Creationism

by Sollace

Chapter 2: The Truth

The hastened clatter of hooves echoed through the halls as Shining Armour raced towards his destination. Though the letter was vague the message had still been clear. “There is a matter of great importance”, Celestia needed him in Canterlot immediately.

Rounding one last corner a set of large doors came into view ahead, the shape of the sun and moon clearly etched into their golden surface. As Shining Armour approached the stationed guards stood to attention. They parted their crossed spears and turned to push the heavy doors open. Not breaking pace, Shining Armour was only able to flash a quick nod to the saluting guards before ducking inside.

Celestia quietly contemplated the situation as she awaited her guest, a worried expression visible on her regal visage. The room echoed with a thunderous creak as the main doors swung on their hinges, and finally a resounding boom as they sealed shut.

The room lapsed back into silence, only broken by the sharp clatter of hooves on the marble floors. Celestia looked up to greet her guest, a lone Unicorn approaching at a brisk pace.
Shining Armour paused before the princess, still panting and out of breath and his mane a dishevelled mess. “Princess, I came, as quickly as I could. What matter is it that requires my attention so urgently?”

“Shining, as you know since Twilight Sparkle took on her responsibilities as princess she has frequented Canterlot fairly regularly.”

Shining Armour nodded in agreement, "I have heard. She tells me you have helped her a lot since these last few weeks."

“Indeed. This week I have asked that she and her friends come for a special occasion. They were to board the Ponyville Express. I would then have guards waiting at the station to escort them to the castle.”

“But things did not go as expected.” Shining cuts her off.

Celestia’s gaze falls slightly, “I’m afraid not. The Ponyville Express and all of its passengers have gone missing. We were able to confirm with the Ponyville station that the train had left and seemed to be progressing as scheduled; several witnesses also reported seeing it leave Ponyville towards Canterlot.”

Shining Armour looked to his side, his brow furrowed as he took in this new information. His expression changed to one more serious. “Princess,-”

Celestia silenced him with a raised hoof glancing towards the back doors. Shining Armour glanced in the direction she had pointed and waited for her to continue. They sat in silence, the only sound that of a muffled sneeze from the guards outside.

Seeming satisfied the princess continued, “We’ve yet to determine who might be responsible for this, nor how. I’ve asked you here because I believe you can help us find her. It is little known that all unicorn siblings share a special bond. Their magical auras are linked. It is normally very weak, but on rare occasions it can be strong enough that they could sense each others presence or even communicate. With you, her brother, and the right kind of spell we could use this to our advantage.”

“A Unicorns magic tends to linger, Alicorns even more so. With your help we could detect her magic and hopefully follow the trail all the way to where she currently is.”

“Right, and who would create such a spell?”

“No need to worry about that, I’ve already asked Luna to start work on it, but these things take time. Until then I need you to coordinate with the royal guard. We need to be ready should something happen, and this must be kept quite. Nopony outside of this room can know what is happening. We don’t know what we’re up against and we can’t afford to have the media complicating matters. I will leave you to deal with that as necessary.”

“Yes, princess,” Shining Armour gave a bow and turned to make his exit.

As he reached the door Celestia called out to him one last time. "Shining?"

Shining Armour turned back to face the princess. "Yes?"

“Um", Celestia hesitated for a moment,"I promise you, we'll find her. Wherever Twilight may be, I can assure you that she has the situation well within hoof."

A thin smile appeared on Shining’s face, "Thank you, Princess" He then left the throne room, the resounding boom of the doors marking his exit as they swung shut behind him.

Heaving a sigh, Celestia leaned back in her throne. Her shoulders relaxed and her regal demeanour dropped revealing the tired and worn out pony underneath.

Princess Luna stepped forward from her hiding place amongst the shadows. “You did not tell him?”

“No, Lulu. I just-,” Celestia heaved another sigh.

Luna stepped lightly round to the front of the throne, leaning in to whisper to her sister. “He will have to find out eventually.”

“Yes, and I will deal with it in time. For now, I need to rest to. I need to… think.”

Luna leaned back regarding her sister, a concerned look on her face. “I warn thee, not much longer delay lest he find the truth of his own accord. It is best you be honest than to attempt to spare his feelings.”

