Bug Butt Filler 17

>You seem to be on the ground
>Pinned down by Chrysalis, who's horn and eyes are lit in a sickly shade of green
>Twilight, Cadence, and Shining Armor are here too
>You seem to be outside,in what used to be the middle of a crystal street
>No ponies are near likely fled from the carnage
>Blast marks are evident everywhere
>The other ponies are just starting to stir
>As though just regaining consciousness
I-is he stopped?
>Cadence is the first to speak
>Chrysalis's glow dies down, and is looking at you wearily
>You want to answer, but you have to know something else first
H... How long?
>You corak out, feeling weak
>A confused look is all you get
I.... kicked him out... How long... Has it been?
>Speaking is hard for you
>Whatever happened when he had your body has you worn down to extreme levels
>Finally, she answers you
About 13 hours
>Fuck
>Time had no meaning in that place
>It seemed like much more than mere hours
>In fact, it felt like solid centuries
>And with that, you give up the struggle to even sit straight
>At that point, everyone is up
Di-Did she win?
>Shining asks, looking at you and Chrysalis
>You may not be able to move, but you can still speak
>You suppress a grin
>In the loudest whisper you can manage, you say
I know you're happy to see me, but this is embarrassing...
>That did the trick
>She shoots backwards off of you, looking flustered
>Twilight is hiding a giggle, Cadence has that smirk again, and Shining isn't even trying to hide his laughter
>Though, with the pressure of hooves off your knees and shoulders, you feel much more relaxed
>But even if you tried, you wouldn't be able to doze off
>In what felt like an eternity in that cage again, you had more than time to think
>Think about a certain someone
>Looking at her again, you can now confirm it
>You missed her
>Terribly
>Despite all that time, you still can't sort out your feelings for her
>After the laughter falls away, Twilight speaks up
Is he gone? Did you defeat him?
>You finally sit up and shake your head
He left just before I could
>Then you remember what else he told you
And he gave me a riddle
>A glance is shared by the whole group
One thousand paces; One thousand faces
Ten hundred to defend; Ten hundred ways to meet your end
>Everyone looks confused
>Everyone except for Twilight
That's...the millennium path! It's said to take 1000 paces to reach, and you'll meet a thousand new faces along the way!
>A memory starts to emerge
>Another fragment, but this one is fuzzy
>Slowly gaining focus
>Something... Before
>That's it
>Before being trapped
>You had wandered the underworld alone
>You sat by the Styx and plucked things out of it
>Beloved possessions, dreams, and other such artifacts wind up there after people die and give them up
>One time there was a book
>It talked about the true spirit's path
>One thousand paces to reach, from where you start
>And one thousand souls to light the way
>That book was one of the things you had put in a little stash somewhere along the Styx
>You briefly wonder if it's still there
>But you do understand one thing
>You can't just start anywhere, like the myths said
>You can't remember where you have to start, but you know it's in that book that you stashed
>You come out of your nostalgia fog and find 2 ponies in an argument
My books tell me you can get there from anywhere!
>Twilight declares at Chrysalis
Then they lie. The entrance has long been lost to time
>Chrysalis retorts
>You decide to interrupt
Chrysalis is half right
>Predictably, they stop bickering and look to you, still lying on the ground
You can't just start anywhere. I'll explain what I know later
>You pause
For now, can we get inside somewhere? Street rubble isn't comfortable
>Cadence lets out an audible laugh at this
>Everyone agrees, and some time later, you fall asleep on a cushioned couch
>....
>....
>You are by the Styx
>You know you're dreaming, but you don't mind
>You're enjoying the activity of recovering the hopes and dreams of other souls and giving them the honor of being remembered
>You find a pocket watch that plays a melody from a music box inside when you open it
>You take time to imagine what the person who made it must have been like, wish their soul wellness, and throw it back
>After that, you fish out a beat up old captain's hat, that's clearly seen many sights at sea
>You put it on and keep looking
>This goes on for a while; sometimes keeping things, usually throwing it back in
>Just as you put on a necklace with a beautifully detailed silver moon, a voice speaks up from behind you
Ah. I remember making that for my sister
>You tense up, at first, then relax
>Her voice is calm and sincere
>You turn a bit to see who it is, and are surprised with who you see
Luna
>She's surprised at this, but you pay her no mind and continue looking for things in the Styx
How do you know who I am?
>An elegant cane inscribed with carvings of what seem like events
>This man had lived many full years
>You set it beside you and keep going
Somebody tried to fool me with a disguise. Said he was you
>A baseball covered in signatures
>You give it one last pitch down the river line
Why are you in my dream?
>You say as you fish out a long red trench coat with tattered ribbon-like ends from the waist and a slightly torn left sleeve
>Standing to put it on, it fit comfortably
>Combined with the hat, the high collar hides your face well
>You turn to face Luna, half wondering what you look like with just your eyes showing
>After a moment, she answers
Most dreams I see are not like your's now, where you are re-living your past
>Re-living?
>Had you collected these things before?
I can also tell that you will be coming to this place again
>That's true
>To find the entrance to the place, you'd have to find your stash for that book
Your point?
>She seems taken aback by this
Are you not afraid? These dreams usually represent fear of what's to come...
>Hmm
>Makes a little sense, you suppose
>You turn back to the river, and resume the fishing
If anything, I'm worried about what will happen when I encounter him again...
>Sombra had displayed his power, and when you look back on it, you're almost certain that that punch didn't bother him as much as he made it look
>He may well have been trying to ploy for time to escape
>Which he did
>You barely register the fact that the walls and ceiling showed the memories of your encounter with him
>How he got away, and the riddle
>Luna must have watched it, because she gasps
Sombra?! You are going to confront Sombra?!
>You understand the concern
>From what you do know, he's well reputable as a terrible being, bent on total rule
>But she doesn't know who you are
>And what you've defeated
>Once again, your memories flash on the walls
>The escape from that damned cage
>But it doesn't stop there
>Something that you don't remember is playing on the walls, much to your surprise
>It's after you dropped from the cage and into the Lethe
>You see yourself swim to the shore, and come out with a blank look on your face
>You watch yourself aimlessly wander, eventually finding a door
>Every so often, another drop of the river comes off your clothes and touches you, giving you a blank look again
>You watch yourself pick something up next to a door
>A piece of crystal, barely bigger than a dime
>You put it in your pocket, and another drop hits
>You walk out and see yourself in a forest
>Not only that, but in the middle of an abandoned camp with bodies everywhere
>You keep watching as you come across a hydra's nest
>You see yourself stop and look at the eggs, and something happens
>A red horn comes out of the ground, followed by a black gaseous body
>It destroys the eggs coming out of the ground, and turns to you
>Another drop takes effect, and then a roar is heard
>The mother hydra is angry, and tearing through the camp
>The black fog then seeps into the hydra, taking it over
>Then it sets after you
>You run away, the last of the drops hitting you
>You see yourself trip and knock yourself unconscious, just after gaining a head start
>Then last drop on you hit you
>And that's where the "flashback" ends
>Luna is stunned, and so are you
>You finally understand how you got here
>You managed to walk right out of the underworld, and into the living
>You  turn to ask Luna how you can see something you don't remember, but she has left
>And another voice is calling at you
Anon? Anon wake up.
>You stir, and the dream starts fading away, the items you recovered from the Styx vanishing, and sensation from reality returning
>You wake up to Shining nudging you
Good, you're awake
>You sit up on the couch and see that everyone has gathered
You went still for a moment
>Twilight says
>You glance at the faces of each one, and see a slight apprehension in all
>Then you start to tell them the current plan...