Nethe

by KwirkyJ

2 – Appearances, Disappearances

There was a crack through the sunset air of Ponyville.

Twilight jerked, the quill drawing a ragged line across the parchment. "What in Equestria?"

As if in response, Princess Luna's amplified voice resounded throughout the castle. "Twilight Sparkle! Where art thou!"

Twilight gave a concerned glance towards Spike before answering, "I'm in the main hall!"

Luna appeared instantly with another sharp crack and a concussion of wind, her hooves braced against a crystal chair and wings splayed as if to stop herself. "Twilight," she said, "thou must come with me to the Castle Everfree at once. I must see the room where thy friends vanished."

Twilight gaped. "P-princess Luna? How did you get here so quickly?"

"There is no time! The night is upon us. Take us to the castle now!"

"Of course…" Twilight flexed her own wings in preparation.

"Time is of the essence. Take us Between."

Twilight blinked. "Between? Between what?"

"Thou must teleport us!"

"Oh. Right."

---

"We slept in this room, Princess."

Luna swept into the room quickly, eyes and ears darting. "Thou art certain?"

"Applejack," Twilight said, pointing, "me, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Spike."

Looking up, Luna asked, "And this spectre thy friend Rainbow Dash spoke of?"

"Uh... she didn't say. One of the halls, I think."

"One of the decayed walls? Where there be gaps in the masonry?"

"I…" Twilight frowned in thought. "I just don't know, Princess."

Luna paced, agitated, then lit her horn and froze.

"Princess?" Twilight ventured.

"Silence." Luna's voice was ice. She stood immobile for several breaths. Her horn lit and dimmed several times. Scarcely more than a whisper, she muttered, "Such malice…"

Abruptly, Luna turned. "Twilight, take us—" she stopped herself. "Twilight, didst thou have difficulty in the journey here?"

Twilight again messed up her face in thought. "Maybe a little? I've never had to teleport an alicorn with me before."

"That was not I hindering thee, Twilight." Luna quickly made for the exit, her wing scooping Twilight and pushing her alongside. "I fear thou wert correct. The barriers between this realm and… another… are most thin. Thy friends Rarity and Fluttershy have been taken."

"Princess, why are we running?"

"It is the light, Twilight. The sun is setting. Stay out of the light Twilight, whatever befall."

As Luna spoke, the last rays of the sun retreated behind the treetops.

"The hour has come—the night of the solstice has arrived, and I must do my duty…" Luna's horn lit. "The moon must rise, Twilight Sparkle, and I fear what will follow. Stay out of the light."

The pale disk of the moon cleared the horizon, its glow all but smothering the stars that had begun to glitter behind the few clouds in the sky.

"Now we run."

---

Their breaths were ragged. They glided between trees, their wings aiding them when able, but the path through the Everfree was long and twisting.

"The trees and clouds shelter the land yet," Luna said. "Their shadows protect us from what has become of them. Ponyville must be warned."

"Princess," Twilight said, "Who is them? Warned about what? You're much faster than me, why don't you go ahead?"

"The Nethe. The… spirits, as thy fable described. They have changed. This night is not safe." She paused, helping Twilight through a hairpin turn. "And I would never leave thee behind, Twilight Sparkle."

Something brushed Twilight's face. She gasped, stumbling, and turned to see what it had been. A bug or spider, perhaps? Luna skidded in the snow to stop reflexively.

There, floating behind them in their wake was a strange creature, perhaps twice the size of a parasprite. It has a small dot for a head with what appeared to be pupilless eyes, its body a small stem flaring towards the ground. Twilight took a step forward for inspection, but Luna held her back.

"No closer, Twilight."

"Is it… dangerous?"

Luna watched it guardedly. "Perhaps. In this form, it is most innocuous, though the scratch on thy cheek suggests caution is to be taken. However, in the light of moon…"

Twilight pointed to a spot of light on Luna's neck. "Like, there?"

Time stood still as a glowing filament appeared in the ray of moonlight, inches from Luna's withers, hovering like a wisp of silk. The creature's head twisted slightly to the side, as if puzzling. Luna's mouth opened as if to speak.

Then, with a sound like a sharp exhale, Luna vanished.

Twilight gawped, staring where Luna had just stood. The gossamer tendril continued to drift, almost careless. The small mote of a creature drifted closer. Around Twilight, several more curls of light flowed into being, like smoke blown into a projector's beam.

With a yelp, Twilight turned and ran, not looking back.