The early morning sunlight beamed with all of the intensity it could muster, yet for the most part even it was still powerless to penetrate the thick canopy of foliage of the Everfree Forest. What little of the light that actually did make it through was dim and weak, tinted a sickly emerald from the choking canopy and falling in sharp slants against the forest floor in a harsh way that still somehow managed to make the forest intimidating despite the daylight hour. It did at the very least serve its ultimate purpose however, and the woods were lit to the point of visibility for the relatively small amount of diurnal creatures that stalked its leafy boughs in an endless game of hunt or be hunted. Even so, the light was faint, reminiscent more of a never-ending twilight than the bright early morning that shone just beyond its borders.
A single, relatively well-worn path cut through the dense trees and ever-present foliage, thinning out the thick canopy and casting the solitary trail into a light more like that of dawn rather than dusk, allowing two creatures foreign to these woods to walk side by side through the towering wooded copses in relative safety, and with only a modicum of justified fear.
“Thank you once again for helping me, darling,” the first said to her companion, casting a weary glance at her surroundings. “I feel so much more comfortable walking through the Everfree Forest with you instead of by myself.”
“Oh, it’s no problem, Rarity,” the timid pegasus replied, her tone quiet and demure. “I’m always happy to help.” Despite her amiable response and actions, the frightful pony couldn’t help but cast a fearful glance around and wish that she was just about anywhere but where she was at the moment. “But, um, are you certain that we should be out here? I mean, what if they’re not even out here? Are you sure they’re at Zecora’s?”
Instead of an immediate response Rarity sighed in a deep and shuddering manner, revealing for a brief moment the sort of stress gnawing at her. After a moment of silence between the two of them, she rubbed the space between her eyes in a futile attempt to alleviate the mounting headache she gotten over the last few days or so, and spoke, “No, Fluttershy, I’m not. I don’t know if they’re at Zecora’s or not. I didn’t know if they were at the schoolhouse, Ghastly Gorge, their little clubhouse or at the last seven other places I checked either. I don’t know if they’re lost in some cave somewhere in this Celestia forsaken forest or if they simply decided to go camping without telling anypony. All I know is that nopony’s seen Sweetie Belle or her friends since the day before yesterday and Zecora’s is the only place we haven’t checked yet.” She turned to face Fluttershy, bags visible beneath her eyes and several errant curls spiraling out of her otherwise immaculate mane. “So can we please just get to Zecora’s house and pray to Celestia that I finally find my sister?” she asked, desperation visible in her eyes.
Fluttershy could only take a single look at the silent pleading behind her friends gaze before her more empathetic and compassionate nature got the better of her and she closed the distance between them with a flap of her wings. Stopping the distraught unicorn in the middle of them path, she hugged her tightly, allowing Rarity to rest her head on her shoulder. “Oh, Rarity,” she crooned, stroking her friends violet mane, “I’m so sorry. You’ve got to be so worried right now. I can’t imagine what you and Applejack are going through.” She could feel Rarity’s shoulders beginning to shudder with suppressed sobs and cooed, “It’s Okay, Rarity. It’ll all be Okay, you’ll see.”
For a brief moment Rarity struggled, giving a half-hearted effort to pull away from her friend’s embrace and trying her best to maintain her composure. Fluttershy held her tight anyways, soothing her with kind words and gentle reassurances until the mounting stress of the last 48 hours finally got to the frazzled unicorn, and her composed façade faltered. Unable to hold it in any longer, Rarity slowly wrapped her forelegs around her friend and began to sob openly. “I’m just so scared! What if something happened to them?!” she wailed, tears running down her cheeks and ruining the makeup she painstakingly applied every morning.
“Shh, shh, it’ll be Okay, everything will be alright,” Fluttershy assured the sobbing unicorn, still stroking her mane with a butter-yellow hoof.
They sat like that for several minutes; neither of them moving save for the deep shuddering of unrestrained sobs or the gentle stroking of a comforting hoof. Eventually though, Rarity calmed down and the stream of tears dried up, much to Fluttershy’s relief. Sniffling a bit, Rarity pulled her face out of Fluttershy’s shoulder and whipped the few remaining tears off of her face, smearing her running mascara slightly. “Sorry about that, darling,” she apologized, her words punctuated with a sniff. “It’s not very lady-like to break down like that. Oh, I must look a mess, I’m terribly sorry,” she said, a small smile beginning to show itself on her face. “But… thank you. For being there I mean. It means a lot to me.”
“Of course,” Fluttershy responded, giving her friend a comforting nuzzle as she too began to smile softly. “That’s what friends are for. I’ll always have a shoulder for you to cry on if you need it.”
“Oh, Fluttershy,” Rarity said, leaning into and returning the nuzzles. “You are nicest friend a pony could ask for.” She held the embrace for a moment before breaking away, her mood lightened considerably. “Come on, let’s go to Zecora’s and find my sister.”
“Of course,” was Fluttershy’s simple response as she turned and they both began to walk side by side down the path once again.
