//------------------------------// // The Darkest Passage // Story: Restoring Harmony to the Cosmos // by Orfearus //------------------------------// The four ponies had put Canterlot long behind them, and were making speedy progress over the open equestrian plains under the bright moonlight. Leading them was Applejack, running at the fastest speed she thought the others could handle. Close behind was Pinkie Pie, surprising everypony with her speed. What was even more surprising was that she could find the energy to talk while running. Rainbow Dash flew overhead, showing visible signs of strain at the relentless pace. That was because she was taking such large flaps of her wing to create a draft for Fluttershy, who was flying very closely behind Dash, but still struggling with the efforts to keep up. "I wonder what the castle will be like" said Pinkie. "Maybe it'll be big, and tall, and like the castle the princesses are in now, except this ones a few hundred years old and might be older, but I hope theres nothing scary in there. Do you think there will be anything scary?" "Ah.... don't.... know" panted AJ, taking longer strides in an attempt to tire out the pink pony "Maybe it'll look just like there castle now, with all the bright colors and magical enchantments and the nice rooms and... "PINKIE" shouted Rainbow Dash. "Sometimes it's nice to travel in silence" "But if I stop talking then you'll hear my tummies all rumbly grumbly and that'll remind me of just how hungry I am" "We jus ate" AJ shouted towards Pinkie. "How can you be hungry?" "We didn't just eat. We ate, and then we ran. And now were still running, and I want to be eating. Or perhaps resting. But not running" "A break might be a good idea" said Dash, glancing back at the exhausted pegasus following her "Alright, we're at the entrance t' the forest. Let's rest here for a little while, and then make our way to the castle" The intrepid group stopped at the edge of the forest. Fluttershy immediately collapsed onto the ground, resting her sore wings. "It's ok Shy, we're resting and won't go as fast through the forest" Dash said, watching over the fatigued pony "I've just never flown that fast for that long before" came a faint reply from the yellow body lying on the ground Applejack was standing a few feet away, taking a quick rest but not letting her muscles cool down. Pinkie was close by, trying to get some more food out of their stubborn leader. "Why can't I have another apple sandwich? They're REEEEEEEEEALLY good" "Cause we need to save em for later in our journey" Applejack replied "We're goin to be out here a while, an need to conserve food." "But I'm hungry now!" "Than go look for somethin tasty to eat in there" she said, gesturing to the forest. "Fine, I will. And I'll eat it all myself." the pink pony replied, as she bounded off into the forest. "Finally, some peace and quiet" the orange mare thought out loud to herself. Pinkie walked through the barren trees, trying desperately to find something to eat. She was a high-energy type of pony, and bouncing around all the time took a lot more energy than walking. And that meant she enjoyed eating more often, or at least snaking, or having something to munch on whenever the urge struck. She had to search the forest carefully, because the moonlight was very soft, giving a dark, eerie glow to the forest. The shadows of the trees were longer and darker, and the entire forest seemed evil. But if there was food in there, she was determined to find it. Since she was so intent on searching for food, Pinkie failed to notice the pair of pitch black eyes staring out at her. Or perhaps they just blended so well into the night that they were invisible. Either way, she walked right past the spot where It was hiding. Perfect. Much more havoc could be wreaked from within the group. A pitch black spike found it's way, guided by magic, into the pony's back. A dark prisim surrounded it's prey, just in case a quick teleportation was needed, and the plan was in motion. "Pinkie, we need to get goin" called a rustic voice through the trees Out of the forest, stepped Pinkie ......... "Twilight, I need you to focus" The commanding voice of her mentor made her try even harder to succeed. "For so long we've worked on putting barriers around your magic, to prevent it from overpowering you. Now you need to break through those barriers and access that magic" "But how?" Twilight asked. No matter what she tried, she could never find more power within herself than what she had always known. "You have focused on controlling your magic for such a long time, it had become a subconscious command. Your mind refuses to allow you to use more than a fraction of your magic, even though you're capable of controlling it. You must command it otherwise" Twilight focused her thoughts inwards. Command my mind. Access my magic. Her horn started to glow a bright purple "Your body has placed a cap upon the magic you feel; it is trying and stop you from going past this safe point. When you feel the bottom of your well of magic, you must break through" Twilight reached into that pit of power she was so accustomed to. It was always there for her, never changing, never fading. She felt the familiar limit to her powers that she knew she had, that she never questioned before. However today would be different. Upon reaching that wall, she mentally braced herself and pushed with all her might. She wanted to shatter these barriers, throw away these safety measures. She wanted - no, needed this magic, to help the princesses, to make Celestia proud of her. But no matter how hard she tried, the walls around her magic would not give an inch. "I'm sorry, Celestia. I just can't do it." "Do you recall the last time you used all of your power?" her mentor asked calmly "Of course. That was the most important day of my life. I was just a filly coming for my entrance exams into your school for gifted young unicorns." The air began to glow with a purple aura, and suddenly they were back in the testing room of the castle. The sun shone brightly in the sky, beaming down upon a dragons egg lying on the table, giving it a mystical glow. "I knew that all my hopes rested on that table. Focusing the little magic I had as a filly, I tried as hard as I could to make it hatch. I tried anything I could think of, refusing to give up, but no matter what I did the egg wouldn't hatch for me." The light in the room started to fade, a pressure bearing down upon the two ponies captured in the memory. "At that moment I realized what it meant. Fear welled up inside of me, as I drew closer and closer to failing the most important test of my life. Despair at not being able to reach my goals, at never being able to reach them. My entire dreams and future was right in front of me, falling apart, and there was nothing I could do to stop it." The emotions were no longer just inside of Twilight, but seemed to permeate the air around them. The coldness of despair, the black horror of hopelessness. The air seemed to grow thicker, as each breath became harder to take. There was a sudden explosion outside, bathing the room in a blinding rainbow of lights. "It was the shock of the sonic rainboom that made me lose control of my magic. My emotions grew deep inside of me and pushed back the walls I thought were around my magic. The power flooded into me, and I couldn't control it. But I couldn't hold it either. I felt it coming out of me, so I tried to guide it to be harmless." A single color pierced through the cacophony of lights on the floor. A bright purple seemed to glow, growing brighter as the other colors seemed to fade. The ground retreated from their feet, becoming engulfed by the purple aura. "Power overwhelmed my senses, and I lost vision and hearing of the real world. All I saw was magic. All I heard was magic. All I felt, was magic. And than it was over. The magic used itself up, the world slowly returned to normal, and I regained my senses" The colors faded, and the two ponies were standing on the ground once more. "But no matter what I try, I can't re-access that world of power. I can't just command it to come, and the barriers to leave." "Than I guess were done with the practical part of the lesson for now" the princess said. "Would you like to learn about the Harmony of the Cosmos?" That made Twilight excited. She always loved to learn new things, and to have Princess Celestia teach her was the greatest honor she could ever hope for "YES!!!!" she shouted, jumping into the air. "Come and lie down" Celestia gestured to a place beside her. Twilight got up and finally let go of the last connection she was holding to the magic within her body. Having finally put her mind at rest, she could look around the room and enjoy the sights for once. They were in the princess's bedroom, an elaborately decorated room. She had been there before, but the urgency of the situation prevented her from truly appreciating it's beauty. A plush carpet lay on the floor, so soft that it felt like walking on clouds. A elaborately decorated bed sat in the corner of the room. The faint glow of moonlight coming from the balcony made everything seem surreal. Aside from that, it was sparsely decorated. She walked over to the balcony where the princess was standing. She lay down and looked up at Celestia. She was gazing into the night sky, so Twilight followed her gaze. "The cosmos refer to the sky. The sun and moon. The celestial bodies that we guide through their daily travels. But cosmos original meant 'harmonious system', and that definition applies here too. The sun and moon move in harmony, connected by a great magic that has lasted generations. What this means is that to lower the moon and raise the sun, only one must be done and the other will follow. If the sun is