• Published 2nd Jun 2012
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Creeping Darkness - Pen Stroke



Alan Wake must write a story where Twilight faces the Darkness of his world to save Equestria

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Truth from Dreams

Journal #66

God forgive me for what I’ve done.

It’s not like in my novels, when I’d let some character die to drive the plot. It’s not even like “Departure”. When I wrote that, the Dark Presence that wore Barbara Jagger’s face was controlling me, influencing me... I wasn’t myself and I let people in Bright Falls die to try and bring Alice back... but I wasn’t myself at the time.

But this time... this time it’s different. I’m fully aware, I tried to stop it, but the story demanded it. The moment was there, the suspense was there, it was a scene where the reader would be wanting, maybe even expecting for all the ponies to reach the safety of the street light. Then, the rug is pulled out, and one of them falls. The horror story demanded it, the Dark Place demanded it.

I heard Applejack’s scream.

I heard Twilight calling out into the night.

I heard both as if they were right here with me in this room. As the words flowed from me to the typewriter, the action played out in front of my mind’s eye, and no matter how badly I wanted to I couldn’t look away.

I wanted to stop myself, I wanted to take the page out of the typewriter, rip it into shreds, and start again... but I couldn’t. The story has begun to take on a life of its own, much like “Departure”, and in those moments where I lose control I can only sit back and watch as the events unfold, read the story as it is written by whatever force guides my hands.

Shaking... I’m still shaking just thinking about it. All this is happening because of my damn curiosity... it’s my fault... it’s all my fault. If I hadn’t tried to learn more about Equestria in my own selfish desire to get back to Alice then maybe this wouldn’t have happened.

The guilt is making me physically ill. I’d throw up, but anything that was in my stomach is already in the toilet. I’m just thankful that somehow the cabin’s plumbing still works despite being in the Dark Place.

It’s hard to even make myself look at the typewriter... but I know I have to return sooner or later. The story has to be finished, if I left it now Nightmare Moon would be able to take over Equestria without opposition. She would flood that world with Darkness, its only my writing that holds her back.

The last chapter was a victory for Nightmare Moon. Applejack was one of the strongest of Twilight’s friends, one of the ponies that would have found facing the darkness easier. She was a tough, rural spirit. Losing her will demoralize the ponies, and will make it more difficult for them to face the darkness.

I will write a happy ending to this story, I’ll make up for my mistake. I’ll somehow save Applejack, but that can’t happen until the end of the story. No, for now Applejack must remain in the darkness... the horror story must continue.

I must give Twilight and her friends hope, something to work for... something to get them out of the general store and back outside... back into the darkness outside. Once outside, then the story can truly continue.

And it must continue, the situation must become bleaker... because at the end, when all hope is lost, in climax of the horror story I’ll have my chance. I have the chance to save them all. But I must get to the climax first... and to get there I must make things worse.

I must let darkness spread and deepen for Twilight and her friends... for it’s only when the night is at its darkest that the sun can bring the dawn.

