//------------------------------//
// 11. Twilight Sparkle: The Blind House 
// Story: Rise of Ponietheus 
// by twitterdick 
//------------------------------//

	The bright moon settled over the hazy night as Twilight Sparkle stood upon a cliff etched out from the forest. The little town below was lit and untouched. 'This is a dream,' she thought. She had no memory of coming here, or why she had come here. However, this area looked similar to that where she'd met Luna earlier. The moon beamed up above her, and soon it pulsated with a wonderful light. Luna appeared and landed softly on the cliff before Twilight.
"It is good to see you again, Twilight." she said softly, "I apologize for inducing sleep upon you so suddenly, but I had important news to deliver."
Twilight had no recent memory of the conscious world. "It's alright, Princess. What did you have to tell me?"
Luna was somber. "Help is… on the way."
Twilight smiled, "Great!"
Luna forced her own smile back. "Have you made any progress in your endeavors?"
Twilight twitched. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach and the world she was in seemed to spin slowly. "Um… No, what happened?" she mumbled to herself. Thinking of the outside world increased the lucidity of the dream.
'Twilight, wake up!'
"We… we've made it to the farmhouse. Applejack is infected and Spike will be soon…"
Luna was surprised and appeared to hold her breath. "Spike? How?"
Twilight frowned. "He… he wanted to. He wanted me to study him."
Luna seemed unusually flustered by the news. She brought her hoof to her mouth and was solemn - almost morbid. Twilight tilted her head and her brows tightened. "Princess?"
Luna bit her lip. "Do you have faith it could be reversed? Do you think we can counter it before Gaea disperses the Harbinger?"
Twilight blinked and worried. "I don't know. I can only try." 
They were both quiet for a bit. Twilight's attention was whipped away by a ringing in one of her ears; the left one. She grimaced and batted at it as if a pestiferous fly had become enamored with her skull. 
'Oh, it's happening…'
"Twilight Sparkle?" Luna asked with concern.
Twilight patted her ear now. The ringing was subsiding. "Hm? No, I'm alright. I… I want to move Spike someplace that's more equipped for proper study. I doubt the library's an option…" Twilight's thoughts trailed off, but she was disquieted. Her head was rushing. "Hey, Princess, do you know if any other ponies are okay? I mean, we can't be the only ones left…"
"I've felt others, yes," Luna said, "I don't know where they are or if they can help you. Just sit tight for now, young Twilight Sparkle. We need to take this slow."
"Yeah, you're right."
However, Twilight couldn't shake a feeling of dread, like there was an important task in the physical world that was suddenly abandoned. A somniferous and quite panic settled upon her. Soon, she felt tired, despite being in a dream.
"Do you know what time it is, Princess? Between the storm and lack of sunset, I think everypony has lost their sense of time. Me in particular."
Luna shook her head. "I'm not sure. I'm in space. Time dilates up here."
"Space," Twilight Sparkle mused, "I didn't know you could go into space."
Luna smiled softly. "There's a lot you need to learn, Twilight Sparkle."
Twilight thought about the stinging she'd felt earlier. She thought about all the things she felt then that she'd never felt before. She was curious. 
"Princess, might I ask you something?" Twilight said.
Luna nodded.
"Earlier, you said you 'felt' others. What do you mean but that exactly?"
Luna had a slight gleam of pride about her. "I reach out with my perceptions and feel energy emitting from other pony's minds. It's like seeing, but you can feel it. Minds emit pockets of very concentrated energy - very easy to spot among the calm back noise of nature. It's… well, imagine listening to a record, but the record is stretched out over a landscape and you can navigate through it. No, no, that doesn't make sense…"
"Still, sounds impressive," Twilight said.
'Is that what's been happening to me? I can 'feel' other pony's minds?'
"Indeed," Luna said, a smirk curled upon her lips. "It was the only method I learned that my sister could not. It was… nice to have something she did not." Her eyes lowered with a bit of shame at the previous statement, but soon they transitioned into perplexity.
Twilight felt a sudden jolt, as if shook. The dream-space echoed in a quick distortion. Twilight's perception of this faux-world crumbled, and she felt a spinning sensation. "Oh my," she said quickly, "Princess, I think I'm waking up."
