//------------------------------// // The Forest // Story: The Järkivääristää // by Efimero //------------------------------// A lilac hoof knocked on the door of the mysterious hut located in the Everfree Forest. Behind her, a pegasus reported to a pink pony. “Pinkie, I spotted the others approaching the forest. Seems they’re coming along after all. They’ll be here in ten minutes tops.” “Good job, Dashie. You’re the best lookout I ever had! Also, you have burrs on your mane,” she replied cheerfully to the flying expert. “Oh, no! Agh! It will take hours to clean this mess! Awww, come on!” The hut door opened and its striped inhabitant came out of it to greet her guests. “Greetings, my dear friend, what brings you to the forest’s end?” the zebra asked to the worried unicorn. Twilight was feeling very heavy, worried with the pressure of the mission. “Zecora, we need your help and we need it fast. There’s a creature called Jeerkovaritsh and it’s coming to attack us, but it doesn’t even exist and I don’t know what to do!” she blurted anxiously as she recalled she had no idea of what to expect. “For now at least, do not fret, have patience, for we’re not finished yet,” answered the zebra in a calming tone. However, her words had the opposite effect on Twilight. “But there is no time left! We must hurry! We are already late!” “The Järkivääristää is not so steady, but when you meet him you need to be ready. Come inside and let me explain, there is a way to prevent this pain.” “So you do know of this creature too? How is that possible?” Twilight asked confused. “Against threats of the forest I always prepare. For in this forest there’s not even a bear which I do not know about, and I was here the night of wonder, the one we trapped that creature yonder, and left it ensnared and well bound,” stated Zecora, boasting about her long past victory, leaving unclear whether she had met the princesses or not. They entered the hut, Twilight almost shaking thinking about all the things that could go wrong. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie followed, but were distracted by a voice coming from behind. “Pinkie! Rainbow! We’re here!” Applejack shouted, galloping to their encounter with Rarity and Fluttershy. “We’re sorry. We have thought it better and...” “Yeah, whatever,” Rainbow Dash interrupted, getting into the hut. “Everypony knew you’d come sooner or later,” Pinkie explained patronizing them. “Are we so predictable?” the pale unicorn asked disappointed. Applejack just shrugged in response. As they entered the hut, they found Zecora explaining to Twilight some things she needed to know. “For being successful in this mission you will need to have true vision. As you approach the Järkivääristää it will try to trick your mind and for you the way to find an improvement with your vista must take place, there’s no other option, so let’s begin to make this potion.” The zebra gathered the ingredients and put a small cauldron on the fire. “Very scarce are the parts like a crystal feathered duck, but we are in so much luck for I have the last troll hearts.” The mix began to boil and change colours as the rhyming mare continued her improvised poem. “Watch as I work revealing magic, eye of the newt and phoenix song, watch as this matter turns the wrong into a clear transparent gimmick.” The shaman chanted and stirred the brew. The room filled with a color-changing light coming from the cauldron. The hued ponies held their breath. “Faithful Twilight, approach now. In your body, this you must allow.” Zecora brought the magic potion to the unicorn and offered her to drink it whole. The unicorn stepped back. “What if it harms me? Isn’t it dangerous?” “You will have to swallow it whole, if you ever want to reach your goal. You can trust me, little foal, there is nothing harmful in this bowl.” Trembling a little, she found the resolution to take a step forward and drunk all the strange liquid. At first it tasted like a bittersweet rainbow, somewhat like fermented apple cider. Then it tasted like feathers and nacar. Soon after, like pink and purple and brown, like seeds of kindness and pastries of joy. It felt like a minty smell rising up to her brain and crawling deep into her emotions. For a moment, she felt all her repressed feelings coming out, but just then it was over. Her eyes glimmered with a faint green light as she opened them. “You have drunk the potion of true vision, now you