Trickles can always find you, if memories of them you knew. The only way to be saved is to forget, but if you recall they will get you yet. Race fast as you can, maybe your friends will understand.
Trickles can always find you, if memories of them you knew. The only way to be saved is to forget, but if you recall they will get you yet. Race fast as you can, maybe your friends will understand. Trickles down the path they go, foothold in you they do know. Wary Shaman heed my words, forget them or there will be worse. They need not feed to take form, by saying this you have been warned.
A terrified Zecora rapidly pounds on the door to the library made of a living tree, her mind still filled with the horror of what she has witnessed. The fear of what could still be in store for her, the words of the old tale warning her of her fate if something isn’t done. Her heart pounds as she beats upon the door frantically, those screams still echoing in her mind and ears, the horror of the what happened to that poor changeling fresh in her mind. The memory of those horrible things all too clear.
Memory, the one thing she has held so dear for so long. Yet for the first, and hopefully last time in her life, she must do something she swore to her teacher she would never do. She must force herself to deny it.
As her hoof moves back for another pound against the great golden wood door, it opens.
Light pours from the entrance, enveloping her friend, her only hope at this hour with the terror she has escaped knowing she must return to her home if she were to craft a potion to deter them; bathed in a brilliant halo against the darkness of this night. The unicorn before her is a pale lavender, with dark purple hair with magenta stripes in them trimmed into a rather goth cut. Her cutie mark is a dark pink star surrounded by five other stars, her pale purple eyes eyes widen as she takes in the zebra shaman’s state. Disheveled hair and blood shot terrified eyes are out of place on the normally serene and wise shaman, the poor mare looks like she made a mad rush through the Everfree.
“Oh my gosh, Zecora? What happened to you? Why are you...”
Twilight Sparkle does not manage to finish her sentence as Zecora rushes into the library, causing her to spin on one hoof. The zebra pauses just long enough to shove the door closed, before running over to the bookshelves and beginning to frantically search each one. Mumbling under her breath, “Forget the Memory, impede the terror that be.” Over and over she repeats this, almost like a chant or prayer.
As Twilight recovers her balance, she walks over to the panicked Zecora, her hooves making a distinct clip clop against the floor. Just as she reaches her friend, who is delving through the spell section of the library, the shaman shrieks in relief before grabbing a rather old and unusually thick tome in her mouth before dashing past the unicorn and to the reading table.
Twilight shakes her head, turning around she follows her friend who has now set herself down and is flipping rapidly through the old spell tome. Peering over her shoulder Twilight’s eyes widen as she sees which book her friend is searching through. One of the older volumes, it’s a rare tome on mind healing and memory, mostly for curing ailments like anxiety or depression or effects of magical entities. However one section in the book is near unreadable, due to it being written in an odd form of runes. This is the section Zecora is flipping through, her hooves like lightning and her eyes those of a mare barely retaining her hold on sanity.
Finally, the shaman stops searching through the tome. The page she is on has an illustration that seems to show a pony like creature’s head cut in half, with labels within on sections of the brain. Similar to newer anatomical charts, there is an icon similar to an arrow pointing at what looks like a crude depiction wall within one brain section. What an odd thing to have in an ancient tome meant to cure maladies and the effects of magical creatures.
Twilight’s focus is broken by a single sentence from the disheveled shaman.
“Twilight, I need a paper and pen now, or this night will bring terror on this town.” Zecora’s words hold great urgency, as if a moments delay will cause some horrible event to unfold. That and her rhyming is off, which is something that only happens in times of great duress or worse.
“Alright Zecora, But will you please tell me what is going on?”, Twilight says as she levitates a pen, inkwell, and paper over to the zebra mare.
The zebra shaman grabs the pen before it is even set on the table, pulling the paper before her as she begins to frantically write something down upon it. Her eyes glance at the page in the tome, then to the paper, her hooves working at a breakneck pace despite being capable of using magic to do so.
“Zecora?” Twilight’s voice implies worry that echoes in her face as her friend merely snorts in reply and continues to write.
The shaman’s hooves move like lightning, her eyes moving from her handiwork to the old tome. As Twilight watches, it’s dawns upon her that her friend is translating and transcribing the page into equestrian. The indecipherable parts of the tome must have been written in some sort of code or runic language kept secret for millennia, unknown to anypony or anyone she had known. Anypony except it would seem, her shaman friend who is now frantically transcribing something from this tome that is so important she refuses to answer the Twilight’s questions.
Even if Twilight Sparkle wasn’t a genius, she would have realized that her friend isn’t just terrified. She is desperate, and transcribing this tome page like her life depends on it. Something beyond her comprehension has happened that has driven her friend to this state. The unknown that generally intrigues the unicorn, in this case fills her with trepidation. Minutes seem like hours, until finally the frantic scratching of the pen stops and Zecora grabs the page in one hoof before turning around to face Twilight. Her eyes seem more than just bloodshot, there is a haunted look within them akin to an animal that knows it is being hunted. A primordial fear ripples through Twilight Sparkle, something horrible has happened to her friend, she just knows it. Whatever it is, whatever caused Zecora to end up like this, it’s not gone.
Taking the page in her magic, Twilight gasps , her eyes beholding the transcribed page and not believing what is written upon it. Gazing at her friend she asks, “Zecora, you can’t possibly think I would ever cast this spell? It’s horrible, nopony should ever have this cast upon them, what would drive you to think I would even consider it?”
The zebra shaman looks at her friend pleadingly, desperation in her voice as she tries and fails in her fear to craft a proper rhyme. “Twilight you must both see and not see, the terror that has befallen me. I cannot tell you what is the cause, but do not wait or give pause. That spell is the last hope for me, you must cast it and quickly.”
The element of magic shakes her head, her mind battling with her own morals and the desperate plea of her friend. “Zecora, I can’t. Mind magic and spells like this, if I had known this was in that tome I would have moved it somewhere else in the library. Spells like this can only be used in dire emergencies and..”
Before she can finish she is interrupted as Zecora gets up and moves up to the unicorn so that her eyes stare directly into Twilight’s. The smell of sweat, forest, and something very unusual and sickly sweet tinged with copper wafts off the zebra mare as she bores her eyes into the Twilight’s own. In a slow and steady voice, filled with urgency she says.
“Twilight, this is an emergency. Cast the spell or you will see, the beings that caused this terror for me.”
Twilight gulps, her eyes moving from Zecora’s eyes that seem to be broadcasting her need into the unicorn’s very soul to the spell upon the page. Her wise friend, always there when she needs help and who has overcome many obstacles, is now begging her for aid. And she can sense that the urgency is well founded as her eyes read all that has been transcribed.
The transcription explains the spell is only to be used in cases where creatures that “search by memory” have targeted somepony. Not much more is explained concerning whatever they are, but the other warnings across the page make her realize exactly how dire the situation is. Such creatures it seems, can only be stopped by this spell, there is no other way.
Looking back into Zecora’s eyes, the zebra having backed up a bit, Twilight asks; “Are you sure about this Zecora?”
The zebra shaman replies, her voice solemn, “Certain as I shall ever be, cast the spell and set me free.”
With a deep breath, Twilight focuses her magic and crafts the spell matrix needed in her mind. As her aura builds up in a magenta light around her horn, she looks at her terrified friend whose left ear as swiveled towards the door. As she lets loose her magic, the spell enveloping Zecora like a mystical blanket, she swears she hears a sound like tricking water mixed with a frustrated shriek from just beyond the library door.
Then all is quiet in the library as her magic fades from around Zecora, who falls to the ground as exhaustion from whatever occurred that night catches up with her. The last words Twilight hears before the zebra passes into the land of dreams are barely audible even in the silence that permeates the ancient oak tree.
“Thank you..”
Grabbing a spare blanket, the unicorn covers her friend so the mare does not catch a chill. Moving towards the ancient tome that still rests on the table, she wonders about exactly what kind of being could have scared Zecora so. Her mind drifts to another creature she cares for, one who she views as both a brother and a son. In a soft voice so she does not wake the sleeping shaman on her library floor Twilight whispers.
“I hope Spike and the CMC are alright..”
- 6 days after Nightmare Night, Golden Oaks Library
The zebra shaman stands upon a short step stool, her hooves gently shifting the alignment of the books on the shelves till they are perfectly straight. Blue green eyes narrow as she makes one final check to ensure everything on the shelf is as her friend Twilight Sparkle likes it. Her friend is quite meticulous as to now her books are set up, normally this job would fall to her assistant Spike, but he hasn’t been seen since Nightmare Night.
The entire town has been in a state of silent fear since then, and foals are no longer allowed out last dark. For Spike was not the only one to go missing, the Cutie Mark Crusaders also disappeared that same night. From what little has been found out, Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Bell met up with Spike to go trick or treating on Nightmare Night. Many in town initially thought them not showing up the next day was a prank, even their families. After all, the three fillies and Spike were known for getting into mischief. The idea they would try to be ghost hunters and get caught up in their adventure wasn’t impossible by any means.