For a while they both walked in silence, content to say nothing after the outpouring of emotions. Just each other’s company was enough. However, the silence between the two of them only called to attention the strange and alien nature of the birdsong and other sounds of the early morning in their wild location, which only served to remind them of where they were. The menacing growls, harsh cawing and distant roars soon became oppressive. Their ears would swivel towards the light scraping or rustling of the bushes, and a thick tension began to fill the air. Both of them felt almost ready to jump out of their skin and bolt at the slightest sign of danger, imagined or not. So when a rather large and unidentifiable fruit fell to the ground between them, splattering against the ground and coating their hooves in its sickly sweet juices, it wasn’t very surprising that Rarity nearly jumped out of her skin with a loud yelp and Fluttershy dove into the nearest bush. “Oh my,” Rarity said out loud, holding a hoof over her chest to still her rapidly beating heart. “I do think this dreadful forest is starting to get to me.”
“Um, yes,” Fluttershy agreed, stepping out from her hiding place, still trembling on her hooves. “Um, maybe we should hurry? I-I don’t really like it here.”
“You and I both, Fluttershy,” Rarity responded, looking around for anything that might suddenly leap from the bushes and scare them. “You’re right. Let’s hurry so that we don’t have to spend a moment longer in this dreadful place then need be.”
They both began to walk again, though the constant air of tension remained. Constantly looking over their shoulders as they walked, flinching at the slightest sound, they both began to slowly and unconsciously pick up speed until they were both at a light trot. Finally it became too much for Fluttershy, and she spoke up in an attempt to break the over bearing and suffocating silence. “So, um, have you talked to Applejack?” she asked, desperately casting around for a topic of conversation.
Rarity was only too happy to breaking to oppressive sense of foreboding in the air, and eagerly latched on to any sort of conversation to break the over powering silence. “Why yes, I did indeed, and Big Macintosh as well. I must say, I’m not sure which of their reactions frightens me more.”
Fluttershy nodded in agreement. “I know what you mean. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Applejack quite so quiet and, um… distant.”
“Yes, it is indeed unlike like her. As for Big Macintosh though…” Rarity trailed off and shook her head with a sigh before completing her sentence. “I’ll admit that I’m not very well acquainted with him, but he always did seem rather strong and stoic. But I haven’t seen a stallion quite so nervous and anxious since the time Caramel finally got up the nerve to ask me to lunch. Honestly, I feel a little concerned for him.”
“I do too, but I’m not all that surprised,” Fluttershy said, causing Rarity to give her a questioning glance. Fluttershy explained, “Sure, he might seem all big and tough, and he definitely is, with being tall and all those giant muscles and not talking much, but that’s just how he is. Deep down though, he has a really sweet and soft heart.” She dropped her gaze slightly and a small smile formed on her face as she went on, “I remember one evening I saw him in the park. He was sitting beneath that one weeping willow on the top of the hill, and a little squirrel came up to him while he was eating his lunch. At first I thought he was just going to shoo it off, but then he broke off a piece of his apple and gave it to the little guy.” Fluttershy gave a soft giggle at the memory.
Rarity simply stared at Fluttershy while she spoke, listening to her warm and admiring tone just as much as her actual words. When she finished, Rarity took one look at her face and let out a rather giddy giggle. “Oh my, Fluttershy! Big Macintosh? I wouldn’t have guessed. But I suppose you would go for the strong and silent type, wouldn’t you?”
Immediately, the timid mare grew a fierce crimson blush across her entire face. “N-no! I-it’s not like that a-at all! I like him and everything, b-but only as a friend! I-I only meant that he was sweet and kind and- and- eep!” she embarrassedly stammered, desperate to dispel such a notion, before becoming too self-conscious and hiding behind her mane with a squeak.
“Really? So you’re not with him then?” Rarity inquired, actually sounding kind of disappointed. Fluttershy murmured her affirmative. “Well that’s actually somewhat disappointing. You two would make an incredibly cute couple.” Fluttershy’s blush somehow got even fiercer behind her curtain of pink mane.
Though neither of them had noticed it over their own speaking, the various ever-present background noises of the forest had ceased. The cawing of birds in the trees had stopped, the soft patter of paws through the brush had gone silent, and not even the buzzing of insectile wings was not to be heard. Though the conversation the two mares had struck up had done its job admirably, and dispelled the tension they both felt, the woods around them were a different story all together. The air was thick and tense, and utterly silent. It was as if the very forest itself were holding its breath in fear, and palpable anticipation. Neither of the two ponies noticed the rustling bushes and pair of glowing eyes until it was far, far too late.
The monstrously fast mass of scales and muscle erupted from its hiding place, slamming into the unaware unicorn with enough momentum to dash her against a far tree with a large crash, dropping her into unconsciousness before she even realized something was amiss. With one of its two items of prey dealt with, the beast turned to coil its long, scaly, serpentine body around the remaining pony, wrapping around her at least three times over and glaring contemptibly down at her with beady eyes sunk deep within its scaly triangular head.
