Chapter 7: The Day After
Fear is static that prevents me from hearing myself.
~~~Samuel Butler
Even though the sun was shinning over Ponyville, there was no light that could shine through the darkness and sorrow that filled the hearts of five young ponies. Their best friend was gone, taken by the darkness, along with their Princess of the sun. They were unsure of what to do next, for there were so many questions that needed answers. They hoped desperately that Princess Luna would have the answers they sought.
As Luna awoke, she couldn't help but yelp from the searing pain that shot through her entire body. Though Luna was indeed immortal, it did not mean she was invincible. Pain was no stranger to her. Unable to move Luna looked around to get an idea of where she was. Luna found herself laying on her stomach on a stiff cot near the center of a large room. She saw what looked to be different kinds tools one would use for dress making. A sewing machine, a few mannequins, and gigantic rolls of cloth stored on several rows of shelves against a far wall.
"Its good to see you awake you're majesty. I don't know much about alicorn anatomy so I just thought of a magical earth pegasus and went from there."
Luna turned her head toward the voice that spoke to her.
"You are... Red Vein...yes?" she weakly asked.
The white earth pony giggled at the mistake in name. She wouldn't hold it against the princess though, how was she supposed to know everypony's name in Equestria anyway?
"Its Red 'Heart'. Nurse Red Heart. Though may heart probably turned pale when I saw those girls about to move you without a stretcher. They could have broken your spine even further than it already was. Thank goodness I was still looking for anypony who might have been hurt during that fire.
"Friends?" ,Luna pondered, "Who do you mean?
"Oh you know. Those girls who defeated Discord."
Hearing that Twilight's friends had disobeyed her direct orders to stay away from the library upset Luna, but she did her best to keep calm in the presence of this pony who was not involved.
"Oh yes. Those girls. Where are they now? We would most like to speak with them."
Nurse Red Heart looked to the Princess. Though Luna was healing at an extraordinary rate, inviting the others in might create too stressful an environment for her. Or at least that hyperactive pink pony might.
"Perhaps later. For now I would like you to get as much rest as possible. I'm sorry we couldn't get you a better bed. But with the condition of your back, all we could do was set up this cot in Miss Rarity's work room here. I hope it isn't too uncomfortable for your liking."
Luna looked around the room once more. She was indeed inside Rarity's workshop. Noting the tools and fabrics she saw earlier. Luna shook her head. Her mane hanging loosely around her face.
"No. This is quite fine. Thank you."
Nurse Red Heart walked toward the doorway leading out to the hall, before looking back at the princess.
"Please do get some rest Princess.", she said as she walked out of the room.
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After Celestia's abduction and the attack on Luna, the Royal guard had been called in to secure Ponyville and question everypony young and old for any information on what had occurred just the night before. The new captain of the Royal guard had requested the mayor's office as their temporary headquarters while they sorted everything out.
"I just don't get it! Why would Twilight side herself with a creep like Sombra!?" Rainbow Dash was pacing back and forth just outside the mayor mare's office in the town hall while she waited for the Commander to call her in for questioning. "And furthermore, why would she just....attack the Princess like that?!"
Applejack, and Rarity were both with the blue pegasus while Pinkie and Fluttershy were out bringing back some breakfast pastries from Surgarcube Corner while they all waited. Just like Rainbow, the two of them of them were also trying to figure out why their best friend would betray them.
"Now just calm down Rainbow. I'm sure Twilight had some reason for doing what she did." Applejack said.
"Twilight had said that she was afraid of Sombra. Perhaps she was only doing what she had to so that Sombra wouldn't attack her." Rarity added.
Hearing Rarity suggest that Twilight would attack her friends to save herself infuriated Rainbow. Being the element of loyalty, Rainbow refused to believe that Twilight would commit such a betrayal.
"No way!" Rainbow shouted, "Twilight may have been afraid, but there's no way she would betray us like that! If there's anything I know about Twilight, it's that when it comes to loyalty, shes second only to me."
Rarity straightened her posture, to retain her regal appearance,"I would never doubt that she was dear. But it doesn't change that fact that something made her turn against both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. And I'm regretful to say, us as well."
In a flash Rainbow had flown through the air to hover directly in front of Rarity, "Oh come on Rarity! Even Fluttershy wouldn't turn against her friends, and shes scared of everything!"
