Twilight Sparkle
From The Depths
Preread, Edited, and Reviewed By
Illustrious Q, Batty Gloom, El Oso, Alexstrazsa, JustAnotherTimeLord, Hidden Brony
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Chapter 7
Twilight Sparkle
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The astral plane was gone. Twilight... no... she wasn’t Princess Twilight Sparkle. She was Twin Blades of the Solar Guard. She could remember graduation day from the training camp. Her parents were there, and her professors. But... no, she didn’t have professors at the training camp. Yet, she did have professors. She remembered attending classes on magic. But why would she attend classes on magic? She wasn’t a unicorn.
But Twilight... no Twin Blades... no Twilight... she remembered using magic. Levitation, teleportation, transfiguration: those were all spells she knew. She had to have a horn, but she wasn’t born with one. No, she was born with wings. She could remember learning to fly when she was young. But, no... she remembered learning to fly from Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. She didn’t know them when she was young. They taught her to fly when she first got her wings, for the coronation. But... why would she need any of that? She wasn’t a princess, so she wouldn’t get coronated, and she wouldn’t need to get wings because she had always had them.
Was she a unicorn or a pegasus? Had she trained with the Guard or as a student of magic? Did she have friends in Ponyville or play cards with other soldiers in the barracks? Was Shining Armor her commanding officer or brother? Was she supposed to guard Princess Celestia or learn from her? She didn’t know, but she did know. Yet she didn’t know, yet somehow she knew both were true.
Who... who was she? Where was she? What was going on? Why was she looking into a mirror?
A mirror... a mirror where she saw a familiar figure standing. It was her reflection... but... no, it wasn’t. It was Twin Blades’ reflected in the mirror, with her eyes shut as if she was sleeping while standing. But... she could see the the mirror. How could she see the mirror if Twin Blades’ eyes were shut? That meant she wasn’t Twin Blades.
She was Twilight Sparkle.
With that single thought, Twilgiht’s mind began to calm and sort itself. She remembered now the warning of the spell. That until the melding was complete, the minds would not be able to separate themselves. For that brief time, she had been both herself and Twin Blades. The contradictions in the memories caused what Twilight could only describe as variety of insanity.
It was not an experience she’d ever look forward to having again.
Still, the spell was now complete, and the division between her mind and Twin Blades’ was now presented before her consciousness in a way conducive to her mind: a mirror. A mirror that seperated minds, in a way separating the worlds of two ponies. In a way, it reminded Twilight of the mirror that lead to the strange world of two legged creatures and fiddly things called fingers. The mirror now presented to her consciousness was the thin veil that separated her mind from Twin Blades’.
Yet the reflective veil seemed only to label the information. Her mind could still remember aspects of Twin Blades’ life. She could recal bits she had skipped over during her brief insanity as if they were from her own life. Twin Blades’ training with wing swords and her service as a guard. She knew those memories, yet the spell... the veil before her let her mind know those memories were not her own.
She could access them, but she would not be driven mad by the contradictions they created.
Still, that did not mean Twilight would walk away from the spell simply knowing everything Twin Blades’ did. Once the connection was broken, she’d lose all those memories. The only way to keep the information for herself was to experience it. To make a copy in her own memories, like taking notes from a book she borrowed from a library.
As Twilight came to appreciate these distinctions, she realized the difficulty of her goal. If Twin Blades’ mind was truly compared to a book, it was like a dictionary that had been scrambled around. Twilight knew the information she sought was within, but she had no way of picking it out.
She had to remember things she didn’t even know she knew, which was a paradox of thinking.
Twilight had studied some books about the mind while at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns; It’s how she was able to make use of the memory spell when she needed to free her friends from Discord’s influence. One way to think of memories was as an association. If she thought of a word, then things connected so that word would come to mind. If she thought of a Rainboom, then she’d think of Rainbow Dash and of Cloudsdale’s Best Young Flyers Competition. She’d even think of the day when she and her friends realized they had a special bond before they even met one another because of Rainbow’s very first Sonic Rainboom.
That was how her memory spell restored her friends. Her magic caused a cascade effect. She got them to remember one true thing about themselves, and then that one thing connected to other memories. Those memories then connected to others, and the domino effect continued until their minds had been restored.
All she needed was a sight or a smell or a sound that could trigger the memories she needed.
Or maybe... all she needed were a few key phrases.
It was then the realization flooded Twilight, and in a moment the miasma around her focused. It could have been her own memory or one that belonged to Twin Blades. It didn’t matter. The memory presenting itself before Twilight was one they both shared. It was a memory of the wall, marred and marked by the scratches of Twin Blades’ sword. Those words, those phrases, they were the keys. Each one was tied to something important, and by tugging on the metaphorical string, Twilight could draw Twin Blades’ memories to the surface.
She could get the message Twin Blades was trying to leave in her scratches.
Twilight only had to pick which phrase she would use first.
~~~
“Five Lights”
It wouldn’t be the same this time. It would turn out alright. It wouldn’t be the same this time. It would turn out alright.
That mantra was a background to all Twin Blades’ thoughts as she pressed her body against the cool stone wall. She inched toward the intersection and peered around the corner to the connecting hall. She remained perfectly still for a few moments, scanning for any sign of danger. When she saw none, she made a single motion with her wing. A clatter of armor came from behind her as the three other guards in her squad came up at her command. The formation moved like water flowing down a river. They were of single mind, acting on maneuvers they had practiced to the point they were muscle memory.
The quartet searched rooms, checking each one they came across thoroughly before moving on to the next. They acted silently, fulfilling the mission they had been given. While many of their comrades stayed behind to protect Princess Luna and the party guests, they and a few other squads searched the castle. They were looking for Princesses Celestia, Cadance, and Twilight, as well as Discord’s stars, which needed to be snuffed to end the twisted game.
And, as luck would have it, the first star was very close.
Twin Blades opened one unsuspecting door to find it did not lead to a room. Instead, the space inside was a cavern. The seams between the bricks of the stone floor melted away, the floor becoming solid rock. Spires grew from the floor and hung from the ceiling, like the ragged teeth of an all devouring monster.
It was in the depths of that dank, dark cavern that a single point of light twinkled. It was sky blue, like the exit of a tunnel that lead to a lush meadow on the brightest of sunny days. But the cavern still stood between Twin Blades’ squad and that welcoming light. A cavern too large to fit in the castle and far too quiet. A cavern that put Twin Blades’ on edge, making every muscle in her body tense as if she was glaring down an Ursa Major all by herself.
Twin Blades inched away, even as her fellows came up beside her. Her legs were starting to quiver, and she heard the faint screams of someone she knew was already dead. No, this wasn’t right. This was too much like the catacombs. How long before the bent reality started to spill into their sense of time? What if it was already happening? The guests, the princess... would they return to find they had suffered the same fate as Fortress? What about Night Gaze? Was something lurking in the cavern to crush them, like the bones crushed him?
Would any of them make it out alive?
“Lieutenant!”
A shout from one of the other guards finally brought Twin Blades back. She was sweating profusely, her breathing heavy. “S-sorry,” she forced out, coughing to clear her throat. She had to keep it together. She was the leader of this squad. If she faltered, it would put them all in danger. No, she wouldn’t let any of that happen this time. It would work out okay. She had to believe that.
“Keep a tight formation and watch our flanks,” Twin Blades told her squadmates. “We get in, snuff that star, and get out. If something goes wrong, we retreat together and bring back reinforcements. I don’t know if that is the star from Discord’s riddle, and I don’t know if it will move if we leave to get help. I do know one thing, though: I’m not losing any soldiers tonight.”
