//------------------------------// // The Long Night Part 3 // Story: Lucid Dreams // by Jumping Jack //------------------------------// Pepper groaned awake. His head was pounding as he groggily pushed himself up off the ground. He put a hoof to his head and shook it, looking around. He gasped with wide eyes as he saw the black book opened with his scarf strewn to the side. Thick shadows were flailing out of it. Or was it in? He couldn’t quite tell if the book was releasing or taking it back. Either way, the black book is still around. Ignoring his bloodied hoof, he quickly and cautiously moved over to his scarf and picked it up. A dim, glowing hue not too far off caught his attention. His journal. He cantered over to pick it up and opened it. The glow brightened and dimmed, as if it was breathing. He looked up and saw the hanging net. The three fillies were asleep inside. Off to the side, Funnel was on his side, sleeping as well. Pepper looked at his scarf, hoping it could still work to help the three down. He wrapped the scarf around his neck and to his pleasant surprise, the scarf glowed and the tails came to life. Another thing he noticed as well. Luna and River weren’t around them. It appears he had come back into the waking realm. He looked back down to his journal as the claws began to help the three fillies down from the net, placing them gently to safety. He had to wake them up. He took a deep breath and held the journal in one hoof, having it on the page of the prayer. The words were no longer gibberish. He could understand it. He readied himself and began to recite the prayer: “That which walks among the shadows, feasts upon the innocent sleep, thou shalt yield to the light. The sun’s embrace warms thy cold shell while the moon’s glow radiates thy path to cleansing. Bathe in their light. Welcome it. Thou cannot harm nor shield thyself through others. For they too are protected by the embrace of the sun and moon. Let go of the darkness. Seek the light. Let go of the darkness. Seek the light.” His eyes began glowing as a cold wind began to swirl around him. The shadows from the black book began to howl and shriek, flailing wildly. From the book, an orb of light floated out of the pages. Pepper could sense the entity in pain. The orb of light floated and began to grow, hovering around him before swaying towards the fillies. It laid itself down next to them and the orb began to shift and mold itself into a pony. Not just any pony. Princess Luna groaned as the light from the orb began to dim. Pepper gave a relieved, silent sigh. Returning to face the black book, he recited the passage again. Upon the third reciting, he put a bit more command into his tone. That got a reaction out of it as it began to use the shadows as limbs to crawl away. Unfortunately for it, one of the claws slammed down on it, pinning it in place. Pepper felt strangely amazing. The flowing warmth and power he could feel gave him a feeling he has never fully been able to achieve. Confidence. He had a small smirk across his face as he recited the prayer one last time. In a magnificent light show spectacular, the fog began to clear and with one final and pained in-equine shriek, the claw ripped the shadow from the book. It squirmed almost similar to the slug creatures. Pepper frowned at the sight. This very thing is a culmination of all the negative energy the book had collected. It was the only logical thing that made sense to him. But how did such a thing get so bad like this? No pony would think anymore about it as the other claw met with the other one and both crushed the creature into sticky mulch. The shadow began to fade away, peeling apart into a wispy smoke, up high into the now clearing moonlit night sky. Pepper felt very exhausted suddenly. He sat down on his haunches and panted. He did it. However it worked, he cleansed the book. This nightmare is over. Or so he thought. He looked tiredly in surprise as Funnel had stirred awake at some point and walked over to the black book. He frowned down at the object and tapped it. "Huh. Well, I'll be damned, kid. You got to be the hero of the day. Or night. Whatever you care for." He studied the book before looking at the colt. Funnel did a double take at the book as he noticed something loosely hanging out of the pages. He reached down and withdrew the letter. Pepper balked as the uncaring look of Funnel widened into joy. "And now this whole night has finally turned around for the better." He held up the letter. "Hahahah! I can finally be free of this cesspit of a sister ruling land! And I have you to thank for it." He snickered as Pepper looked terrified at him. Funnel fanned the letter at his face, grinning like a foal in a circus. "Ever had cider? It's spicey and has a bit of a kick. But no harm sharing a drink or two. From one orphan to another." Pepper stood up and glanced fearfully between the pony and the letter. Funnel's joy vanished in an instant and he sighed. "What's with that look? I may have been in a state of crazy in