Chapter 8
Written by Jake-Heritagu
“Hrrrrr-RAAAAAAA!” The explosive cry bellowed forth from the little filly’s lungs; the piece of wood wrapped in magic swung through the air like a scythe being wielded by a maniac. The guard raised his own sword in time to parry her swing, the powerful blows letting out strong cracking sounds as they struck. His footsteps faltered slightly, the stallion stepping back as he tried to counter with his guard, only to be pushed back by her repeated, furious strikes.
Something was different that day; her mind was intensely focused. The only thing she could see now was the flurry of her blade, the wood swinging faster than she’d ever swung it before. The clash of magical energies burst with each clash, creating small shockwaves that sailed outward from each contact. The guard was having difficulty keeping up, but managed to block each of the blows aimed his way.
His hoof dug an inch into the ground, bracing himself for the next attack. The little filly roared once more, expelling all the air from her lungs as she concentrated her power into attempting a single, decisive blow. Her blade met another, the aura of magical energy distorting the view of the world for a moment as the powerful entities met. Then the loud snapping of wood echoed across the field as a shockwave burst forth from the point of contact.
Part of a wooden blade flew through the air, before crashing back down onto the grassy field. The little filly panted heavily; sweat matted her mane against her forehead as she dropped the broken blade from her magical grip. Her instructor looked at her curiously, having never seen this behavior in his student before.
“Something is on your mind,” he spoke simply.
“It’s nothing,” Twilight spat, before turning and walking towards the shed. Her horn lit up with magic and wrapped it around the handle of a fresh training sword waiting in the barrel next to the shed, slashing it through the air twice to make sure her magic was still alright.
“I’ve never seen you so hostile before. Normally you can summon the steeled and studied eyes of a swordspony in training, but today…” He looked down at the broken handle that she had just dropped before him and tapped it with his hoof, “Today there is a fire burning inside you.”
“So what if there is?” The filly groaned, turning to face her instructor and pointing the wooden sword at him, “You’re the one who told me harnessing my emotions would benefit my training. Well guess what? I’m DOING what you told me to do!” Her breath was ragged and filled with venom, her hair losing its orderly touch.
“Emotions powerful enough to destroy our reinforced training blades aren’t something to just be looked over… Tell me, what is on your mind ,child?” he asked in an almost fatherly voice.
“I don’t want to. Just fight me again!” Twilight grit her teeth in frustration, swinging the blade again for emphasis.
“I’ll make you a deal then.” He shifted his body to face her fully, slashing his own blade for emphasis. “Land your first strike on me and I’ll drop the subject. If you fail again, you must tell me.” Twilight’s eye twitched at his proposition, her teeth grinding harder at the thought of having to tell him what was going through her mind.
“FINE! Then I’m going to channel everything I’m feeling and use everything you’ve taught me to finally beat you! I hope you know what you’ve asked for!” She huffed loudly, her nostrils flaring as she dug her hoof into the crash, ready to charge the larger stallion.
“If you truly no longer need my assistance, then I welcome it,” he said, raising his blade, ready to face her.
The filly let out yet another roar, rushing forward and pushing everything she had into her legs. Her limbs felt stiff, her lungs were starting to burn, her body was covered in sweat, and she could feel her magic being strained to her limits. But none of that mattered to her right then. She could see nothing but the stallion before her and her desire for victory.
Sparks from their magic flew as the blades crossed, grinding against each other, before returning to the flurry once more. She didn’t care about form, she didn’t care about technique. Her body and magic guided itself. She jumped out of the way of a blow that might’ve hit her and into a position that better let her strike her foe. Each move was accompanied by the intense cracking strike of the blades hitting one another. Sweat dripped down her forehead and she moved to keep the sweat out of her eyes. Her seemingly invincible opponent was stepping in turn, matching her blow for blow once more.
Her anger began to boil; she could feel it in her blood. She wanted to hit him, she wanted to beat him, she wanted to win. She wanted nothing more than to win, to be right, to be victorious. She had to do better, she had to be amazing, she had to be the best he’d ever encountered. She couldn’t be anything less; if she was she would be nothing more than disappointment. She’d let down everyone she’d ever known, she’d let down the ponies she cared about.
She’d let down her parents, she’d let down her brother, she’d let down Princess Celestia. She couldn’t. She had to win, she had to.
“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” The filly’s cry echoed through the courtyard as her magic surged powerfully once more and lashed out. The initial strike was blocked once more, but she wasn’t going to let it go his way, not this time. She poured her magic into the blade, pushing back against him as powerfully as she could. He stepped back, pushing back with his own magic to stop her onslaught.