can tell reality from derision.” Twilight looked around her and didn’t see anything special. “But everything is the same. Nothing has changed here,” she told the zebra, but then she saw a dim shadow in the shape of a horse walking afflicted. “What is that? Is that a ghost!?” she cried fearful of the creature. “Don’t concern you with the spirit. It is here, but you shouldn’t fear it. These forces of nature are not evil, you will find they all behave civil.” Twilight calmed a bit. She felt much more confident now. She felt there was no way she could fail her mission now. “Thank you, Zecora. You have really saved the day.” “Just one last word of advice: there is no victory without a price. You may now find the fabled creature, but to beat it you must have wit. On this creature you won’t land a hit, as such is its powerful feature.” Twilight was puzzled by Zecora’s cryptic words, but she didn’t want to lose a second more. Rainbow Dash, however, thought they could be better off. “Uh... Do you have something for the rest of us, Zecora?” “I’m afraid anything I give you will only distract you from being true,” the zebra replied with a smug expression, daring Rainbow to act on her own or know she was not really cut for it. “Awwww...” she surrendered. Applejack chuckled at her back as they left the hut. “Woah, look!” Fluttershy exclaimed surprised. “The whole forest is covered in poison joke! It wasn’t like this when we got here.” Twilight’s new powers let her pierce through the annoying charade easily, “It’s all hazy and unreal. It must be an illusion. Come on, I’ll lead the way. Step on my hoofprints.” Twilight entered the forest and only looked back once before leaving the clearing. She wanted to glance again, maybe for the last time, at the immense silhouette of a gigantic and calm deer spirit that looked at them motionless. What was it guarding or looking after was unknown to the student, but she felt a protective, kind aura beyond the terrible, ominous horned creature shape. She finally looked away to her front and trotted into the forest. * * * The Everfree Forest looked extremely disquieting to Twilight. The hazy shape of broken illusion spells filled the air around her, trying futilely to blur her sight and mislead her from the path. The playful and mysterious spirits of nature raised and revolted around her making a wonderful show of lights and shadows only for her. The worried pony tried to focus on the task at hand, though the wonders she could now perceive distracted her. Seeing the invisible made for a much deeper understanding of the forest’s workings than she could have ever expected. “Ah don’t like this, Twilight,” Applejack whispered looking at all sides. “I feel like something is lurking in the dark. It’s so creepy.” Pinkie tried to reassure her with her cheerful voice. “Don’t worry, Applejack. We’ve been here before, remember? Giggle at the ghostly, guffaw at the grossl--” “Hush, Pinkie,” Twilight interrupted. “This is not the moment. There really is something lurking in the darkness.” “Oh,” said the pink singer surprised. They kept walking slowly and in silence while staring at the freakish shapes formed by the dim light the oak’s canopies let through. They began to notice some dark, skinny figures of pony-like shape moving among the trees and bushes, making almost no sound. “What do you think, Twilight?” asked Rarity. “Maybe we should take another route to avoid disturbing the nice inhabitants of the region?” “No. We’re almost there. The track of illusions is densest here.” She raised her tone so everyone nearby could hear her to say “if any creature of this land has anything to say, they are free to speak up. We’re not here to fight them anyway.” With that, the black shady creatures retreated to observe them from behind. Soon they reached a big old stone wall engraved with convoluted ornaments. It reached several times taller than any pony and faded into the undergrowth, losing itself between branches and leaves. A prominent circular motif crowned the carvings with abstract and exotic symbols unknown to any of them. “The path leads here,” said the leading unicorn. “What do you mean the path?” observed Rainbow Dash. “There are hundreds of paths around here and we have taken many turns straight into the bushes. My mane is filled with burrs again!” “The path of illusions preventing us to reach here ends here,” she explained. “I have the feeling we have been led