that damned dream. But here in the real world, no pony can control me. Not even a damned cursed object." Funnel kicked the black book in front of them, the now withered and crumpling book laying between them. "I held my tongue during your whole 'friendship is magic' shpeel. I wanted out of there as much as anypony. You saved the princess. Saved your friends. Saved the orphanage and even banished a nightmare from this realm. You should be celebrating. How about it kid? You and me can get out of here. Live a better life than here. I can take you under my wing and we would live happily ever after in Ponyland." Pepper shook his head and bit his lip, his mind racing. Funnel sighed. "Suite yourself." Funnel frowned. He stuffed the letter in his gardening tunic and turned around. However, he had seemed to forgotten he had led the kids into his traps. He yelped as a rope snapped to life around his hind hooves and flung him into the air. The letter fluttered to the ground. Without any more hesitation, Pepper cantered forward and snatched the letter in his teeth before bolting out from under him. "What the!? Get the hell back here!!" Funnel shouted. Pepper didn't look back as Funnel used his body strength to lift himself up and unfasten the rope, falling onto the ground with an "oof" before standing up and panting. His expression furious and crazed. He can't lose here. Somepony is waiting for him. "Alright kid... I've had enough games." He turned around and picked up the shovel. "I tried to be nice. Open minded. Even extended my own hoof out in friendship." He shifted the shovel in his hoof. He looked down and could see the locket broken at his hooves. The beautiful mare smiling through the X'ed out paint. "No going back." He then turned and began to gallop in the direction of where Pepper fled off too. Pepper huffed and panted as he galloped through the wooded areas, unsure of where he was going. He didn't care where, however, as anywhere would be good enough to keep Funnel from harming anypony else. He wasn't sure what was so important in this letter, but he knew a bad pony like Funnel shouldn't have it. Pepper gasped, ducking as he saw a rusty shovel sail at him, impaling into the tree above him. Pepper scrambled to his hooves as Funnel hopped over a fallen tree and withdrew the shovel from the tree. "You can't run forever, kid! We don't have to do this!" Funnel called out before chasing after him. Pepper scampered like a mouse through the woods, using tree roots and his terrain to throw Funnel off. Which worked for a bit. But it seems that the Royal Guard instincts were kicking in and Funnel was now able to deftly sidestep and even do some strange maneuvers around obstacles. Doing so made him catch up to Pepper, which the colt had to come to a screeching halt and pivot back as Funnel brought the shovel down where the colt was a second earlier. A loud thunk from the shovel hitting the ground meant Funnel was done with him. Pepper's courage went out the window. He's going to die here. Pepper scurried away, only for Funnel to pass him and give a deft buck with a single hind hoof to Pepper's side. Pepper felt the wind leave him as he rolled away, coughing as his body screamed from the pain. Funnel huffed and shifted the shovel around him, stepping towards the colt. "It didn't have to come to this. You would have been safe and sound with Mother Wisp and the others. Have a party thrown in your heroics. But you had to go and do something so stupid. And here I thought you were becoming a stallion after that cleansing. But in the end, you will forever remain a ghost to this world. Suffering as much as everypony else with no recognition whatsoever. Time to sleep forever." Funnel brought the shovel up, grinning. Pepper's eyes widened in terror, unable to move out of fear. Pepper shut his eyes and braced himself. As Funnel raised the shovel high, the colt's scarf came to life. The claws lashed out and grabbed the shovel. Funnel balked and pulled back against the tugging. "Dammit!" He exclaimed as the other claw came around and slugged Funnel across the face. Pepper opened his eyes to see Funnel dancing around the claws that were lashing at him and tugging at his shovel. Funnel was surprisingly spry against something like this. Pepper stood up and watched in awe as the stallion fought back against the scarf. Funnel grunted as he tugged back on the shovel. Eventually, he freed the shovel and bit down on one of the scarf tails. Pepper dug his hooves in as he tried not to be pulled along as the sudden reaction from his scarf surprised him. Funnel pulled and an audible rip reached their ears. Pepper tumbled and rolled back into a tree with a yelp. Shaking away his daze, he gasped in horror as Funnel stood triumphantly with a flailing scarf tail in his teeth. Pepper felt his scarf loosen around his neck. Pepper held onto it as he watched the other tail flail about before wilting. Funnel spat the tail in his mouth out and stamped it with a hoof several times. When he was done venting, he