A nervous silence hung above everypony in the main room of the library. The guards occupied posts all around the perimeter of the room while the patients sat in the center, surrounded by their loved ones. Those unaffected by whatever vile magic had befallen the three could do little more than stare at the shells of Derpy, Caramel, and Diamond Tiara.
The obedience the three displayed chilled the very air and Applejack swore darkened the candles in the room. Not a word was spoken, not a peep was made.
The door at the top of the stairs opened and Princess Twilight Sparkle emerged, descending the stairs with a page of parchment levitating at her side.
"Thank you all for coming. Your friends all need you here," she addressed the townsponies.
"What's wrong with them, Twi?" Applejack asked.
"I have no idea," Twilight replied.
"WHAT?" Rainbow shouted. "How do you still not know? Why are we here if we don't know what we're supposed to be doing?"
"We do," Twilight answered. The collective confusion settled Rainbow down and hushed everyone else. Twilight took a breath. "I don't know specifically what is wrong, but I know how to approach it. I know whatever's wrong is suppressing their core personalities and preventing them from being who they are. It may be trying to do something permanent, but we're not going to let it."
"Okay, so what exactly are we gonna do?" Thunderlane asked.
"If I can point to one lesson I've learned since coming to Ponyville as being the most important thing I've ever learned, it's that friendship can do anything," Twilight said. She saw the pride she felt with the statement ignite in each of the ponies. "Friends can make the world exciting and beautiful and help you through the most difficult and harrowing ordeals. Our friends help make us who we are. If the thing that's doing this to our friends is affecting who they are at heart, then we need something even more powerful to help them back."
"What can we do?" Flitter said, hope returning to her voice.
"I'm not their friend," Twilight stated. "I know of them, but I don't know them. You do. You who got scared when you knew something was wrong. Who pushed to help and to get others to help. You were worried the way only friends worry. I may be their princess, but the rest of you are their friends." Twilight held up the parchment for all to see. "I became a princess when I completed a spell and wrote new magic. I now understand just how important the magic was. This is that spell. With all of you here I believe it will help us save your friends. But it needs the rest of you for it to work. Will you stay?"
A chorus of affirmative shouts answered back, the energy of which burned with its own light, even granting a comforting warmth to everyone present. Twilight found it peculiar just how tangible the feeling was.
Wait, I really can feel this! Just what in Tartarus are we dealing with?
Whatever the reason, the fact the energy emerged at this particular time in this particular way came as a good omen to the princess and her subjects. The as-of-yet unexplored spell would be needing it.
"Good. Now gather around your friends. Think of everything they mean to you and everything you'd lose if they left. Think of all the good times and remember every way they impacted your lives," Twilight said, instructing the others who followed suit, each with a Look of determination. Unfurling the parchment, Twilight spoke. "From all of us together, together we are friends." The lights dimmed and the air swirled. Each pony glowed with their own magic. "With the marks of our destinies made one, there is magic without end."
In a thunderous, crackling boom, everything went very bright, and Reality melted around them.
* * * * * * *
"Where are we?"
"Is anypony hurt?"
"What in Tartarus is THAT!"
A swirling blackness stirred all around them in an endless mass of what could only be described as un-matter. The space was not empty nor did it have any real matter occupying it, like the physics of the place could not make up its mind as to what it should or should not be. They could feel no ground beneath them, but they could stand. They felt no air around them, but they could breathe. The space provided no source of light, yet everything was clearly visible.
It was with the last observation that Twilight saw it.
A pulsing, tumorous mass of greys and purples hung in the void. The thing flowed like a liquid, looked like a gas, and had the slimy texture of a solid.
Describing this can wait until we've saved the victims, and until I get headache medication.
"Look! Right there!" Flitter shouted, pointing near the edge of the blob.
Twilight just barely made out the shape of an unconscious pony partially submerged in the matter with only the head, a foreleg and part of a wing above the surface.
"Quick! Now's your chance!" Twilight shouted. "There's not a moment to lose! It'll probably try and fight back! I'll keep it off you. Go!" At once, the group descended upon the growth, searching for their friends. The first one reached, the one they could already see, was Derpy.
The captive mare's limp body made no attempt against the slime around her, though by the look on her face, she was having a nightmare. Thunderlane and Applejack reached her first, grabbing hold and pulling with every ounce of strength in their bodies to no avail. The rolling fluid refused to yield and never reacted to their efforts like any liquid should. Rainbow Dash and Sweetie Belle joined in the effort, making just as little progress as the other two.
"What gives!" Thunderlane said. "What are we supposed to do?"
"Derpy! Can you hear me?" Applejack said. "Derpy, we need you to wake up! Tell us you're okay."
