//------------------------------// // The First Nightfall // Story: Episode 3: Mageismoiras // by mr lovecolt //------------------------------// Rarity concentrated her magic on the tree in front of her; more specifically, the branch that hung lower to the ground than the others. A purple aura surrounded the dead limb and it popped off of the tree and floated to the ground. Beside her, Applejack lassoed an errant branch and yanked it off with one tug from her teeth. As they looked over their work in the late afternoon sun, Applejack turned to Rarity. “Ah can’t believe y’all stayed out here to help the whole day, Rarity.” Applejack said, “I’m proud of ya.” “Ah may not be as hearty as an earth pony,” Rarity replied as she smacked her lips together, “But Ah’ll have you know that Ah am capable of working a field.” “Yer voice sounds kinda funny,” Applejack, “What’re ya chewin’ on?” “Oh, Peppermint leaves,” Rarity replied, “Big Macintosh gave them to me. He said they help with allergies.” Rarity watched as Applejack smiled again before she pulled down another branch from the apple tree. “There’s that smile again,” Rarity continued, “Care to tell me what’s on your mind?” “It’s just that I never in a thousand years ever pictured you and mah brother together,” Applejack replied, “You two are total opposites. You work with all yer fancy dressmakin’, given’ speeches to all of those Canterlot ponies, and mah brother barely even strings two sentences together.” Rarity raised an eyebrow and smiled, happy to know that there was a secret that both she and Big Macintosh shared. “But ah can see that y’all make him happy, and ah can see that he makes y’all happy, too.” Rarity turned her attention to a branch on a tree that lined the path to Sweet Apple Acres. As her aura surrounded the branch, the tufts of leaves began to vibrate, until they shifted and formed the shape of two hearts. Satisfied with her work, she turned to Applejack, who simply looked at her with annoyance. “Rarity,” Applejack said, “How many times do ah have to tell y’all that we can’t just go about prettifyin’ these things?” Rarity mocked a look of shock and indignation. “Well, sometimes it can be a good thing to place a little beauty in this dusty place.” Rarity turned back to Applejack, who now stifled a laugh. The corners of Rarity’s muzzle twitched, and the two soon fell to the ground in a fit of laughter. They didn’t notice the sound of hooves approaching until the ponies to which they belonged were nearly upon them. Rarity’s ear twitched in the direction of the sound and turned her attention towards it, followed by Applejack. At the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres stood Miss Cheerilee, flanked by Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. They watched as the three fillies were trying to talk to Miss Cheerilee, but Miss Cheerilee looked straight ahead and trotted down the path towards the two mares. Rarity and Applejack stood to their hooves and brushed off the errant patches of dust from their coats as Miss Cheerilee approached. “Why, Miss Cheerilee,” Applejack said hopefully, though she could tell from the look on the teacher’s face that it wouldn’t be good news, “What brings y’all to these parts?” Rarity turned her attention to the three fillies, whose attention had moved from their teacher to the pebbles on the ground. “Good afternoon,” Miss Cheerilee replied in a dry voice, “And good afternoon to you, too, Rarity. It’s good you’re here. I assume you’re wondering why your sisters are so late?” Rarity gasped and looked at the Ponyville clock tower in the distance. It was already nearing five o’clock. “Oh my, I didn’t even notice the time,” Rarity turned to the little white filly, who was trying to hide behind her teacher’s foreleg, “Sweetie Belle, what kept you so long?” For a moment, none of the ponies spoke. Finally, Scootaloo’s wings began to buzz and she hovered in the air for a moment. “Well, you see,” Scootaloo said as he eyes darted back and forth, “We were trying to get our cutie marks in hair styling again.” “Did ya really think that y’all could lie to the Element of Honesty that easily?” Applejack said through gritted teeth. Scootaloo’s eyes widened. The buzzing of her wings stopped and she fell to the ground with a soft thud. