Silent Ponyville 3

by SamRose


Chapter 9

Chapter 9
Written by: Jake Heritagu
Edited by: Cool Story Brony

Twilight stood under the shower's current, letting the water soak into her mane and coat. The gray ash covering her body was slowly melting off, swirling down into the trough below. Twilight stared down at the flowing gray and blue colors as they twirled into the drain. It seemed surreal, the idea that not only was she doing something so mundane, but that the shower was still working. In this twisted world where everything was broken, locked, or in need of some new part, just finding something that worked the way it was intended to...

Twilight pooled some of the drizzling water into her hooves and splashed it in her face. She rubbed her face, feeling the burn of dry eyes sinking in. Her mind was racing with thoughts about what was happening, and yet... she felt calm. She moved her hooves and stared at the racing water once more, imagining each of them were her thoughts. Some clear, some murky, all spiraling into an unrecognizable pattern.

"This doesn't feel real..." She muttered to herself, "Have I really become that accustomed to this place? That it's starting to feel more like the real world than where I've lived for years?" She groaned, covering her face with her hooves. She just let the water flow against her, wanting to feel the constant pulse from the pressure. "How long have I even been here? It doesn't even feel like it's been a day but..." Her mind recalled how many times she'd passed out, how often she had found herself in a new location or her mind disorientated, "How long have I been outside? Has it been days? A week? Or has it just been a couple of hours?"

She shook her head, feeling her saturated mane smack against her neck, a reminder that she was quite awake at the moment. "I should ask Spike and Magus, they might have a better grasp of how much time has passed than I do." She did a quick check over her body, making sure the ash had been completely washed away before turning off the water. She sat for a moment, feeling the water drip off of her before she stood up and gave herself a good shake. Her horn lit up and grabbed a towel hanging on a rack. She pressed it against her mane, trying to dry off the remaining water it had soaked up.

Twilight stepped out of the bathroom with the towel draped around her neck, finding herself still on the first floor of Applejack's house. She took a moment to look around the quiet hallway, feeling the emptiness of the house without any of the Apple Family living in it. She could hear the occasional whispering of Spike or Magus from the living room down the hall, but it certainly lacked the feeling of life Applejack's house always seemed to exude.

Just like everypony else in town, Applejack and her family were also missing. She tried not to worry about what had become of her friend, but images of Rarity being impaled and the corpse-like appearances of Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were still fresh in her mind. With a shake of her head to try and reassure herself, she wandered back into the living room.

"Ah, Twilight!" Spike said, getting up from his sitting position by the fireplace. He picked up a small tray he had kept near him and quickly ran over to Twilight, "I wasn't sure how hungry you might be, since I wasn't sure if you'd eaten or not, so I went ahead and made you a sandwich and tea!" He held up the tray that had a small triangular sandwich filled with various bits of hay, next to a still steaming cup of brown liquid.

Her stomach suddenly let out a loud growl and her cheeks flushed, realizing just how little she had eaten since she'd left the library.

"Thank you Spike." She said softly, picking the tray up with her magic and walking in front of the fireplace. She felt the heat from the fire within spreading through the room, the crackling of the flames giving a simple ambiance to the room. She sat down and placed the tray before her, Spike quickly taking a seat next to her bearing a large smile. Magus sat in a large reclining chair next to the fireplace, his magic wrapped around a tea cup he was previously holding to his lips as his eyes continued to scan the pages of a book.

Twilight grabbed the small sandwich between her hooves delicately. She looked at it curiously, tilting it slightly before putting it to her mouth and biting down on it. It wasn't a particularly tasty sandwich, simple bread with simple hay, it had a bland taste to it. Yet somehow it was one of the most delicious things she'd ever eaten. She savoured her first bite, counting each chew she took of the sandwich before finally swallowing the first bite down.

"You okay Twilight?" Spike asked, looking up at her worriedly. Twilight broke out of her stupor, suddenly feeling new dampness on her face. She put her hoof to her cheek and found fresh tears staining her cheek. She quickly rubbed her face, chuckling softly.