Its grip constricted around her, threatening to squeeze the very life from her frail body as her breath was forced out in a ragged wheeze. She tried to scream, to vocalize her primal terror at the situation, but was unable to muster anything more than a faint gasp as she stared into the beady-eyed gaze of the powerful predator, her own eyes wide in breathless pain and panic. The serpentine monstrosity grinned wickedly at her, baring its rows and rows of needle-like fangs in a smug glare, confident in the face the success of its hunt. Out of the corner of her eye Fluttershy caught a blur of movement, and in an instant she felt a lance of agony flare along her right side as something plunged deep into the soft and sensitive flesh and muscle just below her wing, though the white-hot pain was soon replaced with a cold numbness that spread from that point outwards, creeping along her body like ice through her veins.
It was only a moment before she almost could no longer feel anything at all. All of the usual sensations of her body were either gone or muted and distant, replaced by an icy hollowness. Her thoughts began to slow as well, her mind suddenly feeling as if it had been stuffed full of cotton and clouds. Even the life-chokingly tight grip of the beast seemed lessened, as if she were experiencing the sensation through a layer of water, and she only even felt it in the first place because her mind reminded her body that it was slowly being squeezed to death. She glimpsed the same flicker of movement again, and swiveling her eyes this time she managed to see the creature’s tail moving away from her, withdrawing the 6-inch long barb at its end from the flesh just below her right wing and dripping crimson rivulets of her life-blood. One look at the small amount of gore made her suddenly queasy, and she was glad that her stomach felt disconnected from her just like the rest of her body lest she become sick.
Confident in its venom’s effects, the beast released her, dropping her to the forest floor with a muted thump that she heard rather than felt. Reacting on instinct rather than conscious thought in her dazed and languid state, Fluttershy attempted to rise to her hooves and flee, only to discover in addition to the numbness of her body, all her limps were completely still in the face of her feeble attempts. Panicking even further, she began to trash about, but met with the same results. For all her struggles she could do little more than lightly flutter her wings or twitch her hooves. Upon noticing her futile attempts at movement and escape the creature began to utter a strange noise, like a hiccupping hiss, stopping and starting again with great bout of rattling air. After a moment Fluttershy realized it was laughing. Laughing at her. Involuntarily, and unknown to her, Fluttershy began to tremble, her body shaking and shivering in fright.
This only caused it to laugh even harder as it laid its two previously hidden scrawny clawed arms on her, one on her head and to other on her withers. Without any sort of care or grace, it shoved her roughly onto her side into the dirt, its claws digging into her flesh with enough force to draw blood as it splayed her neck wide. Slowly, deliberately, the creature lowered its head towards her exposed jugular, carefully drawing out and exaggerating each movement until its dagger-like fangs hung in the bare centimeters above her delicate and vulnerable flesh, where it waited. She stared at it in wide-eyed horror as it held itself there unmoving and forcing her to experience mind-numbing terror as she continued to wait for the final swift movement that would end her life. She could see the single drop of venom clinging to the tip of the waiting fang, glinting prismaticly in the faint sunlight as the facial muscles of the predatory beast pulled into she assumed to be its twisted version of a smile. Distantly, she became aware of a dull thudding sound, a faint ringing in her ears as she stared her ultimate fate in the face. A sudden pressure against the suddenly hyper-sensitive flesh of her neck startled her enough that she would have jumped had she been able to, and the dull thudding increased in tempo with her panicked heartbeat, before she realized that her tender neck had not been pierced. Instead, the sadistic beast had laid its forked tongue against her in an effort to draw out every ounce of pure terror it could for its own sick pleasure before finally finishing its meal. It gave out another of its gasping hiss like laugh at her reaction and began drawing its forked tongue across her sensitive flesh, taking delight as the force of her trembling increased. Distantly, the dull thudding in her ears grew ever louder.
At that moment the monster must have decided that it had played with its food enough, laying the tips of its fangs against the thin flesh of her jugular, and pressing. Had she been in control of her voice at that moment Fluttershy would have cried out in mortal terror and agony. The beast was slow, meticulous, burying its fangs inside of her soft and tender body inch by agonizing inch. She could feel it, all of it, every last bit as it penetrated the delicate flesh of her neck, twin rivulets of blood weeping from the wound as a counter point to the tears that flowed freely from her eyes. After a few agonizing seconds that seemed to drag onto eternity the slow advance of the fangs finally stopped as the beast’s upper jaw met the tender flesh of her neck. Then came the worst of it yet, as the fangs released their payload of venom, injecting it inside of her. It was hot, far too hot, she felt like it was burning her form the inside out as it spread through veins. It pulled away, leaving behind only the venom, the wound and a sense of violation. The poison in her veins spread, creeping through her and leaving nothing it touched untainted. Slowly, her vision began to blur and dim, her left eye fading to black. Realizing there was no hope left, that the monster had killed her, that this was it, this was the end, Fluttershy stopped her ceaseless struggles. She let go of herself, and for a moment she knew peace. The thudding in her ears stopped.
Suddenly, the bushes across from her exploded. A large grey mass of fur and fangs flew through the air and collided with the scaled form of the predator that had felled her, a guttural and savage roar tearing its way out of the newcomer’s open maw. Instantly upon seeing it come to what she assumed was her rescue a flame of hope roared to life within her bosom once again and a rush of adrenaline shot along her spine as she began her struggles to live anew.