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom looked at each other and took a deep breath as they looked up to their teacher once more. Miss Cheerilee simply shook her head. “No,” Miss Cheerilee said, “You need to take responsibility for what you’ve done. You are going to tell them.” “We only did it ‘cause Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were bein’ mean to us again!” Applebloom yelled. “Yeah,” Sweetie Belle squeaked, “They keep making fun of us for having blank flanks, and it’s not fair!” “What did the three of you do?” Rarity asked. The three fillies sighed and pushed closer together. They all looked up to Rarity and Applejack at the same time. “It was arts and crafts day…” Sweetie Belle started. “And they were sittin’ in front of us, whisperin’ ‘bout our blank flanks.” Applebloom continued. “And the scissors were just sitting right there...” Scootaloo trailed off. Applejack took her Stetson and lowered it over her muzzle. Rarity’s eye began to twitch as her jaw fell open. “So… you…” Rarity paused between each word, “Cut… their… manes?” As the three fillies began to nod their heads, Rarity’s chest began to heave in and out. Applejack placed a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. “Rarity, why don’t we get some nice tea?” She turned to Miss Cheerilee, “Miss Cheerilee, y’all come in, too. We need to discuss what to do in order to fix this.” “Why, thank you, Miss Applejack, I’d be delighted.” “Well, we’ll leave y’all to figurin’ out what to do.” Applebloom said as she and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders tried to escape, but were stopped when a purple aura surrounded the three of them. “Oh no,” Rarity said through gritted teeth, “You are going to sit and listen.” The three mares and the three fillies trotted down the path to the farmhouse as Celestia’s sun began to touch the horizon. ***** The sky was black. Twilight Sparkle shivered as the familiar sound of creaking metal filled her ears, but she couldn’t tell the source of the sound. She began to move, her hooves felt as though they landed on cobblestone, but no sounds came from the meeting of hoof and stone. The wind clutched at her chest, and it became difficult to breathe. Twilight Sparkle was moving upward, of this she was certain. The creaking metal continued, but as she moved, the creaking became faint. The noise was replaced with the sound of something cracking against the sky. Twilight Sparkle continued her ascent on a hill that she could not see. She could not tell how close she was to the peak, or if there even was a peak. The hill simply continued to ascend into the black sky. There was no moon, no stars, just a vast expanse of blackness that offered no light to give her any sense of direction or gradient. Twilight Sparkle called out, but no sound left her muzzle. She felt the vibrations in her throat, the air as it left her muzzle, but still nothing. Another crack filled the air, and Twilight Sparkle turned around just in time to see a pair of eyes behind her. The sound of beating wings filled the air and the cracking sound echoed once again. She turned around to run but saw a field of white tongues waving back and forth against a field of green. Twilight Sparkle was in a cemetery. As she passed by the graves, the ground opened in front of each gravestone-turned-tongue. The ground opened next to her, and dismembered pieces of a pony rose into the air, white furred and pink maned. She was joined when another piece of ground opened up by a mare with dark pink fur and yellow mane as well as another pink pony with green mane. The sky opened for only a moment before Twilight Sparkle, but it was just enough to catch a glimpse of a vast green field. The vision disappeared as soon as it had arrived. Twilight Sparkle ran, and as she did, the ground opened once again. She looked down but saw only blackness. In the distance, she could hear the sound of a dog barking. As the sound echoed up the hole, Twilight Sparkle realized that it was the sound of three dogs barking. The ground closed once more, and Twilight Sparkle continued to run. The sound of flapping wings moved closer to her. Twilight Sparkle realized that the cracking sound was that of a riding crop. I saved Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle tried to yell, but still no sound escaped from her muzzle. She turned her head and saw the eyes once more. The eyes were blue, like the sky. In fact, the eyes looked similar to… Twilight Sparkle stopped and turned once more. As she turned away from the vision that was chasing her, she turned towards the vision of Fluttershy as she sat near the statue of The Hostler. She sat there silently and looked forward. She wore her elemental necklace, but her eyes were still black. A series of chains wrapped around Fluttershy and held her to the