here, while any other would have just lost its way into a chasm or something.” “Then it is a trap?” the other unicorn inquired. “Possibly, but rather... it’s a barrier we must open.” “What do you m-mean? W-what is b-behind it?” the yellow pegasus asked scared to the death. “It would seem this can only be opened from this side, so the Junkibaginrat needs us to open it for him, so he can enter Equestria, I believe.” “What!?” Pinke yelled. “Then we should just go away and leave it closed!” “No, Pinkie. Just think about it. If we don’t open this now, the Jarkevarist will soon find another unicorn and lure it here to open the gate,” affirmed Twilight. “We must end this today.” Everypony stood in silence, scrutinizing the enigmatic patterns of the sculpted wall. “So...” Rarity broke the silence, “does it have to be an unicorn?” “Mmmhm... These symbols are akin to the ones in the fourth page of the twelfth chapter of the Blackstar’s Tome of Spellbinding. It looks like a powerful magic gate that prevents any spirit-bound creature to trespass the threshold.This magic wall may well run all along the Everfree Forest. It may have been protecting Equestria for centuries!” The enthusiasm in her voice increased with each possibility she discovered, but with it, also the fear of whatever laid behind. “So... a-a-are y-you gonna o-open it?” Fluttershy stammered almost panicking at the terrible foretelling. “Yes. Whatever is creating these illusions, whether it is the Justaebonista or something else, has devised an evil plan to open this gate. No matter what is laying beyond, we must stop it. For Celestia. For Equestria.” The purple mare spoke with confidence to the rest and glanced at the arcane symbols. Then, as she examined the convoluted reliefs, she began to flounder about her own motifs. Was she opening the door on the conviction she would defeat the creature or was the creature playing with her to make her open the gate while it was their worst option? “Or maybe... maybe Pinkie is right...” she began to hesitate looking at her friends. “There are other options. Dash could go to Canterlot and bring some guards. Maybe they’ll listen. I could block this with another spell. There must be a way to prevent the gate from opening from this side.” Then Rarity took a step forward. “I don’t think this puzzle is so hard,” she muttered referring to the mystical engravings. “It has a beautiful interior, filled with gems of different kinds!” She began to shine as she played with the hidden stones with her magic grasp and sense for jewells. “Rarity, what are you doing?” asked Twilight in that confusing moment. “Don’t you see? All these gems want to be together, each with their kind. It can’t be hard to realign them!” the white mare yelled excited as she shifted and turned the interior stone disks. “Rarity! No!” With a roar, the whole section of the wall shined in white light and disappeared leaving a big archway open to the wild. “Oops!” whispered Rarity when she noticed her fault. Everypony looked at her disconcerted and suspicious. “Nevermind,” said Twilight, “let’s just get there and finish this.” They stepped through the gate and Rarity bowed in shame. “Come on, sugarcube. Don’t get behind.” Applejack said as she passed by her, after the rest. She was more concerned than angry with her. “Yeah, don’t worry,” she told the blonde mare. As soon as she wasn’t looking, she extracted the gems from the gate and smiled. “Yaaay! Free gems!” she whispered to herself. * * * The mount beneath the gate had clearly been untrodden for years, maybe centuries. At least it was clear for Twilight. For the others it was a mess of fake walls, fake groves, fake pits of death and fake clean, well-maintained paths to fake hallowed plains. However, they managed to keep safe by listening to the truth-seeing unicorn’s advice. The real path, however, led to an old and weathered stone staircase, its top lost behind a cloud’s hazy shape. They began to ascend the foggy hillside when an eerie howling dimmed their determination. “What is that? Is it a wolf?” asked Dash, nervously looking around herself. “It must be timberwolves,” Twilight said without showing any hint of fear, “but don’t worry. I’ll take care of them.” Rarity tapped on her flank so she would look at her. “Darling, I think we have a little problem here. Could you...?” she said showing her the culprit. It was unusual of Fluttershy to keep a grimace so forced, but it was