Least Faithful Student

by Dexter Helix


The Void, Part 1

A grey earth-pony filly woke up alone and frightened in the middle of a field. In response to the cold, crisp air around her, she shivered, tucking her legs closer to her belly for warmth. Something felt wrong about this place. The trees had been stripped of their leaves, the ground was barren and free of grass. She tried to breathe deeply, only to find herself choking on the thick smoke and fog hanging in the air. Finding that huddling up in one place was doing little to warm her, she stood up and turned in place, but nothing is familiar to her.

Softly, feebly, she cried out, "Hello?"

The word only echoed in vain. Her ear twitched to the left, as a subtle noise attracted her attention.

"Is anyone there?" She asked, while cautiously moving towards the source of the sound. Again, there was no response.

As she continued moving forward, the fog gave way to the remains of a city. A small town, perhaps victim to a natural disaster. Buildings were scorched and demolished, some burned completely to the ground. Embers still smoldered, beams of lumber still glowed red-hot, hot ashes still fell, and yet, there were no ponies to claim this city as their home. Though the streets and buildings were free of bodies, the smell of death hung about the place, as a strong undertone to the smoke. Another subtle noise in the distance called the filly's attention. A hoof-beat, on stone. She was sure of it.

"Hello?" She asked, moving around the corner of what was once the town hall, "Is anyone there?"

This time, there was an unintelligible response. It had the sounds of language, the rhythm of speech, but the filly couldn't make anything of it. The voice softly chanted the same motif a few times repeatedly. The filly sat down on the hard stone and tried to listen closely, but the sound didn't seem to come from any one direction. It was everywhere. She cowered, waiting for it to stop. Finally, after what seemed like forever, a glass pane shattered in the distance, silencing the voice. Eyes wide, the filly ran for the source of the sound.

A few hundred feet down the road, she sees a violet pony. She can't tell much through the smog, but she does manage to catch a glimpse of a rather brightly glowing horn.

Excited, the filly called out, "Hello! Can you help me? I'm lost!"

The distant pony turned her head to look at the filly, and gestured for her to come closer. The filly complied, charging for the only thing remotely resembling a source of comfort in this dark, strange place. As she approached very near, she saw that the pony had wings, as well as a horn. She looked up in awe at the statuesque creature. The alicorn's cutie mark was a pink six-sided star, surrounded by smaller white stars. Her face was tired, but elegant, and her ethereal mane and tail flowed majestically in a wind that couldn't be felt.

The alicorn addressed her visitor, "How did you arrive in this place?"

"I don't know," the filly replied, "I don't even know where I am."

"And what is your name?"

"My... I don't... I don't remember."

The alicorn cocked her head, "Well, that is quite all right. Perhaps you will recall in time. You may call me Princess Sparkle."

Twilight inspected the filly closely, and added, "you aren't what I expected at all."

"You were expecting me?"

"I've been waiting for someone. For quite a long time, actually. Someone to help me get out of this place. A friend."

"I don't think I have any friends..."

"Oh, I understand completely. What good are friends anyway? All they want to do is waste time with silly pursuits like parties, and dressing up. If I'd spent more time with my books, rather than friends, I might not be in this mess," Twilight asserted, an expression of disgust across her face, "but this is a special friend. A soul-mate. Someone to make me whole."

The filly looked up at Twilight, nodding. Why was she nodding? Well... It made sense, didn't it? And if friendship was responsible for whatever happened here... Maybe it wasn't so great.

"Could I help? Could we leave together? I don't like it here." The filly asked, glancing over her shoulder.

"Perhaps you may be the one to help me after all. Come inside, out of the smoke."

Twilight led her companion into a nearby building which appeared to have been carved out of the inside of a large tree. A glowing purple aura surrounds the door, keeping the smoke at bay. The filly sighed in relief as the fresh air filled her lungs. The building was a library, and one of the few buildings that was still intact. It must have been magically protected during the disaster. Around the room are a few odd pieces of furniture, an overturned cot, where some pet once slept and an interesting desk. Wait. Interesting desk? It was a rather ordinary desk. Yet, the filly was enticed by it. Something about it demanded her attention. Or was it something else? Something missing from it? The filly began exploring the surfaces of the desk, looking for something out of the ordinary.

"Excuse me, but why are you so interested in my desk?"

"I don't know..."

"Well, please stop that. I've invited you into my home and now you're worrying me."

The filly looked down at her hooves and muttered, "sorry..."

"Now, pay attention. In order for this to work, I'm going to need your total loyalty. You'll have to do everything I say exactly as I say it."

"For what to work?"

"Do you want to go home or not?!" Twilight harshly shouted at the filly.