The mare remained unmoved.
"Derpy! Wake up!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "Come on, this isn't the weather mare I know! You'd get up and go at the job with everything you've got! You're gonna let this thing stop you?"
Derpy didn't even twitch.
The nothingness around them pulsed and undulated, a low, barely audible humming noise came in short waves before dying out.
It's laughing at us!
Despite having no clue how or why she arrived at that conclusion, Twilight got the distinct sense of being mocked, as if their pain amused the void around them. The others felt it, too. She could see the desperation in Dash's face, the anger in Thunderlane's, the fear in the little fillies, and the hate in the faces of Silver Smith and Flitter.
"Derpy, I'm..." Dash fumbled.
"Momma?"
The tiny voice shone through the void like a beacon, soft and warm. Turning her head, Twilight saw the young Dinky flailing in her attempts to figure out how to move in such an illogical condition. The little filly gently landed beside her mother.
"Momma?" She pleaded, nudging Derpy's prone form. "Momma? Wake up, we're here to rescue you!" Derpy stirred like someone poked her in her sleep. "Momma, I got the princess! She can help, but she says we gotta be the ones to do it." Still nothing. "Momma... please... I love you..."
Twilight's eyes moistened from the display and a few sniffling noses told her the others reacted similarly.
This was supposed to work! She was supposed to come back! This was supposed to be the cure! That mare gave everything for her daughter and her daughter's love isn't good enough? What are we dealing with?
The realization bit like a rusted sawblade. All of her training and lessons, all of her schooling, all of the books in three different libraries and there was no inkling of a direction to take. Twilight scanned over each and every fact she remembered from everything, and still the pain of helplessness ate at her.
I feel so lost... The others are in danger, too. By the sisters, what have I done?
The rhythmic non-laugh echoed again, this time over a sobbing daughter and heads bowed low in defeat.
"I'm sorry," Rainbow Dash choked out. "I'm sorry I never took the time to know you. I'm sorry I treated you the way I did. I had no idea what you were going through. I know you did this all for your daughter, and I know it couldn't have been easy, not with a boss like me." She chuckled. Twilight couldn't tell if it was bragging or self-deprecation. "But you did. You got guts. I wish I could be half the mare you are."
Dash's eyes opened wide, a grand, cosmic epiphany dawning on her. A faint glowing glimmer in her eyes seemed to disturb Derpy's slumber.
"You did this for your daughter," she said. "Everything you did, you did for your baby!" Grabbing Derpy in a hug like a hoofball coach, Dash got in front of Derpy and tilted her head so they were face-to-face. Derpy vocalized an incomprehensible grumbling. "Derpy! I need you to listen to me. I'm sorry I said all those things, and I'll do whatever I need to do to make it up to you, but right now, your daughter needs you! I know you're not fighting this because you think she's better off without you, but that is a lie."
Derpy's eyes opened, wearily looking back at Dash.
"Momma! Please!" Dinky shouted.
"Din...ky..." Derpy said weakly.
"I know what it's like to look at yourself in the mirror and hate who you see, but I see a mare who gets up every morning to face the world because her baby girl needs her to!" Twilight noted the quality of Rainbow Dash's lecturing skills.
"If you needed help, all you had to do was ask." Fluttershy drifted over.
"It takes a village to raise a foal, and we happen to live in a great one!" Pinkie Pie said.
Color returned to Derpy's eyes accompanied by a hopeful glint. The mass around her dried and cracked. The presence around them grew apprehensive.
"What happened was wrong, but I can't let it go without making it right," Dash smiled. "If there's one thing I've learned in all my years its that you can always count on a friend." Dash offered her hoof the trapped pegasus.
Derpy shoved and pushed against the drying shadows around her, the matter flaking and crumbling away. She clawed and kicked with every muscle in her body, forcing her way from her prison and grabbing onto Rainbow Dash's outstretched hoof. Dinky, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy all grabbed hold and together pulled Derpy free of her prison.
No sooner had they done this than Derpy, Rainbow Dash, Dinky, Pinkie, and Fluttershy all vanished without a trace. The malignant being around them roared in rage.
"I think it's going to fight back," Twilight said. "Quick, find the other two!"
The group split, each searching a different portion of the tumor. The portion Derpy had occupied dried and crumbled into a substance somewhere between smoke and sand which disappeared into the aether. Assuming the other two were also on the surface cut down the area they needed to search.
It also means the thing has less of itself to defend.
A blast of wind scattered everyone further, sending Twilight tumbling through space and nearly colliding with a solidified piece of the mass that had reformed into a type of boulder. Twilight whirled around in time to dodge another flying rock and see several more careening toward her friends as if deliberately seeking them out.