It was then that she made her move.
The filly let her magic burst. The power of the exploding magic sent her blade skyward, pushing her instructor back in the process. He was caught by surprise, not having been prepared for her to explode her magic in his face. His eyes went skyward to see the wooden blade falling towards him from the sky. The sword was then wrapped in a purple glow, as it was thrust straight down at him with intent to kill.
With aged expertise the stallion’s own sword was raised and slashed in perfect timing, deflecting the blade to his side. It was exactly what she wanted, as the blade twirled towards her and she opened her mouth, catching it by the handle. The guard’s eyes shot downward, as the filly swung her neck to strike. Her eyes were focused on him, he was open, her blade was flying, her target was there, she could do it. She could hit him!
A shockwave of magic exploded through the field once more, the sound of wood striking and cracking loudly echoed against the stone walls. A wooden blade flew through the air once more, before hitting the ground hard.
The little filly’s body struck the ground next, collapsing in a fit of exhaustion and sweat. The experienced stallion looked down at her, his sword lifted, his maneuver gracefully executed as had all his other moves. At the very last second he had managed to dodge the blow, a blow that, if this had been a real battle, very well could have finished him for good.
“Nnnngh…. Ngggh…” Twilight groaned, her body shaking as she lay on the ground. She lifted her hoof gently, before slamming it with what little energy she had left back into the grass, “DAMMIT,” She panted as she tried to get her breath back next, the older stallion watching her as her body seemed to crash from the physical exertion and the toll her emotions had played on her. He turned away for just a moment, floating his wooden blade to the barrel where they were kept and slid it inside.
“I must admit my surprise,” the stallion spoke softly, stepping closer to the little filly before sitting down by her side, watching her as she shook. “You’re the first trainee to come that close to hitting me in a long while. You brought back some old memories of battles I’d long since thought had gathered dust.” He chuckled softly, making light conversation while her mind was trying to catch up to itself.
“…But… but I still wasn’t good enough…” She said, her breath trying to hold back the sobs that were threatening to break through. The old guard blinked in a little confusion, looking at the filly who hadn’t even yet hit the prime of her life.
“You’re faced against an opponent who has only rarely known defeat my pupil.” He furrowed his brow. “Your training was meant to improve your simple swordsman skills, never to obtain victory or skills beyond your level. You took this up as a hobby, not with your mind set on besting me one day.” He raised his hoof and placed it gently against her shoulder, “What is bugging you, my child?”
Twilight sniffed, wiping her face with her hoof before finally managing to gather enough strength to get herself to sit up. She didn’t look her teacher in the face, but took a little encouragement from the hoof that graced her shoulder. She stared at the ground, trying to focus her thoughts from the relentless emotions that were swirling in her mind. She took several deep breaths, letting herself think of what she wanted to say, before finally picking the words she wanted.
“Just a few days ago… My brother, Shining Armor, got officially accepted into the Royal Guard as a trainee. He left to begin his training…” She spoke softly, only just loud enough for his aging ears to pick up on what she was saying. “You should know what that means…”
“Better than anyone. He’s off to the prestigious Canterlot Military Academy. Rigorous study, physical training, and as a unicorn he’ll be under heavy magical study too. I’ve taught there enough to know how grueling it can be.” He nodded his head slowly.
“Exactly. He’s off. He’s there, at that academy.” She felt her teeth clench as the memories of the following days came to mind once more, “He’s training. He’s started on the road to what he’s going to do with the rest of his life. He’s going to be a guard; he’s going to be an amazing pony, someone who defends Equestria, who defends Princess Celestia, who defends ponies like me. He’s going to be great; he’s going to do something amazing with his life! Something important!” Her hooves had risen to match the inflections of her voice. The aged stallion didn’t say a word in response, knowing nothing he could say would add or make the situation better. The filly eventually lowered her hooves, calming down again as her story continued.
“So… What am I doing with my life?” She closed her eyes tightly, “What am I doing? Studying magic? Everypony uses magic in their own way! How will studying make me special!?” She pressed her hooves against her head. “What am I going to add to this? What do I plan to accomplish? I’m Princess Celestia’s personal protégé for heaven’s sake! I can’t just be any normal unicorn! I have to be amazing as well! I have to at least match my brother! I have to at least live up to what she sees in me! And how can I do that with no dream!?” The last of her words were added by another loud roar as she slammed her hooves into the ground, hanging her head in frustration.
“What good am I if I can’t even succeed in the things I set out to do!?”
