The mane six have been through a lot together, and they've saved Equestria many times, yet Twilight doesn'ty feel like she truely knows her friends. She feels like they're hiding something. And she's not the only one who feels thi
Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, Sombra, they all have two things in common. They're evil and they were all defeated by the six heroes of Equestria, save Discord, who's no longer evil. Together they've forged a bond of friendship to stand the test of time through and through, never to break. Nopony is closer to each other then these six mares.
Yet Twilight still feels as if she doesn't truly know them, like they're hiding something. She feels as if they each have a secret, be it dark or painful, but she doesn't know what. She has to find out, but that won't be easy, considering her friends always seem to disappear whenever she wants to talk to them.
And she's not the only one who feels this way. There are others who are out to get revenge on Twilight and her friends, those who would love nothing more then to see them all burn in the fires of 'justice'.
The cold hand of death gripped Twilight as she lay there, gasping for breath before her friends. She would have cried out for help if she had been able to muster the strength., but the burning hole in her chest seemed to keep her lungs from working. She didn't even need to perform a magical scan on herself to know one of her lungs had collapsed. Her heart beat furiously as it tried to keep her alive, but it's frantic pounding was only causing her to die faster.
Her friends stood before her, but they didn't look at her. They instead faced a massive beast, towering above them. It seemed to be a manticore, yet it's face was a dragon, and its body was that of a snake. It also looked like metal. The monster let loose a massive roar as it shot a ball of venom out of its mouth and towards her friends. Not a single one of them moved to dodge the incoming projectile.
Before she could see what would happen, her mind went black, and all she saw was a vast expanse of darkness. It felt as if she was floating, but she still felt very heavy. Her mind cried out in pain from the lack of gravity and sight. She needed to see something. Anything! She needed to know she wasn't going to die!
The black faded away into white, and soon she had to squeeze her eyes shut from the intensity of the light. Even with her eyes shut, she could still feel the burning light trying to delve into her eyes, searching for a way into her mind.
With a cry she dropped suddenly to the ground. Feeling weight return to her was a pleasant feeling, and she managed to crack a smile. The white was gone, instead replaced with a green field of grass. The soft grass felt good on her sore hooves, even though she couldn't recall them ever feeling sore or weary. She spun around, trying to see where she was, but all she saw was grass, green grass as far as her eyes could see. She looked up and saw storm clouds rolling in.
A flash of lightning struck the ground mere inches away from her, yet she didn't feel a thing. Without warning, the entire field caught fire, burning in remorseless flame. Her mouth hung open as she saw several ponies run for their lives, seeming to materialize out of nowhere. Several of them where on fire, and the screams that tore from their mouths caused Twilight to tear up. She tried to move to help them, but her hooves where stuck in the ground. Looking down she saw they held down by ropes, which seems to grow out of the earth.
She struggled against her constraints, but to no avail. They slowly dragged her down into the soil, much to her horror. As her head was pulled below, the last thing she saw of the inferno before her was a face in the clouds: evil, and laughing at the chaos and destruction below.
Her trip through the dirt was short but painful. She wanted to breath, yet she felt like she couldn't. A tight pain in her chest caused her to double over, which was strange considering she shouldn't have been able to move. But Twilight ignored the absence of such laws and was thankful she could even move.
She dropped out of the earth into a room. It was dark, and the whole place stank of death. Using her magic, she managed to create enough light to enable her to see.
She let out a cry of horror and recoiled from what lay at her feet.
Her friend, Pinkie Pie, lay on the ground, dead and rotting. Maggots ate away at her body, chewing large holes into her flesh. Her eyes were white, and her hair had all but fallen out.
As Twilight reeled backwards to avoid her rotting friend's corpse, she tripped over something hard. She righted herself to find Rarity, dead as well. She didn't look rotted like Pinkie did, but she was missing all but one of her limbs, and blood slowly seeped out of her wounds. Twilight gagged forcefully, nearly throwing up.
She saw the rest of her friends lying around the room, each one having died from various wounds. Fluttershy had a metal spike rammed through her skull. Applejack was missing her whole chest, a large hole instead taking it's place. Rainbow Dash was missing both of her wings, and had large gash on her stomach.
This time Twilight did vomit, doubling over and collapsing to the ground, but her stomach was empty. She dry heaved for several seconds before managing to stand up straight again.
A black figure, covered by a cloak, moved before her. It was hard to tell if the figure was a mare or stallion, but it was giving off a dark feel, one that seemed to squeeze Twilight's soul and crush her mind.
"You could have saved them." The voice was deep and rough, like it had gravel in it's throat. It was definitely a stallion.