The others in the squad nodded, all four proceeding into the room with Twin Blades at the lead. They found a path between the stalagmites. One soldier watched the flank, the other two watched the sides, and Twin Blades was at the front. It was a full circle of protection.
The star they had seen, twinkling from the cave entrance, became more distinct as they drew closer. Twin Blades began to make out a ring of white wax around the light’s base. It was the flame of a candle, which danced as if waving to them.
They closed in on the candle, traversing the cavern without incident. They, however, never felt it was safe to lower their guard. Twin Blades’ paranoia was proving infectious, every soldier feeling a growing sense of dread on their skin the further the group got from the exit.
Just a few dozen steps away from the candle, Twin Blades stopped, bringing the whole squad to a hault. She flicked her ears and turned her head. She was sure she had heard something. A clatter of a tiny stone against the floor. Perhaps the pebble had been kicked by her or one of her comrades. If that was true, then they had nothing to fear.
But Twin Blades wasn’t going to take a risk. She glanced back to one of the other guards in the squad, a unicorn. She mouthed her instructions, her words nothing but the smallest wisps of whispers. The unicorn, however, got the message. The magic built in his horn while Twin Blades and the other two guards readied themselves. The magic was cast, and the room became bathed in the burning red light of the flare spell.
With the bright light came a hissing, one which made the three quickly look to the stalactite-riddled ceiling. There, they saw the furry mass of a mishmash horror. Leathery wings the size of chariots and a large, fang-filled muzzle sprouted from the petite frame of a pale coated mare. The hooves on her legs had become grasping claws, yet about her neck hung the ravaged remains of white collar and red tie.
“Is... is that... Raven?” the unicorn guard asked.
One of the other guards took an anxious step back. “Is this what Discord’s riddle meant? Are we all going to change like that?”
“Pull yourselves together,” Twin Blades snapped, flaring her wings to draw the swords strapped to her feathered appendages. Though, she couldn't deny it either. The creature above them bore an uncanny resemblance to Princess Celestia’s personal assistant. “We can’t think about that now. Two of you, on me. Flash Flare, get to that candle. If that is the ‘star’ Discord mentioned, we have to put it out.”
The hulking mass above the quartet shifted, as if reacting to the words. The light from the flare spell was fading, and as it did so did the pained hisses of the horrifically disfigured Raven. She turned her body slowly, claws clinging to the ceiling. She bent her head down to look at them. Her eyes were wild, as if not an ounce of sanity remained in her.
“I think she heard you,” the unicorn guard whispered.
“It doesn’t matter. We aren’t losing anyone tonight!”
~~~
The memory finished playing, Twilight soaking it in. It was similar to what happened when she found Cadance. Twin Blades and her fellow guards managed to snuff the light, and the moment they did, everything regained a sense of normalcy. The room became an office, simple and well-kept, and Celestia’s assistant, the bat-like monstrosity, disappeared just as Cadance had. Though, Twilight knew she couldn’t have expected any other result. Twin Blades was alive and well, after all.
But some information Twilight questioned had been proven true. There had been more than just three lights before she arrived at the castle. There had to be at least four, though the existence of even one more likely meant that there were in fact two others. Two candles that had been put out before Twilight even reached the foyer.
But then why would Luna lie to her? Why would Luna change Discord’s riddle to say just three stars instead of saying there were five? The big, center message of Twin Blades’ wall scratchings seemed more and more plausible, that Luna was lying. But why? What reason would the princess have to lie?
Twilight couldn’t help but hope that the answer to that question and others lay in Twin Blades’ memories. She had to keep going. She had find out the truth. She recalled the memory of the scratched wall once more and selected another phrase. She held it in her mind, and as before, Twin Blades’ memories responded, one memory rushing forward to answer Twilight’s summons.
~~~
“Library”
They were the only two left. All the others had fallen to Discord’s game, consumed by horrific transformations of their own. Princess Luna had been able to reverse the effects, to a degree. Discord’s magic was transforming ponies into their fears. It explained why Raven, Princess Celestia’s assistant, had morphed partially into a bat. It was no secret she found bats and many varieties of rodents unbearable.
Princess Luna’s magic, however, proved ideal for undoing the effects. She put ponies in waking dreams, charms of sleepwalking. Their minds became occupied with dreams so sweet and pure, it hid away the fears of their minds. Without fear to latch onto, Discord’s transformations reversed, returning the ponies to normal. It meant most of the party guests and Twin Blades’ fellow guards were safe, but also meant that she and Princess Luna were racing against the clock. So far, they two had been spared.
But there was no telling how long it would be before they succumbed.
“And you’re sure it was Princess Celestia?”
“It was,” Luna answered as she and Twin Blades continued down the hall. “I wish to believe some part of her is resisting the transformation. That would explain why she has suffered only minor changes. Still, the only answer she gave to my words were snarls. I fear she is not in control of her actions, and she is too powerful for me to subdue with the sleep walking spell as I have the others. But do not worry, Twin Blades. I led her away to a far corner of the castle. We should have more than enough time to snuff the star I saw before she returns to guard it.”
Twin Blades nodded but did not lower her guard. She stayed a few steps ahead of the princess, trying to make herself the target for any beasts that might pounce on them from the dark. It was not ideal, but the princess’s safety was above her own. Luna had the best chance of beating Discord’s game. They could end this before anypony got seriously hurt, before anything happened to them. They could prevent others from suffering as her comrades had in the catacombs.
“We’re here,” Princess Luna said, the pair coming to a stop outside a pair of large doors. A single surge of the princess’s magic and the doors swung open to reveal the room beyond. The light was closer than the previous had been. Even from the doorway Twin Blades could make out the details of the candle.
The candle rested in a lantern, which itself lay on top of a pile of splintered wood. The wreckage of the room’s furnishings, which looked to be comprised largely of smashed book shelves, was stacked into a high pile which reached all the way to the room’s ceiling. In the pile was a large hole, which to Twin Blades looked like a burrow or nest. There was something in this room, something else guarding the light which lay just at the opening of the burrow.
“Princess, stay here,” Twin Blades said, stepping forward gingerly. “Let me take a look first.”
“As you wish, Twin Blades,” Luna replied, letting her venture into the room. Already a sensation of déjà vu washed over Twin Blades. She remembered all too clearly what happened with Raven, and now she could sense the same looming danger. There had to be something in the room with her. There was no other reason why the room would be as it was. Discord’s magic had changed the room, had created the pile of smashed bookshelves, to be the nest for something.
There had to be something.
And Twin Blades heard the first sound of that something, a shifting of stone. It came from within the burrow. The lantern containing the candle rose up, as if being lifted by a pegasus to be hung on a streetlamp. But that was far from the truth. Slowly, slithering into the light that poured in from the hallway and windows, the true guardian of the candle came into view. A creature who held it’s head as tall as the mountain, the movements of its body sounding like a tumbling bookshelf and a rockslide all rolled into one.
It was a snake as large as a full grown dragon. A snake comprised not of skin and flesh, but of a maelstrom of broken books that flowed, ripped, and molded around one another. Rectangular, stone boxes dotted the length of the creature's body, armoring it against attack. To Twin Blades, they looked like tombs, and each one looked to be about two sizes too small for the part of the snake’s body it protected. It looked as if each one was squeezing down on the serpent of books.