“I see, so that’s what has been troubling your mind.” The aged stallion brushed a hoof against his chin, his eyes closed in thought. “Those are strong words you’ve set against yourself. And they are very true, how do you plan to succeed if you don’t even believe you can?”
Twilight was silent to his question, glaring down at the grass as if doing so would solve her problems. Her cheeks were slowly becoming more stained with tears, drops hitting the ground as she stared, finally just starting to feel some of the weight being lifted after having vented her troubles.
“I can understand some of the pressure you’re going through. Being taken in as the Princess’s personal protégé is an incredible opportunity. I’m certain there are thousands of unicorns who would give their life to be where you are right now.” These words brought little comfort to the young filly. “But let me tell you a story, about a young hot-headed colt who thought he knew what he wanted in life.” The little filly turned her head slowly to look at the aged stallion.
“Growing up, he got into all sorts of trouble. His parents found him to be a bit of a nightmare; he climbed over everything in the house, terrorized the neighborhood kids, and was a bit of a truant in school. But there was always one thing that was true about him…” The stallion cracked a weary smile, “He always stood up for what he believed was right. Whether it was against a bully or a thief, a vandal or an escaped convict, he would stand up and chase down the person who had done wrong to the ponies around him.
“He never knew what he wanted to do growing up; all he knew was that he had to help ponies. School was boring, people disliked him for being a hoodlum, and nopony seemed to care what became of him. It appeared that he was doomed to the life of a street rat. Not enough money for food, homeless with no friends, and no one to even care if he lived or died.
“He lived his life completely unsure of what he was to do with it, when a rather amazing moment happened. Princess Celestia was giving his town a visit and he wanted nothing more than to see her for himself. However, during her visit it he found out that some angry hoodlums wanted to do her harm. They tried to attack the Princess. Before her guards could react, that little colt tackled the hoodlums and tried to fight them alone. As you can imagine, it didn’t go well.
“When the colt awoke in the hospital, he found out that the guards had taken care of the hoodlums and they were carted off to jail for questioning. He was just happy that the Princess was safe, when who else but the Princess herself walked into his hospital room.” He let out a soft chuckle at that, “What a surprise, huh? She spoke to him personally, saying that she was eternally grateful that he had stepped in to help her. However, she was worried about why, when he could have been terribly injured. The colt said that he didn’t have any reasons to live, so the least he could do was to help her.
“Naturally, the Princess didn’t like this answer very much. On the spot, she decided that she was going to enlist him into the military academy. At first he was confused, but she explained that if he felt his life had no purpose, then he could find one working hard to become one of her Royal Guards.
“So naturally, feeling he had nothing left in life, he accepted and joined the Academy. It was only natural that his hoodlum life caught up to him at the academy as well. He questioned orders, he didn’t take studying seriously, and he was a truant to drills; the instructors hated him. On three separate occasions he came close to being kicked out of the school, but for whatever reason they kept him there.
“He was questioning the point of staying at the school, to drop out and go back to his life on the streets, when he was visited once more by the Princess. She asked him directly how things had been going, and the colt decided to be honest with her. He figured she would want him to do what he was happy with in his life and it didn’t appear to be what the school offered. But after hearing his story the Princess seemed… sad. I’d dare to say she looked disappointed.
“The colt was confused, thinking he’d done what she had wanted. The Princess said that he was free to make whatever choices in life he wanted, but that if he truly wanted to accomplish anything, he couldn’t just sit around doing nothing. She wanted him to become something, to accomplish whatever dream it was he was hiding in his heart. Before the Princess left she told him that he should give the Academy another chance, and that this time he should try following its rules and seeing what happened.
“Confused, he returned to his room to sleep on her words. When the next morning came around, he decided to give what she said a shot. He started obeying the drill instructors during the routines, he studied for the classes that demanded his attention, and he even started trying to get along with his fellow classmates. The colt didn’t think he’d want to be a part of any of it… But the more he followed the teachers, and the more he listened to his instructors, the more he found himself absorbed into the teachings. Before he knew it, he was at the top of his class, getting the best marks and performing better than anypony else had even seen previously.
“When he graduated, he was immediately accepted into the most prestigious group of guards in Canterlot, the personal bodyguards of Princess Celestia herself. When he met her again, she seemed pleased to see him and simply asked how he felt.
“The colt was speechless for a moment, not even sure how to react to the question. But he looked up at the Princess and it was then that everything hit him. Where he was standing, who he was talking to, what he’d done and what he’d accomplished to get there. He had once thought there was nothing to his life, that as a hoodlum he had no future. But there he was, standing where few ponies ever believed they could stand, talking with the ruler of the land… And it was all his doing.