glared at the colt, only to find that Pepper had vanished. Funnel glanced around, his eyes like that of a predator. "I said I didn't want to play hide and seek, kid. Just give up. I'm faster than you and stronger than you here. You can try to fight it, but I guarantee you'll be seeing the tip of my shovel quicker than you can squeak." He growled. Pepper peeked out from behind two trees, holding his breath. He ducked back when Funnel's gaze looked in his direction. Pepper's mind was panicked and all over the place. He had to get out of here. He needs to lose Funnel and get to safety. But... where would safety be? Pepper was at a lost. Then, he looked ahead, eyes widened as he saw a cloaked figure. It was hard to make out the figure. But with the raised side, he could tell it was pointing. Pepper's ears flicked as he could hear Funnel moving around close by. He took a moment to calm himself as best he could. He counted to three in his head. Upon reaching three, he bolted from his hiding spot just as Funnel turned to him. Funnel shifted his frown before cantering after him. Pepper panted as he hurriedly rushed past trees and shrubs, scratching himself on a couple of trees he ran into. A stray branch even cut his cheek, but he continued on. He saw the cloaked figure ahead and point to the left before vanishing. What was going on? Who is this pony? He turned and followed the direction. The pony appeared again and pointed to the right. Pepper followed. He could hear Funnel gaining on him. Pepper rasped as he saw a clearing ahead of him. Gaining a burst of speed, Pepper barreled through the bushes and found himself back in the field. The orphanage directly ahead. No... it wasn't an orphanage. It was a house. One he recognized in his dream. The first time he met River. Pepper bolted as Funnel tripped and tumbled out of the woods, swiping at Pepper. The colt galloped away, heading towards the house. Funnel scrambled to his hooves and galloped after him. Pepper panted, reaching the house and bolting for the door. He nearly stumbled as the door opened, letting him inside. Pepper fell forward onto his stomach and looked back, bracing himself as Funnel cantered up the porch, only to have the door slam in his face and sending him back down the porch into a tumble. Pepper panted, looking around in a panic. The house looked to have seen better days. Peeling wallpaper, the smell of mildew and some litter here and there. Almost as if somepony had turned this place inside out in search for something. Pepper looked down and saw the letter at his hooves. It must have fallen out when he fell forward. He quickly picked it up and stuffed it in his journal he had under his wing the whole time. He flinched and quickly scampered away when he heard Funnel begin to buck against the door. He had to hide. He looked around, looking between objects and even thinking if he could make a hiding spot. "Psst." Pepper turned, expecting to see somepony, only to find no pony there. His ears flicked as he heard knocking from below just a couple of hoofsteps ahead of him. He tilted his head, seeing the floor look strangely different. He removed the rug to reveal a trap door. Pepper gasped, looking over to see Funnel beginning to hack away at the door with his shovel. Without a second thought, Pepper grunted as he struggled to open the trap door. It was heavy at first, but then became lighter once he lifted it an inch up. Pepper quickly descended the steps, not looking back and hearing the trap door shut behind him and the sound of objects being dragged above him. Pepper stepped down the steps quietly. Carefully treading into the pitch black of the underground basement, he found a small crawl space that he crawled into, ignoring the old spider webs decorating some of it. He'd rather deal with arachnophobia than a pony wanting to murder a child anyday. Up above, Funnel finally bucked the door open and entered the house, snorting and looking around. The moon's light illuminated the tattered and old house. "Where are youuuuu?" Funnel grinned, taking a step into the house. His eyes darted around. This house is a single story. So, the colt wouldn't be too far away. Funnel went over to a sofa and gave it a hefty buck, knocking it over, only to frown when no colt was to be found. The grandfather clock that was tipped over onto the side began to chime four times. It was almost dawn. Panic began to betray Funnel. He isn't going back empty hoofed. Funnel began to shift and throw aside stuff, searching for anything to get at the colt. He made his way into the other room and began tearing it apart. When nothing was found, he went to the next, slamming cupboards from the kitchen and the bathroom. When he exited the bathroom, he noticed an unusual amount of decor piled into one part of the house. Funnel began to buck and toss aside the decor. When nothing was shown for his progression, he clicked his tongue, fixing to turn away only to double take once more to see the rug below tufted up, revealing a strange texture