//------------------------------// // Afraid of the Dark? // Story: Empty Darkness // by GigaBowser //------------------------------// Chapter 2 - Afraid of the Dark? "Luna? Are you scared?" The question hung heavily in the air and made Luna stop and pause. She took a moment to gaze at her dreary surroundings and think about just what kind of situation she had found herself in. The dilapidated town stared back at her, haunting and eerie. The churning darkness glared at her, daring her to venture out into it. They had been meandering around town for 10 or 20 minutes, and now found themselves at the edge once more. With Sweetie Belle on her back, the constant feeling of companionship had been comforting, to say the least. Her state of mind had drastically improved since she'd found the young filly. The fear engineered by this strange place, however, would not be vanquished so easily. She craned her neck and gazed back at Sweetie, who was looking up at her with an adorable little frown. The two of them had found each other, and now they were a team. Luna knew not what would happen, and feared for the safety of the both of them. While she had been grateful to find a companion, there was a horrible worry in the pit of her stomach. Why did it have to be such a young, innocent foal trapped here with her? This place could be dangerous! "A little bit, Sweetie," she said in answer to the filly's question. She had quickly realized that this was not a time nor a place for lies, even the smallest ones. "I am unsure of what we should do next, to be honest. I don't know what to make of this place, and it definitely unnerves me. There's just something…wrong here…" She gazed back at Sweetie Belle again. "Are you scared?" Sweetie gazed away and nodded demurely. Luna gave a sad smile and then said, "I'll tell you what. You keep me from being afraid, and I'll keep you from being afraid! Sound good?" Sweetie turned back to her and, after a moment, a small smile appeared. "S-sure, Luna…" she said softly. "Good!" Luna said with a smile, "Don't worry. I'll do my best to get us home, okay?" "Okay!" Presently, Luna was walking along the edge of town, with the series of former houses to her left. Despite her previous open honesty, there were two things she had not yet told Sweetie. First, there was the matter of her missing moon and the missing sun. The mere thought made her shiver and threatened to consume her mind, and so she avoided thinking about it altogether. The second was that she was still terrified of leaving the village. "Should we stay here, or should we go somewhere?" Sweetie asked, catching Luna off guard at the coincidence of their similar thoughts. "Uhm…" she stumbled, "Either option has pros and cons." She felt the filly shift on her back. "Has what?" "Leaving and staying…Both could be good, but both could also be bad," she clarified. "Oh…Yeah, I guess you're right…" The air was then filled with a very loud grumbling noise, causing the princess to stop in her tracks. When it had stopped, she turned back to Sweetie and looked at her. "Wow…" Sweetie mumbled, "I just realized…I'm really hungry…" Luna winced, thinking about her own aching stomach. Being the alicorn that she was, she could only imagine how hungry the little filly must've felt. "You didn't happen to find any food did you?" Sweetie asked. Luna shook her head. "I'm afraid not…" She heard a little moan come from the foal. As she continued to walk along the perimeter of town, she cast her head around in the darkness and gazed at what little there was to behold. "I've searched this town about as much as I can, and I have not found anything here besides rubble and yourself." That feeling of aloneness was beginning to creep back, and she fought to shake it off. "There doesn't seem to be anything here except…this ruined town." "Well…Should we go somewhere else?" Luna stopped walking. Sweetie's question had been innocent enough, and even quite logical. All it did, however, was amplify Luna's fears of the outside. She turned her head slowly and gazed out at the emptiness that lie beyond the town. A dizzying mass of swirling, churning blackness met her eyes. She gulped. "Luna…?" The princess sighed. "Leaving town would make sense, yes," she spoke, "but it's also very dangerous. We could get lost out there." She continued to trot along the precipice. "I guess you're right…" Sweetie murmured, "but we can't stay here forever." Luna was no stranger to those words. "I know…" she replied, "It is not an easy choice to make." The air was once again filled with the groaning of Sweetie Belle's empty stomach. She tried to stifle a moan. "Perhaps," Luna pondered, "if we gather enough broken wood, I could leave trail. That way, we could see where- AUGH!!!" Luna's piercing cry suddenly filled the air as she tumbled to the ground. Sweetie Belle was thrown from her back and cried out in surprise as she toppled through