Storms On the Horizon

by Eeveexpert

5 - Dark Dreams

"...the sixth Element; the Element of Magic!"

The glowing stone sphere high above the purple unicorn burst into a magnificent light, illuminating the entirety of the cold stone chamber. As this light neared the pony underneath it, it morphed into a jeweled tiara.

A new light began shining throughout the chamber, surrounding the group of six ponies. A massive, double-helixed rainbow erupted vertically from the pink glow, twisting high into the air before radiating out toward the dark alicorn standing upon the pedestal.

"No... Noooo...!" The rainbow energy began circling around the alicorn , revolving faster and faster until it was a multicolored blur. Before long, however, the cyclone exploded outward, knocking the six ponies to the stone floor. Still upon the circular pedestal, standing there as if nothing had happened, was Nightmare Moon.

"What...what happened? The Elements of Harmony...failed?"

"Ahahahaha! Insolent foal! I am Nightmare Moon, darkness incarnate! What did you expect those useless little baubles to do?"

The purple unicorn staggered back to her hooves, dizzy from the shockwave. "The Elements are a force of pure good... Evil cannot stand against them!"

"'Pure good?' Ha! Nothing in this world is pure! Everything has an opposite; kindness, honesty, generosity, all of them! As long as there are those that fight for good, there will be those that fight for evil... True evil can never be defeated!" the black pony laughed. "It will always return!"

"But...but..."

"Enough! Your inane ramblings grow tiresome. Your efforts have failed, and this battle is over!" Nightmare Moon's amorphous mane began swirling itself into a violent, frenzied tornado. The very air became charged with an unnatural energy as lightning bolts started manifesting out of thin air.

"No!" Twilight shouted defiantly. "The Elements of Harmony will prevail! Back on your hooves, everypony! We can still do this! We can still win! We can...girls?" Met with silence, the unicorn glanced behind her. To her shock, nopony was there. She was alone.

"Pathetic little foal! You shall be the first to experience my endless night! Sleep forever!"

"Aah!" Twilight awoke with a start, her mane and coat damp with a cold sweat. The transition from dream to reality is always shaky, and it took the unicorn mare a good chunk of time to realize the difference. "T-that was just a dream... Nightmare Moon was defeated a year ago... That wasn't real..."

"Look who's finally awake... It's about damn time; you've been fidgeting and whining in your sleep like a newborn filly..."

Twilight's hadn't fully woken up yet, and her vision was a bit blurry, so she had no idea who (or what) she was talking to. Her first instinct was to conjure a simple light spell at the tip of her horn. The result was less than desirable; the spell fizzled, only succeeding in producing a tiny spit of magenta-hued magic that miserably sank to the floor and burned out.

"We won't have any of that while you're in here. This is a magic-free zone."

"Magic-free? But that would require a massive amount of oppositely polarized energy. How are you-"

"That's on a need-to-know basis. You don't qualify." the silhouette sniffed.

Twilight snorted in frustration at her roommate's silence. Her mind was a hurricane of questions and she just wanted some answers. After a short time, it became painfully clear that she was not going to get any, so the unicorn gave up waiting and began doing it herself. Her head had finally stopped swimming from her rapid awakening, and there was a tiny bit of light leaking in from the candle-lit hallway to aid in her search.

This tiny room was every inch a dungeon, from its purely cobblestone construction, its lack of furnishings, right down to the cobweb-coated chains snaking from the back wall. It wasn't until she went to stand up that Twilight found she was sporting her very own set, complete with heavy manacles fastened about each of her legs. As she stared at these in confusion, the mare discovered she was wearing some kind of strange jewelry; a choker inset with an odd gemstone.

"Ow!" Touching it quickly turned out to be a bad idea. The surface of the gem was about as hot as sticking one's hoof into an open flame. Where in Equestria am I? she thought, her worry mounting as her mind put together what little pieces she had before her.

"Ya'll git yer hooves offa me, ya varmint!"

Twilight's ears shot up at the familiar voice. Applejack?

"C'mon! Lemme go, Ah dare ya! Ah'll buck yer sorry no good flanks halfway into next week!"

Above the rising din from the hallway, a solid Thud! could be heard, followed by a very angry "Ouch!"