raised, the moon will lower." Twilight thought about this for a while. If raising the sun didn't require her to move both celestial bodies, than it seemed more reachable. Still impossible, but no longer twice the impossibility. That gave her little comfort. As always, Twilight's mind was exploring every inch of this new idea, contemplating all of it's possible effects and implications. There was just one question on Twilight's mind, one thing that didn't add up with her previous knowledge. "What about an eclipse?" Twilight asked. "If the sun and moon are in such harmony, than how is it possible for both of them to clash?" "Have you ever seen one?" replied the princess "Well, no. But I have read about them." "The last eclipse happened before me and my sister ruled Equestria. Your right, an eclipse would be the break down of such cosmic harmony. The Cosmos itself is said to be the antithesis of Chaos and Disorder; and eclipse would be the embodiment of that chaos and disorder." As the moon floated in the sky, Twilight was able to have her first real conversation with the princess in years. After talking about the sky, and harmony, they talked about friendship, and magic in general. Twilight was for once able to talk to somepony who knew more than she did, and delighted at the opportunity to learn everything she could. Celestia was so glad to have somepony that wasn't so concerned about 'royal etiquette' and who actually understood and truly shared an interest in what she said, that she kept on talking. And even though the moon still hung in the sky, all of there problems seem miles away for the hours they spent there. ........ "There it is!" Rainbow Dash dove into the forest to tell the others of her discovery. The forest only got darker the deeper they went, as the shadows of the trees covered the ground and a few evergreens helped to block the remaining moonlight . The forest itself appeared dead with no leaves on the trees, and the eternal night only helped to put everypony was on edge. They had all heard the stories about the Everfree Forest at night. And those who hadn't heard them from Pinkie during the journey. She told stories of wearponies and cockatrices, of being swallowed by the darkness around them. After every story, Fluttershy would crouch down in fear and Pinkie would hide with her. These 'stories' added an extra few hours onto their journey, so everypony would be glad to know they were almost at their destination "And if your quiet enough" came Pinkies voice through the trees "you can hear the vampire bats coming through the trees as they land to suck your blood" The group of ponies were silent as Dash descended through the trees. On her way, she accedently hit nudge a branch, making it ruscle in the quiet night "AHHHHH, THEY'RE COMING" screamed Pinkie, followed by an uninteligable whimper from Fluttershy "It's just me" Dash said, landing in front of the fleeing pink pony. "Why d'ya have to tell these stories Pinkie. Now Shy's frightened like she's seen a gho...... scary thing" Applejack said, watching her vocabulary to try and not frighting them anymore than was already done. I wish Twilight was here to help control them she thought to herself. It would not be the last time she wished for that purple unicorn Slowly but surely, Fluttershy got up, looked around, and returned to the group. She walked with a lowered back, as if ashamed to be such a hinderence to the group, all the while looking around her for when something might jump out. "I'm.... I'm sorry for being so weak and helpless all the time.." she mumbled out under her breath, so quiet that only Rainbow Dash walking beside her could hear. "Don't be ridiculous Shy. Your able to stand up to fears that we couldn't" she said, gesturing to the three others. "But I'm so weak when anything scary comes along. Are you not angry that I'm constantly needing your help?" "Don't be silly, Shy" AJ said, walking into the conversation. "We understand you might be a bit timid, and we'll always be here to help you out. We jus want you t' be the best you can be." Those final words seemed to sink into Fluttershy's heart, and dispel the fears from just a few minutes ago. "Thanks everypony. I'm lucky to have friends such as you!" she replied. AJ was about to turn back and reply, when the castle seemed to appear in front of them. One minute they were walking through the thick underbrush, almost unable to see with the faint moonlight that penetrated the canvas, and the next they were standing in a clearing with the largest castle they had ever seen looming in front of them. It was easily larger than the Canterlot castle, and appeared to be much older. There were 4 main towers at each corner, that seemed to touch the heavans. The walls of the castle were so high they felt threatening just looking at them. In it's glory days, it would have been a truly fearsome sight. It still was rather