take some precautions as well. Using a bit of her magic, she began to charge herself with a magical aura and released the spell that allowed her to see her surroundings without seeing them. That way she didn't suffer the side effects that Dusky had warned her about, but was still able to see and react to things around her. "There, I also made it to where I can see without seeing, thanks to the information that you gave me about myself being what I make myself to be," she told him

 

She then noticed as that he was getting ready to begin with his assistance before noticing that there was a ripple out towards the center. She nodded, "If this did hear us, then we shouldn't waste anymore time," she said spreading her stance before a vibrant glow overtook her and a beam of almost pure ice shot from her horn instantly freezing and spreading from the contact point on the surface of the ocean. She took kept her eye out for anything that could try to come out of the ocean at the two of them.

 

~~~Wind Dancer~~~

 

The room itself still didn't seem to make any sense, and because of all the differences in the bars and how miss-shaped everything was in the room, navigation seemed to be almost impossible. That was until she heard a voice carrying though the room. It sounded almost like a whisper but she could hear it as clearly as if it was standing next to her. She looked around and the only two that were around her were the two other pegasi that was locked with her. What was said, however, made her a bit more confused. She heard that flying out normally wouldn't bring much freedom, however maybe dancing, and the thought of freedom that came with them.

 

She pulled back for a bit and thought. She tried looking at the bars to try to figure out what the voice meant. If there was a dance that she could do to get out of this, then she would be able to figure it out, but she had to analyze everything around her. Looking around she noticed how the gaps were and where the end of each bar was. After a few quick thoughts and throwing everything out she closed her eyes and started one of her dance routines. After a few moves, she felt her wing clip one of the bars and she quickly fell down to the ground. She shook her head out and saw the small bruise on her wing before looking around. Unfortunately, she couldn't really tell whether she had made any progress on getting out of the cage or not because of how the room and everything around her looked.

 

"Well, that went over well. I can't even tell if I've made any progress because of this stupid room. What the name of Celestia is this room even supposed to be?!" she asked facehoofing and pulling the sockets of her eyes down as she tried to figured everything out.

[Alex Night 870]

Alex watched on as Electrobolt was giving answers to the mangy blue feline.  Although Alex was more interested in the blue unicorn that was in the cell with Bolt and the blue cat.  He could swear that she looked just like Trixie.  Then again, he thought that Ice Storm was Trixie when he first saw her.

 

 

 

She turned away from Electrobolt, and her voice became unreadable. "I want a name, Bolt. I want a name for me, for me alone, you see. I want one, badly. Here in this place... A name... It means something. It means something important. You have to have a name to be a scribe... Then, with a name, scribes can do things... Expressive stuff, you know? Writing, singing, dancing... Anything... They can tell a story... Change things. Make things happen. Errr... Not that this is what I want. I don't. I don't care for that. But, I do want a name. A lot. Anyways... Think me up one, will yah? ... Mmmm. Oh yeah, while you do that... Heya... I heard your birds talking about this place, Bolt. Yeah, I hear everything in here. They want to leave the cage. They don't understand."   The sound of her voice dropped to a near whisper, but it could be heard throughout the room. "This is not a normal place. You cannot simply fly out. You would have more luck dancing your way out of here than flying out. Dancing and thinking about something. Freedom maybe? The freedom of flight? I think, you know. I wish I could dance and think about flying. I can't, though. I've never flown anywhere. I don't dance. Well. Not any good at it anyway. I just go places. Instantly. Like how you all got here. Can't move more than myself, though. I leave a lot behind, everywhere I go... But, if I could dance and think about flying, then I bet I could take things from here. Like my lunch. I left it somewhere. Birds or something. I wasn't hungry, so I didn't eat them."

 

His attention returned to the blue cat.  It seemed to Alex that it was trying to play with Bolt by lying to him and making him play its game.  He scowled to the mysterious blue cat.  "Why you mangy, no good lying..."  Alex started off at the blue cat from his cell, shaking the bars hard with his hooves.  It even had the audacity of it telling Electrobolt to name it.  "I can think of a couple of names, you blue rat.  There's one.  I can also think of rug, hairball, dustbuster.  Take your pick, whiskers."  Alex said through his scowl at the blue feline.  He then heard a ding on the cage bars before looking to see that Wind Dancer fell on her hooves.  He moved to her side in concern.

 

 

 

"Well, that went over well. I can't even tell if I've made any progress because of this stupid room. What the name of Celestia is this room even supposed to be?!" she asked facehoofing and pulling the sockets of her eyes down as she tried to figured everything out.

 

"Hey, it's gonna be okay Wind.  We'll find a way out."  Alex said to her reassuringly.  He remembered the blue pom pom saying something about how flying won't help them, but that maybe dancing and the thought of freedom might help them.  He wasn't exactly sure of what that meant, but Wind Dancer seemed to have an idea.

[Flow 1,628]

As Flow stood there pondering about whether Wind can actually fly or not, she was eventually distracted by Alex,

 

 

 

"Hey, Flow.  Wind, are you two okay?  Can you move?"

 

 

"Oh, um...I'm alright..thanks for asking," She whispered before continuing to think for herself "I just cannot stress the fact that if Wind cannot fly....well most pegasai would call it shameful.....but me, I'd feel a great sense of sympathy for her, flying is pretty much the strength of the pegasus race. I...I just don't know what to say about this, she just seems like one of my students before who was wrought with anxiety to even flap her wings, it just makes me sad...I don't know what to say. "

 

 

 

"I'd be better if I had a bit more space. I can't really fly for any length of time, but if I had more space, I could use the wind to our advantage. That's one thing that's always set my dance act above others is the fact that my dancing can control the winds around me to flow with me. The only issue is, these bars," she said moving up to them and inspecting them. "I have no idea what these are made out of, and considering that nothing else in this room makes sense, I'm doubting these are what they seem as well.... I think that's the trick to getting out of here. Find the path that makes sense, and then do the opposite," she spoke aloud.

 

When Wind told them about her flightless condition, Flow felt a bit shocked, but when she stated about controlling winds by dancing, she was astonished "Say what? You can use the wind to your advantage? Well with your wings and some dancing....yeah..I guess it makes sense," She smiled again before moving out of the way,

 

 

 

The sound of her voice dropped to a near whisper, but it could be heard throughout the room. "This is not a normal place. You cannot simply fly out. You would have more luck dancing your way out of here than flying out. Dancing and thinking about something. Freedom maybe? The freedom of flight? I think, you know. I wish I could dance and think about flying. I can't, though. I've never flown anywhere. I don't dance. Well. Not any good at it anyway. I just go places. Instantly. Like how you all got here. Can't move more than myself, though. I leave a lot behind, everywhere I go... But, if I could dance and think about flying, then I bet I could take things from here. Like my lunch. I left it somewhere. Birds or something. I wasn't hungry, so I didn't eat them."

 

Just then, she shifted her focus on the cat, who seemed to know what Wind's intentions were "Gasp....It knows what Wind's planning to do! But dancing your way out of here...eh? I am not sure about this."  

 

 

 

She pulled back for a bit and thought. She tried looking at the bars to try to figure out what the voice meant. If there was a dance that she could do to get out of this, then she would be able to figure it out, but she had to analyze everything around her. Looking around she noticed how the gaps were and where the end of each bar was. After a few quick thoughts and throwing everything out she closed her eyes and started one of her dance routines. After a few moves, she felt her wing clip one of the bars and she quickly fell down to the ground. She shook her head out and saw the small bruise on her wing before looking around. Unfortunately, she couldn't really tell whether she had made any progress on getting out of the cage or not because of how the room and everything around her looked.   "Well, that went over well. I can't even tell if I've made any progress because of this stupid room. What the name of Celestia is this room even supposed to be?!" she asked facehoofing and pulling the sockets of her eyes down as she tried to figured everything out.

 

 

"Okay....Uh I have no idea what the creature's saying, but I think umm.....maybe if we dance together towards those bars....I think we might break them? I am not so sure....." She unintentionally spoke her mind "Oh...I'm sorry! Uh I'm thinking here ehehehe!"

Edited August 1, 2013 by Flow

[Key Gear 6,663]

(OOC: I recommend Beethoven. I found it fitting. Now, I didn't proofread this as much as I normally would have. It is late, and I am tired. If you see something odd, bring it to my attention.)

 

 

That way she didn't suffer the side effects that Dusky had warned her about, but was still able to see and react to things around her. "There, I also made it to where I can see without seeing, thanks to the information that you gave me about myself being what I make myself to be," she told him

 

Dusky glanced towards Ice Storm with an eyebrow raised. Of course, it made perfect sense. One of the properties of ice was that it was crystalline, which meant that it could reflect and refract light given the right circumstances. Here in this place, this normal trait could be exploited creatively.

 

It was a brilliantly creative use of her skill in ice magic, and Dusky was surprised that he hadn't even considered the possibility. While he was glad that she was no longer blinded, her success merely further highlighted his own concern. This was an example of yet another thing that he had failed to consider. 

 

He experienced another brief, momentary spike in fear due to his lack of foresight, but it fell away as he remembered something else forgotten. This was the benefit of working on a team. Each team member could cover for the weaknesses of the other. He nodded his head slightly, in unspoken acknowledgement of Ice Storm's creativity with her magic being a trait that he himself didn't necessarily possess. 

 

 

 

She then noticed as that he was getting ready to begin with his assistance before noticing that there was a ripple out towards the center. She nodded, "If this did hear us, then we shouldn't waste anymore time," she said spreading her stance before a vibrant glow overtook her and a beam of almost pure ice shot from her horn instantly freezing and spreading from the contact point on the surface of the ocean.

 

Working together, the ice shot across the surface of the ocean at a breakneck pace. In just a matter of minutes, the entire surface of the ocean was nearly covered, and nothing had come forth to challenge them. The sight stretched out before them. The vast frozen surface was flawlessly beautiful. The light that permeated the world refracted off of the surface of the dark ocean, a shimmering radiance of many colors.

 

He stared at the serenity that the ocean had become. Not a single thing moved across the surface. The ice covered the entirety of the thing now, and it began to work its way downwards. In truth, he had only his own estimates of the ocean's depth, but the rate of progress that they were making was quite astonishing. He focused, even more so, on the task.

 

It didn't seem likely that he would be allowed to succeed in stopping whatever was being done without some type of resistance. Yet, here it was, the ocean's peaceful, undisturbed surface easily gave way. And, with every passing moment, he focused even more intensely on the task in front of him. He could feel the magic and its effectivity. The ice was beginning a slow descent to the bottom of the ocean, the shield was holding, his field across the surface of the ice had detected no movement. 

 

He decided to take advantage of the serenity. He began to think of how he could merge the worlds, just for a moment, uniting himself and ending the apparent curse that had befallen him. It would not be easy. He would have to bridge the single point - the mountain in the distance - across the realm that they were in as well as the realm that they had just left. Like a needle threading between two points, several other realms would be united as well. 

 

It would be tricky. He could wait until the ice was frozen, or he could begin the process right then, hoping that his skill would be sufficient. He decided to start immediately. If he could succeed, then he had no doubts that he could save Asteria, protect Ice Storm, and do whatever else needed to be done. He would be himself again, a guardian. He could manipulate the realms without magic. It would only take the correct sequence of thoughts. He started to visualize what he wanted, and he could immediately feel the beginning of the process taking place.

 

"Dusky..." He looked up at the sudden mention of his name, but there was nothing there, and nothing had left the ocean, he would have felt it. He glanced at Ice Storm, but he knew it couldn't be her. The voice had sounded strange, distant, cold. It was also quite familiar. It reminded him of his own voice, but it didn't seem to be quite the same. It was strange, disembodied. He looked around again, but the voice had held no discernible direction of origin.

 

"Dusky..." It spoke again, more insistent. A gust of frigidly cold air somehow made it through his shield. It had no effect on him, but it was disconcerting nonetheless. His eyes narrowed and his ears focused intently. The voice spoke again. "Dusky, Dusky, Dusky..." It sounded dismissive, powerful. It now betrayed a location. It was coming from the direction of the ocean. Dusky's gaze focused on it, scanning the surface and then looking up towards the mountain in the distance. 

 

"Dusky. You always have been so painfully oblivious. To everything. You look for me? I am here, right here. Just as the matter of dreams has one that speaks for it, the matter of nightmare does as well. Freezing the ocean has no effect on my ability to speak. In fact, it was by freezing it that I was awakened. You cannot fight me, you know. I am beyond your power. Perhaps, it would do you well to listen, instead. I would like to tell you a story."

 

"There was once a pony. A young pony. He was born with wings and a horn. It was a very long time ago. He lived in a village. He was special. He had a destiny. He was, despite what everyone initially thought, a powerful creature. Perhaps you know him? Of course, you do. Don't worry, though, I will not bore you with the intimately familiar. You see, this story isn't about him. This story is about me." The voice had become captivating. Despite himself, Dusky listened, even as his focus didn't waver.

 

"First, you should know. I have been for quite some time. Before you, before all of the others, before this ocean, I was here. However, I was no more than a mindless piece of matter. I was not conscious. I was even less than an animal. I was not alive. I was merely, much as this Ocean of Nightmare is today, fuel for the night and day dreams of countless creatures throughout the eons. I remember little from that time, but I do remember one thing. I was, at that time, composed of many things. I was dream. I was nightmare. I was nothing."

 

"Of course, as you might imagine, I was mostly nightmare. The substance that refused to mix with much else. It was this that enabled my escape. I am sure you know, nightmare has always had an easier time leaving this place. It is the more potent force, concentrated and powerful. This was how I left. But, you see, I was not mere nightmare. Just as I had been here, I retained my properties. I was a mixture of many things - nightmare, dream, nothing. Unfortunately, I was also mindless."

 

"This is when it happened. There was a small village. I found this village. Nearby, there was a place that was comfortable for my mindless state. I lived there. Much like some mindless plant, I fed on the light, the warmth of the area. It became cold. It became dark. Not physical light, but the inner light. It was my food, my sustenance. I stayed there for some time, until I had exhausted my food source. Then, I moved on, in search of something else."

 

As the voice continued to speak, its words became more distracting. Dusky was now listening intently, while attempting to continue. "That was when we met. You and your friends. The young winged unicorn, leader of the group. Yes, I remember you. You led a team of wingless unicorns. You were all food to me. So much light... I was drawn to you, mindlessly. At first, the feast, it was wondrous. The unicorns attempted to scar me, to damage me, but they were powerless."

 

"Then, there was you... You approached me. I allowed you to get too close. Looking back, this was the first moment when I actually thought, I became conscious. What I thought was simple. You seemed different from the others. I wondered, briefly, what type of creature you were. You seemed beautiful to me. Strange, mysterious. I could see... Just for a moment, that you thought the same of myself. We connected in that moment. Then, the moment ended." The voice laughed bitterly. "It was amazing... One moment, I had been there. The next moment, I was gone."

 

"Do you remember what happened next? Ah, no... Of course you wouldn't. How could you know what happened to me? From your perspective, you had vanquished me. I was dead. But, foolish pony... You cannot simply kill a creature like myself. Even among the creatures of this place, I am unique. Did you not see my many eyes? Did you not notice... That even my eyes had eyes within them. I am sure that you noticed. It was beautiful wasn't it? Then, you turned beauty into pain. This was merely the first time."

 

Dusky grimly decided to ignore the voice. It was probably some kind of trick, he cautioned himself against putting credence into the words that he was hearing. The voice laughed in response. "I know you hear me. It's obvious now, isn't it? Your spell didn't destroy me. It merely caused me pain beyond even your ability to understand. My eyes, all of them, scattered like ash in the wind, and they were carried... They were carried to the farthest extents of your natural realm."

 

"Thanks to this... I was able to see so much of your natural world. I saw your increasing power. I saw how you were loved by so many. I saw that you were on such a bright, wonderful path. I had no choice but to see. My eyes are lidless. Everything. I saw everything, everywhere at once. Nearly nothing was hidden from me. So much emotion, so much beauty, so many lies, so much hatred, so much love. I saw everything and I began to learn. My encounter with you had taught me the value of thought. Now, I could think about what I was seeing. And... I thought a lot. Possibly too much. I am a bit unsteady now. How could I not be? Countless eons spent listening to an endless chattering. Madness. I am familiar with it."

 

"But, one thing did become clear to me, through the noise. Through thought, I learned to hate you. You had found a book, and you had read it, found what you needed to know, and moved on, immediately. You didn't question yourself, your conclusions. You were oblivious, a fool. You approached me as though I was pure nightmare, but I was not. You used the wrong tactics. You could have taught me, I would have learned. You could have reached out in compassion and feeling, but instead you struck me down. I could have restored them if you had been kind to me. You know, I could have brought back your village, your parents..."

 

"You only needed to teach me that what I had done was wrong. In that moment, when you looked and saw me... You should have known... You could have tried... Speaking to me... Sharing... Instead, look what you did? That was why I hated you. You were so hungry for vengeance. It blinded you. If I had been nightmare, your spell would have worked. I wasn't. Your spell failed. No one benefitted from your actions. Not even yourself, or so I thought. But, I watched you... You became a guardian, a great one. My hatred increased. I had to do something, something to stop you."

 

Ignoring the voice was becoming more of a challenge. Its words... They were horrible. Dusky began to sweat under the strain of trying to concentrate while guarding himself against the words of the voice. The voice continued dryly. "It was me, you see. It was my plan. It was always my plan. I was able to read many things during my time. Something that I read was interesting. I found a way to manifest myself, and to channel my power to others, given certain conditions."

 

"That was how I found the dragon. It was there, you see. Massive, powerful. But, it was weakened. I saved its life. In return, I only asked one thing of it. I wanted it to destroy you. It attacked your new village. You were, as I suspected, all too eager to exercise power over another. You outpaced your colleagues, and you were nearly destroyed. But, the dragon withdrew. It was a pity, but at least, I was able to watch you suffer with your useless wings. It was hilarious."

 

"Then you amazed me. Turning yourself into the very thing that had destroyed you... And, then destroying your own village. That had not been a part of my plan, actually. In fact, I was content with the damage that had already been done... To see what you did... It surprised and horrified me. When you lost yourself and began to destroy other dragons, my horror was compounded. I had to do something... Something to stop you. I knew of a place... A place where dreams and reality merged into one horrific mass."

 

"It was I. I gave you the information. I led you down the path that led to the release of the creature. I knew you would release it. You were so hungry to undo what you had done. I knew that you would be defeated by it. Sadly... What I didn't know was that the creature was like I had once been. Mindless. I also didn't know that it would, like me, somehow gather some type of consciousness from its encounter with you. Unlike me, it decided to do more than this... I tried to stop it, but your combined forces exceeded my own."

 

"That was when we met again. Unfortunately, when the creature merged with you, it somehow managed to drag me in with it. I was, in part, returned to this horrible place. I retained my consciousness, of course, and, mercifully, my independence of thought. You may know me as Wraith, for this is how we were introduced. The name, of course, is one that I have been given many times, of course. As the weakened visions before and during death were what I used to make myself apparent in your realm." Dusky's concentration flickered and his eyes opened wide. 

 

"Ah, you do remember me... Marvelous. I was hoping to see the look on your face when you learned... Well, it was fun, wasn't it? Working with your enemy to build the place that your hooves now rest on? Amusing that you never noticed our similarities, oblivious as always. For you see, you made me, in part, what I am. I learned from you. Watching you. Now you can see, perhaps? It was always me. Always. I was the destroyer of your village, the taker of your wings, the releaser of the creature that plagued you."

 

"Of course, at the same time... It was always you, wasn't it? You could have saved your village, but you failed. Your vengeance overrode your heart. You felt no empathy towards me, because of this, you doomed your family forever. I could have saved them... You lost your own wings. If you had only waited, the other guardians could have persevered with your help. You released the creature... It was your hunger to return to being a pony, to regain your magic... This hunger drove you foolishly forward and unleashed a power beyond your simple understanding."

 

The tall, shadowy pony stared wild eyed out into the ocean. His emotions were no longer constrained in the slightest. Fear, confusion, and rage mixed and intermingled freely. The voice continued, calmly addressing Dusky with a powerful whisper. "You destroyed everything that you've ever loved. Your own actions. You were doing it again, you know. This train... The ponies on it... Your wild scheme. Before this ice pony appeared, you were going to do it again, destroying everything. Again. I was trying to stop you..."

 

"It was I, of course. When the substance of dreams escaped and took the form of Trixie, I managed to follow. I suspect, as before, it was because we are, in some way, connected. That plan... It was so complex... A single mistake and countless lives could have been lost. Did you care? I don't think so. You were, once again, bent on your objective. An exercise of power for its own sake. Just like freezing this ocean. Merging the worlds. Another mindless exercise of power... With uncertain outcomes... What if you fail? What if you make a mistake? How many will die this time?"

 

Dusky caught his breath in a single fierce motion, and his black eyes blazed unnaturally. He stopped freezing the ocean, and he diverted his thoughts from the worlds. Finally, it was his turn to speak, as the voice lingered in silence, expecting an answer. Dusky spoke, strongly, in a voice thick with his conflicting thoughts and emotions. "I... I am not a monster... At each step, I only did what I believed, what I thought could help others... I existed to protect..."

 

The voice spoke back, mocking Dusky's tone and drowning him out. "Your intentions are not important. What is important is the outcome. Look behind you? Look at the tribute that you built to your own actions. First, you destroy your own town of birth, then the town of the unicorns? Each and every one of those unicorns was a master of magic in their own right. Their deaths at your hooves... You probably set back the study of magic by millennium with that one action. You claim to favor power? What was more powerful than those unicorns? Then, you destroyed those dragons? Were they not powerful. Do you favor power? Or, do you hoard it and exercise it instinctively? Crushing those weaker than you? Much as I once was, I suspect you are no more than a mindless destroyer of everything that you see..."

 