However when they failed to show up by the end of the day after Nightmare Night, word was sent to the local guard outpost. A search party was sent out, and it was what they found that triggered the fear that now enveloped the town. An abandoned cart, half dissolved, that was known to belong to a local mare who would never leave it behind. There was no sign of the mare, and magical scans revealed she had seemingly disappeared in that very spot within the Everfree forest. Further scans revealed a faint trail the CMC and Spike had taken into and through the woods, one that disappeared within a grove of trees by an odd archway made of branches that had grown over an impossibly clear pool of water.
Zecora had requested the guard check on her own home, and bring her some supplies. For some reason she is and was terrified to enter the Everfree forest and return to her home. Based on what the guards told her of the state of her hut, her fear was not unfounded, even if she couldn’t recall what she was afraid of. The guards had found her home to be in disarray, though they were able to salvage most of her belonging that were now stored in a spare room of the library; her hut would require massive repairs. Apparently the floor, walls, ceiling, and door were all partially dissolved. The guards described it as looking like somepony had let loose an overpowered uncontrolled melt spell inside her home.
The crown would pay for the repairs, and she would be allowed home after the forest was deemed safe again. But until then Zecora was to stay at the library with her friend Twilight Sparkle, which she was grateful for. Not only due to her fear of the Everfree, but because the unicorn really needed support right now. The news that Spike had gone missing had hit her hard, and Twilight and her friends had tried to search for him and the CMC for three days nonstop to no avail. She had only stopped after her mentor, Princess Celestia, had shown up to personally make her stop. The poor mare had cried onto the Princess’s shoulder like a despondent child, and Celestia had held her as a mother would to calm her sorrow and fear.
Ever since then, about two days ago, Zecora had taken over Spike’s duties. Staying by Twilight’s side as she researched, intent on finding any explanation for what had taken her assistant and the CMC. The zebra mare wishes she could help, but she has no memories of Nightmare Night at all. The doctor who had checked on her said it was likely due to trauma, since the guards had picked up her magical signature next to that of the half melted wagon. Given the state of her home, they had decided that the shaman was the only survivor of some horrible attack; and that any attempts to unlock the memories would only lead to more harm. She had promised to inform them if she remembered anything, which had satisfied the guard.
As she got off the step stool, a sound caused her to freeze. The drip drop of water echoed through the library into her ears, and Zecora swiveled them to pin point the source of the sound. Walking towards it, she entered the kitchen and is relieved to find that the sound was due to the faucet not being turned off completely. Using her hoof, for her magic had been unavailable to her since that night due to trauma, she turned the faucet off cutting off the dripping droplets and bringing about a welcome silence.
Glancing around the kitchen proper, she saw the teapot filled with water ready to be boiled. Her own special blend of calming herbal teas sat in a tea sieve ready to be brewed, somehow they had survived whatever had damaged her home. Turning on the stovetop, she let the water boil as she got the teacups ready. She chose a set of porcelain ones with weaving branches emblazoned in gold inlays. Setting the special herbal blend of tea within them, the sieves set on top so as to maximize flavor, she stood back and waited as her mind drifts in thought.
Zecora had always been taught that memory was very important, and a shaman must be able to recall all they know at any time. Her loss of all memory of Nightmare Night, and the inability to use her magic, greatly disturbed her. She had had little time to dwell on how this could have happened until now, and though trauma was possible it was also highly unlikely. Zebra Shamans were trained from a young age to endure almost anything, especially mental trauma. After all when one was taught ancient knowledge and could if needed call on spirits to aid them, mental and spiritual fortitude was a requirement not an option. So the idea that she had merely forgotten something, no an entire night due to trauma, did not sit right with her.
Something else was going on, and somehow she knew it was connected to the disappearances of the CMC and Spike.
The sound of the teapot hissing indicated the water was boiled and ready, snapping Zecora from her train of thought. As she walks over to the teapot, lifting it up gently with mitts so as not to burn herself, she can’t help but wonder what caused her to forget that night. As she pours the tea water into the cups, her focus shifts to Twilight Sparkle. Placing the kettle back, she gently lifts the tray holding the teacups in her mouth and makes her way out of the kitchen towards the reading section of the library.
There as expected, is her unicorn friend, books and notes strewn everywhere but on the side table intended for tea and foodstuffs. Gently placing the tray down, Zecora walks over to her friend, deftly avoiding stepping on anything on the floor. Peering over her shoulder, she notes that the research path seems to have shifted again. This morning it was spells and side effects, now it is mythical creatures and monsters. Twilight sits engrossed in reading about an entity that pretends to be plant-life before taking its prey by surprise.
Zecora chuckles, alerting Twilight to her presence. The unicorn mare turns to Zecora, an unamused expression on her face amplified by the exhaustion lines under her eyes. “What is so funny?”
The zebra shaman shakes her head, responding in a knowing voice that no longer rhymes. After all, losing her link to her magic meant that the binding of speaking in rhyme no longer held. “I am sorry my friend, but the creature you are reading up on is not native to Equestria. It roams the lands of Ruminia, and would not be able to enter Equestria for the landscape bars it’s passage.”
Twilight blinks her eyes before face-hoofing at her exhaustion fueled foolishness. The unicorn has not gotten used to her zebra friend no longer speaking in rhyme, however regardless of vocal speech pattern the shaman is still wise. At some level, Twilight wishes she had known of the disappearances before she had cast that spell on Nightmare Night. It would have saved her time chasing dead ends. The thought of the word dead sends shivers up her spine, as she thinks of the implications of what would have happened if she had not done as Zecora asked.
She had noticed the zebra’s new fear of certain sounds made by liquids, specifically anything that sounded like a dripping water spout or trickling stream. Something about it was important, but she didn’t know what exactly, perhaps that should be her next line of research. A black and white striped foreleg moves into her line of sight, waving back and forth, which snaps her out of her internal thoughts. As she comes to she hears a voice calling, out to her.
“Twilight, Twilight? I believe you need some tea my friend, you have been looking for answers in books for two days straight now.” Zecora’s voice is tinged with worry, not the terrified kind from six days ago, but genuine worry for her friend.
Twilight turns her head, stretching as she gets up from her sitting position, her limbs hurting from staying still too long. Glancing at the tea tray, she has an idea. Zecora seems to know a lot about magical entities and knowledge that even she isn’t aware of. Even if she can’t risk making Zecora remember that night, she can ask her for help. Besides, her shaman friend is the only survivor of whatever attacked all those in the Everfree six days ago. Her only possible of hope of finding Spike and the CMC lies within Zecora. At the very least, the knowledge the shaman holds can narrow down the possibilities.
With a tired smile she looks at her zebra friend, whose blue green eyes stare back at her. Twilight walks towards the tray, picking up a cup in her magic before asking her question.
“Zecora, you know a lot about beings and entities from outside Equestria right?”
Picking up her own teacup and taking a sip the zebra nods, “Indeed, as well as much knowledge and lore about Equestria itself that is long forgotten. Why do you ask Twilight?”
After enjoying a sip of the special zebrican herbal blend, a light mix of savanna grass and spices with some sort of floral aftertaste, Twilight responds. “Well I was wondering if you could help me narrow down my research, and help me find out who or what harmed that pony and took Spike and the CMC; as well as attacked you. I could really use the help Zecora.”
Zecora looks thoughtful for a moment, her mind pondering over her own worries about her lost memories of that night. The reason why was linked to this somehow, and if anyone could help her find her own answers it was Twilight Sparkle.
“Very well, I will help you Twilight. I too wonder what occurred that night, and what is the cause for my loss of magic and rhyme. My knowledge is at your disposal.”
Both mares settle down to drink their tea, an unwritten agreement made between them. An agreement that is tilted and imbalanced, for one has the knowledge to find out what they already know but desired forgotten. The other knows why the other mare has forgotten, and at some level fears what will happen if that truth is revealed.
Neither mare understands the results of their actions. Neither is aware as deep in the Everfree by a great silver stone, a pond of unusual water begins to ripple and stir. A shape not unlike a hoof is formed for a few seconds upon its surface before collapsing to droplets of liquid, sensing the threads that allow it to remain strengthening once again. A single terrible sound can be heard emanating from the pool, a chiming of trickling silver like a running stream.
Canterlot Castle - 6 days after Nightmare Night, early afternoon
Princess Luna can’t sleep. It is hours past daybreak and yet every time she closes her eyes she sees that place. Few know of it, that gateway between here and there. Fewer still know when it opens or why, but those who do know that the day it does so is six days past. Luna is one of those few, and the only one besides possibly Discord who has a connection to the place beyond. Even when she was on the Moon she could sense that the cycle of the gateway stayed the same, opening and closing on one day and night like clockwork. More predictable than the tides themselves.
