Lighting Up the Night

by PlagueRatOfDoom

Dreams and Plans

“Twilight Sparkle…”

A voice called out to Twilight as she had yet another dream.

“Heed these words, Princess of Friendship… Equestria now weeps under a mantle of shadows… The Rainbow of Darkness is in you… But there is still a way to defeat Grogar… Let love light the way… Come to Dream Valley, where the seed that formed the Tree of Harmony was kept before it was buried… there I shall aid you and let you find the being who defeated Grogar before…”

With each word, the Princess of Friendship felt more conscious. The sound of thunder, mingled with distant fearful shouts and other assorted sounds of chaos resonated around Twilight Sparkle. Her stomach churning in fear, Twilight opened her eyes and gasped at what she saw.

The remains of the Tree of Harmony were lying around the cave, and the sky was pitch black. Winds raged violently across the Everfree Forest, and there were constant tremors.

“Twilight!” A shocked voice called out from above as Captain Sentry and Princess Celestia descended.

“Princess Celestia…” Twilight sighed in relief, glad to see the Princess.

Celestia put her hoof on the unicorn. “Twilight, we have to leave the forest quickly. Ponyville has already fallen under Grogar’s control. Luckily, the captain here evacuated the town before he took over. Canterlot’s still safe, so everypony is going either there or to nearby towns. But we have to go. I am not sure if Grogar plans further harm on you.”

Twilight took a deep breath. “OK,” she said slowly. She looked at the other five mares beginning to wake up. “Girls, we need to get to Canterlot.”

The eight ponies all left the Everfree Forest, where an astonishing sight awaited.

Ponyville was completely abandoned, being evacuated right before Grogar gained the Elements. But it was here that the ram’s powers of darkness could be clearly seen. Just about every building had been reduced to piles of wood or rubble, a few of them still on fire. The shopping district and town square were all gone, replaced by an enormous crater. Sweet Apple Acres was alit, the barn a smoldering pile of wood. The only building that remained of the town was the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom castle, untouched by Grogar for some unknown reason.

“Oh, no… Ponyville…” whispered Rarity.

“It’s all gone,” Applejack said. “Mah farm… the trees… everything’s gone.”

Pinkie’s mane immediately deflated as she looked at the ruins, and burst into tears.

“Pinkie, don’t cry,” Rainbow said sadly.

“DON’T CRY?!” the pink mare shrieked. “PONYVILLE’S BEEN DESTROYED! GROGAR WON! ALL MY THINGS- GONE! WHY THE HAY WOULD I NOT WANT TO CRY?!?” Twilight tried to calm Pinkie down, but it was no use. The cheerful Pinkie Pie was heartbroken.

“We should get going towards Canterlot,” Rainbow looked at the devastation around everypony. “Let’s not let Pinkie flood the place with her tears.”

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The great city of Canterlot was unusually quiet. Most of the aristocrats and nobles were probably inside, and the refugees from Ponyville were at a refuge on Bridle Street. But inside Canterlot Castle, Twilight and Celestia were sitting in the Princess of the Day’s personal study.

“Did everypony get out?”

“I believe so,” Celestia answered, all the while casting a healing spell on Twilight’s wounds. “And if anypony did not, you saw the ruins.”

Twilight nodded. “And the animals? Fluttershy would be horrified if the animals were dead.”

“Fluttershy’s cottage wasn’t destroyed, as it isn’t in Ponyville proper. So I believe she may have brought her animal friends to the cottage, and if not, they either entered the forest near Winsome Falls, Froggy Bottom Bog, or Whitetail Wood.”

Twilight took in a deep breath. All of Ponyville’s citizens may have survived, but all the memories of the town were hard to think of. “Alright. What about Manehatten? Appleloosa? Fillydelphia? The Crystal Empire?” she asked.

“Princess Cadence and Shining Armor have created a joint barrier around the Crystal Empire, to protect the Crystal Heart and the empire’s civilians. And as for the rest of Equestria… I haven’t heard any news of destruction, but there have been reports of windigos. No doubt attracted by Grogar’s feelings of hatred towards us.”

A chill went down the purple unicorn’s spine, but that changed to happiness when she realized something. “So I guess I’m going to have to listen to that dream and head to Dream Valley,” she declared. “To find where the seed that formed the Tree of Harmony was kept, and whoever defeated Grogar at first.”

Celestia’s eyes widened. “The Rainbow of Light... and what? Twilight, that’s impossible.”

“What is?”

The Princess of the Day sighed. “Nopony knows what happened to the rainbow that Megan left on.”

“The dream said ‘love will light the way.’”
Celestia then thought for a moment, and then went into another room, where she saw an indigo pegasus stallion with yellow eyes and a black mane in a ponytail. “Lieutenant Edge Wing, go and get the Wonderbolt, Soarin. He and Princess Twilight have to go on a quest together.”

“Why them?” Edge responded.

“Because of certain reasons.”

The Lunar Guard glided off into Canterlot, when Celestia felt Luna’s presence. “’Tia, why did you send Edge Wing off on an errand?” she asked.

“Because I believe Soarin has a crush on Princess Twilight.”

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A white unicorn stallion with a brown mane that was also wearing a hat levitated his food up and took a bite out of it. There was a knock at the door. “Welcome to Soft Light’s place,” he said, opening the door. It was Soarin.

“Hi, Soft, mind if I crash here for the night?” he asked.

Another knock. This time, it was Edge. “Princess Celestia has requested an audience with you,” he said.

Soarin groaned. “Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

“No, it’s urgent,” Edge replied.

Another groan.

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After being told the whole story, Soarin looked shocked. “So we should go to Dream Valley?”

Twilight nodded. “I think we should. Whoever this pony is, they want to help. And we should leave now.”

“Sure,” Soarin said. “What’s the rush all about?”

Twilight sighed, looking away from the Wonderbolt. “If Grogar finds us, he’ll obviously try to kill us.”

Soarin laughed. “Eh, it’s the fate of Equestria. And most of all, I won’t let Grogar get even a hoof on your cute face,” he flirted.

The Princess of Friendship’s face fell. “Are you flirting with me?” The Wonderbolt looked away. “Because it’s working.”