The Deadly Dance of Shadows

by Skijarama

Chapter 2 - Dark Recollection

Twilight felt as though she had been running through the dark, empty and endless streets for hours. She had multiple orbs of bright magic light surrounding her on all sides as she ran. This couldn't have been Ponyville; there were no landmarks that she was familiar with, and there seemed to be no end in sight. Her breath came in quick, ragged gasps, and her brow was covered with sweat. She'd never galloped this much before in her life she thought as she made a sharp left and entered into a somewhat wider street. The buildings here were decrepit, and looked like they hadn't been tended to in ages. Broken windows, torn roofs, holes in the walls, and mud everywhere.

As she ran, Twilight couldn't help but notice that things seemed darker than they should be. In fact, they were getting darker. She looked around, and realized that her orbs of magic light were fizzling out. She instantly picked up the speed, trying to reassert her will over the orbs to restore them. Her eyes widened in terror. Her horn wasn't working. No magic was escaping from it at all. She looked over her shoulder as the second to last of her lights went out. There was only one orb left, and it was directly in front of her.

Looking back, she saw exactly what she feared she would. The shadows directly behind her seemed to become darker and darker, following just at her rear hooves. She looked desperately to her only shield, that last orb of light, silently begging it to stay lit. But, much to Twilight's despair, that light too fizzled away into the darkness. Twilight kept running all the same, praying silently to Celestia that she could find a way out of this.

It was a false hope. As soon as she was plunged into darkness, the shadows swirled around her, forcing her to stop. She was surrounded. She took a step backwards, and her hoof landed in the shadows. She felt the bottom of her hoof split wide open, and she screamed, collapsing to the ground. The shadows took this opportunity, and charged in. Twilight screamed again as the shadows flew up her body, but was suddenly silenced when her vision lurched to the side, accompanied by a sickening snap.

She slumped limply, no longer having any feeling in her body. Her vision was starting to darken even though her eyes were wide open. She wanted to cry, scream, resist, or do something that would keep her alive. As the darkness enveloped her vision, she saw a single, yellow reptilian eye glaring at her, narrowing before it too faded away into the black.

<><><><><>

Spike sat upright as he heard a loud scream coming from Twilight, one which caused his blood to freeze. He had never heard her scream like that before, ever. It was a terrible noise that chilled him to the cores of his bones. He flopped out of bed, stood up and quickly made his way to the side of Twilight's bed, where he watched as she tossed and turned, letting out terrified grunts and pained cries. She was having a nightmare, and a bad one at that. Spike looked outside briefly, trying to get a gauge of the hour. It was almost time for the sun to come up, if the tint in the sky was any indication.

He turned his attention back to Twilight as another loud scream tore from her throat. She jerked and thrashed violently, the blanket flying off of her and onto the floor next to her bed. She’d had nightmares before, but none had ever been this bad. Spikes brow began to get wet with sweat. What was he supposed to do? Normally, she would have woken up by now, but she continued to thrash. When she screamed again, he knew he had to wake her up.

Spike hesitated, then reached out and grabbed Twilight's shoulder tightly, giving her a hard shake. “Hey, Twilight!” He called, hoping this would be sufficient. Twilight froze the moment his clawed hand connected with her shoulder, and she fell silent for a second. Spike prayed to the princesses with all of his heart that Twilight had calmed down. Her breathing suddenly sped up, and a stray hoof lashed out and collided hard with Spike's nose. He yelped and let go, backing away quickly while clutching his claws to his nose, which was now bleeding.

Now he was scared, his young mind starting to fathom scenarios in which Twilight could never wake up. His heart fell into his stomach at the thought, and he tried hard to think of a way he could wake Twilight up. Twilight suddenly rolled, and fell with a loud thud to the floor, crying out. Spike turned and darted downstairs, almost tripping multiple times as he went. As his clawed feet touched the bottom, he broke into a sprint for the kitchen.