So why does she keep seeing the gateway when she closes her eyes? Why can’t she sleep? And why, despite her lack of sleep, is she not tired?
“We do not understand.” Luna grumbles into her pillow as yet again she closes her eyes to be faced with that same scene. Those arching branches over the miniature pool of water that seems to stretch back into the archway one moment, only to be but a simple font pool the next.
“Why can we not sleep? What does thou want from us?”
Her voice is tinged with irritation and an underlying tone of worry, and perhaps fear. As Princess of the Moon and Dreams, she is the one to whom visions and the like come when the dark or other realms are involved. She is the one to whom the first vision of Sombra came, and the one to whom the flutter ponies once sent dream messages to. It is she who has the closest connection to the Gateway, for it is her duty to ensure nothing remains in Equestria from the other side after Nightmare Night.
For many things beyond the veil are too monstrous to allow upon the soil of the world of Equis for more than once a year.
Her eyes still shut, she pulls her blankets over her head; encompassing herself in a cocoon of silk and fine fabric that muffle the sounds of the waking world. In a weary voice she half asks, half begs to seemingly the air or some invisible force.
“Why do we see the Gateway when our eyes close? What is the meaning of this constant intrusion upon our rest?”
As if in answer within the vision behind her eyes, a sound fills her ears. A trickling like a silver stream, and on the other side of the archway two great globes of shimmering light appear, the head they are attached to hidden in shadow. Iridescent and mesmerizing to those who are untrained, she watches as four shadows walk towards the globes only to disappear into or beyond the water of the endless gate.
Then to her horror the vision shifts to another pool, this one a mix of silver and deep blue by a silver stone. The trickling sound of water turns into a rush of a river, as from the water a shape emerges. A single limb that ends in clawed hand, made of the same material as the water.
“NO!”
Luna throws the sheets off of her, freeing herself from the blanket cocoon in such haste that she does not even grab the unfortunate fabric in her magic. Her bed a disastrous mess of tussled sheets, Luna tries to calm her panicked breathing as a chill settles over her body. Getting down from her luxurious mattress, she does not even pause before running to the door, yanking it open with such forceful magic that if not for enchantments upon it, the door would have fallen free of its hinges.
Like a midnight blue bolt she races down the halls towards her sisters court, her mind frantic as she puts the pieces of the puzzle together. The reason for her visions the past six days, the reason for her lack of exhaustion. The horrible truth of what is going on, the source of this deviation in the predictable cycle of the gate.
The gate is still open. Something remains in Equestria from the other side.
Her hooves beat a staccato rhythm as she reaches the day court doors from which her sister usually enters. In a rush she grabs them with her magic, throwing them open she bursts into the room. As luck would have it the only ponies there are her sister and her seneschal, both frozen and staring at Luna in shock due to her abrupt entrance and disheveled appearance.
Breathing heavily, the night princess canters over to her counterpart and kin, her sister Princess Celestia. Her eyes fall upon a letter in her sisters magic, and she can’t help but ask a single fateful question. Hoping to have her worst fears nullified, even if deep down she knows the truth.
“Sister, does that letter say anything about missing ponies?”
Celestia’s jaw drops, her mind drifting over the contents of the letter from her beloved student. How could Luna know about that? Stunned, Celestia responds in the closest she can to her usual calming voice.
“Luna, this is a letter from Twilight Sparkle. My beloved student did mention a few missing ponies and...”
Luna interrupts the sun princess, her mind racing as she tosses out one question after another that Celestia answers as quickly as possible.
“Did the letter mention anything melted or dissolved?”
“Yes, a cart and a home of a shaman but..,”
“How long since the incident?”
“Six days but Luna you need to understand there was one..”
“Did traces of the ponies or missing just vanish?”
“Luna how do you know this? My student’s assistant is one of those missing but one pony did manage to..”
“Did they go missing in the Everfree?”
“Well yes, but Luna there was a survivor and she may hold the key to..”
Luna’s eyes widen as her jaw drops, her worst fear realized as the last reply from her sister makes its way into her ears. A thread is connected, a memory of long ago surfaces in her mind, and she realizes what she must do.
“Where is this survivor Tia? Who is it?”
Celestia is stunned by the raw power and fear in her sister Luna’s voice. Something is very wrong, she can sense it. Her sister’s reaction only verifies an unnerving feeling she has had for the last six days. One that was amplified by the letter she holds in her magic. Taking a deep breath she responds.
“The survivor is the zebra shaman Zecora, she is currently living with Twilight Sparkle in the library in Ponyville. They are trying to find out what happened to Spike and three little fillies who went missing. According to the letter Zecora requested her memory of Nightmare Night sealed and Twilight wished for my guidance concerning unsealing it to find out crucial information. All things considered, I was about to send a reply saying that unsealing those memories might be our best chance to find out who was responsible. At the very least it would explain Zecora’s newfound fear of trickling sounds...”
Luna nearly flies across the room, halting right in front of her sisters throne, her eyes wide in fear and dread as she speaks in a voice akin to one whose worst nightmare has been made real. A haunted look grows stronger within her eyes.
“Did you say a fear of tricking water?”
Celestia nods, “Yes it started after Nightmare Night. I was about to send a letter telling Twilight she should unseal the memories. If only to help soothe Zecora’s fears.”
Luna’s mind races as she realizes the truth behind the vision, now confirmed by her sister. In a frantic voice she shouts, “Tia, you must not let this Zecora remember! Twilight Sparkle is in grave danger, as is this survivor! The threads are connected to the memory!”
Celestia stares, confusion written upon her face. “Luna I don’t understand and what you are talking about? What is going on? You should be sleeping at this hour, please tell me sister, why are you so scared? What has gotten into you?”
The midnight blue alicorn merely stares at her sister, eyes boring into Celestia’s conveying things that words alone cannot. Fear, anxiety, terror, danger, and unspeakable things that haunt the mind. Things that are made clear as Luna speaks. “Tia, the Gateway is still open. We must go to Twilight Sparkle and this Zecora. We must warn them of the danger they are in, protect them from those that hunt the one that escaped.”
Celestia shudders, sensing something horrible somewhere in Equestria. Something that her sister understands and she does not. For the Gateway to still be open, something powerful must be on the loose or worse, something powerful must have been taken to the other side. Voice quavering, Celestia asks, “Luna, will you tell me what it is that you fear is hunting my student and her friend?”
Luna shakes her head, sorrow and regret visible on her face. “We, I, cannot tell you dear sister. Not without putting you in danger as well.”
Celestia, her mane like the shimmering dawn, heaves an exhausted and tired sigh. For if her sister cannot tell her, then the matter must indeed be grave. There are things beyond the gateway that she herself fears, for Luna to be scared as well, Celestia cannot fathom what her sister believes may have managed to gain a foothold in this world. Glancing up, she says the words that she both dreads and yet must put all her hope into, for her sake and Twilight’s.
“Very well Luna, I trust you. Go, protect my student and her friend from whatever has remained from the other side of the gate. However promise me one thing.”
Luna backs up, her mind already on what she must do to protect Twilight and Zecora as she replies. “What Tia?”
Celestia, trying to keep her voice calm but unable to hide the slight quivering in her voice. “Promise me you will stay as safe as possible Lulu.”
Luna replies in a somber tone, “We, no I, promise to do my best Tia.”
With that she begins to cast the teleportation spell that will take her directly to her royal carriage. In a flash the day court is gone, and she is in the carriage house where her special day transport awaits. A few specially trained bat ponies of her Night Guard turn in shock as she marches forward towards her carriage and barks out orders.
“Lieutenant Night Breeze, Officer Wisp Moon, to my carriage now. Warrant Officer Dusk Lake, call my personal day contingent and tell them to meet us in Ponyville. Hurry!”
The Night Guards burst unto action, with Night Breeze and Wisp Moon attaching themselves to the carriage just as princess Luna gets in and closes the door. Dusk Lake races off, delivering the message to the Dark Day division that they are to dispatch to Ponyville yesterday.
As the carriage takes to the sky towards Ponyville, Luna stares out over Equestria. Her mind drifts towards Twilight Sparkle, a mare she considers a very close friend. One who is in very real danger. The threads of memory connected to the survivor must run deep, and those things must be connected somehow. Closing her eyes, Luna casts a spell of magic sight, one only she is capable of. If she is to stop the worst from happening, she must allow herself to truly see.
Opening her eyes, she can’t help but gasp. For she can see now what she is facing, and the threads in the distance that grow stronger by the minute. “No, Twilight don’t do it. You must not wake the memory the survivor wished you to seal away. You mustn’t let the threads gain more strength.”
As the carriage flies across the land, the princess of the night can only hope that her sisters student will not break the binding on the zebra’s mind before she can arrive. Luna can only hope she isn’t too late. For if she is, the gate will be the least of Equestria’s worries.