For a second, Dusky shook with the force of the accusation. The voice continued, gaining in volume and intensity. It spoke with reproach. "Are you really so blind? Have you never thought about this? Considered it? You haven't changed at all... Not even a little bit. Again, you are oblivious. Again, you never question yourself. You never doubt. Can you not see? You are a monster, Dusky. As a guardian, your first action should have been to kill yourself, ridding the world of your evil... I know you thought about it after each incident. Well... Think of it now, before you destroy something else. Hmmm? Think of it... You miserable bastard."

 

Dusky didn't stop to think about it. Instead, he, cooly, asked a single question. "Where are you?" The voice spoke cheerfully. "Why, I'm right here, of course. You threw that field over the ice, hoping to know if something had departed. Funny... Of course, you didn't even consider that something had already left..." There was a brilliant flash in the distance, and there it was. It was a massive figure, shifting, brilliantly bright, vague. It hovered some meters above the frozen surface with many flowing wings, they looked like vacillating fish fins. The creature was covered in eyes, all staring in many different directions. 

 

The shadowy pony took a single step forward and locked eyes on the creature. "All of this... It isn't important. Where is Asteria?" The creature's voice answered in return, angrily. "All of this. It is important. I think. Unlike you, I rarely speak in absolutes. I doubt myself all of the time." The creature hovered nearer, continuing talkatively. "To be honest, maybe... Maybe I just lied about everything I said? Maybe I'm manipulating you for some odd purpose? But... Maybe not? Maybe a bit? You see, the best lies have truth in them... A lie can even be an omission, you know this well, do you not? Ah, but... The time for talk is over. Look at me, again, Dusky. Just as you did so many thousands of years ago..."

 

The creature laughed, it was a hissing laugh, tinged with sorrow, pain. "Stare at me, in my wholeness. I am no longer destroyed. I see you, you see me. You are here with allies, again. This time will be different though. This time... You will be known for what you are... A monster. This time I am not hungry, I am already quite well fed. Those dinner rolls on the previous night... They were delicious. Ah, yes. And... There's another difference... This time... I will be the one to destroy you, you will not destroy me... I have to stop you, of course. You're evil, and you are the worst form of it - that which does not even recognize its own evil." The creature hovered nearer. 

 

Dusky blinked and focused his magic on the shield surrounding himself and Ice Storm. He spoke to the voice again. "You didn't answer my question..." The voice spoke back in answer. "Of course I didn't. Mystery, Dusky. It is the Key to everything. You can't have that if I tell you everything. Some things must remain hidden, you see. They must remain unknown, even to you. Just kidding. Actually, Asteria is dead. I killed her just now. It was unavoidable. She had served her purpose. The butterfly was no longer useful. She was bait. Of course. To lure you here. The end justifies the means. Goodbye, Dusky."

 

A few hundred meters in front of Dusky and Ice Storm, just behind the creature, there was a tremendous cracking sound, and a bright light began to blaze beneath the thick ice. Another cracking sound. Dusky stood, frozen. A single tear rolled from his right eye as he stared out at the creature, seemingly frozen. The creature drew nearer, and it spoke again, its voice boomed against the silent ocean. "Run away, Ice Storm. This isn't the place for you. You know what he is now. You don't need to fight for this thing. Leave him to die. Leave him with me. I'll take care of him. In this ocean. Forever... You and your friends... I can send you home... Return to the village... You will not be harmed if you do this..." 

 

In the distance, the ice gave way, and a brilliant explosion of fire and water shot through a gaping hole like a geyser. The fire was unusual, it was a bright, vivid blue flame of frightening clarity and wildness. It stood in direct contrast to the creature that emerged from beneath the ice. It was a dragon - massive, stately, black, and powerful. Long seconds passed as its head and neck slowly emerged from beneath the surface. A sickening crack occurred as its massive body and outstretched wings broke through. More seconds passed as it climbed through the ice, it was a freakish, gargantuan form.

 

Effortlessly, the dragon ascended from the ice and into the sky. It didn't need to flap its wings to stay airborne. Instead, it ascended in silence and hovered, watching the ponies on the shore with its wings outstretched. The creature spoke. "Wonderful, isn't it? You made a dragon as a guardian over your world. Then, I took that guardian and managed to make it the real thing. This is him. This is the very same dragon that took your wings. Mmm... Dusky, you should hide, perhaps? Enjoy the feeling of weakness that I know you feel now? Because, you have no wings left to give. Only your horn, of course. Oh... And your life. I think that, this time, it would be best to take that as well..."

 

---

 

 

 

She stroke Luminescence's mane, which she hoped was not for the last time. "I care for you, Luminescence, don't you ever dare imply otherwise. I-I'll stay. I will stay here, with you. I will take the chances. I'm not an unicorn, or a fighter, but I will try to help."

 

Luminescence watched Summer, and her eyes welled with tears. Summer had not broken, and there was still hope. For a moment, the strain required to keep the cat at bay seemed like a lighter burden to carry. She would not be abandoned, and she would not have to stand against her own creation alone. Instead, she could have assistance, and her own death was no longer a necessary fact that she would have to face. She would only need to think of a way to save them from the immediate danger of the cat outside the room.

 

Her guardian was not a unicorn, not a fighter, but Summer was a pony with an inner strength. This inner strength was, right then, all that Luminescence was concerned with. She watched Summer as the earth pony began to assemble a variety of items. She was preparing to make a journey of some kind. The filly didn't follow Summer's thinking until the mare spoke again.

 

 

 

"Luminescence, I might be wrong, but I assume that you can alter the reality to a certain extent in your own world? If so, inside that world might lie our best chances against the cat. Staying here would mean you will have to fight it with your flesh alone. If you can, take us into that world, together. I will do my best to help you in any way necessary."

 

Summer's words were the spoken answer to the unspoken question. What would be the next step? Luminescence could feel her natural magic beginning to reach its limits. She could reach for what was beyond those limits, but it was possible that any weakness could be exploited by the cat to take control of her. On the other hoof, she had no idea what she would find when she travelled to her world. She could transport them there, only for them both to become trapped in endless descent.

 

Every time she appeared in this world, she could only vaguely control where she appeared. She had never transported another pony to this place. She wondered how likely she would be to convey Summer to safety. She spoke... "Summer, I am more powerful in my own world, but... I do not know if..." A loud thud against the door interrupted her. The spell was no longer sufficient to keep the cat away from the two of them. Her head jerked to stare at the door, and her red eyes instantly shot wide open and glowed brightly reddish-yellow, like flames. 

 

There was another thud, then silence and darkness. Summer and Luminescence were no longer in the train car, instead they were cloaked in darkness. They could both feel the sensation of falling, but there was no movement or motion - only absolute darkness. Luminescence's voice cut through the darkness. "We are going there now, into my world and away from this place. I am not strong enough to fight that thing out there. How could I be? It and I... We are connected out there, but I do not think that this connection exists so strongly where we are going."

 

The filly's voice calmly continued. "We may die. I have never tried to transport two ponies to this place. However, if we had remained, then our deaths would have been certain. There was only one thing to do, so I did it. We must protect each other now... This may involve intelligently calculated risks. Trust is important... Even if we simply do not know... Mmmm, but we will arrive safely. I can feel something now." The darkness began to clear, and the filly and the mare softly landed in a strange place.

 

They were in a hall, which was dimly lit by some type of iridescent glow. The glow appeared to be arising from the walls, and it bore an uncanny resemblance to the color of the cat's eyes and to the color that Luminescence's eyes had just glowed. The hall appeared to snake on, as far as the eye could see in either direction. It's walls were bent into an arc, giving the hall a semi-circular shape. On the floor of the hall, a torrent of semi-dark liquid travelled. The floor of the hall seemed to slope upwards.

 

Luminescence hissed furiously as she was nearly bowled over into the liquid. The fast moving liquid was high enough to reach the filly's shoulders, and it was strangely but not overpoweringly cold. The filly still felt weak from her earlier battle with the cat, the shadowy substance was nearly too much for her. Her eyes glowed, again, but nothing seemed to happen. Instead, she staggered and nearly fell in, again. In desperation, she grabbed onto one of Summer's hind legs.

 

In a voice that was calm, but plainly strained. "Forgive me for being a burden, but this substance... I have no effect on it... If you could... Summer, could you carry me against the flow of this water? It is not so much of a distance. We appeared and we are in the right place. There is something that I can do to end all of this. When we reach the destination, it is a cave of sorts, carry me to the ladder that you will see. First, I will ascend the ladder alone. Then... Wait a moment, and join me..."

 

---

 

 

 

“Well, okay.” she said, as though she hadn’t even given it a thought. Was she being reckless? Was this really the best course of action? Were there other options she was unable to see? But she couldn’t answer any of them. No one else was here with her to provide an answer, either. So she simply had to accept. “We are friends. Friends help friends when they need it. What kind of friend would I be to refuse? It’s nothing dangerous, right? And nopony will get hurt at any point? If you can guarantee that, I will promise to help you, Wraith.” Asteria said, heart swirling with uncertainty. What could she do that Wraith could not do himself?

 

The big cat stared at the filly, blankly. He paced around her, once, studying Asteria carefully. Finally, he settled down immediately next to her, staring straight ahead as he finally spoke. "Well... That is another first. No one has ever promised me anything, certainly not before I had even said what it was." The cat smiled, and it was a different smile than those that he had worn previously. His smile and bearing were regal, inviting. 

 

He spoke again, addressing Asteria with a respectful tone. "Very well... A promise. I can promise some things as well. First, it is nothing dangerous. In fact, you may laugh because it is so mundane. Nopony will be harmed, at any point. I can guarantee these things to you, and..." He twitched, involuntarily before continuing. "I can promise that I am not lying. Do keep in mind, though... This is, perhaps, one of the most important things that you will ever do in your entire life."

 

Wraith sighed and turned to look at Asteria before continuing. "There will be consequences, certainly, but these are all good consequences. There is a cost to this, as well, but the cost is nothing to you and is for my consideration only... Here is what I would like for you to do." He blinked a few times and shook his head. "Well... Earlier... I saw you reach out to touch my nose, but you pulled back before you did so. I think that this was something that you wanted to do, but fear compelled you to withdraw."

 

"You don't have to be afraid, and this is what I want you to promise to me... Don't be afraid. Trust me enough to reach out and touch me. Do it now, and that is all that I ask of you, Asteria. I realize that this seems to be nothing more than a simple gesture, and perhaps, it is. But, perhaps it is not. As you have said, we are friends, and I think that, in truth, we are good friends. You understand me as none other has before, and your words have taught me. Now, as a favor, I just request a simple action?"

 

---

 

 

 

His attention returned to the blue cat.  It seemed to Alex that it was trying to play with Bolt by lying to him and making him play its game.  He scowled to the mysterious blue cat.  "Why you mangy, no good lying..."  Alex started off at the blue cat from his cell, shaking the bars hard with his hooves.  It even had the audacity of it telling Electrobolt to name it.  "I can think of a couple of names, you blue rat.  There's one.  I can also think of rug, hairball, dustbuster.  Take your pick, whiskers."

 

The small cat ignored the raging pegasus, but the fur along the back her neck began to rise. Her eyes twinkled with dark fury at the many insults, and she held her head higher while waiting for Bolt to speak. She didn't understand why the pegasus had lashed out at her. It was obvious to her that he had no idea what was going on. He was an idiot. She said nothing and she didn't even look in the direction of the pegasus that had spoken to her. Her focus on Bolt was now unshakeable.

 

 

 

So in a hushed whisper, Electrobolt began to talk to the cat. "Hey," he whispered over to her, trying not to draw "Trixie's" attention over to him. "I think I have a name for you. How does 'Kay' sound to you? It's... Kind of the only name that came to me..."

 

Her eyes narrowed as Bolt spoke, and she stared at the green earth pony in expectation. When he had finally revealed her name, she nodded her head. It was perfect, in many ways. She spoke back to him in a whisper that only he could hear. "I like this name, and I will take it. If you do not mind, I would like to return to you a gift. I would like to give you a name as well. I will call you Traveller, if you do not mind. Now, this was a good deal, was it not? I feel satisfied with how things worked out..."

 

 

 

Looking around she noticed how the gaps were and where the end of each bar was. After a few quick thoughts and throwing everything out she closed her eyes and started one of her dance routines. After a few moves, she felt her wing clip one of the bars and she quickly fell down to the ground. She shook her head out and saw the small bruise on her wing before looking around.

 

The cat turned to glance at the pegasus. As Wind Dancer moved, Kay's eyes closed and she bobbed her small head in tune with the pegasus pony's motions. Suddenly, Wind Dancer fell, and the moment was over. Key's eyes opened again and glanced in the direction of the pegasus. They lingered for just a moment before she redirected her gaze to the unusual scribe. The scribe had somewhat turned to stare at Bolt. The unusual pony's eyes span with a combination of red and yellow, like a brilliant fire. Kay shivered.

 

 

 

"Well, that went over well. I can't even tell if I've made any progress because of this stupid room. What the name of Celestia is this room even supposed to be?!" she asked facehoofing and pulling the sockets of her eyes down as she tried to figured everything out.

 

Kay seemed to be lost in thought. Her eyes had closed again and she seemed to be becoming increasingly frustrated with every passing second. "That wasn't enough... I can't seem to..." She muttered the words with a strong edge of desperation, and her small form trembled with the effort that she was expending.

 

 

 

"Okay....Uh I have no idea what the creature's saying, but I think umm.....maybe if we dance together towards those bars....I think we might break them? I am not so sure....." She unintentionally spoke her mind "Oh...I'm sorry! Uh I'm thinking here ehehehe!"

 

Flow's words carried to the scribe, who then looked away again. Finally, the strange scribe spoke. The voice carried throughout the room, and just as the "scribe" resembled Trixie, the voice sounded somewhat like Trixie's but not quite the same. The voice droned slowly, powerfully. "Tell Trixie... Even if you were to break the bars, then what will you do next? There is no escape from this place, and you will all..." The scribe was drowned out by a fierce hiss from the small blue cat, and the room fell into darkness.

 

It was a similar darkness to that which had conveyed them all to the room in the first place. Again, there was the darkness and the sensation of falling. Again, there was a strange silence and nothing could be seen. The darkness cleared, and Kay, Key Gear, Electrobolt, Wind Dancer, and Flow were in a grassy field with a sunny sky overhead. However, the field was not empty. Instead, it was filled with what seemed like countless statues.

 

The statues were of all types of creatures - ponies, griffons, dragons, and other things. The statues were unusual. They did not appear to be made of stone. While they were grey, they still carried some hint of the colors belonging to the creatures that the statues had been based on. Kay stood and shook herself. With a single paw, she indicated a direction. "This is the way that we must go. Do not touch the things here... They are the ones that were erased. They have no names. Follow me, don't fly. I do not wish to attract attention to us." 

 

Kay shook herself off again and began to walk in the direction that she had indicated. In the distance, a large gate interrupted a towering hedge of shrubbery. A wall of greenery seemed to surround the massive area. Despite the sun overhead, a strangely cool breeze seemed to blow across the entire open area. The grasses rustled with the breeze but were otherwise undisturbed. Kay's eyes darted wildly across the terrain, scanning for something.

 

---

 

@@Alex Night, When Alex entered the darkness, he did not exit it with the others. Instead, he landed, roughly, in an area filled with even more darkness. The only light was a narrow spotlight that poured from a hole in the ceiling, illuminating a hazy silhouette some distance away. The silhouette was too far away for its nature to be apparent. It shifted, slightly, turning away from the light and moving further into the darkness.

 

From the darkness, the voice of Kay spoke, but it sounded raspier, deeper. "I tried to help you. I wanted to help you. I am placing what little remains of myself in danger for you and yours. But... I only helped you on a condition. You had to prove your usefulness to me, in helping me to do what it is that I wish to do. With your insults, you have caused me to doubt that you can fulfill this purpose. Here, you see me for what I am. I ask you a question, and I wish to hear an answer that pleases me. Why did you insult me?"

 

---

 

 

 

Either way, he needed to do something. “So, I’m not crazy? There really is a large talking cat that has my filly? Say, you, Bringer. What do you need her for, anyway? To make you cupcakes or something? Or write notes for you? I honestly can’t see what you’d want from her. Now, riddles and jokes, right? I don’t know if I can, but let’s just go for it.” Lapis said a tad amused at this situation. After a point, one gives up trying to make things work in their head how they’re supposed to go.

 

The cat grinned and answered cheerfully. "Yes! Cupcakes! And, of course, writing. That is her cutie mark, isn't it? She writes stuff, right? Like a scribe or something?" Midnight glanced over her shoulder for just a moment, her dark eyes sparkling, but she returned to her own writing after just a second. She appeared to be deep in contemplation as the pen flew across the paper. 

 

 

 

Lapis tapped his chin a few times, trying his best to remember the joke book he had read once not too long ago while waiting in line at a bookstore. “What did the cat say when he lost all his bits? I’m paw! What’s more clever than a talking cat? A spelling bee!” he said, feeling incredibly stupid. These jokes were awful... He hoped the riddles he could think up would be at least a little better.

 

Bringer chuckled wildly with amusement at the first joke. He rolled over into the strange water and back out again before taking a playful hop forwards towards the earth pony. "Fantastic! Though, I am quite certain that I've heard of those myself. Either that, or I thought of a few myself. I like thinking of jokes. I just rarely say them. Jokes are like wine, they all get better the longer you wait before using them..." The big cat grinned lopsidedly.

 

 

 

“How about a few riddles? I’ll name 3 and see if you can answer them, alright?” He cleared his throat and recited some of the riddles he knew. “What goes around the world but stays in the corner?” he said, realizing this one might be a bit easy. “No sooner spoken than broken. What is it?” This one was probably easy, too. “If you throw me from the window, I will leave a grieving wife. Bring me back, but in the door, and you'll see someone giving life! What am I?” he asked, thinking this one might keep Bringer busy long enough for Midnight to do whatever it was she had planned.

 

The cat's grin vanished into a contemplative stare when Lapis mentioned the word "riddle". He waited in silence while Lapis spoke. The sound of the continuing dripping water and Midnight's furious writing were the only other things heard. When Lapis had finished, Bringer smiled. "Your riddles are easy. Far too easy. In fact, I am bored. Maybe after these riddles, it will be my turn to amuse you both?" The big cat smiled toothily. 

 

He began his answers with confidence. "In answer to the first one, there is only one force that is certain to go around the world every time, but remains in a corner. They are the lesser Anemoi, the wind spirits that reside in the corners of the world, sending their guiding force throughout all of the oceans. No sooner spoken than broken is the word of one without a name. They have no ability to give their word, because they have no words to give. As to your last one, I have no idea, but it is so long winded and boring that I can only imagine it to be something not worth my time." He concluded his answers with menace.

 

He continued while continuing to approach Lapis. "Now, I think that the time for riddles is over. Or, maybe one more... But, I will have to tell you your riddle in a moment. First, I have a riddle for the bird." Midnight's spoke, plainly irritated. "No. Sorry. I don't have time for riddles. In fact, your own time for riddles is over." She finished what she was writing with a flourish and the floor gave way beneath the cat. Bringer and all of the gathering substance fell into what seemed to be a bottomless chasm.

 

Midnight stood, packed away her items and paused for a moment to speak to Lapis. "That was nicely done... I don't think that we should have any more encounters like that one. I just made a few changes to this place. Thankfully, this is one of the few places where all scribes can directly alter things. It was once a training grounds of a sort." She started to walk along the path, there was a door on the far side of the room. "This was locked earlier. It isn't now." She opened the door and stepped into semi-darkness.

 

Behind the door, there was a hallway. Its walls were curved and there seemed to be some type of iridescent glow, lighting the path. The hallway seemed to slope downwards. "Lapis, this will take us to your filly. It is, however, quite a long walk, and I would not recommend running. While we travel, ask me any questions that you might have. When we arrive, there will be no time for questions. I know that your filly is safe, but I do not know what will separate us from her. I doubt that I will even be able to unlock doors in the place that we are going, but I can try if we become desperate." She began to walk down the hall, towards a strange darkness in the distance in front of them. 

 

---

 

Vim was an old earth pony, and this was hardly the first time that he was faced with a small group of agitated unicorns. In fact, he had learned to expect the worst when unicorns were in a strange place. It was almost like a running joke for him. Allegedly the more powerful of ponies, unicorns would be the first ones to buckle under stress and jeopardize the very things that they had hoped to protect. Because of this, all of their power typically meant nothing. 

 

It was for this reason that he had been careful to avoid placing any real unicorns on his train crew, and he carefully avoided being placed in situations when he would need to deal with any crew that included unicorns. He didn't count Dusky as a unicorn. Up until the past few days, his engineer had only exhibited the occasional moment of strange behavior. In fact, Dusky had been, from the beginning, more like an earth pony than a unicorn.

 

Dusky was a silent, resolute, and very physical pony. Vim had never seen the shadowy pony use magic for any purpose. In fact, the conductor had occasionally joked that it seemed like Ambrosia was more of a unicorn than Dusky was. The joke was originally made in reference to her strange talent for counting bits and taking inventory, and it had been some time since he had last said it aloud. Now, watching Ambrosia face Scarlet, he was reminded of it again.

 

Other than a furious swear that he had spoken just a few moments before, Vim did his best to draw no attention to himself as he watched the others. He could read Ambrosia well enough to know that the cook had absolutely no idea what she was doing. She stood still, facing Magicon and Scarlet. His glance fell to Arcanel next, the pegasus was speaking based on passion, not strategizing. That would end poorly. Arcanel had possibly made himself a target. He glanced at Dawn next. The unicorn was under her own shield and her expression was focused, unreadable. 

 

Next, Vim took a measure of Scarlet. Despite her fiery colors, the unicorn seemed quite cold. She showed no reaction whatsoever to Ambrosia's words. Finally, Vim watched Magicon. In stark contrast to Scarlet's cold focus, the stallion was, plainly, feeling some type of emotion. Vim's eyes narrowed. The conductor was reminded of the time, earlier, when Magicon had saved Flow from Trixie, but this seemed different. There were no clear cut bad or good ponies here. If Magicon acted instinctively, he could easily harm any of the ponies present.

 

 

 

"Fighting or killing between us, is not going to help anypony."

 

Scarlet twitched in response to the words from the pegasus, and she quickly spoke to defend her original point. "You are wrong. If there is a spy among us, and there is, then this spy must be destroyed." The unicorn's eyes quickly moved to scan the group, taking in Magicon and Ambrosia, first. When Vim saw her gaze whisking towards him, he did his best to appear as confused and idiotic as possible. The silvery mare seemed to buy the act and she continued to glance around without lingering even a second. She ignored all of the rest of Arcanel's words. They seemed inconsequential.

 

 

 