Princess Luna was soon privy with the quiet dissolution of her fabricated setting. "Yes, I think you are correct," she said, lifting herself into the air. Twilight felt like she was being pulled back. "Rest soon, Twilight Sparkle!" Luna called from up above, "I shall find you shortly."
The dream world pulled away, and Twilight found only darkness. Her senses returned, and she felt herself pressed into a table, head resting upon her hooves. She felt a sudden jolt.
"Your Majesty, wake up!"
Twilight was tired and so comfortable. She felt her writing desk again, fit with a slew of papers and a modicum of drool nestled on its surface. Her left arm was asleep, but she was too comfortable to budge.
Protean Joy shook her gently but firmly. "Princess Twilight Sparkle, please wake up!"
Twilight moaned and stretched. She didn't open her eyes yet. "Mm? Yeah, what is it?" she mumbled soporifically.
"It's Spike."
Twilight's eyes shot open and she brought her head up. She looked at Protean Joy sternly. "Where is he? Is he alright!?"
Protean Joy frowned and looked away. "He's in the kitchen…"
Twilight knew exactly what happened. She sprung from the table and bolted for the kitchen.
'Not yet, not yet,' she thought.
There he was, black as coal and crumpled on the floor in the kitchen. His form seemed less petrified than Applejack's and he twitched and whimpered less often. Twilight trembled at the sight, and lay down on the floor next to him across from him. He seemed eerily calm.
"Oh, Spike," she whispered, "I'm so sorry…"
Twilight grit her teeth. 'No, no more,' she thought, 'Time to test a hypothesis…'
She brought her head up and peered back into the living room. Protean Joy was in the doorway - keeping a respectable distance, no doubt.
"Has Pinkie Pie or any others come back while I was asleep?" she asked briskly.
"No. It's only been a few minutes," he said.
''A few minutes?' Hmm… felt longer in the dream. Stupid relativity…'
"Could you find them for me? You know, make sure they're alright?"
"As you command, Your Majesty."
He made for the stairs and was soon out of sight. Twilight watched him climb all the way up and disappear into the second story. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she picked herself up off the kitchen floor. 
Using an illumination spell, she investigated some papers that had fallen to the floor. The scribbles there were unintelligible but reinforced Twilight's foray - Spike tried to deliver a message. Unlike any others, he knew what was happening. 
She recalled hearing his voice in her dream. She peered back at him in the kitchen then over to the earmuff she'd left on a table near the door. She took a moment to seriously doubt she could 'listen' to Spike, how she'd seized earlier, and how if anypony else had suggested this to her, she'd call them nuts to their face. She shrugged, grabbed her earmuffs and went into the kitchen. She laid down next to him and closed her eyes.
Twilight focused, and summoned her barrier to encase herself and Spike. And she listened.
From within the dome, she heard only a familiar low hum. That sound had haunted her since her flight from the library, and as such seemed indicative of the Dark Harbinger's spell. The more she concentrated on Spike, the more intense the hum grew. From within the sound, a grinding and rattling could be heard - albeit slightly. All the noise was soon joined by subtle whispering. It reflected the background noise of Twilight's own mind whenever she meditated - snippets and cusps of incomplete thought and time intermingled with the smoothing background hum of life. Yet the noise felt disturbed; off. For reasons she couldn't grasp, Twilight felt pity.
Twilight breathed out. With her eyes closed, she slowly took off her earmuffs.
Fighting the beginning of a headache, Twilight could recognize whole words from within the soft, low whispers. She made out such things as "abandonment", "dependence", all spoken in weary, sullen tone in voices she did not recognize. She swore she heard a dissonant choir in the distance.
A louder whisper shot into her ear, nearly shattering her concentration: "A plague upon your home." It seemed angry; announcing intention. It was followed sharply by cohorts, all softer than the predecessor. 
"A defiler all alone."      
"A cat among the crows."
"A butcher and his prose."
Twilight quickly centered herself and focused more on her breathing. She felt no fear in this moment, and listened deeper. She hypothesized this layer of threatening whispers was encasing Spike's mind. No, it was rushed. It was weaker. Twilight pictured a breach - a hole in the dark walls thrown up by the Harbinger's magic.
