Witchcraft is Magic

by wingdingaling

Chapter 4: Fear of the Dark

Chapter 4

Fear of the Dark

Late in the dark of the night, Applejack walked through the cold streets of Ponyville toward the Golden Oaks Library, guided by the light of her lantern. She had been told by Twilight to meet there privately for a matter that wasn't immediately disclosed, along with all of their other friends.

Applejack hated having to go out when all the other ponies were asleep in their beds, and all the lights were turned off. She never told anypony, but all her life, whenever she was alone in the dark, it felt to her like the darkness waited to attack her. She knew it was silly for a mare her age to have such an irrational fear, but to her, darkness wasn't simply an absence of light. It was a living creature that would beckon her into it and swallow her whole.

The library was coming near. All around in the darkness, Applejack recognized the landmarks that showed where she was. But the absence of any light in the distance kept her from discerning where exactly her destination was. There wasn't even a light in Twilight's window to guide her. Swallowing hard, she trekked into the darkness as the world beyond her lantern changed and warped to a twisted monstrosity.

Then she saw a light to guide her.

It was so dim, she wasn't sure that it was there at all. The little light in the distance seemed struggling to keep from being engulfed by the darkness around it, but it was a great relief to Applejack. It meant she was now on the right track to her friend's house. It was when the light grew suddenly brighter that gave her pause.

From the end of the street she was at, the light she saw brightened and took the shape of something else. Though she couldn't see what it was, she knew it was no firefly.

Whatever it was, it was the size of a pony, but not a pony. Not the way it floated in mid-air without wings, not the way its front appendages ended with long, spindly claws.

Despite its sudden appearance, it paid no mind to Applejack, and drifted away from her.

Not much fazed Applejack. She was known throughout Ponyville for her nerves of steel, which saw her and everypony close to her through the greatest dangers. But what she had seen rooted her to the spot. All she could do was watch the thing as it drifted across the road.

Applejack tried to think that it may simply be something that she didn't recognize in the dark. That was one of the most terrifying things about darkness: its ability to corrupt what was warm and familiar into a twisted, evil version of itself. Nothing came to mind to rationalize the apparition. It was a monster born from the darkness, and it was going to swallow her whole when it saw her.

As suddenly as it appeared, it reverted back to a threadbare trace of light when suddenly a much brighter light shone through the dark.

Applejack watched the thread of light drift upward, and toward the direction of the Everfree. When it disappeared, she looked back to the source of light that appeared. In the light, she could see the familiar silhouette of Twilight in it, looking around in the darkness, likely for anypony she was expecting.

Spurred by the darkness around her, the dimming light of her lantern, the thing she had seen, and a sudden cold breeze, Applejack trotted quickly toward the door of the library, and let herself inside.

"Applejack, you made it," Twilight said before she pulled down the blinds on the window. She then levitated a list over to herself, and checked off Applejack's name, "So that means everypony's here now. Come on, let's get started."

Applejack saw that all of her other friends arrived before her.

"Now that we're all gathered, can we please get to business. It takes many hours of beauty sleep to look this good," Rarity whined.

"And I'm supposed to be up early for agility training," Dash added.

"Okay," Twilight began, as she took her seat on the couch, "Everypony: I don't know how long it's been going on, but strange things have been happening around here. And I don't just mean Pinkie's sleepwalking."

"I haven't done that for almost two weeks!" Pinkie defended.

"That's besides the point," Twilight said, putting everypony back on track, "I called you all here, because I know you've all seen...something that doesn't belong in Ponyville. There are things here that as far as I know don't belong here. Some kind of monsters that don't exist in any validated textbook or bestiary."

Applejack was almost sure that what she had seen was simply a figment of an overactive imagination, but when Twilight said there really was something out there, her blood froze.

"I think I saw one o' them on my way here," she stated suddenly.

"What did it look like?" Twilight asked, hoping it wasn't the owl creature from last night.

"I don't know. I was too far away to see it. But that thing lit up an' flew away to the Everfree. I think..." she paused briefly, not quite believing what she was about to say, "I think I saw a ghost."

"Green stallion, white mane?" Dash chimed in. "It was in Scootaloo's room last night!"

"What!?" Applejack said.

"I saw it walk right through her door! Right through it! Then it stared at her, and left!"

"That's kinda what the one I saw did! But it weren't no pony!"

"What do you mean, 'it weren't no pony?" Dash asked.

"Ponies don't have long, dragon claws," Applejack replied

"Did it laugh at you? Did you catch it murdering cupcakes and breaking bowls!?" Pinkie asked.

"Why the buck would it do that?" Dash wondered.

"Because that's what the ghost in my house did last night! And then it threw a bunch of knives at me!"