"Hah! How do ya like them apples? If ya'd hold still, Ah'd be happy ta do yer other eye so's yer all nice an' matchin'! How's that sou-uff!"

"I've had enough of your lip! Charger! Skies! Get her in there!"

Shortly thereafter, Applejack was forcefully ushered around the corner by a pair of pegasi. With a great amount of difficulty, along with a good number of bruises between them, the eventually succeeded in restraining the stubborn orange pony. As these two pegasi left the room, another, this one wearing a rapidly swelling eye, entered. "All right, ponies, cock an ear. This is important."

"Go choke on an apple core." the farmer pony snorted.

"Excuse me?"

"Y'all heard me. Or did some of that mud livin' in what you call a brain leak into yer ears too?"

The earth pony's insults were taking their toll. The pegasus was trembling with barely contained rage. Applejack saw this and decided to give her a little something extra. In a manner most cheeky, she pointed the tip of her tongue at the winged pony. As answer, she received the pony equivalent of a backhand across her mouth.

Thoroughly fed up, the pegasus mare turned to leave. As she passed the stallion standing guard at the doorway, he burst into a fit of laughter. "Hahahaha! She sure as hay gave it to you! Hahaha! What's the matter? The high and mighty Nightshade can't handle a simple earth pony? Haha-"

This "Nightshade" aggressively shoved the larger pony into the stone wall, glaring daggers at him. "Put a lid on it, smart-flank. You. Recon. Now." she growled.

"S-sure thing..." he stammered, still giggling like a schoolfilly. "R-right away..."

"Idiot..." Nightshade finally pulled the heavy door shut, leaving the pair of ponies in near total darkness.

A period of uneasy silence followed before either of the friends spoke. Applejack was the first to break the silence. "Heh. Ah thought that slap was gonna hurt a bit more. Guess not..."

After waiting to see if there was a response from beyond the door, Twilight finally let out her held breath. "Applejack!" The unicorn was overjoyed to see her friend, but terrified that it had to be under the current circumstances. "Are you all right? What are you doing here? Where are w-"

"Woah there, sugarcube. One question at a time. Take a deep breath an' start over."

Twilight obliged, already feeling better. The silent confidence radiating from the earth pony was immensely calming. "Are you all right?" she repeated. "That slap looked like it hurt."

Applejack nodded. "Don't you worry none, Twi'. It's gonna take more'n that to- Oop, 'scuse me... Ptoo!" The blonde pony took a quick pause and spat out a small mouthful of blood. "Like Ah was sayin': It's gonna take more'n that to harm one of the Apple clan. We're stubborn as the day is long."

"That's a relief... So then, what are you doing here?"

"We were on our way to Canterlot when our ride was knocked clean outta the sky by a lightnin' bo-"

"'We?' Who else was with you?"

The hat-wearing pony clapped a hoof to her forehead, making her chains rattle noisily. "Shoot! Fluttershy! Those pegasi had me so ticked, Ah plumb fergot about her... Ah hope she's doin' all right..."

"Fluttershy's in trouble too? What's going on, Applejack? Why were you two heading for Canterlot?" Twilight started rattling off questions again, forgetting what her friend had said moments earlier.

"Ah ain't got the foggiest idea... Ah just know it's real nasty." All of a sudden, the orange pony felt sick. Breaking the news about the unicorn's library to her wasn't going to be easy. "Ah...Ah've also got a bit of bad news..."

"What is it? Please tell me the others are all right..."

"Well...uh... Ah don't know how to break this to ya, Twi'..."

"Come on, Applejack." Twilight pleaded. "Tell me, please. I can handle it."

The earth pony sighed. There was just no other way to explain this. "Alright, sugarcube... Just know that this ain't any easier fer me to say this. The day after you and the girls took off fer Canterlot, that was when stuff started gettin' real bad. We got hit with a nasty storm an' Fluttershy ended up havin' to stay the night. Anyway, the next mornin', we found out that somethin' had gone and broken into all of our houses; includin' yer library, Twi'..."

The unicorn was becoming anxious again. Applejack wouldn't meet her eyes. "Why...why do you sound so depressed? They couldn't have taken that many books...right?"