Ponyville - Early Evening, 6 days after Nightmare Night.
The library is bustling with the last customers of the day. Despite the recent disappearances ponies still visit the Golden Oaks Library for books of all kinds. Zecora having taken up Spike’s duties is finishing up the bookshelves as Twilight helps the last few ponies check out their selected literary works. All day the customers have offered their wishes that Spike be found alive, making the unicorn mare all the more anxious for the open business hours to be over so she can discuss the possibilities of what happened with Zecora.
Despite sending a letter to Celestia via mail, for without Spike’s dragon fire she must rely on traditional postal methods, Twilight believes that her zebra friend holds the key. As she checks out the final book of the day for an unusually anxious young filly, she breathes a sigh of relief. Using her magic, she turns the newly placed sign on the library door to closed as the filly leaves. The sign is something she added so as to ensure nopony would disturb her while she focused on finding out what happened to Spike. Today, of all days, she is grateful she did this. For part of Zecora’s conditions for sharing what she knows is that nopony but Twilight Sparkle overhear their discussion.
With the library officially closed, Twilight Sparkle moves over to the reading table and settles in a chair to wait for her friend. Her worry for her missing assistant is written on her face as Zecora, having finished with the bookshelves, takes a seat across from her. The two sit in silence for a few minutes, both lost in thoughts of recent events in the past six days. Neither of the mares wants to be the first to speak despite their agreement earlier that day. It’s as if speaking would begin the casting if a spell that will change things forever.
At last, unable to hold her desire to learn at bay, Twilight Sparkle asks the first question. “So Zecora, you mentioned you would help me with information concerning beings and creatures not mentioned in books.”
The zebra shaman nods, responding as calmly as she can. “Indeed I did, ask me what you wish to know, for I will try my best to answer. It is quite odd being unable to speak in rhyme after so long of a time.”
Twilight giggles a bit, the tone one of pain and repressed sorrow more than joy. “Alright then, what do you know of creatures that could make ponies disappear without a trace?”
Zecora leans back in the reading chair, a thoughtful and pensive look on her face as she reflects on her knowledge. Reciting from memory, she lists off the beings she can recall. “There is the font of legalin, who can absorb one to never be seen again. The dancing grass can swallow you whole, the wandering weeds will devour your soul. Beings from beyond can spirit you away, and in the byways a mad god holds sway. In Everfree alone there exists, a wandering wagon that leads to an abyss. Great Gorgona will turn you to stone, and the Embrana can turn you to coal dust and bone. The great Sirenia can entrance you with song, and many more can cause things to go wrong. Puca’s will trick and Lepreni will steal, an Adze would gladly make you it’s meal. My friend there are many creatures that I know, too many to list before the fall of snow. Please specify what you wish to learn, we do not exactly have time to burn.”
Twilight stares at Zecora eyes wide. “You just rhymed.”
The zebra stares back with eyes wide in shock, for it seems she can still speak in rhyme but only when recalling something. Only when reciting a specific type of memory. “ That is odd, it seems I can still rhyme when speaking from my memories. If so then why can I not do so normally.” Her voice filled with confusion, the zebra has a feeling that there is a reason for this odd situation. Something important that she cannot recall.
However she is unable to ponder on it more, as Twilight Sparkle asks her next question. “Maybe we should narrow down the creatures some more. What beings do you know of that can take a pony or dragon without a trace, and maybe melt or dissolve physical objects?”
Zecora closes her eyes, recalling what she can. “There is the Temperance, but they would turn one to ash the color of silver. Leona would leave some trace, massive paw prints akin to a large cat. The Shradna would leave glittering dust in the air, the Trancelings might manage it but they do not melt objects merely lure sentient beings astray to the world beyond. Maganair could be a culprit, but there are no volcanos or steam vents in the area. Most acidic beings leave some visible trace in the surrounding area and are unable to fully control their abilities.”
Twilight leans over, eyes pleading as she begs. “Please Zecora, there must be something that could do this. The guards said that there was what looked like traces of deep blue liquid of unknown origin on the cart. Would anything you know of leave that behind?”
Zecora still deep in thought, clenches her jaw. She knows the answer to this, the creature that fits all the criteria Twilight Sparkle has mentioned. It’s a type of Fey, a very dangerous one. One so dangerous that even the non shamanistic Zebra tribes have stories about them back home. Yet each time she tries to think of the name it’s like something is blocking it from her mind. It’s right there, barely outside of her mental grasp. She focuses harder, forcing her will to break down the barrier in her mind. She speaks aloud the tale of old as her memory returns, flowing free from the dam that had been blocking it within her psyche.
“They only appear once a year..”She begins.
The sound of wet footsteps echoes outside the library door.
“Be wary for they have earned the fear..”
A sound like slithering, slippery, talons lightly grasping the door handle outside can barely be heard.
“In the forest they flow, a living fiend of liquid might.”
The door to the library opens, both mares are so caught up in the discussion they do not notice as a quiet rushing sound akin to water crosses the threshold and the door closes with a click.
“Be wary of those bathed in water on that night.”
The footsteps move closer, a trickling sound like a dancing stream can barely be heard. The footsteps are small and light, like those that belong to a young creature or pony.
“They can take any form, liquid fiends of horror borne..”
The footsteps stop behind Twilight Sparkle, a shuffling sound like nervous feet starts to gain the unicorn mare’s attention.
“Listen for the sound of streams, where no such thing can be. Monstrous fey with no name, we describe them by the sound they make.”
A cough causes Twilight Sparkle to turn her head towards the sound. Upon seeing the figure behind her she gasps, as her eyes well up in tears.
“Trickles down the path they go, they will hunt you if you know.”
Zecora opens her eyes, relief flooding through her mind as she feels a weight lifted upon uttering the name of that creature. That relief is short lived as her eyes settle upon the sopping wet purple and green baby dragon her friend is reaching for. A sopping wet baby dragon that she distinctly remembers seeing six days ago on Nightmare Night.
A baby dragon who came to her hut with three young fillies, who turned out to be anything but what they seemed to be. The baby dragon who with the other three, was really a horrific creature of liquid woe in disguise. A creature whose name she has just recalled, that chased her through the woods and devoured an innocent changeling. A creature so horrible that she begged her friend Twilight Sparkle to use a spell to block the memory of it from her mind.
Because if she so much as remembered a single thing about the creature, it could find her.
It could hunt her.
It would devour her, and all others who knew of it.
Because memory is the thread that ties it to this world, to her, and allows it to remain past the dreaded night. Zecora gasps in terror upon realizing what she has done, the horrible deadly mistake she has made tonight.
As the zebra mare sits frozen in fear, Twilight Sparkle can’t help but reach for her beloved assistant. Her eyes tearing up and blurring causing her to miss the watery ripples in his form, thinking them tricks of the eye. She speaks in a voice filled with relief and joy, the kind one uses when speaking to a loved one thought lost forever. “Spike..you’re back.”
The dragon smiles, tilting his head ever so slightly to the left so as to better see the terrified zebra behind the unicorn. He responds in a voice that seems almost identical to the baby dragon, except for the light sound of trickling water that echoes from his jaws. “I am.”
Twilight puts her hooves to her chest, beside herself with relief. She does not hear the sound of the carriage landing outside, or the frantic hoof steps of a panicked alicorn. Blinded by an unnatural focus on the baby dragon she cannot hear the pounding on the door or the orders being shouted to check on the other elements who had also lost somepony six days before.
She only has eyes for Spike, his body shifting slightly as if made of a liquid mirror. “I’m so happy you are back. I missed you so much. You had me so worried Spike!” Twilight Sparkle nearly shouts the last part, though the dragon seems unaffected.
His grin merely grows wider, unnaturally so, as he responds with a voice that is filled with the trickling that has haunted the other mare in the room for six days. “Why were you worried?” He asks the unicorn.
Twilight backs up a bit in shock, somewhat hurt by the comment just made by what seems to be her assistant and brother/son. “What are you saying Spike?” She says in an unnerved tone.
The baby dragon tilts its head even more to the left, it’s neck seeming to ripple and stretch as it does so. “Because..” It says in a voice like liquid silver, holding the word as if waiting for a reaction to finish what it wishes to say.
Twilight slowly realizes that the creature standing before her is not her assistant. Backing up faster, she is suddenly caught in the grasp of a trembling and terror stricken Zecora. Both mares stare with wide eyes, filled with the knowledge that they are trapped by that thing, as its body ripples and distorts into a mass of living liquid that defies logic and could drive any lesser minds mad.
And in the center of that liquid, Spike’s head remains visible as it speaks the rest of its sentence with a horrific sociopathic calm. “You are going to become one with us.”