"Sorry Spike... I'm okay, just being silly and emotional." She laughed softly, feeling a gentle warmth growing in her chest as she spoke. She pushed the sandwich to her mouth and took another bite, closing her eyes to savour every chew of the meal. "It's delicious Spike."

"Aww... it's nothing really." Spike fiddled with his fingers, blushing softly. "Just some bread with a bit of hay in the middle. I would've made you more... but Magus said we should conserve the food we found, since we don't know when we'll find fresh food next."

Twilight's eyes wandered to the scruffy looking unicorn that sat on the chair. He shrugged his shoulders casually, flipping a page in his book before placing the tea cup down.

"It only made sense. We don't know how long we're going to be trapped in this strange town and food is obviously scarce." Magus spoke in that strange way once more, Twilight's ears flicked at the oddity of hearing it. "After all I don't even know how I got here. I was in Stalliongrad when you met me. Next thing I know, I wind up in some fog covered town called Ponyville. It really is quite baffling." He chuckled, shaking his head at the notion.

"I suppose that's true... I don't even know how long we've been here..." Twilight said picking up her tea cup with her magic, "When I woke up it was in the morning... at least I think it was. Apparently enough time passed for night to fall and the sun to rise again. Which would mean at least a whole day has passed, and it doesn't feel like it's been that long..." She took a sip of her tea to try and keep her thoughts calm.

"I agree, the passage of time does feel odd." Magus shrugged, flipping another page in his book before stopping in thought. "But I think it's more a trick being played than it is an actual day having passed."

"I think so too." Twilight said after swallowing another bite of her sandwich, "This place has a way of messing with your mind. It warps reality around you and makes ponies do terrible things..." She placed the half eaten sandwich back on the plate, suddenly unable to finish it. "I wouldn't be surprised if how much time has passed is just another way that it gets in your head."

Magus paused for a moment, contemplating his thoughts before placing a bookmark to hold his place and closing his book.

"I have something I should show you Miss Sparkle." He levitated the book over to a nearby shelf and stood up, nodding his way towards the front door. "It might give you some... Enlightenment on this strange world."

"Well I could certainly use some after today." Twilight let out a soft sigh before standing up and following Magus to the door. Spike was quick to follow as well, before Magus stopped at the door, turning to look at Spike.

"Spike, I think it'd be best if you waited for us here in the barn."

"What?" Spike asked confused, "But I don't want to leave Twilight's side again! We just got back together!" He said worriedly, not wanting Twilight out of his sight again.

"Magus, are we going far?" Twilight asked, her brow furrowing in displeasure at the idea that she might end up separated from Spike like she had been before.

"Not far," Magus waved his hoof casually, "Just around the side of the house to where the animals are kept. We'll be within shouting distance of the door."

"See Spike? I'm not going very far." Twilight wrapped a hoof around the baby dragon, bringing him into a deep hug, "I'm not about to let myself get separated that easily from you again."

"...Okay Twilight, I trust you." The young dragon wrapped his arms around her in reply. "But if I hear anything I'm coming straight over!"

"Alright, deal." Twilight chuckled, before giving her assistant a gentle squeeze and letting go. Magus opened the door to the dimmed world outside and the two quickly headed out.

Twilight kept her eyes on the expansive forest of dead trees before her, trying to spot anything that might be lurking within their depths. The thick fog made it hard to see past the first rows of trees, but Twilight was going to be vigilant. Magus stuck close to the edge of the house, walking straight for his destination. His eyes didn't seem to needlessly wander, as if he wasn't worried about the monsters that lurked beyond the fog.

He came to a stop at the side of Applejack's house. He raised his hoof and opened the doors that normally led to where the cows were kept. Now it seemed devoid of life, empty as the rest of the town had been.

