//------------------------------// // Trespassing // Story: Do Not Go Gentle // by ShinigamiDad //------------------------------// Twilight dozed uneasily, flickering in and out of fragments of strange, disjointed dreams: Starswirl’s final encounter with Luna, but with Twilight standing in for Starswirl; Twilight taking Nightmare Moon’s place atop Zephyr, but the with the scene playing out in the great hall of the Sisters’ ruined castle; Reaper and Twilight standing in Ponyville’s graveyard, regarding five cracked and weathered headstones bearing her friends’ cutie marks. It was in this dream that Luna found her, chatting casually with Reaper. “You know,” Twilight said, “I can hardly even remember how I first met them. I’ve helped to bury so many generations of their descendants that I almost can’t tell the difference anymore.” Reaper nodded solemnly: “That’s the way of it. You can’t hold on to all of it, or you would be consumed by grief.” He turned and addressed Luna: “Speaking of…” Luna ignored dream Reaper, and spoke urgently to Twilight: “Twilight! You must awaken--it is imperative! Grey Thorn is on his way here as we speak. You must hide yourself. We will join you shortly, but he may well precede us!” Twilight sighed: “I’m tired of it all, Luna. You didn’t warn me. Celestia didn’t warn me.” Luna put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, shaking her: “I am warning you now!” Twilight furrowed her brow: “What? No, not Greysward, er, Thorn--this!” She pointed to the rows of graves as Reaper began digging another hole a few yards in the background. “I have to watch all my friends die over and over, for all time. And someday I have to stop caring,” she said sadly. “That’s the way of it,” Reaper repeated as he finished the grave and lay down in it, “and now I get to stop caring, too.” Twilight nodded and filled in the grave with a wave of her horn: “I’ll leave his unmarked. He would have wanted it that way.” Luna shook Twilight’s shoulder again: “Twilight!” she shouted, “you must awaken! Grey Thorn will be there any minute! Get out if you can!” Luna’s image flickered and faded. Twilight watched the dark indigo pony fade to to a washed-out blue, then disappear altogether, leaving only a glimmer of horn. She walked over and sat down on Reaper’s now-overgrown grave with a puzzled expression. “Wait--Grey Thorn?” Twilight’s eyes opened suddenly, and she struggled to sit up, pain washing over her again, bringing a fresh wave of nausea with it. She rubbed her eyes and peered blearily around the secret library: “I don’t think that last part was a dream! That really felt like Luna.” Twilight stood uneasily, scooped the scattered journals and notebooks into her bag, and shuffled back into the central study area. “Get out? How?” she mused, pacing nervously. “There’s no way up those old, blocked stairs, and I can’t fly back out the hole. Wandering around these passages just seems like a waste of time!” She headed toward the back of the chamber, to an area of wall not covered with shelves and maps and diagrams. She chewed her lip for a moment: “I wonder…” Her horn glowed a deep purple briefly, then shifted to a nearly-invisible black. She swept her head back and forth, illuminating ghostly glyphs and inscriptions as she did. Twilight paused, then pulled a red notebook from her saddlebag. She flipped through several pages, then nodded knowingly, and placed the volume back in her bag. She returned her attention to the wall, stepping behind a workbench and over a pile of scrolls. Again she opened a small nick in her left wrist, dipped the tip of her horn in the resulting blood, and leaned forward to trace a series of complimentary markings. The wall shimmered and twisted for a moment, as though it were made of hot, dark glass, and an archway appeared. She passed through, and the wall returned to normal, leaving no trace of her passing. The space beyond was pitch black, so she brought forth a burst of light from her horn, and gasped in horror at what it revealed. Twilight beheld a large, rough-hewn, high-ceilinged chamber, at least 200 feet across, with a sunken pit along the far wall. The pit contained scores of skeletons, desiccated bodies, and partially-mummified creatures of various sorts. Some were ponies, but many, clearly, were not. The room had a stale, musty smell, like spoiled grain. In a small alcove, near the entryway, stood a mirror--similar to the portal mirror Starswirl had crafted, and Twilight had used, but smaller and cruder. It was cracked, and caked with a thick layer of dust and cobwebs, but largely intact. Twilight walked cautiously to the mirror, and investigated the various runes and engravings that were etched along its frame. “Why another mirror?” she mused. “Is this one an earlier model, or did Grey Thorn create this one later, in imitation of Starswirl’s?” She sat down on the stone floor in front of the mirror and pulled the three dark-brown journals out of her bag, spreading them out before her, searching for an references to mirrors or portals. Twilight pored over numerous passages in all three volumes for several minutes, engrossed in trying to solve yet another ancient mystery. Then her reverie was shattered by a muffled voice coming from the other side of the wall behind her. “Where are you, Princess Twilight?” Grey Thorn said in a sing-song voice. “I know you’re here in these passages and caves somewhere--I sensed you dreaming. Did you actually manage to get into the study?” Twilight froze, and stopped breathing for several moments until she felt sure he wasn’t about to pass through the wall as she had done. She silently scooped-up the books and slid them back into her bag, which she tucked behind the mirror. She heard hoof-falls moving away, their echos becoming more distant, stopping altogether as Grey Thorn