in the wooded floor. Funnel smirked and tossed the rug away. As Funnel was about to reach for the handle, the objects in the house began to move on their own. Sliding back into place and startling the stallion. A couple of pots and pans flew out from the kitchen and towards him. The stallion was hit across the head by one and batted the other away. Funnel's anger grew. "You think a ghost is going to prevent me from getting out of here? Buck that! You cannot stop me!" Funnel spun around and with an angry heave, threw a heavy decor aside causing a window to shatter. More objects flew out to hit him, but Funnel ignored it, even a knife that zipped by and grazed his cheek. He grinned and began to hack at the trap door with his shovel. A chair slid towards him, but the stallion bucked it away with a deft buck of a single hind leg, splintering the chair against the wall. He hacked and stamped on the trap door, the wood cracking and splintering beneath him. In another desperate attempt to stop him, the sofa from the lounge room slid and tipped up high over the stallion, bearing down on him. Funnel took and felt the brunt of the weight of the sofa, his legs almost buckling under him. Showing pure anger strength controlling him, he roared and heaved the sofa off of him. It crashed loudly back into the room. Funnel gave a stamp. Another one. And one more for good measure. On the fourth one, the trap door gave way and Funnel yelped as he landed on the steps of the basement, twisting a hoof and falling down the steps, landing hard onto his back, the wind being knocked out of him. Funnel coughed and groaned, wincing as he limply pushed himself off of the ground, rasping. The basement was dark. Thankfully for him, a lantern was hanging off to the side. Funnel picked it off the hook and withdrew matches from his tunic, striking it with the bottom of his hoof and lighting the lantern. The basement was cluttered with antiques in the back but an open space showed gardening and harvesting tools hanging from a worker’s bench. Funnel held the lantern up high and carefully scanned the area. He limped around the room, waving the lantern to illuminate dark corners. From the crawl space, Pepper covered his muzzle and silently breathed, trying not to make a sound. Funnel stopped just a few inches away from the crawl space, scanning the clutter. Pepper could hear his heartbeat in his ears, a constant ringing increasing his panic. When he had thought he made a sniffle, he crawled a bit back as Funnel turned around, only for the stallion to tilt his head back towards the entrance. Pepper noticed Funnel fixated on something. No, not something. Somepony. A cloaked figure was crying and facing the wall, face buried in her hooves. Funnel frowned and shook his head. “Well, well. Another thing to throw at me? I don’t know who you are or what you are. But nothing you can do here will have power over me. And if this is another dream. Well, then I shouldn’t worry about the consequences of what I’m about to do.” He reached for a sickle at the workbench and held the lantern in his teeth. He faced the figure who now stood up. “Well then? I’m waiting for whatever hellish creature you are.” “If I had known you’d stoop this low for one child, I should have done something sooner.” The figure spoke, lowering their hooves. Funnel arched a brow. “You should leave the dead to rest, Funnel Cake. There are consequences for messing with such boundaries.” Funnel narrowed his eyes at the figure. “And you know me, how?” He asked, shifting the sickle in his injured hoof. The figure didn’t turn around but continued to speak. “The dead remember the faces of the living. But it is ever so hard for the living to remember the faces of those that are grounded to this realm.” Funnel shook his head. “Riddles and riddles. Always with riddles. Listen, pony. I’m not leaving till I get that letter.” He growled. “Or your life depends on it? Isn’t that what you should be so worried about? A stallion with nothing left to lose?” The figure replied. “This isn’t like you at all.” The figure finally turned around and faced Funnel. The features hidden under the hood. “The Funnel I know would never hunt a child down for his own gain. You’ve lost yourself, Funnel. And I’m afraid there really is no going back.” The figure then removed the hood and Funnel dropped the lantern and sickle. The lantern shattered and rolled with the flame still active. “H-Honeydew?” Funnel’s voice cracked. His facade changed entirely. A look of recognition and confused joy. “How… I thought…” Pepper saw the figure be a beautiful mare, resembling that from the locket. Her mane draped into a curl over her shoulder and a beauty mark under her left eye. A stoic expression across her face turned into that of disappointment and sadness. Honeydew put a hoof to her chest. “Morgue is a liar. You’ve known this. Yet, you followed him like a little lap dog in a hoof bag.” Honeydew sighed. “You need to let go of the past, Funnel. Please. I beg of you. Just walk away from all of