Full Summary: Sweetie Belle has always loved her dreams—fantastic tales of cutie marks and sisterly love. But this dream is different. She is in a futuristic abandoned Ponyville. Whichever way she runs, she can't seem to get out. And there are no alive ponies anywhere—just fog. Lots of endless, thick fog. And whatever she tries, she can't wake up.
Then they come. Tribal zebras carrying unicorn horns on poles, garbed in bloodied Pegasus feathers. They are the creatures who ended the lives of the Ponyville ponies. And now that they have detected a new living presence in their city, Sweetie Belle is their next target.
Sweetie, meanwhile, finds a panicked Princess Luna, who says that the only way to get out of this dream is to defeat the zebras. But this isn't like other dreams. If Sweetie Belle gets hurt, she will actually be hurt in reality. If the zebras manage to kill her, she will die. The only way to defeat them is to harness her unicorn power, but as that hasn't evolved yet, the only way to learn is for Sweetie to become Luna's student.
Meanwhile, back in Equestria, Celestia has gone looking for her missing sister, who failed to lift the night away; leaving all of the land plunged into night. Rarity…Rarity sits by Sweetie Belle's side, constantly stroking her mane, trying to get her to wake up. She hardly eats or sleeps, and her only comfort is Spike, who spends time with her, trying to help her ease back into her normal self.
It looks like there are dark nights ahead for Ponyville and its citizens…
Dark Nights Ahead
By Drizzle Quill
Chapter One
On the day everything would be changed forever, Sweetie Belle had been having a delightful day with her sister—well, as delightful as a day with a work-panicked Rarity could get. She hadn't really been able to get in a full conversation, and none of her half conversations had been very interesting, but the violet-maned unicorn had been very busy recently with some new designs requested specifically by Tidal Wave, the newest pony pop star. Sweetie hadn't been able to get in some "sisterly time" as Apple Bloom called it, so she had spent most of her time in Rarity's room.
The white-furred filly had never known a bed could be so plush, or a pillow so fluffy and comfortable, seemingly molding itself into whatever shape her head wanted; she had never known those seemingly itchy-looking red sheets of her sister's could be so silky and soft, like petting Opal (if one could get close enough to do that). The feel of it all actually made Sweetie Belle squeal in delight. "This is so comfy!" As it always did, her voice slipped up a few octaves when she got excited, leaving her tone of voice squeaky.
Completely enveloping herself in the sheets, the pink-and-purple-maned filly twisted the scarlet silk off of its mattress, rolling off of the bed in the process and landing with a loud thud on the tiled floor. The lump of folded red lay still for a moment before the unicorn trapped inside began to push at the walls desperately, and laughing when her head finally popped up out of the top. Grasping one corner of the blanket in her teeth, Sweetie began the trek back up to her older sister's bed, ready to try to re-attach the disconnected sheets. Cutie Mark Crusader Bed Maker! she thought in her head; then, out loud: "That would make a terrible cutie mark."
Sweetie Belle tried in vain several times to re-arrange Rarity's bed-sheet; finding no luck, the filly finally slumped against the side of the bed with a downhearted sigh. If only I could use my magic, she thought grimly. Then I would have it fixed in no time, like my big sister fixes my bed with her magic. But she knew that her magic wouldn't come yet, and possibly not for a while. She only knew that because she had sat through one of Twilight's boring lectures to learn about it all.
"A unicorn's magic only flows relevantly when he or she has discovered what they are truly meant to use their magic for," the lavender unicorn had stated clearly, using her own pink-hued enchantment to flip the pages in the yellow-paged book she had been looking at.
Sweetie Belle hadn't been very interested, but she'd looked at the pages in the book anyway, just to make Twilight happy. "For example, my special talent is magic, so I was able to do it with a bit of practice, and manage pretty much any spell I really put my mind to. Your sister Rarity is another case entirely; her special talent is fashion, so she started coming in contact with items used to make dresses and suits, which was when her magic activated."
