The Beast Within

by Arreis Of Avalon

Time Flies

Twilight shifted her saddle pack softly around her, yawning. She hadn’t gotten much sleep last night - she’d been busy sorting through all of her items again. Still, she’d gotten plenty for the journey to come. She glanced over at Spike. “And you’re sure everything is ready?”

He saluted, standing tall. “Yep! The castle’s all cleaned up, and the library section is closed to the next few weeks. I already talked about it to the CMC, so everyone in town should know by now!”

Twilight smiled softly, nodding. They were sure to spread the news. She glanced around, levitating smaller items like spare quills over to her, stuffing them in her bags. “And the trip?”

“Everyone thinks you’re off with Rarity and Applejack to visit Griffonstone.” Spike chuckled, grinning a bit to himself. “I managed to convince Fluttershy not to come by telling her all about Griffon culture. She spooked herself out of going.”

“Good job, Spike.” Twilight paused and frowned, glancing at him. “Well, sort of.”

“Whatever. Anyways, Pinkie and Dash didn’t wanna come, they’re watching Discord-”

“What?!” Twilight blanched slightly. “Is he here in Ponyville? I thought Luna and Celestia were keeping a close eye on him!”

Spike shrugged. “Seems like he ran away.” Twilight felt her eye twitch. What if he learned what was going to happen? Would he try and stop them? Spike saw her starting to unravel and sighed, walking over and patting her back. “Calm down, Twi, don’t worry. Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow have got their eyes on him. Besides, if it all goes crazy, Luna can come down here really fast and put a stop to it!”

Twilight sighed, shutting her eyes. “You’re right. I can’t concern myself with that right now.” She smiled, looking at him before hugging him tight, ignoring his surprise. “Be careful, okay, Spike? If he figures out where we really went… Just don’t get hurt, okay?”

Spike blushed lightly, glancing away but hugging her back. “C’mon, Twi, nothing bad’s gonna happen. Shouldn’t I be telling you all of this? I mean, you’re the one who’s going on a huge adventure!”

“I know, but… Just be safe, alright? I don’t know what I would do without my number one assistant.”

Spike rolled his eyes. “I’m gonna be fine! Now, you should get going, or you’re gonna be late!”

Twilight gasped, looking at the clock on the wall. He was right - it was already 7:40! “Oh god, I can’t be late, Blueblood said we’d be leaving at 8 sharp. I need to get to Sweet Apple, fast! Take care, alright?”

“Just go!” She nodded and darted off towards the balcony, flying off. He waved goodbye to her, shaking his head. “She worries too much.”

*~*~*~

He blinked.

… What time was it?

He glanced around the clouds around him. Well. There was sunlight. So it was day-time. But that didn’t really narrow it down much, did it?

Still. It was an answer.

But it wasn’t really much of an answer, was it?

Why was he so concerned with time? It didn’t matter in the slightest. It shouldn’t matter in the slightest, anyways. But for some reason, now, it did. What had happened that made him concerned with time?

Well. His Shadow had taken control. And he was left alone.

… How long had he been alone now?

He couldn’t remember.

Was that a bad thing?

Yes. Memory is key. Without memories, you have no recollection, and without recollection…

What was he thinking?

It didn’t matter.

He shut his eyes. It was too bright out there. He just wanted to forget.

But those voices...

That's right! I'll always be loyal-

-lucky to have friends who want me-

-yummy delicious chocolate milk rain-

-we're wasting our time talking-

-All of my friends-

-Twilight, what were you thinking?!-

-Surely you saw this comin'...

I didn't.

“I truly didn't.”

Were those his words?

He couldn’t remember anymore. His head pounded and nothing was making it better. He kept hearing these voices, but calling out to his Shadow wasn’t doing anything. His Shadow had abandoned him and taken his body.

He wanted to be in control again. It was his turn.

Did they take turns before?

Who had he been, before?

What was his name now?...

No. Didn’t matter. He couldn’t be in control. No, that- It wouldn’t work that way! His Shadow was supposed to be there! That was the way it worked. He needed to forget.

Dormancy.

He needed to forget. His mind screamed to forget.

He shut his eyes.

…

What time was it again?

He opened his eyes.

Well. There was sunlight on the clouds...

It must be day-time then.

*~*~*~

Blueblood checked his pocket watch. 8 o’clock, sharp. He glanced up as Applejack walked up with Rarity. “Perfect timing. I expected you all to sleep in late.”

“This is nothin’ for a farmer,” Applejack said with a bright smirk. “‘Specially a farmer who lives on the farmland where you wanted to meet up.”

“And I usually have to take Sweetie Belle to school,” Rarity muttered, much less enthused about the early hour, “so I’m used to waking up so early.” She yawned, wrapping her scarf closer to her neck. It was a bit chilly out.

Blueblood nodded, glancing towards Twilight (who had been a full 15 minutes early). “Is everything prepared for our departure?”

“It seems like it. I’ve got the maps in my bag - not that they’ll be much help. But on the way, I’ll be marking down where we go so we don’t get too lost.” Now that the journey was beginning, she was starting to grow excited. Uncharted territory - she was going to be making maps of a whole new place! She might even get to learn a bit of Draconequish.