More and more of the snake’s body slithered out of it’s den, until finally its tail came slipping out. The tip was that of a rattlesnake, with hollow book covers forming the characteristic segments and bulge. Yet, at the tip of the rattle was hair, a purple tail with a few colored streaks. Twin Blades recognized that tail almost instantly and looked to the head of the snake, jaw hanging in shocked disbelief.
“Princess Twilight?”
The snake flicked out a tongue made of scrolls before opening its mouth, its fangs formed of ragged book pages. It hissed while rattling its tail, the defining sound of the rattle mixing with the pained screams of Twilight, though her exact words were lost in the natural sound of the serpent’s tail.
“Hold on!” Twin Blades shouted, flaring her wings and drawing her namesake two swords. “I’m coming!” She took to the air in a single leap. Her wings surged, carrying her to the snake’s eye level while her wing blades glinted in the moonlight from the windows. The serpent lunged, paper fangs bare and bookend mouth gaping. It snapped shut just short of catching Twin Blades, the sound like a thousand books being slammed closed all at once.
But Twin Blades did not let the sound make her falter. She banked hard, using the opportunity to strike at the snake. She raked one of her swords along the side of the beast’s face, the sharpened edge cleaving pages and book covers cleanly. She left a deep mark, and from that cut pages surged out like spraying blood. At the same time the snake hissed in pain, and Twilight’s own wails intensified, a few of her words managing to break through the cacophony.
“DON’T DESTROY MY BOOKS!”
The serpent spun, the books on the back of its neck rattling. Pages ripped from those tomes, growing and spreading until the rattlesnake had the hood of a cobra. At the same time its eyes, which had been little more than a spherical balls of paper, began to glow. A sickly green hue overtook them, and a black essence spilled from them as if they were embers leaking wisps of smoke. The snake reared its head back, then lunged forward. Its mouth spread wide, and from the depths of its throat spewed a hailstorm of black crystals.
Twin Blades had to summon every ounce of strength she had in her wings to save herself. She banked upward, zipping away from the volley of dagger-like crystals, even as a few managed to slice hairs off from the end of her tail. She continued to climb, flying along the edge of the wall while the snake continued its assault. It turned its head, trying to point the spray of crystals at Twin Blades.
The crystals began zip past Twin Blades’ back legs, a few leaving deep cuts. Yet she did not falter, pushing herself to fly faster, to stay ahead of the onslaught. She acted on instinct, flying circles around the serpent of books as the walls became filled with the jagged, spiky crystals. It was never enough to stop the snake’s assault, which was as relentless as it seemed unending.
But Twin Blades saw an opportunity, and she dove hard from the ceiling to seize it. She tucked her wings, trying to gain as much momentum as possible. The spray of crystals followed her as always, but that was what she wanted. When she was but moments from hitting the floor, Twin Blades spread her wings and leveled off. Her momentum carried her above the floor with the speed of an arrow launched from a bow. She soared past the body of the snake and glanced back just in time to see it strike itself with its own spray of crystals.
As her own blade had done, the crystals cut and sliced at the books that made up the snake’s body, shredded pages flowing from the wounds like blood. But the injuries did not seem to slow the snake. In fact, it’s motions became only quicker and more erratic. Twilight’s screams grew louder as well, fluctuating constantly from crushing fear to unbridled rage.
Twin Blades grimaced, eyes searching the beast for weakness in its seemingly impenetrable body. Her blades could not cut the stone tombs that guarded much of the snake’s body, and cutting the books only seemed to make the creature, and by extension Twilight, angrier. It made sense, in a way. A book sliced to pieces was still a pile of paper. The only way to make a book something other than a stack of paper would be to...
Inspiration hit Twin Blades, and her eyes quickly went to the lantern that still hung from the base of the serpent’s neck. The beast was still enraged from striking itself. It was her best opportunity, and she had to seize it before the snake recovered.
So Twin Blades flew to the nearest wall, turning her body and landing against the stone surface with all four hooves. Her legs tensed like coiled springs, and a moment later she pushed off from the wall, wings spread as she flew straight at the serpent. Time seemed to slow as Twin Blades readied her swords. The serpent recovered from its own attack, and its eyes focused on her with murderous intent.
With a hiss the great snake lunged forward, jaws ready to snap closed around Twin Blades. But she did not bank away as she did before. No, Twin Blades flew straight into the waiting maw of the snake, diving in without a hint of hesitation. The snake’s mouth snapped shut, and for a brief moment there was silence.
It was a silence of death as the snake began to relax its body in triumph.
Yet, a moment later, shrieks of pain and hisses of agony erupted from the snake. The glint of a sword stuck out from the bottom of its jaw, the weapon driven through the beast’s paper-flesh. The sword shifted and jerked, sawing open a bigger wound. Free pages of paper spewed into the air from the cut, and the snake threw its body around. It smashed its head against walls and the tombs that lined its body crashed against the floor, leaving deep, cracked impressions.
Still, from within the snake’s mouth, Twin Blades continued her assault. Using one wingblade to keep herself anchored to the serpent’s jaw, she used the other to make cut after cut. She poked and hunted around, searching for what she knew was close to her location. She panted from the exertion, but she did not relent until she struck something, her sword singing out with a metallic clink.
She had struck the lantern, and with another powerful shove on her blade, she dislodged the lantern and its candle from the bottom of the snake’s jaw. The lantern fell, smashing into a thousand pieces against the snake’s body. The candle inside bounced away. The flame remained lit, but with each bounce the red fire of the candle ignited ordinary, orange flames. It caught fire to the books of the snake’s body and to the pile of wooden shelves that were its burrow.
Twilight’s screams pierced the snake’s own hissing shrieks. It tossed its head hard, and this time Twin Blades allowed herself to be flung out of the serpent’s jaw. She spread her wings, catching the air and entering a hover. She turned, looking on as more and more of the snake’s body caught fire. It was being consumed, burning alive, and Twin Blades kept a watchful eye on the fire. She kept her swords at the ready. At a moment’s notice, if she feared the real Twilight was in danger in the snake’s tail, she would soar in to slice the rattle off.
But that was not necessary. Admist the fire the candle lay, wax melting away under the intense heat. The wick of the candle became exposed and began to burn in multiple places. In but a few seconds, the candle itself was consumed, and the small flame it supported, the single red flame amongst the glowing oranges of the serpent’s body, went out.
The moment that fire was gone, all the others disappeared. Only the smoldering remains of the snake lingered, and even they began to fade. The books repaired themselves. Pages returned to their spines, and burnt ashes formed together again. The stone tombs along the snake’s body crumbled into bricks, which assembled themselves into a chimney at one end of the room. The smashed shelves repaired themselves and formed neat rows as books filled every available space.
In the span of but a few moments, the snake returned to its true form: that of the castle’s library.
And laying on the floor, at the foot of the fireplace, was Twilight.
~~~
She... had been a guardian.
That one thought left Twilight reeling like she had been struck in the head by a high, popfly baseball. She wanted to believe it was a lie, or perhaps just some dream. Yet, she also knew that the memories couldn’t be modified. They were the raw recollections of Twin Blades. That meant she had been one of the guardians. That she had been a slithering, spitting, spine-shivering snake.
She couldn’t remember how it happened herself, but Twilight’s imagination was more than happy to fill in the blanks. Maybe she had been reading, looking for some clue, when her magic betrayed her. Her levitation layered the books on her, cocooning her inside. The sensation of the dark crystal magic surging through her. Feeling the pain of the ripping pages. And that was only one possibility. What if it had been the crystal magic first? What if it had started with a paper cut?