the dirt. The alicorn grit her teeth in pain and kicked out wildly with her back hooves. She struggled fruitlessly on the ground for a few moments before coursing magic through her horn and throwing a kinetic spell frantically in the direction of her hind legs. The thing that had bitten her was thrown loose, and she scrambled on the ground to put some distance from it. She heard Sweetie Belle scream. Backpedaling furiously, she saw the deep bite marks and the dripping blood on her left hind leg. Once she had caught her breath she peered through the darkness, trying to see her assailant. It was some kind of four-legged creature with scruffy, black fur. It was such a thick, dark shade that, in the churning darkness, it appeared to be a silhouette. It was hunched forward like a rabid wolf, baring its bloodied teeth. It appeared thin and scraggly, but did not seem the least bit weak. Drool dripped from its maw, a clear sign of its bloodlust. Most frightening about the creature, however, were the eyes. They glowed an eerie yellow light; dim amongst the surrounding darkness but still shining. Luna felt Sweetie move to a protective position behind her. "Wh-what is that thing?!" she cried out in terror. The shadowy creature didn't give Luna a chance to respond. It wasted no time in lunging towards her, aiming directly for her neck. Sweetie screamed in horror, but Luna send the creature flying back with a blast of kinetic magic. The creature didn't seem fazed in the least. It quickly got to its paws and lunged again. This time, Luna reached out with her magic to suspend the creature in midair. As it floated in an aura of deep blue magic, Luna studied it quickly. She saw large, sharp claws on each of its paws and got a much closer look at its razor-like teeth. Beyond that, however, the creature was almost entirely cloaked in jet black fur. It appeared to her like a malnourished wolf or coyote, though it seemed to have the energy of a fully fed one. "Luna…!" The princess had only been holding the creature for three seconds when, suddenly, it slipped from her magical grasp and dropped to the floor. Luna barely had the time to react in the split-second between it getting lose and it attacking her. She did the only thing she had time to do; she ducked. As the creature went sailing over her head, she quickly picked up Sweetie with her magic. The filly screamed again, and Luna quickly got to her hooves. She ignored the sharp, shooting pain in her hind leg as she struggled to gallop away, trying once again to put distance between herself and the creature. She placed Sweetie on her back. "Hold tight!" she instructed as she turned to face it. The creature was already stalking towards her aggressively. Luna decided to put an end to this quickly. She focused powerful magic through her horn and cast out a sleeping spell. It shot through the air and quickly surrounded the advancing animal. This spell was powerful enough to knock out an Ursa Major. Against this small creature, it had no chance whatsoever. The spell dissipated, but the creature continued to step forward, its glowing eyes locked hungrily upon the two ponies. Luna's eyes shot open. Quickly, she focused her magic and cast another sleeping spell. It too surrounded the creature for a few seconds before simply fading away. She leapt back deftly as it made a jump towards her, swiping with its claws. She cast out a paralysis spell to incapacitate it. She cast a teleportation spell, intending to send it to the top of that hill. She even cast an incineration spell. All of her magic completely dissipated once it reached the creature. Luna was now truly beginning to panic. The creature leapt at her again, seemingly taking advantage of her momentary distraction. She reacted reflexively with a weak burst of kinetic force. As she backed up frantically, she saw the creature drop to the ground, its advances momentarily halted. "Luna!!" Sweetie exclaimed. In the very edge of her peripheral vision, she saw Sweetie's hoof outstretched to her right. She cast her vision in that direction, gazing in between the destroyed homes. Her heart jumped into her throat when she saw three more sets of glowing eyes staring at her through the darkness. Her breath catching in her throat, she stepped back frantically, trying to get all four of them within her vision. They were advancing faster now, growling as drool dripped from their hungry maws. She continued to back up along the ground, her fear building exponentially. "Wh…What do we do…?" she heard Sweetie whimper into her ear. As if part of a coordinated attack, the four creatures all leapt forward suddenly, each at a slightly different angle. Two went to either side to cut off some of her escape routes, while the other two jumped at her, fangs bared. Before Sweetie even had a chance to scream, Luna grit her teeth and focused all of her energy into one powerful kinetic blast. It