She listened silently and the hostile whispers and low hums pass. They sounded as if they floated above her, settling quietly among the ceiling. The more she ignored them, the softer they became. From within the meditative space, past the horror wrought upon her dear friend, Twilight felt a gentle peace. She had breached the darkness.
"Spike?" she whispered.
Her words echoed in her own ears. She awaited response. The dark noises pulsated above her, seeking to return. 
'…It's not real.'
"Spike!? Spike, can you hear me?"
Time drug its heels into the dirt again. Twilight heard nothing but the peaceful gleam of the soundscape beneath the whispers. As she listened deeper, though, new whispers emerged.
'Twilight? I can hear you!' 
"Spike? Is that you?"
'Yeah, who else would it be? Where are you, I can't see you.'
"I'm right next to you. You're infected, Spike. You're all covered in darkness, just like Applejack and Fluttershy were."
'I know. …Hey, how are you talking to me right now?'
"It was a hunch. The barrier amplifies energy around me, so I thought if I concentrated hard enough, I could hear you thoughts. I guess it worked, huh?"
'Uh, yeah, sure. Did you get my notes? I tried to write some stuff down before it happened.'
"I saw them, but I couldn't read them. What happened, Spike?"
'It was pretty subtle at first. I mean, you fell asleep and then I was by myself for a bit. The room just kind of pressed down on me and… well, I was terrified. I heard that hum - you know, the one we heard in the library before the Harbinger appeared, and my vision blurred. I heard all kinds of whispers and stuff as the area kinda faded out around me. It was really awful.'
"Awful? Awful how?"
'I saw… I saw you all abandon me.'	
Twilight's heart sank again. "We won't. Spike, you know we won't."
'I know, that's how I figured out it wasn't real. You were right. We were right, I mean; what we said back at the cake shop. I'm dreaming. I was afraid and now I'm dreaming.'
"It's okay, Spike. We're all still here, and I don't think the black rain has effected you as much as the others. We can figure this out."
'Twilight, I feel all wrong. I feel like something terrible is going to happen.'
"Spike? You're not making sense."
'Twilight, I think you should get away from that farm. I think you should get away and stay away.'
"Why? It's safe here. What do we do with you and Applejack if we leave?"
'Applejack…'
Twilight snapped away. Her barrier fell down and she panted. She picked herself up again and stared deeply into the living room. She had a terrible feeling in her stomach. She inched towards the living room and poked her head in. She summoned a beam of light and lifted it gently to the ceiling, so that the whole room was lighter. She looked over to the front door. She swallowed.
Applejack wasn't there. Applejack wasn't where Spike had left her.
Twilight fretted.
She looked up the stairs and listened. 
Nothing.
"Rarity!?" she called out cautiously.
There was no response, only the soft padder of the rain slowing to a stop on the roof.
The room was arid now. Twilight walked softly to the couch and collected the quilts Spike had been sitting on. She inspected them carefully to ensure there was no darkness upon them and returned to the kitchen. There, she placed the quilt gently over Spike, only leaving his head uncovered. She placed the extra quilt along her back like a saddle, then, with care and precision, lifted Spike from the ground with her magic and placed him stomach down upon the quilt on her back.
She stuck her head through the doorway into the living room with the light illuminating from her horn once again. It was still as lifeless as before, and Applejack was nowhere to be found. She closed her eyes and listened. There was shouting upstairs; high-pitched, frantic, sobbing. It was probably Rarity. Then there was a bellowing; male, authoritative, acting on royal auspices. They were getting closer. 
Then, there was noise at the top of the stairs. Twilight opened her eyes. Pinkie Pie was there with a terrified look on her face. "Twilight!!" she screamed, "Something terrible has happened!"
"Where are the others, Pinkie?"
Pinkie Pie came down the stairs. She glanced at Spike, who was well secured on Twilight's back, and her face twisted. She shook it off. "It's Applejack. we need to go!" 
"Down the stairs! Now, now," Protean Joy shouted.
Rainbow Dash and Rarity appeared and came down the stairs, followed shortly by Protean Joy. Rainbow Dash looked bitter and Rarity seemed quite distraught. They all gathered downstairs.
There was a touch of darkness on the tip of one of the feathers on Rainbow Dash's left wing. She was very stern. She stretched her wing out and twisted her head to clasp the broad side of the afflicted feather. With a grunt, she plucked it out and spat it onto the floor.
