> Silent Ponyvill Burning Loath > by ExMedal > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 The Letter > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia was in the castle. She was playing ball with her little sister Luna. She was so energetic today, so full of life. Everything was perfect, the sun was shining, the birds where singing. But then the sky started to turn black, the walls crumbled, bird’s song turned into shrieks, and the room was filling with bright red fire. Celestia tried to reach her sister, but something else had her. The black smoke seemed to be alive; it enveloped Luna’s body wile she screamed and cried. Just behind her, Celestia could here a voice filled with utter hatred for her… You Caused This! Celestia shot up strait in her bed; her pillow was wet with tears and sweat. She had another Nightmare about her sister again. She had been having them for months now, each time getting worse and worse. At first it was just a memory of the day she became Nightmare Moon and was banished to the moon. She shook this off since the time when she would return was only a few short years away, but then they started to get worse. Simple memory’s becoming twisted and dark, and they would all somehow involve three things, her sister being taken by black smoke, fire that would burn everything, and the voice that would always curse her very existence. She knew that she should tell somepony about these nightmares, but the last thing she wanted was for them to worry about there princess. Princess. How bitter that word felt to her this morning. She picked up her crown and looked at it in both her hoofs. To anypony else it was a thing of beauty, an exotic golden band of elegant’s that only the most beautiful could wear, but to her on this particular morn it was just a piece of metal, a symbol of the lifestyle that took her sister from her. The crown made her angry, it was this title, this responsibility that caused her to be alone for all these long years. She threw the crown at the wall causing it to bounce of and hit the edge of the roof of her four-poster bed, causing it to come loos and fall on her head. Celestia opened her eyes to two figures hovering over her. “Are you OK your highness?” It was a guard pony and a maid; it was the guard that had asked her the question. “Yes, I’m alright, I just had a little…accident” “I apologies, but I couldn’t find your crown” “That’s alright” she said, somehow she felt it wouldn’t be able to look at it again, let alone wear it on her head. The maid past her something made of paper. “This came for you princess, it just appeared on your throne this morning?” Celestia crawled out of bed and looked at the thing in her hoof. It was a letter with the words ‘Tia’ written on it, in blue crayon. Tia she thought, it had been a lifetime since anypony called her that. She nodded at the pair. “Thank you, I will be fine now” When the two had left the room Celestia looked at the letter again before opening it. A minuet latter the maid came back in. “You majesty, what would you like done about the…” But there was nopony there, and the window was wide open. Miles away from Canterlot, Celestia was landing on a green hill. She found a tree and sat down under it to read the blue crayon letter again… Dear Tie How are you doing, I am fine, I’m waiting for you here in Ponyvill, you know the place all those apple ponies went to live, remember? Anyway, I’m here now, but I’m very lonely here all on my own, please come and play with me soon :3 Love Luna XXXXXX P.S. something scary is with me here, please hurry!!! Celestia read the letter over and over again, how could this be? It was her handwriting all right, but how could she be here when. Celestia looked across the green meadow to see the faint outline of Ponyvill in the distance. “Could you really be they’re…waiting for me?” A part of her said that this was stupid, she couldn’t really be there, but Celestia decided that if there was a chance to see her sister again it was worth the risk of disappointment. Celestia spread her wings and went back into the air; she was almost to the edge of town when the sky started to turn black. There was a flash of white, an explosion of sound, and a sudden strike of pain in her back. Then the ground suddenly began to get closer and closer, then everything went black. All was silent, and then the voice of her nightmares called to her… Welcome to Insanity > Chapter 2 The Fog > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia opened her eyes. Her back hurt like it was engulf in fire. She raised her head to look at her surroundings. It was nighttime now, and a thick fog surrounded everything, making it look like she was alone in a black emptiness, an eerily familiar feeling. She wondered how long she was out for, and why no pony came to her aide, and where was this light that illuminated her coming from. Celestia looked down to see a small square oil lantern with black straps connected to it. Next to it was a small black (1930esc) Radio, a brown coat and a letter with ‘Princess Celestia’ written on it. Celestia looked back on herself. Somepony had bandaged her back. She tried to get up, the pain had mostly gone but she felt that her wings where to weak to fly, and her magic was only strong enough to preform simple levitation. She raised the lantern to see her reflection