Twilight's violet magic blasted away at the rocks, shattering the smaller ones and whittling away the boulders. Tiny bits and pieces plinked harmlessly off her coat as she hunted. She then noticed some of the fragments began coalescing again into larger pieces.
"We found him!" Applejack yelled.
The rocks all took immediate turns, veering toward the search team.
"I'm not done with you!" Twilight shouted, her offensive magic forming a veritable storm of a ferocity the young mare had never before mustered.
I hope they can make it quick.
* * * * * * *
Applejack, Big Macintosh, Flitter and Thunderlane fell to the surface beside the sick Caramel. Part of his front foreleg stuck up out of the tar like he'd lost consciousness trying to escape. His muted colors and sorrowful slumber made visible his exhausted and defeated mental state.
"Caramel!" Applejack said. "Caramel, buddy, can you hear me?"
"Come on, dude, we all came to get you, and we are NOT leaving without you!" Thunderlane said.
"Caramel. I'm sorry for what I said," Flitter said.
"Wait, wait, remember what Twilight said," Applejack said. "Caramel, I know you've had some... feelings you weren't quite comfortable talkin' to us about, and I wanted to let you know you can talk to us because we'd understand better than you'd think."
Alright, so this whole pep talk thing ain't exactly my specialty.
"You're a hard worker, strong stallion, and a kind-hearted guy. It's always a pleasure havin' you at the farm."
No response.
Oh for Pete's sake!
Big Macintosh worked his way forward, bowing to look at his friend.
"Caramel," he said. "I know you can hear me in there. We've all got problems to deal with and sometimes the best way we can is to talk about it with our friends. I've never really been one for words, but that don't mean I can't understand what you're going through. I've found all problems are easier to deal with if you got different perspectives and you got four of 'em right here. We want to help you, and all you have to do is talk to us."
Caramel grunted.
Applejack felt a soothing warmth emanating from her friend.
"Yeah," she started. "We're always there for you. We're there for each other. We can get through any problem so long as we don't let the problem get between us." Macintosh nodded his approval.
Caramel's eyes opened, his body pushing back against the grogginess and muck.
"If you need help, I can give you advice," Flitter said.
"If you need confidence, I think I might know how to help," Thunderlane said. "What do you say?"
With a great heave, Caramel forced his way from the gelatinous snare and into the embrace of his friends. The matter dried and crumbled around him and the group vanished from the void.
* * * * * * *
Oh dear...
The screeching rumble shook Twilight to her bones and chilled her very soul. Whatever the thing was grew furious with the loss of another victim and another chunk of its mass; all that remained was a fragment about the size of Town Hall. There was, however another development that scared her and the remaining ponies.
The darkness was attacking.
Barely perceptible against the undefined backdrop the blackened nothingness curved and hooked into blades, swelled into hammers and maces, and sharpened into arrows and spears. A bladed shadow cut a gash into Twilight's side, running the entire length of her body. She barely had a moment to scream her pain when a spear point pierced her wing, rending the flesh and feathers and straining the bone beneath. She wouldn't realize until later that her wing's flapping is what blocked a straight shot to her chest.
"Run! Hurry!" is all she could scream to the others as she continued to defend herself. A flash of purple magic seared away a cruelly jagged tendril and a secondary sweep broke several more blades arcing out of the void. She barely parried a blade that danced like a bolt of electricity before several arrows stuck into her right thigh. Amid the chaos and her own screams of pain, she heard panic.
In a desperate bid, Twilight dashed in the one direction that wasn't attacking her and saw the others attempting to flee a gaping maw opening, lashing out with a nightmarish tongue-like gnarled tree roots.
A flash of magic and she teleported into the jaws and summoned the greatest blast of offensive magic she'd ever mustered, breaking the jaws and dismissing them back into the emptiness. She turned to the others.
"Find her! NOW!"
The fillies and the stallion didn't even acknowledge the order and took off toward the last chunk. An arrow caught Sweetie Belle in her lower back, high enough that it may have hit something vital. She squealed in pain but continued on, Diamond helping her along the way.
Does anatomy even matter in a place like this?
Three hooks lashed from the void and dug into Silver Smith's back, dragging him from the foals. Scootaloo and Applebloom leapt onto his back and used their tiny bodies to wedge between the hooks and pry them from his flesh. They slid out and made for another grab when Twilight grabbed them with her magic, pulling them away. The hooks kicked back, flying straight at her and striking her in the eye and head with the blunt curves. Something round impacted the back of her head and the world dimmed and blurred then went horrifyingly quiet.
