//------------------------------//
// A Princess' Confusion 
// Story: Those Left Behind 
// by the7Saviors 
//------------------------------//

I awoke with a groan.

My eyes slowly opened and I blinked a few times, trying to rid myself of my blurry vision. After a moment things started to clear up and I could make out...

...Where am I?

I turned to my right and a momentary grip of panic seized me. At first I thought I had been shoved into some kind of box -- in the dark, surrounded by walls around and above me.  

Then I turned to my left and I immediately breathed a small sigh of relief.

There was no wall to my left and instead I could see the smashed and charred remains of several wooden shelves backed up against a far wall. I shifted my body experimentally to see if I could move. When I didn't feel any immediate pain, I shuffled out from under wherever I was and looked around.

It turned out I was stuffed behind a counter in what appeared to be some kind of store. It was almost too dark to see, but I could just make out the interior. There were rows of shelves that were either destroyed or knocked over, and any products that once lined them were blackened and unrecognizable.

If I had to guess, I'd say they were some sort of foals toys at one point.

So... I'm in a toy store?

The building itself seemed to still be standing for the most part -- though I could see the pitch black sky through several large holes in the roof and the various other ruined buildings just outside across the street.

Wait... what?

I blinked and furrowed my brow in confusion.

I slowly trotted around the counter and over to one of the broken windows. Sure enough, there were several other buildings in varying states of destruction everywhere I looked.

I took a step back and shook my head.

Where in Tartarus... just how long was I out?

Several other questions arose in the wake of my bewilderment.

How did I get here?

Where were the others?

Were they okay?

If the sky is pitch black and there are no working lights, how am I even able to see anything?

That last one was a new thought -- not nearly as important as the other's safety, but a mystery nonetheless.

As I made my way outside the ruined toy store, I took a moment to assess my situation.

Alright, Twilight.

You appear to be in some kind of city with no idea how you got here after you passed out.

I shivered as I remembered the event prior to waking up here.

You don't know where any of the other Princesses are or if they're okay.

I swallowed hard and tried not to think about any worst case scenarios.

Just focus on taking stock of the situation.

I briefly looked myself over.

I seem to be fine physically -- a little sore, but no visible injuries that I can see.

I lit up my horn -- or tried to at any rate. The only thing that happened were a few feeble sparks and a small pop as my magic fizzled out. I cried out as the resulting feedback sent a sharp spike of pain down my horn.

Magic is still out from the barrier.

I winced as I waited for the painful throb in my horn to die down. 

"Alright," I muttered to myself after a few moments, "first priority is to find out what happened to the others."

I trotted further out onto the broken empty street and looked left and right.

Nothing but endless destruction in every direction.

Wherever I had wound up, it didn't seem to have faired any better than the rest of Equestria. I continued my trot along streets, trying to find some sort of familiar landmark to tell me what city I had ended up in.

Manehattan?

Fillydelphia?

Baltimare?

Detrot?

Hoofington?

It was impossible to tell with how much damage there was to the city -- not to mention it being almost impossible to see anything clearly. From what I could see, the damage itself was horrendous.

There were entire buildings that had fallen sideways onto some of the streets, completely blocking some of the paths. The roads themselves were mangled, broken and twisted and the air was dry and dusty. There were several times where I had to fight back a coughing fit and the smell was as unnerving as it was unpleasant.

I couldn't quite place the smell, but it reminded me of burning wood, or paper, or coals.

Just... something burning. 

And no matter where I went, the stench followed me.

Something else was nagging at me as well.

I couldn't put my hoof on what, but there was something... wrong.

I felt like there was something important I was overlooking, but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what it was.

"Hello?" I called out for the umpteenth time since I left the store, "Cadence? Princess Celestia? Princess Luna?"

I of course, got no response.

By this point I was little more than a whimpering mass of nerves. My gaze shifted left and right constantly and I felt as if something was waiting to jump out from the shadows.

I was beginning to hate this constant darkness.

It made it much more difficult to navigate through all the debris -- not to mention the dead silence surrounding me. The silence and darkness were enough to make me tremble in fear of... everything really.

