“Ugh… where am I?”
Twilight sat up from behind a table in the archival room. Rubbing her head, she looked around. The shimmering light of a candle danced in the otherwise dead-still room. She stood up and stretched out. After she was done, her stomach growled.
“I wonder if Celestia's made breakfast yet,” Twilight wondered to herself. She walked over to the door, only for the gap between her and it never close. In fact, it only grew. She ran. She teleported forward. But her every action only caused it to further increase.
Bang
That is, until the door suddenly surged forward and collided with Twilight. She flew through it and slammed into the wall on the other side.
“Twilight…”
A weak and barely audible voice echoed in Twilight's ears. She rolled over and looked up. The hallway was devoid of any and all light. She illuminated her horn and looked around, but saw nothing.
“Twilight… why didn’t you save us?”
Twilight frantically looked around, but still the hallway remained as empty as the void it looked to be before she created her source of light. “Who’s saying that?!” she asked in desperation.
Snap
No sooner had she stopped speaking that the sound of bones breaking filled the air. Twilight looked around once more, only to see something step into the vicinity of her light; the hair of the being stretching upwards. Twilight glanced up, only to gasp at the sight barely a yard above her.
Celestia was hung in the air by the hair of Sadako, which acted as a noose around her neck. Her face had turned purple from being devoid of oxygen. Next to her was Princess Luna, who was motionless. Below them stood the malevolent spirit; her hair slithering towards her like a constrictor snake. It rose up and wrapped itself around Twilight's neck repeatedly, after which it was yanked back towards Sadako.
Twilight attempted to speak, but her every attempt only caused the grip of Sadako's hair to tighten. She rose up and looked at Celestia, who looked to be at Death's doorstep.
“Twilight… why did you not save us?” she asked with a look of sadness and fear. “You said you'd banish her… you said you could do it…”
Twilight watched as the pressure around Celestia’s neck reached its zenith. A stomach-churning snap filled the air, and her body fell limp.
“No… no, no, no!” Twilight shook. She attempted to her use her magic. But no matter what she did, nothing worked. Her every action only caused her further pain and agony. Before she knew it, her vision blurred. Her eyes felt as though they were going to burst out of their sockets.
Then everything went silent.
Twilight’s eyes shot open. She sat up and frantically looked around. The table in front of her was covered in notebooks, each of which was accompanied by at least one folder. Several empty cups that were once filled with coffee were littered around the table. She looked over at a clock that hung on the wall, which read seven o’clock.
“Oh… thank Celestia,” she said once she calmed down. “I was only asleep for thirty minutes.”
Twilight levitated over the folder she remembered having last read and opened it. She skimmed it and narrowed her eyes. “So, where did I leave off…” Twilight mentally read off everything she could recall. “Ah, here we go!” She cleared her throat and continued. “So you lived in the Crystal Empire, Samara?” she asked no one in particular in a snarky tone. “Went to the best school there? Hmph. Well, weren't you just a talented filly.”
She sighed and threw the folder back onto the table. She rubbed her temples and swore beneath her breath. “And yet you've left behind nothing for me to go on!” She swiped a few files and notebooks off the table. “I spent the entire night reading your stupid life story over and over, yet all you've given me in return is that you were oh so great!”
Twilight sighed and fell to the floor, her mane now disheveled. “Oh, for Celestia’s sake,” she mumbled to herself. “I wish I had Spike here. At least then I'd feel less silly about talking to myself.”
After a few seconds of staring at the ceiling, Twilight sat up and looked back out at the sea of folders. “What'd I'd give to just know how you were able to take that tape… unless.” Twilight shook her head. “No, that can't be right.”
The door to the room opened. “Talking to yourself I see?” Celestia asked with a chuckle. She shut the door behind her and and walked over to Twilight's side.
Twilight rested the folder onto the table and groaned. “I spent all night reading over Samara's archive at least thirty-seven times,” she said. “And through all of that, I managed to compile everything I learned into a single notebook.”
“Well, what did you learn?” Celestia asked.
Twilight levitated a notebook over and opened it. “That her family moved around a lot,” she said. “Far more than anypony I've ever heard of. She attended prestigious magic schools—some of which are up there with your own.” A frown formed on her face before she closed the notebook and placed it back onto the table. “Then it just ends. It's like she fell off the face of Equus. The last place mentioned in the archive was the Crystal Empire.”
“And… what's in the other notebooks?” Celestia asked.
“Questions,” Twilight deadpanned.
“Like?”
