The Tale of The Epic Lyre

by Magenta

Chapter 6: The Long Trot Home

The next morning Twilight felt rather drained and dim as if some strange creature sucked the life out of he. On the other hand Lyra and Pinkie woke refreshed and more than ready to head back to Ponyville.

They knew the power of teleporting was of no use for they were rather far away from Ponyville thus they had to gather as much energies as possible.

It so happened that Madame Belladona knew much about herbal remedies and offered to give a generous stash to the three girls. Twilight asked casually if she happened to know about Zecora and she said yes. It was a strange custom that medicine ponies and zebras sticked together. She also provided them with enough oatmeal cookies to survive the journey.

"I gotta admit you can't find this stuff at home so easily!" said Pinkie Pie thanking Madame, "But why were you suddenly so nice to us?"

"Child, I have faith in you and that you're capable of achieving great things. I should know better, for my own son happens to be a big admirer of yours ever since he was a young colt."

"You son?" said Lyra.

The mare smiled confident, "I think you know quite well who I'm talking about...play your cards well, Ponyvillians for the future is what you make of it."

Said and done, the party cantered on leaving behind the gloomy city and went through the hill once again for there were very little roads that connected both lands and in very poor state. Twilight wondered about many things she could put into practice about what good old Lyra said.

"Cheer up, Twi, what's the matter, did you have a bad night?" asked the mint colored unicorn.

"I just want to go back home, I feel as if we came out here for nothing. Every second that we spend out of Ponyville we're automatically granting Knight Shade more opportunities to conquer it. Heaven knows what he could do to them, especially my best friends...what if they're in pain, what if we failed?"

Pinkie Pie overheard what she had said and replied, "So why are you doubting now, silly? Don't you remember back when we defeated Discord? This could be easy as pie."

"Yes," said Twilight, "but back then the six of us were together, we only have two Elements of Harmony."

"And what about my Element, huh?" said Lyra wagging her tail, "Maybe I'm not as fancy as you but I could still put up a fight!
By the way, didn't you notice that Madame Belladona acted as if she had no feeling for her son?"

"Lyra! I don't think it's polite to discuss that, maybe she had her reasons not to talk about the matter," said Twilight rather upset. "Besides a mother's love is very particular, they always want the best for us."

"Like when your parents left you to Celestia?" said Lyra.

"This isn't about me, it's about some pony we barely met! Right or wrong I think we should help and not destroy him for I have a certain empathy. I know what it's like to be so different."

"No, no" corrected Lyra, "You only FEEL different, You're incredibly talented as I but the big difference is the attitude you take."

"And what if Knight Shade wants more, to have fame and fortune?" said the purple unicorn.

"To be honest, even I want that Twilight, and that's no mistake," replied Lyra. "Besides, he could use a little bit of practice; his execution was poor and plain compared to what other ponies have done."

"You're right, other ponies like Octavia always win the best places in the Canterlot celebrations," continued Twilight, "Yet, we'd have to give Knight Shade a second chance, to love and tolerate no matter what."

Pinkie Pie grew awful quiet for she was filling up her belly and happily hopping at the same time. They enjoyed the summer breeze, the dew from last night upon the leaves and the fluffy white cloud guessing all sorts of shapes. None of this seemed like Ponyville. Pegasi always took care of the weather for so much freedom made Twilight uneasy and then she remembered what Madame said; everything outside their lands maintained its own balance and not the one that was imposed by the equines.

"Madame said that Celestia made a huge mistake with her younger sister Luna," said the purple unicorn.

"That's nothing new, honey," said Lyra, "But that doesn't make her a tyrant, does it?"

"No but she's still my mentor! They're not supposed to make mistakes!" cried Twilight.
"So? She's trustworthy anyway."

"I just feel so awful that I don't know what to do anymore. But I can't let this issue distract me from our mission."
Now even Pinkie was worried. She had never seen her best friend so down and out thinking that they would definitely fail on this one.

"Ah, I just had a lovely idea!" said Lyra, "Why don't I just go right ahead and sing something for you?"

Twilight said with a weary voice, "Well...if you insist, no pony's stopping you..." And Pinkie Pie said, "Really, well DO IT!"
"Thanks girls, you won't regret this. It's my favorite piece, the one I played at the audition, apparently they weren't ready for my style..."

Said and done Lyra pulled out her beloved lyre from her saddlebag and went plucking the instrument producing a beautiful and replenishing ballad throughout the day.

