//------------------------------// // Shades of Twilight // Story: Shades of Twilight // by RoyalCoat //------------------------------// For Twilight, the ideal life would be an ordered, stable existence. She would rise in the morning (or late morning, should her study sessions take her far into the night), tend to her library, and go about her research as she saw fit. The days would stretch onward under the ever rising and setting sun of her mentor, and the unicorn would see the fruit of her dedication, knowledge, and hard work. Yes, the life she had longed for was neat, every action and experience like a line in one of her books: meaningful, ordered, and ending as the next began. That being so, life in Ponyville, learning about the magic of friendship, was nothing like her ideal. Issues and problems among her friends, be they from conflicting personality or mental disorder, were nearly a fact of life. Disasters of every sort seemed to, off and on, threatened the very existence of the little village. It was as though some sort of force attracted the strangest of circumstances, be they ponies, monsters, or Pinkie Pie. It made no sense. It shouldn't be enjoyable. Twilight wouldn't have it any other way. Still though, as much as she enjoyed being with her newfound friends, sometimes she needed to settle back into her old ways. Forsaking all others for a short time, and becoming immersed in the understanding of some new magic or phenomena. She did, by necessity most of the time, study friendship on a daily basis. Certainly the princess would not want her to devote everything to one field of study. All of magic was her special talent, after all. So it was that Twilight found herself walking along a path at the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. The light of Luna's moon patterned itself through the foliage as the unicorn returned from a visit with Zecora the, often enigmatic, zebra who was brave enough to live in the shadow of the trees. “Why does it always seem to take till midnight for Zecora to finish a potion?” Twilight mused aloud, a bit of annoyance showing through. She couldn't be quite as ruffled as she wanted to be though. Except for the walk through the outer stretches of this particular forest at night, the timing was perfect. There was little chance of anypony chasing each other, or spontaneously throwing a party, or an imminent calamity to disturb her. That was, in fact, why she was going so slowly, at only a brisk trot. Despite herself (and if she were to admit it truthfully, because of her experiences), the forest had a way of latching onto her slight fear of the supernatural. Even though Twilight wanted to make a mad dash for home, or at least to the edge of the forest, the two full flasks of concentrated poison-joak in her saddle bags firmly clamped down on that idea. However scary the forest might be, she had no desire to repeat her experience under the surprisingly powerful, if mostly harmless, effects of the substance. Running through the forest would almost certainly break her cargo and douse her in an instant. Twilight rounded another corner in the path, and instantly felt ill at ease. Perhaps it was the time of night, but she felt like the path before her was alien. The trees looked a little denser than they should, since Twilight was certain she was near to the edge of the forest. The soft, rolling fog on the ground seemed to intensify and thicken into a carpet that swirled around her hooves. The skittishness she often experienced in the face of the unknown pressed against her natural curiosity, which desired above all else to understand what was going on. The result was a mental standstill. In an effort to make some decision, Twilight chanced to look behind her, only to find the result even less comforting. The way she had just walked now looked quite as foreign as the path ahead. Her mind kicked into overdrive at this new situation. “Think Twi, think. I've never read anything about the Everfree Forest shifting around traveling ponies. Somepony would have mentioned it if something like this had happened before...” Twilight mused silently. “If I stay still, I should be fine. This transformation seemed to happen while I was walking, so if I am really... trapped...” She spoke the last work aloud, with a little shudder. “...then the best thing to do is keep myself together and think things through.” The trees around the unicorn, if anything, were unimpressed my her deductions. By a trick of the moonlight, or by supernatural force, they seemed to loom closer over the path. In response, Twilight flattened back her ears and lowered her head, eyes darting back and forth with more than a little fear. She began to speak to herself, the sound of raw facts doing a little to calm her nerves. “Well, Moonlit Mysteries would probably say this has something to do with the power of a full moon over an area well known for strange happenings, but that doesn't really quite fit. I'm sure Zecora would have noticed something by now. The Abbreviated Adventurer's Almanac, maybe? No, I think their advice for just about everything was 'hit it until it stops moving, then hit it some more'. Not quite useful right now... and it explains why I never read the full version...” She spent several minutes muttering aloud, searching her mind for any stray bit of information that might help her out of this predicament. “Timeless Tips for Everyday Tasks?” Twilight sighed even as she spoke. “I wouldn't exactly call this 'everyday', but the best it could tell me to do is keep on moving forward... Not exactly something I think I want to do.” The unicorn slid to a seated position, head still bowed. The glass in her saddle bag clinked softly in protest, though she payed it no mind. “I wish the others were here...” A flash of realization hit Twilight in that instant. There was a time when something like this had occurred before. When she and her friends had braved this very forest to face Nightmare Moon, the path had twisted and billowing fog had obscured it in places. Even the trees had taken on the look of nightmarish creatures, at least until Pinkie Pie had banished the frightful visions with song. It was a scary feeling, however unlikely, that perhaps Nightmare Moon had returned, ready to seek revenge. If indeed it had been her attempting to lead them astray before. A voice in the back of her mind spoke a worse truth: Perhaps this was the power of the forest itself. A place so alive with strange energy that it tested and played games with those that dare travel through it. Twilight peered into the forming mist before her. It would make sense. There was much speculation by the magical community as to what could have created a place that disobeyed