Twilight shook her head. This wasn't real, it wasn't. "What did you say?"
"You could have saved them had you known." He said again.
"Known about what?!" Twilight shouted, the tears already flowing.
"About them. If you were a good friend. But you aren't. And they are dead."
He disappeared in flash of black, if that was even possible, with one last parting sentence.
"Because of you."
The words bounced around inside her head, causing her pain and torment. What did she do wrong? What had happened? Her friends were dead because of her! She had failed them! She had killed her friends.
~O~O~O~O~O~
"Twilight!"
Twilight failed her hooves as she felt something poking her side. With a gasp she rolled over in fear, falling out of her bed. She rubbed her head with a hoof as she sat up, taking in her surroundings. She was home. She was fine.
"Twilight, are you okay? You were crying."
Twilight turned to face the speaker, finding Spike's face staring at her with concern. The little dragon made his way to her side of the bed, holding both hands behind his back, looking so sweet and caring.
"Um..."
She shook her head to try and clear the images from her head. They were so vivid. It had all seemed so... real. Had it all been a dream? A nightmare?
"No you're not?" Spike asked.
"What?" Twilight looked her assistant in the eye with an expression of confusion. "Oh, no. I mean... I mean yes, I'm fine." She looked out the window towards the moonlit sky. It all seemed so peaceful and perfect. "It was just a dream."
Spike sill looked worried. "Oh. Is there anything I can get you?"
A small chuckle escaped her lips. Spike was always so helpful, always trying to look out for her and her friends, even when they didn't notice, and always trying to make sure they were always happy. "No spike. I'm fine, thank you. Why don't you head back to bed. It's still dark out."
"Okay." Spike crawled back into his bed, giving one last look towards Twilight. With a sigh he fell back asleep. Twilight climbed into her own bed, pulling the sheets back over her body, leaving her head and hooves out. She lay on her back, staring at the ceiling, not even trying to sleep. The nightmare was still implanted in her mind, and the images wouldn't leave. She was scared that if she fell asleep, she'd have another nightmare.
Eventually, exhaustion took over, and Twilight slipped into an uneasy slumber. She tossed and turned all night, and barely got any rest. While no nightmares haunted her dreams, she still had those same images flashing through her subconscious, causing her no end of torment that night.
If anyone would have asked Rainbow Dash what the most important job was in Equestria, she would have answered being a weather pony. Not because she was vain, but because it was true. Without them, there would be no rain for the earth ponies crops, there would be no clouds for the rain, there would be random and often times dangerous weather. No rainbows, no sunny skies, no cool afternoon breeze. There would be no clouds to decorate the sky with flecks of white.
But behind that answer was a lie. Rainbow Dash knew what the most important job was. it wasn't one most, or really any, ponies knew of, but it was more important then anypony could ever imagine. Then again, it wasn't really a job, but more of a responsibility. Still, it was something not to be taken lightly to those entrusted with, or rather handed, the task.
The sky was empty as Rainbow glided through the sky, having been cleared during her shift not an hour earlier. She felt a sense of satisfaction having completed her job and finished work for the day. Now she could spend the remaining hours of daylight doing whatever she wanted. She had nothing on her agenda, so she decided to lazily cruise around Ponyville while she tried to think of something fun to do.
She passed over Sugar Cube Corner. The idea of pulling off a few pranks with everypony's favorite party pony crossed her mind, but she pushed it to the side. She didn't really feel like pranking today. She was more in a relaxing mood, given how tired she was, both from her job and the day before.
With a small sigh she arced her path towards the Golden Oaks Library. Maybe Twilight had a nice book to read. While Rainbow immensely enjoyed the Daring Do series, she also enjoyed other books as well. Of course, she didn't tell anypony. She didn't want her friends thinking she was an egghead.
With one swift motion she dropped out of the sky and landed in front of the library. The place looked like it always did. Big, brown tree, deep green leaves, clean windows, lamps hanging from branches. It was very serene. Rainbow almost wished she lived here. Despite being awesome and having a love for danger, she still had a taste for peacefulness. She didn't always have to be risking her life in dangerous stunts, or fighting evil with her friends.'
That last thought brought with it a pang of regret. If only Twilight knew. It would make life so much easier. But they had made a promise, taken an oath to never let others in on the secret in order to protect them from danger for as long as possible.
Pushing such thoughts aside, Rainbow Dash knocked on the door before her. She waited several seconds, then knocked again. As she brought her hoof up to knock again, the door swung open and a rather tired looking Twilight greeted her.