"It's right in here." Magus spoke up, magic channeling through his horn, the tip now giving off a bright glow. He stepped into the darkened barn, his head moving back and forth as if looking for something. Twilight followed him into the rotted barn, feeling the thick air hitting her lungs. She put a hoof up to her muzzle, almost retching at the foul stench that assaulted her nostrils. "Good, he's still here." Magus almost cooed as he stepped into the shadows, fading from Twilight's view.

"Who's here?" Twilight asked, trying to look into the darkness. Magus didn't respond, only the sounds of heavy cloth being moved could be heard. Not wanting to be blinded anymore she raised her hoof and tapped on the pendant around her neck, instantly illuminating the aging barn.

A loud wail screamed through the barn piercing her ears as pounds of metal and flesh smashed themselves into solid steel bars. Twilight yelped, jumping back in fear as her eyes fell upon the rotted out skull of a decaying soldier, pressing up against it's container. It gnashed its teeth, trying to attack the source of the light.

"Oh-ho, he didn't like that very much." Magus chuckled as he watched the soldier thrashing in the confines of his cage. The creature seemed completely uninterested in him, simply gnashing out in anger at the bright light.

"Magus!?" Twilight cried bewildered, her eyes darting back and forth from the caged monster and the pony that was standing next to it, almost admiring it. "What are you doing?! Get away from that monster!"

That seemed to catch Magus's attention. He turned his head, looking at her with a queer smile plastered across his face. "Monster? They still look like monsters to you?"

"W-What?" Twilight stuttered, unable to even comprehend the words Magus had just uttered, "Of course! Of course they're monsters! Just look at them!" She pointed her hoof at the gnashing abomination that continued to try and snuff out the light, "It's a walking corpse! How is it anything but a monster!?"

Magus stared at Twilight for a moment, unblinking in his fixed gaze. Twilight felt the hairs on the back of her neck begin to rise as her skin crawled, before she heard his voice. An ominous cackle that started low, but began to grow. Magus shook his head, as if what she had said was the funniest thing in the world. Twilight felt herself begin to tremble, her hooves unable to keep themselves still. Her mind began to race, wanting to piece together just what he had said but unwilling to make the final leap, because if what he said was true, then she... she had...

"Allow me to... rectify that thinking, Miss Twilight." Magus spoke turning to face the creature that had yet to cease its assaults. His horn began to glow with a dull, almost sickly yellow. Twilight felt her breath catch, unable to take her eyes off of what was transpiring before her. Something in her told her to cry out, to stop what was going on, that she shouldn't witness what was about to happen. But she was frozen on the spot, unable to move, unable to avert her gaze, unable to breath. Just stare.

Light began to emit from beneath the soldier, it finally distracted from it's assault by the appearance of this new threat. It turned its head down, as if staring at the floor despite the caved in holes where its eyes should have been. In the sickly yellow light she could make out patterns being made, shapes being etched into the bottom of the steel cage. They slowly came to life and it was then that Twilight recognized what he was inscribing beneath the creature. It was that symbol, the symbol he used to create the safe areas, the one that killed any creature that was in it's presence...

Magus was going to kill the soldier.

Before her senses could return, to open her mouth to speak the light of the circle vanished leaving the blue insignia branded at the bottom of the cage. Which a loud, howling cry the soldier began to thrash about the cage. His whines echoed through the hollowed barn and his armor rattled and shake as the body inside of it began to suffer. Steam began to pour through the edges of the rusted metal that covered it's body and it's mouth opened wide in it's sorrowful cry.

Then before her eyes it began to change. The rotten, decayed skin of the creature began to shift, as if it's skin was a living entity and was crawling along it's host. It stretched and wobbled, covering over wounds that marred it's body, though it never lost that aged look. The skin stretched into the holes in the soldier's face, into the mouth, and around it's hooves.

Twilight stared in horror. For just a moment, the soldier no longer looked like a monster, but like a pony. Missing it's eyes, but a pony, held by fear, pain, and death.