"I don't know... I don't remember my home. What if I live here?"

"Well you don't. I live here. This is my home."

"No, I mean, what if I lived in this town somewhere?"

"Well then, everyone you knew is dead, and you need to get over it and help me."

The filly began to cry. "Even my mom and dad?!"

"You don't even remember your parents," Twilight replied, grinning.

"Yeah I do, they're... They're—" The filly began sobbing uncontrollably.

"You don't remember them because they never loved you. They abandoned you here."

Again, a strange voice could be heard coming from everywhere. Some of it could be understood this time. "Remember... Remember..." The filly looked up at Twilight. The voice certainly wasn't coming from her.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"The voice."

"Now you're hearing voices. Merlin's beard! How can I be expected to rely on a pony who's hearing voices? Are you sure you're going to be able to help me?"

"I... I... I do want to help. Please! I just... What am I even helping with? What happened?"

Twilight approached a window, and stared out of it, forlorn. "The griffon nation attacked us. We weren't expecting it. One of our princesses was doing everything she could to stop the war, but the other worried only for herself. Princess Luna lied to me. She mislead me. She told me I could do things I couldn't do. Control forces I couldn't have ever hoped to command. And it was all to save her own flank."

Twilight continued, with a tinge of contempt in her voice, "It was her they were after. She had been egging them on. Threatening them. Teasing them. They burned every one of our cities to the ground, and the only weapon that gave us any hope... The Elements of Harmony... Well Luna ruined them by cursing me. I was unfit to wield them. Unharmonious."

"How can I help with that?"

"Well, not everyone is dead. Many ponies were carted off to camps, the griffons are holding them there... starving them, torturing them... Killing them like flies. They say they'll release everyone if I bring them Luna."

"Wait, I figured it out, the ink spot!"

"... Ink spot? Were you paying attention?"

"No, by the desk, there's no ink spot. There's supposed to be an ink spot!" The filly shouted excitedly.

"What are you talking about? Is this a joke to you? This is very serious!"

She approached the desk, only to find that the floor had been soiled with ink. "But it was... The floor was clean..." She bowed her head.

"Damn-it, pay attention! I don't have time for your stupid games. Ponies are dying, and it's your fault, starting now!"

That hit the filly hard. She buckled over, and almost looked like she was going to vomit. After a moment she looked up with her eyes widened. She glanced around the room frantically. "But these books are all wrong. They don't even have words on them!"

"Don't be stupid, of course they do."

As the filly looked back from Twilight to the books, she saw that titles had appeared on the book spines. She turned back to Twilight and glared. "They didn't have words! You're lying to me!"

The soft voice rang out again across the room. It was clearer than before. "Don't let it lie to you." Twilight looked worried, but the voice was starting to raise the filly's confidence.

"You aren't Twilight, are you? This isn't real! You're lying to me!"

"ENOUGH!" Twilight screamed at the filly, "I am getting very tired of you. If you want to help, then do it. Otherwise, get out of my house!"

"No!" The filly looked around the room. "See, that's wrong too! That Daring Do book! Rainbow was late returning that!"

"What in Tartarus are you talking about? Who is Rainbow, and why do you think you know more about the checkout status of my books than I do?!"

The filly's confidence broke, and she stumbled over herself. "I... I don't know who Rainbow is. But I know who you are. You're mean. You're a liar! You're greedy and you only care about yourself!"

Twilight's face became slightly distorted. An unnaturally large smile spread from ear to ear. Her stature seemed to increase as she bent over the filly, speaking in a raspy, threatening tone. "I don't know who you think you are, little missy, but I do know that I have a problem with ponies coming into my house and saying such terrible things about me. If you don't want that to become your problem, I recommend you pipe down."

The filly stood up to her larger and more powerful adversary. "I don't even know who I think I am, but I don't think this even is your house! I think it's my house! This is my house, and... I think I have a friend named Rainbow!"

"We've already been over this. You haven't got any friends. I'm all you have left. I'm the only thing you have to depend on."

"I don't want to depend on somepony like you! I want real friends. Friends who care about me!"

The voice could be heard again, much louder and clearer than before. "Remember your friends love you, Twilight Sparkle."

The filly was confused. She looked around for the source of the voice, again finding nothing. She asked the alicorn, "why is she talking to you?"

"Who is talking to me?!"

"No... You aren't Twilight Sparkle... You can't be..." The filly insisted, as she turned to see her own reflection in a windowpane. The pony staring back at her wasn't a grey filly, but rather a full-grown lavender unicorn! "Because I am..."

The alicorn began speaking in a much deeper, harsher tone. "Bravo. It only took you all of twenty minutes to figure out I wasn't you. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one..."



... To be continued.