"There was a werewolf in my yard last night! It was trying to eat my chickens, before it went away!" Fluttershy announced.

Everypony else in the room gasped.

Panic nearly gripped the mares, until Twilight hushed them all. Partly to suppress their nerves, and partly to not wake up Spike.

"Everypony! Please, listen! Something's been happening around Ponyville. And if it goes unchecked, it may spread to other towns! We need to do something about it," the librarian said.

"But what can we do?" Rarity asked, anxious to be rid of her night visitor.

"Anything we can," Twilight answered, "It's up to us to protect Ponyville from danger, so we need to learn all we can about these creatures. Especially where they come from, and how to protect ourselves from them. And if need be, we might have to go find them to eliminate them."

"Unless they find us first..." Fluttershy squeaked.

Everypony in the room jumped when they heard a scratching noise on the door.

Fluttershy and Rarity both darted behind the couch.

The scratching sounded again, accompanied now by a low whimper. One that Applejack recognized.

"Winona?" she asked as she cautiously approached the door.

True to her expectation, as soon as she opened the door Applejack found her precious dog, who started whimpering at the sight of her.

"Winona, what the hay are ya doin' here?" Applejack asked.

The dog answered with a small yelp and started running away, but stopped to look back to Applejack.

Applejack didn't need to wonder about it. She knew what the dog was trying to tell her.

"Somethin's wrong at home!" she said before she lit her lantern and followed her pet to Sweet Apple Acres.

The others followed her, in case it was related to what had been happening.

---

In the witch's home on the other side of darkness, another panic was ensuing.

"We have to hide! Now! You three, go back to Zecora!" Courtney told the fillies.

At the moment, the witch was desperately trying to hide from whatever was outside her front door. The Cutie Mark Crusaders watched her as she tried to hide by curling up in her armchair, then move when she couldn't do so comfortably.

The witch pressed her back against the wall by the doorway that led to the hall. Another knock sounded, and Bruce huffed at the noise.

"Don't you dare bark, or it's the pinfold for you!" the witch threatened.

The fillies still hadn't done what they were told and kept watching the spectacle before them. Whatever was out there, it scared Courtney, and that meant for sure that it had to be truly terrifying.

The three took their hiding spot below the window to stay out of sight. They shuddered when they saw a shadow move past the window above them. Though it was unnoticed by Courtney.

"Courtney? Are you there?" a voice called from the door.

The witch breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the voice.

"Oh, thank goodness," Courtney sighed.

Seeing her relieved made the fillies feel brave enough to stop cowering below the window and follow Courtney to the hallway that led to the front door. Mostly, it was because they were curious to see what laid beyond the witch's home.

"Who is it? Is it another witch?" Apple Bloom asked.

"No. It's my friend. And I'm glad for it. I thought for certain it was going to be my--"

Courtney opened the door to reveal two newcomers standing there.

"--Mother..."

Of the two new faces, one of them looked very much like Courtney. She was the same, monkey-like creature with the same colorless skin and midnight black hair. She even had the same glowing, blue eyes, though the light from her eyes rippled outward, like when a stone was thrown in a pond. They even had nearly identical faces, making the fillies think that she looked more like a sister than a mother, given how youthful she looked. But it was there that any similarity ended.

While Courtney was dressed in what could have been called a casual dress, her mother was wearing an elegant, silken gown with many frills and ruffles around the neck and skirt area. The sleeves reached her elbows, and her hands were covered by a pair of black gloves. Atop her head, she wore a wide brimmed hat with a ribbon tied to it.

The other creature was completely different from the witch.

Though she had the same bipedal, monkey-like body as Courtney, her skin was green in color, and her mane was blue. A closer look at the mane atop her head, and it proved to not be made of hair, but leaves with pink flower buds poking through in various spots.

She was wearing a long, red, strapless dress, but the most eye catching thing about her were all the bandages that covered her body. Both arms were wrapped from fingertip to shoulder in white bandages, which spread to her chest area and around her neck. Through the slit in her dress, the fillies could see that her legs were bandaged as well, making them wonder if she was in some kind of accident at some point.

Before either creature saw the fillies, Bruce stepped in front of them, and laid down, obscuring them from view.

"Sweetheart, you sound like you're not happy to see me. And here I was thinking that you'd be delighted that I was here to clean up any messes you made," the older witch said

"I haven't made any messes. And as delightful as it is to see you, I don't appreciate you entrancing my friend to get me to open my door to you," Courtney said, with a hint of contempt

"Oh, daughter, daughter, daughter dearest. I know you well enough to know that you're much to proud to let me visit you on your first trip to that dreadful world of light," her mother chuckled as she stepped inside uninvited, followed by the plant creature

"You don't need to check on me. I've done everything you told me," Courtney defended.