shot from her horn, sending the two attacking creatures flying backwards, while also knocking the two flanking beasts to the ground. And then she turned and ran. Luna's hooves pounded the ground furiously as she fled, trying to put as much distance between the two of them and those creatures as she could. She felt Sweetie's hooves holding onto her neck, and would continue running as long as she felt them there. She cast a few glances backwards, but the darkness consumed most of what she could see. Her mind was racing as she fled, and her heart was pounding. Her magic hadn't worked. Luna had used one of the most powerful sleeping spells known by ponykind. It was the kind of spell that could work on any living thing except perhaps a fully-grown dragon. And the creature had shrugged it off as if she'd cast a small breeze at it. In fact, the creature hadn't even seemed to notice it. She was panting heavily, fleeing blindly from the danger that may or may not have been pursuing her. She had tried everything. Was her magic disabled somehow? She could still cast it, and her light spell worked just fine. The only thing that seemed to affect the beasts at all was the kinetic spells she used to push them back. So far, it was her only weapon. "Luna…!" she heard Sweetie exclaim from her back, "I don't see them…!" She slowed to a moderately fast gallop and turned to look behind her. As before, she couldn't see anything in the churning darkness. Were those creatures still back there? Had she lost them? Luna had absolutely no idea, and this terrified her. It was only now that she was noticing how painful it was to breathe. Her heart was hammering furiously inside of her chest and her lungs felt empty even when they were full. She was quickly forced to come to a stop, whereupon she hung her head and caught her breath. She could hear Sweetie Belle breathing heavily too, but there was a slight moaning in her voice as she did so. After a few deep breaths, Luna brought her head back up and gazed at the foal. Sweetie's eyes were wide and panicked, and her head was darting about as she looked all around. Her face was stained with many rivulets of tears. Her own breathing finally under control, Luna cast a different kind of spell. She coursed magic through her own body, amplifying her sense of hearing, while also tuning out the sounds that the two of them were making. She stood for a few minutes listening carefully. Absolute silence rang in her ear, welcome and unwelcome at the same time. "I…" Luna panted, still slightly out of breath, "I think we lost them…" "Are you sure…?" Sweetie whimpered. She was quivering and breathing unevenly. "It's fine, Sweetie," Luna said, "I can't hear them any more. They're gone. Calm down." This did seem to calm the frightened foal down. She took a few deep breaths and hugged herself with her hooves, trying to stop her own frantically beating heart. Luna closed her eyes, held a hoof to her head, and gave a tremendous sigh of relief. "What were those things…?" Sweetie said in a voice that was almost a whisper. "I…I don't know…They definitely seemed quite dangerous." "Were they wolves?" Luna shook her head. "They were not like any creature I have ever seen in Equestria before. Their body shape and characteristics were unique." "They were scary…" Sweetie mumbled, "They looked evil…" Luna thought back to their glowing eyes. She thought back to how her magic hadn't worked. For such small creatures, they seemed to pose a large threat to the two of them. She turned her head and cast her eyes at her hind leg, where blood was still trickling out of her bite wounds. She cast a simple spell and closed the wounds, though the memory of the pain she had felt when it had bitten her remained. If one of those things got to Sweetie Belle… "Um…Luna?" Luna returned her gaze to the foal on her back. "Yes?" Sweetie was silent for a moment. She was gazing out at their barely-visible surroundings. "…Where are we?" Luna followed her gaze. Now that her panic had faded and her mind was much clearer, she was finally able to pay attention to where she was. Her heart skipped a beat as she turned a quick circle, gazing out in all directions. There was nothing she could see except the ground beneath her hooves. The town was gone. With growing fear, she realized that she must have left the town and ran away from it when she had flown from the attackers. That strange, unfamiliar fear that was a mix of agoraphobia and claustrophobia was setting in, and causing the princess to quiver. She tried not to let it show. Where was the town? Where was anything? Was there anything? "Where…" Sweetie mumbled, "Where do we go now?" "Well…I…" Luna faltered. This was exactly what she had been trying to avoid by staying inside of the town. Now, she was lost in the darkness without a direction to follow. She had been running for less than five minutes, but was already hopelessly