//------------------------------// // Chapter Two - Sight // Story: Fury of the Forgotten // by davey- //------------------------------// Better formatting on google docs: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1832QY9PFJPjwc88KfuFB6T6QVXmOAi2A4sRiRlCzA5s/edit Note: The formatting of this doc fails on mobile devices. Deal with it. Chapter Two - Sight by Davey- Twilight struggled to see through the blackness of night as she wandered the streets of Ponyville. Where is everypony? The small town was usually quiet at night, but never this quiet, and there had always been at least one dim light from somepony’s window. Unfortunately for Twilight, the lack of light made it nearly impossible to navigate the streets, causing the unicorn to stumble over rocks and walk into more than one wagon along her way. “Damn it!” She cursed as her head collided with a flower stand. What is going on tonight? Twilight turned her gaze to Luna’s nightsky, hoping to somehow find an answer there, but she froze at the sight before her. The sky above was pitch black, more so than usual. Where stars once lit up the darkness, there was nothing but a barren sea of emptiness. Twilight’s mouth fell open as she noticed a more major component of night was also absent... Where is the moon? In the normal stretch of sky that the moon once resided, Twilight found nothing but dark sky. Trying to piece together a logical explanation, She began to pace back and forth, talking aloud. “Could Luna have forgotten to raise the moon? No, she would never forget, and even if she did, somepony would have reminded her. Maybe it is just a really, really clear night.... but there would still be a moon... Could it be a new moon tonight?” The unicorn quickly scanned the sky, looking for any sign of a new moon’s outline. “Nothing... Not even a faint glow!” Twilight furrowed her brow, trying to understand what was going on. Ponyville was never this dark, and the sky was never this empty... so why was it tonight?. As she thought, a dim light from the Everfree forest caught her eye, radiating out from the dense population of trees. Suddenly noticing how far from Ponyville she had wandered in the dark, she cautiously decided to investigate the glow. This is getting stranger by the minute, since when is there ever light coming from the Everfree? Navigating through the maze of trees, Twilight felt her face warming as she approached the light, bringing a smile to her lips. As she continued along, she stumbled upon a small clearing in the forest with five figures within, all looking deeper into the forest. It’s the girls! Opening her mouth the call out to her friends, Twilight froze as she realized that each of them appeared to be the source of the light she had noticed before. The motionless ponies’ coats were giving off a faint glow, slightly lessening the darkness of the clearing where they all stood. Ignoring the oddity, she called out to them. “Girls! Thank Celestia I found you! What is going on tonight? Is there a meeting I’m not aware of? And why are you in the Everfree forest?” Twilight’s barrage of questions was met with silence, sending a slight shiver down her spine. “Is something wrong girls?” More silence greeted her, the warmth in her face slowly fading away. “Rarity? Fluttershy? Pinkie? Rainbow? Applejack?” Time seemed to stand still as Twilight desperately tried to get the attention of her stone-like friends. “Girls please, this isn’t funny! Answer me!” Losing her patience, she started towards the five, but stopped as Rarity and Applejack began to turn around to face her. The two mares appeared to move in slow motion, keeping their faces hidden from Twilight as they turned. Taking a few steps back, Twilight’s body became hot with anxiety as Rarity and Applejack froze once again, heads hanging. “R-rarity? Applej-jack?” she stammered. The light that the two gave off began to gradually increase in brightness, forcing the purple mare to shield her eyes. When her vision restored, Twilight found her three other friends had disappeared into nothingness. Applejack was first to move, her face hidden by a combination of her mane and Stetson, shadowing her features. Twilight’s eyes quickly switched to Rarity, who was now raising her head too, her disheveled mane covering the upper half of her face. “Girls, you’re scaring me! Stop, please!” Stumbling a few more steps back, Twilight stepped unknowingly into a gopher hole, creating a jolt of pain within her back left leg. She shouted as a sickening snap accompanied the sound of her fall and the pain that ensued. “Ahhh! Please! Girls, help me, I think it’s broken!” Inspecting her injury, Twilight found that it was indeed broken, but neither Applejack nor Rarity seemed to care about her fall. Stunned, she looked up at her friends in horror as they finally revealed their faces to her. The fashionista caught Twilight’s attention first. Drops of blood streamed from Rarity’s eyes like tears, their scarlet shade splattering against her white coat as they fell from her cheeks. No sound seemed to come from Rarity as she wept, sending yet another shiver down Twilight’s spine. Carefully carved crescent moons littered her face, allowing the red liquid to collect under the markings until