“Nopony had held his hoof, no one had given him the benefit of the doubt, and no one had taken it easy on him. He had worked hard, he had toiled through grueling work, and he had accomplished everything on his own. It was through that that he realized that he had accomplished something amazing. He had made something of himself; he had done something with his life.
“So when the Princess asked her simple question of how he felt… He returned it with a smile saying, ‘I’ve never felt better in my life.’”
Twilight stared at the old man, wonder and fascination filling her face as she absorbed every detail of the aged stallion’s story. He looked down at her smiling, giving a pause as she wiped her face from her tears and gave another sniff.
“You’re still young kiddo, way too young to be thinking that you’re not going to do anything with your life. The Princess wouldn’t have chosen you if she thought you would amount to nothing.” He rested his hoof on the top of her head and gently shook her mane, “It’s okay to not know exactly where life is going to take you right now. But I know you’re going to do amazing things, Twilight. You’re a brilliant kid. You have a magical talent I’ve never seen in any other unicorn during my life. To me, that already makes you somepony of worth.”
The smile on the little filly’s face slowly brightened. The smile stretched from cheek to cheek as she heard those words, looking up at the aged stallion with hope renewing her body.
“Now I don’t want to hear anymore nonsense about you thinking yourself worthless, you hear?” This was met with a very quick and happy nod from the little filly. “Good! I think we’ve had enough training for one day. I’d say you should go take a relaxing bath and then do something you consider fun to relax and unwind. You can put everything you have into studying tomorrow.”
“Yes!” Twilight beamed once more, nodding her head and getting up from the grass. “From this day forth I’m going to study hard and become the greatest unicorn who ever lived!” She said happily, setting off at a brisk trot into the castle.
“That kid is going to grow up to do amazing things,” the aged stallion murmured softly. He turned to face the wooden sword that still lay on the ground, his magic lighting up to gently lift it up and place it neatly back into the barrel.
A loud gasp erupted as air filled Twilight’s lungs once more. She coughed and sputtered as she quickly regained consciousness, gasping and sputtering as she struggled to fill her lungs with air. She sat up, placing a hoof against her mouth as she tried to control her violent coughing fit. It felt as though fire was burning in her lungs and her coughing was the only thing that could put out the flames.
It took several minutes before her coughing died down and turned into heavy, panting breaths as the world finally took a moment to stop spinning around her. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she took in several deep breaths of air, feeling as though she had just been to the point of drowning and was returning to the world anew.
Her eyes slowly flickered open from her coughing fit, moisture blurring her vision. The world came in as dimly lit, murky colors that melded together in her vision. She quickly rubbed her face with her hoof, trying to bring the world back. She blinked a few times, clearing the last of the blur from her eyes and looked around again.
The familiar site of Fluttershy’s living room came into her vision. The deathly quiet house was in the exact same condition as when she had left it: dusty, broken, and in a shambled mess.
“I… I’m alive…” Twilight spoke aloud, placing her hoof against her cheek as if trying to confirm what had just happened. Her hoof moved to feel her body. None of the burns she suffered from Malformed were there, it was as if the acid had never even touched her body. She even pressed her hoof against the shoulder the broken alicorn had ran her sword through and found that it felt somehow okay. A thought instantly burst into her mind and her hoof raced up to see if her horn had somehow returned to her.
It was there, sticking out of her forehead the same as it always had. Her hoof brushed against the length of it, looking for any signs of damage or blood or surgery… But it was as if nothing had happened at all.
The shock washed over Twilight for a moment as her hoof gently lowered. She just stared at her horn, thinking about what she had just gone through, when something surprised happened…
A chuckle escaped her lips.
It started off slow, but it quickly began to become more. She felt her pent up emotions, her frustrations, her anger, her confusion, her despair, it all came out just now. It came out in a twisted, hallowed, demented laugh that seemed to echo through the house.
She couldn’t believe it. The world was screwing with her. It was literally screwing with her mind and changing everything she’d ever known about the world around her because it could. It made her laugh. It made that haunting, bellowing chortle escape her lips as she thought about the insanity she had lived through… At least three times that day she had already brushed with death, and each time she had somehow come back alive, come back just to brush with death again.
“Hah… Haaaaah… Oh… Oh, I get it…” Twilight rubbed the hoof against her face as she felt her body shake from her laughter, “You’re trying to break me… Trying to get me to accept death…” Finally her laughter began to calm. She raised her hoof to rest against her eye as she stared at nothing, just blankly into space. It was as if she was trying to stare at the world around her itself.