“Where her family is,” Twilight said. “I sent a letter to Shining Armor and he told he he had no idea who they were. They never attended a public event while they lived there. Heck, they never left the house, save for when they went to get groceries. Then one day, they just up and left. They took a handful of things with them and were never seen after that. Nopony found any remains out in the tundra. They just… vanished.” Twilight sighed and rested her head on the table. “No family members have ever reported the parents missing, so I can only assume they're alive.”
Celestia tapped her chin. “What of the orb? Did you see anything with Samara?”
“That's the entire reason that I decided to look into Samara. Well, that and the fact that she apparently stole it from beneath my brother's muzzle,” Twilight said. “The orb told me who Sadako was and why she was doing this, but I didn't see even the slightest hint of who Samara is… or was.”
“What of Sadako's father? You mentioned in your sleep that she seemed to hate her.”
“I can't even find where he is,” Twilight said. “He vanished after Sadako died.” She sat up and looked at Celestia with a twitchy eye. “It feels like it's par for the course with both families to just go poof!” Twilight threw her forelegs up into the air. “I can't decide which does it better: the ones who moved around a dozen times in a single year or the one who's daughter is going to crawl out of a television and murder the rulers of Equestria.”
Celestia cleared her throat. “Yes, well, breakfast is downstairs if you'd like some.”
“In a moment,” Twilight said. “First, tell me: who delivered the tape to you?”
“Derpy,” Celestia said. “But she didn't talk to Samara. The post office had caught fire before she was handed the package.”
“W-wait, what!?” Twilight's eyes widened. “How'd it catch fire?”
“I'm unsure,” Celestia replied.
Twilight sat still for a bit, lost in thought. Could it… perhaps? She stood up and walked out of the room alongside Celestia. “I think I know how it did.”
“Do you now?” Celestia entered the dining room and sat across from Twilight.
“Well, I mean, it's a theory,” Twilight said sheepishly. “But… maybe Samara did it?”
Celestia chuckled. “Twilight, I understand your concern, but don't you think that you're taking things a bit too far?” she asked in a motherly tone. She cut a piece of a pancake and held it up to her mouth. “You already have a plan to banish Sadako. Don't you think you can worry about Samara after dealing with Sadako?”
Twilight looked at Celestia, baffled. She chewed and swallowed a piece of pancake herself before responding. “No, of course not! If she managed to do what she did in the Crystal Empire and went to so many prestigious schools, what else do you think she could manage?”
“You don't even know if Samara's actually alive,” Celestia replied. “You yourself can't even decide. You only have one pony’s testimony to go on, and you don't even know if the one delivered it was her and not a relative.”
Twilight went dead silent and dropped her fork from her magic as a flurry of thoughts filled her head. Was Celestia right? Could she have been looking in the wrong place? But if that was the case, who else on Samara's family could be skilled enough to break into the quarantine room? Could there be another pony who she didn't know about?
“Twilight?”
Twilight shook her head. “Huh? What?”
“You've been staring off into space for quite some time,” Celestia said. “Did what I say really get to you?”
“Oh, um…” Twilight blushed. “Maybe?”
Celestia stood up and walked over to her former pupil’s side. “Twilight, I understand that you want to help,” she said, “but just know that what you already intend on doing is more than enough. Perhaps you should focus your efforts on making sure you can banish Sadako?”
Twilight let out a sigh. “I will tonight,” she said. “For now though, I need to make sure that I'm right about the post office.” She looked up at Celestia with puppy-eyes. “Please? Just this one trip.”
Celestia looked down. “Alright, Twilight,” she said. “But I must ask: what do you think Derpy can actually tell you?”
“Where she saw her go or if she saw her around town before she approached her,” Twilight replied. “Worst case scenario: she tells me what Samara's favorite kind of muffin is.”
Celestia chuckled. “Well, I guess we should get going then.”
Twilight nodded in response and, with that, the two mares made their way to the carriage and headed to Ponyville.
A short while later, Celestia and Twilight arrived at the Ponyville market.
“Okay,” Twilight began as she looked around. “Normally, Derpy is somewhere around here at this time of—”
Thud
Twilight fell to the ground, dazed and confused. She shook her head and saw the source of those feelings; an equally dazed and confused Derpy, who was accompanied by Lyra, who for her part giggled at the sight.
“Oh, I'm so sorry, princess” Derpy said once she'd registered what happened.
“No, it's quite alright,” Twilight said. She helped Derpy up to her hooves and smiled. “In fact, we were looking for you.”
“Me?” Derpy asked, visibly surprised at the prospect of one of the rulers of Equestria and her former star pupil wanting to talk to someone such as herself. “Why? Did I do something wrong?”
“No,” Celestia said. “Rather, it's about yesterday. You gave Luna and I a package and we were wondering if you knew anything about the pony who gave it to you.”