"Oh, hi Rainbow Dash. I was just finishing give these three fillies their lessons." She gestured to the fillies she was talking about. Apple Bloom was working with a bunch of vials and beakers and equipment Rainbow didn't know the names of. Sweetie Belle was levitating a pot of flowers, though seemed to be struggling a bit. And finally, Scootaloo was putting together a pile of junk Rainbow assumed was the filly's scooter.
"Would you like to come in?" Twilight stood to the side to allow Rainbow entry.
Scootaloo looked up from her work, a smile taking her face as she saw her favorite mentor and sister. "Hey Rainbow Dash!" She popped a wheel onto an axel. "Why are you here?"
Rainbow Dash chuckled and pointed to her little sister's project as she stepped inside. "Better focus on your work, squirt. you just placed the back wheel on the front axel."
The orange filly looked down in surprise before grunting in frustration as she fixed her mistake,. Sure, it was a small one, and it was probably insignificant, but Scootaloo wanted to be perfect at what she did. Rainbow almost smiled. That filly was so much like her, it was almost crazy. In fact, they were more alike then most ponies knew. They even shared a special secret, one neither of their friends knew of.
Rainbow turned to Twilight, seeing the weariness in her eyes. "You've had a long day, huh?"
Twilight nodded, a slight grimace on her face. "You have no idea."
Leaning in close so only Twilight could hear, Rainbow Dash whispered. "These three?"
Twilight laughed. "Surprisingly, no. These three fillies are advancing very quickly. They almost remind me of me when I was their age."
The cyan pegasus saw the fillies light up at the praise. They each lifted their heads if but for a moment, smiled, then returned to their work.
Twilight shook her head. "No, Princess Celestia asked me to help deal with the Griffon ambassadors. They are demanding more gold in exchange for their rare goods. Celestia of course said no, so now there's a war ready to break to out over nothing more then goods! So I have to try and write some appeasing letters to the Griffon King!" Twilight threw her hooves in the air, releasing an exasperated sigh. "Politics! War over goods? Really?!"
She took a deep breath. "Sorry, Rainbow. I'm just so tired of this." Her expression softened to a smile. "What can I help you with?"
"Well." Rainbow took a look around the library before leaning in again. "I need some books to read."
"But there are no more Daring Do books available right now." Twilight arched her brow.
"I know." Rainbow leaned in closer, whispering once more. "I need something else to read."
"Oooh." Twilight smiled, teasing her friend with a playful boop on the nose. "Look you, you little bookworm.'
Rainbow's eyes flashed open and she took a quick peek to make sure the filly trio behind them hadn't heard. "Twilight!" She said with hushed urgency. "I don't want ponies thinking I'm a book worm! Or worse, and egghead!"
"You say that like it's a bad thing." Twilight feigned a frown, throwing a hoof over her head, much like their friend Rarity did when she was being dramatic. "I'm hurt."
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, cracking a grin. "Oh come on Twi. Do you have anything for me?"
A smile overtook Twilight's features again. "Actually, yes. I think you might enjoy this book series I just finished reading."
She trotted over to one of her many shelves and pulled out a book with a black binding. She gave a quick look over before returning to Rainbow. She handed over the book with a little giggle.
"This book is very similar to Daring Do, but the series is shorter, and it's set in a more demonic world, as opposed to reality." Twilight touched the cover of the book. "This is the first book, and it's the smallest one, so it should be an easy, quick read to see if you like it."
Rainbow took in the cover. It was very evil looking. A lone mare stood amongst a battlefield. Around lay several dead ponies, whom Rainbow assumed were the ponies friends. Before the mare stood one, lone monster, massive and menacing. It's head was that of a dragon, with the body of a manticore. Drool and blood dripped from it's maw, as it hungrily took in the prize before it. The whole battlefield was a small town, one that seemed to be very primitive. For some reason, it looked very familiar.
"Actually, one of the characters in this series reminds me of you. The exact same personality." Twilight giggled again. "Isn't that funny?"
Rainbow stared at the cover with searching eyes. "What's this story about?" She asked, her eyes not leaving the cover.
"It's a story about a bunch of super ponies, almost like demi-gods, fighting the demons that roam the earth. Of course, only the super ponies can see the demons. The ponies are called Mutants. It's really good."
With a sudden realization, Rainbow knew why the book looked so familiar. Her face tried to form an expression of shock, but she kept it in check. However, a small grimace made it to her lips before she put it away, something Twilight somehow managed to notice.
"Is something wrong Rainbow?" Twilight looked towards her friend with a bit of uncertainty.
