~~~~Twilight~~~~
A bad feeling crept over me as I neared the library. I couldn’t put my hoof on it, but something just felt…wrong. The shadows seemed to deepen the closer I got and the air smelled strange, almost acidic. The night suddenly seemed colder, more oppressive. I didn’t like it.
When I finally arrived, I found Applejack trying to buck in the door to Trixie’s carriage. She looked worse than when I had left her; her bandages were tattered and her kicks had only a fraction of their usual strength. Even if she were healthy, I doubted that she could have broken in; the shield from the other night surrounded the carriage. I swallowed any remaining hesitation and ran to AJ’s side.
“What happened? Are you all right? Is she? What…what is happening?” Panic edged its way into my voice.
“Ah don’t rightfully know, Sugar-cube.” She didn’t cease kicking no matter how fruitless it was. “Ah tried talkin’ ta her, but she started talkin’ funny, then she tossed me out here like an old sack fulla apples. Ah landed bad, but it ain’t nothing ah can’t manage. Ah been tryin’ ta git back in ever since.”
“Talking funny?” I tried to dispel the barrier with little effect. “How so?”
“It’s…hard ta say. She got awful cross and her voice was all whispery. Also…” She hesitated.
“Also?” I began charging my horn. I was going to enter. No matter what.
“Well, ah ain’t really sure what ah heard after ah got chucked out, but ah did hear her yellin’. Ah don’t know who or what she was yellin’ at, but ah coulda sworn ah heard someone answerin’…just real quietly.”
“You mean there’s somepony in there with her?”
“Yeah, ah think so. Ah’m not too sure though; ah didn’t see anypony in there before she pitched me out.”
I redoubled my efforts to charge my spell. I didn’t know what to think about this mystery pony; if they existed. It was a puzzle that I didn’t yet have all the pieces to, but if there was somepony attacking my friend in there, I was going to stop it. I cast my spell on the barrier, focusing it on creating only a pony sized hole—just enough to gain access to the trailer.
Despite my best efforts, my spell failed; it bounced harmlessly off the shell surrounding the carriage. I was about to try again when something strange happened. A small door opened on the shield near me, as if to beckon me inside. After casting a nervous look at Applejack, I entered. The door closed behind me.
The inside of the trailer looked as it always had, save for a few items that seemed to have been recently strewn about. There was very little illuminating the small room, only a single candle burning on a table near me. Standing in the center of the room was Trixie. I could tell from the first glance that something was wrong. She was wearing her hat and cape, but what caught my immediate attention were her eyes; they had become dark pits of shadow. She stood stiff and rigid, and when she moved, her gait was jerky and un-coordinated. Her face was tear-stained, but she wore a smug smile that gave me the shivers.
“Twilight, you came back to us…” Her voice wasn’t right. It had a hollow sounding echo. What could have happened to her? I hadn't been gone for very long!
She slowly began staggering forward.
“Trixie, what happened to you? How did this…what is…” I couldn’t form a coherent sentence.
“Nothing happened. Trixie’s real friend came to help us.” She stopped and tilted her head as more tears fell to the floor. She sounded empty. “Thank you for the lessons but Trixie doesn’t need them anymore. We have all the power we need now.”
Her horn began to glow, its former color replaced by a sickly grey-green hue. Her smile spread as her power grew, a mirthless forced smile. The entire carriage began to rattle and the air started swirling, causing many papers and props to begin rotating about the small room.
“Trixie, calm down! I need to talk to you!” My voice was muffled by the cacophony caused by the strange winds. “We’re friends, remember? We can work through this!”
“Is that what you really think, Miss Sparkle?” Her anger was palpable in the air. “No, soon everypony will see just how Great we are, just how Powerful! Then everypony will love us! We shall show you; we’ll show you all!”
With a bright flash and a loud crack, I found myself back outside. Trixie, the shield, and the carriage had all vanished.
~~~~Trixie~~~~~
All you have to do…is let me in.
The shadow made me uncomfortable. I wanted what he promised so badly, but this…thing in front of me couldn’t be trusted. I wished Twilight were here; she would know what to do…if she didn’t hate me by now.
I could help you get her back. I could help you be stronger…so she’ll respect you.
My head hurt. His voice permeated every thought. “How can I trust you?”
I know what it is like…always being turned aside. I know what it is like to be nothing…to have no one. We are alike, you and I.
Could he really help get Twilight to like me? Maybe even love me? I doubted it…but I was afraid it would be my only chance. I had to at least listen to…this creature. “...please tell me who you are. What are you?”