“Oh, you mean Samara?” Derpy asked, to which Lyra's eyes shot open. “I'm not sure. She just walked up to me as I tried to help put out the fire with the other mailponies. I didn't see where she went.”
“Was there anything unusual about her?” Twilight asked.
Derpy shook her head. “She just handed it to me and walked away. She didn't even seem to notice the fire.”
Twilight and Celestia looked at each. “Well, did anyone else notice her?” Twilight asked.
Derpy tapped her chin. “Well, I did hear my boss, Post Master, say something about a strange mare who was near the post office,” she said. “He kept saying to himself that he wished he'd called the cops on her when I arrived this morning."
“Where is he now?” Celestia asked
“He should still be at the post office,” Derpy said. “He was looking at it this morning. He said it was therapeutic.”
“Right. Thank you,” Celestia said before she turned away and walked towards the remains of the post office.
Twilight followed closely behind. “Do you think that she caused the fire?”
Celestia looked at Twilight with a hint of surprise. “Anything's possible,” she said, “but I'm a bit doubtful. Though I myself am curious to see if there's any security footage left, we may know soon.”
After a short walk, the two mares arrived at the post office.
Or rather, what was once the post office.
“Oh…” Twilight stared in disbelief. Although she'd been told that it had caught fire, she imagined that there'd be something left. Instead, there was but a few charred pieces of wood and knickknacks that somehow survived.
“Yup,” a gruff voice said behind them. “That was once my pride and joy. Now it's nothing more than a bunch of burned wood, ashes, and debt now.” The stallion, a unicorn with a white coat and a piece of mail for a cutie mark, approached the two mares as they turned around. “Post Master, head of the Ponyville Post Office,” he said. “Well, what was once the Ponyville Post Office.
“So I see,” Twilight said. “Tell me, do you know what caused it?”
“Beats the crap outta me.”
“What do you think caused it then?” Twilight asked.
“My guess?” Post asked. “Rats probably chewed the wiring. Damn things are always causing trouble. Unless you two know who did it.”
“Well… not exactly,” Celestia said. “Rather, we wanted to see if there was any security footage left over.” She glanced over at the remnants of the post office. “Though I hadn’t anticipated the entire thing being gone…”
“Oh yeah, the place burned down fast,” Post said. “It was gone as fast as my first wife when I told her I wanted a divorce.”
Twilight and Celestia exchanged awkward glances. “Well… your employee, Derpy Hooves, said that you may know something about a pony we’re looking for,” Twilight said. “A pony by the name of Samara.”
“Never heard of her.”
“We believe she was seen near the post office before the fire,” Celestia replied.
Post’s eyes widened. “You mean you know who that creepy bitch who kept on appearing in the boiler room was?” he asked with a hint of glee.
“You… mean she’s been here before?” Twilight asked, surprised and visibly unnerved.
“Been her before?” Post let out a laugh. “The bitch has been trespassing here for the past week. It got to the point that I told a security guard to stay down by the door to the room so she'd stop snooping around it!”
“And did that work?” Celestia asked.
“You tell me.”
Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Yes, well… how'd she get inside?”
“Beats me,” Post said. “Security guard said she just appeared inside.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Honestly, that's how she was all the time. She just sort of popped up. I guess she knew some invisibility spells.”
“Any idea where she is now?” Twilight asked with a look of hope in her face. “Derpy said she didn't see where she went after she gave her a package.”
“Nope,” Post deadpanned. “Glad to know there was a reason old blondie flew off though. Figured she just gave up. Guess I don't have to fire her after all.”
“Yes well, thank you for your time,” Celestia said. “We will be sure to cover the costs for your building.”
“Take care, princess,” Post replied. “I'm gonna go get shitfaced and hopefully pass out so I can dream of bashing in that creepy bitch’s face with my ex-wife’s skull.”
“You too,” Celestia said with an unnerved look on her face. She turned around and walked away, Twilight following closely behind.
“That was… certainly something,” Twilight said. “But now what? It seems like nopony saw where she went or where she arrived from.” She looked up at Celestia. “And asking everypony if they saw her could take hours!”
“Don't you feel it'd be worth a shot though?” Celestia asked. “It seems that Samara does have some connection to the tape, despite the doubts I had. And it's still early in the day.”
“We only have six days left though,” Twilight said. “I've already had one nightmare about losing you to her. It feels… too risky to try and ask everypony in town.”
Celestia frowned and rested a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. “It's alright, Twilight. You're doing everything you can.” She lifted Twilight's head so she was looking at her, and smiled at her warmly. “If you'd like, I can ask around town myself. You can head back to the castle and get some rest.”