And just then, Pinkie Pie burst through a nearby doorway. Saddlebags filled to the brim with sugary treats for her friends.
"I'm baaack!", Pinkie exclaimed.
Despite everything that had happened, Pinkie Pie never lost her playful spirit. In fact, to her friends, she almost seemed happier than usual, if that were even possible.
"Thanks fer bringing us breakfast Pinkie. We really appreciate it.", Applejack said as she helped Pinkie remove the saddlebags from her back.
"No problem Applejack." she said with a cheery smile. "I bet we could all use a bit of sugary baked goods to raise our spirits!"
"Pinkie dear," Rarity added, "I believe you're already cheery enough for all five of us."
"Hey yeah. Speaking of all five of us, where's Fluttershy?", Pinkie asked.
Rainbow bit into a blueberry filled pastry before speaking, "Wahshn't she wiff ou?" she said, spitting crumbs from her mouth as she spoke.
Pinkie shook her head, "Nope, I sent her back before me with some bottled drinks. Didn't she show up?"
Applejack peered around the outside of the doorway Pinkie had just walked through. Sitting against the wall was Fluttershy's saddlebag. It was filled with all kinds of different drinks. But besides Fluttershy's bag, there was no sign of Fluttershy herself.
"I wonder where she went." she said before bringing the bag inside the room.
"Maybe she forgot to feed her fuzzy animal friends!" Pinkie said before biting into one of her pastries.
"Eh you're probably right. Lets eat!"
~~~~~
Fluttershy steadily made her way up the stairs to the town hall's second floor where her friends were waiting for Pinkie Pie and herself to arrive with breakfast for the group. Everyone was rather distraught at what had happened only hours ago with Twilight, and both her and Pinkie agreed they could all use some sweets to feel better while they sorted everything out.
As Fluttershy neared the top of the stairs she could hear her friends talking about Twilight. Fluttershy knew it was impolite to eavesdrop, but she needed to know how her friends were feeling about everything that had happened. If Fluttershy made her presence known, her friends might not speak their minds as openly as she wanted them to be. Not that her friends weren't honest with her, but they often would soften their tones if she was around. Fluttershy did appreciate how thoughtfully her friends were towards her, but it didn't mean she couldn't handle the hard truth.
Fluttershy pressed her ear gently against the wall just outside the room her friends were waiting. She wasn't sure what was going on, but it seemed to be about Twilight. As she listened, Fluttershy could hear the distinct voice of Rainbow Dash. It was easy to tell who due to the fact Rainbow would often talk aggressively loud; something Fluttershy did wish she would do less often. Fluttershy dint even have to hold her breath to breath to hear what he friend was saying.
" Oh come on Rarity! Even Fluttershy wouldn't turn against her friends, and shes scared of everything!"
At hearing what Rainbow said about her, Fluttershy's jaw dropped as tears began to soak her eyes. Fluttershy dropped her saddlebag of drinks and took off down the stairs as quietly as she had climbed them, crying the whole way. Though she was crying, Fluttershy wasn't saddened by what Rainbow had said. On the contrary, she was furious.
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As the bright light from Sombra's teleportation spell ended, Twilight found herself in a place she had never seen before. Though she had never been to this place before, she was aware of where she was in Equestria. Being a unicorn herself, Twilight had teleported enough times to be able to sense how far she was traveling while doing so. Sombra's spell had taken her nearly half way across Equestria to the north west from Ponyville.
The sun was still quite low in the horizon despite the distance she had traveled in Sombra's spell. Though teleportation seemed instant, Twilight knew from years of study that it was merely a parlor trick. Teleportation seemed instant, but in fact was nothing more than fast traveling. Normally, it would take as much as five hours for any average unicorn to travel from Ponyville to Twilight's current location. It simply took too much energy for one pony to create in a teleportation spell to be instant. Judging from the sun in the sky however, Sombra had teleported Twilight himself, and an alicorn princess, Celestia, in no more than ten minutes.
Twilight and Sombra stood around only for a second to observe the scenery around them before Sombra began moving forward.
"We walk from here", Sombra said as he moved forward. Celestia's unconscious form followed silently as it levitated mere inches from the ground. Having no choice in the matter, Twilight followed obediently.