the natural order of Equestria so fully. Twilight's own experience at the castle of the Two Sisters, abandoned as though some calamity had occurred, seemed further proof that great magic was involved. It was easy to believe that magic on the level of the goddesses would not just shatter the boundaries of physical law, but also give the forest a will of it's own. The unicorn frowned. If that was the case, then she was being tested, just as they had been before. The frown turned into a smirk. Twilight was good at taking tests, both on paper and in practice. The defeat of Nightmare Moon and the Ursa Minor both came as good examples. If the forest wanted to test her, then she would face it head on. As Rainbow Dash might say: Bring. It. On. Now more confident, Twilight rose to four hooves again, ignoring the fog that was now beginning to reach mid-way up her legs. Without hesitation, and only the mildest hints of fear, she strode into the wall of vapor that had formed at her decision to move forward. \¯\¯\¯\__/\__/¯/¯/¯/ After only a few minutes more, the path started to change again. The walls of fog seemed to further thicken, wrapping around the branches of the trees. The aura of gloom that had pervaded the forest ever since her entrance seemed to be lifted, her surroundings looking to all the world like the clouds Rainbow generally slept on. Light, fluffy, and a soft white. A glow radiated all around, and could be felt, like a tingle in her horn. This was no longer just the moonlight above filtering through. The sky was totally obscured, forming the ceiling of a pristine corridor to... somewhere. Still Twilight pressed on. A hundred or so paces more, and the intensity had become painful. The unicorn, already squinting to ward off the glare, was forced to close her eyes as she took another step forward. The difference was obvious, even though she could not see. Were once had been bright light, there was now darkness. Twilight blinked furiously at the sudden change, bringing up a fore-hoof up to rub her eyes. When finally she recovered, she took in another odd sight. What now stood before her (where previously had only been the expanse of the corridor) was an octagonal room. The sides of the chamber were formed of the cloud-like material that she had become used to while walking, while the trunks of trees half pressed through the walls. Each was spaced evenly, giving the appearance of irregularly shaped pillars framing the area. The branches of each curled upwards, drawing the clouds with them, like the roof of a tent. Light filtered in from a point far above, leading to an ethereal scene. Most captivating though was a dais, situated directly in the center of the room. Atop its several steps stood a tall mirror, radiant even in the glow that permeated the place. The object instantly drew in every fiber of Twilight's curiosity, seeming to play on her every desire: to learn magic, to know and understand, to be strong. The unicorn took a step forward, and then another, transfixed. As Twilight drew closer, she began to make out the shape of the mirror, its glow slowly starting to dim. It was high and rectangular, with edges framed in gold. Despite lacking any support, it stood perfectly balanced before her. It would be no small wonder how it was so, were it not for the magic that poured from the mirror in waves. The mare continued forward, shivering slightly as the power washed over her. Another step revealed more. The surface of the mirror was a spiderweb, shattered from the center so that cracks radiated outward haphazardly. Some shards clung to the backing, others had fallen away, littering the dais and leaving behind black holes in the mirror. Twilight had a flare of indignation. Who would dare damage something so obviously valuable? So important? This mirror had secrets, she could feel it! All it wanted was for somepony to unlock them. Before she could take another step, a small tug echoed at the back of her mind. It countered the pull of the mirror, begged her to consider why she was so fascinated with it in an instant. She recognized it as the part of her that often sounded like her friends, that tiny part that would always hold on to their wisdom. It was sobering. She felt, in every fiber, that if she stepped too close, she would never return. And some part of her didn't care. The other part grew a little stronger in recognition, showing her images of her friends and what she had experienced with them. Hadn't she learned that magic was in friendship? Could she really give that up so easily? Twilight blinked. The mirror looked duller for some reason. The cracks more jagged and sinister. The black backing no longer stopped the light, but seemed to reach further inwards, like looking into the night sky. Pinpoints could be seen radiating from these new depths like stars. Shards of glass caught the light and glittered dangerously. With a great effort, Twilight pulled her gaze away from the mirror and turned back the way she had come. A great cheer went up from her friends in the back of her mind, and surged forward, bringing a smile to her face. She took a single hoof-step, feeling the tug at her very being intensify, then be beaten back. As her step landed, another sound rang out. A splintering came from the direction of the mirror, as though another crack had formed. With each step, it happened again and again, growing faster as she drew away. The the room darkened, its walls became gray, like a storm as it begins. The very air took on a sort of malevolence as bliss gave way to nightmare. The light sound of clinking glass rose as Twilight broke into a run. In a flash, the walls turned black, the branches overhead turned into grasping claws. The mare gasped as she stayed stuck in places, the cloying blackness that she was running on pulling her steadily towards the chamber. A quick glance backward made her run faster, breath coming in ragged draws. The terrible sight was a horizontal vortex of glass shards, glittering with their own inner light, playing a haunting melody as they clattered against each other. The unicorn continued to run for her life, until a painful stitch in her side became too much, causing her to stumble. Twilight had no breath left to scream as she was pulled through the center of the storm of glass. She emerged, unharmed, only to pass through the frame of the mirror, wide eyes disappearing into the darkness. The glass instantly clattered to the floor, then was pulled back into place on the mirror without a sound. If anypony were there to see it, the room and everything Twilight had seen would start to vanish, burned away under the light of dawn. Nothing remained save for the path that lead through the Everfree Forest.