The Witch of Darkness (#10)

by LightningStar626

Chapter 2: Through the Trees

Chapter 2: Through the Trees

~Lightning attempted to put the stress at the back ends of her mind, and pulled a smile along with her friends. She led them off the pathway into the forest behind CHS, when Fluttershy skipped ahead instead to greet her animal friends. When the others reached the forest area, Lightning settled beside a sad Rainbow Dash and took a playful nudge at her before trying out her latest pun on her to lighten her spirits.~

"Hey, Rainbow, I wrote a story once about a broken window. And guess what?"

"What?" she sighed.

Lightning snickered. "It's saved in my drafts!"

"Lightning!" Applejack, Sunset and Twilight exclaimed in exasperation.

"What? Just trying to cheer her up!"

"Hehe, that was pretty good… It's okay, I'll get over it soon…" Rainbow said, now in a bit of a chirpier mood.

"I hope we all do…" Sunset replied with somewhat wistfulness in her voice.

Before long, the girls imagined they heard the sweeping and scraping of glass being dragged along the ground. "You can hear the skidding too, can't you?" said Rainbow Dash, pointing. "Man, that ball must've been going a billion miles an hour."

"Well, more than ten, anyhow," said Rarity, sensibly.

~The eight girls spent the next ten minutes listening for more similar sounds before examining each cloud in the opening of the thick tree foliage, discussing what shapes they look like.~

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie poked her head out of the trees and exclaimed excitedly. "Hey, girls! Come check out what strange thing I just found! Wait until you see whose name's on it!"

~Everyone glanced at each other, slightly confused. Name? Whose name? Nobody had any objections to investigate, so they just did as Pinkie said. The pink girl quickly bounced ahead again and constantly motioned her friends to follow her. Eventually, she wandered them into another part of the forest in which they had never seen before. Then, after moving some leaves out of the way and taking a few wrong turnings, Pinkie brought them to a two-bar iron fence and, beyond that, a cemetery. The place looked pretty overgrown and the gravestones were so old and crooked, that the girls thought it had been neglected for years.~

Applejack peeked over the bars, "It's just a sleepy, ol' graveyard," she observed. "What's strange 'bout that?"

"Inside, inside!" Pinkie ushered.

~Hardly thinking about it, she climbed over the low fence and began to wander among the graves. Lightning was starting to detect something suspicious about it all, but she and the others followed in any way, on account of Rainbow Dash hopping over first, trying to catch up. While glancing idly at the faded epitaphs on the weather-worn stones as they did so, the point of turning back had just reached Lightning's peak. But, before anybody turned back, a much larger tombstone caught their eyes. It was embedded inside a large, ancient oak tree. Out of curiosity, they decided to see who was buried there.~

~Following a narrow, sandy path, the eight walked around to the entrance of the tree, and walked underneath a stone archway leading inside, where they explored the arena. Surrounded by the tree, they saw, carved in stone, a manticore in full flight. And above that, a single star. The pillars surrounding also had statues of other fantasy-like creatures. Elves, fauns, trolls, and cyclops'. None of this interested anybody however- until they peered at the tree to look for the name of the person buried there.~

"What the…?" Lightning couldn't believe her eyes.

"Lookie here!" exclaimed Pinkie, showing a black plaque bolted on the tree with its gold lettering. "It reads 'The treeway of Pinkie Pie'. That's me!" She pointed at herself jovially.

Sunset raised her brows, as what she then saw next took her breath away. "It looks like it says more than that."

~Sunset Shimmer examined the surface more closely and began to dust off the wood shavings off the plaque, revealing more names which made everyone's eyes widen.~

" -'The tree of Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Lightning Star...and Sunset Shimmer'." Sunset perused, unmistakably.

~Everyone was strangely silent. Surely it can't be their graves though. They were all still alive and well. It must've belonged to someone else, and it was just a coincidence that whoever they were had the same names as them. But then, a wild thought came to Lightning's mind. Perhaps a villain was coming for them, and had built this tomb ready for their funeral. Lightning felt the hairs prickle on the back of her neck at the thought.~

"What the heck…?" she said, suddenly. "That's so spooky!"

"W-what does it mean?" Fluttershy softly whispered.

"I don't know. But It looks like it was crafted here years ago…" Twilight observed. Suddenly, she pointed at the date on the plaque below their names. "Look! It has today's date on it!"

Lightning became even more nervous. "O-KAY. W-w-ow! What are the ODDS!?"

Rarity's eyes shrunk down. "Wait, does that mean that- We are going to d-die?! TODAY?!"