If you really must know, I suppose. I am called Doubt, and I am but a whisper.
“Your name is Doubt?”
It doesn’t lend me any credibility does it? Try to look past it.
“So…Doubt, what's in this for you?” I swallowed my sadness. If this creature—if Doubt was offering to help me, I needed a clear head. If he could show Twilight that I was worthwhile…but first I had to figure this pony out. I needed to think straight. “What do you get out of helping me?”
I get to be.
“To be?”
I am but a shadow, only a whisper in the mind of others. If you let me in, I can live vicariously through you.
Desperation ate at the corner of my mind. If only half of what Doubt promised was true, it would be enough to get what I wanted. I could be loved. I could have the power to impress everypony, to make them adore me. The chance that this could get Twilight and her friends to love me was all I needed.
“…okay.”
A smile cut across Doubt’s dark face, a snide parody of a real smile. It made me uncomfortable, but I didn’t have time to voice any objections. He was on me in a second, washing over me like a wave of icy water. I couldn’t think or see; I couldn’t breathe. It felt like dying.
A few choking moments later, my vision returned to me. Doubt wasn’t anywhere in sight, but I could still feel him near. I also felt…different; I felt stronger, like my magic could do anything. I felt powerful…yet I also felt so very empty. It was a terrible, hollow feeling in my chest; it felt like no matter what I did, I would never succeed. I felt tears begin to fall from my eyes, yet I was powerless to stop them. I doubted my ability to…
The sounds of magic outside scattered my thoughts. Someone was trying to break through my barrier…there was a barrier? My head hurt. I wasn’t sure if I had put up a ward or not…was I even able to? I doubted it. My thoughts spun and I felt nauseous. Voices from outside broke through my mental fog…not just any voice. Her voice. My Twilight was here…
I opened the barrier so she could come to us…to me? No, ‘us’ sounded better. We didn’t feel so alone anymore…empty, but not alone. Twilight Sparkle approached us; we were so happy to see her…but why wouldn’t the tears stop?
“Twilight, you came back to us…” Our voice sounded wrong…but it didn’t matter. Twilight was here; that was all that was important to us. Our Twilight…mine…
“Trixie, what happened to you? What have you done?” she accused us. Her voice wasn’t the friendly Twilight we remembered. Her mouth was moving, but the sounds didn’t match up…was something wrong with our hearing? Were we hearing the truth behind her words?
“Nothing happened. Trixie’s real friend came to help us.” We had to be strong in front of her. We had to show her we were good enough for her…better than her! I had to be…we had to be… “Thank you for the lessons but Trixie doesn’t need them anymore. We have all the power we need now.”
We began charging a spell to show her just how strong we were now. We’d show her that we could do teleportation; we would do it even better than she could. We would show Twilight…then everypony!
“Trixie, calm down! I need to talk to you!” Her voice still not matching. “I don’t care for you! I don’t need somepony weaker than me!”
“Is that what you really think, Miss Sparkle?” We felt our heart breaking. We were failing…failing again. We turned our sorrow to anger; we would prove her wrong. “No, soon everypony will see just how Great we are; just how Powerful! Then everypony will love us! Trixie shall show you, we’ll show you all!”
Everything went dark as we released the spell. When our vision returned to us, we were no longer in Ponyville. A dark, dense forest filled our vision. We found ourselves in Everfree…excellent. Now we had time to plan…
~~~~Twilight~~~~
I wasn't sure how long I stood in vacant space where Trixie’s carriage had been. Never had I felt more helpless. I stared off into space, replaying the events of her disappearance in my mind; what had happened? Was there something else I could have said or done? I probably would have just remained locked in place had Applejack not come over and put her hoof on my shoulder.
“Come on, Sugar-cube, let’s go inside. Ah think ah need to lay down.” She smiled weakly. She still hadn’t fully recovered from her earlier ordeal, it seemed.
I sighed and nodded, then helped her into the library. It was getting late, so I helped her into my bed. I was too distracted to sleep anyway. What I had just seen had disturbed me; something was seriously wrong with Trixie, and I couldn’t figure out what it was. I spent the night reading every book of possibly relevance, only to come up with nothing. Hours passed with little progress, but as the sun was finally starting to rise, I noticed one book that I'd set aside. It was the book Silver Lining had found earlier: ‘Ye Hystories of ye Ancient Harmonious Elements and of Their Kynde’.