it met with previous lines of blood, quickly following the path down her face. Oh Celestia! What is going on! Breath rapidly escaped from Twilight’s lungs as her gaze shifted to Applejack’s now visible face. The sight was more horrible than the first, diverting her senses from the pain of her broken leg. The cowpony’s face remained unchanged, but two large nails had been forcefully driven straight into her pupils. Unblinking, Applejack’s eyes gradually turned a deep red, streaming blood in mass amounts down her face. Slowly, Applejack blinked. The nails pushing against the insides of her eyes, forming a small vertical indent in each eyelid. “Somepony help! Please! Anypony! Help!” Twilight cried out in vain, horrified by the state of her friends. It seemed that nopony was around for miles. Please Celestia, help me... Suddenly, a red mist appeared from the darkness behind the clearing, encircling a cloaked pony. Without a word, the new arrival walked toward Twilight, stopping in between Rarity and Applejack. “Please... Help us...” Twilight managed through sobs. The figure gave no answer. The red mist now surrounding all three silent ponies. “Please...” Together, the three began walking toward Twilight, the light her friends were giving off morphed into a crimson glow. Attempting to scurry backwards, the pain of Twilight’s injury renewed itself, burning at her, refusing to help. Helpless, she covered her eyes and tensed all of her muscles, preparing for the worst, but nothing came. Huh? What? Cautiously opening her eyes, Twilight found the three now surrounded her, towering over her like malicious statues. After what seemed like eternity, the three looked straight down at her, faces cloaked by the shadows of the eerie night. Then, a sound came from the mysterious pony in front of her. “Payback” At the word, the red mist enveloped Twilight, squeezing her with great strength and dragging all of the breath out of her. “L-leave m-me a-al-alone... p-p-please” She stammered, trying to find any sign of air in her lungs. The mist, nor the cloaked pony, gave any sign of relenting, draining the life from the purple unicorn. “p-please...” --- A rush of light stung at Twilight’s eyes as she shot up in bed. Quickly forcing them shut, the lavender unicorn rubbed her head, trying to remember what had happened or where she was. A-a dream? Is that what that was? Why Celestia, why? Through her quiet sobbing, Twilight rubbed a hoof against her aching head as memories of the previous night flooded back to her. Owlowicious... She cautiously forced one eye open to inspect herself, finding that the vomit had been cleaned from her coat and, to Twilight’s surprise, her leg was fully functional. Was any of that real? For the first time, she noticed she wasn’t in her bed at the library, but rather, she found herself lying on a bed in what she assumed was a hospital’s room. An IV in one foreleg connected her to a machine on her left, while an oxygen tube connected her to another on the right. “Oh good, you’re awake” spoke an unknown voice from the doorway. Still squinting to focus her eyes, Twilight looked at the figure with confusion until she eventually realized it was a doctor who spoke. Adjusting to the light, she looked at the doctor, seeing that he was an earth pony. His coat was very clean and resembled a light brown hue, matching his tan mane and tail. His eyes shone a deep blue that seemed to strike deep into Twilight, calming her nerves. However, her eyes settled on the stallion’s cutie mark, which was of a needle with a bandage over it, making Twilight uneasy as to what he was here to do to her. “You’ve undergone quite an ordeal Miss Sparkle. I’m actually surprised you’ve woken up this fast, but since you are indeed awake, I can talk to you about what happened.” Twilight shifted at the idea of recalling the past night. “In case you were wondering, my name is Doctor Swift Mend, Princess Celestia herself arranged for you to be under my care for the duration of your stay here” “The Princess? Why would she be involved with this?” “I’m not sure, but I assume she was worried about you after what had happened, you are her best student after all.” Twilight blushed at the compliment, but quickly returned to her disoriented state. “What happened to the Library? Is Spike okay?” “Please Miss Sparkle, relax. The Canterlot royal guard is investigating the scene as we speak,as for ‘Spike’, I have no information as to who or where he is.” The doctor began searching through a desk drawer at the end of the bed until he finally pulled a clipboard out with his mouth and carried it over to the bedside table. “Letsh shee” he mumbled through the clipboard before setting it down to read. “When medical personnel arrived at your residence you were unconscious, had low vital signs, and had lost more fluid through vomiting than anypony they’d ever seen. They rushed you here, cleaned you up, and then re-stabilized your vitals. You’re quite lucky we found you when we did, any longer and you might never have woken up.” Twilight sat in silence, her thoughts swam with the information presented to her. “What day is it?” she managed to ask. Shifting awkwardly, Doctor Swift Mend reluctantly gave the answer. “Thursday, you’ve been