"Uh..." Rainbow tore her gaze from the book to look at her friend. "Um..." Twilight leaned in closer, slightly squinting. "N-No... it's just... I-I was... writing a story, yeah. About the same thing. Now I have to start over." She looked back at the cover.
"Oh. I'm sorry Rainbow. This books been around for years. I should have told you so you wouldn't have gone through all that trouble already." Her face scrunched up. "I didn't even know you wrote stories."
"I... was going to surprise you." Rainbow shook her head. "It's fine." She looked up at Twilight. "Well, guess I better go... read this and make sure it's as good as mine was going to be."
"Yeah." Twilight smiled, but there was still a little worry in her face. She seems to be searching for something else. "Are you sure that's all that's wrong?"
Rainbow backed away towards the door, laughing nervously. "Yeah, sure was. Now I really gotta go." She turned to Scootaloo. "See ya squirt!" Then she took off before Twilight could say anything else.
The alicorn was left standing in the library with several very confusing thoughts swirling through her mind. What had just happened? Rainbow was obviously hiding something, but what was it? How would she find out? Would that be an invasion of privacy? Would that be wrong?
She turned to the three fillies. "Guys, you did you see how Rainbow was behaving?"
Scootaloo looked up from her nearly finished scooter. "What?"
A potted plant smashed into the orange fillies head, sending her reeling. Sweetie Belle gasped and cried out. "Oh! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She rushed over to help her fallen friend.
Apple Bloom stood up in triumph. "Yes! Ah did it!" She presented a little pot to Twilight. "See?"
It was a pot of dirt. No plants, no liquid or anything. "Um." Twilight gave it a good, long look. "What is it?"
Without warning the pot exploded, sending shards of clay every direction, including Twilight's face. She cried out in pain as a large ball of plant formed out of the explosion. It floated for several seconds, then the green of the plant's skin melted away to reveal a mini cloud.
"Well." Apple Bloom huffed. "It was supposed ta be a growth serum."
Twilight didn't know what to do. She knew Rainbow Dash was hiding something, especially after their most recent encounter. The way Rainbow had backed out, urgently and hastily. It wasn't just that one day either. There had been several instances where not only Rainbow Dash but the rest of her friends had backed out of a conversation or left in hurry without saying why or after coming up with lame excuses.
~O~O~O~O~O~
Applejack had finished hauling her cart of apples to her apple stand, ready to sell the whole lot of them away. Her family needed the money, and with winter approaching, they were running out of time. Twilight was wandering through the busy market when she spotted her friend's stall among the many there. and decided to say hello.
"Hey Applejack." Twilight said. "How's the farm doing?"
Applejack picked up an apple and handed it to the unicorn. "Oh, it's all doin fine. Jus a little short on money is all."
Twilight gladly took the apple, biting into it with a bit of haste, as she was hungry, having not eaten all day long. "Mmm." She swallowed her bite before proceeding. "And how's Apple Bloom? She's doing better in her studies."
"Oh, she's jus busy doin other things." Applejack took a small stack of bits from a customer in exchange for a bag of apples
"Oh? She has seems a bit distracted to me. What has she been doing?"
Applejack's eyes widened for a second, seemingly shocked at the question. "Uh... she's doin, uh... farm work, of course. Yep, that's what she's doin!"
Calling Applejack a good liar would be like calling Discord the Element of Harmony. If her stuttering and rushed voice wasn't enough conviction, Applejack eye's darted back and forth, like they always did when she lied. Twilight leaned in closer.
"Applejack." Twilight set her apple down. "Why are you lying to me?"
"Ah'm not." Applejack stomped her hoof. "Now staph askin questions, ya hear?"
~O~O~O~O~O~
Twilight trotted down the street with a bit more speed in her movement. She had some questions for a certain ground bound Pegasus, and she wanted answers. No more hiding, no wondering, no more mystery. Twilight's friends were hiding something, and she needed to figure out just what it was.
With her goal set in mind, she determined not to return to her home until she got at least one answer out of them. If she was lucky, she'd get at least an idea of what was going on, something she could look into and study. Maybe even a mystery. That'd would be fun! She'd read many books about mysteries and detectives and knew just what to do. All she needed was clue, a lead, a little line to grasp onto.
Seeing as how Rarity was currently at the spa with Fluttershy, it wouldn't be nice to barge in and question her out in public. After all, the secret could be dark or personal... or both! Rainbow Dash was working, so she was out of the question. Pinkie Pie was a little crazy, and Twilight wasn't sure she'd get any credible information out of her. That left the one and only Applejack. She should be able to wrangle information out of her easily enough, given how terrible a liar the farm pony was.