"Don't be silly, Rarity," Applejack replied. "Of course not." she looked about, perplexed. "I mean, I hope not."

Lightning was just about to remonstrate with them when Fluttershy gripped her arm. She looked as white as a sheet and she could feel her trembling. "Hey- hey- hey- hey! Girls! Let's not jump to conclusions," she muttered. "I'm pretty sure there's a logical explanation for all of this."

~At that moment, something even more uncanny occurred. She felt something tingling on her neck and her geode beginning to brighten up. All eight stared in amazement. The plague inside the tree instantaneously began to dissolve into mist. In fact, the whole area rapidly deteriorated into a grey fog. Everyone's hearts began beating faster. Were they dying right now? Was this what it felt like to die?~

~The fog began to clear and Pinkie Pie thought it must have been a trick of the light, or maybe she banged her head and her eyes were playing up. But what she and the others saw next, almost made their stomachs turn into somersaults. Instead of the bark with its plague bearing their names, they could see a small passage, and beyond the passage, there were trees- trees all winter bare and drab looking under a sombre, grey sky that stretched into a mournful distance.~

~Nobody knew what to make of it. The Rainbooms glanced at the pillars and, with a shudder, they saw the stone carvings were moving, the stone creatures intertwining with each other as they climbed upwards towards the manticore- and surely the manticore's wings were slowly flapping. So shocked were they by all this that Sunset staggered back and stared around wildly just to make sure that the rest of the world was still normal.~

"Oohhhhhh…I get it! I think I know what this is!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed aloud.

"You do?" Twilight asked.

"It's a hologram!"

"But…why would anyone want to set up a hologram in a derelict graveyard in the first place?" Twilight inquired.

"And what about the matter of our names on the tree?" Sunset added.

Pinkie drummed her fingers against her chin. "...Okayyy. It's an illusion!"

"I'm sorry, Pinkie, but I don't think it's that either." Twilight looked around anyway. She could see no sign of an electronic. "Nope, no infrared sensor, or anything."

"Do you think this might be the work of Equestrian magic?" Sunset asked, thinking about it and lighting up. "This could be another portal to Equestria!"

"You mean like that quicksand portal thing you said you found while on your Spring Break holiday?" Lightning theorised. "It could be."

"If that's the case, we must be able to walk right into it, right?" Rainbow Dash said.

"It must be some kind of gateway in time, and because we can read our names I...I think we're meant to go through." Rarity explained.

"Only one way to find out…"

~Tentatively, Lightning approached the tomb and reached her hand forward. It passed into thin air. With a gasp, she withdrew it immediately and felt it tingle the way it sometimes does when someone comes into the warm after being outside in the cold. Cautiously, she tried again and once more, her hand passed through. Withdrawing her hand, Lightning stared at the scene before her. The bare branches moved slightly in the wind.~

"Oooooo-kay. Not sure I'm comfortable with this now," Lightning said. "No. Come on, be brave."

"Wait! If we're going to go through, c-can we go through it at the same time? I do feel a bit frightened all the same." Fluttershy whispered.

"We'll do it together, then." Lightning decided. "Let's hold hands and jump forwards- but watch out in case it doesn't work."

~With one simple stride, the eight girls crossed the threshold from their world and jumped into the unknown. Pinkie let out a whoop as they flew down.~

---

~They found themselves standing in a dimly lit, arched passage, feeling slightly dizzy and tingling all over. Ahead of them stretched the mysterious dead forest and whatever mysteries it held in store for them. They emerged from a bank in the side of a hill and found themselves at the head of a short flight of moss-covered stone steps. The steps looked ancient, as did the rickety handrail that ran down the left side.~

"This definitely isn't Equestria…" Sunset sighed.

"Wh-Where are we?" Fluttershy stuttered. "It's like some kind of petrifying forest. I don't think I like it after all. Maybe we should go back?"

"Just a minute." Lightning said. "Let me think. You know what I think happened? It's like what you said, Rarity. We've found a gateway in time. You know, like in science fiction when you go into a para…what-do-you-call-it?"

"Parallel universe." prompted Twilight.

"That's it. One of those." Lightning said while clicking his fingers and pointing.

"If that's what's happened to us then we had best try and find out what it's all about." Sunset said.

Rainbow was all for it. "Yeah, let's take a look around. But watch out for aliens or robots with death rays…"

"Well, I don't really know… We're either dreaming, or we're actually here, wherever 'here' is." Twilight answered, looking sceptical.

