Empty Darkness

by GigaBowser

A Way Home

Chapter 11 - A Way Home

Sweetie Belle had lost count, but by Luna's estimate they had been in this world for just over two weeks now.

The stress of their journey was getting to the both of them. Even the princess was starting to feel unnaturally frazzled and in a clouded state of mind. Of course, having been through everything she had gone through in her life, she was well accustomed to dealing with stress and an unstable mind. She could only take so much, though.

Newly refreshed and reinvigorated, the princess had departed from the cave with a sleepy filly on her back. They had traveled for approximately 24 hours, the glow growing slightly closer in the distance, and Sweetie was now awake.

The road ahead, like the road already trodden, was dangerous and laden with peril. Luna had actually spotted a few wolves' glowing eyes off in the distance a few hours ago, but she had managed to sneak past undetected. They were closer to their destination now, but by no means safer.

However, things seemed good for the most part. The two were now in a wide-open, empty field, in which there were no places for attackers to hide. With the two of them constantly scanning the area, surprise attacks would probably not be an issue. Luna was healed completely and ready to do whatever was required of her, and Sweetie was just fine since she had escaped the last battle without injury.

Despite this, though, Luna wore a troubled frown. Something was weighing heavily on her mind.

She heard the sound of Sweetie's breathing change position and knew without even looking back that the filly was leaning to look past her head. "Is…" Sweetie murmured, "Is it a…star?"

"Hm?" Luna replied, now looking back.

"The purple…Is it a purple star or something…?"

Luna turned her head forward again and squinted through the darkness. Though it was closer now, it was still too far away to really seem like anything other than a vague purple glow. "I don't know. Possibly?"

"Maybe one of your stars is guiding us home! Heh…" Sweetie light-heartedly spoke.

Luna blew a raspberry in response. "Thou wouldst never see a purple star in my sky," she replied, putting on a fake air of haughtiness, "T'would remind me too much of my ridiculous sister's ridiculous mane!" She realised there was a hole in her joke, but decided to roll with it anyway. "That is why I colour them white, like my ridiculous sister's ridiculous coat!"

There was a moment of silence, and then the two burst into a fit of giggles. The princess laughed and smiled for a short while, but then a frown encroached its way back onto her face, and she found she simply couldn't get rid of it.

There was a conflict in her mind and she didn't know how to resolve it. There were things she felt she needed to say, but somehow just couldn't bring herself to. She was acutely aware of how nothing ever went well in this world. Even in times like this when it seemed things were better than normal, there was always something that could go horribly wrong.

"How far away do you think it is now?"

Luna was snapped out of her reverie by the filly's question. "I, uh…I'm not entirely sure…" She was thankful for Sweetie's attempts at conversation to keep their minds off of the negativity that surrounded them, but in the end she simply felt distracted. "I would say two and a half days at maximum," she guessed, "Probably less than that."

"It still seems so far away…" the filly mused, "It's almost like an illusion or something…"

Luna had to fight against the idea of it simply being a mirage. "We'll be there soon, Sweetie," she settled on saying.

"Okay…But I don't want you to hurt yourself, Luna…If you need to rest, we can-"

"Oh don't be silly, Sweetie. I can probably make it there with only a single stop along the way!" Luna turned back and smiled at Sweetie. In reality she was dead tired, but she wasn't about to let that stop her. Home could be mere days away; she wasn't about to stop now until she was ready to collapse.

There was a long period of silence. Luna could feel the filly moving around on her back, keeping an eye out for creatures. The alicorn was incredibly thankful for the extra set of eyes. Without Sweetie, she probably would have sustained a lot more injures from surprise attacks. Darkness was her element and she would hardly ever lose a fight within the moon's rays, but this thick blackness was another story entirely.

"See anything, Sweetie?" she said, breaking the silence.

"No," the filly replied, "Thank goodness…"

"One can only hope nothing further accosts us. Perhaps they are weary of the light of the purple glow?"

"Yeah, maybe…They live in the darkness so much, maybe they don't like the light…"

Luna realized that this wasn't true at all, as they had always been attacked while her light spell had been active, but she kept her mouth closed.

"There doesn't seem to be anything out there, though…" Sweetie concluded.