"They're gone, Twi'. All of 'em. Whoever's b'hind all this burned every single thing inside that library. There ain't a thing left... Ah'm awful sorry..."

The look on the unicorn's face was indescribable by mere words. Images of charred, burning pages fluttering upon a hot, ashen breeze were all she could see. No... Scrolls, books, entire encyclopedias, all full of beautiful knowledge, burning...burning until they were no more that miserable piles of ash, ready to be blown away by the slightest wind. She shook her head, refusing to believe what she had been told. "No... No, no, no!" Twilight sank to the dusty floor, hooves pressed to the sides of her head. "That can't be true! It just can't!"

"Ah'm sorry, Twilight... For once in mah life, Ah wish Ah-"

"That's not true! Don't lie to me, Applejack!" she yelled, an angry spark in her violet eyes. "Don't lie to me!"

The apple-marked pony shook her head sadly. "Ah wish Ah was, hun'. Ah wish Ah was..."

"No! It's not true! It's not-"

"Fer Celestia's sake, Twilight! Look at me! Look at who yer talkin' to!"

The purple pony slowly looked up, hot tears still in her eyes, right into the green eyes belonging to the Element of Honesty. Realization hit her like a dropped anvil. "I...I apologize, A-Applejack... I didn't mean to accuse you of be-being a liar... I just-"

"Ah fergive ya. Ah'd feel the same way if anythin' happened to mah family."

"S-so Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh... They-they're both okay then?"

"Yep. They're both right as rain."

Twilight wiped her eyes and sat up. "G-good to hear. What about everypony else's houses. I hope t-they're still standing..."

"Uh-huh. All still in one piece. We...weren't able to find Angel Bunny though; little guy's still missin'."

The unicorn was legitimately surprised at hearing this. "Fluttershy left while Angel Bunny was missing? What did you say to her to convince her to do that?"

"Ah didn't say nothin'. It was Big Macintosh who did all the sayin'."

Twilight's tearful expression gave way to a soft smile. "R-really? I had a hunch that that's who it was." she said mysteriously.

Applejack's eyes revealed nothing but confusion. "What in Equestria are ya talkin' about, Twi'?"

"You know that Big Macintosh came by the library recently, right?"

"Yeah, it was about two weeks ago. Why?"

"I was getting there." she chuckled. "Do you know what book he came looking for, though?" A shrug from the earth pony let her continue. "The book he ended up checking out was The Stallion's Standard to Going Steady. I didn't really think anything of it at first. A week later, though, I figured it out. This time, it was Fluttershy that came in looking for a book. The Complete Encyclopedia of Rabbits, I believe. Guess who had that one?"

Even though she was not one for "fancy mathematics," as she called them, Applejack easily put two and two together. The smile that crept onto her face was so bright, it almost lit up the small room. "Shoot! That's the best thing Ah've heard in a long time. Ah've been telling that ol' pony that he really should find himself a mare. What're the odds that it'd be Fluttershy?"

"Well, considering the apparent imbalance in the ratio of-"

"C'mon, Twi'! Ya know darn well that ain't what Ah meant!" the blonde-maned pony laughed.

"I know, I know." Laughter has a habit for being notoriously contagious, and Twilight was soon giggling along with her friend. "Ever since I got that letter from Princess Celestia two days ago, it's been nothing but bad news." the unicorn sighed. "It's so refreshing to hear something like that."

Good news or not, the two ponies were still in a dungeon, the door to which suddenly flew open, startling them both. The pegasus that had been sent on recon earlier had returned, and he had a very evil grin upon his features. He made a beeline straight for the unicorn. "Time we put that magic of yours to good use."

Unsure of the stallion's motives, Twilight screwed her eyes shut in fear. Barely anything happened, though. She felt her choker being forcibly ripped off and instantly replaced with a new one. "That's it...?"

The winged pony left just as quickly as he'd appeared, slamming the door behind him.

"What was he talkin' about, Twi'?" Applejack asked warily. "Puttin' yer magic to use?"

-------------------------

The early morning sunlight seeping through the closed curtains fell upon the sleeping pony's eyelids causing her to roll over in an attempt to escape nature's wake-up call. Contradicting her actions, the pegasus murmured sleepily, "I really should get up; I've a lot to do..." The pony then gave a massive yawn and sat up.

