Barriers
By Loss Thief
There are walls constructed that are never meant to break. They are thought to be impenetrable, by even the most powerful of magic. But while it is true that friendship is magic, others exist as well...Obsession, Devotion, Corruption, Love, Desperation...and they each have the power to build or destroy. And now they have joined together, without their wielders' knowledge, to attack the barriers meant to protect us.
In the world of Equestria, a young pony named Rainbow Dash wakes screaming in the night, her mind's eye blinded with images of her own death. Far off, in another universe altogether, a young blogger is stricken with insomnia, and his waking dreams are filled visions of chaos...and ponies.
The barriers have existed for time eternal, but they face an attack for which they were never prepared. The unwieldy forces that strike them hammer away without rest...and the cracks are starting to show.
Chapter One
On almost any morning, Rainbow Dash would tell anypony who asked that she wished the sun didn't rise so early. Nothing against Princess Celestia, mind you, but she always seemed to get woken up before right before the best part of her dreams. She'd lost count of the times she'd been right in the middle of performing a triple-windy super-sonic somersault, only to be woken up by the distant cry of Fluttershy's rooster.
But that morning, things were…different.
Dash had been awake for hours; eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling of the pure-white castle cloud she lived in. She usually slept fine, unless there was a race or competition the next day, but even then she usually found a way to nod off to sleep eventually.
But not that night.
She wasn't sure why she'd stayed in bed the whole time. Maybe it was because she still felt too dizzy…too freaked out…too scared out of her mind to fly. Maybe she was desperately trying to get back to sleep to try and banish the images that had been wafting through her mind all night. All Dash really knew was that she couldn't sleep. If she did…she might go back to that…was it really just a dream?
No, she thought. Not a dream, a nightmare!
This morning, she welcomed the far off cry of Chanticleer, because it finally gave her the motivation to get out of bed, to try and wash off that...that horrible sensation. She made her way outside, and alighted towards the ground. Even when her thoughts were elsewhere, her superb flying skills glided her safely to the ground unconsciously.
The light-blue Pegasus hesitated as she turned toward Ponyville.
C'mon Rainbow Dash, stop being such a wimp! You gonna let some dumb old nightmare set you shaking in your hooves? You're not some scared little filly; you're the greatest flyer in all of Equestria!
With a new determination, the pony started off at a light canter towards Ponyville City Hall for her daily weather tasks.
Still, I think I'll steer clear of Sugar Cube Corner today.
A young man sat in front of his computer screen, slowly sifting his was through dozens (or was it hundreds) of emails. Most of them were repeats. Fast reacting fans who were all in a rush to be the first to tell him about the latest fancomic, or an update for another longfic, or some rumor their friend's friend's friend had supposedly maybe kinda possibly heard about plans for the next season. After the first couple of months he'd learned to skim the messages quick and find what was important.
Seth, look at yourself. It's nearly 4 in the morning, and you're still awake, reading a metric shite load of emails about My Little Pony fanfiction. Are you really happy with your life right now?
Just as this though crossed the young blogger's mind, he opened up and email that started off with a picture of Pinkie Pie riding on Rainbow Dash in front of a fan.
It sounds crazy…but yeah, I'd say I'm pretty happy with my life at the moment.
Maybe it was the sleep deprivation making him wonder these things. Maybe it was the overzealous /co/ poster from earlier that day who called him a "fucking disgrace." Maybe everybody at some point in their life started having a "ponder just what the hell you're doing with your life" phase. No matter what, though, he figured he couldn't complain.
I get to spend hours every day talking with other people about something I love. I don't think I have any right to complain about where I am in life.
Finally shutting down the computer for the night, Seth stood up from the desk chair, stretched, and yawned. He needed to get some sleep before tomorrow…or before today, really.
I do have a right to complain about my sleep schedule though. Jesus Christ this can't be a healthy lifestyle. One can only subsist off of cheeriness and internet memes for so long before they drop dead with a smile on their face.
Seth lay down in bed, shut his eyes, and tried his damndest to force himself to sleep.
Twilight Sparkle had meant to go to bed at a decent hour, wake up not long after sunrise, and get a good amount of studying done so she'd have the rest of the day free. Unfortunately, those plans had been foiled when Owlowiscious had found a copy of Equine Eras of Excellence, an absolutely enthralling book about the history of Equestria. It had apparently been sitting hidden in the back corner of a shelf, and her nocturnal assistant had brought it to her not long before she had planned to go to bed.
