Wind softly moaned in the lonely distance as the barren branches scratched at the darkened sky like hands clawing for the moon. The sparse light of the cosmos served to tip everything it overlooked in the world within the shadows of the night with silver, including the amphitheater. That cold edifice, the one that held host to horror stories of all kinds, simply stood relentlessly hollow deep in these lands remained uncaring of the world outside, waiting for its master.
However, despite the routine of the returning host bringing unlife back to this corpse of a stage, the lights remained out, the baited breaths of every tiny frightful creature among the phantom audience remain still and silent, and the wind's echo remained dominant. It was truly a ghostly theater now. The only thing of note was the apparent podium that stood, holding aloft a single, dirty brown and rusty red book with no name or author upon its cover.
With a powerful bellow, the current of the wind that penetrated the theater swelled and pushed the book open. The intrusive gust then flicked its pages wildly for a moment, threatening to tear some of them free from the bindings, until it died out and allowed the book to rest. If anyone were there to see it, if anyone were to approach the stage, to even hazard the chance to gaze upon the tome's contents, they would find that the open book's present page was turned to a chapter called...
Bad Dreams
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Twilight shuddered as her lavender hooves slowly crept along the grey, leaf littered floor of the dead forest around her. Her dark sapphire blue with moderate purple and brilliant raspberry streaked mane frizzed and frayed while her panic slowly began to intensify. She kept her horn active with a little bit of light magic to let her trek on without much issue, even though the light itself did nothing more than that. The anxiety and trepidation pulled her along phantom paths as her violet eyes darted to and fro, seeing nothing but the black, barren woods. Fears and doubts about her new life as the recently coronated Princess of Friendship, previously small, now grew as she began to believe the worst of her situation. Even when she took to the skies, albeit on shaky wings, she couldn't see anything beyond the endless ocean of stripped trees tipped in the moonlight's silver.
If I can't find a way out, she thought in gloom, how can I possibly step up into my new role as a Princess? Her eyes began to well up in tears, struggling to endure this nightmare.
"DO NOT LOSE HEART!" a thunderous voice echoed from the alien sky. Twilight's attention snapped away from the misery as her gaze set to the sky. Specifically, the moon. And there, in the pale face, was a shadow familiar and welcoming, shaping itself into a very reassuring visage.
Descending from the moon's light like an angel from clouds, Princess Luna, Monarch of the Night, in all of her dark blue glory, gently landed before the young, frightened pony whom proceeded to give a deep bow. With a flourish of Luna's wings and a light of her own horn, the oppressive, darkened woods that surrounded them suddenly backed off, turning their immediate location into an impromptu clearing, no longer oppressed by the claw-like branches. Taking note of Twilight's bow, the de-facto Guardian of the Night stepped forth to try to alleviate the already tense situation.
"No need for such formalities, Twilight. Are we not friends?" Princess Luna asked in a warm, comforting manner.
Twilight gave a sigh. and small nervous laugh. "I... yes," she answered, "Thank you."
"You are most indeed welcome," Princess Luna kindly responded, "But, would you allow me the privilege of telling me why you are having such an... anxious dream?"
"Anxious?" Twilight asked automatically, not really registering the noun to her adjective, before she looked around her surroundings. It was then a moment of clarity washed over her face, realizing this was, in fact, a dream and she wasn't actually lost. Luna, having dealt with this type of confusion time and again, patiently waited for her little pony to silently adjust. "W-well," Twilight started, now having a bit of a sheepish look to her, "I suppose, considering current events, I'm probably feeling... worried."
"Worried?" Princess Luna parroted.
"Yes. I mean, who wouldn't be? Don't get me wrong, I'm honored to try to take up the role as Princess, but..." she shuffled at her hooves, trying to look for the right words, "Even before now, I've come up short as a pony, and even made some terrible choices and actions in my life in Ponyville when this all started. I mean, I'm sure as much as she's forgiven me, Princess Celestia probably hasn't forgotten the 'want it, need it' incident. I know I won't. I'm still trying to find Smartypants, even to this day."
Outwardly, Luna remained stoic as she listened to her beloved friend spill her thoughts to her, but she'd be lying if inwardly she wasn't having a slight chuckle over said incident. Didn't help that the night after that day when she had time to talk with Celestia, they both shared a good laugh over the absurdity of the situation.