"Wow," cried Twilight Sparkle, "I'm really impressed, you do have talent..."

"I know, I know," responded Lyra.

"I hope our talent can help us more," said the purple pony a bit dissapointed , "without magic I'm just an ordinary mare."
"Ordinary?" cried Pinkie Pie halting, "C'mon, you could never be ordinary no matter how hard you tried!"

"Maybe I forgot what it was like to be a graceful, natural unicorn, I was shaped into something I'm not." She followed the trail on her own.

"Is she loco in the coco?" said Pinkie, "she sounds so silly!"

"Even so, I know I can still beat Knight Shade."

"YOU CAN?" said Lyra, "Do you honestly think we can work as a team now. If I combine my talents with your so-called Elements of Harmony we can do anything but need I remind you that we trust each other or my mine isn't Lyra Heartstrings."
"Ah, Lyra..." said Pinkie timidly.

"And above all you should get rid of all those prejudices and your pride, Twi," said the mint colored pony.
"Pride?" said Twilight upset.

"Ah, girls..." said Pinkie Pie insisting that they'd paid attention to her for her knees and tail began to shake vigorously.

"Yeah, maybe your best friends aren't here to help you but we're all you got right now!" said Lyra furious.

"LYRA! Mi Pinkie sense is acting up and something terrible is heading this way!!!" yelled the rose colored pony.
Evidently what came along was a swarm of black birds or at least they looked quite dark and they were practically out of control.

"Run!" said Pinkie and trotted as hard as she could. Twilight and Lyra followed but the crazy little pony behaved like it was a stampede.

"Pinkie, please slow down and tell us where you're going!" exclaimed Twilight Sparkle all agitated.
However the girl was so confused while the birds kept pecking her mane and flank. Fortunately she did find refuge in a nearby cave. Soon the other two arrived.

"CROWS, CROWS EVERYWHERE!" said Pinkie throwing herself on the ground.

Twilight examined them from afar and said, "Nope, they're not crows, they are random birds but they look rather dim as if something had taken away all their splendor."

"I could say the same about you,my friend," said Lyra. In a small puddle Twilight looked down upon her reflection and noticed how her lavender coat was not splendorous either. She did say that it was no big deal but Lyra and Pinkie thought the other way around.

"Something's up with you, kid," said Lyra rather worried, "but I'm not giving up on you, we'll just see about that."

"Still think it's a good idea to return to Ponyville?" said Pinkie, "I mean it's true that we will end up with zombie ponies, we've already been to fortune tellers who TELL silly stories, bad luck birds? What else it there, a giant fire breathing dragon with a mouth that has another fire breathing dragon?!"

"Relax, sweetie, I think you need to cut back on the oatmeal," said Lyra.

"Girls, girls, let's make a pact. From here on we will remain together like three good sisters no matter what lies ahead, we survived Greyville and we will survive what's left of our beloved town!" said Twilight more confident.
"Well said, SISTER!" cried Lyra. Three out their hooves together to seal their alliance.

And so they went crossing the Everfree Forest. It seemed like the least threathening place but yes there was a strange calmness. All the mythical creatures were still around; the Hydra, the Ursa Minor among others. The silence rose their tension.

"Not much far now," said Twilight. "I know this road perfectly well, I trotted it so many times, I wish Zeora was here...she promised to be back in a few days, she said she went to get some herbal ingredients but she would tell me a little bit better what was going on instead of talking to a stranger pony."

Lyra kept making ugly gestures and thought that Twilight hadn´t matured enough to understand she wasn´t around her cutesy friends anymore.

"Are we there yet?" The purple unicorn was getting weaker and weaker as she entered Ponyville and closer to Carousel Boutique. Everything was still but that made her even more nervous. Lots of things awaited for them as well as lots of questions soon to be answered.

"The emptyness that´s left and that is all, the emptyness that´s left," said a voice that hummed in the wind. The nocturnal scene made Ponyville look more like a funeral in which absolutely no pony felt any pain or grief.

"Goodness..." yelped Lyra, "Things are certainly not pretty around, I guess there´s nothing to do here, just like in Greyville, do you think it´s some kind of coincidence?"

"Did you hear those voices in the wind?" asked Twilight.

Lyra nodded and made a warning, "Well it better not get to you so put these on," and then she gave her the dough ear plugs that Pinkie made.