After returning the butterfly-marked quilt to a neat and tidy position upon the bed, Fluttershy happily trotted down the stairs, in the best of moods. "Good morning, Angel Bunny." she called out in a singsong voice as she passed his basket en route to the kitchen. "Are you hungry?"

IN the blink of an eye, the mare had pulled three carrots from the refrigerator and was cutting them up for her animal friend. Humming, she scooped these into a bowl and carried it back out to where the rabbit was still sleeping. "Wake up, my little Angel..." she murmured softly, touching her nose to the blanket-wrapped bundle.

"One mouth taken care of..." Fluttershy remarked, opening her back door. Her next course of action was to go about feeding the myriad of other animals under her care. Of this myriad, she saved a certain few for last. After digging a mouthful of worms from the ground, she flew up to the tall tree she had placed her patient in the day before. Just as expected, the young robin was still there, wing bandaged up just as she'd left it. As she spat the admittedly foul-tasting bunch of worms into the nest, the robin greeted her with a warm, friendly trill.

The mare smiled. "Well, good morning to you too. How does that wing feel?" Three cheerful chirps told Fluttershy that her treatment had worked. "Oh, I'm so glad to hear that. Now hold still and I'll have those bandages right off, okay?"

Each gauze strip that the winged pony removed was neatly draped over her foreleg. She was about to do the same with the last bandage when she noticed several jet black particles settling upon the white cloth. "Ash...?" Ash only comes from one source. A fire! Given her home's proximity to the Everfree Forest, the pink-maned pegasus was right to be worried about a fire. However, a quick, frightened look around revealed a black cloud on the horizon slowly climbing into the sky. At first, Fluttershy was relieved that the fire was on the opposite side of Ponyville. Until, that is, she realized just what was on the opposite side of Ponyville. "Sweet Apple Acres... Applejack!"

Leaving the bandages swirling in her wake, the pegasus took off for the apple farm. "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!" The pony's wings were a blur as she tore through the sky. She flew faster than she had ever flown before, yet the far-off wisp of smoke was not getting any closer. Night had fallen by the time Fluttershy reached the farm. The orange, unsteady glow of the dancing flames revealed a single pony standing far below her. The more the pegasus spiraled down to her, the better she could see that the young pony was wearing a large bow in her mane. "Apple Bloom! Are you all right?"

The little yellow filly nodded shakily, the burning farmhouse clearly reflected in her wide, tear-filled eyes.

The mare's relief at hearing this was short-lived, as she quickly noticed the lack of the rest of the Apple family. "W-where are Applejack and Big Macintosh?" she asked hesitantly.

"B-B-Big Macintosh never came out... AJ went b-back in to find him...!"

"Oh no..." With her heart suddenly in her mouth, Fluttershy spun around to face the raging inferno that was the farmhouse. It looked as though flames had consumed the entire upper floor. The longer the pony stared at the crackling flames, the louder that little voice in her head became. Of the two ponies that were supposedly still inside, the pegasi's thoughts turned to one of them.

Throwing caution (and logic, as running into a burning building is never a good idea) to the wind, Fluttershy went for it. The heat inside the farmhouse was sweltering and everything was bathed in a strangely eerie red-orange light. "Big Macintosh!? Where are you? Please! Answer me!" she shouted over the angry crackling of the fire as it slowly consumed the house. Obviously, this had not been a smart idea to begin with, but the pegasus was now learning why. The flames dancing all around her were greedily sucking up any available oxygen and simultaneously superheating whatever was left, making each breath burn from the inside out. The overabundance of soot floating through the air clung to the pony's mane and coat, and stung her eyes horribly. Still, something inside the yellow mare would not let her quit.

She shook away the light-headedness induced by inadequate oxygen and sprinted up the staircase. She looked to the left and right; both directions were overrun by tall crimson flames. Panicked tears began welling up in the mare's frightened eyes. "Big Macintosh! Answer me!" she sobbed. "Please!"

Fluttershy was not the hardiest of ponies to begin with, and her surroundings were draining her stamina reserves faster by the second; the intense heat was steadily strangling the life from her. A foul mixture of soot and sweat ran into the pegasi's eyes as she bent over fighting to catch the smallest breath possible. Though her eyes were red and swollen, there was still a glint of determination present in them.