* * * * * * *
The seconds dragged like stone slabs as Twilight stumbled her way back to consciousness. The pain burned into her being, drawing her attention to the hooks piercing the flesh of her legs, suspending her like some macabre work of art.
Her eyelids strained to open and while she could not see it, she knew the core of the beast, the thing that had taken three innocents into its nightmare, loomed before her, eyeing her with sadistic glee and hunger.
The hooks began tugging on Twilight's limbs, igniting her body with agony and tearing a scream from her throat. Acting of its own accord, her mind conjured the image of the five ponies who were still in the nightmare as well. Her magic swelled inside her skull and she barely managed to form a teleportation spell. Pain obscured Twilight's thoughts, sending her into a dizzying stupor, causing her to miss the whole execution of the teleportation.
"Twilight! You're okay!"
The young voice acted as a lighthouse, guiding her back to the present and helping remain awake.
"Well, she's alive, anyway."
"Quick, get her over here!"
Twilight felt hooves grapple onto her and bring her into a sort of floating stance. A gentle warming sensation pulsed in her chest waking her up and washing away the pain from the holes in her flesh.
"Oh my. I... wow."
Her vision cleared and her attention sharpened. Confident she could now "stand" on her own hooves, Twilight opened her eyes to see the four young fillies and the one stallion staring, mouths agape in awe and concern.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"We're fine, but are you?" Silver Smith said. "Two seconds ago, you were a bloody mess."
Twilight gave herself a quick examination and found that while there was in fact blood in her coat, the corresponding wounds were absent. She thought for a moment.
"When the thing caught me, I thought of you and my magic did the rest on its own," she said. "I think your concern for my safety healed me. Keep each other in your thoughts and go save Diamond Tiara." A distant roar. "I'll protect you! Go!"
The group descended to the last bit of rock where the last captive could be seen in her induced coma. Twilight turned to face the great horror, bracing herself and focusing all her attention into her magic. A blaze of bright prismatic energy erupted from her horn and tore into the darkness forming a shield in the space around them.
I can hold the shield while they rescue her. At least, I hope I can.
* * * * * * *
Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Smith landed on the last chunk of solid shadow, the small, unconscious filly's head and shoulders stuck from the surface, drooped forward in sorrow.
"By Celestia," Silver Smith said. "What have I done?"
"It wasn't just you," Sweetie Belle said. "We all did this."
"Then let's undo this," Diamond tiara said.
The group clustered around the trapped child in something resembling a group hug. With no communication between each other, they fell silent, considering how best to proceed.
"Silver? Sweety?" Silver Smith called gently. "I'm sorry. My baby, please. I love you." He choked on his own regret and sadness, collapsing into a quiet sobbing fit.
"Silvey?" Diamond Tiara asked meekly. "I had no idea you felt the way you did." She sniffled. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." She too began to cry.
"If I learned anything it's that you can't judge something by the outside," Applebloom said. "Everypony thought Zecora was evil until they got to know her. I should've known there might be more to your story than just what we saw."
Silver groaned.
"I never wanted to hurt you, but I never thought about your feelings." Tiara struggled to find her voice, but the words were there. "If you can, please forgive me. I'll never boss you around again. You're not a servant and I should never have treated you like one. You're my friend and I'll do anything to prove it you."
Silver's mouth moved as if trying to form words.
"I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be trying so hard to save you, but now that I am, I kinda like it," Sweetie Belle said. "We read your diary. I know it was wrong, but we were desperate to get you back and needed answers. Those aren't the kind of things you should keep bottled up. If you need to talk, I'd be glad to listen."
"Rainbow always said to face your fears or they won't go away," Scootaloo said, selecting her words with care. "Maybe that also means being nice to others, even if we might not want to be."
Slowly, Silver's eyes opened.
"Honey," Silver Smith finally spoke. "I was so caught up in my own image of a family, I forced my own life on you. You hated those dolls, and I think I understand why. I was treating you like a doll and trying to make you who I wanted you to be. You're growing up, and it's time I let you be yourself. If you want the dolls gone, they're gone. If you want a place for books, we can get them their own special place. If you want to keep them to yourself, that's perfectly fine. If you want them on display, I'll be proud of your interests. If it would be okay with you, perhaps we could even read to each other. I'd like to know more about my own daughter." She looked him straight in the eyes. "Let's go home, honey."
Silver Spoon pushed and kicked, straining against the rocky prison around her. The others fit their hooves wherever they could find to get a grip and pulled. Scootaloo dug at the material that loosened and swept it away.
The presence around them roared, shaking them to their souls.
Silver's tiny body slipped free and in an instant, they were gone.