"Hm…That is good…"

"At least there's ways of seeing them coming sometimes…I'm glad you can see their glowing eyes through the darkness…"

"Indeed…" Luna murmured distractedly.

"If something does come after us, hopefully we'll see it coming…Or hear it coming, even."

The two suddenly froze as a deep roar filled the air. Though it sounded quite distant, it was still notably loud. The terrifying sound sent shivers down even Luna's spine. Whatever had made the sound was nowhere near them, but Luna still felt afraid to breathe too loudly.

"What…was that??" Sweetie whispered harshly.

"I don't know, but we'd better move!" Luna quickly said before breaking out into full gallop. She ran as if she were being chased by something. She couldn't explain it, but that distant roar had given her even more motivation to get out of this place as soon as possible. Whatever had made that sound, she did not want to meet it.

Sweetie was hanging on tightly. "What was that?" she asked again, her voice laced with terror, "It sounded like a monster!!"

"If it is similar to a creature from our world," Luna spoke through her panting breath, "then I have a few guesses as to what it might be, and none of them are good." She paused for a moment. "But then again, we have seen creatures here that are not like ones from our world…It could be anything…"

"That was so loud!" Sweetie babbled, "It must be huge!!"

"Try not to worry about it, Sweetie," Luna said, trying to reassure her, "With any luck, we'll make it home before we encounter it."

Sweetie let out a shivering whimper.

Luna's hooves pounded the dirt, driving the two of them forward as fast as she could. It had been impossible to tell which direction the distant roar had come from. Luna knew that she could very well be galloping directly towards the beast that had made it and not even know it until it was too late.

She could feel the filly quivering on her back, and it broke her heart. This ordeal had gone on for far too long, and meeting this possibly gigantic creature would be too much for even her to handle. She could tell that Sweetie was scared, and Sweetie's fears were her fears. There was an overwhelming mix of both determination and hopelessness about the rest of their journey. It did not weigh well on her mind.

"Luna?" Sweetie spoke, "If we m-meet that thing, w-what'll we d-WAH!"

Luna suddenly had to leap to the side and balance her hooves while still running, nearly toppling over. She had just barely missed tripping over a large rock that had suddenly found its way into her path. Before she could even apologize to Sweetie for startling her, she found more obstacles in her way. The landscape had gone from being completely flat to hilly and rocky in an instant, and Luna was now deftly dancing on her hooves in an effort to maintain her speed.

The thought of slowing down never occurred to her, not even in this more dynamic environment. She felt Sweetie's hooves clamping tightly to her, holding on as securely as she could, and it caused a single thought to permeate her mind. Luna needed to get this filly home.

To her credit, Luna was maintaining her speed rather well. She kept her eyes moving and focused, seeking out each new rock that appeared before her. She moved in weaves and short leaps, clearing each obstacle as it presented itself. There were a few logs, a few tiny cliffs, but these wouldn't stand in her way. The princess continued moving forward like a pro.

It must not have been so smooth for Sweetie. "Luna!" she cried, "Be careful!!"

As if on cue, Luna's rear hoof caught on a rock and caused her to lose her balance. Before she began toppling to the left, she shifted her weight and tried to plant her hooves to counterbalance her fall. More rocks got in the way, sending her into a further stumble. She spread her wings in a last ditch effort to stabilize herself, but it was no good. A moment later, the ground disappeared beneath her right front hoof and the two of them went tumbling down the slope.

The ponies cried out as they rolled down the steep, muddy hill. They tumbled head over hoof for a few moments before the slope eventually evened out, leaving them in a crumpled mess at the bottom of a dry ravine.

Luna groaned loudly in pain, gritting her teeth. She had taken the brunt of the fall, curling herself around in the air at the last moment to protect her passenger. Her right wing had taken a bruising, and it was aching so badly that she wondered if it had been broken. She let out a painful exhale as she got to her hooves. Her head was pounding and her whole body was tender.

"Ugh…" she moaned, holding a hoof up to her head, "Are you all right…?" She didn't hear a reply, but she also still felt slightly disoriented. "Sweetie?" she turned her head around, looking for the little white body.

She had expected to hear Sweetie crying or moaning loudly in pain, but instead she heard something else. She slowly turned her head in the direction of the soft, quivering breaths.

