"Darkness," the old pony munched and pursed his lips in disgust, "It veils your body, seeps into your mane, tickles your hooves. In Darkness, you are always on edge, searching for light, trying to escape its sticky embrace; it is alien to us, pony and griffin alike. Even cave-dwelling diamond dogs avoid it. They live underground, yet their dens are always well-lit, for they, too, fear Darkness and its touch. You fear it, and so do I…”
"Wait a sec, what are you even talking about?" Lily hugged her basket with withering flowers, which she was just about to dump into the compost pile at the edge of the town, close to her chest. The stench of the pile was overwhelming, but she couldn't take her eyes off the mysterious figure perched on an old box.
"The Darkness is coming, my dear," the old pony closed the book that, by the looks of it, was about to crumble into dust any second. He lovingly swiped the back of the tome with his hoof, then wrapped it in a piece of cloth and slid it into a tattered bag.
"Wha... what? How could this..." Lily froze, suddenly paralyzed with fear.
"The Darkness is coming, but Salvation is coming as well," the stranger said as he looked at the mare directly for the first time. His eyes were dark and menacing, but at the same time radiated confidence and tranquility.
"Salvation from the Darkness?" repeated Lily, setting the basket aside, a flicker of hope in her voice.
"In due time, my dear. Salvation may still be within reach, yet no pony will be saved, lest they hear my call. Do you hear my call clearly, my little shivering pony?"
"Y-yes, very, very clearly!" Lily suddenly felt restless without her basket. She snatched up the basket and hugged it with her forehooves, trying to stop her jitters.
"You think my words are but an old pony's talk, only fit to scare little colts and fillies at funfairs, don't you?
"No, absolutely not!" Lily answered as she remembered that every Nightmare Night there indeed was an old stallion or mare telling some spine-tinglers. But those were just scares for little fillies. Nothing like this his words.
"Then tell me, my dear, what do you want?" he asked, looking into her eyes inquiringly once again.
"Me?.. Eeh... I don't want the darkness," Lily confidently replied. She honestly didn't.
"Then this is what you have to do...”
***
Dear Princess Celestia,
I urgently require your advice regarding a most unusual situation. You see, several days ago, a stranger appeared here in Ponyville and began spreading rumors about 'the upcoming Darkness’ of some sort. The pony in question looks peculiar himself: he is quite old, with a long beard, wears an unkempt cape and always hides his face under the hood. He also carries a number of books and some other items, the purpose of which is unknown to me at this moment. I have spent last 49 hours in the library researching these artifacts of his and the so-called Darkness, but to no avail! The library in the capital is closed for quarterly cataloging, and Mrs Old Paper personally chased me away with a broom upon my attempt to get in through a window. Dear Princess, the aforementioned events worry me to no end. A mysterious pony speaks of a terrible catastrophe of unknown nature, but will tell neither the details nor even his name. There are leaflets with hazy prophecies and pleas to listen to the elder appearing all around the city. I hereby continue my research into the matters as I await your reply.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
P.S.
Please find enclosed a check for four bits for the broom that was broken as a result of Spike's unfortunate stumble and fall.
***
"What do you know about the Darkness, oh brave pony?"
"Wha? Me?" Thunderlane exchanged glances with his company of two rather lovely mares, as if thinking that the old man was addressing somepony else. Although he quickly regained his composure and adamantly turned to the old pony in the cape, "Don't try to scare me, grey muzzle. I've seen things that would give another pony a heart attack."
Thunderlane tussled his mane with the signature swing of his hoof, making the two female companions shiver in anticipation.
"I can well believe that," the old pony agreed, smacking his lips, "but don't you, returning home late at night, hasten your step? Don't you close the door behind yourself with a sigh of relief, even if the street was empty? Didn't the Darkness forming behind your back ever bite the tip your tail? You can laugh in the face of bloodthirsty monsters, but you shan't laugh at the Darkness, as it is far more fearsome than the most vicious beast. It does not bite your head off, but rather makes it so that..."
"Alright, enough is enough," Thunderlane wiped cold sweat from his brows and glanced at his friends. They were shaking, holding each other tight and covering their eyes with hooves. The colt puffed out his chest; they would not see him shaking as a leaf himself, "This is getting really creepy."
"I am glad that you now listen to the voice of reason, for those who listens, they will always hear what is important," continued the old pony wisely as he drew strange symbols in the sand before him.
"And what is it, what is important?"
"Salvation, my little brave pony..."
***
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
Pay it no mind.
Princess Celestia
P.S.
The loss of the broom fills my heart with grief. It was a distinguished broom, serving us tirelessly by sweeping away dust and students from the furthest corners of the great library. I will personally see to it that the compensation is spent on a broom of the same quality, if not superior to the predecessor. The advances in the field in recent seven centuries have been quite remarkable, after all. I will also immediately issue a Crown writ to constitute a royal committee for research and development of dragon-proof house-cleaning equipment.
***
"The Darkness... Do you know of it, my kind pony?"
"Nope."