even stranger for her to stand frozen with her four legs extended and stiff. It seemed she was completely paralyzed with fear. She looked like she wasn’t even breathing. “Oh, come on, Fluttershy, we don’t have time for this,” the leading mare said sighing. “Listen. I know you are scared, but I promise you I won’t let anything bad happen to you, ok?” “Ah don’t think that’s working,” Applejack commented, seeing the lack of reaction of the yellow pegasus. A hoarse sound of grinding ground was everything she emitted as her hooves dragged through the dusty path. Pinkie was trying to force her move to no avail. “I can’t believe how hard you get when scared, while usually being the softest thing ever.” “Fluttershy, are you even there?” her purple friend asked beginning to fear the worst. “You can count on us, Fluttershy. Even if you are a statue we will still love you,” she spoke softly, hugging her with grieving tenderness. “Yeah, we will care for you, sugarcube,” continued Applejack joining the hug. “Of course!” added Rarity doing the same. They all joined in a warm group hug around the little pegasus and she promptly snapped out of her catatonic state. “Thank you, girls. I have almost forgotten the creeping shadows and the terrible sounds of the beasts that are about to devour us,” she finally told them with her delicate voice, closing her eyes, finally allayed. “Oh, yeah, that,” Twilight remembered disappointed. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care. Let’s go.” Step by step, aided by her friends, the scared pegasus began to move again toward their common goal. They started to climb the broken steps as the mist engulfed them. Before them, the howling of the timberwolves grew stronger with each step. They reached the end of the staircase and saw the path fading into the fog in the distance. They walked just a few more meters when a timberwolf concealed in the fog growled at them. Twilight stood still, but her friends hollered and gathered behind her in panic. When they looked around, they saw several more wolves. They were surrounded. The first timberwolf faced Twilight growling. Its legs creaked like old furniture. Its breath puffed in vapor clouds in the cold haze. It stared at the unicorn and she stared back at it. A little further, another wolf howled loudly. “Twilight, are those real?” Applejack stuttered. “Those look real to me,” Pinkie Pie added, a little worried. “Of course they are, but do not worry. I have just what they need.” Twilight was worried, but her confidence didn’t fade. She focused on her magic and a scorching bolt darted from her horn to the floor before the wolf, igniting the leaves covering the ground. Her eyes shined in red light as flames danced in her pupils. The wolf moved away and barked furiously. Twilight grinned at the raising fire. As the other timberwolves approached the scared ponies, the fire extended around them forming a circle. The flames rose higher and hotter, Twilight’s heart raced and she breathed rapidly in excitement. The wolves stopped their growling. Soon they turned around and disappeared in the misty forest. While the flames decreased slowly, the timberwolves howled in the distance. When the fire receded into mere smoke, the unicorn closed her eyes and let her head bow. She felt exhausted, but more for the fear and tension of the standstill than the spell itself. “I didn’t want to harm them,” she whispered to the ground, almost whining. “It’s ok, honey. No one got burnt. Not even those pesky creatures,” Applejack said trying to calm her. “Woah! I didn’t know you could do that,” Pinkie claimed failing to be cheerful. She was starting to be a little scared of her fiery friend. “Let’s keep going,” she muttered in a dry tone. She had felt the rage of fire. The devouring need of the unstoppable flame. She had just hungered for the wood of a living animal, and she had almost enjoyed it, though in retrospect it felt like the most terrible thing to do. She didn’t, until now, understand the meaning of the offensive spellcasting, but she was beginning to comprehend. * * * The path through the hazy meadows, though filled with mirages, had also some authentic pieces of masonry spread along the way; mostly cobblestone statues with swirling engravings and thin wooden totems representing known and unknown creatures. They saw the Sun shine as they reached a clearing wider than any other before. The faint mist covering the bright