The book was ancient, enough that it seemed like the pages might fall to dust if I handled them too roughly. It was massive and covered in a thick sheet of dust. With all my time spent in libraries, this book was something I had never heard of. Perhaps it was self-published? While I'd never heard of this volume, I was familiar with the author. Fact Checker was a pony researcher from the pre-classical era; he was responsible for many of the history and text books still used today. Mr. Checker and Star Swirl the Bearded co-wrote several books on the history of magic, and the two were believed to be close friends despite a bit of friendly rivalry. Rumor had it that Fact Checker grew increasingly arrogant in his later years, however, eventually causing a rift between them. He disappeared mysteriously sometime before the rise of Nightmare Moon, a mystery that was never solved. I wasn’t sure if it would have anything to do with the current situation, but I was running out of options.
My earlier guess about this book's relation to the Elements of Harmony was correct, but the level of detail was well beyond anything I knew of them. A lot of the concepts in the tome were, as admitted by the author, theoretical, but there was a great deal of practical knowledge too. What caught my attention was the section entitled ‘Whispers and ye Corruptions’.
Fact Checker believed that the Elements of Harmony had an antithesis, something to balance the inherent goodness of the Elements. He called them the Elements of Corruption. He claimed to have interviewed a pony who was ‘only a pony in the vaguest sense, being little more than a shadow’. The name he credited this ‘pony’ with was Hubris, who claimed to be called a ‘whisper.’ This interview was what grabbed my attention about the book.
I was able to secure one of the entities for a conversation. The creature was a black, almost insubstantial pegasus that seemed to be made of shadows. He possessed a cutie mark of two stars, one dwarfing the other. He, a creature calling himself ‘Hubris’ agreed to let me print his words, so long as that I agreed to reprint our entire conversation. He claimed it was for ‘posterity’.
“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Mr. Hubris. I understand you and your fellows don’t normally like to speak about such things.”
“Don’t lump me in with them. I do what I want.”
“So you have said.” (At this point I offered him food and beverage, which he refused.) “So, if I may be blunt, what are you?”
“I’m just like you. Only better.”
“Surely you can be more descriptive”
“My brothers and sisters call us ‘whispers’. I dislike the name; it makes us sound quiet and weak. I am neither.”
“Can you tell me where you came from? Or how many of you there are?”
“Many. We are everywhere.” (He spent the next four minutes laughing.)
“All right, Mr. Hubris, all right. If we may focus…”
“I am focused. More than anyone.”
“Tell me what you know about the Elements…and their inverse, please.”
(He sighed overdramatically.) “You ponies understand so little. Elements of Harmony? Ha! You simpletons still believe that friendship can be broken down into only five or six parts! There are dozens of Corruptions!”
“We have found artifacts depicting the Elements, but nothing of the Corruptions. How can you prove they exist?”
(He spent more time laughing.) “Because I exist.”
“Are you implying that a ‘whisper’ is a ‘Corruption’?
“Not quite. While someone bearing an Element of Harmony can give it up, the Corruptions never give up their bearers. We all have become one with the Corruption inside. Hubris is not my birth name, but a name I took to match my current self.”
“You were once a pony then? How has this process changed you?”
“I was once weak like you, yes. I’m not all that different; we still do normal pony things…like feed…and make…friends.”
“I see…in what way do you…”
“Simple. I make a good friend, then I feed on their hubris. The more they feel, the more…real I am.”
“I don’t understand what you mean by that. Also, I cannot fathom why you would volunteer such…concerning information.”
“That is because you are simple. I told you, my name is HUBRIS! I want everypony to know, speak and fear my name! We embody our names completely. Anger is always mad; Jealousy always wants more; Deceit always lies, and I…I aim for the top.”
“That still doesn’t explain…”
“It will. You’ll know soon enough why I chose you. You and I will become…friends.” (He then vanished from sight, laughing once more.)
As chilling as all that was, the book became more disturbing as I read on. The text became increasingly more like diary entries made by Mr. Checker rather than facts. It was as if something had changed after his meeting with Hubris. He kept writing as if paranoid of something following him, but he also seemed to think this book would change history. He kept claiming that this book would prove he was a better scholar than even ‘old Swirly-beard .’ His manner had changed to be more arrogant or even…hubristic. I had a terrible feeling, enough that it made me wake Spike to send a letter; if there was a chance that the cases were connected, we would need the Princess’s aid. Not wanting to panic, I chose my words carefully:
“Dear Princess Celestia,
I am sorry to trouble you at this odd hour, but a series of unexplainable events has left me confused and deeply worried for a friend. I wish your advice on how best to resolve the situation, as well as confirmation of my sources.