"Does that mean my magic will only arrive when my cutie mark does?" Sweetie Belle had groaned like a baby filly and slammed her face down on the desk, instantly regretting her last decision, as she had had a bump on her forehead for a week afterward.
Twilight had looked at her with those large violet eyes that seemed as if they could stare right through her and see into her heart—not that she was intimidating or anything, because she wasn't. "No, it means when you find something that you're very good at—not necessarily your cutie mark talent—that's when you'll find your magic activating. Here, I can try to see if I can get a bit to shine through, just so you'll know what it will look like."
The unicorn had advanced towards the filly, who had taken a few nervous hoof-steps backwards; before she could say anything, Twilight had leaned down and softly tapped her long, violet horn against Sweetie's white one before receding backwards and watching, a sly smile on her face.
At first it seemed as if nothing had happened, and Sweetie Belle was considering telling Twilight that it was a bust, when all of a sudden a shudder passed throughout her whole body, making her jump about a foot off of the ground. Her whole body quivered as shivers ran throughout, seemingly, every vein in her body, and her small horn trembled with the energy of it all, in a few more heartbeats emitting a large, pale green burst of flame that made both Twilight and Sweetie step backwards in shock. But two more seconds and the flame evaporated. It was as if nothing had ever happened.
The lavender unicorn had been grinning. "Don't you see? It's strong, Sweetie Belle. You just have to find something you can do with it to make it glow even brighter than it just did."
But Sweetie had only been able to linger on one aspect of the situation. "It's green," she had whined pitifully. "I wanted it to be blue like my sister's!"
Looking back on the memory now, the unicorn filly winced, realizing how rude she must have seemed. Twilight had been so nice to her, had just shown her the color of her magic, and she had acted like a filly in diapers who didn't get a doll with the correct mane color.
Surveying the mess she had created out of Rarity's bed-sheets, Sweetie sighed and began dragging the bottom layer back up to the top of the mattress again. Magic or no magic, she had to fix this before the already over-worked Rarity found out, or else she would be in huge trouble, and that was not something she was aiming to be in this visit.
Finally she had finished; it had taken so long but she had done it. Sure, it was a little rumpled in one of the corners, and one of the pillows might have been just the tiniest bit crooked, but other than that, she, Sweetie Belle, had completed the task of making Rarity's bed!
With a quick glance, the unicorn filly's green eyes swept over her flank just in case; a downhearted sigh left her mouth when she realized there was still nothing there. Then, after a few more heartbeats of staring at the blank white fur, Sweetie burst out laughing. The idea of getting a bed-making cutie mark was just so silly…so unheard of that she had to laugh…
…and suddenly immense exhaustion swept throughout her entire body, making her shudder somewhat, and her back leg twitch like a dog's. Yawning, Sweetie Belle scrambled up onto the newly made bed, slipped beneath the silky red covers, and rested her head on the fluffy pillow, falling into a deep and harmonious sleep.
But it wasn't that way for long.
Everything was bathed in fog. The buildings around her were dark and dusty, boards nailed over the windows. It was a moonless night, and even the few stars were hardly visible in the pure blackness, like liquid ebony, of the night. Sweetie could hardly see a thing, but she could tell from the small amount her eyes could see that this was her home, Ponyville.
So why was it boarded up and left for dead?
Quivering slightly, the filly began to wander throughout the streets, looking for somepony, anypony, who could tell her where she was. A cold breeze swept along her neck, ruffling her fur the wrong way and making small tendrils of her mane run reverse, which normally drove her mad, as she was learning to have Rarity's eye for detail, but today she didn't even notice.
The normally bright and perky Sugarcube Corner was drab, the paint peeling off of the top revealing the true brown exterior of the building. One of the renowned birthday candles placed precariously on top had fallen to the ground, splintering in all directions. Sweetie had to be careful not to step on the sharp wood littering the ground as she made her way to the front door. Surly Mr. and Mrs. Cake would know what was going on; if not them, then Pinkie Pie, who wasn't one of her sister's best friends for nothing.