green pastures made for a refreshing feeling of bliss, but also an eerie and uncanny mood, as if something kept watching them from beneath the haze. The sound of falling water alerted them to the barely visible waterfall that reigned before the clearing. Long branches filled with green leaves surrounded it, dripping wet with the mist from the waterfall and that of the clouds. “Dash, take a peek from above,” Twilight ordered, “be quick. I don’t want you getting lost.” “Yes, sir,” she said, taking off instantly. The pegasus darted above the clouds and looked around, then flashing again straight down. Twilight glanced at her as she landed and then went back to looking for clues in the fog. “Woah, Twilight! You won’t believe it! It’s amazing!” the blue pony cried, “the whole forest is covered in mist and there’s only that old Princesses’ castle above the clouds, and Ponyville in the distance. There’s a small tower on top of this hill, too.” “Why wouldn't’ I believe that, Rainbow?” the unicorn asked befuddled. “Well, I just... It’s so... awe... some... I guess...” she pouted at the underwhelming reply. “What’s the holdup, Twilight?” Applejack inquired, noticing they had been waiting quite a while at the sunny glade. “I’m not sure... We’ve been following a trail of delusions through the path along the mound, but here there’s no path and no illusion spells.” She looked around trying to find anything uncommon. “There are no spirits, even. Just... fog.” “Ah don’t know about this, Twilight. It seems like all this is gettin’ to you waaay too much, honey.” “Don’t be silly. I just need to find a clue.” “Don’t you be silly, Twilight,” interrupted Pinkie. “We have been hours treading through bushes and mud. And there’s no sign of this path ending anywhere. It’s booooring!” Suddenly, Rainbow came to a conclusion which she thought excellent. “Yeah! This is a chore. We should split and look for this thing faster.” “Of course. How would you deal with the illusions if there are more ahead, then?” Twilight asked raising her tone in disbelief. “Well, I would... uh... I’ll kick all ‘em out!” the fierce pegasus shouted proudly. “Pleaaase... You can’t be seriously intending to do that. That’s just silly.” “Are you calling me dumb!?” As they were about to get into fighting stance Rarity intervened. “Girls, please. Don’t fight on such a petty matter. Twilight. How about this? We get in two groups and go each one in a different direction. Just to see what’s at the edge of the clearing. Then we come back following our steps. Is that ok?” “No, Rarity. If we miss our path we would be lost forever. We have to stick together until the end,” she replied very worried she was losing them. “Then what?” exclaimed the pink, bored pony. “Do we sit here forever until you find a magical mysterious mystical musical whimsical phantom spirit? Well, that would actually be pretty neat, but I don’t think it’s gonna happen.” “I d-d-don’t want to be s-separated,” Fluttershy mumbled terrified. “This place is scaring the hay out of me. I want to stay close to Twilight.” “Yeah, we should stick together or we’re gonna end harmed in one of those illusion traps,” said Applejack trying to keep them in a single group. “Well, I don’t know about you, darling,” the pearl unicorn responded, “but I think I am perfectly capable of dealing with some frail spells like these.” “Rarity, this is too dangerous. Don’t start again.” Twilight was really baffled by her friend’s attitude today. She had been messing everything up the whole day. “I’m not afraid of no stinking mirage. I’m going with Rarity,” explained Rainbow, who was still trying to keep a cool stance while cleaning the burrs covering her mane. “I’m not scared either. I’m going with them,” Pinkie expressed cheerfully. “What do you mean you’re going with them!? We’re going together wherever we go!” Twilight exclaimed exasperated. “Oh, yeah? Fine!” Rarity conceded. “Then which way do we go?” “I don’t know. I just... want us to be together.” “Ugh. Listen. Why don’t you just stay here wondering about the mysteries of the forest while we go there and actually solve some mystery?” Suddenly, the idea of resting for a while made perfect sense in Twilight’s mind. “Hum. You know what? That’s actually a good idea. You go for a quick exploring and I have some time to think over the next step... but first...” “First what?” asked Rarity. “First let me teach you some telepathy tricks so we can