Not for the first time, the purple unicorn had let her curiosity get the better of her, and had stayed up well into the night reading through it. She'd just made it to the beginning of the rise of the Cult of Colt, an insurrection group from 400 years in the past that had attempted to overthrow Celestia and instate a patriarchal oligarchy in her place, when she'd realized the late hour and forced herself to go to bed, hoping she'd wake up on time.
As she should have expected, she hadn't.
The sun was well and truly up by the time she awoke, and Twilight let out a loud groan. Her first thoughts were of whether it would be better to get straight to studying for the rest of the day, try to sate her curiosity and eliminate ongoing distraction by finishing EEE, or try to meet up with some of her friends. After all, it had been quite a while since she'd had anything to write to the Princess concerning friendship. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't sent a report about her studies since the Grand Galloping Gala, and that had been months ago.
She doubted Celestia would be angry with her lack of correspondence, considering how busy the Princess always seemed to be. But if she didn't find something to send soon…would Celestia maybe think she had learned all she could? Would the Princess order her to come back to the academy?
No…she was just being paranoid. But still, it would be a good idea to spend time with her friends. It felt like forever since she'd seen Pinkie Pie. Sugar Cube Corner had been swamped with business the past few weeks, and Mr. and Mrs. Cake had needed Pinkie there 'round the clock to help with all the baking.
I wonder what it is about summer that makes everypony have such a ravenous sweet tooth. Either way, I've decided. First stop of the day is Sugar Cube Corner! Maybe I can try my hoof at baking too, that should give me a story to tell Celestia about, and it should make things easier on them down there. It can't be easy trying to keep up with orders from everypony in town.
As she was double checking to make sure there wasn't anything she'd need to bring with her to help cook, Twilight realized she hadn't heard a word from Spike since she'd gotten up. Going over to check the young dragon's bed basket, she found a note inside. It read:
Dear, Twilight
Rarity just came by to ask for my help with something at her boutique. I wanted to ask you if it was okay, but figured I shouldn't wake you. I'm not sure how long It'll take, but if you need me, you know where to find me!
Sincerely, Spike
"Didn't want to wake me?" Twilight pondered aloud. "It sounds more like he didn't want to risk having to say no to Rarity. I hope he doesn't work himself too hard though. Rarity would never try to get him to overexert himself, but for her…I'd bet he'd never admit to being tired. Guess I'll have to check in on the two of them after I'm done at Sugar Cube."
Without further delay the purple Unicorn trotted out the door, magically closing it behind her.
Twilight had almost made it to Sugar Cube Corner when she spotted Rainbow Dash. The blue Pegasus Pony was acting very strange, walking with her body nearly pressed up against the the walls of the buildings surrounding the town square, and she kept giving wary glances towards the sweets shop.
Knowing something had to be wrong, Twilight trotted towards Rainbow Dash. Her friend spotted the unicorn approaching, and seemed to freeze for a moment, as if she was trying to reason if it was better to run or stay. She seemed to settle on remaining where she was, and hesitantly turned to face the advancing pony.
"Hi there Rainbow Dash," Twilight greeted her friend. "Is everything alright? You seem a little…uneasy."
"Oh, uh, do I?" Dash stammered. "I uh, don't know why you would think that. I'm just pinkie, uh, peachie keen. Got all my work for arranging the clouds done early, so I was just looking around to try and find somepony to hang out with."
Twilight was skeptical of Dash's denial, but decided it was better not to press the issue.
"Oh, well I was just going to head to Sugar Cube Corner to see if Pinkie Pie wanted any help making the treats today, would you want to come and help out? I know baking's not really you're thing, but it would still be really fun if we were working together."
"Um, well, I uh, um, I don't think that I, um, ah," Dash mumbled, seemingly doing her best impression of Fluttershy. "That's uh, that's nice and all, but I don't really…know if I'll…really be of help when it comes to cooking, ya know?"
"I understand…are you, are you sure you're really alright? You seem really nervous about something? Did something happen?"
Twilight wasn't certain if she was being too pushy, but she had the feeling Rainbow Dash did want to talk about what was bothering her, but was reluctant to do so. After several seconds of stammering and a avoiding eye contact, Rainbow Dash finally sighed and decided o come clean.
"I guess I can tell you, but you have to promise me it'll just be a secret between us, okay? You can't tell anyone about it, alright?"