As they moved, Twilight took the time to observe the landscape around her. Anything to avoid starring at the princess and mentor she betrayed. All around her, there were rows and rows of trees. All were positioned in a fashion not unlike the trees in the Everfree forest. Unlike the Everfree forest however, these trees that once held a dark brown color in their bark were now gray and dying. Twilight reached out toward the trunk of a nearby tree to touch it only for Sombra to quickly blast her away with a force of telekinetic force.
Twilight fell flat on her back. She could feel her muscles tighten as Sombra griped her in his magic to restrain her. Slowly, Sombra approached the magically bound Twilight. His face came only inches from Twilight's own as he snorted hot air from his nostrils onto the terrified pony he stood over.
"Don't, touch the trees", it was all the King said before releasing Twilight from his magic, and returning with his walk forward.
Shaken, Twilight stood to follow Sombra; taking extra care not to touch a low hanging branch next to her.
For the next several minutes Twilight walked behind Sombra silently. The entire time Sombra remained equally silent. Aside from the sound of a breeze every few minutes, the only sound for miles was that of hooves walking across the ground. Twilight noticed that the ground they walked on was very strange. It looked very much like grass, but held the same gray color as the trees it grew around. While normal grass would bend and compress when stepped on, the gray stems would instead not bend, but turn to ash. Everywhere Twilight walked, a trail of ash followed behind her; outlining every step she took; creating a trail.
Twilight tried to keep her mind occupied with the scenery, but her intellectual nature kept pushing questions into her mind. Eventually Twilight couldn't take it anymore. She had to obtain answers to her questions. Even if it meant speaking to Sombra, and hearing the voice she feared so much.
"Um.... Kin-....King Sombra.....", Twilight spoke weakly. She wasn't even sure if he had heard her,as he made no change in his walking speed or posture. Reluctantly, Twilight continued, "Where....Where are we exactly?..."
At first Sombra said nothing, and as much as Twilight wanted to know where she was, she was in some small way relieved that he didn't seem interested in a Q and A session. To Twilight's dismay however, the silence was broken.
"I was wondering when you would ask that.", he said plainly. "I'm not surprised you do not know. These lands are not made for the soft hides of ponies who lack my power."
Each word Sombra hissed made Twilight more and more regretful that she had spoken. Still, her scholarly personality kept her attention. Even Sombra was probably better than the shame she felt inside when she looked at the unconscious Celestia floating gently behind him.
"This is the land known as the vile forest. The place where no pony but myself has ever survived a journey to. Be wary Twilight Sparkle. This land is unforgiving to to the weak, and i can not have you dying on me just yet."
'Yet'. Of every word Sombra spoke, none filled Twilight with more terror than that one. 'dying just 'yet''. Nevertheless, Twilight prodded Sombra for more answers.
"Why are we here? If I may ask......master." Twilight snapped her mouth shut. Had she just called Sombra master? No, not her. It was something inside her. The amulet. Despite how she tried to fight it, the alicorn amulet still spread its influence through her body. It was speaking for her now. Before, the amulet would take control of her mind completely. Leaving gaping blanks in her Twilight memory when it did so. Now it would seem that the amulet was mixing its influence with Twilights mind. Doing so meant that the amulet was corrupting Twilight further. It also meant that its removal would be that much harder to accomplish.
Though Twilight didn't notice , Sombra smiled when she had addressed him as master. The amulet was doing its job well. Soon Sombra wouldn't even need fear to control Twilight. She would become a puppet, completely loyal to him and him alone.
Sombra answered Twilight's question, "We are here, my pet, because we require the power of those who live here."
Twilight looked at Sombra puzzlingly, "Who would live out here? Everything is dead. How could sompony even live out here?", she said bluntly.
Sombra made a little grin at the remark. How naive this student of Celestia was about the Vile Forest. Of course knowing Celestia, she probably declared the Vile Forest forbidden after Sombra had been deafeated a thousand years ago; in order to keep curious ponies from repeating the same experiments as Sombra had done.