Twilight caught her imagination, reeling it back in when she realized that such fear of her own imagination had to wait. There were more important things to think about.
But that would have to be something Twilight dealt with later.
That memory only brought more questions. Why wouldn’t Luna mention that in her notes? Why had things been different that one time? When all the other lights were snuffed, the pony guarding them disappeared as well. Yet she had remained. For a moment, Twilight thought of what she had seen in the astral plane. Could the tethers she had seen been a representation of Discord’s influence?
Twilight needed to know more. She needed to see more of what happened. Another word, another memory. She had to figure this out.
~~~
“Mirrors”
Twin Blades rushed over to Twilight. The princess's purple-striped mane was a mess, and her crown rested haphazardly on her brow. Still, Twin Blades heard the subtle rushing of air from Twilight's mouth and felt a pulse in the princess's neck. Twilight was alive, and Twin Blades let a smile crawl onto her face. She took a few steps back, letting herself fall limp in one of the library's reading seats. “It’s alright, Princess Luna. You can come in now,” She said, waving a hoof as she went
“Remind me to award you a commendation when all this is over, Twin Blades.” Luna walked past, coming to a stop when she was standing next to Twilight. “You handled that expertly.”
Twin Blades sat up in her seat, giving a respectful nod. “Thank you, Your Highness.” She then let her eyes wander to Twilight. “So, she didn't disappear like Raven did. Do you think we can wake her up? She might be able to tell us more about what's going on or even just help us find the last three candles.”
“They're stars, Lieutenant. Don't forget Discord's riddle, as it can have multiple meanings. A candle in the darkness can be like a twinkling star in the night. In a way, I wonder if Discord is trying to mock me with this game,” Luna mused, her eyes locked on Twilight's unconscious form. “But other things can be stars. Other things can be the twinkling light that chooses to defy the darkness. After all, I believe Discord would not have placed Twilight and my sister to guard the library for just one candle.”
“You think there's another star nearby?”
Luna nodded as her horn began to glow. She was casting a spell, though Twin Blades could not see what was being affected by the princess's magic. “I believe there is. Lieutenant, please, go take a look around the shelves while I tend to Twilight Sparkle.”
“Of course, Your Highness.” Twin Blades shifted her weight, sliding down from the seat. Her hooves hit the floor, their landing accompanied by a metallic clank. She looked quickly to her side, extending her wing to reveal her left wing blade was swinging limply in its mounting assembly.
“It would seem your equipment got damaged in the fight,” Luna said, the glow of her levitation spell encompassing the broken blade. With the release of a few snaps and buckles, the princess removed the sword and set it on a nearby table. “Don't worry, I'll try to fix it after I've made sure Twilight Sparkle is comfortable.”
“Thank you,” Twin Blades said, awkwardly refolding her wing as she took a step back. As a guard, she should have noticed something had happened to her sword in the fight. It must have been when she was using it to keep herself pinned to the inside of the snake's mouth. The embarrassment only seemed to increase as she realized the princess was the one going to fix her weapon. Such a thing would normally be unheard of for the Royal Guard.
But then again this was far from a “normal” situation.
Still, Twin Blades turned, taking a few steps towards the looming rows of bookshelves. Any sense of dread or danger the room had possessed when she first entered was gone. Now it was just a plain library. She dared to think it almost felt safe. The room had been cleansed with the extinguishing of the candle. Yes, there was a chance Princess Celestia was still out there. That, sooner or later, she would return to hunt them as Princess Luna had warned. But for the moment everything felt safe and secure.
The feeling of being able to relax for the first time since Discord began his twisted game was like taking a long swig from something ice cold at the bar.
The books looked to be in order, as far as she could tell. Her eyes skimmed their spines without really taking in any of the titles. It made some odd sense that they had found Princess Twilight in the castle's library. It was hard to picture her being anywhere else, even if she had become some snake made out of her own precious books. The Royal Guard even had a betting pool going, placing wagers on when they'd see Princess Twilight sneaking around the castle again. She used to have a stake in that pot too, almost winning when Twilight snuck into the Starswirl the Bearded wing.
She had withdrawn not long after that. It didn't feel the same betting on the princess when they had almost lost her, Princess Luna, and Princess Celestia in the catacombs.
A lot of things didn't feel right after that night.
A rush of air by Twin Blades' face drew her mind back into focus. She flared one wing, drawing her remaining sword. Her eyes needed only a few moments to search her surroundings before she found the source. It was a plain, ordinary bat. The little ball of blue-tinted fuzz was glaring down at her from one of the ceiling's rafters. Twin Blades glared right back, but lowered her sword as she did. After having to face the transfigured Raven earlier, the regular bat seemed like an annoyance at best.
The bat, however, seemed intent to prove otherwise. The moment Twin Blades lowered her sword, it launched itself from the ceiling. It flew down, screeching and flapping its wings. It landed on her face, grabbing her nose with its claws and continuing to screech and flap its wings. It was flailing on her, and in response she began to flail as well. She tossed her head, bucked, and waved her wings trying to dislodge the bat from her face. She swatted it with her hooves, but it remained persistent.
In the chaos, Twin Blades' other sword broke. The blade became disconnected from the leather straps that supported them, flinging through the air and wedging itself between the books of a nearby shelf. The flying of the sword, however, seemed to finally scare the bat away. It released Twin Blades' face, shrieking as it returned to the rafters of the ceiling. Its beady little eyes watched her, but Twin Blades glared it right back.
She was tempted to fly right up there and teach that bat a lesson.
But getting aggravated at a bat in a moment of crisis wasn't smart. It had stopped its attack, and she had something more important to deal with. She was now weaponless, with her second sword busted. She'd have to ask Luna to fix this one as well. The princess would probably get a chuckle out of it, and the other guards would as well when they heard. Twin Blades broke her only sword fighting a bat: har de har har.
Moving up to the sword, Twin Blades lifted a hoof to retrieve it from the shelves. She was just going to grab it and take it back to Luna, but then she froze. Her eyes were looking past the sword, caught in the reflection of the well polished blade. She could see the reading area. She could see Princess Twilight laying unconscious at the base of the hearth.
And, above the princess, Twin Blades could see her other sword being held, with murderous intent, by a dark silhouette.
In a flash, Twin Blades turned and leapt into the air. With wings spread, she sprinted the short distance that separated her from Twilight's assailant. She made no effort to slow herself, nor did she try to use any disarming technique she learned as a guard. She acted with the swiftest option possible, tackling the assailant before they could plunge her sword into Princess Twilight's chest.
She and the mysterious silouhette fell to the ground, the pair landing hard as her sword clattered a few feet away. Twin Blades began to wrestle, struggling to get any sort of disabling hold on such a large attacker.
“Lieutenant! What are you doing!?”
Twin Blades stopped herself immediately, stumbling away. The mysterious figure beneath her was Luna. She had just tackled the princess. She opened her mouth, grappling with some words to explain what she just did. “I... I just saw... you were standing over Twilight with my sword and... and...”
“I was fixing your sword,” Luna answered as she picked herself up off the ground.
“But I thought you were going to try and move Twilight first,” Twin Blades said, still trying to comprehend how she had not recognized the mysterious figure as Princess Luna.
“I was, but my magic could not lift her. Also, you may notice that something is different.” Luna pointed a hoof at Twilight, showing that the young alicorn's mane had changed. It now looked like Princess Celestia's, swirling lines of pastel pink, green, and blue. It resembled greatly the costume mane Twilight had been wearing to the Nightmare Night party. “I believe Twilight is starting to transform again, into something different and possibly more dangerous.”