intimidating. Looking into the main gate the castle seemed to stretch to infinity, becoming swallowed by the darkness long before the end of the main hallway was in sight. "It's... so BIG" Fluttershy said, frightened at the monstrous size of the structure before her "How are we ever goin to find compass in THERE" Applejack shouted, "We need a compass just to FIND the compass" Dash said, "Do we have to go in there?" Pinkie asked. "It's so dark and scary" "What'cha afraid of Pinkie?" AJ asked, trying to be reassuring to her frightened friend "When a castle is left abandoned like that, Specters move in" she said, backing away from the castle "sp..sp...s.s.s.specters?" Flutershy asked, fear returning to her eyes "There ghosts of dead ponies who haunt these halls to guards it's treasure against anypony who wishes to steal even a bit of it" "And a load of hourseapples" said AJ. "Specters do not exist, and certainly aint in there. Now lets go" Fluttershy looked around at her friends, moving towards the entrance to the castle. She had to be stronger for them. Silently she slipped the diamond amulet out from her saddlebags. It gleamed in the midnight moon, and glowed with a reassuring light. Slipping it around her neck reminded her of that dark cave from so long ago. If she could do that alone, than there was no way she would let her friends down here. Bravely, she stepped into the castle after them. Applejack and Rainbow Dash led the way down the hallways. It was surprisingly light in the castle, because the walls emitted a comforting, pure light when they were near. As they walked down the hallway, it grew lighter in front of them and darker behind them. The light was moving with them down the hallway. Fluttershy and Pinkie were staying close by behind them, not daring to be more than a few feet from the strong mares that led the way into the darkness. "Ah still ave no idea where to go" AJ said "Any ideas?" "None" Dash replied. "I don't see anything that could lead us to the treasury" The lights around them seemed to flicker This was the perfect time for It's plan. Being at the back of the group, nobody noticed a slight black glow appear around Pinkies body. Ahead in the darkness, something moved. "SPECTER" Fluttershy screamed, and bolted for the exit "RUUUUUUUN!" Pinkie shouted, close behind Fluttershy. "WAIT" the two leaders shouted in unison, turning around to chase down the fleeing ponies. The fleeing ponies had never ran so fast in their life, but could not outrun the practiced and trained skill of their pursuers. Just as they were approaching the exit, the light stopped materializing in front of the fleeing ponies, plunging them into blackness. Immedeately, they jumped backwards into the light, landing right in front of their pursuers. "We're trapped in here" Pinkie shouted Fluttershy was to afraid to say anything. She just lay there cowering at Dash's feet, hoping the brave pony would protect her from whatever was in the darkness. "We need to go on" Dash said, grabbing Fluttershy by the tail and pulling. However the timid pegasus held to the floor with more force than anypony thought she was capable of "We can't go back there. There's a specter there." she replied "No there isn't. Specter's don't exist," "But there's something in there, and it's scary" "We don't have time for this. We need to get going." Dash turned around and took a few steps forward. Fluttershy grew even more scared. Would they leave her here, and go find the compass. Would her friends continue on without her if she wouldn't come? She opened her eyes slightly to see Rainbow Dash lying on the ground a few feet away, talking with Applejack "Ah don't know what to do about those ponies" AJ whispered in Rainbow Dash's ear. "We need to find that compass, and we've lost enough time as it is." "We should be going now." Dash replied. "But as long as there here, refusing to move, than I'm staying by them." "Ah know. We can't abandon our friends. We'll jus have t' wait till they feel strong enough t' continue. Because we can't turn around either, that would be abandonin the trust tha Twilight, Rarity, an the princesses put in us." Fluttershy just lay their thinking. This was for her friends. They counted on her to be strong enough. But it was so scary in there. She looked down at the amulet hanging from her neck, gleaming in the soft magical light. NO. She would be strong enough. Mustering up all the courage she had, she stood up. "Alright." she said, a new resignation in her voice. "I'm ready" Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack turned around in surprise at hearing the normally timid pegasus find courage in such a frightening situation. "That's great!" Dash said "Let's go Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash flew around to behind Pinkie and started to urge the timid pony into moving. When that failed, she attempted to push the pony. However, with