“You don't have to ask around town, princess.”
Before Twilight could reply, another voice interjected. The two princesses turned around to see Lyra standing behind them with a nervous look on her face. “You said you got a package from Samara?”
Celestia nodded. “Yes… why?”
Lyra let out a shaky sigh and shook her head. “Derpy convinced me to tell you two what I know,” she said as a tear rolled down her face. “Bon Bon’s father told her that he got a gift—a tape—from Samara.” Lyra sighed and looked at the ground. “He… he died. But we took it from his house and buried it in the Everfree last year!”
“How did you know the tape was what caused it?” Celestia asked, surprised and somewhat suspicious of Lyra's story.
“Bon Bon had once been sent the tape before we met,” Lyra said. “When she saw it, she freaked out. I'm surprised she didn't try to break it right then and there.” She let out a sigh cursed under her breath. “How in Tartarus did she know where it was?”
Twilight tapped her chin. “I think I know.” She turned and looked up at Celestia and smirked. “See, if Samara gave both Bon Bon and Derpy the tape, I believe that she holds some sort of power over the tape. If we can somehow find death records for those who came in contact with the tape, then perhaps we can trace it back to her family and figure out how to stop it!”
“Twilight,” Celestia said, visibly shocked, “there are countless death records. How in the world are we going to find what we want to? Let alone somehow trace it back to her family?”
“It's the best chance we have right now,” Twilight said. “If we can find even one record that mentions the tape, we have a chance of finding her or parents; if my hunch that they were the ones to have first given out the tape is correct.”
“I…” Celestia sighed, knowing full well that no matter what she would say, it wouldn't deter Twilight from doing what she had proposed. “Alright. We can begin when we arrive back at the castle.”
“Great!” Twilight chirped. “I'll be waiting back at the carriage!”
Celestia smiled and turned to face Lyra “I do greatly appreciate your assistance, Lyra.”
“You’re welcome,” Lyra replied. “I must ask though… are you really under the curse that her father was under?”
Celestia's eyes widened, but she quickly regained her composure. “Umm… no, it's one of our guards,” she said. “Sorry, we should've clarified. I must be going though. Do take care.” With that, Celestia ran off towards Twilight. Once she’d caught up to her, she spoke up.
“You know where the room is, right?”
Twilight nodded. “You showed me the day my grandfather passed away,” she said. “When I had to sign the paper confirming he was my relative.”
Celestia nodded. After a short walk, the two arrived back at the carriage and sat across from each other. Once it took off, Celestia once again spoke up.
“So, say you do find out where Samara's parents are. What exactly do you expect them to know or be capable of doing? Your plan to banish Sadako to Tartarus doesn't seem to rely on finding out who gave us the tape.”
“If I'm correct, then it isn't a coincidence that I saw a house in the tundra in the tape and that Samara lived in the Crystal Empire, amongst other things,” Twilight said. “I know it's flimsy, but I don't want to banish Sadako, only to have Samara take her spot on the tape. I want the thing gone for good. And I want to find out who in Tartarus Samara is. She seems to exert more influence over the actual tape than Sadako does!” Twilight buried her face into hooves and let out a shaky sigh. “I don't want to fail you, princess… I don't want to banish one demon, only to have another take its place and cause more chaos…”
Celestia leaned forward and lifted Twilight's head up. Her eyes were filled with tears, and a few had already run down her face. “Twilight, I promise you that you won't fail,” she said. “I will do everything in my power to make sure that your plan succeeds. No matter what the cost.”
Twilight gave a small smile. “T-thank you,” she said quietly. “I think I'll just rest for the remainder of the ride…”
Celestia nodded. “Understandable,” she replied. She turned her head looked out the window, admiring the view. Before she knew it though, she herself drifted off to sleep.
A short while later, the two arrived back at the castle. Celestia immediately turned her attention to Twilight once she was awoken by the opening if the carriage door.
“I'll be with you in a little while. I have something that I must attend to first.”
Twilight nodded groggily. “I'll be there if you need me.” With that, she walked off, arriving at the room a few moments later.
Stepping inside, Twilight was greeted to a room that dwarfed the archival room fivefold. Row after row, box after box, family after family. Not a single pony was without their own respective file on their death. At the center of it all was a single table, which had a small lamp on it, providing the only illumination in an otherwise pitch black room.
Oh sweet Celestia… Twilight gulped. I forgot how big this place was… She stepped forward and looked around her. The shelves stretched up to the ceiling, which in of itself was dozens of feet tall.
Maybe I was wrong… Twilight thought as she stared in disbelief at the sheer number of boxes that surrounded her. Maybe this is a bad idea…