in the brass on the side, her hair was half its normal length and pink colored, as she expected. She could feel the cold of the night, and without the warm calming glow of the moon and the stars she felt like she could die and not notice. Celestia took the letter, opened it and began to read… I hope you will soon awaken to read this. I have done all I could to aid you in the journey ahead of you. Keep the items I have left you close, at all times. Keep moving. Never stop. Never give in to the fear and terror of this land, and maybe you will find the answers you seek, and survive this nightmare. I wish I could have stayed to help you more, but the things in the shadows are relentless. Remember. Stay in the light, but avoided the hellish glow of the flames. Listen to the radio You allay P.O.T.N Celestia looked down at the collection of items again. Behind the lantern out of her view from the ground was a small battered red book. She looked inside of it to find notes, drawings, depictions of hellish monsters born from fears and dread. Maps of the once peaceful town with photos of buildings and pony’s, and pages that looked like they had something on them, but they where to faded to see properly. That’s when she heard the laughter, the familiar heart warming laughter. Then she looked up from the letter and saw her. She was standing just outside the circle of the lantern, but shining like the moon. No. Not like the moon, the small filly looked more like a film projection that had come to life and walked off the screen. But no matter how Celetia looked at her, it was her. Luna looked at her and giggled. “You took your time” Even her voice sounded like it came from an old movie. But there was no doubt. This filly was her little sister. This was Luna. “Come play with me Tia!” The Filly Luna ran off into the darkness leaving a trailer of fading light behind her. Celestia called out to her. “Wa…Wait!” But she was already gone. Only the light trail remained. Celestia picked up the items, put on the coat and after looking at the lantern’s straps for a moment and realized that it was made to be worn like a baby sling. The Lantern felt warm on her chest, but not uncountable. It cut though the darkness like a tunnel of light, but the fog made it so only a few yards ahead was visible to her. Celestia followed the white line left by her sister across the cold empty town. Where had all the pony’s gone? Last time she had checked Ponyvill was a lively bustling home of some of the most happiest pony’s in all of Equestria, now it was an empty and shadow filled ghost town. As Celestia’s eyes finally began to get used to the darkness, she could see the faint outlines of building’s, but they where all…wrong. The town looked aged, cracked walls, boarded up windows, dirty roads covered in scars and deep scratches. Celestia gasped, she could see that the ground and walls of the area ahead was patched with blood. Some of it spelt out words Beware Danger Run Nightmares Help Us Celestia gaged at the sight. The air was stained with the smell of decay and death, and strangely, it also had the smell of…burning. Then there came the noise. It sounded like a swarm of bee’s mixed with an alarm clock. Celestia reached in the pocket of the jacket and found that the sound was coming from the small radio. The sound got louder, and she could here something else, something was in the darkness, and it was coming closer. Celestia felt a growing sense of danger coming from the seconded sound and began to gallop away. She looked around and saw a lone lamppost illuminating like a sun in the darkness. Celestia went into the ring of light and listened. The sound of the radio began to get weaker, before finally falling silent. Celestia lent against the lamppost and breathed heavily. And then… “Light” A Grey Pony dragged itself into the area of light from the darkness. He was missing his back legs and covered in deep bloody cuts. He dragged himself closer to the Lamppost leaving behind a trail of blood before stopping. Celestia rushed to mangled Pony and raised his head to meet his eyes. “By the Sun! What happened to you!” The Pony was weak; he was only just able to talk. “The Monsters…they hate the light…I tried to keep safe but…there drawn to fire…they hate light but…they like the fire…I couldn’t have known…” Celestia held on the Pony tightly. “Hold on! I’ll get you out of her I…” The pony lay in her hoofs motionless. Its body began to grow cold. “H…hello…are you…” Celestia looked at the pony for a moment before the facts of reality sunk in. she held the body close to her as her eyes began to fill with tears and cried softly. Why did things happen like this? Why was this happening? The noise of buzzing started again, but there was something else. In the darkness was the sound of hoof’s coupled with the sound of something large, dragging on the ground. Celestia rested the body on the ground, opened her lantern and ran out of the light in the opposite direction of the noise until the radio stopped making the buzzing sound. She began to softly weep again. “I am so sorry. I promise once this is over I will give you a proper burial” Celestia looked up and saw the faint white trail of Luna again. She wiped the tears from her eyes and ran to follow. The sadness she felt, she knew she would feel it again this dark, cold, lonely night.