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Off to Ponyville1,143 words
Clear skies from here on out1,325 words
High class pony1,134 words
Friendly encounter1,343 words
Birds of a feather1,473 words
The fourth wall.1,248 words
Dance of the butterflies.1,351 words
Conflicted feelings.1,326 words
Darkness Eternal2,069 words
A show of strength.1,801 words
How darkness works2,277 words
How darkness takes1,636 words
How darkness rules3,688 words
Epilogue.889 words

How darkness works

The trees were growing closer together, making the already dark night, even darker. Although it was actually closer to midday, it seemed as if it was midnight. The few rays of moonlight that did leak through the tree canopy barely made the scenery any less spooky. If anything it made the forest look ominous.

As they continued, the trees changed, from clean and uniform to gnarled and bent. Soon even the rays of the moon were blocked out, leaving the group in complete darkness. Ponies huddled closer together for comfort, making sure they stayed within a hoof width from each other, fearing that they would get lost.

A hushed whisper picked up, getting louder and louder. Ponies looked around, trying to figure out who was whispering. “Keep it down. There may be more creatures nearby.” One stallion spoke up. The whispering grew louder. A dim red light appear within multiple trees, revealing twisted snarls and malicious grins. They whispering grew even louder. A few ponies scream in fright, others almost fainted. A circle of mangled trees appeared around them, each scared with a jagged face. They all pressed together in the middle of the circle, like a herd of scared animals, the ponies on the outside of the circle were facing towards the trees. The trees remained in place, whispering some chant over and over.

Pinkie jumped out from the cowering crowd, bouncing towards one of the trees. “Pinkie what are you doing!?” Rainbow shouted next to Fluttershy, who still crying about the deceased manticore.

The pink mare started to giggle at the tree, going right up to its wooden face and making funny faces. It would have been funny, if it wasn’t so terrifying. “Pinkie! Get away from them. You’re going to get hurt.”

“Don’t you see?” Pinkie cleared her throat and began to sing. “When I was a little filly, and the sun was going down- Hey! What are you doing?” An orange aura surrounded Pinkie, raising her into the air and floated her back to the crowd. “I was just getting started.” Sunset just stared at her, obviously unamused. Sunset turned her attention towards the trees, focusing her magic on them. Slowly the red glow drew dim, then vanished completely, along with the whispers.

“It was only a spell everypony. Just some trick to scare us.” She looked into the darkness around them. There was nothing there. That’s what concerned her. Most illusion spells require the caster to be present, except high level spells.

They continued their march through the forest. Soon the forest around them became brighter, revealing the moon high in the night, or possibly day sky. The trees soon became sparse, revealing a large river, its rapid tide splashing water onto the banks.

A mare near the front of the crowd, with navy blue and pink hair spoke. “How are we supposed to cross this?”

Sunset shouted up to the pegasi flying above them. The small group of pegasi consisted of Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Cloud Kicker and Derpy. “Can you see anywhere we can cross from up there?”

Rainbow was the one to answer. “Not even a log, looks like we are going to have to fly you over.”

Derpy looks into the distance. “What about that purple, squiggly log over there Rainbow?” She pointed down the river. Rainbow followed her hoof and saw the object she was talking about. A large purple serpent was flailing its body, sending large waves through the water, causing the rapids in front of them. Rainbow flew down to Sunset and told her about the disturbance.

“Hm. Does it look like it is going to stop anytime soon?” Rainbow looked up a Derpy, who simply shrugged.

“Not likely.”

“Then we have to find a way to make it stop. Any ideas? Anyone?” A murmur spread through the gathering, but no pony offered any suggestions. Fluttershy mumbled an idea, but it fell upon deaf ears, her voice being drowned out by the whispers of the crowd.

Sunset looked at the rapids in front of them, then at the forest around them. “I have an idea.” Everypony leaned forward to listen. Pinkie leaned so far forward that she ended up falling over, a small gasp escaping her mouth as she landed. “I need everyone to gather wood from the forest and bring it back here.” The group dispersed to find suitable materials. Some ponies returned within minutes, carrying small branches, earning a small glare from Sunset. After berating them for a couple of minutes, they skulked off to find bigger pieces of wood. Others returned much later but with rather sizable logs. One pony, who had obscenely large muscles, returned dragging an entire tree behind him, screaming ‘yeah!’ with every step.

Soon Sunset had a generous pile of wood in front of her. Once again she concentrated hard, focusing her magic, she begins to manipulate the wood, slowly bending and binding each piece together. Slowly a shape begins to form. Sunset moves the object ever the river and releases it. It comes down with a massive splash, soaking most ponies and leaving their fur dripping.

Floating on the river now sat a large, if not clumsy, boat. Splintered pieces of wood stuck out of the boat at random intervals and the hull looked as if someone had grabbed a mallet and had a playdate with it. The boat swayed in the large waves but stayed afloat. It looked large enough to fit most of the ponies there, but it would be cramped. Sunset made a few final adjustments to the boat, then jumped onboard.

“Well? What are you all waiting for, an invitation?” The throng of ponies slowly inched toward the boat, eyeing carefully, scared that it would fall apart when they got on. Sensing their thoughts, Sunset said dryly. “It’s not going to break, get on.” A small fragment of the herd boarded the boat, but the majority were still wary of the boat. How could something so… jagged, take their combined weight? Sunset glared at them. “I said get. On. The. Boat.” She snarled through gritted teeth.

Heads hung low, the group climbed on the boat. With each new passenger, the boat sank lower into the water. Now the boat was practically over flowing with ponies, but a minority of ponies still remained on the shoreline of the river. “Didn’t you hear me? I said get on.” She yelled at them.