Twin Blades lowered her head. “I am so sorry, Your Highness,” she said, keeping her eyes fixed on the floor as she turned to retrieve her wingblade, which had fallen to the ground a few feet away. “I thought you were someone else, someone trying to attack Twilight.”
“Well, I assure you Lieutenant I am the only other one in here,” Princess Luna said as she brushed some dust from her shoulder. “Perhaps it would be best if you stood guard outside while I tend to Twilight. We need to be sure my sister does not sneak up on us, and it would help guarantee that, in your own paranoia, you don't tackle me again.”
“Of course, Your Highness.” Twin Blades picked up her wing blade, daring not to turn and look back at the princess. It was repaired, so she quickly secured it to her wing and gave it a few quick tests. She withdrew it and sheathed it, then repeated the process. On the third time, she drew the blade out and held it front of her face. Though she trusted the princess's magic, she had to satisfy her habitual need to inspect the weapon upon putting it on. The mounting straps were tight, and the blade was firmly secured to the spring-loaded mechanisms.
The sharp edge was still pristine, as were the flat faces of the sword. Twin Blades could clearly see her own eyes reflected in the surface, but that wasn't all.
“Lies Mirrored Are Truth”
In the reflection, Twin Blades could see Twilight laying unconscious, but something was different. Twilight's mane was its natural color, purple with a few stripes. There was also... something else. A flicker of color danced on the edge of the reflection, forcing Twin Blades to adjust her sword to bring it into focus. It was the portrait of Celestia above the mantel. It’s mane was waving, as if alive, and the princess’s facial expression had changed. She was now frowning, looking down at Twilight with pained, sad eyes. Like she was watching her student suffer with no way of easing or preventing her pain.
Yet, it was then Celestia’s reflected eyes turned. As if noticing she was being watched, the mirrored image of the portrait was now looking straight at Twin Blades. The stare was bone chilling, like Celestia was suddenly putting the weight of the world on the lieutenant’s shoulders. Twin Blades almost wanted to look away, but her eyes remained locked with Celestia’s as the princess mouthed, in silence, two words.
“Protect Twilight.”
“Is something the matter, Lieutenant?” Luna asked.
“N... no,” she answered, stowing the wing blade and folding her wing. She turned and began walking towards the door. Her every intent was to do as she had been told, to stand watch outside. But, before she reached the door, she stopped. For several seconds she just stood there, debating whether or not the thoughts in her head were baseless paranoia. She drew her sword again, doing it slowly and quietly. A moment later she almost put it away, wanting nothing more than to dismiss her thoughts.
But, instead, she positioned the sword, tilting the blade so its reflective surface showed Twin Blades what stood directly behind her. Once more she saw Princess Twilight, looking as normal as ever, and standing above her was something that was decidedly not Luna.
“Your Highness,” Twin Blades said quietly, not taking her eyes off the reflection. “Why do you think Twilight Sparkle didn't disappear like Raven did?”
“It's hard for me to say,” Luna answered, the dark silhouette in the reflection of Twin Blades' sword taking a step to one side. It was turning, slowly bringing itself around to face her. “I have little doubt that Twilight was guarding the candle you were able to put out, but then one must wonder why my sister was guarding this library. There is no obvious sign of a second star in this room, yet Twilight remains. Yes, maybe Discord put them both to guard that one star, but perhaps we must contemplate that the word star could have a broader definition.”
Twin Blades tensed herself, watching her sword as the silhouette drew closer to her. “What, are you saying Twilight is one of the stars from Discord's riddle?”
“Maybe,” the princess answered, her voice getting closer as the figure in the sword's reflection drew near. “A star in a dark night is a metaphor for hope, after all. Twilight certainly brings a great deal of hope to situations that seem otherwise bleak. She has saved this kingdom numerous times, and on top of that, she wields the Element of Magic. Yes, in many ways my sister's student is a veritable star.”
“But you wouldn't suggest we snuff that star, would you, Princess Luna?”
“No, of course not,” the voice answered, beginning to lose it's sweetness. “I would never dream of that. I’d be betraying my sister even contemplating such a notion.”
The silhouette stepped outside the sword’s reflection. Twin Blades shifted the blade, trying to locate the figure. She even dared to turn her head, to look and find where Princess Luna had gone. She allowed her body to turn. She put the door to her back and held her sword defensively. There, however, was still no sign of Princess Luna or the silhouette from the sword’s reflection.
“But now that you mention it, this is a golden opportunity to snuff a star. Don’t you agree, Lieutenant?”
Twin Blades could feel a hot puff of breath on her neck, as if a great beast was within moments of biting down on her spine and snapping it like a twig. How had that thing gotten behind her? How could she get out of this alive? The enemy was to close. It could make a move before she could even react. She was dead. Every way the situation played out in her head she was dead.
At least, until, she heard the screeching of the bat.
~~~
“Don't Snuff The Lights”
Twin Blades landed in the forest, her breathing labored. She leaned to one side, sliding Twilight’s unconscious form off onto the soft dirt. She was trembling, body on the verge of collapse. She bore a few cuts here and there, but as much as she wanted to linger, she couldn’t. She could hear that thing following her. The bat... that crazy bat had saved her life. But it wasn’t enough to stop Princess Luna... or maybe that had been Discord. The chaotic creature surely had enough power to pass himself off as the princess.
Still, her sword, the reflective surface, had revealed the truth, and the bat gave her a chance to escape with Princess Twilight. But what now? Discord or Luna or whoever was still following them. She could hear it stomping through the trees, and she couldn't carry Twilight any further. She had to lead it away, but to where?
The only option she could think of was the castle. She could fly back there, retrieve and repair her other wing blade, and then try to keep Discord distracted. If she did that long enough, the trail would go cold. Discord would have trouble finding Twilight, and once Twilight woke up she’d have a chance to find help.
It was a gambit, a risk, but so was staying with Twilight. Everypony else, she couldn't’ save them. But Twilight could do it. She could get help or figure out Discord’s game and save everypony. It was... a moment that made Twin Blades recall what Night Gaze had done in the catacombs.
He gave his life so the rest could get out alive. Now, it was her turn.
It was the burden of a guard of the kingdom, one she was ready to bear.
~~~
“Not Discord”
Twin Blades pressed her back against the door of the guest room, trying to quiet her labored breathing. She heard the hoof steps outside. She heard Luna calling to her, trying to lure her out like she was a lost puppy who didn’t know any better. Twin Blades, however, would not be tricked or confused. She stayed silent, barely allowing herself to breathe as she listened to the hoofsteps outside the door. They lingered and circled, as if Princess Luna or Discord or whoever was closing in. The princess even stopped right outside the door, and for a brief moment Twin Blades was sure she heard somepony touching the door latch.
But then the hoofsteps resumed, fading away until all was silent.
Even then, Twin Blades didn't dare move for several minutes. She kept waiting and listening, as if expecting Luna to return the moment she let her guard down. Minutes crawled on, and when the silence persisted Twin Blades dared to step away from the door. She walked gingerly, crossing the room to the window. This was her chance. She could fly outside and go to another part of the castle. She opened the window, feeling the chill of the night air on her face. It was like a whispered promise of freedom and continued survival.
She also heard a screeching and clanking.
Looking down from the window, Twin Blades saw a prancing pony statue standing in front of the castle's main entrance. On it's extended hoof it was holding a cage, within which a bat screamed and flailed without rest. Though she couldn't be sure from such a far distance, Twin Blades believed it was the same bat that had saved her. She had seen no other bats around the castle, and the one below certainly sounded the same. The bat also had the same level of tenacity as the one that attacked her in the library. After being locked in a cage for several minutes, it was still fighting and flailing as if the princess had only just shut the door.