lost and turned around. Her sense of direction meant nothing. "We should…try to find the town again, I think…" "The town?" Sweetie replied, "But that's where those…things were!" Luna frowned. "I know, Sweetie…But what else are we to do? Who knows what we could find out here? We could be wandering for days and find nothing…" She had to pause to suppress a tremble. "But…I don't know which way it is any more…" She felt Sweetie moving about on her back. "Uhm…" she muttered, "Could you…fly up, maybe?" Luna turned back to gaze at her. "Fly?" "Maybe this is like fog," Sweetie reasoned, "Could you see above it if you flew up high?" Luna turned back and glanced at her folded wings. The thought had never occurred to her to fly above the clouds. She knew that there was an 'end' to the darkness up there; she'd seen it. Perhaps it had been the unusual claustrophobia that had prevented her from realizing that she could just fly through the air. "That's a good idea, Sweetie," she said, "I found a hill next to the town earlier and I climbed it. I'll see if I can see it from here." Luna felt Sweetie's hooves tighten around her neck. "Go for it, Luna! You can do it!" she said, excitement and encouragement in her voice. The alicorn nodded and took a deep breath. She was still tentative about flying through the churning muck that was this darkness, but rationalized that it was probably their best option at the moment. Her wings were quite powerful and the sky was as much her domain as the ground below was. "Okay," she said before extending her wings to their full glory, "Hold on tight and keep your eyes peeled!" "Got it!" Sweetie replied. Then, with a powerful downward stroke, she lifted herself off the ground and began to ascend. Almost immediately, something felt wrong. The air did not give beneath her wings like she expected it to. It did not seem to flow properly. The air felt thick and constricting, almost as if she were flapping her wings through water as opposed to air. Regardless of this, she continued to pour strength into her wings to take them higher. Only a few seconds after takeoff, the ground vanished beneath them. Her heart beat frantically as she found herself completely surrounded by the darkness in every single direction. It was incredibly dizzying, but she fought hard to retain her composure. The two had only lifted about 25 or 30 feet above the ground, but already something was going wrong. The clouds of darkness seemed to get thicker the more they rose. It was becoming harder and harder to move her wings, and this was happening at an alarming rate. She grit her teeth, struggling to propel herself through the murky air. More than that, however, something was happening to her mind. She had no idea why such a thing would be occurring, but she recognized it instantly. As she rose and left the ground behind her, things began to change and break down. It all happened at an incredibly fast pace; so fast that she could hardly register everything that was occurring. It felt like her vision was swimming. Her eyes weren't getting heavy and she wasn't getting fatigued, but rather it felt like her vision could not remain still. Her muscular functions did not feel correct. Though she knew her four legs were dangling straight below her, it felt like they were twisted into impossible contortions. There was a horrible buzzing sensation that was neither sound nor vibration, but attacked her mind all the same. Her head was being squished and molded. It felt like she had submerged tens of thousands of feet below the ocean. It felt like her stomach was hanging out of her mouth. By now, her wing functions had ceased proper operations. She wobbled them around futilely, but it was a lost cause. Before long, she was plummeting towards the ground. She felt the simultaneous sensation of falling down, as well as falling up. Her mouth let out a strange groaning sound, and her unfocused eyes looked at the approaching ground in a dead gaze. The alicorn, damaged beyond repair, sailed to the ground below and collapsed upon it in a crumpled heap. When she next opened her eyes, she felt extremely tired and weak. She groaned as she pushed herself up onto her hooves. Her head felt heavy and her vision was struggling to focus. After a moment of light-headedness, she realized that she had just been unconscious. How long she had been out, she did not know. She tried to figure out what had just happened. Her memories were clear enough. As soon as she'd taken off and begun to ascend through the clouds, everything had gone wrong with her body. It was as if the darkness itself had been latching onto her, draining her energy, and clamping down upon her. It has been completely terrifying. She groaned for a moment, and then something suddenly clicked in her brain. "Sweetie??" she called out, casting her gaze around. Panic struck her as she realized that the foal was not with her. She