The kind pony continued his way down the sun-lit hill at the edge of Ponyville without a glance at the old stallion. There was a cart waiting by the shed, and those apples won't move to the barn by themselves.
***
"This is unacceptable!" shouted Twilight right into the stallion's face. The stallion himself was just sitting there, bored expression on his face, looking sideways and either chewing his lips or mumbling something under his breath.
"I'm talking to you, mister!" Twilight said, quieter this time. The central square was crowded for this time of the day, and most of the onlookers eyed the purple unicorn with disapproval. Twilight cleared her throat.
"There is no need to make a scene here," answered the old man, still looking into the distance, "I can see that you are confused and upset."
"Me? Upset? Oh yes, I'm definitely upset!" hissed Twilight, "Ever since some stranger appeared in Ponyville and started spreading his cataclysmic nonsense! I've spent three whole days in the library breathing dust, I wrote to Princess Celestia..." the old pony flinched, "... but there is no mention of the affliction you call Darkness anywhere, anywhere!"
"The Darkness is not an affliction," said the stranger slowly, softly, still looking into nothingness. "The Darkness is a part of the order of things. It follows us since birth and till death. It does not discriminate. Ponies, dragons, Princesses; to it, it's all one and the same. The Darkness is strong and knows no borders."
The onlookers started nodding, with growing disapproval of Twilight's actions in their eyes. The purple unicorn shivered, but gathered herself and looked up at the old pony, who was busy putting his books into the bag.
"But there is Salvation," he concluded, standing up with a grunt. Several onlookers rushed to help him, but he dismissed them with a wave of a hoof.
"Salvation from the Darkness?" asked Twilight suspiciously, eying the book sticking out from his bag.
"Salvation from the Darkness!" the old stallion raised his voice as he looked over the crowd. There were quite a number of ponies gathered on the town square, even several griffins perched atop the fountain, "Did I promise you Salvation, my dear ponies?"
The crowd reached forward.
"Yes, you promised, we remember!" cried Lily, who was holding a stack of leaflets. An even larger stack was sticking out from her flower basket.
"Then listen!" said the old pony loudly and surprisingly clearly and rose to his hind legs, "Today, right after the sunset, at the Eastern clearing, by the large oak, you will find your Salvation!”
When the stallion rose up, a book fell from his bag. With a simple tug of levitation Twilight made sure that it fell on its back, with the front cover upwards. When the book touched the ground, the unicorn gave a long sigh, then facehoofed with all her might.
***
The Eastern clearing has never seen so many ponies at once. The ponies themselves were not as surprised by the sheer number of citizens Ponyville apparently houses, but rather by a giant tent pitched by the old oak, with a small podium in front of it. On the podium was the old pony, with his eyes closed, slowly rocking left to right. In front of him was a table with something covered with black cloth. From time to time a foal or a particularly impatient adult dared to try and approach to peek under the cloth, but all were dragged back by their manes and tails by more responsible citizens.
The area of the oak's foliage still lit with the evening sun was getting thinner by the second. As the sun was setting behind the hills, the crowd grew silent and turned their undivided attention to the old man on the podium. When the evening clearly began turning into the night, the old stallion shivered and looked up. The crowd instantly fell silent and stared at the pony on the stage and the mystery under the cloth.
"So..." the stallion bit his lips for a moment, "You came. You came, for you are all believers in Salvation, and for that I am grateful. Believing for the first time is akin to making the first step, the first beat of a wing. The longest journeys start with the first step or the first beat, and so does your Salvation, as you are to discover very soon."
He drew a pause, looked over the crowd, cleared his breath, mumbled something, then suddenly straightened himself, becoming higher at least by half. Then he tore off the cape with one hoof. In his other hoof appeared, seemingly from nowhere, a flat-brimmed straw hat, which he promptly put on. Next, he gave the broadest grin, yanked off the black cloth and grabbed the small black box that was underneath it. Everypony on the clearing, from the smallest foals in their mothers' hooves to sompony with an age-yellowed honorary ribbon that read 'To the eldest citizen of Ponyville', have witnessed the old stallion on the stage transforming into a perfectly healthy and overly energetic colt, and that the cloth was covering nothing more than a simple lantern. The colt pulled a rope next to the table, and the tent collapsed, revealing rows and rows of similar boxes with similar lanterns.
***
Later that year, Equestrian Town Watch regulations were completed with several new paragraphs regarding humane handling of local riots and protection of criminals and witnesses from lynching. The whole contingent of Ponyville Town Guard, who did their best to restore order during that memorable night, were put forward for national decorations and, by their own requests, were reassigned to desk jobs. All five of them.
***
Lily, still a little bit deaf from the screams, barged into her home and locked the door. She made sure her roommates were either still outside or fast asleep, then lit a table lamp and grabbed from her basket a large book she found by the destroyed tent. She slid into a cozy armchair, blew a few random blades of grass from the cover and read: "Brs. Flim & Flam. Marketing, from A to Z"
Lily smiled and opened the book.
The Darkness was coming.