"Then you won't have any trouble to report, will you," her mother asked as she helped herself to the only seat in the room, while the creature with her stood by her side.

Courtney nervously clenched her fists. On her first visit to Equestria, she had broken one of the biggest rules laid out for the dark kin. Even though she knew she was in trouble for doing so, she would be in even more trouble if her mother found out about it.

"I'm a grown woman. I can handle this on my own," she said, hoping to hustle her mother out of the house as quickly as possible.

"Can you?" the older witch asked.

Courtney's mother snapped her fingers, and a wisp of magic made the nearby pillar of shadows melt into the ground.

"Leaving the door open? It's the quickest way to let in pests. Or more precisely: fearful light dwellers, bent on eliminating people like us."

"It's fine, mother. That one opens at Zecora's house," Courtney answered, irritated that her mother didn't trust her. Then again, she couldn't be trusted after what she had done.

"Ah, Zecora. I haven't been to see her this year. How is she?" the older witch asked.

"She's fine," Courtney answered, hoping that her mother would decide to leave on her own, since it would be the only way she would leave at all.

"I can see that you're eager to get me out of your hair," the older witch said.

Courtney's hopes of getting rid of her mother rose.

"So I'll get right to the point"

Courtney nearly shouted when she heard that. She anxiously looked over to Bruce, who was still lying in the hall to hide the fillies. She gasped quietly when she saw a purple tail peeking out from behind Bruce.

The werewolf caught onto the nature of her distress, and extended his own tail to cover up Scootaloo's.

"Sweetheart. Let's not get distracted by cuddly animals," Courtney's mother said.

Courtney's mind snapped. Even though her mother hadn't seen the fillies, Courtney was sure she was talking about them. The last word she would ever use for a werewolf was 'cuddly,' or any other affectionate term for that matter. Mother always had a way of knowing what she was up to, and it was only a matter of time before she found out.

"So, to begin: you've remained unseen by the other creatures?" the older witch asked.

"Yes," Courtney answered, too quickly to be convincing.

"You've been containing any creatures from here without alerting anyone?"

"Yes."

"You've made sure none of the light-dwelling creatures have followed you here," her mother asked, with a suspicious glint in her eye.

The room went dead silent. Courtney's heart nearly stopped when she recognized the look on her mother's face. It was the one that she made ever since she was a little girl when she got caught lying, which was every time she attempted deceit. She didn't know how, and she didn't know when, but her mother knew.

The fillies didn't dare make a move behind Bruce, for fear of being discovered. They hadn't realized that they were unwelcome on the other side of the dark, and they dreaded to think what would happen if the creatures found out about them. Bruce looked over his shoulder at them, and let out a small grunt. They didn't know why, but it sounded somehow reassuring.

"Why is Bruce lying in the hallway?" Courtney's mother asked, "He usually lies in front of the hearth, doesn't he?"

From behind Bruce, the fillies could hear her stepping closer.

Courtney's mind raced for a reason that Bruce would be in the hallway, but nothing reasonably convincing came to mind.

"He...found a new spot, I suppose," she stammered.

"Most unusual, considering he's been a creature of habit for as long as you've had him. One might think he was hiding something," her mother said as she stepped ever closer to the werewolf.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders huddled together, dreading what fate was to befall them when they were discovered. They looked up, and saw the edge of the older witch's hat appear over the edge of Bruce's body. They nearly ran away, if not for what happened next.

As soon as she was in range, Bruce's head lifted up from the floor and he licked Courtney's mother's face unmerciful.

The witch spat and sputtered before she backed away to cover her face, but moved her hands when her gloves started getting messy, leaving her face undefended.

While the Cutie Mark Crusaders quietly sighed, Courtney had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing hysterically.

"Lie down," the witch commanded, and Bruce stopped his assault of affection.

"Ugh! Alright! Everything seems to be in order. I'll take my leave of you, and come back tomorrow. And train that bloody animal," Courtney's mother said, clearly trying to keep her poise.

She had just opened the front door, when Courtney stopped her.

"Mother. Have you forgotten something?" Courtney asked her mother.

The older witch turned around to see Courtney standing next to the plant creature she had entranced. Without a word, she waved her hand, and sent a thread of magic to the creature before leaving and closing the door behind her.

The plant creature swayed back and forth for a moment before Courtney steadied her.

"Come back, Molly. Come back from the light," Courtney said as the creature became more lucid.

"Courtney?" the living plant asked.

Bruce stood up and rubbed his head against her shoulder.

"Bruce? Wasn't I just on your front porch?" she said as she looked around, dazed.

Her scan of the room brought her eyes to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who all backed away slowly once they were seen.