Sweetie slowly lifted herself up from the mud, favouring her right front hoof. She sat facing away from Luna, her head held low and all of her mane, tail and fur stained a dirty shade of brown.

"Sweetie…?" Luna spoke softly.

The filly turned her head to look at her, and the princess' heart instantly broke. There was a frown across Sweetie's face, and few stray tears could be seen running down her cheeks. What really stood out to the princess, however, were Sweetie's eyes. Luna saw so much in those big, green eyes, and it was almost enough to bring tears to her own.

"Are…Are you okay?"

Sweetie glanced down at her injured hoof. "I…" she said before her breath caught in her throat. She paused, gulped, and looked back up at Luna. "I think so…" Her voice was so quiet and quivering.

There was a look of utter despair in the poor filly's eyes. The both of them had been down and depressed before tons of times on this horrid journey, but what she saw in Sweetie's eyes now was something different. She could see a complete absence of hope. She could see a desperate longing, along with the painful resignation that what she desired would never come.

This was more than pain, suffering and depression. Despite all they had been through, despite all the close encounters they had both had with death, what she saw now was perhaps most terrifying of all.

Sweetie Belle had the eyes of one who had simply given up.

"Here…" Luna finally spoke, ultimately at a loss for words, "Let me fix that…" She cast her magic on Sweetie's injured hoof, beginning to heal it. She could feel that it was a relatively minor injury, though she could imagine how painful it must have been.

Sweetie cast her gaze downwards and didn't say anything.

The two were silent until Luna's spell was complete and Sweetie's hoof was healed. "There," she said in a cheery voice that betrayed her actual emotions, "How does that feel?"

Still, the filly remained silent.

"Sweetie…?" Luna spoke, growing more and more concerned. "Say something, Sweetie. If something's wrong, tell me."

The filly looked up at Luna with her big round eyes. Now her expression was different. Her lip was quivering and Luna could almost see her strength simply evaporating. Her eyes glistened in the light of her spell, on the verge of tears.

"Sweetie, honey, it's okay…" Luna tried to reassure her, "We just had a little fall. We're okay, see?" She stretched out her wing to prove her point, trying not to let it show how much the thing ached when she moved it.

A stifled cry broke through Sweetie's resolve, and her gaze fell back to the ground. She grimaced and quivered in silence.

"Sweetie…?"

"I can't…" came a strained whisper.

Luna moved herself a little closer to her. "You can't what?"

"I…I can't do this anymore…"

Luna felt her heart sink even lower. "Sweetie, no… What do you mean?"

"I can't handle it…"

"But…we're so close, Sweetie! We're almost there!" the princess said, trying to sound as excited as she could.

Sweetie didn't respond to that.

A worried look came over Luna. "Sweetie…You can't give up now! We've come so far, and…and we're almost there!" she said, re-emphasizing her point.

"It hurts…" Sweetie said in a very subdued voice.

A different kind of worry came over the princess. "What hurts? Do you have another injury somewhere? I can still heal you, Sweetie."

Sweetie just shook her head. "I'm…I'm so tired, Luna. I'm scared. I want to go home…" She sniffled. "It…It hurts so much…"

Luna softened slightly, understanding what the filly was saying. "Sweetie…" she said in a sympathetic voice, reaching out to scoop her up into a hug.

"I don't want to do this anymore, Luna," she spoke, a clear tone of defeat in her voice.

Luna picked her up and gave her a tight, warm hug. They both only got dirtier in the process, but neither of them cared. Sweetie simply buried her face into Luna's chest fur, not even hugging back. Luna's concern was growing rapidly.

"Sweetie, please don't give up," Luna spoke in a soothing voice, "I'm going to be here for you, okay? We're going to make it, and we're going to see everypony else again. I…" She paused. "I can't promise that we're completely out of the woods yet…"

Sweetie moaned in despair.

"…but look at how far we've come," Luna continued, "Look at all we've overcome so far. Sweetie Belle, you've impressed me quite a number of times with your perseverance and determination. I'm very, very proud of you."

"No more…" Sweetie mumbled, "No more…"

Luna gave a troubled frown. She was losing her. "Sweetie, we're almost there," she repeated yet again, "I'm almost certain that we'll be there in less than two days."