It’s always the darkest before the dawn.

~~~

Twilight was dull to the world, her body numb and her mind just gone. She and all of her friends... no, most of her friends, were sitting in the back room of the general store. The head lamps Rarity and the others had found sat unused on the floor, the five ponies gathered in the protective glow of several dozen lanterns set about the general store’s backroom.

In the center of the group, lying on the floor alone and unclaimed, was Applejack’s hat. A silent reminder to the fact their dear friend was gone. Twilight would have kept looking for hours, would have kept calling out for Applejack in the dark, but the Taken were coming back. The darkness was returning and they couldn't stay outside; they had go someplace where they could be safe in the light.

Unable to do anything else, Twilight and Pinkie retreated to the general store with Applejack’s hat, where they were forced to break the news to the others. That had been an hour ago, and since then hardly a word had been spoken.

Everypony was taking it differently. Rarity was shell shocked, unwilling or unable to comprehend that Applejack was gone. Dash was angry, seething. She glared at the hat, as if demanding it explain how Applejack could be taken.

Pinkie Pie... she just stared at the lanterns blankly. Her hair had deflated, falling straight across her face. She wasn’t Pinkie Pie at the moment. Instead, she was just plain old Pinkamena... the somber and straightforward pony from a family of rock farmers.

Fluttershy had taken it the worst. The yellow pegasus bawled her eyes out for several minutes after hearing the news. She was currently lying with her back to everypony else, trying to fall asleep or having already drifted off. In either case, she still whimpered form time to time.... all she could muster after crying herself dry.

That left only Twilight, the unicorn staring at Applejack’s hat as she played the scene over and over in her head. She wanted to analyze it, break it down, study it... understand why she hadn’t been able to help Applejack. Why didn’t she try to make her horn flash with light like she had done before? Why hadn’t that cross her mind? She might have been able to save Applejack if she had just remembered to do that.

Finally, the silence in the room was broken as Rainbow Dash snapped to her hooves, heading for the door.

“Where are you going?”

“To find Applejack.” The pegasus retorted, looking back accusingly at Twilight. “Maybe she’s still out there, maybe you and Pinkie Pie just didn’t look hard enough.”

“The Taken are still out there. If you go outside you’ll end up just like Applejack. We don’t know enough about what’s out there to fight back.”

“So, what, are we just supposed to sit here?”

“Until morning, yes. When the sun comes up we’ll have time to figure out a plan.”

“I can’t wait that long.” Dash snapped, lifting a hoof to open the door only to find somepony grabbing at one of her back hooves. It was Fluttershy, the yellow pegasus holding onto Dash’s back leg for dear life as she held her eyes shut tight.

“Let go! I got to go look for Applejack.”

Fluttershy just shook her head furiously, her grip only tightening.

“Rainbow, I know you want to find Applejack... we all do, but we don’t want to lose you either.” Twilight offered. “Please, we’ve all been up all night and it’s not doing us any good. I say we try to get some sleep and take turns keeping watch.”

Dash stomped a hoof, obviously wanting to argue. Sitting around had never been her strong suit, but Fluttershy’s tight grasp of Dash’s leg told the blue pegasus she couldn’t hope to leave without distressing her friend further. With a defeated, begrudged sigh Dash turned away from the door.

“Okay... whatever.”

“Good. I’m sure when we’ve all got some sleep we’ll be able to think of something.”

“How about I take the first watch Twilight? After what you and Pinkie Pie went through you need the sleep more than any of us.” Rarity offered.

Twilight nodded, immensely grateful for Rarity’s generous offer. Sleep would not come easily to anypony that night, but it was important to try. Twilight herself knew that she desperately needed the rest, especially after she had jog down from the castle while being hunted by the darkness.

Everypony, minus Rarity, laid their head down. The floor was hard, there were no blankets or pillows, but still their eyes began to slid shut. Twilight took in a deep breath, shifting a little to try and get more comfortable as she began to drift off. Exhaustion took over, the stress and strain of the past several hours washing over and lulling Twilight into her dreams.

~~~

Twilight opened her eyes, stirred away by the sound of music. She wasn’t in the general store anymore; instead, she was lying in soft grass outside, a moonless sky looking down at her. The unicorn was up on her hooves in a moment, looking around in a panic. She expected to be jumped at any moment, for the Taken to encircle her as they had Applejack. Yet, the night was calm and the sky clear. It was dark, but she didn’t feel threatened.

The music that had awoke Twilight continued to linger on the wind, and it drew the unicorn’s eyes. She had been lying on a hill, and down below her was a farm. On the far side of that farm, past the fields and aged, untended buildings was what looked like a stage, with a single bright spotlight shining in the very center.

In that spotlight she saw a figure, sitting perfectly still as if listening to the song. The figure looked unfamiliar, like nothing Twilight had ever seen before. No... she had seen this creature once before, in her nightmare aboard the train. He was the one that told her about the Taken, told her how the light was safe.

He knew answers, knew about the Taken and the darkness. Maybe he knew a way to save Applejack. Twilight knew she had to reach that stage, had to talk with the creature there in the light.

Galloping down the hillside, Twilight made her way to the edge of the farm. She clamored over a fence, running through a high, uncut field of grain. The light from the distant stage shown through the stalks, keeping the unicorn from losing her bearings. It would be a short run, the unicorn only needing to hop a few other fences before she reached the stage.

Yet, as Twilight crossed the first field she felt a cold sensation on the back of her neck. A breeze was kicking up, causing the grain to shift and sway. Twilight stopped, glancing skyward. The stars didn’t seem as clear or bright as they had been. The night was growing darker, and chilling wind was brewing.