this.” Funnel’s expression softened. He bowed his head, his look darkening. “I… I can’t… I’m too far deep into this. I have to do this. I need to get you back. I can’t bear the pain any longer.” He said through shuttered breaths. Honeydew frowned. “Black magic, Funnel. You saw it first hoof with the book. You need to let me sleep in peace. I don’t… I don’t want to lose myself to whatever hideous promise Morgue gave you…” She then looked pleadingly at Funnel. “Please, my love. Do not chase the child. Do not harm yourself any further. Just walk away. Hide yourself and never look back.” Funnel studied the mare. Pepper could see the posture change drastically. Funnel truly wanted to listen to her. His eyes longing for his lover. Pepper then looked to the lantern, noticing the flame resting on what appeared to be curtains draped over some of the clutter. It was beginning to smoke. Pepper’s eyes widened and looked back to the confrontation. He needs to get out of here. But Funnel had the whole room to himself. He would definitely be caught trying to sneak out. Pepper then saw Honeydew meet his look and sighed. Funnel finally spoke. “Honeydew… I want too. I didn’t want any of this to happen. But… I had no choice. It was this or…” “Or be turned over to authorities for stealing from The Duke? You never cared for the status of others. Why does this frighten you so?” She asked. Funnel shook his head. “I… made an error. I lost you in the process of such an act… I aim to correct it…” He replied. Honeydew looked hurt. “Is that really what you want?” She asked. Funnel bowed and nodded. “I… need you…” He replied. Honeydew’s look suddenly turned to saddened anger. Her look darkened and her body began to shake. “You… would hurt me even more? Even when I’m no longer around… you still only care about yourself?” Her voice shuttered. Funnel looked up, a look of shock on his face. “N-no! That’s not-!” Honeydew silenced him by glaring angrily at him. He gasped and backed away as her beautiful features began to decay. “I wanted to believe you have changed. That you would be there for me. Yet you chose to selfishly pursue this sin. All for what? Your personal desire? How could you do this to me, Funnel? Am I not enough for you to love?” Funnel was speechless as he backed away at the advancing mare. A skeletal grin stared him down and her eyes were replaced with glowing fiery orbs in the sockets. Pepper gasped as he now saw the fire beginning to creep up the draped curtains and spreading unusually quickly. Funnel stepped back enough and felt a burning sting on his flank that caused him to turn and balk at the fire beginning to rise. Pepper bit his lip. It was now or never. Funnel turned just as Pepper crawled out from his hiding spot and scampered towards the steps. Funnel didn’t hesitate to move towards him, only to be stopped by Honeydew, now a skeletal pony, glaring in front of him. “You truly don’t love me, do you? You won’t let me go. Why do you insist on continuing to hurt me?!” Honeydew rasped. Funnel winced, his eyes looking past her to see Pepper quickly canter up the steps. Funnel’s look was unclear. Yet, he growled and went straight through Honeydew, the mare puffing into black smoke as Funnel rushed towards the steps, looking up to see the colt try to squeeze through the hole in the trap door. Funnel cantered up the stairs and Pepper yelled as he was tugged back into the basement. Pepper squirmed and struggled against the stallion’s bite as he was brought back down and tossed out into the middle of the basement, the fire spreading around them. “I can’t have any witnesses! Give me that letter… now!” Funnel hissed. Pepper began to cough as the smoke started to surround them. Funnel coughed and walked over to the colt. Pepper scrambled away from him, only for Funnel to step on his tail to prevent him from galloping. “No more running!” He snapped, a crazed look in his eyes. “I don’t believe that thing to be Honeydew! Just another lousy trick! How dare you use her against me!” Pepper had no idea what he was going on about. Pepper grunted and panicked as he was then bit by the mane and yanked around. The fire began to spread into the house, fabric being caught from the heat rising. Funnel tossed the colt against the wall, Pepper feeling the wind leave him before slumping forward onto the ground. The journal slid out from under him with the letter poking out. Funnel panted and coughed. Pepper weakly reached out to his journal as Funnel picked it up and glared uncaringly down at the colt. “I hope you rot in Tartarus, kid. I’ll be finally free of my own nightmare this time.” He said. Pepper gasped, his eyes widening as he saw the smoke above began to form into the fire. And from the fire, a figure formed. A skeletal pony, whose entire skull was engulfed in flames, stood behind Funnel. Funnel narrowed his eyes and looked behind him, balking as the flaming skeleton creature reached out at him. A loud shriek from it was deafening. Funnel was yanked forward as the skeleton pony embraced