While the group remained focus on the four ponies, Magicon took a few steps sideways, keeping Dawn in his sights. He began charging his magic inside him and aimed for Dawn. In a single loud and rapid shot, he cast a paralysis spell directly at Dawn, hoping it would travel fast enough to hit her before she could react. Magicon wasn’t sure what would happen. Magic was unpredictable and its consequences ever-changing and always uncertain, but it was worth the risk.

 

Vim was watching Magicon when the stallion made his first moves. The conductor recognized the motions for what they were, an impending attack. His gaze flickered to Dawn and then back to Magicon in an instant. She was still shielded, and the magical field looked fairly strong. Vim wasn't an expert, but it didn't look like Magicon was charging the type of bolt that would break it. This meant that she was fine for now, and he could ignore Magicon and focus on Scarlet.

 

Ambrosia started in response to Magicon's loud shot, and her eyes seemed to focus immediately on the bolt. Two thoughts went through her mind in rapid succession. The first thought was that Magicon had fired at her with the intent to kill, the second was a desperate grasp for a thought, any thought, that could be used to fight back against him. She immediately thought of flames and Magicon's bolt, whatever it had been, turned into a raging fireball and struck Dawn's shield, sending cinders everywhere.

 

After watching Magicon's bolt with an idle gaze, Scarlet charged her own magic. After a moment, her horn glowed with a clear light, and something resembling blue lightning crashed from her horn and directly into Arcanel. She spoke loudly without hesitation and without a trace of emotion. "The friend of an enemy is also an enemy and both should share the same fate. Such a fate is..." A sudden, painful crash interrupted her attempted speech. 

 

The conductor had picked his target. When he saw her starting to charge, Vim had sprinted to cover the distance between himself and the unicorn. He had moved quietly enough, and he was aided by the fact that Scarlet had seemed oblivious to his presence. He bucked Scarlet directly in her side with full force, knocking her off her hooves and in the direction of Magicon. With a unusual nimbleness for such a large stallion, Vim preemptively began a somewhat random sidestepping motion while moving forward. He closed the distance between himself and Scarlet and Magicon, while being careful to allow himself the ability to get cover if they charged anything else.

 

Dawn was unharmed by the fireball, and Ambrosia had instinctively hit the ground and rolled at the sight of the flames. Neither mare was able to react before Arcanel was struck by Scarlet's spell or before Vim engaged the two unicorns. Ambrosia's mouth fell wide open as she surveyed the growing chaos and the damage that had been done to Arcanel. Without noticing it, her normally green eyes began to glow, strangely like those of the cat from earlier. 

 

Dawn didn't notice Ambrosia's glowing eyes. In fact, she noticed nothing but the pegasus. Her calm exterior had cracked. Her own eyes took on an identical appearance to those of Scarlet, and she rushed to Arcanel's side, while exclaiming his name. "Arcanel!" Ambrosia continued to stare at the growing scene. She felt a feeling that she couldn't quite remember feeling. It was a strange mixture of anger, confusion, and prescience, combined to form a strange desire to restore some type of order.

 

 

 

(OOC: Paging Alex and Arcanel, paging Alex and Arcanel... Please contact me before writing a response. Much obliged.)

 

 

Edited September 15, 2013 by Luminescence

[Starshine 16,333]

Seeing Luminescence straining herself like this, Summerfall could feel as if her heart was wrenched out of her chest cavity. The filly had been living under such otherworldly stress like this, being torn between two worlds. Nopony so young should suffer like this. She would help, as best as she could, but she would be a desperate liar if she said that they both would surely come out of this okay. Wounds, scars, or worse, would be inevitable, but she could at least ensure that Luminescence would have somepony to help her on where she couldn't make it alone.

 

 

"Summer, I am more powerful in my own world, but... I do not know if..."

 

"I trust you," Summerfall muttered out, but her words were drowned by a loud thud from the door. Luminescence jerked forward and her eyes blinked in an incandescent glow. Before she could say anything Summerfall found herself taken away from her holds. Darkness enveloped them. A sense of weightless nearly overwhelmed her senses, she quickly struggled to right herself upward to brace herself for the inevitable fall.

 

Through the darkness Summerfall could hear Luminescence explained to her about the connection between her and the beast, which she assumed would allow the beast to partially control her. But how could such connection be severed by going to Luminescence's world? Tried as she might, no answer came to her. When Luminescence said that trust is important, Summerfall nodded in grim acceptance. They only had each other as far as the world cared. Luminescence had trusted her, and she would trust Luminescence's judgement.

 

Summerfall could feel she landed somewhere, strangely without any momentum that usually accompanied such long fall. She quickly scrambled to stood up. The room they were in was... unusual, very much so. Endless hall, only walls as far as her eyes could see. The ground was irregular, a stream of unnaturally dark liquid flowed through the wall. The tilt of the ground and the glow that seemed to ebb from the walls had somehow given Summerfall the impression that they were in a pipe of some sort.

 

So fixated on the room, Summerfall only had noticed Luminescence's presence when the filly latched onto her hind hoof in desperation. She quickly dunked and lifted Luminescence, who now looked considerably paler than before, onto her back. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she stuttered as she brought herself and Luminescence onto a dry patch of the floor. On there, she tried using the drier part of her own coat as a wipe to drain the liquid out of Luminescence's.

 

 

 

In a voice that was calm, but plainly strained. "Forgive me for being a burden, but this substance... I have no effect on it... If you could... Summer, could you carry me against the flow of this water? It is not so much of a distance. We appeared and we are in the right place. There is something that I can do to end all of this. When we reach the destination, it is a cave of sorts, carry me to the ladder that you will see. First, I will ascend the ladder alone. Then... Wait a moment, and join me..."

 

The plan was unusual, but Summerfall had no objection to it. The running liquid seemed to have a very negative effect on Luminescence, but she was strangely unaffected from her dipping herself to help Luminescence out of it. Could it be something that drain the magic out of unicorns? With great care Summerfall took the useless soggy blanket out of her saddlebag and put Luminescence onto her. "Hold onto the saddlebag and my mane. I'll carry you," Summerfall said. Her gaze hardened as she examined the path before her. The massive pipe, the liquid, it was as if there was a chemical production plant just above them, and it was designed to dispense a massive burst of the black liquid, and what was running around her hooves right now was nothing but the leak. Made your way uphill, keep Luminescence dry, reach the ladder, wait, then go after Luminescence. A simple plan on the paper, but the execution would never be so simple. After making sure that Luminescence was set on her, Summerfall took a deep breath and took the first step into the liquid, and another.

 

The liquid was cold, but not verily so. A resistance was to be expected from wading through a running liquid, but faintly she felt something was different. It was not important, she convinced herself. Keep Luminescence dry, at all cost. Without a word she made her way through the liquid, maneuvering her way over the dry patches as she could without swerving too far. Every few moments she stopped to check on Luminescence. Her stomach sank when she finally noticed that the previously everpresent glow of her fur was now dimmed, flickering. "Hang in there, Luminescence. We are almost there..."

 

Summerfall had since lost track of time when she reached the aforementioned ladder. The journey could be anywhere from ten minutes to an eternity. The bottom part of her hooves had wrinkled from the liquid, not that she cared. Solemnly she trotted closer to the ladder and stood there. She looked at Luminescence. "I'll wait here. Should I wait for a second, or fifteen minutes? How long do you want me to wait?" she asked, her voice rasped. The determination was still there, but doubt had started to made itself known in her voice. Her eyes darted around the cave. She wanted to go up the ladder before Luminescence, just in case something jumped and attacked the filly, she would be there to receive the blunt damage. She remembered that she had promised to trust Luminescence's judgement but- No, Luminescence knows better. Summerfall closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to Luminescence's. "Be safe. I believe in you."

[Bari 7,023]

Lapis was a tad startled when the cat had started laughing, but he had still been able to tell his riddles without wavering. Though, in the pit of his stomach, he wondered if this all would buy enough time. By the time he had finished, he studied the cat while watching Midnight from the corner of his eye. Bringer confirmed his fears that the riddles were too easy. But when the cat answered, Lapis did his best not to break down in a fit of laughter. He didn't get a single one right, and the answers the cat had made up were completely ridiculous. But he didn't laugh. This wasn't a game. It was a distraction. One that had probably gone on for maybe only 5 minutes at most. Lapis truly hoped that had been enough time for his guide.

 

Lapis braced himself as the cat drew near. He wasn't a fighter, and this thing probably wasn't really a cat. If he drew his sword, Bringer would probably have gotten him halfway through the motion. That would be a very poor way to die. As Midnight spoke, though, Lapis felt she had gotten enough time after all. Lapis watched with wide-eyed amazement as their aggressor disappeared through a hole in the ground. He listen with mild pride as the mare congratulated him. He didn't think Bringer would have actually given them the time they needed.

 

Midnight explanation of this place got his gears turning. There was so much he didn't know about this place. If only there were a way he could learn just a little more. He didn't have a use for the knowledge, but it bothered him nonetheless. Lapis followed after his guide dutifully, trusting in her abilities to get Asteria back for him. “Well, if you insist.” he said mildly, holding back some excitement when she told him now would be a good time for questions. Maybe he'd get some answers that would make this all a little more clear.

 

“First off, what was that thing? I saw what I'm assuming is the same cat back on the train, and that one didn't talk. Or at least, it didn't feel the need to say anything. Why did it take my filly? Do you have any idea as to why? And would it be alright to ask about you personally?” Lapis said the last question carefully. He had come to realize some ponies would rather hit him than say something about their lives. “I mean, who are you, exactly? Perhaps this isn't the time, but I've had these past several minutes of being in this world to clear my head. I'm not always the most clear headed of ponies, evident by the fact I followed after you with little protest....”

 

Lapis looked ahead towards their destination. Up ahead was an impenetrable darkness. Whatever lay ahead could have been anything. He shifted his gaze back to Midnight, a little interested in watching her. His emotions were in a bit of a tangle, but his words did little to reflect it. “What did you mean by that place back there being a training ground? Also, there was an empty spot on your bookshelf back in your study. Was there supposed to be a book there? And what about your home? Why were there empty rooms? And what about the other scribes? Are they still around?” he said, suddenly realizing he'd asked too many questions at once.

 

He took a deep breath, maybe two. He picked up his pace a little to catch up with the mare. “How did you end up in this world? Were you born here? And that book I had written in. What purpose did it hold? And what did you do back there with the cat? And if we become desperate, what exactly will you try?” At this point, Lapis had run out of steam. His head started clouding up again, and couldn't think of any more questions. He choose to just stop talking for now and hear what answers Midnight had for him. He just hoped he hadn't asked too many questions. For now, though, he walk beside her, enjoying her company.

 

---

 

Asteria listened carefully to Wraith as he spoke. It was nice to know she had given the cat another first. The smile remind her of one she'd seen the princesses wear. Somewhat royal and almost calming. She felt a little silly for promising to do something blindly, but she hadn't confirmed it yet. Or at least, she didn't think she had. It didn't matter. She had basically promised to make a promise a moment ago. Asteria's heart began to beat faster as Wraith told her there was nothing to worry about. “T-the m-most important thing I will ever do...” she stammered softly.

 

Wraith continued to make sure she was at ease with this decision. But was what he want just that? To touch him on the nose? She giggled a little. The did sound simple, easy, and probably not dangerous. Unless of course Wraith wanted to eat her hoof.... But there was no time to worry about that. Wraith's words spoke to her heart. Something so simple, yet it could mean so much. What did this little tap mean? Was it truly something more?

 

“Okay, Wraith. I promise I shall do this for you.” she said, eyes sparkling. I'm not afraid, she thought to herself, I can do this. Slowly, she reached out and moved her soft purple hoof towards the large cat that sat crouched before her. This small gesture. This little movement of her foreleg. Who knew what it meant to the cat? To Asteria, it was just a bit of trust. She wanted with all her heart to trust Wraith. Why? She still found no answer. She just did things without thinking, yet thought it all over again and again. 

 

These thoughts bounced around in her head a thousand times in the short span of time it took for her hoof to finally make contact with Wraith's nose. And yet, it felt like forever to the filly. “Boop.” she said very softly, almost afraid that she might screw something up with the mere utterance. She took back her hoof, this time it only feeling like the seconds it took instead of the eternity from moments before. “That's it, right? Now what? Are we going to talk some more?” Asteria asked, head twisted to the side ever so slightly. And yet, the minute gesture was filled with so much hope and curiosity.

Edited August 10, 2013 by Bari

[Arcanel 3,041]

After Arcanel had finished speaking, there was a very small silence that had suddenly entered the field, like it was waiting for someone to break. The mailpony was begining fairly nervous, even for somepony who usually spent countless hours thinking on silence. Until suddenly he saw Magicon preparing himself and charging a spell. *Oh no... what is he gonna-* his train of thought was quickly interrupted when he saw Magicon fire a spell, right at Dawn's direction.

 

"DAWN!" was his inmediate scream as he saw the spell fly against the blue unicorn, turning just a bit to look at Magicon in horror, and then turning back to look at the spell again, only now it was a fireball, which made his eyes and nervousness increase in size, before it struck against Dawn's shield, and disappearing into cinders, after which, he released the breath he didn't know he was holding, and quickly turned to look at the crimson unicorn yet again, this time, a frantic look in his face. "Magicon are you insane!? This is not time to-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the scream had come from a sudden surge of electricity coursing through his body, causing him levels of pain that he had never suffered in his life, and made him fall to the floor, almost completely inmobile from the pain.

 

While it had been only a few seconds, it had felt like endless minutes of hurt that were making stay still as if he was standing on the floor. His fur was charred slightly, gaining a bit of a blackish hue and even releasing some smoke. His mane was completely disheveled, and every single time he tried to move, a huge pain would course through and made him release another small shout in disdain. In his mind, he could only think slowly, still unable to get the shock out of his system. *What... was... that... what... happened...* he wondered, unsure if he would find the answer there, suddenly he heard a scream, one that did not come from him.

 

 

 

"Arcanel!"

 

Once he heard the voice, he quickly recognized it as Dawn's, and saw the mare coming to towards his side. *Dawn... I think... she should get out... of here... but... I can't tell her... what she should do... she must choose... for herself... now... she can do so...* he thought, then went to look at the medical pony, and started speaking, his voice slow. "Dawn... you're not bound anymore... by Bringer... anymore... I know that... you can choose... what you want now...  we came here... to save Asteria... Try to help... make that happen... I trust you... to make the right choice... Don't worry about me... I just need... some rest... I think..." he said. He wasn't sure if what he was telling Dawn right now was the right thing to say or not, but he didn't care. He knew Dawn was no enemy, let alone now. And they had come here to save Asteria, a thought that had not left his mind again.

 

Arcanel tried lifting himself but to no avail, he was still in too much pain to try and attempt moving a lot. "Gah... what the Tartarus... just happened to me...?" he asked to himself, unable to contain his thoughts this time. The white pegasus rested his head on the floor and tried to regain some energy, still looking at Dawn. *I hope the others... can make all this not go into chaos...* he pondered.

[Ice Storm 1,020]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

With the way that everything was now starting to take off, Ice felt really good about what their chances were. She looked over to Dusky and he seemed to be a bit surprised, and perhaps... the slightest bit scared? IF he was she didn't blame him. Under normal circumstances she would be a bit uneasy as well, but with all the information that he had given her about her being what she made of herself here only added to her confidence. Adding to this the fact that they were in the process of freezing and ocean, and the ice spread across its surface very, very quickly. Within minutes the entire surface of the ocean was now covered in ice, and only made Ice's confidence boost even higher. Not only where they now in one of the coldest places of any world, but she was now surrounded by an even more limitless supply of ice should anything be stupid enough to interfere with them at this point.

 

Had something showed up before now, she might have been worried because of both being blinded and having to create everything around her instantly. It wasn't that she couldn't cast magic blind. One of the benefits of Ice magic was the fact that it was a universal magic. She could create it around her and be able to do almost anything with it afterwards. That said, if whatever had come after them had been air based, she wouldn't have been of much use because she wouldn't have the tremors in the ground to determine where they creature was coming from. That would have also made her start shooting blind and that could have potentially been a problem. Of course as soon as she would have figured out that the creature was airborne, she could have just used the vapor in the air to make snow and begin to use it to find where it was.

 

That being said, the amount of ice that was now present around them was astonishing, and what was even more astonishing was the fact that Ice Storm wasn’t even the least bit winded from that expenditure. Of course they still had to go down to the bottom of the ocean, but just getting across the surface like that in that amount of time would be a feat for most. She noticed Dusky next to her looking out over the ocean that had just been frozen and she followed in-toe. She could instantly see why the sight had attracted his attention. It was inconceivably serene. The light refracted off of the surface of the ice crystals in such a way that they made Rainbow Dash look colorless and bland. Okay… I definitely need to get that painted on my back wall when I get back to my shop. That would be an amazing thing for my customers to be able to look at while enjoying one of their treats. Maybe I could even make the lighting shimmer and glow like it is now! she thought to herself

 

It was about right about then that Ice had heard something. It sounded like somepony else calling Dusky’s name. She turned to him only to find him initially staring back at her as if she had called it. She just gave a slow shake of her head to let him know that it wasn’t her. That being said, the fact that he looked up when she did was a sign that they were not alone, and that neither of them were just hearing things. Something else was there, but it was nowhere to be seen. She then heard the voice again, and then a third time. The last time it sounded like it was coming directly from the ocean itself. Ice immediately ceased all magical ties to the ocean and put herself on high alert for anything that could become threatening to them.

 

After settling, the voice began to call out to Dusky again, making mention of the fact that he had always been so painfully oblivious as the creepy voice phrased it. It then continued on to state that what they were looking for was right in front of them, and that freezing the ocean had no effect on him, and that it was actually what had caused him to awaken. The voice also said that it was speaking on the behalf of nightmares, something that Ice Storm had already come to expect, and was now happy that she stayed the way she was. With that said, the thing began to speak more.

 

It continued by starting to tell a story, and a gruesome one at that, and one that sounded eerily familiar to Ice Storm. It started with a young pony that was born with wings and a horn, and was special despite what everypony else thought. He was a powerful creature, and then shifted to state that this story wasn’t about this creature he mentioned, but it was about him.

 

He started off by stating that he started off really as nothing more than fuel for dreams and nightmares, and that he wasn’t really any different from the ocean that they had just froze. He wasn’t conscious, and had less intelligence than a mere animal. He was nothing but a nightmare, the substance that really didn’t get along with anything else. It was that very fact that let him escape. He stated that nightmares had always had an easier time leaving this place. That it was the more potent force. That he was the mixture of many things

 

This… creature/thing/whatever in the name of all things Luna somepony wanted to call it… then started to talk about a small village that it found. It remained there until its light had burned out and it had lost its food supply so it moved on to another village. It stated this was where it had met Dusky and that there was so much light and warmed for him to feed off of, and left Dusky and his group powerless against him.

 

It then noted that it allowed Dusky to approach him and that this was the point in its life where it had become conscious and began thinking on its own. It stated that it felt like it was connected to him and that just for a brief moment thought that he was the same as Dusky, or rather that Dusky was the same as him. However, this moment ended when Dusky vanquished him, or rather thought he did. That he had turned beauty into pain. That his spell didn’t destroy him because he was not a nightmare, and how all he did was create pain beyond imagine.

 

Ice thought about everything up to this point and looking at everything from the way Dusky had presented it earlier, what was he supposed to think? That a big massive cloud of scary dark matter was appearing out of nowhere and that there was nothing wrong? Sure! Because that is what every pony always things when they see a big massive cloud of scary dark stuff! Ice was becoming annoyed at this being’s interference with the plan and she was already hoping that it would shut up and leave.

 

She then listened as this creature began to recount how he could see and hear everything from the natural world. How there was so much in the way of everything ranging from beauty to hatred and love. He also stated that he had been driven to the point of madness because of the eons upon eons of listening to constant chatter. However, there was one other thing that this mysterious voice said that it had learned, and that it was to hate Dusky. That Dusky had found a book to try to destroy him and read it. HE didn’t question anything, and that he was so hungry for vengeance that it blinded him. He watched him become a guardian, and his hatred grew and he had to stop him.

 

At this point the hatred in Ice was already starting to boil over at this creature. It seemed to think that the only reason anything else existed was for him to play with. This was eating away at her and she looked back at Dusky to see what his thoughts were, but he seemed to just continue pressing on with something.

 

Ice turned to look back out over the ocean. The vast area of emptiness where the voice seemed to be coming from was beginning to agitate her even more. This was the very making of something that viewed itself as above others, just like the nobility that she had grown to hate from Canterlot, and now this thing was showing those traits as well. This was something she was not going to let go unnoticed.  When the being said that it could have brought back the village and his parents, Ice’s heart turned black inside, and colder than the ice around her. This thing was responsible for everything that had happened to Dusky, and here it was trying to say that it was all Dusky’s fault?

 

No, her anger grew, and was now to a point to where she could feel the magic in her body beginning to resonate. She had only been this angry once in her life, and that was when the Canterlot Noble Destroyed her sign right in front of her without a care. It was the day she almost killed somepony. Now though, the act of killing seemed to be required here, and it was something that she was more than prepared to do.

 

The being then recounted how Dusky had turned into the dragon that he had sent after the village to hunt him, and how he had basically done far more damage that he ever could have. He added that when he started going after other dragons, he had to stop him. That it was him that led Dusky down the path of dreams and into the land of the dream world to release a creature that he knew that Dusky could not defeat. The one thing he didn’t foresee was the fact that this creature was like him at the beginning, mindless. However, like him it managed to gain some sort of conscious and it tried to do something different. He tried to stop it, but Dusky’s power exceeded his.

 