Upstairs, Twilight screamed again, this time sounding like it was a scream of pain instead of fear. She clutched at her stomach with one hoof, the other reaching out as though to grab onto something and she started whimpering. “Help me... please...” She managed to choke out, her voice hoarse from all of her screaming. She started curling up into a ball, shivering violently as though she were freezing. Spike came running up the stairs at this point, a cooking pot full of cold water in his claws. Without any hesitation, he threw the pot's contents over Twilight, and let it do its work.

Twilight gasped in surprise from the chilling water, and sat straight up almost instantly, breathing heavily. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her mind was reeling as memories started coming back to her.

“Please don't hurt me!”

“You have done something.”

“I... I don't understand. What did I do?”

“You have done something!”

“Please, stop! What did I do?! I don't understand! PLEASE, I'M SORRY!”

Twilight started visibly trembling again, that yellow eye coming back to the forefront of her memory. She felt at her belly, and closed her eyes tightly as she remembered the horrible sensation of having it split open so easily. She whimpered slightly, trying to banish the horrible memories. Moments later, something wrapped around her foreleg in an embrace. She jumped and looked down, opening her eyes.

Spike was staring up at her with scared eyes, and he looked like he was about ready to cry. “Twilight, what's wrong?” he asked, voice trembling and only slightly above a whisper. Twilight blinked, then slowly wrapped her other foreleg around him and returned the hug.

“Just a bad dream spike… What happened to your nose?” She asked, tilting her head up slightly to look.

“You hit me while thrashing in your nightmare.” Spike replied, sniffling slightly. Twilight nodded, her horn lighting up and levitating over a tissue box.

“I’m sorry,” She said as she wiped away the blood, then set the box to the side. “Just keep your head tilted back for a few minutes, okay?”

“Alright.” Spike replied, starting to look a bit better.

“It should stop bleeding after that, then you can just…” she stopped mid-sentence. Something clicked instantly, and her heart skipped a beat. Rapidly, her heart turned cold with realization.

“Just what?” Spike asked, burying his face into Twilight's leg fur after sniffling.

“I just...I think I know what it is that hurt Rainbow Dash.” Twilight said, her voice dripping with dread. Spike looked up at her with surprise.

“You do?”

“Yeah... and if I'm right, then we're in a lot of trouble.” Twilight muttered, looking out the window as the sun came up. Another memory sparked through her, and she slowly stood up from holding Spike, and approached her desk. Her horn lit up, and one of the drawers pulled out to reveal a sizable stack of papers. She pulled out the entire stack, and started going through them. They were stray papers, notes she had finished with, old letters she decided to not send, and other things.

Her eyes scanned each paper quickly, looking for a certain couple of words. “Please tell me it’s not in here.” She muttered, hoping it was just a lapse in her memory. Sadly, she found it, and her eyes widened. It was an old letter she was going to send to princess Celestia after she was attacked by the Shadow Dancers for the first time. It was written almost four months ago, before Twilight became an Alicorn. Twilight studied the letter carefully.

“Dear Princess Celestia,

About a week ago I was hospitalized by Shadow Dancers. I have no idea what I did to make them attack me, but it was a close call. Rainbow Dash was barely able to get me away and to the clinic before I could bleed out from my wounds. I'm writing this letter to let you know that I was released from the Ponyville clinic earlier today, and that I should be back on the job with my friendship reports any time now.

But I do have a question; what do you know about the Shadow Dancers? I know they're as old as you and Princess Luna, if not older, and exist in shadows. I also know that they aren't normally so violent. Do you have any idea what made them come after me?

I eagerly await your response,

-Twilight Sparkle.”

This made no sense. Why would Twilight neglect to send a letter like this? How could she forget? As it was, the letter had been sitting idly in her drawer for just shy of four months, collecting dust. She sighed heavily and placed the note back in the stack before returning it to the drawer. She needed to have another look at Rainbow Dash, she decided. After all, now she had a possible suspect of the assailant. “Spike, I’m going to look at Rainbow Dash one more time. You stay here and stay safe, okay?” She said, the slight tremble to her voice easily detectible.