wasn't anywhere within her limited field of vision. Luna was instantly on her hooves. "Sweetie Belle?!" she called out into the darkness, but there was no response. She began to pace carefully around in the dark, using her light spell to extend her vision as far as possible. Her terrified mind was running wild. The two of them were in a wide, unmarked field in the middle of this darkness. She could be five meters from the foal and not even realize it. She came to the horrible realization that if Sweetie were unconscious as well, then it was quite possible that she would never find her. Worse, Sweetie couldn't fly. She might be seriously injured. Or worse…! She shook these terrible thoughts out of her head. No! she told herself mentally, Stop that! You are going to find her! She's going to be okay! Luna continued her frantic search, casting her glowing horn from left to right as she desperately tried to find her companion. "Sweetie?!" she called again and again. Only mere minutes into her search, and she could no longer recall where she had woken up. She was lost in this endless sea of darkness, and so was her friend. There was a soft, gentle moan. Luna locked on to the minute sound and quickly dashed along the ground. To her immense relief, the darkness finally revealed the white filly to her, who was just starting to wake up. Luna trotted over and knelt down next to her. Other than a few dirty stains and a messy mane, she didn't seem to have any injuries from the tumble. "Sweetie…! Sweetie, wake up! Are you okay?" The filly's eyes fluttered open, and after a moment they focused on the concerned alicorn. "Luna…?" she murmured. Luna's lips formed an incredibly relieved smile. "It's me, Sweetie. I'm here. Are you hurt?" Sweetie groaned slightly as she raised herself into a sitting position. "Um…No, I think I'm okay. I'm just kinda sore." "Thank heavens for that." The filly gazed up to the alicorn with concerned eyes. "What happened?" Luna frowned and slowly cast her gaze skyward. "I'm not sure…" she murmured, "I don't think I can fly through this…" "Wh-what?!" Sweetie exclaimed, shocked, "What do you mean?" "As soon as I left the ground, it was as if this darkness were trying to force me back down. It felt like my head was spinning and my stomach was churning." "I…felt that too," Sweetie replied, "but I thought I was just…y'know…getting dizzy." Luna shook her head. "Sweetie, I want you to promise me something." "Huh? What is it, Luna?" "I want you to promise that you'll stay as close to me as possible, okay?" Luna spoke, turning her head to gaze back down at the filly, "There is something eerie and unnatural about this…darkness. It messes with your head and, apparently, disables flight. I want you to say safe, and to do that you need to stay with me as much as you can. Okay?" Sweetie had a look of worry upon her face, but she gulped and said, "O-okay, Luna. I promise." Luna nodded, though she did not smile. Once again, she had to fight to stave off panic. She was now, for all intents and purposes, a grounded pony. It seemed that her pegasus magic would not work for her, and so she would be confined to the ground. This was troubling to her, though at the same time she wondered if it really made much of a difference. What was there to see above the clouds anyway? The issue arose when it came to evading danger. "Hop on," Luna spoke, lowering her front end forward so Sweetie could climb onto her back. The filly did so without a word. Once she was settled, Luna rose back up and took a deep, shuddering breath. "So…Now what?" Sweetie murmured, barely above a whisper. Luna stared forward silently for a few moments. She was asking herself the same question. They were directionless and without a plan, lost in a featureless grass-less field and surrounded by darkness. Now that they had seen that there were indeed creatures inhabiting this world, Luna knew that danger could be anywhere. There was a sense of loyalty and dedication that the princess felt, now that she had Sweetie Belle to protect. She knew that no matter what happened, she had to ensure that the filly was kept safe. There would be no question. The feeling was overwhelming. It was too much. "We…" Luna began, "We only have one option, Sweetie." She slowly turned in a complete circle, taking in the monotonous darkness all around her. "We have to just pick a direction and go." She felt the filly tremble. "B-but…" she whimpered, "W-which way do we go?" Luna's ears then picked up a familiar sound, followed by Sweetie's painful moans. She knew in her mind that, first and foremost, the two needed to find food. Luna could probably last a few more weeks, but Sweetie was still a young foal. She wouldn't survive much longer without nutrition in her belly. It wouldn't be long before the search for food escalated from critical to an outright emergency. "It doesn't really matter what direction we