exited the study. “What do I do now?” Twilight mused nervously. “Do I try to sneak back out through the study, or wait here? How do I let the others know where I am?” She glanced at the darkened, blocked archway with a sudden realization: “Can I even get back out through that entrance?” Her shoulders slumped, and she sighed heavily. Reaper appeared at the base of the High Tower, a few yards from where Twilight had been sitting earlier. He began poking around the base of the tower, probing with his sword and magic, occasionally phasing his head and thrusting it into the stonework. He was posed like this when Luna found him a few minutes later as she appeared with a burst of light. “I apologize for my late arrival,” she said, stepping up beside Reaper. “I flew for a bit in order to get a sense of Grey Thorn’s bearings. I also let myself drift into a trance for a moment in an attempt to reach into Twilight’s dream.” Reaper extracted his head from a slab of granite: “Any luck?” “I believe so, though I cannot be certain,” Luna replied. “I was blocked at the end, and do not think I shall be able to reestablish a connection again.” “Do me a favor,” Reaper asked, nodding at the wall, “sweep your dark magic across this area. I can’t phase into it.” Luna nodded and ran several passes of dark magic across the area Twilight had earlier discovered. The glyphs, again, glowed. Reaper glared: “Well those look familiar!” “Indeed,” Luna said, peering closely. “Clearly, they were placed in an effort to ward you off. But I wonder what to make of these other runes?” “I don’t know,” Reaper said, squinting, trying to discern their meaning. “I just wish Twilight was here with her notes and maps. This ward is effectively keeping me from penetrating the tower’s foundation, or the ground around it.” He phased fully, until all that remained was a ghostly shadow, which sank into the earth about a foot: “That’s as far as I go.” “Well there must be some way in,” Luna said, pacing side-to-side in front of the runes, “otherwise Twilight would not be below us now.” “Agreed,” Reaper replied. “And I doubt she would have attempted a blind teleport, especially knowing that some kind of magic protections were in place.” Suddenly Reaper snapped his head around to the south: “Whatever we do, we have to hurry--I can feel Grey Thorn coming! I doubt we have more than two minutes left.” Luna began burning away the turf and brush along the base of the tower with her magic, looking for trapdoors, or anything hidden along the base of the tower. Then she noticed the white rose blossom amidst the brambles. She cocked her head, and called to Reaper: “Come look at this. Is this not a white rose?” Reaper stepped up beside Luna: “Indeed it is, set among the thorns. Stay here for a moment…” He became nearly incorporeal, and stepped into the brambles and shrubs which concealed the hole through which Twilight had fallen. He looked down and tried to stick his head underground. “Well,” Reaper said, his voice muffled, “the good news is, I think we found our way down. The bad news is, the wards over here are just as strong.” He stepped out of the shrubs and onto the hole, rephasing to his most solid. He settled only a few inches into the opening. He moved out of the way as Luna stepped in, trying to penetrate the ground. She grunted a little as she stamped and pawed at the earth. She sighed: “Obviously there is more at work here than just wards against you. I suspect a magic repelling field that works against me, even if I do not directly use magic.” “Then how did Twilight get in?” Reaper wondered. Luna glared at the ground and the rose, then noticed a scrap of parchment stuck to a branch. She leaned forward and plucked it with her teeth, and walked clear of the shrubs. “What’s that?” Reaper asked. Luna squinted at the scrap and smiled: “You desired to have Twilight and her notes. I believe you just got your wish!” Luna stepped back to the granite block containing the glyphs, and wrapped herself in a swirl of dark energy. She leaned forward and touched the symbols with her horn as Twilight had done earlier. “Now let us see what we see!” she said. Reaper walked back through the bushes and brambles, and stood over the opening. Again, he only sank a few inches. “That’s a damn fine set of wards he cast!” Reaper exclaimed, stepping back away from the hole. “Let see what you can do.” Luna stepped among the shrubs, and tentatively pushed hoof into the hole. The ground gave way and began to sag. She stepped back. “So that is his trick,” Luna exclaimed. “His charms against you remain, but he disables the anti-magic field for a time in order to drop through this opening.” “So how do we get me down there with you?” Reaper asked. Luna pondered for a moment: “Enter me.” Reaper grinned and raised an eyebrow: “Excuse me?” Luna rolled her eyes: “Make yourself as incorporeal as you can, and join with me. I will wrap us in a dark magic bubble and drop through the opening.” “Hmm,” he mused, “that might just work!” Reaper phased to little more than a shadow, and walked through Luna, settling inside the space she occupied, like a second spirit. She shuddered for a moment as an intense wave of cold overcame her, then she formed a black shell around herself and stepped through the hole, leaving no trace. Luna fanned her wings out slightly as she felt the edges of the hole pass by, and executed a controlled fall to the debris-strewn floor below. Her dark magic bubble collapsed almost immediately, and she set her horn aglow, even before sitting up. Reaper stepped out of her, and stumbled as he phased solid, almost before breaking free from her body. “I have damn near no control over my form down here!” he gasped. “It’s a miracle I didn’t reform inside you just now!” Luna nodded weakly: “It was all I could do to hold the dark