him. “N-no!! Get off me!!” He panicked, trying to pull away from the creature. Pepper saw the letter drop from him. Pushing himself up and mustering what strength he had left, he crawled over and scooped up the letter, sticking it in the book and then tying his scarf around the journal. Funnel looked to see the colt limp his way towards the steps. “Pepper! Pepper, please! You have to help me!! Save me!!” Funnel cried out as the flames began to set on his tunic. Pepper paused and hesitated, looking horrified as the skeletal creature of Honeydew embraced her lover for what would be his last one. Honeydew gurgled her words. “Look what you’ve done to me, Funnel!! I’ll never forgive you!!” She shrieked. Funnel shook his head furiously, trying his best to fight back. Whatever hold she had on him, the stallion couldn’t break it. And soon, Pepper heard Funnel scream in pain as the fire began to engulf him. Funnel called out to the colt pleadingly. But Pepper shut his eyes and quickly cantered up the steps, wanting to avoid seeing the aftermath of the event. That and he needs to get out of here before he joins them. Pepper coughed, the smoke filling his lungs as he crawled through the hole in the trapdoor and then found it hard to look for the door. His eyes teared up and he began to crawl onto the floor. Where was it? The fire was out of control. The blaze around him extreme that he almost felt like he was being set on fire himself. When he found what would be a path through crumpling support beams, he crawled through and painfully made his way out. The door was in sight. Pepper pushed himself up and just as he was about to make his way towards the door, the roof collapsed and blocked it. Pepper felt a moment of disbelief until his eyes looked to the window. The shattered window might just be enough. Now or never. Pepper was careful to climb up a chair that hadn’t caught fire yet. Coughing, he took his wrapped-up journal and began to brush away at the broken glass. He felt something hot sting him in the rump. He did his best to ignore the itching as he made a hole big enough to crawl through. His hopes rose as he finally made it out of the burning house, coughing as he landed onto the porch. He began to make his way down with his journal under his wing. However, he paused when he heard something crunch behind him. He looked up in time to see a heavy support beam from the porch fall down on top of him. Pepper fell with the weight, his journal bouncing away and out onto the ground. Pepper felt his body screaming at him as he tried to push the heavy beam off of him, only for the rest of the porch to fall around him. He felt something hard hit his head and the world went black. Mother Wisp watched as Twilight and her friends rushed over to them from the fields. The nanny gave a tired sigh of relief. “Princess Twilight!!” Some of the kids called out. The heroes galloped up to them and Twilight looked relieved to see everypony alright. “Thank Celestia you all are okay!” Fluttershy stated as she floated over to a colt who was on the verge of crying. She smiled and gently pat his back. Applejack walked over to Mother Wisp with Twilight while the others went to check on the children. “Everypony is safe now.” Applejack said, though her worry still displayed. Twilight returned the look and nodded. “Let’s hope so.” She then looked back to see that the shining light began to fade into a faint rainbow. “Whatever that rainbow was, it was powerful enough to draw its’ attention. I’m… still trying to figure that out.” Twilight said. Mother Wisp sighed. “I… this is all my fault…” she said. Everypony looked between each other as Mother Wisp sat on her haunches and bowed her head. Twilight gave a kind smile and placed a gentle hoof under the mare’s chin, lifting her to meet her sad gaze. “Let’s just take it easy. Tell me what happened from the start.” She said. The nanny studied the look of the Princess of Friendship. She adverted her eyes and found the ground to be much more pleasing to look at. She then began to recount everything that led up to this. Her family inheritance. The trial. Her child discovering the black book that led to their misfortune. How she failed to rid of it way before. She then explained that Alabaster had alerted them to the danger and thus were able to take quick action to keep themselves safe. When she finished her story, she buried her hooves into her face. She wept. All the frustration and regret pouring out of her. “I should have disposed of it… I… my youngest would be alive… my oldest would be a fine stallion… my husband would be playing with the children…” she looked up to Twilight, a hopeless look through the tears in her eyes. “I… I didn’t know…” she sniffled. Twilight gave the nanny a hug as the mare buried herself into her chest, weeping uncontrollably. The children exchanged sad glances. Merriweather walked forward and tugged on Mother Wisp’s dress. The nanny sniffled and pulled herself away from Twilight, wiping her eyes. She looked to Merriweather, who