"Hurts…"

Another twang of pain in Luna's heart.

"Everything hurts…" Sweetie mumbled into her fur.

"Sweetie…I…I don't know what to say. I know it's hard. I really do. It's so much harder than anything any filly should ever have to do…but you've been doing it! You've been getting through it. You're still alive now, and I know you'll still be alive when we make it home!"

The filly just groaned again.

"Sweetie, please…! I-"

Luna was then interrupted by the loud sound of a stomach growling. Sweetie clasped her hooves over her stomach, grimaced, and spoke with an upset tone, "And we're out of food…"

Luna's eyes shot open. "Wh…" she muttered, slightly perplexed, "How did you…?"

"You've been giving us less and less and less each time…" Sweetie mumbled, "and the last few times you didn't even eat anything…I know there's nothing left."

A horrible feeling overcame the princess as her features drooped. She had been trying to figure out how to bring this topic up, and here Sweetie had come to the awful conclusion all on her own. There was an overwhelming feeling that she had let Sweetie down.

As Sweetie moaned in pain, Luna began sweeping through her pocket dimension. Their conclusion was true; there was no grass and no water left. They would be making the rest of the journey to the purple glow on empty stomachs.

"Sweetie…" Luna spoke, her own resolve beginning to falter, "Don't worry, okay? I know it's scary, and I know it hurts…" She paused, finding the words difficult to speak. "But…We're going to make it, Sweetie. We'll be there before you know it.

Sweetie didn't reply. She merely rested her head against Luna's chest, a pained look on her face. She was quivering and hugging herself.

A moment of silence passed.

"Sweetie…?"

Still, the filly didn't respond. She did nothing more than shiver.

"I…" Luna paused, biting her lip, "I still have…the meat…"

Suddenly the floodgates burst open and Sweetie Belle began to wail into the night. The air was filled with her sorrowful cries as she just couldn't hold it in anymore and let it all out. All of her suffering and despair could be heard in her wild crying, and it broke Luna's heart even further. She hugged the little filly, and Sweetie hugged back just as tight.

Sweetie cried her heart out into Luna's fur for a few moments. The alicorn was silent, nuzzling the distraught filly gently. Not often did she hear crying like this, even from young ones. These were the cries of a filly who had lost her parents, the cries of somepony who'd had everything taken away from them. They were the cries of somepony who had slipped far beyond the point of merely giving up.

Every loud, mournful cry was like a dagger in her heart, but Luna remained silent and let Sweetie get it all out.

"Lunaaa…" she bemoaned, calming down just slightly enough to be able to form words, "Why…?"

"Shhh…" Luna soothed, "It's okay, Sweetie."

"I can't…I don't wanna…Luna, I just…" The filly was babbling nonsensically. Luna merely stoked her mane gently.

"It's okay to feel sad, Sweetie. It's okay to feel pain. Just remember that I'm here for you, Sweetie. I'll be with you until the end."

Another powerful wave of cries struck the filly. "I want to go home!!" she wailed into the night.

"I know Sweetie…I do too…"

"But…" Sweetie sobbed, "But we're gonna die here…!"

"Don't say that, Sweetie. We're going to make it home."

Luna's broken heart was aching terribly. Sweetie's despairing cried echoed into the darkness around them, causing the sound bubble that Luna had cast to glow and fluctuate. Luna had been alive for a long, long time, and she could not remember the last time she had heard crying like this.

In fact, it may have been a thousand years ago. Luna recalled the cries of a lonely princess.

The two remained like this for a long while. Fifteen or twenty minutes drifted past, perhaps more. Luna held the filly close as she was wracked with uncontrollable sobbing. Every wail hurt her deep down, but she knew that the best thing was for Sweetie to let it all out.

Slowly, but ever so surely, Sweetie's cries grew quieter and quieter. Finally, after a long while, she was gently resting her head against Luna's leg with her eyes closed. Tears still flowed, but her voice had grown silent.

Luna leaned down and gently nuzzled her.

"I…I'm sorry…" Sweetie muttered in a subdued voice.

"Think nothing of it, Sweetie," Luna reassured her.