statue. Twilight Sparkle could no longer hear the sound of flapping wings or cracking crop, but as she looked up at the statue, The Hostler’s blue eyes stared down at her. Twilight Sparkle watched as the statue’s right hoof rose to the sky, followed by her right wing slowly stretching until it was fully displayed. Another patch of ground opened, and a disfigured pink pony rose from the ground and into the sky. Another bright flash appeared in the sky and the fields revealed themselves again. The fields disappeared once more as another patch of ground opened. Everything around Twilight Sparkle turned to black as the sound of barking grew louder and louder. Twilight Sparkle felt herself falling. She was falling. Twilight Sparkle screamed, and this time, the voice left her muzzle and echoed in the blackness. Twilight Sparkle landed on a wooden floor. She looked up to see that she was in her own room and breathed a sigh of relief. Staying up all night, Twilight Sparkle must have, at some point, come up to her room to nap. She looked out the window and saw that the sun was setting, and that night time was only moments away. “Spike?” Twilight Sparkle called out, “Spike?” There was no response. Twilight Sparkle shook her head and made her way down the stairs to the main room of the library. The library was empty, and Spike had placed a closed sign over the window. Spike must have gone out, she thought as she turned to the door of the basement laboratory. She knew that Fluttershy was down there. It had to be Fluttershy. She had performed the ritual perfectly. She had double and triple checked the list to make sure that nothing went wrong. She had replaced every body part that Fluttershy had lost, even down to the last milliliter of blood. Twilight Sparkle edged towards the door and pushed it open. The dim light of early evening bled down the basement steps, but Twilight Sparkle couldn’t bring herself to take the steps down into the basement. Fluttershy is down there, Twilight Sparkle thought to herself, it has to be Fluttershy down there. Twilight Sparkle shook her head and closed the door as a tear fell down her cheek. ***** “So it’s settled, then.” Applejack said as she emptied her cut of tea. “Yes, I do believe that is a satisfactory punishment.” Rarity agreed. “Eeyup.” Big Macintosh added. “But don’t they have to get punished fer makin’ fun of us?” Applebloom moaned. “I will talk to their parents about insulting their schoolmates,” Miss Cheerilee replied, lowering her teacup, “But the way you three reacted is completely unacceptable.” Miss Cheerilee moved to head towards the door. Applejack and Rarity stood up to join her. “I’m sorry,” Miss Cheerilee said, “But I must get home. I have tests to grade. I just don’t know what to do about those fillies. They torment each other nonstop.” “I have my own talk that I must have with Sweetie Belle,” Rarity added, glaring at her younger sister. “Thank you so much for having me over,” Miss Cheerilee said as she crossed the threshold, “Girls, I expect you three to apologize to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon on Monday.” “Y’all have a good night then. Good luck with the tests and all.” Cheerilee nodded and stepped onto the porch. The door closed behind her and she made her way down the path of Sweet Apple Acres. Luna’s moon began to rise into the sky, white clouds curled in the darkness above her. Off to her side, Miss Cheerilee could hear the sound of a few chickens clucking, but the clucking ceased as the chickens became silent, one by one. Miss Cheerilee nodded her head at the thought of the chickens falling asleep. Before she got too far, Miss Cheerilee turned once more to the farmhouse. She thought of how close Big Macintosh and Rarity sat together. Though the three fillies had forced them together that one time, Miss Cheerilee knew that the two of them would always be good friends. She was so happy that he had found a special somepony. Miss Cheerilee paused for a moment in the middle of the path, and as the light of the moon began to shine on her face, her eyes slowly turned their gaze downward, and the smile faded. She shook her head and began to trot down the path once more until she reached the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres. The path now ran along the Everfree Forest, and as she made her way home, she heard the distinct sound of bushes shuffling. She turned her attention to the bush in question and found a small, white feather on the ground. The bush trembled again, and Cheerilee took a step back, turned around, and