in a slight coma for a week now” Twilight’s eyes grew as wide as saucers, dead set on the stallion before her. A week?! It seemed like last night! How could it have been a week!? Before she could say a word to the doctor, a familiar voice echoed through the hallway until finally taking the form of a white unicorn in the doorway. “Oh thank goodness! I was beginning to think that we might lose our dear Twilight.” Rarity’s exaggerated voice rang out as she walked gracefully into the room. Pausing, she held her foreleg to her head. “How dreadful of a thought!” Upon seeing Rarity, Twilight’s dream flashed in her mind, renewing the horror it held. Relax Twi, Rarity is fine, see? “Now calm yer flank Rarity, ah’m sure Twilight is gunna be okay.” The sight of Applejack caused Twilight’s mind jump again. Deep breaths, no one is hurt, it was just a dream. Quickly regaining control of herself, Twilight laid back against her hard hospital pillow, the two mares now at her bedside. “I’ll leave you to catch up” Doctor Swift Mend said with a smile as he exited the room. “Where is Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie?” Twilight asked groggily. “Oh, ummm... T-Twilight, I’m right here...” whispered the timid yellow pegasus. “I’m sorry I didn’t say something sooner” Fluttershy hid her face behind her mane, backing up slightly. “Pinkie is out of town... on a delivery for the Cakes.... I’m sorry she couldn’t come.” “That’s okay Fluttershy” she replied, regaining some of her strength. “Where’s Rainbow?” Rarity pointed her nose upwards and huffed as she answered. “Hmph! Little miss Wonderbolt apparently thinks meeting Spitfire at a fancy book signing is more important than the well-being of one of her friends! Some element of loyalty!” “Rarity!” Applejack shouted angrily. “Rainbow was one’a the first t’get here last week! She just didn’t think Twi would’a been up an talkin’ yet!” Rarity hung her head, hiding her face as she backed away from the farm pony. Applejack’s anger immediately left her voice as she realized how frightened she had made the white unicorn. “Ah’m sorry Rarity, its been a might rough on the farm, an with Twi in the hospital, Ah’ve just been stressed” As Twilight watched the scene, images from her dream appeared to flash before of her eyes. The black sky. The bitter loneliness. The horrific sight of her friends. As the portrait re-painted itself in Twilight’s mind, the tears flowing from Rarity’s eyes began to turn a deep crimson, washing over her coat like paint. No, this can’t be happening! A sharp scream escaped from the purple mare, drawing all eyes to her along with the attention of a passing nurse. “Miss Sparkle, are you okay?” the nurse started abruptly. “What’s wrong?” As quickly as the illusions came to her, the remnants of Twilight’s nightmare faded, Rarity’s bloody tears fading back to clear streams. “I...it’s nothing... Just a little shaken up...” lied Twilight. “Are ya sure Twi? Ya look awfully upset... What exactly got ya in here anyhow? The doctors wouldn’t tell us nothin’” “I’m fine, I just need some rest, please.” Good job Twilight, your friends are all very worried about you, and you go and scare them like that! She mentally scolded herself as she rolled over in bed, trying to mask the tears forming in her eyes. Swallowing her remaining sobs, Rarity spoke up first. “O-of course dear, you need your beauty sleep if you are to feel at all better!” Turning to the door, she beckoned for Applejack to follow her. “Come along now Applejack, I think we should continue our discussion outside.” The farm pony nodded obediently and the two exited the room with the nurse. “Ummm, T-Twilight... if you don’t m-mind... I could maybe stay and keep you c-company?” Fluttershy dug her hoof at the ground, trying to hide behind her mane as much of her face as possible. “Thank you Fluttershy, but I just need to sleep right now, a lot has happened...” Twilight’s voice trailed off as her view became filled with pink and yellow. “The others don’t know, but.... but I h-heard what happened.... at the library... I want to help out... if you want to talk about it...” Twilight’s eyes filled once more with tears as she bit her lip, trying to hold back her urge to cry. The thought of Owlowicious... and the state she found him in haunted her, tearing at her sanity. “Oh... I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything... I’m sorry Twilight...” the pegasus’ voice shook with regret as tears filled her eyes, matching Twilight’s. “It’s o-okay Fluttershy... but please, let me rest...” At the command, the pegasus mare turned and walked slowly to the door, leaving Twilight with her tears, her fears, and the memories of her nightmare. --- The moon spread a serene glow over Sweet Apple Acres as Applejack made her way to the barn. Still quite far away, she paused to admire the look of the trees at night. The dark green leaves swarmed to fill the openness of the night, casting long shadows on the cold grass. Each shiny red apple caught the glimmer of Luna’s moon, reflecting flashes of dim light to dance with the swell of shadows. Applejack stood in awe as a gentle breeze rustled through the leaves, creating a perfect calm in the surrounding orchard. Ah think ah’ll stay out here