"And I can't help but think that... what If I do something like that again? Now that I'm in a position of power, the consequences are much higher now. What if I fail to be, at the bottom line, a decent pony and pull something like that out of poor judgement, or panic, or..." she began to get nervous again as she fed into the doubts. The trees around them slowly started to inch closer in response as she continued to now ramble about her own self reluctance.
Princess Luna, however, put an end to it as she stepped forth and wound a wing around her distressed companion. This prompted Twilight to stop mid-rant. "Twilight. Dear little one. If we were not confident in your abilities, nor had belief in your fortitude and conscience, we would not have set you on this path in the first place until we knew you were ready. Celestia and I both believe in you. Your friends believe in you. Mistakes may be made, yes, but life is a process and you are still learning, and I for one think you will make a fine Princess of Friendship."
Twilight gave a smile to such words, letting her fears subside as her appreciation took over. She gave the Princess of the Night a gentle hug, along with a small thank you, before she took a step back.
"By the by," Princess Luna began, "I apologize for the timing, but myself and Celestia both have a favor to ask based on current events."
"Oh?" Twilight responded, curiosity growing as it normally would. "What favor did you need from me?"
"All will be revealed in the letter tomorrow morning. I originally came here to give you forewarning of the letter that will detail the situation, since I understand you prefer to plan ahead, but your dream and doubts took precedent. When you and Spike are properly awake, then you may indulge your curiosity through our sent message. Besides, I do not have time to divulge the details. The rest of the dreaming population awaits."
Twilight was a little disappointed, but understood. At least she'll know what's up for sure tomorrow, she thought.
"I must be going now," Princess Luna announced, "You take care, and may you have pleasant dreams."
As Luna ascended the sky and swiftly vanished from the dream's frontier, Twilight said her goodbyes, before gazing about the surroundings again. The spooky, dead forest stopped being nearly as spooky after the talk, but there was something still off about it. She reasoned it was probably just because she knows she still has lingering hesitations, but as she too began to vanish from the realm, she failed to notice a strange figure hiding among the dead trees.
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The following afternoon ended up being quite the hectic one. As Luna promised, first thing in the morning, the letter arrived through Spike's magic flame, detailing exactly what the favor was. It turned out that, after the return of the Crystal Empire, it prompted researchers and scholars to re-examine the variety of myths and legends that had once been seen as mere fiction. More so than when Princess Luna returned as Nightmare Moon. While many of the stories had very little in the way of progress in finding the truth of the matter, the current reveal of the Crystal Empire also gave way to the founding of ruins not too far from said empire. Ruins of a dark castle, dating back to around the time the empire vanished. Considering the remains of such a place on the mere exterior along with finding troubling insignias, the researchers in question quickly realized that these ruins belonged to King Sombra, the former tyrant of the Empire.
Twilight had been requested to help lead an expedition of researchers to dig up as much information as possible on the former madpony and his origins in the hopes to avoid repeating history through knowledge. While Twilight had originally wished to enlist Spike to assist her as he always had, he had recently come down with a slight cold, and she didn't want to risk his health in such a place. So, with that, Spike was left in the care of her friends, whom all were more than willing to help the little drake. However, she still needed an assistant on the expedition. It was at that moment that Rainbow Dash, of all ponies, made perhaps the perfect suggestion.
"Why not ask Daring Do?"
Which is exactly what she did. While Twilight was a little uncertain as to whether this would work out, the answer actually surprised her. While it was short notice, as she was in the middle of writing her latest novel, A.K. Yearling (AKA Daring Do), was quite willing to accompany the expedition team and Twilight to these ruins. The identity of Yearling herself was supposed to stay entirely secret, but some of the more astute ponies in the team instantly recognized the gold coat, grey spectrum mane, and moderate rose colored eyes, her trademark dusty lavender hat, purple cloak, and red, thick rimmed glasses. Upon being outed, they confessed that, yes, A.K. Yearling was asked to join the expedition. Of course, the selected researchers (a mix of top professors of the university in Canterlot, a subset of archeologists, and top architects) all were rather curious as to why a novel writer would be accompanying the Princess on this trip. Twilight confessed the condition of her original assistant at the time, and also confessed to being a fan of the author's work. Yearling corroborated the facts by explaining such an opportunity would be excellent inspiration for a new book. The rest of the team seemed satisfied with that answer (with a few fans just happy to have her around), all while none were the wiser of the OTHER identity she held. However, to keep that particular secret as close as possible, Twilight and A.K. Yearling were relegated to a private caravan, while the research teams were divided into groups and rode in their own carriages in sets of five ponies, with enough room to carry tools and equipment.