Just as quickly as it came, the moment passed and the skin began to shrivel up once more, squeezing down on the soldier and making it look malnourished and sickly. The skin tightened and began to gray, no longer did it cry out in wails of pain, but a stunned, shocked silence was what followed. Then the creature began to fall apart, it's flesh and bones turned to dust and crumbling to the bottom of it's cage. The metal fell with a loud bang to the bottom of the steel floor, and the soldier was no more.

No longer able to carry her weight, Twilight fell into a sitting position. Just staring in shocked disbelief at what had just happened before her.

"You... you killed him..." Her words were fragile, tumbling out of her mouth and hitting the ground with what felt like a shattering crash in her mind.

"An unfortunate victim of research, but one that said so much before he passed." Magus chuckled, staring at the metal and dust of his handiwork before turning to face Twilight again. He looked her in the eyes, though they didn't seem to look him back, just out into the empty space before her. "But I'd like to hear from you Miss Twilight, what did you make of this display?"

Twilight's mouth slowly opened agape, unable to catch any words to speak. Her mind was blank, unwilling to register the thoughts that were going through it. She could feel herself shutting down, not wanting to accept the reality of the conclusions that were awaiting her. But somewhere in her mind she knew she had to face them yet. She'd been stabbed, cut, bitten, slammed into walls, thrown about, waded through blood till her legs were soaked red. Her mind gave one last defense, to try and retain a modicum of sanity.

"...No..."

"No?" Magus raised an eyebrow, curious to her choice of words.

"Magus... no... you can't... you can't TELL me this..." Twilight's voice shook, her eyes beginning to burn with tears. "You can't tell me... the monsters I've been... b-been..." her eyes squeezed shut as hot tears began to stream down her cheek, "that those monsters have been ponies! Flesh and blood ponies! You can't! You CAN'T" She looked at him, tears pouring down her face, her voice cracking and afraid, "I've been KILLING those monsters Magus! All through out this town, my hooves are stained with their blood!" She stared down at her hooves, the imagery of her sword flying through the air and taking the life of creatures left and right flashed before her. "B-But if they're ponies, Magus... if they're ponies... then... then... I... I..." Her body began to tremble, her words caught in her throat, her hooves covered her face as she began to curl up, trying to escape from the reality that was now bearing down upon her.

"Then you'll be a murderer." Twilight froze as Magus spoke the words. She slowly lifted her head, looking through the bangs that hung before her eyes at the stallion that stood next to the cage. His strange way of speaking ever present, his eyes never seeming to show what was truly going through his mind. "And that's true, you would be. All those lives cut short because you swung your blade. The weight of so many lives resting upon your shoulders."

"I..." Twilight put her hooves on the ground, staring at it as her mind reeled, "I had no choice Magus... they left me no choice. They attacked me... they... they intended to kill me. If... if I hadn't killed them... I would be dead..."

"Good, good, rationalize the killing. That'll make it easier for your conscious to bear, right?"His words dug into her, bore straight into her core. She put a hoof against her snout, trying to keep her stomach from escaping her now. "Taking the life of another pony is a heavy burden to bear. I'm sure you know that better than anyone."

Twilight just broke out into a fit of sobs, curling up on the floor, wanting the truth to go away. She wasn't a killer, she didn't kill ponies. She defended herself, defended herself against monsters. Mindless monsters that wanted to kill her, to kill Spike, to kill her friends. If she didn't fight, she would die, they would die, because mindless monsters can't be reasoned with. But if they were ponies...

"Of course, that only matters if the life you're taking is indeed a pony." Magus spoke up, placing a hoof against the steel cage. Twilight froze once more, confused by these new words, her mind still in a state of shock. "These 'monsters' you slay, from my own research I can conclude, that they were ONCE ponies. I don't see them as monsters, but simply as new specimens to study." Twilight very shakily managed to right herself from the floor, still sitting but not shaking in trembling tears like she had been. "These are just the remains, twisted and malformed by a world that now has a new use for them. I don't know quite what it means just yet, but you should have no qualms over their deaths. If anything, they're just puppets." His odd way of speaking never broke tone once. He was as calm talking about the gravity of murder as he would be about the flavors of his tea.