“You haven’t broken me yet, World…” She closed her eyes, lowering her head and resting her hooves against the ground. “You’ve crossed a line, I hope you realize,” she growled, “You’re messing with my friends.” The images of Rainbow Dash and Flutteshy’s bodies crawling out of the mirrors flashed in her mind, the image of them calling out for love. “You can screw with me all you want. You can hurt me, torture me, twist the world to play by your rules…” Her head rose, staring straight into the empty space before her.
“But you do not mess with my friends.”
With the venom dripping from her mouth, she finally pushed herself up onto all of her hooves. She immediately felt her body shift a little unusually, realizing that she could feel the weight of the items still stored within her magic inventory. She had access to its contents once more, a fact she was relieved to know.
Before she stepped forward, her eyes wandered to the ground before her, where she noticed two odd items she hadn’t seen before. She recognized them; they were the two books she had been carrying around with her, the ones she had taken from Stalliongrad Library. Looking at the covers, she noticed something odd…
One of the covers had vanished, just like on the first book.
Of the two books, the one with a remaining cover was ‘Heaven’s Food’. That meant that ‘The Old Widow’ no longer had words to it.
Twilight flipped open the cover of the blank book just to double check. She flipped through a few of the pages, seeing nothing written on each one. She then looked at ‘Heaven’s Food’ and opened it once more, seeing the story neatly written inside with the illustrations included. She quickly shut the book, wrapped it in her magic and made it rejoin her bulky storage.
“I don’t know what this means…” She grunted softly, pushing the now blank book to the side with her hoof, “If it’s a clue or something, it’s lost on me. “ She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She opened her eyes once more and looked around the destroyed living room of Fluttershy’s house. She was fairly certain at this point that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were no longer in the house. In fact, they might not have been at the house at all…
She kicked herself mentally for that. If they were half the ponies’ she knew them to be, they would’ve left in search of her and the others a long time ago. They weren’t the type of ponies to stand around and do nothing while their friends might be in potential danger, especially not Rainbow Dash. It was likely that they hadn’t been here for a while now.
“Calm down Twilight… Just take a moment and think things through…” She calmed herself by speaking out loud, something to break the deathly silence that was around her. “Your friends would likely be out either searching for you and the others, or to help other ponies… Or are out getting lost in the warping fog-riddled mazes that you’ve been falling into.” Her eyes flicked back and forth, staring at absolutely nothing in particular as she thought of her plan. “You don’t know which way they would’ve started heading, you don’t even have a starting clue as to how you’d get in contact with them… This world seems to decide when I can and can’t meet ponies…”
Her thoughts went quiet at those words, as a realization slowly dawned on her.
“It decides when I can meet ponies… except for one…”
It wasn’t a plan; it wasn’t even really a lead But there was one pony that she had met that hadn’t been dictated by the world saying if she could or couldn’t, one pony that seemed to even defy the world she was in currently, one pony that was currently taking care of one of her dearest friends right at that moment…
“I have to get back to Stalliongrad Library.” Twilight said, letting the confidence back into her voice. She stepped over the fallen debris of Fluttershy’s living room, quickly head over to the door. She grabbed hold of it with her magic and opened it, staring out at the fog filled world once more. She perked her ears and listened carefully, listening for any possible sound of the dragon that seemed to be guarding the town.
Silence was all that greeted her, and a small smile formed on her face. She didn’t feel like wasting any more time just standing around. With determination, she broke out into a quick trot, heading straight for Stalliongrad Library.
Twilight watched carefully from the edge of a building, spotting the slowly lurching figure in the fog making its way across the street. She couldn’t make out the details of what it looked like, but she had no doubt in her mind it was the outline of the soldiers she’d encountered before. Every time she had encountered them in the streets of Ponyville so far, she had found herself swarmed, surrounded by them and only able to escape by the skin of her teeth. She wanted to get to Stalliongrad library without incident; even if she had the sledgehammer to defend herself with, it wasn’t going to do much good against a whole pack of those soldiers.
The shadow was dragging its heavy weapon along the ground as usual; she could hear the scraping of the metal on stone even from that distance. She kept her ears open, her eyes fixated on the shadow moving through the fog. It didn’t take very long for the shadow to finally disappear into the depths of the shadows. The scraping of the metal was slow to follow, but eventually the town returned to the quiet it had before, nothing more than the sound of a gentle breeze and the creaking of old buildings.
