//------------------------------// // That Which Is Empty // Story: Terror Puppet // by Windrunner //------------------------------// . In restless dreams I was left to wander, alone.. - What reaches forth with cause to make these minutes fall dead? To all others heeding little more than silence, giving nothing away. Forcing the moments themselves to wither, as if waiting abated for some imminent cacophony to come crashing down. If the air itself may have become an enemy, what of all other surroundings? An inescapable feeling of helplessness comes springing forth from within, welling up to sow further terror and confusion. Ghastly mimics of life and limb roam the castle unbidden, unsummoned and certainly unwanted. To all but a rare few everything is right as soft rain. A slight tremble gives itself away towards why. The castle denizens left as if sleepwalking through their most dire predicament. There she sits, as it has been for so many years. To most, Celestia the grand ruler still upon her throne. A dutiful caretaker of the right. Someone who has themself known deep suffering. For some, perhaps, the cause of it. Those whose lives burn so brightly may come to scorch those around them. Is this the reason? Something more? Something else? A thing so far beyond understanding it cannot be fathomed? The scales tipping towards the realms of sadness and pain bring to the fore just how urgent the reality of this situation is. Her sister has taken the long coveted position directly beside. The facade is beyond reproach, bordering on the skill of impossibility. Those passing by barely register something as wrong. The lie of their existence so implacable the very orchestrator of it might believe in their own verisimilitude. A slightly off word here and there, so minimal it may as well divulge that one or the other is just having a bad moment. The gentle chill cast about them rising throughout the castle so slowly it may be passed off as mere imagination. The light of day and the shadows cast by moonlight reflecting it do not appear any more a menace than ever. The appeal of their presence desirable. Whatever their desire, it fails to slip. Such mastery of both role and scene betrays only effort. Night falls once again as it has since time immemorial to be followed only by an air of sadness tinged throughout. The dark seems to hide nothing more. The silent seconds on the clock tick by slowly. Whole moments pass by in such state as to be unmoving. Some unnamed expression leans towards such silence. If time itself could be broken, this would be how it feels. Those who would stand against this increasing danger are left unable to comprehend what it is they are facing, lending to it even more power. This consumption of time and willpower draws down ever more heavily as they fumble about, pretending all the while they may have the answer if they could just puzzle out what has thrown such cold on a warm world. Expecting to just stumble over the means falls quite short of a plan. Each action taken a danger in itself. This stage is set, ripe for tragedy. "Celestia, Luna!" Twilight cried out at the sight of them, bound upon two upright columns. She galloped across the room straight to them. Their wings spread wide and pinned so tightly by metal rings that small rivulets of their life essence flowed down from them. Their other extremities held much the same way. Wait. In the dimness she had mistaken their identities. Not alicorns, but two of the sworn royal night guards. The life had trickled from both into some unusual indented shape below them, their eyes transfixed ahead defiantly. They still wore their unmistakable armor and even in having their lives extinguished bore it proudly. Battered beyond all hope of recognition, these two did not break their oaths and looked to have fought ferociously. The guards clearly having engaged in some tremendous battle must have done their utmost to defend Luna before falling to their bitter end. Tears welled in her eyes and she hung her head in deep sorrow. A heavy sob and she turned away. She would grieve for them later, if there was a later. "I'm so sorry..You will not be forgotten." This was a step beyond her worst imaginings. Why would anyone or anything do something so horrifying? That indentation was of some significance and served to cause more consternation. A symbol from an ancient language no longer spoken by any. What to do now? These two died in line of service, hopefully not in vain. "Where can they be? It feels worse than ever here. Like ice in my veins. Like it is inside my bones." Twilight scoured the room for any further clue. Save for the almost literal mountain of treasure she was at a loss just as before. Was all this traipsing about in the dark a lost cause from the beginning? All she'd learned from this sojourn was that two guards were dead. This suggested she and her friends were not the only ones able to comprehend something was amiss. What set these two apart? Their nightly proximity to Luna perhaps? Were those who stood close vigil over the princesses more unlikely to be deceived in such a manner? Did something about them throw aside the illusion of what had taken their place? Despair nearly settled in. Whatever it was would go so far as brutality and murder. The guards did not just lay dead, they were tortured. A word practically unknown throughout Equestria in modernity, seemingly for nothing. The stakes of the game were just raised to an impossible height. Time already running thin, she must take swift action. If she could not locate her mentor or sister then what? Feeling so lost and alone she worked up her courage. This did mean one thing, they could still be alive. Did those guards stationed outside Celestia's chamber meet the same fate? A terrible thought. Once more setting a teleport anchor so the guards may be retrieved later to be honored, she pressed on into the gloom and whatever lay ahead. --- Now I lay me down...