"...What... What in Celestia's name is wrong with you?" Was all Twilight could mutter. She still gently shook, a muddy mess of emotions coursing through her mind as she tried to even make sense of everything that was going on right now.

"Let's just say that... I always have the bigger picture in mind." Magus smiled that desolate smile, before he began to slowly walk back to the entrance of the decayed barn. His loud, echoing footsteps became muffled by the layer of thick ash outside, before the air returned to its silence.

She placed one hoof over the over, closing her eyes and breathing heavily as the tears dripped down her cheeks. She needed to calm herself. She could feel her mind still shaking, wanting her to pay for all the horrible things she might have done. But she hadn't done anything wrong, she had defended herself, she wasn't dead. As far as she knew, her friends weren't dead either.

A searing hot pain flashed in her mind as the image of a white unicorn became stained with blood, a long black sword piercing her chest.

Twilight grabbed her head in her hooves and gave a wailing cry as her head hit the ground. Another hot vision flashed in her mind, the cadavers of two winged ponies slowly crawling towards her, begging, asking for love, clawed at her mind.

She raised her head and slammed it against the floor, a loud thud echoing and her mind becoming numb. Her body fell limp and she lay on her side, panting and breathing in the heavy dust of the floor. She let out a loud cough, wanting to be rid of the intruder. She placed her shaky hoof against her face and took in a few more shuddering breaths, before finally starting to feel a semblance of calm come about her.

She was breaking down... She was a crying, sobbing, mess of a pony on the floor, in the middle of a world that seemed to feed off of her misery. She wanted to be home, curled up in front of a fire, reading a good book. She couldn't think of how many times she had just wished to wake up from this nightmare, to see everything return back to normal and have her old home back.

But every time she thought she was getting closer to an answer, it would just be whisked away again.

Yet there was that voice in the back of her head, the one that always seemed to show up just as she was willing to give up. It was a low, painful voice, that barely could utter a word let alone a sentence. But it was there, she could hear it, and it pushed against her.

"Get up."

Achingly, her body began to right itself. She pushed herself up onto her haunches and put a hoof to her face. She took a few deep breaths, some shuddering as she calmed herself, rubbing the dirt and the tears off of her face. She could stand on her hooves, she could walk if she gave herself another moment longer. She wasn't dead, she didn't know for sure that her friends were dead, and the words of Lance were in her head.

"This place... is only what I make of it." Twilight spoke a loud, lowering her head and covering both her eyes, "If I let it kill me, then I will die. If I let it kill my friends, then they will die too." She lifted her head, her eyes starting to show the wear of her tears and lack of rest, "And I will save them. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do everything I could to save my friends."

With a calmer hoof, she pushed herself back upright. She was standing again, looking at the dark, abandoned barn once more. She figured it must not have any more answers for her right now, or else Magus would have shown her more.

She grit her teeth. Right now that name sent a flash of anger into her mind. It felt more than deserved; he'd messed with her head and made her fall into that breakdown. Her resolve was shattered and broken all because he had to open his mouth and say things that weren't true. If she needed to use that anger as a fuel to push on, then she would let him feel the full fury of Celestia's protégé.

She didn't want to go back into the farmhouse just yet, not unless there was a reason to be in his presence again. But she didn't want to stay in the musty barn either, not with what she'd just seen. She slowly looked around, her light landing on a second door at the opposite end of where she had come in. That made sense to her, a barn would have doors on both ends. With a short walk she had reached the door and pushed her hoof against it, opening the barn once more to the quiet and dust filled air.

The white world returned to her vision and the aisles of dead trees laid before her. She was at the back of the house, a path she remembered from when she visited before. Just ahead of her she could see a path, and following it she could easily locate the Crusader's club house. Though she wasn't willing to search the forests at the moment, not with the thought that she might be attacked once more by that pony from the vortex once more.