Finally releasing the breath that she had been holding, Twilight stepped out from behind the building. The normal scrape of her hooves was muffled as she walked, each step sinking into the thickened layer of ash that now covered the ground. It continued to fall from the sky, a slow and never-ending pour of soot.
Twilight stuck close to the edges of the building, quickly breaking into a trot as she continued towards her destination. It wasn't far now, she knew exactly where it would be. Her ears were perked at all times, trying to listen to the sounds of any creatures that wanted her hide. The dragon had been nowhere to be heard so far, a fact that surprised her considering how close it had come to Fluttershy's cottage. So far she'd only encountered the occasional soldier shambling through town, all of which she'd carefully managed to maneuver around.
For her efforts, she was finally rewarded with the sight of the building that she had been looking for. With heavy breaths her eyes fell upon the large words, "Stalliongrad Library." For once something in this crazy world had stayed consistent, she gave all of her blessings to the fact that the building hadn't somehow magically managed to vanish in the short time that she had been gone. But it wasn't just the feeling of something familiar in a world that was constantly changing and screwing with her mind. No, another emotion was welling up inside of her.
She wanted to see Spike. She'd left him in the hooves of the only pony in town that seemed even remotely qualified to be able to take care of him right now, a fellow researcher and a published one at that. He may have seemed a little off putting, and there still was the possibility that he had somehow started all of this, but he still had the only safe haven in the entire town.
She climbed the steps of Stalliongrad library, wanting to head straight for the back and meet a familiar face, someone who could she rest and lean on for at least a moment. But her hooves stopped at a door as a piece of paper came into view.
"To Miss Twilight Sparkle,
I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it appears that my initial research wasn't as accurate as I believed. The symbol that I placed to create a barrier against the monsters has a time limit on how long it will work. I will need to do more research into how long it lasts for, but needless to say Stalliongrad Library is no longer a safe haven for me and your companion.
I will continue to ensure his safety as we move to our next location however; you need not worry about that. His well-being is my top-priority. So that you may find our new safe haven, I am leaving a trail of notes for you. So far the monsters have appeared to be unable to read, so we should be safe leaving them for you.
This town will do crazy things to the mind if you let it Miss Sparkle, keep yourself strong.
Magus V. Darkarts"
At the bottom of the page, a large arrow was pointing to the east.
Twilight's heart sunk a little upon reading the note, but was relieved to hear that when the safe haven had failed that the two of them had managed to escape the library unscathed, at least enough to be able to write such an elaborate note. She quickly picked the note up and placed it within her storage, not wanting to lose it at such an important time.
Though this did mean that she had to spend more time wandering through this ash-covered town, and the air was thick with the burnt remains and was starting to make breathing more and more difficult. She was also ever fearful of that dragon making reappearance, as she still had no proper means to defend herself from it. If it were to show up, she'd have to rely on just running away like she had twice before now, a tactic she feared would not be enough to save her again.
With a shake of her head to clear her thoughts she stepped down from the entrance of Stalliongrad Library and looked in the direction the note had been pointing. It didn't take long for her eyes to spot a similarly placed piece of paper on a wall of one of the buildings near the library, almost hidden by the fog but just visible enough for her to see it. It was pointing straight ahead, most likely to another note hidden within the town.
Twilight brought herself to a quick trot once more, heading down the ashen streets of Ponyville. Her eyes wandered for any lumbering soldiers that might attempt to attack her, while also keeping a lookout for new notes.
One by one they began to appear on the sides of the buildings, pointing her further and further towards the outskirts of town.
'They traveled such a long distance...' She thought to herself, realizing how far this actually was from the library, 'That's a long time for Spike to be in danger... what was he thinking? Where were they headed?' She didn't like the idea that the baby dragon had to be exposed to anymore of this town than was necessary. It was already taking its heavy toll on her mind as it was. She couldn't even imagine Spike having to go through some of the things she'd seen already...
She didn't want him to have to see the things she'd seen. She wanted Spike to be safe, she wanted nothing more than to lift this fog and return Ponyville to the thriving small town it once was, back to a home she could be proud of.
Not the blood coated streets she now walked.
Her trotting slowed to a walk, before becoming almost a slow crawl and stopping entirely. She blinked in realization of where the notes had led her, completely unobstructed by locked doors and any sign of a monsters, she found herself standing before the entrance of familiar grove of trees.
She was right in front of Sweet Apple Acres.