stay in touch. Ok? It’s not that hard, really.” “Oh, dear, now you’re talking.” * * * Rarity trotted into the fog and only the tacit bond between the two unicorns kept them in contact through the luminous ether of the mind realm. Twilight sat on the grass and breathed deep. It was the first time since the morning her brain had had a rest. Even though she had to keep the telepathic bond active, it wasn’t as tiring as listening to Rarity’s complaints. Around them, the mist raised leaving them isolated in the green pasture. The sun dimmed further with each passing minute. Fluttershy rested on the floor, trying to calm her nerves. Applejack wandered around impatiently, munching some grass here and there to keep herself busy. Twilight closed her eyes, freed her mind of thought and, afterwards, began reconstructing again all the pieces of the Järkivääristää puzzle. “It’s weird. We have been seeing illusion spells all the way here, but there’s still no proof of the Jazzinavista existing. Do you think it’s a masquerade of somepony trying to hide behind a fable?” concluded Twilight, asking the light mares for their opinion. “Ah don’t know, sugarcube. This whole business has smelled fishy from the beginning,” The orange one commented. “It ain’t like a smart pony couldn’t pull it off, actually.” The yellow pegasus stuttered in her place, looking nervously around. “I think it’s too scary to be real. It cannot exiiiiIIIIIIHHH!!!” Fluttershy yelled when she noticed a pony standing beside them, appeared out of thin haze. “Oh, please! Don’t shout!” whispered the light amber mare crouching scared. “I’m sorry I startled you.” Her saffron mane curled wildly around her face where her brown hood let it spread. She looked like a very small earth pony, but her brown cowl reached her flank, covering her mark and, possibly, a pair of wings. “My name is Fuzzymane... it’s nice to see somepony again.” Her raspy voice sounded like she hadn’t used it in a long time. “Mah name’s Applejack. Sorry about the crying. She’s Fluttershy. She is a little nervous. And this here is Twilight.” “Pleased to meet you,” the amber pony replied to Applejack. “So... how come you’re here in this forgotten land... all alone?” asked the farmer, perplexed by the mysterious newcomer. “Don’t listen to her,” Twilight interrupted, “she’s not real.” “What!?” murmured Fluttershy. “What do you mean?” “She’s an illusion. A living mirage. She’s not tangible.” She approached the fuzzy silhouette and tried to push a hoof through it, but she reacted like a real being would, although Twilight couldn’t feel her touch. “Ow! Please, don’t do that,” said Fuzzymane, moving away. “I think I have a curse on me.” “Yeah, Twilight. That was sorta rude...” Applejack pointed out. “What a curse you’re talkin’ ‘bout, sugarcube?” Fuzzymane bowed her head hiding her yellow eyes and began telling her story. “Well, I was at the Spiral Shrine when a beam of ligh--” “No way! Stop listening to that! It’s an illusion!” Twilight interrupted. She was starting to get anxious about the fake mare. “But Twilight. What if what she’s saying is true?” inquired Fluttershy, attempting to calm her friend down. “Yeah, Twilight. This filly looks pretty real to me. Are you sure you’re not messing up your judgement?” Applejack added, doubting the clairvoyance was all they had been told. “Really? Then I guess she wouldn’t mind explaining how come she’s here while this place has been sealed for decades?” the student questioned vehemently. “Uh, I think I might be able to answer that, Ms Twilight,” the saffron-haired spoke politely. “I come from a small village on the far side of the Everfree Forest from Canterlot. We live peaceful lives there, away from the troubles of big cities. It was only recently that we discovered the gate to the accursed hill had been opened. Thus, I came here days ago to investigate.” Twilight didn’t quite believe that story and her face showed it clearly with a skeptical sneer. “Neeeeigh... I’ve never heard before of such a place beyond the forest. And I know a bit of geography, mind you.” “Twilight, stop it. Yer being too harsh. She’s just a lost mare.” Applejack was becoming more upset with each of Twilight’s words. “Poor little thing,” Fluttershy muttered, “how long have you been lost in this terrible forest?” That sentence cued Twilight to something she had almost forgotten. Her other friends had been away for about five minutes already. They weren’t