began to trot away. Even as she sped up, the sound of shuffling bushes continued to follow her. The wind began to pick up, and Cheerilee heard the sound of ruffling feathers join with the bushes. Her trot turned into a gallop, until she could finally see her house in the distance. Her house was near the schoolhouse, away from the Everfree Forest. She continued to gallop away, her breath heaving as she sound of feathers continued behind her. She galloped past the clock tower just as the bell rang six o’clock. The six rings echoed into the new night air. She reached her house, too terrified to turn around. The door flung open and as she entered her house, she slammed the door closed. The ruffling of feathers continued for a moment, and then stopped. Miss Cheerilee turned her attention to the kitchen and noticed that the window was open. She crept into the kitchen and shut the window. A sigh escaped from Miss Cheerilee’s muzzle as she turned towards the kitchen table. A pair of eyes stared back at her, and then everything turned to blackness. ***** Rarity paced in front of her little sister in the main room of the Carousel Boutique. Every few moments, she would stop and then turn to her sister. “I have half a mind to cut your own mane to see how you like it.” Sweetie Belle’s eyes filled with tears. “Rarity,” Sweetie Belle asked as her voice trembled, “Why do Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon get to be so mean to us?” Rarity stopped pacing and instead turned to her little sister. Sweetie Belle had fallen to her haunches and the tears were streaming down even faster. “Is it… is it because we’re blank flanks that everypony lets them do it?” Rarity sat down next to Sweetie Belle and wrapped a foreleg around her. She began to hum a song to her. There used to be a little mare without a mark Sometimes at night she would stare out into the dark From her window in a house outside a park She’d stare out at Luna’s sky. And though awake she would pretend that she could dream About the one thing that would this whole world seem That it wasn’t cruel or as unfair as she had seen She looked up to Luna’s eye. Rarity’s voice grew more powerful as she made it to the chorus. “Why am I not special yet? Why is it I cannot get A mark to show the world that I Am special, Luna, you know I try.” Stars… Cry… Stars… Cry Rarity began to hum to her sister again as she returned to the melody. And as the mare continued on about her prayer She paused and took another glance into the air. And smiled with happiness because as she stood there A white star began to fall. And then a little mark that matched what she just saw Appeared on her leg and then she stood in awe. As her cutie mark now appeared without a flaw And then she began to call. Sweetie Belle’s tears began to stop as Rarity reached the final chorus. “Mom and Dad, I’m special now I did it, thought I don’t know how.” Her parent’s both gave smiles and sighs And said “You’re always special in our eyes. Starcry… Starcry…” Rarity continued to rub her hoof along Sweetie Belle’s shoulder. Soon, her little sister’s trembling had ceased completely. Sweetie Belle looked up with red eyes. “When will I get my cutie mark?” Rarity laughed a little. “Be true to yourself, little sister. Stay true to your name. The way you acted is not how sisters like us behave, now is it?” Sweetie Belle shook her head. “Are you going to apologize to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?” “Yes,” Sweetie Belle replied, “But they’re so mean to me.” “Well then, you just keep your head held high and never ever let yourself stoop down to their level again, do you hear me?” Sweetie Belle nodded. Rarity nuzzled her little sister. “Good,” Rarity said, “Now get ready for your bath and then bed.” Sweetie Belle ran up the stairs, leaving Rarity alone in the main room. She aligned a few of the ponnequins into the back of the room, but stopped when she noticed a glint in the work room. She entered the work room and flipped on a light. There, in the middle of the room, a small, blue, butterfly-shaped mane pin lay on the floor. Rarity turned to call out to Opalescence, but stopped when she turned to the box of jewelry that she had placed the mane pin inside of. The rest of the jewelry was exactly where she had left it. Not even my Opal is that crafty, Rarity thought as she placed the mane pin back into the box. She looked around the room, and then turned around and closed the work room door. As the door closed, a small white feather fluttered along the floor and landed beneath the desk.