reflexes faster than they thought physically possible, Pinkie jumped over Dash's head and returned to her timid position on the floor. "I'm not going anywhere when there are GHOSTS around!" "Cummon Pinkie" AJ said, trying once more to convince the pony to move. "Our friends are counting on us." "No" Pinkie said stubbornly. To everyones surprise, it was Fluttershy who approached the terrified pony next. "I know things like this can be scary" she kindly said. "I know ghosts and specters and all sorts of scary things may lurk in there. But they may not. And our friends are counting on us to face our fears. It's the only way to fight back their fears of this eternal night." Fluttershy knew her words reached the timid pony, but also felt it needed something more. Reluctantly she removed her diamond amulet. "I found this diamond in a scary cave when I first faced my fears. It gives me courage when darkness comes and reminds me that often our fears have no merit to them. So much can be gained just by facing them." She looked at the amulet one last time. "I wan't you to have it" Pinkie just stared up at the caring pegasus by her side. She glanced down to the diamond amulet that hung from her extended hoof. She extended her own hoof and took the amulet from Fluttershy. "Thanks Shy. I really needed a friend to talk some sense into me." She looked down at the amulet, and placed it around her own neck. "Your right. For our friends. Let's go" "That still brings the question of where do we go?" Rainbow Dash said. Applejack took a few steps towards a side passage. It remained dark, so she turned around and walked towards the one on the opposite side of the hall. The light followed her into that passage, and illuminated floor as it appeared to stretch to infinity. "It appears the castle wants us to go this way." she said. "Ah don't ave any better ideas, so let's just follow it." The 4 ponies walked side by side down the corridors of the castle, letting it's mystic light lead them deeper and deeper into labyrinth of hallways. ......... It didn't want to reveal itself just yet. Go along with them and perhaps a better opportunity will present itself. Enough time had already been gained. ......... "Try again Twilight" Twilight didn't see much hope in the exercise. She was battling against near impossible odds. But somehow Celestia's comforting voice made all those fears go away and made everything seem possible. It even made the sun seem withing reach. Once more Twilight reached into her well of magic, bringing all the power she could muster to the surface. She tried to push the walls surrounding her magic back, to reach further into the magic, but felt only a familiar resistance at the edge of her power. Undeterred by this, she guided the magic out through her horn. Instead of the purple tendrils of magic that often accompanied a spell, only a single, very faint, purple beam broke out of her horn. She curled the beam around itself, and held it still in front of her, becoming used to the spell once more. Using all her concentration to guide it, she launched the beam towards the sky, and it broke through the lowest layer of clouds. Even though very little energy was required, Twilight struggled to push the beam further out, shivering as the cold air parted around the beam of light that her consciousness was focused on. She was trying to reach the sun. Theoretically, such a feat was not impossible, but might as well be where magic is concerned. Reaching out to any distance required intense concentration, and even through Twilight's years of excellerated tutoring and lessons from the princess herself, reaching space was no laughing matter. At such extreme distances, even being a single degree off in her measurements would send her millions of miles off target. And to make matters harder, she couldn't even see the sun. She was attempting to do the impossible, and was blind doing it. As her magic approached the unfamiliar barrier of space, she was stretching her concentration to it's limit. In her first handful of attempts she hadn't made it this far. The unknown out there scared her, but having come this far she was not about to turn back. Gathering up all of her courage, she plunged further in The freezing shock was sent through her magic and almost made her release the spell. Almost. Holding on with all her might she felt shivers overwhelming her physical body. "She needs warmth." A frightened voice floated into her consciousness "She'll be fine" said the familiar voice of her mentor. "Let her find her own warmth" Trying to narrow down her concentration, she cut the voices from her mind and re-focused on the task at hand. Focusing all of her energy and power into that tiny beam, she transferred enough energy to make a fixed point of magic where the beam was reaching. At such distances, even a simple spell that required almost no energy, left her