These were all signs that Twilight knew, she had experience when trying to get down from the castle or when she, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack were fleeing down the alley. These were the signs that darkness was getting closer.

Amidst the gentle rustle of the grain stalks in the wind Twilight heard another, more distinct rustle. This one focused, in a single point... a point that was moving. Something else was in the grain field with her. The unicorn spun on the spot, lighting up her unicorn horn and focusing the beam forward. She swept the light around her, trying to listen to the rustling.

It kept drawing closer, and Twilight knew what was causing the noise. It had to be a Taken; there was nothing else that made sense. Still, she couldn’t keep track of where it was. The Taken was moving too quickly, zipping around and circling. If it attacked Twilight doubted she’d be able to protect herself; she just didn’t know where it was.

She needed to get out of the grain field, to someplace where she could better defend herself. The nearest option was an aged barn, but it was in the wrong direction. Still, with the rustling sound continuing to get closer Twilight knew she’d have to detour herself to the barn and deal with the Taken stalking her. Then she’d could continue to the stage.

~~~

The aged barn was more foreboding than the field outside, but at the very least Twilight’s vision wasn’t blocked by tall stalks of grain. The barn didn’t play home to farm equipment, bales of hay, or anything sensible like that. Instead, the barn was filled with viking shields, swords, and horned hats. There was even a large viking ship. It hung from the rafters on aged ropes. Even a breath from Twilight seemed to cause the boat to shift, the ropes groaning as they struggled to keep the heavy wooden vessels suspended.

After making sure the barn itself was empty Twilight turned to the door she had just come through, focusing her light on the entry way. Sure enough, a few moments after she came inside Twilight saw something come out of the grain field. It was a farm pony, holding a large curved blade in her teeth. The blade was normally used for harvesting grain by hoof, but it could probably hurt a pony just as easily.

Twilight brought her unicorn light to greater focus, the farming mare forced to stop and hide her eyes from the light while the shadows around her burned away quickly. Soon, they were gone, but yet the Taken pony still remained. Memories of her first nightmare came hurtling back to Twilight. Without Applejack there, she’d have to figure out another way to make the mare disappear.

There were plenty of weapons around, but Twilight avoided them all. She instead choose to keep her distance from the Taken mare, running around the barn in a game of cat and mouse she couldn’t afford to lose.

Twilight chanced a glance back her pursuer as she continued to run about the barn. The Taken mare was keeping perfect pace. Twilight couldn’t risk slowing down even slightly, but she was starting to tire. She needed to get rid of her somehow, but she just couldn’t bring herself to grab one of the weapons that were readily available. The memory of using the ax in her last nightmare still haunted Twilight.

She could use the light flash like she did once before, but that was overkill. She couldn’t do that many times without wearing herself out and this was only one Taken. No, she needed something else. Maybe a smaller version, like a focused flash from a camera.

It would have to work, and Twilight was staking life and limb on it. She called for on the magic of her horn before jumping into the air. She spun half way around, landing on her hooves as she skidded a few inches and brought herself to face the Taken. The light from her horn blinded the Taken mare, forcing her to stumble back a moment. That gave Twilight the moment of time she needed, focusing the light from her horn as tightly as she could.

The cone of light slimmed, eventually becoming nothing but a thin, intense trail. The Taken hissed under the light, it was causing pain but it still wasn’t enough. The Taken remained, and was now inching closer to Twilight on three legs, using the fourth to keep the light out of its eyes.

It wasn’t working, the light was easily as intense as the flash of light had been, but it wasn’t working. The Taken kept getting closer, and Twilight felt she was wearing herself out with the intensity of the magic. If she tried to keep this up it would be no better than if she had just used the flash of light. What was she missing?

Before Twilight could find an answer to that question the Taken mare was within striking distance, keeping her eyes blocked but taking a swing with the harvesting knife. The blade connected, but with only a few strands of Twilight’s hair as the unicorn ducked. Failing to defeat the Taken, Twilight turned and bolted, galloping up a set of rickety stairs and into the loft of the barn.

She rounded the corner, jumping a bit as the dragon shaped mast head of the viking ship came into view. Twilight quickly realized it was not another monstrous Taken, breathing a short sigh of relief. Now, however, was no time to rest. The Taken mare was still in pursuit, already climbing the stairs after the purple unicorn.

Twilight ducked behind a stack of boxes, dousing the light from her horn as she hoped to hide from the Taken. She could see its yellow eyes in the darkness as it crept forward; it was getting closer, and the unicorn had the sinking suspicion that even though the barn was pitch black the Taken could see just find.

It would find her, there was no way it couldn’t, so Twilight did her best to prepare herself. She focused on her horn, on her magic, and tried to form a new spell. She’d light her horn, but she’d trap the light with magic. She’d let the light build, let it collect... maybe then if she released it all at once that would be enough to final take down the Taken.

The monster drew closer, just starting to round the corner of the boxes where Twilight was hiding. It took a single step, looking forward before snapping its head in Twilight’s direction. It knew exactly where she was, already swinging its head so it could strike at the unicorn. Twilight, however, was ready. She had built up the light on her horn into a single, packed ball that continued to build with energy. She released all that built up energy, focusing it into a single coned burst of light, a single bright flash comparable to powerful camera flash.

The Taken was not destroy, but it was hurt. Its attack was halted as it stumbled back, grunting in pain. Twilight smiled, releasing another pulse of light. It took four pulses, but the Taken was defeated, disappearing into thin air.

Twilight finally released the breath she had been holding, panting as she dropped into a sitting position. Now that was a spell she could use. She’d just have to let the light from her horn build up, keeping it contained with a simple mirror spell. Then, she’d just have to let it out in small bursts. A few small bursts were enough to defeat the Taken, or at least the small one she had just faced. Most importantly, it was a spell Twilight could perform without wearing herself out... at least not very quickly.