Her mind wandered slowly from her, just wanting to relax for the moment while it recuperated, when the loud sound of wood cracking came to her ears. Her body instantly froze and her head turned to the direction she had heard it. A second loud crack echoed over the woods and she honed her vision in on the spot. A third loud crack and she found the source.

In the distance, amongst the forest, creating a fourth loud crack by assaulting one of the trees, an orange blur was moving about.

Her heart felt like it had stopped. She focused harder on that orange blur than she'd ever focused in her life. It moved, it sauntered slowly from one tree to the next before raising its legs and striking hard at the base, followed by a loud 'crack' that echoed through the trees. No monsters were around it, no fog was playing tricks on her eyes, that sound was unmistakable...

Her legs started moving before her mind even gave the order, her body was moving in full sprint, not even for a moment doubting the destination. This wasn't that Otherworld where the world played tricks on walking from one room to the next, this wasn't some delusion, or dream, or weird mirror world... the blur was real, she was drawing closer to it... a shape she knew, a shape she was familiar with...

"APPLEJACK!" Twilight yelled out, not even realizing she had taken a moment to draw a huge breath. Her eyes darted forward and saw that the orange blur had stopped; it became clearer as she drew closer. The tears in her eyes were slowly coming back. There was an orange pony looking back at her, one looking bewildered and confused, before realization dawned on the pony's face.

"TWILI-UMMF" Was all Applejack managed to say before she was unceremoniously tackled by the purple unicorn. The two of them landed in the ashen forest, forelegs wrapped tightly around the other. The two of them stayed like that, just hugging tight for a moment that felt like it lasted forever.

"Twilight! It's really you isn't it? You're alive! Oh thank Celestia you're alive!" Applejack squeezed a little tighter in her hug, "Ah've been looking everywhere for you and the others! Ah don't know what's going on in this crazy place!"

"I've been looking for you too Applejack." Twilight smiled finally pulling back from the hug, visible tears at the edge of her eyes once more. She took Applejack's hoof and helped her to sit up, "though I'm really just as confused as you are about what's going on here. I woke up in the library and Ponyville was just... like this."

"That's what happened to me too." Applejack said adjusting her hat, her face growing serious. "Granny Smith was the one who woke me, saying she was gathering the family downstairs. At first Ah thought it was the middle of the night, but it didn't take long to realize the windows were bordered shut. Applebloom was gettin' scared, but Big Mac was able to calm her down. We couldn't seem to escape no matter how hard we pounded on the wood covering the windows or the walls. We eventually found a key that let us out, but then Ah saw... this!" Applejack waved her hoof towards the fog and dead trees, "and Ah knew something wasn't right. So I told them to stay put while I went and found you and the others." Applejack flicked her hat in annoyance, "a fat load of good it did though..."

"Ponyville was no better off and Ah was just running in circles trying to find somepony. Eventually though... Ah did find this..." Applejack pulled off her hat and reached inside before pulling out an aged piece of paper and handed it to Twilight. Taking it carefully, Twilight unrolled seeing that there was messy black writing on it in the form of a riddle.

One buck

Two buck

Three buck

Four

Dead leaves and hollow trees

Three are gone for you to find

A key we've hid to be so kind

"It left a bad taste in mah mouth too." Applejack said seeing the look that had appeared on Twilight's face. She replaced the hat on her head and continued, "Ah immediately rushed back to the barn but... everyone was missing. If they had left to search they would've left a note, if they'd seen something only Big Mac woulda left. Something happened to mah family Twi. And the only clue Ah have is that note, saying stuff about a key and hollow trees... the only thing Ah could do is see if there's a hollow tree in the orchard that is holding a key..." Applejack turned her head to the veritable forest that would normally be seen covering the hills if not for the fog. "But there's just so many... Ah don't know if Ah can even find it..."

"I... I see..." Twilight said, swallowing a knot that had formed in her throat. "It's been the same story everywhere I've been... Missing ponies, strange riddles and puzzles, monsters hiding in the shadows..."

