Songs of Innocence

Chapter 28: Final Hour

Sun's house (one day left)

Sun ate the Aglaophotis on the way back home, but she was never quite sure when the effects would kick in, or if they even did at all. It was past midnight when she got back, and Sun was ready to sleep as soon as she walked in the door. She threw herself on the bed, and closed her eyes. Avalonia couldn't help but look at the moon, as if something was calling her.

"Avalonia?" Sun asked with a weakened voice.

"Yeah?" the bicorn replied.

"I just wanted to let you know... I'll miss you when I'm gone."

Avalonia's heart sank, but she was actually a little annoyed. "Sun, I'm glad you know well what might happen, but..." She paused, as if acknowledging that she was hoping for what may very well be impossible. "...Never mind. Let's just get some sleep, and see what happens tomorrow."

"'Kay. Goodnight."

"'Night."

Sun quickly woke up, finding herself in a dream.

["Procedural Jiggle Bone" from Portal]

She looked around, and saw that she was sitting in a room that reminded her of being outside of a principle's office. In fact, that's probably what this dream was supposed to be. Everything was cast in what looked like pale blue moonlight, and it tinted everything a whitish-blue shade. The room was boring and sterile, like a hospital, but radiating the previously-mentioned feeling of waiting outside a principle's office for getting in trouble.

"What are you doing here?" a rather British-sounding voice asked. At first, Sun assumed it was Luna, but when she turned to face the voice, it was actually Rarity, who was sitting beside her along with Applejack.

"Uh, I think I'm dreaming. Why are you here?" Sun replied. Somehow, she was lucid almost as soon as she found herself in the dream, and wondered why the two ponies were here, assuming they were just figments of her sleeping mind.

"I am too, but I could swear I was in a completely different dream just a moment ago." Rarity replied. It caused Sun much confusion to think that this was actually the real Rarity.

Applejack yawned, and opened her eyes. "What in the applebuckin' farm filly's filleted fish friend is goin' on here?" She seemed to catch on to the odd nature of this dream almost immediately. "Sun, I haven't seen you in days. Did somethin' happen?"

"I did hear that you and Twilight went on a trip to Vanahack yesterday. How was it? Lovely? I hear it's absolutely divine." Rarity seemed to temporarily forget what was going on in favor of a light-hearted interrogation. But before Sun could actually answer the question, the door next to the chairs they sat on opened up, revealing nothing but a shroud of pitch black darkness behind it.

"Should we go in there?" Applejack shuddered.

"Yes, come in." a voice replied from the darkness. The three didn't know whether to trust it or not, but what else were they supposed to do? This was a dream they were all sharing, so it's not like it would kill them to walk in there. So, they did, and when they walked into the cloud of dark mist, they emerged on the other side of it, they found that the room was much different from the rest of the dream. The office was desolate and full of decay, barely lit by the few rays that shone through the blinds of the window at the end of the room. Luna sat at a seat behind an office desk, and bizarrely, both her and her desk were behind prison bars. But the crown jewel of weirdness sat behind Luna: a giant onyx chrysalis that seemed to be melted onto the wall, and spreading mold across it.