A Fear that Came to Pass

by ChingKittyCat

Chapter 3

Twilight looked around the fireplace. The other ponies had brought up a couple logs to sit on, and gathered them outside of the fire's reach. It was awkwardly quiet, as Twilight looked around at the other ponies. She had looked up multiple times, trying to find out where the sun had went. First, she was in ponyville, now, she was by Foal Mountain. It felt like it had only been a couple minutes. In actuality, it had been six hours. Six hours.

The other ponies had shed their masks and hoods once they had sat around the fire. They were out of public. It had Twilight slightly suspicious. Why did they need masks when they were out in public? It made no sense to her, unless they were criminals or outlaws. Twilight did not recognize any of them, though. Twilight had seen atleast a million wanted posters back in Canterlot. They were big on criminals being captured. She had seen the most outrageous of rewards. Ranging from one bit, to one billion bits. The criminals on those posters were truly a scary bunch. Twilight would imagine that his wanted poster would be up already. Seeing as he did do this gigantic crime.

Twilight would be extremely happy to turn him in, but only if they wanted him dead. Twilight would not stand to leave the tyrant alive. When Twilight got to the Crystal Empire, he better be ready for a plot whooping, It will be recorded in the history books as the most humiliating defeat Equestria has ever seen. Twilight would be hailed as a hero. She would get back what was taken from her. She would earn back her teacher's trust. Her brother would be avenged. If he was dead, that is.

First, Twilight had to get her priorities straight. She knew her end goal. Kill him. How did she plan to do that, though? Why, of coarse, get to the Crystal Empire via these ponies, then get her friends back, then use the.. the elements of harmony.. that were still in Canterlot.

Twilight smacked her face with her hoof slowly. Why didn't she take the elements of harmony to the Crystal Empire in the first place? It would have made it so she avoided all of this stuff. All of this torture. Twilight sighed. She knew that she would have to deal with her mistakes. Her abundance of them. Twilight snapped into reality, not wanting to have a guilt train slam into her all at once. She didn't want to break down infront of these other ponies, obviously.

"Read any good books?"
Twilight asked, gaining these extremely awkward stares from everypony else in the group. Twilight had to somehow start a conversation, to get her mind off things. She seriously did not want to think about her original group of friends, lest she break into tears or cause a tornado of anger blow away this entire camp. There were a couple murmurs about the group before one pony rose their voice up loud enough to be more than just a whisper.

"Before I got into this group, I used to read that Daring Doo series. It was really good."
The white unicorn stallion stated. He was the one from before, with the all black mane and tail. Twilight needed to get these ponies names down. She didn't want to nickname them just by their colors and race. With his mask off though, he had these sort of dark blue eyes. Also, with the mask removed, Twilight could actually recognize this pony. He was the ponyville press's reporter. She remembered he used to trot around with this black and white scarf, and these glasses with gray-ish lenses. Quill.. Something. Twilight could remember his cutiemark was a quill being dipped into ink, ontop of three blank pieces of paper. Twilight had recognized Quill because he had interviewed her FOUR times.

"I think I know you, isn't your name Quill Scribble, or something like that?"
Twilight asked, directing her question to the ex-reporter, who nodded in response. He looked about the group, who were now talking among eachother quietly, so that way the main topic's conversation could still be heard.

"My name is Quill Scratch, Twilight."
Quill Scratch introduced again. Twilight didn't act shocked that he knew her name. She had been around this pony a little bit, and he had to get her name down for the paper multiple times. Now that Twilight had an acquaintance within the group, she had a shoulder to lean on, if she ever needed one. She didn't feel so alienated. It was good to have someone in the group that she knew.

The leading mare of the group, the dusty blue earth pony mare, stuck her hoof up for the conversations to halt. In which, they did. She had full control of the group, like they were her puppets, and whatever she told them to do, they did. Twilight kind of looked up to the mare for her leadership skills, though this was a bit strange. How had she gained so much power within the group? Who gave her this power?

"I think we should all introduce ourselves. We haven't exactly had a proper greeting. My name is Rose Dust."
Rose Dust introduced herself, putting her hoof back down by her side. The group murmured. Twilight found this name a bit strange, as now, Twilight finally noticed Rose Dust's cutiemark. It was a bunch of blue and light brown sparkles flying through the air. Twilight wondered what her cutiemark meant. Possibly that she could create sparkling fireworks with just ground up roses? Well, it could be something more. Twilight's cutiemark wasn't exactly the most simple. She had a cutiemark in magic. As in, she could use advanced levels of magic. That was her talent. It was a rare talent to have, not common among regulars.

It took about five or so minutes for the entire group to introduce themselves. They excluded Twilight and Quill Scratch because they had already introduced themselves. Well, Quill had introduced Twilight. Twilight now locked all these pony's names into her mind. They were going to be remembered. How many ponies were in this group? Maybe it would be a good idea to do a quick headcount. Twilight guided her hoof along, pointing at each and everypony as she mumbled numbers underneath her breath. The group had nineteen ponies in it. About the size of a small class. Or the size of a regular class, if you compared it to the maximum amount of children that could be held in the school house at one time.