completely drained. But after coming this far, she could not stand to return because she was completely exhausted. Using the point as an anchor, she stretched the beam outwards in another direction and started trying to search for the sun. What felt like hours had passed. Her soul was so chilled to the bone from the absolute nothingness of space that she could feel nothing except cold. Cold and exhaustion. Every time she would reach out to find the sun, only to go as far as her magic would let her and find nothing. Every time she would return to the fixed point she made and try and determine where the sun was. And than she would try again. With the concentration required just to keep the spell stable, she could barely use her mind to determine the location of the sun. At this point it was more random guessing and hoping to get lucky; in the expanse of space that never happens. Disappointed at her last failed attempt, she returned the beam to her fixed point and just lay there for a while, debating whether to give up or not. As she held her magic steady, the cold of space surrounding her, something inside her wanted to give up. Just wanted to return to the ground and try another day. But as long as she could hold off this cold she would stay. However even among this eternal cold and hopelessness, a small warmth leaned against her mind. Just a small glow of hope. She let her mind push towards that hope, trying to keep the cold despair at bay. At first she thought she had imagined actually feeling such a warmth - perhaps she was so cold it was burning - but as she reached onward with her magic the warmth grew. It grew and grew until the soul-numbing coldness of space was kept at bay, and this new, all encompassing heat replaced it. The warmth of the sun was right in front of her! Just letting her soul envelop the warmth, light, and hope that it emanated, Twilight felt all of her fears melt away. With the return of feeling in her soul came back the overwhelming exhaustion. She tried to hold on as long as possible, to feel the warmth, but reached a point where even she could not continue the massive mental exertion required. Slowly, she let her tiny magical trail fizzle out to nothing. Twilight opened her eyes, barely lifting her head to look around the room. The magnificence of the observatory meant little to her now. The multitude of star charts that adorned the walls were mere posters which she didn't have the energy to read. The domed roof with the circle cut out from the center was a mere roof, with the meaning of the oculus lost behind layers of fatigue. Even the solid stone floor seemed comfortable, and the many complex instruments around the room could not interest her mind enough to keep it from sleep. Only one thing in that room could make Twilight push sleep off for even a couple minutes longer. She turned to face Celestia, who was gazing down at her "I did it" she weakly managed to say "You did it" came the reply from her mentor. Twilight lay her head down to rest. She was barely aware of the light-blue magical aura that enveloped her, and lifted her off the ground, and even less aware of where she was going. By the time they had left the room, Twilight was fast asleep. She did not feel it when she was placed down on a bed. She did not notice it when a blanket was placed with care over her sleeping form. She did not know when a full plate of food was laid to rest beside her plate, waiting for her to awaken from her sure-to-be deep sleep. All she knew was the peace of rest as it fought back exhaustion, and the warmth of the sun as it burned deep within her soul. ......... The dark hallway stretched out for what seemed like miles in front of the 4 ponies. They had been following the winding passages deeper and deeper into the castle until all hope of knowing where they were had disappeared. They had been following this particular hall for quite a while, and judging by its appearance it was the main hallway of the castle. Pillars lined the hallway at regular intervals, carved with dragons, griffons, and ponies of all kinds. Many of them had inscriptions along the base, probably immortalizing the deeds of those that were carved into the respective columns. The roof was arched, and appeared to be painted with scenes from history, however the colors had faded to almost beyond recognition and the dim moonlight made them near impossible to recognize. It was in this hallway the ponies raced along, hoofsteps reverberating off the walls, following the appearing light, until it suddenly stopped. The four retraced their steps into the light, and looked into the massive room beside them that it now illuminated "Ah think we've found it" said AJ, taking the first steps into the treasury "But it could be anywhere in here" Rainbow Dash pointed out. The room was a massive circle, and packed full of ancient artifacts. It was hard to believe that there