'Did they really escape to Sweet Apple Acres?' Her mind asked, looking around at the various trees that she could see. All of the leaves had shriveled up and died, yet were still somehow miraculously attached the limbs of each of them. She couldn't spot any apples, though that was to be expected as the harvesting seasons had well ended before the start of winter. Twilight had been certain that the Apple Family had removed all the dead leaves from the trees right before winter hit, yet there they were, blackened, shriveled leaves atop each of them.
'I suppose that would make sense if Spike was with Magus... He was probably the one who had the idea of going here. If Applejack was anywhere, she'd be here trying to protect her family first. She wouldn't just abandon them if she knew they were in danger.' The thought gave Twilight some comfort and a bit of hope, the idea that maybe Spike and Magus had met up with Applejack and her family, that he'd used his magic to give them a safe haven and they would be waiting for her safe and sound within that familiar red barn.
She wanted to grasp onto that hope, and Lance's words came to mind once more. So long as she believed that this town was winning, it was going to win. Her mind was faltering, she was aware of that, it was straining from how illogical, cruel, and vile this town had become... but she needed something to grasp onto now, something to give her the strength to move forward. So she clung to the hope that she'd see them again, and stepped into the forest.
A shadow flashed out of the corner of her eye and she immediately swiveled her head in its direction. She stared into the foggy, dense forest of trees, scanning slowly with her eyes trying to spot what the movement had been. For a moment she thought that her mind was playing tricks on her, but she knew she couldn't let herself fall into a false sense of security, not now.
She lifted her front legs slowly, continuing to walk deeper into the woods of Sweet Apple Acres as she slowly removed the sledgehammer from her magic. She hovered it slowly by her side and strained her ears carefully. The rune that hung from her neck wasn't emitting the strange static it normally did when a creature was close, so that was a sign that told her she was safe, but that didn't mean she'd stay that way.
She heard the sound of leaves crunching under hooves and snapped her head in that direction, ready for the sound this time. Her eyes stared intently into the fog, the nothing that was there staring back at her almost tauntingly. Was something following her through the woods? She wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. It was exactly the kind of thing she would expect this town to do right now.
She gently swung the sledgehammer in the air, and immediately felt the difference the weight distribution was from the swords she was experienced with wielding. There was no way she would be able to adequately fight with such a strangely bulky weapon to her. It would give anything that attacked her a good concussion if she could get in a clear shot, but it lacked any finesse that a true weapon should.
However, she was not going to give whatever was following her the idea that she was unable to defend herself at the moment, and she continued slowly through the dead trees. If she remembered correctly, and she was certain she did, it wouldn't take her too long to reach the barn from this end of the woods. The positioning of the trees looked familiar; she'd been through them enough times with Applejack to start calling them a second home from Ponyville. If she followed the trees she was straight, she'd make it to the barn before she...
The rune began to buzz, letting out that familiar warning she dreaded. Her head frantically snapped back and forth, trying to find the location of the source, before swiveling in time to see a large object coming from behind her. The object struck her body hard, air escaping her lungs as she was hurled into the air. Her back hit the ground first, the shock forcing her to roll through the thick ash before sliding to a stop.
A pained groan escaped Twilight's lips as she managed to stand up, grateful that she had avoided being hurled into any of the trees. She spotted the sledgehammer having landed next to her and quickly wrapped her magic around it, raising it to face whatever creature it was that had launched its attack.
Her heart sank as she saw, just a few yards away from her, the pulsing black orb that seemed to bend reality around itself. From its center, the black-skinned pony head began to pull free from the twisting mess of shadows that surrounded it. It let loose the horrific, low-pitched howl from its sewn mouth. The pale, pupil-less eyes popped open as two hooves extended and slammed into the ground, held by shackles and chains that stretched into the darkness.
It was the same creature that separated her from Lance back at the hotel. But Lance was nowhere in sight now, it's pure white eyes seeming to pierce straight through her. Terror shot through her spine, her body instinctively backing away slowly as her pendant roared its cacophony of static. It growled its low-pitched howl, as if pulling itself out of the murky, shadowy orb was painful. The shackles rattled and it cracked its head looking at her, as from its sides the black ribbons began to ooze out once more.
Twilight glanced at the sledgehammer she had floating in front of her then back at the creature, watching as the ribbons grew longer. Her realization of what she was faced with and what she was fighting with hit her like a sack of bricks.
'I can't fight this thing with a sledgehammer.'