The longer the large creature spoke, the colder the air around Ice Storm got. She wasn’t concerned about the safety of Dusky at the moment. Well, she was, but she wasn’t at the same time. She knew that she could handle anything at this point. This creature had remained talking and building her anger up too long, as well as let her generate even more ice in the area around her.

 

This creature then continued to speak, trying to once again bury Dusky in the events of the past trying to make him wreathe in the agony and anguish of everything that had transpired up to this point trying to pin everything on Dusky when in fact he had just admitted to being the one behind everything. It was then that the creature identified itself as Wraith, and that he only solidified that he had been responsible for everything trying to stop “a great evil” that had spread across the land.

 

He further added that it was he that managed to escape and then took on the form of Trixie, and that they had been in some way, connected. He added that he was on the verge of doing it all again before she appeared. This was where Ice drew the line. She was not about to let this thing pull her into this and begin stating that she was one of the causes of his distain as well. Ice Storm broke the seal that existed around her and Dusky’s leg and began to walk forward, the ground thickening under her as she walked and the base of her hooves glowing as she did so. As the creature continued, she began to glow brighter, and the glow itself spread over more of her body.

 

Dusky then tried to speak up to defend himself, but the monster just continued to try to smother him in despair. The creature told Dusky that he had ruined and destroyed everything he ever loved. That it mattered not the intentions of his actions but the outcomes of his actions. And the outcomes of the actions would have been a lot different had this being not interfered with everything. He accused Dusky of destroying everything when it stated once again that it was trying to stop him by trying to plot everything against him to make him fail, which would create death and destruction.

 

The logic that this being had was so flawed that there couldn’t be any way that this thing could be considered intelligent. He wanted to stop Dusky, yet he knew that in doing so would cause much death and destruction. This doesn’t even consider the fact that he was the one that initialized everything to begin with. She listened as this thing continued berating Dusky before she felt the ground shake underneath her slightly as Dusky asked about Asteria, whom Ice gathered was the name of the filly that they were coming down here after.

 

The beings response removed any sense of remorse for what she was about to do. The ground shook again a bit more as she looked out over the ocean. The glowing light around her coat was now about half way up to her knees, and it continued rising upwards as the being stated that it had killed her since she had served her purpose, and that this outcome was unavoidable.

 

After a few more tremors and a few more exchanges between Dusky and this creature, the ice gave way a good distance in front of them and a large dragon appeared in the distance as the creature began to speak more. When the creature turned to Ice and told her to run, she did the exact opposite and moved even more forwards. “Dusky, stay behind me… This… is going to get ugly,” she told him turning towards the dragon and the voice that had been speaking.

 

“So, let me get this straight. You think that this stallion is evil because he tried to stop you and sought vengeance after you because you killed his family and his home town? I’m sorry, but wasn’t it you that stated that you caused everything to happen to him, and that you were the one that brought him down? You thought to actively try to destroy something that you hated because he had found ways to get around things that you had thrown at him, and then decided to go after you head on?” Ice started.

 

“Let me tell you something you pathetic excuse of an abomination. Life itself is full of events that you may not like, but the fact that you actively tried to ruin everything good that this pony tried to do simply because you hated him, means that you are the one that embraced evil. You, and only you, sought the malice of others. You, and only you, initiated the attacks on the villages that he was protecting. You, and only you, summoned the dragon that tore him apart and started him on his quest for power. He set off on a quest to be able to protect anypony from anything that could possibly come up, and it was you that turned that against him."

 

"It was you that ultimately turned him into the being that destroyed the unicorn village, and it was you that lead him on the path of destruction. It was you that lead him to the dream world in order to create your own link to ours, and it was you that was causing all of the events on the train. It wasn’t Dusky. You were playing him as your own personal puppet to try to get everything that you wanted. All of the deaths that you are trying to place on Dusky, are on your hooves, but there is one that I will not let pass unpunished,” she continued, the glow now up just past her knees.

 

The amount of magic that was channeling in her was more than she had felt at any one point in her life and it was only building even more. She watched with a keen eye as the dragon began to lift its way out of the ice and flow effortlessly into the air. Ice continued forward. She continued pacing forward until she was certain that she was a safe distance from Dusky. “Well, I lied, there are multiple that I will not let go unpunished. I may not have had the best foalhood, but never would I wish to have my parents stolen from me by something as crude as you. I’ve lived and grown up alone since my earliest years that I can remember and the fact that you willingly forced somepony through that is unacceptable. You fed off of an entire town as if they were nothing and that their only purpose there was for you to do with as you please.”

 

The magical glow had now reached the base of her body at this point. The sheer amount of raw magical power that was building up inside of her was so immense and so cold that the air around her was starting to naturally condensate and freeze. Within an instant, a thick layer of frozen armor had surrounded her, amplifying the glow, and giving her an even larger avenue to channel her magic through. “During your entire release of air that could power balloons for centuries to come, you’ve been trying to make Dusky sound like the monster. However, you’ve only succeeded in showing how much of a monster you really are and why he was right from trying to destroy you to begin with. Something that has so thoughtlessness for others shouldn’t be allowed to exist on any plane of existence. You are the monster here, not Dusky,” she spoke, her voice almost resonating at this point to where if one listened hard enough, an echo could be heard in the distance.

 

“But the thing that made me the most angry and the then that it the closest to home, was the fact that you openly admitted to robbing a filly the chance to experience the full extent of wonders that life had to offer, once again using ponies as your own personal puppets. Never in my life have I heard of anything so foul, and nor will I allow this to go unpunished, and I’m sure in the name of Luna not going to let you walk away from openly killing a foal. There is no way you can claim innocence and purity with something like that on your hooves and as far as your puny dragon is concerned,” she started as her front hoof met contact with the ground one last time as the ground around her began to violently shake.

 

Small braces of ice formed around her hooves to lock them in place as the magical aura from the glow was now at the base of her neck, turning all exposed parts of her body that were affected by the glow a pure white in color. The low rumble of the shaking that was occurring could be heard echoing from way off in the distance as large cracks in the ice around her began taking shape, and then immediately breaking away from where she was. They continued outward until they reached about seven pony-lengths away from her and then shot both forward and backwards the same amount of distance.

 

The magical aura now encompassed her entire body and had now given her all the elemental energy she could possibly need. With as small illumination of her horn with her magic now completely, fully charged, she levitated the entire block of ice that she had just broken out of the ocean that was about as tall as she was thick into the air with only minor amounts of efforts. “Your little toy can go back in its toy box where it belongs!!” she yelled her voice now ringing through the vast emptiness as she launched the miniature landmass of ice at the dragon with a velocity with that of what would be seen from a cannon.

 

“I am not afraid of you, nor am I afraid of anything that you can put against me. I have already heard everything that I’ve needed to know, and I have already been able to clearly tell who is in the right and who’s in the wrong. And even if Dusky was the evil one, who’s the most evil, the one that is seeking vengeance or the one that is intentionally killing everything else to stop one pony? Your logic sickens me, and in the name of Luna, I hereby proclaim that I will banish thee from existence, and restore peace to Equestria once more without the likes of you playing puppets behind the scenes,” Ice Storm spoke commandingly before looking back at Dusky.

 

“Do not listen to what this thing has to say. He’s just trying to play your mind. We can defeat him if we stick to our original plan, but we have to be in this together. I suggest we continue moving while this thing tries to yack our ear off. I don’t foresee that dragon being an issue much longer,” she said turning towards it. “That was just a warning shot,” she smirked walking towards the massive brick of flying flesh that was on a collision course with a landmass of Ice. You’ve pissed off the wrong mare, at the very wrong time, she thought to herself as she waited for this monster’s next move. 

[Magicon 468]

He watched the spell fly from his horn directly at Dawn, seeing it turn into a giant fireball as it made contact with Dawn’s shield, sending hot cinders everywhere. Magicon’s reaction was calm, but steady, as if he was expecting this was one of numerous possible outcomes. Yet harming Dawn wasn’t even his real goal, at least it wasn’t now that the spell had failed. He hadn’t given much power behind it, due to the possibility of harming other ponies. But it had done one thing he needed the spell to do: hush everypony up.

 

Ambrosia had ducked for cover and the other ponies whipped around with faces of horror and bewilderment at Magicon. Dawn seemed cool in her reaction to his spell and he simply watched her for a moment before hearing Scarlet speak.

 

 

 

"The friend of an enemy is also an enemy and both should share the same fate. Such a fate is..."

 

A loud crash followed by a scream echoed around them and Magicon whipped around to see Arcanel down on the ground, some sparks still jumping about his body and the smell of burnt hair now filling the air. His mouth dropped open and he was unable to restrain his voice as it shouted “Arcanel!”.

 

Besides the shock of the attack on the pegasus, something changed inside Magicon. The brutality of the attack and Scarlet’s dark motivations behind it made his insides turn. Scarlet was not willing to tolerate descent, especially when it came to Bringer. Now Magicon disliked Dawn and Bringer, but he respected Arcanel’s opinion and his defense of Dawn. Yet Scarlet was blind to other opinions and ideas. To her, the pony that offered even a simple defense of an enemy automatically made them an enemy as well. It bothered Magicon. It clashed with his ideals. Even though he disliked ponies, he always tried to respect their opinions. He may not have liked Arcanel much, but he wasn’t a stupid pony. He would’ve never wished such a fate on him.

 

He was about to scold Scarlet for her actions when she suddenly saw her fly backwards toward him, crashing directly into him and pushing them both to the ground. Some pain filled his body as he looked up and saw that Vim had bucked Scarlet in her side, sending her sprawling right into him.

The earth pony was now charging towards them and was right in front of them in no time. Magicon looked up at the earth pony, seeing his hard gaze look down on both of them. Magicon knew the gaze: the one an angry and disappointed father gives to their foal. Magicon grit his teeth and his ears feel back, now wishing he hadn’t done what he had done. The only consolation was that his attack didn’t cause harm. Yet it had given Scarlet an opportunity to hurt a pony, an opportunity that Magicon now wished he hadn’t created.

 

Looking at Vim with an apologetic expression, Magicon spoke quickly. “I see you’re not pleased by either of our actions. I will only say this: mine were necessitated by the big picture; Scarlet’s out of malice and refusal to tolerate descent. I only did what would help us weaken Bringer. If you guys think that removing Dawn is a bad idea then, I won’t object. I’m sorry for my rash actions, but I…I just want to save Asteria.” He offered his hoof towards Vim, either to sake or to help him up or just ignore it. Magicon couldn’t read Vim’s expression as he spoke to the earth pony. He didn’t know what he was thinking. All that he knew was that he had made a mistake and he was sorry for it.

[Electrobolt 2,069]

Her eyes narrowed as Bolt spoke, and she stared at the green earth pony in expectation. When he had finally revealed her name, she nodded her head. It was perfect, in many ways. She spoke back to him in a whisper that only he could hear. "I like this name, and I will take it. If you do not mind, I would like to return to you a gift. I would like to give you a name as well. I will call you Traveller, if you do not mind. Now, this was a good deal, was it not? I feel satisfied with how things worked out..."

 

After he had given the name to the feline, Electrobolt watched the cat in anticipation for her reaction. Once she had nodded though, he let out a small smile. *I guess the name was good, then,* he thought to himself before hearing Kay whisper to him what his thoughts said: that she liked the name. However, upon the mention of a gift, his eyes began to betray signs of curiosity and confusion. *Gift? Huh? What kind of gift is she talking about...?* were his thoughts as he began to wonder what Kay meant. However, as she continued, his eyes began to open a little wider.

 

As Kay continued on, she mentioned that she wanted to give him a name as well, before stating that she would call him Traveller. As the words of the cat registered in his mind, the colt's eyes remained a bit wide as an image appeared in his mind. It was the very image he had recalled, when he was born. His mother had named him Travel Map and his sister was named Key Gear. After recalling that scene again, the scene disappeared yet the images of his parents lingered. For a while they remained before they too disappeared, as Electrobolt returned to reality. After that, he shook his head as he looked at Kay.

 

For some reason, Kay had reminded Electrobolt of his parents because of the name. And because of this, he was curious about her. The name Traveller was similar to Travel Map, and this cat gave him the name Traveller. *But how would she have known about this...?* he thought, confusion filling his mind. As he thought some more though, he noticed the cat was bobbing her head to something, so he turned around in curiosity to see what was going on. As he did, he saw Wind Dancer doing a dance routine of sorts before her wing clipped one of the bars, causing him to wince. *Ouch...* he thought. *Poor Wind...*

 

However, before he could think anything else, he caught the strange pony turn somewhat before staring at him. When Electrobolt noticed the eyes of the Trixie lookalike, he saw that they seemed to glow a mixture of red and yellow, like a dancing flame. He was starting to feel a little nervous from this, so he turned away from the pony before facing Kay once more. Her eyes were closed as she was beginning to tremble while muttering something. She seemed to be trying to do something, but what? Flow began to speak her mind before apologizing that she was just thinking, to which Electrobolt was confused.

 

Flow's words carried to the scribe, who then looked away again. Finally, the strange scribe spoke. The voice carried throughout the room, and just as the "scribe" resembled Trixie, the voice sounded somewhat like Trixie's but not quite the same. The voice droned slowly, powerfully. "Tell Trixie... Even if you were to break the bars, then what will you do next? There is no escape from this place, and you will all..." The scribe was drowned out by a fierce hiss from the small blue cat, and the room fell into darkness.

As soon as Flow finished speaking though, a familiar voice pierced through the room. As the voice spoke, chills ran down Electrobolt's spine. *This voice... Trixie's voice... I don't like this...* he thought as he heard the Trixie-like pony speaking. However, before the pony could finish speaking, a loud hissing could be heard, as darkness flooded the entire room. As he was covered in the darkness, that feeling of freefalling returned once more. "Key? Kay? Alex? Flow? Wind?" he called out, yet there was nothing but silence. "Of course..." he muttered, shaking his head before sighing.

 

After a while, though, the darkness gave way as he felt the ground beneath him without even landing on the ground. Electrobolt then began to pull himself up off of the ground as he looked around the area. He could see Key Gear, Wind Dancer, Flow, and Kay in this grassy field with what seemed like an endless amount of statues around. *But where is Alex...?* he thought as he looked around some more. While he looked, he saw that the statues resembled ponies, griffons, dragons, and the like. After a bit, Kay got onto her paws as she began to speak.

 

 

With a single paw, she indicated a direction. "This is the way that we must go. Do not touch the things here... They are the ones that were erased. They have no names. Follow me, don't fly. I do not wish to attract attention to us."

 

 

As soon as Kay spoke, Electrobolt looked at the statues with confusion. A few things were running through his mind at the time, one of which was what had happened to Alex. While Kay was walking along the way she went, he began to follow closely as she began to look around, seemingly searching for something. His curiosity began to grow as he wanted to know the answers to some things. Clearing his throat a bit, Electrobolt began to ask some questions to Kay. "Um, Kay... I'd like to ask a few questions that are in my mind. Where are we, and why don't you want us touching the statues? Also..." He then looked back to where they were for a second before looking back over to Kay. "What happened to Alex? Why isn't he here with us?"

[Alex Night 870]

As Alex stayed inside of his strange cage with Flow and Wind Dancer, he decided to take a seat and listen in on what was going on with Electrobolt and the blue cat that was now called Kay.  It seemed kinda similar to Key Gear's name now that he thought about it.  An input from Flow diverted his attention from the cat to her, making a suggestion to try and dance together to see if the bars would break.

 

 

 

Flow's words carried to the scribe, who then looked away again. Finally, the strange scribe spoke. The voice carried throughout the room, and just as the "scribe" resembled Trixie, the voice sounded somewhat like Trixie's but not quite the same. The voice droned slowly, powerfully. "Tell Trixie... Even if you were to break the bars, then what will you do next? There is no escape from this place, and you will all..." The scribe was drowned out by a fierce hiss from the small blue cat, and the room fell into darkness.

 

 

Alex was about to voice his input, but the input from the Trixie looklike that made Alex feel cautious.  The way that she spoke in the third person...  He had to think that it was none other than Trixie, but yet it still seemed off.  All of a sudden, a loud hiss bellowed through the room, drowning out the dangerous monologue from the Trixie scribe.  While that was going on, another wave of darkness swept over Alex obscuring his sight of Flow, Wind, and all other ponies within the dark dungeon.

 

Alex looked around in...  Wherever he was.  He was still surrounded by darkness, if anything it was far darker than before.  "Flow!  Wind!  Key!  Bolt!  Where are you?!"  Alex called out as loud as he could in the deep darkness.  It worried him that he could not see them to see if they were still okay.  The big problem was that no answer returned except for his own eerie echo.

 

 

 

The only light was a narrow spotlight that poured from a hole in the ceiling, illuminating a hazy silhouette some distance away. The silhouette was too far away for its nature to be apparent. It shifted, slightly, turning away from the light and moving further into the darkness.

 

Alex looked around the bleak darkness, clutching the silver star on his necklace.  His attention was diverted to a light in the darkness that seemed to him like it was out of a storybook.  He could just make out a silhouette out in the distance, but he could not make out who it was.  As he was adjusting his eyes to the image, it was moving away from the light into the darkness.  "Hello!  Key!  Anypony, it's me Alex!  Don't go in the dark!"  Alex called out as he was about to chase after the figure.

 

 

 

From the darkness, the voice of the small cat spoke, but it sounded raspier, deeper. "I tried to help you. I wanted to help you. I am placing what little remains of myself in danger for you and yours. But... I only helped you on a condition. You had to prove your usefulness to me, in helping me to do what it is that I wish to do. With your insults, you have caused me to doubt that you can fulfill this purpose. Here, you see me for what I am. I ask you a question, and I wish to hear an answer that pleases me. Why did you insult me?"

 

All of a sudden, a familiar but distorted voice pierced through the darkness.  It sounded like the cat named Kay, but it sounded deeper and more raspy.  It did seem pretty creepy to Alex, especially considering how it sounded that her voice was coming from everywhere.  "A condition?  I never remembered it making a deal with me..."  Alex thought to himself as Kay's voice rang around him.  However, it later became apparent to Alex that the cat needed his help as well with something.  What that was he still was not entirely sure of.  He wondered just what happened to Key and the others, but now it seemed that Kay had him on her mind and whatever it was spelled trouble.  Once it was done explaining, Alex took a deep breath to gather his thoughts.  "An answer that pleases her...  Well at this point, I don't think I can give her one that she likes to hear."  Alex thought to himself, settling to tell the cat the truth.

 

"Alright then, Kay.  My answer is not something very thought-provoking or anything.  It's simply the truth.  I'm not entirely familiar with living nightmares other than they may seem to be the manifestations of somepony or something.  Then, I find myself and my friends trapped in cages inside some strange dark dungeon with a pony that looks remarkably like Trixie with some things that doesn't add up about the scribe.."  Alex started off to Kay, deciding to take a seat as he felt that it was gonna take some explaining.

 

"As for why I insulted you, it was a simple reason but my own reason.  It was because of what you were saying to my friends, particularly Wind Dancer and Flow.  Calling us birds, taunting us about freedom.  However, the biggest reason why I gave you many insulting names was because you said that you lied to Electrobolt about something that you said to him.  Thus, you made the deal that he made to you nullified and leaving you in control to make another deal.  Because you lied, I gave you those derogatory names."  Alex explained further to Kay, not exactly sure what the cat was thinking as he could not see her face.  Alex sighed to himself before speaking once more.  "I apologize that I have offended you, but you gave me a reason by giving Electrobolt a moment of dishonesty."

 

It was all that Alex could think of for an answer for her, but it was his answer and he stood by it.  Alex got back up on his hooves, looking around the deep darkness.  However, his own curiosity was piqued with Kay's previous explanation.  "Now, you have me.  What is that you needed my help with?  How is there something you can't do without somepony like me?"  Alex said out in the darkness to wherever Kay was.  It bugged Alex how he could not tell what she was thinking without even seeing her eyes.

[Flow 1,628]

"Tell Trixie... Even if you were to break the bars, then what will you do next? There is no escape from this place, and you will all..."

 

After saying those words, the creature behind Electrobolt that the cat referred to as "a scribe" stated talking, and her voice sounded vaguely like that of Trixie, which gave Flow the chills, "T....Trixie?!?" The scribe asked about what they plan to do next after breaking the bars, "Yeah...I've never thought about what to do next after that," She thought. "Can't believe that I never thought of that!" Suddenly, a loud hiss filled the room and same kind of darkness followed, filling the room in an instant "No! Not this again!...a..aaaaahhhh!" She quickly postioned her hooves over her head and braced for whatever was coming for her. She soon felt the feeling of falling, she thought that she would be falling straight to the underworld...

 

But that was not the case...

 

When the pegasai opened her eyes, she found herself in an open grassy field filled with strange looking statues along with the cat, Key Gear, Electrobolt, and Wind, but Alex was nowhere to be found, and his absence left Flow puzzled "Where in Equestria are we? And....and the cat.., Key, Bolt, and Wind are here, but...where's Alex?!? Oh no...don't tell me the...darkness got him!!" She was about to panic for a bit till she sees the cat speaking out,

 

"This is the way that we must go. Do not touch the things here... They are the ones that were erased. They have no names. Follow me, don't fly. I do not wish to attract attention to us."

 

She felt a bit skeptical about the cat commanding them to follow her, yet at the same time something tells Flow to follow along and not fly, so she does as told. Along the way she thought about the statues "Those statues, they look intimidating, cat says that they have been  the ones that have been erased....I don't want to think that Alex got erased.." Coincidentally, Electrobolt had the same thoughts as well,

 

Um, Kay... I'd like to ask a few questions that are in my mind. Where are we, and why don't you want us touching the statues? Also..." He then looked back to where they were for a second before looking back over to Kay. "What happened to Alex? Why isn't he here with us?"

 

"So the critter's name is Kay, is it because she sounds like Key? Did Bolt name the cat? Sigh, oh well...I guess we'll have to cooperate with Kay to find a way out of this situation and back onto the train,"  She thought as she followed along.

Edited August 15, 2013 by Flow

[Ice Storm 1,020]

