Into the Woods

by ThePrinceOfTheNorth

Chapter 2: The Fading Light

Chapter 2: The Fading Light

Twilight paced anxiously in the main hall of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. Spike, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had all fallen asleep hours ago, but Twilight couldn't stop worrying, as usual.

"They should have been here hours ago," said Twilight. Celestia and Luna had sent word they would be visiting the castle to inspect the work she and her friends had done, but the time they should have arrived was supposed to have been twelve hours ago, and there was still no sign of the Princesses.

"Maybe we should go and look for them," a voice said from behind her.

Twilight nearly jumped out of her fur. She turned to see Spike standing there, wide awake and ready to go.

"Good idea," said Twilight as the duo left the castle. Unfortunately, Twilight didn't notice the Spike that was still cuddled up to Rarity.

As they made their way deeper into the forest, Spike began to mutter under his breath, worrying Twilight.

"Spike, are you alright?"

"Hmm, oh, I'm fine," Spike said with a questionable smile. Twilight simply shrugged and turned in time to avoid almost tripping over a pile of gold regalia.

"What the hay," Twilight said as she once again approached the regalia. It consisted of a collar and a crown, both unsettlingly familiar...

"THESE ARE CELESTIA'S," Twilight exclaimed, only then noticing the black pile with a white crescent moon emblazoned on its collar that lay nearby. "THEY'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED!"

"I know," said a deep voice from behind her. She turned in time to see what she'd thought was Spike dissolve into tentacles of black, which quickly retreated into the shadow of the forest.

Twilight flared her wings when another, far deeper, menacing voice echoed through the forest.

"Ah, Princess Twilight Sparkle, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I must say, it was easier to lure you out here than I had anticipated. But no matter. I have the Sun and the Moon, but what are you? What do I control if I get you?"

"Who are you," demanded Twilight.

"That does not matter," said the voice. "What matters is what YOU represent, little Princess. Shall we find out?"

Suddenly, the shadows of the forest began to move, encircling Twilight before creeping towards her. She fired a bolt of magic at the approaching shadow, but it simply passed through. She closed her eyes, accepting the inevitable.

Suddenly, a brilliant flash of pink lit up the clearing, causing the voice to scream in agony.

"This cannot BE! RETREAT!"

With that, the shadows vanished into the dark depths of the forest, leaving Twilight alone with whatever had caused that flash.

Twilight turned to see Cadence standing behind her, a smile crossing her face when she saw Twilight was alright.

"Are you the real Cadence," asked Twilight.

"I could ask you the same thing," replied Cadence.

Suddenly, an idea leapt into both of their minds, and they performed the greeting they'd used so many times before, laughing as they finished.

"It really is you," Twilight said as she hugged Cadence.

"Yep," said Cadence.

"What are you doing out here in the forest," asked Twilight. "Shouldn't you be in The Crystal Empire?"

"Celestia invited me to tour the Castle of the Pony Sisters with them," said Cadence, who waved her hoof in the direction of the Princess' regalia, "I guess that will have to wait."

"I guess Discord was right," Twilight said, "Something bad DOES happen whenever we see each other."

Cadence nodded. "Let's go, before that thing comes back."

Twilight nodded and led Cadence back to the castle. It looked quite majestic now that it had been repaired. There were no gaping holes in the roof or walls, and all the windows once again bore stained glass. The walls had been whitewashed, making it look almost like Canterlot, but not on the side of a mountain. The courtyard now had a working fountain made from white marble, and the paths had all been re-cobbled. The great doors to the main hall had been replace with a golden wood, and really pulled the scene together, but not more than the flowerbeds that lined the paths.

“It’s beautiful,” said Cadence in sheer awe.

“Rarity set it all up,” said Twilight knowingly. “I think she’ll appreciate the compliments.”

Cadence nodded as she followed Twilight inside.

The interior was as grand as the exterior. White-washed walls with gold inlays, gemstones embedded into intricate designs, banners that once were torn and faded had either been repaired or replaced. The thrones themselved had been refinished and reupholstered, looking as they did over 1000 years ago. The torchlight reflecting off the pearl and gold inlays really dazzled anypony who came in, much as thay did Cadence, who was left speechless.

"Amazing," Cadence finally said.

Twilight nodded. "Rarity spent days making and repairing the banners, and reupholstering the thrones was harder than we thought, but we managed."

Cadence nodded and followed Twilight through the gleaming hall to where the others were sleeping, and quickly proceeded with waking them.

"Girls, wake up! We've got a little problem," said Twilight.

One by one, the others slowly woke from their pleasant sleep.

"Darling, what is so important that you have to interrupt my beautysleep," asked Rarity.

"The Princesses have been kidnapped," said Cadence in a matter-of-fact tone.

Those words woke them right up, and they were all on their hooves in less than a second. Spike was the most shocked, and would've fallen on his snout if Twilight hadn't caught him.

"Are y'all pull'in our hooves," asked Appljack.

Twilight shook her head. "No, I saw where they'd been kidnapped, and I would've been too if Cadence hadn't shown up when she had."

"We need to get help," said Spike, to which everypony nodded.

Spike turned to face Twilight. "Do you know anyone that could help?"

Twilight closed her eyes in deep thought. She was like that for a few minutes before she opened her eyes again.

"There is someone, but I'll need to send a message."

15 minutes later...

Twilight looked over her letter one last time.

Dear Prince Winter,

I need your help. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have been kidnapped. I know it is hard to believe, consdering that they are powerful alicorns, but I have seen the evidence.

I believe the strange shadow creature that's lurking in the forest is what kidnapped them, and Cadence seems to be the only one able to harm it.

Please, help me. We're in the Castle of the Royal Ponys Sisters.

Please, hurry.

Your former student,

Princess Twilight Sparkle

After making sure everything was correct, Twilight levitated the letter over to Spike, who quickly sent it to it's recipient.

"I hope he comes," said Twilight.