As they traveled and talked, Twilight noticed something off every now and then. Whenever her attention was away, she could swear she saw in her peripherals the shadow cast by A.K. Yearling shift, if only ever-so slightly. Perhaps it was just some strange lingering paranoia from the nightmare last night, which she tried to fight off, but she couldn't be entirely sure. Still, she was confident in her abilities, despite being so far from her friends, and was prepared to deal with any threat that may come, if the need arises.
Despite it all, the entire team arrived at their destination without a hitch, only to be greeted by gentle snow that halfway buried some of the rubble that remained around the castle ruins. The gloom of the sky and the darkened stone set with heavy contrast to the evergreen trees that endured the cold and the brilliance of the Crystal Empire itself in the horizon. It was interesting to see it from such a melancholic, cold place, almost as if it really didn't belong here. Never the less, the castle was here, and the team was intending to find out why as well as gain a better understanding of who Sombra was. With tools brought out and snow cleared away from the surrounding area with the talents of the unicorn researchers, they all quickly got to work in studying this, to be quite honest, profaned ground.
With those tasks underway, Twilight, A.K. Yearling, and a few of the remaining archeologists and architects headed inside the castle interior, and beheld its former gothic splendor. Despite the rather dour use of blackened stone, the small party were actually rather surprised to see relatively normal interior work. Arches expertly set to both beautify and stabilize the moderately high ceilings. Pillars rounded perfectly and set with evenly spaced pockets of crystal, obviously used to light up the interior upon casting a light spell on it. Sets of armor evenly spaced off to the side, all with intricate, albeit normal designs on them. While the carpets that lead from the front door to what seemed to be a throne chamber were somewhat tattered and dirty, spots betrayed that it once used to be a deep, brilliant crimson. The main hall itself was somewhat large, spreading out to a variety of chambers and corridors, with the throne room being directly opposite of the front doors.
With nothing left to gain from gazing about in the entrance hall, Twilight and A.K. Yearling left the researchers to do their own thing while they explored a little further into the castle itself. All the while, both the studious princess and the author were scribbling down what they could see and notice, stopping briefly to compare each other's perspectives and details. Both realized very quickly that what they could see so far wasn't too far from mundane expectations.
"You'd think from a guy like Sombra, the whole place would be more... evil looking," Twilight uttered.
"I know what you mean. This place looks like it would come straight out of a Stand Broker novel." A.K. Yearling remarked
Upon the mention of the name, Twilight stopped for a moment, only to say, "Ya know, it's kinda funny."
"What is?"
"Well, you know how he was a table salesman before he started writing vampire novels, right?"
"Yes."
"Well, it's kinda like you."
"In what way?"
"Well, you write novels, obviously... but less obvious is the fact that you're secretly a career adventurer and archeologist." Twilight thought for a moment, then asked, "What came first, actually? The books, or the adventuring?"
"That's... actually an interesting question," Yearling admitted, readjusting her glasses, "I guess it was the adventuring. That was my calling. Though, I won't lie. Writing was something I loved for a long time too. It was a hobby of mine before it became a job."
"So, it just kinda naturally fell into place?"
"Yup." A.K. Yearling was satisfied with the answer she gave, but it ended up dragging out her own question. "Hey, do you think the heroes in Stand Broker's vampire novels always use broken wooden table legs to defeat vampires because..."
Twilight caught what the adventurer and novelist was implying, and couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity, which followed A.K.'s own fit of laughter. As the mirth died down, however, Twilight noticed something in one of the nearby windows, just behind A.K. Yearling, only to rapidly vanish from sight. Twilight shook her head, and gazed back at the window, hoping to catch whatever was there once again. Nothing came back, however.
"Hey, uh, you ok?" A.K. Yearling asked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Thought I saw something outside the window. Maybe it was just a bird."
"Oh. Alright."
"Let's keep looking around. We're bound to find something a little more 'Sombra-esque' around here." Twilight added.
With a nod from A.K. Yearling, the two girls continued to trek through the halls, checking every last nook they could find for any hidden clues that could tell them more about this derelict locale.