* * * * * * *
Twilight strained against the might of the force, her own magic shield buckling under it's wrath. Sweat flowed from her brow and her head spun, trying to maintain the only defense between her and her friends, and a messy, furious death.
The rigid form of the shield bent and deformed against the stress with bits breaking off and vanishing. A great fissure snaked its way across the barrier and began to rend to last remaining protection.
Races with little to no magic do not understand, or are even aware, of just what happens when an active spell is broken through sheer magical force. An active spell is a sustained thought inside the caster's head. Unlike a counter spell which unweaves the magic in a fluid motion, magic force breaks the magic, and therefore, the thought inside the opponent's head. The effect is comparable to a metal spike, piercing the skull and splitting it outward, at least that is how it feels. Twilight understood that with firsthand experience now as the thing crumpled her shield and tore it away from her.
The splitting agony made her vision blur and her head swim. Keeping the image of the remaining ponies in her mind, the new princess trudged through the smothering nausea to remain conscious. Just as her thoughts became coherent again, she realized consciousness may not be a good thing when she felt the claws and blades closing around her and pressing into her flesh.
I don't know what to do... please... help...
Through the encroaching darkness, a fleeting spark of hope flickered once and disappeared. The magic hiccup, though brief, was all the indication she needed.
They're out... they're safe...
Still unsure how to identify one part of the non-entity from any other, somehow she just knew the portion of it that settled before her was the thing's face. The anger radiated from it as palpably as the heat of a furnace. The choking rage burned from every direction, seemingly on purpose, showing her she was trapped. It observed her for a moment before drawing her closer to it's abyssal maw.
Twilight liked to think of herself as a mare of logic and facts, but when things are grim, she could no longer bring herself to question the nature or reasoning of miracles. Somehow, through some inexplicable cosmic intervention, she knew where it's eye was. More importantly, she could think straight enough to formulate a spell.
Putting every last ounce of willpower and strength into a singular spell, she lashed out with a lance of pure magic, stabbing into the thing's eye, and piercing into it's very mind. For an instant, right before everything went black, she knew as it knew, and it knew where it was.
* * * * * * *
Groaning filled the room, signaling the return of the expedition, colors and cutie marks accompanying them. The guards took up positions around the ponies and examined them for any injuries or abnormalities. The patients coughed and stumbled, several needing to sit down due to swimming heads and spinning rooms, and the guards were unsure if they were supposed to approach Rainbow Dash.
Once they had begun to stabilize and acquire their bearings, two large group hugs formed, welcoming recovered families and new friends back into the realm of consciousness. Caramel smothered beneath gargantuan bear hugs from four different ponies, one of whom was probably breaking ribs in the process.
Silver Smith and Diamond Tiara clutched their daughter and friend, visibly never wanting to let go. The Crusaders cautiously stepped up and were welcomed into the tear-filled embrace with hugs and expressions that mirrored the whispers of gratitude and apology.
"Momma?"
The tiny unicorn filly, still shaken after the ordeal, tried to identify her mother at a safe distance, but only barely holding herself back.
"Dinky?" the mare responded.
Dinky rushed at her mother, leaping into what would have been a full-bodied tackle on anypony her own size. Derpy caught her daughter, tears streaming down both their faces.
"Don't ever leave me again!" Dinky sobbed.
"I won't, Muffin. I promise."
Not even the rigorous training of the royal guards was enough preparation for the reunion as eyes misted over all throughout the room. After several seconds, Rainbow Dash walked forward.
"I'm s-" she choked on her own throat. "I'm sorry for what I said. Why didn't you tell us?" Derpy opened her eyes and looked up to her employer.
"It's not easy, raising a child," she spoke with the wisdom of sleepless nights and empty pantries. "Doing it alone just makes it..." She didn't know how to finish the sentence.
"We know about your husband," Pinkie Pie said. "If it takes a village to raise a child, then you live in the right one. If you need help, I'll gladly watch Dinky for you."
"I can help watch her, too," Fluttershy said. "I think somepony in town might be open to a roommate. I'm sure that should make things easier."
"If nothing else, we can build you a house of your very own!" Rainbow Dash said. "No rent, no mortgage. I'm sure the paperwork would be a nightmare, though." The joke was met with exhausted chuckling.
"Thank you," Derpy said, tearing up again. "Thank you all so much." She broke once more.
"Princess?" Stonewall and one other guard had been helping Twilight recover apart from the others. Her progress, though slow, looked like it was picking up. "Your Highness, are you alright?" Twilight's eyes opened, adjusted for a moment, looked around, then she leapt to her hooves.
"It's in the Everfree! We have to hurry!"