The world had changed and I no longer knew what to expect.

There was some kind of godlike abomination watching our every move from...


It hit me like a buck to the face.


My eyes slowly widened and I turned my terrified gaze to the sky.

I finally realized what it was that had been off.

I spread my wings and flew above the destroyed city. I turned this way and that, keeping my eyes on the sky. 


The eye wasn't there anymore.


Everywhere I looked, it was nothing but inky black sky.

This didn't bring me any relief -- far from it in fact. 

I started to panic.

I couldn't shake the feeling that this was worse.

A lot worse.

I was so distracted by my overwhelming dread that I hadn't even registered touching down onto the streets once more. I wanted to call out for the other Princess' again, but I didn't dare speak.

I took a step back as I frantically looked around me.


Something is coming.


"No," I whimpered, my ears folding back as I took a few more steps back, "no, no, no, nononono..."


Run.


"C-Cadence? Luna? P-Princess Cele--"


RUN!!!


I turned and ran.

I didn't know where I was going, and I didn't care.

My heart was beating so hard it hurt.

My panic was so all consuming it blocked out any common sense. My higher brain functions shut down and I was reduced to the base instinct of a herd animal.


Just keep running and don't look back.


My wings may as well have not even existed for all the thought I gave them.


Just keep running and don't look back.


I heard something.


Just keep running and don't look back.


Heavy erratic steps.


Just keep running and don't look back.


An inequine howl of rage.


Don't look back.


It was getting closer.


Don't look back.


Oh sweet Celestia it was getting closer.


Don't


Something grabbed me and I screamed.

I screamed and I screamed and the appendage attempting to cover my muzzle only made me scream louder.

"Calm thyself, Twilight Sparkle!" a voice hissed next to my ear, "be silent lest you get us both caught!"

It took a moment, but my screams eventually turned to muffled sobs, which then turned to small whimpers as I turned to see who my captor was.

"L-Luna?" I cried in shock and relief, "y-you're alive!"

The midnight blue alicorn shushed me and turned away to look at something else. I sniffed and tried to blink my tears away as I waited for my heart to stop pounding in my chest. I looked around and saw that we were in another ruined building somewhere. Luna had me wrapped in her hooves and we were hiding beneath a window.

I turned back to Luna just in time to see her breath a quiet sigh of relief before wincing in pain.

"Luna, are you okay," I whispered worriedly, "what's going on? What was--"

"Not now, Twilight," she whispered back, "I will explain in a moment, but first we need to move."

She released me and quietly rose to her hooves, wincing in pain once more. Before I could ask, she cut me off.

"Do not worry about me, I'll be fine in a moment," she motioned for me to follow her, "let us go before that thing finds us once more."

I remained quiet as Luna led me through one of the many holes in the building. She swept her gaze up and down the street outside before quickly trotting across and into another building on the opposite side of the street.

We repeated this a few more times -- making our way from building to building as silently as possible. She would occasionally stop and listen, her ears swiveling left and right for any sudden movements before quietly signaling me to follow her forward.

I wondered a great many things as we moved.

Chief among these thoughts were still what had happened after I fainted and how I -- we had gotten here in the first place.

If Luna is here, does that mean the others are as well?

Is she taking us to where Cadence and Princess Celestia are?

I wanted to ask, but a single thought back to whatever had been chasing me was enough to keep me silent. 

I was certain that whatever that was, was the same thing that had blasted the mountain to rubble. I thought about the giant Ursa Major like monstrosity, the giant eye, and now this... I don't even know.

The giant beast had all but destroyed Equestria with one blast from the looks of it, the giant eye had enough power to destroy a mountain, and whatever this... presence was in the city seemed to invoke some kind of primal fear.

Or maybe that was just the atmosphere getting to me... I wasn't sure.

I was starting to wonder if there were different monsters roaming about, or if it was the same creature with multiple forms. I felt almost certain that it was the latter for two admittedly vague reasons.