supposed to be that long, so she contacted Rarity through their mystical link. “Rarity. Are you ok?” she spoke straight to her friend’s mind. “You should be back here already! What happened?” “It’s ok, darling,” she replied. “Nothing to worry about.” “You’re lost. Aren’t you?” “No, of course not! We are just... say... a bit off-track?” “You are lost,” Twilight confirmed emphatically. “Nuh-uh...” Rarity responded shyly hiding the truth. “Of course you are,” her friend finally asserted, very disappointed. “Stay where you are, do you hear me? I’m going to find you. Just don’t wander around.” She stopped focusing on the magic bond and looked back to her near-standing friends. They were talking to the amber illusion and, when Twilight called for their attention, they lined up with her. The unicorn was puzzled and could only ask, “what the hay are you doing?” “We’re gonna help her, Twilight. She needs us. We can’t leave her all on her own!” stated Applejack. “Yeah, and you should be kind to her. She’s such a frail and beautiful mare,” Fluttershy added. Fuzzymane spoke, “I am so glad you are going to help me. I was so lonely and...” “Shut up. Just shut up,” Twilight cut her sharply. “You are not real. You shouldn’t be talking.” Fuzzymane’s heart shattered in a thousand pieces and she began whimpering. “But... but... Why are you being so cruel to me?” “Blah, bluh, blah... I’m not listening. You don’t exist.” “But...” she sobbed as tears dropped from her cheeks, “but I thought we could be friends...” Twilight sighed deeply. Her friends were astonished. They couldn’t manage to say a word. Twilight was certain she was correct, but she was starting to doubt herself. Still, she wasn’t allowing such folly on her watch. “Listen, peach, I know you’re part of a major plot for deceiving us and making us lose time, so let’s make a deal. You stop chatting with my friends and let them follow me or I will have to test how strong is that mirage of yours and see how you explain vanishing in thin air, fine?” Fuzzymane looked at her with her angriest expression and just said, “fine,” and smiled. Then, Applejack and Fluttershy seemed relieved. “Thanks Celestia we have fixed this so easily,” Fluttershy commented. “Yeah. For a moment Ah thought you had gone mad, honey. Ah’m glad you’re finally accepting this lovely piece of applepie to come with us,” said Applejack stroking Fuzzymane’s hood without noticing she was trespassing her hypothetical skull. Twilight shook her head, whinnied and turned around to follow Rarity’s trail, pursued by Fuzzymane. Her enthralled friends followed the amber illusion disregarding most of Twilight’s actions. They left the clearing and went deeper into the forest. * * * “Hey, purplebutt,” said the amber filly, “how come you never get mislead like the others? You should be rolling down a hill by now.” “Your mirages are but flimsy foggy images to me. You cannot deceive my senses.” Twilight wanted to smack her stupid face, but first, she wasn’t even real, and second, she had no time to waste. She had to find her other friends. She spoke to Rarity again through their mind link, “Rarity, where are you? Describe me what you see.” “What do you mean, darling?” she replied promptly. “We are all here.” She seemed puzzled, but Twilight already knew just what was going on. “You said I should go upwards. Always upwards to the tower. And here we are, together again. You’re so smart, dear.” “Rarity. I didn’t say anything to you for a long time. I didn’t tell you to go anywhere. I told you to stay put!” “But if you are not here... and I have been following a fake... uhm... wait, no. How do I know you are the real one and not the fake one, and you’re trying to make me think the real one is the fake one? Uuuh... I’m feeling dizzy. It’s hard to think and speak through the aether at the same time.” “Uuuurgh...” Twilight focused again on galloping and began climbing the hill through bushes and rocks, ignoring the spiral path that led to the summit. Her hooves scratched by the thorny shrubs and her mane full of burrs, she reached the tower and contemplated the ruins in awe. Sunlight bathed the big clearing atop the hill, but all around layers of white clouds covered the valley and beyond. Blue light sparks came from inside the tower, filtering through the old windows and the half-fallen walls. The tower didn’t even have a ceiling and a piece of spiral staircase could be seen from outside, raising