The monstrosity known as a Trickle rushes forward towards the two mares, it’s form melting the sofa between it and its prey. Seconds after it makes its move, an explosion of wood fills the library as the venerable door to Golden Oaks is blown to smithereens by a great nova blue aura. The great wave of blue and silver looms over the unicorn and zebra, the sound of a roaring river echoing in their ears like a waterfall of impending death.
A flash fills the location where the two mares hold each other in frozen terror as their doom is but seconds away. So close is it that they can feel the immense fey aura the Trickle exudes, and one of them can sense still more. For within that aura, lay the souls and minds of uncountable beings screaming and shrieking, trapped within the amorphous liquid mass that is their prison for eternity. A prison that the zebra mare accepts, will within seconds take her and Twilight Sparkle as its latest victims.
Closing their eyes, Zecora and Twilight wait for the inevitable. Only for seconds to pass with nothing happening, nothing but a change of sensation upon their senses as a cool night breeze ripples across their fur. Opening their eyes enough to see but not let in the sights beyond their eyelids completely, they are stunned silent.
The two mares are no longer in the Golden Oaks library where seconds before they faced certain doom. They now sit on the hill over Ponyville under the light of the moon. As their eyes open fully, taking in the scene before them, the alight upon a recognizable and welcome figure standing before them.
Midnight blue coat and ethereal mane made up of stars and constellations flowing in a nonexistent breeze, Princess Luna stands before them with concern and relief reflected within her eyes. As the Alicorn Princess of the Night and Dreams moves towards the two mares, their sense of relief is shattered once more as they recognize the fear in her expression. Lowering her head to look both mares over, Luna sighs in relief and worry.
“We were not too late.” She says, her eyes glancing in the distance towards the Golden Oaks library from which a stream of silver blue can be seen flowing into the streets of Ponyville.
Twilight Sparkle, shock wearing off of her traumatized mind, is the first of the two to speak. “Princess Luna? What are you doing here?” She says in a voice still tinged with the terror of certain doom.
Luna turns her head, the ethereal mane of stars billowing about her head like a dark sun as she replies. “Ensuring that our friends are safe from the fey kept on this world past Nightmare Night by the threads of memory. It seems we barely made it in time, and now there are two survivors.” She says the last word with a tone of sorrow, as if there is something about surviving the liquid monstrosity that is worse than being devoured by it.
Zecora shakes her head, her memories of Nightmare Night clear as they were six days ago. “Princess of the dreams and moon, what do you know of the liquid doom?”
Glancing back as the creature makes it way through the streets below, as if following an invisible trail, Luna frowns. Turning to Twilight and Zecora she responds. “We wish we had time to explain, but we must make haste. Follow me, we will explain on the way.”
As the princess of the night walks past the two stunned friends, her body shimmering with the power of the night; both mares get to their hooves to follow her. The trio moves swiftly over the fields, towards the Everfree Forest where it all began. A race against time has begun.
Though they move swiftly on three sets of four hooves, through the streets of Ponyville and up the hill beyond a sound can be heard. As the horrific abomination of a fey stalks its prey, following the threads that are visible to its otherworldly senses, a sound can be heard echoing across the land.
As Twilight Sparkle, Zecora, and Luna run through the trees and undergrowth of the Everfree, a platoon of lunar guards ponies works at moon speed to get the residents of Ponyville to safety. Memory spells are used liberally to block the memory of the horror from the residents minds, ensuring that the liquid fell fey can’t bind itself to more future victims. It’s hard work, and many residents are in a panic over the horrifying living stream of silver and blue that is rushing though the streets of their town, and in some cases their homes.
One poor soul even witnesses their beloved pet bluejay being absorbed and devoured before they can get to him. Thankfully, the carnage is minimal and mostly confined to a few pets and damage to architecture. Luna had sensed the problem early enough that the lunar guard had more than enough time to evacuate the residents of Ponyville and put up magical safeguards to minimize property damage.
However for all their efforts, there were still a few pony victims that they could not get to in time. Mostly vagrants who had traveled to Ponyville for its very successful social support system. Their corpses, or what was left of them, caused even the most experienced guard to evacuate his stomach at the sight of them. The few lucky ones seemed to have been asleep when the fey devoured them as an afterthought while hunting its prey.
Others however were fully awake and aware. In the case of one grass green and brown maned stallion, he died with his expression forever frozen in absolute agony and terror. Or so it seemed from the remaining half of his head that wasn’t absorbed or melted, from which liquified brain matter oozed like curdled milk onto the cobblestone. His cutie mark could not be used to identify him since there was nothing below his shoulders that remained, and his shoulders themselves were barely discernible having melted into a gluey mass of something. Scans indicated that the very structure of bones, muscle, and fur had blended together in such a way that it was impossible to tell what ended and what began where his shoulders had been. The worst part was that that stallion was one of few corpses that still resembled a pony, others were completely unrecognizable.
Nopony, nobody, deserved that sort of a fate. So as the trio of Luna, Twilight, and Zecora raced through the woods; the guards secretly prayed that the trio would stop this horror in time. That they would be able to put an end to this monstrous fiend that calls itself fey. Not just for their own sanity, or the safety of the residents of Ponyville and beyond. But for the poor souls who were already lost, and possibly now faced a fate worse than death.
Leaves and brush catch the striped, midnight blue, and lavender coats as three mares race through the Everfree. The sound of that terrifying trickling doom echoing in their ears. The screams stopped a few minutes ago, and that can only mean that that viscous fey monstrosity has left Ponyville. It means they are running out of time.
Zecora, her mind still reeling from the horrible memories recently restored, feels each beat of her hooves on the night dew coated underbrush as it matches her fear filled racing heart. Her mind is overwhelmed, her limbs feel heavy. It’s almost as if something is sucking her energy away moment by moment. All of this is amplified by a pounding migraine that keeps getting worse the further into the forest they go. Her head feels like it is on fire. Wincing in pain, she tries to keep the others from noticing so that they won’t slow down for her sake.
Her efforts are in vain, as her is lavender coated friend Twilight Sparkle takes notice.
“Luna, I think something is wrong with Zecora. We need to slow down a bit, she’s in pain.” The lavender mare shouts towards the midnight blue alicorn who has taken the lead.
Glancing back, Luna’s eyes grow wide before slightly narrowing in concern. Slowing to a brisk trot she waits till the other two are alongside her. A discreet magical scan of the zebra shaman causes her to take a deep breath of worry, and release a sigh of woe. “We agree, the fiend is far enough away, and we far enough in the lead that continuing at a trot will do no harm to thee.”
Internally Zecora thanks the princess, and slows her pace. Almost instantly, her legs trip over themselves and she feels herself collapsing to the side. Her body numbing, her mind in agony. A soft form that smells of books and ink catches her, stopping her from falling to the foliage and moss coated ground. Vaguely she notes that they are on a path she does not recognize, and that there is a moon of unusual size in the sky. The stars too seem different, as if two skies are overlaying themselves at once.
“Zecora!” Twilight’s voice echoes as if far away, despite her face being right in front of the zebra’s eyes.
“Luna what’s wrong with her? What’s going on? You promised to tell us the truth, and now Zecora is..” the voice of the lavender mare is filled with worry, and cracks as she holds back tears and fear. As if holding herself together will make everything better.
A shining pale blue aura fills the shaman’s vision as a soothing light envelops her. The pain receding and energy filling her form, she can feel her legs begin to stead themselves. Supported by what she now sees is the body of her friend Twilight, who caught her as she fell with her side; Zecora gets back on her feet. A very worried Princess Luna stands to her left, and Twilight to her right. As they begin to move forward again neither Twilight nor Luna move to take the lead, instead both flank the zebra on either side in case she falls again.
Despite the earlier question, they move forward in silence for some time before Luna gathers the words to explain the Zebra’s condition. “Zecora is an anchor.” The princess of the night says softly.
The shaman’s ears turn towards the princess, looking at her she asks; “What do you mean, for I am not attached to any at sea?”
Twilight voices her own confusion. “Zecora has a point Luna. You promised to explain things to us, so stop being cryptic and explain!” The final word is emphasized with a stomp and a very strong challenging glare from the normally logical mare. A glare that is made somber by the tears falling from her eyes.
As they move further into the unusual and almost surreal woods, Luna glances to the sky and stares at the massive moon overhead. With a deep sigh she asks, “You wish to know everything? What you ask for, once given, cannot be returned. Are you certain you want this?”
Snorting in frustration, with tears of worry for her friend falling down her cheeks; twilight responds with a resounding, “Yes! I do want this. For Zecora, I, no we both need to know the truth.”
The shaman nods, her voice chanting in agreement. “If my current state to the truth does relate, the perhaps gaining this knowledge is fate.”
Staring ahead, eyes looking everywhere but nowhere as her blue star filled mane flows of its own accord; Luna reflects back on the day’s events. With an expression that seems to flow between sorrow and relief, she reveals the truth to the two mares beside her. “ As you know I am the princess of the night, defender of dreams, and artist of the stars. As well as patron of the arts. However what you, and in truth nobody alive but perhaps my sister and Discord know, is that I have other duties and authorities that have been intentionally hidden from history.”