“Stay safe?” Spike asked, looking at Twilight worriedly.

“Turn on all of the lights, and make sure there isn’t a single spot with a shadow. That should at least help…” Twilight said, sounding unsure of herself on the last few words. Spike looked at Twilight fearfully.

“How will that help?” he asked, clutching the end of his tail tightly.

“They can’t exist in the light.” Twilight replied, before trotting downstairs. She hesitated as she came to the door, but not for long. Swallowing down her fears, Twilight opened the door, and stepped outside.

<><><><><>

Rainbow Dash snapped her eyes open, a loud gasp escaping her, causing her throat to ache. Where was she? What was going on? For a moment, she had no clue on either of those questions. She looked around, realizing she was in a Ponyville clinic room. What type of room, she was unsure at the moment, but she did know that she was hooked up to a heart monitor. How had she gotten here? She tried to think and bring up her most recent memory. She remembered a burning in her throat, She remembered blood...and shadows.

The thought of shadows sent a spike of fear through her, and she involuntarily shivered. She heard voices outside her door, drawing her attention. She leaned forward slightly to hear better, but had to slowly lie back down at the pain it caused her torso as well as her wings. The door popped open, and she recognized Nurse Redhearts voice, along with Twilight. “Has she woken up yet, though?” Twilight asked.

“Well, we’re about to find out.” Redheart replied, pulling the curtain back. Dash smiled weakly as she saw her friend approaching.

“Dash! You’re awake! Oh, thank goodness.” Twilight heaved a sigh of relief, and smiled warmly at Rainbow. Okay, Dash decided, time for some answers.

Rainbow tried to speak, but in place of her normal voice all that came out was an odd sounding mumbling slur. Twilight couldn’t help but compare it to what she imagined a mummy might sound like, if it were alive and speaking through a mouth full of cotton balls that are starting to get wet with saliva. Dash felt at her throat, then glanced to Redheart for answers.

“Rainbow, I’m sorry. We poured a healing tonic down your throat, which is still healing. The tonic numbs your vocal chords, so you should try to refrain from speech for the time being.” Redheart said in a soothing tone. Rainbow nodded silently, looking down.

“I didn’t know the damage was that bad.” Twilight muttered, looking at rainbow sadly.

“We didn’t think she’d wake up for another twenty four hours, at least.” Redheart added, walking over to Rainbow’s side to check her bandages. Twilight sighed and sat down next to Dash on her other side.

“Dash, I think I know what hurt you, but I need you to answer some questions. I’ll make them all yes or no.” Twilight said gently, cringing slightly as Rainbow looked at her with pained eyes. In response, all Dash could do was nod. “Okay. First thing, it was night when you were attacked?”

A nod.

“And when you were hurt, was it like the shadows themselves were moving?”

Another nod.

“Did you see anything related that day? Moving shadows? shadows that were darker than they should have been?”

One more nod.

“Lastly, did you see a yellow eye?”

A pause, then a shrug.

“Dash, it has to be either a yes or a no. Either you saw it or you didn’t.” Twilight pressed gently, rubbing comforting circles into Rainbow’s shoulder. Dash looked at her, then gestured to her other side. Twilight glanced over, and saw that Rainbow was pointing with her hoof at the clipboard. “Bring her some paper, I guess.” Twilight said, looking up at Redheart, who nodded. Redheart soon brought Rainbow a sheet of paper and a pen.

Dash nodded her thanks and started scribbling away at the paper with the pen in her mouth. After several moments, she had spelled out her answer.

Maybe. I saw it in a nightmare I had.

“Nightmare?” Twilight asked, knowing exactly how those could go. Dash nodded. Twilight slowly stood, and nodded as well. “Then it’s true.” She said, a tremor of anxiety in her tone.

“What is?” Redheart asked as she reached into a cabinet to pull out some supplies.

“Rainbow Dash was attacked by Shadow Dancers.” Twilight replied, looking out the window. “Which means that no matter what, you need to keep this room lit. Don’t leave a single shadow in the room.”

