//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: The Town // Story: Dissonance: A Hidden World // by Braininthejar //------------------------------// music link They appeared on an empty road in front of the library. Twilight opened her eyes slowly and re-oriented herself. It was night, the darkness illuminated only by the glow of the fire far in the south. The moment Twilight realized it, she looked around warily - not a single light was on in the whole town, the buildings ominously dark and silent. “What’s going on?” asked Applejack, looking towards the fire. Her answer came in the form of a powerful explosion that shook the ground and turned night into day. As Twilight ducked, the wave of hot air washing over her, she could swear she heard the sound of window panes breaking. “That… that must be princess Celestia,” said Twilight, her eyes wide in horror. “What are we gonna do?” asked Rainbow Dash, pointing down at Pierce. “He needs help.” Twilight looked towards her house, but quickly shook her head. “No, not here. It’s dangerous here.” Her ears perked up. “That’s why the town is so dark. It must have been evacuated.” The other mares looked at her, their expressions changing as they absorbed the information. Fluttershy, who had been leaning over Pierce, making sure his breathing was stable, straightened up, her face suddenly a mask of horror. “My… my animals,” she stammered, turning towards the forest edge where her cottage stood. “Wait!” shouted Twilight, “Don’t run there on your own. Let me think for a moment.” She turned towards her friends, silently counting them. “Applejack, Rainbow Dash, you carry Pierce to the hospital. There might be somepony left there who’s able to help him. Rarity, you go with them and light the way.” The three nodded. Twilight picked Pierce up with telekinesis and gently put him across Applejack’s back. “Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, you go with me to the forest. This way Fluttershy can check on her home while I look for princess Celestia. Pinkie, you go with us and warn us if there are any changelings that could ambush us.” Fluttershy nodded with a solemn expression, Pinkie Pie saluted. Taking a last look at each other, the two groups started moving in opposite directions. *** The way to the hospital took longer than expected. It turned out that despite Applejack’s strength, the limp body of Pierce was very difficult to carry, forcing her and Rainbow Dash to keep shifting and propping him to avoid hurting his neck or dragging him behind. Rarity ended up having to use her magic to help carry him, leaving the three mares stumbling in the darkness as the levitation spell didn’t provide enough light. It was only when they got to the marketplace that Rarity had a stroke of inspiration, using her magic to transform the wood and canvas of an abandoned fruit stand into an improvised stretcher. “You know,” said Applejack as she resumed her walk towards the hospital at a more reasonable pace, “this must’ve been some pretty fast evacuation.” Rarity looked around the marketplace. “You’re right, Applejack. The stands, the carts in the street, it looks like everything has just been abandoned.” Rainbow Dash suppressed the urge to get into the air, keeping her end of the stretcher stable, but kept looking around warily. “You don’t think they’d just run away?” She focused her eyes in a dark alley between two old houses. Something seemed to have moved there. “I don’t think Princess Celestia would just leave the ponies fending for themselves,” said Rarity, “not if she were about to do… whatever it was she did in the forest.” “Ya can all ask the princess when Twilight finds her,” said Applejack. “Let’s keep walking, we’re almost there.” a couple minutes later they cleared the last buildings and saw the dark shape of the hospital looming before them. Applejack gave a dejected sigh; not a single light was on in the building. *** Far, far away south from Ponyville, a bright flash illuminated a tall mountain. A ball of blue light appeared in a ring of ancient ruins on the mountain top. It glowed brightly for minutes, slowly shrinking and changing shape before suddenly collapsing into a shape of a pony. Obsidian opened his mouth and took a large gulp of air, the first real breath in thousands of years. He stood there in silence, stunned by the odd and alien sensation. It’s worked. I’m back. I’m finally back. His staff had appeared at his side. Obsidian commanded it to shed light on his surroundings. The ruins were barely recognisable, more like a crater filled with rubble than any proper structure, the stones smoothened by rain and pressed together by the weight of ages. Obsidian knew what they were; the pieces of the main tower walls, covered with protective runes that used to defend the facility from magical intrusion, ripped from the walls and left here when their own defensive spell didn’t allow them to follow the rest of the structure into Dissonance.   