The snake monster began to fight back immediately, throwing off the hairy beast and flaring its stubby and useless vestigial feathered wings in a threating display. As it tumbled through the air, her savior landed directly in front of Fluttershy’s face, allowing her to get a good look at it. The first thing to go through her head was surprise as it seemed that somepony had somehow found her in the middle of the woods and deigned to fight against a predator on her behalf, but that was dispelled instantly with another cursory glance. For one, he (and from this angle she could tell it most definitely was a he) was far too furry, and the only pony she knew who came close to that size was Big Macintosh. In addition, instead of hooves its limbs ended in massive paws tipped with large claws, and despite his large pony-like eyes his muzzle was much too long and filled with sharp fangs. Plus, the dark black mane he had was more lion-like than pony-like, and despite his tail being nearly all hair she could clearly see the bone running through it. As the final nail in the coffin the lack of a mark on his haunches gave it away if nothing else could. It looked more like a vaguely equine wolf than anything else.
He rose to his paws and turned to face the serpentine monster, crouching into an aggressively defensive stance, lowering his front and tightening the muscles in his rear legs to pounce as he stood between the Snake and her. From her vantage she did her best to follow the action even as it became a struggle to draw breath.
The Snake drew up to a massive height, standing on its tail alone as it ruffled the feathers of its wings and hissed menacingly in an effort to seem as large and imposing as possible. The furred beast was unimpressed and only growled in a deep baritone in his own threatening display. Angered, the serpentine creature dropped to the ground and lashed out in an effort to sink its venous fangs into his furry body, but the Wolf was just as quick, swiping with a lightning quick paw and catching the predator across the face and opening several shallow but bloody furrows between its scales. Hissing in pain, the Snake reflexively pulled its head away, lasing out with its barbed tail in a blind swing. The Wolf ducked beneath the sweeping appendage easily, releasing the pent up tension in his hind legs and pouncing through the air and landing on the creature, and immediately began to maul it. Sinking his teeth deep into the softer flesh at the base of the Snake’s wing he held on tightly and raked at any spot he could reach with his large claws, opening many large and bloody scratches and wounds as they managed to slip between its protective scales. As he began gnawing at the soft and tender flesh that joined the stubby wing to the rest of the creature’s body it let out a wailing shriek and began to thrash violently.
The Wolf continued to hold on tightly however, causing the creature constant agony and inflicting a great many grievous wounds. In its blind pain the serpentine monster lashed to and fro, desperate to dislodge the Wolf by any means, flattening bushes and cutting through thick foliage in its wild flailing, even cutting through several small saplings with its muscular tail. Finally the Snake managed to rear up into the air and fall backwards, landing heavily on the Wolf with its full weight, driving the breath out of his lungs and loosening his grip enough that the Snake could wriggle its way free, the copious amount of slick blood easing the process. Once it was free, it immediately moved out of the range of the Wolf’s fangs and claws, hissing loudly in pain and rage as it bloody and tattered wing hung limply to its side. Lunging forward, venomous fangs bared, it attempted to bite him back, only to graze his front left leg as he barely managed to roll to the side and back to his paws once again. The venom was potent however, and the shallow wound began to steam and sizzle as the blood boiled as it wept from the open flesh. He yelped from the sudden pain, jumping and scratching furiously in an attempt to dislodge the source of the pain. Thankfully the cut was shallow, and the poison was easily wiped away, but the damage was done and the tissue around it was already beginning to swell and redden, and any pressure on the limb caused intense burning agony, forcing a large limp.
They both began to circle one another, as two fighting predators were wont to do, each eyeing the other warily and waiting for an opening to attack. For several moments they paced, until the furry lupine stumbled, and almost faster than Fluttershy’s eyes could follow the scaly serpent lashed out with its tail, poisonous barb glinting in the light as the Wolf leapt to the side in an effort to dodge the strike. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite quick enough, and the tip managed to find purchase in the flesh of his right hind leg, injecting what amount of the paralyzing poison it could. He let out a startled yelp, backing away as he sported another limp in his newly numbed leg. Hiss-laughing madly at its hard won victory, the serpentine monster lunged, fangs bared, attempting sink them deep into his soft flesh and finally be done the troublesome pest that had caused it such pain and kept it from its meal.
Almost faster than Fluttershy’s eyes could follow though, the Wolf smiled. Just as the Snake was about to finish him he leapt into the air, revealing the limp in his back leg to be fake, and landed on the head and neck of the Snake as it caught a mouthful of dirt and loam. Before it could even react, the Wolf sank his teeth deeply into the base of its neck, just below the skull, with a feral snarl. For the first time since the fight began, the serpent creature’s eyes flew wide in an expression of genuine fear, and it thrashed and flailed with all its strength in a desperate and last ditch effort to throw the Wolf and forestall its own doom. Unfortunately for it, the muscles of it neck just weren’t strong enough to escape the full bulk of its opponent, and as its tail and body writhed violently he clenched his jaws tightly. A loud crunch echoed through the small path with a sense and tone of utter finality. The serpent creature’s body gave one last shudder before falling totally still.
The Wolf released the severed spine of his opponent from his jaws and stood hunched over its still body, eyes diluted and glinting ferally and blood dripping freely from his fanged maw. After several shuddering breaths, he turned his muzzle skyward and loudly howled his victory into the Everfree air for all to hear. The loud, haunting note hung for several moments until his lungs were expended, and he lowered his head again. Blinking several time, the look in his eyes turned form feral bloodlust to a calm, cold intelligence. Shaking his head side to side, he finally turned to Fluttershy.