"Of course, Rainbow, I'd never dream of telling somepony something you told me in confidence. Not after that whole catastrophe with Pinkie. Sometimes I still swear I hear her following me, ready to shout 'Forever!' at the drop of a hat."
Dash's wings bristled at the mention of Pinkie Pie. She knew she was being silly about all this, but that nightmare had felt so…it had felt so real and she couldn't seem to get it out of her head.
"Okay, well. It embarrassing, and I know it's stupid, but I had a really nasty nightmare last night."
"A nightmare, really? I'd never have pegged you as the type to scare like that."
"Well I don't normally, but this one was weird. It really freaked me out. When I was having it, all of it felt so real, like it was really happening to me. I woke up hurting from it, I swear!"
"Hurting? What kind of nightmare was this exactly?"
"I don't remember everything exactly, just bits and pieces, but trust that's WAY more than enough. I remember it had something to do with Sugar Cube Corner, and especially Pinkie Pie. And I think I remember her mentioning Rarity at some point. There was something about Apple Bloom, or one of her friends, too."
"Well that doesn't sound that strange. People we know are always likely to show up in our dreams in one way or another."
"That wasn't what the problem was. During the whole thing, from beginning to end, I remember Pinkie Pie hurting me – torturing me. There was stuff about a, a hack saw, and there was a necklace, and my wings were missing, and Pinkie Pie was playing these really weird bagpipes…"
Rainbow Dash was on the verge of tears, and she hated it, and her anger only made the tears come faster. Twilight could tell immediately that her dear friend was scared, and she needed help. She stepped in close to the whimpering Pegasus and nuzzled her cheek, trying to comfort her.
"Rainbow, how about we move this conversation to somewhere else…and maybe you can talk this over with Applejack too. I'm sure she'd want to hear about something that's upset you this much."
Rainbow Dash felt a few tears drip slowly down her cheek and mix into Twilight's mane. After a few quick sniffles, she told her friend she liked the sound of that, and the pair started on their way towards Sweet Apple Acres.
The large set of brass wind chimes were hung high. They dangled beneath the tallest, thickest branch in the tree that served as Zecora's house, and in the entire time they had been there, not once had they made a noise. This was how it was meant to be, as long as everything that was going the way it was meant to be. Even the softest tinkle from them was cause for great alarm, as it meant that things were not right.
It would mean that it was going to happen again for Zecora.
But in the years that the Zebra had lived in the Everfree Forest's depths, never once had a single sound rung from those chimes. It had long become nothing more than a hazy memory for Zecora that they were even there. She had been convinced, through years of uneventful living, that the troubles that brought her there were over.
However, if she had heard them chime out even a single time, the Zebra would have packed up what she could carry, and made her way out of the forest and away from the borders of Equestria entirely. She'd regret not warning the citizens of Ponyville, but would be certain they wouldn't believe her.
If she had heard them chime…
But the day they rung out, they could not be heard. A strong wind had whisked its way through the Everfree Forest, working on its own, free from the control of the Pegasi. The wind was powerful, loud, and kept Zecora confined to her small cottage that day.
The chimes rang. They were loud and clear, but not loud enough to sounds over the cacophony of the gale, and so the hermetic zebra stayed inside her cottage, ignorant that her warning had come and gone.
The danger was coming, and the only warning anypony could have gotten slipped by without mention or notice.
Ugh, never ever fall asleep with earphones on again.
Vinyl Scratch groggily got out of bed, her head pounding. The headphones she'd had on her head slipping off as she walked towards the bathroom. She hadn't meant to sleep with her music still playing, but it was just one of those things that happened. Heck, it had happened several times before, just a week ago even. But none of those times had given her such a splitting migraine.
Scratch gripped the cold water knob in her mouth and pulled it, sighing as the sink slowly filled. Once there was enough water, she splashed her face, moaning with relief as the ice cold water chilled her aching head. Taking her face out of the sink, the unicorn took a look at her reflection.
By Celestia's horn, what did I do last night that would do that to my eyes?
Looking at her, one would have thought Scratch hadn't slept a wink that night. Her normally blue eyes were so bloodshot she could almost swear even her pupils looked red in the pale light of the bathroom lamp.
Though soothed, it appeared her headache was still present with a dull, almost rhythmic pounding in the white pony's ears. In fact…it actually sounded like the baseline of a song.
Yep, I've gotta stop listening to music before bed. Otherwise I might lose go straight off the edge.