were this many objects in existence that merited keeping, and even harder to believe that there once was a time the room was empty. "How.. how are we supposed to find it?" asked Fluttershy, still wary of danger in the castle, but not letting it overpower her. "Ah dunno. it's like findin a needle in a haystack." AJ said, tentatively walking up to the pile "Well, we better start looking." Rainbow Dash flew up into the air and started making slow passes over the pile The ponies quickly became engrossed in their search. Rainbow Dash dove headfirst into one of the piles, pulling out objects and throwing them aside. Some of these action were met with a crack of breaking glass when they hit the ground, but Dash didn't slow down her relentless pace, even when criticized by AJ. The earth pony herself decided trying to reform Dash was a lost cause, and lunged into her own pile of artifacts to search through. Fluttershy took a more tentative approach, carefully placing the artifacts at her side, and wincing every time one of Dash's artifacts broke. Pinkie slowly made her way to one of the far corners, looking at artifacts all the time She smiled to herself. Now was the time to act. A faint black glow appeared around her body. Glancing around the room, she made sure none of the other ponies were looking. They were all to engrossed in their search. Placing both hooves on the castle wall, the glow intensified. The black magic flowed from the earth ponies hooves into the building, and the last of the glow disappeared into the walls. Not three seconds later the building started shaking. "Wha's that?" AJ asked, looking up from her pile. Rainbow Dash looked up to see the world around her shaking. A small piece of the roof landed right next to her "THE BUILDINGS COLLAPSING!" she yelled "RUN!" shouted Pinkie, making a bolt for the door "We need that compass" said AJ, throwing objects aside with haste trying to find it. Fluttershy was cowering on the floor, narrowly being missed by the falling debris. Pinkie was already out the door, trying to convince to follow. Rainbow Dash was flying around in a panic, dodging falling debris. "It's not here" shouted AJ Another tremor shook loose more debris, showering them, all with dust. "FLUTERSHY!" Dash shouted, as a large piece narrowly missed the cowering pegasus. "We need to go" came a shout from the door "Not without that compass" AJ shouted "And risk out lives for it? Fluttershy's going to get crushed if we don't leave now." Dash landed beside Fluttershy, trying to pull the frightened pony to safety. The yellow ponies legs dragged along the ground, clutching desperately to ... something. "THE COMPASS" Dash shouted, recognizing the object. "WE'VE GOT IT!" "Good, now lets go!" AJ shouted, leaping over a chunk of debris and to the others. But still Fluttershy would not move "Shy, we gotta go now." A timid squeak was the only response "Shy, were in danger." A chunk of rock smashed into the ground behind them "SHY. LETS. GO" Rainbow Dash placed her back hooves underneath the stubborn pegasus and slightly lifted the frightened mass. Even though she did not buck apple trees, her daily work with the weather patrol gave her enough strength to lift the pegasus a few feet in the air. AJ quickly got the idea, and ran over to carry the pegasus. Fitting the light pegasus on her back, she took off into a gallop. Rainbow Dash flew above them, urging them faster with every flap of her wings. They ran down the main hallway, AJ weaving in and out between falling columns, while Dash flew above trying to avoid them as they fell. Pinkie ran behind, keeping up with the racing duo that led the way. Another shake ran through the entire building, collapsing the columns behind them and the roof in front of them. The ponies came to a grinding halt. "What now?" Rainbow Dash asked. She looked behind but knew that they would not be able to make it past the fallen pillars. Ahead of them was nothing but a solid rock wall. "Were trapped!" shouted Pinkie. "Watch her" Applejack said, setting Fluttershy on the ground and walking up to the fallen rocks. Fluttershy stirred a bit, lifting her head up and looking around. "Are....are we safe?" A falling pillar gave her an answer "Shy, look at me" Dash said, trying to prevent the pony from returning to her frightened state. The pegasus did as she was asked "We need to get out of here. But we need you to fly. We can't make it out of here if AJ has to carry you. Alright?" Futtershy was on the verge of tears from fear, but was able to hold herself together. "Alright" she replied "AJ, do you have an exit?" asked Dash, turning around to face the earth pony. "Right here" she shouted, having cleared enough of the rubble to make it up the caved in roof and onto the second floor. AJ led the way through her newly made passage. The entire floor appeared to be one massive room, stretching from one side of the