Twilight had tuned out of the conversations happening for a second. Apparently, in that one second, everypony decided it was time for bed, because they were now heading for the makeshift beds. Made out of leaves. The beds were all gathered up in one place, so that way they could all stay together, and if one of them left, or tried to kill another, it would alert the rest of the group. It was really like a gigantic, flat nest. It surely wasn't the most luxurious sleep Twilight would ever have in her life, but if her friends were gained back by doing this, she would do it. Twilight made sure to put out the fire before getting into the bed as soon as soon as she did, Twilight had scrambled over to the bed, picking out a spot, and laid down. Ponies laid down around her, sealing her into a small mat of ponies. They were warm, to say the least. It did smell a bit.. unhygienic. Twilight wrinkled her nose as the smell drilled into her nostrils. She couldn't help make a disgusted face as the technicolored ponies around her settled.

"Good night."
Luck Pusher called out from the opposite end of the 'bed'. Now that Twilight knew everypony here, she felt slightly safer. Seeing as all of them did not appear to be infamous bandits or criminals, even though they dressed like ones. Twilight snuggled her face into her hooves, breathing in her own unshowered stench that was less disgusting than everypony else's. They smelt like they hadn't bathed in a month. Twilight screwed her eyes shut as the group grew eerily silent. There were the soft sounds of breathing, as luckily nopony here snored. What were the odds. There was movement every so often that made Twilight's eyes open in alarm, and made her pupils dart around in a paranoid frenzy that they were being attacked. But really, it was just somepony adjusting their position. Twilight's ears decided to be complete plot holes.

Her ears swiveled, focusing on every single sound of the forest. She could hear a soft breeze off in the distance, which after a minute or so, the breeze passed over the group of huddled ponies. Then Twilight could hear something.. More. Twilight's head shot up, causing the pony infront of her, a bright yellow stallion known as Electricity Dancer to grumble from the disturbance. Twilight sworn she had heard a stick snap. Twilight knew a stick had snapped. Apparently all the ponies around her were in comas or something, because it had been about five or so minutes, and they were all asleep.

Twilight could feel something in the air. Something told her to put her head down. Hide. Now. Listening to herself, Twilight put her head back down. Something was approaching the bed of ponies. Hoofsteps. Twilight's eyes couldn't shut. She shook in sudden fear. She felt like all her blood drained. Somepony was coming. Who knows who. It could be Celestia. Luna. Celestia forbid it be Luna. That would be the worst. She didn't want Luna to hate her as well. She knew that Luna probably already despised Twilight, but she didn't want to receive a oral beating from Luna too.

"Twiiiilight..."
A ghastly voice called for Twilight. It made her skin crawl, as a sudden coldness washed over her body. Her bones chilled as she could feel her eyes twitch. She turned her head slightly. She still could not see anything. If it was a ghost, who would it be.. Who. Who did she know who could be a ghost?

"Spike?"
Twilight came to this realization and immediately shot her head up to face where the voice came from. It had come from the place where the fire was located, in the middle of the camp. When she stuck her head up, she regretted it. There, in the middle of the camp, stood a black specter. Twilight's ears pressed up against the back of her head, as she desperatly tried to scream. He was here. In the camp. How he got here flew right over Twilight's head. Twilight looked over at the other fellow equines who were currently asleep.

When Twilight had looked back up, she noticed that he had grown closer. Twilight could feel her air slip from her, as she started to hyperventilate. She tried desperately tried to light up her horn, but it would not light. Her magic had slipped away from her. Each time she blinked, he drew closer. He teleported. Silently. He stood, blankly, staring with this creepy, unfeeling stare. He did not have a wide grin, nor scowl. In fact, he had no mouth whatsoever. Twilight had noticed this when he was only a foot infront of her, as his body passed through the other pony's bodies, much like a ghost would.

Twilight's pupils dilated as the two locked eyes. He lacked pupils. A sea of serpentine green stared at Twilight. Twilight could see her reflection in them. Her reflection was distorted beyond belief. It showed her face, dismorphed and completely destroyed. She looked like she had been dropped in acid multiple times. Twilight had her jaw dropped long before she had seen her distorted figure within his eyes. Twilight could see her body start to morph. Her skin bubbled. No blood flowed, as he showed no change in emotion at this. Twilight could feel fear beyond belief. She was absolutely terrified.

This all felt so real. She could feel the breeze nearby. She could feel his presence. She could feel the warmth of her new companions. Twilight could not feel the intense pain that should have been happening at this very moment. Twilight tried desperately to conjure up a spell. ANY SPELL. Even if it were that moustache one, Twilight would use it. She just needed something, ANYTHING to use against him.

A terrible screech could be heard, as Twilight covered her ears. It still seemed to pierce through her hooves and into her eardrums at maximum volume. The King's face ripped and tore, creating a hole for a mouth. It looked like somepony had stabbed his facial area multiple times, and he was completely fine with it. The slightly disturbing new feature showed off the inside of his mouth, a black abyss. With a twisted black-snakelike tounge that was almost invisible, due to it's surroundings.