She began to tremble all over again, once more horrified and frightened by the display of ruthless and violent wild fighting and dominance that was prevalent in the Everfree Forest. Slowly, he padded over to her, standing over her prone and helpless body. She looked him in the eyes, beholding the cold, cunning, predatory intelligence in his glowing red gaze. Her vision was blurring once more, the left eye completely dark and the burning within her body had returned. The adrenaline from watching the fight had helped drive off the venom for a while, but it had faded now, and she was still in just as much danger as when he had appeared. Looking deep within his golden eyes, she called upon every ounce of experience, familiarity and friendship she had with the animals of Equestria in an effort to a single plea.
“…He… lp…,” she managed to barely gurgle past her burning and numb throat, before the last dregs of adrenaline were depleted and she fell into deep, black unconsciousness.
*~-/^\-~*
Empty. That described it best. This strange alien place Twilight found herself in was… empty. There was no light, no shadows, no walls, nothing. Just a plain, sheer whiteness in every direction. No matter which way which way she looked a stark and imposing expanse of white skies, white floors and white mist stretched out to the unidentifiable horizon. Rising slowly to her hooves she tried her best to pierce the veil of blankness that surrounded her, but such a task was hopelessly impossible. Confused, she attempted to call out, to try and find something that might explain her sudden predicament, only for her breath to escape soundlessly. Startled, she tried again, only to meet with the same results as the endless expanse around her remained resolutely silent. Suppressing a shiver, she decided that she didn’t want to be in this place any longer then she had to be. Picking a random direction, she began walking. The fact that the sound of her hoof falls reached her ears just fine while she remained voiceless only served to unsettle her further.
The amount of time she spent walking was hard to determine, the distance she had traveled even more so. With absolutely no landmarks and the surroundings completely uniform in all directions it felt like even after what must been hours (or could have just as easily been only a few minutes) she had not moved from the very spot she been in when she had made her first step. Not even the endless mists and fog seemed to react to her passing, increasing the feeling of helpless motionlessness. Vague thoughts and foggy memories of long ago nightmares rose to the forefront of her thoughts unbidden; images of running down corridors towards doors that never seemed to get any closer and oppressive senses of danger and hopelessness weighing down on her suddenly panicked mind. Almost subconsciously she began to trot faster, faster, and faster still until she was soon galloping full tilt, the white expanse around her still and unchanging as always.
Fear well and truly took hold then, fear of the nothing around her and of the absence of an escape. Fear that she was utterly alone it the blank and silent void. As the frightened tears leapt unbidden to her eyes she tried to cry out for somepony, anypony, only for her voice to remain resolute in its silent absence. It hit her then, an overpowering sense of loss and hopelessness, laying on her like a weight between her shoulders that threatened to drive the breath from her lungs and her body into the ground. Gradually her steps begin to slow, from a gallop to a trot to a canter until finally she stopped. Falling to her haunches, her head drooped and she began to weep in silence, the empty despair pressing against her from all sides like the blank fog and mists that brushed against her coat.
A sharp noise, soft and faded in the distance traveled to her through the still air, cutting through her sadness. Lifting her head with a soundless gasp, she trained her vision into the distance just in time to see a dark figure disappear further into the fog. Without a second thought, she immediately leapt once more to her hooves and charged after it.
Following the figure through the oppressing mists proved difficult, but Twilight didn’t let that deter her. There was nothing else for her in this place. Every time she lost sight of it, she only ran faster, eventually forcing it to come into sight once again, often off to her left or right and changing her course to accommodate. So caught up in the chase was she, that as the ever-present fog and mist begins to thin out it went completely unnoticed by her. Eventually though, her wild flight and chase led her to a strange sight, an anomaly in the endless uniformity around her. Most all of the fog around her seemed to have coalesced into a single neatly structured shape, a large wall-like expanse of thick and opaque mists. Out of the corner of her eye she spied the figure disappearing into the white wall. Without a moment’s hesitation she charged in after it.
What she found on the other side was the most surprising thing she had seen since she had found herself in the strange white expanse in the first place. As usual, the mist was completely unresponsive to her, remaining solidly in place despite her passing through it. In fact, from this side it actually did look like a solid wall. A gentle touch with her hoof produced a dull clop and proved that was indeed the case. Turning away from the fog-wall turned solid-wall, she took in the rest of the sights. She appeared to be in some sort of… she hesitated to call it a ‘clearing’ but there really wasn’t any other word for it. The solid wall behind her stretched off into the distance, coming around and joining together again to fully encircle the space she stood in. In the middle of the circular ‘clearing’ was a large dais, in the center of which stood an elegant body-sized mirror. Its frame was delicately wrought of fine silver and immaculate gold, inlaid with over a dozen stunning rubies. Its surface was pure and unblemished, so utterly clear it was as if it wasn’t even there at all and she was just looking through empty space between a silver and golden door-frame. The only thing that gave it away as a mirror was her own movements being reflected in its depths. There was just one thing wrong with it though.