A loud howl that sounded as if it could have come from the largest Timber Wolf in the world echoed throughout the night, making Sweetie's pupils shrink and small, panicked breaths escape her mouth. She rapidly began to bang on the boarded up door. "Come on…come on! Open up!"
There was no answer. The door was firmly lodged in place, held by those inanimate boards that felt no guilt whatsoever.
Salty tears formed in the corners of Sweetie Belle's green eyes. She had figured out by now that this must be a dream, but she didn't like this dream. It was foggy, and she was alone, and her home was ruined. She was scared.
Trembles shook the filly's body as another howl split the air, making her head jerk backward. "It's j-just a dream," she mumbled under her breath, trying to calm her nerves. "J-just a dream, is all."
But it felt so real.
Sweetie Belle let her tears flow as she collapsed onto the ground next to the candy store, covering her muzzle with one forehoof. She hadn't wanted to dream about this. She'd wanted to dream about cutie marks, and spending time with Rarity when the fashonista wasn't so busy.
She had to wake up; it was the only way to keep herself from breaking down in this futuristic, abandoned place of darkness.
Sweetie whacked herself on the arm; that usually made her wake up. But nothing happened; she stayed in the exact same position, and the quiet, damaged Ponyville did not waver. Anxiety brimming in the filly's eyes, she whacked herself again, and again, until finally out of pure frustration she let out a scream.
"Come…ON!"
The last word echoed around her, reverberating off of the dead buildings. ON! ON! ON! ON! ON! ON! It surrounded Sweetie Belle, making her scream as she clamped her hooves over her ears and dropped to the ground, curling up into as tight a ball as she could get. It didn't protect her, however, from the chills that raked through her spine.
It took several minutes for the filly to find her way to another truly familiar building—her home away from home, Carousel Boutique. Sweetie's hopes fell as she saw that it too was boarded up and abandoned. The paint that Rarity had worked on for so long was peeling off of the sides; some fell in front of the unicorn right when she walked up to it, making her leap backwards in shock.
I have to get in! she thought determinedly, but with a hint of nervousness behind her confidence. I have to see if Rarity is still in there; even if it is a dream, she'll be able to calm me down.
Trotting up to the boards, Sweetie Belle surveyed them with a look of curiosity and, partially, anxiety. First she tried standing on her two back legs and pulling at the wooden boards, but that only sent her careening backwards, tumbling over the front stairs, sprawling on the ground, and landing awkwardly on her back leg.
Wincing, the filly stood up; favoring the leg she had bent the wrong way, she walked up to the door again. What would Apple Bloom and Scootaloo do? Scootaloo would probably attempt some sort of Rainbow Dash stunt, and Apple Bloom…she would Applebuck the boards away. That was Sweetie's best bet—if she could do it. She had never been one for work on the farm that one of her best friends called home.
Turning around so that her tail faced the door, the filly stood precariously on the edge of the steps, and with a wild whoop, slammed her two back hind legs into the door.
Immediately she felt twin jets of pain shoot up through her legs—not just the previously injured one but the other as well—and the boards splintered under her hooves. Sweetie bit back the tears forming in the corners of her pale green eyes and turned to face the door. Reaching up carefully, she grasped the handle that she had used so often, and turned.
The sound of Rarity's tell-tale chimes met her, but instead of sounding bright and beautiful like they usually did, today they seemed eerie and ominous, like they were ringing out a death toll. Sweetie shivered, taking in the sight around her.
The mannequins had collapsed—some of the heads had fallen off, and they were strewn with cobwebs alive with black, crawling arachnids. The white filly continued to walk, wincing as her back legs landed on a creaking board, sending jets of pain up through her body as well as a horrible sound throughout the boutique.
"Rarity?"
There was no answer except for the spiders, crawling along the walls with almost hungry looks in their many eyes. Sweetie tried to ignore them, and called out again, desperation filling her voice now.
"Rarity?"