~~~

After leaving the barn Twilight followed a dirt road that wound around the edge of the farm and eventually reached the stage. Some Taken leapt from the fields, but now that she had a way to fight them for herself Twilight found her courage. She dodged and fought the Taken that appeared, defeating them with her new light pulse spell.

She was close to the stage now, and she could clearly make out the music. It had been looping endlessly, the mournful melody that was telling the story featuring two characters. A poet and his muse. The song was starting over just as Twilight was drawing close, the unicorn able to clearly hear all the lyrics for the first time.


The Poet and The Muse - Old Gods of Asgard
There's an old tale wrought with mystery, of Tom the Poet and his muse
And a magic lake which gave a life to the words the poet used
Now, the muse she was his happiness, and he rhymed about her grace
And told her stories of treasures deep beneath the blackened waves
Till' in the stillness of one dawn, still in its misty crown
The muse she went down to the lake, and in the waves she drowned

And now to see your love set free
You will need the witch's cabin key
Find the lady of the light, gone mad with the night
That's how you reshape destiny

The poet came down to the lake to call out to his dear
When there was no answer he was overcome with fear
He searched in vain for his treasure lost and too soon the night would fall
Only his own echo would wail back at his call
And when he swore to bring back his love by stories he'd create
Nightmares shifted in their sleep in the darkness of the lake

And now to see your love set free
You will need the witch's cabin key
Find the lady of the light, still raving in the night
That's how you reshape destiny

In the dead of night she came to him with darkness in her eyes
Wearing a mourning gown, sweet words as her disguise
He took her in without a word for he saw his grave mistake
And vowed them both to silence deep beneath the lake
Now, if it's real or just a dream one mystery remains
For it is said, on moonless nights they may still haunt this place


The song did not repeat again, as if it had been playing only to the point where Twilight was able to hear the lyrics to their full extent. With that the speakers on the stage fell silent, but a small bit of the melody continued. It was the creature on the stage, he continued to hum the song’s melody. Now that Twilight was closer, she was sure this was the same that had appeared in her last nightmare. Did that mean this was a dream? Twilight wasn’t sure, and at the moment pushed the thought from her mind.

Dream or not, this creature had answers and Twilight wanted them. Still, Twilight knew she had to be careful. This creature may be standing in light, but because of that light he appeared to be nothing more than a silhouette. He could easily be just some strange form of Taken that was able to stand in direct light.

Moving just a bit closer to the stage, Twilight swallowed to try and clear the knot in her throat before speaking. Her voice was weak, but she forced the words out. “Who... who are you? What are you?”