---

Reaching the top of a hill, a pink mare took a moment to catch her breath. She’d had this dream many times before. Pinkie Pie risked a glance behind her. The pink cake icing landscape covered in giant candy canes forming a dense forest stretching out far into the distance, all bathed in the warm light of the setting sun. Not far off the horizon the darkness slowly drew closer. A malignant dark cloud spreading across the land, sapping away the bright colours as it passed.

Granted, it had been a long time since this dream last occurred, yet still Pinkie knew exactly how it went. It was always the same.

I have to get to the lighthouse. Before the darkness overtakes me.

Turning her back to the shadows, Pinkie Pie continued on her journey. Galloping at full pace, she ducked under a low hanging branch and weaved past the thick sugary undergrowth.

The forests shook as a distant rumble spread out across the landscape. Pinkie chose to ignore it and picked up her pace. She continued on.

It was not long before the voices began. From somewhere far behind, a soft melancholy voice reached Pinkies ears, “Pinkie”, a subtle echoed, resounding through the woods.

Pinkie kept her head down and focused on her destination, “No — no, leave me alone! I’m not listening to you.”

The voice persisted, “Come on, Pinkie. I’m your friend.” It stressed the last word as the voice trailed into an echo. “You know me, Pinkie. Remember all the fun we’ve had.”

“No! We’re done! I’m not that kind of pony anymore.”

Reaching a fork in the path Pinkie took a left without the slightest hesitation. As she galloped forth through the winding path Pinkie quickly sensed her surroundings changing. The once healthy bright reds of the candy canes now replaced with a more sickly brown, the path once bright pink now a dull grey.

Pinkie heard the faint sound of thundering hooves behind her as the it began to draw closer. “Pinkie; you look tired. Won’t you have a rest? Let me help you. I can fix everything…”

“No! I won’t let you!” The Pinkie the end of the path and galloped out into a clearing in the forest, the once vibrant scene now only a dreary reminder of the impeding darkness. On the far side, the first signs that she was approaching her destination became visible. A faint light was just visible through the thick woods, anything within its reach still holding a healthy glow. She risked a glance behind her; the shadows were now much closer, a dark cloud billowed down the path. Pinkie could just make out a dark figure standing in the distance before it was lost to the sea of blackness.

Pulling on her last reserves of energy, the pink mare built up her speed once again. She darted across the clearing and dove into the woods on the opposite side. Pushing her way through the thick under growth, Pinkie arrived at her destination. Towering before her stood a building made up almost entirely of sweets, the spitting image of the one place Pinkie would care to call home. Its windows gave off a blinding, pure white light that bathed the entire area blocking the darkness from progressing.

A wide grin spread across Pinkie’s face and she bounded up the steps towards Sugar Cube Corner. Putting a hoof to the door handle, she turned and shouted back, confident in her victory, “It’s over; you’re finished! You hear me? Finished! All I have to do is go inside.”

She turned the handle and pushed forward expecting the door to swing open with eas, but it did not. Pinkie’s expression changed to one of confusion, she tried pulling but to no avail.

Now using both hooves, Pinkie pushed even harder. She put all of her weight into the door and still it does not budge. “Oh please, please, please” Pinkie begged. She fumbled with the lock, her hooves now sweaty and nervous, starting losing their grip.

Pinkie glanced back at the approaching shadows, the purifying light now having less of an effect. “Please don’t let it be-”

“Locked?” The voice, now much clearer than before, sounded behind Pinkie with a hint of arrogance.

---

Let’s see. It was left, right, right, left, right, left, left?

No, no that’s not right. It was left, right, right, left, right, right, left. But then where did-

“Hey, Twilight!” a shrill voice echoed down the passage breaking Twilight Sparkle out of her thoughts. She looked around for who might be calling, but seeing nopony Twilight shrugged and continued walking.

“Twilight, yoo-hoo!”

Hearing the voice again Twilight paused and looked behind her expecting there to be somepony there, but instead just found the passage empty. But turning back, she was met not with an empty passage but rather with a very happy, very pink face staring right at her.

“Hey, Twilight!” the pony suddenly shouted.

“Woah”, out of surprise Twilight Sparkle jumped back away from the pony. Unable to keep her balance she fell and landed in a sitting position.