then presented the teddy bear to her. Mother Wisp sniffled and wiped her eyes again before smiling and taking the bear. “Th-thank you, dear…” she said through a small cough. Echo Heart then walked up and hugged the nanny, catching her totally off guard. Then Macaroni hugged her, followed by Torque. Then another colt. Two fillies. Tea Stout and Pallet. Then Merriweather. Every child, save for Alabaster, hugged the nanny. Mother Wisp was baffled. However, she smiled and hugged the children as best she could. Rarity did her best to stifle her own tears along with Pinkie Pie. Alabaster watched the sight with stoic interest. It’s not that she didn’t want to join in. In fact, the filly felt overjoyed with their safety. Yet, that deep guilt of having lost Pepper and three others to a bad pony weighed heavy on her. She felt responsible for letting it happen. She could have done something more. Yet, like her late mother, a lady must never show weakness in the face of sadness. Only determination to set things right and with a brave face can tackle it. She wasn’t sure how long they were going for. But as she looked to the moon, she squinted her eyes and saw black smog tainting the color of the moon a bit. She noticed the trail and followed it, gasping as something bright and orange in the distance could be seen. She stood up and cantered past everypony, catching their attention. She then pointed towards the smoke. “I-I think that’s a fire!” She stated. Everypony looked and Applejack frowned. “She’s right. That’s the glow of fire over yonder.” She said. Rainbow Dash flew up high and scanned the area. She could see the glow from the field over. She flew back down and nodded to them. “There’s a house in the next field on fire. There might be somepony trapped in there!” She said. Mother Wisp gasped with wide eyes. “Th-that’s Mrs. Marigold’s house! B-but what on earth happened there? That house hasn’t been lived in ever since she passed!” She stated. Pinkie Pie rubbed her chin. “Passed? But… we were just with her.” She said. Mother Wisp stared puzzled at the mare as well as her friends. “Say… now that ya’ mention it… where did that mare get to?” Applejack stated. Rarity’s eyes widened. “Applejack… that skeleton we saw earlier… that pony knew about it… in the patch of woodlands…” she said. Mother Wisp looked worriedly at her. “A circle of woodlands in the fields that aren’t connected to the actual woods? That’s where she was laid to rest.” She replied. The looks darkened for the heroes, save for Fluttershy who looked horrified. “A-are you saying…” Fluttershy began. Rainbow Dash shook her head. “We can dwell on it later! We have to do something about that fire!” She said. Twilight nodded. “Dash is right. If that fire gets out of control, the whole fields and more would be set ablaze.” She turned to Mother Wisp. “Get in touch with rescue. We’ll do our best to ensure no major damages happen. If it does get worst, flee the fields. You and the children come first.” Mother Wisp was speechless. Truly, these six are indeed heroes. Merriweather looked worriedly at them. “Becareful!” She said. Twilight smiled and nodded. “We will. Come on!” Twilight turned and began to gallop down the fields with her friends closely behind her. Mother Wisp and the children watched their figures get smaller and smaller before they disappeared in the woods. Alabaster looked towards the glow in the distance. She couldn’t help but feel that somewhere out there, Pepper might be okay. Applebloom, Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo finally stirred from their slumber. Applebloom yawned and rubbed her eyes. “Urgh… what time is it?” She asked groggily. Scootaloo sat up and stretched. “I don’t know. But I feel like I slept too much…” The filly replied. “Princess Luna!” Sweetie Bell called out. The fillies saw a pale and flowingless maned Princess Luna on her side. Sweetie Bell went to check on her, putting her ear to Luna’s muzzle. She could feel her breathing. Weak, but there. She let a relieved sigh. “She’s okay. But we have to get her help. Applebloom and Sweetie Bell proceeded to help Luna up, who seemed to be coming too. Scootaloo looked around. “Where’s Pepper and Funnel?” She asked. Sweetie Bell and Applebloom looked to see that their friend was right. No Ghost Pepper or Funnel was in sight. Luna groaned and opened her eyes. She looked tired, but she managed to push herself off the ground, leaning against Applebloom a bit. “Urgh… I-I am alright, young ones…” she rasped weakly. Applebloom frowned at her. “That’s the understatement of the century.” She said. Princess Luna rose and shook away her daze. She looked to see the black book in the open. Or what was left of it. It was now nothing but crumpled paper. Luna sighed and nodded. “Tis over now. Pepper has succeeded in his task. Yet… it appears we are still… without our power.” She said. Luna furrowed her look. Everything that happened in Canterlot was a blur. Yet, while she was floating endlessly in the darkness, she felt herself being