The figure stopped humming, lifting his head... or at least what Twilight thought was his head, and while Twilight couldn’t see his eyes she knew the creature was looking right at her.

“I’m a friend.”

“Kind of a creepy friend.”

The creature chuckled. “Yes... but I am a friend.”

“And do you know what’s going on?”

“I do. Your world is being threatened by something called the Darkness. It’s being lead by someone named Nightmare Moon.”

“Nightmare Moon! But... we defeated her.”

“Yes, you did, but you didn’t destroy her. She was banished from this world entirely, but when you cast something out it must always land somewhere. Nightmare Moon landed in the Dark Place, trapped in there just like me.”

“Trapped?”

“Yes, but you can’t worry about me.” The creature grunted, a hand grasping at his chest. He paused for a moment, as if struggling through a stab of pain, but it passed and the figure continued. “Nightmare Moon has embraced the power of the Dark Place. She is the one leading the Taken, and she is the one that kidnapped Celestia, Luna, and Applejack.”

“How do you know about that?”

“I... I can see what’s happening.. and I promise I am doing all I can to help. The Dark Place... it will demand a heavy cost for the information I’m giving you... but with it you can defeat Nightmare Moon.”

“How? How do we beat her?”

“I cannot tell you here, the story won’t allow it... the price would be to high. It’s too soon. You’ll need to seek the wisdom of the Old Gods from mu... GRAH... ah... from the black records... only a needle can read. They helped me defeat the darkness. Now they’ll do the same for you.”

“The Old Gods... but who are the Old Gods?”

“They are the ones who told the tale of The Poet and The Muse.” At that the creature grunted again, dropping to one knee. Twilight galloped up onto the stage to help the creature, but when she reached the stage’s spotlight he was gone, at least physically. His voice still lingered in the air.

“Now, we must both bear the price of the knowledge.. for that is the nature of the Dark Place. Everything has a price. The Taken are coming... defend yourself.”

The stage light snapped off at this point, and as her eyes readjusted to the darkness Twilight could see several Taken had appeared in the area around the stage, slowly moving towards her. There were easily half a dozen of them, and she could see more coming in the distance.

The unicorn lit up her horn, focusing the light on the closest taken as she backed up. The unicorn sure wasn’t why she was trying to stand and fight, against such huge odds she couldn’t hope to win. Still, there was nowhere to run, and when you can’t run you have to stand and fight.

Twilight took another step back, trying to keep herself distanced from the approaching Taken. Her right back hoof then stepped down on something that click, and the unicorn jumped as the speakers on the stage blared to life with a new song. Above the stage, sparks began pouring out the mouth of a dragon sculpture as fireworks erupted all around. Some of the Taken were blown away just by the explosion of light, the others were forced back.

Twilight chanced a glance back, seeing the hoof peddle she had stepped on accidentally. She then took notice that there were about a dozen other pedals around the stage, each undoubtedly set to trigger some of the stage’s pyrotechnic effects.

The first effects began to run their course, the sparks from the dragon statue’s mouth coming to a halt. The Taken resumed their approach, but this time Twilight prepared to face them with a small flicker of hope. She have to wait till they were close, until several of them were very close, but she could wipe out multiple Taken at once if she triggered the stage effects at the right time.

The intense rock song continued to blare, offering background music to Twilight’s struggle. It was another song by the same band, though this tune was far louder and more intense than the one that had first drawn Twilight to the stage. Still, as Twilight caught some of the lyrics, she found they had some significance. It spoke of fighting the darkness with light, a subject Twilight was becoming very familiar with.


Children of the Elder Gods - Old Gods of Asgard
Warriors, torchbearers, come redeem our dreams
Shine a light upon this night of otherworldly fiends
Odin's might be your guide, divorce you from the sane
Hammer's way will have its say, rise up in their name

Oh, Memory and Thought
Jet black and clawed

Children of the Elder God
Scourge of light upon the dark

Scratching hag, you can rake your claws and gnash your crooked teeth
You've taken slaves like ocean waves, now feel the ocean seethe
Father Thor, bless this war, between the dark and light
In their songs let their wrongs bring dissolution's night

Oh, Memory and Thought
Jet black and clawed

Children of the Elder God
Scourge of light upon the dark