For a moment, Twin Blades debated freeing the bat. It would probably attack her afterwards, but it had saved her. She felt some sense of responsibility to pay back the owed debt, even if the bat ended up being a different one from before.
Yet, at the same time, the screeching... there was something about the screeching. It was... painful. Twin Blades stepped back from the window, holding her head. The screeching was getting into her brain, soaking in deeper than it should have. It felt like claws against her skull, driving out all thoughts except for one.
Something was wrong.
She felt her stomach twist and knot, like she was being turned inside out. She gagged, but upon clenching her jaw found her teeth felt too big. In fact, they were still growing, pushing apart her lips to the point she couldn’t keep them completely shut. She lifted a hoof to her mouth, frantically feeling the sharp triangles where blunt squares should have been. She was... no, she couldn’t be... not now.
Stumbling forward, Twin Blades rested her hooves on the vanity. She tried to lift her head, but it suddenly felt so heavy. The muscles in her neck strained, eventually managing to lift her weighty skull. It came with a sense of vertigo. Her neck was longer, she could see it in the mirror, and she could see the teeth. Fangs larger than her eyes that were still growing, beginning to push her jaw to it’s limit.
Everything simply felt wrong. Her hooves, her legs... they didn’t feel like her own as she gripped the vanity, leaving shallow claw marks in the surface. The world was swimming, her vision blurring. Things were feeling more and more alien, but also growing more and more distant. She was losing control, transforming and becoming who knew what. Her bones felt too large inside her legs. Throbbing pain began to emanate from her joints. She turned her elongated head just enough to see little spots of white starting to rise from her skin.
She tried to will herself to fight it. She tried to imagine everything undoing itself. She tried commanding it all to go back to what it was, but it didn’t. It just continued, and her mind grew more and more disconnected from what was happening. Her body felt almost like a costume now, a beastly shape she had put on for Nightmare Night. She heard the rattling of bones, vaguely perceiving them coming from her own rib cage yet being unable to look. A beast of bone, of snarling teeth and undying determination.
The same kind of thing that killed Night Gaze.
The bat’s screeching, however, stayed with Twin Blades. Even as everything else grew numb, even as her vision faded and her ears grew mute, the screeching remained. The screeching, it was just so painful. She was being stabbed by it, and yet even that pain was beginning to drift away. The sound remained, but the ache disappeared. Now it was just a sound, a noise that fell to the background. It had a beat to it, subtle yet distinguishable. A beat that made the numbness feel all right.
Like it was all just a dream.
Yes, a dream. What had she been dreaming about? Twin Blades honestly couldn’t remember at first, but the details began to flow back as if they were being whispered into her ear by a voice she could not hear. A voice mixing and being hidden by the bat’s background screeching.
It was late at night. She was dreaming of working late. The sun had set, so she needed to light a lantern. She found it and hung it from a hook on the wall. The hook was low, almost like it was the same height as an average bedpost. But that didn’t matter. She just needed some light, and the lantern was providing that.
But why did she need the light?
Twin Blades... she needed to write something down. It was for Princess Twilight. Yes, Princess Twilight needed to know about certain things, things that she knew a lot about. She just... needed to remember what to tell the princess. She didn't need to write it all down. All she needed was the bullet points. A few bullet points was all she needed to write down. She used what seemed like an oversized quill to start writing those bullet points on an equally large piece of paper. This had to be very important if she needed to use such a large quill and piece of paper.
What she needed to do was... warn Princess Twilight. Yes, warn her about the castle that she and Princess Luna escaped from. Luna was... Luna wasn't telling the whole story. It was like what she did at the catacombs. She withheld information, and now she was doing it again. Luna was lying, and Twin Blades knew how to prove it. She just had to write down her bullet points. There was nothing scary, nothing bad. She just had to write down the bullet points.
She began to write with the large quill. It sounded wrong against the paper, but... that was okay. The quill was still writing. It was a special quill. She didn't even have to dip it in ink. She just had to write on the extra large piece of paper.
All she had to do was make her notes so she could tell Princess Twilight Sparkle what she knew.
~~~
The Elements of Harmony were alive with energy, glowing trails of rainbows connecting the five jewels. Applejack and her friends floated in the air, halfway between the ballroom’s ceiling and floor. The guards below watched in awe. None of them had ever seen the Elements of Harmony in use, but they kept their distance, ensuring that whatever was about to happen had plenty of room to work with.
Shining Armor was on the edge of this perimeter, looking on as the five gems fulfilled the wish of the mares that wielded them. That had been the trick they overlooked. Twilight’s friends couldn’t command the Elements of Harmony to find its missing piece, nor could they ask them to. No, the desire that had to be foremost in the heart was their wish to find Twilight. That pure concern for their missing friend, that was what gave the Elements their power.
The light from the necklaces grew almost blinding as the spell continued. A few guards had to shy away, shielding their eyes with a forehoof. Shining Armor forced himself to keep watching, eyes watering from the brightness.
The circle of glowing, ethereal rainbows that connected the five elements began to fold into one another, condensing in until they were but a single, spherical, swirling point of color. That was when Twilight’s friends began to descend, the spell gently returning them to the floor as their eyes began to flutter open.
“Did it work?” Rarity asked, stumbling a bit. She was caught by a quick-acting guard, and she couldn’t help but flash a thankful smile in his direction.
“I think it did,” Shining Armor answered, watching as the sphere of swirling rainbows began to float down as well. It was like a snowflake in its descent. It twirled and danced, nudged by even the slightest stream of air. A few guards tried to step forward, but Shining Armor waved them back. Everypony watched intently, some even holding their breath, as the little sphere continued to sink.
It touched the cool stone of the castle floor, sinking into a crack as if it was made of thick syrup. But then, from that tiny dot, a stream of rainbows began to flow along the seams in the brickwork. Some of the streams extended only to stop a few inches away. But others continued to stretch out, forming a distinctive path that was beginning to lead out of the ballroom.
“I think it’s leading the way!” Rainbow Dash shouted, starting to trot along side the flowing rivulets. Twilight’s friends, Shining Armor, and a few guards followed this lead, trotting behind her as they were led out of the ballroom. It was a steady walk at first, but then a few guards had to break into a trot. Others followed soon after. The flow of magic was increasing in speed, the rivulets stretching out with greater and greater haste.
Within minutes, the group of ponies were running through the halls of Canterlot Castle after the trail of magic. Guards were beginning to fall behind. Rainbow Dash had taken to the air, the only one managing to keep pace with the edge of the rivulets that were, slowly but surely, getting further and further away from the others.
Soon, as the rainbow rivulets descended a castle staircase, even Rainbow Dash began to have trouble. The tight spaces and sharp turns were slowing her down. She could still outpace the magic with raw speed, but it was beginning to get ahead of her because of its sheer maneuverability. But Rainbow continued to push herself, not to be outpace by a thing as silly as rivulets.
She stopped paying attention to where she was being led. It was a race, one she couldn’t afford to lose yet was unable to truly win, since she did not know where it would all end. All she could do was keep pace with the rivulets, never letting them get too far ahead. She passed by some of the lingering guards on patrol from the later shifts. She heard the shouts from her friends asking her to slow down. But she couldn't do that. After all, if she let the rivulets get away, there was a chance the trail could disappear. Then they’d have to take the time to try and activate the Elements a second time.