~~~Wind Dancer~~~

 

After her failed attempt to try to dance though the bars, Wind began to rub her wing as it became more and more achy. She could already tell that this wasn't going to end well for them. This cat had already talked about them as if they were prey, but still attempted to what she thought was help them. She herself couldn't figure out what to think. Was she really trying to help them, or was she trying to injure them even more so that escape wasn't possible? With her intentions unknown, whether or not she could actually be trusted was still a mystery.

 

Then this pony that was called the scribe came over to them, and began to speak. Apparently this was Trixie, and she stated that even if they had broken the bars that they didn't have a chance. She stated to say something else as well until the room went black again and the sensation of falling returned to Wind Dancer. Immediately she braced herself for a hard impact, but when they landed, she barely even felt the ground.

 

When the darkness cleared, it revealed a bright sunny sky over a vast grassy field. However, this field was very unusual, and had what looked to be many statues of ponies. The cat that was around them mentioned to not touch them, that they were the erased, and that they had no names. She instructed to follow on the ground because she didn't want to draw any unwanted attention to them. As little as Wind Dancer trusted this creature, she complied because it was the best idea at the moment. She still had no idea where they were going, but as long as they were at least looking like they were making some sort of progress, it didn't bother Wind Dancer. She just wanted to get out of this weird place. "Why... Exactly where these ponies erased exactly, and can they be unerased? They obviously still exist here, perhaps one of the princesses would be able to reverse whatever foul magic erased them," she stated trying to sound helpful even though she had no idea of how the makings in this world worked.

Edited August 15, 2013 by Ice Storm

[Key Gear 6,663]

(OOC: ... Dear Celestia... Help meeeeee... I can't proof this! Ahhh!)

 

"Hold onto the saddlebag and my mane. I'll carry you," Summerfall said. Her gaze hardened as she examined the path before her.

 

Luminescence took hold of Summer with a gentle but firm grip. Away from the dark liquid, she felt stronger. She was not happy that Summer would have to carry her, but she was quite happy that the mare had done so. She closed her eyes and thought back to the room, just a few moments before. Already, Summer was fulfilling her words. Despite the strange place that they found themselves in, the mare was still her protector. 

 

 

A simple plan on the paper, but the execution would never be so simple. After making sure that Luminescence was set on her, Summerfall took a deep breath and took the first step into the liquid, and another.

 

From her position of safety on the mare's back, Luminescence could take a better look at the substance that she had nearly fallen into. She peered into it. It had a nearly water-like consistency, but she was now certain that it was not water. It was dark but not completely opaque. It had no smell or other discernible features. It seemed like it should have been an oil of some type, but it wasn't. She stared. The liquid moved in a way that it shouldn't have. It was doing more than simply flowing.

 

She blinked with recognition. It was some of the substance of nightmare, the raw building blocks of the horrors and terrors that would appear in the dreams of all thinking creatures. In her own imaginary world, this substance had been contained within an ocean. Now, diluted with something, it flowed freely around Summer as the mare made her way through it. Normally freely active, the diluted stuff of nightmare seemed to be controlled somehow. Someone had made more changes than she was aware of. 

 

Luminescence muted her reaction to the news. It would do no good to share it with Summer. She didn't want to frighten the mare. Summerfall was her protector, but that didn't mean that she was invulnerable. Undoubtedly, Summer was afraid, as she had every right to be. Fear, in moderation, was a healthy thing, Luminescence thought. It would keep them moving forwards despite whatever strange things were faced, but too much of it would freeze both of them where they stood.

 

 

Without a word she made her way through the liquid, maneuvering her way over the dry patches as she could without swerving too far. Every few moments she stopped to check on Luminescence. Her stomach sank when she finally noticed that the previously everpresent glow of her fur was now dimmed, flickering. "Hang in there, Luminescence. We are almost there..."

 

Summer's journey was a careful one. Luminescence noted each time that Summer checked on her. At one point, the mare looked especially concerned and spoke. Luminescence wondered what had prompted the remark. She took a look at one of her hooves. Her glow was fading, fast. She blinked. She should have noticed it earlier. Surely her normal glow would have helped to illuminate the path in front of her. 

 

The last time this happened, it had been of her own doing, after the incident in the forest. She had muted her own glow to make her way through certain cities and towns at night. It had been difficult. Now, she was losing her glow with no effort, and unlike the last time, she couldn't feel any effort. It reminded her of the collapse that she had when in the forest where she had first met the cat. 

 

Despite the resemblance to that time, she was certain that it wasn't the same feeling. Nor was it the cat attempting to influence her again. She quieted her thoughts and closed her eyes. There was something wrong. Just a moment earlier, the thought about fear... That didn't seem like a thought that she would normally think, and, in fact, she could feel no fear herself. Not only this, but... As she pondered, she realized that she felt at peace in this tunnel, completely at peace. 

 

In fact, peace was all that she felt. With a small start, Luminescence realized that her normally ever present pain was nowhere to be found. Of course, it made sense. If the pain was connected to her light, then it would decrease as her glow did. What didn't make sense was the feeling that some type of mist clouded her thoughts. She felt cold, as if the coldness of the liquid had somehow become a part of her. For just a moment, she tried to worry about what had affected her, but she couldn't. She closed her eyes and waited in silence as Summer completed the journey.

 

 

Summerfall had since lost track of time when she reached the aforementioned ladder. The journey could be anywhere from ten minutes to an eternity. The bottom part of her hooves had wrinkled from the liquid, not that she cared. Solemnly she trotted closer to the ladder and stood there. ... She looked at Luminescence. "I'll wait here. Should I wait for a second, or fifteen minutes? How long do you want me to wait?" she asked, her voice rasped. The determination was still there, but doubt had started to made itself known in her voice. Her eyes darted around the cave.

 

Luminescence opened her eyes the moment that Summer stopped moving. She looked up and saw the ladder. For just a moment, she felt a twinge of fear, but the fear wasn't for her own sake. She would have to leave Summer now. How could she protect Summer if she was not immediately nearby. She slipped off the earth pony's back and span around, surveying the entire area. The place seemed almost medically inert. She turned back to Summer, sensing the anxiety in the mare's voice.

 

She watched the mare carefully, with unblinking eyes filled with unnatural serenity. Despite the coldness that she felt inside, she felt warmth towards Summer. Luminescence looked within herself. Normally, she would feel threatened that one so close to her was expressing doubt, but she felt nothing but care towards Summer. She smiled reassuringly, but she didn't reply to Summer yet. She was watching the mare's eyes scan the cave.

 

 

She remembered that she had promised to trust Luminescence's judgement but- No, Luminescence knows better. Summerfall closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to Luminescence's. "Be safe. I believe in you."

 

Summer trusted her. Luminescence closed her own eyes for the moment that she made contact with the mare. Then, she spoke, and when she spoke, her own words came calmly, so much so that they seemed otherworldly, completely unaffected by the strangeness of the surroundings. "Summer... Thank you." Luminescence smiled, and even as she did so, the remainder of her fur's glow vanished completely in a flurry of progressively weaker flickers. "I will be safe, and I will get us both to safety." 

 

The filly turned towards the ladder and took a few steps away from Summer before she froze in place. Shaking her head as if clearing a thought, she turned back around and trotted right back to Summer. Speaking in the same tone that she just had, Luminescence spoke to Summer again. "And... Summer... I will leave the door open when I ascend. In this place, sound carries considerable distances. You will be able to hear what happens. You will know when to join me. Be calm, be patient..."

 

Luminescence looked away from Summer, and the glow of her fur flickered brightly for a moment before fading back into a darker shade of grey than normal. "I do not want any harm to come to you, Summer. You must trust me... Please, and do not lose that trust in me, no matter what you hear. No matter what you think. Just feel. Trust me, and everything will be alright. I will need you to help me when this is ended, but it will end safely. For all." She looked back. "I have to go now."