"My dear child, you can not even see the forest through the trees so to speak. There isnt the single thing here that isn't alive.", he said with a short laugh,
Twilight looked around once more, but still she saw only the same trees as before. What did Sombra mean? What ponies could live out here? Or were they even ponies at all? Twilight had several thoughts of who Sombra was seeking. From dragons to Ursa-majors, Twilight shuttered at the thought of such powerful creatures under the Kings control.
Twilight had been so lost in her thoughts that she almost walked right into Sombra who had suddenly stopped in front of her while she was looking down. Stumbling to regain her composure, Twilight looked up to see what had made the dark king stop so suddenly. What she saw, was incredible.
Standing in the middle of a large clearing in the forest was a large tree. The biggest tree that Twilight had ever seen.Big enough that Twilight couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it earlier It was so tall Twilight could swear she saw a cloud dip below its branches. It had to be nearly two-thousand feet high with a trunk wide enough to hold a fourth of Ponyville at ground level. Unlike the gray dying trees that surrounded the clearing, this tree's bark was pitch black. The trunk itself was riddled with hundreds of holes; an eerie green light emitting from each one.
Nearly four fifths of the tree was made up of only its trunk while the last fifth held hundreds of branches. Each branch appeared large enough to hold several hundred ponies on each branch. Each branch was joined together to neighboring branches from what looked like many hoof made wooden walkways. The tree as a whole almost made Canterlot Castle seem like a foals play house.
Twilight was awestruck, she barely had enough words to describe such a marvelous feat of nature.
"What is this place?", she asked Sombra standing in-front of her.
"They call it The Hive. A fitting name for a colony species."
Twilight wondered what Sombra had meant by that. "A colony?", she thought to herself, "A colony of what?"
Twilight's thoughts however, became distracted as her attention was diverted to somthing dark moveing in the sky near the great tree. Though it was too far away for her see clearly, Twilight was able to see that its body was not unlike a ponies. In fact, she may have thought it was indeed a pegasus pony flying through the sky had it not been for its unusual flight pattern.
When pegasi flew, they often did so in smooth flight patterns. Adjusting their flight speed in order to change directions without losing control. The creature Twilight saw did not use such techniques. It rapidly flew from one location to the next, changeing directions without hardly any movement from its actual body.
Twilight knew of only one creature that was capable of these flight padtterns. She had seen the same motions before. A creature that she had hoped would never return after its kind was thrown from Canterlot Castle on the day of her brother's wedding with Princess Cadence.
Several more of the creatures flew forth from the tree. Each one was black in color and displayed the same flight puatterns as the first. It was then Twilight was sure of what lived in The Vile Forest, and it was not ponies or dragons. What King Sombra sought, were none other than changelings.
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"And that is everything you know?"
"Yeh- I mean, yes sir. That's everything, up till now i mean"
Applejack wasn't a the kind of pony to be nervous talking to a figure of authority. Even to the Captain of the Royal guard. But something about Captain Sky Heart was just unsettling to her. Sure his name was warm enough, but his personality was just flat out cold.
Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie were all gathered in Mayor Mayors office; more recently being used as the Captain of the royal guard's office while Ponyville town hall was acting as a temporary headquarters. The Captain spoke to them one by one, trying to piece together the events of the night before. It was his sole duty to make sure that Equestria was safe while neither princess was present to take charge. It was a duty he took very seriously.
"I was told that there were five ponies present when Princess Luna was found. Where is your yellow pegasus friend? Fluttershy, it believe it was?", Sky Heart asked from his seat at the mayor's desk, "Why is she not here, as ordered, to tell her side of last nights events?"
Rarity spoke first to explain her friends absence "I'm sure she'll be along very shortly Captain Sky He-"
"Just Captain will do thank you" ,the Captain shot back sternly.
"Uhh...Captain, sorry, She will be here soon I assure you. Fluttershy isn't the kind of pony to just leave without a good reason."
The Captain sat perfectly still, his front hooves pressed together near his muzzle as he leaned forward on the desk. "Then tell me Miss Rarity, what could be more important than finding out where Princess Celestia is, and stopping King Sombra from destroying everything we know?"
Rarity blinked at the question "W-well.. I..", she studdered.
"And what, pray tell, is so important that it would force her to leave, unannounced, when she knew very well that the royal guard needs her statement in order to accomplish these tasks?!"
"I'm sure that sh-...."