"I didn't mean to do all that…"

"Sweetie, don't worry about it. I know what you're going through and it's perfectly understandable. It's all right."

Sweetie hid her face.

"Don't you feel better now?"

She didn't respond right away, but eventually gave a subtle nod.

"Sometimes the best thing is a good cry."

"Mnnn…"

There was another moment of silence. Even Sweetie's sniffling subsided.

"I love you, Luna…I'm so grateful for everything you've done…" she spoke, turning to gaze up at Luna.

Luna smiled warmly, like a mother looking down at her frightened child. "I love you too, my little pony…"

"I'm just….I'm just really scared…and hurt…"

Her smile disappeared, but she did not frown. "I know, Sweetie. I know this is not easy, and you are being so brave right now. We just have to believe, Sweetie. We have to believe that the purple glow is our way home, and we have to believe that we'll make it there."

Sweetie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Try as she might, she could not stop herself from quivering.

"Be brave, Sweetie…"

"I…"

"Be brave for me, be brave for everypony at home…and be brave for yourself. I know you can do this."

Sweetie took in a big shuddering breath and let it out in a long sigh. Luna watched as she looked up at her, and then around at the surrounding sound bubble. She seemed to realize just how much noise she had been making, and her cheeks grew a little rosy. "S-sorry…" she mumbled.

"It's fine, Sweetie," Luna replied, "We're safe."

Luna lowered the sound bubble, and the two of them gazed out at the darkness that surrounded them. There was not much to see from the bottom of this ravine except mud and blackness. Eventually, Sweetie managed to find the purple glow, and Luna followed her gaze.

"I…I don't…" Sweetie muttered, "I'm scared, Luna. I feel like I'm too scared to do anything…"

Luna decided it was time to stand up and get out of the mud. She rose to her hooves and gently picked up Sweetie with her magic, placing her on her back. She felt Sweetie instantly hug her tightly. It really hurt her to see just how much Sweetie's confidence had been shaken. She just had to hope and believe with all her heart that they would both be able to pull through this.

"I'm going to start walking, okay?" Luna spoke.

"Uhm…"

"The faster we get moving, the faster we'll get home. Don't worry, Sweetie. There's no place safer for you than riding on my back."

She heard Sweetie gulp. "O-okay, Luna…"

Without a moment to lose, Luna began to carefully make her way back up to the top of the ravine. The slope was muddy, but with enough care she was able to traverse her way safely.

"I know you're scared, Sweetie. I am too," she spoke softly, "Remember what I told you before; fear is good. It keeps you alert and it keeps you safe. Just make sure you don't let your fear control you. Do not let it consume you."

"Mhm," Sweetie murmured, a touch of pure fear still evident in her voice.

"Just keep watch, okay? We'll be fine."

Luna trotted along, continuing their quest towards the mysterious purple glow. At first she felt Sweetie moving around on her back, moving her head to and fro to keep a lookout for danger. It was quite soon, however, that she felt a small head collapse onto her back as the exhausted filly fell asleep.

The princess smiled, a mix of happiness and sadness mingling within her. She didn't blame Sweetie for passing out like that at all. The poor thing had gone through a lot in the past hour.

She set her sights on her mission and poured all of her energy and concentration into it. She needed to get Sweetie to that glow. Though she knew that nothing at all was certain, their hope did lie there. If it took everything she had, even her own life, Luna would get Sweetie safely to that glow.

…

"Whaddaya think we'll see? Huh?"

"Mm…?"

"This is so exciting!!"

"Oh yes, of course it is darling."

"I can't wait!!"

"Sweetie…Do calm down please. I am just as excited as you are, but it is still important to carry one's self with poise and decorum."

"Poise and what…?"

"Nevermind…"

Everything was blurry and dark. The memory was distant and faded. Only voices came through clearly, but Sweetie thought she was able to see Ponyville.

"I knew she was working on something, but I wasn't really expecting this…"

"What kinda things d'you think we'll see, Rarity?"

"Well, I just don't know…'Seeing other worlds' she said…"

"Yeah! She said we could look into other worlds! Like paragram dimensions or something!"

"Parallel, Sweetie…"

"That's what I said!"

"I can't imagine what's going to happen, Sweetie. We'll just have to get there and find out, so let us hurry it up shall we?"

