Normal and Blank

by BurningQuill

The Heart of the Matter

Twilight found herself in a realm that defied rational logic, formed instead from raw emotion and twisted dark magic. Knowing full well such a world awaited her, she was still in stunned awe and fear at just how menacing this ill-defined space seemed to be.

A blackened shadow permeated the dimension with pulses of sickly red flowing along branching and jagged lines, comparable in both timing and shape to a heart and arteries. Green and blue flames sparked into brief existence before fizzling back to nothingness. All of it appeared tied to one rhythm, one beat, as if inside a single organ of a larger creature. The muffled quality of all noise, including the flowing of an unseen crackling fluid, created an uneasy, threatened, and claustrophobic sensation.

At the center of the semi-real circulatory system, floated a gigantic skull of pony structure. Beads of swirling blue and green fire flickered and burned deep inside the cavernous pits of the eyes. A black ichor flowed from the eyes, nose, and from between the sharpened and carnivorous teeth. A curved metallic spike with a deadened grey color and texture protruded from the forehead. Smaller formations of bone encircled the crown of the skull, a grim and profane imitation of the sign of royalty.

Twilight glimpsed something in the mouth of the wraith, more specifically, in its tongue. The tongue lashed and writhed, pointed and cruel. Embedded in the flesh near the organ’s base, precariously close to where the esophagus would be on any logical animal, was an unconscious red Pegasus with a brown mane.

One more time, with feeling!

With not another moment of hesitation, Twilight struck once more into the breach.

The gilded image of her friends and family solidified in her mind, shielding her from the malice around her as it began to stir. A shrieking gale burst from the skull monster, a voice rumbled low, mixed with the skittering scratches of nails on steel.

"Failure..." It said. "Not enough... You were never enough..."

The accusations failed to find their mark.

"You couldn't be more wrong!" Twilight declared. "The events of the past few days have proven to me that I can do this, and that I am ready!" Confidence and warmth glowed from her in a bright, iridescent nova. Thoughts of her friends, family, every last blessing in her life, burned like a beacon against the smothering black. "I put forth my best to help ponies I'd never met, or ever really thought about! I took the time to learn about them and who they are! That is exactly the kind of attention any ruler should have toward their subjects! But I also saw others doing the same thing themselves! I saw them losing sleep to help others in need, and I saw them be everything I should have been from the beginning! I do not rule over them, but beside them! Ponies, including the princesses, rule their land, not their neighbors! I know I will never be alone in taking care of the land, or the people who live here! We will face whatever threats face our country and our world together! And right now, the biggest threat is you!"

The full spectrum of light burst forth from her, carving through the space between her and her foe. The skull lashed out with black tendrils of liquid shadow from it's jaws, but the appendages dried and crumbled against the light Twilight emitted. The jaws snapped shut, prompting Twilight to add her own magic to her force and smash her way in. A screech of agony erupted as tooth and bone gave way in a gruesome shower. Pain pulsed in Twilight's ears.

The captive lay before her, head drooped forward like a broken lamp, one wing hung limp but unbound. She dove for her subject, not to pull him free by force, but to get close enough to talk. The pink flesh of the tongue surged upward like it was made of a liquid or slime, ensnaring her, too. The hind part of her body submerged into the flesh, leaving her head, wings, and forelegs free. She also found herself face-to-face with the stallion.

"Hello," she said. Admittedly not the most creative ways to combat hungry malice, but it was a start. He stirred. "I'm here to take you home."

"Home..." he said weakly. Twilight saw his brow bend into a bitter frown.

"Yes, you have a home," Twilight said. "I would like to help you get back."

"No home..." he said. "Not welcome."

"That's not true," she said. "You have people who love you, and want you back."

"Love me..." he replied, the bitterness mixing with anger.

"Friends and family are there for you," she said. "If I've learned anything, it's that friends and family can be complicated, but they're always there." He didn't respond, but his anger became less hard.

Something shimmered at the edge of Twilight's vision. Something else had come into the tongue matter with them.

"Whatever you're feeling, whatever you're thinking, there is hope," Twilight said, suppressing the nervousness as best she could.

A thought popped into her head. It was illogical, but not irrational. She could neither explain the rationale behind it, nor why she felt so strongly this was the appropriate response, but she decided to go with her gut.

Twilight reached up and touched a hoof to the stallion's chest, causing him to lift his head, blink wearily at her, and stare.

The presence came closer.

"You are important to someone," she said through a warm smile. "The Princess of Friendship and all the Elements of Harmony came here to save you. The other princesses are on their way. Does that sound like something we'd do if nothing was important?"

His eyes opened more, his head lifted straighter. He looked back at Twilight, the glimmer of hope entered his eyes. He reached out to her.

The presence became agitated, closing in faster.

"Do you want to come back with me?" she asked. He nodded weakly, the hope being joined by a misty smile.

The thing approached, snapping non-existent jaws and screaming a silent roar.

Twilight and the stallion pulled each other into an embrace, each prizing the other free from their gelatinous confines. A radiant light poured outward from them, causing the tongue thing to dry and crumble. The fires inside the empty eye sockets flickered and snuffed, signalling the rest of the skull to crack and rupture, crumbling into nothing but the dust of a desperately forgotten nightmare.

* * * * * * *

Twilight's eyes opened to a beautiful starlit night in the Everfree. The sweet, fresh air filled her lungs and nostrils with each deep and gasping breath. The electricity in her muscles steadily faded, easing her eyes back into focus. Before her, the red pegasus stallion lay on the ground, groaning and clutching his head.

Twilight stepped closer, making sure to step plainly into his field of vision. He looked up, eyes seeming to finally focus on the Princess of Friendship.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle," she said, smiling and reaching a hoof down. "What's yours?"

Comments

[Dark-Aii]

Bravo!
If there were anything to complain about, then I don't know what it is.
Compared to the actual show, and the canon route taken by Hasbro, this story truly deserves credit where credit is due.
I appreciated reading every single chapter (which isn't something that I usually do).
I hope that you would be active on this website for as long as your creativity demands to be challenged.

[BurningQuill]

9382036
Why thank you very much for the kind words! I intend to continue writing, both here and elsewhere once I have other places set up.