A friend has begun acting increasingly strangely; I admit to not knowing her that well, but her increasing ‘symptoms’ can no longer be written off. While her condition is difficult to describe, I recently read an interview with a creature claiming to be a ‘whisper,’ and it seemed hauntingly relevant.
Your Highness, do such creatures exist? If so, how might we save one who is being preyed upon? I hope I am wrong about such theories, as they are quite unnerving and have distressing implications.
I look forward to your quick response.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle"
I had it sent straight away…but I was surprised when I got an immediate response.
~~~~Trixie~~~~
We could feel the magic welling up inside us. We had to change to accommodate it. Is this what I really want? I just don’t know. It is what you needed, what we needed. We released the magic, letting it wash over us, letting it strengthen us. I don’t know if I like this. You will get used to it. You shall grow to like it.
Soon the physical changes began, making us stronger. Oh, Celestia, what is happening? Make it stop! We grew tall and strong, to a height that would impress those peasants. We shall show them all. They will all love and fear us, just like you wanted. Height was not nearly enough to strike the impression we needed; wings would be required. With them, we would resemble one of the princesses…a royal look would fit us nicely. We concentrated, and wings formed of magic appeared at our sides, dark, glowing violet wings. These suit me nicely. Why do we need… You want people to like us, right?
We took a moment to regard ourself in a nearby pond. We now stood much taller than anypony, save for the royals. Our wings caught the eye and our horn stood longer…and sharper. Where did that dark helmet come from? Nothing to concern ourselves with. The armor gave us an imperious, dangerous look; we liked it. It was if we were Trixie no longer, but somepony much much more. We took a moment to give our new wings a try; it took only a moment to become airborne. You’ll like flying. I suppose…
We circled the area twice before landing near our carriage. Such a small and depressing home; we don’t need it anymore. I don’t think I can even fit anymore…but I… We charged our horn with power, then released the energy on the carriage. When the smoke cleared, nothing remained of it. Our power was amazing! We had enough now to return to Ponyville and make them all be our friends. Is that how friendship works? It’s the best somepony like you could do. Oh…
The sun was coming up. We had spent so long growing and playing with our new powers that the night had ended. No matter, they would all see us better in the light anyway. It was time for them to love and fear us. They would all love the Great and Powerful Trixie…no, that name wasn’t good enough anymore. I like my name… We have a better one we could use. We have become something more, after all. Our new name would soon echo throughout Equestria…they would all say it…they would all love it! We concentrated on a new teleportation spell, one that would help us make an entrance. We always knew how to arrive in style.
~~~~Twilight~~~~
The letter I received was a cause for great concern. It sounded like the Princess was on her way, and if this was something that she needed to get personally involved in…I was uneasy.
"My Dearest Twilight Sparkle,
Thank you for bringing this to my attention, although I am surprised you came across any information about such things. Such creatures, if they can be truly called ‘creatures,’ are best left unknown and the topic avoided. Knowledge of them is dangerous.
If there truly is such a thing in Ponyville now, haste is in order. If we can intervene before the creature has been allowed to fully exist, we should be able to act freely and your friend shall be fine. If the whisper has come fully into the world…more drastic methods may be necessary.
I shall bring the Elements…I pray we will not need them.
Your teacher and friend,
Princess Celestia."
I didn’t know what to make of any of it. I didn’t know what she meant by half of her implications. Did it have something to do with what had been wrong with Trixie’s eyes the last time I saw her? Should I have told the Princess about that? A thousand questions and no answers swirled through my head.
I sent Spike to gather the others; if the Elements were in fact needed, I would need my friends present. After he had gone, I was left to pace the library uneasily. Any spell of detection or location I cast to find Trixie failed. As far as my magic could tell she wasn’t anywhere.
Suddenly, I heard an explosion outside. I ran out of the library to be greeted with the strangest sight: fireworks were exploding in the sky. There was no apparent source for them…or for the dramatic music that accompanied them. The display was all too familiar; I had seen a very similar showing before, the first time Trixie had come to town.
The sky darkened, and the clouds began to swirl together as the music reached a crescendo. With a blinding flash and an explosion of glittering smoke, a pony appeared in the sky. She hovered in place, suspended on glowing, magical wings. She was clad in a dark purple helm that called back memories of Nightmare Moon. A great, billowing cloak extended behind her and flapped in a breeze I couldn't feel. Her coat was a very dark blue, and her mane was hidden by her helm. With all the changes, I barely recognized my friend.
“We are Treachery, the Great and Terrible! Witness our glory! Love us…and fear us!”