There was still no answer. The unicorn filly looked up at the stairs leading to her sister's room—even in a dream; some company would be useful, especially in a dream like this. And if dream-Rarity was just sleeping, or taking a bath, maybe, then Sweetie could just go get her, feel safe, and end this dream for good.
Slowly mounting the stairs, the white filly advanced, trying not to make any unused boards creak. She had had enough surprises as it was; she didn't need to be scared or hurt any longer, and especially not by her sister's stairs.
The climb seemed to take months, maybe years, and Sweetie racked her brain but could never recall Rarity's staircase seeming so long or large before. But finally she did make it to the top, and, ignoring the pain in her legs, ran to her sister's room as fast as they could carry her. Upon reaching it, she noticed a still white figure in the bed, and she sighed in relief. Rarity had been sleeping after all! Now all she had to do was wake her.
But as the filly scrambled up the silky sheets of the bed, she noticed that something was wrong. All of this noise—the chimes!—should have woken Rarity up from her slumber. But…did that mean…
Sweetie Belle tentatively reached out with one hoof and rolled her sister over; when she saw the face that awaited her she let out a heart-shattering scream, followed by seemingly a river of tears that she made no urge to stop.
In the towers of Canterlot, a deep blue Alicorn lifted her head, a spark flaring in one of her teal-blue eyes as she looked up at the stars. "Something is not right," she mused, getting to her hooves and spreading her wings. "We sense…an abnormal presence in the world of dreams."
Something truly wasn't right; that was certain. Luna had to do something, but if she just went missing…Tia wouldn't be very happy with her. Perhaps, she pondered, we should leave a note.
Using her deep blue magic to levitate a nearby quill, as well as a blank scroll emblazoned with Luna's cutie mark across the top, the Princess of the Night began speaking, copying the words down on the parchment as she did so.
"Dearest Sister,
We have sensed a disturbance in the world of dreams, something so powerful we must attend to it personally to fix. Please do not look for us, we will be fine. We should return in a day or two, if not less.
Your sister,
Luna."
That should do it. Placing the freshly-written letter down on the desk, Luna turned, flapping her wings a few times as she prepared to fly. Pushing open one of the large windows with a silver-clad hoof, the princess flapped her wings again and took off like a jet of stars, soaring through time and space, through emotions and troubles, to the land of dreams.
What she hadn't seen was when she had flapped her wings; the gust of wind had blown the parchment off of the table. It floated in an entrancing loop before coming in a complete halt in the princess' royal fireplace.
Shattering sobs snapped Rarity back to reality.
She had been oblivious to many things while "in the zone" and had completely forgotten that she had left her little sister unwatched upstairs. And now something must have happened to her! Her poor sister, left alone in the world while her heartless sister slaved away on making multi-feathered-and-jewel-decked hats!
"Sweetie Belle, I'm coming!" Rarity yelled, cantering up her short flight of stairs as fast as her hooves could carry her. She really ought to learn how to teleport, but that would be another lesson with Twilight later. For now she had to make do with her wonderfully prim and proper hooves.
She burst into her room—for that was where the sobbing was coming from—and did a double-take of surprise, one of her hooves flying to her mouth. For Sweetie Belle was not hurt, or even awake at all.
She was sleeping.
But she was sobbing.
"A nightmare," the violet-maned unicorn reasoned, trotting over to where her sister lay sniffling pitifully, tears streaming out of the corner of her eyes. "Poor little filly, she's had a nightmare. I ought to wake her up; tell her we can go make cookies or something."
Rarity leaned over and placed her hoof on Sweetie Belle's shoulder, gently shaking it. "Little sister," she whispered into the filly's ear. "It's time to wake up…no more bad dreams."
Nothing happened. Sweetie Belle simply didn't awake; she only continued to sob into the pillow she was resting her head on. Rarity's breathing became a bit faster. "Wake up," she said, in a normal voice now, and shaking the filly with a bit more force. "Sweetie…Sweetie!"
The last word was a flat out yell, and the white-furred unicorn was now shaking her sister, desperately trying to do anything that would make her wake up. What was wrong with her? Could she be…?