Obsidian turned his gaze north. So, they’re all the way there. I can feel the leyline is still here. I can use its power to teleport. Now, should I draw a circle? He looked around in search of a bit of a flat ground. Instead his eyes caught something else, a piece of broken stone with barely visible inscription. The symbols were almost illegible, but Obsidian recognized them instantly. “Indigo,” he mouthed silently. He remembered the moment he left it, in the darkest moment of his life, his staff burning the word into the stone wall of the tower. “Indigo,” he muttered again. “It’s just a color now, isn’t it? Everything forgotten.” He almost laughed out loud at the irony. Then he remembered his purpose. I haven’t escaped just to contemplate the absurdity of life. I have a lot to do, starting with finding the Elements and - Obsidian’s ear twitched, the stallion groaning in frustration. “Oh, for crying out loud!” He turned around, the staff twirling around him, before taking a defensive stance. The large, winged cat that had been sneaking upon him stood still, staring into his eyes, the creature’s scorpion tail shaking threateningly. Obsidian sighed. “I don’t have the time for distractions.” He was answered by a low rumble. The manticore kept looking at him cautiously, its eyes fixed upon the tip of the staff. Obsidian looked down, quickly locating the source of the rumbling sound. He then looked at the giant cat and gave it a toothy grin. “Then again, I literally haven’t eaten in ages.” *** The cottage was as dark and silent as the rest of the town. Twilight increased the intensity of her light. “Pinkie?” Pinkie Pie was ahead of her friends, sneaking theatrically through the bushes. She emerged right next to Twilight, causing her to yelp in surprise. “The coast is clear,” she said in a loud whisper. What was left of the fires seemed to be dying out already, leaving Twilight’s horn and the Moon as the only sources of light. The unicorn walked through the yard. Everything was silent. “Well, it seems somepony had thought of evacuating your animals, Fluttershy,” said Twilight. Fluttershy looked at her with a frightened expression. “No… it’s not like this. Just look around.” she pointed towards the chickencoop. Twilight turned her head that way, catching the small structure in a strong beam of light. The coop had a spider web in the entrance and there were bits of paint peeling off the walls. “You’re right, Fluttershy,” said Twilight, approaching closer. “There hasn’t been any chicken here for weeks, perhaps months. What has happened here?” She turned and galloped towards the front door. It was locked, a single board nailed across the entrance. “Something suspicious is going on here,” stated Pinkie Pie, prodding the board with her hoof. Twilight turned towards the forest. “Yes it is, Pinkie. And the sooner we find princess Celestia, the sooner we can get some answers. Let’s go.” She looked towards her friends for confirmation. Both nodded, although Fluttershy was visibly shaken, the worry over her family of woodland creatures adding to the rest of the horrors of the night to bring her to her limit. The three mares entered the forest, moving as quickly as the poor lighting conditions allowed. Twilight was leading the way, her horn illuminating the path for the others to follow. She headed towards the spot where she had seen the explosion. “I hope we can find the princess soon,” said Fluttershy behind Twilight’s back. “I’m hoping she can find us,” said Twilight. “Before anything else does. My light should be visible from far away.” “Oh, I’m sure all the forest animals have run away,” said Fluttershy. “There shouldn’t be anything dangerous here.” She then shrunk, walking just behind Twilight. “At least I think so.” She walked around a fallen tree. They were already in the area directly bordering the battlefield and the ground was littered with broken branches. Twilight was glad that the forest was rather wet. That fire might have been a much bigger threat to everypony had it broken out of control. She sniffed the air, but only smelled charred wood. “Where should we go?” she asked aloud, looking around. “Not here!” shouted Pinkie suddenly, putting her hoof in front of Twilight. The unicorn stopped, looked at her friend, then ahead, then finally under her hooves. “Ooooh,” she said as realisation dawned. “Thank you, Pinkie.” There was a small patch of big, blue flowers, hidden in the grass right in front of her. She walked cautiously around them and a moment later chanced upon a forest path. “Wait,” she said, stopping. “I know where we are.” As her friends waited for her to resume her walk, Twilight hesitated. Something struck her, like a very strong deja vu. She walked onto the path and turned right. “Girls, I think I’ve just remembered something. It won’t take long.” She galloped down the path. *** Rainbow Dash sighed. “There’s nopony here. I’ve checked all the wards. It looks like some beds are missing too.” Applejack and Rarity had managed to light a couple of lamps and put Pierce on one of the free beds on the ground floor. He was still unconscious, his breath so soft that for a moment Rarity feared that he might have been wrong about the venom being non-lethal. The unicorn had just managed to take what was left of the coat off the stallion, uncovering his neck to properly dress the wound. “There isn’t much blood,” she said, trying to keep a straight face. “I think he was very lucky with that bite. We didn’t have any bandages with us in the caves.” “Looks like he had, though,” interjected Applejack. She pointed at the numerous bandoliers and holsters wrapped around the chainmail shirt on the agent’s torso. Among numerous small weapons, and vials of potions, there were also several small packets that were clearly a first aid kit. “Well, why didn’t he tell us… oh, right,” said Rainbow Dash. Rarity carefully removed belt after belt. “Ya think there’s anything in these bottles that could help him?” asked Applejack, pointing at the potions. Rarity examined the vials. “I have no idea, I’m afraid. It would probably help if they were clearly labeled.” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “No can do. He’s too weak to swallow anything now. He might choke.” “How do ya know that?” asked Applejack. Dash shrugged. “First aid training. I had to take a course when I joined the dojo and then again before starting work.” “So, what can we do?” asked Rarity, standing at the bed and looking down on the agent. Dash frowned. “I don’t think there’s much we can do. He’s stable for now and we don’t know how to help him. We should try to make sure he’s not getting worse and wait for Twilight to bring help.” There was a soft knock on the stone floor. The three mares froze, listening. Soon there was another noise, a soft clip-clop of somepony sneaking down the corridor. Beating her wings as softly as she could, Rainbow Dash rose into the air, hanging over the door. Rarity and Applejack skulked in the corners of the room. They held their breaths as somepony slowly opened the door. Rainbow Dash looked down, ready to fall upon the intruder. A yellow muzzle slowly peeked into the room. “Apple Bloom?” called Applejack in surprise. Rainbow Dash flapped her wings, stopping her descent at the last moment, but still startling the filly into a girly shriek. For a moment everypony just stared at each other. Apple Bloom was the first to speak. “Sis… is that really you?” she stammered, staring at Applejack. Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Of course, it’s me, Apple Bloom. Who do I look like?” Apple Bloom mimicked her sister’s expression. “Not a changeling or anything?” The farmpony frowned, thinking, then smirked. “When ya were five years old, you…” The filly lunged, putting her front hooves on Applejack’s mouth. “Don’t say that!” Then she pushed forward, wrapping around Applejack’s neck in a tight hug. “It really is you! Sweetie Belle, come here! It’s really them!” There was a sound of running hooves in the corridor. Rarity turned towards the door and beamed at the sight of her little sister skidding over the hospital floor. She let the filly hug her, sighing in relief. “Oh, Sweetie, there you are. I was so worried. What’s happened to everypony?” Sweetie Belle broke the hug and looked up at her sister fearfully. “We don’t know what’s going on. We were in our clubhouse, about to go home for supper, when suddenly lots of the princess’ guards flew into town. They were shouting something about changelings and ordering ponies out, under guard.” “We hid cause we got scared,” added Apple Bloom, “And then the explosions started.” “I think I got it,” said Applejack. “They weren’t just evacuating everypony. They had to corral them all to make sure there weren’t any changelings in town too.” Rarity scowled. “Everypony? Even the hospital patients? That must have been dreadful.” She then looked at the fillies. “And where is Scootaloo? Weren’t she with you?” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other with sad expressions. “We don’t know where she is,” said Sweetie. “She was with Minty, I mean Tourmaline. She’s our new friend, living in the library with her mom.” “We argued today and Tourmaline ran off somewhere,” said Apple Bloom. “I think it’s my fault. But I just wanted to tell her how I envy how smart she is. I don’t know why she was so upset.” “And Scootaloo went to look for her,” finished Sweetie Belle. “Wait,” said Rainbow Dash suddenly. “You said she lives in Twilight’s house? How long have we been gone exactly?” The fillies looked at each other again. “It’s been almost a year,” said Apple Bloom. *** “What are you looking for, Twilight?” said Pinkie Pie, pronking beside the unicorn. She seemed to have gotten over the situation already. Twilight looked ahead. There, hidden between thick trees, stood Zecora’s hut. The unicorn approached, the light of her horn sweeping over the covered windows and closed door. “I don’t think anypony’s home,” said Fluttershy behind her back. “I just need to… check something,” said Twilight. “I’ve had this weird dream…” She thought of how to explain the situation to her friends, but couldn’t find words that wouldn’t sound weird to her. Instead she approached the door and pushed. Nothing happened. “It seems locked,” said Twilight, examining the door knob. After a moment of hesitation, she focused and disappeared in a flash. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy looked at each other, momentarily left in the darkness. Then there was a creak and the door opened. “It wasn’t locked. It was barred from the inside,” said Twilight, “but there’s nopony in.” She retreated into the hut, making space for her friends to enter. The inside of the hut was cluttered with bottles and herbs, the look of a curiosity shop they all remembered. A single lamp, lit by Twilight, was providing illumination. As soon as they entered, Pinkie Pie started running around the place, sticking her muzzle in every crevice. Fluttershy tried to follow suit, but at soon as she tried the first shelf, she sneezed; the spaces between the various bottles were covered with a layer of dust. “Um… I don’t think anypony has cleaned here for some time…” she said softly. “A hah!” shouted Pinkie Pie triumphantly, “There’s a tunnel under the bed!” She poked her head inside and took a deep breath to shout inside, before catching herself. “Oh, a changeling tunnel. That’s not good,” she said, visibly deflated. Fluttershy gave an alarmed look to Pinkie, then to Twilight. The unicorn however didn’t react to the statement. “Um… Twilight?” started Fluttershy. Twilight was still standing, one front hoof in the air, staring at one of the shelves. This was the one she had dreamed about. It was just a matter of finding out if there really was something there. Instead, Twilight spent a good minute standing completely still, looking at the piece of furniture as it it were a venomous snake. Finally making a decision, she slowly extended her leg and pressed the wooden support. Her heart almost skipped a beat when her suspicions were validated; there was a soft click and a small, hidden compartment opened in the wall. “Oh, a secret stash!” called Pinkie behind her back. “How did you know it would be here?” Twilight lit up her horn, reaching inside the compartment. “I had a dream about it, I think.” She stopped, confused. There was a book inside, but not the one her vague memory made her expect. “What is this? she asked, turning around to get closer to the light. The book was filled with mouth writing. Twilight twisted her tongue and lips trying to read it silently, then shook her head in frustration. “It’s some sort of gibberish.” “Perhaps it’s zebra language?” proposed Fluttershy helpfully. Twilight looked into the book again. “No, it isn’t. The letters are equestrian, but I can’t even pronounce this. I think it’s some kind of a code.” She set the book on the ground, and focused. Purple sparks flew out of the pages. “And the book is magical too.,” said Twilight in surprise. She leafed through the pages again, her friends watching over her shoulders. “Let’s see, every entry starts with a sequence of symbols… I think it’s a date. If only I knew when it was written… the code can’t be complicated, or else there would be a code book here too. Has anypony seen a pencil?” Pinkie Pie dug through the surrounding shelves and emerged with a writing tool between her teeth. Twilight grabbed it with her magic and started scribbling around one of the entries, looking for patterns. “What?” Twilight stared at the paper. Then she drew another line, very carefully. The line was briefly outlined in blue sparks. “The magic activates when you write in it,” she stated the obvious. “But what would a magical journal do?” She cast a simple spell, removing the last line. The empty outline was once again lit with sparks. “Not a preservation spell,” said Twilight. “Then what? What magic would I put in a magical journal? Probably something to copy my notes over, in case I lose it. They’re -” she stopped herself. Then she squinted at the book. “Coded notes? Perhaps they were coded messages? Yes, that must be it! This is a log for sending reports, like I send letters to princess Celestia.” she flipped through the book furiously. “Perhaps it works both ways? Let’s see if there are any entries that might be responses.” Through all this, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie kept standing over her, listening intently to the unicorn’s monologue. When the pages stopped turning, they waited for her to resume talking. But Twilight just kept staring into the book in confusion. “What is it?” asked Pinkie, poking her on the withers. “What did you find?” “There are replies here,” said Twilight slowly. “they are coded too. But I’d recognize this writing everywhere. It is princess Celestia’s.” “And what does it mean?” asked Pinkie Pie. Twilight shook her head. “I have no idea.” She looked at the pages again. “Is there any more paper here?” she asked. Fluttershy handed her a mouthful of loose sheets and Twilight started taking notes. going back and fro through the journal. “Umm… weren’t we supposed to look for princess Celestia?” asked Fluttershy behind her back. Twilight dropped the pencil. “Of course! Princess Celestia! I don’t need to break this code. I just have to ask her.” She turned and gave Fluttershy a quick hug. “Thank you, Fluttershy. I sometimes forget the simplest solutions when I get carried away.” She turned around and walked towards the door. “Now, let’s go back to looking for the princess.” There was a soft hum in the air. Bright light appeared outside the hut, falling in through the door and windows. Twilight beamed. “She found us first! I told you she would!” she said as she ran out of the hut. Outside was basked in the soft golden light of Celestia’s magic. The white alicorn descended from the sky, a warm, motherly smile on her face. “Twilight Sparkle. You’re safe.” she said “I had almost lost hope.”