“Twilight, that's practically impossible. We'd need walls made of lights for that, and even then, Rainbow herself would still have shadows on her.” Redheart said, looking at Twilight with a frown.

“Fine, then just light up what you can. Shadow Dancers travel by and can only exist in shadows. If we can keep the area lit, that should at least keep them at bay.” Twilight said, before turning her eyes completely to Rainbow. “I hate to go, but I need to write to the princesses. They'll know what to do here.” Twilight then turned her attention to Redheart. “By the way, how long do you think until Dash will be able to leave?”

“Hard to say. The doctor called in a healing magic expert, so as long as he shows up this week, I estimate Rainbow could be going home somewhere between seven to ten days from now.” Redheart replied hopefully, and Twilight smiled.

“Alright. Rainbow, I need to get moving. I'll see you soon.” Twilight said, turning and heading for the door. Rainbow felt the urge to say something, but knew that with her throat in its current state, she was bound to silence. She let her head drop as Twilight stepped out of the room.

<><><><><>

Twilight started processing information and thinking rapidly the second she stepped out of the clinic. The Shadow Dancers came after her the first time, and Rainbow Dash was the one that saved her that night. So, this time they came after Rainbow Dash first, which likely meant that they were eliminating potential threats. Twilight's bones chilled as the realization dawned on her that she was likely next. With Dash hospitalized, there were very few ponies, and probably none in Ponyville, that would be able to help her when the Shadow Dancers struck.

Twilight spread her wings, knelt down, and sprang up into the air. She started flapping, and was soon on her way to the Golden oaks library. She scanned the ground under her as she went, looking for any shadows that were too big or too dark. None stood out, but Twilight was unsure if that was supposed to make her feel any better. She soon came to a landing in front of the library and swung the door open. She stepped inside as fast as she could before closing the door behind her. The library was well lit, at least. Spike was off a little ways mopping the floor.

Twilight smiled over at him, before making her way upstairs. She had a letter to write, and waiting to do so would be foolish. Soon enough she was upstairs, setting up her desk with a blank sheet of paper, a quill and some ink. Setting herself down, she paused for barely a moment before starting on the letter.

It took a few minutes, but she finally got it all down. She looked over the letter carefully, before nodding to herself and turning to the stairs. Spike was standing there, looking nervously at her. Twilight smiled at him before walking forwards and giving him a tight hug. “I promise you now, Spike. We’re going to be okay.” She said quietly, rubbing his back. Truth be told, she wasn’t hugging him to comfort him, but to comfort herself. She knew only a part of what the Shadow Dancers were capable of, and even that was enough to chill her veins.

She remembered the cold oh so clearly. She remembered how easily the Shadow Dancers were able to split open her stomach. She remembered the feeling of the blood running down her side. She remembered the sensation of being pulled at from all sides, feeling like her legs would be pulled right off. She involuntarily shuddered at the horrible memories, pulling Spike closer. His body heat warming her freezing limbs was nice, but she knew that the comfort from this embrace was temporary.

She just hoped that she was right. Shadow Dancers were dangerous when they were against somepony. There was almost no way for one to fight back or defend themselves. If a Shadow Dancer was able to leap to them, it would all be over for the victim. Twilight gulped as she realized that so far, she and Rainbow had been nothing but lucky. Twilight’s own words started ringing doubtfully in her ears over and over again. We’re going to be okay…

Comments

[dashybrony2012]

Another fabulous chapter great job and I love where all if this is going keep up the awesome work

[GMZ_Casper]

...Wait a minute, something isn't right here...for shadows to exist, there has to be light. So, wouldn't a room filled with light be a very bad idea?

[Skijarama]

4360599

Yes, but they can only exist in shadows. If you happen to have no shadows, they cant exist in that place. Completely illuminate a room, and the enemy cant get inside.

[GMZ_Casper]

4361310
Ahhh, gotcha. Thank for clearing that up.

[TwiDasherboop]

This is dark!
You made it so vivid that I can feel my ... never mind that. And I am in a dark room writing this.