Twilight’s expression turns pensive, as Zecora watches the trail ahead. Though her ears are focused on the words the Lunar Princess is saying; for she knows that what will be said tonight shall never again be repeated.
Luna continues as the tries trot on, the sound of water still fairly far behind them. “Those duties relate to the realm of the “other beings”, or as most ponies of old called them, the fey. There are many types of fey in this world, many are not the type who would wish to meet. Others are mere tricksters and annoyances, while the remainder are fairly helpful if of questionable morality.”
As they pass an ancient stone plinth, the world alights with fireflies. They flutter around the three mares, dancing in many colored hues. Luna gesture at them as she continues to speak. “For example, these little creatures are known as Prism Sprites. Harmless little creatures, they are so small that their bodies are the size of a firefly. They tend to congregate when great events are about to unfold, for good or ill. They feed off the energy of what did not happen, or the pain of those who lost. They also only appear in the Wayside, an area where the realms of the Fey and our realm intersect.”
Luna let’s this sink in, and as Twilight and Zecora look about in wonder, they finally realize fully that they are not exactly in Equis anymore. For the forest around them is strange, yet familiar at the same time. As if two different places are intersecting, two shadows overlaying one atop the other.
Twilight, half in awe and half in fear asks Luna, “Why are we here? When did we get here? Where is here?”
The princess sighs, before replying to the stunned lavender mare, and the stunned silent Zebra.
“We were getting to that part. As we were, I was saying, this area we are in is known as the Wayside. We, I mean all of us, were pulled here when Zecora was brought to the brink of..dissolution. As an Anchor for a particularly dangerous type of Fey, her very spirit and body were being drained from afar. Even if we, and ye and she, had continued to flee it would have been in vain.”
Zecora purses her muzzle in a grim expression, the realization of what could have happened to her settling into her mind and soul. Dissolution is not death, she knows this. It’s a fate far worse than death. Still staring ahead she says, “If an anchor I be, am I to guess you Moon Princess saved me.”
Luna nods, as the Prism sprites dart around in a dazzling dance. “Indeed, we saved you from your fate by imbuing you with a temporary strength. However it will not last, not until you can resound the memories of the past.”
Twilight’s face takes on a confused expression, “Luna, that makes no sense. How can you resound memories?”
A snort and a dark chuckle, completely out of place given the situation, echo from the night princesses’s muzzle. Then in a serious tone Luna states, “Though we love your inquisitiveness and questions Twilight, perhaps it is best if ye let us tell the full truth before it is too late.”
The mood grows chill and cold, as the reminder of the terrible fiend that chases them sinks in. Ears twisting about, Twilight gulps and all three pick up the pace a bit. For as they had been speaking, the dreaded sound of running water had grown closer.
Luna, knowing they are short on time, continues. “As We were saying, we are in the Wayside. This is a place where the realms collide, and the location of the Fey Gate; the way by which beings bound by the Nightmare Treaty enter this realm on the Day of Hallows. That treaty has a history too long to convey here, but I can say that it was set in place due to the horrors of the past inflicted on all beings by malicious fey.”
The sound of water grows closer, yet in their peripheral vision more surreal things can be seen. Beings of vague definition line the pathway, some with eyes that spin and swirl that are the size of a pony’s head. Mesmerizing to look at, Twilight almost turns to observe them directly before a smack from a large alicorn wing brings her attention back to Luna and the trail.
The princess of the night growls at the ones with spinning eyes, and with a chittering hiss and eerie giggle they turn and flee into the fell forest. Stunned, Twilight stares straight ahead, something inside her informing the mare that she almost made a huge mistake.
Luna’s voice carries over the growing cacophony of things, fiends, fey, and beings that echo around the trio. “Whatever you do, from here on out, keep your eyes straight ahead. The trail is warded, but you can still be tempted or convinced to leave it. It is best that you keep your eyes straight ahead, leaving the trail will likely lead to a fate worse than death.”
As Zecora and Twilight follow the dark princess’s instructions, her voice continues to speak the horrifying truth to their now very alert ears.
“The dark truth is that Our other duties are to act as the liaison to the fey realms. We are the one that keeps them at bay, and ensures the Nightmare Treaty is upheld. That treaty states that only on one night and day of the year, formerly known as the Day and Night of Hallows; may the malicious and fiendish of the fey cross over into our world. They then proceed to. .feed. Normally this causes only livestock deaths, or the loss of wild animals. Rarely, a pony is lost. Yet as horrible as that is the alternative is far worse.”
The rushing of water has grown closer still, yet on the path before them a light can be seen. A shimmering green, silver, and blue ray of ethereal aura that grows nearer with every hoofstep.
Seeing their goal at hand, Luna speeds up her storytelling. “The Fey Gate is ahead, and this is where the choice must be made by you young shaman.” She gestures at Zecora with her right wing.
“For you see there is a loophole or twenty in the treaty. One of these relates to an Anchor. A mortal creature who escaped the sights and survives the hunt of certain specific fey may become an anchor to them. A way to stay in this world instead of being pulled back to their own. Over time, that mortal Anchor will be forced to become akin to those bound to it. And once that happens, the fey who bound themselves to the poor soul are free to roam this realm unimpeded.”
As the trio run into the brilliant aurora, Zecora can only stare in terror at what they see on the other side. Terror amplified by what she has just been told, terror and finality that there is no escape from her fate. And guilt and sorrow for the doom that will follow once she is no more.
Noticing the state the zebra is in, Luna places her wing over the mare and gesture towards the horror before them.
Standing in the middle of an otherwise mythically impossibly gorgeous clearing of idyllic form and features; is a monstrosity like no other. Faces, limbs, wings, claws, eyes, and branches and bows of creatures unlike any known to living pony are warped into a ring that encircles a rippling pool of silver, blue, and green. A pool that defies logic and stands like a mirror, a mirror with no reflection.
The grotesque thing towards which they walk is encircled by rings of stones and fungi of all colors. A single braided bridge of branches and vines forms an arching walkway from the edge of the first of the rings to the grotesque gateway at the center. And as they get closer, Zecora swears the things on the gate’s edge are moving, slithering in and out of place like some living amorphous abomination.
Next to her though, Twilight is staring at it not in horror but awe. “It’s so beautiful, like something from a fairy tale!”
Zecora turns to stare at her friend, greatly confused. “Do you not see the horror before us, a monstrosity that does not belong in this forest?”
Twilight raises an eyebrow, befuddled by what Zecora just said. “No, I see a stunning gateway of crystal and living vines, with gemstone like beings dancing on the edges and sigils inlaid at precise points. What are you taking about?”
Before Zecora can reply, Luna steps in between the two. Glancing at Twilight, then Zecora, she lifts a hoof and points it at the ring. “What you both see is equally true. The ring reflects what it holds for those who view it. For Twilight it seems to be a glorious wonder, to me it looks like a gilded door made of thunder. And for Zecora, who is an Anchor to malicious Fey, it looks like the horrors akin to those very fey who stole your fate.”
Walking up the pathway, Luna points at a single plinth by the mirror itself. At the top of which, is a bowl filled with crystalline liquid. Looking straight at Zecora, the princess of the night solemnly delivers the harsh reality of what must be done.
“The fey bound to you, young shaman, are known as Trickles. They are a devouring amorphous hive mind of viscous sentient fluid made up of and fueled by the bodies of their victims. And their souls. Those devoured by Trickles are doomed to either be one with them, or exist forever in unrelenting agony as they are used to power the voracious fey tide. Trickles can separate into multiple groups to hunt or feed, and take on the forms of their victims or those they have observed for a time. So long as they can acquire something from a body, they can take on that form. They are stealthy, cunning, smart, and ruthless. As for how they are bound to you.. I have a feeling you already know.”
Zecora, having followed Luna up the braided archway, stares into the bowl and the liquid within. What she reflected back at her, brings a tear to her eye. For it is not the face she recalls as her own, but something else. In a voice cracking with pain, and fear, she voices the answer to Luna’s unspoken question. “To memory the Trickles bind, to follow you for all time.” She replies sullenly.
Twilight stares in horror and shock, ‘No, no, no, no, no! That can’t be true, there must be a way!” Rushing up the arch to stand before Luna, desperation in her voice and eyes, she cries. “Luna, you wouldn’t bring us here if there wasn’t a way to save Zecora would you? There is a way right? There has to be....”
The lavender mare collapses onto the ground, and lightly slaps the woven branches beneath her hoofs as if to batter free a way from the bark below. “There has to be... Zecora can’t just...there has to be some way to save her..”
Luna, her eyes on the sobbing and frightened Twilight, heaves a heavy sigh before replying. “Twilight...Zecora... there is a way. However that way is the choice that only one can decide to make real.”