to the cloudy skies. On the courtyard before the tower’s entrance Twilight found her missing friends, sleeping on top of old marble benches. They seemed alright, but something was clearly wrong. She stepped through the broken iron gate that once separated the garden from the wild. The round benches rested in a circular division, surrounded by the remains of ancient marble statues of renowned ponies. After that, a short stone path led to the main door of the tower. A big wooden one, with a smaller split door in it. The upper part of the split door was half open, and blue light intermittently shined through the thin hole. Twilight approached the door to see what was going on inside, but then a voice called her from behind. “Twilight!” cried Applejack’s voice. She turned around and ran back to meet her friends again. “We were so worried. We didn’t know where you were going,” explained Fluttershy. “Yeah. You don’t need to run. See? All your friends are perfectly fine,” added Fuzzymane’s raspy voice. Twilight noticed a soft glow in her friends’ eyes before they fell asleep with the others. She knew what that was. A simple sleeping spell. Nothing she couldn’t clear away, but she just couldn’t concentrate on it. “You know, violet-witch, It was incredibly easy to fool you into opening that gate, but you are so stubborn...” the amber pony commented, “it would have been nice if you had stayed away from the Spiral Shrine. However, now you are here and there’s no turning back. Are you ready to meet your friends in slumberland?” She stepped towards Twilight slowly, with a menacing gait. “Shut up. Your lowly tricks have no power over me,” she bluffed, “and I will smack you out of reality once and for all before you can even try.” “Oh, really? Well, I’d love to see that. Let’s see how fa--” she rambled on as a hundred icicles stormed through her ethereal body, dissolving and vaporizing her image. The ice-covered garden remained silent for a while save for some pony snores. Twilight breathed deep and tried to wake up her friends, though they were deep into the magic effect and the task exhausted her. She managed to bring back Applejack and Fluttershy, but soon they fell again. She had prevented Fuzzymane from casting another spell, still, they were bound with powerful magic. Twilight knew how to cast it out, although she was too exhausted to do it. She needed to rest too, but what was the point if what she wanted was to wake everyone up? Then, she remembered about the silent tie she was still holding with Rarity. She could drop it to regain some strength or she could try to contact her and convince her to lend her magic to wake everypony up. It was a close call either way, but she opted for the later, as Rarity would still have power enough to help her wake everypony at once, she believed. “Rarity, answer me,” she spoke through the boundless mind realm, “I need your help.” “What are you doing, Twilight? You are right before me. Why don’t you talk to me like a nice, well mannered pony?” “This is important, Rarity. You are asleep!” “What?” she exclaimed surprised. “I’m perfectly awake. Where is this silliness coming from?” “You have to believe me! I need you to help me cast a dispelling wave so everyone wakes up!” Twilight tried to reason with her, but it was pointless. She was deeply enthralled in an illusion within her dream. “Listen, Twilight. If I am sleeping, and I am sure I am not, how am I supposed to fight this swirling-black-hole looking demon?” Rarity inquired, believing her friend was joking at the worst of times. Twilight stopped for a moment trying to grasp her puzzling words. “What? A black hole?” Then it struck her. It was a trap and she was right in the middle of it, still, she couldn’t leave without trying. “Rarity, don’t look at it.” “Don’t look at what? The shiny opalescence of the lethal growth in the middle of the evil demon’s billion-pronged dark silhouette?” she asked, her voice dumbing away with each syllable. “But it’s so shiny... and pretty...” “No, Rarity! We are still linked! You’re going to drag me to the abyss!” she thought, loudly. “I’m going to make the biggest onyx tiara ever...” she babbled, her voice fading away in the background noise. Twilight started feeling dizzy and her mind lost focus. She fell on the wet garden’s grass and opened her eyes, trying to escape the curse, but it was too late. She faded away, watching the Sun set behind the misty forest.