The reflection wasn’t her. At least not all of her. All that stood on the other side of the mirror was a black silhouette. She could tell that it was supposed to be her, there was a horn jutting prominently from its forehead and her mane was pretty distinctive and easily recognized on it. Walking up to the mirror, the silhouette on the other side did the same, mimicking her movements perfectly. When she was a hoof’s reach from the immaculate glass she sat on her haunches. The silhouette did the same. Lifting her left hoof, she touched it to her snout. Her movements were reflected right back at her. She leapt back to hooves, the black figure on the other side of the glass following along effortlessly. Frowning, she decided to take it further. Crouching down, she began to lightly bounce in place, singing a foal-hood mantra in her head. ‘Sunshine, sunshine.’ Lowering further, she covered her eyes, and when she opened them it had done the same. ‘Ladybugs awake.’ Sitting down again, she clapped her hooves together before knocking them against the air in front of her, the silhouette following the movements perfectly. ‘Clap your hooves.’ Turning around quickly, she waved her flank back and forth. ‘And do a little shake.’ Peering over shoulder, she saw the blank image in the same position. Turning to face the mirror once more, the frown she wore was now one of confusion rather than suspicion.
Raising her right hoof she slowly reached out towards the silhouette. Sudden foreign movement from the dark doppelganger caused her to freeze up in surprise however, and she drew a sharp and soundless gasp as it somehow opened its eyes. They were deep and sanguine red, the red of life’s-blood, and slit like a demon. The demonic shadow smiled then, revealing two large fangs hanging from its upper jaw. Before Twilight could even draw breath to scream, it leapt at her, mouth open wide and somehow swallowed her whole. As it did so the first word she had heard since she found herself in the strange place ripped its way from the dark shadow’s throat, reverberating through the space with a hellish cadence.
“Twilight!”
*~-/^\-~*
The first thing Twilight was immediately aware of was screaming. The second was something heavy lying on top of her as she flailed madly. No conscious thought ran through her head, instead all that lay in her mind was a deep and primordial terror, overwhelming and all-consuming. For a moment she struggled violently, trying desperately to escape from the danger she was only instinctually aware of, before a modicum of rationality began to make itself known. She became aware that screaming was coming from her, and slowly she began to calm down. Her struggles lost their fervor, her cries quieted, and she began take in her surroundings.
The first thing she noticed was that she seemed to be lying in a bed. The second was the Shining Armor was lying atop her in an effort to restrain her wild thrashing. His expressive blue eyes betrayed his overwhelming concern for her at a simple glance, despite his often times stoic nature. One look into her older brother’s eyes and the love visible in his gaze and it all came crashing down on Twilight. She threw her forelegs around him and embraced him tightly, letting out all fears and confusion as twin trails of tears into his broad chest.
Brotherly instincts taking over immediately, he gathered her up, depositing her in his lap and holding her close, stroking her mane and whispering gentle reassurances in her ear, just as he used to do when she was a foal. For several minutes neither of them moved from the spot, both of them wrapped in each other’s comforting embrace as Twilight’s shudders and sobs slowly petered out to nothingness. Pulling away slightly, he kissed her on the forehead, just below her horn, and brushed a few errant bangs out of her face before looking into her eyes and asking, “Are you alright, Twily?”
She gave a soft sigh, punctuated by a sniffle, before answering, “I… I’ll be alright. I-It was just a dream. Just a bad dream.” She repeated the words silently to herself, hoping to try and force herself to believe them while she looked anywhere but into Shining’s eyes.
Shining hooked a hoof under her chin and lifted her gaze to his, easily reading the torn emotions on her face. After a moment he asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”
Unbidden, her thoughts turned to the white place, with its painful empty loneliness and the demon in the mirror. She tore her gaze away, trying and failing to suppress the shudder that ran through her body. Seeing the hurt in his sister’s eyes, Shining gave her a soft squeeze and rubbed her back comfortingly, doing his best to assure her fears with his immutable presence.
After a moment he spoke again, “I heard about what happened last night.”
Immediately Twilight tensed, a heavy weight of dread hanging thick on her like a chocking blanket. Her fear welled up again, thick and cloying, forcing out any sort of comfort and warmth she might have gleaned from her brother’s presence as the reality of her situation was suddenly recalled. Silently, tears began to leak again from her large, frightened eyes.
Sensing her distress, Shining began stroking her again, speaking in a soft and gentle tone, “It’s alright Twily, it’s alright. Everything’s going to be Okay, you’ll see. You’ll get through this. You always do. And I’ll be right here for you every step of the way.”
Regardless, she began to shudder, shaking uncontrollably as her thoughts raced far and fast, her rationality struggling to keep pace. What was she going to do? She was a monster now, there was no going back for her, no matter how much she desperately wanted to. What would her friends think? Or worse yet, Princess Celestia?! What would they say? Would they be disgusted? Horrified? They would certainly be shocked at least, that much was a given. But what would they do once they had gotten over their initial surprise? Would they hate her? Would they stop being her friends? She hoped not, she really, really hoped not. She couldn’t stand the thought of losing them, of all of them simply no longer being there for her, coming to her when they needed her. Not constantly inviting her to parties or offer to show her new tricks or asking her opinion on a new dress design or sharing some of the best apple pie she had ever tasted or sitting in the park feeding the ducks or—
She was abruptly snapped out of her quickly degrading thoughts as Shining suddenly shook her, her wide and vacant eyes along with her near hyper-ventilation giving clear evidence to her inner turmoil. “Twilight, everything’s going to be alright. You’ll see,” he reassured, starring into her eyes and trying his best to convey a sense of comfort and support through his gaze alone. “No matter what happens, I’m here for you, you’ll see.”