"We'd better have a look around and see if there's anyone else. But let's be careful, just in case." Sunset added.

"Our magic came through here, so this place must be important…" Applejack pointed out.

~Before venturing further, Lightning and the Rainbooms scanned the scene before them. What Twilight could clarify is that they had entered a vast forest of ancient, grey trees. Many of the branches from them lay broken on the ground. The sour smell of decay hung in the dank air and all was silent. Lifeless-as still as death.~

"There's hardly a sign of life anywhere. The forest is almost…dead." Lightning noted.

"Just a bit of moss and a few bushes growing here and there!" Rainbow said in an unimpressed tone.

"And here and there! And there and here!" Pinkie said, pointing in every direction.

"I wonder what happened to it." Rarity said sadly.

"Mmmm, maybe it's not dead but...well...it looks as though someone has taken all the life out of it!" Lightning said.

"Well, it must be dead then." Rainbow replied.

Sunset rolled her eyes. "Not really, what she is trying to say is..." she was interrupted by the snap of a single tree branch. "What was that?"

~There was a sudden rustling and crashing from the dead undergrowth nearby then, in the twinkling of an eye, the eight girls found themselves surrounded, not by aliens or robots as Rainbow suggested, but by a gang of fierce-looking creatures armed with spears and clubs.~

"One move, and you die! Stay right where you are." The speaker was an important-looking elf.

~All the girls were speechless and all could have not moved even if they had tried. It's bad enough to find yourself where you did not, even in your wildest dreams, expect to be. But to be confronted by creatures the same size as you that speak and are real, well, that's a bit too much. Robots might have made more sense.~

~Fluttershy screamed and clutched onto Applejack. The ring of trolls, gnomes, elves, fauns and cyclops' closed in. Their fierce eyes and bared teeth made it quite clear that they were far from friendly. And the prods and pricks that the girls received were real enough to prove that this was no dream.~

"What the…?" Lightning spluttered. "Fantasy creatures! What is this? Narnia or something?" she then gasped.

"N-no. You said th...that's just a st...story." Fluttershy stuttered. "Also there's no sn...snow."

"I hope there isn't a witch, though," said Rarity.

"Silence!" The elf ordered. He flashed a look at the other creatures. "You know what to do. Tie them up and take them away." he commanded.

~At once, the creatures swarmed over the girls, pushing them to the ground. Fluttershy and Rarity started to scream but gags were thrust into their mouths. Rough ropes bound their hands behind their backs and, in spite of their frantic struggles, it seemed only a matter of time before they were all quite helpless. Quickly, they were dragged to their feet and, encouraged by spears, were shoved along a narrow twisting pathway that led off into the barren undergrowth.~

~As they stumbled along, Lightning began to pull herself together. Wherever they are, and whether they were brought here by their magic, or science, one thing that's clear is that they have fallen into the hands of these hostile creatures and they had to escape as soon as they could. That wasn't on at the moment, so she tried instead to keep track of the twists and turns and ups and downs, hoping that when they do escape they might be able to find their way back to the passageway.~

~It proved impossible; many paths criss-crossed their route and often they would be forced to the left or to the right down yet another winding track through brambles and hawthorn bushes. Soo she would totally be confused. She noticed the pace was hotting up and many of the creatures were casting nervous glances over their shoulders as though expecting to be chased. Perhaps there was someone who would come to their rescue. With that, Lightning started yelling for help, though it was muffled by the gag. She and the Rainbooms fought to get their breath through them. If only one of them could explain everything!~

~The large elf, obviously in command, nodded to the girls' closet captors and they stopped and pushed them forward in the direction of a tall imposing elm tree. At first, they couldn't see why. Then they noticed a dark hole near the roots. Twilight wondered if it somehow led back to their own world; Rainbow thought it might be a prison. Prods from behind soon had all eight crowded reluctantly in the entrance and staring into the gloom.~

~It was Lightning who saw them first. Three faces swam into the light. A smooth-faced boy, a girl with deep, blue eyes, and finally, a smiling young lad, each one so alive. Lightning wondered who they could be. Suddenly, their eyes glowed in the darkness and began to move towards them! Panic welled up inside her, and her mind filled with all kinds of nameless dreads about man-eating monsters. Maybe they really would die today. Fluttershy screamed into her gag, and Rainbow Dash struggled for all she was worth. Wildly, they turned to run but they were met squarely by a mass of sharp pointed spears that would allow them no escape.~

~Slowly but surely, the helpless girls were driven backwards into the black hole, there to meet whatever unknown horror awaited them in its depths.~