castle to the other. Moonlight shone through the broken down sections of the wall, revealing the surrounding forest just outside. Holes dotted the floor, making it an obstacle course for the earth ponys. An obstacle course that was getting worse as time went on. "This way!" AJ shouted, dashing towards the nearest exit and leaping over any holes in her way. Rainbow Dash was overhead, grateful for the space this room offered. Pinkie and Fluttershy were lagging behind, due to their inferior athletic abilities "We're almost there!" shouted Dash from above. "Just a little farther" AJ lowered her head and focused on pulling every ounce of speed out of her muscles. Faster and faster she ran, dodging debris and leaping over holes, until the moonlit opening stood right in front of her. With a single bound, she flew out of the building, through the small gap in the wall, and into a tree just a few feet away. Her reflexes had grown to be lightning fast from farm work, and she grabbed a hold of the nearest branch. Nimbly dropping from branch to branch, she landed on the ground only a few seconds later. She turned around to see Pinkie approach the wall. "Jump Pinkie!" she shouted, seeing the tentative pony slow to a stop "Nope" Pinkie replied, taking a few steps back "We don't have time for this" Dash shouted, launching herself upwards towards the hole Fluttershy, who was flying right behind Pinkie, scared for her life, didn't see the earth pony stop. She smashed right into the stubborn pink pony and sent them both tumbling out of the castle. "FLUTTERSHY!" Dash screamed, at the same time Applejack shouted "PINKIE!" Rainbow Dash swooped low over the falling ponies, catching Fluttershy midair and bringing her a safe distance from the falling castle. Applejack ran back to the castle and took a flying leap towards the falling pony. Catching her midair, AJ planted her back hooves on the castle and launched the two of them into the forest. The nearest wall collapsed on where they were only moments ago. All of the ponies made there way further into the forest before anyone talked. "I'm so....so sorry." Fluttershy said, fighting back tears" I should've been watching where I was going, but I was scared and..." "That? That was fun!" said Pinkie "You were like, flying so fast and than crashed into me and sent me flying so fast, and we were like 'WEEEEE' and tumbled through the air, and than AJ caught me and Dash caught you, and now we're here!" Fluttershy couldn't help but smile at the pink ponies idea of fun. At least nobody actually did get hurt. She wouldn't have been able to handle that. "So where's this here compass you found?" Applejack asked, approaching Fluttershy "Oh, right. Here it is" she said, handing an old looking compass to the earth pony. The compass had a single ended needle that appeared to be floating mere millimeters above the compass itself. There were no directions markings on the compass, but ancient writing encircled the needle. As it rested, the compass didn't appear to be pointing any direction. AJ put it in her saddlebags. "All that running made me super hungry" said Pinkie Pie. "Some food would be really nice right about now" Rainbow Dash agreed. "Alright, but ah can't give it all to you. We need to keep it for the rest of the journey" AJ said, handing out small apple sandwiches to each pony. They all hungrily started eating, except for Pinkie "That's all the food?" she asked. "Fine. I'm going back to the apple tree I found earlier." She left the group and headed into the forest. The remaining ponies looked at each other confused. "Apple tree?" Rainbow Dash said. "Can one even grow out here? And at this time of year?" "Technically they can, but it's rare" Applejack replied. "If anypony could find one however, it would be PInkie. I'll bring some back for y'all." She got up to follow the leaving pony. She followed the ponies trail trough the forest for a while, never able to catch up. Going around a tree, she saw the pink tail disappear through the underbrush an into a clearing. She pushed her way through the tangled underbrush to see what was there. The last thing she remembered was darkness enveloping her vision. ......... The leader will be much more useful than this pink fool It thought to itself, as it stepped into the clearing. It's equine form melted around it once more, and it approached it's newest victim. There was a black flash, and a pink pony appeared beside the orange one. A spark jumped to the pink ones head, transferring false memories with it. A black prism appeared over the orange one, as It moved the body into the darkness of the surrounding forest. Now It could cause some real chaos. Another black flash caused movement to return to the pink ones body. The pony looked around, still trying to find the apple tree that was planted in her memory. There was a snap of a twig behind her. Out of the shadows, stepped Applejack