For a moment she was still, utterly so. Then she embraced him yet again, holding him as tightly as she could, so tightly her legs almost began to hurt from the strain. He just held her back in silence, stroking her comfortingl. He was right. He had always been there before now, and no matter what happened he would always be there in the future too. No matter what he would always be there, her very own knight in shining armor. For a while longer she just let him hold her, taking comfort in his steadfast presence, when a voice spoke from the doorway.
“We are not interrupting anything, are We?”
Both unicorns turned the see Princess Luna standing in the doorway, one hoof raised indecisively weather or not to come or go and a sheepish and guilt laden look on her face. She looked between the both of them for answer in the face of their silence, her ears lying flat and winces slightly when she seeing the harsh glare Shining Armor shoots her for causing such distress for his little sister.
Sighing, Twilight gently extracted herself from the grip of her brother’s forelegs, climbing down from the elegant bedspread and stretching. After a few satisfying pops from her vertebrae, she answered, “No, Princess Luna. Shining and I were just talking.” The mentioned stallion dismounted from the bed as well, standing protectively next to her and continuing to shoot the princess a silent, angry glare.
“Oh, We see,” Princess Luna responded amicably, visibly relaxing slightly when she saw that Twilight wasn’t quite so angry at her as the mare’s brother. Nervousness was still plain on her features though, and she timidly glanced everywhere but Twilight’s eyes as she asked, “Art thou well? After the events of the early morn We were worried that thee may have suffered some ill effects.”
Twilight visibly tensed as the subject was brought up and Luna silently chastised herself for her continued lack of tact. Twilight was silent for a moment longer before speaking again, “I’m… just fine, Princess.”
Luna stepped a little closer, raising a hoof slightly, halfway to offering it in a placating and sympathetic gesture before thinking better of it and asked, “Art thou certain? If thou art feeling unwell We can—“
“I said I’m fine!” Twilight interrupted snappishly, causing the princess to wince from the bite in her tone. Seeing the guilt plain on her face Twilight looked away, taking a deep breath to calm herself. Without looking at her she spoke again, more levelly this time, “I’m fine Princess. I just don’t really want to talk about it.”
Taking a step backwards to but a little more distance between herself and Twilight, Luna continued, “Very well, We shan’t discuss the topic further. Just know that shouldst thou ever want for anything We shall do all in our power to aid thee. We cannot help but feel that it is partially Our fault that this has happened to thee. If We had not asked thou to pursue the cult or perhaps if We had been swifter that night then—“
“Don’t.” Twilight cut her off, giving her a stern glare. “Just… don’t, Princess. I don’t want to talk about what-ifs. No matter how desperately I wish otherwise what happened, happened. No amount of your pity or self-guilt is going to change that,” she finished, throwing an almost accusatory hoof at Luna.
Luna recoiled, wincing repeatedly as Twilight spoke, as if each word were a hammer blow. Her ears laid flat against her skull and a small amount of guilty tears began to form at the corners of her eyes in the face of Twilight’s sudden anger and accusations. With an almost pleading tone she said, “Twilight, We are sorry, We only meant—“
“No, don’t even start!” Twilight interrupted yet again, her temper finally getting the better of her. “I don’t want to hear anymore empty comforts and hollow consolations, so don’t even start Princess! My life has been ruined because of this! I’m some sort of bucking monster now! I can’t even go outside in the middle of the day without bursting into flames! Everything I’ve ever known, all my dreams and aspirations, all my life goals and everything I’ve ever wanted to do in life has gone up in smoke in the space of a single night. What are my friends going to think? Stars above, what’s Princess Celestia going to think?! So unless you’ve got some miraculous cure-all or secret technique that can actually help me hidden up your sleeve or you can turn back time then I don’t want to hear it!” Luna’s continued silence and misty eyes only served to enrage her even further for some reason and she continued, “Well? I’m listening! Let’s hear it! Oh, that’s right, you don’t! So I’m stuck like this, as a freak! And it’s all. Your. Bucking! Fault!”
For a moment everyone was still as the angered mare’s words sank into everyone present. The stillness was abruptly broken when Luna finally bolted from the room, a few tears finally managing to escape from her eyes. All was silent, save for Twilight’s angry panting, as the two unicorns simply stood there, Shining’s jaw agape at his little sister’s outburst and flagrant disrespect and anger towards one of the princesses. For almost a minute Twilight just stood there, hot and satisfying anger coursing through her as her breathing and heart rate slowly returned to normal.
Then quite suddenly, as if someone had thrown a switch, her eyes flew wide and her jaw dropped as she realized what she had just done. A combination of guilt and regret hit her like a hoof to the gut. Without much further thought she galloped from the room, intent on catching the fleeing princess and apologizing.