One was the fact that there was only ever one monster that appeared at a time, and another was the scale of power each time it appeared. The first monster that appeared had enough power to wiped out everything and everypony for several miles around with a single attack. 

The second was still incredibly powerful, but nowhere near as much as the first monster. 

And then there was this new creature.

I wasn't sure what it was capable of, as Luna had saved me before I was caught, but I was willing to bet that it wasn't going to be as powerful as the eye. If this really was the same monster, did that mean it was getting weaker?

Did we just have to survive it's attacks until it was weak enough to destroy?

No.

I couldn't afford to make assumptions with something that was powerful enough to do so much damage in such a short amount of time. 

I had to remain vigilant, wary, focused.

"It seems you've found your nerve, Twilight Sparkle."

I jumped and whipped around to face a grinning Luna. She had stopped trotting and we now appeared to be in the living room of a mostly intact house. Even the furniture was still usable -- if heavily torn and tattered in places.

I had been so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn't even noticed us enter. I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly and gave her an awkward smile.

"Yeah," I replied, "I was... trying to piece together what I knew about that creature -- know your enemy and all that..."

"A wise choice," Luna replied with an approving nod, "we need as much information as we can get," she turned to face one of windows with a grim scowl, "this... wretched demon needs to be brought to justice for what it's done, and I will see to it that it gets what it deserves."

I shifted nervously and figured I would ask some of the questions that had been bugging me since I woke up.

"Um... Princess?"

"Hmm?" she replied distractedly.

"I stll have a lot of questions... about what's going on," I said furrowing my brow, "what happened? Where are we, and where are Cadence and Celestia?"

"Oh, right!" Luna flushed slightly and turned back to face me. She cleared her throat, "my apologies, Twilight. I'm sure you're no doubt confused as to what has transpired while you were... indisposed."

I nodded and waited for her to explain.

"Well, before I begin, there are some other things you need to know first," she said trotting over to one side of the room.

"Okay," I replied tentatively, "and... what's that?"

"Do not attempt to fly anywhere, it will know and it will find you and pull you out of the sky. Keep to the surrounding buildings -- the more intact the better, if you need to go outside, stay as quiet as possible and stay hidden."

I stared at her.

"If you hear that abominable howl, stay calm and find a place to hide. I'm not sure how it reacts to magic, as I haven't been able to properly use mine after what happened at Mount Canterhorn. I was able to get you out of harms way with a short range Teleportation spell, but that was the absolute last of my magic." 

She tapped her horn and and flinched before turning back to me.    

"What about yourself, Twilight," she asked, "can you cast anything?"

"No, I can't," I answered with a shake of my head, "I spent all my magic casting a barrier to protect Cadence and I from the explosion. I have nothing left either."

"I see..." Luna muttered, "pity."

I glanced out one of the windows with a frown before turning back to Luna.

"Where are the others?" I asked, "are they here in the city somewhere?"

"I'm afraid I do not know," she replied with a slow shake of her head, "we... were separated some time ago. I was the one that carried you here into this city," her look suddenly turned to one of guilt, "you must forgive me, Twilight Sparkle. It was my intent to keep you hidden while I left to scout the area for any sign of Cadence and my sister.

"Unfortunately I was attacked by that demon before I could get back to where you were. I eventually managed to get away, but when I returned you were already gone."

She hung her head in shame.

"If it weren't for that, you wouldn't have had to suffer such terror," she looked back to me, "I apologize for my carelessness."

"No, it's... it's fine, Princess Luna," I said with a reassuring smile, "you did save me after all, and really I'm just glad to see you're okay."

"Thank you, Twilight Sparkle," she replied with a grateful smile, "that... means a lot to me," she then grimaced and looked out the window, "if I had access to my magic, that beast would be begging for mercy at my hooves..." she growled.

I eyed her worriedly for a moment before deciding to bring the conversation back on topic.

"Princess," I began tentatively, "what happened while I was unconscious?"

"Right," she replied turning back to me with a nod, "settle yourself, Twilight for this tale may take some time."

I glanced out the window one last time before moving away from it and next to Luna.

"I'm ready."