"Monsters?" Applejack asked interrupting Twilight's train of thought. "Ah haven't seen any monsters... Are you telling me there's monsters here too?"

"What..." Twilight asked, confusion drawing on her face, "They've been all over Ponyville Applejack. These... zombie-like ponies wearing ancient royal armor carrying weapons! Or the decaying dragon that is watching the skies! Or ones that eat books, ones that have sickles for legs, giant leeches that eat the remains of other ponies! To get here I ran from a dragon and some orb-like monstrosity! You've seen NONE of that?!" Bewilderment, confusion, anger, hesitation, jealousy... Twilight couldn't put a hoof on what kind of emotion she was feeling, but it was welling up inside of her.

"Twilight... there aren't any monsters in Ponyville... I've been there for hours, the town is empty... are you feeling alright?"

It was as if the color had drained from Twilight's face. There was no way that Applejack had traveled through Ponyville for hours without having run into a single monster. Spike had seen them as well! Rarity had seen them! Magus had-


"They still look like monsters to you?"

Her mind began to play back every memory of her sword tearing into each of the monsters that she had slain. Remembering the feel of their hot blood on her flesh and hooves. The terror of them coming to kill her, only for her to have come out on top. She could still see that blade tearing through their flesh...

"The only thing Ah saw in Ponyville was a hooded pony that talked like Zecora." Applejack muttered.

"Y-You did!?" Twilight was able to snap out of her thoughts, looking at Applejack for something to cling to. "Did she say anything?"

"Yeah, she muttering something awful cryptic, not that Ah knew a thing she was talking about. Ah had a hard time understanding that fancy riddle talk." Applejack shook her head frustrated.

"But you saw her right? She spoke to you. And then just as quickly as she appeared she disappeared right?" Twilight was grasping for a foundation.

"Yeah... how'd you know?" Applejack said surprised.

"I've seen her too AJ. I don't know what she is but she seems to be following us around Ponyville. I don't know if she's one of the monsters or not, but she's proof that I'm not just seeing things! There are monsters out there! Spike and Magus have seen them too, I know I'm not hallucinating." Twilight said, reassuring herself more than anyone. The foundation on which she kept her sanity was shaking, constantly being knocked over and rebuilt, but she was going to keep holding it together, even if it ended up killing her.

"Ah believe ya Twi, Ah just haven't seen any myself. It's been quieter than a silent movie out there." Applejack adjusted her hat again, before looking over her shoulder at the dead trees around the farm once more. "And Ah still need to find that key in one of them trees here. If it helps me find out what happened to my family, then Ah reckon I'll tear each of them down if I have to."

"I understand Applejack, but when I came to Sweet Apple Acres, I was chased by a huge monster, one I just barely got away from. It's not safe out here in the trees. We should regroup with Spike and Magus in the house, together we can think of a better plan than just kicking at every tree here."

"...Ah reckon that does make a bit of sense." Applejack sighed softly, flicking her hat once more. "Just one question... whose Magus?"

"He's... a pony I managed to find while searching for you guys. He's looking after Spike while I search, he's actually managed to find a way to make safe spots around town. Places where the monsters can't get in. We'll be safe in the house as long as he's there."

"That's a heck of a convenient pony to run into while the town is like this... giving the fact that I haven't run into anypony else for hours, and you you just happened to find him with these 'safe spots' he can make? That don't strike ya as suspicious?" Applejack raised an eyebrow curiously, obviously already thinking about their safety.

Twilight bit her lip in thought. Even she couldn't deny the strange feeling Magus gave her whenever he talked, all of his words seemed to come out in a strange way. Not quite flat but not quite emotive either, he put emphasis on words that didn't really need them and he said things that might seem normal in an unusual manner. She couldn't get out of her head what he had said and done in the barn, how he had shown her that monster and just...

"I... I asked him to watch over Spike... and he did. He kept Spike safe, out of harm's way. Even if I don't fully trust him... he's at least kept his word. Spike is safe with him, I'm sure of that at least." Twilight didn't sound completely assured, as if she was convincing herself just as much as Applejack.