"EEK!" Molly squealed. As soon as she saw the fillies, all the vertigo left her, as she smiled widely and squealed giddily. "Courtney, they're adorable!"

She knelt down to stroke Apple Bloom's mane, cooing all the while to the bemused pony.

"Oh, look at you all! You're not going to nibble my fronds, are you, you darling little thing?" Molly said.

Though she said nothing, Apple Bloom was beyond irritated. She spent so long trying to earn her sister's trust to be able to be treated like a big pony. Now she was being treated the way she saw some mares treat Winona.

"Of course not. A sweet thing like you wouldn't ruin my coif," Molly continued.

What happened next startled the fillies. Molly's arms extended beyond their natural reach, and she embraced all three of them in a loving hug.

"Courtney, tell me I can keep them. Please, please, please say I can keep them," Molly begged as she nuzzled Sweetie Belle.

"Ya want a pet? Get a dog or somethin'," Apple Bloom said.

Molly gasped again, let go of them all, and stood bolt upright.

"They can talk! You've enchanted night mares so they can talk!" Molly giddily whispered.

As a plant, she was fearful of herbivorous creatures, but something about night mares enchanted her. When she was a seedling, she imagined having one as her own and running though the fields with its fetlocks blowing in the wind. She dreamed of showering them with sugar lumps, riding them over fences and going on adventures across the magical landscape to defeat the forces of evil. And now that she met one that could talk, she was brimming with girlish joy.

"They aren't enchanted. They're light dwellers. And they need to go back where they came from," Courtney said as she cast her magic.

Everyone in the room watched as a shadowy arm rose from the floor, and became the swirling column of darkness the fillies recognized.

Molly didn't quite believe what she had heard. She always heard that light dwelling creatures were to be feared, but the young creatures before her didn't look remotely threatening.

"But, they're only fillies. How dangerous can they be?" Molly asked.

"We don't want to hurt anypony. We just want to know what it's like here," Sweetie Belle said.

"See? Their intentions are good. Why can't we teach them about ourselves if they're willing to learn?" Molly asked.

The fillies all felt their hearts grow aflutter at the promise of seeing more of the new world with a savvy instructor. Of course, Molly only wanted to spend more time with the talking fillies.

"No," Courtney asserted, "If my mother saw them here, she'd raise the alarm and the entire city would be in a state of panic! They need to go back now--Get back here!"

Not one of the others were listening to her.

Molly led the fillies to the door and let them outside with Bruce in tow.

Courtney tried to get them all back to her, but when she saw that it would do no good, she closed the barrier between their worlds and followed them outside.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were awed by the sight before them.

Outside Courtney's front door was a town not unlike Ponyville. Small and quaint, but at the same time, bustling and busy. The only real difference was that it was inhabited by all manner of creatures they had never seen before.

The streets were lined with black cobblestone, and they could see the creatures riding in carriages that were drawn by large, pony-like creatures with the same solid white eyes and long, slender legs they had now.

The buildings around them all looked very old-fashioned, like something out of a history book, and more creatures could be seen in the windows. One that looked strangely bat-like threw a bucket of water out her window, dangerously close to a pedestrian, who let loose a string of curse words at the offender.

High above, the sky was dotted with stars that blinked in and out of the sky like blinking eyes. The moon itself was completely different from what they knew back home. Instead of the white light with the distinct shape of an alicorn on it, it was large, and colored deep red.

The shape on the surface seemed to change before their eyes, and seemed different to each pony watching it. Apple Bloom saw the face of an elderly mare. Sweetie Belle saw the musical notes of a bewitching melody dancing across its surface. And Scootaloo saw what she swore was Rainbow Dash circling around and around the celestial body.

"It's amazing," Scootaloo said.

"And it's what we call home," Molly said. She stood before the fillies, and dramatically posed before them, "Welcome to Macabria."

Author's Note:

Yes, that title is taken from a song by Iron Maiden. I am a great fan of heavy metal and punk rock, and Iron Maiden is one of my favorites.
So, the ponies are starting to take action against the creatures of the night, and it could spell trouble for a certain witch in later chapters.
For anyone who is wondering, Courtney's mom's name is Carmilla, and she's named after the titular character of the book she's from. However, her personality is based on a mixture of Malificent from Sleeping Beauty, and Mother Gothel from Tangled. That, along with a touch of a pompous aristocrat and a snobby know-it-all.
How Bruce protected the Cutie Mark Crusaders from her is something that my own dog does to deter unwanted visitors, and he does it on command.
On a final note, those last three words in the story are the title of a song by the band Theatres Des Vampires. Here's a link for your Halloween listening pleasure. Be kind and rock on \m/