The pink pony continued, oblivious to her companion’s surprise. “I’m so glad I found you! I was beginning to think I was the only one here! I was worried that something awful might have happened but you know what, I realised I didn’t have anything to worry about, since I didn’t have any twitchy-twitch twitches. I always get twitchy-twitches when something is wrong or somepony’s in danger but I didn’t have any! So I figured everything must be fine. And what do you know I was right!”

“Um, excuse me?” Twilight tried to interrupt the pony from her rant.

The pink pony just continued, not taking any notice. “Now that we’re together we can solve anything! Twilight’s got a plan, that’s what I say. Cause you always have a plan!”

Getting back to her hooves, “Who are you?” Twilight asked.

“What!?” the pink pony was dumb struck. She pushed her agape jaw closed with a hoof and leaned in closer to Twilight. In an accusing tone, “How could you not remember me?” She bounced back to a normal distance from Twilight, “You know me Twilight, why I’m the septuple-P of course!” She paused for a moment, her face twisted into a frown and her eyes crossed as she focused on the object of her displeasure, a single strand of hair hanging limp in front of her face. She gently tucked the rebellious strand back among its comrades behind her ear. Seemingly satisfied she returned her attention to the conversion at hoof, as if she hadn’t been interrupted at all. With a wide grin spreading across her face. “I’m Ponyville’s positively pink party pony Pinkie Pie!”

Twilight eyed this unusually merry pony standing before her, “Um, Pinkie Pie?”

“Yaha” Pinkie Pie nodded energetically in confirmation.

“Um, doesn’t Pinkie Pie have a curly mane?”

Pinkie stopped nodding and ran a hoof through her mane lifting the strands slightly before they fell back under their own weight and hung down straight, just brushing her shoulders. “Nope, you must be thinking of my sister Maud. She has this hectic curly mane; it almost has a life of its own.”

“Nope, mine’s straight. Straight, straight, straight like Big Mac on a date with his mate.” Pinkie paused in her rhyming to think “When it’s late!”

“Straight, straight, straight” She continued to chant as she merrily bounced in a circle around Twilight.

“Well”, Twilight scratched that back of her head. “I was sure it was you with the curly mane. You see I found some letters an-”

Pinkie abruptly stopped her bouncing, spun round to face Twilight and shoved a hoof in her mouth, silencing her. She leaned forward and looked Twilight in the eyes. “What letters?” she whispered in a more serious tone as she removed her hoof.

“Um, they were some letters I found in the maze. One of them had a picture wit-”

“Twilight”, Pinkie Pie interrupted her. “Don’t listen to anything those letters had to say.” She pulled Twilight to her side and waved a hoof in a wide sweeping motion, gesturing to their surroundings. “You see this place, this maze. It’s built to deceive you. Those letters are just another one of those obstacles put in this place to confuse you.” She turned to face Twilight holding her close with their muzzles just inches apart. In little over a whisper, “Trust me, Twilight. Ignore anything you read in those letters. They’re lying to you.”

Twilight Sparkle pulled away from Pinkie, a confused look on her face. “But, how do I know? How I can trust you?”

“I’m your best friend, Twilight. I would never lie to you.”

“Really?”

Pinkie nodded “Pinkie promise.” A smile spreads across Pinkie’s face and her eyes lit up, “Now let’s find a way out of here!” Pinkie Pie darted past Twilight. A clatter of hooves is heard as she galloped into the distance, she then stops and calls back to Twilight. “Come on, this way! Last one there’s a silly filly!”

Twilight Sparkle can’t help but smile as she uttered under her breath, “Pinkie Pie…”

Author's Note:

Pinkie Pie is so much fun to write. So much fun, so much fun.

Comments

[atomicbrony45]

NOOO AN ALAN WAKE REFERENCE! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! That game, oh that bloody game. I should never have played it, that and "Deadspace".

[mwclaud]

Hi Sollace
I enjoyed reading chapter 2 very much. I had to read from the beginnig again as I had forgotten what happened before and I enjoyed the whole story so far. You have talent and imagination.

[MellowBrook]

So far this is a pretty cool story. I can't wait to see more from ya.

[Icanhazmochi]

Ohhhhh crap. This seems like it's gonna go downhill to crazy-town pretty fast! xD Take a thumb and a fave to the face, and keep writing! (Or I will find you! :D)