a little longer. Sitting down and leaning up against a tree, the farm pony tilted her Stetson over her eyes, allowing the mystique of night to overwhelm her other senses. It’s nights like this that remind me why ah love this farm --- Hours past as Applejack slept among the fields of apple trees. Her blonde mane lifted slightly with each exhale, swimming in the air momentarily before settling back over her face. Amidst the stillness of the night, an ear splitting scream arose the orange earth pony from her slumber. “Huh? What in the hay?” She looked around confusedly, trying to find the source of the scream. “HEEEELLLLP!” She shot straight up and galloped in the direction of the sound, recognizing the high-class voice that was now in distress. “Rarity! Where are ya? Ah’m coming!” AJ called into the night, her voice being remorselessly swallowed by the emptiness around her. “Rarity!” Darting around each tree, the orange mare scanned the shadows, looking for any sign of the white unicorn. “Applejack please! Help!” Unable to track Rarity’s voice, a feeling of helplessness began to overwhelm AJ, slowing her gallop to a cautious trot. “Rarity? Where are...” Applejack’s words caught in her throat as she finally found the fashionista behind a large apple tree. Slowly approaching the weeping Rarity, she noticed that the unicorn’s snow white coat had been stained a deep red on one side. She was covered in blood. “Rarity? What’s goin’ on?” Rarity lifted her head, tears washing over her, mixing with the stains of blood. Upon seeing Applejack, she leapt up and wrapped her forelegs around the earth pony in a tight embrace. “I-I came here to... to apologize... about our f-fight... but, but... what I f-found... oh why? Why would a-anypony do such a terrible th-thing?” the weeping mare wailed. Applejack tightened the embrace, softly rubbing the unicorn’s back. “It’s okay Rarity, now please, tell me what ya saw” AJ felt the unicorn swallow hard, her sobs dying out as she broke the embrace. “There...” Rarity whispered, raising a hoof to point behind a group of trees. Clearing her throat, Applejack began to walk towards the trees, her heart pounding in her chest. As she drew closer, the source of the stains on Rarity’s coat caught her eye. A thick puddle of red, almost black blood stained the grass and surrounding trees. AJ guessed that Rarity had fallen into it, judging by the splash marks. What critter could bleed this much? What caused a critter ta bleed this much? Making her way around one of the larger trees, AJ froze at the sight on the other side. From the puddle on the ground, a large trail of blood led the farm pony’s eyes to the mangled corpse of Rarity’s beloved cat, Opalescence. Freshly killed, blood seethed from crescent shaped cuts slightly below each eye, creating the illusion of tears. Clumps of fur had been torn out of the feline, leaving bloody patches in their wake, the crimson fluid collecting around the twisted animal’s legs. Oh my goodness... Applejack’s stomach formed a tight knot as her view rose to the tree behind the deceased feline. Trickles of blood weaved over the bark, forming shining trails over the tree’s surface. As AJ’s eyes continued to follow the lines up the tree, her breathing quickened, anticipating what was sure to be the source. Please Celestia... Her eyes froze. “No! Winona!” Applejack screamed through agonizing sobs. On the trunk of the tree, at eye level, her beloved dog resided. Two long nails had been driven through the canine’s ears, pinning it to the trunk, still alive. AJ stared in horror as Winona squirmed in pain, blood pouring from the dog’s eyes where two smaller nails had been driven in with sickening accuracy. Dead center. The creature desperately tried to whimper, but a large gash in its throat robbed it of that luxury. “Ah think ah’m gunna be sick!” Applejack moaned, watching helplessly as her loyal companion fought, slowly weakening. Tears forced their way out of the orange mare’s eyes as Winona stopped twisting, her body going limp where it hung. Her eyes fixed on the sight, Applejack began to shake as thousands of things assaulted her mind. Only one thought stuck. Why? Below the still animal, carved deep into the tree’s deep brown body, were eight words that had now been stained red. Upon reading them, Applejack’s breath caught in her throat. i will steal the light from your eyes “This can’t be happening...” the earth pony whispered, struggling to reclaim the air in her lungs. She tried to move, but found her body unwilling to cooperate, remaining motionless as the brutal scene burned itself into her eyes. Winona... no.... please... With legs trembling, AJ dizzily turned around, breaking free of the hypnotic horror show. She cantered to where Rarity now lay, the white unicorn still weeping profusely. As she approached, she slowed her pace until she came to a stop beside her friend. Laying down, AJ huddled close to Rarity. “Ah... don’t know what ta say Rarity... What... who... would do such a thing?” Applejack whispered, fighting back more tears. “Why them Applejack? They didn’t deserve it...” At Rarity’s words, Applejack’s heart shattered, releasing more tears than she had ever let out before. If only ah’d gone back ta the barn... ---