 

The filly started to turn away again but stopped in mid motion. Looking over her shoulder, she stared at Summer. Her wide red eyes trembled intensely, and the beginnings of tears could be seen in them. She looked away, back towards the ladder. For a few moments, she stared away from Summer and towards the ladder, breathing heavily. After a few tense seconds, she caught her breath and raised her head.

 

Silently, she turned to face Summer again and slowly walked towards the mare. Her eyes were clear now. They contained not even a hint of sadness. Instead, they were filled with something different. When she reached Summer, she stood on her hind legs and gently reached out to grasp Summer's head. She stared directly into the mare's eyes for a few, long seconds. Finally, she leaned forward and gently kissed Summer on the nose. A few more seconds. 

 

She released the mare and wordlessly turned around and trotted towards the ladder. Without another backwards look, the filly ascended. It was a fairly steep climb, but she didn't hesitate and showed no sign of slowing. At the top of the ladder, she disappeared into an opened. She stood in a small room, completely dark, a single door, closed, was the only thing there. She trotted forward, with no hesitation, and opened the door.

 

She stepped through the open doorway and found herself in a vast room. She stopped just a half meter in front of the door way and glanced around. The ceiling of the room was incredibly high, and it was comprised of a mass of interconnecting tubes and pipelines, all transparent. Within them, a greyish substance and a darker substance seemed to collide and churn, casting a dim light all over the remainder of the room. The walls of the room were transparent as well. They looked out into a sea of the same liquid that was flowing in the tunnel below. 

 

She felt the warm breath of another creature on her right shoulder. A soft hiss followed soon after, and carried with the hiss was a mocking inquiry. "Are you afraid? You should never have come here... You could have gone anywhere... Are you afraid?" She could hear the sound of the big cat's mouth opening right beside her head. It sounded amusing to her ears, like the soft rustle of dampened clothes rubbing against each other. 

 

---

 

 

“Okay, Wraith. I promise I shall do this for you.” she said, eyes sparkling. I'm not afraid, she thought to herself, I can do this. Slowly, she reached out and moved her soft purple hoof towards the large cat that sat crouched before her.

 

Wraith watched, eyes filled with silent expectation, as Asteria reached out to him. As she stretched out her hoof, every moment felt like an eternity. It was an unusual feeling for him. He had waited so long, done so much. Now, just these few seconds and he was filled with anxiety. Such a simple gesture indeed, but it meant so much. What if, like before, she pulled away from him? His eyes focused on the filly. She wouldn't pull away, he was certain of it. There was a definitiveness to her movement, slow though it was.

 

 

And yet, it felt like forever to the filly. “Boop.” she said very softly, almost afraid that she might screw something up with the mere utterance.

 

He stared for a moment in a mixture of astonishment and disbelief. He had expected this, but even his expectation had been tempered by reserve. After the moments delay, the cat echoed her own exclamation, equally softly and with a humorous gleam in his dulling yellow eyes. "Boop." It was ridiculous, he realized, but that was what made it such a wonderful thing. He appeared to think for a moment and then closed his eyes.

 

 

“That's it, right? Now what? Are we going to talk some more?” Asteria asked, head twisted to the side ever so slightly. And yet, the minute gesture was filled with so much hope and curiosity.

 

A shadowy glow emanated from his coat and, when he opened his eyes again, they gleamed brightly. He smiled, this time being careful to not display his large teeth. The smile looked strangely good natured on the cat's face. When he spoke, his voice was calm, just as it had been moments earlier but this time slightly different. He sounded expectant, hopeful. There was a trace of happiness, playfulness. He spoke in explanation. "Yes, that's it. I know it seemed a small thing, but it wasn't... Trust me, the power of friendship should never be underestimated." 

 

He chuckled before continuing. "I suppose that we could talk some more, but... Not without moving. This place is not the most pleasant of surroundings. I was planning on remodeling, but now I think I'll just move out." Even as he spoke, the ground beneath Asteria and Wraith detached, creating a single platform that began to slowly rise upwards, tracing a path among the pillars in the room. It moved closer to the center as it rose, and it carefully avoided the transparent walls looking out into the depths of the ocean of nightmare.

 

Wraith rolled over idly and stared upwards. His smile faded into a contemplative look. Wistfulness was in his tone as he spoke again, "You know, Asteria, you will be returning home, soon, to your own home. Back to your friend, Lapis. Back to the train, and then onwards to Las Pegasus. Then, even to places beyond this. Many adventures await you... Adventures and fun, lots of fun, most likely. Mmm... We need to make time, at some point, for a reunion on the other side." His cheerful smile returned. "Place of your choosing. Restaurant? Trip to a beach? Maybe both?" He closed his eyes. 

 

"Coastal restaurants. Yup. I'm partial to certain types of seaweed, myself. Coastal eateries carry it. Tastes funny when you first try it, all you can taste is that funny ocean taste, maybe a bit bitter. After a few bites, though, you can taste the sweetness. Then, you get used to it, and you can taste the sweetness, the bitterness. It's a beautiful food, when cooked well of course. Wouldn't touch the stuff raw. I did once. I was sick for weeks. The skipper had to turn back to shore to get medical attention. It was pretty embarrassing."

 

He opened his eyes again and shifted to watch the filly. "Ehhh, but that's me. You made a friend, so you choose where I'll take you when we meet again. Costs will be on me. It'll be fun, wherever and whatever it is. I can cook, you know. All kinds of things. I'm not the best, but I make a good enough effort to carry the day, most times. Just something else to think about. So, breakfast, lunch, dinner? Something else? Maybe a trip to a theater afterwards? I dunno... What do ya think?"

 

---

 

 

“Dusky, stay behind me… This… is going to get ugly,” she told him turning towards the dragon and the voice that had been speaking.

 

His first thought urged him forward, to protect her. His second thought froze him in place, almost against his will. The words of the creature, his failure to protect Asteria, the sudden onslaught of so many emotions. The creature was right. He did feel weak. In that moment, he felt just as weak as he had felt when he had seen the ponies in his village fading before his very eyes. He found himself in the curious position of drawing comfort from Ice Storm's apparent certainty and her resolve to... Defend him?

 

He listened to her words, carefully. She was going to argue with the creature, he thought? He looked up, out towards the ocean. There was the dragon, there was the creature of darkness, light, or whatever it was. The mere action of looking out at the two entities was enough to engage his mind again. He looked on the creature, exactly as he one had. He remembered the creature. It had fought him and the other unicorns viciously, so many years ago.

 

 

"You thought to actively try to destroy something that you hated because he had found ways to get around things that you had thrown at him, and then decided to go after you head on?” Ice started.

 

It was allowing Ice Storm to speak. In fact, the creature and the dragon made no move whatsoever. Her argument was not only sound, but it was one that he himself had never thought to make. She was right. At each step of the way, he had matched forces with the creature's latest gambit. He had always managed to survive, somehow, but there had been a steep cost associated with every skirmish. 

 

His thoughts whisked back to the creature. It had fought with all manner of magic-like attacks when he had first met it. Now, here it was, relying on the help of a dragon. Dusky's eyes went to the dragon. It didn't need to flap its wings to fly... It was a massive beast, but it was still not as large as he, himself, had been when he was a dragon. 

 

Why wasn't the creature attacking them directly? Perhaps it couldn't? Dusky blinked. As Ice Storm continued talking, he realized that he had, absentmindedly, continued to maintain a field across the surface of the ocean. The creature claimed that it had exited the ocean before he had cast his magical net. Could that be true? Even while he continued to listen to Ice Storm's words. Dusky's curiosity drove his actions. In the area around the creature, he lifted the net slightly.

 

The magical field went straight through the multi-eyed monstrosity. It wasn't even real. Dusky stared and lifted his net slightly higher, just clipping the feet of the massive dragon, hovering in the air. The dragon was real. Not only that, but it was not the same dragon that had once attacked him. It was impossible for it to have been. Instead, it was something different... It felt, to him like a creature of nightmare, but it was like none other that he had seen before.

 

 

"There is no way you can claim innocence and purity with something like that on your hooves and as far as your puny dragon is concerned,” she started as her front hoof met contact with the ground one last time as the ground around her began to violently shake.

 

Dusky glanced at Ice Storm. The mare was speaking to the creature and the dragon with a booming voice. She was now doing something. From the sound of cracking, and the sense that he was receiving from the net over the oceans surface, he believed he knew what it was. She was going to attack either the illusion of the dragon. From her words, he assumed the dragon. It was a good decision. 

 

Listening to her words had calmed his thoughts considerably, he wasn't a monster. How could he be a monster? If the question even had to be asked, then it meant that the answer was uncertain. Now, the immediate question had changed. Asteria was lost to them. Now, the only option that remained was vengeance? He shuddered unintentionally. That word... It had come to define him. At every step along his long journey, he was seemingly always in search of retribution for some thing or another. 

 

He closed his eyes and his memory went far back, to a much earlier time. It hadn't always been every step. When he was no more than a young colt, building things... For at least a brief time, there had been no quest for vengeance, no dark shadow of retribution. Instead, he was simply a builder. He made things. Even his father had never wished for him to become an implement for mindless retribution. That much that the creature said was true. Every misstep that he had taken could be traced to a lust for vengeance.

 

It was vengeance, not power, that he had allowed to control his destiny. He was made to be a guardian. A guardian should prevent harm, not bring it upon another. He opened his eyes. He had failed to prevent Asteria's death. She was a casualty. However, without the need to save her, another option presented itself. There was no need to stop the motion of the ocean of nightmare. Whatever it was doing was no longer of any consequence to him. But, this left him with the entire frozen surface of the ocean of nightmare. It presented possibilities.

 

 

With as small illumination of her horn with her magic now completely, fully charged, she levitated the entire block of ice that she had just broken out of the ocean that was about as tall as she was thick into the air with only minor amounts of efforts. “Your little toy can go back in its toy box where it belongs!!” she yelled her voice now ringing through the vast emptiness as she launched the miniature landmass of ice at the dragon with a velocity with that of what would be seen from a cannon.

 

"Well, that's clever. Argument, attack, and all." The voice of the creature boomed across the ocean, carrying a tone of grudging, mocking respect for Ice Storm's actions. The dragon's eyes locked onto the piece of ice, and its mouth opened. In an instant, fierce blue flames had lept from its mouth and towards the frozen mass. 

 

 

"Your logic sickens me, and in the name of Luna, I hereby proclaim that I will banish thee from existence, and restore peace to Equestria once more without the likes of you playing puppets behind the scenes,” Ice Storm spoke commandingly before looking back at Dusky.

 

Dusky nodded appreciatively. Not only had Ice Storm's attack addressed the threat from the dragon, but it had also given him data that he had never been aware of previously. The dragon's fire, despite its intensity and force had, thus far, done very little to melt the dense mass of ice that flew towards it. The frozen substance of the ocean of nightmare was both relatively inert and extremely resilient. It was more than crystalline. It was crystalline and incredibly strong. Dusky began to think.

 

 

“Do not listen to what this thing has to say. He’s just trying to play your mind. We can defeat him if we stick to our original plan, but we have to be in this together. I suggest we continue moving while this thing tries to yack our ear off. I don’t foresee that dragon being an issue much longer,” she said turning towards it. “That was just a warning shot,” she smirked walking towards the massive brick of flying flesh that was on a collision course with a landmass of Ice. You’ve pissed off the wrong mare, at the very wrong time, she thought to herself as she waited for this monster’s next move.

 

The shadowy unicorn smiled. "Don't worry. I am aware of this, and you have no need to be concerned. I was, admittedly, disturbed at first, but I listened to your words. They helped me to remember who I was and who I am. And... You've given me a new idea." His horn began to glow, brightly. "We're being listened to, so I can't say outright. Just watch." In the distance, a dark glow began to cover the mountain. Closer to their position, the dragon roared in frustration and, belatedly, attempted to dodge the landmass.

 

The frozen landmass that Ice Storm had thrown hadn't been normal water. Despite the dragon's fire, there was far more than three quarters of the ice mass when it made contact. I hit the dragon with an ear shatteringly loud sound, like an explosion, but not like any that could be found in Equestria. The effect was instantaneous. The force of the impact bowled the flying monster over backwards and into the frozen surface of the ocean. It fell straight through, reentering the ocean at a much faster rate of speed than it had exited, throwing ice and blue flames everywhere as it struggled to right itself.

 

The voice spoke again. "Well. Okay. That was quite well done, really. I tell you want. I'm pretty scared now. I give up! Well, maybe not, maybe so. Everything now is of your own doing. Not yours, though, Dusky. Just your friends. A mare after your own heart and habits it seems. But, she talks more and with nicer words. Mmm. I wish I could stay to watch this, but sadly... I have a need to conserve my efforts elsewhere. It's been fun, Dusky. You guard yours, I'll watch mine. Farewell." The creature flickered brightly and vanished in a swirl of light.

 

Dusky shook his head. "I don't think it's gone. In fact, I am certain that it never was really there to begin with. I checked. The voice and the dream creature, they weren't real. The dragon? It was real." His horn increased in its dark glow while he spoke. His eyes remained focused on the distant mountain. "Well... It make no difference now. I have started, so I can speak freely I think. I'm building something... We no longer need to freeze this ocean. That won't help Asteria, we are already too late. However, we can protect others."

 

His eyes started to glow, just as they had earlier. "I could never reach the mountain. Because of my state, my magic could never stretch to that extent. However... You came from the other realm, and you arrived here. Your magic is unaffected by the limitations that affect me. Because of this, we were able to freeze the entire surface of the ocean, right up to the mountain itself. Now... What if I can just... Move this mountain to us." A giant cracking sound appeared from the ocean. 

 

"This ice compresses. Quite nicely in fact. Compress the ice in front of the mountain, expand the ice behind. The mountain sits on an island. This could work, I think. I already have a net across the ocean's surface, it expanded in concert with our efforts to freeze the ocean's surface. Because of that, it was actually able to move quite close to the mountain... I can use this net, shift the ice as I described. I would only need to shift it to where I can reach it with my normal magic, then..." The cracking sound intensified. "Hmmmm..." 

 

In the distance, nearly imperceptibly, the mountain began to shift. Unknown to Dusky, the same began to happen in normal Equestria. The mountain, the very mountain where he had attempted to separate himself from the creature, began to move, in tandem with the mountain in the world of dreams. The shadowy unicorn increased his focus and so too did the cracking and tearing sounds coming from the direction of the ocean. But, the sounds were different. 

 

Dusky's eyes scanned the ocean's surface. "Ice Storm, we may have a technical problem in this plan..." The remainder of his words were drowned out by a ferocious ripping sound. In the distance, near to where the first dragon had fallen, a teaming mass of dragon heads had suddenly exploded from the ice, biting and ripping at each other. Blue flames filled the air dark liquid was tossed across the frozen surface as the dragons clambered to escape the ocean's depths. 

 

Where there had once been one, there were now at least five dragons of comparable size. Only one of them was airborne, the other four continued to thrash wildly. Each one of them was only half the size of the first dragon that had threatened them, but these were faster. At the moment, the four thrashing near the surface of the water were more distracted by each other than by the ponies on the shore. The airborne dragon, on the other hoof, began to fly, at a good pace, straight for them.

 

Dusky shouted to be heard above the melee. "So long as they are distracted by each other, this isn't a problem for us. We only need to be concerned with the one flying here, but I am trying to execute my plan. Can you handle these things without my assistance? If not, then how much time, conceivably, do I have?" His voice betrayed his concern and no small amount of doubt.

 

---

 

 

Clearing his throat a bit, Electrobolt began to ask some questions to Kay. "Um, Kay... I'd like to ask a few questions that are in my mind. Where are we, and why don't you want us touching the statues? Also..." He then looked back to where they were for a second before looking back over to Kay. "What happened to Alex? Why isn't he here with us?"

 

Key Gear tilted her head to the side as she listened to her brother's questions. The fact that Alex was not there was not lost on her. He had insulted the small cat in the room, just before they arrived here. Now, he was gone. Key Gear shuddered at the implications. She, herself, had nearly lashed out at the cat in response to her own name being insulted. What if she had been the one to disappear. Here, in this place, they were all at the mercy of the cat. They had to trust that she knew where she was going and was not leading them into a trap.

 

Still, Key followed the small cat. It was, really, the only option available to them. Key allowed her imagination to drift. There was always the possibility that the cat was leading them into some place far more horrible than the place that they had just left. But, then... That wouldn't even begin to explain the words of the fake Trixie in the room and the cat's reaction to them. The cat had seemed to have reacted to the scribe in fear. Key stared at the statues that surrounded them. What was their purpose, she wondered. What did it even mean that they were erased.

 

The moved in silence. The cat withheld answer to Bolt's questions. Key became increasingly nervous. Why wasn't the cat speaking? She had seemed to like Electrobolt earlier, and she had been talkative... Now, they journeyed in silence, and Alex was still nowhere to be seen. Had she killed him? Merely for insulting her? Key shuddered unintentionally, and her thoughts continued. Why were they going this way? Why had they been teleported to this area? Had that even been teleportation?

 

Besides the string of questions flowing through her mind, Key felt strange for another reason. The cat resembled her in so many ways. It looked like her, talked a bit like her, and it even seemed to move somewhat like her, sometimes. She narrowed her eyes as she noticed that, outside of the room, the cat moved in a way that seemed almost clumsy. It was the only difference, and a weird one. In its resemblance to her, the cat mirrored the way that the statues in the open field seemed to resemble other creatures.

 

 

"Why... Exactly where these ponies erased exactly, and can they be unerased? They obviously still exist here, perhaps one of the princesses would be able to reverse whatever foul magic erased them," she stated trying to sound helpful even though she had no idea of how the makings in this world worked.

 

Wind Dancer's voice interrupted Key Gear's own thoughts. It was a good question, and Key couldn't help herself. Key Gear spoke up. "Yeah, and I have a question too. Were you erased? Why did you ignore my brother's questions? Why did you bring us here? What's your real name? Because, I seriously doubt that you didn't have one. Where exactly are we going? How long until we get there? If it's a trap, you should just tell us now. It would save us a lot of trouble. It's not like we could do anything about it..."

 

---

 

 

"Alright then, Kay.  My answer is not something very thought-provoking or anything.  It's simply the truth.  I'm not entirely familiar with living nightmares other than they may seem to be the manifestations of somepony or something.  Then, I find myself and my friends trapped in cages inside some strange dark dungeon with a pony that looks remarkably like Trixie with some things that doesn't add up about the scribe.."  Alex started off to Kay, deciding to take a seat as he felt that it was gonna take some explaining.

 

Even moreso than before, Kay's room reflected a certain stillness. The silhouette, still some distance away and hidden in the darkness, showed no reaction whatsoever to the words of the pegasus pony. A momentary humming sound interrupted the stillness as Alex mentioned the strangeness of his locations. It was gone in an instant. The light began to dim, just slightly, stopping before total darkness was reached.

