//------------------------------// // Books Filled Empty // Story: Ghost Town // by Dash The Stampede //------------------------------// Celestia put down her cup of tea with a sigh - explaining things had taken more out of her than she originally thought. She took in the group before her, Shining dabbing his tears with a kerchief, Luna stoically gazing out the window, and the guards standing vigil at the entrance. Gulping down the last of her tea, Celestia sat up, and let Shining acclimate. "That's..." Shining could barely form the words in his mind, let alone vocalize them, as he stared, mouth agape, at Celestia. Her recounting of the week's events had been eye-opening - and heart-breaking. "Poor Twily..." The group shared a glance towards the couch where Twilight's sleeping form lay, the soft rise and fall of her chest filling the room with a warm hope. As the mare slumbered soundlessly, Shining brought his fiery gaze back to Celestia. "You CAN help her, right?" Reaching over, he gently tousled his sister's mane, a small hoof-swipe knocking his leg away as she stirred. "Yes, I thi- oh!" Celestia gasped, Twilight's form moving and shifting as she awoke. Grunting, Twilight Sparkle rose from the couch, shaking her limbs out and rolling her neck, before stepping down, casting a glance over the group assembled before her. Her eyes widened as she noticed Shining sitting beside Celestia, the Princess' face caught between curiosity and mirth as her student took a few hesitant steps around the room. She stumbled and tripped, catching her hooves on the carpet, but remained dead-silent, much to the dismay of her brother. "Twily! Little sis! You're alii~iive!" Shining could hold back his tears no longer as, with a strangled cry, he latched onto Twilight, smothering her in hugs. The mare gulped, before backing out of Shining's embrace, a look of fear and confusion marring her features. "T-Twilight? It's j-just me! Shining! Your BBBFF?" Shining's words fell on deaf ears as Twilight backed herself further away - and right into Luna. Turning about with a start, Twilight gasped, before bolting straight out the door of Town Hall - and right into the thick of the storm. Shining leapt to his hooves, horn twinkling with the beginnings of a shield spell as he careened after Twilight, who had disappeared into the curtains of rain and lightning. His bellow reached Celestia's ears over the din, his cries for Twilight to return filling Celestia with purpose - enough of her subjects had seen their ends this week, and no more would join them. Spreading her wings, the solar princess took flight, darting out the door after Shining, the guards blinking in confusion. While her sister attempted to rein in the runaway victim - and her brother - Luna took up watch over the rest of the restored ponies, guarding the room in which they lay from the devastating weather. As she made her way through the room, she noticed the reddish stains in the carpet - blood, by the look of it - and the distinct lack of a particular drake amongst the arranged bodies. That last thought filled her with worry. If Celestia had scoured the town for fragments... ...And Spike was nowhere to be found... Luna's heart beat feverishly, and the Town Hall became eerily silent, save for the pounding of rain on the windows and the light breaths of the restored. It was in that moment of clarity that Luna realized a sickening truth: Not everypony would be walking away from this one. "TWILIGHT!" Shining bellowed, hooves pounding through the soaked soil, tearing up half-deadened gardens and front yards as he chased his sister's fleeing form through the ghost town. The mare had reacted strangely to his hugs, barely recognized him, and had run off into the storm of the century, destination unknown. Shining felt the familiar ripple of his sister's magical field amongst the shadows in front of him, and in a last-ditch effort to catch her, he launched himself through the rain curtain - - And right into the Library. Muzzle met trunk with a sickening crack, and stars filled Shining's vision as quickly as the wall had appeared. He stumbled backwards, tripping over a root, before splashing into a mud puddle, the goop sinking up to his chest. Dragging himself up, Shining made to lean against the tree, nursing his bloodied - and most likely broken - snout, before the tingle of Twilight's magic filled the air once more. Staggering upright, Shining heard powerful wingbeats behind him, and about-faced to see Celestia gliding to his position. She grimaced, upon seeing the mess of Shining's face, and, with a quick healing spell, the injury faded away like snow upon a summer breeze. Sighing in relief, Shining made to open the door to the treehouse, before glancing at Celestia. Using her hoof, Celestia turned the doorknob, making way for Shining to enter the treehouse. As he did, however, his calls for Twilight died out suddenly, replaced with a sullen gasp. There, upon the floor of Golden Oaks, lay Twilight, the mare's horn sparking erratically, while a scant few books rattled on their shelves. Tendrils of her magic were seeping into the woodwork, dragging books and dusty friendship reports from the shelves as though dislodged by a young foal. Pages - both torn and whole - littered the floor, magical theory and mathematics, adventure novels and noir. All manner of literature spiraled slowly around Twilight, the spell working partially, but failing to complete the cast. The mare in question lay before a large book - The History Of Equestria - with her muzzle buried in the words. The sight filled Shining with an immense ray of hope - until he grimly noticed she was neglecting to turn the page. Any page. Her eyes darted to and fro, taking in word after word, yet never leaving the same paragraph. The rest of the books held to a similar fate, the pages earmarked and worn, yet never turning. Cold, weary eyes glazed over the pages, illustrations and footnotes lost to the mindless study being undertaken by the unicorn. Her horn strained, as well as her sight, yet not a single word crossed the threshold of the protege's mind. The truth punched Shining harder than the storm wailing outside as he sank to his stomach, tears blurring out the sight of his disabled sister. Twilight Sparkle, prodigy spellcaster, and Element of Magic, could no longer read.