"Good thinking!" cried Pinkie Pie, "but where is every pony else, it looks like the earth swallowed , oh wait..." The frisky pony´s legs began to shake like crazy and were way out of control, it was like an alarm clock bouncing everywhere.

"Oh, no, the Pinkie sense is acting up again," said Lyra, "at least tell us what is gonna happen, girl!"

Pinkie was struggling to put two words together, "It´s, it´s, it´s just that..."

"For crying out loud, say it!" cried Lyra once again trying to hold her.

"This happens when something really, really, really bad is about to hit the town"

"As big as a dragon?" asked Twilight.

"N-n-n-nooo...more like an EVIL force!" said the pony with fluffy mane.

That evil force was nothing than a bunch of drums beating as loud as ever. Little by little the houses lit up and the ponies stepped out as if they were being called for battle. The looks on their faces were pale and their eyes seemed lost, or like lifeless wind up toys.

"AHHHH, the zombie ponies are coming back...I hope none of them are hungry..." said Pinke agitated.

"Wait, there´s something unusual in all of this," said Lyra with a suspicious look, "They´re all cantering to the same place, as if something was calling them." She first observed a pony named Lemon Hearts and she practically ignored her. Then sehe stumbled upon Shoeshine, another one of her friends, a sky blue colored mare and gray made; she tried as hard as she could to wake her up.

"Shoeshine, thank goodness you´re here, sweetie, you haven´t seen BonBon by any chance, have you?" she said in a nervous tone.

But the earth pony failed to talk to her. The same thing happened when Pinkie Pie approached Mr. and Mrs. Cake.

"OWLICIOUS! Thank my lucky stars that you´re still around, " cried Twilight happily to see her winged friend safe and sound. He actually came to warn them to follow him all the way to a nearby cave, which was where all the other ponies were heading.

"Girls, I have a plan," said the purple pony in a lower voice, "we can still manage to go undercover and watch very closely what they´re up to but we have to remain hidden, do you understand me? It might be the only way we can succeed."

"Aye, aye, captain!" said Pinkie Pie, "oh, Gummy, And where have you been, young man?" The puny crocodile jumped into Pinkie´s saddlebag and was very quiet.

"Who cares about the Pinkie sense? This is gonna be loads of fun!" said Lyra.

"No! Remember we have to act as prisoners, so act like very much like the rest all the way," said Twilight.

Pinkie exaggerated the part a little bit walking funny, like in zig zags but Lyra had to show her how, "No,no,no, you have to do it like this, like your were vERY sleepless...like this."

They continued their trail outside Ponyville and closer to the cave. Twilight recalled the place for it had been where the giant dragon lived once and contaminated with his annoying cloud of smoke. Cantering at this rate would them more time than expected, if only there were a conscious pegasus nearby.

Pinkie was starting to get tired, "Do you realize we actually haven´t had a real break in days, I´m really tuckered out."

"Come on, you speak like a noob, I can go all night, right, Twi?"

"Silence! Try to keep it down. It´s like it´s an entire army of ponies, what in all of Equestria could some pony like Knight Shade want with them. I´ll go ahead to see if I can find something...I´ll tell you soon..."

Lyra replied, "Have you lost your mind? We´re gonna lose you, Twi!"

The brave and smart purple unicorn struggled to go to the beginning of the line until she was able to gaze upon young Knight Shade who paraded as if he was some kind of monarch followed by his loyal subjects. Despite being so proud and arrogant Twilight was one of the few to have actual feelings for him. Finally, she was able to spot Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack but she had wished to have seen on better circumstances.

"Hold on, girls," she said from afar, "Everything will be back to normal." Owlicious flew around Lyra and Pinkie to tell to get back to Twilight.

The charming white colt who had the entire town mesmerized kept the Epic Lyre with at all times until they were inside. His look was extremely confident, maybe too much. Twilight could see his fiery eyes; she had never come across some pony like him, so naturally gifted but then it seemed that he was looking back at her.

"Twilight..." she heard inside her heard, "Come now with me, stop fighting, you know you want me, come."

She shook her head to avoid those nasty thoughts. The pony felt like she was in a dream, "That voice..."

Lyra interrupted her, "Twi, snap out of it!"

"Oh, I´m sorry, it´s just that maybe I happened to be daydreaming. It appears as if the presence of the Night Shadowers is becoming more and more evident. Only a handful of creatures can hear their voice, we have to get in there no matter what it takes!"