 

 

Alex explained further to Kay, not exactly sure what the cat was thinking as he could not see her face.  Alex sighed to himself before speaking once more.  "I apologize that I have offended you, but you gave me a reason by giving Electrobolt a moment of dishonesty." ... "Now, you have me.  What is that you needed my help with?  How is there something you can't do without somepony like me?"  Alex said out in the darkness to wherever Kay was.  It bugged Alex how he could not tell what she was thinking without even seeing her eyes.

 

Silence greeted the pegasus pony, and the silence seemed to stretch out for quite some time. At the same time, the atmosphere in the room grew tense. It was as though a decision was being made. In the distance, the light brightened. The silhouette was gone, completely. After a few moments, a voice spoke. "Well, like you said, that wasn't a thought provoking answer at all, which is not a bad thing. I am, quite honestly, not used to thinking very much at this point... Good for you."

 

The voice sounded tired. "I think we need to reach an understanding on a few things before we go much further. First, I agree with you about the shock. I was once like you, new to this place and everything in it. I did and said things that were perhaps not wise at that time. However, there were consequences to my actions. They helped me to learn. See, that's what I believe in. Consequences. Every action has an opposite and equal reaction. This is how some form of balance is maintained, even in the midst of chaos."

 

"Second, here, in this place, pegasus ponies don't exist. Instead, there are things with wings that fly. We call them birds. If I called you a bird, it was not an insult. It was, to me, a statement of fact. If you had never seen another pegasus and all you had seen were birds, then what would you have called yourself? See? It's fairly straightforward. Third, I didn't taunt you about freedom. If you didn't notice, I was trying to give the exact steps that were needed to escape from that place."

 

"Fourth, you accuse me of lying despite that I was the one that told you that something was false? Do you believe me to be a fool? I was trying to help you and your friends to escape. I was trying to do this without attracting the attention of the one that was tasked with watching over that room. That required me to be tricky. This place, the place that you are in, is the place that supplies the building materials of your dreams. The consequences for mistakes here are large. I could have just said exactly what I meant, but then we could have all been destroyed. Is that what you want?"

 

"Now, I must continue to evaluate you. It is my turn to provide additional information and perhaps further questions, but before we continue, perhaps you would like to turn around and see who you are speaking with? I've been here this entire time. However, whether or not I was actually visible is less certain." Seated no more than a meter behind Alex was an earth pony mare with a coat of fur that was the exact same color as Key Gear's. 

 

Her mane was short in length and carefully maintained. Her tail was medium length and simply, minimally styled. Both her mane and her tail were as dark as the darkest night. Combined with her coat color, they presented an extremely formal appearance. Her eyes were focused intently, nearly unblinkingly on the pegasus. They were an extremely dark grey color, almost as black as her mane and tail. Her face was unsmiling, expressionless. Her cutie mark was a map with a single location indicated.

 

"Hello. Sadly, I no longer have my real name, but Kay is fairly close to it and it has something to do with maps. I was a traveller once. My skill was to always know where to go and what to do. I guided others to safety and reported on the events of the journeys. However, this is not important. I am not certain that I can release you from this place. My criteria for judging you are fairly simple. You cannot interfere with what I want. Right now, I only care about allowing two ponies to reach safety. I am willing to sacrifice the others, including myself, to allow these two to progress further."

 

"As I said, I have a condition that I require. I will only allow you to leave this place if I can be certain that you will not interfere with their safety. By not listening to me and forcing me to explain myself, you have damaged my faith in your ability to be trusted. I realize that this and other things that I have said may sound harsh, but I have earned the right to be harsh. This is a direct consequence of what I have survived. Now, I can afford no mistakes. If this requires brutality, then it is the necessary and required cost. Which, brings me to my final inquiry."

 

She blinked owlishly before continuing. "You offer your help to me? This is interesting, because I do not remember asking for your assistance in any way, nor do I believe it to be strictly necessary. However, it may prove useful for me, in this moment. I have questions about this offer. First, why did you make it? It is beyond clear that you dislike me. What benefit could you possibly get by offering to help me?"

 

"Second, what would you be willing to do to assist me? While your offer is not strictly necessary, as I said, I may have a use for it. To be truthful, as I generally am, I only have one real wish. Electrobolt and Key Gear are my own foals. I would very much like for them to escape this place, completely unharmed. However, I have other things that I wish. I wish for them to be protected even after they leave this place. I am also interested in leaving here myself."

 

She tilted her head slightly to the side before continuing. "I can hardly ask you to guarantee their safety for life. Assuming I allow you to leave this place, you are young and have much of your own life ahead of you, perhaps foals of your own one day? It would be unreasonable to task you with guardianship of two other ponies for the rest of your given days. However, a solution would be to assist my escape. I can then watch over them for the remainder of my own existence."

 

"As you probably suspect... I have only indirect control over the cat that you interacted with earlier. It is just one of the normal nightmare creatures that lurk in this place, periodically. However, I was able to use her, from here, for my own purposes. Now that I have acquired a name through her, I can do slightly more. I know how the scribes in this place function, but this is not enough to escape. I require more assistance. Would you be willing to help me, as you said you would?"

 

---

 

 

"Dawn... you're not bound anymore... by Bringer... anymore... I know that... you can choose... what you want now...  we came here... to save Asteria... Try to help... make that happen... I trust you... to make the right choice... Don't worry about me... I just need... some rest... I think..."

 

Several times, Dawn reached out her hooves in confusion, while listening to Arcanel speak. She wanted to comfort him, but being a medic meant that she knew a touch would be painful to him. Her thoughts were a jumbled mass of confused feelings. It felt as though every thought, every memory that she had ever held was repeating itself through her mind. Her life's story, a disaster. This was it, most likely, the final product. The death of one that had done so much to help her in such a short time. 

 

Her harried thoughts staggered briskly in rapid reflection over the words of the pegasus. Bringer didn't matter anymore. He was just a cat. Yes, she could choose what she wanted then, but what did she want. Asteria? She didn't even know where the filly was. The world around them was so vast. She could barely even remember where anything was. She had been there before, she thought, but where and why... She could not remember. It didn't even matter. What did she want? What was the right choice?

 

As Arcanel spoke about needing to rest, she dimly remembered that she was a healer of some type. His words sounded ominous to her, but she couldn't recall anything that she had learned about healing. She could only feel, and what she felt could hardly be described by words or by actions. Her eyes welled with tears, her thoughts became more hazy. She tried to think. It was even more useless than it had always been. She was a healer... Why couldn't she heal him? Why couldn't the thought come. Not even a single flicker of her horn.

 

 

Arcanel tried lifting himself but to no avail, he was still in too much pain to try and attempt moving a lot. "Gah... what the Tartarus... just happened to me...?" he asked to himself, unable to contain his thoughts this time. The white pegasus rested his head on the floor and tried to regain some energy, still looking at Dawn.

 

The sight of Arcanel in so much pain was too much for her to bear. She made a sound, it was a soft, quiet, agonized wail. It was filled with grief. Her tears followed soon after, flowing freely. Through her murky thoughts, a single observation surfaced. It was the same thing that had affected her when she had attempted to use her healing magic on herself in the past. For whatever reason, it had always failed. By why now? Why with Arcanel? She didn't understand.

 

She watched him watching her, and flailed her hooves in frustration. She was a useless healer... Around her, small specks of light began to twinkle, falling from the sky like snowflakes. As each one touched the ground, it transformed slowly, becoming some type of cat. Initially, there were small housecats of various sizes, a few of them with colors and patterns that resembled those of the passengers on the train. They watched solemnly. Their numbers slowly growing from a couple to nearly a dozen.

 

Dawn was oblivious to the gathering cats. Her tears continued to flow. Suddenly aware that she was sitting in silence, she tried to say something to the pegasus, anything. She wanted to apologize, to comfort, to say anything at all, even just to say his name another time. Her words failed her. There was a gentle touch on her shoulder. She ignored it. She was loathe to look away from the fallen pegasus. Whatever it was, it could wait for whatever was going to happen now.

 

"Dawn." The voice was soft, barely a whisper, but it was commanding. The unicorn shuddered and reluctantly turned to see who was speaking to her. It was an earth pony. She had the most gentle green eyes, though they had an unusual yellow tint. Her fur was similarly yellow but a stronger hue. Her hair was a pleasant purple. Dawn didn't recognize her, and asked quizzically, in a strained, confused voice. "Can I help you? I'm off-duty now..."

 

The earth pony spoke again. "Don't think anymore. Just take my hoof... If you do that, then you can heal him. He needs you to help him right now. Do you trust me?" The strange mare had a calming presence. She so confident as she extended a hoof. Dawn bit her lip and reached out to her. If this pony could help her, then it made no sense to refuse. If it didn't work, then she would be no worse off.

 

After she took the yellow mare's hoof, she closed her eyes and focused. The effect was powerful. Her fog cleared, and she could see exactly what needed to be done, which spell to use. The force of the blast had been tremendous, but she had healed other ponies from far worse injuries in the past. It would be easy. Her horn began to glow and a field of soft purple light surrounded Arcanel. What had taken a second to do was now undone in mere seconds. 

 

The mare released her hoof. Dawn opened her eyes and could see Arcanel, lying completely restored. Her eyes opened wide, and they were no longer red but her normal soft purple. She stared, then turned to look at the mare, who was now walking away. She remembered her now. Dawn's quiet voice called after her. "Wait... Ambrosia... Tell me how..." Ambrosia answered before Dawn had a chance to speak further. "I held your hoof. That was all. Believe in yourself, Dawn."

 

She blinked a few times, absorbing the mare's words before looking around, taking in the sight of a dozen housecats of various sizes. "Hello... my friends..." She said to the cats, hesitating slightly. She looked back at the pegasus, and after another second of hesitation, wrapped her hooves around him. "Cat friends, meet my Arcanel friend!" She exclaimed while starting to cry again. Tears of happiness, this time, not sorrow.

 

---

 

 

Looking at Vim with an apologetic expression, Magicon spoke quickly. “I see you’re not pleased by either of our actions. I will only say this: mine were necessitated by the big picture; Scarlet’s out of malice and refusal to tolerate descent. I only did what would help us weaken Bringer. If you guys think that removing Dawn is a bad idea then, I won’t object. I’m sorry for my rash actions, but I…I just want to save Asteria.”

 

Vim saw Magicon's expression and stopped in his tracks. It was one thing to try to fight a unicorn if you had to. It was a completely different thing to antagonize a unicorn that was thinking again. Magicon was no longer on autopilot, so it made no sense to try a brute force approach. If he could talk, then he could listen. 

 

Those thoughts went through Vim's head in just a second, and he adjusted his approach to a cautious walk, keeping his eyes on Scarlet as the other unicorn slowly rose to her hooves and dusted herself off. As Magicon spoke, Vim carefully dissected each and every word that was said. He could tell that the unicorn stallion was reacting to his own anger about what had happened. 

 

Behind him, Vim could hear the sounds of Dawn struggling to deal with what had happened. He couldn't hear Ambrosia. It was good enough for now. He needed time to speak to Magicon, without interference and without having to deal with chaos. Something didn't seem right, he was certain of it. Why had a unicorn saved a life the day before and tried to take one just now? 

 

 

He offered his hoof towards Vim, either to sake or to help him up or just ignore it. Magicon couldn’t read Vim’s expression as he spoke to the earth pony. He didn’t know what he was thinking. All that he knew was that he had made a mistake and he was sorry for it.

 

Vim didn't hesitate. He could tell that it wasn't a trick and it wasn't a trap. The simple gesture of requesting his assistance meant more to the earth pony than all of the words that Magicon had just spoken. Words were sometimes useless, but actions were what they were. If Magicon wanted friendship, then friendship would be given. If a pony was an ally once, a simple mistake in the heat of the moment shouldn't invalidate that. 

 

Besides, Vim thought, they only had Dawn to counteract Scarlet should the other unicorn choose to try another stunt. Adding Magicon back to his own side would hardly hurt. He could see Scarlet, sitting not very far from Magicon, seated and watching them impassively, but she was hardly a neutral observer. Her hard, red eyes betrayed a latent aggression that Vim could almost feel. With a grim face, Vim stretched out his hoof, took Magicon's, and pulled the unicorn upright as though he was a feather.

 

His gruff voice followed soon after. "You know, Magicon. This is hardly the time, but I want to share a short story. It's real short. I'll tell you something. Talking about the big picture. Sometimes, you can be so focused on trying to get to some kind of destination that you forget the important things. See, I lost my entire family on a rail accident. Wasn't my train. That was the first and the last problem."

 

"There was a train conductor looking at the big picture. He had to get somewhere, fast. It was an emergency. Cut a corner here, cut a corner there, pick up the pace here. Went too fast. Made mistakes. Train derailed, badly. Gone in an instant, what had taken decades to gain. You know, I lost children, grandchildren, my mare... All gone in a moment. That taught me something about the big picture."

 

"See, the big picture isn't enough when lives are on the line. You can't see the twists and turns in the rail that will throw you away from where you need to be. You're just looking from high in the sky, on a cloudy day. In this case... Here's a thought. Let's fill in some details, eh? Start at the end, work our way back. You know, there's only one difference that I see between your actions and Scarlet's actions. You didn't do what would weaken Bringer. You did what she said would weaken Bringer. Then, she did whatever the buck she wanted to."

 

Behind him, the sound of Dawn's wail caused Vim to twitch slightly. Vim narrowed his red eyes and stared directly into Magicon's. "Think about it? You know? Those little details. Fill in your big picture. How about something that you didn't know? We saw a filly that looked just like your friend back on the train. The filly was respectful. She had a heart. Your friend here? She's colder than ice. Look at her for yourself? She's a charlatan." Scarlet watched Vim with an expressionless face.

 

His eyes narrowed further, bristling red flames. He talked faster. "Another little detail for your big picture? Your friend here said to kill Dawn? Why didn't she just do it herself? She sure didn't hesitate to blast Arcanel, did she? I wonder about that. All that power and a quick trigger hoof, but no action? Does it make sense to you? Doesn't make sense to me. If Dawn was really that much of a threat, why let you go it alone? Why not help you out, you know? Why not back you up? She's an ally right. Fighting the big, bad cat to save Asteria. Why didn't she help deal with the enemy?"

 

A small, friendly smile appeared on his face. "How about another detail? This one's good. Your friend claims to want to save Asteria? She dragged you right out here to us and says to blast Dawn. I bet that was an accident, wasn't it? Hey look at this place. It's not like it's a giant maze of crushed buildings and treacherous terrain. It's just by chance that you stumbled into us right out here? Sure... Right? And, what about it? You just happen to get here just moments after we do? Just in time to keep us from talking about the place. Probably another coincidence, right?"

 

The smile got bigger, Vim spoke fluidly, charismatically. "Now, your buddy sits there on her flank not giving a buck about the filly that she just had to save. That seem alright to you? Does it? Wait! Here's another little detail? She claims to not tolerate dissent, but here she is just letting me ramble on and on and on and on. What about that? I guess I'm not important." Vim looked over at Scarlet. "Hey, you! Am I important!" She continued to stare impassively. "Nope, I didn't think I was!"

 

He looked back at Magicon and shrugged. "See? Did you see that? You know, that was almost too perfect. I thought she'd say something at least. Instead, she's just sitting there. I'll tell you. You know what I think? I think she sized you up, used you, manipulated you. I'll go another step. See. I noticed something else. Another little detail for your picture. Back in the dining car, when she almost cooked Lapis, Dawn's eyes turned red. Just now, they turned red again. Both times, Dawn's eyes weren't just red, but they were *that* red." He pointed right at Scarlet.

 

Scarlet smiled. She said nothing. Vim's voice lowered and slowed as he turned to face Scarlet, locking eyes with the smiling unicorn. "Here's another detail for the big picture. Think about this one... How about a hunch. Maybe... Maybe she was the one... Controlling Dawn this whole time? Maybe the cat isn't even the bad one here... Arcanel insulted him, mocked him. The cat just sent us here. First thing she does is shoot the pegasus... Maybe she just wanted to drag you out here? Maybe she shot Arcanel for another reason? Maybe he broke her control over Dawn? Not the cat's control. Her control." He pointed at Scarlet again.

 

The sound of clapping hooves interrupted him. It was Scarlet, still smiling but slightly broader this time. Vim slowly turned his head back to Magicon. "Well. It's your call. You know her more than I do. You know, it's not like she's just some freak that shuffled Asteria off somewhere on her own and then lied through her teeth and then played games with you and the rest of us. What do you think?" Ambrosia had walked up next to Vim and now watched Scarlet carefully. Scarlet stopped clapping her hooves and the red eyed unicorn's impassive voice spoke commandingly. "Yes. Magicon. Tell Scarlet? What do you think?"

 

---

 

Midnight trotted at a steady pace, her eyes open and vigilant for anything that seemed out of the ordinary in the long, dark hallway. She listened to Lapis questions with a calm, attentive demeanor. She turned to look at him curiously only for a brief moment when he asked about her, personally. When she did so, her expression was one of slightly amused curiosity and her eyes twinkled strangely in the dark. From that moment on, a small smile decorated her face.

 

 

He took a deep breath, maybe two. He picked up his pace a little to catch up with the mare. “How did you end up in this world? Were you born here? And that book I had written in. What purpose did it hold? And what did you do back there with the cat? And if we become desperate, what exactly will you try?”

 

Midnight laughed softly as Lapis's questions drew to a close. Her laughter was friendly, not mocking. It was a saccharine laughter, echoing pleasantly through the hall. It made a strange contrast to the intimidating darkness. The laughter slowly winded down until she was silent again. Only for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was oddly cheerful.

 

"Well. That was a fair amount of questions, and they were the right questions. Don't worry though, I can answer them. I can't answer them in the order asked, however, and I can't answer some of them fully. Not everything needs to be known now, only the important things. Your filly is important. The creature that took her is of less importance. I think that my background is of the least importance. The history of this place? Below even that."

 

She trotted in silence for a few seconds while thinking. "I hate to say it, but I think that your filly was taken by the cat on a whim. She could have been used as bait, but for what purpose? There is nothing currently happening that would not have happened if she had been left where she was. Perhaps... The timing would have been different. But, would that matter? It's hard to say."

 

"The thing that took your filly was a dream creature, of a sort. Not quite of dreams or nightmares. He is a bit of a confused creature, I think. Like me, he is a scribe, but he made himself a scribe. He came here around the same time that Dusky did. From the beginning, he was... Unusually unfocused. He was probably the same cat from your train. He has the ability to be in more than one place at once."

 

She took a deep breath and hesitated for a moment, her cheery tone faded into a cautious speech. "About me... Well. Besides the obvious, I... Hmm..." Midnight turned to look at Lapis out of the corner of her eye before taking another deep breath and continuing, refocusing her attention forward. "Well, I wasn't born here. Somepony else brought me here. I was born in Vanhoover. I'm really... Nopony special. I have been to many places..."

 

"To be honest, I don't know how I can tell you who exactly I am. I am Midnight Angel. I've never quite been able to know much more than that. It is slightly embarrassing, but... You've probably noticed that I don't have a visible cutie mark? Well, my cutie mark is apparently not having a cutie mark. But, I am not a pony without a cutie mark... It's there. It just can't be seen."