pick, Sweetie. We can't see anything anyway. Why don't you pick one?" "What?" Sweetie piped up, "Me?" Luna looked back and tried to smile. "Sure! I have a feeling that you've got a lucky hoof." Sweetie held her hoof up to her face in confusion. "I…do?" "I'm sure that if you pick which way we go, then we're sure to find something!" "But…" Sweetie protested, "What if I pick the wrong way? What if I pick a way to go and then we just walk and walk forever and ever?" Luna frowned slightly. "Well…" she spoke softly, "I have about the same chance of making that mistake as you do, don't I?" "Y-yeah…I guess…" Luna smiled. "Just pick one, Sweetie. We can always change directions later." "Um…All right…" Sweetie said with uncertainty. She gazed around at the unremarkable surrounding for a few moments before holding up one of her hooves. "Thaaat way…?" "You've got it," Luna said. Wasting no time, she turned in the direction of Sweetie Belle's hoof and began to canter off into the darkness. *** In times of turmoil, Luna knew that it was important to be thankful. She paused presently and took a moment of clarity. She was thankful that the both of them were unharmed physically. Sweetie still seemed shaky on her hooves, but Luna chalked that up entirely to a lack of nutrition. Luna was thankful that the two of them had not been attacked since the incident at the edge of town. They had come across no further creatures of any kind, and so remained safe for the time being. She was very thankful, though, that they had eventually made it out of the seemingly endless field. Where they were now was not much different; a few hills and rocks with a couple of dying plants. It was something, though. Luna sighed and closed her eyes. She was thankful that they had found firewood that could be used. She was thankful that she could still perform her incinerating spell to set them ablaze. Silver linings were hard to come by sometimes, and so Luna was grateful that she had some. No matter how small they may have been. Sweetie Belle yawned. She was curled up at Luna's side as the two of them lay before the fire. Unsurprisingly to Luna, it did little to warm them up from the bitter cold. Luna had one of her wings draped over the filly, trying to offer her some small respite from the chilly air. It had been a long day of monotonous cantering. An unreal amount of nothing had passed by as the alicorn had continued to place one hoof before the other. Many times during the journey, she had questioned whether she was moving forwards or not. It had been a strange, almost sickening feeling. Finally they had come across this area and had decided that their energy for the day had been depleted. Though the landscape had changed, they had found nothing of interest. This place was so empty. It was as if they were walking through a dead world. Sweetie moaned from beneath Luna's wing as her stomach growled again. Luna's heart panged and her stomach churned for entirely different reasons. Not once had Sweetie mentioned how hungry she was, but it was plain to see that she was suffering. Luna knew that the clock was ticking, but also knew that there were hardly any options to pursue. She couldn't even forage for food while Sweetie was sleeping, for fear that she'd lose her way and never find the filly again. Sweetie was trying to suppress her groans, but it was of no use. Luna gazed down at her with a worried frown. The filly's face was screwed up in discomfort and misery as she lay, clutching at her empty stomach. Luna instantly felt like crying. There was a feeling welling up inside of her that made her feel as if this were her fault, though she knew it wasn't. To her, at that moment, nothing mattered more than ending this young foal's suffering. She had felt like this once upon a time. Where had it gone? "Sweetie?" Luna whispered in a gentle voice. The filly opened her eyes and gazed up at Luna with a heavy frown. "Hm…?" she mumbled. "Would you like me to tell you about when Celestia and I were little fillies?" Sweetie blinked. It looked as if her brain were failing to register something. "Wh…What?" Luna smiled as she thought back to the days of millennia past. Back before many things mattered, and days were filled simply with two young alicorns having the time of their life. "I have to admit," Luna spoke, "I was quite adorable back then." A look of comical disbelief appeared on Sweetie's face, almost looking like a smile. "You used to be a little filly?" Luna chuckled airily. "Well of course. Everypony was a little colt or filly at some point, even Celestia and I." "I…I'm having a hard time imagining that." She chuckled again. "Well, perhaps I can help you with that. Close your eyes, Sweetie." The filly complied and shut her eyes while Luna, meanwhile, lit up her horn. She called to mind a particularly fond image of her younger self and fed the image into her horn. An aura appeared around