Rarity leaned over to Applejack and whispered in her ear. “When did she become so bossy? I know this is technically her boat, but it doesn’t mean she has to yell. Personally I can’t blame them for being scared. This thing looks as if it would fall apart in seconds.”

“I have to do everything around her don’t I?” Sunset grabbed the remaining ponies in her aura and tossed them onto the boat. The boat sank below the water line for a moment but then returned to its normal height. A small layer of water now covered the deck. Rarity hopped about, trying not to get her hooves wet, Pinkie however started splashing the water around. Seeing that everyone was now on the boat, Sunset turned to the royal guards, who actually flinch. This made Sunset smile a little.

“Well you might as well make yourselves useful and row the boat.” The guards looked to the mayor pony for confirmation, who in turn looked at Sunset for confirmation. “Well, what are you waiting for? I told you to row.”

Applejack leaned over to whisper in Rarity’s ear. “A bit of a control freak huh?” Rarity nodded her agreement.

“I thought Canterlot ponies were meant to be sophisticated. I just hope the prince isn’t like her.” The boat began to move forward inch by inch.

“Let’s just hope she isn’t like this for the rest of the trip.”

Rainbow hovered above them. “It’s probably just stress guys. Wouldn’t you go a bit nutty if you mentor was kidnapped by some crazy lunatic?”*

Rarity’s ear flattened against her head. “I would be distraught.”

Applejack stared at the ground. “I guess you’re right, but that still doesn’t mean she can treat ponies like that.” Applejack paused to think. “I’m gonna go talk to her.”

Sunset was focusing on the far banks of the river, staring intently at the shadows on the other side. Something was there, watching them. She just knew it. Sunset let out a startled scream when something grabbed her shoulder. Sunset turned around. “Oh, it’s just you Applejack. Sorry, my mind was elsewhere.”

“I can see that.” The workhorse let out a small chuckle, before her expression turned serious. “Listen, I’ve noticed that you have been a bit… edgy as of late. Is everything ok?”

“Yeah, just a bit exhausted from all that’s happened recently. Especially with all the strain on my magic. It’s not every day you fight a manticore.”

“I can’t argue with that.” An awkward silence hung in the air.

“Applejack? Do you think we can do it?” Applejack froze.

“What do you mean?” She tilted her head in confusion.

“Do you think we can defeat Nightmare Moon?”

Applejack stared at the ground for a moment, deep in thought. Sunset was about to speak, but the orange mare beat her. “Honestly, I don’t know. She looks like a very powerful mare and she was able to ponynap Celestia. If she was able to get the best of Celestia, what are the chances that we can hurt her?” Sunset’s ears were folded against her head. “That’s why we need to find these elements of harmony.” The boat lurched forward and came to a halt, they had arrived at the other side of the river. Everypony leaped off the boat, glad to finally be on the ground again. “Well looks like we can go now. I’ll let you go ahead, I have something I need to talk about with the girls.” She left before Sunset could respond.

Sunset trotted to the front of the crowd. The forest was calmer here and seemed to part as they got closer, revealing a definite path for them to follow. Behind her, Sunset could here everyone whispering. Nothing about her, but the journey in general mostly. Occasionally she heard a comment about Nightmare Moon, but the topic generally related to Celestia. Soon the forest parted entirely, to reveal an ancient stone structure. Most of the castle was now in ruins and only a crumbling entrance was visible, with an age-old oak door barring the way. Between them and the castle was a deep ravine filled with fog, hiding how deep it really was.

“I was starting to think we would never get here.” Rainbow burst.

“At least now we don’t have to deal with that dreadful forest.” Rarity made a show of checking her hooves for dirt. “I don’t think my hooves could have taken much more of that vile place.”

Applejack snorted derisively. “Of everythin’ we just went through, you’re concerned about the dirt?”

“I’ll have you know, I spent a great deal of time getting to this level of beauty. I am not about to let some tacky forest ruin it.”

Rainbow Dash mumbled under her breath. “A bit too late for that.” The group had now moved to the edge of the ravine, leaving Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash bickering with themselves.

A mare with aqua fur went to the edge of the cliff and looked down into its depths. “Wow. This thing must go on forever. Good thing there’s a bridge, Bon Bon.”

The pony next to her responded. “Well, most of a bridge at least.” She pointed to were the bridge now hung, surrounded by mist. The rope moving in the mild breeze.

“That’s easily fixed. We just need a pegasus to fly down and tie the ropes to the supports on the other side.”

“I’ll do it.” They both turned and were surprised to find a grey mare with bright blonde hair.

Bon Bon looked at her worriedly. “Are you sure Derpy? With your um… past history with flying, I think it is best for someone else to do the job.” Derpy’s eye began to water. “It’s nothing personal Derpy, honest.” Derpy walked back into the crowd with her head hung low.

The mayor and Sunset stood next to each other, both looking over the crowd for a suitable candidate to fix the bridge. It was a simple job, but there was always the chance of something dangerous happening.

“We could send Bulk Biceps. He would be able to defend himself if there is danger.”

“No, he is too clumsy. He wouldn’t be able to tie the bridge securely.”

“What about Cloud Kicker?” The mayor retorted.

“Which one is she?” The mayor pointed into the crowd at a pegasi with light purple fur, with yellow and orange hair. Cloud noticed the mayor was pointing and her, and hid behind a nearby colt.

“No, she is too timid. She would flee if a twig snapped.” The mayor sighed.

“Well the only other suitable pegasi would be Rainbow Dash, but if we send her she is going to brag about her heroics for the next few hours.”

“She isn't that vain. All she has to do is fly over and tie a piece of rope. She can’t really boast about that.”

“I guess that is true.”

“Great, than it is settled. Hey Rainbow!”

Author's Note:

Sorry for the wait. Just been busy IRL as of late.
Please point out any spelling errors and I'll fix them. Thanks for reading this far.