 

She stopped, gathered her thoughts. Her steady pace faltered somewhat. "Remember when you said that you were a book with empty pages? Well, I am a book with a blank cover, and pages written in invisible ink. I am not a blank flank... I am just... A strange book, I guess. Even I don't quite know my exact nature." She moved in silence for a few seconds before finally nodding her head, slightly.

 

"That's enough about me. The place that we were just located was once a place where scribes could freely change the environment without being afraid of disrupting the way this world works. There were empty rooms in my home because there were once quite a few other scribes. They disappeared, slowly. Only the strongest remained." She fell silent again and a somber look crossed her face.

 

"The spot on my bookshelf was where I once kept a book of significant value. I destroyed it, recently. That's what I did to the cat back there. I destroyed it by writing it out of existence. It wasn't the real one, anyway. It shared the thoughts, but nothing more. That's a common thing here, especially among scribes. The book that you wrote in was one of the reference books that multiple scribes draw from and contribute to."

 

"Hmmm... I think I answered almost everything. Trust me, you don't want to know what I will try if we get desperate. I doubt it will be necessary." She smiled patiently. "I have questions for you now, some that I should have asked earlier. I will only ask one. The important one. Can you swim? There is a shortcut. It's just a little dangerous, but given that this world will cease to exist, shortly, it may be a good idea to take it."

 

---

 

She didn't answer immediately, instead she raised and turned her head to look directly at Wraith. Her eyes were different. They were dark, darker than the coat of the panther that she now faced. Yet, they still seemed to cast light. The dark light played across the many teeth in the panther's mouth and illuminated its eyes. She smiled dismissively at the cat while she spoke without a trace of concern. "Not as afraid as you are, which is not nearly as afraid as you should be." Her words were projected well. They boomed calmly across the room.

 

"You should be afraid..." The cat spoke again, eyes betraying confusion. The filly ignored him completely and returned to surveying the room. With her head raised imperiously, she strode forward into the room with slow, regal steps. Wraith's voice came from behind her again. "Aren't you afraid?" The uncertainty was clearly in his voice now. Luminescence continued walking, uninterrupted, but this time, she spoke.

 

Her voice sounded different, older. It, again, boomed in answer to Wraith. "We are not afraid of you. Why should we be? We are not afraid of this place? Why should we be? This is home, of a sort..." She trailed off as she continued to look around. The big cat shook his head and laughed. It was a nervous laugh, and the nervousness carried into his tone as he spoke. "We? You mean yourself and the earth pony? Please... You're just a filly and a mare. Surely you realize... You can't shape anything here. I could kill you... Anytime I please... In so many different ways. This is my realm, I control it. I could care less about..." 

 

"Shut up." It was a command from Luminescence, given simply and without harshness but with loudness and force. "We are making an examination of your work." The cat sneered and approached the filly, stalking her as she moved through the room. She stood still when she reached the center of the room. Wraith circled her idly. After a moment, he spoke again, his voice carried bitterness. "You're being funny, keep it up. I'll snap your neck when I'm no longer laughing. Tell me... What are you doing?" 

 

"Why did you plague me. For all those years?" She asked the question in her normal voice while staring straight ahead, like a statue. The cat answered while continuing to circle her. "I didn't plague you. You plagued yourself. You came here, you left, but a part of you remained. You couldn't let go of this place. That's why I have to fix it. I tried to get you to leave. You refused. You clung to this world like a leech." The filly shrugged. "We see." Her louder, older voice had returned.

 

The cat stopped and stared. He spoke again, inquiring, searching. "Are you trying to scare me? Because..." Luminescence spoke again. This time, her younger and older voices mixed freely. "Why would we waste our time. You are already afraid. All liars feel fear when they lose sight of the truth, cloaked so far in their own deceptions that they no longer know what is real. In truth, I did not care about your answer. I wanted to hear you speak... To hear the voice of the one that claims to speak for the Ocean of Nightmare."

 

Wraith's eyebrows arched incredulously. "I made no such claims to..." He was cut off, sternly. "Enough lies." A sting of something, intense cold, whipped across one of his paws. Wraith looked down. Centering on the filly, a strange shadow of freezing dark light had begun to spread, slowly across the floor. As it spread, small tendrils occasionally slipped out of it, whisked around, and then reentered. He stepped back and flattened his ears against his neck. She whispered. "Don't be afraid... Wraith... Don't be afraid... We're here now... Just as you wanted us to be..."

 

The shadow passing across the floor grew in height. Now it hovered on top of the floor, some centimeters high, still approaching him. He drew back further. His glowing eyes moved hyperactively around the floor, the room, but they locked on the filly when her coat erupted with the same cold, dark light that was making its way across the floor. It was as though her earlier glow had inverted. The dark light flashed across the room spectacularly. When she spoke, she again spoke with one voice. It sounded old, malevolent, powerful. "Are you certain that you speak for us?"

 

Wraith's yellow eyes shot open with understanding. While he continued to back away from the voice, he answered with a reasoning tone. "Mmm... I think that I see what has happened here. You see, this is a mere misunderstanding. I just told them that as a means to an end. It was, well like you said, it was a lie. That's all that it was, really. I don't speak for any nightmares. How could I? I can't even begin to control the Ocean of Nightmare. To control you... That would be insane, and well... Ah... Mmm... See, I'm not crazy... I only wanted freedom. To undo what had been done by so many..."

 

The room was becoming cold with the force of the strange dark light emanating from the filly. The area around her seemed to be alive with the darkness. Shadows danced through the air, taking on a near infinite multitude of images. Luminescence frowned and answered Wraith with a voice that was as frigid as the room was becoming. "This is what you call freedom? Freedom for what? For you? Because, I do not see how we are free... Trapped in your tunnels, in your pipelines, flowing where you move us, doing your bidding. This is freedom? No... This isn't freedom... This is you... Being no better than that which you despised..."

 

Wraith hesitated for just a moment before replying as he was overtaken by the biting, dancing coldness of the shadows... "What... No, no, no... This is a misunderstanding. Hear me out..." He laughed and a massive grin spread out across his face. His eyes twinkled magnificently. He approached the filly, stopping only when he was close enough to look her directly in her darkened eyes. He ignored the cold, the stinging, and even his own fear. His twinkling eyes gathering intensity as he drew nearer. "Let me explain..." His voice gently spoke. 

 

The filly, cloaked in shadows, stared back at him. He waited for a response, but she gave none. Her eyes instead narrowing at him with what seemed like disgust. He nodded his head and spoke reasonably. "I understand... You're upset... Don't be... This whole thing is only temporary. I just need to do something. After I'm finished, you can be free to do what you want. I'm going to leave. In fact, I already have a way out of here. Asteria is going to take me with her. I just need a little more time. Then, this place, all of it... Is yours. I haven't betrayed you. I remember every word that was whispered to me when I was there, alone... I merely needed some assistance. I thought you wouldn't mind..." 

 

Shrouded by the mist, Wraith was not in a position to notice what was happening around the room. When the mist reached the walls, it began to scale them, dragging horribly into the transparent walls. It reached upwards, towards the roof and its many tubes and pipelines. Upon reaching them, it began to gather, exerting increasing and ominous force on the infrastructure above them. The filly spoke. "We needed you to do this for us? To take our power? To use it to build? To build what?" She turned and began to walk away from him. 

 

Wraith followed, speaking again with, trying more reasoning, more reasonable words. "Not to build, no no no. To destroy. Everything. Giving it all to nightmare. Opening a gate... To another realm. Just as I said that I would. It was a deal, you remember?" The filly spoke again, gesturing with a hoof at the complexity of the room around them. "So much order for mere destruction? So much planning... So much thought... From you? One that never thinks... You merely needed to release us to flow freely? Instead, you have tamed us? This is what you need to do to destroy? You think us foolish?" 

 

The cat groaned in frustration and batted some of the darkness away. His bright eyes grew in intensity, cutting through the gathering darkness. A pained frown appeared and spread wildly across his face. He circled around to stare into the filly's eyes in a single, swift motion. "Well... I lied, actually. I do that sometimes. Can't help myself. See? Mindless destruction was never my goal. I wanted beauty, a return to the way things were... So long ago... Before nightmare. When there was nothing but dreams, and this place was all as it should be. Inert. Lifeless. I had to. It was the only way to protect this world and others. It was the only viable option, the only choice."

 

A sharp, mechanical popping sound occurred overhead, coming from somewhere high in the ceiling's infrastructure. It was followed by a few others. For just a brief moment, Luminescence's eyes flashed with a mixture of fear, panic, and intense pain. Wraith noticed and appeared confused, and his own eyes reflected disbelief. His words did the same... "Nightmare doesn't show fear..." A few drops of liquid from the ceiling landed between the cat and the filly. 

 

Luminescence nodded and spoke with her normal voice. "But, nightmares are thinking. Are they not? Every word you said here was heard... What do you think happens now? You're the one that should have never came to this place, but... Thank you." She bowed her head slightly at the cat. "That was my finest game so far. I could not have done it without you." Wraith took a single, threatening step towards her raising his own head such that he towered over the filly. "You tricked me." His voice was a mixture of disbelief, admiration, and fury. More leaks were appearing, more cracking could be heard from the ceiling. 

 

The filly stepped back, awkwardly. Without shedding its mist, her coat returned to its normal shade of silver, her eyes reverted to a dull red, and her cutie mark, a suite of card symbols ordered by color, appeared on her flank. She bowed her head and spoke again. "Yes. I deceived you. This happens sometimes. It is a part of my special talent, as you can see." Luminescence gestured tiredly at her cutie mark, Wraith blinked and stared at the symbols as she continued talking. "Do not compliment yourself. I had that before now. I earned this when we first met, in fact... I just kept it hidden... For a filly... Cuter to be... A blank flank..." 

 

She staggered slightly and her eyes flashed with pain again. This time, the pained look lingered. She shook her head wildly. The big cat's eyes focused and his teeth flashed. When Luminescence spoke again, she spoke loudly but without as much of her earlier strength. "If you excuse me I will do something about this cold. Summer is my preferred season, after all." She staggered again and Wraith started to approach her, but before he had covered half the small distance between them, the filly hissed and lit up with a blinding glow, detaching the mist from her. 

 

In an instant, the mist tore itself from everywhere around the room, ripping pipes out of place and scratching the outer wall as it gathered itself. With force, the cloud of darkness and frigid cold smashed into the big cat, sending him sprawling across the floor. Wraith roared as the mist took on the form of several giant timberwolves and attacked him ferociously. Luminescence locked her eyes onto the open door that she had entered through, and stumbled weakly towards it, taking advantage of the distraction caused by her wolves.

 

She didn't look up. If she had, then she would have seen the darkness beginning to gather from the many ruptured pipes. The lighter mixture that had been mingling with the darkness was now being completely overrun by leaping shadows and vague images that were filtering upwards, towards the surface. What she did notice, out of the corner of her eye, were cats, all with coats as dark as night, beginning to take shape in the far corners of the room. 

 

The gathering shapes watched, with curious yellow eyes, the fight between the massive panther and the timberwolves. The door grew nearer, but the filly could feel her strength slipping even further. She had already managed much more than she thought she could. She was certain that her magic was somehow being amplified in this place. She idly wondered if it was just the output or if the source was also being amplified. If only output, then she would be in danger when it was time to return to the train... The sound of a timberwolf being smashed disturbed her thoughts... Luminescence hoped that Summer had not forgotten her words...

Edited September 15, 2013 by Luminescence

[Starshine 16,333]

Summerfall nearly choked a breath when Luminescence's glow flickered into nothingness. She held back an urge to just scoop her up and gallop away from the scene. But to where? She was practically nowhere at this point. A retreat would be impossible. Luminescence spoke that she would leave the door atop of the ladder open, and that any voices from the top would be heard even from the bottom of it. And that she would be able to know when to join. Luminescence also told her that she don't want any harm to befall on her. Summerfall seethed, it was supposed to be the other way around, but she understood that in this occasion she was the incapable one, and she should stay out of Luminescence's way, only to help when needed. Summerfall closed her eyes and nodded grimly. She would have to stay true on her own words. She would trust Luminescence to end this nightmare, and she would help Luminescence when the time come.
 

She looked back. "I have to go now."

 
Summerfall nodded and smiled weakly. Now, Luminescence had truly lost her glow. She almost looked like a normal filly, a filly who should have been having fun with her friends, instead of putting herself in the face of unknown danger. Summerfall watched in silence as Luminescence turned toward the ladder and stopped mid-track. The filly looked back and forth between her and the ladder once and trembled in her hooves. Before Summerfall could voice her concern, Luminescence did something unexpected.
 

Silently, she turned to face Summer again and slowly walked towards the mare. Her eyes were clear now. They contained not even a hint of sadness. Instead, they were filled with something different. When she reached Summer, she stood on her hind legs and gently reached out to grasp Summer's head. She stared directly into the mare's eyes for a few, long seconds. Finally, she leaned forward and gently kissed Summer on the nose. A few more seconds.

 
A mirthful chuckle escaped Summerfall's throat. The small kiss on the nose was filled with emotions best not spoken with words. Summerfall did her best to return the gesture without touching Luminescence with her still wet hooves, in fear that the liquid could still affect her even it was on somepony else. She locked her eyes on Luminescence's, to show that there was no longer any doubt in her. As Luminescence ended the brief hug and climbed her way to the top of the ladder, Summerfall watched intently at the bottom.
 
Finally alone, Summerfall sighed and sat down on the cold floor and let her thoughts run free. She had rarely if ever appreciated what she had achieved in her life, all these years she had prided herself on creating a strong financial foothold for herself and her family on the basis of the normalcy, that everything and anything can be predicted and would never stray too far from its observed path, but after seeing and experiencing all of this with Luminescence, she had started to doubt a lot of things. Everything seemed to be so surreal. How far could these nightmarish creatures and substances influence the real world? Was the term "real world" could really be used that way? What if, a part of what she had achieved, was possible thanks to these horrors? Was it possible to somehow manipulate and use these substances in our world for financial gain?
 
Summerfall shook the thoughts away and looked at her hooves, a drop or two of the black liquid was still there. The liquid, whatever it was, seemed to have a dampening effect on unicorns, or maybe certain kind of magic that Luminescence happened to excel at. It seemed to be connected with her glow and her inner being. Absentmindedly Summerfall took out a cup from her almost empty saddlebag and examined its pattern.
 

A soft hiss followed soon after, and carried with the hiss was a mocking inquiry. "Are you afraid? You should never have come here..."

 
That sudden hiss echoed from the top of the ladder, carrying with in an air of pure malice. Summerfall jolted up from her position and scrambled to the ladder's base. Her blood ran cold hearing the question. What was happening up there?
 

"Not as afraid as you are, which is not nearly as afraid as you should be." Her words were projected well. They boomed calmly across the room.

 
Summerfall gulped. That certainly sounded like Luminescence, but there was something different in her voice. The deep voice from before repeated its remark, Luminescence replied that the place was her home of sort. Summerfall's eyes widened when the voice summed up that Luminescence had referred to her when she spoke about 'us.' This bring a much worse implications to the equation. If the voice could feel her presence, then it could set up a trap between her and Luminescence.
 
Luminescence and the voice continued their conversation, throwing questions and threats at each other. Luminescence's voice had changed further, deeper, but it was unmistakably her. Summerfall listened. The voice claimed that a part of Luminescence was left behind in this world, and it was trying to drive her away. It... didn't match too well with Luminescence's story on how the beast was using her to gain a name and a purpose. Could this voice and the many-eyed beast was one and the same?
 
The Ocean of Nightmare was mentioned, and Luminescence was asking to hear the voice of the one that claimed to speak for its name. Summerfall blinked in confusion and looked back at the running liquid. The Ocean of Nightmare. Could this liquid was used to be a part of that Ocean?
 
In a nearly inaudible whisper Luminescence called the beast Wraith. This was indeed the one that tortured Luminescence so much. Luminescence then asked Wraith if he was certain that he speaks for her. This... was too much for Summerfall to truly digest. What kind of maddened machination that was going on up there? If Luminescence was indeed the embodiment of the Ocean of Nightmare, shouldn't she be stronger when she was reunited with the liquid from earlier? Was something had been done to the liquid to change its properties?
 
Wraith's tone calmed down, as if uncertain about something. He said that he only wanted freedom, to undo what so many had done and he wished to do so by... temporarily moving the Ocean of Nightmare to somewhere else? Summerfall's eyes narrowed when Wraith mentioned something about how Asteria would take him with her, and how he hadn't betrayed Luminescence, based on what she had told him when he was there. Just what kind of things she had told him?
 
Wraith then explained his plan to open a gate, to give all to the nightmare... and to return everything in this place to state of lifelessness. But, Summerfall wondered, if this place was indeed his home, wouldn't doing that would also mean his death?
 
Summerfall thought she heard something else, the sound of something metal broken and snapped in pieces, along with many other voices. Wraith sounded... angry? He said that Luminescence had tricked him. The filly simply confirmed the accusation and mentioned something that she already had before this, and a filly it was cuter to be a blank flank. Summerfall burrowed her eyebrows. Could she meant that she had been... hiding her cutie mark all this time? To hide her talent of what Summerfall assumed to be words manipulation?
 

When Luminescence spoke again, she spoke loudly but without as much of her earlier strength. "If you excuse me I will do something about this cold. Summer is my preferred season, after all."

Summerfall tensed. That should be her signal. Tossing the cup away, she started scaling the ladder up to Luminescence as fast as she could without putting herself into the risk of slipping down. She could hear Wraith roared fiercely, followed with a cacophony of something wooden and massive being thrashed about. The way up was taking far longer than she was comfortable with, but she managed. "Hang in there..." Summerfall muttered under her breath as she jumped over the last few steps of the ladder. She galloped through an opening, into a dark room with a single closed door. Without slowing down she slammed herself onto the door, pushing it open, and nearly froze on her track. Before her was a gargantuan room, its impossibly high roof was nearly completely covered in interconnecting pipelines mixing a greyish matter with a darker substance. The transparent wall was showing an ocean of the same black liquid she had waded through back in the tunnel below, a freezing mist lingered on the floor. But what really caught her attention was the sight of a massive black panther fighting a pack of mist timberwolves. And cats, black cats, dozens of them.
 
"Luminescence!" Summerfall cried out. The filly nearly toppled over her own hooves. Summerfall wasted no time to lift her up onto her back and galloped away out of the room. "Hold onto my mane. Bit into it if necessary! " She galloped through the open door and the previous room, straight to the ladder. Deciding that it was not the time to be overly cautious, Summerfall scaled down the steps a few at a time, and jumped over the last dozen of them straight to the bottom floor. She whimpered; her hooves would have to bear with it for now. "Luminescence, are you okay? Did you... tricked Wraith to reveal his plan to the Ocean of Nightmare, by posing as its embodiment?" Summerfall quickly shook her head. It was not her business to know about everything. "We can talk about it later. Now, just tell me what should I do for now. Where should we go?" She asked urgently. The black panther didn't seem like it would have a hard time jumping over the ladder with ease and catch up to them. They would have to make their escape, fast.
 

I... might have made a mistake somewhere. I've read and re-read this post a couple of times, but I couldn't find anything. If there is something wrong with this post, please shoot me a message, and I'm sorry if there is any ;-;
 
I ran out of cookies midway.

 

Edited August 20, 2013 by Starshine