It was time that Rainbow Dash didn’t want to waste.
Down more stairs and through more corridors the rivulets went, leading Dash to parts of the castle that were rarely visited by a living soul. Hallways connected to storage rooms that held decorations from celebrations both recent and past. Dungeons that had not been put into service for decades, left to sit hollow and empty as law breakers of the kingdom were placed into the prison system. It was to the castle's greatest depths that the rivulets flowed, and Rainbow Dash followed them until they came upon a singular door.
Flapping her wings and shifting her weight, Rainbow Dash just barely managed to stop herself from crashing headlong into the door. The rivulets flowed unimpeded beneath the seam in the door, but passing through the frame would not be so easy for Rainbow Dash. The door was sealed with three thick, parallel iron-cross bars, each one padlocked to metal mounts that protruded from both sides of the door's frame. It was like the door itself was in shackles, suffering some punishment in the castle's lowest chambers.
Rainbow Dash tugged at a few of the crossbars, seeing if she could pry them lose as the sound of galloping hooves began to come up behind her. The others came to the end of the hallway, Rarity and Shining Armor's horns providing light as they all looked upon the door. “We have to get through this,” Rainbow Dash told them, still trying to pull the bars off with her own strength. “Those rainbow river things went under the door.”
“Shining, do you have the key to these locks?” Applejack asked, holding one of the padlocks in a forehoof.
“No, I don't. There are only three copies of the key that opens that lock, and two of them are only supposed to be held by the princesses.”
“Why is that? What's behind this door?” Rarity asked.
“It leads to the crystal caverns beneath Canterlot, the place where the changeling queen imprisoned Cadance during our wedding,” Shining Armor answered, his words ushering in a silence across the whole group as they looked to the door.
=====================================================================
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the crystal catacombs? ooh nice idea since theyh are so little known. let us see what lies ahead in that crystal tomb.
...............although the Finale kinda definitely makes this an alternate universe thing though. Tirek was a far different being after all.
Well, I will be seeing that cover art in my fucking nightmares.
Jesus fucking Christ.
This is getting pretty creepy. Though it may be the insane ravings on the wall.
Ever since Portal I've loved that type of thing.
Great update!
I was wondering when you would post it.
Ok A: The Bat is definitely Discord.
B: I look forward to the next chapter
Memory spells work like Google. That certainly makes things easier!
Another awesome chapter.
ew i dont like the cover it scares me ooo :(
Not Luna
Well that wasn't creepy at all *shudders*
some things I can infer from this chapter.
1. The candles probably represent the elements of harmony, so far we had a pink candle (kindness) a red candle (loyalty) and a blue candle (laughter) and I forgot which color candle Philomena was guarding. this whole quest to snuff the candles is presumably some ritual to weaken or destroy the elements, or maybe the candles prevent whatever the spell is supposed to do from finishing and everyone is currently stuck some kind of limbo.
2. The severed tethers mentioned at the end of the last chapter are for each guardian, and the only reason that twilight didn't vanish with the rest of them is the purple connection she still has with the central star.
3. All the guardians thus far have been others who where close to Celestia, this does raze questions on who the fifth guardian will be, I want to say Luna but she seems to be a front runner for psycho Celestia.
4. The central star is Celestia herself.
5. All toughs who have been freed are in the crystal caverns.
6. the fake Luna may be Tirek himself, or some kind of avatar or servant.
At first I was thinking this was a pretty tame chapter, compared to the other ones, not giving me any goosebumps at all, and then it happened. I still love the mirrored lies concept.
God damn this is getting intense.
To be honest, the so called "guardians" need more originality.
Cadence a frost/ice spider
Philomena a dust/ash phoenix
Twilight a book/bookshelf snake
No offence but those aren't that creative (considering that Cadence, Philomena and Twilight are in a dream like state where their deepest fears become reality), try making guardians that not only are capable of killing the intruder but also destroying a big chunk of the castle.
Also, if Cadence and Philomena monster/guardian forms are destroyed are they awake or have they reaches into a deeper pit of torture and suffering?
Well now, that clears up a few things. First, this isn't a game specifically targeted at Twilight given that she was simply one of the guardians, and is only free thanks to the efforts of Twin Blades. And second, something that feels like it should have been obvious, the sleep walking ponies that started to transform when Twilight interrupted their actions are suffering from a similar curse as the guardians and have a second curse/effect keeping them "normal". It's unclear whether the first curse and the other effect are from the same source or if there are multiple bad actors playing. Also, TF body horror is really damn disturbing.
And speaking of Twin Blades, my god does that mare deserve to live to receive her commendation. Saving Twilight from being stuck in Guardian Twilight, realizing that "Luna" was up to something, and then escaping while saving Twilight again and sacrificing herself to keep her free. I want to believe that she will make it through this.
And a blue-tinted bat that is doing its best to help? Anyone else thinking that we've found the real Luna?
uncanny.ch/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/20140307_Magneto_Cover_Marvel_Now_002-590x300.jpg
4436816
playing dead space, for me at least, helped make it not as creepy as you make it out to be.
This I agree with on so many levels. I really hope on all things holy that she pulls through. Now that we have stated this, it probably will not happen
4436610
I disagree with the idea that these monsters need to be Godzilla/Super-Tirek sized in order to be "original." Each of the guardians can be explained logically:
Raven is obvious, as she was afraid of bats and rodents, and so became RatBat, guardian of
Gotham Citythe secretary's lounge.Cadence is a little more obscure. The spiders are easy enough to be rationalized, and I'm guessing that her fear of cold may be from her pre-Canterlot days or from her imprisonment in the caverns.
Philomena, being a near-immortal creature, fears her death
Celestia fears becoming a cruel, vicious tyrant/predator
The witch doctor is tricky. Possibly he fears the eventuality that he might harm his patients/be seen as a "witch doctor," dealing in obscure remedies.
Luna is bloody obvious. Fear of a relapse in miss Black Snooty.
Twilight is special. As you pointed out, she feared snakes and her books being destroyed, but she also feared being entrapped in the tomb in the first story, and we see that in her snake form as being her "armor".
Frankly, that whole series of connections and transformations is incredibly creative, and obviously required a great deal of thought and time from Pen Stroke. Not to mention Philomena destroyed the entire outside of the castle, and Luna/NMM put nearly everyone into a waking coma to protect herself. Granted, I just named six guardians(?) and we haven't even seen Discord yet. Something tells me that he's just as much of a victim as everyone else, and that there's something dreadfully important about the candles, possibly being that . I can't wait to see what scares the Chancellor of Chaos.
4438235
What I tried to say is that instead of making a super powered guardian, Pen Stroke should use the designs of Silent Hill/Resident Evil in order to make the guardians appear more of nighmare material.
I don't want to say that his guardians aren't that well thought/made, don't get me wrong those things that guard the candle/light/stars are freaking epic, but nightmares aren't epic in any sense.
Nightmares are things that give even the bravest of hearts and the strongest of souls a hard time (before, during and after fighting)
Another thing that kinda makes it boring is that the halls (all of them as far as we know) don't have that eerie, creepy "I'll gut you like a fish and bathe in your blood" sensation or feeling.
I suggest that in the corridors mirrors/paintings the faces and expessions on them not only move but STARE at whoever is in said corridors, even if your on the farthest reach you can tell very well that all the paintings and even your reflection(s) aren't normal.
To Pen Stroke: try adding creepypasta material, like you did on the prequel (one of the golden rules of creepypastas is to start at the end and recount the entire ordeal until the beginning/end of the story.