But no, that was impossible.
Because she was still crying.
Rarity's breathing, short and harsh, like little puffs of air, grew into a panicked whimper, which gradually grew into a loud and horrified scream of the one pony that might be able to figure out what was wrong with her poor little sister…her poor Sweetie Belle…
"TWILIGHT!"
Sweetie Belle couldn't believe what she was seeing. It couldn't be true. Even in a dream, it couldn't be true. It didn't deserve to be true. She was crying so hard that her vision was blurred, but she could still see it.
Rarity's face was twisted in a shape demonstrating complete and utter pain. Her eyes were blank, staring up at the sky like glassy orbs that never really could see, and where her horn had once been was a hole clear down, almost all the way through the white unicorn's head. It wasn't cut cleanly either; instead it looked like someone had actually taken a knife and hacked away Rarity's flesh to get to the base of her horn. Dried blood covered all of the unicorn's forehead and half of her face, and her mane—her poor mane!—had been entirely shaved away, but crudely, as if the same knife had been used to cut off Rarity's scalp, leaving nothing but pure white bone and pinkish-red dried blood.
Sweetie Belle sobbed, after vomiting on the floor at the sight of the dead pony that had been her sister. She grabbed Rarity's hooves, burying her face into the designer's chest, and let all of her tears fall, making the fur wet, although it was already damp with fresher scarlet blood, so even more so.
Suddenly something pricked her on the hoof; surprised, she leaned up, wiping a tear away, and saw what had poked her.
Sweetie Belle couldn't help it.
She screamed.
There was a dagger, covered with blood, something that might have been intestines, and white fur, sticking right through Rarity's dead body, right through her heart.
Sobbing maniacally after vomiting once more, the unicorn filly wrapped her arms around her sister's cold neck and sobbed until there were no more tears left to cry—and even then she still felt empty, like a hollowed out rock. Where was she, and why could she not escape this enveloping nightmare?
That was when she heard the chanting.
Her head lifting slightly, Sweetie's ears pricked. Noise. Actual noise created by someone not her! Scrambling to her hooves, the little unicorn leapt off of the bed, wincing as she remembered her dislocated back leg, and placed her front legs on the windowsill, looking out. Someone was definitely coming; she could hear them chanting in a language not quite hers. And there was a light growing too—oh, light! It appeared to be disseminating from some sort of a torch. Maybe somepony could tell her how to get out of this nightmare!
Suddenly the light—and everything else—was blocked out as a large navy blue figure alighted on the windowsill. Sweetie Belle stumbled backwards, her pain forgotten, as Princess Luna stepped through the window and stared at her with nerving teal-blue eyes.
"P-princess!" the filly gasped, lowering her head respectively. "Please, you have to help me—"
"That is what I have come to do," the Alicorn replied, terse brusqueness edging her tone. "But we mustn't talk here. They are coming, and we have much to discuss." Luna looked back out the window and a shiver passed throughout her body. "Now quickly, we don't have much time."
Before Sweetie Belle knew what she was doing, the Alicorn had nosed her onto her winged back and spread said wings, preparing for flight. "But wait, what about Rar—?" she yelped, but it was too late. Luna zoomed out of the window like a rocket, so fast that the filly couldn't even see her abandoned home any longer.
AN: This will be a very dark, grimdark story. It will involve lots of gore, as shown previously when I evilly described the dead Rarity. It will also have almost no shipping, except for SpRarity in the real world. It should be action-packed and filled to the brim with adventure, and will also be my first rated T story. I'm sorry the full description is so long—there's so much I had to cover!
The chapters will not have names—they will simply be Chapter One, Chapter Two, and so on. There should be four to five chapters if I plan this correctly, but there could be more.
I'd love to hear your feedback, and I hope you think it isn't too grimdark and gory for your liking. There won't be any cursing except for "horsefeathers" and "horseapples" or maybe "hell" (which I don't usually say, BTW) but that's it. That's where I'm crossing my line.
Please review ASAP!
~Driz