As her clattering hoof falls faded down the corridor Shining Armor rose to follow after his sister and keep her from doing anything rash. Well, anything else rash. However, before he could exit the doorway of the room he was stopped by a large bat-like wing. Looking to the side, he saw Princess Luna’s captain of the Lunar Guard standing almost completely hidden in the shadows of the columns by the doorway. He looked dead into Shining’s eyes, and with a firm expression, shook his head ‘no’, silently conveying that this was something Twilight should do alone. Perplexed, Shining none-the-less complied, trusting the Lunar Guard’s wisdom and experience when it came to his Mistress.
Satisfied that Shining was being compliant, he lowered his wing, turning to face the corridor both Twilight and Luna had fled down. Neither the princess nor either of the unicorn siblings had noticed, but Drahcir had seen the small slits that replaced the unicorn’s pupils for just a moment as she gave her rant as clear as the full moon on a cloudless night.
*~-/^\-~*
Carefully, he checked his reflection in the ancient suit of pony armor on display one final time. Mane? Check. Tail? Check. Coat brushed and straight? Check. Any food stuck in teeth? Negative.
As he gave himself a last minute cursory once-over, the massive doors at the end of the hallway opened, and an older stallion with a greying coat and black bow-tie stepped out. “Master Spell Matrix will see you now,” the butler called to him, causing him to twitch with a small start.
“Ah, yes. Of course.” he responded, straightening up and trying to hide the small blush at being startled so easily. With head held high and poise in his step he trotted towards the open doors.
As he passed by, the butler allowed himself a small smile and said, “And I must say, it’s nice to see you again young Star.”
As he passed by he returned the butler’s smile and said, “Thank you, Chimes. It’s good to see you again as well. And please, I’ve told you before; just call me Morning. I’m not quite so young anymore.”
Chimes only smiled harder. “Of course, young Morning Star.” Morning just let out a chuckle at the older stallion’s antics.
As Morning crossed the threshold, the doors closed behind him with a boom that was disproportionately loud in the otherwise quiet study, causing him to give a slight jump. Calming himself, he gulped audibly, swallowing his trepidation, and turned to face the desk at the other end of the room.
Directly behind it was a massive window that took up the entire wall, through which the setting sun could be seen, throwing the entire room into a sharp contrast of golden light and long shadows. Towering bookshelves lined both walls, drawing to a point directly to the window and forcing the eye towards the massive mahogany desk that sat as the room’s centerpiece. Countless papers lined the desk, along with a great many quills and ink wells, some stacked into high towers and others having fallen and beginning to coat the floor nearby. However, the most impressive feature had to be the large stallion sitting behind it all, hunched over his copious amount of work and working at a swift pace with a stern look of concentration and a trace of ever present arrogance. The sun sat directly behind him, just past the wall-wide window, and cast him into a fierce silhouette, drawing attention to his large and well-built frame as well as the great spiraled edifice that sat upon his brow. Without looking up from his work or in any other way acknowledging Morning Star’s presence, he spoke, his baritone voice authoritative and commanding. “Approach.” Morning did.
He stood in front of the desk for what must have been several minutes in silence, allowing the broad stallion to finish the paper on which he worked. He continued to work, fastidiously ignoring Morning until he signed at the bottom of the page with an elegant flourish. As soon as he did another paper floated down from the nearest stack to replace it, wrapped in an amber glow, and he finally spoke again. “Why are you here?” he asked, his tone all business.
Clearing his throat, Morning answered, “I came here with news that I thought might interest you.” When Spell was silent Morning took it as a sign to continue. “Recently, Princess Celestia contacted me.” The scratching of his quill stopped for a brief moment. Morning allowed himself a small smile at the minute reaction and continued. “She informed me that there are strange goings on in Equestria as of late, and personally asked for my individual assistance. She stressed the importance of my help and asked me to travel to Ponyville to aid her. I will be leaving in the morning.” For a moment they were both silent, and Morning wore a small but hopefully smile.
His good cheer was instantly smashed as soon as Spell spoke next. “Is that it?”
Morning’s heart fell. He cast about his mind desperately, trying in vain to come up with something else to share and help his case. Coming up with nothing he just hung his head and dejectedly answered, “Yes, sir.”
Silence reigned for a moment longer, broken only by the ever-present scratching of a quill before Spell spoke again, his words laced with a hint of anger, “Did you really think that would impress me? Did you honestly think that it was worth my time? That I would care?” Morning wisely stayed silent in the face of the rhetoric question. “I am a very busy stallion, and I do not need to be interrupted over something so petty. I thought you knew better than this, but I suppose I was just over-estimating you again. Go on, get out of here, before your mud-pony stench starts to linger.” Eager to escape the stallion’s wrath, Morning hurried to comply, nearly galloping in his haste to leave the room. As he left he could hear Spell Matrix call one last thing after him, “Come back when you have something that’s actually worth my time!”
Hurriedly, Morning shut the massive study doors behind himself, letting out a deep and shuddering disappointed sigh. Speaking more to himself than anypony he answered Spell Matrix’s last command.
“Yes, Father.”