"Well... alright then, let's go meet him and see what we can think up." Applejack said walking over to Twilight's side before giving her a gentle nudge and a smile, "And it's mighty good to see you again Twi. Let's not get split up."

"Yeah, that sounds good." Twilight smiled, glad to have the company again. She'd been traveling alone for so long now she almost forgot what it felt like to have a friend by her side. It was still too dangerous to have Spike traveling with her, but Applejack was a strong pony, probably the strongest she knew besides Big Macintosh. If a monster showed up she could handle herself in a fight.

The white ash covered their hooves as they walked, each step sinking at least half an inch into the covered ground. The barn was still in sight and wouldn't take longer than a minute to reach. Twilight scanned around her, looking for any sign of a creature that might be following them but saw nothing. It seemed things were finally starting to look up for her, to start going in her favor. Perhaps she could finally get out of this hell, no more sirens, no more strange twisted worlds with rules of their own, no more being covered in blood or slicing down monsters... she would find her friends, fix Ponyville, then curl up in front of her fireplace and have a warm cup of cocoa.

"Hey Twi... do you hear that?" Applejack asked, stopping in place to lift her head up a little. Twilight blinked in confusion, lifting her head up as well, trying to hear what Applejack was talking about. At first she didn't hear anything, just the usual wind of the silent town, perhaps a tree creaking in the wind. But the sound in the distance started off low, just rumble in the distance. Then it began to grow, louder and louder, reaching over the tops of the trees. A sound Twilight recognized, one that made her heart drop in dread.

"Did somepony turn on the town siren? Maybe there are other ponies out there! This could be a sign Twilight, we should get to-"

"Applejack, run to the barn. Now." Twilight interrupted Applejack with her demand.

"What? What's the sudden rush?" Applejack raised an eyebrow looking at Twilight in confusion.

"There's no time to question it!" Twilight almost yelled, "Just run! Run NOW!" Twilight slammed her hoof against the ground. As she did, the siren reached its peak and the world around them began to change. The barks of the trees began to chip away, bits and pieces floating up into the sky. The ground and ash began to float up into the air in chunks. The air was filling with the floating debris.

"...Okay, ya'll don't have to tell me twice!" Applejack said finally realizing the situation. Her leg sprung back and she bolted forward, rushing straight for the barn. Twilight quickly followed after her, only just barely able to keep up with Applejack. The world was changing fast, the flying chips of the world growing denser with each passing second. The barn rushed closer to them, just seconds away.

Applejack reached the back door first, grabbing it with her hoof and flinging it open. She sprung on her back legs straight through the door. Twilight was right behind Applejack, ready to leap into the house for safety, but the moment Applejack's body hit the inside of the house she cracked. Her entire body rippled with gray cracks as the color faded from her coat and hair, and as her hooves touched the ground she burst, scattered bits of gray ash flying and falling where her body had once been.

Twilight skidded to a halt as she stared in horror at what had just happened to her friend, now just ash floating in the air, same as the changing world around her. The siren blared loudly in her ears and the door to the barn slammed shut before right. Her back legs gave way and she sat down on the changing world, watching as the last bits of the old world vanished.

The siren in the distance faded away slowly, fog riddled world now replaced. The sky was dark, spreading a dark haze that obscured vision from a distance. She no longer sat on earth and ash but rather a solid steel platform, rusted red and stained with what looked like blood. The house that was once Applejack's home was now a twisted shack of metal and wires, looking more like a scrapyard of metal than a livable home. The trees around her looked to be covered in rotted skin, pulsing slowly in certain spots as if blood pumped through them.

"...You've... you've called me back here..." Twilight whispered to no one, pressing her hooves hard against the ground and staring at it. "You called me here again... why?" She asked no one. "I just want... I just want to go home..." she squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her forehead against the metal door.

Far away in the distance, a loud roar echoed quietly across the farm.