pulled out and appeared in the dream she created as a scape goat if anything went awry. Something she remembers reading as a filly ages ago. After Pepper began his prayer, everything went black for her and thus she had no recollection of events after. Scootaloo hummed and looked at the ground. “Say… these hoofprints seem to trail off that way.” She said, pointing to the woods ahead of them. Applebloom and Sweetie Bell trotted over to her and their eyes followed the trail together. Luna felt exhausted, but she straightened herself and nodded. “With any luck, they won’t be far.” She said, taking the lead. The fillies exchanged worried glances before following after her. All four knew that the disappearance of Funnel and Pepper wasn’t a good sign. The Crusaders had to remind themselves that Luna wasn’t at full strength at the moment, having to stop and ensure she was okay enough to still walk. The further they traversed the trail, they came to a point where the hoof prints were all over the place. Sweetie Bell frowned, unable to tell where it began and ended. “What happened in this area? It’s like they stopped to have a dance off or something…” Scootaloo stated. Luna’s eyes darted around, tracking any small detail she could find. She noticed a wilted piece of cloth. Her eyes widened when she realized what it was. A piece of the colt’s scarf. Suddenly, the four began to smell burning wood. Applebloom rubbed her head. “Ya’ll smell somethin’?” She asked. Scootaloo sniffed and gave a disgusted look, covering her muzzle. “It smells like barbecue at a Griffon’s birthday party…” She said. Sweetie Bell blinked and looked to her quizzically. “You’ve been to a Griffon barbecue?” She asked. Applebloom pointed. “Look!” She said. They did and from the distance, they could make out an orange glow. Luna’s eyes widened. “Fire. We must hurry, children.” She said suddenly, picking up her pace into a small canter. The fillies blinked and trailed after her. “What’s goin’ on? Somethin’ bad happenin’?” She asked. Luna nodded. “I am afraid Pepper is in danger! Quickly!” She stated. The three nodded determinedly and picked up their pace. Following the smell, the forest began to have a thick fog around it. They then broke through the bushes and looked on in shock at the burning house further up the field. “Pepper!!” Applebloom called out as she galloped towards the house. The rest followed. As they approached the house, they noticed figures emerging from the woods. They galloped towards the house. The Crusaders beamed as they saw Twilight and her friends rushing towards the house. “Twilight! Rarity!” Sweetie Bell called out. Rarity stopped and looked with the others. Rarity beamed. “Sweetie Bell! You’re okay!!” She quickly galloped over to her little sister and the two embraced each other. Applejack rushed over and hugged Applebloom, nearly crushing the filly. “Don’t ya’ ever scare us like that again!” Applejack said sternly, yet relieved to see her little sister okay. Rainbow Dash scooped up Scootaloo and tossed her onto her back. Scootaloo hugged Rainbow Dash and smiled. “Do you know how much heartache we nearly had when we found out you three went into the woods?!” Rainbow Dash said with a frown, yet grinned when Scootaloo rubbed the back of her head apologetically. Twilight balked as she saw Princess Luna in a state she recalls back to when they first met. However, paler and weaker. Twilight cantered over as Luna studied the house. “Princess Luna! You’re okay!” She said. Luna wasn’t trying to ignore her. Her eyes fell onto the porch and she gasped. “Young one!” She called out. She cantered over to the porch and began to remove the heavy beams. She grunted as her magic faltered. She had lifted it enough for everypony to see Pepper underneath the debris. Twilight stood firm and reached out with her magic, lifting the heavy beams all at once, grunting in the process. Applebloom and Sweetie Bell pulled away from their sisters and rushed over to pull Pepper away from the debris. Twilight dropped the beams when they were far enough away, cantering over to them. Applebloom turned Pepper over and gasped. The colt looked like he had been thrown about from Equestria and back. Blood trickled from his mane and down his head to his cheek. The other cheek was smudged with soot and blood. His coat sooted and tufted along with what appears to be some cuts and bruises. Sweetie Bell put an ear to his muzzle. He wasn’t breathing. She fearfully looked up to everypony. “He isn’t breathing!” She said. Everypony gathered around. Twilight took action and began CPR. She did this several times, but the colt remained still. Luna bowed her head as everypony looked on in anticipation and worry. Luna began to feel frustrated. She had been weak. She had been fooled and she had let everypony down. She let herself down. And to seal her failure. Her apprentice remains still. The moon was lowered, and the sun began to peek over the horizon. A new dawn has emerged. One that left everypony uncertain of what is to come next.