Sweetie's head for a moment, and then she gasped loudly. "Oh my goodness!!" she exclaimed, "Luna, you are so cute!!!" Luna couldn't help but grin at Sweetie's reaction. "Heehee…That's me when I was only a few decades old." Sweetie Belle was now smiling brightly and laughing as she looked at the image behind her closed eyes. "You're like the cutest thing I've ever seen!" she gushed, "Look at your little wings and your tiny hooves! Oh my gosh, and your big eyes!" Sweetie blinked open her eyes and found herself gazing up at the adult version of said adorable filly. She blushed furiously. "Um, I mean…You were…pretty cute, Luna." Luna laughed heartily at her embarrassment. "If there is one thing I can be proud of," she spoke, "it would be how adorable I used to be." Sweetie gazed away and shuffled her hooves. "You're still pretty now, Luna." There was a warmness in Luna's heart. "Aw, thank you Sweetie." She then told her to close her eyes again and sent her another image. "Oh!!" Sweetie exclaimed, "Oh my heavens!! Oh, Luna! I can't take it Luna! I can't handle it." She was holding a hoof to her chest and smiling from ear to ear. "Look at you!!" she squealed, "You're all wrapped up in a little blankie!!" Luna blushed slightly. "I was cold," she said simply. "Awwwww! I wanna give little you a hug!" "And here is my sister as a young filly," Luna continued. As she brought forth images of her sister from the past, there was a twinge of pain in her heart. She still had no idea where Celestia was right now, and she missed her dearly. She brushed the pain away, however. This was a time for cheering up Sweetie Belle. "Awww, she's so cute too!" Sweetie cooed, "Oh wow! She's got a pink mane." "Heh…" Luna chuckled, "I always thought she looked better with a pink mane." Sweetie opened her eyes and gazed up smiling at the princess. "You two were so cute! I wish I could've seen you two back then! We could've played and had fun!" "You wanna know a secret?" Luna said with a smirk, "I was born after my sister was, but I figured out flying first." Sweetie laughed and smiled even brighter. "You should've seen Tia trying to figure out how to flap her wings properly. She used to be so terrible at it!" Sweetie tried to stifle her giggles. "'Tia'?" Luna's ears perked up and she held a hoof to her mouth. "Oops! Oh goodness." She chuckled good-heartedly. "Don't tell her I said that," she said with a smile, "Tia only really tolerates it when I call her that." "Heehee…I think it's cute." "One time," Luna continued, "We both went exploring in these old creepy woods while the moon was out. Tia kept telling me over and over that she wasn't scared. To her credit, she definitely put on a brave face. But when a branch snapped and fell right behind her, she leapt out of her skin and screamed like a banshee." Both ponies shared a laugh as they imagined the scenario. "She was so scared," Luna said through her laughter, "that she brought up the sun and wouldn't put it back down until we got back home. It was one in the morning!!" Sweetie continued laughing for a few more moments. As her laughter died down, she found her gaze drifting up to the murky sky above them. Her smile slowly faded into a small, worried frown. Luna followed her gaze. "I wish…" Sweetie murmured, "I wish she could bring the sun out right now and make this fog go away…I can't even tell if it's day or night." Luna turned her gaze back towards the filly. Sweetie turned to look back at her. "I mean…No offense, Luna…I just want this scary dark fog to go away…" Luna stared in silence at Sweetie for a few moments. She felt her heart beat in her chest, and could hear the quiet, subdued breathing of the both of them. Beyond that, crippling silence was all around them, as was the chill in the air and the churning darkness. "Sweetie…" she spoke with a heavy voice, "I…need to tell you something that I found out." Sweetie tilted her head and frowned in concern. "What…?" There was a heavy, dreading feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she knew she had to tell Sweetie. This was important, and she couldn't just hide it. "Before I found you…I tried to reach out and find my moon. I tried to find the sun as well, but…" She gulped. "Sweetie, they aren't there." For the second time, Sweetie blinked in confusion. "Wh…What…?!" "The sky is empty, Sweetie. My moon and Celestia's sun aren't there. I don't know where they are, and I don't know what this means, but…" She gazed at the trembling foal, who was already beginning to shed tears. She extended her wing and drew Sweetie closer with it, hugging her warmly and snugly against her body. Sweetie was starting to lose control, and Luna wanted to make sure that she was there to keep her safe and keep her calm. It was hard news to swallow, but if they were both going to get out of this alive, then Sweetie needed to know the truth. "…I don't think we're in our world anymore."