"Twice you girls have been given orders to follow and twice you have disobeyed them!", the captain yelled, picking up a lone dice that sat on the desk,"When Princess Luna told you girls to stay put after getting the townsfolk to safety, you decided to ignore her orders and put your faith in a plastic bead!"
The captain threw the dice toward the group, narrowly missing Pinkie Pie who had to duck to keep it from hitting her square in the face.
"And when you are all told to be here for questioning, one of you decides she has more important things to do.",the captain continued.
Rainbow Dash, who had been trying so hard to stay calm in the presence of a the guard captain, was feeling her blood boil hearing Sky Heart's word. "Now wait just a second!," she exclaimed, her chest shoved out in front proudly as she spoke up against the captains words, "The way you sound, I'd almost think you thought we were suspects or something!"
The captain sat up tall in his chair. He wasn't sure if he was impressed or insulted that this pegasus spoke to him in such a tone, "And you would be exactly correct Miss Dash.", he said plainly. A series of gasps resonated throughout the group of girls.
"But why are we suspects?", Applejack asked, "We've all helped out the Princesses more times than we can count!"
"Yeah!", Pinkie added."We even helped put together Princess Cadance's wedding! I put together the after party! I set up the chairs the streamers baked a few cakes-..."
"And lets not forget that terrible fashion disaster Discord." Rarity said. A little shiver running down her spine while remembering his clashing body anatomy.
"Four hundred sixty three cups for punch, a GIANT bowl of-..."
"While all that may be true.", the captain began "It still does not change the fact that-... would somepony silence her!?", he said pointing at Pinkie Pie.
"Pinkie Pie. Down girl." Applejack whispered as she nudged Pinkie's side with her leg.
"-a big ol' bouncy house an-... oh sorry.." she said with a blush.
"As I was saying," Captain Sky Heart continued, "It still does not change the fact that you were all found next to an unconscious Princess Luna in the last place Celestia had been seen before your friend Twilight Sparkle who has teamed up with King Sombra in order abduct her Royal Highness. And until Princess Luna is in good enough health to say otherwise, all five of you, including that suspiciously absent yellow friend of yours, will be kept under guard by several of my most elite soldiers."
Rainbow Dash started wanted to protest to being under watch, but Applejack saw this in her friends eyes and quickly shot a look of disapproval. Being a pegasus, Rainbow hated the feeling of being cooped up. It felt like being a bird trapped in a cage; when all she wanted to do was fly and be free in the clouds. Rainbow looked back at Applejack with a nod. Showing her friend she understood.
The Captain stood as he walked casually yet properly to the door of the office, "The world isn't all about parties and friendship. And the sooner you ladies learn that, the better off you will be.", he said, opening the door. " Now if you'll excuse me I have work that needs to be done. Storm! Strider!", the Captain called out into the hallway. Two muscular unicorns dressed in armor just outside answered his call with two unison salutes.
"Yes Captain!", they said together.
"Escort these young ladies to a private room downstairs. They are not to be allowed outside until I give the order."
"Yes Captain!," they said once more with the same unison salute.
"You may leave now ladies.", the Captain said, motioning his hoof toward the doorway where the two guards waited.
"And if you see your yellow friend, please do direct her here. I'll have a special questioning session set up for her."
One by one, the group left the mayors office, and reluctantly into what one could call furnished imprisonment without bail. One could only hope that Fluttershy wouldn't be in too much trouble for her absence.
As the five mares left him to his other duties, Captain Sky Heart sank into his chair at the desk once more.
"I've got a bad feeling about those girls. heh... They'll probably be the death of me.", he thought to himself as he filled through more reports from his squadrons.
The Captain slowly sorted through the files, until he came across one that truly interested him. It was a report from squad eight. The squad that was in charge of sorting through the charred rubble of what was once the Ponyville library. Not much was a surprise to the captain. Burned furniture, broken glass, a few books that weren't too badly burned by the fire. As he reached the bottom of the list however, Sky Heart saw something that almost made him choke on air.
It was a book. A book that had been found completely unscathed by the fire. "Fantasy Removal Charms by Umbrous Shadowstride" was the title of the book. The Captain starred in horror at what he was reading.
"This book,", he said quietly to himself, "should not exist."