For their good fortune they found a big formation of rocks that became their refuge. The ambient was way too cold for any pony to tolerate. The rows and rows of possessed creatures by the power of Knight Shade´s melody aligned as if was exactly the night of the Festival. It was as if nothing had changed, time had stopped. Then Twilight remembered something,

"Twilight, have you ever felt that same moment where time stops?"

"That´s it!" she whispered, "it´s a powerful illusion to make evry pony think it´s that very same night over and over again." No pony paid attention to her comments but Lyra was on the lookout for any funny business.

Knight Shade arrived triumphantly as if he was the greatest musician of all times waving his black cape with a sort of cutie mark which consisted of an octave note surrounded by stars.

"I think this was what he was referring to when he said that this would be the last and only melody...but why keep them that way?"

The Epic Lyre which had gorgeous gold colores was now as dark as a thousand midnights. From it came the power spell Twilight spoke about. Now Madame Belladona´s words made some sense.

The three brave young ponies couldn´t hear much for their had covered strategically but on the other hand the stage gradually changed making it more attractive for the senses.

Floating images about the past appeared before Twilight; old Starswirl, the Bearded and his brotherhood withstanded epic battles. She couldn´t resist the temptation of joining that fantasy, "It´s him, Starswirl, with his cape full of shining bells and stars, maybe if I join him we might find out how to win this time!"

"Ah, Twilight, I think you got your horses crossed," said Pinkie, "I don´t really see anything..."

"I must go to them, only they can help me fix the Epic Lyra...wait, don´t go!"

Lyra Heartstrings feared that she would blow their cover so she pulled her tail with her teeth as hard as she could. Then she tried tackling her.

"HA! I got you now, stop daydreaming, Twi, he´s not real!" she shouted. But the once smart and talented unicorn replied, "Me, daydreaming? It ain´t so, out of my way!"

Lyra grew more concerned now for she witnessed that her friend fell under the effects of that the musical spell. She had a flashback her childhood for a second back in Magic Kindergarten where they pretend to save Equestria yet now it wasn´t a game anymore, it was more like saving a sister.

"Twi, wake up! I´m not giving you like it happened with BonBon, please come back to us!"

Pinkie also poked her flank, "Yup, it´s all in your head, stop this charade!"

The purple unicorn remembered the time her best friends calmed her down about the silly thing with being tardy.

"Oh...she said shaking her head, "What is going on with me lately ? It´s true, the notes coming from the enchanted lyre also make ponies hallucinate. It seems that your talents will be required, Lyra."

"Oh, thanks, finally I get recognition, not exactly the way I imagined it but well," said the mint colored unicorn.

"First, we still have to try and use what´s left of the Elements of Harmony," said Twilight, "they might not be all of them but we´ll see what a little bit of magic and laughter can do. As risky as it sounds, I have to get as close as possible to Knight Shade, even if his evil spell gets to me. If I don´t make it, I trust you completely, Lyra."

"Oh, don´t talk that way, we need you, you´re the geeky one of the group.!

"Yes," said Twilight thoughful, "but you know more about music than I do. Me and Pinkie Pie will attempt to weaken him but you will have to do the rest."

"Oh, alright, fine. We´ll use all our weaponry and so much more!" cried Lyra proudly. And so three put their hooves together once again to put their plan into action.

When suddenly Knight Shade ceased to play for he noticed something out of place and evidently he spotted the ponies who dared to survive that right summer night.

"My...it seems that we have some visitors, why don´t we give them a warm welcome," said he.

The other Ponyvillians turned around and shouted in awe upon the little spies. Lyra´s reaction was a bit comical, she laughed nervously, "Gosh, I never expected to have this much audience! No, no, don´t get up, we can handle it ourselve.

"Let´s play our cards well," said Twilight in a low voice.

Comments

[Frostwyrm]

Something I came across in my travels: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_My_Little_Pony_characters#Antagonists
See the description under 'Arabus', think - Knight Shade...where have I heard that? Check here - oh you sneaky you!

Hilarious story, keep it up!
Frostwyrm

[Magenta]

Thanks! This a second take on Knight Shade's character preserving his nature that he's some kind of pony gone bad. While he remains to have good intentions of seeking fame and fortune he's tricked by a powerful enemy to take advantage of Ponyville turning him into a wicked yet enchanting character.