The sun had reached its highest peak when Twilight arrived at her destination. Putting on a determined glare, she stomped up to the door and gave it a firm rap. After waiting for a minute, she gave it another knock, then another. Still no answer. This time she pounded on the door several times. Maybe they were all upstairs and couldn't hear her?
Just as she was about to pound on the door again, it swung open rather quickly, almost causing her to swing at the air. She looked down to see Apple Bloom standing there, a frown on her face. Her hair was a bit disheveled, and her eyes drooped.
She finished mumbling before addressing Twilight. "...never get any rest. Oh, hey Twilight." She looked up at her intruder with tired eyes. "Ah was jus takin a nap, you can come in, Ah guess."
Twilight stepped inside and took a quick look around. "Is Applejack here?"
Apple Bloom yawned. "Nope, she's off sellin apples ta ponies in different towns." The filly plopped down on the couch. "Ah'm home alone, and Ah finished ma chores, and Ah was gettin some rest when ya came bangin... Ah mean, knockin on the door."
Twilight could easily detect the anger in Apple Bloom's voice, but she realized what a perfect opportunity this was to finally question Apple Bloom about what was going on. As a filly, she should easily crack. Granted, is was a bit underhanded and a little mean, but she was done with living in the dark. She had to know, and she would know, through any means.
"Actually, that's good. I need to ask you some questions, and it'll be easier without Applejack around." Twilight sat down opposite of Apple Bloom, who was no looking more or less interested if somewhat confused.
"Okay, like what?"
"Well, I was just curious, because Applejack won't tell me. I noticed you seem a bit distracted with your studies and have even turned in a few late assignments."
Apple Bloom nodded meekly, giving an over exaggerated sigh. "Yeah, Ah'm just so busy these days."
Twilight smiled internally. Score. "Which I was going to ask you about. What are you doing that makes you so busy? Maybe I can help?"
The last part was, of course, a lie. She didn't want to help, she just wanted to know, and she had hoped that throwing that bit in would get the filly to open up.
Apple Bloom nearly reeled in shock at the question before quickly recovering, settling for a small gasp instead, but one easily heard by Twilight. The filly looked around for a minute before staring back at Twilight with a quizzical look. "Uh, why do ya need ta know that?"
Suppressing an eye roll, Twilight answered. "I told you. I want to help, so you can keep getting good grades in your studying."
"Ah'm gettin graded? Ah thought it was like a private tutor...er...y thingy." Apple Bloom seemed even more confused. "Where do ya enter our grades, anyway?"
Sensing the filly was about to chase the rabbit, Twilight tried to refocus the subject. "Listen, you do get graded, and I don't want to see you fail, so..."
"Ah don't get it. Here Ah though we were, well, special or somethin, an then ya tell me Ah'm gettin graded? What kind a cool school grades ya?!" The filly threw her hooves up for emphasis.
"Apple Bloom, I..."
"Ah guess Applejack's gonna be upset now. Seein as how Ah'm gettin graded, Ah'm probably gonna find out Ah'm failin next, an she'll be mad at me!"
Twilight tired to intervene. "No, no, you're not failing, you're just..."
Apple Bloom looked on the verge of tears. "Do ya know what she can do when she's mad? She'll lock me up, throw away the key to ma room, board up the windows, chain me to ma bed..."
Twilight was beginning to think this was bad idea, and tried to excuse herself from the house. "um, well, I gotta, uh... go read a book, yep!"
"Okay, you go read a book! Ah'll just sit her and fail ma grades! Applejack will be so upset!" The filly let out an exasperated moan mixed with a cry as Twilight excused herself, quickly shutting the door and leaving the farm at a brisk pace.
"Well..." Twilight glanced back to the farm. "Seems like that was a bad idea. Next time, I'll press a pony who doesn't break down like that." She just hoped she hadn't hurt the poor filly.
Now she didn't know what to do. She had no other friends to turn to today, and she had nothing on her to-do list. Her whole day was empty and she couldn't do anything. She had no way of finding out what she needed to know.
She stopped suddenly, standing between the opening of the fence surrounding Sweet Apple Acres as a devious grin spread across her face. A plan began to form in her mind, and soon, she had all the details worked out. If she couldn't talk to them, maybe she could spy on them! Rarity and Fluttershy would be at the spa for several hours more, so she could just sneak in and listen! They might unknowingly spill some information she needed to know!
With her plan in mind, she set her sights on the spa, and more specifically, those inside it. She would find out something today, and she wouldn't stop until she did, even if it killed her.