Plus the Witch Doctor/Headless Horse is living inside a painting/portal, why don't you make more paintings that have clues or traps that'll help or kill whoever enters them?
4436610 Lol noob, obviously Pen Stroke doesn't want it that way. They probably all are going to have a reason to them. Shhh, let's watch and learn from the best writer in FimFiction.
4434055 Pen Stroke started this before season 4 happened, he obviously want to keep this story away from Tirek... Maybe
4440629
I am not a noob and Pen Stroke isn't the best writer in this web page, if you believe he's the best then he is (to you) but to me its not a matter of being the best or the worst, to me it depends on how much fun the writer has writing the story.
But I do agree that his stories are among the best (as far as I know) on this web page but I prefer Bronystories over Pen Stroke to be frankly honest.
There's something about clop that seems to be better than horror, romance or adventure, but hey that's me
This has been fairly horrific, like I'm sure it's supposed to be.
Admittedly, there is a little bit of silly disconnect inherent in the fact that we are trying to empathize with a purple magic horsebird.
However, it's still creepy as balls for most of the story.
You set up a weird mirror room with a monster guardian of some decapitation based torture service we don't understand and it was also confusing and dark.
Then,
suddenly horse puns
You take a mildly funny monster from human stories and horse-pun him.
And he's all like
ooOOOoooOOO, loooook at meeeeee,
I'm a reeeeferaaaance.
Feeeeeaaaaaar meeeeeeee.
Learn her. Learn her good.
Did she also yard it?
Amazing alliteration!
"Severus Snape?"
i really like this story so far is there going to be more???
OK I'm confused on what twilight is supposed to do.
When they blow out the candles the castle returns to normal, thus Tirek has the guardians. However evil-dark-luna-thing want's the candles blown out so it's a bad thing. Which should mean that the mutated friend guards are keeping the candle safe, but then why would they attack their friends? Also twilight and monster celestia were guarding the library where real celestia is trapped, and luna led monster celestia away, sooooo.....huh?
Nicely done sir, you have confused the daylights out of me, excellent story writing, I can't wait for the next chapter.
Okay, I'm sorry, but it has to be said.
Why does Twin Blades remember the battle with the snake in third person?
4438235
I'm calling this one, Discord is Celestia, or the Celestia we've seen so far. They said they became their fears, and the last thing he did was recognize that the ring would control her. Obviously, the thing he feared at that moment was a possessed monster Celestia, which would make for a wonderful twist.
4440619
I agree with you on this. I think that the guardians were kind of lackluster in their presentation. If Pen Stroke's horror writing has an issue, it's that it's too detailed. The scariest monsters are unseen, and yet we get full details of just what they become. Honestly, the act of transforming into a guardian is more terrifying than the guardians themselves, and if the story had opened with this premise, and had Twilight struggling to fight off her own creeping transformation as she fought the other guadians, THAT would have made for a horrifying tale. Heck, if she'd encountered some other guardians stuck halfway, like a deranged Cadance caught between eating Twilight and warning her, giving a glimpse into Twilight's own future loss of control, then all the more nightmare fuel.
As is, I think the story came down with a bad case of Dead Space syndrome, where the guardians' scare factor is inversely proportional to their ability to be harmed/defeated.
4509149 On the Discord subject, I believe the bat is discord. Part of chaos is fear (at least that's what I believe), thus he would be immune to it, thus he'd have to be removed. In a couple chapters back the bat lands on the paw of one of the destroyed statues. One of Discord's wings are a bat wing, and one of his hands is a paw, now don't tell me this is a coincidence. As for everything else, as said in my last comment, I am very thoroughly confused.
4509149 also good point with the twin blades thing.
4530224
I think the bat is Luna, because of how her screeching affected Twin Blades. Also, Luna lives in the shadow of her sister and her own transgressions. I think that she fears being shunned and being inconsequential, like being turned from a mighty alicorn into a tiny, creepy bat.
4530261 ok A: the bat's not tiny, none of the creature/mutant/guard/things are little. B: So you think it's just a coincidence that the bat lands on one of the statue pieces that resembles one of discords parts?
Not saying that everyone can't have their own ideas/opinions, but in stories like this, I find these kind of coincidences rare.
4530271 Luna just makes so much sense, as does Discord as Celestia. Still, at this point, it is just supposition.
4530349 Your opinion says Luna explanation is more logical, my opinion says that Discord explanation is more logical than a coincidence. We both have our own opinions, and either way we'll find out who's right or wrong. I won't rub it in if I'm right, as long as you don't if you are. For all we know we could both be wrong.
4531824 Bat Flash Sentry confirmed.
4532041 What?
where did FS come into this and how do you know?
4532358 It's a joke within the gaming community to claim outrageous things are confirmed. Like S5 Pinkiecorn confirmed. Spike spinoff confirmed.
So of course, what would be the most horribly absurd answer to "who is the bat?" Flash Sentry, of course. Well, unless you go for a Shyamalan-esque twist where Twilight herself was the bat all along.
4532804 Ah I see
4436610
I'm not sure how those monsters aren't powerful enough for you, but I also am amazed that you instantly missed the reason WHY they are what they are. Not every monster has to be a super crazy awesome megaexplosive . . . thing. That's all stupid movie hype.
4436816
4530261
Why is it that I am only JUST coming to this conclusion myself? And I'm prereading this story! T_T And I am foiled once again by readers that are better than I am at coming up with ideas.
And no, I don't know any more than you do. XP I've been making my own assumptions while prereading since I started this story.
4535935
One thing is power and another thing is appearance.
Any of the "candle/light/star guardians" are powerful enough to beat dead almost any monster/ boss from Resident evil and Silent Hill, it's their appearance that makes them less frightening in comparison to other detailed descriptions of RE bosses and Silent Hill bosses.
I haven't MISSED anything fyi, all of those monsters are nothing more than their deepest fear given a body (the dreamers body)
I do agree that not all monsters must go out in a BANG and a huge explosion, but hey, if your against the classical way on getting rid of monsters that's a OK with me, it's your tastes in movies against mine
4436816 you're forgetting everything blades did in Into the Depths as well, and I can see how Luna would be that bat, but isn't she still in the room Twilight woke in? Or do you think she is both? Or that she moved? Or that the Curse finally worked it's magic on her? (Pardon the pun)
This story is getting better and better every time. But wait, if the door leads to the crystal chambers that Cadence was in during the wedding episode, then does that mean Twilight, Luna, Celestia, and many others aren't in the old castle after all?
Here I was thinking that they were all in a super lucid, tangible dream.
Now Im starting to thing its one of those tardis room deals.
An entire darkness filled kingdom and castle can be sitting underground behind those doors.
Whoa boy.
Damn. I never knew that Twilight was one of the monsters that needed to be free.
And it looks like Discord and Twin Blades did their parts to help Twilight in her time of need. The rest is up to her...........
..............now I'm wondering if this is Chrysallis's doing or Tirek's, the foreshadoing points to both possibilities. Unless there is a new player that I totally missed.
7540942 just reached this point in the story. Could it be both? Tirek controlling chrysalis? Maybe it'll turn out that chrysalis is the unicorn queen who wrote the clavicula concordia
If any pony deserves to make it out, it's Twin Blades at this point.
r一一一一一一ɿ
l RIP My Mind l
l ~~~~~~~~~~ l
l Was slain by l <=== My futile attempt at describing the twists this story pulls with an ASCII grave.
l "Confusion" l
L_____________」