magic shield together for just that reason! This dampening field is unlike anything I have ever encountered!” Reaper started unsteadily down the passage, away from the entry hole: “We have to clear out of here. Grey Thorn will be here any second!” Luna stumbled behind him, panting, trying to regain some semblance of control over her magic. Slowly her horn started to brighten as the magic dampening field weakened. They entered the chamber at the end of the tunnel, and looked around the crudely-carved space, looking for evidence that Twilight had been there. “Now we really do need Twilight and her maps and scraps!” Reaper exclaimed. Luna concurred: “Yes, it would appear we must do some exploring in order to understand this labyrinth. Right or left?” Reaper took in a deep breath: “Hold on. It looks like your magic is strengthening. Let me check something.” He tried to phase, but merely flickered: “Shit! I was afraid of that. We’re going to have to stick together--no splitting up to cover more ground. I’m nearly helpless down here.” Luna nodded: “To the right, then!” Grey Thorn dropped to the floor below the opening just as Reaper and Luna moved into a broad, downward-sloping passageway leading away to the right from the low chamber. They heard his hoof-falls in the distance and froze, pressing against the wall of the tunnel. Grey Thorn passed swiftly down the entry passageway, passing through the low chamber, heading left, without pausing, muttering to himself the whole time. Luna leaned in close to Reaper’s ear. “He appears to have taken a different route,” she whispered. Reaper nodded and quietly stepped away from the tunnel wall, heading back to the chamber they had just left, with Luna close behind. They slipped stealthily around the final corner of the left-most passage and observed Grey Thorn standing before the chamber door Twilight had breached earlier. Grey Thorn chewed his lip and examined the door closely: “You clever little bitch! Where are you hiding? How many secrets do you know? Not enough, I’ll warrant!” He reached into a pouch hanging off a belt on his waist, and pulled out a vial. He pulled the stopper and dipped his horn into the bottle. He muttered a few words, and traced a symbol on the door with his horn. The door swung open silently, and Grey Thorn entered the study, followed close behind by the Void, subdued and much diminished. Reaper and Luna scurried up to the doorway and examined its surface; the glyph still glistened in the faint light cast by Luna’s horn. Reaper got up close to the symbol and sniffed: “Blood.” Luna furrowed her brow: “Is it likely that Twilight came this way? I doubt she carries the materials needed for dark incantations and charms of this sort!” They fell silent as they heard Grey Thorn on the other side of the door: “Where are you, Princess Twilight? I know you’re here in these passages and caves somewhere--I sensed you dreaming. Did you actually manage to get into the study?” Reaper and Luna fell back to one side of the doorway, and sheltered a few steps up the ruined stairway to the right; Luna deepened the concealing shadows with a touch of her own magic. The door swung open, and Grey Thorn stepped out, the Void gathered about him like a ragged cloak. He headed back toward the passages and chambers from which Reaper and Luna had just come. He moved through the opening, mumbling angrily, horn barely casting any light, and simply brushed the door lightly as he passed it. Luna sensed an opportunity, and snaked a ribbon of dark magic along the edge of the wall, lodging it between the door and its jamb. Luna and Reaper stood stock-still until the faint glow from Grey Thorn’s horn disappeared down the tunnel on the far side of the chamber. They then crept to the door and pulled it open, slipping inside, propping it open with a small stone so as not to become trapped. Luna fully lit her horn, illuminating the study. “Wow!” Reaper exclaimed. “I guess we know who cleared-out that not-quite-as-secret library above us!” Luna nodded, awestruck: “The Royal Archivist would have a field day here!” “To Tartarus with the Archivist! Twilight would likely never leave if she saw this place!” Reaper replied. Luna nodded, still looking around with a dazed expression: “I wonder where she is, or if she did manage to get in here somehow.” “Well, let’s look around and see if we can find any good clues as to her whereabouts,” Reaper replied, heading toward the sunken study area. Luna joined him, and examined several of the strange books and artifacts strewn across the dusty worktables and desks. “Where did he acquire all of this?” she wondered aloud. “Who knows?” Reaper responded. “And which “he” do you mean? This stuff could be Starswirl’s, simply taken by Grey Thorn after the old wizard’s death.” “Much of it was, yes,” Grey Thorn said, standing in the doorway. Luna and Reaper were immediately on guard, Luna’s horn glowing a dark blue, Reaper’s sword out of its scabbard. Grey Thorn kicked the stone away from the doorjamb: “I’m now sure Twilight entered this study, and here you two are. Clearly I need to revisit my security protocols!” Reaper threw up a bright blue shield in front of himself and Luna, but it obviously was not nearly powerful enough to be of much use. Grey Thorn grinned at Reaper’s discomfort: “Don’t worry, errand-colt, the same wards and charms Starswirl created, and I perfected to keep you at bay, also keep my dark extension subdued.” He nodded at the Void swirling off to his side, just between his left hip and shoulder. “But lest you get your hopes up, I have more than enough power to dispatch the two of you by myself, then absorb your essence, Princess, before I destroy you, Harbinger, and seek out Princess Twilight.” Twilight’s voice rang out from the back of the study: “I’ll save you the trouble!”