The orbed creature let out a loud, piercing roar through its sewn mouth and the ribbons shot forward. Reality snapping back to her, Twilight jumped. The ribbons swerved, trying to reach at the escaping unicorn, crashing into the various dead trees that surrounded her in the process. She found herself tumbling through the ashes once more, broken twigs and splintered wood flying over her head. The ribbons began to retract as Twilight stood up, the shackled legs of the warped thudding loudly against the ground as it began to turn it's body to face her.
She didn't let it have the time it needed to refocus its efforts on her, turning and pushing against the ground to escape. She broke out into a frantic run, racing through the dead woods that made up the apple orchard, her mind screaming at her to get to the barn. The sound of snapping wood and collapsing trees echoed right behind her as those large blackened ribbons flew inches away from her head.
The mass of skin-like cloth struck a pair of particularly large trees in front of her, causing the trees in front of her to crack loudly and begin their downward crashing arc. Twilight's eyes widened as she saw the large trees about to crash down in front of her, directly in her path. She grit her teeth and concentrated her magic, shooting it forth at the trees coming down. They immediately froze in place, suspended by the purple magic as Twilight escaped underneath them. Once past them, her magic broke free and they crashed loudly to the forest floor.
The loud roar of the black-orbed monstrosity echoed through the trees, as Twilight's panting grew louder. The buzzing of her medallion began to gradually slow into a dulled hum, before becoming silent itself. Twilight dared a peek over her shoulder as she continued to run, not seeing the ribbons or the creature itself chasing after her.
She didn't dare breathe a sigh of relief though, not until she knew for sure she was in the clear. She was close to reaching the barn now though; she just had to clear the orchard.
The familiar red barn quickly came into view, looking worse for wear much the same as everything else did, but Twilight was elated to see it none-the-less. The forest line cleared around her and she finally in the familiar opening to her friend's home. She wasted no time bolting straight for the door, only slowing down to a walk once she was right at the front steps.
She slipped the sledgehammer she'd been carrying the whole time back into her inventory and stared at the door. Plastered on the front of it was that blue runic symbol that Magus had told her about, the one that drove monsters away. Her heart rose to her throat in hope, praying that what was behind that door was exactly what she wanted, the exact reason she had come here for.
Her hoof twitched hesitantly as it reached for the door. She was nervous now, thinking that she had come this far, gone through this much, and that right behind the door was exactly what she had been searching for. She thought of all the horrible things that could be behind the door as well. Some new monstrosity that she'd never seen before could have managed to break through the symbol, or perhaps it was as Lance said and it'd fake versions of the people she cared about...
Her hoof pressed against the door and she tried to swallow the lump in her throat that was making it hard to breathe. She turned the knob, finding that it was indeed unlocked and gently swung the door open, taking a step inside to see what was waiting.
The first thing she spotted was a lit fireplace in the living room and in front of the flicking flames were two figures. One scruffy looking unicorn stallion that turned to look at her, and the other-
"TWILIGHT!" A small purple blur got up from where it had been sitting and rushed over, wrapping his arms around the soot covered unicorn that had walked in through the door. Twilight stared down in shock at the baby dragon that was hugging her, nestling in with affection, "I'm so glad you're okay! I was so worried!" His body shook as he hugged her.
The lump in Twilight's throat didn't fade, but instead seemed to grow bigger. She began to tremble as she felt her body collapse into a sitting position. Her hooves snapped up and wrapped around the baby dragon tightly, squeezing him to her chest as tears began to streak down her cheeks.
"Spike... it's... it's really you... oh thank Celestia, it's you..." She said shakily, a bright smile forming on her face as she pressed her face into his head. The two of them just stood in their embrace at that doorway, not caring for a moment that the world outside held some distant abominations and horrors, that she had seen things that she wished she never had to relive. All that mattered was that she was holding Spike again, closely holding someone she loved so dearly.
"I told you I'd take care of him, Miss Sparkle," Magus said, looking at the scene of affection with a chuckle. "I am a stallion of my word."
"Thank you, Magus," was all Twilight could manage to get out between the tears streaking down her dirty face. She was just happier than she could believe, happier than she thought she'd be to just hold Spike again.
"Twilight, you're covered in ash..." Spike said, lifting his arm to see that it was now covered simply from hugging the unicorn, "Come on, let's get you cleaned up. We found some clean water that we can use." He broke the hug first to lead Twilight to where she could clean up.
Twilight couldn't help but watch in awe as the little dragon still cared more about her well-being than of the horrors that seemed to surround them. It was almost surreal, escaping a white world of death and coming into one that had a loving embrace to it. Her smile returned to her face. She turned and closed the door behind her, just letting the moment soak in.
"Yeah... let's get me cleaned up..."