Still. She had to keep her head about her. This was exceptionally serious, after all. There was no telling what Discord was hiding in Dracon home. They had to be prepared for everything.

“Very well.” He glanced at Applejack and Rarity. “Now, Twilight will be teleporting us a good distance of the way to get us started. That way, no citizens out for a morning stroll will see us headed that direction.”

“Makes sense. How far out will it take us?”

“It’s already marked on the map. We’ll keep track as we go, as Twilight said.” Blueblood sighed, shutting his eyes. “I hope you all understand the gravity of our situation. This is a matter of life and death.

“We know,” they all said in unison.

“We’ve gotta figure what’s goin’ on down there is bad-”

“And we must put a stop to it-”

“Or else Discord might do something horrible.”

Blueblood nodded. “Prepare your spell then, Twilight. Everyone else, say goodbye to Ponyville. We might not see it for awhile.”

Twilight began to prepare her spell. Blueblood glanced out over the hillside towards Ponyville. He thought of what they had all said.

Ha.

They imagined themselves prepared, not knowing anything he had learned - all those things he had been sworn to silence of. He couldn’t tell them of the horrors that might await all of them. Of Gods so fierce, entire races of ponies had been sacrificed in their name. Of beasts so terrible their depictions - a false replica of their true form - still sent shivers down his spine. Of Guardians and Cults and of Chaos and Order and Evil and Good.

How could they imagine themselves prepared, if they knew what he did?

He shut his eyes as Twilight’s spell began to cover them.

Applejack looked over her farm, saying a silent prayer. She prayed that Twilight would make it back, for Equestria, Spike, the Princesses. She prayed that Rarity would make it back for Sweetie and for herself, for all the generosity in the world. She prayed that Ponyville would be fine with a God in their midst who might mean wrong. She prayed that she could do her job. She prayed that she would make it home safe, for Mac and Granny and Apple Bloom.

But if she didn’t, she prayed, even as she felt Twilight’s magic, that Ma and Pa might be there to greet her when she failed.

Rarity looked over Ponyville, fretting as she always did. She hoped everyone would be safe. Had she packed Sweetie enough lunches for this week? Oh, that little sweetheart had been giving out her apples at lunch to the poorer kids, she hoped desperately that Sweetie would save some for herself. Oh, and what about those dresses for her clients, had she added enough rhinestones and made them good enough? She hoped so.

She couldn’t let anyone down, she thought as the magic reached her. Not when she might not be able to set it right, not when she might not be coming back to give everypony her all.

Twilight shut her eyes.

I hope I can keep you three safe.

In a flash, all that was left in the orchard was a faint breeze and the scent of the upcoming harvest in the air.

Author's Note:

Thanks to Gamerguy1313 again for helping me write this entire chapter tonight. Seriously, this entire chapter, almost 2 hours. So yeah, please comment if you see any errors! I wrote it fairly quickly. I hope you all enjoy - I know there wasn't much substance here, but important foreshadowing, in a sense.

Side note - I'm really sorta angry that it keeps cutting out my extra spaces between paragraphs. It adds a lot more tension if it would let me format it my way

Comments

[Gamerguy1313]

I wish more people would comment. The after-discussion is the best part.

And I think I see some traces of one of the ideas I gave you, but taken to the extreme. Interesting.

[Arreis Of Avalon]

7595108 I wish more people would comment as well. Honestly, it's one of the reasons I love writing. I need feedback, or else I feel like it's a waste of time and no one's reading it Kinda silly, I know, but that's how it feels. :) Thanks so much for the comment, and all of your advice. You're right, I definitely look back on our conversation for inspiration to work on this one! I'm also willing to join in discussion of the chapter (I try to reply to every comment I receive), though it'll be mostly vague hints of what's to come!

[Gamerguy1313]

7595316 Most people miss at least a large portion of their feed, so when you post a new chapter, it might be best to put some advertisement out there. It might bring in new people too.

[Arreis Of Avalon]

7597317 The most I could do here is just a blog post. Would that really be enough? Because I never check those, if I'll be honest.

[Gamerguy1313]

7597882 You could advertise in groups.

[Arreis Of Avalon]

7598036 I might consider doing that. I don't know... ^^; I'm not super great at this sort of thing. I'm only good at the writing part.

[Gamerguy1313]

7598184 Start by writing an intro summary that will hook people speeding through their feed and make them want to read the story.

[LoveMLPForever]

7597882 Just found this story and I am hooked! I've always been intrigued by the concept of there being more than one draconequus to have ever existed, and your story has left me with anticipation for the big reveal of Dracon home. As a side note, I read through all of my feed, stories and blog posts alike, so if you blogged more I would totally see it. I eagerly await your next update!

[Arreis Of Avalon]

7844027 Oh goodness, thank you! Comments drive me to write, and I've been in a huge rut since Christmas trying to get stuff done. This just brought me back to the plan for this one and wow, is this a great story! I'll get to work on it right away. :)

[QCosmic Derp]

Oh god, I can’t be late

I'm not so sure a pony would ever say "oh god"