Turning her full attention from the distraught Twilight, to the shocked and weary Zecora; she lays bare the choice at hand. As well as the cost. “To unleash yourself from the binding, to be no more an Anchor, you must Resound the Sound of Memory. For memory is what they use to connect themselves to their prey. If you have seen them, they can always find you, for you are bound to them. However Memory is also their greatest weakness.”
The zebra’s ears perk up, and Zecora lifts her weary eyes and worn heart to look into the deep and ancient orbs of Luna’s eyes. In a soft voice, filled with the last bits of her own hope, she speaks. “If memory their weakness be, tell me what ye ask of me. For to live I have no doubts, I will do whatever I must to break out.”
Luna, her eyes reflecting ages worth of knowledge, closes them to hold back tears. For the only way that this Zebra is willing to take, will end with her losing something she can never regain. But the resolution she sees when her eyelids lift again, the determination in Zecora’s eyes; is all she needs to know that this mare is willing to do the deed needed. Regardless of the burden or cost involved. Luna, nods her head once, as the rushing sound of water grows louder and more fierce. “I see thou art determined, and so we shall tell thee of the choice. Once there was a Fey that was the opposite of the Trickles. Where they used memory to bind themselves to prey and hunt, this fey used it to free and fight. It could forcibly awaken any and all memories in a foe, and force them to endure them all simultaneously. In the ages before the Nightmare Treaty, that fey was destroyed. It’s remains used to craft the gateways center. And the fragments of its essence infused into the liquid in the bowl. For the average pony, imbibing the liquid allows them to open and close the gate. However for one whose fate has been taken, and whose soul is in between mortal and Fay, it might offer the key to salvation.”
Lifting the bowl from the plinth in her magic, and presenting it to Zecora, Luna speaks a final warning. “Zecora, you may now choose. Imbibe the essence of the opposite of they, and if it works you will be akin to fey, Resound the Memory, and live. It may not work, in which case you will die. Or you may refuse, and if that is your choice I shall have no choice but to fling you through the gate. The Trickles will follow you, and the Fey Gate will close. Either way, this Nightmare will be over.”
Placing her hoof heavily upon the branches and bows, Luna uses the Royal Canterlot voice. “NOW CHOOSE!”
Twilight opens her mouth, reaching a hoof towards Zecora and Luna silhouetted by the light of the Gate. However deep down she knows there is no other way, as the sound of a roaring river rushes down the path. Glancing over her shoulder she sees the the horrific form of the monstrous Trickles entering the clearing.
And then from her peripheral vision, she sees her friend make her choice.
Zecora sees the terror from six nights past as it enters the clearing. She senses the hunger, the desire, the malice that it exudes. She spies Twilight Sparkle, her friend, reaching a hoof towards her, with her head turned towards the Trickles as they move towards the gate. Towards Zecora. And they will devour and assimilate anything in their path to get her.
Zecora, the zebra shaman who hails from Zebrica; whose mother knew of the terror these Trickles posed. Who has lived her life aiding others as best she can with her own knowledge, while learning ever more with time. This young Zebra mare who lived in the Everfree, and has friends who still need her; makes her decision there in the Wayside beneath the massive moon.
She quickly lowers her muzzle to the bowl, within which the crystal colored essence of a long gone Fey shifts and curls. Not closing her eyes, but instead facing the fearsome reflection that gets closer by the second she stares at her own future; and defies that fate. As her muzzle enters the liquid and she begins to drink, the vile reflection shrieks. Before her eyes, as she downs the shattered soul of the opposite of those once bound to her; that horrific visage twists and screams. Then, it bursts.
And from within she sees something new. A luminescent moon pearl colored being, whose surface ripples not with malice but serenity. It has her stripes, but misty grey eyes that shine from within. Her golden adornments mirrored by it, but in crystal not gold. And in her mind, Zecora hears a voice ancient and calm, an echo of something long gone.
“Reflect the Memory, Resound the Sound of Mind. Stare into the Darkness, and Force it to Face Itself.”
And with that, the reflection fades away with a ripple on the crystal liquid’s surface. Zecora knows what she must do. Lifting her muzzle free from the bowl, she turns to face the fiendish Fey that stole her original fate. As she walks down the branch made archway path. As she passes, Luna stares at her. For though Zecora does not see it, she has changed.
As she passes Twilight, the mare lowers her hoof. And as she walks forward, the tide of Trickles turns into a tidal wave.
The rushing sound of water, the rage of a typhoon, the fey of malice and memory rears up. Yet as it threatens to wash over ever pony present, dooming them to agony for all eternity; Zecora stops walking.
Then she looks up, to the crest of the wave. And opens her eyes. For the entire time she walked, she had kept them closed. Beneath the eyelids are now crystalline mirrors, formed of the same liquid that she had imbibed. The same liquid that now courses through her veins, the curse that will save them all. Finally, she speaks. “Who are you, remember you not. Wake up from within, that prison of liquid rot.”
The tidal wave shivers. The Trickles freeze. And then they start to scream.
A chorus of a thousand thousand voices echoes freely from the wave that grows in size and height. Thousands upon thousands of souls worth of memories come crashing down within the hive mind. Pain, agony, hurt, death, everything inflicted becomes known to them, it, all at once. Shrieking an unearthly sound, they rush towards the Fey Gate. As the river roars forward, some pieces fall free and cry out in agony before freezing in place.
Zecora dodges out of the way of the anguished fell tide of Trickles as it roars past like a freight train.
Luna acts quickly, and grabs Twilight before soaring into the skies above as the malevolent mass flows forward and into the gate. From above, they can see the faces and forms of the victims blended together and screaming in the dark blue viscous surface. The most recent are more prominent than those long gone, and Twilight swears she recognizes the stallion that applied for a job last week among them.
However, she does not have time to double check for within seconds the Trickles have fled through the Fey Gate and to the other side. Save a few remnants frozen forever where they fell, nothing remains to prove that the abomination ever existed. Nothing remains but the fear and knowledge, nothing remains but the memory.
As Luna lands upon the grass within the clearing, she places Twilight down gently. Zecora stands to the side, her fur now a luminescent pearl with obsidian grey stripes. Her golden rings now crystal, and her eyes now calmed to a misty grey. As she turns to Twilight and Luna, she smiles her usual smile.
The lavender mare on the other hand, starts to panic. “Is it over? Are they gone? Will I be doomed since I remember them?” Twilight asks in quick succession.
Zecora shakes her head then speaks. “I am free and so are you, memory will not spell our doom. The Trickles have gone beyond the gate, and I it seems have quite changed.”
Twilight chuckles, then laughs, then smiles before running up to hug her friend in euphoric relief. Noticing how her body is no longer furry, bit more like a smooth pearl she chuckles. “You haven’t changes that much. Besides, you’re safe. That’s all that matters. Not like...”
The lavender mare looks at her own reflection in her friend’s form, then letting go of her she wipes a tear from her eye. “Not like Spike...”
Zecora puts a comforting hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Do not worry or despair, there is a chance he still out there.” She says, only half believing it herself.
Twilight sniffles before responding. “A chance...that’s all I have.. a chance of seeing him again.”
Luna walks up to the two mares, tapping the, both with one wing. To Zecora, the now Pesudo Fey Zebra, she smiles. “It seems your fate is written anew, We are most happy for you.” Then looking at Twilight she sighs. “We will not lie to you, the chance is slim, it is very likely Spike is one of them. Yet a slim chance there is for you see, there are more fey to fear indeed.”
Lighting her horn, the princess of the moon casts her aura upon both of her friends. “But for now, let us return to Ponyville. We must ensure the evacuation went smoothly, and you two must comfort your friends.”
As the light of the group teleport activates, unseen by the other two mares, Luna glares out at the boundary of the forest. And as the trademark pop takes them from the Wayside, a chittering giggle can be heard echoing from that very spot. Soon, more giggles and chitters join it, and a cacophony of fey begins to resound.
The sound of a teleport pop draws the attention of the lunar guards. Turning quickly and prepared to fight if necessary, they quickly stand down when they see Princess Luna alongside Twilight Sparkle and the zebra shaman Zecora. Zecora’s new appearance draws some attention, but not much. After all, compared to the horrors they witnessed today, a zebra looking a little different isn’t that shocking. Besides, by the look on their princess’s face, they know even before she speaks that everything went well.
“My loyal Lunar Guards,” Princess Luna begins, “We want to thank you for your service and efforts in evacuating and defending those you could in this town of Ponyville. We know that you have seen horrible things on this day, though you may now rest at ease knowing that the threat has been driven from Our realm.”
Pointing at Twilight and Zecora, Luna continues her speech. “These two brave ponies have sacrificed much, and in the case of one,” She glances at Zecora, “made choices that have forever changed their fate. However, both of them need to make sure their friends are alright. I need two of you to guide them to the emergency evacuation camp. Any volunteers?”