"Rainbow?" Twilight said.
Rainbow Dash frowned. "Looks like the infected don't stay so docile for long."
"What do you mean?"
"It's Applejack. She's out and about, trembling and shouting at us."
"We need to leave, Your Majesty," Protean Joy said, "It is no longer safe here."
Then Applejack appeared at the top of the stairs. She was still quite black, but her eyes had gone white. Her legs shook violently and she panted. She whimpered like she was about to crumple into panic. Black tears strung her face.
"Applejack!" Twilight shouted, "Applejack, it's not real! Nothing you're seeing is real!"
Applejack screamed painfully and ran down the stairs after them.
"Spread out!" Rainbow Dash screamed, "Nopony let her touch you!"
Applejack launched herself after them and they jumped away from her. Twilight launched very light offensive spells at Applejack's feet and tried to directed her away. It backfired. Applejack stumbled by went the opposite direction Twilight had wanted her to. She was then between them and the door. Twilight froze.
"…Sacrifice the weakest piece," Protean Joy mumbled.
Twilight looked over at him. He had a sudden youthful resilience in his eyes and his mouth hung open, almost like a smile. He exhaled and shot a blast of wind magic to his left. It rattled some curtains and knocked a decorative bowl to the ground. Applejack's right ear shot in that direction and she turned to look. And, like that, he was on her.
He stood on his hind legs and grabbed her head with both of his front hooves and threw her to the left of the door. She was dazed, but uninjured. As she recollected herself, he drove his front hooves into the floorboards and kicked her in the side with his legs. She was pushed to the ground and away from the door. His front legs twitched and he positioned himself between Applejack and the doorway.
"Go," he said softly to Twilight without looking at her.
Twilight corralled her friends out the door. The rain had stopped. She snuck one last look at the farmhouse, only to see Applejack tackle the commander. She frowned and hurried off with her friends into the town. 

---	

They had stopped running for a while. The rain had stopped, and they had made it into town. Twilight had told them not to stop until they reached the city hall, but Spike was heavy and they had left most of their supplies back at Applejack's farm. They were quiet, thirsty and pined for rest. Even Rainbow Dash, though she was less inclined to admit it, sauntered like her feet hurt.
Lights and sounds beckoned from above the clouds, like brass being drug along a wooden floor one story up. The air was sticky and tense, and the entire town felt as though is was radiating a low hum. 
"Pinkie Pie, how much longer before we reach the town center?" Twilight asked.
"Ten more minutes, give or take." Pinkie Pie responded softly.
"We need to find a place to sleep," Twilight ordered, "Who knows if we'll even find anypony there, and if they're like Applejack was, I'm not interested in another fight."
Twilight was quiet then. 'I've no more pieces to sacrifice,' she thought.
"We're all tired," she said, "Who knows what time it is. We need to get some sleep."
Rarity sniffled.
"There's an inn on the next block to our left," Pinkie said, "Let's go there."
The soundscape picked up above them as they made their way to the inn. Twilight looked up to see the clouds stirring again and heard the soft rumble of thunder. 
"It'll rain soon," she said, "We need to get inside right now."
Pinkie Pie ran up the door of the inn, but it did not budge. "It's locked!" she lamented.
Rainbow Dash snorted, pushed Pinkie Pie out of the way, and kicked the door near the lock a few times until that section and gave way. She pushed the door open then.
"Time for bed," she sputtered.	
They had all been awake for too long. They were over stimulated. Twilight found herself far too weary to be alarmed or unsettled. They were all the same; bleak, tired and worn. They poked around the inside of the inn for a few minutes. It was empty. Rainbow Dash was the first to go up a set of stairs and look for a bedroom. They all soon followed her. They gathered in a big room with six beds. Rainbow Dash had already nestled herself in one by the window.
"Nopony up here," she said, "Goodnight."
"Yeah, let's all get some sleep," Twilight said.
She set Spike down on the floor near the door and settled into the bed closed to it. The others settled down as well. Twilight was worried, frantic even, but the bed was soft and she desperately need sleep. Thoughts circled about her wits like a legion of starved vultures and her limbs went numb. She couldn't move them if she wanted to. She let her eyelids slip closed and hoped to see Luna in her dreams. No vision came. Twilight didn't dream at all.