"One day your evil will escape it's cage.."
He hissed, the forest disappearing into a smokey abyss. Twilight screwed her eyes shut, no longer wanting to see what horrors awaited her. She shook her head madly. This couldn't be real. He couldn't be here. This couldn't be happening. She was so lucky to be right.

"Twilight! Wake up! RIGHT NOW!"
Twilight could hear a voice screech for her. Twilight's eyes opened in a flash. She shot up, and knocked heads with Mocha Bean. A light brown mare with a dark brown mane. She specialized in the arts of making coffee. Twilight then fell back down onto the bed, looking directly up. She was surrounded by her companions. Twilight felt her face, happy to know that her face hadn't been melted with invisible acid.

Twilight could feel something leave her, as her air way cleared. She took in deep breaths of air that seemed so refreshing and new. The nightmare she just experienced had left her breathless. She was covered in a cold sweat from it. It was still fresh in her mind, and she couldn't help but replay the experience over and over in a crisp quality. It made her shake. It truly did.

Apparently that realistic experience was just a nightmare. Just a nightmare. Nightmare. Ugh. Twilight couldn't help but mentally scold herself by getting so scared and paranoid over just a nightmare. Though it was kind of terrifying, she knew Rainbow Dash would probably shake off the terror like it was nothing. If anything, she would have punched him right in his nose. Twilight knew that Applejack would do the same.

Not having any time to reminisce on her friends, Rose Dust broke through the group and approached Twilight at an alarming speed. When infront of Twilight, she promptly smacked Twilight right across the face. She then gave a nervous grin.

"Oh. You're already awake.. Sorry."
Rose Dust chuckled, as Twilight felt her now sore face with a scowl. Rose Dust gave Twilight a bit of personal space, so that way she could get up. Rose Dust offered Twilight her hoof, in which, Twilight accepted. Staggering to her hooves, Twilight continued to rub her sore face with her free hoof. Before Twilight could asked Rose Dust's reasoning for slapping Twilight across the face, Rose Dust intervened.

"I assure you, I had a good reason to hit you. Your eyes were flowing with a strange purple smoke."
Rose Dust informed. What kind of reason was tha-.. Oh. OH. Twilight knew what that infamous purple smoke meant. Back in Canterlot, when Twilight had first gotten her test, Celestia showed her Dark Magic. When Celestia had used Dark Magic, her eyes trailed with a purple smoke. Her irises had turned from white to neon green. The King used this type of magic. Twilight had learned that. Though, why were her eyes trailing purple smoke? That was the question.

"Why?"
Twilight asked, expecting an answer. Rose Dust shrugged. She obviously thought that Twilight had an idea of what it was, because she had no idea what it was. Twilight could only guess at this point. Maybe Nightmares used Dark Magic? No, obviously not. It was mystery Twilight could answer later. It was not important.

"Let's move out. We want to get to Hollow Shades as quickly as possible."
Rose Dust called out to the entirety of the group. They slowly started to funnel into the cave just ahead. Horns glowing from the small amount of unicorns they had in the group. With a grimace, Twilight followed after. Everything they had used yesterday was now gone. Including the fireplace and bed. Twilight was slightly dirty now, because she had been laying on dirt. Twilight stayed at the back of the group. She made sure to check everything was still inside of her saddlebag. Yup. Everything was still there, when she took a peak at it.

She turned her attention back into the cave. The group was gone. Twilight trotted into the cave quickly, her horn flickering to a start, it lit up a large area around her. Exposing the ancient cave walls. They appeared to be scratched by small animals or something like that. Scratch marks were everywhere. Twilight exposed more and more of the cave as she trotted down the cave's tunnel. The light of day, what little there was behind her, slowly started to disappear. Twilight really didn't want to be in a dark place right now.

Once about a minute in, Twilight's voice had grown hoarse from her yelling out for her companions. She wasn't too big on screaming, save for that one time that Spike said that it was just a test. Still enraged her. Twilight took her mind off Spike, and put it on the priority. Find the group. Who were currently gone. How fun.

Then Twilight approached something. Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. Twilight did not remember this cave at all, and she was at a cross section. All three options she could take showed no differences. None of them had a light at the end of them, or ominously glowed red. If Twilight came across something, she would have to fight it if it wanted a fight. She would have to fight it alone. Even worse, if he was down here, Celestia PLEASE forbid he was down here, she would have to face him. Face to face.

"Alright. Left, Right, or Forward.. Uh.."
Twilight pointed her hoof at each direction, trying to find a voice, or a hoofstep, or a something that would lead her towards the group. Twilight consulted herself. Which way should she go? Perhaps Forward, to the north? Left, to the west? Or right, to the east?

Author's Note:

Hey look. A choice.
Which way should she go? Hm..
Oh, also, if you guys do not choose, I'll choose for you.

Comments

[Fryguy]

Maybe that dream is a prophecy? That Twilight would turn evil?

[Wungiel]

Forward! Avanti!