Sweetie was floating dizzily through her dream state. She struggled to see more of her memory. She wanted to see Rarity again. In the end, though, she could only hear distant, faded voices.

"I think she said the two Princesses were going to come too, Rarity!"

"She DID?!"

"Yeah!"

There was a very melodramatic gasp.

"Dear heavens above! We have to go back home!!"

"What? Why??"

"I can't let myself be seen by the alicorn sisters looking like this!! My mane is simply a mess and I haven't a thing to wear! Oh no, no, no, no, no! This will never do!"

"Rarity, you look fine! C'mon! I wanna see this! If we go home now we'll miss it!"

The real Sweetie strained to hear more, but the memory had faded. An empty realm of nothingness was all that was left as she sat alone in her dreams. She sniffled as a few stray tears slid down her cheeks.

"Are you sleeping well?" a familiar voice reverberated through the realm, causing Sweetie to jump.

"Luna…?"

"Yes, it is I."

"Where are you…?" Sweetie looked around, but all she could see was the strange, mostly-black space that was all around her.

"I am still awake, Sweetie. We are drawing closer to the glow. I cannot enter your dream while I still walk the land of the living, but with a touch of magic I can at least project myself."

"Oh…okay…So I am asleep…" A sigh slipped out, and she sniffled as she tried to stop more tears.

"Are your dreams not pleasant?"

"I miss Rarity…" she mumbled, "I even miss when she totally freaks out."

Luna tittered. "Tis a sign of true sisterly love."

"I just wanna hug her and never let her go…"

"If I were to be completely honest with you Sweetie? I wish to cradle myself in my sister's hooves and weep like a newborn babe."

Though her statement had been humourous, Sweetie did not laugh. She simply smiled. It was a sad, longing smile, but Sweetie did feel a little better. She knew that Luna was going through the same things that she was. More and more, she was realizing just how alike they were.

"I…I wanna dream about her, but there's just nothing…" She gazed around, still finding nothing of interest in her empty dreamscape.

"You were very exhausted, Sweetie," she heard Luna reply, "Your body needs a good long rest."

Sweetie sighed and laid down on the ground, closing her eyes. For a moment she thought about how weird it was to be laying down to sleep while she was already asleep, but the thought drifted away.

"Rest, Sweetie. Rest for as long as you need to. I will keep forging forwards. The glow approaches quickly; we will be there very soon."

A small quiver of excitement passed through her, but a few moments later she drifted off into the deepest of slumbers.

…

Luna was giving great respect to the blessings they had received. Ever since their fall into the ravine, there had been not a single sign of trouble. She hadn't even heard whatever had made that loud, distant roar again. She had been running for an awfully long time, and Sweetie had been asleep for nearly as long in total, but finally their destination was within reach.

The purple glow, which had once been so distant, was now tantalizingly close. It was still so far away that it was a mere blur, but she had gotten close enough that she could actually see it drawing closer with every step forwards. Her heart fluttering in excitement, she felt a surge of energy and put forth a burst of speed.

She ran for quite a few minutes across a landscape that was only mildly uneven. The rich violet colouration of the glow was becoming more radiant, cutting through the irritating darkness like a beacon. It was not high in the sky, though it was not directly at her level either. Rather, it seemed to be elevated just slightly, perhaps at the top of a small hill or cliff.

As she grew closer, it only became clearer. Luna began to notice that there was a smaller white glow mixed in with the predominant purple. In fact, as she drew closer, she began to wonder if 'purple' would be the best description of the colour, or if perhaps 'pink' worked better. It was bright and radiant, sending out arms of light like a spotlight or an unmoving lighthouse.

As she moved a couple more kilometres closer, she began to realize that Sweetie may not have been very far off. It did look sort of like a star.

Her wings flapped in excitement involuntarily, unfortunately jostling Sweetie awake. She heard the filly mumble and moan lightly as she awoke. "Mnwhuh…?" she muttered as she sat herself up.

"Look, Sweetie!"

She glanced back and saw the filly grasp onto her neck and look out ahead. Luna smiled when she saw the filly's eyes light up.

"We're…We're so close…!"

Luna chuckled merrily. "We're almost there, Sweetie!"