Determination, no matter how strong, means nothing if one's body doesn't have the strength to back it up, and it was taking all of what Fluttershy had left just to remain standing. It wasn't long before even this was overpowered, though. The structural integrity of the farmhouse was reaching critical levels. "Aaah!!" The blazing cross beam above the winged pony gave way and collapsed onto her.

Struggling proved useless; the more Fluttershy squirmed, the more the burning wood pressed into her back. "Big Mac... Please..." Her voice was little more than a raspy whisper, yet it was finally answered. She could faintly make out a frenetic barking quickly approaching her. "W-Winona?"

The loyal collie bounded up to the trapped pony, barking madly. "N-no..." Fluttershy breathed. "You...have to get...out of here, Winona..." Ignoring the pegasi's command, the canine began frantically pulling on her right wing, obviously trying to free her. "O-ow... Winona...stop... It's not working..." she wheezed. Despite the weak protesting, Winona kept up her furious tugging on Fluttershy's wing, with each tug significantly more painful than the last, until...

Pop!

Fluttershy sat bolt upright, her chest heaving in and out. A quick inventory of her surroundings revealed her to still be in the Everfree Forest with General Headwind and Zecora. Her right wing was quite sore, yet an experimental flap proved it to be useable once again. Confused, she looked from Headwind to Zecora and back again. "Wh-what happened?"

"Miss Zecora helped me to tend to your dislocated wing." the general explained.

The zebra nodded in agreement. "A sadder sight has not passed my eye, than a pegasus that could not fly."

The shock of her nightmare had not yet passed, and Fluttershy was still on edge. She tried looking around again to calm herself down. The dark trees of the Everfree Forest stretched out before her. Against her back, casting a long shadow in the bright moonlight, was a rundown cobblestone wall. There was no sign of a farmhouse, burning or otherwise. That was just a dream...? It was so...real... Her heart skipped a beat as she realized just what had happened. I just ran into a burning building to find Big Macintosh... "Where are we?" she asked, shrugging off the apparent meaning of her dream.

"We're just outside the castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. The instant you stepped inside, you fainted." Headwind informed her.

At hearing this, Fluttershy's memory returned; meeting Zecora, seeing the castle, hearing her friend's voices. With the return of these recent memories, came the flood of concerns. "What about Applejack? Have you found her yet?"

Zecora looked up from a mixture she was boiling over a small fire. "A place such as this has many places to hide. Had I told you 'yes,' I would have lied."

"What...what does that mean?"

"It means we could walk around the castle for weeks, perhaps even months, without finding a single sign of Miss Applejack... This castle has spent so long on the edge of memories, that nopony, not even the Princesses themselves, know all of its secrets."

Fluttershy swallowed nervously. "W-what's the plan now...?"

General Headwind flashed the mare a roguish smile. "What makes you think that it's any different? The day that I break a promise is the day that Her Majesty stops raising the sun. I'll find Miss Applejack, no matter how long it takes me."

"Well, shoot, y'all ain't gotta look real far!"

Everypony, Headwind included, jumped at the sudden voice. From the dark foliage behind the general an orange hat-wearing pony materialized. "Miss Applejack!" Headwind exclaimed. "You gave me quite the scare. I was of the impression that you were being held prisoner."

"Ah was, fer a while, anyways. But here Ah am now."

"Hold on..." Fluttershy slowly stood up, her eyes narrowed in the manner of one who is suspicious. "What is my cutie mark?" she asked, keeping her wings folded down over her sides.

"Butterflies." Applejack answered easily enough.

"How many?"

"Three." There was a tiny bit of hesitation in the orange pony's voice; short enough that it was undetectable.

The gentle pegasi's wings flared out in rage. "Liar!"

Comments

[Starcat5]

8781
Do you actually LISTEN to Death Metal? You of ALL ponies should know that there are fates FAR WORSE than death.

Also, chapter 5 has been up for a while now. I should probbably read it. BRB.

[Starcat5]

And so the imposter was found out, and FlutterRAGE was unleashed! MUAHAHAHAHA!