Two thestrals walk out from the line of guards, one is steel blue with a grey mane and a cutie mark of a river under stars. He steps in time with the other thestral, who is an unusual chalk white with red eyes under dark shades, and has cutie mark of a white and red butterfly over an eclipsing moon on her flank.
Saluting their princess they say in unison. “We volunteer to guide the two mares Princess.”
Luna nods, before saying, “Very well, Night Tide and Pearl Eclipse, your offer is accepted. Be sure to tell Lieutenant Star Line that the town should be safe to return to by morning.”
Both Night Tide and Pearl Eclipse bark back, “Yes Princess Luna.”
Twilight looks up at the night princess, worry evident in her face. “Luna, you don’t think that They got the other girls right? I just remembered that Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle went missing with Spike. What if those things..” Twilight lets the rest remain unsaid.
Luna smiles comfortingly at the lavender mare, “We are sure that the other elements are fine. My guard was here for a reason. I wish I could go with you to confirm their safety, but We must attend to our duties here.”
Offering a quick reassuring pat with her wing, which Twilight accepts, the princess of the night walks away to speak to her guards about how things fared in Ponyville. Deep down she truly wants to help Twilight, to be there when she reunites with her friends. To watch as they all hug, and include Zecora who has survived so much. Yet she cannot, her duties take precedence. Which is made even clearer as she approaches the makeshift morgue. It is going to be a long remaining night.
—————
Night Tide and Pearl Eclipse guide the element of magic and the zebra shaman to the makeshift emergency camp site. Upon reaching the location, they bid farewell, and hurry off to report to Lieutenant Star Line. During the trip they didn’t speak a word, the looks on the mares faces made it clear words were not what they needed.
———
Twilight and Zecora stare at the hastily erected tents and huts that crowd the hill where everypony was evacuated to. Searching with fear in their hearts, that fear evaporates when a familiar voice is heard.
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, Twilight and Zecora are alright! Yippee! Rainbow! Rarity! Fluttershy! Applejack! Get over here!” Before the last word is spoken a pink blur flies through the camp and launches itself onto the two mares. Swiftly encircled in two pink limbs, and in Twilight’s case getting a fluffy pink mane to the face, they are embraced by a very relieved and overjoyed Pinkie Pie.
Who is soon followed by a blue and rainbow blur that joins in, as Rainbow Dash sniffles out the words; “It’s not like I was crying or anything, but you two had me so worried!”
“You were bawling more than a calf whose hungering for milk in the morning Rainbow. Ain’t no use in lying to seem strong, since we all were cryin together in worry about Twilight and Zecora.” Applejack walks out of a growing crowd of ponies with tear soaked green eyes, a relieved smile on her face, “An all of us need to get in on that hug too.” With that the barely restrained cowpony rushes over and joins in the hug, the ghosts of tears still staining her face.
“Darlings! You are alright! Oh thank Luna and Celestia you had all of us so worried!” The form of the ever graceful Rarity parts the crowd, followed closely by Fluttershy who is hiding behind her pink mane.
“Twilight!” The normally shy mare gets out a fairly loud single word before she races towards her friend. “And Zecora too! I..I was so worried...about you. The animals.. th..they mentioned something awful...was..was...”. The butter yellow Pegasus sniffs before tears flow anew from her face, retracing visible paths already well traveled by prior hours of crying. Walking forward she embraces from Zecora’s side, “I’m just so glad you two are safe.”
Noting the unusual texture of Zecora’s body, she decides to ask about it at a later time. Right now, her friends are safe. And if what her animal friends said is true, it’s a miracle to be grateful for.
Rarity manages to hold herself together until she gets right up to the group hug, then tossing aside her ladylike demeanor she says, “Make some room dears, I..” The glamorous unicorn joins in the embrace with her friends, feeling truly grateful that her two friends are safe and sound. At least she still has them, even if her sister is still missing. She still has her friends. And they will help her find her beloved Sweetie Belle. But not now, now is the time to rejoice in being together again.
Together, the six friends and their now zebra fey friend embrace under the night sky. Sorrow about those lost can wait till later. Worry about the missing too. Right now all that matters is that despite everything that has happened, they are still here. They can still rely on each other, no matter what the future brings.
———-
In the Wayside, by the Fey Gate a chirping giggle is heard. And underneath the cacophony of fey laughter, a single melodious filly’s voice can be heard. “Help...big sister...help me...”
This part of the Trickles saga honestly took too long to complete. It was planned to be completed at latest by November 2017, however my health declined quickly and I soon found myself unable to do much. Every day I lost more time, more energy, and yet I kept trying. I really tried to keep up with my stories and art, but eventually I got to the point I couldn’t move at all. There was a genuine possibility for awhile during early 2018 that I would die before completing this tale.
A quite literal Death of the Author scenario.
After I got treatment at the final hour in early February 2018, I ended up finding out that I had lost my ability to write and draw temporarily. I’ve spent three months undergoing PT in order to be able to just write again, and as a result I am just now publishing the end of this story that was intended to be finished months ago. Though honestly, I’m just happy I was around to write the final chapters at all.
I wish I could stay on this series longer, and finish out the other three tales in the saga. However I have many other works that were delayed by my illness, and before the fandom falls too far (presuming Hasbro doesn’t relaunch MLP again and reignite the fandom fires) I really want to finish up other stories I have planned.
Now, about this chapter in the Trickles Series. I wanted to play with the idea of there being more fey out there, but keep the Trickles front and center as the main threat. And I hope some of you figured out before the final chapter why I did that.
The idea of an opposing group of fey that existed at one point was also planned from the beginning, though an alternate end was going to have Zecora confronting the Trickles from within. Literally. Also, the choice was originally going to end with Zecora thrown through the Fey Gate, and forcing her to find a way free in another story. However as I planned the series out I realized that doing either of those was quite cliche and lazy. Sure awesome action scenes are fun, but I already have a gate crosser (Cranky) in my stories. And if you haven’t figured it out by now, my version of the Fey Realms are not exactly friendly.
So in the end, I decided on using the extinct fey’s essence (soul/power), which originally would have acted more as just a seer device and gate powering entity; to make the face off something completely different. Now be aware that there are universes where other results happened, this one is just Trickles canon.
As for what Zecora is now, she has become a pseudo fey. She embodies the force, being, and essence of the unnamed extinct opposing Fey species that was the Trickles natural enemy. Their ability is linked to the story title, Memory Sound. There is much more to them than just memory bonbardment, they are the opposite of Trickles. Trickles take, assimilate, devour, and absorb, and of course melt things. These things were the opposite of that. I can’t say anymore, because spoilers. However those skills are not that strong compared to most Fey. The only reason it worked so well on the Trickles is because the whole natural enemies thing.
This transformation Zecora underwent is actually based on real world lore, and like in real world lore she will eventually be pulled into the fey realms herself one day. However that’s centuries in the future stuff. By choosing to accept the fey essence, and staring down the part of herself that had already “turned trickle”, she was able to regain her lost fate, or a fate at least. Because the Trickles really did take that from her. Now she can live anew, and make new memories with her friends. And now Twilight has one other being who will stay by her side for a few centuries.
An Anchor is what Luna said it is, someone or something a Fey and other entities use to keep themselves in a specific realm after a certain time has passed. Depending on the Fey or being the effects and method differ. Even if Zecora had kept her memory blocked away, the Trickles would have eventually converted her and wreaked havoc. Also, the Trickles did eat before Zecora’s memory returned. Think about that, then think about the part about the corpses.
Also the three named pony OC’s, two batponies and one night owl Pegasus, they sort of just happened. Originally I intended to have them be generic guards, but ended up giving them personalities. In case you are curious, the batponies are friends from childhood. Pearl Eclipse is an Albino, obviously. And Night Tide is not. Star Line is a Lieutenant and coordinated the whole “stop the horrific fey fiend from murdering everyone” operation. Star Line is a Pegasus based off of a snowy owl. Get it, night owl? Ok I admit it’s a lame and bad pun. I haven’t developed their characters much yet honestly.
As for why Luna changed names of some things between chapters, she didn’t tell the whole truth about unnecessary things to Zecora and Twilight. Also, there are rules in the treaty about using certain names with those not involved in the treaty’s signing. Legal Fey stuff you know.
Now, as to what those other chittering giggling crazy things are. I must confess, they are unable to be revealed at this time. That is due to them being related in a way to the first Trickles, this story (Trickles 2), and the future story that happened alongside Trickles 1. However that story won’t be out till July. So speculate till then.
This entire story was pre planned, however I ended up splitting the final chapter into three separate chapters for story flow reasons. I think it worked out better that way. The Fey Gate was also pre planned, as was the explanation.
Even though it took a long time to complete, I feel happy with how Trickles 2 turned out.
And now I’m too tired to write anything else. Thank you for reading.