"We…made it…"

There was a moment of silence, but then finally the little unicorn smiled. It grew and grew until she was smiling ear-to-ear.

"We made it!!!"

Luna's heart fluttered when she saw Sweetie's mood improve so much. She smiled brightly as she continued to pound her hooves against the ground, carrying them towards their destination as fast as they could.

"It's…Wow…" Sweetie mumbled. They were about a kilometre away now. The darkness continued to obscure everything, but the purple star pierced through it. It was a wonderful, angelic beacon guiding them away from this horrible place. Luna galloped even faster.

Their expressions changed slightly as they drew even closer. The darkness was beginning to fade away before the bright glow, revealing to them just what they were looking at. As the distance closed to a couple hundred metres, Luna's brisk gallop slowed down to a trot and both of their eyes were wide open.

Finally, a mere field's-length away from the glowing beacon, Luna came to a stop. The two of them were gazing up at the thing, hovering a few hundred feet above ground level. It shone brilliantly, as if there were a vibrant fire behind it providing it with energy and light. It cast out vivid purple light in all directions, accented by a few strands of white light. It was the brightest thing for miles around, it stood constant and unwavering, and it was in a very familiar shape.

"Is…Is that…?" Sweetie mumbled.

"It is, Sweetie…Undoubtedly."

The two stood staring up at the glowing shape, mouths hanging open slightly. The brilliant, six-pointed purple star stood proud, surrounded by five smaller white stars and accented by the arms of a white star behind it.

"It's Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark…" Luna spoke, softly and in disbelief.

Luna took a few cautious steps forward, her mind filled with confusion. What did this mean? Was this to mark the way home? Luna so desperately wanted to believe this were true, but there was a persistent pessimism keeping her from accepting it.

"What's it doing here…?" Sweetie whispered, her gaze transfixed on the glowing icon, "Did…did she cast it? Did Twilight make that?" Luna felt the filly tremble slightly. "Is she…casting it from home??"

Luna didn't answer. Her focus was divided between two other things. Firstly, she was squinting through the icon's brilliant glow and trying to look behind or below it. The ever-prevalent darkness obscured most of what she might have been able to see. However, she was sure she could see something beneath the gigantic cutie mark. It was swirling, but it somehow seemed to be swirling in a different way than the darkness was.

Additionally, and what had captured most of the princess' attention, she could hear something.

"Luna? Is-"

"Shh…!" She tried to keep her voice as low as possible. What she could hear in the area around them was definitely not anything good. It brought a horrible, chilling fear to the pit of her stomach.

Luna could hear breathing. Deep breathing. The kind of breathing that would come from something very large.

Suddenly, the ground began to rumble slightly. Sweetie gasped, and Luna quickly got into a defensive position. Parts of the cutie mark's glow began to get obscured, as if something were standing in front of it. There were the sounds of deep breathing and something moving, and a moment later the entire cutie mark was blocked by the incredibly large body of something.

A pair of huge glowing yellow eyes snapped open, glaring directly at them. Each eye was almost half as big as Luna was, and they were only a few yards away. There was a low rumbling sound, which Luna quickly realized was growling.

"Wh…What is it…?!" Sweetie said in a trembling, nearly inaudible voice. Luna slowly backed up, staring up at the incredibly grand creature that was obscured by the darkness. She heard a sound that was familiar to her, the sound of wings unfurling, and then the air was filled with an utterly deafening roar.

Luna winced and splayed her ears as the creature let out its frightful cry. Luna had been through an unbelievable amount of horrible and frightening situations along this journey, but now her blood had truly run ice cold. For the first time since they had gotten here, Luna was truly and utterly afraid.

"It's a dragon…"

Comments

[The Nightmare has Come]

OhmygodOhmygodOhmygodOhmygodOhmygodOhmygodOhmygodOhmygodOhmygod!!! I need more!!! Ohmygod!

[Adam95F]

This is one damn good story.

[The Demon of Sloth]

it's all I can say right now.

[Xingyaru]

WHAOU, that's all I can say.
I admit each time I read one of your fanfictions, I become a big fan of the main characters xD
FINISH THIS OR I'LL RELEASH PINKIE PIE ON YOU !!!!
Just kidding xD But really, what woudn't I give to read the finale ?